IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Avery, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London,
Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
_ A communication.
Sealed the 22nd February 1856, and dated the 25th August 1855.
PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by the said John Avery at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th August
1855.
I, JOHN AVERY, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES," a communication, to be as follows; and relates to certain means
of feeding the material to be sewed, which are applicable to the working
of button holes, embroidery, and also the sewing of curved and crooked work
generally.
Against the upper surface of the table of a sewing machine, the material to
be sewed is confined by a feed plate, the under surface of which is either
serrated or provided with a few sharp pins to take hold of the surface of the
material.
The feed plate is held down by a spring applied to the shank of a shoe,
which bears upon the top of the plate. This shoe also serves to guide the

page_text: feed plate by means of two pins on its under side entering two parallel grooves
in the back or upper side of the feed plate. The said grooves correspond in
form with the form of the seam or line in which the sewing is to be produced;
thus, for working a button hole, portions of the grooves are in the form of
parts of circles, which are concentric with the circular portion at one end of
the button hole, and the other portions are straight, and parallel with the sides
of the button-hole; all the parts of the respective grooves being equidistant
from the nearest parts of the button hole. The two pins on the shoe do not
stand opposite to one another in their respective grooves, but at some distance
from each other, in order to give greater steadiness to the feed plate, and pre-
vent improper lateral motion. For the purpose of giving the feed plate the
necessary movement to carry that part or those parts of the cloth which are
brought into the line of motion of the needle, in the direction to produce a
seam, the feed plate is furnished with a third groove, which may be of V or
other form in its transverse section, but which in its plan corresponds with the
form of the intended line of sewing, and with the two other grooves. This
V groove receives a dog or feeder, which may have a reciprocating or rotary
motion. The dog or feeder and the interior of the groove have their 'surfaces
serrated or roughened in such a manner that as the dog moves in the groove,
between the time of taking the stitches it will take hold of it, and move it a
certain distance. The length of the movement of the dog will have to be
made greater in passing a curve than a straight line, owing to the curve in
the groove being described with a radius so much larger than the radius of
the curve of the line of sewing. In order to give the material the movement
laterally to the line of sewing, the head which carries the shoe is arranged to
receive a movement in the requisite direction, the feed plate being in that case
moved by the pins of the shoe, and the needle working in a fixed line, but this
movement forms no part of my Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Avery in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
AVERY, of 32, Essex Street, Strand, London, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord 3

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Avery, Her special licence that I, the said John Avery,
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Avery, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING
MACHINES," (a communication), upon the condition (amongst others) that
the said
by an instrument in writing under hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 John Avery, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to certain means of feeding the material to be sewed,
which are applicable to the working of button holes, embroidery, and also the
sewing of curved and crooked work generally.
In the accompanying Drawing which illustrates my Invention, Fig. 1 is a
sectional elevation of those parts of a sewing machine to which my Invention
relates, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Similar letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in both Figs.
A is the table of a sewing machine, against the upper surface of which the
material to be sewed is confined by a feed plate B, the under surface of
which is either serrated or provided with a few sharp pins to take hold of the
surface of the material. The feed plate is held down by a spring a, applied
to the shank 6 of a shoe C, which bears upon the top of the plate. This shoe
also serves to guide the feed plate by means of two pins c, c', on its under side,
entering two parallel grooves d, d', in the back or upper side of the feed plate.
The grooves d', d', correspond in form with the form of the seam or line in
which the sewing is to be produced; thus, for working a button hole, portions
of the grooves are in the form of parts of circles, which are concentric with
the circular portion at one end of the button hole, and the other portions are
straight, and parallel with the sides of the button hole; all the parts of the

page_text: respective grooves being equidistant from the nearest parts of the button hole.
The two pins c, c', on the shoe C, do not stand opposite to one another in their
respective grooves d, d', but at some distance from each other, in order to
give greater steadiness to the feed plate, and prevent improper lateral motion.
For the purpose of giving the feed plate the necessary movement to carry that
part or those parts of the cloth which are brought into the line of motion of
the needle, which is represented in Fig. 1 by a red line, and in Fig. 2 by a
red dot, in the direction to produce a seam, the feed plate is furnished with a
third groove e, which may be of V or other form in its transverse section, but
which in its plan corresponds with the form of the intended line of sewing
and with the other two grooves d, d¹. This groove receives a dog or feeder f,
which may have either a reciprocating or rotary motion, but is represented as
having a reciprocating motion. This dog or feeder and the interior of the
groove have their surfaces serrated or roughened in such a manner that as the
dog moves in the groove, between the times of taking the stitches it will take.
hold of it, and move it a certain distance.
In Fig. 2 of the Drawing the feed plate is shewn in two positions, viz., one
in black outline, which represents it feeding the material to form the circular
end of the button hole, and another in red outline, which represents it forming
one of the straight sides of the button hole. The length of the movement of
'the dog will have to be made greater in passing a curve than a straight line,
owing to the curve in the groove being described with a radius so much
larger than the radius of the curve of the line of sewing. In order to give
the material the movement laterally to the line of sewing, which is necessary
in working button holes, embroidery, and some other kinds of sewing, the
head D which carries the shoe is arranged to receive a movement in the requi-
site direction, the feed plate being in that case moved by the pins of the shoe,
and the needle working in a fixed line, but this movement forms no part of
my Invention. The material being sewed is represented in the Drawing in
1st, feeding the material to be sewed by means of a feed plate B, which is
guided, substantially as herein described, in the direction of any curved, cir-
cuitous, or irregular line of sewing by means of grooves d, d', or their equivalent
on its back side, of a form corresponding to the said line, receiving or work-
ing in contact with fixed pins c, c, or other equivalent fixed guides, whereby
motion is only allowed to the said feed plate in such direction as to make the

page_text: material describe, in passing the needle, the intended line; the said feed plate
receiving motion by any mechanical device suitable for the purpose.
2nd, combining the guide pins c, c', or their equivalents with the shoe C,
which confines the feed plate, and produces the necessary pressure of the plate
on the material, substantially as herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Avery, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-first day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
JOHN AVERY. (LS.)