AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bryan Atwater, of the State of Connecticut, of the
United States of America, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED SEWING
MACHINE."
Sealed the 1st September 1858, and dated the 16th June 1858.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Bryan Atwater at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration, on
the 16th June 1858, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, BE IT KNOWN,
that I, BRYAN ATWATER, of the State of Connecticut, of the United States of
America, have invented "AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE," and I do hereby,
declare that the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which it is to be
performed or in which it is to be constructed and made to operate, are duly
described and represented in the following Specification and the accompanying
Drawings, of which Figure 1 is a side elevation of such machine; Figure 2
is a front end elevation of it; Figure 3, a vertical and longitudinal section of
it, such section being taken through the needle; Figure 4 is a vertical and
transverse section taken through the needle; Figure 5 is a front elevation

page_text: Figure 6 a top view, and Figure 7 an under side view, of the two looping
guides or formers and their supporting bracket; Figure 8 is a horizontal
section of such guides and the needle when between them; Figure 9 is
an elevation of the inner working face of that one of the guides which is
recessed.
My improved sewing machine performs what is usually termed "chain-
stitch" sewing.
The nature of my Invention or improvement consists,―
First, in an arrangement or application of one or more guide plates with
respect to the bed plate and the needle, or the path of the latter, in such
manner that a loop of the thread of the needle may be formed between the
plates or aside of one of them, and subsequently by the forward or feeding
movement of the cloth be carried against a rest or the top of one of the
plates, in such manner as to cause the bow of the loop to spring upward into
a proper position for the loop to receive the needle during its succeeding
descent.
Second, in an improved arrangement of the guide plates with respect to
one another, the needle and the bed plate, that is, so there may be a space
between the bed plate, and the upper end or notch of the recessed guide
plate, and the two guide plates be placed in such close proximity to one
another as to hold the middle of the bow of the loop in position, and bridged
across the recess of that one termed the recessed guide plate in a manner to
enable the needle to pass into the loop on the next descent of the said
needle.
Third, in a peculiar mode of or mechanism for impelling the feeding
foot.
Fourth, in a peculiar adjustable spool holder.
In the above mentioned Drawings, A denotes the stand or table of the
machine, it being made so as to support a horizontal plate or bed B, on which
the cloth or other material 'to be'sewed 'is to be placed. An arm C projecting
from a post or column C₁ of 'the stand sustains, so as to allow 'to move up and
down, the needle carrier or bar D, in whose lower end the needle a is fixed
and extends therefrom, as shown in 'the Drawings. The driving shaft of 'the
machine is shown at E; it works in 'suitable bearings in the arm C'and the
post C³, and carries on its inner end a crank F for giving motion to the needle
bar through a connecting rod Ġ. The eye of the needle is formed through
the needle shank at a short distance above the point, and in a direction at
right angles to that in which the cloth is moved while being sewed. H'is'the

page_text: thread spool, which is indirectly supported by and is moved with the needle
carrier D, through which there is a hole or passage b', arranged as shown in
Figures 2 and 3, such hole being for the reception of the thread while going
from the spool to the eye of the needle; it (the said thread) passes through
the hole b¹ from its front to its rear, thence down the posterior side of the
needle carrier and that of the needle, and thence forward through the eye of
the needle. K denotes a spring foot piece, which projects downward from the
arm C, and is for the purpose of pressing or keeping down upon the table B
the cloth or other material to be sewed; its lower end passes through the
opening of a bifurcated feeder or feeding foot L, which is arranged over
the bed B, and depends from one end of a lever M, to which it is jointed, so
as to be capable of swinging in directions transversely of the machine. The
said lever M is jointed to a plate N, which is screwed or fixed to the arm C,
and projects therefrom, as shown in the Drawings; a screw p extends through
the lever M and directly underneath a cam or wiper 2, which projects from
the crank F, as represented in the Figures. The particular arrangement of
the lever M and the feeding foot L with respect to the bed is such that when
the lever is depressed by the action of the wiper against the upper end of the
screw p, the feeding foot will be forced against the cloth, so as to cause
the latter to be moved on the face of the bed. A strong spring P secured to
the plate N, and bearing against the under side of the lever M, operates
to reverse the motion of the lever after the wiper has passed by the screw,
such causing the said lever to lift the feeding foot from or so remove its
pressure from the cloth as to enable a weaker spring r, extending from the
lever M and pressing against the feeder I, to throw back the feeder sufficiently
for it to repeat its operation on the cloth during the next depression of the
lever. The amount of movement of the feeding foot may be regulated by
the screw p, whose head is furnished with a row of notches, and has a spring
catch s extending downward from the lever, as shown in the Drawing. The
said spring catch while in one of the notches serves to maintain the screw
in position, or prevent it from being rotated.
..
The adjustable spool holder consists of two pieces of metal R, R¹, bent in
the form as shown in the Drawings; one laps on the other, and each is
furnished with a long slot in its lapping part to receive a screw t, which
passes through the slots and screws into the top of the needle carrier, such
screw serving not only to confine the two pieces R, R³, to the needle carrier,
but to clamp their vertical parts at the proper distance asunder for the
reception of the spool H between them, and on the two cones u, u, projecting

page_text: respectively from them and into the spool, as shown in the Drawings. A
screw S extends through the two cones and the spool, and has a nut v upon
one end of it, the same serving to draw the cones toward one another and into
the spool with a force sufficient to produce such a degree of friction upon the
spool while in revolution as may be desirable, in order to obtain the desired
amount of tension of the thread.
The above described mode of constructing the spool holder enables it not
only to be adjusted to a spool of any ordinary length capable of being received
by it, but to apply friction thereto in manner and for the purpose described.
We now come to that part of the machine by which the loops are formed
This consists of two
and properly presented for reception of the needle.
vertical plates or guides J, j, one of which, viz., J, is constructed with a
recess e, e¹, in its working face, as shown in the Drawings. These plates are
arranged at right angles to the front face of a bracket I, which is fastened
to the stand A and underneath the bed B, as shown in the Drawings; these
two plates are also arranged very near together, and so that the needle may
play between them and within the recess e, e¹, of the plate J, and the said
plate J may be carried close up against the bed B, or there may be a space b
between it and the said bed. When the plate J is close against the bed B,
and the plate jis set so that there may be between it and the bed a space
of sufficient size for the loop to turn in, the forward movement of the cloth
will carry the neck of the loop against the upper part of the plate J or against
the bed in a manner to tip the loop upward into a horizontal or nearly
horizontal position, so as to present its opening in a proper manner to the
needle, in order that during its next descent it may enter and pass through
the loop. By arranging the plain or unrecessed guide plate j close against the
path of the needle, and placing the recessed guide plate J at a short distance
from the bed plate, or so that there may be a space 6 between the bed and
the plate, the loop when carried forward by the cloth will be held at its
bow by the two guide plates, and will be bridged across the upper part of the
groove or recess e, e¹, of the plate J, so as to cause the needle on descending
to pass through the wider part and close to the middle of the bow of the
loop.
The operation of forming the loop by the plates or guides J, j, may be thus
described-During the downward movement of the needle the thread lies
close to the front and rear sides of it, but while the needle is being drawn
upward through the cloth, that portion of the thread running along the rear
side of the needle will remain close against the needle; the other portion of

page_text: the thread or that in front of the needle will be retained by the friction of the
cloth, and will slacken below the cloth as the needle rises, and by means
of the recess e, e', in the plate J will form in a loop and be maintained in a
proper position or be prevented from twisting out of such; this loop by the
movement of the cloth will be tripped or tipped so as to receive the needle,
as herein-before described.
I would observe that the machine will operate with tolerable certainty
without the plate j; but if such be dispensed with the loop is liable occasion-
ally to twist out of place, so as to be missed by the point of the needle; the
plate j, however, ensures such a degree of certainty of correct operation that
by means of it a failure of the needle to enter the loop is rendered almost if
not entirely impossible. When the plate J is arranged with a space between
it and the bed B, much finer chain-stitch sewing can be performed, and the
sewing made with more accuracy or less liability of a stitch being missed than
when the plate or guide J is carried close up to the bed. If desirable the said
plate J may be provided with a small notch in its upper edge to receive
the loop, such notch, however, not being of a character to prevent the action
of the plate J, as herein-before described.
-
From the above it will be seen that to catch the loop and hold it in a
proper position for the needle to enter it, I employ no looping hook nor any
contrivance such as has been ordinarily used, but I make use of one or two
plates only, and thus greatly simplify the chain-stitch sewing machine and
render it little liable to derangement.
I claim the arrangement or application of one or more guide plates J, j,
with respect to the bed plate B and the needle a or the path of the latter,
substantially as described, or so that a loop of the thread of the needle may be
formed between the plates or aside of one of them, and subsequently by the
movement of the cloth be carried against a rest or the top of one of the plates
in such manner as to cause the bow of the loop to spring upward into a
proper position for the loop to receive the needle during its next descent.
I also claim the improved arrangement of the guide plates J, j, with respect
to one another, the needle a and the bed B, viz., so that when there may be
a space between the bed plate and the upper end or notch of the guide
plate J, and the two guide plates be placed in such close proximity to cach
other as to hold the middle of the bow of the loop in position and bridged
across the recess of the plate J, in order that the needle may pass into the
widest part of the loop and other advantage be attained.
I also claim the mode of impelling the feeding foot, viz., by a lever M

page_text: arranged with reference to it and actuated by a wiper, in manner substantially
as described.
I also claim the adjustable spool holder constructed essentially in manner
and to operate as herein-before explained.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my signature and seal, the
First day of June, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
BRYAN ATWATER.
(L.S.)