IM- PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to David McConnel Smyth, of Orange, in the State
of New Jersey, United States of America, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 24th September 1872, and dated the 16th April 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said David McConnel Smyth
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th April 1872.
I, DAVID MCCONNEL SMYTH, of Orange, in the State of New Jersey,
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:
This Invention relates to modifications of and improvements upon
the sewing machine feed mechanism for which Letters Patent were
granted to me in Great Britain, November 22nd, A.D. 1871, No. 3166.
These improvements are for giving lateral motion to the feeding
mechanism of sewing machines and thereby adapting the same to sewing
in an undulating or zig-zag line for producing an ornamental line of
stitching of the desired pattern forboots, shoes, and garments generally

page_text: Where these improvements are applied to a wheel feed of a sewing
machine the edge thereof is made narrower than usual or the slot in
the bed wider to allow of the lateral movement of the wheel. A pattern
cam is employed, and the same is rotated progressively either by a
pinion or a ratchet, and the groove or rib of said pattern cam is shaped
to give lateral motion to the feed wheel between one stitch and the
next, and this pattern cam acts directly upon the axle of the wheel to
slide it, or through a pin or lever to slide the wheel upon the axle, and
said pattern cam may also disconnect and then bring into action the
ordinary feed so as to vary the direction of the sewing alternately, and
produce the pattern desired.
With a feed that reciprocates and is moved up and down towards
and from the fabric, a lateral movement is given by one of two cams.
or tappets that strike the feed bar or lever or fingers connecting there-
with, and swing it without interfering with its ordinary motion. By
this device the feeding mechanism will act to move the fabric diagonally
in one direction a certain number of stitches, and then in the other
direction a certain number of stitches, the tappets or cams being thrown
into or out of action periodically by a pattern cam or wheel that is
rotated progressively by a pawl or pinion.
By changing the pattern cam the same machine may be used to sew
lines of stitching of various configurations, and the pattern cams or
tappets may cease to act on a feed for a given number of stitches,
so as to allow the ordinary mechanism to feed the fabric and then the
parts be brought into action again. The feed bar is made of two
parts to allow of the lateral motion independently of the ordinary feed
movement.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said David McConnel Smyth in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th October 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
M°CONNEL SMYTH, of Orange," in the State of New Jersey, United
States of America, send greeting.
3
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of April, in the year of 3

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said David McConnel Smyth, Her special licence that
I, the said David McConnel Smyth, executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said David McConnel Smyth, my
executors, administrators, and 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," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
David McConnel Smyth, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 David McConnel Smyth, 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 Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :—
This Invention relates to modifications of and improvements upon
the sewing machine feed mechanism for which Letters Patent were
granted to me in Great Britain, November 22nd, 1871.
These improvements are for giving lateral motion to the feed
mechanism of sewing machines, and thereby adapting the same to
sewing in an undulating or zig-zag line for producing an ornamental
line of stitching of the desired pattern for boots, shoes, garments, &c.
Where these improvements are applied to a wheel feed of a sewing
machine the edge thereof is made narrower than usual or the slot in the
bed wider to allow of the lateral movement of the wheel. A pattern
cam is employed, and the same is rotated progressively either by a
pinion or a ratchet, and the groove or rib of said pattern cam is shaped
to give lateral motion to the feed wheel between one stitch and the
next, and this pattern cam acts directly upon the axis of the wheel to
slide it, or through a pin or lever to slide the wheel upon the axis, and

page_text: said pattern cam may also disconnect and then bring into action the
ordinary feed so as to vary the direction of the sewing alternately and
produce the pattern desired. With a feed that reciprocates and is
moved up and down towards and from the fabric a lateral movement
is given by one of two cams or tappets that strike the feed bar or lever,
or fingers connecting therewith, and swing it without interfering with
its ordinary motion. By this device the feeding mechanism will act to
move the fabric diagonally in one direction a certain number of stitches,
and then in the other direction a certain number of stitches, the tappets
or cams being thrown into or out of action periodically by a pattern
cam or wheel that is rotated progressively by a pawl or pinion. By
changing the pattern cam the same machine may be used to sew lines
of stitching of various configurations, and the pattern cams or tappets
may cease to act on the feed for a given number of stitches so as to
allow the ordinary mechanism to feed the fabric and then the parts be
brought into action again. The feed bar is made of two parts to allow
of the lateral motion independent of the ordinary feed movement.
c
In the Drawing Fig. 1 is an inverted plan of the feeding mechanism ;
Fig. 2 is a section through the feed at the line x, x, and Fig. 3 shows
the zig-zag stitching.
b
The bed a is made with the necessary opening for the reciprocating
and lateral moving feed plate ỗ having teeth or a roughened surface.
The reciprocating movement and the rising and falling motions are
given to said feeding surface by any suitable or desired mechanism. I
have represented the lever bar c sliding through the fulcrum d, which
fulcrum d may be moved nearer to or farther from the actuating cams ƒ
and shaft 9, to vary the length of stitch, or said stitch may be regulated
in any other suitable manner. The rising and falling motion of the
feeding plate are given by a wedge on the bar c held by the screw i, and
the parts are drawn into contact with each other by the spring / that
acts upon the base n of the feed, and this base slides in the guide k, but
as these parts are of usual construction they do not require further
description. The feeding surface 6 is at the end of a spring arm 7, and
it is guided in the base n of the feed by a transverse rib 2, see Fig. 2, so
that while the feed surface is moved with the base n in a longitudinal
direction to give the progressive feed the plate 6 can be moved laterally
to produce a diagonal movement in the fabric and make zig-zag stitching
as in Fig. 3. The end of the arm is jointed to the double-acting lever m

page_text: on the fulcrum 4, and against one side of this lever m a spring r acts to
bring the lever to a normal position after being moved in either direc
tion. The swinging fingers 8 and t are jointed to the ends 5 and 6 of
the lever m, and they are drawn towards each other by the spring 7, and
arrested by the stop pins 8. A lever upon a fulcrum 9 receives motion
from the lever c and screw 10 or other convenient means, and said
lever has a detent 11 that may be adjustable, and said detent acts
against the end of one of the fingers & or t, and gives to the same and
the lever m a movement of the desired extent, and in so doing the feed
bar surface 6 is moved laterally. The parts are so positioned and timed
that this lateral motion is given while the feeding plate is pressed into
contact with the article that is being sewed. If the finger t is in position
to be acted upon by the detent 11 the movement of the lever m will be
in one direction from the normal position, and if the fingers is in posi-
tion to be acted upon the motion will be the other way, consequently
the stitch will be made accordingly in a diagonal direction to the right
or left. These fingers 8 and t are acted upon by suitable means accord-
ing to the character of the sewing to be performed and the peculiar con-
struction of the other parts of the sewing machine with which they are
employed. I have shown a revolving cam x, shown detached in Fig. 4,
which cam is moved progressively by a ratchet and pawl 15, the latter
receiving motion from the screw 10 and bar c acting upon the slide
link w.
This cam may revolve once in a given number of stitches and
be shaped so that half the stitches are made diagonally in one direction
and the other balf in the other direction, or the proportionate number
may vary, or the cam may be made in such a manner as to allow the
ordinary feed only to act during a portion of its revolution by holding
the ends of both the fingers out of the path of the detent 11, and it will
be evident that the lateral motion may be more or less, or when not
required be thrown out of action by adjusting this detent 11, and I
remark that this detent 11 may receive motion from whatever part of
the machine is most convenient according to the character of the sewing
machine to which this improvement is applied, and in some instances
only one of the fingers 8 or t may be used when the direction of the
stitch requires such a movement. The cam x may be made removable
so as to adapt one machine to a variety of patterns.
The improvement as applied to the wheel feed is shown in Figs. 5
and 6, the former being a side view of the feeding mechanism with the

page_text: bed in section, and the latter a view at the end of the axis of the feed
wheel.
The wheel a³ that is moved by any of the known or desired pro-
gressive motions, is mounted upon an axis 62, so that it may be moved
also endwise of that axis and thereby carry the cloth laterally to effect
stitching that is not in a straight line. The bed is removed near the
feed wheel sufficiently to allow of this lateral motion, and the move-
ment itself is given by a pattern cam f' that is moved progressively or
continuously. If moved progressively a ratchet and pawl might be
employed; if moved continuously the pinion g³ is used acting upon the
gear wheel h², that is connected with the pattern cam. The pinion g³ is
to be of the proper size to give one complete revolution of the pattern
cam during the required number of reciprocations of the needle. The
edge of the cam acts to move the sleeve of the feed wheel by means
of a cam or roller. I have shown the cam as a groove & around the
edge of f³, but it might be upon the flat face of the wheel or disk f³, and
áct against a lever or in any other convenient manner.
As the pattern
cam will continue to move the shape of the groove or cam itself must be
such that it will not move the feed wheel while the needle is in the
fabric, but the lateral motion must be given when the needle is out of
the cloth.
By properly shaping the pattern cam the sewing can be zig-zag as
in Fig. 7, or it may be an undulating line as in Fig. 8, or a compound
line as in Fig. 9, or in any other line that will be produced by the joint
action of the ordinary progressive feed and the lateral movement, or the
pattern cam may be made to also throw the ordinary feed into or out of
action so as to sew the Grecian pattern shown in Fig. 10, or to combine
straight and curved lines of sewing. If desired the pattern cam may be
disconnected and the machine used in ordinary sewing.
If the reciprocating feed is arranged as shown by the inverted plan
Fig. 11, the operations will be the same as before described.
The feed bar c, c', is made compound and is reciprocated by any
desired means; if one of the tappets », t, comes in contact with the
projection 21, as it completes its movement the feed points 6 will
receive a lateral motion in consequence of the feed bar c¹ being swung
upon its fulcrum d.

page_text: There are two projections 21, and these are moved around progressively
by a ratchet and pawl 15, so that when one projection is thrown out of
action the other is thrown into action, or the feed may be allowed to
act in the ordinary manner between the time one projection is thrown
out of action and the other is thrown into action.
I claim as my Invention,―
First. The roughened feeding plate b, mounted upon the base n, so
as to slide laterally, and to which base n the ordinary feed movement
is communicated in combination with mechanism acting periodically
to give a lateral movement to the feeding surface b, substantially as set
forth.
Second. The double-acting lever m, and finger or fingers 8, t, in com-
bination with the feeding plate 6 and actuating detent 11, substantially
as set forth.
Third. The cam x revolved progressively in combination with the
fingers or t, double-acting lever m, and feed plate b, substantially as
and for the purposes set forth.
Fourth. A pattern cam moved progressively and acting between the
stitches to give a lateral movement to the feed wheel, substantially as
set forth.
Fifth. A reciprocating feed made with a hinged lever in combination
with tappets or projections to communicate lateral motion and mechanism
for bringing such projections into and out of operation periodically as
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said David McConnell Smyth, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August,
Witnesses,
GEO. W. GLAZIER,
Lynn, Mass.
JOHN F. McLANE,
Lynn, Mass.
DAVID M© SMYTH.
(L.S.)