US3077844A - Inseam sewing and upper tensioning machines - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 19, 1963 G. MILLER 3,

I INSEAM SEWING AND UPPER TENSIONING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet l In pen for M .LZqya CTR Miller gi t 15717727177717 M y his All n 19 Feb. 19,- 1963 G. MILLER 3,077,844

INSEAM SEWING AND UPPER TENSIONING MACHINES Filed Oct 4, 1961 s SheetsSheet 2 I I I i Feb. 19, 1963 L. G. MILLER INSEAM SEWING AND UPPER TENSIONING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1961 United States Patent @fifice 3,17,84d Fatented Feb. 19, 1963 3,077,844 El ldEAM SEWEJG AND UEPER TENSZDNEIJG MAQHENES Lloyd G. Miller, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United tihoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N.Zi., a corporation of New Hersey Get. 4, 1961, Ser. No. 142,899 '7 Claims. (Cl. 132-35) The present invention relates to improvements in Goodyear inseam sewing machines, and more particularly to devices for imparting a uniform tension to a shoe upper as it is being sewn to the rib of an insole in a machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,920,?98, granted August 8, 1933, and No. 2,041,945, granted May 26, 1936, both in the name of Alfred R. Morrill.

The machine of the patents referred to is intended to operate upon an upper and an insole of a shoe while being presented bottom side up to the machine and usually a welt is guided into the point of operation of the machine where Goodyear welt shoes are being manufactured. Before presenting the shoe to the machine the upper and insole are applied to a last. The shoe is lasted by tensioning the upper and stapling or otherwise securing the marginal portions of the upper to the insole.

In the manufacture of a Goodyear welt shoe the insole is formed with an upstanding rib set back from its outer edge and a line of staples ordinarily is inserted through the marginal portions of the upper and the top edge of the rib to hold the upper in place. The lasted marginal portion of the upper is thus caused to bridge across the edges of the insole and of the rib, resulting in a triangular gap into which the upper is drawn during the course of inseam sewing. In this way tension imparted to the shoe upper during the lasting operation is increased. The increased tension, however, is not alsways applied to the upper uniformly, the rib on the insole frequently providing insufficient rigidity and becoming distorted, so that greater tension is applied to the upper along certain of its marginal portions and less tension is applied along others. Nonuniform tension in the upper is detrimental to the appearance of a completed shoe and under some conditions requires removal of the inseam for resewing.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an inseam sewin machine of the type referred to, which is capable of tensioning the marginal portions of a shoe upper more uniformly and effectively than heretofore and which causes less distortion of the sewing rib on the insole than prior machines. To these ends the illustrated machine, besides having a curved hook needle, is provided with an upper engaging spur acting while the needle penetrates the upper to support and pretension the upper inside the curvature of the needle uniformly for each stitch. Thus, the sewing rib is prevented from distortion and nonuniform tensioning results in the upper are avoided. Even where staples have been inserted no undesirable results occur and more nearly uniform tension is applied to the upper than with prior machines.

As illustrated, the machine is equipped with a needle guide mounted concentrically to the arc of needle curvature for swinging movement with the needle toward and from the shoe upper and the spur of the invention is secured to the needle guide at a position inside the curvature of the needle.

These and other features of the invention as hereinafter described and claimed together with the advantages to be obtained will readily be aparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view looking from the left and showing portions of a shoe presented to the 2 head of a sewing machine embodying the features of the present invention, the operations not having been started;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same portions of the shoe and machine showing the needle as it begins to penetrate the work;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail plan view of some of the parts of the machine of FIG. 2 surrounding the sewing point;

PEG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the parts of the machine shown in FIG. 1, illustrating the positions assumed after the needle has completed its first work penetrating stroke;

PEG. 5 is a similar sectional view of the machine illustrating the operating parts after the completion of the first stitch in the seam;

F IG. 6 is a similar view showing the needle at the limit of its Work penetrating stroke during the formation of the second or any succeeeding stitch in the seam;

FIG. 7 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3, showing the positions of the machine parts while the needle engages the work at the beginning of each successive stitch formation; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded view showing the arrangement of the needle, needle guide, and an upper pretensioning spur utilized in the present invention.

As illustrated in the drawings the machine is intended for operation upon a shoe mounted on a last 10 about which an upper 12 for the shoe is to be attached by an inseam, the upper otherwise having been pulled loosely over the last and centered by temporary fastenings. At tached to the tread surface of the last is an insole 14 having a sewing rib 16 spaced i wardly from its peripheral edge. In tensioning the upper 12 its edge and the top edge of the sewing rib 16 may be deflected somewhat toward the peripheral edge of the insole and the upper is caused to bridge betwen the top edge of the sewing rib and the peripheral edge of the insole to form a triangular gap 1 5 (see FIGS. 2, 4 and 5).

During the operation of the machine the shoe is presented in bottom side up position and the inseam is inserted through the upper and the base of the sewing rib in a manner to close up the gap and thereby to tension the upper by an amount equal to the difference between the linear length of the upper required to conform with the angle of the insole and the sewing rib, on the one hand, and the length of upper required to bridge the gap '18, on the other hand. With Goodyear welt shoe construction a welt also is employed.

When a shoe is first presented to the machine its upper projects above the outer edge of the insole more or less parallel with the sewing rib 15, as shown in FIG. 1. As soon as the machine is started the upper is pressed toward the sewing rib until it engages its upper edge, so that it bridges the gap 18 until after a stitch is formed (see FIG. 2). After formation of each stitch successive increments of the upper are drawn successively into the angle between the insole and the sewing rib to close up the gap iii rogressively and to tension the upper accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6. This tensioning action is produced by the interaction of several factors, the closing up of the gap being primarily induced by drawing back on the sewing thread with a stitch setting tension until the maximum possible tightness is imparted to the seam.

While the machine disclosed is similar to that described in an application for US. Letters Patent Serial No. 117,057, filed June 14, 1961, in the name of the present inventor, it is of the general type illustrated in the prior patents above referred to and for practical purposes the present invention could well be utilized in the machine of the patents.

aorzeaa The stitch forming, work feeding, and stitch setting devices include a curved hook needle 2%, a curved awl 22, a needle looper 24, a thread finger 26, a channel guide 28, a needle guide 30, and a welt guide 31.

The machine acts to insert an inseam 32 (see FIG. 7) passing through a welt 34 when a Goodyear welt shoe is being operated upon, the marginal portion of the upper 12 close to the outer edge of the insole and the base of the sewing rib 16. To form the stitches the curved needle is secured to a segment 36 mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate the welt, the upper and the sewing rib from the welt side. For this purpose the needle segment 36 oscillates about a shaft 38, rotatable and slidingly mounted in hearings in the machine frame.

The awl 22 co-operates with the needle and is meant ed for oscillating and sliding movement on a segment 40 pivoted in the machine frame. The awl ordinarily enters the work and forms a perforation before the needle acts, the needle entering the awl perforation and imparting a feeding movement to the work after the awl has withdrawn. In thformation of the first stitch in a seam, however, the needle provides its own perforation without assistance of the awl, the parts taking the positions successively shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. To support the sewing rib 16 against the thrust of the needle the rib is engaged by the channel guide 28 located as closely as possible to the plane of the needle 20 without actually being contacted by the needle (see FIGS. 3 and 7). After full penetration of the needle the looper 24 and thread finger 26 lay a loop of thread in the needle hook, so that during its retracting stroke the threaded hook withdraws the loop of thread (FIG. During the next work penetrating stroke the needle withdraws a second loop of thread through the work and through the first loop of thread to complete the formation of the second stitch. This second stitch is thereafter partially tightened during the third retracting stroke of the threaded needle.

To apply a final stitch setting tension to each stitch the sewing thread, indicated at 42, extends upwardly from the looper 24 and is engaged by a take-up 44. Just before the looper lays the thread in the hook of the needle at the beginning of the stitch formation the takeup 44 applies suflicient pull to the thread while the last formed stitch surrounds the needle, as shown in FIG. 6, to draw the parts being operated upon securely together and to set each stitch in a seam, thus closing up the gap 18 shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. During this stitch setting action at the time when the parts are in i the positions shown in FIG. 6 each loop of thread, indicated at 46, surrounding the needle causes the welt and upper to be tightened about the last by the take-up, in moving through its full stroke, from the broken line to the solid line positions. Such movement squeezes the welt and upper lengthwise along the needle in a direction to tighten the upper against the sewing rib backed by the channel guide 28.

To assist the action of tightening the upper about the last 10, according to an important feature of the present invention, the machine is provided with upper pretensioning means comprising a spur 48 secured to the needle guide at a position inside the curvature of the needle. The spur is so located that it engages the marginal portion of the upper and acts to tighten it with a preliminary tension both before and while the needle engages it. Thereafter, the needle penetrates the upper at a location between the spur and the edge of the insole, tightening the upper further.

To secure the spur to the needle guide, the needle guide is grooved to fit the shank of the spur and a similarly grooved plate 50 is made fast to the needle guide by a clamp screw 52 (FIGS. 3, 7, and 8).

At the end of a seam it is the practice for the operator to remove a completely sewn shoe, raise it above operating position and carry the thread 42 extending .from the seam between a pair of gripping jaws 54 and against a thread cutter knife 56 to sever the thread. During the formation of the first stitch the thread remains .in position between the gripping jaws 54 until the needle is threaded and starts its retracting stroke with the thread in its hook, the thread then being withdrawn from the gripping jaws as shown in FIG. 5. During the remainder of the scam the thread is kept under control by the take-up acting against the securement provided by each previous stitch.

As an operation is started on a shoe presented to the stitch forming devices of the machine, as in FIG. 1, the first oscillating movement of the needle causes the spur to be projected into the upstanding loose portion of the upper 12, causing the upper to be laid against the sewing rib and to be penetrated by the spur. Thereafter, the needle penetrates the upper as in FIG. 2 at a position between the spur and the edge of the insole. During this time the take-up moves up slightly from the dotted line position of FIG. 2 to the solid line position to lay the thread with certainty into the needle hook at the forward end of its work penetrating stroke (FIG. 4), the take-up 44 then imparting a further pull on the thread, as indicated by the increasing distance between the solid line position of the take-up and the broken line position which corresponds with the starting position of FIG. 1.

It will be apparent that as the needle penetrates the upper between the spur and the edge of the insole a substantial force will be applied to the upper, tending to conform it with the shape of the angularly disposed surfaces on the insole between the rib and the insole edge. Such forces, however, are ordinarily insufficient to overcome the tension on the upper and to close up the gap 18. Complete conformity of the upper with the surfaces of the insole and closing the gap 13 is therefore left to the action of the take-up in applying the final stitch setting tension on the thread. The gap closing forces on the upper do not require overcoming all of the tension created by the spur, inasmuch as the location of the needle during its work penetrating stroke is horizontally displaced in the direction of work feed ahead of the point of operation of the spur, as readily appears from FIG. 7 and therefore is off the line of greatest tension in the upper.

To cause the spur to oscillate with the needle during the first portion of the needle movement toward the work the needle guide 30, which carries the spur is mounted to turn on a hub portion of the needle segment 35, so that the needle guide moves concentrically to the arc of needle curvature toward and from the shoe upper, the shape and angular disposition of the spur determining the tensioning action imparted to the upper 12. Between the needle segment and the needle guide there is a releasable connection comprising a shifting locking ball 58 (see FIG. 8) disposed in a perforation extending parallel to the axis of needle oscillation through the hub of the needle guide 39. The ball 58 is arranged to engage alternately within recesses formed respectively in adjacent faces of the needle segment 36 and a relatively stationary member 60 surrounding the needle shaft. When the needle is free of the work the ball 58 engages the recess in the needle segment, so that the spur is Withdrawn with the needle after its threaded hook is retracted from the work. Movement of the ball 58 from engagement with the needle segment 36 into engagement with the stationary member 60 is produced as a projection on the needle guide engages a lug 62 on the stationary member 66, stopping further movement of the needle guide and causing it to be locked to the stationary member. Upon retraction of the needle the projection on the needle guide is engaged by a projecting shoulder 64 on the needle segment to cause the needle guide to be unlocked from the stationary member 60 and reconnected for movement with the needle segment. Because smegma the marginal portions of the upper are raised and supported by the spur a greater and more uniform tensioning action is applied to the upper in the present machine than with prior machines, depending entirely upon the needle and the tensioning action of the thread on the upper, the needle entering the upper at a predetermined distance at all times ahead of the spur '48.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a particular embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an armate path to penetrate an upper and an insole on a shoe while being presented bottom side up to the machine, in combination with means to engage the marginal portion of the shoe upper inside the curvature of the needle and to apply a preliminary tension to the upper while the needle penetrates it.

2. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle mounted for swinging movement in an arouate path to penetrate an upper and an insole on a shoe while being presented bottom side up, a needle guide mounted concentrically to the arc of needle curvature for swinging movement toward and from the shoe upper and other stitch forming and work feeding devices, in combination with a spur secured to the needle guide at a position inside the curvature of the needle to engage the marginal portion of the shoe upper and to apply a preliminary tension to it while the needle penetrates it.

3. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 2, in which a take-up is provided for tightening each stitch to draw the upper into conformity with the insole and thereby increase the preliminary tension imparted by the spur to the upper as each stitch is tightened.

4. A shoe inseam sewing machine having a curved hook needle, a needle segment in which the needle is mounted for swinging movement in an arcuate path to penetrate an upper and an insole on a shoe while being presented bottom side up to the needle, a needle guide mounted concentrically to the needle curvature for swinging movement toward and from the shoe upper, and a shifting ball releasable connection between the needle segment and the needle guide for actuating the needle guide toward the shoe parts as the needle is moved toward them and for unlocking the needle guide from the needle segment as the needle penetrates the shoe parts, and other stitch forming and work feeding devices, in combination with a spur secured to the needle guide at a. position inside the curvature of the needle to penetrate the marginal portion of the shoe upper before the needle engages the shoe parts and to remain stationary as the needle penetrates the upper between the spur and the edge of the insole.

5. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 4, in which the ball connection withdraws the spur from the shoe upper after the threaded hook of the needle has retracted from the work.

6. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 2, in which a releasable clamp plate is carried by the needle guide to secure the spur adjustably to the needle guide.

7. A shoe inseam sewing machine as in claim 2, in which the needle engages the upper at a position between the spur and the edge of the insole and horizontally displaced from the spur in the direction of work feed ahead of the point of operation of the spur.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,285,387 Richards Nov. 19, 1918 2,041,945 Morrill May 26, 1936 2,411,499 Boothroyd Nov. 26, 1946

Claims (1)

1. A SHOE INSEAM SEWING MACHINE HAVING A CURVED HOOK NEEDLE MOUNTED FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT IN AN ARCUATE PATH TO PENETRATE AN UPPER AND AN INSOLE ON A SHOE WHILE BEING PRESENTED BOTTOM SIDE UP TO THE MACHINE, IN COMBINATION WITH MEANS TO ENGAGE THE MARGINAL PORTION OF THE SHOE UPPER INSIDE THE CURVATURE OF THE NEEDLE

Images