Improvements in Stay-guides for Sewing Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 15th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1896
[Communicated from abroad by FRANK WOODARD MERRICK, of Corner
Grampian Way and Rockland Avenue, Boston, County of Suffolk, State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer.]
Improvements in Stay-guides for Sewing Machines.
1, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The invention relates to stay-guides for sewing machines and consists in an
improved stay-guide which is designed more especially for machines that are
adapted to sew leather. In the construction of boots and shoes, and the like,
strips of leather or stay-pieces frequently are employed, they requiring to be
secured in place by sewing. While being sewed to the leather the stay-piece
should be guided properly, so that it may be placed evenly and neatly. In the
case of stay-pieces of uniform width, they have been guided by means of a slot in
the work-rest or table of the machine, or in a device applied thereto, but this
mode of guiding is objectionable, because the stay-piece cannot readily be inserted
into the slot. Such a guiding means, also, is not adapted to receive stay-pieces of
irregular shape. Therefore, it has been common, heretofore, not to employ a
guide in sewing on such a stay-piece, but to rely upon the operator being able to
hold and guide the stay-piece properly with his thumb and finger while the
sewing was being effected. This is difficult for the operator properly to
perform. It imposes an unnecessary strain upon him and otherwise is objection-
able. The aim of the present invention is to obviate the objections above noted,
and to provide a device of such character that stay-pieces of any shape may be
inserted readily into the guide, without causing delay or trouble to the operator,
while stay-pieces of irregular shape will be guided properly.
In one embodiment of the present invention I employ, in line with the throat-
plate, a yielding support over which the stay-piece is intended to pass, which
support may be, if desired, made of a length of flat-spring, or may be made in the
form of a plate, pivotally mounted, and acted upon by a spring with a tendency to
press it upward. In connection with the said yielding support, I employ guide-
arms, which latter bear by their free extremities upon the upper surface of the
yielding support. The stay-piece is intended to slide over the top surface of the
yielding support, and is compressed between the said support and the guide-arms.
The said arms curl upwardly and toward each other, and the free ends thereof
overlie the top of the yielding support, with a portion of the length of each
thereof extending parallel with the line of feed. The said free ends
symmetrically disposed with reference to the lines of stitching.
are
When a stay-piece is to be secured in place, its leading portion is brought over
the throat-plate, with its end or extremity adjacent to the needles. The operator,
aving with one hand hold of the other portion of the stay-piece at or near the free
extremity thereof, meanwhile pressing upon or holding fast the advance portion
o as to keep it in place on the throat-plate, then bears the rear extremity of the
tay-piece downwardly so as to carry the portion of the stay-piece which is

page_text: directly over the curved ends of the guide-arms downwardly into line with the
said arms. A continuation of the pressure will force the middle portion of the
stay-piece downwardly between the ends of the said arms, first carrying the said
middle portion into contact with the upper surface of the yielding support, and
then bearing the yielding support itself downwardly. At first, the side edges of
the stay-piece will be caused to curl upwardly by the free ends of the guide-arms,
but as soon as the yielding support has been depressed sufficiently to permit the
said edges to pass downwardly between the free ends of the guide-armis, the said
edges will spring outwardly under the said ends of the said guide-arms, and the
stay-piece will flatten out smoothly against the upper surface of the yielding
support. As soon as the strain upon the stay-piece is relaxed, the yielding
support rises until it assumes its normal position, and thereby the stay-piece is
gripped at.two places, namely between the free ends of the two guide-arms and
the proximate surface of the yielding support. The pressure of the yielding
support is such as to produce enough resistance to the forward feed of the stay-
piece to hold the stay-piece taut, while at the same time allowing it to be drawn
over the yielding support as the work is fed forward. Since the two points at
which. the stay-piece. is engaged by the ends of the guide arms are disposed
symmetrically with reference to the line of feed, the forward feeding of the work
operates to draw the stay-piece forward evenly, so that it is guided evenly and
held in proper position while being sewed in place. The width of the opening
between the free ends of the guide-arms is not material, and the said free ends.
may touch each other, provided the arms are arranged to yield or turn laterally
in such manner as to permit the stay-piece to be forced down into place as
aforesaid. The guide-arms may be made adjustable so as to permit their free
ends to be placed at greater or less distances apart, in order thereby to
accommodate stay-pieces of various widths. The device described operates
equally well with stay-pieces which are of uniform width throughout their
length, and with stay-pieces which are larger at one end than at the other, that is,
the sides of which flare outwardly at one end, as commonly is the case with stay-
pieces such as are used to cover the back seam of a shoe upper.
In some cases,
one of the guide arms may be omitted and the remaining arm arranged to engage
with the stay-piece in the line of feed.
In modification of the invention, a vertical slot may be formed in the end of
the throat-plate or work-rest of a sewing machine, one side of the said slot being
opened by cutting away the middle portion of the wall at one side of such slot.
The upper edge on which the underside of the advancing stay-piece bears will be
rounded, while the free ends of the projections on the cut-away side of the slot
project inward slightly, to prevent the middle portion of the stay-piece from
bulging out through the open throat. The stay-piece is applied to this. form of
guide substantially in the manner already described, it being borne down so that
its middle portion slips through the side opening in the slot, after which its
curled-up sides spring out and flatten inside of the projections on the cut-away
side. This modification is intended for use chiefly with stay-pieces that are of
uniform width throughout their length. It will be noted that this form of
guide, like the other form, has an open throat leading transversely into the same,
thus permitting the stay-piece to be inserted quickly and easily.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Stay-guides for Sewing Machines.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co. Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
The invention relates to stay-guides for sewing machines and consists in an
improved stay-guide which is designed more especially for machines that are
adapted to sew leather. In the construction of boots and shoes, and the like,
strips of leather or stay-pieces frequently are employed, they requiring to be
secured in place by sewing. While being sewed to the leather the stay-piece
should be guided properly, so that it may be placed evenly and neatly. In the
case of stay-pieces of uniform width, they have been guided by means of a slot
in the work-rest or table of the machine, or in a device applied thereto, but this
mode of guiding is objectionable, because the stay-piece cannot readily be inserted
into the slot. Such a guiding means, also, is not adapted to receive stay-pieces of
irregular shape. Therefore, it has been common, heretofore, not to employ a
guide in sewing on such a stay-piece, but to rely upon the operator being able to
hold and guide the stay-piece properly with his thumb and finger while the sewing
was being effected. This is difficult for the operator properly to perform. It
imposes an unnecessary strain upon him and otherwise is objectionable. The aim
of the present invention is to obviate the objections above noted, and to provide a
device of such character that stay-pieces of any shape may be inserted readily
into the guide, without causing delay or trouble to the operator, while stay-pieces
of irregular shape will be guided properly.
Fig. 1 of the drawing shows in side elevation part of the work-supporting post
of a sewing machine, with one form of the present invention applied thereto.
Fig. 2 is a view showing in plan the parts which are represented in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a perspective showing a modification which is referred to hereinafter.
In Figs. 1 and 2, 1 designates the work-post, only the upper portion thereof
being shown.
2 is the throat-plate at the upper end of the work-post.
3, 3, are the needle-holes which are formed through the throat-plate..
In the embodiment of the invention which is represented in Figs. 1 and 2 of the
drawing, I employ in line with the throat-plate 2 a yielding support 4, over which
the stay-piece is intended to pass, which support may be, if desired, made of a
length of flat-spring, or may be made as shown in the drawing, in the form of a
plate, pivotally mounted as at 5, at the end thereof which is next to the throat plate,
see Fig. 1, and acted upon by a spring 7 with a tendency to press it upward. In
Fig. 1, the table or support 4 is provided with a depending lug 6, and the spring 7
is placed between the said lug and a fixed abutment, the latter being constituted
in the present case by the upper end of the work-post 1. A pin 8 projects from
the work-post and into the spring 7, to retain the latter in place. In connection
with the said yielding support 4, I employ guide-arms 9, 9, which latter bear by
their free extremities upon the upper surface of the yielding support. The
stay-piece is intended to slide over the top surface of the yielding support, and is
compressed between the said support and the guide-arms 9, 9: The said arms
extend upwardly, and the free ends thereof extend inwardly so as to overlie the
top of the yielding support 4, and are recurved as shown, so as that their extremities
extend for a short distance in the direction of the length of the yielding support.
Thus these portions of the said arms bear against the said upper surface of the

page_text: yielding support on lines which are parallel with the line of feed of the stay-piece
as it passes forward to the needle-holes 3, 3, and they are symmetrically disposed
with reference to the said needle-holes and the lines of stitching; that is to say,
they are at equal distances en opposite sides of a line extending midway between
the latter.
When the stay-piece is to be secured in place, its leading portion is brought
over the throat plate 2, with its end or extremity adjacent to the needles. The
operator having with one hand hold of the other portion of the stay-piece at or
near the free extremity thereof, meanwhile pressing upon or holding fast the
advance portion so as to keep it in place on the throat-plate, then bears the rear
extremity of the stay-piece downwardly so as to carry the portion of the stay-
piece which is directly over the curved ends of the guide-arms 9, 9, downwardly
into line with the said arms. A continuation of the pressure will force the middle
portion of the stay-piece downwardly between the ends of the said arms, first
carrying the said middle portion into contact with the upper surface of the yielding
support 4, and then bearing the yielding support itself downwardly. At first, the
side edges of the stay-piece will be caused to curl upwardly by the free ends of the
guide-arms 9, 9, but as soon as the yielding support has been depressed sufficiently
to permit the said edges to pass downwardly between the free ends of the said
guide-arms, the said edges will spring outwardly under the said ends of the guide-
arms, and the stay-piece will flatten out smoothly against the upper surface of the
yielding support 4. As soon as the strain upon the stay-piece is relaxed, the
yielding support rises until it assumes its normal position and thereby the stay-
piece is gripped at two places, namely between the free ends of the two guide
arms 9, 9, and the proximate surface of the yielding support 4. The pressure of
the yielding support 4 is such as to produce enough resistance to the forward feed
of the stay-piece to hold the stay-piece taut, while at the same time allowing it
to be drawn over the yielding support as the work is fed forward. Since the two
points at which the stay-piece is engaged by the ends of the guide arms are
disposed symmetrically with reference to the line of feed, the forward feeding of
the work operates to draw the stay-piece forward evenly, so that it is guided
evenly and held in proper position while being sewed in place. The width of the
opening between the free ends of the guide arms 9, 9, is not material, and the said
free ends may touch each other, provided the arms are arranged to yield or turn
laterally in such manner as to permit the stay-piece to be forced down into place as
aforesaid. The guide arms may be made adjustable as by bending, or in any suitable
and convenient manner, so as to permit their free ends to be placed at greater or
less distances apart, in order thereby to accommodate stay-pieces of various
widths. In, the simple form of the invention which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the
guide-arms 9, 9, are represented as secured to the opposite sides of the work-post 1
by means of screws 10, 10. The device described operates equally well with stay-
pieces which are of uniform width throughout their length, and with stay-pieces
which are larger at one end than at the other, that is the sides of which flare
outwardly at one end, as commonly is the case with stay-pieces such as are used
to cover the back seam of a shoe upper.
In the modification of the invention which is represented in Fig. 3, a vertical
slot 11 may be formed in the end of the throat-plate or work rest A of a sewing
machine, one side of the said slot being opened by cutting away, as at 12, the middie
portion of the wall at one side of such slot. The upper edge 111 on which the
under side of the advancing stay-piece bears will be rounded, while the free
ends 13, 13 of the projections 14, 14, on the cut-away side of the slot project inward
slightly to prevent the middle portion of the stay-piece from bulging out through
the open throat 12. The stay-piece is applied to this form of guide substantially
in the manner already described, it being borne down so that its middle portion
slips through the side opening or throat 12 into the slot, after which its curled-up
sides spring out and flatten inside of the projections 14, 14, on the cut-away side.
This modification is intended for use chiefly with stay-pieces that are of uniform

page_text: width throughout their length. It will be noted that this form of guide, like the
other form, has an open throat leading transversely into the same, thus permitting
the stay-piece to be inserted quickly and easily.
Having now particularly ascertained and described the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is;
1. The improved form of stay-guide for sewing machines comprising a broad
rest against which the stay-piece may lie in flat condition, and two opposing arms
between which and the said rest the stay-piece passes, the opening between the
proximate portions of said arms being unobstructed in order to permit lateral
introduction of the stay-piece, and forming a throat, and the inner ends of the
said arms engaging with the surface of the stay-piece on opposite sides of the
middle line thereof.
2. The improved form of stay-guide for sewing machines, comprising a yielding
support forming one side of the guide-opening for the stay-piece, and two opposing
arms forming the other side of the guide-opening, the space between the proximate
portions of said arms forming a throat leading to the guide-opening.
Dated this 15th day of October 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.