Improvements in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Dec., 1891-Accepted, 16th Jan., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of
New York, United States of America, Sewing Machine Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
I, ALEXANDER ANDERSON Manager of The Singer Manufacturing Company's
Works, Kilhowie, Dumbartonshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
My invention has for its object to provide an attachment for overseaming sewing
machines, which will so present the work to the needle that a kind of blind stitch
overseam may be formed, or in other words, an overseam which will shew but little
on one side of the work but the stitches of which will have a deep engagement
from the edge of the goods on the other side of the work. My attachment is more
especially intended for overseaming or "serging" the raw or cut edges of velvet,
moquette and other carpets, but may be used for other work in which blind-stitch
overseam may be desirable.
In carrying my invention into effect provide a suitable guide for the edge of
the work, and adjacent to said guide is a raised work-support which is separated
from the guide a suitable distance to form a passage-way to receive the edge of the
work, the said guide being provided with an arm or arms extending across said
passage-way, and serving, in connection with the raised work-support, to bend over
the edge of the work in such a manner that it will be inclined relative to the
vertical path of the needle so that the latter in penetrating the work, in making
the puncturing stitches of the overseam, will have a deep engagement from the
edge thereof on one side of the work, but will come out much closer to the edge on
the other side, thus forming an overseam which has a deep hold from the edge on
one side of the work, but which will show but little on the other.
The work is preferably fed by a feeling wheel or other feeding device arranged
over said work support.
In the drawings
८८
2
Fig. 1 is a partial front side view of a Singer overseaming machine with my
attachment applied thereto.
Fig. 2 is a rear side view of the attachment.
Figure 3 is a plan view and
Figs. 4 and 5 opposite end views.
Figs. 6 and 7 are detail plan and sectional views, respectively, of the guide and
parts of the bed plate of the attachment.
Fig. 8 is a plan view of the work-support and a part of the bed plate.
Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 Fig. 8.
Fig. 10 is a bottom view of the guide and its fingers.
A denotes the bed-plate of the attachment to be secured to the work-plate of a
sewing machine in any suitable manner, as by screws a. Said bed-plate, as herein
shewn, is provided with a raised work-support a', a standard or block a², and
posts a³ and a, all rigidly attached thereto in any suitable manner or they may be
formed integral therewith. The bed-plate A is also provided with a needle slot or
throat aº.
B denotes a guide for the edge of the work, said guide being preferably
provided with the fingers band . The outer or working edge of the guide B is
inclined relative to a vertical plane or the plane in which the needle reciprocates,
and is separated from the inner edge of the work support a³, to form a passage for
the edge of the work, and the fingers 6 and 6' extend across said passage, so as to :

page_text: overlap the work-support a', being somewhat above the same, shewn more clearly in
Figs. 1 and 2. Between the fingers band is a recess 2 which permits the needle
to descend outside of the edge of the work when forming over edge stitches. The
forward edge of the guide B is inclined slightly at and the said guide is preferably
adjustably secured to the base plate, this being effected, in the present instance, by
providing the guide with an arm & fitting in a recess a' in the base-plate beneath
a bridge-piece C through which passes a set screw c which engages said arm and
holds said guide in place.
The floor of the passage-way between the work-support and the guide is con-
structed with an incline p beginning at the front edge of the attachment and
gradually rising as it runs backward to the needle slot a where it reaches its highest
point.
When the carpet or other fabric to be over stitched is inserted, the pile (at the
underside of the work) rests on the said incline, and as the work is moved forward
the pile is pushed back by the incline and is thus prevented from becoming
entangled with the needle thread, and thus a smooth edge is secured.
To the standard or block a² is secured an arm or support D in which is mounted
a shaft E carrying a feed wheel e which overhangs the work-support a', and between
which and said support the work passes. The inner portion of the arm D is made
thin so that the feed wheel can be slightly raised or lowered to provide for different
thickness of work and so that the pressure of said wheel on the work will be more
or less yielding; the vertical adjustments of the outer end of the arm D and of
the said wheel being effected by the nut f on the upper threaded end of the post a³,
and by the adjusting or stop screw g tapped through a lug d on the arm D and
abutting against the top of the post a on the base plate A.
The shaft E is provided near its end with a ratchet wheel e¹ adjacent to which
and pivoted on said shaft is an arm h, provided with a spring pressed pawl i
engaging said ratchet wheel.
The arm or pawl carrier is operated from an eccentric J on the driving shaft K
in the overhanging arm L of the machine, the eccentric strap being connected to
said arm by the rod M, through a pin m having a dove-tailed slide mfitting in a
groove in the said pawl-carrying arm and having on its outer threaded end a set
nut 7.
The slide may thus be adjustably secured in different positions in said grooved
arm, nearer to or further from its pivotal point, to vary the throw or the speed of
rotation of the feed wheel, as will be readily understood. Backward movement of
the ratchet wheel is prevented by the detent e².
In the use of iny attachment the work w is inserted beneath the feed wheel e
with its edge bent down in the passage between the work-support a¹ and the
guide B; the portion of the work in the said passage and beneath the fingers b
and, overhanging said passage, being bent over at an angle to bring it nearly into
the vertical plane in which the needle reciprocates so that the needle, in making
puncturing stitches will have a comparatively deep engagement from the edge of
the work at the upper side thereof, but will come out much closer to the edge on
the lower side thereof, as shown in Fig. 7 so that the overseam will shew but little
on the lower or face side of the work but will be well anchored into the work at
the upper or back side thereof, thus binding and finishing the edge thereof in a
smooth strong and substantial manner.
Thus it will be understood that it is essential to the operation of my invention
to have the upper surface of the work-support a' elevated above the base of the
edge guide B, and that it is desirable that there should be one or more fingers
(preferably two, as shown) overhanging the space between said guide and work
support to turn up the portion of the work in said passage partly edgewise, the
said fingers extending over the work-support enough to steady and hold the work.
As hereinbefore stated, these fingers are preferably formed on the guide B, as
shewn, but they might be separated therefrom and supported from the machine arm
above.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me,
I declare that what I claim is :-
:-
1. A sewing machine attachment comprising a guide for the edge of the work,
and a work-support, the upper surface of which is elevated above the base of said
guide, said work-support being separated from said guide to form a work passage
between them and in which passage the edge of the work is presented to the
needle at an inclination to the vertical plane in which the latter reciprocates,
combined with an overseaming mechanism in which the needle descends, alternately
in different planes.
2. A sewing machine attachment comprising an inclined guide for the edge of
the work, combined with a work-support, the upper surface of which is elevated
above the base of said guide, said work-support being separated from said guide
to form a passage between them, and one or more fingers overhanging said passage;
whereby the portion of the work in said passage will be presented to the needle at
an inclination to the vertical plane in which the latter reciprocates, as set forth.
3. A sewing machine attachment comprising a guide for the edge of the work,
combined with a work-support, the upper surface of which is elevated above the
base of said guide, said work-support being separated from said guide, to form a
work-passage between them, and the floor of said passage being constructed with a
rearwardly rising incline to turn in the pile at the edge of the fabric.
4. A sewing machine attachment comprising a work guide having an inclined
guiding edge, a work-support separated from said guide to form a work passage
between them, and the floor of said passage being provided with a rearwardly
rising incline, combined with one or more fingers overhanging said work-passage.
5. A sewing machine attachment comprising an inclined guide for the edge of
the work, combined with a support separated from said guide to form a passage
between them, and having its upper surface elevated above the base of said guide,
one or more fingers extending over said passage, a feeding device or wheel arranged
above said work-support and means for operating said feeding device.
6. The combination with the base plate A, of the guide B, having one or more
projecting fingers, the elevated work-support a', separated from said guide to form
a passage between them and over which passage said fingers extend, the spring
support or arm D, connected with said base-plate but raised above the same, the
shaft E journalled in said support or arm, and carrying the feeding wheel e over-
hanging said work-support, and means for intermittingly rotating said shaft.
7. The combination with the base-plate A, of the guide B, attached thereto
and having the fingers band b, with the recess between them, the work-support a¹
the surface of which is elevated above the base of said guide, and a feeding device
arranged above said work-support.
8. The combination with the base-plate A, having the elevated work-support a',
the standard or block a³, and the posts a³ and a, of the guide B separated from
said work-support to form a passage between said support and guide the latter
having the fingers band b, extending over said passage, the arm D sustained by
said standard or block, the shaft E journailed in said arin and provided with the
feed wheel e, and the ratchet wheel e¹, the pawl-carrier h and its pawl, means for
operating said pawl-carrier, the stop-screw g, tapped in said arm, and the adjusting
nut on the threaded upper end of the said post a³.
Dated this First day of December 1891.
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.