Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Aug., 1886.
Complete Left, 13th June, 1887.
Complete Acceoted, 19th Aug., 1887.
RESERV
1, CHARLES FREDERIC GARDNER, of Worship Street, Finsbury in the County of
Middlesex, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to sewing-machines which are chiefly designed for use in
the manufacture of shoe or slipper uppers from straw-braid or similar material.
The Specification of Letters Patent dated 19th January A.D. 1886, No. 845, sets
forth a peculiar method or manner of manufacturing shoe or slipper uppers by
uniting strips or strands of straw-braid or similar material, in overlapping courses,
by stitching.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a sewing-machine whereby
such strips or strands may be very effectually and expeditiously united.
For this purpose, I employ an oscillating hook through which the under-thread
is passed and which operates in combination with the neodle to form lock-stitches.
I also employ means for taking up the slack of the under-thread as hereinafter
described, guides for guiding the straw-braid or similar material into its proper
position beneath the needle, and means for adjusting the said guides according to
the width of the said material.
The said invention, morever, comprises various improvements hereinafter described.
The improved machine is made with a goose-neck which is formed on or attached
to a suitable base-plate. A bent lever is pivotted to the said goose-neck and is
connected, at its forward end by means of a link, with the needle-bar, which is
fitted to slide up and down between guides formed on or attached to the said goose-
neck. The said lever is coupled by means of a rod and strap, to an excentric
fixed on the driving shaft which is carried in suitable bearings in the base-plate.
The lower end of the said lever is connected, by means of a rod or link, with the
book which carries the under-thread. This book is pivotted to a rock-shaft carried

page_text: in bearings in the base-plate and provided with a forked or slotted arm which
engages with a cam or excentric on the driving shaft. This rock-shaft has a crank
or cranked portion to which the said thread-carrying hook is pivotted. Oscillating
motion upon or about its pivot is imparted to the said hook by the aforesaid lever
and the said hook also has a movement to and from the needle imparted to it by
the said rock-shaft. The said hook is adapted to enter the loop of the needle-thread,
while the needle is down, and is formed with holes through which the under-thread
is to be passed. The presser-bar is fitted to slide vertically in the end of the goose-
neck and is held down by a spring in the ordinary or any suitable manner.
The
said presser-bar is, moreover, provided with means for regulating the tension of the
spring to vary the pressure on the work as required. The feed-bar is operated to
foed forward the work by means of a cam or excentric on the driving shaft.
The up-and-down movement and the return movement of the said feed-bar are
effected by a disc-crank on the driving-shaft, the pin of which crank is coupled to
the said feed-bar by suitable levers and links. The pin of this crank is made
adjustable in the disc by any suitable means, for instance, the said crank-pin is
provided with a block which is fitted to slide to and fro in a slot formed in the disc,
which is fixed on the end of the driving shaft, and a screw is passed through the
said block and is held from longitudinal movement, so that, by turning the said screw
in one or the other direction, the throw of the crank-pin can be varied to regulate
the feed.
Other means may, if desired, be employed for operating the feed-bar.
To provide for taking up the slack of the under-thread I employ a cam which is
fixed or formed on the driving shaft and which operates in combination with a hook
attached to the base-plate. This cam engages with the under-thread when the needle
commences to move downward, and releases the said thread immediately before the
needle commences its upward movement. On each side of the said cam is an arm
having a hole in its extremity; through these arms the under-thread is passed
before being passed through the holes in the oscillating hook above described.
I provide a guide on the work-plate for guiding the straw-braid or similar material
into position beneath the needle. This guide is provided with a screw or other
means whereby it may be adjusted to suit braids of different width. The presser-
foot is also provided with a guide for the purpose above specified, provided with a
screw or other means for adjusting it.
The machine may be constructed to be driven by a steam-engine or other motor,
or so that it may be worked by the hand or foot.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, CHARLES FREDERIC GARDNER, of 1 Worship Street, Finsbury, in the County
of Middlesex, Merchant. 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 relates to sewing-machines which are chiefly designed for use in the
manufacture of shoe or slipper uppers from straw-braid.
In the Specification of former Letters Patent dated 19th January A.D. 1886,
No. 845, an invention is described which comprises a peculiar method or manner
of manufacturing shoe or slipper uppers by uniting strips or strands of straw-braid or
similar material in overlapping courses, the said strips or strands being united
by stitching.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a sewing-machine whereby
such strips or strands may be very effectually and expeditiously united.
In my improved machine, I employ an oscillating book through which the
under-thread is passed, and which operates in combination with the needle to form
double-loop stitches. I also employ means for taking up the slack of the under-
thread as hereinafter described.
One of the chief features of my invention is the employment of devices hereinafter
described for guiding the straw-braid or similar material into its proper position
beneath the needle, and means for adjusting the said guides according to the width
of the said material and for regulating the distance which one strip or strand shall
overlap another.
The said invention, moreover, comprises various other improvements hereinafter
described.
In the accompanying drawings, I have shown how the said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the said machine, a portion of a casing hereinafter
described being removed.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the said machine, the said casing being removed.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line z,z, Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line ³, 1, Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a side elevation, showing the guides hereinafter described for guiding
the straw-braid to the needle, some of the parts being removed.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the base-plate of the machine, which has formed thereon a curved arm or
goose-neck B. Cis the main or driving shaft, which is carried in suitable bearings
ttached to the base-plate A, and has fixed thereon a driving pulley C. D is a bent

page_text: lever pivotted at D' to the goose-neck B and connected at its forward end, by means
of a link D2, with the needle-bar E, which is fitted to slide up and down in guides B'
formed on the goose-neck B. The lever D has a short arm D3 which is coupled, by
means of a rod F and strap F', to an eccentric G fixed on the driving shaft C. The
said lever D also has a downwardly extending arm D* which is connected, by means
of a rod or link H, with an arm or lever I pivotted upon a pin or stud I' fixed in a
crank J, forming part of a rock-shaft J, which is carried in bearings A' in the
base-plate A. The arm or lever I has a book I fitted into a hole in the upper end
thereof and secured therein by means of a set-screw I. This hook is formed with
two holes I, 15, through which is to be passed the under-thread, and with a groove or
channel I adapted to receive the said thread. A forked or slotted arm J is fixed
on the rock-shaft J and engages with a cam or eccentric K on the driving shaft C.
The mechanism above described is so constructed that, in the rotation of the
driving shaft C, oscillating motion will be imparted through the rock-shaft J to the
lever I, so that the hook 1' will be moved from side to side of the needle E'; and, at
the same time, oscillating motion upon or about its pivot I will be imparted, through
the medium of the lever D and rod or link H, to the said lever I. The said hook I'
has, therefore, four distinct movements, viz ;--a forward movement whereby it is
caused to enter the loop of the upper or needle thread, while the needle is down;
a lateral movement in one direction, while the needle is up, to bring the said hook
from one side to the other side of the needle; a backward or retrograde movement
during which the needle descends through the loop of the under-thread formed by
the entrance of the hook into the loop of the needle-thread, and a lateral movement in
the reverse direction to that above referred to, while the needle is down, to bring the
said hook into position to again enter a loop of the needle-thread in its next forward
movement.
моти
al
L is the presser-bar which is fitted to slide vertically in the guides B' at the end
of the goose-neck B, and is held down by a spring L' in the ordinary or any suitable
manner. A forked piece L² is secured to the upper guide B' by means of a screw L
in and rewed into the said guide. The forked
end of this piece L' extends on each side of the presser-bar Lana Dears against the
upper end of the spring L' so that, by adjusting the said forked piece and securing it
in the required position by means of the screw L³, the tension of the said spring may
be regulated to vary the pressure on the work as required.
M is the feed-bar, which is pivotted at M' to an arm or lever M³ fixed upon a rock-
shaft M carried in bearings A' in the base-plate A. The arm or lever M³ has
a curved extension M, which is connected, by means of a link M³, with a disc-crank N
fixed on the driving-shaft C; the pin N of this crank is formed with a head_N³,
which is fitted in a slot N formed in the said disc, and which has passed through or
inserted in it an adjusting screw N. The longitudinal movement of the screw N is
prevented by means of a plate N° attached to the disc N; therefore, by turning
the said screw in one or the other direction, the throw of the crank-pin N can
be regulated to vary the length of the feed-movement as required. The feed-bar M
is forked at M* and engages with a cam C² formed or fixed on the driving-shaft C,
whereby the requisite up-and-down motion is imparted to the said feed-bar.
The connections at Ď³, Dª and I' are made with ball-and-socket joints so as to
permit the requisite universal movement of the connected parts.
To provide for taking up the slack of the under-thread, I employ a grooved cam 0,
which is fixed on the driving shaft C, and which operates in combination with a
hook P attached to the base-plate A. On each side of the said cam is an arm Q
having a hole or eye Q' in its extremity; these arms are pivotted at Q and
are acted upon by a spring Q attached to a bracket Q secured to the base-plate A,
which spring tends to hold down the said arms.
The spools upon which the two threads are wound are to be supported upon
a suitable frame separate from the machine. The upper or needle thread is conducted
to the needle in the usual or any suitable manner, being passed around a tension-
regulator a. The under-thread is passed through an eye at the top. of the

page_text: goose-neck B, then around a tension regulating device and through an eye c at the
top of a rod c fixed in the base-plate A; it is then passed through a take-up d
and through the eyes Qin the arms Q, from which it is conducted to the hook I',
being passed through the holes or eyes I', I therein. The take-up d consists of two
springs which are firmly secured to the bracket Q one above the other. These
springs are arranged to be operated by means of an arm J' fixed on the rock-shaft J,
to alternately increase and diminish their pressure upon the thread.
In the operation of the machine, the under-thread is caught by the flat-edge o of
the cam and thereby caused to engage with the hook P, the slack of the said thread
is thus taken up while the hook I' is in its rearmost position. By the time the said
hook commences its forward movement, the cam O will have been turned into such a
position that its flat edge o' will be next the hook P and the said thread will slip from
between the said hook and the cam.
R is the work-plate which is secured in any convenient manner to the base-plate A.
S, S' are guides attached to the work-plate R for guiding the straw-braid or similar
material as it is fed towards the needle. The guide S is secured to the work-plate R
by means of a screws passing through a slot in the said guide and screwed into the
said plate, so that the said guide is capable of lateral adjustinent. The guide S' is
fixed on the end of a screw-threaded rod fitted in a tubular bracket s secured to
the work-plate R. The rod is free to move end wise in the said bracket, but
rotation of the said rod is prevented by a pin or stud fixed therein and working in
a slot in the said bracket. A spring is inserted in the said bracket and tends to
push the guide S¹ towards the guide S. The rod is, moreover, provided with a
nut whereby the guide S¹ may be adjusted to suit braids of different width.
T is a guide which is fixed upon a screw-threaded rod fitted in a tubular
bracket clamped upon the presser-bar L. A spring is inserted in the said
bracket and tends to push the said guide T towards the guide S'; the said spring also
tends to keep the extremity of the said guide pressed against the work-plate R or
against a strip or strand of straw-braid thereon, except when the presser-bar is held
up away from the work by the lever U in the ordinary manner. The rod is
provided with a nut t whereby the lateral adjustment of the guide T may be effected.
The strips or strands of straw-braid to be united are passed one above and the
other beneath the guide T, that is to say, the lower strip or strand is. fed in between
the guides S, S', and between the guide T and the work-plate R; and the upper strip
or strand is fed in over the guide T, both strips or strands passing beneath the
prosser-foot. It will be seen that by adjusting the guides S, S1, 1, the position of the
strips or strands of straw-braid relatively to each other can be varied according to
the extent which it is desired one strip should overlap the other; and the position of
the said strips relatively to the needle can also be varied according to the distance
which it is desired the stitches should be from the edges of the said strips.
These guides are very advantageous in the stitching of the shoe or slipper uppers
herein before referred to, and constitute an important feature in my said invention.
V is a casing for protecting the mechanism at the forward end of the machine.
The said casing is pivotted at V₁ to the base-plate A so that it can be readily turned
down to permit the inspection or oiling of the said mechanism.
W is a bar or rod which is fitted to slide up and down in guides B' formed on the
goose-neck B, and which is connected with the presser-bar L by means of a pin or
rod W and screws w, so that it will move up and down with the said presser-bar.
An adjusting screw W is inserted in a tapped hole in the upper end of the bar or
rod W and a washer Ws of india-rubber or other elastic material is placed upon the
said screw. This screw is split at its lower end and is so made that it must be
contracted at this end to enter the tapped hole in the bar or rod W; it will, therefore,
be held in any position to which it may be adjusted. By these means, the pressure of
the bar L upon the work may be regulated, or such pressure may be taken off or
removed from the work.
The machine may be constructed to be driven by a steam-engine or other motor, or
so that it may be worked by the hand or foot.
.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondents I wish it understood that I claim ;-
First. The employment, in a sewing-machine, of adjustable devices for guiding
strips or strands of straw-braid or similar material one above another, and regulating
the extent to which one of the said strips or strands shall overlap the other, as above
specified.
Second. The combination of parts comprising the adjustable guides S, S¹ attached
to the work-plate, and the adjustable guide T attached to the presser-bar, substantially
as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Third. The improved means comprising the bar or rod W and the screw W
substantially as described, whereby I provide for regulating the pressure upon the
work or for removing such pressure, as above specified.
Fourth. The combination of parts comprising the screw-threaded rod and the
spring, the tubular bracket in which the said rod and spring are arranged, and
the nut on the said rod, substantially as described, whereby I provide for adjusting
the guide S' or T, as and for the purpose, specified.
Fifth. The improved sewing-machine consisting of the parts constructed and
combined substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings
and operating as above specified.
L
1127
1000