IMPROVE- MENTS IN SHUTTLE DRIVING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I SOCRATES KEATS of Bagnal near Stoke upon Trent in the County of Stafford.
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SHUTTLE DRIVING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES, to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improvement in the driver of sewing machino
shuttles of the kind patented by John Keats under date 17th March 1877 Nº 1085.
In the specification of this patent the shuttle used takes the form of a horizontal
cylindrical case with a recess of a curved form made by cutting away a portion of
its periphery for the purpose of forming the nose and heel of the shuttle. In the
top side of the shuttle two indentations are made at opposite sides of its axis of
rotation to receive vertical drivers which are carried by a reciprocating vertical
spindle and are caused to rise alternately clear of the shuttle to permit of the loop
being passed over the shuttle. To produce this motion of the shuttle drivers.
complicated mechanism was required and it is to avoid the use of this mechanism
and consequently to simplify the construction of the machine that the present:
invention is designed.
The driver spindle I mount and actuate as before or I may give a continuous-
axial motion thereto by means hereafter referred to. On the lower end of this
spindle I form a driver which will be an excentric extension thereof and will enter
and loosely fit the curved recess in the shuttle. As the driver operates the shuttlo
to take the new loop it will press against the heel and consequently leave room for
the new loop to pass over the shuttle towards the rear thereof. The drag then pub
upon the loop will cause it to free the heel of the shuttle for the moment from the
driver and thus a space will be opened for the loop to pass from the heel of the
shuttle.
:
By this means the stationary cam for alternately lifting and depressing the
drivers will be rendered unnecessary and much friction caused by the vertical
movements of the drivers will be avoided. When it is desired to rotate the shuttle"
in place of giving it a reciprocating, axial motion the arrangement patented by:
Arthur Greenwood and dated-28th December 1883 N° 5892 may be used for
operating the driver; it being essential as is well known to give the shuttle a
well while the feed mechanism is operating and while the needle is forming the
oop.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
I SOCRATES KEATS of Bagnal near Stoke-upon-Trent in the County of Stafford,
Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SHUTTLE DRIVING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES 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 an improvement in the driver of sewing machine
shuttles of the kind patented by John Keats under date 17th March 1877 N° 1085,
which shuttle is intended to receive wax thread and to stand above the work for
the purpose of laying a wax locking thread into the loop of a waxed needle
thread.
In the specification of this patent, the shuttle used takes the form of a horizontal
cylindrical case with a recess of a curved form made by cutting away a portion of
its periphery for the purpose of forming the nose and heel of the shuttle. In the
top side of the shuttle, two indentations are made at opposite sides of its axis of
rotation; to receive vertical drivers, which are carried by a reciprocating vertical
spindle and are caused to rise alternately clear of the shuttle, to permit of the
loop of the needle thread being passed over the shuttle. To produce this motion
of the shuttle drivers, complicated mechanism was required and it is to avoid the
use of this mechanism, and consequently to simplify the construction of the
machine that the present invention is designed.
My improved shuttle driver admits of being actuated in either of two ways.
Thus it may have an axial motion in one direction only, with intervals of rest, or
it may have an axial motion alternately in opposite directions. In the latter case,
the forward motion of the shuttle lays the locking thread in the loop and the back
motion returns the shuttle to its starting position.
Both these modes of driving I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
In Sheet I Fig 1 is a partial side elevation of a waxed thread sewing machine
with my invention applied thereto, suitable mechanism being arranged for giving
the shuttle driver motion in one direction only.
Fig 2 is a sectional plan of the same on the line 1-2 of Fig: 1.
Fig 3 shows in plan view the rotary shuttle and its holder on an enlarged
scale, and
1
-
Figs 4 and 5 are sectional elevations of the shuttle holder showing the driving
pin and shuttle in place.
In Figs 1 and 2 AA is the main framing, B is a vertical cam shaft carried in
bearings from the standard, and receiving rotary motion from suitable mechanism.
D is the guide box in which work the needle bar E and the presser and feed
bar F as usual. This guide box is bolted to the upper part of the standard and
stands at right angles thereto. To the underside of this guide box is bolted the
shuttle bolder G in which the shuttle g is mounted, it being held in place by an 1
underlying slide H.

page_text: The shuttle driver consists of a vertical spindle I which has its bearing in the
holder G and carries at its underside an excentric pin i of peculiar form. This pin
which is intended to fit loosely in the centre space of the shuttle g is made
preferably of a crescent shape in cross section, and its forward edge, bearing upon
the concave surface of the shuttle, carries it round as the driver spindle is rotated.
At the moment that the rotation of the spindle is suspended and the shuttlo
receives from the drag of the needle thread on its heel a tendency to mover round
the other edge of the driver pin serves to check the further axial motion of the
shuttle.
The spindle I is made of two parts; the lower part which carries the driver
pin is socketted to receive a part I which forms the complement of the
spindle. To retain the spindle in position in its bearing a plate i is provided,
which overlies the lower part I of the spindle and is made fast to the holder G; its
attachment however to the holder is not made good until the two parts I and I❤
are pinned together.
Immediately below the shuttle holder is the horn K for supporting the work and
presenting it to the action of the needle e carried by the needle bar E.
For opening the loop of the needle thread to the nose of the shuttle the divider 2
is used. This divider is carried by a rock lever L fulcrummed upon the framing A
which lever receives a reciprocating axial motion from a cam on the cam shaft.
When giving á continuous rotary motion to the shuttle driver spindle I I use the
arrangement of mechanism which I will now describe.
Keyed to the top of the spindle I is a disc I fitted with a crank pin 2. Pivotted
to this crank pin is a pair of links I2 I' which serve to connect the crank pin ✿
with a pair of levers I³ mounted on a vertical axle I' carried by a bracket bolted
to the framing of the machine The free ends of these lovers carry bowles which
respectively enter cam grooves I cut in the upper and under sides of a disc I*
keyed on the cam shaft B. As this shaft is rotated it will through the cam grooves
rock the levers I on their fulcrum in such manner as to impart through the links I'
and crank pin i an intermittent rotary motion to the shuttle driver spindle I and
thereby cause the driver i to give to the shuttle the required movement for entering
the loop opened by the divider and passing through it for the purpose of laying a
locking thread therein. The cut of the cam grooves I" is such as to operate both rock
levers in a way that will ensure their moving only during about one third or
less of the rotation of the cam shaft, to produce a revolution of the crank pin and
then to remain quiescent until the completion of the rotation of the cam shaft.
The shuttle will thus receive a "dwell" of such duration after laying an inter-
locking thread in the loop as to enable the other operations, viz the tightening of
the stitch, the feed of the work and the fetching up of the next loop through the
work, to be carried out.
In order to explain the action of the machine I have given in Sheet II four
diagrams of the positions which the sewing instruments take during the formation
of a stitch.
Figs. 6, shew in plan and elevation, the position of the instruments when the
shuttle nose has just entered the loop of the needle threads.
Figs 7 shew the position of the parts when the shuttle has made half its
rotation.
Figs 8. shew the position of the parts when near the completion of the rotation
of the shuttle and when the loop of the needle thread is about to be drawn off the
shuttle, and
Figs 9 shew the shuttle after it has been moved forward by the pull of the
needle thread leaving a clearance between the driving pin and the shuttle for its
евспре.
From these views it will be understood that the driving 'pin although never
withdrawn from the shuttle, leaves a free passage or clearance for the loop of the
needle thread to pass over the shuttle.

page_text: I have said that my improved shuttle driver may also be employed in connection
with a reciprocating spindle.
This is illustrated in Sheet III where Fig 10 is a side elevation of the upper part
of a waxed thread sewing machine and Fig 11 is a partial plan view of the same,
shewing the mechanism employed for imparting a reciprocating axial motion to the
driver spindle.
Keyed to the upper end of the spindle I is a spur pinion which overlies the
plate i* by which the spindle is retained in place and forms the support for the
present spindle. Gearing into this pinion is a sector rack 1' fulcrummed upon a
bracket bolted to the framing and carrying a bowle which enters the groove I³ of
a cam 1º on the cam shaft B. By the rotation of this cam the sector rack is
caused to impart a reciprocating axial motion to the compound spindle I and
thereby cause the driving pin ito impart a reciprocating rotary motion to the
shuttle g.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The application to waxed thread sewing machines having a circular shuttle formed
with a vertical recess in its perimeter, of an excentric pin driver which projects
into the recess of the shuttle, such excentric pin being carried by a vertical spindle
mounted in the shuttle holder and receiving an axial motion in one or in opposito
directions for the purpose of enabling the driving pin to rotate the shuttle and at
the same time provide for the passage of the neeedle thread loop between it and
the shuttle as described.