IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR SEWING STRAW-BRAID
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th March 1879. A communication from
abroad by John O'Neil, of the City and State of New York, United States of
America.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES CHIEFLY
DESIGNED FOR SEWING STRAW-BRAID." A communication from abroad by John
O'Neil, of the City and State of New York, United States of America.
The said Invention relates to improvements in that class of sewing machines
designed to sew straw braid and analogous materials, and in which a straight
needle is used to which is given a rectilinear movement, and the said Invention
comprises the devices and combinations of parts bereinafter described.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a frame which consists of
a bed plate or table, from the under face of which projects a hollow column or
pedestal. A main driving shaft carries cams by which motion is given to several
of the parts of the machine, the needle bar slides horizontally in ways in the said
plate, motion being given to it by a cam on the said shaft by means of a bell crank
lever pivoted in the said plate, a slotted opening being made in this plate through
which passes a screw, pin, or bolt connecting the end of said lever with the needle
bar.
The take up device is fixed to a sliding bar that slides in ways on the under face
of the aforesaid plate. To this take up device movement is communicated by
means of a lever and connecting arm, the said lever being pivoted at the upper end
in lugs cast on the said plate, and being actuated by a crank pin in a wheel on the
end of the driving shaft operating in a curved slot in said lever. By this arrange-
ment of parts a slide, and with it the said take up device, is made to slide
horizontally in its ways to and from the needle or point at which the stitch is
formed in sewing with a comparative slow motion when moving towards the needle
and with a more rapid reverse motion. The upper thread is unwound from a spool
placed on a pin fixed in the said plate passes through an eye through a tension
device, and then to the needle through an eye in the take up device. The shuttle
is the segment of a disc with a looper hook at one angle of the segments. This

page_text: shuttle is recossed or made hollow, forming a shell to contain and hold the spool for
the lower thread, which is pivoted at each end in the outer rim or peripheral wall
of the shell. The tension is given to this thread in the shuttle by means of a small
spring lever which is pivoted on a screw pin. The thread passes from the spool
out through a small aperture in the side wall of the shuttle, between the end of the
said lever and the wall of the shuttle, between which the thread is pressed or
clasped just enough to give the required tension. The tension is varied by means
of a screw working in a screw-threaded aperture in the rim of the shuttle that
bears against the end of said lever. The shuttle-carrier consists of a wheel or disc
fixed in the end of a shaft. A portion of the outer side of this wheel is cut away
corresponding to the form of the shuttlo, leaving a segmental shoulder or projection
against which the straight side of the shuttle impinges when the shuttle is in placo
in the holder. The shuttle being placed in the holder is held in place by a cap
secured to the said segmental shoulder by a pin or screw on which it may swing.
It is held in position by a spring catch that is secured to a cap at one end, and ut
the other has a pin projecting from its under face, which takes into a hole in the
carrier. One or more notches are made in the shuttle, and points on the cap are
bent inward to take into said notches, thus preventing the shuttle from sliding out
of the carrier. The space in the carrier occupied by the shuttle is sufficient to
permit the thread to pass around the shuttlo. A shaft which extends across the
said table or plate and is held in boxes connected with the under face of said plate
has given to it a rocking motion by means of a rack and pinion. The said rack is
secured to a sliding bar which runs in ways formed on a block that projects down-
ward from the rear edge of the said table. A reciprocating motion is given to this
rack by means of an excentric on the end of the driving shaft, a strap or ring
surrounding the excentric having an arm pivoted to a sliding bar. By these
devices a vibratory or rocking motion is given to the shuttle, the several parts
being relatively so constructed and adjusted that the looper takes up the loop and
carries it away from the needle as the needle is on its backward movement, and
delivers it to the needle as the latter again advances in the usual way.
There are two feeds in this machine, one for feeding the braid to the machine, and
the other one for feeding the braid to the needle. The former consists of a pivoted
lever which is vibrated on its pivot by a cam on the driving shaft and a spring.
At the end of this lever is an arm or rod on which is a collar, connected with which
is a plate which carries a clamp for holding the braid. This clamp consists of a
thin plate, the outer end of which is bent over upon itself to form a groove to
receive one edge of the braid, while the opposite side of the braid is held by a
pivotted dog and pressed into contact with the edge of the braid by a spring,
whereby the braid is griped between the dog and the groove when the same are
moved upward, and the braid is released when they move downward. By these
means an intermittent feed movement is accomplished, carrying the braid into
the machine. The said collar and with it the feed attachments is adjustable on
the aforesaid arm by means of a set screw. The feed itself is adjustable by
means of another set screw arranged to act against one end of the aforesaid pivoted
lever. The other feed, that is to say, for feeding the braid to the needle, consists of
a horizontal wheel. The annular border of this wheel is roughened to engage with
and move the braid. This wheel is supported upon a bracket secured to the under
side of the bed plate. This wheel has a circular recess in its upper face to receive
a disc which is fitted loosely within the said annular border, and has a short shaft
projecting down from its centro and is fixed in the said bracket. From the lower
side of the feed wheel projects a hub fitted to revolve on the said short shaft. An
annular flange projects downward from the periphery of the feed wheel, and a lever
plate is pivotted loosely on the said hub. In the upper face of this plate are two
studs which project upward, one on each side of said annular flange. A stud or
pin projects from the lower face of said plate at a point on the side of the said hub
opposite or nearly opposite to the studs in the upper face of the lever plate. The
latter are so placed relatively to the annular flange, that when force is applied to

page_text: the stud in the lower face of said level plate, the plate is first rocked slightly to the
right (the opening through it around the hub being large enough to permit such
rocking), whereby the annular flange is cramped and held firmly between the studs
in the upper face of the lever plate; then the said movement being continued, the
said lever plate is partially rotated carrying the feed wheel with it. There is a
spring which acts to give a reverse movement to the said lever plate, such reverse
movement as is evident releasing the flange from the grip of the studs, and
permitting the feed wheel to stand still during such reverse movement of the said
lever plate. A brake is employed which is in the form of a flat spring secured on
the bracket at one end, the other pressing upon the under edge of the said annular
flange. The feed movement is given by a cam which vibrates a lever on its pivot,
the said cam giving the said lever a positive motion in one direction, namely, the
direction of the feed and a spring giving to the lever a reverse movement. A rod
connects the upper end of the last named lever with the stud in the lower face of
the lever plate, the ends of said rod being held or resting in indentations or round
sockets in the said lever and stud. By this arrangement of parts it is evident that
by the rotation of the last named cam an intermittent rotary movement will be
given to the feed wheel. A set screw is provided for regulating such feed
movement. The said feed wheel has both a horizontal and a vertical adjustment.
The bracket on which the said feed wheel is supported is secured to the aforesaid
table or plate by a single screw which passes through a slotted hole in the bracket.
This permits a horizontal adjustment of the feed wheel in all directions. A set
screw is provided which works in a female screw in one end of the bracket. By
starting back the said single screw and running in the last named set screw against
the table, the opposite ends of the bracket and with it the feed wheel is raised up.
By the reverse movement of said scrows the feed wheel is lowered, a rod connection
(constituting as it does a universal joint) between the said lever plate and the last
named lever permitting the said adjustment of the feed wheel, without interfering
with the movement of the parts before described. A set screw is provided to limit
the lateral adjustment of the said bracket.
The presser foot is on an arm or rod fixed in one end of a lever that swings on a
pivot. A spring is provided which acts against the under side of the other end of
said lever tending to throw the said end up, thus forcing the first named end and
with it the presser foot down. There is an adjustable collar on the presser foot rod
which serves as a guide for the braid, the edge of the braid running against said
guide. A hand lever is provided, the lower end of which acts upon one end of the
lever to which is fixed the said arm or rod. By elevating one end of said hand
lover, the presser foot is thrown up against the stress of the spring and held in that
position until the said end is depressed. A. set screw is provided to regulate the
tension of this spring.
A curved guide plate is secured on the upper face of the said table or plate over
which the braid passes to the needle. There is another guide plate formed of a
plate held vertically on the opposite side of the presser foot from the above named
curved guide plate. It is hinged or pivotted so that it may be swung up out of
the way while the work is being arranged in the machine. It serves also as a
needle guide, being provided with an aperture through which the needle passes; a
spring is provided which acts to hold the said second guide down in its place. As
an additional means of holding down the said guide I provide a latch.
The needle is held in a block secured to the needle bar, and may be set farther
in or out of said block by means of a set screw. The block itself has a slight
lateral adjustment on the needle block; at the rear edge it is halved onto the
needle bar. A small rib on the bar fits into a groove in the block, and a screw
fastens the two parts together. The hole in the block through which the screw
passes is slotted a little, thereby permitting the block to have a slight lateral
adjustment on the needle bar. A projection or short arm extends down nearly
through the slotted opening in the table, and forms a nut for the screw pin or bolt
which passes through a slotted hole in the end of the bell crank lever hereinbefore

page_text: named, and connects the end of said lever with the needle bar. The screw is
provided with a bushing or collar that works in the said slotted hole.
The tension device consists of two metal discs placed one against the other, and
curved outward at the edges. They are hold on a pin which is secured into the
table and passes through their centres. The lower disc rests upon an elastic ring 5
which may be of india rubber, felt, or any suitable substance. There is a spider
spring formed of a central ring from which radiate a number of branches that curve
downward with the ends resting on one disc. A thumb nut on the pin regulatos
the pressure of the spring upon the discs and thereby the tension.