Improvements in Looping Mechanism for Sewing Machines.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 29th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1888
Improvements in Looping Mechanism for Sewing Machines.
I, ALEXANDER ANDERSON, Manager of the Singer Manufacturing Company's Works
Kilbowie, Clyde Bank near Glasgow (a communication to me from abroad by James
Gardner Greene, Elizabeth Port, New Jersey, in the United States of America,
Mechanician) do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of the invention is to provide a looping mechanism which is more
particularly adapted for use with button-hole or other sewing machines in which the
needles have horizontal or lateral movements in addition to their vertical movements.
The invention may, however, be used in machines in which the needles have no
lateral movement.
In carrying the invention into effect I pivot the loop spreaders to the looper carrier
so that the said spreaders can be operated by stationary contact blocks on the bed-
plate of the machine and will therefore not require a special moving operating device.
This construction permits of the use of spreaders which may be made very light and
which will perform their function with less movement than has heretofore been
required so that less thread will be drawn down and the latter will thus have less
liability to twist; the result, particularly in working button-holes, being a much better
finish than has heretofore been attained.
In applying the invention to a Singer button hole sewing machine the looper carrier
may be a two armed pivoted or swinging lever to the two arms of which two loopers
are rigidly secured. One looper has an eye near its point so that it is adapted to carry
a lower thread as is common with this class of devices in making button-hole or double
chain stitches. To the outer ends of the arms of the looper carrier are pivotally
attached loop spreaders one being forked at its end so as to be adapted to co-operate
with the eyed looper. The pivoted spreaders are small two-armed levers and are
operated by. the engagement of their shorter arms with stationary contact blocks
secured, to projections on the bed-plate of the machine or on a plate attached thereto,
the return movements of the spreaders being effected by retracting springs. The
block operating the spreader which works with the eyed looper has a slight projection
on its operating face to give the proper movements to the spreaders, and the operating
face of the other block is preferably made inclined.

page_text: The looper carrier is attached to a small vertical rock-shaft to which a rocking
motion is imparted.
As
The operation of the invention as arranged for working button-holes, as herein
described is as follows: The needle first descends through the fabric back from the
button-hole slit and as said needle rises its loop is caught by the right hand looper
which moves towards the left, this movement bringing the short arm of its spreader
against the contact block which is to act upon it so that the loop is spread around the
path of the needle when the latter next descends, through the button-hole slit.
the needle continues its descent the looper-carrier swings towards the right slipping
the loop, through which the needle has descended, off from the looper and spreader
just mentioned thus leaving the said loop around the needle. The loop thus left
around the needle is immediately drawn up to the underside of the work by the take-
up. As the needle rises it throws out another loop of upper thread and as the looper
carrier continues its movement to the right the eyed looper and its spreader enter the
said loop and carry the lower thread through the same. The short arm of the
spreader at this mement strikes the straight portion of the contact block which is to
act upon
it forcing the forked end of the said spreader slightly inward the inner fork
of the said spreader projecting inward beyond the eyed looper thus forming a stop to
prevent the loop of needle thread from slipping off the same. The looper-carrier still
continues its motion towards the right thus bringing the short arm of the spreader
into contact with the inner side of the projection on the contact block thereby throwing
the long arm of the said spreader inward to spread the loop of lower thread around
the path of the needle as the latter next descends through the fabric back from the
button-hole slit. The looper carrier next swings towards the left releasing the
spreader from the contact block and causing the eyed looper to back out of the loop
of needle thread, the operation of disengaging the said loop from the looper being
assisted by the curved arm of the spreader as the latter is retracted to its normal
position by its spring. The looper carrier might be made to reciprocate in a straight
path, instead of in the are of a circle.
Dated this 5th day of April 1887.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Looping Mechanism for Sewing Machines.
I, ALEXANDER ANDERSON, Manager of the Singer Manufacturing Company's
Works, Kilbowie, Clyde Bank, near Glasgow (a cominunication to me from abroad
by James Gardner Greene, Elizabeth Port, New Jersey, in the United States of
America, Mechanician) do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
The object of the invention is to provide a looping mechanism which is more
particularly adapted for use with button-hole or other sewing machines in which the
needles have horizontal or lateral movements in addition to their vertical movements.
The invention may, however, be used in machines in which the needles have no lateral
movement.
In carrying the invention into effect I pivot the loop spreaders to the looper carrier
so that the said spreaders can be operated by stationary contact blocks on the bed-
plate of the machine and will therefore not require a special moving operating device.
This construction permits of the use of spreaders which may be made very light and
which will perform their function with less movement than has heretofore been required
so that less thread will be drawn down and the latter will thus have less liability to
twist; the result, particularly in working button-holes, being a much better finish than
has heretofore been attained.
<
In the drawings Figure 1 is a bottom view of a Singer" button-hole sewing
machine with the invention applied thereto.
Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are detail views of the looping mechanism illustrating the
operation of the invention. Figures 6 to 11 inclusive are detail views of the
spreaders and contact blocks. Figure 12 is a sectional elevation of the looper-
carrier and its connections. Figure 13 illustrates a modification of the invention."
A denotes a two armed pivoted or swinging looper-carrier to which the loopers a
and a are rigidly secured. The looper a has an eye near its point so that it is adapted
to carry a lower thread as is common with this class of devices in making button-hole
or double chain stitches. To the outer ends of the arms of the looper carrier are
pivotally attached the loop spreaders b and b¹ the former being forked at its end so as
to be adapted to co-operate with the eyed looper a. The pivoted spreaders band &¹
are small two-armed levers and are operated by the engagement of their shorter arms
with stationary contact blocks c and c' secured, in the present instance, to projections d
and d' on the bed plate of the machine or on a plate attached thereto, the return
movements of the spreaders being effected by retracting springs e and e'. The block c
has a slight projection c on its operating face to give the proper movements to the
spreader b, and the operating face of the block c¹ is preferably made inclined, as
shown, when used in connection with a pivoted looper-carrier.

page_text: The looper carrier A in the form of the invention. herein shown is attached
to a small vertical rock-shaft B having an arm C connected by a pitman D to a lever E
operated from a cam-groove F in a disc G. The construction and arrangement
which I have illustrated is especially adapted for button-hole work in connection with
a needlen having horizontal or lateral movements, but the invention is also capable
of use in connection with a needle having no horizontal movements. In the latter
instance it might however be desirable to reciprocate the contact blocks, to avoid
giving too great a throw to the loopers and the spreaders moving therewith, to get the
best results.
61
The operation of the invention as arranged for, working button-holes, as herein
shown, is as follows:-The needle first descends through the fabric back from the
button-hole slit and as said needle rises its loop is caught by the looper a' which moves
towards the left, this movement bringing the short arin of the spreader 6 against the
contact block c¹ so that the loop is spread around the path of the needle when the
latter next descends, as in Figure 2, through the button-hole slit. As the needle
continues its descent the looper-carrier swings towards the right slipping the loop,
through which the needle has descended, off from the looper a¹ and spreader 61 thus
leaving the said loop around the needle. The loop thus left around the needle is
immediately drawn up to the underside of the work by the take-up, the parts being, at
this moment, in the positions shown in Figure 3. As the needle rises it throws out another
loop of upper thread and as the looper carrier continues its movement to the right the
looper a and spreader enter the said loop and carry the lower thread through the
same. The short arm of the spreader 6 at this moment strikes the straight portion of
the contact block c forcing the forked end of the said spreader slightly inward to
the position shown in Fig. 4, the inner fork of the said spreader projecting inward
beyond the looper a thus forming a stop to prevent the loop of needle thread from
slipping off the same. The looper-carrier still continues its inotion towards the right
thus bringing the short arm of the spreader into contact with the inner side of the
projection on the block c, thereby throwing the long arm of the said spreader
inward to the position shown in Figure 5 to spread the loop of lower thread around
the path of the needle as the latter next descends through the fabric back from the
button-hole slit. The looper carrier next swings towards the left releasing the
spreader from the contact block and causing the looper a to back out of the loop of
needle thread, the operation of disengaging the said loop from the looper being
assisted by the curved arm of the spreader as the latter is retracted to its normal
position by its spring e. At this moment the parts (excepting the needle) are again
in the position shown in Figure 3 and the loop of under thread, which is around the
needle, is disengaged therefrom when the needle rises at it next ascent. In the mean-
time the looper carrier swings towards the left and the looper a¹ seizes the loop thrown
out by the needle, the said loop being spread by the looper b¹ as above described, and
thus the operation continues.
The operation of the modification shown in Figure 13 in which the looper carrier A¹
reciprocates in a straight path, is essentially the same as that above described in
connection with the pivoted or oscillating looper carrier A, the loopers and the
spreaders moving bodily therewith taking alternate loops from the needle in a well
known manner.
It will be understood that any well known or suitable mechanism may be employed
for oscillating the looper carrier A or for reciprocating the looper carrier A¹ and
I do not therefore wish to confine the invention to the special operating mechanism or
to the details of construction herein shown; as variations, within the province of
mechanical skill, may be made without departing from the essential features of the
invention.
Part of the invention may also be used without other parts thereof as by employing
one looper and a two-armed spreader moving bodily therewith and operated by a
contact block and spring in connection with a needle having no horizontal movement,
for making chain or double chain stitches, if desired.
:

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The combination with a horizontally movable looper carrier and a looper rigidly
secured thereto, of a two-armed loop-spreader pivoted to said carrier and a contact
block and retracting spring for operating said spreader, substantially as
forth.
set
2. The combination with a movable looper carrier, two loopers fixed thereto, and
two pivoted spreaders moving with said loopers, of means, as contact blocks and
retracting springs, for operating said spreaders, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination with the pivoted or swinging two-armed looper-carrier A, of
the loopers a and a¹ secured thereto, the pivoted spreaders and 6' attachedt o the
arms of said carrier near the ends thereof, the fixed contact blocks c and c¹ and the
retracting springs e and e¹ substantially as set forth.
Dated this 6th day of December 1887
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