IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Sydney Pitt, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES." A communication
from abroad by James Alford House, of the City of Bridgeport, in the State
of Connecticut, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Sydney Pitt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th December 1878.
SYDNEY PITT, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES." [A communication from abroad by James Alford House, of
the City of Bridgeport, in the State of Connecticut, United States of America.]
This Invention relates mainly to improvements in devices for feeding the fabric,
especially applicable to the well known Wheeler & Wilson machine.
The object chiefly is to combine a wheel feed with a rotary-hook sewing machine,
and the improvements consist in novel organizations of parts and in certain
combinations of devices hereinafter described.
The frame bed and bracket arm or overhanging portion support the various
moving parts of the machine, which are, unless it is hereinafter otherwise stated,
the same as or substantially similar to those heretofore employed. The driving
shaft is provided with cams or known equivalents to operate the needle and
take-up.
The presser foot to best suit it to the wheel feed, herein after to be described,
instead of being such as heretofore employed, consists of a rotary disc or wheel
having a serrated periphery or roughened edge. The stud upon which this rotary
presser foot is mounted is secured to the outer end of an adjustable bent arm or
bracket pivoted to a lug or plate secured to the lower end of the presser arm or
bar. When swung down into its working position in well known way the presser
foot is locked in place.

page_text: The rotary hook is driven from the driving shaft so as to revolve with a diffe-
rential velocity and seize and expand the loop of needle thread.
To adapt a wheel feed to this style of machine, that is, to combine such feed with
a rotary hook, I employ a wheel having a ratchet toothed or serrated periphery and
mount this feed wheel so that it projects slightly above the level of the cloth
supporting plate or table through a slot therein beneath the presser foot. This
wheel is formed with a flanged periphery, that the rotary hook may be adjusted
close up to the face of the wheel in proper position to engage the loop of needle
thread, and that the needle may play up and down close to the overhanging edge of
the wheel. The revolving presser foot is moved by the feed wheel as it is inter-
mittently turned or partially rotated about its axis, and a positive feed of the
fabric between the presser foot and wheel is ensured. A sleeve bearing or hollow
stud upon which the feed wheel is mounted loosely envelopes the hook shank or
shaft, and is supported and held in its adjusted position by a set screw. This hollow
stud is concentric with the hook shank or rotary shaft throughout its bore or
internal diameter; upon its exterior however it is eccentric to said shaft at its
outer end, where the hub of the feed wheel rotates about it. At its opposite or
inner end it is made nut shape or polygonal to admit of its being turned by a
wrench so as to oscillate the stud shaft about the rotating shaft of the hook, and
thus adjust the feed wheel up or down so as to project more or less through the slot
and above the table to suit the work to be done.
Instead of the polygonal end of the stud a downwardly projecting crank might
be used.
A partial rotation is imparted to the feed wheel at regular intervals, and when
the needle is withdrawn from the fabric by suitable means, which may consist
primarily of a cam or eccentric collar on the rotating hook shaft or shank, which
cam operates upon a crank, arm, or tappet on the end of a rock shaft once for every
revolution of the driving shaft to actuate the wheel by frictional clutch connections.
The connections between the rock shaft and feed wheel may consist of an adjustable
toe or wiper on the outer end of the shaft, which toe acts upon a griper, and as the
griper arm is struck by the toe or wiper it binds upon the inner surface of an
annular ledge or flauge on the feed wheel and partially rotates it. A retrograde
movement of the wheel is prevented by a spring, which bears with sufficient
pressure upon the flange of the wheel to hold it by frictional contact against reverse
movement.
To adjust the feed so as to vary the length of the stitch a loose disc on the hub
of the feed wheel is provided with two pins, one serving as a stop, against which a
regulating arm or endwise moving bar acts. This bar is operated by a cam secured
to a stud upon the underside of the cloth supporting plate. A spring cushion or
rubber block is secured to the end of the bar so as to prevent a too sudden shock
in adjusting and to hold the regulator bar up to the pin on the wheel so as to be
capable of slightly yielding. A spring acts upon the other pin with a tendency to
rock the disc in a direction opposite to that in which the feed wheel rotates.
tendency is checked as desired by the bar.
This
From the above description it will be seen that the griper is always after it is
released from the toe or wiper of the rock shaft thrown upward the same distance
by its spring, and has at each stroke of the toe to describe a like portion of a
revolution in its seat or recess in the ring before acting upon the feed wheel.
It will also be apparent that the farther outward or away from the pin on the
disc the regulator bar is moved or allowed to move the greater will be the retrograde
movement of the loose ring or disc, and the consequent upward movement of the
griper by the action of the spring. The higher the gripper is moved, provided it is
not adjusted so as to clear from the rock shaft toe as it revolves, the longer it will
be operated upon by said toe and the greater will be the movement of the feed
wheel and the length of stitch.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Sydney Pitt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th June
1879.
SYDNEY PITT, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES." A. communication from abroad by James Alford House, of the City of
Bridgeport, in the State of Connecticut, United States of America.
My Invention relates mainly to improvements in devices for feeding the fabric,
especially applicable to the well known Wheeler and Wilson machine.
My improvements are in this instance shown as adapted to the Wheeler &
Wilson No. 6 machine, which is generally similar to the sewing machines illustrated
and described in sundry Letters Patent of the United States heretofore granted me,
especially the Patent dated March 5, 1872, No. 124,360.
My object chiefly is to combine a wheel-feed with a rotary hook sewing machine
such as shown and described by said Patent, No. 124,360, and my improvements
consist in novel organizations of parts and in certain combinations of devices
hereinafter first fully described, and then specifically designated by the claims.
This Invention, for most convenient and full description, is described with special
reference to the referred to United States Letters Patent, No. 124,360. The machine
therein shown and described is well-known and accessible to the public, and
inspection of said Patent is not absolutely requisite to an understanding of this
Invention. Intelligible description of such parts of the old machine as are necessary
to connect the new with the old to convey a full comprehension of this Invention
will be given herein.
In the accompanying Drawings, which show so much of a completely organized
sewing machine as is necessary to illustrate the improvements herein claimed,
Figure 1 is a side elevation; Figure 2, a plan or top view with the removeable cloth
supporting plate or table detached and the overhanging portion or bracket arm of
the frame, the needle lever, &c., omitted; Figure 3, a view partly in front elevation
and partly in transverse section on the line 3, 3, of Figure 4; Figure 4, a longi-
tudinal view partly in vertical section on the line 4, 4, of Figure 2; Figure 5, a
transverse vertical section on the line 5, 5, of Figure 2; Figure 6, a similar section
on the line 6, 6, of Figure 2; Figure 7, a transverse section through the presser
arm or bar on the line 7, 7, of Figure 3, showing a plan view of the presser foot;
Figure 8, a view partly in elevation and partly in section on the line 8, 8, of
Figure. 7, showing the manner of attaching the presser foot to its bar; Figure 9, a
section on the line 9, 9, of Figure 8.
arın
As in the Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine, the frame bed A and the bracket
or overhanging portion A' support the various moving parts of the
machine, which are, unless it is hereinafter otherwise stated, the same as or substan-
tially similar to the improvements shown and described or suggested as modifications
in my prior Patents, particular reference being here made to the before recited
Patent, No. 124,360. The driving shaft B is provided with cams or known equi-
valents (not shown in the Drawings) to operate the needle and take-up, as in said
Patent.
The presser foot, to best suit it to the wheel feed hereinafter to be described,
instead of being such as heretofore employed by me, consists of a rotary disc or
wheel C, having a serrated periphery or roughened edge. The stud upon which
this rotary presser foot is mounted is secured to the outer end of an adjustable bent
arm or bracket C¹ pivoted to a lug or plate D' secured to the lower end of the
presser arm or bar D.
When swung down into its working position in well known
way the presser foot is locked in place by an endwise moving pin d working in a
hole in the bracket C, and pressed by a spring c into a recess or opening d' in the
laterally projecting plate D of the presser bar. The force exerted by the spring
upon the pin is sufficient to hold the presser foot in proper position, while not so

page_text: great as to prevent its being swung up by hand on its pivot, which is shown as
formed by the adjustable screw E provided with a washer e and nut e¹. A heel
projection or stop arm E¹ on the bracket frame abuts against a stop e² on the presser
foot plate, and limits the downward movement of the presser foot, so that its swing-
frame is stopped in proper position for the yielding locking pin to engage its
recess.
A rotary hook F, such as commonly employed in the Wheeler & Wilson sewing
machine, and such as fully described in my before referred to Patent, is driven from
the driving shaft in the manner therein fully explained so as to revolve with a
differential velocity and seize and expand the loop of needle thread.
To adapt a wheel feed to this style of machine, that is, to combine such feed with
a rotary hook, I employ a wheel F¹ having a ratchet, toothed, or serrated periphery f
and mount this feed wheel so that it projects slightly above the level of the cloth
supporting plate or table F2 through a slot f¹ therein beneath the presser foot.
This wheel is shown by the Drawings as formed with a flanged periphery, that the
rotary hook may be adjusted close up to the face of the wheel in proper position to
engage the loop of needle thread, and that the needle may play up and down close
to the overhanging edge of the wheel. The wheel is also in this instance divided
by an annular groove into two sets of ratchet teeth. The revolving presser foot is
moved by the feed-wheel as it is intermittently turned or partially rotated about its
axis, and a positive feed of the fabric between the presser foot and wheel is insured.
A sleeve bearing or hollow stud G, upon which the feed wheel is mounted loosely,
envelopes the hook shank or shaft G₁, and is supported and held in its adjusted
position by a set screw win a bearing W in the frame of the machine. This hollow
stud is concentric with the hook shank or rotary shaft G¹ throughout its bore or
internal diameter. Upon its exterior however it is eccentric to said shaft G¹ at its
outer end g, where the hub G2 of the feed wheel rotates about it. At its opposite
or inner end g¹ it is made nut shape or polygonal, to admit of its being turned by
a wrench, so as to oscillate the stud shaft about the rotating shaft of the hook F,
and thus adjust the feed wheel up or down so as to project more or less through the
slot and above the table to suit the work to be done.
Instead of the polygonal end of the stud a downwardly projecting crank might
be used.
A partial rotation is imparted to the feed wheel at regular intervals, and when
the needle is withdrawn from the fabric, by suitable means, which in this instance
consist primarily of a cam or eccentric collar H on the rotating hook shaft or shank,
which cam operates upon a crank, arm, or tappet h on the end of the rock shaft Hi
once for every revolution of the driving shaft to actuate the wheel by frictional
clutch connections. A spring h¹ acts upon the tappet of the rock shaft so as to keep
it up to the cam. The connections between the rock shaft and feed wheel in this
instance consist of an adjustable toe or wiper I on the outer end of the shaft, or
that end opposite the tappet h, which toe acts upon a gripper J, the inclined faced
lug or cam projection j of which (see dotted lines) is oscillated in a recess in a loose
ring or disc K fitted upon the wheel hub, and operating in a well known way, so
that as the griper arm is struck by the toe or wiper it binds upon the inner surface
of an annular ledge or flange K₁ on the feed wheel, and partially rotates it. A
spring k throws up the griper after it is acted on by the wiper. A retrograde
movement to the wheel is prevented by a spring P, which bears with sufficient
pressure upon the flange K₁ of the wheel to hold it by frictional contact against
reverse movement. The griper is left in position to be again operated to partially
rotate the wheel upon the next revolution of the shaft and cam.
To adjust the feed so as to vary the length of the stitch the disc K is provided
with two pins 1, 1, the former serving as a stop against which a regulating arm or
endwise moving bar L acts. This bar is operated by a cam L', secured to a stud
upon the under side of the cloth supporting plate, and provided with a crank M
and an indicator plate M', graduated as usual, to show the adjustment of the feed
wheel. A spring cushion or rubber block m is secured to the end of the bar so as

page_text: to prevent a too sudden shock in adjusting, and to hold the regulator bar up to the
pin on the wheel, so as to be capable of slightly yielding. A spring N acts upon
the pin with a tendency to rock the disc or ring K in a direction opposite to that
in which the feed wheel rotates. This tendency is checked as desired by the
bar L.
From the above description it will be seen that the gripper is always after it is
released from the toe or wiper of the rock shaft thrown upward the same distance
by its spring k, and has at each stroke of the toe to describe a like portion of a
revolution in its seat or recess in the ring before acting upon the feed wheel.
It will also be apparent that the farther outward or away from the pin on the
disc the regulator bar is moved or allowed to move the greater will be the retrograde
movement of the loose ring or disc, and the consequent upward movement of the
gripper by the action of the spring N. The higher the gripper is moved, provided
it is not adjusted so as to clear it from the rock shaft toe as it revolves, the longer
it will be operated upon by said too and the greater will be the movement of the
feed wheel and the length of stitch.
It is deemed unnecessary to describe herein other details of the construction of
the machine, as they are well known, as before stated, and of themselves alone forin
no part of the Invention claimed, and it is not deemed essential that the peculiarities
of construction and operation of the rotary hook be particularly described, as they
are well known and have been fully set forth in any prior Patents.
I have herein described only one way, and the best way now known to me of
carrying out my Invention, but I do not confine myself to the details of construction
nor to the precise arrangements of parts specifically described and shown by the
Drawings, as other and equivalent ways, such, for instance, as would be suggested
to a skilled mechanic by reading this Specification and examining the accompanying
Drawings, of combining the peculiar rotary hook, and a wheel feed may be adopted,
and it is this combination that constitutes the leading feature of this Invention.
The axis of revolution of the differentially rotating hook is the same as that of
the feed wheel, or so nearly so as to be substantially the same, the only variation in
the centres of rotation of the feed wheel and hook being due to the slight eccen-
tricity to the hook shank of the bearing for the wheel upon the end of the stud
enveloping the shank. The feed wheel rotates vertically and in a plane parallel to
that of the hook, and acts upon the fabric through the slot in the work supporting
table, as will readily be understood.
By my Invention, as shown in the Drawings, it will be seen that the horizontal
driven shaft or hook shank in the line of the driving shaft serves as a means of
imparting the desired intermittent movement of the feed wheel; that the wheel
may readily be adjusted to suit variations in length of stitch and changes in the
fabric, and that the operations of the needle, rotary hook, and feed wheel are per-
formed automatically. As the hook shank has no endwise adjustment, and as there
is no horizontal adjustinent or movement end wise of the hook shauk of either the
hook or wheel they always rotate in parallel vertical planes at a proper distance
apart, insuring uniform work, and preventing possibility of accidentally interrupting
or impeding the operation of the needle working vertically between them.
I claim as the Invention,-
First. The improvements in sewing machines having the combination, substan-
tially as herein before set forth, of the differentially rotating hook and the
intermittently operating feed wheel.
Second. The combination of the driving shaft, the rotary hook, its horizontal
shank or shaft connected with the driving shaft, and in line therewith, and the feed
wheel rotating around the hook shaft and revolving in a vertical plane parallel to
that in which the hook revolves, the combination being and operating substantially
as hereinbefore set forth.
Third. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the driving
shaft, the rotary hook shaft, the rotary hook having a differential motion imparted

page_text: to it, and the intermittently operating feed wheel revolving about the hook shaft
and actuated therefrom by connecting mechanism, substantially as described.
Fourth. The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of the feed
wheel operating in a fixed vertical plane actuating mechanism, intermittently and
positively operating it and the rotary hook arranged close to the face of the wheel,
partially overhung by its flange and rotating in a fixed plane parallel therewith, for
the purpose specified.
Fifth. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the frame of
the machine, the rotary hook, its shank or shaft, the feed wheel, and the hollow
stud enveloping the hook shank, and upon the eccentrically formed portion of which
the wheel is mounted so as to be capable of adjustment vertically.
Sixth. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the driving
shaft, the rotating hook shaft, the cam thereon, the rock shaft, the tappet on the
rock shaft actuated by the cam, the feed wheel rotating about the hook shaft and
its frictional clutch connections actuated by the rock shaft upon each revolution of
the cam, for the purpose described.
Seventh. The combination of the intermittently operated rock shaft, its toe, the
feed wheel, its disc or ring, the gripper mounted in a slot therein, its spring, the stop
pins on said disc, the adjusting bar acting upon one of said pins, and the spring
bearing upon the other, these members being constructed and operating substantially
as herein before set forth to adjust the feed.
Eighth. The combination of the presser bar, its lug or plate provided with the
stop, the swinging bent arm or bracket pivoted to said lug, and provided with the
heel or stop arm, the presser foot, and the locking spring and pin, these members
being and operating substantially as herein before set forth.
Ninth. Sewing machines having the improvements substantially as described and
shown by the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Sydney Pitt, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy nine.
SYDNEY PITT. (L.S.)
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