IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Baldwin Woodruff, of Cheapside, in the City
of London, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 3rd July 1866, and dated the 22nd January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION .left by the said George Baldwin Woodruff
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 22nd January 1866.
I, GEORGE BALDWIN WOODRUFF, of Cheapside, in the City of London,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
The object of this Invention is to produce a needle and shuttle sewing
machine with a moveable table, which whether rotated by hand or auto-
matically will so present the work to a top feed plate or wheel as to ensure the
traverse of the work under the needle in any required direction while the
motion of the feed plate or wheel is always maintained in the same plane.
The way in which I prefer to carry out my Invention is to mount on the
moveable table a hollow arm, which is to receive the work, and which will
enable me to do cylindrical work with facility. In this arm I mount the
shuttle, and convey a reciprocating motion thereto through rock levers con-

page_text: nected together by a coupling link, having a ball-and-socket joint in a line
with the axis of the table, which is again in a line with the axis of the
reciprocating needle. Or I may drive the shuttle by an intermittent motion
produced by means of an endless chain and gear wheels. The motion for
driving the shuttle I obtain from an excentric or cam on the main driving
shaft, which shaft also imparts the requisite reciprocating motion to the
needle and the feed plate in the usual way. As the shuttle follows the
motions of the arm or table that carries the work its position relatively to
the eye of the needle will necessarily change, but as it is requisite that the
shuttle must pass in front of the eye of the needle means must be provided
for giving the needle an axial motion proportionate to the amount of axial
motion which the table receives. When making the machine in its simplest
form I provide for the purpose of setting the needle and table index plates, and
I secure the needle and table in their proper positions when set by means of
bolts or catches. I prefer, however, that the needle and table shall have a
sympathetic motion, and to this end I mount on the boss of the moveable or
rotating table or arm a chain wheel, and mount a similar chain wheel on a
feather on the needle bar. These wheels I connect to similar wheels on a
vertical shaft by means of endless chains, and thus I communicate an axial
motion to the needle corresponding to that of the table. The axial motion of
the table may be limited, or the table may be of such form to make a complete
revolution. This latter arrangement I adopt for the purpose of effecting
ornamental stitching, such as forming leaves and zig-zag or wavy intersecting
lines or circles, and to prevent the entanglement of the needle thread I make
the needle bar hollow and pass the thread down the centre of the bar. For
the purpose of stitching ornamental designs I find it desirable to introduce an
automatic arrangement for turning the table (with the work) upon its axis, as
the work will require to be fed in constantly varying directions.
In carrying out this part of my Invention I use, say, an ordinary top feed
in combination with the rotating table. This table with its arm receives an
axial motion from pawles acting upon a pair of ratchet wheels mounted on
the hollow boss of the table, which boss has its bearing in the fixed frame or
table of the machine. The teeth of the upper ratchet wheel are cut the reverse
way to those of the lower wheel, and a feeding pawl having two catches
embraces the ratchet wheels for the purpose of acting alternately upon them.
This feeding pawl forms the termination of a reciprocating sliding bar, having
at the pawl end a raised double incline, and at its other end a pin, which is
made to bear by means of a spring against an adjusting screw, or it may be a
pattern wheel for the purpose of determining the amount of its backward

page_text: stroke. The forward movement of this sliding bar may be given by means of
a cam or rocking lever from the main shaft. Mounted on this sliding bar is
a supplementary sliding bar secured thereto by a pin which passes through a
slot in the supplementary bar, and thereby receives its movement from the
main bar. The extremity of the supplementary bar is formed with a double
incline corresponding to that on the main bar, and a tendency is given by a
spring to keep the inclines in contact; near its point the supplementary bar
is fitted with a stud, which is intended to be acted upon by a forked lever for
the purpose of throwing the supplementary bar to either side of the double
incline on the main bar; this lateral motion I limit by means of a fixed
guide through which the supplementary lever works. The effect of acting
alternately upon opposite sides of the double incline of the main sliding bar
is to reverse the position of the catches and to give an axial motion through
the ratchet wheels to the arm in a reverse direction. This reversing action
may be obtained from adjustable stops on the ratchet wheels acting upon the
forked lever before mentioned. By this arrangement I am enabled to produce
regular undulating lines of ornamental stitching, intersecting one another, or
a series of ovals or circles (depending on the relative amount of motions of
the top feed and axial motion of the arm), which figures will be linked
together.
In order to produce designs in stitching I apply to the apparatus above
described a pattern wheel cut to suit the given design, to which I give an
independent axial motion, either constant or intermittent. The edge or
periphery of this wheel is presented to the pin of the sliding bar carrying
the double acting pawl, and thus limits its backward motion, which determines
the amount of axial motion of the work around the needle. In forming
figures it will be necessary to reverse this axial motion, and this I effect by
means of adjustable studs affixed to the pattern wheel; these studs as the
wheel rotates will be brought into contact with a stud carried by a rocking
lever which is forked at its other end to move the supplementary bar before
mentioned so as to reverse the action of the pawl on the ratchet wheels. In
order to reverse the action of the top feed at will I form a slot in the feed
bar to receive a sliding adjustable crank pin, which is capable of being held at
any required position, and is connected to and operated by a rock shaft. This
rock shaft has its bearing in the bracket arm, which carries at its extremity
the guide box for the feed bar and needle bar. Keyed to this rock shaft is an
arm or lever, which bears against a cam on the driving shaft, and thus receives
a rocking motion which it imparts to the crank pin. The feed bar receives an
up-and-down motion as usual, and its forward and backward motions are

page_text: obtained from the lateral motion of the crank pin; this crank pin when
moved to one side of the centre of motion of its rock shaft will cause the
feed bar to feed the work in one direction, and when moved to the opposite
side of the centre the feed will be in the opposite direction. The amount of
traverse, also of the work will be determined by the distance the crank pin
is set from the centre of the rock shaft. This feed motion I also propose to
apply to a four-motion under feed. In doing this I slot the feed bar or
reciprocating bar which carries the feed bar, and place below it a plate
similarly slotted and attached to or forming part of a rocking arm operated by
a cam keyed to the driving shaft; this plate and the reciprocating bar I
connect by means of the adjustable crank pin before mentioned, which may be
fixed in any desired position in the slots, and either to the plate or to the
slotted bar. The up-and-down motion for the feed I obtain in the usual way.
If now I desire to produce a reverse feed motion I extend the slot of the
plate across the axis of its oscillation and similarly slot the feed bar, and in
order to produce a reversible feed at right angles to this feed I form a similar
cross slot at right angles to the first-mentioned slot and across the axis of
oscillation; this enables me to shift the crank pin in four different directions
and to produce a corresponding feed motion. It will be obvious that grooved
or slotted discs or adjustable guide bars fitted to the rocking arm and the feed
bar, and connected together by the crank pin will serve equally well for
effecting the change of feed motions above mentioned. In order to hold
lown the work upon the moveable table or supporting arm while it is released
from the pressure of the feed plate, I apply to the machine a detachable spring
presser, which as the needle descends to pierce the work is forced down upon
the work (conveniently by a projection on the needle bar striking the spring
presser), and is released as the needle rises; the feed plate having in the mean-
while returned to press and feed forward the work. This arrangement will
be found desirable to prevent the shifting of the work during the rapid axial
motion of the table.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Baldwin Woodruff in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st July 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
BALDWIN WOODRUFF, of Cheapside, in the City of London, Mechanical
Engineer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said George Baldwin Woodruff, Her special licence that I,
the said George Baldwin Woodruff, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said George Baldwin Woodruff, my.
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Baldwin Woodruff, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Baldwin Woodruff, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The main object of this Invention is to produce a needle and shuttle sewing
machine with a turntable for supporting the work, which table, whether
rotated by hand or automatically, will so present the work to a top feed plate
or wheel as to ensure the traverse of the work under the needle in any
required direction while the motion of the feed plate or wheel is maintained
in the same plane.
The way in which I prefer to carry out my Invention is to mount on the
moveable table a hollow arm which is to receive the work, and which will
enable me to do cylindrical work with facility. In this arm I mount the
shuttle, and convey a reciprocating motion thereto through rock levers con-
nected together by a coupling link having a ball-and-socket joint in a line
with the axis of the table, which axis is in a line with the axis of the
reciprocating needle; or I may drive the shuttle by an intermittent motion
produced by means of an endless chain and gear wheels. The motion for driving
the shuttle I obtain from an excentric or cam on the main driving shaft, which

page_text: shaft also imparts the requisite reciprocating motion to the needle and the
feed plate in the usual way. As the shuttle follows the motions of the arm
or table that carries the work its position relatively to the eye of the needle
will necessarily change, but as it is requisite that the shuttle shall pass in
front of the eye of the needle means must be provided for giving the needle
an axial motion proportionate to the amount of axial motion which the table
receives.
In Sheet I. of the Drawings I have shewn my improved sewing machine
in its simplest form, and in Sheet II. I have shewn it as arranged for
automatic working. When making the machine in its simplest form I
provide for the purpose of setting the needle and table index plates, or it may
be fixed stops, and I secure the needle and table in their proper positions.
when set by means of bolts or catches. This is the arrangement shown in
Sheet I., where Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine; and Fig. 2 is a
sectional plan taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front or end
view of the machine, shewing the means employed for reversing the direction
of the feed; and Fig. 4 is an edge view of the same parts.
A is the moveable table carrying the hollow arm A¹ for holding the work.
The axis of motion of the table is in a line with the axis of the needle. The
shuttle race is formed in the arm A', and the shuttle B. is caused to play to
and fro therein by a rock lever B¹, connected to the shuttle driver B by a
connecting link. The rock lever B is connected with the rock lever B³ by
a link having a ball-and-socket joint. The rock lever B³ receives motion
from a coupling rod actuated by a can on the driving shaft C, which also
carries cams as usual for working the needle D and feed bar E. The table
A is intended to make a quarter turn in either direction, so as to turn the
work and the shuttle at right angles to the line of stitches in either direction
of the feed. It is secured in position by a spring stop F, which falls into
notches made in the edge of the table. In order to reverse the direction of
the feed at pleasure, the feed bar E is slotted to receive a sliding box a, which
is pierced to receive a pin b that projects from a plate c; this plate c slides
upon the opposite side of the bar E to that on which the box a slides, and it
is grooved to allow a bar d carried by a rock shaft e to slide in it; this
cross shaft has an arm e¹, which is held by a spring in contact with a cam f
on the driving shaft C. If now the pin b were brought into line with the
rock shaft-e by sliding down, the plate c, no forward or backward motion could
be imparted to the feed bar, but if the pin b is raised as in the Drawing it
will impart the feed motion in one direction, and if brought below the axis
of the rock shaft it will rock the feed bar in the opposite direction. For the

page_text: purpose of sliding the plate c up and down a crank lever g is provided. This
lever is pivotted on the front part F of the guide box; at one end it is
forked to embrace the pin b, and at the other it is slotted to receive a sliding
nut, which is fixed by a clamping screw h. This screw is intended to rest on
one or other side of a V-shaped face, which limits. the throw of the crank
lever and at the same time ensures the lever being thrown a determinate
distance on one or other side of a central line dividing the amount of its
throw. By this means the same length of stitch is ensured on reversing the
direction of feed. The length of stitch is determined by the position of the
screw in the slot of the crank lever.
Fig. 5 shews in sectional plan the means for adjusting the needle axially
to suit the change of position of the shuttle consequent on the turning of
the table, it being understood that the front of the needle must always
face the shuttle, in order that the latter may take up the needle loops as
they are formed. I prefer, however, that the needle and table shall have a
sympathetic motion, and to this end I adopt the arrangement which I will
now describe.
In Sheet II., Fig. 1 shews in vertical longitudinal section the improved
machine constructed to work automatically; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same,"
and Fig. 3 is a front or end elevation. Upon the boss of the moveable or
rotating table A which carries the arm A' I mount a chain wheel A³, and
upon a feather in the needle bar D I mount a similar chain wheel D¹. These
wheels I connect to similar wheels D³, D³, on a vertical shaft D' by means of
endless chains, and thus I communicate an axial motion to the needle corre-
sponding to that of the table. The axial motion of the table in the first
described arrangement was limited, but in the present arrangement the table
is made of such form as to perform a complete revolution. This modification
I adopt for the purpose of effecting ornamental stitching, such as forming
leaves and zig-zag or wavy intersecting lines or circles, and to prevent the
entanglement of the needle thread I make the needle bar hollow and pass the
thread down the centre of the bar. For the purpose of stitching ornamental
designs I find it desirable also to introduce an automatic arrangement for
turning the table, with the work, upon its axis, as the work will require it to
be fed in constantly varying directions.
In carrying out this part of my Invention I use the ordinary top feed in
combination with the rotating table, but modified as in the first described
arrangement to enable it to reverse the direction of the feed. The table A,
with its arm A' receives an axial motion from the mechanism shewn in the
inverted plan view, Sheet III. The mechanism may be thus described :-G is

page_text: a pawl lever slotted at its rear end to receive a fixed pin (projecting from the
bed of the machine) on which it rocks as a fulcrum, but over which it is free
to slide. At its forward end this pawl lever G carries a pair of pawls 1, 2,.
which embrace a pair of ratchet wheels H, H, mounted on the hollow boss of
the table A, which boss has its bearing in the fixed frame or bed of the
machine. The teeth of the upper ratchet wheel I are cut the reverse way
to those of the lower wheel H', and the pawls which embrace the ratchet
wheels are caused to act alternately upon them. The pawl lever G at the
part where it branches into the pawls has a raised double incline G', the apex
being towards the rear end. At this end the pawl lever also carries a pin 3,
which is made to bear by means of a spring 4 against a pattern wheel I, or it
may be an adjusting screw for the purpose of determining the amount of its
backward stroke. The forward movement is given to the lever G by means
of a rocking lever G actuated by a face cam G³ on the main shaft C. Mounted
on this pawl lever G is a rocking arm G secured thereto by a pin which
passes through a slot in the rear end of the arm and gives the requisite endway
forward motion to the arm, which motion it receives from the movement of
the pawl lever. The forward extremity of this arm G is wedge shaped or
formed with a double incline corresponding to that on the pawl lever, and a
tendency is given by a spring 5 to keep the inclines in contact. Near the
apex of the wedgo of the arm a stud 6 is fitted, which is embraced by and is
intended to be acted upon by a forked lever K for the purpose of throwing
the arm to either side of the double incline G₁ of the pawl lever. This lateral
motion I limit by means of a fixed guide L with inclined faces through which
the wedge-shaped end of the arm works. The effect of acting alternately
upon opposite sides of the double incline of the pawl lever is to reverse the
position of the pawls 1, 2, and to give an axial motion through the ratchet
wheels to the arm A which carries the work in a reverse direction. By this
arrangement I am enabled to produce regular undulating lines of ornamental
stitching, intersecting one another, or a series of ovals or circles (depending
on the relative amount of motions of the top feed and axial motion of the
arm) which figures will be linked together.
In order to produce designs in stitching I apply to the apparatus above
described a pattern wheel, as at I, Sheet III., cut to suit the given design.
This wheel I mount on a stud axle 1¹ (see Fig. 1, Sheet II.), and to it I
give an independant axial motion by means of a ratchet wheel I affixed to
its boss and a click or pawl I³. This pawl I³ is jointed to a pendent rock
lever I', the upper end of which is operated upon by a cam 1 on the driving
shaft C. The edge or perimeter of the pattern wheel I is presented to the

page_text: pin 3 of the pawl lever, and thus serves to limit its backward motion, which
limitation determines the amount of axial motion of the work around the
needle. In forming figures it will be necessary to reverse this axial motion,
and this I effect by means of adjustable or fixed studs 7 carried by the pattern
wheel; these studs, as the wheel rotates, will describe a circle, within which
projects a stud 8 carried by the lever K that has its fulcrum on a fixed centre;
the studs 7 will therefore as they come round strike the stud 8 and rock the
lever K, which being forked at its other end to embrace the pin 6 on the
arm G before mentioned will through that arm rock the pawl lover on its
fulcrum, and thus throw out one pawl and put the other into action, which
working into a ratchet wheel with the teeth cut in the reverse direction will
reverse the direction of rotation of the table and arm A, A. The time of
this reversal will depend on the position of the studs 7, and their position will
of course be regulated by the pattern required. In order to allow of this
automatic arrangement being thrown out of action I fix on the under side of
the pawl lever G and near its fork a pin 9, and I provide a crank lever M
with a V-shaped notch formed in one end to act upon the pin; this lever-I
make fast by a spring catch, and by bringing the pin 9 into the centre of the
notch the pawl lever will be moved into an intermediate position, and will
thus bold both pawls out of action. To enable the pawl lever to reverse tho
axial motion of the table A it will be necessary so to time the movements of
the pawl lever and pattern wheel that the latter shall receive its motion
immediately after the pawl lever has moved forward.
In order to reverse the action of the top feed at will I form a slot in the
feed bar E (see the end view, Fig. 3, Sheet II., and the detached view of the
bar, Fig. 4) to receive a sliding adjustable pin 10, which is carried by a
pendent rod fitted at top with a pin 11, and which is capable of being held at
any required position by a rock lever N pivotted on the guide box. F. This
pin 10 also slides in a grooved plate d, as in the first-described arrangement,
which plate is carried by a short rock shaft e having its bearing in the bracket
arm which carries at its extremity the guide. box for the feed bar and needle
bar. Keyed to this rock shaft is an arm or lever e' which bears against a
cam on the driving shaft C, and receives from it a rocking motion which it
imparts to the pin 10. The feed bar E receives an up-and-down motion as
usual, and its forward and backward motions are obtained from the lateral
motion of the pin 10; this pin (which forms virtually a sliding crank' pin)
will when moved to one side of the centre of motion of its rock shaft cause
the feed bar to feed the work in one direction, and when moved to the
opposite side of the centre the feed will be in the opposite direction, as in the

page_text: arrangement above described. The amount of traverse also of the work will
be determined by the distance the crank pin is set from the centre of the rock
shaft. This feed motion I also propose to apply to a four-motion under feed,
as will hereafter be particularly described.
In order to hold down the work upon the moveable table or supporting arm
while it is released from the pressure of the feed plate I apply to the machine
a detachable spring presser, which as the needle descends to pierce the work
is forced down upon the work, and is released as the needle rises. The con-
trivance for effecting this motion is shewn in Fig. 1, Sheet II., where O is the
spring presser working above the table, and connected by a short crank arm
with a sliding rod O' below the table; this rod slides in a guide made for it
in the shuttle driver, and it carries a coiled spring which is confined between
two collars, one fixed to and the other moveable on the rod. A tendency is
given to the presser to stand clear of the work by means of a spring pressing
on the crank arm of the presser. When the shuttle driver moves back to
carry the shuttle into a position for entering the loop of the needle thread it
will strike the moveable collar on the rod O' and force it back until the coiled
spring will no longer yield to the pressure; the presser will then be forced
down and caused to hold the work firmly on the table.
In Sheet IV. I have shewn the manner of adapting my improved reversing
feed to reciprocating under feeds. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the
table of a reciprocating under feed sewing machine, with the improvements
applied thereto for reversing the direction of the feed motion; Fig. 2 is an
inverted plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a cross section taken in the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1. a is the reciprocating feed bar lying transversely of the
table, and hinged at its rear end to an arm b, which carries a bar b', formed at
right angles to the arm 6 and grooved on its under side. Below this bar and
furnished with a corresponding groove is a bar c, which at the middle of its
length is pivotted to a bracket secured to the under side of the table.
Projecting from one end of this bar c is a curved arm c¹, which serves to carry
a stud pin that is embraced by the forked end of a rock lever d; this rock
lever has for its fulcrum a swivel guide d', in which it is free to slide under
the action of a cam d² on a vertical cam shaft e, which shaft is driven by bevil
gearing from the main driving shaft of the machine. The cam d³ works in a
square hole formed in the tail end of the lever d, and as the lever is rocked
In the grooves of the
it will impart a vibrating motion to the swivel bar c.
bars c and a pin 1, carried by an arm f takes, and thus serves to couple the
two bars together; this bar is connected to a bar f', which fits into a guide
bolted to the under side of the table, and is free to be slidden therein for the

page_text: purpose of adjusting the position of the pin 1 in the grooves of the bars 6¹
and c. The action and office of this pin is precisely similar to that of the
pin 10 in the last described arrangement, and of the sliding crank pin b,
Fig. 4, Sheet I. As the lever d is rocked by its cam it will by its connection
with the grooved swivel bar c rock that bar, and the bar c being coupled
with the bar 6 of the arm b by the pin 1, a sliding motion will be given to
that arm and the feed bar connected therewith. When the pin 1 is shifted
from one side of the axis of the swivel bar to the other the direction of the
feed will be reversed, as in the arrangements first described. To ensure the
same length of stitch being maintained after reversing the direction of the.
feed, a swivel pin 2 is fitted near the rear end of the bars f¹, furnished with a
large milled head 3 (see the detached view of the bar Fig. 4). A portion of
this milled head is cut away to form a flat surface for a screw stop 4 to bear
against. The lower end of this pin is squared to receive a forked arm 5, the
fork of which embraces a stud 6 projecting from the table of the machine.
When the machine is feeding in the direction of the black arrow, Fig. 2, the
flattened side of the head will lie against the end of the screw stud, as shewn
in black lines at Fig. 4; but in the act of reversing the feed, to do which it
will be necessary to slide the bar f¹ in its guide, the forked arm 5 will be
rocked into the position shewn in red in Fig. 4, and the head of the swivel
pin will thus be turned. When "brought up by the screw stop as shewn
in red at Fig. 4 (which is requisite to ensure the proper reverse motion), the
pin 1 will have been moved as far from the axis of the swivel bar c in one
direction as it previously occupied in the opposite direction. In order to
give the rising and falling motion to the feed bar a plato g, with an incline
formed on it, is bolted to the bracket which carries the swivel bar c, and a
corresponding incline is formed on the under side of the forward end of the
lever d, which end is in contact with the under side of the feed bar. As
therefore the rock lever is slidden to and fro by its cam the two inclines will
ensure the rise and fall of the forward end of the rock lever, which motions
will be imparted directly to the feed bar.
At Fig. 5 I have shewn in edge view, and at Fig. 6 in plan, substantially
the same reversing arrangement adapted for changing the direction of feed to
a right angle with the line of formed stitches. This change is effected by
forming a right angled slot in the plates h, i, for the pin 1 of an adjustable
rocking bar to slide in; this barj is capable of turning on a fixed centre
to effect the adjustment of the pin 1 in the slotted plates, and a swivel pointer
on its end standing up in a slot made for it in the table of the machine, and
moving over a scale on the table, facilitates this adjustment. The plate his

page_text: carried by a sliding bar h¹, and the plate i is carried by a stud axle and is free
to rock in its bearing like the bar c, Figures 2 and 3. Motion is given to it
by a bark which is jointed thereto, and receives an endway motion from a
cam on the vertical cam shaft of the machine (not shewn in the Drawing).
When therefore the plate i is rocked it will through the pin 1 impart a
sliding motion to the plate h, the direction of which motion will be determined
by the position of the pin 1 in the right angled slot. If the pin is in the
position shewn at Fig. 6 the direction will be in the line of the bar h¹; if
however the pin is moved into the other branch of the slot the direction will
be transversely to the bar. The feed bar a is hinged to and therefore carried
by the sliding bar h¹, and a heel piece projects through it and bears upon a
bar that receives an endway motion from a second cam on the vertical
shaft; this bar slides in a fixed guide m, which is formed with a incline
that corresponds with an incline on the under face of the bar. The endway.
motion of this bar will therefore give the requisite rise and fall to the
roughened plate of the feed bar.
A further modification of my reversible feed is shewn in plan view at Fig. 7.
This arrangement is intended to reverse the direction of the feed both
transversely and longitudinally of the machine, and to this end the
plates and are provided with slots of the form of a cross. In other
respects the parts correspond to those just described with reference to
Figures 5 and 6.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in
the construction of sewing machines, and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent, I claim,―
First, the arrangements of mechanism above described whereby I am
enabled to give an axial motion to the table or arm for carrying the work in
eye-pointed needle sewing machines, and also the means above described for
preserving the relative positions of the needle and shuttle during or after such
axial motion.
. Secondly, the means for giving the traverse motions to the feed bar, and
for changing the direction of the feed as described with reference to recipro-
cating top and under feeds, and also the application to my improved feed
of the means, described for equalizing the length of stitch or changing the
direction of the feed.
Thirdly, the spring presser constructed and operating as above described.
Lastly, I claim with respect to sewing machines having a rotating table
or arm for carrying the work, the application thereto of pattern wheels for

page_text: controlling the axial motions of the table or arm in the manner and for the
purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Baldwin Woodruff, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of July, in the
year of our One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
FRED. WALKDEN,
GEORGE BALDWIN WOODRUFF. (L.s.)
60, Chancery Lane.