A Honeycombing Attachment for Sewing Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Nov., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Sept., 1897-Accepted, 30th Oct., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Honeycombing Attachment for Sewing Machines.
We, ALEXANDER WOOD, of 80 Main Street, Gorbals, Glasgow, Mechanic, WILLIAM
RUXTON of 28 Herriet Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow, Manager, and JERVIS COATS Junr.,
Secretary of Arthur & Co., Ltd., 78 Queen Street, Glasgow, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to sewing machines and it has for its object to provide a
mechanical attachment for doing honeycombing work on fabrics.
The invention consists in securing to the bed plate or other part of the sewing
machine a guide or guides in which slides a bar having holes, perforations, or teeth
at intervals therein said bar being capable of being locked in any desired position in
the guides by means of a spring locking pin or its equivalent. secured to the guides
and which catches in the holes, perforations or teeth aforesaid. Secured to the slide
bar preferably by means of pins and slots is a sliding frame provided with bent arms
or catches at top which rest upon the guides aforesaid. The sliding frame which is
cut out longitudinally is provided with a row of teeth or nicks or their equivalent
along one edge of the cut out part and just below this edge is fitted a rocking spindle
which is provided with three or other number of projections passing through holes
in the frame and bearing against the underside of a locking strip provided with
corresponding teeth or nicks to the teeth or nicks of the frame. This locking strip
which is normally pressed downwards by means of springs is capable of being raised
by means of the projections on the rocking spindle aforesaid. The spindle is
rocked or partially turned by means of a handle. The locking strip is guided in its
movements by means of suitable pins or guides.
Fitted also on the frame is a pleating knife to which a lateral movement can be
imparted by means of a slide bar and links. The slide bar which is provided with a
suitable handle is carried in guides on the frame.
The arrangement is such that the fabric can be caught by the locking strip and
pleated or folded by means of the pleating knife, and, after the knife has been with-
drawn, the pleated fabric, which remains held in place by the spring locking strip, can he
sewn through every second or alternate nick of the locking strip by merely pushing
the sliding frame under the sewing needle or needles. The exact inovement of the
frame at each stitch is controlled by the spring locking pin and the slide bar with
the holes or teeth in it. When the pleat has been sewn in this manner the locking
strip and pleating knife is manipulated so as to form a fresh pleat in the fabric. The
frame is then traversed backwards and the fabric sewn through at the alternate nicks
missed in the first traverse of the frame. Any number of pleates can be made and
sewn in the same manner.
In order to make the machine sew through the alternate nicks at each traverse of
the frame the latter requires to be moved a half a tack and this is done by merely
pushing or pulling it, when the recessed or toothed slide bar is locked, the distance
of half a tack. The pin and slot attachment permits this slight movement.

page_text: If desired the frame may be reciprocated back and forward for the sewing of each
pleat by means of automatically acting inechanism driven from the sewing machine
shaft.
The recessed bar and spring locking pin device can be replaced by other suitable
and well known form of locking mechanism.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Honeycombing Attachment for Sewing Machines.
We, ALEXANDER WOOD, of 80 Main Street, Gorbals, Glasgow, Mechanic, WILLIAM
RUXTON, formerly of 28 Herriet Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow, now of 46 Millbrae
Road, Langside, Glasgow, Manager, and JERVIS COATS Junior, Secretary of
Arthur & Co., Ltd., 78 Queen Street, Glasgow, 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 and it has for its object to provide a
mechanical attachment for doing honeycombing work on fabrics.
And in order that our said invention may be properly understood we have hereunto
appended three explanatory sheets of drawings which show, merely by way of example,
a convenient method of carrying our invention into effect or practice. The method
shown is specially suitable for power or foot driven machines.
On the drawings:-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an ordinary zig-zag stitch sewing machine with the
honeycombing attachment fitted thereto.
Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the attachment. The head of the arm is broken
away in order to show the attachment clearly.
Fig. 3 is a front view of the rocking spindle and locking strip. The view is a
section on line B-B Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a section, drawn to an enlarged scale, of the rocking spindle and locking
strip.
Fig. 5 is an enlarged front view and Fig. 6 an enlarged side view of the spring
locking pawl device.
Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line A-A of Fig. 2.
Fig. 8 is an enlarged side view and Fig. 9 a plan of the spring locking pin device.
Fig. 10 is an inverted plan of the attachment showing the formation of the frame.
Referring to the drawings whereon the same reference numerals wherever repeated
indicate the same parts.
1 is the bed plate, 2 the arm, 3 the head, 4 the needle bar and 5 the needle of one
of the well known forms of Singer Sewing machine to which our attachment has been
applied.
The invention consists in securing to the bed plate 1 of the sewing machine guides 6
(attached by lugs 6" to the bed plate) in which slides a bar 7 having holes 8 in it at
intervals. As will be seen at Fig. 2 there may be nine holes in the bar and these
holes are placed at regular distances apart. The bar 7 is capable of sliding backwards
and forwards in the guides 6 and can be locked in any desired position in the guides
by means of a spring locking pin device which is secured bridgewise, by means of the
screws 7, to the upper surfaces of the guides.
This spring locking pin device may consist, as shown more particularly at
Figs. 8 and 9, of a block 9 having a central rib 10 to which is fulcrumed, at 11, a

page_text: thumb lever 12. This lever bears, at its forward end, against the underside of the
head 13 of the locking pin 13 which latter passes down through a hole in the block
and enters that hole 8 of the bar 7 which is for the time being under it. The pin 13
is normally pressed down by means of a spring 14 which bears, at one end, in a
depression 15 made in the head 13, and, at the other end, is secured to a screw 16
screwed into the rib 10. 17 is a stop pin to limit the downward movement of the
thumb lever 12.
Secured to the underside of the slide bar 7 is a strip 18 (see particularly Figs. 7 and 10)
having downwardly projecting oblong pieces 19, 19", attached to it. These oblong
pieces pass through slots 20, 20", cut in the rear part 21 of the sliding frame 21.
Secured by means of screws 22" to the pieces 19, 19, is a lower guide plate 22. It
will thus be seen that the strip 18 and plate 22 together form guides between which
the frame 21 can move to an extent permitted by the working of the pieces 19, 19"
in the slots 20, 20. The slots and pieces are clearly indicated in dotted lines in the
inverted plan Fig. 10. For the purpose of locking the frame 21 in position, when
moved, the spring pawl locking device, shown more particularly at Figs. 5 and 6, is
provided. This device consists of a block 23 secured to the upper side of the sliding
frame 21. Pinned in the block is a pawl 24 which has a grooved face 25 (Fig. 5)
The pawl is normally pressed forward by the spring 26, and when it is so pressed
forward it projects down into and locks in either one or other of the slots 27, 27" cut
in the plate 22. A hole 28, as indicated in dotted lines Fig. 10, and also in Fig. 7,
is cut out of the frame 21 for the passage of the pawl. In Fig. 10 the front of the
pawl 24 is shown as locked in the slot 27.
The pawl is manipulated so as to raise it up out of the slot (27 or 27") with which,
it may for the time being be engaged by means of a tappet 29 on the rocking
spindle 30. This tappet, when the spindle 30 is turned sufficiently, forces the pawl
out of disengagement with the slot 27 or 27" as the case may be.
The sliding frame 21, which is cut out longitudinally at 31, is provided with a
row of teeth or nicks 32 (or their equivalent) along one edge of the cut out part.
As will be seen more particularly at Figs. 2 and 10 the cut out part has a narrow gate
or passage 31".
The rocking spindle 30, which is passed through bearing pins 32 secured to the
frame 21, has two projections or tappets 33, 34, on it, which, when the rocking spindle
is partially turned, are capable of bearing against the lower side of bridge links 35, 36,
and raising them up in the manner indicated in dotted lines at Fig. 4. Each bridge
link is, at one end, pivotally attached to a stud 37 (see Figs. 2, 3 and 4) secured to a
locking strip 38, and, at the other end, is fulcrumed in a stud 39 secured to the
frame 21. The locking strip, which has teeth or nicks 40 in it corresponding exactly
to the teeth or nicks 32 of the sliding frame, is normally pressed downwards against
the said frame by means of springs 41 and is capable of being raised up, along with
the link bridges 35, 36, by means of the projections or tappets 33, 34, of the rocking
spindle. In order to guide the locking strip in its movements pins 42 are secured to
the frame 21 and these pins pass up through holes in the locking strip, as aliown.
The spindle 30 can be rocked by means of a handle 43.
Fitted also on the sliding frame is a pleating knife or blade 44 to which a lateral
movement (on the principle of the parallel ruler) can be imparted by means of a
slide 45 and links 46, 47. The slide 45, which is provided with a suitable handle 48,
works in guides 49, 50, secured to the frame 21. For the purpose of regulating the
extent of movement of the slide a pin can be passed through any one of the
holes 45 in the slide and made to catch in a slot 45 (shown in dotted lines) in
the frame 21.
The left hand guide 50 (Fig. 2) also serves to strengthen its end of the frame 21.
To do honeycombing work with the attachment the fabric is first passed through
the gate 31 and into the slot 31 of the sliding frame. One end of the fabric, as
indicated by the heavy dotted line at Fig. 7, is passed between the frame 21 and the
bed plate I of the machine whilst the other end, if it is long enough, lies on top of
the knife 44. The rocking spindle 30 is now turned by the handle 43 so as to raise

page_text: up by means of the tappets 33, 34, the locking strip 38 into the position shown in
full lines at Figs. 3 and 7. The knife 44 is now moved laterally, so as to force the
fabric between the locking strip 38 and teeth 32 of the frame 21 (in the manner
shown at Fig. 7) in order to form a pleat, by pushing the handle 48 to the left (Fig. 2).
The locking strip 38 is now allowed to descend or close, under the action of the
springs 41, so as to grasp the fabric, by turning back the handle 43 to its original
position and thereafter the knife 44 is withdrawn by merely pulling towards the
right (Fig. 2) the slide handle 48. The now pleated fabric remains in place being
held securely by the spring locking strip 38 which is closed upon it..
The sewing machine is now put in motion and the pleated fabric can be sewn
through at every second or alternate nick of the locking strip by merely pushing the
sliding frame forward each time the proper distance so as to bring every second nick
in succession under the sewing needle.
The exact movement of the frame 21 at each stitching operation is controlled by
means of the spring locking pin 13 and the slide bar 7. As before stated the bar 7
has a number of holes 8 in it which are arranged at distances apart from one another
corresponding exactly to the distances between the alternate nicks. When starting
the honeycombing the frame is set with the needle over the first nick and the locking
pin 13 in the first hole of the slide 7, and, after the pleat has been sewn at the
first nick, the sliding frame and slide 7 are moved forward along the guides 6
until the spring locking pin 13 (which of course has previously been raised by
the thumb lever 12 so as to disengage it from the first hole) enters the second
hole 8 when the needle will be just over the third nick. The pleated fabric can
then be sewn through at the third nick. The frame and slide is moved in the same
manner one hole at a time until the last hole is reached and the sewing of the pleat
completed.
It is to be noted that the sewing needle must not be operated during the movement
of the sliding frame,
When a pleat has been sewn in the manner before described the locking strip 38
and pleating knife 44 are manipulated so as to form a fresh pleat in the fabric. The
frame 21 is then traversed backwards and the second pleat sewn through in the same
manner as before but at the alternate nicks, that is, the nicks missed in the first
traverse of the frame. Any number of pleats can be made and sewn in the same
manner.
In order to bring about, nt each traverse of the frame, the proper relation between
the slide 7 and the nicks of the frame 21 and strip 38, so as to ensure that the
machine will sew through alternate nicks, that is to say, will sew through the 1st,
3rd, 5th, etc., nicks at one traverse and then the 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc., nicks at the
next traverse, the frame 21 requires to be moved half a "tack" (that is half the
space between two tacks) and this is done by first disengaging the pawl 24 from
its slot (say 27) and then pushing or pulling the frame to the limit allowed by
the slots 20, 20, so as to bring the other slot (27) below the pawl 24 whereupon
the pawl is released by turning the spindle 30 and enters into engagement with the
other slot (27) and thereby locks the frame and slide together in the proper position.
The pawl 24 requires to be locked in the slot 27 at one traverse and in the slot 27ª
at the next traverse, then in the slot 27 again at the third traverse, and so on the
frame being shifted half a "tack" at each traverse.
The frame and slide can be reciprocated hack and forward for the sewing of each
pleat by means of automatically acting mechanism driven from the sewing machine
shaft. This mechanism we have considered it advisable to make the subject matter
of another Patent No 21239 dated 16th Sep. 1897.
The recessed slide bar and spring locking pin device can be replaced by any other
suitable and well known locking mechanisin.
The details of construction of the attachment can be altered or modified without
departing from the principle of the invention.
The attachment can be readily adapted to the ordinary zig-zag stitch sewing
machines such as the Singer, Wheeler & Wilson, &c.

page_text: We are aware that it has been previously proposed to use mere pleating devices in
conjunction with sewing machines and we make no general claim thereto.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what. manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we consider novel and desire to claim is
1. The application to and use with a sewing machine of a mechanical attachment
for doing honeycombing work, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
2. An attachinent for doing honeycombing work having in combination a movable
frame, a pleating device secured to the frame, and means for holding the pleats in
the proper position whilst being sewn, substantially as herein before set forth.
3. A honeycombing attachment for sewing machines constructed, arranged, and
operating substantially as herein before described with reference to the drawings
annexed.
Dated this 10
H. D. FITZPATRICK,
70 Wellington Street, Glasgow, Agent.