Improvements in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Feb., 1891-Accepted, 9th May, 1891
QUAIT TIM STMULTIGATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
1 JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention which has been com-
municated to me from abroad by Frank Chase of Boston in the County of
Suffolk and State of Massachusetts U.S.A. and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention is applicable to some extent to sewing machines generally, but has
reference more particularly to boot and shoe sewing machines and it is in connection
therewith that I shall describe it. The machine which I shall describe is one which
has an awl feed and which is designed more especially for sewing welted work. My
improvements themselves can best be explained and understood by reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which I have represented a machine embodying them
in their preferred form.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine provided with my improvements.
Figure 2 is a plan and Figure 3 is a front elevation of the same. Figures 4 to 18
inclusive are detail views and sections of the several members of the sewing, feed,
and take up mechanisms, which will be hereinafter more particularly referred to.
Figure 19 is a representation, in great measure diagramatic, of the mechanism
for actuating the awl and needle carriers.
Figure 20 is a table indicating the movements of, and positions assumed by, the
several parts during one complete revolution of the main driving shaft of the
machine.
The leading members of the mechanism which make up the machine are the
channel gauge A; the back gauge B between which and the channel gauge the
work is pressed at certain times; the awl C; the needle D; the whirl E which
serves alternately as a looper for the needle, and as a support for the awl when
feeding the work along the take up, the tension, and the thread retarder F,
which performs to some extent the functions of a cast off. Of these members the
channel gauge is motionless; the others are movable and by suitable instrumen-
talities are actuated to move at the appropriate times as hereinafter indicated.
In the side of the frame X of the machine is fixed the sleeve 71 which forms the
common centre and support of all the moveable parts carried upon or contained in
it. This sleeve together with the parts in its immediate vicinity is best seen in
Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5, Figure 1, and Figure 6 is a
section on line 5-6 Figure 1. The lower portions of both of these sectional views
is the same, above the longitudinal axes of the sleeve the section lines diverge so
that they may pass the one through the needle carrier and the other through the
awl carrier and driver. Within this sleeve fits the tubular and longitudinally
sliding shaft 76 on the front end of which is fixed or formed the awl carrier C'. A
front elevation of this tubular shaft is shown in Figure 7.
Within the shaft 76 is a second tubular shaft 60 which is capable of rocking
independently of the shaft 76 and carries on its outer end the back gauge arm or
back gauge proper B shown in side elevation in Figure 1 and in section in
Figures 5-6 and 4-the section in Eigure 4 being on the line 4-4 Figure 5.
This back gauge arm also carries the whirl E and for this reason it is tubular
and communicates with the interior of the shaft 60 so as to provide a convenient
passage for the whirl actuating shafting hereinafter described.
The shaft 60 is prevented from moving longitudinally in the shaft 76 and has on
its rear end beyond the rear end of shaft 76 a peripherally grooved hub or collar 66

page_text: which is engaged by the forked end of the actuating arm or lever by which
longitudinal movement is imparted to the shaft 76 together with the awl carrier as
well as the back gange shaft and back
gauge.
Upon the neck of the sleeve 71 between its front flange and the frame of the
machine are mounted the oscillatory awl driver C and the needle carrier D the
outer edges of these devices being overlapped by a suitable annular guide flange Y
which steadies them during their movements. The awl driver and the needle
carrier are shown in front elevation in Figures 8 and 9 respectively.
The engagement of the awl driver with the carrier is effected by a pin C³
(Figure 6) which is fixed to the carrier and extends back into an elongated
socket C in the driver, in which socket it can slide during the longitudinal or feed
movement of the awl carrier shaft 76.
This awl driver and needle carrier receive oscillating movements from the main
shaft 61 through the intermediary of a walking beam lever 70 and arms 67 and 68
which at their lower ends are pinned or jointed the one to the awl driver and the
other to the needle carrier. The upper ends of the arms 67 and 68 are pivotted to
the forward end of the walking beam lever 70 which at its rear end is jointed to a
crank pin on the main shaft 61 and at about its centre it is pivotted to a rocker
arm 69 journalled at its lower end to the main frame X. This mechanical arrange-
ment I find convenient and effective to impart to the needle and the awl the
movements which will be hereinafter more fully explained by reference to diagram
Figure 19.
The conical whirl E fits and is capable of revolving in a socket in the lower end
of the back gauge arm.
It has a passage or opening therein from front to rear in
line with the awl and needle which are placed on opposite sides of the whirl and
enter or pass through the opening alternately.
The sewing is effected with a single thread and a barbed needle. The whirl,
which has a positive movement of rotation imparted to it, acts as a looper to throw
the thread around the needle. The friction of the thread as it is drawn laterally
against one side of the passage through the whirl will suffice for this; but if desired
a separate eccentric passage for the thread can be formed in the whirl as illustrated
in Fig. 4 which represents in longitudinal axial section and in rear end elevation
a whirl wherein e is the separate thread passage.
In order to ensure the certain action of the whirl so far as its looper functions
are concerned I drive it at such a rate that it shall make two revolutions for every
one revolution of the main shaft.
The whirl actuating mechanism is shown clearly in Figures 2, 3, 5, 6, 10.
In the tubular back gauge shaft 60 is supported the shaft 52 having on its
projecting outer end a long spur pinion 52× which meshes with a pinion 53 supported
in a bracket 78 in which is provided an opening below the spur gear 53 for the
passage of the long spur gear of shaft 52. This shaft partakes of the longitudinal
movement of the awl carrier and back gauge shaft and its long spur pinion 52* is
for the purpose of ensuring its continued engagement with the intermediate
pinion 53 during this movement. On the front end of shaft 52 is a bevel pinion 53×
which engages a like pinion 51× on the upper end of an upright shaft 51 contained
in the tubular back gauge arm B; the lower end of the shaft 51 having bevilled
gear teeth to mesh with a pinion on the large end of the whirl E.
The intermediate spur pinion 53 as seen in Figures 5 and 6 is provided with a
beveled pinion 54* meshing with a like pinion 55x on the lower end of the inclined
shaft 55, on the upper end of which shaft is a pinion 57 driven from a wheel 56, on
the main shaft 61. The gearing should be so proportioned that the whirl will
make two revolutions for one of the main shaft.
As indicated in Figure 10, which is a sectional elevation of the lower portion of
the shaft 55 I prefer to place the pinion 55* upon a stem 54 which can be removed
without renewing the whole shaft the said stem being fitted in a socket in the lower
end of shaft 55 where it is held by a cross pin as indicated. This stem is provided
with a collar 56* which is held between the lower end of the shaft 55 and the face

page_text: of the bearing in the bracket 78 in which the lower end of the stem below the
collar turns.
The awl feed movement is obtained from the main shaft 61 by mechanism which
is shown most clearly in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12. Figure 11 is a sectional
view on line 11-11 Figure 3, of the adjustable shaft which is one of the intermediate
devices by which longitudinal motion is communicated from the main shaft 61, to
the awl carrier shaft. Figure 12 is a section on line 12-12 Figures 2 and 3.
On the main shaft 61 is fixed a peripherally grooved cam 80 in which groove is a
roller stud 5 attached to the upper end of a lever 77 which between its ends is
pivoted to a bracket 79 fixed to or formed in one with the main frame X of the
machine. In the lower end of this lever is a curved guide way 23 for the reception
of the square head of a bolt 7 which passes through an eye 12 in one end of a
sectional adjustable connecting rod R the other end of which rod is connected by
nicans of a bolt or pin passing through an eye 11 to the lower end of an arm 48
fixed to a horizontal rock shaft 47 journalled in brackets 78 and 79. At or near
the front end of this rock shaft is an arm or lever 64 the lower forked 'end of which
is provided with pins or studs which enter the peripheral groove of the hub or
collar 66 hereinbefore referred to fast on the hollow shaft 60. It will thus be seen
that the rock shaft 47, is operated from the cam 80, and by reason of its connection,
through the forked arm 64 with the grooved hub or collar 66 imparts longitudinal
reciprocation to the shafts 60 and 76 and parts connected thereto viz. the awl
carrier, back gauge arm, and the whirl carried by said back gauge arm. The feed
movement takes place while the awl is in the work and its front end projected
through the whirl, consequently the awl at this time supported by the whirl and
back gage arm in which the whirl is journalled.
The sectional adjustable rod R as seen in Figure 11, is composed of two parts 11
and 12 having their adjacent ends screw threaded, the one with a right hand and
the other with a left hand screw thread and united by a corresponding right and
left hand screw threaded nut 27, held in adjusted position by check nuts 26 and 28.
The curve of the guide way 23 in the lever 77 is the arc of a circle struck from
the centre of the pivot which unites the arm 48 with the sectional rod R, and with
a radius equal to the distance between that pivot, and the opposite pivot 7, when the
rod is of such length that it will bring the awl into the plane of oscillation of the needle
at the time the stud 5 on the lever 77 is in the straight portion of cam 80. These
conditions having been observed, the extent of reciprocating motion imparted to the
awl carrier shaft, and consequently the length of feed can be regulated as required
by adjusting the square head of the nut 7, in the guide way 23, nearer to or further
from the axis of oscillation of lever 77. The nearer the stud 7 approaches to the
axis of oscillation of the lever, the shorter will be the feed.
The device which I term the thread retarder and which by covering at suitable.
intervals the barb of the needle acts in a measure as a cast off is illustrated most
clearly in Figures 1, 5, 6, 16, 17 and 18 of the drawings. Figure 16 is a side
elevation on an enlarged scale of the lower portion of the retarder and the parts
immediately adjacent thereto, representing it in the position it assumes when it has
descended to form a shield or guard for the barb of the needle, which has taken a
fresh loop leaving the old loop on the thread retarder, the point of which extends
into the channel of the shoe sole S. W represents the welt which at this time is
pressed up against the sole by the back gage B. Figure 17 is a horizontal section
of the parts shewn in Figure 16. It will be seen on referring to these figures, that
the thread retarder F has a tapering lower ends, which is between the channel
gauge A and the needle D, and lies closely up against the needle, which indeed is
partly received in a groove formed for that purpose in the face of the part s next to
t, the hook of the needle being on the side next to the retarder. On the shank of
the retarder is formed a lip t, which when the retarder is down engages a like lip
or detent on the fixed channel gauge A, as seen in Figure 17, the result being
hat any tendency of the retarder to deflect under the lateral pull exerted on it by
the loop of thread which is upon it is resisted by the fact of the engagement at this

page_text: "
time of the lipt with the lip of the rigid channel gauge. The retarder Fis
mounted loosely on the end of the back gauge shaft 60 in front of the back gauge
arm. It is held on by a screw 84 which screws into the front end of shaft 60; and
interposed between the head of this screw and the hub of the retarder is a spring 83
which presses the latter with a yielding pressure against the oscillatory awl carrier.
The consequence of this arrangement is that the moment the awl begins to descend,
the retarder (by frictional contact with the awl carrier) will rise or recede from the
work until its shoulder 82 comes against the back gauge arm, after which the awl
carrier completes its downward movement without further actuating the retarder.
The downward movement of the retarder is effected by means of a stud 80× on the
needle carrier, which when the latter descends, strikes a projecting strip or cam 81
on the hub of the retarder, and thus carries the latter down into place the stud 80*
then passing the strip 81 and the needle completing the rest of its stroke without
affecting the retarder.
In operation, assuming the needle and retarder to be raised, and a loop of thread
to be on the needle, when the needle descends, it carries along with it the retarder,
the pointed end of which enters the loose loop, and then seats itself in the work as
seen in Figure 16. In this position it remains during the taking up of the loop, and
while the needle after having taken a fresh loop recedes and draws this loop through
that held by the retarder-and until the awl carrier begins to descend at which time
the retarder will be raised by frictional contact.
The take up and the tension devices are illustrated most clearly in Figures 1, 13
and 14, which latter are sections on lines 13-13 and 14--14 respectively of
Figure 1.
The thread passes from the needle back under and around the back of a grooved
rotatory disc or truck 35, thence under around and over a pulley or truck 37, back
to, and two or three times around a tension truck or wheel 14 and thence to the
spool. The trucks or pulleys 35 and 37, form what I term a multiple purchase
take-up. The truck or pulley 37 is journalled or pivotted to the lower end of a
vibratory lever 58, which for convenience sake is mounted loosely on the stud or
journal of a rocker arm 69, and is actuated from the shaft 61 by an eccentric strap
and rod 59, jointed to the upper end of the lever 58 as indicated by dotted lines in
Figure 1, and as shewn in full lines in Figure 13.
So far as mere take-up action is concerned, the truck or pulley 35 might be
mounted on a fixed axis; but for the purpose of causing it to act upon the back
gauge arm in such manner as to press the latter positively and forcibly towards the
work at the time the take-up is operating to set the stitch, I mount or hang it in a
strap 29, which at the opposite end is jointed to the back gauge B. The truck or
pulley 35 bears against the curved face of a spring pressed sliding bed 45, supported
and adapted to move longitudinally in a grooved guide piece 46, attached to the
main frame, by a screw or pin 47× which passes through a longitudinal slot in the
sliding bed 45 as seen in Figure 1, and also in Figure 14. The truck or pulley 35
fits in the groove of the piece 46, and bears peripherally against the curved face of
bed 45 the curve of this face being struck on a circle having the axis of the truck
or pulley 37 as its centre. Truck or pulley 37 is a little in advance of and above
the truck 35, but the truck 35 is in the path of the rearward movement of the truck
or pulley 37, so that when the latter moves back in the act of giving up thread it
will bear against the truck 35 and force it back against the yielding bed 45, thus
pulling back the back gauge from the work-at the time the feed takes place. The
forward or take up movement of the truck or pulley 37, will as above explained
have the effect of positively forcing the back gauge up against the work. The
spring bed 45 acts to hold the back gauge with yielding pressure against the work
at such times as the gauge is not under the positive control of the take-up.
-
The tension truck is a grooved wheel 14 mounted loosely on a stem 15 fast to the
main frame, and is held against a flange or face plate 16 on said stem by spring
pressure, brought about in this instance by a disc 40 which fits on the squared or
flatted front end portion of the stem 15 and is pressed against the tension truck by

page_text: a spring 41, which, by a nut 39, can be made to exert such pressure as may be
desired for the tension. When the take-up is acting to take up the thread, the.
thread must at some point between the take-up and the spool, be clamped sufficiently
to insure the desired tightness of stitch. For this purpose there is mounted on the
stem 15 behind the plate 16 a clamping plate 90 having in it a square hole in which
fits a square block 91 of somewhat less height than the hole, so as to give the
clamping plate slight vertical play.
The clamp plate 90 has on its upper edge a curved clamping or brake ledge 92
which projects to the front so as to overhang the tension truck or pulley 14, and to.
act as a brake thereon when the clamp plate is depressed. The clamp plate 90 is
normally held in its raised position by a spring 93 and is depressed by the action of
a cam or projection 94 on the periphery of the eccentric strap 59, which projection
bears upon a spring strip 95 on the clamp plate at the time the take-up is acting to
take-up the thread.
The actuating mechanisms are so constructed as to impart appropriate movenient
to them; and in order to enable the skilled mechanic to more readily construct the
same, as well as to better understand the operation of the machine, I have made, as
shewn in Figure 20 of the drawings, a table indicating the position and movement
of the several parts during one complete revolution of the driving shaft 61, the 360°
constituting one complete revolution, being subdivided into columns of 30° each,
except the first and last columns which are 15° each. In the several lines reading
from left to right are indicated the movements of and positions assumed by the
respective parts. The numbered circles in Figure 19, shews the position assumed
by the several moving axes or pivots of the needle and awl actuating devices, these
numbers corresponding to the numbers at the top of the columns in Figure 20.
The relative movements of the awl and needle are represented graphically by the
irregular lines in Figure 20. It will be noted that the descent of the awl is quite
rapid as compared with that of the needle, this being for the reason that it inust
pierce the work before the needle reaches it. The full downward stroke of the awl
is accomplished within the first 135°. It then rests during 30° and recedes slowly
during the remaining 1950. The descent of the needle on the contrary is slow it
occupying eight columns or 240° and its ascent is rapid, this being accomplished
during 120°. During a part of the time, that covered by the columns between
numbers 7 and 10, the awl and needle move substantially in unison-this being at
the time the needle is passing into and through the work, and the awl is withdrawing
from the work.
During the down movement of the awl the "back feed" takes place that is to say-
the shaft 60 moves back to position where it is ready to feed, the back gauge during
this movement is drawn back from the work by the action of truck or pulley 37 on
the truck or pulley 35, and the retarder is raised by friction. The forward feed
starts while the awl is still slightly moving down, and is accomplished during that
portion of the revolution included between 5 and 7. The whirl casts the thread
over the barbed point of the needle between 9 and 11, and then the needle recedes
swiftly to the point from which it started.
The thread retarder is forced down by the descending needle carrier between 5
and 7; and the take-up is in action to take-up the thread, between 3 and 9 and
consequently the tension is clamped during a corresponding period.
It will be seen that the needle at the time the take up is operating to set the
stitch is received at its front end in a support (furnished in this instance by the
whirl E), which enables it to act in some sort as a dowel to uphold the work against
the tendency of the back gauge to thrust the latter downwards, and to effectively
sustain and resist, without injury to itself, the strain which may be exerted upon it
by such downward thrusts. This feature is applicable to sewing mechanisms of
other than the particular construction hereinbefore described and illustrated. The
support may be furnished by an instrumentality other than the back gauge or whirl,
what is essential being a needle support located in the path of the needle on the

page_text: side of the work opposite to that from which the needle enters the work, and adapted
to receive and support the front end or point of the needle at the time the work is
being pressed together and the stitch is being set.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what
I claim is
1st. The combination with the stitch forming mechanism, the channel gauge and
the take-up of the movable back gage connected to and operated by the take-up
substantially in the manner described, so that the said back gauge shall be thrust
towards the channel gauge at the time the take-up is operating to set the stitch,
substantially as and for the purposes herein before set forth.
2nd. The combination with the channel gauge, the stitch forming mechanism and
the movable back gauge, of the multiple-purchase-take-up, consisting of the truck
or pulley 37 and its vibratory support, the truck or pulley 35, and the strap 29,
carrying at one end the truck or pulley 35, and joined at the other end to the back
gauge, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
3rd. The combination substantially as hercinbefore set forth of the channel
gange, the stitch forming mechanism, the multiple-purchase-take-up, the spring
bed 45, and the movable back gauge connected to and operated by the take-up at
the time and in the manner substantially as described.
4th. The combination with the oppositely placed and oscillating needle and awl,
of the intermediate whirl placed in the common path of movement of the needle and
awl, so that it shall be entered by the same alternately substantially as and for the
purposes hereinbefore set forth.
5th. The combination with the oscillatory needle, its carrier and actuating
mechanism therefor, of the awl, the awl carrier capable of both an oscillatory move-
ment and a feed movement in the direction of its axis of oscillation, mechanism for
imparting the said movements to the awl carrier, a power driven whirl, and a whirl
support capable of movement in the same direction with that of the feed movement
of the awl, whereby the whirl serves alternately to engage the thread with the
needle, and to support and stiffen the awl during its feed movement, substantially as
and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
6th. The combination with the oscillatory needle and awl carriers having a common
centre of oscillation, of the driving lever fulcrumed in a rocking arm intermediate
of its ends, the driving crank connected to one of the ends of said lever, and the
two arms jointed to the other end of the said lever, and connected cach to its
appropriate carrier, under the arrangement and for joint operation, substantially as
herein before set forth.
7th. The combination of the oscillatory needle, the channel gauge, provided with a
projection, and the oscillatory loop holder or retarder, provided with a projection to
engage the projection on the channel gauge at the time the said holder is in its
lowest position in order to prevent said holder or retarder from being deflected
laterally, substantially as and for the purposes herein before set forth.
8th. A needle support located in the path of the needle on the side of the work
opposite that from which the needle enters the work, and adapted to receive and
support the point of the needle against downward thrusts at the time the work is
being pressed together and the stitch is being set substantially as hereinbefore set
forth.
T
11
ST1001
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.