IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCK STITCH SEWING MACHINES MORE ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO MACHINES FOR SEWING HEAVY MATERIAL SUCH AS LEATHER
Year: 1884

page_text: I, WILLIAM BARSBY of Kings Heath in the County of Worcester do hereby
declare the nature of my Invention for." IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCK STITCH SEWING
MACHINES MORE ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO MACHINES FOR SEWING HEAVY
MATERIAL SUCH AS LEATHER" to be as follows, that is to say :-
My Invention has for its object improvements in lock stitch sewing machines
but is more especially applicable to those machines designed for sewing heavier
material such for instance as leather and where there is considerable difficulty in
piercing the material from one side or where because of the several thicknesses of
material to be sewn the bulging at the under side would be considerable when
pierced from the top only. I am also able to ensure great regularity of work
because there is less strain upon the tender parts of the machine and therefore the
work is better in quality without leaving the marks of the feeding piece which is
usually the case.
My improvements consist in the use at the under part of the machine of a steel
plate piercer generally of oblong shape with the top corner rounded and the other
formed with a sharp spike or pointed piece of any desired length according to the
thickness of the leather or other substance to be worked. Now this steel plate or
other feeder is attached to the plate or under piercer holder which reciprocates
vertically in a carriage having a horizontal sliding movement. A pivoted lever
formed into a cam box both reciprocates the plate or piercer holder and moves the
slide backwards and forwards by means of a shaft and three little cams--One cam
working the slide the other lifting the piercer holder and the other bringing the
holder back again-The same movements may however be accomplished in other
ways but they must be so timed and otherwise arranged that the piercer is carried
upwards into the leather behind the central position of the needle, and while still
inserted in the leather or other material the piercer is carried along and the
material with it until the piercer is exactly underneath. the needle when it is
withdrawn, the needle immediately following through the upper half of the
material to be sewn and finishing its stroke through the very hole made by the
under piercer in its feeding movement. The piercer after descending far enough to
be clear of the material is carried back to the extent required that is just the

page_text: length of one stitch again behind the needle by the said mechanism where it is
ready for another stroke. The pressure foot used to keep the leather or other
material steady during the operation of sewing is raised while the said feeding
piece or piercer is moving the material forward for the purpose of preventing any
undue strain upon the parts. Of course the under piercer requires to be formed
at its point according to the shape of the stitch desired and the material sewn.
Dated 21st Tan1004

page_text: <
I WILLIAM BARSBY of King's Heath in the County of Worcester, do hereby
declare the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LOCK-STITCH SEWING
MACHINES MORE ESPECIALLY APPLICABLE TO MACHINES FOR SEWING HEAVY
MATERIAL SUCH AS LEATHER" and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention has for its object improvements in lock-stitch sewing machines
but is more especially applicable to those machines designed for sewing heavier
material such for instance as leather and where there is considerable difficulty in
piercing the material from one side or where because of the several thicknesses of
material to be sewn the bulging at the under side would be considerable when
pierced from the top only. I am also able to ensure great regularity of work
because there is less strain upon the weak parts of the machine and therefore the
work is better in quality without leaving the marks of the feeding piece which is
usually the case.
My improvements consist in the use at the under part of the machine of a
piercer preferably made of steel and generally of oblong shape with the top
corner rounded and the other formed with a sharp spike or pointed piece of any
desired length according to the thickness of the leather or other substance to be
worked. The said piercer also acts as a feeder and is attached to the plate or
under-piercer holder which reciprocates vertically in a carriage having a horizontal
sliding movement. A pivotted lever formed into a cam box both reciprocates the
plate or piercer holder and moves the slide backwards and forwards by means of a
shaft and three cams, one cam working the slide the other lifting the piercer holder
and the other bringing the holder back again.
The same movement may however be accomplished in other ways but they must
be so timed and otherwise arranged that the piercer is carried upwards into the
leather behind the central position of the needle and while still inserted into the
leather or other material the piercer is earried along and the material with it until
the piercer is exactly underneath the needle when it is withdrawn, the needle
immediately following through the upper half of the material to be sewn and
finishing its stroke through the hole made by the under piercer in its feeding
movement. The piercer after descending far enough to be clear of the material is
carried back to the extent required that is just the length of one stitch behind the
needle by the said mechanism when it is ready for another stroke. The pressure
foot used to keep the leather or other material steady during the operation of
sewing is raised while the said feeding piece or piercer is moving the material
forward for the purpose of preventing any undue strain upon the parts.
The under piercer requires to be formed at its point according to the shape of
the stitch desired and the material to be sewn.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
manner in which my Invention is to be performed:- :
Figure 1 represents in front elevation; Figure 2 in side elevation and Figure 3
in plan a portion of a lock-stitch sewing machine containing my improvements;
Figure 4 is a plan of the shuttle box of the machine; Figure 5 represents
separately the piercer and feeder of the machine made preferably of steel and
Figure 6 a modification of the said piercer. and feeder.
The same letters indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the Drawing.
a is the fixed base of the machine. b is the shuttle box; c is the needle and.
d the pressure foot for holding down the material during the sewing operation;

page_text: e is the plate piercer and feeder made according to my Invention, the said plate
being of such thickness that it will move freely in the needle groove f made in the
needle plate and the shuttle box b for the passage of the needle (see Figures 1 and 4).
The said piercer e pierces the material from the underside and acts also as a feeder
as herein after explained. The shape of the piercer e is best seen in Figures 2 and 5
and from an examination of the said Figures, it will be seen that the piercer has a
sharp or pointed end and owing to its great depth is rigid up to its working point.
The plate piercer and feeder e is fixed in the slotted end of the holder g by the
screw h. This holder is fitted in the vertical carrier in which it is capable of
rising and falling. The said carrier i is connected to the dovetail plate capable
of a horizontal sliding motion in the base plate a of the machine (see Figure 1).
The said dovetail plate i works between the stop screws i³, i³ (see Figures 2 and 3).
The length of stitch is regulated by the screw in front of the machine. The
rising and falling motion of the piercer and feeder e is effected by the lever k
pivoted at one end 7 to the fixed upright m on the sliding plate and connected at
its other end by the pin 'n to the sliding holder g supporting the piercer e. The
end of the lever k is slotted to permit it to work upon the pin n.
The rocking motion of the lever k upon the centre 7 by which it communicates a
rising and falling motion to the holder g is effected by the cams p and q on the
driving shaft 8 of the machine, the said cams working in the box or slotted part k³
of the lever. The rising motion of the lever is effected by the cam q and the
descending motion by the cam p. The advance or feeding motion of the piercer so
as to feed forward the material being sewn is effected by the cam r on the shaft 8
acting against the bearing stop t on the upright m of the base plate i³, the return
motion of the said base and parts carried by it being effected by the coiled spring u,
one end of which is connected to the dovetail plate and the other end to the
fixed base a of the machine. The feeding stop t is made adjustable to compensate
for wear in the cam r and to ensure that the piercer e at the end of its feeding
movement shall be exactly under the needle. The stop t is shown withdrawn
beyond the range of the cam r in order that the cams may be the more readily
seen. The centre is capable of a slight vertical adjustment in the upright m to
enable the piercer e to pierce the material to a greater or less extent as may be
desired.
By the arrangement of parts described the piercer e when situated behind or on
one side of the central position of the needle crises and pierces from the under-
side the leather or material being sewn. While the piercer is inserted in the
leather or material, its feeding or horizontal sliding motion is effected as herein
before described and the said piercer thereby carried exactly underneath or in a
line with the needle cas represented in Figure 2. After having pierced and fed the
material to the position last described the piercer first makes its descending motion
so as to remove it from the material and afterwards makes its back sliding motion
to the length of one stitch, that is, to its original position. The needle c descending
from the upper side of the material passes through the hole formed by the piercer e.
As the needle makes its ascending motion the thread is formed into a loop on the
underside of the material and the shuttle being shot through the looped thread, a
lock stitch is formed in the ordinary way. The pressure foot d is raised while the
piercer e is feeding forward the material so as to prevent any undue strain upon
the said piercer.
The piercer and feeder e may be connected directly to the actuating lever
instead of to the holder g and the said actuating lever be worked by the
modification of parts represented in side elevation in Figure 7 and back elevation
in Figure 8.
In this arrangement, 2 is the lever to the cranked or vertical end of which the
plate piercer e is affixed by the screws e³. Slots are made in the piercer e for the
reception of the said screws so that the piercer may be adjusted upon the lever for
piercing the material to the desired extent. The rear slotted end of the lever 2 is
fitted in the fork 1 of the frame of the machine and works upon the pin 2ª so that

page_text: the said lever is free to move both vertically and horizontally at its jointed end.
The upward movement of the lever 2 is effected by the cam 3 and its forward
horizontal motion by the cam 4. The return backward and downward motions of
the lever are produced by the action of the spring 5 one arm of which bears against
the projecting part 2b on the lever 2 and the other arm bears against the fixed
part 1 of the machine; b is the shuttle box and of the needle groove.
Instead of making the under piercer and feeder of a flat plate pointed at its
acting end, the said under piercer and feeder may be made of cylindrical or other
shaped steel or other wire as illustrated in Figure 6, the acting end of this piercer
being pointed. The wire from which the piercer and feeder Figure 6 is made is of
such a thickness that the said piercer and feeder will move freely in the needle
groove f. The said piercer is marked e and is fixed in the holder g by the screw h
as described with respect to the plate piercer and feeder.
My improved piercer and feeder may be applied to lock stitch sewing machines
of different construction from those described and represented in the Drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
The new or improved piercer and feeder for lock-stitch sewing machines herein
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings; that is to say, a
piercer and feeder preferably made either from a steel plate of such thickness that
it will readily work in the groove in the shuttle box made for the passage of the
needle, or from steel wire of such thickness that it will readily work in the said
needle groove in the shuttle box, the said piercer and feeder being made and used
substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
Dated this First day of Avavat 1001.