Improvement in Pinking Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Feb., 1899-Accepted, 4th Mar., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Pinking Machines.
I, EDGAR WOLF STAUFFER, of No. 227, Duffield Street, City of New York
(Borough of Brooklyn), in the County of Kings and State of New York, United
States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of my invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:
-
My invention relates to a machine adapted to the special purpose of what is
known as "pinking," that is, producing a fancy edge, to textile fabrics and other
materials, composed of a series of similar, large scallops, the edge of each of which
is very finely scalloped, or evenly notched; a species of edging for fabrics which
is, and has for a long time, been extensively used, mostly by undertakers, umbrella
manufacturers, shoe-makers, and dress-makers.
Within the past few years machines have been designed and manufactured
specially adapted to perform this " pinking" operation on textile fabrics, by
passing the fabric between the contacting, peripheral surface of a cutter having
a scalloped edge and an opposing smooth-faced revoluble disc, or wheel, rotated
by contact with the said cutter; the latter being driven by hand power and the
machine embracing these and other working parts being adapted to be fastened
to the edge of any ordinary table, for use, after the fashion in which a hand vice
and other small machines are often attached to the edge of a work bench, or table.
Such organized mechanisms for doing the kind of work alluded to and known
to the trades as "pinking" have, however, so far as my observation and know-
ledge extend, been found to embody practical defects and objections which have
rendered the machines not well fitted for the work for which they have been used.
I propose to provide for use a pinking machine, which, while simple of con-
struction, and hence less liable to any derangement of its parts and capable of
manufacture at less cost than the machines which I have above referred to, will
do the work for which it is designed much better and more rapidly and will be in
all particulars more satisfactory to the user.
To these main ends and objects my invention consists in a pinking machine
involving the novel features of construction and embodying the new combinations
of devices which will be found hereinafter more fully described and which will
be most particularly pointed out in the claims of this specification.
To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates to make and
use pinking machines embodying, either in whole or in part, and either in
precisely the form herein shown and described, or under some modifications
thereof, my invention, I will now proceed to more fully describe the latter, by
reference to the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and
in which I have shown a machine embodying all the features of my said invention,
carried out in the precise form of machine in which I have so far successfully
practiced the invention.
In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine made according to
my invention, with a part broken away to show a portion of the interior.
THE
Luant sin of the como

page_text: Figure 3 is a top view of the same.
Figure 4 is a detail sectional view, the section being taken at the dotted line,
of Figure 1.
In the several views, the same part will be found always designated by the
same letter of reference.
The main body, or frame, of the machine is, as shown, in the form of a hollow,
box-like casing which is composed of two castings A, and B, with one of which (A)
is cast integrally a depending, curved arm or yoke-like device, C, the boss-like
ends of which is bored and tapped out for the accommodation of a thumb-screw a;
the upper end of which screw is provided with a loosely fitted press button, or
clamp head, b, which is adapted, in co-action with the lower surface, or bottom,
of the duplex casting A, B to effectuate the temporary attachment, or clamping,
of the machine to the edge of an ordinary sewing table, or bench (illustrated in
dotted lines at c), while the other portion (B) of the said duplex casting, or hollow
casing, of the machine has an integral arm D, which projects forwardly and
upwardly from the front lower portion of said casting, as plainly shown, and
which is adapted to firmly support the work-table E of the pinking machine;
which table is securely fastened (in a removable manner) to the upper end of said
supporting arm, or standard D by means of the screw d.
This table, it will be observed, projects, in a horizontal plane, outwardly from
the front surface of the cast-iron casing A, B at a point, or level, a little above
the middle (in a vertical direction) of the said metallic casing; its adjacent edge
being preferably slightly cut away, or hollowed out, as shown (see Figure 3),
to enable it to fit snugly against the, correspondingly shaped, front surface of the
metallic casing A, B. And it will be understood that a table arranged at about
the locality shown and described and adapted for the thorough support of the
material or work to be run through the machine is an important and indispensable
part of any successfully operating pinking machine.
Passing centrally through said metallic casing and arranged to rotate in suitable
bearings, as will be presently explained, are two shafts, F and G, the rear pro-
jecting ends of which are provided with two similar spur gears H and I which
mash with each other, or gear together, as shown, and which are fast upon their
respective shafts, while the lower one (F) of said shafts has fast on its rearwardly
projecting end, a crank-arm J provided with a revoluble handle by means of
which said lower shaft is rotated (in the direction indicated by the arrow at
Figure 1), the upper shaft G, being, of course, simultaneously rotated, by reason
of its gear connection with the lower shaft, in an opposite direction but at the
same rate of speed.
On the forward, projecting, end of the shaft F is made fast a broad-faced wheel,
or short cylindrical roll, K, made of suitable metal and having its face, or
periphery, sufficiently hard to successfully work in contact with the peripheral
cutting edge of the pinking wheel L, in a manner and for a purpose to be
presently explained. This pinking wheel, or cutter L, is securely, but removably,
mounted on the forwardly projecting end of the shaft G, it being preferably
secured to the end of said shaft (see Figure 1) by means of a nut e, which is
screwed onto the reduced, threaded end portion of said shaft; a small thin collar f
being, preferably, interposed between the inner surface of the pinking cutter L
and the shouldered portion of the said shaft, as illustrated.
The relative arrangement of the hard faced, metallic, device K and the work-
supporting table E, is such that the upper portion of the peripheral surface, or a
horizontal segment, of the cylindrical device K projects upwardly, some distance,
above the top surface of said work-table; the latter having a rectangular per-
foration in it, as plainly shown at g (see Figure 3) for the accommodation of the
said upwardly projecting portion of the said device, and the scalloped and notched
cutting periphery of the pinking wheel L runs in contact with the peripheral
surface of the opposing, revoluble wheel, or anvil-like device K; so that a piece
of material fed into the bite of the opposing peripheral surfaces of the said pinking

page_text: wheel and the said anvil-like device L will be drawn in between the peripheries of
these two devices and will, during the rotation of said devices, be cut through, to
produce such irregular shaped edge as will correspond to the pattern, or peripheral
shape, of the "pinking" wheel L.
At Figure 3, I have shown, in dotted lines, the contour of a piece of cloth in
the operation of being pinked and also the scalloped shape of the cut, which is
made in said piece of material, as it passes through between the cutting devices
of the machine, in the direction indicated by the dotted arrow.
M is a gauge which is composed simply of a piece of sheet metal, of proper
width and thickness, bent to form a right angle in top view, as seen at Figure 3;
which has its forward leg (so to speak) cut out at the lower edge to correspond
to and substantially contact with the periphery of the upwardly projecting,
segmental portion of the anvil-like, revoluble device K (see Figure 2); and which
has its other leg, or portion (see Figure 1) slotted out and secured to the outer
surface of the casting A by means of a thumb-screw i, provided with a suitable
washer; all in such manner that, by loosening and retightening said thumb-screw,
the said work gauge M may have its forward leg moved nearer to, or further
from, the inner portion of the scalloped pinking wheel L, for the purpose of acting
as a sort of stop-gauge, against which the edge of the piece of fabric to be pinked
may travel and by which it may be guided, to enable the operator of the machine
to make the scalloped cut, or pinking, of the fabric parallel with (and as near
as may be desired to) the straight edge of the piece of stuff run through the
machine.
The two shafts F and G have plain turned-down, or shouldered, bearing surfaces
which fit easily and revolve in the cylindrically-shaped bearings, or boxes, in
the meeting surfaces of the half-box castings A and B, where these castings come
together at the rear side of the metallic casing, or box, of the machine; while
the forward end portions of said shafts have no reduced bearing journals, but are
made and combined with the two castings A, B in such manner that, while the
lower shaft F, is only free to rotate, in a simple journal box-like aperture formed
in the two part casting, the upper shaft G revolves in a box-like aperture which
is slightly oval, or is oblong, in order that the forward end portion of this shaft
may be capable of a slight up and down movement, in its forward journal box;
the purpose of which is that this shaft, carrying the pinking wheel, or wheel-like
cutter L, may be slightly adjusted, vertically, through the medium of the thumb-
screw, the inner end of which contacts with the top of a vertically movable
shoe-piece, or half-box m, and be forced downwardly, more or less, to insure a
perfect cutting action between the pinking wheel and the anvil-like device, under
varying conditions with relation to the thickness of the stuff, or material, to be
pinked. As, however, the variation in thickness between the finest and the
heaviest material to be operated upon, is comparatively slight, the real, or practical,
function of this vertical adjustment of the outer end of the shaft G, carrying
the pinking wheel L, seems to be to insure against the usual yielding or springing
of the parts of the mechanism under heavy strain, such an enforced contact between
the cutting wheel and the peripheral surface of the anvil-like device K as to
certainly effectuate (under all conditions with reference to the varying thicknesses
of the material being operated upon) a perfectly clean cut of the material, without
such undue forcible contact sometimes of the metallic cutting surface of the
pinking wheel and the metallic opposing and revoluble surface of the anvil-like
device K, as might result in undue strain upon and unnecessary wearing away
of the opposing contacting surfaces of these two revoluble devices.
As plainly shown in the drawing, by reason of the formation of the casting B
with the perforated and threaded boss integrally therewith and the interior
shape, or formation, such as shown, the loosely placed shoe-piece m, while held
sufficiently in. place to perfectly perform its intended function, is exceedingly
simple and cheap to make, while at the same time the entire cast portions of the
machine, comprising simply the two parts A and B, with their respective, integral

page_text: projecting arms, is such that the machine can be manufactured at very little cost
and consequently can be supplied to the public at low price.
It will be understood that as the revoluble anvil-like device K has a face much
wider than the width of the scalloped pinking wheel L, not only will the goods
run through the machine be perfectly supported during the cutting operation,
but can, by reason of the adjustable gauge M, be passed through with considerable
amount of material lying between the cutter and the gauge, if this arrangement
of the material be desired; also that a cutter with a wider peripheral surface, or
one adapted to cut deeper scallops in the material, may be substituted for one
such as shown, and meet with a perfect co-action with the anvil-like surface of
the device K.
By having the revoluble device K arranged beneath, and protruded; upwardly,
through the work-table and the disc-like pinking cutter arranged above said
anvil-like device, as shown, the fabric which has to be passed between these
opposing devices, during the cutting, or pinking, operation, is not liable to be
drawn down, or to get down, below the surface of the supporting table, at the
vicinity, or locality, at which the material being operated upon passes out from,
or is drawn away from, the bite between the cutting wheel and the revoluble
device with which it co-acts, and hence, in the use of the machine, the material
to be pinked may be run through rapidly without danger of any derangement of
the stuff, or any entanglement of the material with the perforated or cut-out,
portion of the table on which it is supported and over which it passes, during
the operation of the machine; and this characteristic feature of my machine I
consider a very important one.
I also consider the extreme simplicity of the machine, as a whole, very important,
as thereby I am enabled, not only to produce a machine perfect in operation,
durable and not liable to derangement, or the need of repair, but at the same time
one which can be made and sold at a lower price than any machine, that I know
of, heretofore devised for and adapted to serve (even in a less satisfactory manner)
the purposes for which my machine has been made.
By reason of having the shafts, which respectively carry the pinking cutter and
the opposing device K, geared together, so that the peripheral surfaces of the said
cutter and the contacting portion of the said device are driven at the same speed,
perfection in the cutting operation, performed on the fabric, or material, being
pinked, is assured, even when these parts are rapidly revolved and the material
consequently cut, or pinked very quickly.
Since the adjustable gauge, M, when secured in an operative position, fits at
the lower edge of its front leg to the upper surface of that part of the device K,
which projects above the top surface of the table as well as to that portion of the
table top with which it (said gauge), overlaps, there is no possible liability of
the edge of the material being operated upon, getting beneath the gauge, or
crowding in between its lower edge and either the top surface of the work table,
or that part of the peripheral surface of the device K that is exposed above the
top surface of said table.
By simply taking out the thumb-screw i the gauge M may be removed from
the machine; while by the removal of the single screw d the work table E may
be taken off; and as the two castings are secured together by the two screws 1, P,
by simply taking out these screws the castings A and B may be separated (like
the two parts of an ordinary cast-iron lock case) and the interior mechanism,
which comprises only the two shafts F and G and the shoe-piece m, may be
extricated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my. said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First In a pinking machine, the combination, with the duplex, or two part
casing, or frame, for carrying the working parts, of two shafts mounted one above

page_text: the other in said casing, and geared together as specified; a suitable pinking
wheel, or circular cutter, mounted fast, but removably, on the forward end of the
upper shaft; a smooth-faced wheel, or anvil-like device, mounted fast on the end
of the other shaft, and adapted to run on contact, peripherally, with the said
cutting wheel; and a work table having a rectangular aperture, or opening, in it,
through which a segmental portion of the said anvil-like device, or wheel, projects,
upwardly; all in substantially the manner and for the purposes herein before
set forth.
Second; In a pinking machine, the combination with a suitable frame, or casing,
for carrying the working parts of said machine, of two shafts mounted revolubly in
said casing, geared together at their rear ends, the upper one of said shafts being
provided at its forward end with a pinking wheel, or cutter, and the other shaft
with a wheel, or anvil-like device, as specified; a work table through which the
anvil-like device projects upwardly; and means for vertically adjusting the
forward end of the said upper shaft for the purpose of making the contact of the
cutter with the periphery of the said anvil-like device more or less forcible accord-
ing to the thickness of the fabric to be operated upon, substantially as hereinbefore
set forth.
Third: In a pinking machine, the combination with the work-supporting table;
a revoluble anvil-like device, or wheel, projecting upwardly there through; and
a scalloped cutter, or pinking wheel, which rotates in unison with and in peripheral
contact with the said anvil-like device, of a gauge M having its lower edge shaped
to fit to the top surface of the work table and to that portion of the periphery of
the anvil-like device which projects upwardly there through and bodily adjust-
able; all substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.
Dated this 3rd day of February 1899.
$99.
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
Chartered Patent Agents,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.