US1570278A - Hemstitch machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 19 1926.

- M. H. PREZ HEMSTITGH MACHINE Filed oct. 11, 1923- 2 sheets-sheet 1 TCE-..15

ce Q '.Q, ATTORNEY.-

Jan. 19 1926.

M. H. PREZ HEMSTITCH MACHINE Filed Oct. 11,

1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illu/ll Q l I ATTORNEY.

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Patented Jan.. 19, 1926.

imminentl HUMBERTO PREZ, or SAN PEDRO sULA, HONDURAS.

To' all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MANUEL HUMBERTO PREZ, a citizen ofthe Republic of Honduras, residing at San Pedro Sula, in the Department of Cortez and Republic of Honduras, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hemstiteh Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines, forY producing hemstitching, lor open-work stitching, such as is used on handkerchieis, bed and table linen, etc., and for producing other work of like general nature,lin which machines combined reciprocatory and/laterally vibratory or oscillatory needles arek eln- `ployed in conjunction with a piercer for opening up the cloth. More particularly my invention relates to a machine of this character employing two needlesy adapted to be spread and adjusted toward and from l eachother for a variable spreading action to regulate the distance between the stitches made thereby. The novel structural features embodying my invention are particularl'y designed for use.. upon 'two-needle hemstitch machines of the Singer type in general use, although equally well adapted for application to machines of other makes.

One object of the invention is to provide simple, reliable andeliicient means for controlling the piercer and needles, and which considerably reduces the number of parts required -for'the purpose ascompared with prior machines.

' Another object of the invention is to provide means, of a novel and improved character, whereby the working motion of the piercer and the spreading action of the needles may be regulated as desired to vary the sizes of the openings formed in the fabric and to regulate the stitching operation accordingly.

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide novel and improved means for projecting and retraeting the piercer at proper time periods.

Still another object of the invention is to provide' needle controlling mechanism, which may be adjusted or set by the operator, to vary thespreading motion ofthe needles, and to permit oftheir lateral vibration or oscillation, for producing openings of any one of a plurality of number of sizes in the fabric.

lStill another object of the invention is to provide a piercer automatically governed by Application filed October 11, 1923. Serial No. 667,953.

` HEMSTITCH MACHINE.

the degree of 'spreading' motion of the needles to regulate its depth of penetration into the fabric and the size ofthe opening formed thereby. l s 1 Vith these and other objects in view,fthe invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being Vhad to the accompanying drawings, in which f Figure lisa vertical front-to-rear section, with parts in elevation, taken substantially on the plane of the needle bar,

' through a portion of the machine head and bed-plate and showing the invention asapplied for use, with parts in normal or retracted position.

Figure 2 is a'iront elevationof the piercer carrying bar, showing the piercer and its plunger actuating leverapplied thereto.

Figure 3 is a horizontal transverse section taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse section on line 4 4 o f Figure 1, showing the lparts in normal position.

Figure 5 is a view. in side elevation ot parts shown in Figure 4, showing the needles on their' downward working motion and spread bythe action of the spreader.

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse section on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of the needle carrying head.

Figure 8 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3 with the parts in the position shown in Figures 5 and 6.

Figure 9 is a section on line 9-9 of "Figure 3.

Figures 10 and l1 are perspective views of the loose 'and fixed ratchet disks of the needle spacing mechanism.

Y Figure 12 is a detail section on line 12-12 of Figure 1.

Figure 13 is a top plan view ofthe work plate.

Figure 14 is a spreader detached from its supporting arm.

z Figure 15 is a vdetail section on line 15-15 of'. Figure 1.

Referring new more particularly to the drawings, in which I have shown only such parts ofthe general machine structure as are necessary to a disclosure of my invention, 1.

side elevation of theA Las catory piercer-carrying bar, 5 the piercer, and 6 the bed plate of the machine. rthe bed plate 6 carries the work plate 7 having the slots 8 in which the feeddogs operate and provided with a needle aperture 9. Depending from the plate 7 is a needle guide 10 provided with a stationary wedge-shaped needle spreader 11, and grooved on opposite sides, as indicated at 12, for the guidance of the needles held spaced by the spreader 11 for cooperation with the loopers arranged below the bed plate 6.

The needles 8 are respectively held in blocks 13, and these blocks are pivotally mounted upon a carrier head 14 as indicated at 15, so as to permit the needles to move outwardly and inwardly with relation to each other to regulate the distance between them, springs 16 on the blocks and engaging the head being provided to normally force the needles inwardly and hold them substantially in abutting relation. A pin 17 is provided on each needle block for movement in an elongated slot 18 in the carrier head to limit the inward and outward movement of the needle carried thereby. One of 'these pins 17 carries a contact head 19, for a purpose hereinafter described. The head 14; is provided with a shank S20 fitting within a socket in the lower end of the needle carrier bar 2 and secured thereto by a set screw Vthreaded at its upper end to receive the headed portion 28 of a guide yoke, secured in position thereon by a nut Q9, said yoke including arms 3() extending downwardly in rear of the arm 27 and slidably engaging the same to guide the rod l5 in its movements. The needle carrier rod is mounted to reciprocate in the head frame 1, to actuate the needles 3 on their up and down movements in the usual way, the needles passing downward through the `aperture 9 in the work plate 7 and on opposite. sides of the spreader 11 for coaction with the looper devices for producing the desired stitching. The piercer-carrying bar lis also mounted for reciprocating motion in the head frame 1. but has a limited degree of reciprocating motion only, suthcient only to raise and lower it with respect to the work plate 7 in timed accord with the needles to permit proper motion of the latter. Then the piercer is 'depressed between working motions 'et the needles, into position to pass through the cloth resting upon the work plate, it is positively forced downward through the fabric by motion received from the needle carrier bar. To this end an L- shaped plunger actuating lever 31 is provided, having a horizontal arm 32 pivoted to the rod 1, as indicated at 33, and having an upright arm 34 carrying a spring projected trip dog 35, carrying a tooth 36 projecting forwardly through an opening 37 in the lever arm Slt and terminating in a beveled or undercut lip 38. Then the parts are in normal position, as shown in Figure 1, the tooth 36 underlies the contact 19 on the needle carrier head and is adapted to be engaged by said Contact to force the lever 3 downward, the lower edge of the horizontal arm of which will engage and depress the plunger rod 25 and its actuating yoke against the resistance of a lifting sning 25 thus forcing the piercer 5 downwardly through the fabric. The lever 31 normally rests lightly on the plunger rod 25 and has a variable range of movement under the action of contact 19 to depress the plunger rod and piercer to a greater or less extent. As the needles descend, it will be understood that the contact 19 will engage the tooth 3G until said tooth, through the are of motion of the lever arm 34, passes laterally out of line with contact 19, whereupon the downward motion of the lever 31 and the piercer will cease, and the spring 25 will litt the piercer and its actuating parts to normal position. On the subsequent upward movement of the needles the conta 't 19 will engage the beveled lip 38 of the tooth 3G, which will be pressed back in the slot 37 to allow said contact 19 to pass upwardly to normal position, the spring action of the dog then returning the tooth 36 to working position beneath the contact 19, as will be readily understood.

r,The needles, as stated, are capable of a spreading motion lo a greater or less extent, in which spreading motion the contact 19 is movable laterally to the extent allowed by the associated limitation slotI 18. When the pin 17 carrying the contact 19 is at the inner end of the slot, the contact 19 will engage the tooth 36 adjacent to the inner edge of the latter, and hence the contact 19 will clear the tooth on a small arc of movement of lever arm 3-1, depressing the piercer to a limited degree. As the needles are spread` wider apart, the pin 17 carrying contact 19 will move outward to a correspondingly greater degree in the slot 18, and hence the contact 19 will be laterally adjusted with 'relation to the upper surface of tooth 36, so as to require a greater arc of movement of the lever arm 34 before the contact 19 passes out of engagement with the tooth 36. Through this automatic adjustment of the contact laterally across the tooth 3G, as the needles are adjusted to greater or less degrees apart, the time period of engagement of the contact 19 with the tooth 36 will be varied, with 7 the effect of depressing t-he lever 31 to a greater or less extent, and correspondingly causing the piercer to be forced into the fabric to a greater or less degree, proportionate to the degree of spreading motion of the needles. Thus as the needles are spread for a stitching action in connection with openings of progressively increasing sizes, the piercer will be` forced downwardly to increasing degrees to make correspondingiy sized openings in the fabric, as will be understood. l

Controlling mechanism is provided for spreading the needles to any desired degree, and to regulate the lateral vibratory or oscillatory motions thereof iii their working actions. This mechanism comprises a spreader block 39 having a wedge-shaped surface 40, and adjustable to move said wedge-shaped s urface inwardly and outwardly with, relation to the space between bosses 41 on the forward ends of the pins 17, whereby the needle carrier blocks may be spread against the resistance of springs 16 and held spread onthe working motions of the needles. The block 39 is carried by a supporting arm 42 vand is provided adj acent its lower end with a guide pin 43 slidably engaging` an opening 44 in the lower end of said arm. At its upper end the block 39 has fixed thereto an inner shaft or Vstem 45 upon the inner end of which is loosely mounted Va revoluble ratchet sleeve or disk 46 and te which .is feathered for sliding motion thereon a relatively stationary or non-rotatable coacting ratchet sleeve or disk 47. The ratchet disk 46 is provided with an annular series of contact spokes or arms 48 and on its inner side is formed with a pair of cam projections 49, while the ratchet sleeve or disk 47 is provided, on its side facing said projections 49, with an annular series of deep ratchet grooves 50 and shallow ratchet grooves 51, the grooves of the series being arranged in successive working sets, consisting each of two deep grooves 50 followed by a single shallow groove 51. The contact spokes or arms 48 are arranged to be successively brought into the path of movement of a pivoted striker 52 carried by a supporting arm 58 on the needle carrier head or needle carrier bar, said striker having a beveled outer end port-ion 54, a stop lug 55 adapted for engagement with arm 53 to limit its downward movement, and normally held depressed and in working position by a spring 56.

The arm 42 is provided with a passage 57 through which the shaft or stem 45 eX- tends, and slidably and rotatably fitted in said passage is an outer shaft or sleeve 58:, through the bore of which the inner shaft or stem 45 extends. The sleeve 58 abuts at its inner end against the ratchet collar 47 and has an outer end portion provided with flattened surfaces 59 on which arevmounted a beveled gear 60 and an indicator disk or dial 6l disposed in a bifurcated portion or recess 62 formed in the arm 42. Said gear 60 and disk 61 have their center bores formed with fiattened surfaces to engage said flattened surfaces 59, to adapt them to be slidably engaged with and disengaged from the sleeve 5S and to be locked to said,

sleeve to positively turn therewith. rThe indicator dial or disk 61 is provided on itsV with a beveled gear 67 meshing with the gear 60 and at its outer end with a handl wheelf68,.whereby, through reverse rotations of the shaft the sleeve 58 may be rotated in one direction or the other and caused vto move inwardly and outwardly, and whereby the indicator dial or disk 61 will be rotated therewith. A washer 69 is fitted on the shaft 45 and bears against the outer end of the sleeve 58 to hold said sleeve fixed against longitudinal movement between the ratchet disk 47 and said washer 69, and disposed on the outer end of the shaft, between said washer 69 and a washer 70 is a coiled spring 71, the washer 70 being held .inposition by a securing and adjusting nut 72, whereby said spring is adapted to be tensioned. The spring 71 is adaptedV by its expansive energy to normally slide the shaft 45 outwardly and maintain the ratchet disk 46 in engagement with the ratchet disk 47, while permitting the ratchet tooth surfaces of said disks to lhave relative inward and outward movement, so as to adapt the disk 46 to rotate with relation to the disk 47. rlhe arm 42 is carriedvby a bracket member 73 mounted on the head frame 1, said bracket member being pro vided with spaced eyes 74 receiving between them an eye 75 on the upper end of arm 42, one of said eyes being threaded to receive an adjusting and clamping screw 76.

`Theeyes 74 are adapted to spread slightly by their resiliency to admit the eye 75, and then to be tightened by the screw 76 to clamp the eye 75 between them. lhen the screw 76 is loosened the arm 42 and parts carried thereby may be swung vupwardly to an inoperative position, so as to, permit access to be obtained without interference to the needle head and coacting parts. A locking pin or stud 77 carried by the eye 75 is provided to engage sockets or recesses 78 and 79 in the relatively liXed eye, on a clamping movement of the eyes 74, to respectively lock the arm 42 in its lower operative position and in its upper inoperative position. When the arm 42 is swung upwardly, the spreader 39, stem 45, sleeve 58, and the ratchet members 46 and 47 applied thereto, may be removed as a unit from the arm 42 upon the disconnection of the parts 69, 70, 7l and 72, upon removal ot which the parts G0 and (il may be detached, and said parts may be applied to the arm 42 by slipping them into position in an obvious manner and setting them ttor operation by application of the parts (59 to 72, inclusive, thus adapting the needle spreading and controlling mechanism to be readily and conveniently assembled upon the machine and disassembled Jfor cleaning, repairs, replacements or other purposes.

ln the loperation ot the machine, with the parts disposed in the normal position shown in Figure 1, it will be understood that at l the beginning of the working movement the bars 2 and 4 will move downwardly under operation of the actuating mechanism on the machine head, thc bar 4 having a limited. downward movement and terminating when the point ot the piercer 5 is brought in position to engage the cloth, while the bar 2 continues its downward movement for the passage of the needles down through the cloth. The needles are set for action, by spreading them to a greater or less distance apart, by inward adjustment ot the spreader block 39, whose wedge surface is entered between the bosses 4l to a greater or less dcgree. Hence as the needles tra-vel downwardly they will be held spread a specified distance apart so as to pass downward through the opening 'formed by the piercer in the cloth. Before the needles enter the cloth, however, the contact member 19 on the needle-carrying head engages the tooth 36 of dog 35, depresses the lever il so as to actuate the piercer 5, and then moves out ol contact with the dog to permit the piercer to be withdrawn by the action et its retracting` spring 25. Three complete reciprocating movements ot the needle are necessary to complete a stitch. On the tirst downward naivement ot the needles, at which time the projections 49 oi ratchet disk 46 engage one pair or deep notches ot disk 4i", the needles pass downward through the formed opening in the cloth, the striker tripping over the under'- lying pin 48 on this motion, so that the position ot ratchet disk 46 remains unaffected. @n the ensuing upward motion of the needles, striker 52 engages a pin 4S lying in its path and gives ratchet disk 46 a quarter turn, causing its projections 49 to engage a pair of the shallower grooves 5l in disk 47, thus pushing the spreader bar 39 inwardly to a greater' extent and spreading the needles to a greater degree. On the second down stroke, therefore, the needles will form the outside punctures beyond the cloth opening preparatory to the final action in which the needles more inwardly to their original postion and again pass down through the opening in the cloth. On the upward motion of the needles, after carrying the thread down through the outside punctures, the striker arm 52 engages a pin 48 and again turns the ratchet disk 46 to bring its projections 49 into engagement with another pair oi' the deeper notches 50, thus restoring the spreader 39 to original position, so that on its Vfinal stitch forming motion, in conjunction with the loopers operating beneath the bed 6 in the usual manner, the needles in normally spread condition will pass down through the opening in the cloth. It will thus he seen that by means et the adjustable spreader 39, which is adjustable to a variety ot positions through the adjusting gearing on the arm 42, the degree of spreading ac tion et the needles t'or a stitching action in connection with formed openings of various sizes may be regulated, and such position accurately determined by the indicator dial or disk (3l, and that by means ot the striker and ratchet adi usting mechanism described, the needles will be adapted, on any otl their spreading adjustments, to be laterally oscillated or vibrated to a lined degree for the production of stitches in cooperation with the usual looper mechanism. The invention thus provides a means whereby any deter mined spreading action oi? the needles may be obtained, and whereby, through associated mechanism, a proper prescribed vibratory motion of the needles may also be secured. lt will be apparent that the mechanism for producing these results is simple, and capa le of ready and convenient operation, for any gage needle working action, and that the spacing' adjustment may be accurately gaged and determined through the medium of the indicator described. The construction disclosed for the purpose not only gives a greater range of spreading adjustments tor the needles than has been possible here totore, but also materially reduces the number of parts required lor the operation ot the piercer and needles, as compared with prior machines. The mode of mounting the arm 42 and the parts thereon also adapts the controlling mechanism to be moved into and out of working position, and also permits the parts thereof to be readily and conveniently assembled and disassembled, thus enabling any ot the working parts to be conveniently reached for adjustment, cleaning,

repairs, replacements and all other pur-l poses.

While the piercer-carrying rod 4 is described as mounted on the machine head l, and shifted upwardly and downwardly by the driving mechanism in the head, this is not necessary, as under some conditions the rod t may be fixed and the piercer 5 simply positioned so that it may be properly depressed through the medium of its actuating` lever 3l and raised by the action of its retracting spring 25, on ensuing up and down movements or the needle mechanism, as will be readily understood.

`While the invention is particularlv adapted for application upon the Well known Singer two-needle hemstitch machine in general use, I do not limit it to such application, as it may be employed on other maires oit machines of the same character. I also do not limit myself to any partciulaii type of' machine mechanism generally for actuating the needles and other working parts ot the machine, as I may employ the same mechanism as that used on the Singer 'machine referred to, or an \v machine of equivalent type.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim:

l. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory and oscillatory needles, a piercer actuated by said needle mechanism, a needle spreader, mechanism for advancing and retracting the spreader between fixed normal advanced and retracted positions, and means for adjusting the spreader to vary its fixed advanced and retracted positions, said spreader advancing and retracting mechanism operating` in each cycle of action on the initial downward movement of the piercer and needles to leave the spreader in set normal retracted position, on the ensuing upward motion of the needles to move the spreader to fixed advanced needle spreading position, on a second downward movement of the needles to maintain the spreader in needle spreading position, on the ensuing upward movement of the needles to retract the spreader on the third downward movement of the needles to maintain the spreader in retracted position, and on the final upward movement of the needles to still maintain the spreader in retracted position while re-setting the spreader advancing and retracting mechanism for a repetition of the allieve-described, operation.

2. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory and oscillatory needles, a piercer, a needle spreader, a means for periodicallyv moving the .needle spreader, means for varying the working action of the needle spreader c spread the needles to different degrees in the spreading action thereojt', and means operative for depressing the piercer to di; degrees dependent upon the degree of spreading motion of the needles by the spreader.

3. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory and oscillatory needles, a movable automatically retractible spreader, and mechanism for shifting the spreader to needle 'spreading position and releasing it for retraction at predetermined periods, said mechanism embodying a springpressed sliding but nonrotatable member and a rotatable member, said members being provided with surfaces operating alternately in the rotation of said rotatable member to move the spreader to needle spreading position and release it for retraction, and means operative in the reciprocations of the needles for imparting periodic partial revolutions to said rotatable member.

4. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movably supported by the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a slidably mounted wedge variably adjustable in a horizontal plane toward and from and between the needles to vary the spacing of the needles, and means operative automatically on alternate movements of the needle bar for adjusting the wedge to a greater needle spacing position and then returning it to set spacing position.

5. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movably mounted on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a support on the machine frame, a spacing wedge slidably mounted on said support in advance of the needlesA Afor horizontal movement toward and from thie needles for adjustment to different needle spacing positions, and means for movingl said wedge in reverse directions, including means slidable with the wedge and operative on alternate movements of the needle bar for sliding the wedge a greater degree for a greater needle spacing action and then releasing the wedge for automatic return to normal spacing position. p

6. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movably mounted on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a -needle spacer arranged for movement in a line at right angles to the path of movement of the needles, and means for adjusting said needle spacer along such line to any one of a plurality of spacing positions.

7. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movably mounted on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a slidable and rotatable support, a needle spacer slidable on said support, means for slidably adjusting said support to adjust said spacer to a plurality of adjusting positions,v and means operative by rotary movement of the support for indicating the extent oi' adjustment of the spacer.r

$2. vIn a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movably supported on the bar for adjustment toward and from each other, a slidable and rotatable support, a needle spacer slidable on said support, means for slid-ably adjusting said. support to adjust the spacerl to a variety of spacing positions, an indicator operated by rotary movement of the support for indicating the eX- tent of adjustment of the spacer, means for simultaneously sliding and rotating the support, and means actuated by the movements of the needle bar for advancing and retracting the spacer independent of said support.

9. ln a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mounted on the bar for spreading adjustments, a needle spreader, a sliding shaft supporting said spreader, means for automatically retracting the spreader, a rotatably and slidably movable shaft for moving the spreader forward to spacing positions, and indicating means rotatable with the latter-named shaft i0. In a. sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory and oscillatory needles, a movable auton'iatically retractible needle spreader, and mechanism for shifting the spreader to needle spreading position and releasing it for retraction at predetermined periods, said mechanism embodying a spring-pressed sliding but nonrotatable member and a rotatable member having a series of spaced projections whereby it may be turned, one of said members being provided with a series of alternately disposed deep and shallow notches and the other of said membters having projections to alternately engage said deep and shallow notches, and a trip device yieldable in one direction and fixed against movement in the reverse direction for coaction with said spaced projections of said rotatable member.

ll. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating` needle bar, two needles movably mounted on the bar for spreading action, a wedge for spreading the needles, a sliding support for the wedge on which the wedge is slidably mounted, means acting on said support for niormally holding the wedge retracted and returning it to normal position, and means actingon the wedge independent of the support for adjusting the wedge against the resistance of the first-named means into any one of a plurality of needle spreading positions.

12. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mounted on the bar for spreading motion, a sliding wedge for spreading the needles, means for retracting the wedge, a rotatable sleeve having a spiral groove, and means for rotating said sleeve and engaging said groove to slide said sleeve forward as it rotates for adjusting the wedge into any one of a plurality of needle spreading positions.

13, In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mounted on the bar for spreading motion, a needle spreading wedge, a slidingl stem supporting the wedge, spring means acting on said stem for normally holding the wedge retracted, and feeding means for feeding the stem and wedge forward against the resistance of the spring means to dispose the wedge in any one of a plurality of needle spreading positions.

it. ln a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, a pair of needles movably mounted on the bar for spreading action, a wedge for spreading the needles, a sliding support for the wedge, means acting on said support for normally holding the wedge retracted, a rotatable and longitudinally movable feed sleeve for adjusting the wedge forwardly and permitting of its retraction, and means for communicating rotary and longitudinal motion to said feed sleeve.

15. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movably supported by the bar for spreading action, a wedge for spreading the needles, a sliding support for the wedge, spring means acting on said support for normally holding the wedge re-` tracted and opposing its for vard movement, a rotatable and longitudinally slidable feed sleeve for feeding the wedge forward and permitting its retraction, means for rotating and sliding said sleeve, and means ojierative on certain movements of the needle bar for shifting the wedge forward to a spacing position greater than that to which it is adjusted by the sleeve` '16. ln a sewing machine, a recipriicating needle bar, two needles movably mounted on the bar for spacing adjustments, a spacing wedge slidably adjustable to different nee vle spacing positions, a sliding stem cari, ig said wedge, spring i'neans acting on the stein for normally holding the wedge retracted and opposing its forward n'iovement, a rotary' sliding feed sleeve for adjusting the wedge fori'vardly and permitting ot its retraction, means for rotating and sliding said sleeve, and a device composed of two relatively movable members adapted to move the wedge forward a greater distance than that to which it is adjusted by the sleeve, one of said members being` positively operated by the needle mechanism on a predetermined movement thereof.

if?. ln a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles carried by the needle bar and adjustable for s'iacing action` a spreader for adjusting the i'ieedles, a slid-- ing stem carrying the spreader, spring means acting on the stem for holding the spreader retracted and opposing its forward movement, a rotatable and sliding sleeve for variably n'ioving the spreader forward, means for rotating and sliding said sleeve, a ratchet disk fixed to thestem and haring alternately arranged shallow :ind deep'grooifes, a coacting ratchet disk loosely mounted on the stem and having projections to engage said grooves and also provided with contact surfaces, and a contact member movable with the needle bar for engaging the contact surfaces on the loose ratchet disk in certain move-ments of said bar for turning the loose ratchet disk with relation to the iXed ratchet disk.

18. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles movably mo-unted on the bar for spacing adjustments, a spreader for spreading the needles, a sliding springretracted stem carrying the spreader, a rotary sliding sleeve for moving the spreader forward, operating means for rotating and sliding said sleeve, and indicating means actuated by said operating means for indicatinoadjustments of the spreader.

19. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, a pair of needles mounted on the bar tor spreading motions, a spring-retracted spreader adapted to be positivelyv moved forward to different needle spreading positions, means operative for positively moving the spreader forward and permitting of its retraction, two relatively movable members having ratchet surfaces of different depths for moving .the spreader forward a greater distance than that to which it is adjusted by the operating means yand permitting of its subsequent return to the position to which it is adjusted by the operating means, and means actuated by the needle bar on predetermined motions `for actuating said ratchet surfaces. f

20, In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles carried by the needle bar tor.spreading adjustments, means for spreading said needles, a piercer bar, a apriiig-retracted plunger 'arried by the piercer liar, and means operative on a motion ot' the needle bar lor depressing the plunger and then releasing the same.

2l. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles mounted on the needle bar ior spacing adjustments, means ior spacing said needles, a piercer, a springretracted plunger connected with the piercer, a lever for depressing the plunger, a contact carried by the needle bar, and a contact carried by the lever adapted to be engaged on the downward movement of the needle bar for actuating said plunger'.

22. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two needles carried by the bar and adjustable for spacing motions, means ior spacing the needles, a piercer, a springretracted plunger connected with the piercer, a pivoted lever ior depressing the plunger, a spring dog on the lever, and a contact carried by the V.needle bar for cooperation with said dog so las to successively depress and release the lerer on the downward movement nl? the ,needle ...en

23. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, means for variably spreading the needles, a piercer, and means actuatedv by a part of the needle mechanism and governed by the degree of spreading motion of the needles for depressing the piercer to varying degrees depen-dent upon the extent of spread of the needles.

24. In a sewing machine, a reciprocatory needle bar, relative-ly adjustable needle carriers on the bar, a pair oi oscillatory needles carried by the needle carriers, a reciprocatory piercer carrying bar, a reciprocatory piercer mounted to reciprocate on the piercer carrying bar, a variably adjustable spreader for variably spreading the needle carriers, and means for actuating the piercer, said means being governed by the adjustment of the needle carriers for varying the degree of movement of the piercer proportionate to the degree of spread of the needles.

25. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory and oscillatory needles, a piercer actuated by said needle mechanism, a movable automatically retractible nee-dle spreader supported by a fixed part of the machine, and mechanism for shifting the spreader forward to needle spreading position and releasing it for retraction at predetermined periods, said mechanism operating in each cycle of action on the initial downward movement of4 the piercer andneedles to leave the spreader in normal retracted position, on the ensuing upward motion of the needles to move the spreader to needle spreading position, on a second downward movement of the needles to maintain the spreader in needle spreading position, and on the ensuing upward movement of the needles to release the needle spreader for retraction and reset the parts for a repetition ot the above-described operation.

2G. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism including reciprocatory and oscilla-toryv needles, a piercer actuated by said needle mechanism, a movable automatically retractible needle spreader supported by a fixed part of the machine, and mechanism for shifting the spreader forward to needle spreading position and releasing it for retraction at predetermined periods, said mechanism embodying a spring-pressed sliding but non-rotatable member and a rotatable member having a series oit spaced projections whereby it may be turned, one of said members being provided with a series oil alternately disposed ,deep and shallow notches and the other of said members having projections to alternately engage said deep and shallow notches, and a pivoted spring pressed trip device yieldable in one direction and fixed against movement in the reverse direction for coactio'n with said spaced projections'of said rotatable member,

27. In a sewing machine, a pair oi reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, a support carried by the machine head and arranged in advance oi the needles, a spreader carrie-d by said support and movable horizontally toward and from the needles and between the same, means for manually adjusting the spreader to vary the normal position thereof relative to the needles, and automatic means, actuated by the machine mechanism, for periodically advancing and retracting the spreader.

28. In a sewing machine, a. pair of reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, a support pivotally mounted on the machine head in advance ot the needles and adjustable so as to be thrown into and out of op-erative position, aspreader carried by said support and movable in a horizontal plane toward and from the needles and between the same, means for manually adjusting said spreader on said support Jfor varying the normal relationship between the spreader and the needles, and .means operative by the machine mechanism for automatically advancing and retracting the spreader at predetermined periods.

29. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, a spreader arranged in advance 'of and movable on a horizontal line toward and trom the needles, a sliding rod carrying said spreader, means acting on the rod tor retracting the spreader, means tor adjusting the rod to vary the normal. position oft; the spreader with relation to the needles, and means coacting with said retracting means 'for automatically advancing and retracting the spreader at predetermined periods.

30. In a sewing machine, reepirocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, a spreader, means normally operative ier retracting the spreader, two cooperating members having clutch teeth operative under relative movements of said members for alternately advancing and pern'iitting retraction of: the spreader, and means operative by the machine mechanism for imparting relative moven'ient to said members at predetermined periods.

3l.. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, a spreader, a sliding rod connected therewith, a spring acting on the rod tor normally retracting the spreader, a rotatable and .longitudinally slidable sleeve engaging' the rod, means for rotating and simultaneously sliding said sleeve, a clutch member rotatable with and slidable on the rod, 'a second clutch member rotatable on the rod, said clutch members being provided with clutch surfaces operative on movements of the latter-named clutch member for alternately advancing and retracting the spreader, and means operative by the sewing machine mechanism for periodically operating` the latter-named clutch member.

32. In a sewing machine, reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, a spreader, a sliding rod carrying said spreader, a spring acting on the rod for normally retracting the spreader, means for adjusting the rod to vary the working relationship between the spreader and needles, a clutch member rotatable with and slidable on the rod, said clutch member having alternately disposed deep and shallow notches, a clutch member rotatable on the rod and provided with projections for engagement with said notches, spaced contacts on the latter-named clutch member, and a pivotally mounted spring pressed trip device for coaction with said projections on said clutch member for operating the same to advance and retract the spreader at predetermined periods.

33. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embdoying reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, a contact carried by said needle mechanism, automatic needle spreading mechanism, a piercer, a depressible spring retracted plunger carrying the piercer, and a contact carried by said plunger adaptedto be engaged by the firstnamed contact on the downward movement of the needles and to slide over said contact on the upward movement of the needles.

34. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, automatic spreading mechanism for the needles, a reciprocatory piercer actuating bar, a spring retracted plunger carried by said bar, a piercer carried by the plunger, a. depressible lever engageable with the plunger, a contact carried by said lever, and a coacting contact on the needle mechanism variably engageable with the first-named contact to depress the piercer carrying plunger to different degrees dependent upon the spreading motion of the needles.

35. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, automatic spreading mechanism for variably spacing the needles, a contact carried by the needle mechanism, a spring retracted plunger, a piercer carried by the plunger, and a contact on the plunger operative to be engaged by the lirst-named contact on the downward movement of the needles and to wipe over the same on the upward movement of the needles, said contacts having a variable actuating engagement to depress the plunger to different degrees depende-nt upon the degree oi spreading motion oil the needles.

36. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, means for variably spreading the needles, a contact carried by the needle mechanism and movable laterally with the needles, a spring retracted plunger, a piercer carried by said plunger, a lever for depressing the plunger, and a contact carried by said lever and arranged to be engaged by the first-named contact on the downward movement of the needles and to wipe over the same on the upward movement of the needles, said lever contact being variably engaged by the first-named contact for depressing the plunger to different degrees according to the degree of spreading motion of the needles.

37. In a sewing machine, needle mechanism embodying reciprocatory and laterally oscillatory needles, mechanism for variably spreading the needles, a piercer, piercer carA rying means mounted independentlyv of thel needles and its spreading mechanism, and Contact devices carried by the needle mechanism and piercer carryingvmeans respectively, engageable on the downward movement of the needles only for actuating the piercer, said contacts having a variable degree of engagement for depressing the piercer to variable degrees dependent upon the' degree of spreading motion of the needles.

38. In a sewing machine, a reciprocating needle bar, two relatively movable needles carried by the bar, a spreader for variably spacing the needles,l a slidable and nonrotatable support for the spreader, spreader adjusting means on said support comprising a rotatable member movable with the spreader toward and from the needles and a spring-pressed non-rotatable member slidably movable toward and from the firstnamed rotatable member, one of said members having alternately arranged sets of deep and shallow notches and the other of said members having projections to engage said notches, and a tripv device movable with the needle bar for periodically imparting a partial rotation to said rotatable member.

39. In a sewing machine, a reciprocatory needle bar, two needles carried by the bar and mounted for movement toward and from each other, a spreader arranged in advance of the needles and movable on a substantially horizontal line toward and between and away from the needles for spac- `working action of the needles.

40. In a sewing machine, a reciprocatory needle bar, two needles carried by the bar 'and mounted for movement toward and from each other, a spreader arranged in advance of the needles and movable on a substantially horizontal line toward and between and away from the needles for spacing the needles and permitting retraction thereof, means Lfor advancing the spreader from a normally retracted position in which it is most remote from the needles to any one of a plurality ofv advanced set retracted positions in which it is arranged for starting action closer to the needles, and means for advancing the spreader for a spreading action from any set retracted and starting position and returning it to such position on ,alternate working motions of the needles.

41. In a sewing machine, a reciproca-tory needle bar, two needles carried by the bar and mounted for movement toward and from each other, a spreader supported in advance of the needles and slidably mounted for adjustment in a substantially horizontal plane to an advanced position toward and between the needles and to a retracted position more remote therefrom for spacing. the needles and permitting retraction thereof, manually operable means for slidably adjusting the spreader toward the needles from a normally retracted position in which it is most remote from the needles to any one of a plurality of advanced retracted and starting positions in which it is closer to the needles, a stationary member coupled to the spreader, a rotatable member, said stationary and rotatable members having surfaces operative on predetermined successive partial revolutions of the rotary member for alternately shifting the spreader forwardly to spreading position from any one of said set retracted and starting positions, and means actuated by the needle mechanism for periodically operating said rotatable member. y

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

MANUEL HUMBERTO PREZ.

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