NEW AND USEFUL OR IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Harris, of the State of Massachusetts, of the
United States of America, for the Invention of a "NEW AND USEFUL OR
IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Daniel Harris at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration, on
the 20th March 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, DANIEL HARRIS, of the State of Massachusetts, of the United States
of America, have invented a "NEW AND USEFUL OR IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE,"
and I do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, are fully described and represented
in the following Specification and the accompanying Drawings, of which
Figure 1 denotes a side elevation of the said machine; Figure 2 is a front
end view of it as disconnected from the driving wheel; Figure 3 represents a
longitudinal and vertical section of the same; Figure 4 is a bottom view,
showing the mechanism for forming the loop; Figure 5 is a vertical and
transverse section taken through the base of the machine and the looping
mechanism; Figure 6 is a top view of the looper; Figure 7, a front end
view of it, and Figure 8 a side view of the same; Figure 9 represents a top
view of the plate over which the material to be sewed passes, through which

page_text: the needle passes in perforating the fabric, and against which the feeding
mechanism presses the fabric as it moves forward at each successive stitch.
The material to be sewed is also held against this plate by the feed finger
while the needle is elevated or withdrawn; Figure 10 shows a front edge
view of the said plate, and the thread catch which assists in forming the loop;
and Figure 11, a side view of the same.
A in the Drawings is the base or bed of the machine over which the
material to be sewed passes; B represents the goose-neck, which is a hollow
casting in which a lever C is disposed as shown in Figure 3, said lever turning
upon a fulcrum a, and being jointed to the needle carrier D in any suitable
manner. A suitable shaft E turning in bearings b, b, and having a crank c
affixed to its end, serves by means of the crank pine working in a slot f of
the lever C, to give a horizontal reciprocating motion to the lower end of the
said lever, and thereby impart reciprocating vertical motions to the needle, as
will be readily understood from Figures 2 and 3, such operation of the needle
being essentially like that of many other sewing machines. In the upper part
of the slot of the lever C is fastened a stand F holding a pin g, as seen in
Figures 2 & 3. This pin g during the horizontal motions of the lower end of
the lever C works backward and forward in the inclined slot of the lever G,
thereby imparting to the said lever a horizontal rocking motion upon its
fulcrum i. This motion, however, may be imparted in any other convenient
way; A and B denote guides, through which the thread is led in its passage
from the tension apparatus to the needle; H is the looper, which is attached
to or inserted in the front end of the lever G, and is the mechanism which
in connection with the needle, forms the stitch. It is constructed, applied,
and operated as follows:-The point or beak k, which takes the thread
from the side of the needle, is attached to a horizontal tipping plate or looper
H, which turns on a pin m inserted in the front end of the lever G. As the
lever G rocks, the beak of the looper H is thrown to and fro just behind the
needle, and is so attached to the plate that during its reciprocating move.
ments it plays horizontally just underneath or nearly in contact with the
under surface of the thin plate 7, which is made of steel or other suitable
metal, and fastened to the top of the bed or base A, said plate covering a wide
aperture d, and having a hole or needle throat n, through which the needle
and thread passes when the machine is in operation. The beak by being
made to work just underneath or nearly against the plate, is brought very
near to the cloth or material (which may be in the process of being sewed)
which moves over and against the upper surface of said plate. The point of
the beak k in its forward movement plays through the arc of a circle, having

page_text: the fulcrum i as a centre of motion, and is kept stationary with respect to the
lever G by passing under the point of the spring M; this spring holds the
looper down until the latter has nearly completed its forward movement, when
the projection o of the looper will be brought in contact with the end of the
said spring M, which causes the beak to be tipped or rocked horizontally
towards the front end of the machine such distance as may be required to
properly spread the loop. The action of the spring M upon the looper brings
the latter down immediately into place again the moment the lever G com-
mences its return movement.
Upon the looper H, and extending out over the beak k, is a projection p,
which at each forward movement of the beak comes in contact, or nearly in
contact, with the point of the needle, and insures the proper position of the
needle with respect to the point of the beak.
the spring M,
The operation of the above mechanism to form and interloop the successive
loops of thread in the seam is as follows:-When the needle with its thread
after having completed its downward movement, commences to rise, the beak
also begins to advance towards the needle, and is brought in close proximity
to it just before tho eye of the needle has risen above the said beak, the
needle having moved upward a sufficient distance to slacken the thread or
make an opening between the needle and thread, the beak passing directly in
rear of the needle and so close to it that the point of the former grazes the
latter in passing, enters the opening made by the needle and thread. The
needle still continuing to rise, leaves the thread around the beak, which
moving forward carries the loop to the rear side of the throat n, and draws
one thread of the loop against the side of the thread catch r.
At this point
the projection of the looper H is brought against the end of
and is thereby tipped forward, as above described, leaving one
loop around the thread catch r, and carrying the other thread of the loop to
the front side of the said throat n, thereby enlarging the angle made by the
two portions of thread which constitute the loop, or, in other words, increasing
the opening made between the threads in such manner that the needle in its
next descent is not liable to miss entering between them and securing the,
loop. The beak is kept in this forward and tipped position until the needle in
its next descent has penetrated the cloth, and its point has entered between
the threads of the loop, then the front end of the bar G begins to move or
rock backward, causing the spring M to instantly depress the looper H, so as
to slacken the thread of the loop which has been spread over the beak and
thread catch. The release of the loop at this particular time, viz., when the.
eye of the needle is just entering the cloth with the thread for a new loop
thread of the

page_text: allows the needle in its further descent to take up the slack of the previous
loop before drawing more thread from the spool or bobbin, thereby finishing
one stitch by its first movement in making the next, by this means producing
by a succession of vertical movements a close and uniform seam, having each
loop drawn closely against the surface of the cloth. But if, on the contrary,
the loop were not released at the time the eye of the needle was entering the
cloth, the thread carried through the cloth or material by the needle would
have to be taken from the spool, and the slack of the loop last formed have
to be taken up by some other device placed or arranged above the cloth
supporting plate, as is the case in most single thread sewing machines. The
needle also in carrying the thread through the cloth would be resisted by
twice the force of the tension upon the thread, thereby causing the machine
to work hard and leave the loops imperfectly drawn up.
Although by my method a very wide-spread loop is made for the needle to
enter, yet very little thread is used in its formation, and by so adjusting the
movement of the lever G that the beak will enter between the needle and
thread when the said needle has just commenced its upward movement
much less action or movement of the needle is required. The needle may
therefore be made shorter, and consequently stiffer and less liable to be bent
or deflected. On this account smaller needles may be used and much finer
work be performed. The shorter the distance the needle traverses in its
vertical movements the less the thread will be chafed or worn in being carried
through the cloth and drawn back again.
This is a consideration of much importance in some kinds of work. Sewing
with a small needle and a fine thread is a very delicate and nice operation,
and requires mechanism which will operate or act with great precision. In
the finest work the needle required to be used is so small, and the looper
being necessarily obliged to go so near to it in order to ensure the seizure of
the thread, that a very slight deflection of the needle would cause the looper
to strike it in passing, and either bend or break it. The projection p of the
looper insures us against this liability, for it is disposed at such distance from
the beak that whenever the beak is in a position to pass the needle, the
point of the needle is supported by the guard or projection p in such
manner that the point or beak of the looper can never more than slightly
touch or graze the needle in passing by it. The action of this guard is
different from that of a stationary incline arranged under the plate and in
the path of the needle against which as the needle descends it strikes, if by
any means it has been deflected from its normal position. The point of such
needle striking upon a guard or stationary incline is liable to become bent or

page_text: blunted, and the action of the needle be thereby seriously injured. But with the
guard constructed in my improved manner, (viz, made movable,) the needle
is nearly stationary when acted upon by the said projection, thereby coming
against but a very small portion of its surface, and is never bent by the guard
or projection coming against its point.
The mechanism for feeding the cloth forward and adjusting the same so as
to produce any required length of stitch is as follows:-N is a grooved bar or
cap which is made to enclose or receive the needle carrier D, and serves as
bearings for it upon three of its sides, whilo its other or rear side is supported
by two projections or studs s, s, extending from the goose-neck, and being equal
in thickness to the width of the needle carrier D, so that while the cup N
encloses the needle carrier, it clasps or embraces the two projections 8, 8, of
the goose-neck, and is held firmly in place by the two screws t, t, which extend
from side to side, and hold the two sides of the cap N firmly against the pro-
jections s, s, of the goose-neck in such manner that the needle carrier is allowed
to side freely up and down, and be guided in its vertical movements in fixed
bearings made as above described. This cap N is open in its front side except
at its top and bottom, so that the pin in projecting from the front sido or face
of the needle carrier may be allowed to move up and down in accordance with
the vertical movements of the needle carrier. Attached to this cap N by a
hinge joint v is a front piece or plate o, having an opening or slot formed
longitudinally through its front side in the shape of a parallelogram, as shown
in Figure 2; through this slot the pin of the needle carrier also works
during the reciprocating vertical movements of the needle carrier. From the
said joint there is an arm N¹ extending obliquely downward to the right, as
seen in Figure 2. This arm is forked at its lower end in order that the feed
finger P (see Figure 2) may be hinged between the forks of the said arm by
the pin or joint w. This feed finger is a bent lever (formed as shown in side
view in said Figure 2), whose lower part or foot is forked and rests upon the
plate both in front and rear of the needle, as is shown in the Drawings. A
spring which is attached to the feed finger, so as to operate between the forks
or prongs of the lower extremity of the front piece o, constantly presses the lower
and furcated end or surface of the feed finger against the material to be sewed.
The upper arm of the said feed finger or the part which projects upward from
the pin or fulcrum w serves merely as a thumbpiece, by which the foot of the
feed finger may be raised from the said plate 7, when the material to be sewed
is either placed under the needle or withdrawn therefrom. The under surface
of the said foot is serrated transversely in such manner that while it slides easily
over the cloth in its backward movement it shall take a firm hold upou

page_text: The
said cloth, and move the same forward during its forward movement.
parallelogram shaped slot in the front piece or plate O before mentioned, and
through which the pin w of the needle carrier works or plays in its vertical move-
ments, is provided with an adjustable side or wedge R, which is fastened to the
front piece o by the thumbscrew y, which passes through the slot or mortice z
of the said wedge. It will be readily perceived that by loosening the said
thumbscrew, the side or wedge R may be either depressed or elevated, so as
to either lengthen or shorten the distance between the two inclined sides of
the parallelogram slot in the front piece O.
The operation of feeding the fabric forward is as follows:-As the needle
carrier D descends far enough for the needle to penetrate the cloth, the pin u
of the carrier D strikes the adjustable side or incline R of the parallelogram
slot, which causes the upright part of the front piece o to turn upon its ful-
crum and to rock or vibrate to the left. This of course carries its lower
arm to the right and upward, and as the feed finger P is jointed to the lower
extremity of said arm by the pin w, as before described (the needle being
through the fabric to keep the latter stationary), it necessarily will be drawn
backward over the surface of the cloth a distance equal the length of stitch
required, the foot of the feed finger being kept in contact with the surface of
the fabric by the spring a before mentioned. Next the needle carrier begins
its upward movement, and when it has withdrawn the needle entirely from the
cloth or material the pin u of the needle carrier strikes the upper inclined
side of the parallelogram slot (in the upper arm of the front piece o), which
causes said upper arm to rock or vibrate to the right, and consequently its
lower arm moves downward to the lift, causing the feed finger (hinged to its
lower extremity as above described) to press with greater force upon the fabric
and slide it forward over the plate l to the left a short distance or one equal to
the length of stitch desired. It is evident that by elevating the lower inclined
side R of the parallelogram slot the pin u would have a greater action upon
it, and hence would produce a greater vibration of the upright arm of the
front piece O, consequently the feed finger attached to its lower arm would
receive a greater movement and carry the fabric farther over the plate, and of
course produce a longer stitch. On the other hand, if the inclined side R be
depressed, a less action will be imparted to the feed finger, and a shorted
stitch be formed.
In sewing with the chain or tambour stitch the beauty and durability of the
same depends in a great degree upon the manner in which the stitches are
drawn up, or in other words upon the tension applied to the thread. If the
tension is too little the seam will easily ravel, while on the other hand should

page_text: it be too great the thread will break in the stretch or elasticity of the fabric.
In order to produce an even draw or tension upon the thread many devices
have been invented. The usual method of accomplishing this requires the
thread to be unwound from the spool upon which it is purchased, or upon
which it is wound by the manufacturer and rewound upon a spool fitted to the
machine, friction being applied to the said spool in various ways to prevent it
from turning too easily. These methods are all more or less imperfect, for as
the spool diminishes in size by the unwounding of thread a greater force is
required upon the thread in order to overcome the friction upon the spool,
this force increasing in proportion as the diameter of the spool decreases; con-
sequently the stitches are drawn more closely into the cloth, the seam becoming
closer or tighter in accordance with the decrease of the diameter of the spool.
My manner of applying tension to the thread in its passage from the spool or
other source to the needle is by means of a "tension clamp," arranged at any
convenient point between said spool and needle. I generally place it upon
the top of the goose-neck, as seen at S, in Figures 1, 2, & 3, said Figures 1 & 2
representing a front and side view of this tension clamp, while Figure 8 shows
a vertical section of the same. In this latter Figure as denotes a screw pin
or spindle mounted on the top of the goose-neck (or it may be disposed in any
other convenient place); b is a tube or cylinder, made of rubber or any other
suitable elastic material, which is to be placed on the spindle axially, and have
its lower surface rest upon a plate or base, or directly upon the goose-neck or
plate to which the spindle may be attached. On the top of this tube or
cylinder a washer dis disposed, the same being made large enough in diameter
to cover or nearly cover the said tube be in manner as shown in Figures
2 & 3. This washer I usually make of parchment, as this is a tough and yield-
ing substance, while at the same time it is smooth and somewhat oily, and
permits the thread to run easily over its surface when pressed against it. It
may, however, be made of any smooth, dry, and yielding material having but
a slight degree of elasticity, wear well, and prevent the rubber or elastic
material from coming in contact with the thread. On this washer or disc
another washer g¹ having the same form and constructed of the same substance
is disposed, as shown in Figure 3, while above such disc another cylinder g² of
rubber is applied, the same being surmounted by a screw cap or nut & which
screws upon the top of the spindle. The thread f as it comes from the spool
is passed through an eye e³ of the spindle, and between the two parchment
discs d, g, the requisite amount of pressure being produced upon the thread
by the rotation of the said screw nut upon the spindle, said pressure being
upon the thread which may be between such discs. Thus I am enabled to

page_text: take the thread directly from the spool or bobbin upon which it may be wound
by the manufacturer, as by my improved apparatus a uniform unvarying
pressure is exerted upon it during its entire unwinding. Skeins of thread
may be placed upon a small reel and used by the machine with equal facility
as from a spool or bobbin.
Almost all sewing machines are provided with a crank which the operator turns
with one hand to put such machine in operation, while some which are attached
to a foot power stand or table, use a belt which passes around the driving
wheel of the table and over the pulley of the machine. By such means the
machine is propelled, motion being imparted to the driving wheel by the foot
or other motor. But as an operator in order to work with dispatch requires
both hands to guide the work in a proper manner, and as a belt is a source
of considerable inconvenience, I have experimented until I have discovered a
means or mechanism which entirely obviates the above advantages. The
construction and operation of the mechanism by which I actuate my machine,
I will now proceed to describe.
U represents a
The machine is hinged to a stand or table Tupon which it rests by enclosing
the projections or ears ³, which extend laterally from the extreme rear corners
of the bed A by suitable caps or hinges, and fastening these caps or hinges to
the table T as seen in Figure 1, where R³ represents the cap or hinge.
It may, however, be hinged in any other convenient manner.
hanger or support fastened to the under-side of the table T in any suitable way;
V denotes the driving wheel to which motion is imparted by power produced
by the foot or otherwise; W is a pulley attached to the crank shaft E of the
machine as before described, said pulley being encircled by an india-rubber or
gum elastic cylindric ring X. This pulley is grooved upon its periphery for
the reception of the said ring, the diameter of the pulley being made a
little greater than the inside diameter of the ring, so that when the ring
is crowded upon the pulley it beds itself by its elasticity firmly into the
groove.
The driving wheel V is supported by the hanger or support U, and at such
distance from the table T, that when the bed A of the machine is nearly level
or in contact with the table T, the rubber cylindric ring of the pulley will be
brought in connection with and slightly pressed or indented by the driving
wheel V, as shown in Figure 1. The pulley of the machine is made to
revolve by the friction thus produced when the driving wheel is put in revo-
lution. By this means the solid rubber ring coming in contact with the
surface of the driving wheel, a small amount of pressure being brought to bear
thereon, produces a large amount of friction, and for all light work is very

page_text: effective. It will be seen that by raising the point of the base A the machine
(turning upon the pivots or projections 23, 3,) is easily raised from the table T
for any purpose either for examining or oiling the looping apparatus. A
slight elevation detaches the rubber ring or pulley W from contact with the
driving wheel, while a slight depression of the base A brings the two more
firmly in contact. In light sewing the rubber ring should merely touch the
driving wheel, while in sewing the more stubborn fabrics which require more
power to cause the needle to penetrate them, it should bear harder against the
said wheel. In order to adjust this pressure to meet the requirements of the
material to be sewed, I support the front corners of the base A upon rubber
posts, one of which is seen at m² in Figure 1. These posts may be made
adjustable in any convenient way so that the base A may rest at a greater or
less distance from the table T according to circumstances, or in other words
according to the pressure or friction required to operate the machine. The
less the pressure the less will be the friction upon the shafts of the two pullies,
and the more easily the machine will work. These posts being made of india-
rubber also answer another purpose. Being very imperfect conductors of
sound, they isolate the machine so that much of the noise which would other-
wise be reflected by the table is prevented. For this purpose I also place
them under the rear corners near the hinges. If the hinges were bedded in or
lined with india-rubber still less sound would be reflected.
Having thus described my machine, what I claim as my Invention and wish
to secure by Letters Patent is,
1st, I claim the mechanism for forming and interlooping the stitches, tho
same consisting of the looper (with its beak and needle guard), the thread catch,
the spring and needle, when constructed and made to operate together, sub-
stantially as above set forth.
2d, I claim communicating to the feed finger (from the needle carrier
in its vertical movements) intermittent forward and backward motions by
causing a pin or projection from the needle carrier to work between two nearly
parallel inclines, one of said inclines being adjustable for the purpose of giving
a greater or less vibration to the lever to which the inclines and feed finger
are attached, the whole being arranged substantially in manner and for the
purpose as above set forth.
3d, I claim the specific device herein described for applying tension to
the thread during its passage from the bobbin or spool to the needle that
is causing it to run through the eye of the spindle and between two discs of
parchment, when said discs are placed upon the spindle between two india-
rubber tubes or cylinders which adınit of being compressed in the direction of

page_text: the axis of the spindle to any degree of intensity required, substantially as
set forth.
4th, I also claim applying an india-rubber or gum elastic annulus or ring to
the periphery of a pulley as herein-before described and hinging the machine,
to which such pulley is attached to its supporting table in such manner that
when the machine rests upon proper supports, said rubber covered pulley will
be in contact with the driving wheel, substantially in manner and for the
purpose as above described.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my signature, this Twenty-
second day of February, A.D. 1858. .
DANIEL HARRIS. (L.S.)