IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES AND ACCESSORIES THERETO
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Bland, of Luton, in the County of
Bedford, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES AND ACCESSORIES THERETO.”
Scaled the 19th February 1875, and dated the 9th December 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Bland at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th December 1874.
I, HENRY BLAND, of Luton, in the County of Bedford, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES AND ACCESSORIES THERETO," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates more particularly to sewing machines and their
accessories to be used in the manufacture of straw hats, bonnets, or
similar articles, but is also applicable to other purposes for which sewing
machines may be employed, and consists essentially of a peculiar
* arrangement of the feeding apparatus whereby a high degree of com-
pactness is obtained and facility is afforded for regulating the difference

page_text: in the speed of the two surfaces for feeding forward the article and the
braid or material which is in the course of being attached thereto, and
for obtaining a sufficient traverse without an undue elevation of the feed
surface, also of an improved presser and guides which are capable of
adjustment to suit the degree of lap and the width of the materials
being sewn. This arrangement is especially adapted for use in com-
bination with the machine known as the Willcox and Gibbs' sewing
machine, but is also applicable to other descriptions of sewing

page_text: improved arrangement of adjustable presser and guide herein-after
described.
To the plate or arm of the machine I attach, by means of a screw
passing through a slot, a socket piece carrying the presser, the upper
part of the foot of which presser forms a guide for one portion of the
material whilst the lower part of the presser consists of a thin steel plate
which separates the two portions of the material in front of the needle.
The slot herein-before mentioned admits of the position of the guide
being regulated to suit the degree of lap of such material.
I also employ another or shifting guide for one portion of the material
to be sewn, which guide is operated by hand during the progress of the
work. This guide is arranged in the following manner, viz'. :-On the
face of the arm or cover I provide a dovetailed groove, within which
works a slide actuated by an eccentric pin fitting into a slot formed in
such arm or cover. This slide carries a bracket having projecting pins,
through or between which the plait or braid (for example) is folded.
One of these pins is attached direct to the bracket, whilst the other,
which is formed with a head, is fitted in a tube secured to such bracket
so as to be capable of yielding slightly under the action of a spring to
suit any irregularity in such plait or braid. A plate is placed over the
pin firstly herein-before mentioned and over the tube, which plate is
adjustable by means of a screw to suit the varying widths of the plait
or braid to be sewn. This arrangement of guide admits of the material
being removed from the pins and guided by hand when required to
facilitate the shaping of the article to be produced, the whole of tho
mechanism being arranged at the side and clear of the top of the arm or
cover over which the material is passed.
0
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Bland in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 9th June 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
BLAND, of Luton, in the County of Bedford, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of December, in the

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four,
in the 38th year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Bland, Her special
license that I, the said Henry Bland, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Bland, my executors, admi-
nistrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES AND ACCESSORIES THERETO," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Henry Bland, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describo and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Bland, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention relates more particularly to sewing machines and their
accessories to be used in the manufacture of straw hats, bonnets, or
similar articles, but it is also applicable to other purposes for which
sewing machines may be employed, and consists essentially of a peculiar
arrangement of the feeding apparatus whereby a high degree of com-
pactness is obtained and facility is afforded for regulating the difference
in the speed of the two surfaces for foeding forward the article, and the
braid or material which is in the course of being attached thereto, and
for obtaining a sufficient traverse without an undue elevation of the
feed surface; also of an improved presser and guides which are
capable of adjustment to suit the degree of the lap and the width of
the materials being sewn. This arrangement is especially adapted for
use in combination with the machine known as the Willcox and Gibbs'
sewing machine, but is also applicable to other descriptions of sewing
machines.

page_text: In carrying out my Invention I arrange the feed apparatus in the
following manner, videlicet:-To the base plate of the machine and in
a line with the way shaft I attach a socket piece carrying a shaft
to which is connected one extremity of a crank arm, the opposite
3 end of such crank arm having secured thereto a pin carrying the feed
block. This pin is arranged in the same vertical plane as the way
shaft, and at a suitable distance below the same, and the feed block is
actuated by means of an eccentric fast on such way shaft, the serrated
surfaces above the shaft having by means of this arrangement a greater
traverse in proportion to their rise than in existing apparatus moved by
an eccentric. The feed block which may be rendered capable of adjust-
ment bodily in order to regulate the length of stitch, as in the ordinary
manner is provided with a fixed feed surface, and also with another
feed surface which is adjustable separately and independently of such
block. The fixed feed surface is employed for feeding the material to
be sewn or attached, whilst the adjustable surface is intended for the
feeding of the sewn portion of the article or material, and moves a
shorter distance than the block when desired.
This additional or adjustable feed is arranged in the following manner,
videlicet: In the feed block there is formed a vertical slot for the recep-
tion of a tongue piece, the lower end of which is hinged or jointed to
the crank pin, whilst the upper end is serrated and the back portion of
such tongue piece is formed with an inclined surface which is acted upon
by a lever or other suitable means in order to adjust the position of
the tongue piece so as to obtain the required traverse, a spring being
employed for the purpose of maintaining the tongue piece in its normal
position when not acted on by the lever. With one of the feed
surfaces I employ the ordinary presser foot, and with the other my
improved arrangement of adjustable presser and guide herein-after
described.
To the plate or arms of the machine I attach by means of a screw
passing through a slot a socket piece carrying the presser, the upper
part of the foot of which presser forms a guide for one portion of the
41.:
1

page_text: I also employ another shifting guide for one portion of the material to
be sewn, which guide is operated by hand during the progress of the
work. This guide is arranged in the following manner, videlicet:- -On
the face of the arm or cover I provide a dovetailed groove within which
works a slide actuated by an eccentric pin fitting into a slot formed in
such arm or cover. This slide carries a bracket having projecting pins
through or between which the plait or braid (for example) is folded.
One of these pins is attached direct to the bracket, whilst the other,
which is formed with a head, is fitted in a tube secured to such bracket,
so as to be capable of yielding slightly under the action of a spring to
suit any irregularity in such plait or braid. A plate is placed over the
pin firstly herein-before mentioned, and over the tube, which plate is
adjustable by means of a screw to suit the varying widths of the plait
to be sewn.
This arrangement of guide admits of the material being
removed from the pins and guided by hand when required to facilitate
the shaping of the article to be produced; the whole of this mechanism
being arranged at the side and clear of the top of the arm or cover over
which the material is passed.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents in side clevation the application
of my improvements to a Wilcox and Gibb's sewing machine (for
example), a portion only of the machine (which is one well known to
the trade) being shewn in the Drawings.
Figure 2 is a corresponding front elevation, and Figure 3 is a plan cor-
responding to Figure 2. The rest of the Figures are details and modifi-
cations which I shall hercin-after more fully refer to.
The peculiar feed mechanism which constitutes the most important
feature of my said Invention consists of a rocking shaft A (Figure 3) fitted
to work freely within a long socket or bearing B secured to the base
plate C of the machine and parallel to the driving shaft D; to the front
end of this rocking shaft there is fixed the vibrating lever arm E which
vibrates in a vertical arc, and carries at its free end a long pin F which
works in a long collar, bearing, or boss G forming the lower part of the

page_text: feed block H, the length of this bearing imparting great steadiness and
stability to the said feed block as regards lateral play or looseness. The
centre of the pin F when the lever arm E is horizontal or at a half stroke
is exactly perpendicular to or in the same vertical plane as the axial
centre line of the driving shaft D above it.
In the head or upper part
of the feed block works the usual feed actuating crank pin or eccentric 1,
which is fitted to or formed on the driving shaft D, as is well understood.
In some cases, as, for example, in machines intended solely for straw
plait stitching, the throw of the feed block may be invariable, the
actuating crank or eccentric 1 in that case fitting a round hole made to
receive it in the head of the feed block, as shewn in Figures 4 and 5, but
in cases where the machine is required for ordinary stitching as well as
for straw plait work the throw of the feed block is rendered capable of
adjustment or variation, for which purpose a horizontal slot is made in
the head of the block, within which slot works the actuating eccentric 1
as in the modification, Figure 6. The feed movement is due to the
contact of the eccentric with the closed end of the slot, whilst the return
or back stroke is derived from a spring. In order to vary the throw of
the feed block an inclined projection K is formed on the side thereof
furthest from the open end of the slot, and a horizontal adjustable slide L
working in a slot or groove in the fixed bracket M, and having its front
end inclined or bevelled to correspond to the incline on the feed block, is
caused to protrude more or less over the said incline on the feed block,
thereby controlling the return motion of the block and consequently
varying its throw. This stitch regulating slide may be actuated in
various ways, but I have found the arrangement shewn in Figure 6 to
answer well in practice. It consists of a short horizontal lever arm N
pivotted at O in the cover plate P and projecting through the back of
the said plate, as shewn in Figure 3, convenient for adjustment by the
hand of the operator. The opposite end of the said lever engages with a
notch in the stitch regulating slide, which can thus be readily adjusted
either forward to shorten the stitch, or backward to lengthen the same.
The feed block, whether made adjustable or otherwise, carries two
distinct serrated feeding surfaces a and b, which are disposed as usual
above the actuating eccentric, but the outer feeding surface 6 is higher
than the surface a, and it describes a greater arc above the cloth plate
than the surface a, thereby making a longer stitch than the surface a,
with a given throw of eccentric, the object of which will be herein-after

page_text: explained in describing the operation of the machine. 'One of the said
serrated feeding surfaces, videlicet, that a, is fixed to the feed block and
moves only in company therewith, whilst the feed motion of the other
serrated feeding surface 6 is adjustable separately and independently of
the feed block, as herein-after described.
The vertical motion or rise and fall of both these feeding surfaces a
and 6 is derived in common from the feed actuating eccentric. The
separately adjustable surface b is formed on the top edge of a metal
tongue piece Q, which is pivotted at its lower end to the pin F, and
works in a recess or slot made to receive it in the front part of the feed
block. A blade spring R, Figure 7, serves to press the said tongue picco
back in its recess, or in contact with an adjustable suspended block S,
which regulates the backward throw of the said feeding surface, as I
shall now proceed to explain. The suspended block S is hung from a
pin 3, see Figures 7 and 8, inside the removable cap or cover plate P,
which is attached to the fixed bracket M, and it is provided with a
leather pad or buffer 4 on the side next the tongue piece Q of the feeder,
in order to prevent noise in working. Behind the suspended block S,
and between it and the side of the cover P, there enters the wedge-
shaped end of a regulating lever U which works on a fixed centre at V,
and is actuated by a lever W working on a fixed centro X in the cover
plate. One end 5 of the lever W is slotted, and engages with a stud c
on the free end of the regulating lever U, whilst the outer end of the
actuating lever W forms a handle Y convenient to the hand of the
operator. I prefer to employ this compound lever arrangement for
regulating the feed of the feeding surface b, for the reason that it admits
of a greater travel in the actuating handle Y for a comparatively slight
adjustment or travel of the wedge-shaped end of the lever U, and hence
the varying adjustment of the said lever U required during the progress
of the work can be more easily accomplished than where a very slight
movement of the handle Y is requisite, as would be the case if a simple
in lieu of a compound lever were employed. On depressing the handle Y
the wedge-shaped end of the lever U is withdrawn more or less from
behind the suspended block S, and the feeder b is consequently allowed
further range when making its return or back stroke, which is equivalent
to increasing the feed. By raising the handle Y the wedge-shaped end
of the lever U will rise and tend to move forward the suspended block,
and to check more or less the return or back stroke of the feeder, which

page_text: is equivalent to diminishing the feed. Thus it is obvious that with her
finger on the handle Y the operator during the running of the
machine is enabled to vary the action of the feeder b, as occasion may
require.
Although I have described the use of levers for regulating the position
of the suspended block S it is obvious that other equivalent means may
be employed for that purpose.
0
The feeding surface a acts solely upon the plait or binding in the act
of being stitched to the body of the work, whilst the feeder 6 operates
solely upon the body of the work itself. Facility is thus afforded by
simply manouvering the handle Y for feeding the body of the work,
and the entering straw plait either both at exactly the same rate or for
feeding the body of the work either slower or faster than the entering
straw plait, this power control or adjustment during the operation of the
machine enables all the various shapes of ordinary straw hats to be
produced in this machine, as I shall herein-after more fully explain
when describing the mode of action of the said apparatus. The needle 6
of the sewing machine and the rotary looper 7 both work between the
two feeding surfaces a and b, so as to insert the stitches by preference
somewhat nearer to the feeder a than to the feeder b. The body of the
work is held down upon its feeding surface 6 by the ordinary presser
foot Z of the machine, whilst the binding or entering straw plait is held
down upon its feeding surface a by the improved combined adjustable
presser and guide, which I shall now proceed to describe.
d, Figures 1 and 2, 9 and 10, is a vertical socket piece provided with a
foot plate e, through a slot 8, in which passes the attaching screw 9 for
connecting the foot plate e to the cloth plate or cover P of the machine:
Inside the socket d there is fitted a rod or spindle f, which is pressed
downwards by a helical spring 10 and carries at its lower extremity the
presser plate g, the front edge of which also serves the purpose of a
guide to the body of the work, it being adjustable by moving the slot 8
in the foot plate e along its attaching screw 9. A pink is fitted into the
spindle (see Figure 9), and projects through a slot 11 in the bottom of
the socket, such pin carrying an eccentric cam lever i for the purpose
of raising the presser plate g and keeping it elevated when required.
jis a thin flexible separator plate attached to the under side of the
presser plate g, and serving to maintain separate the entering straw plait

page_text: '
and the work until they are just about to pass under the needle where
they are united.
The edge of the body of the work bears against the edge of the presser
plate as a guide, and it rests upon the upper surface of the separator
plate whilst the entering straw plait is directed underneath the separator
plate, and is guided into the machine by the following arrangement :-
In the face of the cover plate P there is formed a dovetailed groove,
within which works a horizontal slide / actuated by a handle 7, which
works an eccentric pin fitting into a vertical slot in the cover plate, as
shewn in dotted lines in Figure 1. This slide carries a projecting
bracket m, having two projecting pins or studs n (Figure 11) and o
(Figure 1), under and over which the straw plait is passed. The lower
one o of these pins is secured directly to the bracket m, whilst the upper
pin n, which is formed with a flanged head 12, is fitted loosely in a
tube p secured to the bracket m, a weak helical spring 13 inside the said
tube and surrounding the pin n enabling the head 12 of the pin to
accommodate itself to any slight variation in the width of the plait (sec
sectional detail, Figure 11). 7 is an adjustable guiding plate, which
traverses the tube p and pin o, such plate being attached by the stationary
nut r and travelling screw spindle s. It will be seen on referring to the
Drawings that the whole of this guiding appliance for the straw plait is
situate below the level of the cloth plate or surface of the cover, and
hence, should occasion require, the plait may be guided into the machine
by hand.
In making an ordinary straw hat, for example, by this machine the
operator first commences at what will ultimately be the centre of the
crown, the end of the plait being coiled round the fingers so as to
form the commencement of a volute, which is gradually enlarged by
stitching the plait round and round until the desired size of crown is
obtained. During this operation the feed of the entering straw plait
should be faster than that of the work in order to allow for the greater
circumference of the work at the part where the stitching is actually
proceeding over that of the previous round. Should it be desired to
impart an oval form to the crown this may be readily accomplished by
so manipulating the handle as to cause the entering plait to underlap
the work to a greater extent whilst stitching along the sides of the
ellipse, and then gradually to diminish the said underlap whilst stitching
round the ends of the ellipse. When the crown has attained the desired

page_text: size the action of the feeder b is gradually increased, which has the
effect of advancing the work faster than the entering plait, thereby
causing the work to gradually turn down and form the cylindrical part
of the hat. Whilst stitching this portion the body of the work and the
entering plait should both be fed at the same rate, and therefore it will
be necessary to reduce the feed of somewhat below its normal full
extent so far to bring it exactly equal to the feed of a. Having
produced the desired height of the crown it is necessary that the work
should begin gradually to curve outwards to form the brim, for which
purpose it is simply necessary to diminish still further the rate of feed
of 6, the result being a species of crowding or filling of the entering
straw plait, the feed of which is uniform, which produces the desired
result. In stitching the flat brim the outer feed 6 is to be increased
slightly, but still maintained slower than the feed of a.
Should it be desired, with a view to the subsequent shaping or curving
of the edges of the brim, to put increased fullness therein, it will be
necessary to diminish again the, feed of 6, when by the crowding or
filling of the entering plate the desired effect will be obtained.
The peculiar arrangement of feed mechanism herein-before described
is applicable with slight modifications to the production of frilled or
gathered work in fabrics stitched by the sewing machine.
In gathering a fabric and at the same time stitching it to a plain
piece of fabric I prefer to employ a modified form of presser foot, having
combined therewith a separator plate and adjustable guide, as shewn at
Figures 12 and 13 of my Drawings. With this presser foot it will be
necessary to employ some means of adjusting or varying the height of
the feeder 6 more or less above the feeder a, a, in order to accommodate
it to the various thicknesses of fabric employed, one mode of accom-
plishing which is herein-after described. The presser foot which I prefer
to employ is made with two limbs c, c', and may be attached to the
usual presser bar d. The outer one c of these limbs is raised considerably
abover the inner limb c¹ so as to compensate for the extra thickness of
material under the outer. limb. e is the separator plate, which is
rivetted or otherwise secured to the under side of the lower limb c¹,
and projects in front of the needle 6, just across the path of the said
needle, which works through a needle hole 14 in the limb c, as shewn
clearly in the plan, Figure 13; f is in adjustable gauge mounted

page_text: on the limb c¹ for the purpose of guiding the edge of the plain fabric g¹,
which is placed under the outer limb, c so as to rest upon the surface of
the separator plate e; the fabric g¹¹ to be gathered is placed under the
separator plate e and inner limb c¹ and underlaps the edge of the plain
fabric g¹ sufficiently to enable the needle to stitch the two fabrics
together. As there are thus two thicknesses of fabric under the
limb c and only one thickness under the limb c¹ the object of making
the outer limb higher than the other one is apparent.
It will also be obvious on referring to Figure 12 that the feeder b
should be capable of vertical adjustment to suit different thicknesses of
material, and this I effect by the following modifications in the leading
details of the feed block, reference being had to Figure 14.
The tongue piece Q of the feeder 6 in lieu of being pivotted con-
centrically on the pin F, as shewn in Figure 14, is pivotted on an
eccentric portion or pin h, which projects from the end of the pin F.
The pin F moreover instead of being fixed in the lever E is capable of
being turned or adjusted therein, there being sufficient friction to
maintain it in position when adjusted. The object of turning the pin F
in the long socket G of the feed block is to raise or lower the tongue
piece Q by the action of the eccentric pin h, and this adjustment is
effected by the flat-sided head or shoulder i formed on the rear end of
the pin F, which is turned by means of a screw wrench when required.
k is a reduced shoulder or journal, which turns freely in the lever E, and
is rivetted or otherwise secured therein. A large headed screw is screwed
into the end of the eccentric pin h and takes its bearing against the face
of the tongue piece Q, thereby securing the feed block in its place on
the pin F.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,--
First. The application and use to and in sewing machines of an
oscillating feed block mounted on a crank arm or lever carried by a
rocking shaft, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described a
and as illustrated by my Drawings.

page_text: Second. The combination with the oscillating feed block, mounted
and actuated as set forth, of the two feeding surfaces a, b, when arranged
to operate together, substantially in the manner and for the purpose
herein-before described, and as illustrated by my Drawings.
Third. The application and use of a lever acting upon inclined surfaces,
or of an equivalent arrangement for regulating during the working of
the machine the throw of the feeding surface b independently of the
feeder a, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described,
and as illustrated by my Drawings.
Fourth. The combination with the adjustable presser, forming also
an adjustable guide for one portion of the material to be sewn, of
the plate for separting the two portions of such material, substantially
as hercin-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Fifth. The peculiar construction and arrangement of shifting guide
operating by hand during the progress of the work, substantially as
and for the purpose herein-before described, and as illustrated by my
Drawings.
Sixth. The guiding the material to be stitched as it enters the machine
by passing it over a tubular support containing a yielding pin with
enlarged head, so arranged as to yield to any irregularity in the width
of the material which passes over such support, substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Seventh. The combination with, the above-mentioned shifting guide
and its guide pins of an adjustable plate or guage for accomodating
various widths of plait or braid, substantially as herein-before described
and illustrated by my Drawings.
In witness whercof, I, the said Henry Bland, have to this my.
Specification set my hand and seal, this Third day of Juno, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.