Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Dec., 1886.
Specification Accepted, 28th Jan., 1887.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
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 :-
This invention has for its object to provide a sewing machine capable of forming
elongated stitches on the surface of material to be ornamented, and of arranging said
stitches in a variety of ornamental forms; and it consists in the improved mechanism
hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawings
Figures 1 and 2 represent side elevations of a sewing machine having my improve-
ments.
Figure 3 represents a bottom view of the same.
Figure 4 represents an end elevation.
Figure 5 represents a similar elevation to Figure 4 with the face plate of the arm
of the machine removed.
Figure 6 represents a longitudinal section.
Figure 7 represents a transverse vertical section on line a, a Figure 2.
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 represent detail views.
Figures 13, 14 and 15 represent different arrangements of stitches which can be
produced by the machine.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
a represents the overhanging arm of the machine, and the bed. c represents the
needle bar, which is operated in the usual manner by a rotating shaft d, the latter
being journalled in the arm a and provided at its rear end with a crank e, which is
connected. by a connecting rod with a crank g on an arbour h. The arbour his
journalled in hangers below the bed 6 and is rotated by a connection with the main
driving shaft i, as hereinafter described. The connecting rod f, is provided with a
slot (Figure 7) through which passes a pivot pin k, affixed to the arm «, the rod f

page_text: being thus adapted to oscillate and to reciprocate longitudinally. The rotary move-
ments of the arbor h are caused by the crank g, pivotted slotted rod f, and crank e to
rotate the shaft d and reciprocate the needle bar.
I represents the shuttle which moves in a segmental shuttle race m, and is carried
by an oscillating lever n, the pivot o of which is the centre of the circle of which the
race m is a segment. The rear end of the lever n projects into a cam groove p,
formed in a cup shaped or concave disc q, the surface of which is a segment of a
hollow sphere, whose centre is in the vertical plane of the centre of the pivot o. This
form of the disc 9 enables its cam groove to maintain the same relation to the lever n
in all of the positions which the latter may assume. The cam disc q is secured to a
shaft Figure 6 which is arranged in line with the main driving shaft i but is
disconnected therefrom, and is provided with a pinion s meshing with a pinion ton
the shaft h, above described, which operates the needle bar shaft. Said shaft his
provided with a pinion u, meshing with a larger pinion, e, affixed to the main driving
shaft i. Said pinions, s, t, u, v, are so proportioned that the needle bar shaft d and
the shaft are rotated more rapidly than the main driving shaft i to obtain the
required rapidity of movement of the stitch forining mechanism.
The work is held down upon the throat plate of the machine by a small perforated
presser foot
w, through which the needle passes. The shank a¹ of said presser foot is
secured to a socketted block on the presser bar b'. Said bar slides in guides in the
arm a and is pressed downwardly by a spring 62 and raised intermittently by a cam c¹
on the shaft da rock shaft e journalled in bearings on the arm a and provided with a
lever f1, bearing on the cam c¹ and another lever, g', engaged at its outer end with an
arm on a block 2 affixed to the presser bar. The spring presses downwardly on the
block and thus depresses the presser bar and holds the lever against the cam c'..
62
represents a universally movable feeder, which bears on the top surface of the
work, and is serrated or provided with points on its under surface which engage with
the work, so that the feeder can move the work horizontally in any direction. I
prefer to make the feeder forked or U shaped, its two arms or forks bearing on the
work at opposite sides of the needle, although it is obvious that the form may be
variously modified. The feeder ¹ is pivottally connected to a slide or plate r¹ fitted
to slide between guides on an arm s¹ on a shaft t¹ which is journalled in the arm of
the machine substantially parallel with the needle bar shaft d, and is adapted both to
rock or oscillate and to move longitudinally in its bearings, and thus impart a variety
of horizontal movements to the feeder k¹. The slide has a pin u¹ which enters a
forked arm &¹ on a vertical rod or bar w¹ which is adapted to slide vertically in the
arm and is pressed downwardly by a suitable adjustable spring, D, contained in said
arm, and is provided with a stud, A, projecting into the slotted end of a lever B,
pivotted within the arm a and bearing at its opposite end against a cam, C, on the
needle bar shaft, which cam is formed to intermittently depress the end out of the
lever B bearing against it, and thus raise the opposite end with the bar w', slide 7¹
and feeder, the spring D depressing said bar, slide, and feeder when the receding
part of the cam C reaches the lever B. The bar w¹ is thus operated like the presser
bar in an ordinary sewing machine, but its movements are so timed with relation to
the movements of the presser foot w, that the bar and feeder are raised when the
presser is depressed, and vice versa.
E represents a lever which is pivotted at F to a collar or block journalled on the
shaft and confined between two shoulders or collars rigidly attached to said shaft.
Said lever extends downwardly from the shaft t¹ and receives an oscillatory fulcrum
pin G, hereinafter described, and is engaged at its lower end with a collar H affixed
to a rod I, which is adapted to slide horizontally in bearings affixed to the bed b.
J represents a horizontal lever pivotted at K, Figures 1 and 3, to the rod I and having
a stud or offset at one end engaging a grooved cam L, on the driving shaft i. Said
lever is adapted to oscillate horizontally on a fulcrum H' which is adjustable
horizontally toward and from the driving shaft in a slot I' in the bed (see Figure 8).
The rotation of the cam L by the driving shaft causes it to oscillate the lever J. The
result of the oscillations of said lever depends upon the position of the fulcrum H².

page_text: When said fulcrum is directly over the pivot connecting the lever J with the rod I, as
shewn in Figures 7 and 8, the oscillations of the lever J have no effect; but when
the fulcrum is moved inwardly so as to locate it at one side of the said pivot, the
oscillations of the lever cause the rod I to reciprocate in its bearings and thus oscillate,
the lever E and cause the latter to reciprocate the rock shaft and the feeder t¹; the
extent of the reciprocating movement depending on the adjustment of the fulcrum H',
that is to say, said movement increases as the distance between the fulcrum H' and
the pivot connecting the lever J to the rod I is increased, and vice versa.
The fulcrum pin G is adapted to be oscillated so as to impart an oscillating
movement to the lever E and may constitute the sole means of oscillating said lever
when the lever J is made inoperative by the described arrangement of the fulcrum H
relatively to the pivot of said lever. Or the fulcrum pin may be used in connection
with the previously described devices for oscillating the lever E, and determining the
direction of the successive movements of the rock shaft and feeder k¹.
To this end the fulcrum pin G is affixed to a lever K', which is adapted to
oscillate on a fulcrum block L extending into and vertically adjustable in a groove
in
said lever K'. Said fulcrum block is adapted to slide in a vertical slot in the arm a
and is supported in a cam groove J2, formed in a disk K2 which is pivoted at I to
the arm a. By rotating the disk K' the fulcrum block may be raised or lowered as
the case may be.
When the fulcrum block is in line with the pivot pin G, the centre of oscillation of
the lever K¹ coincides with the pin G and the latter therefore receives no oscillating
movement but is practically held stationary so that the lever E will have a simple
oscillating movement on the pin G unmodified by any movement of the latter. The
lower end of the lever K¹ has a roller, engaging a grooved cam Q, on the driving
shaft. The rotation of said cam oscillates the lever K¹ and if the fulcrum block L
be out of line with the fulcrum pin G said fulcrum pin is oscillated with the lever,
and thus modifies the oscillating movements of the lever E and the reciprocating
movements of the rock shaft t' and feeder k, as hereinafter described.
M represents an arm rigidly attached to the rear end of the rock shaft t' and
projecting downwardly therefrom. Said arm has an offset at its lower end, which
enters a slot formed in a boss or offsett on a lever N which is mounted to oscillate on
the rock shaft t'. To the lever N is pivoted at P a second lever. Q extending
downwardly. To the lower end of the lever Q is pivoted at R a third lever S, which
extends downwardly and has an offset roller at its lower end entering a grooved
cam T on the driving shaft i. The second lever Q has a vertical groove in its back
into which projects a vertically adjustable fulcrum U, which is supported by a cam
V in a disc W mounted to rotate loosely on the rock shaft t'. To the third
groove
lever S is pivoted at Y a fourth lever Z which projects downwardly and has an offset
or roller at its lower end which engages with a grooved cam A' on the driving shaft i.
The fourth lever Z has a vertical groove in its back into which projects a large
fulcrum B which is carried by a slide C adapted to move in vertical guides formed
in the arm of the machine and operated by a rock shaft D', pivoted on a stud attached
to the arm of the machine and having at its inner end a disk provided with a radial
slot which receives a stud on the slide C. By turning the rock shaft D¹ by means
of a handle F the fulcrum B₁ is raised or lowered as the case may be. The third
lever S and fourth lever Z are oscillated respectively by the cams T and A', and the
second lever Q is oscillated by its pivotal connection with the third lever S. When
the fulcrum U is below or out of line with the pivot P of the second lever Q, said lever
in oscillating also oscillates the lever N and therefore rocks the shaft t¹ and reciprocates
the feeder toward and from the operator. On the other hand, when the fulcrum U
is in line with the pivot P the oscillations of the second lever Q have no effect on
the lever N and the feeder has no movement toward and from the operator.
The cams T and A' are differently timed so that the movements imparted to them
to the levers S and Z are not wholly, although partially in unison. When the
fulcrum B' is in line with the pivot of the fourth lever Z; the oscillations of said lever
have no effect on the third lever S; but when said fulcrum B¹ is moved out of line

page_text: with said pivot, the other levers S, Q N of the system are oscillated by the oscillations
of the fourth lever Z and their action on the rock shaft t¹ is modified as will be
hereinafter described.
The movements which may be given to the feeder toward and from the operator,
together with the lateral movements caused by the longitudinal reciprocation of the
rock shaft t enable any desired series of feed movements to be given to the work,
causing the stitches to be laid thereon in a variety of patterns, some of which are
indicated in Figures 13, 14, and 15.
The "herring bone stitch" 2, shown in said Figure 13 is produced as follows:
The fulcrum H¹ is moved into line with the pivot of the lever J thus making the
latter incapable of oscillating the lever E the fulcrum L' and U are respectively
moved out of line with the pivots G and P, and the fulcrum B₁ is moved a short
distance above the pivot Y. When the needle rises from the work, making the first
stitch the feeder is moved diagonally backward by a combination of the rocking and
longitudinal movements of the shaft t' causing the needle in its next descent to place
an elongated diagonal stitch on the work. While the needle is down the feeder is
raised and moved directly forward by a rocking movement of the shaft t' and then
descends while the needle is rising. While the needle is above the work the feeder
is moved diagonally forward half the length of the stitch, more or less, according to
the position of the fulcrum B', so that when the needle again descends it forms a
back stitch beside the one first formed, but of lesser length. While the needle is
down the feeder is raised and moved directly forward again and drops on the works
as the needle rises. The feeder then moves diagonally forward, and moves the work,
so that the needle in its next descent will make another elongated stitch in a different
direction from the first, then a shorter back stitch is made and so on every back stitch
being shorter than the other stitches, the shortness of the back stitches being due to
the neutralising action of the lever Z, on the levers SQ N which rock the shaft t',
said action taking place only during the backward movements of the feeder. The
angle at which these stitches are formed and the distance between them, depends upon
the adjustment of the fulcrums L³, U.
The Kensington stitch shown in Figure 14 is produced by first placing the fulcrum
block L in line with the fulcerum pin G, thus preventing the oscillations of the
lever K from moving said fulcrum pin and the lever E mounted thereon; and
secondly, adjusting the fulcrum H' away from the pivot K connecting the lever J
with the sliding rod I, thus enabling said lever to oscillate the lever E on the now
fixed fulcrum pin G the fulcrums U and B' remaining as last described. The
alternating longer forward stitches and shorter back stitches will then be formed as
before, but the longitudinal movement of the rock shaft and the lateral movement of the
feeder produced by the oscillations of the lever E cause said stitches to lie obliquely
or diagonally parallel with each other, as shown. The length of the stitches in this
case depends upon the distance between the fulcrum H¹ and the pivot connecting the
lever J to the rod I while the degree of obliquity of the stitches depends upon the
adjustment of the fulcrum U.
By adjusting the fulcrum Las in making the herring bone stitch and the fulcrum H'
as in making the Kensington stitch, the peculiar stitch shown in Figure 15 may be
produced.
By loosening one of the collars between which the lever E is confined on the rock
shaft t, so as to allow said lever a lateral slip or lost motion on the rock. shaft, the
stitch shown in Figure 16 may be produced; the machine being adjusted as in forming
the herring bone stitch. The machine may be adjusted to make various other
arrangements of stitches such as the taste of the operator may dictate.
The thread in passing from the supplying stool to the needle is alternately held and
released by devices which grasp and hold the thread tightly while the shuttle is
entering and passing through the needle loop, thus preventing the shuttle from
pushing the needle loop away and failing to enter it, the thread being released by said
devices when the needle is above the work and while the latter being moved by
the feeder, so that a very light tension may be used, thus enabling the elongated

page_text: stitches to lie smoothly on the work and preventing drawing or puckering thereof by
the stitches.
The devices which I use for this purpose are a fixed plate a³ attached to a
standard 63 affixed to the arm a, and having an orifice c³ through which the thread
passes from the supplying bobbin or spool, a plate d³ fitted to slide in guides on the
plate a and having a slot in one end through which the thread passes, and an
arm attached to the rock shaft e¹ and having a pin 3 at its swinging end entering a
slot (Figure 7) in the plate d³. The armis oscillated by the rock shaft e' and
reciprocates the plate d³ causing it to alternately cover the orifice c³ in the fixed
plate a, as shown in Figures 10 and 12, and uncovers said orifice, as shown in
Figures 9 and 11. When the plate d³ covers the orifice in the plate a³ the thread
is clamped between the proximate surfaces of said plates, as shown in Figure 12 so
that it is tightly held. This occurs while the needle in the work and the shuttle is
passing through the needle loop. When the plate d³ is moved back, as shown in
Figures 9 and 11, the thread is released and is free to pass through the orifice c³ and
slote, this being the case while the needle is raised and during the movement of the
work by the feeder.
It will be seen therefore that only sufficient tension is required to cause the thread
to lie smoothly on the surface of the work, so that a much lighter tension may be
employed than could be if the tension were relied on to hold the thread while the
shuttle is entering and passing through the needle loop.
The tension employed in this instance is a plate located on the standard 63 and
pressed downwardly thereon by a spiral spring j³ on a rod affixed to said standard
and passing through an orifice in the plate 7³. The thread passes between the .
standard and one end of the spring, as shown in Figures 1, 6, 11 and 12.
represents the take up armi which is affixed to a rock shaft m³ journalled in the
arm a, and is oscillated by a cam n³ on the shaft d, an arm p³ on the rockshaft m³ and
a spring o³ which presses the arm p³ against the cam n³ (see Figure 5). The take up
is moved outwardly by the described devices when the thread is released, and is
moved inwardly when the thread is clamped, as shown in Figures 9 and 10.
The connection between the feeder and the slide or plate is effected by means
of a pin a' affixed to the feeder and a split socket 6+ affixed to the slider and holding
the pin. The socket 4 is split longitudinally, so that it can be compressed and caused
to hold the pin a' with sufficient pressure to prevent the feeder from turning loosely
in the socket. A screw c is passed through the socket above the pin at and clamps the
two divisions of the socket against the pin with the requisite pressure. The feeder is
thus allowed to turn so as to bear squarely on the throat plate or bed in any of the
positions of the arm s¹, but is prevented from turning loosely, so that when it is raised
above the bed it will remain parallel therewith and will therewith therefore strike the
work squarely when it descends. If the feeder were allowed to swing loosely on its
pivot, it might when raised swing so that in descending one of its arm would strike
the work first and slightly displace the work.
The described mechanism for producing the combined longitudinal and oscillatory
movements of the rockshaft and feeder is similar to that described in letters
Patent to Woodward and Keith, No. 31 6927 dated April 28 1885, excepting the
means for operating the lever E, to produce the Kensington stitch. In said patent
the lever E was engaged directly with an adjustable fulcrum block corresponding to
the block L', above described, and its lower end was engaged with a cam groove on
the driving shaft. It will be seen that by the addition of the lever K', the fulcrum
pin G mounted thereon and the adjustable devices for operating said lever, to the
mechanism formerly used, I enable the feeder to operate in forming the Kensington
Stitch as above described, in a manner not before possible.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
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 :-
First The combination of the stitch forming mechanism, the feeder, the arm and

page_text: rockshaft carrying the feeder, the adjustable mechanism for oscillating said rock shaft,
a lever pivotally connected to the rockshaft, a movable fulcrum for said lever, a second
lever by which said lever is supported, adjustable mechanism substantially as described
whereby said fulcrum may be either oscillated or held stationary, and adjustable
mechanism substantially as described for oscillating said lever as set forth.
Second-The combination of the stitch forming mechanism, the feeder, the arm
and rockshaft carrying the feeder, the adjustable mechanism for oscillating the rock-
shaft, the lever E pivotally connected to the rockshaft, the movable fulcrum G for said
lever, the lever K, supporting said fulcrum, the adjustable fulcrum L' for said lever,
and means substantially as described for oscillating said levers, as set forth.
Third The combination of the stitch forming mechanism, the feeder, the arm and
rockshaft carrying the feeder, the adjustable mechanism for oscillating said rockshaft,
the lever E pivotally connected to the rockshaft, the fulcrum G and its operating
mechanism, the slide I to which the lower end of said lever is connected, the lever J
pivoted to said slide, the adjustable fulcrum for said lever, the cam whereby said lever
is oscillated as set forth.
Fourth In a sewing machine of the class described having a universally movable
automatic work feeder, the combination with the needle, shuttle, automatic work
feeder, and a tension device adapted to produce a constant tension on the thread, of
automatic thread holding and releasing devices, substantially as described, whereby
the needle thread is held while the shuttle is entering the needle loop, and released
while the work is being moved by the work feeder, as set forth.
Fifth-The thread grasping and releasing device composed of the fixed plate having
an orifice for the needle thread, and the reciprocating plate which alternately covers
and exposes said orifice as set forth.
Sixth-The combination of the needle, the shuttle, the work feeder, an automatic
thread grasping and releasing device and a tension device, all arranged and operating
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Seventh The combination with the feeder-carrying arm or slide and the feeder
loosely pivoted thereto, of a frictional connection between said arm or slide and the
pivot of the feeder, whereby the latter is prevented from swinging with too much
freedom, substantially as set forth.
:
Eighth The combination with the feeder-carrying slide », and the feeder k¹
having the pin a rigid therewith, of the split socket band one or more set screws for
compressing said socket, against said pin, whereby the feeder is prevented from
swinging on said slide with too much freedom, substantially as set forth.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.