Improvements in Plaiting Attachments for Sewing Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Sept., 1899-Accepted, 2nd Dec.,
1899
[Communicated from abroad by THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of New
York, United States of America, Sewing Machine Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Plaiting Attachments for Sewing Machines.
I, JOHN KING MACDONALD, Manager of The Singer Manufacturing Company,
Kilbowie, Dumbartonshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement;
This invention has for its object to provide a sewing machine plaiter or
plaiting attachment the parts of which are so constructed and arranged that
the work can be conveniently introduced into the plaiter and can be con-
veniently handled,, for the reason that the lower folding blade is supported from
above and clear of the work-plate of the machine, so that the cloth to be
plaited or tucked can be extended freely beneath the said lower folding blade,
and also for the reason that the support for the said lower folding blade is
laterally adjustable so that said blade may be slid aside and then back when
the work is being introduced at the commencement of a plait or tuck, said
support preferably carrying with it, when moved away from and back to working
position, the plait-spacing guide.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation of my improved plaiter
in operative relation to the parts of a sewing machine, and Fig. 2 is a plan
view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view to show the lower folding
blade, and Fig. 4 is a central vertical section through the upper part of the
lower blade-support to show the locking pin of the said blade-support.
A denotes a portion of the work-plate and B the depending front end portion
of the bracket arm of a sewing machine. Attached to the arm B is a bracket a
having a laterally extending arm or portion a¹ to which is fitted, so as to slide
freely thereon, an eye-portion 6' of the lower blade-support b the lower part
of which support is extended horizontally or at a right angle to the upper
part b and to which lower part 63 the lower folding blade c is attached so that
said blade may thus be supported above and clear of the work-plate A, thereby
leaving a space between said blade and work plate sufficient to permit the cloth
to be plaited or tucked to be extended freely beneath said blade on said work-
plate. The lower folding blade c is provided, in line with its folding edge,
with a finger c extending forward into proximity to the needle of the machine,
the position of the needle being denoted by the needle hole d in the throat-
plate d. This forwardly projecting finger, over which the folded cloth lies,
and beneath which the unfolded cloth passes, serves to assist in steadying and
guiding the work up close to the needle, and thereby contributes to efficiency
of operation of the attachment.
The arm a¹ of the supporting bracket a is, in the preferred form of the inven-
tion, provided with a hole to be entered by a spring-pressed locking pin e
adapted to slide in a boss b³ with which the eye-portion 61 of the support b is

page_text: provided. The said arm a¹ is also preferably provided with a stop-pin ³
against which the said eye-portion will abut when the support bis
moved to the left to bring the lower folding blade c into working position and
at which time the locking pin e will be in register with the said hole a², and
will be held in said hole, to lock the lower folding blade in working position,
by its spring e¹. A stop-screw at limits the sliding movement of the eye-
portion on the arm a when the support bis moved to the right to carry
the lower folding blade out of the way when the work is to be introduced into
the plaiter.
:
The plait-spacing guide f, which determines the distance apart of the tucks
or plaits, and which guides the work by the tuck or plait last formed, is
adjustably secured by thumb screws ft to the part 2 of the lower blade support,
and thus this spacing-guide f will be moved laterally out of the way with the
blade c.
The spacing guide f is preferably provided with a finger hole or
opening through which the attendant may press on the work to move the
latter either forward or backward to bring it into proper position at the
commencement of a seam to form a plait or tuck.
Rigidly secured to the throat-plate or work-plate of the machine is a plate
or thin block to which the upper folding blade is adjustably secured by
screws passing through slots 2 in said blade or plate h. The position of
adjustment of this blade or plate to the right or left determines the width
of the plaits or tucks to be formed with the attachment.
The
When the work is to be introduced into the machine, at the commencement
of a plait or tuck, the support b, 61, 62, carrying with it the lower blade cand.
the guiding blade or spacing guide f, is slid to the right, as denoted by the
dotted lines in Fig. 1, the spring-pressed locking pine being first withdrawn
from the hole a² in the arm a as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4.
fabric to be tucked or plaited is now laid over the upper folding blade h and
extended beneath the lower blade c on the work-plate A, and the movable parts
are then slid or moved laterally to the left to the positions shown by the full
lines in Fig. 1, this lateral movement of the parts forming the initial fold in
the fabric and which fold will continue to be formed as the work is advanced
by the feeding mechanism of the machine.
It will be obvious that instead of the spring-pressed locking pin e, for
retaining the lower plaiting blade and the spacing guide in working position,
an ordinary set-screw might be employed. Other changes, within the province
of mechanical skill, might also be made in the details of the invention, and
I do not therefore wish to be understood as limiting my invention to the
precise details herein shown and described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. In a sewing machine plaiting attachment, the combination with an upper
folding blade supported by the work-plate of the machine, of a lower folding
blade arranged above and clear of the said work-plate, a bracket attached to
the arm of the machine and provided with a horizontally extending arm a
having an aperture, as a², a support 6 for said lower folding blade provided
with an eye portion surrounding said arm and laterally movable thereon,
said arm having the boss 3, and the spring-pressed locking pin e for securing
said support in place when the said lower folding blade is moved to working
position.
2. In a sewing machine plaiting attachment, the combination with an upper
folding blade supported by the work-plate of the machine, of a lower folding
blade arranged above and clear of said work-plate, a bracket attached to the
arm of the machine and provided with a horizontally extending portion or
arm, a support for said lower folding blade laterally movable on said horizon-

page_text: tally extending arm, means for securing said support in place when the said
lower folding blade is moved to working position, and an adjustable spacing
guide also attached to and laterally movable with said support.
3. In a sewing machine plaiting attachment, the combination with the upper
folding blade and an adjustable spacing guide, of a lower folding blade pro-
vided, in line with its folding edge, with a forwardly extending finger, as c¹.
the end of which is in proximity to the needle hole of the throat-plate, said
spacing guide and lower folding blade being mounted on a common support
which is laterally movable to enable said guide and blade to be simultaneously
moved into or out of working positions.
ד
101
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER,
Of the Firm of Cruikshank & Fairweather,
Chartered Patent Agents, 62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow,
Agent for the Applicant.