IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND CASTORS FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN CARRIAGES AND CASTORS FOR SEWING MACHINES."-A communication
from abroad by Nesbitt De Laney Stoops, of Newark, County of Essex,
State of New Jersey, United States of America.
Sealed the 31st July 1866, and dated the 10th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th February 1866.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND CASTORS FOR SEWING MACHINES," a com-
munication, to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to supply the means whereby a sewing
machine may be conveniently moved from place to place without being lifted,
and readily secured against slipping or sliding away from the operator while
being used, the said Invention being adaptable to sewing machines already
constructed without materially increasing the height of their tables. The legs
or feet of a sewing machine are provided with sockets so formed and secured

page_text: to the said feet as to bring the botton thereof even with or lower than the
bottom of the platform. The castor frames are secured to turn freely in
the said sockets when required. An opening is formed through the top of the
castor frame, through which and through a hole in the socket the stem or
shank of a catch or bolt passes up. The upper end of the said shank or
stem is attached to a lifting knob, and its lower end is arranged to drop into
holes formed in the periphery of the castor. The lifting knob is provided
with a stop or pin fitted to drop into a hole formed in the top of the socket.
When the machine is to be moved the lifting knob is raised till the pin or
stop fixed thereon is released from the hole in the top of the socket. This at
the same time raises the catch or bolt, and thereby releases the castor and
frame; the knob is then turned round till the pin or stop fixed thereon is
clear of the hole. The said pin or stop then rests on the top of the socket,
and is held in that position by the pressure of a spring placed in a recess in
the castor frame. When the knob and catch are thus raised the castor and
frame will turn freely on their respective centres, and the machine can be
easily pushed or drawn from one place to another.
When the machine is to be used the lifting knob is turned round till the
pin or stop fixed thereon is directly over the hole formed in the top of the
socket. The spiral spring above mentioned will then force the catch or bolt
downward till the end of the said catch bears on the periphery of the castor.
As the castor turns on its centre pin one of the holes in said castor is
brought opposite to the end of the catch, which immediately shoots into the
said hole, and thereby locks both castor and frame. The castors are by
preference grooved to form a guide for the end of the catch, and prevent its
being displaced when raised out of the holes. When the said catch is down
the castor and frame are firmly locked in one position, and the machine is
thereby held as firmly and immoveably as when supported upon solid legs or
feet in the usual manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed:
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Hér heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Robert. Lake, Her special licence that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 CARRIAGES AND CASTORS FOR SEWING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their bands 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 Letter's Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 accompanying Sheet of
Drawings forming part of this Specification :--
F
The object of this Invention is to supply the means whereby a sewing
machine may be conveniently moved from place to place without being lifted
or raised from the floor on which it stands, and readily secured against
slipping or sliding away from the operator while being used. The said
Invention is applicable to sewing machines already constructed without
materially increasing the height of their tables.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan of the top of a carriage or platform for supporting and
uniting the legs or feet of a sewing machine, with castors attached thereto;
Figure 2 is a plan of the under side of the same; Figure 3 is a side view thereof.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of a castor on the line x, a, Figure 1, with
parts in position to allow the machine to be moved; Figure 5 is a vertical
section of the same on the line y, y, with parts in position to prevent the
moving or slipping of the machine.

page_text: Figure 6 illustrates the method employed for supporting the legs of a
skeleton frame sewing machine without the carriage or platform.
Figure 7 is a vertical section of a castor of modified construction.
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are drawn to an enlarged scale. Like letters, refer
to corresponding parts in each of the Figures.
+
A is the base of a carriage or platform upon which the sockets B. aré
attached. The legs or feet of the sewing machine are inserted into these
sockets, and are firmly secured therein. The sockets B are so formed and
secured to the said feet as to bring the bottom thereof even with or lower
than the bottom of the carriage or platform A, the said carriage being
provided with holes into which the sockets B are fitted, as shown in Figure 2.
These sockets are provided with a flange C, through which the screws a are
passed to secure the said sockets to the carriage A. The brackets D are
secured to the castor frames B¹ in such a manner as to turn freely round in
the said frames when the machine is to be moved. An opening is formed
through the top of the bracket D, through which and through a corresponding
hole formed in the frame B¹, the stem or. shank 6 of the catch or bolt E
passes. The upper
end of the said shank or stem is provided with a lifting
knob or button F, the lower end of the said bolt being arranged to drop into
the holes c formed in the periphery of the castors (or rollers) G. These
castors may be formed of brass or other suitable material, and are fitted to
turn freely upon the pins d secured in the bracket D in the usual manner.
The said castors are by preference grooved or channeled, as represented
in Figures 3, 4, and 6. When so shaped the sides of the castors form
guides for the end of the bolt or catch E, and prevent its being displaced
when raised out of the holes c. The lifting knob or button F is provided
with a stop or pin H; this pin fits the hole formed in the top of the frame
B', and will drop therein when turned in the proper direction, and allow the
catch or bolt E to enter one of the holes c. The spring I placed in the
recess J is provided to force the catch down into the said holes, and to prevent
its accidental removal therefrom. There may be any number of the holes c
formed in each of the castors G, but in practice four of the said holes will
be found sufficient. When the machine is to be moved the lifting knob F is
raised till the stop or pin H fixed on the said knob is released from the
hole e formed in the top of the frame B'. This operation raises at the same
time the catch or bolt E out of the hole c, and thereby releases the bracket D
and castor G, which are thus left free to turn in any direction upon their
respective centres. The lifting knob F is then turned round till the stop or
pin H is clear of the hole e. When the knob F is so released the said stop

page_text: of the said
rests upon the top of the frame B', or in a slight recess f formed, therein,
and is held in that position by the spring I. The catch or bolt E and knob
F with the stop H are thus retained for any length of time in the required
position to enable the bracket D and castor G to turn freely on their centres,
and the machine to which the said brackets and castors are attached "can
therefore be easily pushed or drawn from one place to another without being
lifted or raised from the floor. When the machine is to be used the lifting
knob or button F is turned round till the stop or pin H fixed thereon is
directly over the hole formed in the top of the frame B'. The spiral
spring I will then force the bolt or.catch E downward till the end
bolt bears on the periphery of the castor G. As the said castor turns on its
centre one of the holes c formed therein is brought opposite to the end of
the said bolt or catch, which immediately shoots into the said hole, and
thereby locks both the bracket D and castor G. When the bolt or catch E
is down the said bracket and castor are prevented turning upon their centres,
and the machine upon which they are secured is thereby held as firmly and
immovably as when supported upon solid legs or feet in the usual manner.
Instead of uniting all the legs or feet of the machine by means of the carriage
or platform A, the castor frames B₁ may be attached separately to each leg
or foot of the said machine, as represented in Figure 6, in which case the
frame B' is provided with an extension or flange B³, which is firmly secured
to the foot K of the machine by the screws g or other suitable means. In
the modified form of castor represented in Figure 7 the bolt or catch E is
raised by turning the lifting handle F¹ into the position shewn in dotted lines.
It will be sufficient for the purpose of securing the immovability of the
machine to provide two only of the castors with the locking mechanism.
Having thus described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and shown how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First, mounting a skeleton frame sewing machine upon the carriage or
platform A, for the purpose and substantially in the manner set forth.
Second, the sockets B constructed and attached to the said carriage or
platform in such a manner as to prevent undue elevation of the machine,
substantially as set forth.
Third, constructing the frames B' to support the castors G above the top
of the carriage or platform A, to prevent undue elevation of the machine,
substantially in the manner set forth.
Fourth, a castor provided with locking mechanism constructed and
operating substantially in the manner set forth.

page_text: Fifth, the combination of the carriage or platform A, sockets B, frames B',
brackets D, castors or rollers G, and bolts or catches E, with the lifting
knobs or handles, constructed and operating for the purpose and substantially
in the manner set forth.
Sixth, attaching a castor provided with locking mechanism to the leg of a
skeleton frame sewing machine for the purpose and substantially in the
manner set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
T. E. JULIAN.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)