Improvements in Feed Mechanism for Sewing Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Sept., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 9th June, 1897-Accepted, 10th July, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Feed Mechanism for Sewing Machines.
I, PAUI. TRACY, of 18, Compton Street, Goswell Road, in the county of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in sewing machines of the kind forming
the subject of Patent No. 7759 of 1894, that is to say, in sewing machines having a
straight needle and adapted for that class of Boot and Shoe sewing known as turn-
shoe work, the present improvements having special reference to the feed
mechanism.
According to my invention instead of employing a chain or chains running in
a groove or grooves in the work support, I effect the feed by means of two toothed
wheels or rings, arranged on either side of the needle aperture in the inclined work
support, and having their teeth of such a shape that they carry forward the work,
the said toothed wheels or rings being adapted to rotate on the inclined work
support. The said wheels or rings are simultaneously driven by a toothed wheel,
the teeth of which gear with the teeth of the aforesaid wheels or rings on the work
support, such toothed wheel taking the place of the chain driving wheel mounted
on the inclined shaft in the said former patent. Or the said wheels or rings may
be driven by any other suitable means.
In some cases instead of the toothed wheels or rings hereinbefore described, I
employ a toothed segment or segments adapted to receive a reciprocating motion.
Dated this 18th day of September, 1896.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London.
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Feed Mechanism for Sewing Machines.
I, PAUL TRACY, of 18, Compton Street, Goswell Road, in the county of London,
Engineer, 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 improvements in sewing machines of the kind forming
the subject of Patent No. 7759 of 1894, that is to say, in sewing machines having a
straight needle and adapted for that class of boot and shoe sewing known as turu-
shoe work, the present improvements having special reference to the feed
mechanism.
According to this invention instead of employing a chain or chains running in
a groove or grooves in the work support, I effect the feed by means of two toothed

page_text: wheels or rings, arranged on either side of the needle aperture in the inclined work
support, and having their teeth of such a shape that they carry forward the work,
the said toothed wheels or rings being adapted to rotate on the inclined work
support. The said wheels or rings are simultaneously driven intermittently by
suitable means such as by a toothed wheel, the teeth of which gear with the teeth
of the aforesaid wheels or rings on the work support, such toothed wheel taking the
place of the chain driving wheel mounted on the inclined shaft in the said former
patent.
To enable the invention to be fully understood I will describe the same, by refer-
ence to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of a sewing machine as is necessary to
illustrate the invention:
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the upper part of Figure 1; and,.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the same with certain parts removed:
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 with certain parts removed:
Figure 5 is a view of one of the feed wheels detached:
Figure 6 is a sectional side elevation illustrating a modification of the invention;
and,
Figure 7 is a front elevation of the same:
Figure 8 is a detached view of the feeding device used in the modification shewn
in Figures 6 and 7; and,
Figure 9 is a vertical section of the work support used with this feeding device.
Similar letters of reference indicate similar or corresponding parts in all the
figures.
a is part of the machine framing, 6 is the inclined work support, e the hook or
looper and d the shaft carrying the same all of which are arranged as described in
my former Patent.
In the arrangement of the invention shewn in Figures 1 to 5, e, e are my feed.
wheels or rings mounted on the inclined work support and f is the gear wheel for
rotating the feed rings, the said wheel being mounted on the inclined shaft g
which is also arranged as in the said former Patent. The said rings e, c are
carried on the work support by the following means, that is to say, the work
support, which as the usual opening indicated in Figures 2 and 3, for the
passage of the needle, is turned to a diameter corresponding with the bore of the
feed rings except that a flange i is left projecting above the surface of the said
work support. The rings e, e when fitted on to the said work support, are respect-
ively held in position by a plate j which is affixed to the face of the work support
by screws and by a collar k which fits around the back end of the work support,
as will be clearly understood by reference to Figures 12 and 4. The work support
is fitted on to a boss on the framing a and is fixed thereto by means of the
screw m, Figure 1.
It will be obvious that when the gear wheel f, which engages with the teeth of
the feed wheels, is rotated, motion will also be imparted to the said feed wheels;
as, however, the gear wheel f must rotate, in the reverse direction to the feed
wheels e, e as indicated hy the arrows Figure 3, the arrangement of the driving
ratchet and pawl described in my former l'atent is reversed so as to cause the rota-
tion of the inclined shaft y in the opposite direction to the corresponding shaft in
the said former Patent.
In practice the teeth of the feed wheels are shaped to grip against the surface
of the material being sewn, for instance, as shewn in Figures 3 and 5.
Instead of the rings e, e being driven by a gear wheel they may be driven by a
pawl actuated from the shaft g which in this.case would be rotated continuously
instead of intermittently.
In some cases, instead of the toothed wheels or rings hereinbefore described, I
employ a toothed segment adapted to have a reciprocating or oscillatory movement
imparted to it; this arrangement is illustrated in Figures 6 to 9 wherein n
indicates the said toothed segment which as shewn in the drawings is provided

page_text: with two sets of teeth corresponding with the two feed rings herein before described.
This toothed segment is arranged in conjunction with an arch-shaped work
support which is secured to the loss or nozzle by screws o, o indicated in dotted
lines in Figure 7, the said arched work support having in it two slots p, p to
receive the two sets of teeth of the segment. The segment itself is mounted upon
a pivot g which is screwed in to the boss as clearly shewn in Figures 6 and 7.
The oscillation of the segment in one direction is effected through the medium
of a cam r, fixed on the inclined shaft g and acting upon a roller s at the extremity
of a lever arm & fixed to or formed in one piece with the segment, whilst the move-
ment of the segment in the reverse' direction is effected through the medium of a
spring u, in a manner which will be readily understood by reference to Figure 7
of the drawings. In order to adjust the oscillation of the said segment, I provide
an adjusting screw v which is inserted in an arm w of the segment and, with its
end, bears against a lug on the framing a, the said screw serving to limit the
oscillations of the segment under the action of the spring u.
As the segment at each forward movement has to be raised to feed the work and
to be lowered at each return movement to bring the teeth of the segment beneath
the surface of the work support, I effect the raising of the said segment by means
of a cam y fixed upon the inclined shaft g and acting against a lug or projection z
upon the segment, the hole or aperture in the said segment, through which the
pivot passes, being elongated, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 7, to
permit of this up and down movement of the segment by the rotation of the cam y,
the said cam allowing the segment to fall as it is returned by the spring u.
In this modification it being necessary to cause the inclined shaft g to rotate
at the same speed as the looper shaft p, I connect the horizontal shaft g, to which
the inclined shaft g is connected by a universal joint gas in the said former
patent, by gear wheels g, g³.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my 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 of the kind described having an inclined work support, a
feed movement consisting of a ring or rings having teeth for engaging with the
work, the said ring or rings being intermittently rotated, substantially as
described.
2. In a sewing machine of the kind described the combination of a hollow in-
clined work support, a hook or looper working in the said hollow work support and
a toothed feed ring or rings mounted on the exterior of the said support and driven
by means of a gear wheel, substantially as described.
3. In a sewing machine of the kind described having an inclined work support,
a feed movement consisting of an oscillating toothed segment projecting through
slots in the said inclined work support and receiving vertical and oscillatory move-
ments from suitable cams, substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 6
and 7 of the drawings.
Dated this 9th day of June 1897
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London
Agents for the Applicant.