IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Greenwood, of Leeds, in the County of
York, Engincer, and John Keats and Alphonso Keats, both of
Newcastle, in the County of Stafford, Bootmakers, for the In-
montion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Greenwood,
John Keats, and Alphonso Keats at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 15th April 1875.
We, ARTHUR GREENWOOD, of Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, and John Keats and ALPHONSO KEATS, both of Newcastle,
in the County of Stafford, Bootmakers, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved arrangement of feed for sewing
machines, and is particularly applicable to what is known as the Crispin
machine, when a fixed or stationary support is used to hold the work
under the action of the sewing instruments.

page_text: The object of the improvement is to produce what is known as a
variable feed, that is, the feeding of the work in varying directions to
sew curved lines or stitches, as for example, when sewing round the toc
or heel of a boot or shoe.
To this end we modify the feed arrangement described in the Specifi-
cation of the Patent granted to John Keats and William Stephens Clark
dated 14th April 1863, No. 938, using, as in that arrangement, the same
instrument for pressing and [feeding the work. In a swivel bracket
piece secured to the head of the machine, we mount the presser rod,
which is free to slide vertically as usual, and has also a rocking motion:
by which it is caused to feed the work. Through the socket of this
swivel bracket piece, and in its axis of motion passes the vertical needle
bar, which slides freely therein.
The pressing and feeding instrument receives a forward motion
towards the needle from a vertical sliding pin, which acts upon an 1
incline on the end of a pendant lever hinged to the hinder part of the
presser rod, and the back motion of the feeding instrument is obtained
by the drag of a spring secured to a fixed point on the bracket arm.
This bracket arm is provided with a knob or handle for turning it on
its axis when the direction of the feed is required to be changed.
For pressing the feeding instrument on to the work, and also for
depressing the pin which imparts the feed motion to the pressing instru-
ment, concentric segment shaped plates are provided, which plates, so
long as they overlie the pin and rod respectively, no matter what their
change of position may be within their arc of motion will act with :
uniform efficiency. These segment plates each form the termination of
a vertical slide or bar, which slides work in guides in the head of the
machine. One of these bars or slides is depressed and the other is
raised by means of a lever to which they are respectively jointed,
such levers being acted upon by cams on the cam shaft of the
machine.
For regulating the amount of lift of the pressing instrument the the
action of the lifting cam is transmitted to the lever through an adjusting
screw, and to provide for a temporary decrease in the lift of the presser
(without altering the permanent adjustment) a second screw is applied a
to the extremity of the lever, which screw by bearing upon the fixed
head will limit the motion of the lever.

page_text: A downward pressure is given to the feeding instrument by coiled
springs or their equivalent.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Arthur Greenwood, John Keats, and Alphonso
Keats in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th October
1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ARTHUR
GREENWOOD, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, and JOHN
KEATS and ALPHONSO KEATS, both of Newcastle, in the County of
Stafford, Bootmakers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Arthur Greenwood, John
Keats, and Alphonso Keats, Her special licence that we, the said
Arthur Greenwood, John Keats, and Alphonso Keats, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Arthur
Greenwood, John Keats, and Alphonso Keats, our executors, admini-
strators, 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
SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Arthur Greenwood, John Keats, and Alphonso Keats, our executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 we, the said Arthur Greenwood, John

page_text: Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :—
This Invention relates to an improved arrangement of feed for sewing
machines, and is particularly applicable to that class of machines which
is known as the Crispin machines.
The object of the improvement is to feed the work in different
directions so as to sew in curved lines of stitches, as for example, when
sewing round the toe or heel of a boot or shoe.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 shews in side clevation this
improved feed applied to the Crispin machine; and Fig. 2 is a horizontal
section on the line ×, x, of Fig. 1, shewing in plan view only tho
novel feed and its action around the hook bar.
In applying this feed to the machine we modify the feed arrangement:
described in the Specification of the Patent granted to John Keats and
William Stephens Clark, dated Fourteenth April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three, No. 338. We use, as in that arrangement, the
one instrument K for holding down or pressing and feeding the work.
This instrument K we mount in a swivel bracket piece K' secured to
the head of the machine by means of the bracket pieco K³, the curved
prong of which enters a groove formed around the upper part of the
socket K¹. The presser or holding down rod K is free to slide vertically
as usual, and has also a rocking motion given to it by which it is caused
to feed the work in the manner herein-after described. Through the a
socket of this swivel bracket piece K' and in its axis of motion passes
the vertical needle bar M, which slides freely therein.
The pressing and feeding instrument K receives a forward motion
towards the needle from a vertical sliding pin K³, which acts upon an
incline k on the end of a pendent lever K' hinged to the hinder part 3
of the presser rod K, and the back motion of the feeding instrument is
obtained by the drag of a spring ¹ secured to a fixed point 4ª on the
bracket arm. This bracket arm is provided with a knob or handle
for turning the swivel bracket piece K' on its axis when the direction of
the feed is required to be changed.
For pressing the feeding instrument K on to the work, and also for
depressing the pin K' which imparts the feed motion to the pressing
8

page_text: instrument K, concentric segment shaped plates L, L, Fig. 2, are pro-
vided, which plates, so long as they overlie the "pin K³ and rod K
respectively, no matter what their change of position may be within
their arc of motion, will act with uniform efficiency. These segment
plates L, L', each form the termination of vertical slides or bars L*
L*, which slides work in guides in the head of the machine. The
bar or slide L✶ is raised and the bar or slide L'* is depressed by means
of levers L and L³, to which they are respectively jointed, such levers
being acted upon by the cams L' and L' on the cam shaft I of the
machinc. Both these bars and levers are provided with coiled springs K®
and K to ensure their return motion.
In order to regulate the amount of lift of the pressing instrument the
action of the lifting cam LA is transmitted to the lever L² through an
adjusting screw Z which bears upon a vertical slide 1; this slide carries
a bowle which runs on the cam LA. The presser K is pivotted or linked
to the segment plate L by the segmental rod *. It will thus be seen
that as the segment plate L rises the rod * will carry up the instru-
ment K with it. To provide for a temporary decrease in the lift of the
presser without altering the permanent adjustment, and to adjust the
amount of pressure upon the work being sewn, upon the horn support a
second screw is applied to the extremity of the lever L³, which scrow
by bearing upon the fixed head of the machine will limit the motion of
the lever L².
An adjustable downward pressure for the purpose of holding firm
the work against the pull of the hook is given to the feeding instru-
ment K by two coiled springs K arranged one on each side of the
head of the machine, one only being seen in the Drawings. These
springs are attached at one end to a pin projecting from the lever L³,
and at the other to adjusting screws k*, which pass through stud pro-
jections formed on the face of the head of the machine.
It will be seen from the plan
his hand on the arm or handle
feed the work in any desired
view, Fig. 2, that the attendant placing
is able to move the feed round so as to
direction, and he is able with facility to
follow any
desired direction of curved lines of sewing, as when sewing
round the toe or heel of a boot.
Having now described our Invention of "Improvements in Sewing
Machines," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into

page_text: effect, we wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent we claim, constructing and arranging the pressing and
feeding mechanism of Crispin sewing machines, so that the pressing
and feeding instrument K may be moved in a curved line round the
vertical hook, as and for the purposes herein set forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Arthur Greenwood, John Keats,
and Alphonso Keats, have hereunto set our hands and seals, the
Thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five.
JOHN KEATS.
(L.S.)
ARTHUR GREENWOOD.. (L.S.)
ALPHONSO KEATS.
(L.S.)