Improvements relating to Sewing Machines for Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by EDWIN LORING SPRAGUE, of 103 Summer
Street, Boston, County of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, United States
of America, Manufacturer.]
Improvements relating to Sewing Machines for Boots and Shoes.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:--
The present invention is embodied in a wax-thread sewing machine of the kind
known as the McKay sewing machine, having a horn that enters the boot or shoe
being sewn, said horn being provided with a whirl and means for actuating the
same, by which the thread is engaged with the needle which penetrates the stock
from above, said thread being by the rotation of the whirl laid around the shank
of the needle above the hook thereof so that it is caught in the hook and drawn
up thereby when, the needle rises. As heretofore commonly constructed the whirl
is a small bevel toothed annulus having a passage through which the needle passes
and another eccentric passage through which the thread passes on its way from the
thread supply to the stock or material being sewn, and by which the said thread is
laid around the shank of the needle at the proper time in the operation of the
machine.
The present invention is embodied in an improved tip for the horn, the object
being to provide a better bearing for the whirl and to afford protection for the
gear teeth by which the whirl is operated, and at the same time to render the
Further-
whirl readily removable from the tip without removing the tip itself.
more, in accordance with the present invention the bearing portions may be readily
renewed when worn without renewing the tip itself. In accordance with the
present invention the tip is formed of one piece having an annular cup to contain
the whirl, the lower bearing cf which is contained in the lower portion of the cup
and preferably has a hardened steel bushing which may be removed when worn, said
whirl being coufined in said cup by an annular plug adapted to be inserted into
the top of said cup and serving at the same time as an upper bearing for the whirl
and also as a cover for the protection of the teeth.
gear
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the horn of a McKay sewing machine
of the kind to which the present invention is applicable.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged section of the upper portion of said horn showing in
elevation the tip applied thereto;
Fig. 3 is a similar enlarged section of the upper portion of the horn and tip
showing in elevation the operating spindle and the whirl, and
Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively an elevation and a top plan view of the removable
plug for confining the whirl.
The machine is applicable to the well known McKay sewing machine of which a
portion only of the horn A is shown, as the machine is widely known, and the
present invention will be readily understood by those familiar with these machines
without further illustration.
The main portion A of the horn is usually of cast iron and is provi led at its
upper end with a tip which contains the whirl and is usually made in two parts, the

page_text: main part having a tubular projection or tenon that enters a socket in the main
portion of the horn and the other part being in the form of a cap which overlaps
the main part of the tip and a portion of the main part of the horn and is fastened"
to each of said parts by screws thereby fastening the entire tip to the main
portion of the horn. In accordance with the present invention the tip a is a single
integral piece having an integral extension a 2 which overlaps the main portion
of the horn and is secured thereto by the screw a 3 as clearly shown in Fig. 3.
The said tip is also provided with a tube or bushing a 4 preferably hardened and
secured in a recess in the tip by the set screw a 5. As thus made the tip with its
integral extension a 2 and attached sleeve a 4 is of the same shape externally as
the two-part tips heretofore commonly used and may be applied to a horn adapted
to receive the old form of tip without any change in said horn.
The sleeve a 4 forms the bearing for the whirl operating spindle which is
operated in the usual way through bevelled gears b2 at the foot of the horn,
suitably connected to the mechanism of the machine, and is provided at its upper
end with a toothed portion forming a pinion meshing with the teeth 2 upon the
whirl e, which is contained in an annular cup or bearing portion a 6 at the end of
the tip. The whirl e is cylindrical in shape and the main portion thereof extends
above and below the teeth c2 thus forming bearing surfaces, the lower of which
enters the annular opening a 7 at the bottom of the cup a 6, the said opening thus
forming a bearing, therefor and being preferably provided with a hardened steel
bushing a 8 which is readily renewable in case of wear.
The said opening is somewhat smaller than the main portion of the cup, so
that a shoulder a 9 is formed at the junction of the two openings upon which
shoulder the teeth e2 bear thus supporting the whirl. In order to confine the
whirl within the cup and at the same time to form an upper bearing therefor,
the annular plug or cover d is provided, having an opening d2 for the needle, the
said opening being enlarged at its lower portion d3 so as to fit the upper portion
of the whirl, and the edges of said enlarged opening are preferably bevelled as
shown in Fig. 3, so as to fit closely over the tops of the bevelled teeth c 2. A
portion of the side of said plug is cut away as shown at d4 Fig. 4, to make
room for the end of the pinion b which meshes with the teeth c 2. The top of the
plug d is preferably rounded as shown, and provided with an overhanging upper
portion or flange d5 to engage with the upper edge of the cup a 6. By this
construction herein shown the gear-teeth by which the whirl is driven are entirely
protected from damage since no object such as a tack driven into the opening d2
could possibly come in contact with the teeth e2, while the removal of the whirl
is readily accomplished without removing the tip and the construction of the tip
is in no way complicated to attain this end.
The plug d has a tight fit in the cup or socket in the horn tip and is retained
seated therein by merely driving it into the socket until the flange d 5 rests on the
horn tip around the edge of the socket therein. The pressure of the material being
sewn always tends to keep the plug firmly seated so that there is no danger of
accidental displacement of the plug and whirl.
b
If the whirl is to be removed for any reason it is necessary only to withdraw the
pinion & slightly and then to drive the whirl upward from below, thus forcing the
plug and whirl out of the socket in the horn tip, after which the whirl can be
replaced as desired, while a new plug d and bushing a 8 can be substituted for the
old if necessary, at very slight trouble or expense.
The whirl is provided with the usual openings for the needle and thread which
have not been herein shown, since they form no part of the invention, and since their
arrangement is well known to those skilled in the art.
By having the bushing a 4 separate and detachable from the horn tip it may be
made of hardened material so as to form a more durable bearing for the whirl
operating spindle 6 than in the common construction, where said spindle has its
bearing in an integral portion of the horn tip itself, and by the herein described
construction all the bearing portions in the horn tip may be readily removed and

page_text: replaced when worn, the horn tip itself being subject to no wear in the operation of
the machine and is thus substantially indestructable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of a horn tip of a sewing machine, provided with a cup or
recess, with a whirl supported in said recess, and an annular plug seated in said
recess and confining said whirl therein, substantially as described.
2. The combination of a horn tip of a sewing machine provided with a cup or
recess, with an annular bevel toothed whirl and a removable bushing within said
recess constituting the lower bearing of the said whirl, and an annular plug or
cover inserted in said recess, and adapted to confine said whirl therein and furnish
an upper bearing therefor, substantially as described.
3. The combination of a horn tip of a sewing machine provided with a cup or
recess, with a whirl supported in said recess and having peripheral teeth and
bearing portions above and below said teeth, and an annular plug or cover inserted
in said recess in the horn tip and having a bearing surface cooperating with the
bearing surface of the whirl above the teeth thereof, substantially as and for the-
purpose described.
Dated this 11th day of February 1896
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.