Improvements in Sewing Machines for the Manufacture of Straw Casings.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Dec.. 1890
Complete Specification Left, 6th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 28th Feb., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines for the Manufacture of
Straw Casings.
I, WITTWE ANDREAS SAXLEHNER, geb. EMILIE PELIKAN, Proprietress of the
firm of Andreas Saxlehner of Budapest, Hungary, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to improvements in sewing machines for the manu-
facture of straw casings which are chiefly designed to serve as protective coverings
in packing glass ware, such as bottles and the like.
The formation of the loops of the sewing thread by means of which the straw is
held together is effected as in chain stitch sewing.
The machine is characterized by one or more reciprocating hooked needles,
which penetrate above the surface of the table into a cylindrical casing arranged
parallel to the said table surface. In this casing there are arranged levers which
oscillate on a movable rod; these levers lay the thread into the opened hook of the
needle or of each needle if there be more than one. During the descent of the
needle or needles (that is to say, during the formation of the loop), the_hook is
closed by means of a pin which is movable either in or near to the needle itself.
Toothed feeding wheels projecting above the table surface, and moved by pawl
gear, effect the feed of the straw. This straw is bound into bundles by the loops of
the thread, when during the descent of the needles, the fresh loops are drawn
through the loops last formed.
The movements of the thread-laying levers and of the pawl gears for the carrying
wheels, are effected by means of eccentrics mounted on shafts which are caused to
rotate by the driving gear of the machine. Curved guides arranged above the
table surface, and surrounding the cylindrical casing at a definite distance, compel
the straw after it has been sewn into a mat to roll up gradually in the form of a
casing, the ends of which are then sewn together. The finished straw casing is then
removed, and the end threads are cut off by means of shears, situated on the
machine.
The accompanying two sheets of drawings illustrate a sewing machine for the
manufacture of straw casings constructed according to this invention. The machine
illustrated is provided with two hooked needles.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine which is shown in partial section with
raised needles.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts of the machine, situated above the table
surface.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of all the parts situated below the table surface.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the driving gear being a section on the line x x of
Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 illustrates in side elevation, the mechanism for feeding the straw; it is a
cross section on the line x¹ x¹ of Fig. 3.
Fig. 6 illustrates the driving gear for the needle guides, in cross section on the
line of Fig. 3.
Fig. 7 is a view of the right hand side of the machine, being a section on the
line of Fig. 3, and
Fig. 8 is a front elevation of Fig. 7, illustrating the mechanism for operating the
shears.
Fig. 9 illustrates the support (which is capable of being turned down) of the
lever which serves for swinging round the casing containing the thread laying
device.

page_text: casing containing the thread laying mechanism.
Figs. 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, are respectively a front elevation and side elevations
of the needle guides, and serve to illustrate the step by step operation of forming
the loop.
Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the loop formation of a series of stitches.
Fig. 18 is a top view of the finished stitch, and
Fig. 19 is a view of the same from underneath.
As already mentioned, the formation of the stitches is effected by means of hooked
needles a. These needles are attached to carriers A which are capable of being moved
up and down in corresponding guides c of a needle bed C arranged under the table B.
A number of these needle carriers A. with the needles a may be arranged at any
desired distances from one another. Two are shown in the drawing.
In order that the movement of a number of needles shall be uniform, the ends of
the needle carriers A are coupled by means of a simple scarf joint Figs. 12 and 13
to a frame piece C¹ which engages in the guide c of the needle bed. The frame
piece C' is caused to move up and down by means of a connecting rod c³ (Figs. 1
and 6) and a crank disc c³. Each hooked needle is bent at right angles in its lower
portion (Fig. 13) and is furnished with a hole through which passes, for the purpose
of closing the hooked needle, a pin a' which is fixed to a carrier A' and is adjustably
guided in the guide c. The needle carrier A is connected with the pin carrier A'
by means of a projection a² which engages in a recess a³ of the said pin carrier ;
the recess is however somewhat longer than the projection a².
On the front side of the pin carrier A¹ there is situated a plate or piece a
which projects through the cover-plate a' of the needle carrier guide, and which,
when the pin carrier A' is pushed up and down, moves between the cheeks d of a
spring clip D bolted to the cover plate a'; the action of the clip can be regulated
by means of a screw d¹ (Fig. 12).
The spring clip D has for object to firmly hold the pin carrier A¹ for a definite
period in its extreme position either up or down at every change of stroke of the
needle a until the hooked needle a is moved up and down in order to open or to
close the opening of the hook of the needle.
After the projection a³ of the needle carrier A has reached the ends of the
recess a of the pin carrier, the pin carrier A' is carried along by the needle
carrier A, and the two parts move together upwards or downwards.
Above the table plate B there is situated a cylindrical casing E. This is
parallel to the table plate and is capable of being swung upwards about the axial
pin e. In the casing there are arranged the thread laying levers F F, into which
enter the hooked needles a at their upward movement.
The thread-laying levers F F, of which there is one to each needle, are capable
of rotation on a sliding carriage F¹ which is pushed to and fro within the cylinder E,
by means of a rod f. The front ends of the thread-laying levers F F during their to
and fro movement are caused to swing in an arc by means of a pin f1 which is arranged
on each lever and moves in a semi-circular guide groove e¹ (Fig. 11). The to and
fro movement of the thread lever sliding carriage F is effected by means of an
eccentric (Figs. 1, 3 and 7) mounted on the shaft c which actuates the frame C¹.
The eccentric rod facts upon a lever f' by means of which a shaft f³ is caused to
oscillate; on this shaft there is fixed a lever f which acts upon the sliding carriage
guide-rod of the thread laying levers.
:
In order to enable the cylindrical casing E to be swung upwards, the end of the
sliding-carriage-guide-rod f is furnished with a segment-shaped slot "through
which the connecting pin of the lever passes. The threads g are supplied from
suitably mounted thread reels g' (Figs. 1 and 2) to the eyes f8 and f of the thread
laying levers F through an opening (Figs. 1, 2, 10 and 11) provided in the
cylindrical casing E.
In order to enable the thread to be easily drawn into the eyes f, f, the
cylindrical casing E is furnished with a cover or lid e* capable of turning on

page_text: hinges e. For the purpose of obtaining a sufficient tension of the thread, each
thread g is led from the reel g' through an eye to a thread-tension-lever g¹
(Fig. 1), which is caused, by springs arranged on its axis, to constantly exert an
upward pull on the thread.
The process of forming the stitches is as follows:-
:-
Assuming the needles a to have reached their highest position, the pin a¹ of each
needle having remained behind to an extent such that the opening of the hook of
the needle is left free (Fig. 13), the sliding carriage F' with the thread-laying-
levers F F, will begin to move out of its extreme position from right to left, and
the threads g will be laid into the needle hooks a (Fig. 10) by an arc-like sweep of
the thread-laying-levers.
Now if the needles a move downwards the pin carriers A¹ are held back by the
spring clip D; and the needle carriers A, together with the needles a slide
downwards until the projections a² abut against the ends of the recesses a³ in the
pin carriers A' (Fig. 14), the hooked needles a having moved down along the
pins a to an extent such that the needles pass out of the casing E with already
closed hooks, thereby preventing the straw stalks from being drawn along by the
needle hooks.a. The carriers A and A' move downwards together still further,
and the thread loop formed on each needle is drawn out of the casing E down
below the table surface B (Fig. 15), whilst the straw h in ready cut lengths
(Figs. 2, 4, 14, and 15) is introduced by hand in between the casing E and the
table surface B.
When the needles a again move upwards, the pin carriers A¹ with the pins a,
remain behind, and the hooks of the needles a open again, the latter passing
through the loops that remain behind (Fig. 16), and the straw stalks assuming a
position between the loops and the needles.
When the upward movement of the needles is completed, and material for a fresh
loop has been seized by cach needle, the said fresh loops are thereupon drawn
through the old loops and so on, as can be seen from the illustrations of the finished
stitch in Figs. 17, 18 & 19.
up
on the
According to the operation described there are formed from the straw stalks h
which are held together in bundles by the loop formation, straw mats H, which are
subsequently rolled to form casings. For this purpose there are provided
table plate next to the casing E, curved arms h¹ (Figs. 4 & 5) along which the
straw mat H is caused to slide by the feed mechanism and to roll up into the form
of a casing (Fig. 4). The ends of the mat H are pressed together by hand and
the sewing continued across both edges thus uniting them by the machine.
The feeding device consists of rotary carrier wheels I which are mounted below
the table plate B, and project, after the manner of the cloth feeding devices in
sewing machines, above the table surface B underneath the cylindrical casing E.
They are rotated step by step as soon as the needles a pass below the table surface,
whereby the finished mat is advanced through a distance equal to the length of
a loop.
The carrier wheels 1 are rotated by means of pawl gear the pawls ii of which
engage in rings of teeth i'i arranged on the flat surface of the carrier wheels. The
pawl of each gear is mounted on a bell crank lever which is capable of rotation
about the axis of the corresponding carrier wheel. Upon these bell crank levers
there act the rods of the eccentrics mounted on the main driving shaft j
(Figs. 1, 3 & 5). From the main driving shaft j which is rotated by foot driving
gear j³, ³, (Fig. 3) or by a belt pulley, the motion is transmitted through the
bevel wheels j, c (Figs. 3 & 6) to the driving shaft for the frame C¹.
For the purpose of removing the finished straw casing, the cylindrical casing E
which contains the thread laying mechanism, is turned into the position indicated
in dotted lines, whereupon the straw casing is drawn off the cylinder E (by the
operator). The movement of the casing is effected by means of the lever e³,
mounted on the pivote of the said casing E, after the supports e' have been
turned down.

page_text: g
The threads a hanging on to the straw casing from out of the cylindrical casing E,
are then placed under the blades of shears k k¹ arranged on the table B, and
cut off.
The opening of the movable shear blade is effected in an automatic manner,
on pressing down the lever e mounted on the pivot e of the cylindrical casing E.
This lever presses upon a pin k³ (Figs. 1, 7, & 8) that acts upon levers k³, k, the
latter of which causes the rotation of the shaft on which the movable shear
blade is situated.
On the shaft of the shear blade k¹ there is mounted a spring ks which presses
the movable blade k¹ against the fixed blade k. As soon as pressure is removed
from the lever et the shears are closed by means of a spring k pressing upon
the lever k'.
The table surface is supported by any suitable form of framing, the uprights b of
which are partly shown in Fig. 1.
Dated this 9th day of December 1890.
W. A. SAXLEHNER.
By L. W., per F. B.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines for the Manufacture of Straw
Casings.
I, WITTWE ANDREAS SAXLEHNER, geb. EMILIE PELIKAN, Proprietress of
the firm of Andreas Saxlehner, of Budapest, Hungary, 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 :-
This invention has reference to improvements in sewing machines for the manu-
facture of straw casings which are chiefly designed to serve as protective coverings
in packing glass ware, such as bottles and the like.
The formation of the loops of the sewing thread by means of which the straw is
held together is effected as in chain stitch sewing.
The machine is characterized by one or more reciprocating hooked needles, which
penetrate above the surface of the table into a cylindrical casing arranged parallel
to the said table surface. In this casing there are arranged levers which oscillate
on a movable rod; these levers lay the thread into the opened hook of the needle
or of each needle if there be more than one. During the descent of the needle or
needles (that is to say, during the formation of the loop), the hook is closed by
means of a pin which is movable either in or near to the needle itself. Toothed
feeding wheels projecting above the table surface, and moved by pawl gear, effect
the feed of the straw. The straw is bound into bundles by the loops of the thread,
when during the descent of the needles, the fresh loops are drawn through the
loops last formed.
The movements of the thread-laying levers and of the pawl gears for the
carrying wheels, are effected by means of eccentrics mounted on shafts which are
caused to rotate by the driving gear of the machine. Curved guides arranged
above the table surface, and surrounding the cylindrical casing at a definite
distance, compel the straw after it has been sewn into a mat, to roll up gradually in
the form of a casing, the ends of which are then sewn together. The finished
straw casing is then removed, and the end threads are cut off by means of shears
situated on the machine.
The two sheets of drawings filed with my Provisional Specification illustrate a
sewing machine for the manufacture of straw casings constructed according to this
invention. The machine illustrated is provided with two hooked needles.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine which is shown in partial section with
raised needles

page_text: Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts of the machine, situated above the table
surface.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of all the parts situated below the table surface.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the driving gear, being a section on the line of
Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 illustrates in side elevation the mechanism for feeding the straw ; it is a
cross section on the line ' x¹ of Fig. 3.
Fig. 6 illustrates the driving gear for the needle guides, in cross section on the
line of Fig. 3.
Fig. 7 is a view of the right hand side of the machine, being a section on the
line of Fig. 3, and
Fig. 8, is a front elevation of Fig. 7, illustrating the mechanism for operating
the shears.
Fig. 9 illustrates the support (which is capable of being turned down) of the
lever which serves for swinging round the casing containing the thread-laying
device.
Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively a longitudinal section and a plan of the cylindrical
casing containing the thread-laying mechanism.
Figs. 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, are respectively a front elevation and side elevations
of the needle guides, and serve to illustrate the step by step operation of forming
the loop.
Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the loop formation of a series of stitches.
Fig. 18 is a top view of the finished stitch, and
Fig. 19 is a view of the same from underneath.
As already mentioned, the formation of the stitches is effected by means of
hooked needles a. These needles are attached to carriers A which are capable of
being moved up and down in corresponding guides c of a needle bed C arranged under
the table B.
A number of these needle carriers A with the needles a may be arranged at any
desired distances from one another. Two are shown in the drawing.
In order that the movement of a number of needles shall be uniform, the ends of
the needle carriers A are coupled by means of a simple scarf joint Figs. 12 and 13
to a frame piece C' which engages in the guide c of the needle bed. The frame
piece C'is caused to move up and down by means of a connecting rod c³ (Figs. 1
and 6) and a crank disc e. Each hooked needle is bent at right angles in its lower
portion (Fig. 13) and is furnished with a hole through which passes, for the purpose
of closing the hooked needle, a pin a' which is fixed to a carrier A' and is adjustably
guided in the guide c. The needle carrier A is connected with the pin carrier A¹
by means of a projection a² which engages in a recess a³ of the said pin carrier; the
recess is however somewhat longer than the projection a³.
On the front side of the pin carrier A' there is situated a plate or piece a³ which
projects through the cover-plate a' of the needle carrier guide, and which, when the
pin carrier A is pushed up and down, moves between the cheeks d of a spring
clip D bolted to the cover plate a*; the action of the clip can be regulated by
means of a screw d' (Fig. 12).
The spring clip D has for object to firmly hold the pin carrier A¹ for a definite
period in its extreme position either up or down at every change of stroke of the
needle a until the hooked needle a is moved up and down in order to open or to
close the opening of the hook of the needle.
After the projection a³ of the needle carrier A has reached the ends of the recess a
of the pin carrier, the pin carrier A¹ is carried along by the needle carrier A, and
the two parts move together upwards or downwards.
e.
In
Above the table plate B there is situated a cylindrical casing E. This is parallel
to the table plate and is capable of being swung upwards about the axial pin
this casing there are arranged thread laying levers F F into which enter the hooked
needles a at their upward movement.

page_text: The thread-laying levers F F, of which there is one to each needle, are capable
of rotation on a sliding carriage F' which is pushed to and fro within the cylinder E
by means of a rod f. The front ends of the thread laying levers F F during their
to and fro movement are caused to swing in an arc by means of a pin f¹ which is
arranged on each lever and moves in a semi-circular guide groove e¹ (Fig. 11). The
to and fro movement of the thread lever sliding carriage F is effected by means of
an eccentric 2 (Figs. 1, 3 and 7) mounted on the shaft c which actuates the
frame C¹. The eccentric rod f³ acts upon a lever f* by means of which a shaft
is caused to oscillate; on this shaft there is fixed a lever f which acts upon the
sliding-carriage-guide-rod f of the thread laying levers.
In order to enable the cylindrical casing E to be swung upwards, the end of the
sliding-carriage-guide-rod f is furnished with a segment shaped slot through
which the connecting pin of the lever fe passes. The threads
9 are supplied from
suitably mounted thread reels g' (Figs. 1 and 2) to the eyes 8 and 9 of the thread
laying levers F through an opening e² (Figs. 1, 2, 10 and 11) provided in the
cylindrical casing E.
9
In order to enable the thread to be easily drawn into the eyes f, f, the cylindrical
casing E is furnished with a cover or lid capable of turning on hinges e. For
the purpose of obtaining a sufficient tension of the thread, each thread g is led from
the reel g¹ through an eye to a thread-tension-lever g (Fig. 1), which is caused,
by springs arranged on its axis, to constantly exert an upward pull on the thread.
The process of forming the stitches is as follows
--
Assuming the needles a to have reached their highest position, the pin a' of each
needle having remained behind to an extent such that the opening of the hook of
the needle is left free (Fig. 13), the sliding carriage F1, with the thread-laying
levers F F, will begin to move out of its extreme position from right to left, and
the threads g will be laid into the needle hooks a (Fig. 10) by an arc-like sweep of
the thread-laying-levers.
Now if the needles a move downwards, the pin carriers A¹ are held back by the
spring clip D; and the needle carriers A, together with the needles a slide down-
wards until the projections a abut against the ends of the recesses a' in the pin
carriers A¹ (Fig. 14), the hooked needles a having moved down along the pins a to
an extent such that the needles pass out of the casing E with already closed hooks,
thereby preventing the straw stalks from being drawn along by the needle hooks a.
The carriers A and A¹ move downwards together to a further extent, and
the thread loop formed on each needle is drawn out of the casing E down below the
table surface B (Fig. 15), whilst the straw h in ready cut lengths (Figs. 2, 4, 14,
and 15) is introduced by hand in between the casing E and the table surface B.
When the needles a again move upwards, the pin carriers A¹ with the pins a¹
remain behind, and the hooks of the needles a open again, the latter passing through
the loops that remain behind (Fig. 16), and the straw stalks assuming a position
between the loops and the needles.
When the upward movement of the needles is completed, and material for a fresh
loop has been seized by each needle, the said fresh loops are thereupon drawn
through the old loops and so on, as can be seen from the illustrations of the finished
stitch in Figs. 17, 18 and 19.
According to the operation described, there are formed from the straw stalks h
which are held together in bundles by the loop formation, straw mats H, which are
subsequently rolled up to form casings. For this purpose there are provided on
the table plate next to the casing E, curved arms h (Figs. 4 & 5) along which the
straw mat H is caused to slide by the feed mechanism and to roll up into the
form of a casing (Fig. 4). The ends of the mat H are pressed together by hand
and the sewing continued across both edges thus uniting them by the machine.
The feeding device consists of rotary carrier wheels I which are mounted below
the table plate B, and project, after the manner of the cloth feeding devices in
sewing machines, above the table surface B underneath the cylindrical casing E.

page_text: They are rotated a step as soon as the needles a pass below the table surface,
whereby the finished mat is advanced through a distance equal to the length of a
loop.
The carrier wheels I are rotated by means of pawl gear the pawls ii of which
engage in rings of teeth arranged on the flat surface of the carrier wheels. The
pawl i of each gear is mounted on a bell crank lever which is capable of rotation
about the axis of the corresponding carrier wheel. Upon these bell crank levers
there act the rods of the eccentrics mounted on the main driving shaft ;
(Figs. 1, 3 & 5). From the main driving shaft ; which is rotated by foot driving
gear,, (Fig. 3) or by a belt pulley, the motion is transmitted through the
bevel wheels, (Figs. 3 & 6) to the driving shaft for the frame C¹.
For the purpose of removing the finished straw casing, the cylindrical casing E
which contains the thread laying mechanism is turned into the position indicated
in dotted lines, whereupon the straw casing is drawn down off the cylinder E by the
operator.
The movement of the casing is effected by means of the lever e", mounted on the
pivot e of the said casing E, after the support e' has been turned down.
The threads hanging on to the straw casing from out of the cylindrical
casing E, are then placed under the blades of shears k k¹ arranged on the table B,
and cut off.
The opening of the movable shear blade k¹ is effected in an automatic manner, on
pressing down the lever e mounted on the pivot e of the cylindrical casing E. This
lever e presses upon a pink (Figs. 1, 2, 7 & 8) that acts upon levers k³, k*, the
latter of which causes the rotation of the shaft k on which the movable shear
blade is situated. On the shaft k of the shear blade k¹ there is mounted a
As soon as
spring which presses the movable blade against the fixed blade k.
pressure is removed from the lever e, the shears are closed by means of a spring k
pressing on the lever kt.
The table surface is supported by any suitable form of framing, the uprights b of
which are partly shown in Fig. 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a sewing machine for the manufacture of straw casings, one or more
movable hooked needles a, whose hooks are each closed intermittently by a pin a¹
which is movable in or by the side of its respective needle, and a cylinder E into
which the needles enter when raised, and in which the laying of the threads into the
open hooks of the needles takes place.
2. In a sewing machine for the manufacture of straw casings arranged as referred
to in Claim 1, movable carriers A carrying hooked needles a, and connected
together by a frame piece C¹ with which they are moved simultaneously up and
down, in combination with movable carriers A' which carry pins a', and which are
guided by a spring clip D and are each provided with a recess a³ into which the
projections at of the needle carriers A engage, the arrangement being such that the
latter, at the change of stroke, can be moved at first alone until the pin carriers A¹
are taken along by the projections of the needle carriers, whereby the intermittent
closing of the hooks is effected by the pins a¹.
3. In a sewing machine for the manufacture of straw casings arranged as referred
to in Claim 1, a thread laying device consisting of a cylinder E capable of rotation
about the pivot e, and of a sliding carriage F1 movable therein, and having within
it levers F provided with eyes f,, the said levers receiving also during their to
and fro motion a swinging motion by means of pins projecting in an arc-shaped
guide slot e', for the purpose of laying the threads into the needles.
4. In a sewing machine for the manufacture of straw casings arranged as referred
to in Claim 1, a feeding device comprising toothed carrying wheels I projecting

page_text: above the table surface, with pusher-pawl gears i,, which engage with teeth ¹ and
are operated by eccentrics i driven from the driving shaft j.
5. In a sewing machine for the manufacture of straw casings arranged as referred
to in Claim 1, curved guides h' for rolling the straw mats, when sewn, into the form
of casings or envelopes.
6. In a sewing machine for the manufacture of straw casings arranged as referred
to in Claim 1, shears whose movable blade k¹, acted upon by spring pressure, is
adapted to be opened by means of a lever k, which, when the cylinder E is swung
upwards, is operated by a lever k³, upon which presses the lever e' that effects the
swinging movement of the cylinder E.
Dated this 6th day of January 1891.
A. SAXLEHNER.
By L. W., per F. B.