IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR STRAW BRAID WORK
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Byron Evers at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th June 1878. A communication from
abroad by Francis Henry Roman, of Philadelphia, in the United States of
America,
" IMPROVEMENTS
IN SEWING MACHINES, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR STRAW BRAID WORK." [A commu-
nication from abroad by Francis Henry Roman, of Philadelphia, in the United
States of America.]
EDWARD BYRON EVERS, of Mark Lane, in the City of London.
This Invention of improvements in sewing machines, which are chiefly designed
for straw braid work, has for object more particularly to sew stitches which are
concealed from view on the top or face of the braid or plait, and to commence from
the "button or centre of the hat or other article.
"
The improvements consist chiefly in arranging the needle so that it works
horizontally instead of vertically as heretofore; also in an improved arrangement of
the feed; also in the peculiar arrangement of a rocking shaft; and in the general
arrangement or combination of the machine.
The manner in which I carry the Invention into effect will be understood from
the following description of a machine in which my improvements are embodied :-
The needle is horizontal and is moved by a horizontal shaft, and by any ordinary
crank or cam movement. The said shaft is connected by gear at the end opposite
the needle with another horizontal shaft at right angles thereto for driving the
shuttle. On a line with the shuttle race, which is at right angles to the needle,
the framing which is raised carries a lever on each side, the two levers working
independently of each other. The framing also carries on a line with the shuttle
race a rocking shaft and rocker for working the feed.
The feed has a to-and-fro and up-and-down movement at right angles to the
The feed is
shuttle, and is placed at the front end of the raised part of the frame.
pivoted in order to enable it to accommodate itself to the line of the curve in
which the braid is sewn, a curve, the radius of which gradually increases as the
braid is sewn in the ordinary volute form around the "button" or centre.
On the horizontal shaft which drives the needle there is about midway of its
length an excentric or cam, which is connected by means of a strap with the

page_text: rocker. which thus receives a to-and-fro or rocking movement from the excentric,
this movement being imparted to the feed through the rocking shaft.
On the shaft, which is at right angles to the above-named horizontal shaft, is an
excentric or cam for raising the lever, which is on the left-hand side of the raised
part of the framing; this lever (which may be called a plunger), is therefore caused
to press the braid into a hollow in the needle plate. The needle thus pierces the
braid when bent into a curve or part of a circle, and the parts are by preference
adjusted so that the needle does not penetrate the face of the braid.
The lever or plunger is secured to the framing by a bolt or pin on which it
moves freely. The other lever, which, as before explained, is on the other side of
the raised part of the framing, is also moved by an eccentric or cam, and is like-
wise secured by a bolt or pin, on which it moves freely. Its duty is to produce
and control the up-and-down movement of the feed. The crank for driving the
shuttle is outside the excentric or cam last-named.
"
The feed pivots in itself so as to be controlled by the lever, through which it
rises freely, such lever being moved by a cam, shaft, or other suitable means. The
feed shaft is round and slides through sleeves; the top sleeve rotates partially,
allowing the feed stem to work up and down without shake. The clamp at the
lower end of the rocker is likewise round, so as to allow the feed stem to partially
rotate as much as required or as governed by the lever at the top.
The action of the machine is as follows:-A "button" or centre having been
made at the end of the braid, it is placed under the feed, the needle being then at
the rear end of the stroke. The machine being now put in motion, the plunger
descends and makes a depression in the braid, and while the plunger holds the
braid thus depressed or bent, the needle advances and pierces the braid and makes
its full forward stroke; the needle then recedes and makes a loop, through which
the shuttle, which now advances, passes; the needle then quickly completes its
backward stroke, the plunger rises, the feed descends to grip, and the rocking motion
causes the braid to be fed the distance of one stitch. The movements before
described are then repeated.