Year: 1888

page_text: I ALEXANDER ANDERSON, Manager of the Singer Manufacturing Company's Works,
Kilbowie, Dumbartonshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
It is the usual practice to secure sewing machine attachments as guides, hemmers,
binders, tuck markers &c. to the work plate of the machine but this practice is
objectionable for the reason that the attachments are liable to mar or wear away the
ornamental japanned finish of the work plate so that when a new machine has been but
slightly used in exhibiting it in the sales room the work plate becomes more or less
scratched or marred and the machine thus presents the appearance of a second hand
Furthermore the attachments when attached to the work plate are frequently
more or less in the way of the operator.
one.
The objections incidental to securing attachments to the work plate of the machine
have, in some instances, been partially avoided by securing the attachments to the
presser foot or presser bar, but in such instances the attachments have been more or
less in the way and were also subject to the rise and fall of the presser-bars as the
latter were moved by the action of the feed-It has also been proposed to support the
attachments from the machine "head" by a bracket attached to the face plate or
outside of the "head" but such a bracket was also more or less in the way and
was unsightly and it was therefore desirable to remove. it when not in use, so that
it did not form a permanent part of the machine, alway in convenient position ready
for use.
The object of my invention is to obviate these objections by providing an attachment-
holding bar which is arranged within the head at the forward end of the overhanging
bracket arm of the machine-1 also provide a convenient construction by which an
attachment or a presser foot may be detachably secured to its bar or holder.

page_text: In the drawings Figures 1 and 2 are front and rear views respectively of the
lower portion of a "head of a sewing machine provided with my improvements-
Figure 3 is a detail view of the lower ends of the attachment and presser bars
with the attachment and presser foot removed-Figure 4 is a detail sectional view
to illustrate the preferred construction by which the attachment bar is secured in
the "head" in such a manner as to be vertically adjustable so that it may be
raised to be entirely out of the way when not in use-Figure 5 is a detail hori-
zontal section of one of the handled clamping nuts-Figures 6 and 7 are detail
plan views of a hemmer and presser foot respectively adapted for attachment to the
holders.
A denotes the depending "head" at the forward end of a sewing machine bracket
arm, B the needle bar, the needle, C the presser bar and c the presser foot all of
which parts are, or may be, of the ordinary construction.
Opposite the presser bar, rearward of the needle bar, the head A is drilled for the
reception of the vertical attachment holding har D the said bar being parallel with
and beside the presser bar and provided with a grooved into which enters a pin or
small rod d received in a horizontal hole drilled in the head A. The outer or forward
end of the said hole is tapped for the reception of a thumb scrow a the inner end of
which may
abut against the pin or rod d¹ to force the latter against the bottom of the
grooved and thus secure the bar D in place. When the thumb screw is loosened the
bar D may be raised or lowered until the upper or lower end wall of the groove d
strikes the pin or rod d' when the further upward or downward movement of the said
bar is arrested-The groove dis of proper length so that when the upper end wall
thereof is in contact with the rod d' the bar D is lowered to the proper place to
receive the attachments and hold them in operative position and when the said bar is
not in use (as when no attachments are required for co-operation with the stitch
forming mechanism of the machine) it may be raised until the lower end wall of the
grooved strikes the pin d' so as to be out of the way; and the thumb screw a will
then be tightened to hold the said bar in its elevated. position.
It is obvious that instead of using the pin or rod d¹ the set screw a might be made
long enough to engage the groove of the bar D without the intervention of the said
pin or rod, the latter being used for the convenience of avoiding using so long
a screw as would otherwise be necessary, and to prevent the bar from being released so
that it will drop out by inadvertently withdrawing the screw too far.
In order that the bar D may be securely held in place without setting the thumb
screw inconveniently tight I prefer to form slight recesses or indentations d² in
the bottom of the grove d near the ends thereof.
In the drawings I have shown a hemmer E as being secured to the attachment
holding bar D, the vertical shank e of the hemmer having at its top a horizontal
portion e¹ which is forked or slotted to embrace a flatsided tenon d³ near the lower
end of the bar D, the said bar being tapped at its lower end for the reception
of a screw F the head of which is provided with a handle by which it may be turned
and with a series of threaded holes into any one of which the handle may be
screwed. The forked portion e¹ of the shank of the hemmer is held between the head
of the screw F and the shoulders formed on the bar D by the tenon d³. In adjusting
the parts in place the screw F will be turned in far enough so that the portion e
of the hemmer can just be inserted between the head of the said screw and the
said shoulders, and a partial rotation of the screw will serve to secure the hemmer in
place. The head of the screw F is provided with the series of threaded holes f¹ for
the reception of the handle so that when a proper adjustment of the said screw has
been ascertained the said handle may be screwed into that one of the said holes which
may be in such position that the handle will be out of the way of the operator,
or so as not to interfere with the presser-bar when the screw is tightened to secure
the attachment in place.
It will of course be understood that any other attachment as a binder guide
quilter, tuck-marker, braider &c., having a slotted holding shank similar to that
with which the hemmer E is provided, may be secured to the attachment bar D

page_text: in the same manner that the hemmer is, as above described, the hemmer being
merely one of several kinds of attachments to be interchangeably used with sewing
machines.
I prefer to secure the presser-foot c to the presser-bar by a handled screw F, as
above described for holding the hemmer or other attachments, the shank c¹ of the said
presser-foot having at its top a forked horizontal portion c³. In other words the
shank of the presser-foot is of the same construction as the shank of the hemmer or
other attachment, and the manner of securing the said foot to its bar is like that
above described for the hemmer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me I declare
that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with a depending sewing machine "head" of a vertical
attachment-holding bar rigidly secured within the said "head" beside the needle
and presser-bar and parallel therewith.
2. The combination with a depending sewing machine "head"
" of a vertically
adjustable attachment-holding bar rigidly secured within the said "head and
thereby adapted to be raised out of the way of the operator when not in use.
"
3. The combination with the "head" A having a horizontal hole or recess of the
vertical attachment-bar D having the vertical slot d, the pin d¹ loosely fitted in
the said hole, and the thumb-screw tapped in the outer portion of the said hole.
4. The combination with a sewing machine "head" of a vertical bar having a
shouldered and flat-sided tenon at its lower end, an attachment or presser-foot having
a shank with a forked horizontal portion at its upper end, a screw which is tapped
through said tenon and the head of which is provided with a series of threaded holes,
and a handle threaded to be screwed into any one of the said holes.
Dated this Tanter fourth day of December 1888
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agents.