Improvements in Bottle Cover Sewing Machines.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Mar., 1898-Accepted; 4th June, 1898
[Communicated from abroad by THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of New
York, in the United States of America, Sewing Machine Manufacturers].
Improvements in Bottle Cover Sewing Machines.
I, WILLIAM HARVEY INSLEE, Manager of The Singer Manufacturing Company,
Kilbowie, Dumbartonshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
99
This invention has for its object. to provide a machine for sewing straw, reeds
or similar packing materials together for forming circular or hollow jackets to be
used for bottle covers or wrappers. To this end the improved machine comprises
a hollow cylindrical work-supporting arm or horn above which are arranged the
vertically reciprocating needle-bars and needles and within which are placed
the loop-taking devices co-operating with the needles in forming stitches. Sur-
rounding the work-supporting cylinder a curved or circular work-guide is
preferably employed to direct the end of the mat first formed around the said
cylinder so that said first end of the mat may be joined to the last-formed end
thereof to produce a complete hollow or circular jacket. The work is preferably.
fed by an intermittingly rotating toothed cylinder or feed wheel arranged between
the needles, and to co-operate with this feeding cylinder a pair of "alternating'
or alternately rising and falling pressers or presser-feet for each needle are prefer-
ably employed, one presser of each pair resting on and swinging forward with
the work as the latter is advanced in feeding, the other presser of each pair being
meanwhile lifted, and the non-swinging pressers holding the work stationary when
the swinging pressers are lifted and being returned. To sever the threads when
a bottle cover has been completed, thread cutters or knives arranged below the
throat-plate or within the work supporting cylinder, are employed, these thread-
cutters or knives (one for each stitch-forming mechanism) being attached to or.
operated by a longitudinally sliding rod within said cylinder and which is moved,
to sever the threads, by the attendant, preferably by means of a treadle-actuated
lever. The material to form the jackets or wrappers is fed to the stitch-forming.
mechanisms at the upper side of the work-supporting cylinder and preferably
from a table the front edge of which is on a level, or approximately so, with the
upper side of said cylinder, said table, for convenience being preferably connected
with the work-bench, on which the machine is mounted, by a double hinge-joint.
The loose material is advanced to the needles by the attendant by means of a sliding
levelling plate or bar having a depending gage or pusher to shove the material
forward.
In the drawings Fig. 1 is a front side elevation of the improved machine, the
table for supporting the material being removed. Fig. 2 is a front end view of
the same, partly in section, showing the material-supporting table. Fig. 3 is a
detail view of the needle-bar operating mechanism, and Fig. 4 is a detail view of
the presser-foot operating mechanism. Fig. 5 is a plan view, partly in section,.
of the work-supporting arm and its mechanism, and Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional

page_text: elevation of the same. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of a slightly different form of
work-guide from that shown in Figs. .1 and 2, and Fig. 9 is a detail view of the
locking device which determines the position in which the machine is to be stopped
before the thread cutters are operated to sever the threads, this view being partly
in section on line 9-9 of Fig. 1.
6 on
The frame of the machine comprises the standard A, the overhanging arm A¹
and the cylindrical work-supporting arm or horn A² within which latter is jour-
nalled the rotating driving shaft B having the crank b connected by a pitman b¹
to an arm 62 of the needle-operating rock-shaft B2 journalled in the arm A¹. The
rock-shaft B2 is provided with crank-arms, as 63, connected by pitmen, as 64, with
the needle-bars C carrying-the needles c, to operate said needle-bars in the usual
manner. The shaft B is provided with gears meshing with similar
short shafts 67 journalled within the cylindrical work-support A2, said shafts 67
carrying ordinary rotating single chain-stitch loopers or hooks 68 co-operating with
the said needles c in forming single-thread chain-stitch seams in the usual manner.
It will be understood that any desired number of these or equivalent stitch-forming
mechanisms may be employed, although two, as herein shown, will ordinarily be
sufficient.
:
gears
The work is fed by means of an intermittingly rotating serrated feeding ring, or
cylinder D turning freely on a portion of the arm. A2 and operated by the lever-
dog d receiving its movements from cams on the shaft B, as fully described in the
Specification of Letters Patent No. 12730 of 1895.
Co-operating with the feeding cylinder D are two pairs of alternating pressers, e, f,
one pair for each stitch-forming. mechanism. The pressers or presser-feet e are
carried by bars E having vertical movements only, and the pressers or presser-
feet f, are carried-by swinging bars f¹ pivoted at their upper ends, as at f², to
vertically movable bars properly guided in the machine frame. Pivoted at f
to lugs or thickened parts f of the bars F are levers G the rear ends of which are
slotted for engagement with pins or screws g carried by arms g' fixed to the rock-
shaft B2, the forward ends of said levers being jointed, at e², to brackets e¹ attached
to the presser-bars E. Thus as the shaft B2 is rocked alternate vertical movements
will be imparted to the bars E and F and to the pressers e and f connected thereto,
the pressers f resting on the work during the time the feeding movements are
occurring, and swinging forward with the work as the latter is advanced, and the
pressers e resting on and holding the work when the pressers f are lifted and being
returned to their first positions by the springs fo attached at their upper ends to
the swinging bars f' and bearing at their lower ends against parts of the stationary
arm A. In these alternating rising and falling movements of the pressers the
fulcrums of the lever G alternate between the pivotal points e² and ft. Thus when
the pressers e are being lifted the fulcrums of the levers G are at the points
of the lugs f3 of the bars F, while the weights being lifted are at the points e
but when the pressers f are being lifted the fulcrums.of the levers are at the points e
and the points f* represent the weights. All of the pressers are preferably serrated
on their under sides, as shown, and the pressers fare also preferably hinged or
jointed (see Fig. 2) to the brackets f by which they are attached to the bars f¹.
H denotes a table on which the loose straw or reeds from which the bottle covers
or jackets are to be made is placed and on which it is evened and levelled by the
attendant preparatory to being fed to the stitch-forming mechanisms. The forward
edge of this material-supporting and feeding table is on a level, or approximately
so, with the top of the work-supporting cylinder A2 and of the feeding cylinder D,
said table preferably inclining downward slightly toward the machine, as shown in
Fig. 2, and being provided at its right hand end (referring to the position of the
attendant) with a flange h against which the ends of the straw or reeds may be
evened and by which the loose material will be guided in being moved forward
to the stitch-forming mechanism. The table is hinged at h¹ to the upper ends of
plates or bars h², which are in turn hinged at their lower ends at h³ to the upturned
parts of plates or brackets h³ secured to the work-bench or table which supports

page_text: the machine. The hinges h¹, h2, it will be observed, are so placed as to bend or
fold in opposite directions. This double hinged connection of the table with the
work-bench permits said table to be moved readily back and forth, or from
and towards the machine, as is necessary in operation, and still permits the table
to be retained in an approximately level position.
Nearly surrounding the work-supporting arm or cylinder A³ is a curved or
circular work-guide I which is detachably secured to the base of the standard A
and which preferably consists of two curved bars i connected at their tops on the
rear side of the cylinder A2 by a longitudinal bar i' and at their bottoms by a second
longitudinal bar which latter inclines downward at 3 and is rigidly joined to
the attaching cross-bar, detachably secured by screws or set nuts to the flange a³
at the base of the standard A, said bar being preferably provided with a sup-
porting or steadying pin or standard. The bar i¹ is preferably provided with
thread retaining slots into which the ends of the needle-threads may be drawn
previously to commencing to sew a bottle cover or wrapper, to prevent said ends
from being drawn down by the loopers.
The work-guides or formers I are made in different sizes according to the sizes
or diameters of the wrappers or jackets which are to be made. Thus the guide
or former shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has its curved bars i separated from the cylinder A³
only far enough to permit of an easy passage of the sewed mat between said bars
and cylinder as the end of the mat first formed is brought around to be joined to
the last end to make the complete wrapper or jacket, while the guide or former
shown in Figs. 7 and 8 has its bars & more widely separated from the cylinder and
is provided with a curved filling portion I¹ interposed between said bars and cylinder.
J is a leveller or feeder preferably having a roughened or serrated lower surface
and provided with a depending flange which holds said leveller or levelling bar
a determined distance above the table H and which engages the leveled loose
material so that the attendant, by advancing said levelling bar, can push
the material forward to the stitch forming mechanisms as the work is advanced
by the feed of the machine. The upper bar i¹ of the work-guide I is provided with
an opening 18 so that said bar i¹ may guide and support the leveler bar to assist
in keeping it in proper position.
To sever the needle threads at the completion of each wrapper and in such a
manner as to leave a suitable length of thread beyond the last stitch, so that the
seam will not readily ravel or rip, a thread-cutting device which is within
the cylinder A2, or beneath the work-supporting parts or throat plates a a thereof,
is provided. This thread-cutting device as herein shown, comprises a sliding.
rod jointed at its rear end to a bell-crank lever K to the lower arm of which is
attached a rod or connection extending to a suitable treadle, so that the attendant
may actuate the thread-cutting device by the foot, leaving the hands free to manipu-
late the work. To the sliding rod k are attached arms to which the knives or
thread cutters 2, 3, are. in turn secured. These knives are so placed that they
can be moved into the path of the thread running from the loopers 68 to the work,
and are so constructed and arranged as to sever the threads held by the loopers on
the proper sides of the loops to leave long ends of threads extending from the last
stitches in the work.. The loopers 68 face in opposite directions, or, as they are
termed, are right and left hand loopers; and thus if the thread of both seams were
simultaneously severed at the forward movement of the sliding bar kone thread
end extending from the work would be short and the other would be long, owing
to the fact that one thread loop would be severed on the wrong side. To avoid
this objection the knives or cutters are differently formed, the knife 72 having its
cutting edge at its forward end, while the knife is made in the form of a hook
with its cutting edge within the hook. Thus when the sliding bar is moved for-
ward the knife severs its adjacent thread, but at this forward movement the
hooked knife 3 (the outer end of which is blunt) moves past its thread which falls
into the loop of the hook and is severed when the bar k is retracted by its returning
spring

page_text: The knives 1, 3, when moved forward to sever or catch the thread come within
the range of travel of parts of the loopers 68, and to avoid injury to the knives or
loopers by collision it is necessary to prevent movement of the sliding rod k and
of the knives movable therewith except when said loopers are in such position
that the knives may pass over them without coming into contact therewith. To
this end a disc m is attached to the squared outer end of the driving shaft B, the
periphery of the said disc overlapping the forward end of the rod k so that said
rod cannot be slidden outward excepting when the notch m¹ in the edge of said
disc registers with said rod, at which time the loopers 68, geared to said driving
shaft, are in such positions that the knives may freely pass over them.
To gage the stopping of the machine in proper position to have the notch m¹
register with the end of the rod & a spring-actuated locking dog N, having a lug n
to enter a hole in the hub portion of the fly-wheel 133, rigidly fixed to the driving
shaft B, is provided. This locking dog is not intended to serve as a stopping
device when the machine is running at much speed, but when the speed of the
machine has been slackened at the completion of a cover or jacket and the dog
has been thrown over so as to have its lug n pressed against the periphery of the
hub of the fly-wheel by the spring n', said lug will enter said hole when the latter
comes into register with said lug, and the machine will be stopped and locked
with the notch m¹ in the disc m in register with the end of the rod k, the hole in
the hub of the fly-wheel being properly placed to secure this result.
P is a lifting lever impinging against the top of a plate a¹ and pivoted to a
lifting bar
to which is secured a cross-head or bar 72 notched at its ends to
engage pins or screws entering the bars F with which the swinging pressers f are
connected. The bars F are connected through the levers G with the brackets e¹
attached to the bars E, so that when the lifting lever P is turned to raise the
lifting bar p the bars F and E and the pressers f and e connected therewith will
also be lifted.
In the operation of the machine, in sewing a bottle cover or jacket, the atten-
dant will preferably first lower the needles, and then, taking a handful of the loose
straw or reeds, spreads the same on the table H and evens the ends against the
flange of the table H and levels and pushes the same forward against the needles
by means of the levelling and feeding bar J, the two separated needles serving at
this time as a gage to bring the forward part of the loose material parallel to
the work-supporting cylinder D. The machine is now started, and the mat formed
by sewing the loose material together by the two parallel seams is directed around
the cylinder A2 by the guide I until the first end of the mat meets the end thereof
last sewed, and the attendant now ceases to push the loose material forward. As
the sewed mat is directed around the cylinder A² by the guide I, and the end first
sewed reaches the edge of the table H, said table, the front or inner end of which
rests lightly against the work-supporting cylinder A2, yields backward slightly
to permit the rising end of the mat to pass it. If the right quantity of material
to form a bottle cover or jacket has been spread on the table H forward of the
pushing flange j of the levelling and feeding bar J the stop-pin j¹ on the said bar
will now be in engagement with the bar of the guide I, so that by this contact
of said stop-pin with said bar the attendant may be apprised that enough material
to form a cover or jacket has been fed into the machine. Two complete circles of
stitches will now have been made, but to prevent the seams from ravelling a few
more stitches, to overlap the ends of the seams, are formed, and then the machine
is stopped in proper position, as herein before described, and the cutting device is
actuated to sever the threads leaving the completed bottle cover or jacket free to be
drawn off from the cylinder A³. Prior to commencing to make each cover or
jacket the ends of the threads are secured by being drawn into the retaining slots 2º
in the bar ¹ of the work-guide I.
I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to the details shown and
described, as these may be varied widely without departing from the spirit of the
invention. Any other well-known or equivalent kind of stitching mechanisms may

page_text: be substituted for those herein shown, although the single-thread chain-stitch
mechanisms are preferred, owing to the elastic seams produced thereby, and which
permit the bottle wrappers to stretch.
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:-
1. In a machine for sewing bottle covers, the combination with stitch-forming
mechanisms, of a cylindrical work-support, a feeding ring or cylinder sustained
by said work-support, and a curved or circular work-guide encircling said-work-
support but separated therefrom.
2. In a machine for sewing bottle covers, the combination with stitch-
forming mechanisms, of a cylindrical work-support, a feeding ring or cylinder
sustained by said work-support, a curved or circular work-guide encircling
said work-support but separated therefrom, and a feeding table the for-
ward end of which is adjacent. to the top of said work-support.
3. In a machine for sewing bottle covers, the combination with stitch-forming,
feeding, work-guiding, and thread-cutting devices, of a pair of alternating pressers
for each set of stitch-forming devices, one presser of each pair resting on and
moving forward with the work when the latter is advanced by the feed and the
other presser of each pair holding the work when the swinging or horizontally
movable presser is lifted.
4. In a machine for sewing bottle covers, the combination with stitch-forming
and feeding mechanisms, and a work-supporting cylinder, of a non-automatic
thread-severing device within said cylinder, and means for préventing said thread
severing device from being actuated by the attendant excepting at a particular
point in the rotation of the driving shaft.
5. In a machine for sewing bottle covers, the combination with stitch-forming
mechanisms each comprising a needle and a lower loop-taking device, of a work
supporting cylinder, a driving shaft extending longitudinally of said cylinder
and to which the said loop-taking devices are geared, a feeding mechanism, a rod
longitudinally movable in said cylinder and provided with thread severing knives,
and a notched or recessed disc or device rotating with said shaft and arranged to
overlap the end of said rod and thereby prevent the same from being actuated by
the attendant to sever the threads excepting when the notch or recess thereof comes
into register with the end of said rod.
6. In a machine for sewing bottle covers, the combination with stitch forming
and feeding mechanisms, of a thread cutting device the knives of which are
arranged to sever the threads adjacent to the loop-taking devices of said stitch-
forming mechanisms, and a device for locking the driving shaft, of the machine
in, a predetermined position so that the threads will be severed in certain desired
places relative to said loop-taking devices.
7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with stitch-forming
mechanisms having reversely arranged or right and left loopers or loop-taking
devices, of a thread severing device having reversely arranged knives so that the
threads of the different stitch-forming mechanisms will be similarly severed.
8. The combination in a sewing machine provided with a work-supporting
cylinder, as A3, of a driving shaft, as B, within said cylinder, looper-carrying shafts
also within said cylinder and geared to said driving shaft, needle-carrying bars
placed above said cylinder and operatively connected with said driving shaft and a
feeding ring or cylinder encircling said work-supporting cylinder.
9. The combination in a sewing machine provided with a work-supporting
cylinder, as A3, of a driving shaft, as B, within said cylinder, looper-carrying
shafts also within said cylinder and geared to said driving shaft, needle-carrying
bars placed above said cylinder and operatively connected with said driving shaft,
a feeding ring or cylinder encircling said work-supporting cylinder,. and a thread
cutting device also within said work-supporting cylinder.

page_text: 10. In a machine for sewing bottle covers, the combination with stitch-forming
mechanisms, of a work-supporting cylinder and a feeding ring or cylinder encircling
said work-supporting cylinder, of a material-supporting and feeding table the
forward or inner edge of which is on a level, or approximately so, with the top
of said feeding cylinder.
11. The combination with a machine for sewing bottle covers, of a material-
supporting and feeding table, and a levelling and feeding plate or bar having a
depending gauge and pusher, as j, which serves to hold the said plate or bar a
predetermined distance above the said table and which also serves, as the said
plate or bar is advanced by the attendant, to feed the levelled material beneath
the said plate or bar forward to the stitch forming mechanisms of the machine.
12. The combination with a machine for sewing bottle covers, of a material
supporting and feeding table and a levelling and feeding plate or bar provided
with a roughened or serrated lower surface and having a depending gauge and
pusher, as j, which serves to hold the said plate or bar a predetermined distance
above the said table, and which also serves, as the said plate or bar is advanced by
the attendant, to feed the levelled material beneath the said plate or bar forward
to the stitch forming mechanisms of the machine.
1
141
Manal 1909
c
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER,
Of the Firm of Cruikshank & Fairweather,
Chartered Patent Agents,
Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agent for the Applicant.
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER,
Of the Firm of Cruikshank & Fairweather,
Chartered Patent Agents,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agent for the Applicant.