[1]1,809,462 Figure I is a front end vie-w of this improved machine illustratino, the manner in 'which the two sewiil-" mech@nisms are co-operatively mounted fol automatically controlr, ling the work during its passage from one to the other for the completion of two separate and distinct stitchin(y operations with one handlin- of the work; Fi(r. @@is a top plan view of Fig- 1 and illuslo trates more clearly the overturning and guide controllin@ means for controllitig the worli: from the first to the second stitching position and -ilso illustrates the means f or guiding the coverino, tape into position for the second 15 stitchii@'g operation to cover the bottom.of the seam; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the seam guide for guiding, opening, and flattenin- the seam as the worlc passe's from the first to the see20 ond stitching position; Fig. 4 is a bottom view of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5, Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional vie-w talcen on the 25 line 6-6, Fig. 3; Fif. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line Fig 3; Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the three steps in the passage of the work from o the first to the second stitching position and the manner in )vhich the overturning or flopover means controls work; Fig. 9 is a perspective detail view of the driving mechanism for the sewing mecha35 nisms - Fig. 10 is a detail view of the throat plate and feed dogs and a portion of the seam covering tape; Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the presser 40 foot, top feed work guide, and the se arating member of the worli:, overturning, or Kop-over controlling means; Figs. i2 to 16, inclusive, are views illusirating the manner in which the first seam is 4@ formeu in two plies or pieces of work and the position thereof as it passes from the first to the second stitching mechanism - Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the first work guide @nd the separatiiig in@ember for 50 the work; Fig., 18 illustrates three shoe uppers of canvas shoes, in which A:represents one shoe upper with the two plies stitched together by a single line of @titches, B- represents another shoe upper with the two plies open6d with the seam margins first at right ahgles to the plane of the plies and then initially diverted, spread, and flattened, @nd C @epresents another shoe upper with the seam mar,-ins final60 I y pressed d6wn with a covering,tape stitched theretoFig. 19 illustrates in section the manner in which the opposina edges of the seam margins ar6 spread, apa@rt, for the flattem'ng operation; and , Fig. 20 illustrates in section the completely flattened seam of the work with a tape stitched thereto. Similar charai3ters of reference indicate correspondin a parts in the several views.. 70 Before ex]@fainin o- -in detail the present improvexnent and mode of operation thereof, I desire to have it understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts which are illus- 7r, traied in the accompanyin- drawinls. since . zn - I the invention is capable of other embodiments, and that the phraseology which I employ is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. so As hereinbefore stated, in nky-prior machine I niade use of a puller feed mechanism interposed bet-ween the two sewing mechanisms for feeding the worli and flattening the o the second stitching operation 85 tape pu,i In the er fqed. the machine very much simplified in various respects to facilitate the handling of the work, whereby DO increased production is the result as well as offering other advantages with respect to making heel seams on certain kinds of shoes, the shape of which has considerable curvature along the line of this heel seam. On or) such wo.tk it is desirable to have the two gewing mechanisms closer together so that a better coiitrol of the work @is obtained. I have also eliminated the chain drive used for transmitting power from one sewing loo mechafiism to the other for synchronizing the needle and feed movements of the respective machines, since in the present improved machine this synchronized moveiaent is not essential. 105 This improved machine is operated by two drive belts from a source of power under the table, and the ratio of speed of the two sewing mechanisms is controlled by the selection of the pro-per diameter of bolt pulleys lio that transmit power to the machinib with respect to the rel6tive length of stitch or strolce of the feed of the first d'. second se an wing mechanism's. In certain factories the specifications for the,manufacture of heel seams ii5 require eight stitches to the inch to be made by one sewing mq6hine run by one operator -and twelve stitches to the inch by another Machine run by another op.erator. This is obtained in the pr6sent improvenient, in which i?.o both sewing mechanisms are controlled by a single operator, by iasing the proper diameter of belt Wheels or pulleys and reoulating @he stroke of the'feed of the respective sewing inechanisms-with the result that the rear 125 sewing mechanism has a speed fasfer than the. front one, which resu@ts in creating a tension on the work so a's to 'P,ull tightly thereon as it feeds through the Iiist sewing mechanism, thus aintaining,lthe work taut. This l@93
[2]1,8019,462 3 also permits the use of a longer stitch in the first sewino, mechanism itnd ii shorter one in the s@eco-n sewin(-r mechanism, and permits the -oise oi eight stitches to the inch in the front sewing mechanism,and twelve to the 'inch in the rear one. This double belt drive @,is a decided improvement, therefore, for it eliriiinates the chain and sprockets entirely of illy prior machine. A hand wheel can be 10, provided on one machine for the usual purpose@,. while a to@p feed operating means is providecl on the other ihachirie in place of the sprodkets and chain. By providing the first se-,ving mechanisi-n 15 With- a top -feed mechanism, a decided advantage is also obtained as it f acilitates the feedi-n- of the work, enablin- the top and bottom- plies to feed in unison, making an even start and finish, and overcoininty the 20 tendency of the top ply shifting bafekward because of the retarding frictioiitl action of @hepresserfoot. Withthetopfeedthesuperimpo@, ed layers of worlc are clamped together, during each stitch and f eed moveinent 25 and, therefore, the pressure on the presser foot can ' be relieved so that it merely acts as a stripper to prevent the work from liftin(,y with the needle, and as the contact surf ace of the top feed is directly in line and ol)po3o site to the needle, the feedin- arotind irregtilar curved portions of the -,vork is acconiplished with ease. This also tends to increase production. With this improved ma,chine and method, a single operator can tu-rn 35 out a great quantity of pairs of shoes per day at.considerably less expense. By elin@inating tHe puller feed., not only is the expense thereof eliminated, but also its maintenance a,nd consumption of power, 40 while the threadin-, adjusting, and oilirl- of the se -me cond sewing, ' chanisrri are much Slinplified and also enables it to be brought closer the general h@ndling of the,work. 45 Another featiire of ihe present improvement is the elimination of the numerous parts of the initial controlling means for -uidinc, and separating'the@ seaiii margins pnor to the overturning of one of t-he plies, @Ls shown r)o in Figs. 16 to 18 of the prior application. In place thereof I make use of a simple form of edge - uije located- adjacent to the needle 9 5 so that curved linc!S of stitchincy rnay be produced, spaced unif brmly witIT the edge of 55 the work, rega@dless @of ',its shal)6, with tlie. greatest of ease on the part @f the operator, in guiding the woi-k to th'@e needle of the first stitching mechanism. I In the, present improi@ed machine the se@tm rio made by the first sewing ihechanism is not initially' opened or spread apart i3,long the i margin, .1 edaes of the seam untii the stitched articles have r6ached a, posit.ion of approximately three iiriches i-n advance of the stitch-' 66 ing position of the second s@6wi ng iriechanism and until the ply has been partially overturned. The advantage of this is that friction on the work, as it feeds'from one mechanism to the other, is elirninat6d, whil@ a decided advantage is obtained in the handling To of curved art.-icles'",here the seam, instead of extendin(r in a sti-ai4rlit line, has a waved formzition@ 'as, for i @n'stance, on certain heel seams of ladies'ishoes. Another improvemeiit of the present inven- 75 tion i-, a seam guidin(r and openina means so arranged as to compe@sate for difte-rent thicknesses of materials. In the re-ular manuf aettir-- of canvas shoes and the like, the thickts of fa:bries vary@-some fab- so r than oth ers, dethe, shoe. Many wear, at eties, etc., are constructed o much beavier witerials than others. Th@se different wei-,hts of s5 materials come through to tl-ie factory"'operators at interials too fr'equent for mechanical adjustment and, tberef ore, the machine for stitching heel seaiiis, to be'practical, must meet this cotiditioii witl-iout screwdrivdr or, go wrench adjustment or mecha-nical attention. In other words, the machine must be flexible enough to stitch these different materials ag they come @ilon- so that tl-ie operator may keep the macliiiie constantly @Lt worlc on produc- 95 tion. Therefore, I have provided'a flexible control weans comprising yielding members which -will sl)read apart lateral@y to provide space for adjusting certain members to the - %@erti'cal seam portions of the work, while .160 otb6r members thereof will yield vertically to aceommodate different thicknesses of the horizontal portions of the work, certain of the members being so flexibly formed that they will yield to cowpensate for 'double ioS tlli'clcne,@ses of the work where the seams are fol(led al.on4), the marginal stitched bdgesto the operator,.improving the visibility and', back @ipon themselves prior to the stitching tbereon of the covering tape. Other means is a-Iso proi,ided to accurately centralize the ver- 110 tical portion of the worl@ forming the seam, prior to the spreading and opening operation in advance of the second stitcher a-nd whicli will accurately split the two plies apart,, regardless of their thiclK:ne-ss, as tlio articles feed 115 through one after another, to spread and flatten i@e seaiiy in a proper way. In practice I may also make use of a signal control. for acting upon the se@",ing threads 120 as they feed from th'e supply to the sewing, "lachine s, to act as detectors 'ior knots or weakne ssei@ in the threads. This overcomes faulty work in that the operator can remove the f aulty 2 . portion of thread before it reaches 15 t-he needles and also a signal device for acting upo'n the covering tape to signal the operator prior to failure of the t.ape so thxt no work is stitched without a tape being applied to cover the seams. A-ny of the well-known sig- 130
[3]4 1,809,462 nals may be provided for t@he threads or tape, for the purpose described. The location of the tape s-Lipply is also important, as the operator must have a. clear view of it as the work proceeds throucrh the machine to replenish the supply befo@e i't is exhausted, and thereby ov6rcome defective work. A sewing mechanism 1 having a needle and 10 co-operating stitch forming means to make the first row of stitche and a sewing niechanism 2 having a pair of needles and co-operating stitch formin- means to make two lines or rows of sti@tches are arranged in tandem 15 relation, one in the rear of the other,. on a suitable table 131 and. each 'may have the "Metropolitan" top and bottom rotary shaft construction, although it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any par20 ticular kind of se,%vincr mechanism. As they @re substantially the same as those described in my co-pending applications, a detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary. The front se-wing meel-lanisin 1 is operated 25 by a driving belt 3 (@see Fi-. 9), while the ?M rear sewing mechanism 2 is oper-,tted by a driving belt 4. Both of these belts pass around a do-Lible-grooved pulley 5 carried by a motor-driven shaft having'a suit-,ible cluteli 30 6 which may be coupled and ii-neoi-il-)Ied by a lever 7 connected by a chain 8 ivith a f@ot treadle, 9. The operator thus h,,is complete control of the power and speed f rom the electric motor 10 for starting and stoppin- the 11 35 machine, as well as regtilatino, t,l-ie rate of speed or P,. P. M. Each seivil@g meebanism is provided with a four-motion feed mech anism 11 or 12 operated from the bottom -shafts 11' or 12' and wiih looper mecha40 nisms 13 and 14 and needle operatin- mechanisms 15 and 16 which are driven f@om the top shafts,15' and 16' in the usual Nvay. A top feed mechanism is also employed with the sewing mechanism 1: and consists of an 45 adjustable crank 17 carried by the top sliaft 15' and a connecting rod ' parting mo18 lm tion to a lever 19 for rocking a shaft 20 of the top arm of the sewing mechanism 1. 50 The forward end of this roeIK: shaft 20 carries an arm 23 havina a link 24 pivotally cbnnecting it witlk a pa7rt 25 of a top feed lever 26. The lower end of this lever 25 has attached to it, at 27, a yoke member 28 (see 55 Fi-. 11) of a, top feed 29. This top feed reaches around the shank 30 of a presser foot 31 carried by the presser bar 32 in the usual manner. The top feed fits closely the shanlc of the presser foot and is thus -uided against 60 lateral movement as one part 33 of the feed operates on one side of the presser foot shank 30 while another p , art 28 operates on @the opposite side of the foot. The presser foot 31 is provided with a needle opening 34 and a 65 feed opening 35. The feed teeth 36 of the top feed reach down through this opening adjacent to the needle to feed the work. The up and down motion of the top feed is obtained by a connection 37 (see Fig. 9) forming part of the crank pin 38 of the needle driving means of the sewing mec I hanism 'l. This crank has a pin 39 offset sufficiently from the axis of the top shaft 15' and in iimed relation to give th'e proper vertical rise and f all to the tol) f eed through the -7n niediiim of the spring barrel construction generally indicated at 40. This sprinu barrel is provided %Vith a plunger 41 (se@'Figs. 1 and 9) pivotally connected at 42 to a rocking lever 43 which is pivotally secured at 44 80 to the top of a pres,@er bar 45. This presser bar thus has vertical reciprocating motion in bearin,-s in the top arm of -the sewing i-nechanism 1 and is held a(rainst the W'ork by suitable spr'ldg pressiire.. A presser foot lift- 85 ing i-i-leai)s 46 is provided (see Fig. @1). The presser foot meehanism of @he sewiil- mechanism 2 is generally indicated by 47. . . To control the work as it feeds to the first stitching mechanism 1, I fnalie use of a sedm go guide 48 (see Figs. 2, 8, 11 and 17) adjustably secured at 49 to the cloth or slide plate. This guide is located directly in line with ,ind adjacent to the needle to facilitate feeding arouiid curvecl forn'ls of work. Loedted 95 at the lef t and in line with the front of the presser foot 31 is the. fornvardly-projecting end of the worl@ or ply separating membet 56 located and supported abo-%,e the cloth plate of the machine, thus providinu a space 100 51 for the free passage of the botto-m ply of work. Th(- top ply of.-,vork passes up over the inclined edge 52 of this member 50 as it feeds throuoh the machine. This inclined r, ed(re 52 reaches its f ull height at 53 aind is 105 adyustably supported at 54 to an extending member 55, formin- a face plate 56 for,the end of the top arm @f the sewing mechani'sm 2. This face plate is secured, as at 57. The forwardly-projectilig end of this member 55 lio ierminates at 58 (see Figs..l, 2,and 8). The member 50 with its inclined vertical,wall 52 59 (see Figs. 1 and 8) to -ive it rictidity@ and to also act as a holding-down means f6r the 115 bottom ply of -work. The exteiiding member 55 is beiit or offqet or curved, as at 60 (see Fig. 2)-,-to properly locate the overturriing or flop-oter controlling means, which comprises a wire . guide 61 '120 attached at 62 to the vertical wall 52 of the member 50 atid at 63 to a similar gui de member 64 also connecteq, as at 65, to.,the vertical wall 52 and at 66 to the face plate 56. The top ply of the work 108 (see Fig. 8) is first 125 lifted upward by the inclined edge 52 and then, as it @feed@ alon-, comes in contact with the guide m6mber 64 until it reaches the position indicated at 68. At this time the guide member 61, extending more to the right,,ex- 130 carried by bearings 21 -and 22 - (see Ficy. 2) "is provided with a laterally-extending flange
[4]1,809,462 erts pressure against, the top ply of worlz, causing it to overturn or flop over, which is assisted by the work finally comiiig in contact with the'wire control member 69 attached at one end, as at 65, to the vertical wall 52 and at the other end, - Ls at 71, to the face plate 66, which thiis gives the final flopping-over actio-n to the top ply gf ma,terial 108, as indicated at 72 (Fig. 8). 10 Secured to the face plate 56, at 73, is a supportin- member 74 having adjustably secured to its lower end, as at 75, a vertical blade guidiiig membei 76. Alsoattaclied to the plate 56, at 77,.,is a similar s-Lipportinr 15 member 718 spac-ed from the supporting member 74 (see Figs., 1 and 8) having its lower end adjustably secured to the -vertical blade 76. The for,vvard,@nd of this-blade is rounded at 80 and l@as a, wire 81 attached to the 20 top edge. This wire is bowed laterally and is also secured at 65 to the vertical wall 52 so that it is properly supported. Thi blade 16 is,,provided at its rear end -with laterallyPro ting curv,od members 82 that act upon 25 the top surfaces of the wo@k to flatten it out, The end of this blade is bevelled, as at (@83, to fit closely to the fin 84 of the presser foot 85 of the rear se-wing mechanisia 2. This fin 84 (see Fig. 1) guides the top portion of 30 the seam 86 (see Fig. 8) to assist in cent:rally spacing'the seam with the two needles 87 of the rear stitching me@hanism 16. From the foregoihg it will, be seen (see Fig. 8) tl-iat the first article, indicated by A, 35 has its edges a controlled by the 'guide 4.8. The . stitch line of the first sewing mechanism is spaced -from the edge about three-eiglitlis of an inch or less, and the chain of stitches a' connects article A with the. see6nd article B 40 wliieh 'has the top ply partly flopped over vertical, position, @'s indicated by b. These seani margins are separated about midway between the two supports 74 and 78 by means 45 of a, sean-i opeiier hereinafter described and located directly under the blade 76 at that p(isition. @ Another chain of stitches b' connects'artiqle B with article C to ivhich the. stay tape is applied to tlie.bott6m of the 50 seam by the rear sewing mechanisn-i as sh-own in Fit,,. 18, The flexible sean@ gtiide controlling alid opening means (see Figs. 3 to 7) consists of a base plate 88 of rectangtilar form having 55 an outline such as that shown at 88a, 88b, 88c and 88d. This plate is m'ade of thin sheet steel and is provided with an, opening such as that shown by the n-iarginal lilies 89, 89a, 89b) 89c, and an opening 89d, providing a passage for the seam of the work. The f or'ward ends of this plitte tre ided with elongated slots 90 for the att=ent of the plate, by screws 91, to the cloth plate of the re @r se . wing mechanisw. 2. The front end of 65 this plate o,verhangs and rests on the cloth plate of the sewing mechatiisrn 1 (see Fig. 2). Pivotally and adjustably secured to this plate, @ai 9@', at one side of the opening 89d, is a spring steel w6rl@: (-Tuiding member 93 wliieh has a cur'led or be@nt end 94 to receive 70 the iiorl< as it feeds throuoh the n-iachine. TI-iis curled elad controls aAd -uides the flopped-over pl'y of worli: as it passes from one sewing mechani m to the 6ther. The top edge 95 of this member 93 is gradually bent 75 or etirved to an almost horizontal position @rom 95a to 956. A similar guiding member 97 is located at the opposite side of the openin- 89d and has a parallel eda(-, 96a, 96b. This i-iiember is @ivotdd at 98 to the plate 88 80 and shaped almost identically like the guide member 93, except for the extending end 94. Rearwardly of the pivots 92 and 98 are sholil- - der screws 99, one for each me'mber, perrait, ting free movement of the guide members 8 5 93 and 97, each of which is provided with a p in 100, extendin-- down througb@ the plate 8 8 and havin- conzected thereto, iind'erneath t he plate, a Fension spring 101 which automatically draws the two guide members 93 0 0 a nd 97 towards each other to bring the parall el edges 95a @nd 96a together and permit t hem to automatically open or s]Pread apart t o (rive the proper space between these guidi n(@ edges for di:fferent thicknesses of the 9 5 work it pass6s therebetween. The forwardly-projecting ends of the members 93 and 97 are narrowe(i up, as at 1 02, to make them vertically flexible where -hey 'overlap the extending portion 103 of 100 1, the plate 88. This extending end 103 of the plate 88 thus holds the flattened divercring edes of the work in a flat position (see 1 6) is they einerge from the erid 104 thereof to feed c;@ito the covering tape 105.. Fi,,,. 6 105 b ers 93 and 97 and a portion of the rear end o r extension 103 of the plate 88 and illustr ates the maniier in which the 'Seam 106 made by the se-,ving mechanism I is spread 1 10 o pen with the bottom ply 107 of the work t o the right aiid the top ply 108 t,o the left, witli the seain margins 109 and 110 projecti ng in the direction of,and parallel with ihe t op and bottom plies of woik. Attached to the bottom of the plate 88 by s cr--Ws 111 is a tr'ougli-shaped braelcet 112 ( see Figs. 5 and 7) for the reception 6f two sl iding jaws 113 and 114 which fit o-nto and a re.prope rly guided by the' brack_t 112. 120 They are secured thereto, by shoulder screws 1 15 and friction washers for smooth action. The, jaws 113,and 114 have do-wnwardly-proj ectin.g, projections 116, workiiig in an open-. i ng 125 of the bracket 112 (see Fia. 1), wl@lich 12 5 a tapped to receive the threaded portion of, a ;I'pr-ight and left screw 117. This s@e'revv is p rovided with a collar li8 fitting agaiiist tli6 i nne!7 side of a face plate 119 v,,hich forms -,t '1 30 part of the braeket 112. Against the outer with the seam mar(yin tipped doNv,nWard to a shows the flexible ends 102 of the guide mem-
[5]6 @1,809,462 face of this bracket is a collar 1120, secured to the screw 117. A spring-formed crank arm 121 is secured to the collar and has a handle 122 which acts as an indicator. The face plate 110 is shown with three fixed stations 123 (see Fig. 1) to which this indicator handlecanbeshifted. Byturningthehandle 122 to shift it to any of these stations, the screw 117 is turned and thus regulates the lo space between the sliding jaws 113 and 114 (see Fi-. 7) equal to the thickness of the work being stitched. The three spaces, indicated b the stations 123, will thus accommodate tzree di:fferent thicknesses of work, but this 15 face plate can have any number of stations to suit any number of thicknesses of work. The pitch of the screwthread 117 may be such that a slight turnin- of, the screw through a portion of its,r@evolution would 20 control the space between the jaws as desired. A seam openingr plough or gyuide 127 is attached by screws 126 to the bracket 112 and is located between the jaws 113 and 114 to the rear of the vertical plane of the projec25 tions 116 of the jaws, and the vertical edge of this plough is accurately located between the guide jaws 113 and 114 and is so.shaped as to flare the seam maroin edges 109-110 of the work in the manner shown in Figs. 5 3o and 6. Attached to the top of the sliding jaws 113-114 to travel with th6 adjustable jaws, curved projecting portions 129 that also help 35 to control the seams and are likewise adjusted by the jaw screw 117 to the different thicknesses of work. These plates have flared portions 130 (see Fi S. 3 and 4). The-framewor.Ts of the two sewing mecha40 nisms I and 2 are connected by a metal brace' or sti-ap 131' (Fig. 2), extending from. one to the other. On some sizes of shoes,. this brace is not necessary, but on the larger sizes it provides a support to prevent a portion of 4r, the shoe upper from dropping down between the m4chines and interfering with the tape 105 (see Fig. 2). . A -tape reel 105a (see Fig. 2) is located in proper position and is provided with a suit60 able signal, as at 105b. A tape guide 105c @see Fig. 1) for effecting a right-angle turn is secured@ to the table and the tape passes up through a slot in the throat plate or over the eiid thereof. 55' In the operation of this improv6d machin'e it will be obse"rved that ihe superposed -plies 6f ma-terial forming the first shoe upper, for instance,@ are stitched by the first sewing medhanigm with a single row of stitches 106. 6o TheDeup@n, as they are fed th rough the stitching mechanism, the top ply is separated from the lower ply by the separating means 50 and gradually li.fted and overturned by th@ overturning means hereinbefore de, 65 scribed, and the overttirning of the ply carries areplatesl28(seeFig.5),theseplateshaving said invention aiid described a way of' the seam majrgins from a horizontal position into a substantially vertical position at ri,-Iit a-ngles to the plane of the plies. When the seam margins have been ctrried into this ver-. tical position, they pass through the flexible 7( controlling means which, hs before stated, is ad:justable for various thi6knesses of work, where the seam margins are separated or diverted and thus pread apart and flattened into substantial parallelism with the plies Of 75 work and are inaintained, in this condition until they reach the s6cond sewing me@hanism, prior to which a stay tape is fed to the flattened seam margins whicli, tozether with this tape, are then stitched by the second 80 sewing mechanism with parallel rows of stitches. By means of the improvements the present' machine is very n-iuch simpefied as compared with the machine of my prior applica- 85 tions, much more easily handled, the handling of the work by the operator facilitated, and the speed of the machdne materially increased-with the resultant increase of production , which is a very material factor. 90 it is to be understood that 'by describing in detail herein any particular form, structure, or arran(reinent, it is iiot intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of- the 95 p art. r'or 1-laving thus explained tl-ie nature of my constructing and using the same, altl@ougli without attempting to set forth all of the loo forms in which it-m@y be made or all.of the modes of it use, I
