IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th November 1882. Communicated
to him from abroad by Elias Ackerson Wilkinson of the City and State of
New York, United States of America.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, " IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO SEWING
MACHINES" [A communication to him from abroad by Elias Ackerson Wilkinsou
of the City and State of New York, United States of America]
This invention relates to sewing machines and comprises various improvements
in the vertical and horizontal shuttle and feed levers, the shuttle and the feed, and
the actuating cam and driving shaft, it also comprises the combination with a
horizontal shuttle carrying lever (which is much employed on account of the
accurate and quiet movements which it imparts to the shuttle) of a horizontal feed
carrying lever (also frequently used for the accuracy and silence which it imparts
to the movements of the feed,) to give the shuttle backward and forward motions,
and the feed upward, forward, downward, and backward motions by cam action
alone by means of vertical devices and without the intervention of a bell crank or
a spring. The said invention further comprises certain details essential to the
more perfect operation of the devices, as for example the adjustment of the feed
levers to vary the length of the stitch.
A
According to one part of the said invention the main shaft is operated by a
treadle, driving wheel, belt and pulley or by power in any suitable manner.
double cam on the main shaft turns in a yoke on the upper end of a vertical feed
lever imparting to the said lever vertical and lateral motions. The fulcrum of the
said vertical feed lever is made adjustable by means of a collar thereon, and an arm
and set screw extending through a slot in an arm of the frame of the machine.
The vertical feed lever is connected to a horizontal feed lever by a ball and socket
joint the ball being on the end of the said lever and the socket in the end of the
vertical feed lever or vice versa. The vertical feed lever vibrates upon its
adjustable fulcrum and imparts vertical and horizontal motions to the horizontal
Price AdÌ

page_text: feed lever, which has two pivots one of which is adjustable and is supported in a
stud on the bed or frame.
The horizontal feed lever is connected to the feed bar by a ball and socket joint
the ball being on the end of the horizontal feed lever and the socket in the feed bar.
The horizontal feed lever gives vertical and horizontal motions to the feed bar
which moves between guides on the bed or frame of the machine the said guides
being free to move vertically and horizontally one end of the feed bar being slotted
to move on a guide pin and both movements being in the same vertical plane,
giving to the said feed bar a drop movement.
An excentric on the main shaft turns in a fork or recess in the upper end of a
vertical shuttle lever giving it a lateral motion. The fulcrum of the vertical
shuttle lever is not adjustable but is supported on an adjustable pointed set screw
although it may be supported in any other suitable manner. The vertical shuttle
lever is connected to the horizontal shuttle lever by a ball and fork joint, the ball
being on the end of the vertical lever, and the fork on the end of the horizontal
lever or vice versa. The vertical shuttle lever vibrates and gives a lateral motion
to the horizontal shuttle lever which has a fulcrum supported in a stud on the
bed or frame of the machine. The horizontal shuttle lever is rigidly connected to
the shuttle carrier and moves it backward and forward horizontally and vibrating
it in the arc of a circle.
The vertical and horizontal feed levers are regulated in their movements by
moving the adjustable fulcrum, so as to give the proper movement to the feed and
thereby regulate the length of stitch. Either or both levers may be made adjustable
for this purpose.
The vertical and horizontal shuttle and feed levers may respectively be connected
by other means so as to afford the required freedom of movement, and the
connections may be made adjustable to compensate for wear.
The vertical and horizontal feed levers and the feed bar and the vertical and
horizontal shuttle levers and the shuttle carrier are relatively proportioned, located,
and formed, to ensure the proper relative movements of the feed and shuttle in
connection with a needle and mechanism, for the formation of stitches.
The fulcrum of the horizontal feed lever is located in front of the fulcrum of
the horizontal shuttle lever-which is curved and bent to secure the proper relative
movements, and to have the arm of the horizontal feed lever that carries the feed,
short to give firmness to the movement of the feed in heavy work.
The details of construction may be varied, for example the horizontal shuttle
and feed levers may have their respective fulcrums differently located or in the
same stud and consequently their relative positions and forms changed, the cam
may be made of a single instead of a double piece of metal, so that the projections
produce the four motions, the form of the yoke may be varied, the levers may
have other forms of fulcrums, supports and connections and other minor changes
may be made.
Vertical and horizontal feed levers combined with a feed and operated by an
excentric or cam and vertical and horizontal shuttle levers combined with a shuttle
carrier and operated by an excentric are respectively well known. The former
have been combined with a shuttle movement that reciprocates the shuttle at
right angles to the feed and the latter have been combined with a bell crank feed
movement. Vertical and horizontal feed levers combined with a feed and operated
by an excentric and spring combined with vertical and horizontal shuttle levers
operated by an excentric, are also not new such combination however does not give
the feed four positive successive motions from the action of a cam on the driving
shaft. Each of these old combinations differs materially in construction, operation,
and result from this invention.
Another part of the said invention relates to the cain and yoke of the feed
mechanism. The main shaft has a double excentric to give vertical and lateral
motion to the vertical feed lever by contact with the yoke which is preferably of
rectangular or oblique form To compensate for the wear of the cam and yoke

page_text: adjustable wedges are placed between the said yoke and the cam and rendered
adjustable by slots and set screws in the yoke in connection with the adjustable
wedges. One of the wedges and the yoke may be so constructed as to have the set
screw in the thin edge of the wedge so that both wedges can be easily adjusted
through the opening in the frame of the machine.
Another part of the said invention relates to the excentric for operating the
shuttle levers and carriers and to the joint between the shuttle levers, shuttle
carriers having heretofore been operated by an excentric, a vertical lever and a
horizontal lever, from the main shaft of a sewing machine.
In one form of construction the excentric is placed on the main shaft. This
excentric has a spherical face and turns between shoes having concave faces to
correspond therewith. One shoe is supported by a tongue in a groove in one of
the prongs of the fork of a vertical lever and the other shoe is supported by a tongue
in a groove in a wedge which is adjustable by means of a slot and set screw in the
other prong of the fork of the said lever. In the usual form of construction it is
necessary that the axis of the vertical lever and the faces of the fork of the vertical
lever should be parallel or that the fork of the vertical lever should be
self adjusting by means of a swivel joint between the fork and the axis to ensure
proper action by the excentric which heretofore usually has been made flat on the
face. This improvement however obviates any such necessities, as the vertical
lever though not self adjusting has a position in relation to the excentric whether
the axis of the vertical lever and the faces of the fork thereof be parallel or not,
the convex face of the excentric, and the concave faces of the shoes, affording ample
compensation for slight differences in construction. The shoes are kept in their
proper relation to the face of the excentric to compensate for wear by means of the
said adjustable wedge. An elbow joint connects the vertical and horizontal levers
in such a manner as to permit that freedom of movement necessary in transmitting
the vibrating motion from one to the other, and which has heretofore usually been
accomplished by a ball and fork movement. The said levers are provided with
sockets into which the arms of the said elbow joint are inserted vents being made
into the sockets at their inner ends for the escape of air and oil, and to afford an
easy movement to the arms of the elbow joint.
Bearing plates and adjustable wedges were separately known when the
improvement relating to the excentric were made but it differs materially therefrom,
and is especially adapted to the fork of a sewing machine lever, so as to
conveniently take up the wear without displacing the parts.
Another part of the said invention relates to the fly wheel and pulley for the
purpose of stopping and starting the sewing mechanism without stopping the
movement of the treadle. The flanged sleeve of the pulley is fastened to the main
shaft by a pin. The fly wheel having a pulley is loose on the flanged sleeve and
held in place by a washer having a corresponding recess on the flanged sleeve
a clamping screw in the end of the flanged sleeve having a limiting pin to enter
the said recesses. The fly wheel having the pulley is made fast or loose by turning
the clamping screw in or out respectively the said clamping screw being limited in
its movement so as not to be turned up too tight, or turned off, by the limiting
recess, and the limiting screw. The fly wheel having the pulley can be made loose
by a slight turn of the clamping screw when the machine of which it is a part, is
in operation, and the movement of the needle can thereby be suddenly stopped
without stopping the driving mechanism and vice versa.
Another part of the said invention relates to the feed mechanism and to the
combination with one of the levers thereof of an index plate to indicate the size of
needle and thread adapted to the length of stitch when the adjustable fulcrum is in
any position. The index plate has a longitudinal slot to receive a set screw
connected to the adjustable fulcrum on the vertical lever which imparts motion
from the main shaft to the feed that moves the goods in sewing. The index plate is
numbered at intervals on one side of the slot 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, to indicate the
size of needle required when the set screw is opposite any particular number. The

page_text: index plate is also numbered at intervals on the other side of the slot 8 to 12,
16 to 24, 30 to 36, 40 to 50, 60 to 70, 100 to 150, 200 to 300, to indicate the size
of thread to be used when the set screw is opposite any particular numbers. By
moving the said set screw up or down in the slot of the index plate the adjustable
fulcrum is moved on the vertical feed lever and consequently the motion of the
feed is changed which causes the fabric to be moved at a greater or less distance,
at each stitch, and the length of the stitch to be changed accordingly, which requires
a corresponding change in the sizes of the needle and thread as indicated on the
index plate. Heretofore indexes have been used in connection with a spring feed
to indicate the number of stitches to the inch with a separate scale to indicate the
size of thread and needle to be used for the purpose, but an index plate combined
with an adjustable fulcrum or stitch regulating mechanism to indicate the size of
needle and thread to be used with the adjustable fulcrum or stitch regulating
mechanism in any position, as indicated by a set screw or holding device on the
index plate to hold the adjustable fulcrum or stitch regulating mechanism in place
is new.
.
If desired the index plate may have the size numbers of silk thread marked thereon,
the adjustable fulcrum may also be combined with the horizontal feed lever.
Another part of the said invention relates to the mechanism in connection with
the needle bar, for taking up the slack in the upper thread in sewing. Two bosses
are cast on the innerside of the face plate in a recess thereof. To one boss is
pivotted by a screw a yielding take up arm having a cam face and a slot at the
lower end. The needle bar has one half of its bearings in slots in the ends of the
face plate and an inwardly projecting pin or driving device on which there is an
anti-friction roll, to operate against the cam-face and give to the take-up arm
lateral motion as the needle bar is moved up and down in sewing. To the other
boss is pivotted by a screw a take up lever having a pin or connection to operate in
a slot to form a joint and receive motion from the cam arm, to operate the take up
lever, which has a projection or thread finger at the upper end extending through
a slot in the face plate. Usually in take ups the take up arm is pendant, and
the projection or take up finger on the lower end of it is near the lower end of the
face plate, but in this case the take up arm projects upwards and the take up finger
on the upper end of it is near the upper end of the face plate, which prevents the
dripping of the lubricant and the like. If desired the take up arm may be provided
with a cam slot for the needle bar pin or driving device to give a movement in
both directions.
Another part of the said invention relates to the needle clamp on the needle bar
for controlling the thread. The said needle clamp is held to the needle bar by a
nut. The face of the needle clamp has a vertical thread groove and is held from
turning by a screw having a smooth point to enter a hole in the needle bar. This
screw also serves to hold the thread guide in proper relation to the face of the
needle clamp. The thread guide may be bent to conform to the thread groove and
made of spring metal. The thread is drawn under the end of the thread guide into
the thread groove and then supported by the thread guide, which when made of
spring metal closes after the thread is in position and holds it in place. Heretofore
needle clamps have been made with thread guides, and devices to hold them in
position and prevent them from turning but these improvements differ materially
therefrom, in having a spring thread guide held to the needle clamp without the
assistance of other devices by a screw having a smooth point to enter a hole in the
needle bar to prevent the needle clamp from turning when the nut is loosened to
remove or replace the needle thus avoiding the necessity of adjusting the needle
clamp thereafter and the consequent oiling of the fingers of the operator and the
consequent delay. If desired the spring thread guide may be reversed in position
and instead of a groove in the needle clamp a bend may be made in the spring
thread guide.
Another part of the said invention relates to the shuttle shell and tension spring.
The tension spring is secured to the open ended shell by a downward projection

page_text: entering a slot in the front end of the shuttle and a screw having a conical point
screwed into a hole in the side of the shuttle and entering a hole in the projection
on the tension spring. The said tension spring has a free guide bent down at the
point to hook over the end of the shuttle, or in a recess therein, and also has the
end of the body bent down to hook into a hole in the shuttle, and a tongue bent
down into a depression in the shuttle, to receive the thread. The shuttle is adapted
to receive a bobbin containing thread, through its open end. It is threaded by
passing the thread from the bobbin as it is being placed in the shuttle, out through
a slot and under the tension spring at its bend. The thread will then be drawn back
over the tongue and under the free guide. The tension of the spring on the thread
is regulated by a screw the conical point of which when the screw is turned will
sufficiently change the position of the spring for the purpose. The slot in the
shuttle also serves to shew when the bobbin is empty. A hole is provided for the
purpose of receiving the thread when unusual tension is required. If desired the said
hole may be dispensed with the slot varied and the tension spring be otherwise
held to the shell.
Another part of the said invention relates to the treadle plate rod and pitmen.
The treadle plate is supported by, and turns on a set screw having points which
enter conical recesses. The set screws are supported in adjustable lugs slipped on
the treadle rod and held in place by set screws. The said points may be a part of
the adjustable lugs and cast therein. The treadle rod being square prevents the
said lugs from turning thereon, and the treadle rod is also prevented from turning
by the connection with the stand brace this affords a firm and positive bearing for
the treadle plate, which moves easily and silently on the centre points. The treadle
pitman has two hinged portions on opposite sides thereof to secure the greatest
strength but they may be both on the same side. These hinged portions
facilitate the placing and removal of the treadle pitman, in relation to the treadle
plate and band wheels. The portions are held to their places by set screws in the
usual manner where no hinge is used and the treadle pitman is simply slotted at
each end. Round treadle rods have had applied to them lugs connected by a drip
plate and having bearings for the treadle plate, but the said lugs are not separately
adjustable to compensate for wear and to be adapted to treadles of different sizes.
If desired a round treadle rod may be used in connection with the other parts
thereof.
Another part of this invention relates to the treadle plate and the application of
india rubber foot supports thereto and to the construction of the said foot supports.
The treadle plate has round perforations into which are placed india rubber foot
supports. These foot supports have flanges so that they can be sprung into
position in the treadle plate and reversed when worn, they may however be made
in any desired form, as square or triangular to adapt them to treadle plates having
different shaped perforations or the treadle plates may be varied in construction to
adapt them to the foot supports.
The said foot supports prevent the feet of the operator from slipping and also
prevent the heat and electricity from being conducted therefrom, and at the same
time gives an easy elastic motion between the foot and treadle plate. The said
supports may be made of any other material that will answer the same purpose as
for instance a composition of cork and india rubber or felting, but india rubber is
preferable. If desired the foot supports may be grooved and have flanges or they.
may otherwise be made smaller in the middle than at the ends, or enlarged at one
end or both ends to keep them in position in the treadle plate.
Another part of the said invention relates to the tension plate and a thread
releaser. In using tension devices as extensively constructed and employed, it is
necessary to slacken the thread by hand before removing the goods being sewn, by
grasping and drawing the thread between the tension devices and the thread eye
in the upper end of the needle bar. According to this part of the said
invention the tension plate rests at one end on a hinged plate or thread releaser.
having a handle or projection and binged or pivotted by ears to an arm of a stand

page_text: which is fastened to the arm of a sewing machine. At the other end the said
tension plate is bent downward and rounded to form a rocker and rests in a
groove in the arm of the support. The said plate is held in position by a set
screw or tension regulator screwed into a stud on the support, and has a thread
slot to receive the thread from a spool on a spindle on the arm of the machine.
The tension is regulated by the pressure of the set screw and the tension plate
is self adjusting laterally by means of the rocker and the groove in the arm
of the stand. The tension is released from the thread which passes between
the tension plate and the hinged plate or thread releaser plate by pressing upon
a handle which removes the pressure from the thread. The tension may also
be relieved from the thread by raising the said handle which is provided with
a notch made in the hinged plate at its end and through which the thread
may pass when the handle end of the said hinged plate is elevated. The hinged
plate or thread releaser should be made to project beyond the thread slot, it may
have a notch at the front end for the thread to pass through when the handle is
depressed to relieve the tension. The object of having the tension plate rock in
the groove in the arm of the stand, is for the purpose of self adjustment in using
different numbers of thread, as very fine or very coarse, and thereby prevent the
twisting of the thread in changing the use of the same without changing the
tension. The tension plate and the hinged plate or thread releaser rock in different
directions one to accommodate the thread, the other to relieve the tension.
The
Another part of the said invention relates to the cushion upon which the bed
plate of the head of the machine rests, to deaden the noise that would be inade
when in operation were it placed directly upon the table top, for this purpose a
cushion of india-rubber or other suitable material has inserted into it, a cork stem
which may be held into the socket by a pin or in any other suitable manner.
rubber and cork cushion is adapted to be placed in countersunk sockets in the
table top for the bed of the head of the machine to rest upon. When the machine is
in operation the cushion receives the concussion, and prevents noise, and vibration.
Another part of the said invention relates to the belt wheel the fly wheel,
and the treadle whereby the belt can be put on or off the belt wheel by
turning it with the treadle, or otherwise in an automatic manner, the motion
of the driving shaft and needle arrested by grasping the fly wheel, and the
treadle have an easy movement with or without a lubricant. The belt or driving
wheel has a continuous oblique groove and a straight switch groove leading
therefrom the opposite part of the belt wheel that would be embraced by a
continuation of the switch groove, being cut away to form an offset. The belt
wheel is on a journal and connected by a belt running in the oblique belt groove
to another belt pulley on a second journal the said journals being fastened in a
support having a belt guard with a groove opposite to the switch groove.
The belt wheel is adapted to be turned by a crank from right to left to keep the
belt in the oblique belt groove and to turn backwards or in the opposite direction,
to run the belt into the switch groove and off.
When the belt is run off the switch groove it is slackened and drops into the groove
in the belt guard which permits the continued backward motion of the belt wheel.
By having no belt groove in the belt guard, the backward motion of the belt wheel
will be arrested by the clamping of the belt between the two. When the belt if off,
by turning the belt wheel in the forward direction the belt will take the switch groove
and run on, and when it is on, by turning the belt wheel in the backward direction
it will take the switch groove and run off. The improved belt wheel is peculiarly
adapted to sewing machines in which it is frequently necessary to slacken the belt
to turn the head of the machine sidewise to fix or oil the under works. То
accomplish this, the belt can be run off and slackened by a backward motion of the
treadle and when the head of the machine is in position again, the belt can be run
on again by a forward motion of the treadle, thus avoiding the unpleasant operation
of removing or replacing the belt by hand, or of applying a belt shifter by hand.
The belt pulley is loose on the driving shaft or on the fixed sleeve, the fly wheel
--

page_text: is also loose thereon and has a bevelled hub against a fixed bevelled collar also
thereon, or it is provided with a pin in an oblique slot in the driving shaft or in
the sleeve. The fly wheel is adapted to turn forward and by means of the bevelled
hub and bevelled collar, or the pin and oblique slot, to wedge against the belt pulley
and fasten it, so that when revolved forward it will turn the driving shaft with it.
The said fly wheel is also adapted to turn slightly backward, and by the means
aforesaid to unwedge or unfasten the belt pulley so that when it is revolved it will
not turn the driving shaft with it. The improved fly wheel is also peculiarly
adapted to sewing machines to stop the needle and start it again without stopping
the treadle movement, when the machine is in operation The motion of the
driving shaft and of the needle can be stopped without stopping the treadle move-
ment by grasping the fly wheel which will loosen the belt pulley from the driving
shaft, and the motion can be started again by turning the fly wheel slightly forward
which will again fasten the belt pulley to the driving shaft. The treadle is pro-
vided with shaped journals and V-shaped bearings in adjustable lugs on the treadle
rod. The said journals and bearings may be reversed if desirable and the bearings
may have oil recesses. By means of the improved treadles an easy movement is
secured with or without a lubricant, and when a lubricant is used the oil recesses
keep it from the carpet and from the clothing.
If desired the pulley wheel may be made in a skeleton form, the form and
application of the belt guard may be modified, the fly wheel and collar may be
provided with a cap, or the fly wheel and cap may be made in one piece, and the
belt pulley and fly wheel may be made in one piece and the collar be loose and
provided with a pin entering an oblique groove in the sleeve or shaft.
Another part of the said invention relates to the forks of the vertical and hori-
zontal shuttle levers. One prong of the fork of the vertical lever has a straight
bearing with a convex back fitting into a concave face of the said prong. The
other prong of the fork has a wedge bearing with a convex back fitting into another
concave face of the prong. The bearings are held by set screws to the prongs, the
holes for the set screws being larger than the set screws themselves to allow them
to be moved vertically or laterally in adjusting the bearings. An excentric on the
driving shaft operates between the bearings to give a vibrating motion to the
lever. The faces of the bearings and the excentric are properly adjusted by
loosening the set screws, moving the bearings to the proper position, and tightening
the set screws again. Wear is compensated for by adjusting the wedge bearing in
relation to the excentric. One prong of the fork of the horizontal lever, serves as
one bearing for the ball on the end of the vertical lever. The other prong is
provided with a wedge and a bearing plate for the ball. The fork of the horizontal
lever may have a bearing plate on one prong, and a bearing wedge on the other
prong as bearings for the said ball, or one prong may serve as a bearing, and the
other prong may have a bearing wedge only. The wedge in either case is held in
place and adjustable longitudinally by slots and set screws and the bearing plate is
held by the same set screws or by other set screws, the prongs being suitably
perforated for the purpose, the wedge and plate are flat on their surfaces. The
wedges and plates are readily adjusted to compensate for wear and to ensure a
quiet easy movement they are also easily replaced when worn without injury to
the prongs of the forks.
Another part of the said invention relates to the vertical lever, the axle bearing
of which has a slot into which it is held by a set screw and a section having a
tongue. By slackening the set screw the vertical lever can be turned and the
bearing faces of the prongs can be properly adjusted to the face of the excentric on
the shaft. The journals of the axle bearings of the fork should be adjusted
accordingly. The necessary adjustment of the bearing faces of the prongs of the
fork to the face of the cam may be provided for by having the upper portion of the
vertical lever enter a socket in the other portion thereof, and held by a set screw
which would permit the required adjustment.

page_text: The lower end of the vertical lever may terminate in a journal box one half of
which is detachable and held in place by set screws and have socket bearings for
the ball on the end of the horizontal lever, the journal box can be properly
adjusted to compensate for wear and to transmit vibrating motion to the horizontal
.lever.
The various details of construction may be varied without departing from the
nature of this invention.