IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR FOLDING, TUCKING, BRAIDING OR SIMILAR PURPOSES AND DESIGNED TO SERVE AS AN ATTACHMENT TO A SEWING MACHINE
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake,
and Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR FOLDING, TUCKING,
BRAIDING OR SIMILAR PURPOSES AND DESIGNED TO SERVE AS AN ATTACHMENT
TO A SEWING MACHINE"-A communication from abroad by Edwin Joseph
Toof, of New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America, Manufacturer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 11th March 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co. Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings London "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO APPARATUS
FOR FOLDING TUCKING BRAIDING OR SIMILAR PURPOSES AND DESIGNED TO SERVE
AS AN ATTACHMENT TO A SEWING MACHINE [A communication from abroad by
Edwin Joseph Toof, of New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America,
Manufacturer.]
This invention relates to improvements in sewing machine attachments for
forming a fold or rib in a fabric such as tucking, hemming, felling, binding, cording
or braiding and for like purposes, the said invention chiefly consisting in a new
method of securing these and other attachments to the machine whereby the usual
set screws are avoided and the attachment or removal effected with greater facility
than by the ordinary method.
According to the said invention each attachment is constructed with an arm
extending substantially parallel with the path of the needle and is made from thin
metal so as to be readily struck up; at or near the end of this arm a stud is formed,
preferably by a depression from the upper side downward, and at a point in front
of this stud is a slight downward projection,
The presser-foot is provided with a socket or seat corresponding to the said
stud; upon the under side of the arm and forward of that seat is a recess
corresponding to the projection on the under side of the arm. The leg of the

page_text: presser foot has a recess cut into it at the surface of the presser-foot corresponding
substantially to the thickness of the said arm.
The presser-foot and the said arm will vary in different machines and they are
constructed according to the machine for which they are to be adapted; in some
cases an auxiliary presser foot is preferable to the ordinary or principal foot of the
machine; in this case the attachment is made to the auxiliary presser-foot in
substantially the same manner.
The tucker has a base or principal plate attached to the said arm so as to be
rigidly held in connection with the presser-foot but at the same time have the
yielding pressure of that foot.
To the said base plate the mechanism of the tucker is attached; this consists
first of a guide against which runs the edge of the tuck being formed, the said
guide extends rearward from a slotted plate through a slot in which a set screw
holds the guide at any position in which it may be set. The marker is attached to
a plate which slides beneath the said slotted plate and between it and the
stationary base plate with a slot corresponding to the aforesaid slot so that the
same set screw will secure both in position. The marker plate returns beneath
the stationary plate but so as to leave a space between the two; from this under
part an arm extends rearward presenting a sharp edge upward and from the part
above, a spring arm extends over the aforesaid arm having a groove in it
corresponding to, the sharp upper edge of the said arm so that a fabric lying
between the two will be creased when the said arm is pressed down upon the
surface of the fabric,
The marker and the aforesaid guide are adjustable with relation to each other
and to the needle according to the width of the tuck and the distance which its
edge is to lie above the line of stitches which secures the tuck previously made.
The depression of an arm to make the crease should operate at each stroke of
the needle so that a substantially continuous crease will be made; this depression is
produced by a bar hinged to a plate and from this bar an arm extends rearward into
the path of the descending needle arm, and so as to be struck by that arm or by some
projection or connection upon it, so as to turn the said bar downward and that bar
lying upon the back of a spring arm will correspondingly depress the said spring
arm at each descent of the needle. The said bar is graduated so as to indicate the
relative distance of the marker from the line of switches being made graduations
are also provided for an arm to indicate the width of the tuck.

page_text: 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
11th September 1882.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co. Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings London, " IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO
"
APPARATUS FOR FOLDING, TUCKING, BRAIDING, OR SIMILAR PURPOSES AND DESIGNED
TO SERVE AS AN ATTACHMENT TO A SEWING MACHINE A communication from
abroad by Edwin Joseph Toof, of New Haven, Connecticut, United States of
America, Manufacturer.
The
This invention relates to improvements in sewing machine attachments such
as binders, hemmers, corders, braiders, rufflers, tuck-markers and the like.
said invention comprises a device similar in form to the ordinary presser-foot,
for holding the various attachments, the said presser-foot is provided with a slot,
in line with, and above the foot part proper; upon the top part of the said foot,
near the toe and heel and about at the centre of the width of the slot, are holes or
deflections, within which, projections, formed upon the parts to be attached
enter, the said parts being securely held by inserting one projection into a
corresponding hole and then springing the attachment into position, when the holder
and the said attachment are united, without the aid of screws or other devices.
The said invention also comprises a combination and arrangement of parts in a
tuck-marker, that permits the guiding and presenting of the article so guided and
operated with, or upon directly to the needle; in such close proximity thereto as to
prevent any possible chance of moving out of the desired line while being operated
upon, whereby the operator is enabled to positively control the motion, and more
readily secure perfect line of stitching upon the article.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a holder constructed according to this invention
with an attachment ready to spring into position.
Figure 2. is a similar view but showing a screw with an excentrically formed
head for holding the said attachment in any desired position.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same, and also showing in section the
deflections and projections and their relation when connected.
Figure 4 is a similar view to figure 1, but showing a set screw for securing the
attachment in position.
Figure represents the holder with a toe-piece, which when united form a
complete presser-foot.
Figure 6 is a plan of a tuck-marker, with a guide attached.
Figure 7 is a sectional view of the same, partly in perspective.
In carrying the said invention into practice I provide a bolder A as shown in
Figure 1 which is constructed with a slot e arranged in the same plane and parallel
with the top of the foot, the said slot extends to about the centre of the said foot,
more or less, as may be required. The top of the foot part of the holder A, is
provided with two openings or depressions, represented at e¹ e' which are arranged
about central with the width of the slot e. The shank part of the attachment
which is to be connected with this holder is composed of thin pliable metal, or at
least elastic enough to admit of a slight spring motion, to allow of its being placed
and held in position; the said shank is provided with two projections ell, ell,
Figure 3, arranged at suitable points, to engage or connect with the holes or
depressions el in the holder A. The mode of attaching or connecting an attachment
is shown in Figure 4. The point or projection upon or near the extreme end of

page_text: the shank of the attachment, is entered into the opening e¹, and is then moved
laterally into the slot just above the foot, the front part of the shank nearest to
the operative part of attachment is then sprung into position, where it is firmly
held by the two projections in their respective openings, and the slot within which
it rests. I do not, however, confine myself to the manner herein before described
for connecting the parts, as it is obvious that the projections can be made upon the
holder, with the depressions or openings in the attachment. I can likewise employ
one point and deflection at one end of the attachment with a bent or deflected ear
upon the other end, which will catch upon the edge of a central slot with which
the holder is provided, I can also apply a set screw h, as shown in Figure 4;
such case I may dispense with the front deflection el, and by this screw adjust and
more firmly hold the attachment in any desired position relative to the needle.
I have shown in Figures 2 and 3 an adjusting screw k applied horizontally, and
near the base of the shank of the holder. This screw is provided with an
excentrically formed head which operates by turning the said head in the proper
direction in such a manner, as to firmly compress and hold the attachment in any
desired position.
in
In constructing a tuck marker according to this invention I provide the plate A
by which the attachment is held fast to the sewing machine in the manner herein-
before described, and two plates B B' telescopically arranged and secured together
by means of a set screw to form the main part of the frame of the said attachment.
The parts C. C'. form a lever for actuating the marker, or notch and point D and E,
so that the fabric lying between the two will be creased when the point E is
pressed into the notch D. The enclosed channel-way, or guide F in combination
with the other parts before referred to, form the chief feature of this part of my
invention, This channel-way is preferably formed from a thin piece of steel plate
or other suitable metal so bent as to form a guide with a bottom, one side, and a
top, leaving an opening at the other side, as shown in the drawing at F; this guide
is secured to one of the plates of the frame, so as to be capable of being moved to
and from the notch and point, and independently of the latter; in this instance, it
is attached to plato B, which is moved to and fro upon the plate B, at the will of
the operator, by means of the knob a. The functions of a guide are so well
understood that its operation need not be minutely described. It has been found
in practice that the ordinary guide without a channel-way is defective and
troublesome, owing to the fact that while being fed along against the edge of a
straight or flat open service, the edge of the material or the threads of the fabric
are apt to catch and crawl under the said edge, or between it and the surface of the
cloth plate of the sewing-machine, which tends to check and prevent as uniform a
movement of the material as is required while operating, and this is more manifest
when raw edges of torn strips are to be guided through the marker. The material
is also apt to crawl over the top of the guide, and consequently requires constant
watchfulness; by the use of this improved marker such catching and crawling is
prevented and the labor necessary to secure an unobstructed movement of the
material while being operated upon considerably lessened. The guide of the said
marker also conducts the fold directly to the needle, thereby securing a greater
uniformity of width or space between the marks or folds.
Having thus fully described the said invention as communicated to me by my
foreign Correspondent and the manner of performing the same I wish it
understood that I claim,
First. The combination, with a presser-foot for a sewing-machine, provided with
a slot or opening, and serving as a guide for braid and for other purposes, of a
secondary guide adapted to be connected therewith and disconnected therefrom at
the will of the operator, substantially as described,
Second. The combination, with a holder adapted to be secured to, and held by
or upon the presser-bar of a sewing machine of an attachment for guiding materials
to the needle, the said attachment being held in position by a slot and one or more
projections, substantially as set forth.

page_text: Third. A sewing machine attachment holder, consisting of a foot or similar
device, provided with a slot and projections and adapted to hold thereon or thereto
secondary detachable devices, serving as presser-feet and for other purposes,
substantially as described.
Fourth. The combination, with a notch and point, in a tuck-marker of a channel-
way or guide enclosed upon three sides, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Fifth. The combination, with a tuck-marker for sewing-machines, of a channel-
way or guide enclosed upon three sides, and adjustably arranged with relation to
the marking device, substantially as, and for the purpose set forth.
Sixth. A tuck marking attachment, consisting of a telescopic frame, notch and
point, and an adjustable channel-way, forming a guide-closed upon three sides,
substantially as, and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof I the said William Robert Lake have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Ninth day of September in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.