Improvements in Machinery Employed for Joining together Hosiery and the like Fabrics.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 19th Oct.,
1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery Employed for Joining together Hosiery
and the like Fabrics.
I JULIUS KÖHLER of Limbach Saxony manufacturer of sewing machines 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 and accompanying drawings in all the figures of, which the same letters
refer to the same parts :-
My said invention relates to improvements in overhead linking or sewing machines
used for joining together hosiery and the like fabrics such as are described in my
patent specification No. 592 of January 12th A.D. 1889 referred to hereinafter as my
previous patent specification.
In such machines the fabrics to he united are suspended mesh by mesh from pins
arranged on a disc or on a bar and by a suitable feed motion the meshes are borne on
the said pins past the sewing needle. In my previous specification I described two
forms of such pins one being straight from the heel to the point and the other being
bent downwards near the point. In practice the latter form as shewn in Fig. 1 of
the accompanying drawings has hitherto been chiefly used. The object of the bent
part a b is to allow the loop catcher to descend sufficiently far in the direction of the
arrow c as to allow the needle d to pass through the loop. In the machines referred
to in my previous patent specification the point of the needle and the point of the
supporting pin are opposite to each other but this arrangement is found to be
disadvantageous in several important respects. For instance if the point of the
supporting pin should be bent sideways as sometimes occurs the point of the needle
cannot enter the groove e Fig. 3. in the upper part of the supporting pin and is then
liable to miss the loop or even to penetrate the thread and consequently cause bad or
irregular work. The point of the needle is also liable to come into contact with the
edge of the disc carrying the supporting pins.
The object of my present invention is to obviate such defects by an improved
arrangement of the needle and of the supporting pins.
The general construction and arrangement of a machine provided with a circular
support for the fabrics to be united and made in accordance with my present invention
is shewn in Fig. 4 in a sectional elevation and in Fig. 5 in a plan. In the latter
view the cover plate z at the top of the machine is supposed to be removed. The
method of driving the needle bar and of feeding forward the fabrics to be united is
that described in my previous patent specification and forms no part of my present
invention. I now provide the end of the needle bar with a bridge piece A¹ forming
a gap in which the needle is mounted in a reverse position to that shown in my
previous specification that is to say the needle points in the same direction as the
supporting pin D2 Fig. 2 and when approaching the latter the needle first meets the
heel instead of the point thereof.
с
A slide B is let in the needle bar head and is provided with a screw B₁ for adjusting
the vertical height of the needle, a set screw B² secures the needle when set in the
desired position. The loop catcher c is adjustable vertically laterally and longitudinally
and is actuated in the manner described in my previous patent specification but in
the present arrangement it descends behind the heel of the supporting pin in the
manner indicated by the arrow Fig. 2. instead of in front of the point as formerly.
The bend ab of the point of the supporting pin is thus no longer necessary so
that straight pins may be used without disadvantage.
The thread for the needle is taken from a bobbin D provided with a tension disc E
and drag spring F all being mounted on a bracket Ġ secured to the body of the
machine by means of a bolt and wing nut G¹ in such a manner as to allow of the

page_text: bracket G being easily detached for the purpose of changing the disc carrying
the supporting pins.
After each forward stroke of the needle and when commencing the return stroke
in the direction of the arrow H Fig. 5 the thread must be held in order to form a
loop. For this purpose a clamp y in the form of a head on the bolt K is used. By
means of a spring in the head of the needle bar the clamp y is continually drawn
inwards so as to clamp the thread unless means are provided to force the clamp y
outwards. Such means are provided by the shaped bar L against which the point of
the bolt K slides. When in contact with the straight part of the bar the clamp y is
pressed outwards but on passing the recess L¹ the clamp is drawn inwards by the
action of the spring and the thread is held.
A pressing roll M mounted in a suitable bearing and provided with a spiral spring
for pressing the roll M outwards serves to hold the fabrics on the supporting pins when
the needle passes through..
The hereinbefore described method of arranging the needle with respect to the
supporting pins is equally applicable to machines in which the work is suspended
from pins mounted on a straight bar Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of such a machine
& Fig. 7 is a plan thereof with the top plate removed.
In these figures the needle d is also shown working from the heel to the point of
the supporting pin D2 instead of in the contrary direction when entering a loop.
The hereinbefore described method of arranging the supporting pins with the beel
towards the point of the needle ensures a more certain action because the heel of the
supporting pin being rigidly held by the groove in the bar or disc in which it is
mounted the risk of lateral displacement of the groove in the supporting pin at the
place where the needle enters is avoided and irregular work caused by the needle
failing to enter the loop is prevented.
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―
In overhead sewing machines the use combination and arrangement of the needle
and the supporting pins in such a manner that the direction of motion of the needle
when entering the loop is from the heel of the supporting pin towards the point
thereof substantially as herein before described and shown.
Dated this Sixteenth day of September 1889.
JULIUS ALLMANN & Co.,
70, Deansgate, Manchester, Agents for Applicant.