IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Birch at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th December 1883.
HENRY BIRCH of Kingsdown Parade Bristol.
MACHINES"
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
This Invention has for its object improvements in sewing machines.
The object of the invention is to trim the seam or cut away the edges of the
fabric as the work progresses along side of the seam and at an uniform distance
from it. Various appliances have before been adapted to this purpose. According
to my Invention I make use of a scissor like blade carried upon the presser or foot
which bears upon the top of the work and aids in carrying it forward to the
needle.
The blade is jointed to the presser and it cuts upwards against an edge formed
upon the side thereof.
The blade receives motion by means of a link connecting its rear end with an
arm upon an horizontal shaft to which a vibrating movement is imparted by an
eccentric, or in any other convenient manner.
The arm is adjustable upon the shaft, and thus the opening between the moveable
and fixed edge is adapted to receive a thicker or thinner fabric.
When the presser is raised the cutting apparatus is lifted with it, the joint
connecting the blade with the presser allows sufficient freedom to admit of this.
Hence when the presser is lifted the space to receive the work is left as free as
with any ordinary sewing machine.
The cutter may be so carried by the presser that its point shall be about level
with the needle and the cut made just behind it. Or the cutting blade can be so
attached to the presser foot as to cut the cloth at a distance in front of the needle.
In this latter case the cutting blade may be set at such a distance in front of the
needle as to allow of an ordinary binder guide being interposed between the blade
and the needle so that the operations of paring the cloth, applying a braid or
binding to its edge and sewing on this braid may be simultaneously effected.
This series of operations has not up to the present time been simultaneously
effected in any sewing machine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Birch in the Patent Office on the 11th June 1884.
HENRY BIRCH of Kingsdown Parade Bristol
MACHINES
"
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
This Invention has for its object improvements in sewing machines.
The object of the invention is to trim or cut away the edges of the fabric as the
work progresses and at an uniform distance from the seam. Various appliances
have before been adapted to this purpose. According to my invention I make use
of a scissor like blade carried upon the presser foot which bears upon the top of
the work and aids in carrying it forward to the needle.
The blade is jointed to the presser foot and it cuts upwards against an edge
formed upon the side thereof.
The blade receives motion by means of a link connecting its rear end with an
arm upon an horizontal rocking shaft to which a vibrating movement is imparted
by an eccentric or in any other convenient manner.
The arm is adjustable upon the shaft and thus the opening between the moveable
and fixed edge is adapted to receive a thicker or thinner fabric.
When the presser is raised the cutting apparatus is lifted with it; the joint
connecting the blade with the presser allows sufficient freedom to admit of this.
Hence when the presser is lifted the space to receive the work is left as free as
with any ordinary sewing machine.
The cutter may be so carried by the presser foot that its point shall be about
level with the needle and the cut made just behind it. Or the cutting blade can
be so attached to the presser foot as to cut the cloth at a distance in front of the
needle.
In this latter case the cutting blade may be set at such a distance in front of
the needle as to allow of an ordinary binding braiding or trimming guide being
interposed between the blade and the needle so that the operations of paring the
cloth applying a binding braid or trimming to its edge and sewing on this binding
braid or trimming may be simultaneously effected.
This series of operations has not up to the present time been simultaneously
effected in any sewing machine.
In the drawings hereunto annexed I have shown various views of a sewing
machine having cutting mechanism applied to it and also a binding guide to allow
of binding being applied to the cut edge of the fabric.
The improvements are shown as applied to a sewing machine such as is now
commonly made by the Singer Manufacturing Company but they might be applied
to other forms of sewing machines.
I have not thought it necessary to shew all the operative parts of the sewing
mechanism as their construction and mode of operation are well understood.
Figure 1 is a side view of the upper part of the machine.
Figure 2 a front end view of the machine showing the position of the parts
when the needle has partly completed its upward movement and the scissor edge of
the scissor like blade is above the lower edge of the presser foot.
Figure 3 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the needle
has completed about half its downward moveinent and the moveable scissor blade
has descended below the lower edge of the presser foot.
Figure 4 shows a similar view when the needle is raised and the presser foot
lifted to allow of the work being placed into position below the needle.
Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 1. 1. Figure 2.

page_text: C is
In these figures A is the frame of the machine. B the main driving shaft.
the needle bar. D the presser foot carried by the presser bar D¹ which is pressed
downwards by a spring in the ordinary manner.
E is the scissor like blade at the side of the presser foot. It is carried by a
short spindle E¹ mounted in a bearing which passes across the top of the presser
foot.
F is an arm fixed on the opposite end of the spindle. This arm is connected by
a connecting rod G with a lever arm H which extends from a rocking shaft I. This
rocking shaft has a short oscillating motion given to it at each revolution of the
main shaft of the machine. It receives this motion from an eccentric or cam on
the main shaft acting through a connecting rod K upon an arm J which is fast on
the rocking shaft as shown at Figure 1 and at Figure 6 which is a cross section
taken through the eccentric and the rocking shaft
The oscillating motion given to the rocking shaft I rocks the moveable scissor
like blade E and so raises and lowers it at each revolution of the machine and
causes it to cut and trim the edge of the cloth at each stitch and in the intervals
between the action of the feed.
In order that whatever may be the thickness of the work beneath the presser
foot the moveable scissor blade may in its downward movement always descend
sufficiently below the bottom of the presser foot for the work to pass between an i
may also in its upward movement rise sufficiently to cut the work. I make the
arm Hadjustable on the rocking shaft I. For this purpose the arm H is mounted
loosely upon the rocking shaft so that it can turn freely around it and has a tail
piece M extending backwards from it in which is a slot concentric with the axis I.
Alongside of the arm H is an arm L which is fixed upon the shaft-a binding screw N
passes through the slot in the tail piece M and screws into the end of the arm L
so that the arm H can be made to radiate from the shaft at any desired angle and
be locked to it by screwing up the binding screw N.
The axis of the scissor like blade is as shewn at some distance in front of the
needle and a notch is cut in the presser foot in rear of the axis of the blade and
between it and the needle as is best seen at Figure 5.
O is an ordinary binder guide the end of which enters into this notch so as to
come just in front of the needle. It is an ordinary binder guide suitable for
applying braid or binding to the edge of the material being sewn so that it is
unnecessary to show in detail the precise manner in which the binder guide is
constructed.
The operation of the mechanism is as follows :-
As the needle moves towards its lowest position the scissor like blade E
commences to turn upwards and completes its upward movement during the first
portion of the upward movement of the needle. During the latter part of the
upward movement of the needle the blade commences again to descend and so
does not offer any impediment to the work being moved forward by the feed dog
when the needle has risen to its highest position.
Whenever it is desired to adjust the work beneath the presser foot the presser
foot is lifted and held up in the ordinary manner and the scissor blade is carried
upwards with it as shown at Figure 4 so that the work can be adjusted beneath
the presser foot just as readily as in any ordinary sewing machine not fitted with
mechanism for trimming the edge of the cloth.
As before stated the scissor like blade might be placed so that the cut should be
made just behind the needle and I prefer to do so except when a binding or other
guide is to be used-At Figure 7 I have shewn a front elevation of the lower part
of the presser bar and the presser foot carrying the scissor blade in position to
make the cut at this point. Figure 8 is a plan of the presser foot These figures
are marked with the same letters of reference as in the preceding figures.
Having thus described the nature of my invention and the manner of
performing the same I would have it understood that I claim :-
First The combination with the presser foot of a sewing machine of a cutting

page_text: blade to cut upwards against the bottom edge of the side of the presser foot
substantially as described.
Second The combination with the presser foot of a sewing machine of a
cutting blade to cut upwards against the bottom edge of the side of the presser
foot at a distance in front of the needle so that a binder or other guide may be
interposed between the scissor like blade and the needle of the sewing machine
substantially as described.
Third The combination of mechanism substantially as herein before described
and illustrated in the Drawings annexed for giving movement to a cutting blade
carried by the presser foot of a sewing machine.
In Witness whereof I the said Henry Birch have hereunto set my hand and
seal this tenth day of June in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and eighty four.
TT PIRODT