AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 3, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
SEWING MACHINE." -A communication from abroad by Henry Hudson, of
Three Springs. Pennsylvania. United States of America.
Sealed the 27th March 1866, and dated the 3rd October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd October 1865.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE," & communication, to be as follows:-
The nature of my Inventior consists,―
First, in the combination of looper and curved needle with each other,
and with suitable guide bars and cams or other equivalent operating devices
upon a light frame or plate 30 as that the looper and the needle carrying the
single thread shall both pierce the fabric to be sewed from the same side
thereof, and thereby form a simple looper or chain stitch therein.

page_text: Second, in so shaping the needle as that it shall in its movements when
piercing the cloth act as a cam to feed or draw forward the machine along the
fabric to be sewed.
Third, in so combining a driving wheel and pinion with cams, guide bars,
or other equivalent devices arranged upon a light frame or plate, and a looper
and needle attached thereto, as that by rolling the said wheel upon the fabric
to be sewed it shall impart the reciprocating, movements to the needle and
looper required to cause them to form the stitches therein.
Fourth, in so combining two needles each carrying a separate thread with
suitable guide bars, cams, or other equivalent operative devices, and a suitable
light frame or plate as that the needles shall both pierce the fabric to be
sewed from the same side, and so interlock as to cause the threads to interloop
and form a lock stitch in the said fabric.
My new sewing machine is made so small and light as to be readily carried
in the hand or pocket. It consists of a simple light frame or plate having two
bars arranged to slide freely up and down parallel to each other, either both
upon its front face or else separately upon its opposite faces. An alternate
reciprocating movement is imparted to these sliding bars by one or more
cams operated by a simple crank at the upper end of the plate or frame.
This crank may be turned by hand or by a suitable driving wheel made to
rest upon and catch in the fabric to be sewed, so as to revolve when pushed
over the same. The sliding bars are so confined to the plate or frame as that
their lower ends may have a lateral and oblique, as well as an up-and-down
movement, and this irregular movement of each bar is controlled and directed
by means of pins fixed in a rigid cross bar or arm, and which extend into
peculiarly shaped grooves formed in the face of each bar. These grooves
formed in each bar act as cams against the pins projecting therein, so that the
reciprocating movements of the bars effect or create the oblique and lateral
movements of the lower ends thereof, required in order to give proper
direction to the needle and looper attached respectively thereto. A spool of
thread is placed in a suitable case at the upper end of the frame, and the
delivery of the thread therefrom is controlled by a simple tension spring.
When the machine is to be operated, it is gently held and guided with the
left hand upon the cloth to be sewed (which must be stretched for the p
purpose
over an open space; either upon a frame or otherwise) and if it has no driving
wheel, the crank operating the cams is turned with the right hand. If
however, there be a driving wheel, one hand is alone required in using the
machine. The machine being set in motion, the sliding needle and looper
*bars moving up and down with a reciprocating and with a suitable oscillating

page_text: movement, will cause the needle to piece the cloth, and then, at the proper
moment, before the needle is withdrawn will push the looper through to catch
the loop of the thread in the needle below the fabric. The looper will then
hold this first loop until the needle has been withdrawn and has again pierced
the cloth,and passed a second loop through the first,the looper in the meantime
being withdrawn to descend again and catch the second loop while the needle
is taking another stitch. The movement of the needle bar is so guided by the
cam grooves therein as that the needle is withdrawn without tearing the
fabric and then set forward for the next stitch. The needle itself is so curved
as that in being pushed through the cloth it will carry the machine forward
over the interval required for a stitch. The substitution for the simplelooper
of a second needle carrying a second thread will enable a lock stitch to be
formed by the machine, an alteration in the arrangement of the slides and
their cam grooves or other equivalent devices being alone required. The
lower end of the frame carrying the needle and looper, (or two needles) with
their operative mechanism, is fitted upon a suitable curved shoe slotted to
permit the looper and the needle to pass readily through, and which is so
formed as to allow the machine to glide easily over the fabric.
I contemplate the addition of projecting arms with plates and clamps to act
as guides to the .machine in following the edges of the fabric to be sewed,
and to hold the edges evenly together.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,Consulting Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence that I, the said
William Robert Lake, iny executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, be said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to

page_text: 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 In-
vention for "AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe 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 William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement,reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
making a part of this Specification,
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in the combination of a looper
and curved needle with suitable guide bars and cams, excentrics, or other
equivalent operating devices upon a light frame or plate, in such a manner
that the looper and the needle carrying the single thread shall both pierce
the fabric from the same side thereof, and form a simple loop or chain stitch
therein.
Second, in so shaping the needle that it shall in its movements when
piercing the cloth act as a cam to feed or draw forward the machine.
Third, in so combining a driving wheel and pinion with cams, excentric,
guide bars, or other equivalenú devices, arranged upon a light frame or plate,
and a looper and needle attached thereto, that by rolling the said wheel upon
the fabric being sewed the required reciprocating motion will be imparted to
the needle and looper to cause them to form the stitches in the said fabric.
Fourth, in so combining two needles (each carrying a separate thread with
suitable guide bars, cams, excentrics, or other equivalent operating devices and
a suitable light frame or plate that the said needles shall both pierce the
fabric from the same side,and so interlock as to cause the threads to interloop
and form a lock stitch in the said fabric.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of my improved sewing
machine; Figures 2 and 3 are elevations of opposite sides of the same;
Figure 4 is a plan of the lower end thereof; and Figure 5 is a section

page_text: through the line X, X, Figure 2.
in each of the Figures.
Like letters refer to corresponding parts
A is a plate to which the several parts of the said machine are attached;
B is the needle bar; and C, the looper bar. The needle B¹ and looper C' are
secured to the ends of these bars by screws or other suitable means. Motion
is communicated to the said bars by means of the excentric pins a and b fixed
in the rotating disc D, which is fitted to turn freely in a bearing formed in the
plate A. The spool or reel carrying the thread for supplying the needles is
by preference supported upon the studs c and d secured inside the box or
case E, which forms the handle by which the machine is held and moved
along the fabric being sewed. The tension on the thread is regulated by the
spring d fixed on the needle bar B. The required reciprocating motion is
imparted to the bars B and C and other operating parts of the machine by
means of a crank F, which may be constructed to be turned by hand, as
represented in the Drawings, or may be provided with a driving wheel; this
driving wheel is formed to rest upon the fabric being sewed, and is provided
with cogs, or is otherwise roughened to catch in the fabric. When the machine
is moved forward then the said driving wheel is turned, and will impart the
required motion to the crank F. If required, suitable pinions may be arranged
in connection with the said crank to enable the speed of the needles to be
properly regulated. The sliding bars B and C are confined to the plate or
frame A in such a manner that their lower ends may have a lateral and
oblique as well as an up-and-down motion. This irregular movement of the
said bars is controlled and directed by the slot e, through which the needle B¹
and looper C¹ pass into the fabric being sewed. If preferred, the required
reciprocating motion of the needles may be obtained by means of cams formed
with suitable grooves or channels on their surfaces. Pins or studs fixed on
the end of these bars B and C rest in these grooves, and when the cams are
turned the said grooves will cause the pins or studs to travel up and down in
suitable guideways formed in the frame or plate A. In this case the required
lateral and oblique movement of the needles is obtained and controlled by
means of pins fixed in a rigid cross bar or arm, which pins extend into.
peculiarly shaped grooves formed in the bars B and C; these grooves act as
cams against the pins projecting therein, and the required oblique and lateral
movements of the needle and looper are thereby produced. The lower end of
the plate or frame A is by preference rounded or curved, as represented at e',
Figures 2 and 3, to allow the machine to glide easily over the fabric; or a
separate curved shoe may be provided for this purpose having a slot in it to
permit the needle B' and looper C¹ to pass through. The plate G is provided

page_text: to act as a guide to the machine in following the edges of the fabric, and to
hold the edges of the said fabric evenly together while they are being stitched.
This plate G is provided with a slot or aperture g, through which the needle B¹
and looper C¹ pass into the fabric. The said plate is adjusted the required
distance from the frame or plate A by means of the nuts and screw i, the
latter being firmly secured in the frame A, and serving as a support for the
guide plate G, which is further supported by the stud or pin j, also screwed
into the frame or plate A, and passing through the slot in the guide plate G.
The end g¹ of the guide plate G is bent at right angles to the other portion of
the said plate to pass under the edge of the fabric, the contiguous surfaces of
this plate and the end e' of the frame or plate A being by preference cor-
respondingly curved to allow them to press evenly upon the said fabric. When
the machine is to be operated it is gently held and guided with the left hand
upon the cloth or other fabric to be sewed. The said cloth must be stretched
for the purpose over an open space, either upon a frame or other stretching
means. If the said machine is not provided with a driving wheel the crank F
is turned with the right hand. If, however, the machine is furnished with a
driving wheel one hand alone is required. When the machine is moved along
the fabric, and the crank F is turned either by hand or by means of the
driving wheel above mentioned, the bars B and C will move up and down,
and will thereby cause the needle B¹ to pierce the fabric, and then at the
proper moment, before the needle is withdrawn, will push the looper C¹
through the said fabric to catch the loop of the thread in the needle B² below
the fabric. The looper C will then hold this first loop until the needle B¹
has been withdrawn, and has again pierced the fabric, and passed a second
loop through the first loop, the looper C¹ being withdrawn to descend again
and catch the second loop while the needle B' is taking another stitch. The
movements of the needle bar B are so guided that the needle B' is withdrawn
without tearing the fabric, and is then moved forward for the next stitch.
The needle is by preference so curved that in being pushed through the fabric
it will cause the machine to travel forward thereon over the interval required
for a stitch. The substitution of a second needle carrying a second thread
instead of the looper C will render the machine capable of forming a lock
stitch, a slight alteration only in the arrangement of the excentrics or cams
and other operating parts of the machine being required.
Having thus fully described my Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and shewn how the same may be conveniently and
advantageously carried into practice, I wish it understood that I do not

page_text: confine myself to the precise details herein set forth and illustrated, but I
claim,-
First, the combination of the frame or plate A, the needle B¹, the looper C',
and excentric D, or its equivalent, for the purpose and substantially in the
manner described.
Second, forming the needle B¹ so that when piercing the cloth it will act
as a means to draw forward the machine along the fabric being sewed
substantially in the manner described.
Third, operating the machine by means of a driving wheel, substantially in
the manner described.
Fourth, the combination of the two needles with their operative mechanism
for the purpose and substantially in the manner described.
Fifth, the combination of parts constituting a stitch-forming device or
mechanism, constructed, arranged, and operating substantially in the manner
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.s.)