Improvements in Sewing Machine Attachments for Facilitating the Stitching of Button Holes and for other purposes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 24th Feb., 1891-Accepted, 4th Apr., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machine Attachments for Facilitating the
Stitching of Button Holes and for other purposes.
I, RICHARD TODD, of 13. Mason Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Embroiderer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My said invention relates to attachments for application to ordinary sewing
machines, and especially to lock stitch sewing machines, the said attachments
enabling such ordinary machines to be used temporarily for stitching button holes
or for edging or line stitching cloth and other materials or for over-casting seams
or the like. One of the chief features of my invention is that the improved
attachment in its most approved form is self contained and can be easily and
expeditiously applied to and removed from the machine by an unskilled person
so that an ordinary lock stitch sewing machine can in a moment be rendered capable
of stitching button holes or performing hem or line or over-cast stitching as required.
In applying my invention to a machine I make provision for using two needles
secured to the ordinary needle bar and to which threads are led from spools carried
on the frame. The attachment which comprises my invention acts in combination
with the said two needles and consists chiefly of a vibrating arm terminating in an
eye through which a third thread is led from a spool carried on the frame of the
attachment. The ordinary shuttle carries the fourth thread necessary to complete
the stitch. The invention refers particularly to the means employed to vibrate the
said arm, the object being to fetch the eye of the arm or rather the thread passing
through the eye alternately in front of and behind the needles during its traverse
and to obtain the requisite dwell at the end of each vibration so as to let the needles
get into position before vibrating the arın across their path. In one form of my
invention the frame or bracket carrying the attachment is fixed by a single screw
to the side of the needle bar box of the machine. The vibrating arm extends from
a sliding plate carried by the frame or trunnions or on a bar, a link confining the
arm towards the foot, to the bracket so as to cause the eye to take a circular path
in moving across the path of the needles. The plate is formed with a Y slot into
which a pin enters from the needle bar so that as the needle bar rises and falls this
pin moves up and down in the Y slot a shunting plate having a brake spring being
provided behind the slotted plate so as to shunt the reciprocating pin from one arm
of the Y slot to the other. The dwell which is requisite at the end of each vibration
to allow the needles to get into position takes place while the pin is sliding in the
vertical portion of the two limbs of the Y shaped slot. The sliding of the plate
to and fro moves the arm and eye across the path of the needles while the aforesaid
confining link causes the eye to swing behind the needles towards the termination
of each stroke. By a modification of the aforesaid attachment the slotted plate
instead of sliding on trunnions or on a pin is pivotted upon the bracket and rocks
upon this pivot. In connection with the presser foot I employ a guide which enter>
the button hole or guides the edge of the seam. This guide projects from the under
side of the presser foot and preferably assumes the form of a shield partly sur-
rounding the inner needle. By a modification of the hereinbefore described means
for vibrating the arm I attach the said arm to a double lever pivotted on a sliding
bar which is carried in slide supports from the arm of the machine. A pin pro-
jecting from the said sliding lever enters a cross groove cam fixel on the shaft of
the machine. The revolving cam reciprocates the sliding plate at the proper
intervals, the straight portions of the cam grooves giving the requisite dwell at the
end of each vibration. A pivotted link confines the inner end of the double lever
which carries the arm, and by giving the lever and arm a rocking motion in addition

page_text: to the sliding motion, makes the eye travel in a curved path and brings it behind
the needles at the end of each vibration. By means of the herein before referred to
arrangements the thread from the vibrating arm is moved backwards and forwards
across the two needles, interlocking with the threads from the two needles in such a
manner as to form a stitch suitable for button holes or for edging or line stitching
cloth or goods, or over-casting seams. By varying the respective tensions of the
needle threads and the thread passing through the eye of the vibrating arm, which
may term the binding or locking thread, stitches of different appearance and of
varying effect can be produced. The attachments are simple and inexpensive, are
not liable to get out of order and can be easily and quickly applied to and removed
from the ordinary machine by an unskilled person.
Dated this 25th day of November 1890.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James' Square, Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machine Attachments for Facilitating the
Stitching of Button Holes and for other purposes.
I, RICHARD TODD, of 13, Mason Street, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Embroiderer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying drawings :-
My said invention relates to attachments for application to lock stitch sewing
machines, the said attachments enabling such ordinary machines to be used
temporarily for stitching button holes or for edging or line stitching cloth and
other materials or for over-casting seams or the like. One of the chief features
of my invention is that the improved attachment in its most approved form is
self contained and can be easily and expeditiously applied to and removed from
the machine by an unskilled person so that an ordinary lock stitch sewing
machine can in a moment be rendered capable of stitching button holes or per-
forming hem or line or over-cast stitching as required.
To render my invention perfectly clear I will now proceed to describe the same
with reference to the annexed four sheets of drawings.
On Sheet 1 :—
Fig. 1 is a side view of an ordinary lock stitch "Singer" sewing machine with
my invention attached thereto.
Fig. 2 is a front view of the same.
On Sheet 2 :-
Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the aforesaid improved attachment.
Fig. 4 is a front view.
Fig. is a plan.
Fig. 6 is a separate view of the shifting or shunting plate.
On Sheet 3 :-
Fig. 7 is a side view of a sewing machine similar to Fig. 1 and carrying the
second modification of my improved attachment.
Fig. 8 is a front view of Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail front view of the aforesaid modified improved
attachment.
Fig. 10 is a side view.
Fig. 11 is a detail view of the shunting plate.
J
Fig. 12 is a horizontal section of Fig. 9 at the line A. B.
Fig. 13 is a separate view of the presser foot.
Figs. 14, 15, 16 and 17, illustrate a modification in the attachment or mode of
imparting motion to the arm for carrying the binding or plaiting thread backwards
and forwards across the path of the needles.

page_text: Figs. 18 and 19 illustrate a button hole stitch to an enlarged scale during
different periods of formation.
Fig. 20 also illustrates in plan the formation of the stitch a portion of the
stitching being shown complete.
Fig. 21 is an edge view of the stitch in Fig. 20.
Fig. 22 illustrates in plan one of the several varieties of stitching which can be
obtained by modifying the tension of the threads.
Referring to the aforesaid drawings the ordinary frame or arm of the machine
is marked a the needle bar is marked b. To the needle bar I affix two needles "
d.
Through the needle c I pass the thread c¹ proceeding from the spool 2. Through
the needle d I pass the thread d¹ proceeding from the spool ². The arm for
moving the binding or plaiting thread to and fro across the path of the needles is
marked and through an eye at the foot of the said arm I pass a thread g¹ which
proceeds from a spool g² as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The threads d¹ are passed
through the ordinary or suitable tension drags and guides on their way to the
needles c d as clearly indicated in the drawings. In sewing a button hole or line
stitch or edging in or upon cloth the material is held down in the usual manner
by the presser foot e which is shown separately at Fig. 13 and a toe or shield e¹
projecting downwards from the lower side of the presser foot enters the button hole
or comes against the edge of the material so as to act as a guide while the material
is being fed. The shield or projection e' is shown in horizontal section at Fig. 134.
It partly encloses and protects the needle d. The presser foot is slit opposite the
needle gate as clearly seen in Fig. 13, so as to allow of easy threading and adjust-
ment. When the machine is working button holes or hemming, one of the needles
only penetrates the material the other passes down through the button hole slit in
the cloth or past the edge of the material as may be clearly seen in Figs. 18
and 19. Otherwise the action of the needles and the behaviour of the needle
threads are precisely the same as in ordinary lock stitch sewing machines.
For example referring to Fig. 19 where the needles are on the up-stroke it
will be seen that the usual loops beneath have been formed and the usual
binding pick of the shuttle has just been effected the shuttle thread being
marked. As it may expedite the description of my invention I will here give
a careful explanation of the stitch and the mode of effecting it as illustrated in
Sheet 4 and will afterwards describe the form of mechanism by which the move-
ments are effected. The simplest and least confusing form of stitch is that
illustrated at Fig. 22 and by taking this specimen first, the others will be more
easily understood. Referring to Fig. 22 the distance between the letters xxx
represents the pitch of the feed of the sewing machine. The needles operate in
the usual way and form the parallel rows of stitches c¹ d. As the stitching proceeds
the so called binding or plaiting thread which appears in Fig. 22 as a continuous
zig-zag is thrown across and in front of the needles c, d during each down stroke
and is pulled behind the needles at the end of the up-stroke so that on the next
down stroke the needles strike in front of the binding thread g' and of course
throw the stitches c' d' over the binding thread g'at each stroke. As has been
said the shuttle thread binds the stitches c' d' on the under side of the fabric.
The stitch shown in Fig. 22 is formed by placing considerable tension on the
threads and very little tension on the binding thread g'. The thread g' is
thus merely laid zig-zag in the path of the needles c d by the motion of the arm g
and does not exert any pull on the stitches c d the form of which is therefore not
influenced by the binding thread. Now having followed my description so far
the reader will easily understand that if the conditions of tension were reversed,
that is to say if but slight tension were placed on the threads cd and considerable
tension on the binding thread ' it will be evident that this change would make
the thread g' master of the situation and instead of allowing itself to be laid and
confined in a zig-zag form by the stitches c¹ d¹ it would naturally be constrained
to assume as near an approximation to a straight line as possible and would draw

page_text: the stitches c' d' on each side towards itself the two threads under the weaker
tension being thus overcome by the thread subject to the stronger tension. Now
in a button hole stitch as shown in Figs. 18 to 21 the upper edge of the button hole
is about in the position of the approximately straight line sought to be occupied
by the binding thread o' and looking at Fig. 20 it will be seen that under the conditions
of tension which have produced this stitch the binding thread g' is thrown as a waving
line along the upper edge of the button hole (this waving line being the nearest
approximation to a straight line which it has been permitted to assume) while the
stitches are drawn over towards the upper edge of the button hole and the
stitches (which in the case of a button hole it will be remembered do not
penetrate the cloth) are pulled up from the bottom edge of the button hole, where
they have been bound by the shuttle thread to the top edge, so that the loops of
the two stitches c d and the waving binding thread present the usual or
necessary plaited or woven ridge which should appear all round the upper edge of
a properly stitched button hole. In Fig. 18 the thread d proceeding from the
needle d to the button hole is shown broken short off so as to prevent it from
coming in front of and thereby obscuring the last formed stitch or loop d' clearly
appearing in the fig. The manner in which the stitch is produced will be obvious
from the views in Sheet 4. For example in Fig. 18 the needles cd are at the
top of their stroke and the arm g has swung to the outside, drawing up the stitch d¹
to the upper edge of the button hole. In Fig. 19 the needles c d are executing
their up-stroke and so forming the loops below through which the shuttle thread f
has been shot.
The arm 9 has now swung to the inside, drawing the last stitch over to the
upper edge of the button hole. The position of the arm g and binding thread g¹
at the inside and outside of the needles respectively are further illustrated
in plan at Fig. 20 the path of the army through which it swings from one
side to the other of the needles being indicated by the curved dotted line in front
of the needles.
The first modification of the attachable and detachable mechanism which I have
devised for producing the hereinbefore described vibration of the arm g across the
path of the needles, is illustrated in Sheets 1 and 2 of the drawings. The bracket i
which carries the whole of the moving parts of the attachment is secured to the side
of the needle bar box a¹ by means of a screw ǹ or other suitable means.
To apply
the complete attachment to the machine all that is requisite is to place the
bracket against the side of the needle bar box a¹ and secure it thereto by the
screw h, while to remove the attachment it is only necessary to remove
the screw and thus detach the bracket i. These operations can be easily
performed by an unskilled person no exactitude of adjustment or manipulation
being required. When the machine is to be used for ordinary sewing, all that is
requisite is to remove the bracket which carries the attachment and also one of
the needles cd, say for example the needle c. At the top of the bracket i there are
projections i' in which slide the ends of a barj which barj is secured to a flat plate n
so that the said flat plate n hangs suspended in the bracket i by means of the bar j
The projections are sufficiently far apart to allow the platen to slide to and fro
for a certain distance, while the bar j permits the plate n to rock on its support.
The top of the bracket carries a wire k which supports the spool g² from which
the binding or plaiting thread is supplied.
At the foot of the bracket is a projection upon which a link is centred
loosely, the said link engaging with an extension n' projecting downwards from
the plate n. The consequence is that when the plate 22 is slid backwards and
forwards between the supports the said link acts as a bridle to circumscribe the
path through which the arm g swings the plate n both sliding and rocking as it moves
to and fro. The arm g is attached at m to the extension n' by a set screw as shown.
In the face of the flat plate n I form a Y shaped slot n³ and behind the plate n there
is a second sliding shunting plate o having a slot o' in its face of the form shown
in Fig. 6 Sheet 2. The shunting plate o is held to the back of the plate n by the

page_text: screws which occupy horizontal slots in the plate 0. Coiled springs p' hold the
plate with an elastic pressure against the back of the plate n, the horizontal slots
limiting the sliding traverse of the plate o behind the plate n.
A finger 7 projecting from the top of the needle bar 6 passes through the slots
of both the cam plate n and the shunting plate o and by acting on the slots the
said finger slides the cam plate n to and fro as the needle bar (and consequently
the finger), rises and falls. It will be evident that unless means were provided to
shunt the bar q from one arm of the Y shaped slot in the cam plate n opposite to
the other arm at each down stroke, the finger would simply play up and down in
one side or limb of the Y shaped slot. The inner shunting plate o provides the
required shunting means, that is to say at each down stroke of the bar the inner
shunting plate o has been so previously moved as to present a continuation of the
incline constituted by the Y slot in the cam plate n to the finger q sufficient to carry
the cam plate n past the centre or dead point and thus bring the finger q opposite
to the further arm of the Y shaped slot in the cam plate so that on the upstroke
of the finger q it enters this further arm and completes the movement of the plate n
to one side or the other. At the same time in making its up stroke the finger g
shifts the inner shunting plate o relatively to the outer plate n in such a manner
that on its return down stroke a similar continuation of the inclined slot on that side
is presented to the finger and a corresponding continuation of the movement of
the cam plate past the centre or dead point is effected so that on its up stroke the
finger enters the inclined slot on the other side of the cam plate n and so
completes the vibration of the cam plate n back to its original starting point. I
will now explain these movements more fully relatively to the drawings.
0
Referring to Fig. 4 which is a front view of the cam plate n and attached parts.
the Y shaped slot n³ clearly appears. The inner shunting plate o is also indicated
partly in dotted lines behind the plate n the parts of the plate o which appear
through and behind the slot n³ being cross hatched to distinguish them from the
plate n.
In Fig. 6 a separate front view is given of this inner shunting plate o..
The plan view Fig. 5 also shows the relative position of the inner shunting plate o
to the outer cam plate n. Now when the finger 9 which is indicated in dotted
lines at Fig. 4 descends in the straight portion of the right hand slot n³ as soon as it
occupies the lower inclined portion of the Y slot n in the plate n the whole attach-
ment begins to slide on its bar or trunnions j. After leaving the inclined slot n³ the
finger q continues to traverse on the cross hatched portion o² of the shunt plate
thus carrying the attachment past the centre or dead point and bringing the foot of
the left hand limb of the slot opposite to the finger. The finger then descends to
the foot of the vertical slot and on its up stroke it enters the left hand slot n³ and
thus completes the vibration of the attachment. At the same time in traversing the
left hand slot on the up stroke the finger q comes against the side of the slot o¹ in
the shunt plate o and thus shifts the shunt plate o over to the left hand side of the
attachment thus causing the shunt plate o to present a continuation of the left hand
inclined slot n to the finger when it makes its return downward stroke, thus
shifting the attachment past the dead centre to the left hand side and so enabling
the finger on its up stroke to complete the vibration of the attachment and
bringing the finger back to its original starting point.
9
The sliding motion thus
imparted to the cam plate n and its extension n³ is caused to be also a rocking
motion by means of the link 1, and the said compound motion is communicated to
the arm g.
g
The effects of this swinging or vibratory movement of the arm in forming the
stitch have been already clearly explained.
The thread y' is led from the spool g' through a spring tension g³ and through
guides, to the eye at the end of the arm g.
the arm
9
It will be observed that in conjunction with the said swinging motion imparted to
there is a dwell at the end of each vibration, that is to say at the points C
and D in Fig. 20. This dwell is an important and necessary part of the motion as
thereby the needles are allowed to come down and enter the fabric before the arm

page_text: commences to carry the thread in front of them. If this movement of the arm y
were to take place too soon the thread g' would probably escape the needles and
stitches would be missed and work spoiled.
But by the dwell imparted to the arm g the needles have sufficient time to descend
and assume their proper position relatively to the thread gl. The second modifica-
tion of the means for imparting the requisite motion to the arm g is shown in Figs. 7
to 12, Sheet 3.
In the said figs. I have marked the parts which correspond to similar parts in
Sheets 1 and 2 already described with the same letters as there is practically but
little difference in the drawings.
0
In the modification I have now to describe, the slotted cam plate n is made curved
instead of being flat and instead of sliding to and fro on a rod or on trunnions
between supports as in the case of the mechanism already described the said plate is
pivotted by its radial arms n² n² upon the aforesaid stud j so as to be capable of rocking
freely upon this stud. In the face of the cam plate n I form a Y shaped slot n³ as
already described and behind the cam plate and centred upon the same stud j
there is a second concentric shunting plate separately shown at Fig. 11 having
also a Y shaped slot o' but inverted with relation to the slot in the cam plate n.
The relative positions of the cam plate n and shunting plate o are clearly shown at
Fig. 12 which is a sectional view of Fig. 9 at the line A. B. The said second
inner slotted shunting plate o has a flat spring p secured to it by a screw pin p¹.
The tail of the spring passes through a slit in the bottom arm of the inner shunting
plate o and presses on the lower arm n² of the outer cam plate n. The object of the
flat spring is the same as that of the coiled springs 1 in Figs. 1 to 6, viz.: to
connect the inner shunting plate o to the outer cam platen by the elastic
frictional contact due to the pressure of the spring, so as to cause the two
plates to maintain their position relatively to each other when they are relatively
shifted by the up and down motion of the bar 7 as already clearly described.
The nose of the screw pin p² enters a curved slot in the said lower arm n² so
that the play of the inner shunting plate o relatively to the outer cam plate n is
limited by the length of the said curved slot. A bar fastened to the top of the
needle bar projects through the Y slots of both cam and shunting plate n'and o as
in the former case and by acting in the slots vibrates the cam plate n to and fro as
the needle bar rises and falls. The arm g is attached at m to the extension n' from
the plate and a loosely pivotted link connects the arm g to the foot of the
bracket and thus circumscribes and guides the movements of the arm g in the
manner already described with reference to the link in the foregoing figs.
The moving parts of Figs. 7 to 12 and the motions of the parts are all similar to
those already described with reference to the foregoing figs. and need not be again
described.
Fig. 14, is a side view and Fig. 15 a plan of a sewing machine with a modified
form of my improved attachment. In this case I obtain the motion of the arm g
from an ordinary cross groove cam fixed upon the shaft s of the machine. The
cam is shown separately in Figs. 16 and 17. I secure slide supports t¹ to the
arm a of the machine by means of screws t2 the said supports carrying a sliding
bar u.
Instead of constituting two separate brackets as shown, the slide supports
might be parts of a single bracket secured to the arm a by a single screw as in the
case of the bracket i described with reference to the foregoing figs. A finger v
extending from the bar u enters the groove in the cam r with the result that when
the cam revolves the bar u is reciprocated to and fro. Upon the end of the bar u
I pivot the bent double lever wat e and to the lever w I secure the arm g.
The said arm I is thus reciprocated to and fro in front of the needles and by
connecting the inner arm w' of the lever w by a link to a fixed pivot z' projecting from
an extension of the slide support ta sidelong rocking motion is also imparted to the
lever wand arm g. The result of this compound sliding and rocking movement of
the lever wis that the eye at the foot of the arm describes the requisite curved
path across the front of the needles which has been already described and is

page_text: illustrated in Fig. 20, Sheet 4. The parallel portions of the cross grooves in the
cam cause the required dwell of the army on each side of the needles as already
described. The attachment shown in Figs. 14 and 15 is capable of being
expeditiously and easily attached and removed by an unskilled person by means of
the screws or instead of the screws 2 clamps or other ordinary and easily manipu-
lated means of attachment might be used.
By using threads of different colours and by varying the tensions of the respective
threads, button hole stitching line stitching and edging can be produced with varying
ornamental effect. The complete attachment for manipulating the binding or
plaiting thread ' is exceedingly simple and can be attached and removed in a
moment and by an unskilled person. The parts do not require any nice adjustment
and are not liable to get out of order while the whole attachment can be produced
at a low cost.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The general arrangement construction and combination of parts comprising my
improved attachable and detachable means for facilitating the temporary employ-
ment of an ordinary lock stitch sewing machine as a machine for sewing button
holes or for hemming or fancy stitching as hereinbefore described and as
illustrated.
2. As means for temporarily converting an ordinary lock stitch sewing machine
into a machine capable of sewing button holes or edging or stitching material or
overcasting seams as hereinbefore indicated, the employment of a vibrating arm g
connected to and operated from a cam plate n the said cam plate sliding in or being
pivotted to a fixed frame or bracket and slotted so as to be worked from a recipro-
cating finger or bar attached to the needle bar and acting in conjunction with an
attached shunting plate o for moving the cam platen past the dead centre at each
down stroke of the finger or bar, the whole acting in conjunction with two needles
carried by the ordinary needle bar and constructed and operating substantially as
herein before described and as illustrated.
3. The modified form of attachment shown at Figs. 14 to 17 (Sheet 3) for
facilitating the stitching of button holes or hemming or line or fancy stitching with
an ordinary lock stitch sewing machine provided with two needles, the said modified
form consisting of a slide operated from a cam on the needle bar shaft and carrying
the vibrating arm g, the movements of which are guided and governed by a loosely
pivotted link substantially as herein before described and as illustrated.
4. In an attachment of the indicated nature causing the vibrating arm g to dwell
at the end of each vibration so as to allow the needles to assume the requisite
position before the next vibration, the said dwell being effected either by the form
of the slots in the cam plate or by the shape of the revolving cam or by cognate
means employed to actuate the arm g substantially as hereinbefore described and
shown.
Dated this 23rd day of February 1891.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James' Square, Manchester, Agents.