Improvements in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 22nd Aug., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
We, ALBERT LEGG, of Allendale, County of Bergen, State of New Jersey,
United States of America, and FRANK HENRY TREACY, of No. 36 Orange
Street City of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, and State of New York, United
States of America, 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 :—
Our invention relates to attachments for sewing machines having a needle with
an open eye or recess for engaging the thread.
The object of our invention is to provide a device for threading the needle upon
its downward stroke at the beginning of each stitch, which shall be easily
adjustable and another object is to provide a motion for the guide and finger
which will occupy a little space and be certain in operation.
To this end our invention consists of means of moving the guide and finger
(whose respective functions are as described in the Specification to Letters Patent
No. 9325 of 1892 granted to Albert Legg and Charles Ward Weston), so as first,
to catch the thread, then pull or distend it, and then carry it to the needle, and
also of certain details of construction. It must be understood, however, that it is
not intended that the above mentioned operation, or motions of the guide and
finger shall be separate from each other, entirely in point of time, but that, at
certain periods, certain of the motions shall be more pronounced than the others.
We attain these objects by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
in which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the various
views.
Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a sewing machine, showing our device
attached thereto.
Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.
Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.
Figure 4 is a front view of a portion of a sewing machine, showing another form
of our device attached thereto.
Figure 5 is a bottom view of the device shown in Fig. 4; and
Figure 6 is a view of the needle, showing the open eye.
A is the presser-bar, B the needle-bar and E the cloth-plate of one of the
ordinary styles of sewing machines, C is the presser-foot, which is adapted to form
the frame of our device. The needle-bar B carries an open-eyed needle N, the
open eye or front of said needle is shown in Figs. 1 and 4 facing away from the
presser-bar, but we do not limit ourselves to this position of the eye, it being
readily understood that, should the eye face in the opposite direction, for instance,
that then the threading device hereinafter described should be arranged to operate
also in reverse direction. Attached rigidly to, or forming part of, presser-foot C
is the standard or post D. Fulcrumed at d on said post is a lever F, provided at
one end with a fork f adapted to engage with the needle screw b, so as to swing
said lever upon its fulcrum, as said needle-bar reciprocates. Said lever F is
provided at its other end with a pin a. Also fulcrumed on said post at g is a cam-
lever G, the cam h of which is operatively connected with lever F by means of
pin a.
The movement of cam-lever G depends, of course, upon the shape given to
cam h. The lower end of said lever G is operatively connected with the arms k
and I, so as to reciprocate the same as said lever is swung.
We will now proceed to describe the means whereby, upon the reciprocation of

page_text: said arms k and I, as above described, the guide k¹ and finger borne respectively
by them, are given the motions desired. Said arms are formed so that when their
end and are together in front of the needle, they may pass over the base of
the presser-foot and their other ends meet and be pivotally united by a bolt t, as
shown in Fig. 2. Said bolt t passes through a slot M in said presser-foot, which
serves to guide the reciprocation of that end of said arms in a straight line. Said
arms k and are also provided respectively with slots m and n, through which
pins p on said presser-foot project. It will be understood that when said guide k¹
and finger are together in front of the needle, the bolt t will be at that end of
said slot M nearest the presser-bar and that, as said arms are reciprocated to the
other end of said slot the guide k¹ and finger will have, at the first portion of
such reciprocation, a greater movement away from each other than at the latter
portion of such reciprocation, when they will move in nearly straight lines towards,
or past the needle. The advantage of this result is that less space is occupied by
the arms in their movement, less thread is required to be drawn, and the strain
upon the needle and the thread is less than when the guide and finger are separating
and pulling down the thread at the time the same is being put into the eye of the
needle. The motions of guide and finger may be varied somewhat by making
slots m and n cam-shaped. The connection of lever G with arms kand 7 may be
made at any convenient point, but we prefer to make it on arm I by means of slot o
as shown. This construction ensures the finger starting promptly so as to catch
the thread, it having been found that the finger will sometimes fail to catch the
thread and therefore a stitch be skipped if provision be not made whereby the
finger is given some acceleration or greater positiveness of motion over that of
the guide, upon their initial movement.
We now proceed to describe another form of our invention shown in Figs. 4
and 5. Instead of the slots m and n and pins p on the top of presser-foot C, as
shown in Figs. 1 and 2 we arrange the arms and on the shank of the presser-
foot C and provide two links w and w¹, pivoted respectively at 9 and q¹ on arms k¹¹
and, and at their other ends pivoted at a common fixed center S on the presser-
foot. The operation is substantially similar to that last described except that the
described motions of guide and finger are more pronounced in the desired
directions than when the slots m and n, Fig. 2, are straight, as shown. Another
advantage of this form of construction is that the mechanism is fixedly supported
at S, whereby much greater rapidity and certainty of action can be attained, we
therefore prefer this form of construction.
Another modification is shown in Fig. 4. The fork f' on bar F¹ is formed at an
angle to the longitudinal axis of said lever. This construction enables the needle-
bar at the beginning of its downward stroke to swing said lever more quickly, but
we do not claim this feature as part of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is-
1. In a sewing machine, the combination of a needle having a recess or open eye
for engaging the thread, with usual means of operating said needle, means for
feeding thread to the same, which consists of a guide and finger and means to cause
said guide and finger to move simultaneously from in front of the path of said
needle first so as to distend the thread and then so as to carry the same into the
open eye of said needle as it descends, and with complemental stitch forming
mechanism below the cloth-plate, substantially as described.
2. In a sewing machine having a presser-foot and a needle with a recess or open
eye for engaging the thread, the thread feeding mechanism for said needle which
consists of arms journaled on a vertical axis movable horizontally on the presser-
foot, means of swinging said arms on said axis as the same is reciprocated, and
means of reciprocating said axis as the needle-bar reciprocates, substantially, as
described.

page_text: 3. The combination of a plate having a slot therein, with two arms journaled on
a common axis said axis being operatively connected with said slot, two links each
journaled at one end on one of said arms, and at the other end on a common fixed
journal, and with means of reciprocating said first named axis in said slot, whereby
said arms are swung upon said axis as the same is reciprocated, substantially as
described.
4. In a sewing machine having a presser-foot, and a needle with a recess or an
open eye for engaging the thread, the thread feeding mechanism for said needle
which consists of arms journaled on a vertical axis movable horizontally on the
presser-foot, means of swinging said arms on said axis as the same is reciprocated,
which consists of two links, each journaled at one end on one of said arms an:l at
the other end on a journal fixed on said presser-foot, and means of reciprocating
said novable axis, substantially as described.
5. In a sewing machine having a needle with a recess or open eye for engaging
the thread, the thread feeding mechanism for said needle, which consists of two
connected arms bearing respectively a guide and finger and concurrently and
interdependently movable and so as to carry said guide and finger from a point in
front of the path of said needle towards and to opposite sides of said path, means
of moving said arms connected only with said finger-bearing arm, substantially as
and for the purposes described.
Dated this 24th day of September 1895.
MARKS & CLERK,
18 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.