IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Haseltine, of the "International Patent
Office, No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES." A communication from abroad by Louis Planer, of the City,
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Haseltine at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration.
on the 9th June 1865, pursuant to the 9th Section of the Patent Law
Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
HASELTINE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same,
and have made solemn Declaration that it has been communicated to me from
abroad by Louis. Planer, of the City, County, and State of New York, United
States of America.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Haseltine, do hereby declare that
the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully describes
and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, in and by the following statement, reference being
had to the accompanying Sheets of Drawings making a part of this 5
Specification.
The first part of my Invention consists in a device which may be readily
attached to any ordinary sewing machine for lifting the presser foot during
the time the needle is in the cloth or material being sewed, which greatly
facilitates the manipulations of the material in sewing curved seams, figures, 1
and pattern work, and also prevents puckering the material being sewed.
The second part of my Invention consists in combining with a feed wheel a
mechanism for giving a positive intermittent rotary movement to the wheel
for the feed, and an adjusting mechanism for readily altering the feed.
The third part of my Invention consists in a device for holding and
properly presenting braid or cord to the action of the sewing mechanism and
the material.
my
The fourth part of Invention consists in combining with a lifting presser
foot a braider, whereby the sewing of braid, cord, &c., in small curves or figures
is greatly facilitated.
The fifth part of my Invention consists in making the pulley to drive the
machine serrated, so that the driving belt cannot slip.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
Figure 1 shows a back view, a portion of the table being removed to better
show the working parts of the machine. Figure 2 is an end elevation ;
Figure 3 is a top view; Figures 4, 5, and 6, show parts of the feeding
mechanism in detail; Figures 7 and 8 show the mechanism for lifting the
foot, detached from the machine; Figures 9 and 10 show the braider detached
from the presser foot; similar letters and figures of reference indicate like
parts in all the Drawings.
A represents the bed of a sewing machine, to which is secured a goose
neck B for supporting the operative parts above the table. In this goose neck
in proper journals V, V, is a shaft C, to which is secured a serrated pulley I
for driving the machine, and a disc wheel J, and also a shaft D, which has
journals at W, W, one end being provided with a disc wheel L, which is
connected to the wheel J by means of a pin p, to which is connected the rod H,
for driving the rock shaft below the table, while the other end of the shaft D
is provided with a crank wheel K. To the front of the goose neck is secured

page_text: the face plate E by screws. The needle and foot presser bars slide in proper
grooves in the plate E. To the needle bar is attached a heart-shaped grooved
plate or cam C¹, in which is inserted a roller b' on the crank in the wheel K,
To. the upper part of the goose neck is secured a small bracket F which
supports the apparatus for controlling the needle thread. To the table are
cast legs U, U, which support the shaft G. On this shaft at one end is an
arm X', which is connected to the rod H at Z', while the other end has an
arm d', which by means of a rod e¹ pivoted by a pin f drives the shuttle
carrier Z. On the shaft G, outside of the arm d¹, is a cam T, which operates
the feed lever a by means of a short arm b, which is fitted to slide on the
lever a, as shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5. The feed wheel A¹ is bored for the
stud F, and has a small finished hub, upon which the lever is attached. The
wheel has a concentric ring G₁ made perfectly true with the axis of the
wheel; and has its periphery roughened to grasp and advance the material to
be sewed. The wheel is supported by the stud F and nut M in the hanger B¹
as plainly shown in Figures 1 and 2. Inside of the hanger I insert a friction
block f, which is provided with a spring, and which is made to press against
the side of the wheel by means of a screw 9 passed through B', which screw
is pointed and fits a small hole in the spring block f, and holds it in place.
The feed dog c¹ has a groove L, Figure 6, to fit the ring G on the wheel,
and is cut away at ke¹ to receive an ear f projecting downwards on the feed
lever, which keeps the dog in place. The feed lever a has its fulcrum on the
hub of the feed wheel, and is drilled and tapped with a screw thread, as
shown in Figure 4. To the end of this lever, which is square, I fit a small
arm b, having a square socket, so that it will slide freely on the lever. In
this socket I insert a screw e, having a shoulder on the inside, so that it shall
have a bearing and turn freely within the arm b, and outside of the arm I
insert a clamp nut c, the screw e having a thread therefor, and outside of this
clamp nut c I put a thumb and finger nut d, which is made fast on the
screw e, and as the nut d is turned up or back on the lever the arm b iş
moved, and the stitch is regulated by a greater or less vibration of the feed
lever a, operated by the cam T. As the lever a is vibrated the short end
bites upon the feed dog at the point s¹, and gives a powerful leverage and
forces the wheel forward in the direction of the arrow, the lever drops by its
own gravity and the aid of the spring as soon as released by the cain. The
dog c² is reached by the spring i, which rests against a pin h, while the dog
rests against the lever a, which acts as a fulcrum. The presser foot h' is
attached to the rod o at its lower end, and the upper has a lifter N jointed to
a pin 4 for raising and lowering the foot h, which holds the work to the peri

page_text: phery of the feed wheel by means of a coil spring r, the end of which is inserted
in the face plate E, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, while a hook on the other
end. of the spring is inserted in a hole in the presser slide o.
The pressure
upon the material may be varied by changing the spring in the face
plate from one hole to another. As the arms of the spring are brought
nearer together the pressure is increased, and as they are moved apart it is
decreased.
My device for lifting the presser foot is plainly shown in Figures 1, 2,
and 3, and in the full-sized Drawings 7 and 8, where it is detached from
the machine, Figure 8 being a side elevation, and Figure 7 an end view.
The part 7 has a hole for a screw to hold it to the face plate E, and has two
bearings for the shaft 12. The piece 6 has a bearing in the case next to 16
of the same size, while the other ear has a smaller bearing outside of 14.
The shaft 12 is kept in place by the nut 10. The shaft 12 turns freely in
the ears 15, 16, and in the part 6. This. piece has a square hole which fits a
corresponding square on the shaft 12, and is provided with an adjusting
screw 9, which passes through 8, and the end rests against 6, as shown in
Figure 8. To the end of 6 at 11, Figure 2, is a small pin, to which is
connected one end of the link 5, while its other end is secured to a pin 4
projecting from the upper end of the presser rod o. The end of the lever 18
(which is a part of shaft 12) rests upon the periphery of the crank wheel K,
which has a cam surface for giving the lever motion at each revolution of the
wheel K.
The braider is shown in Figure 2 as attached to the machine, and in
Figures 9 and 10 as detached, Figure 9 being a side elevation, and Figure 10
a top view. The top part of the braider is concaved out to fit the convex
surface of the presser foot, and it is clamped to the foot by the plate 4¹ and
screw 2. Upon the under side of the braider I secure a flat spring represented
in dotted lines Figure 9, which spring rests upon the braid or cord. The spring
may be regulated to press hard or soft upon the braid by means of a small
screw 8¹. The braid is inserted in the hole 5, and the needle passes through
the hole 61.
Mode of operation.-The thread is taken from a spool placed upon the
vertical pin, and passed through the eye 19 in the tension piece 18, and thence
through the eye 17 (the piece 18 turns in 17), and the thread is coiled
around the rod 18 until sufficient tension is obtained. The thread is passed
thence down and up through an eye q in the lower part of the bridle, thence
up and through an eye o¹, thence down through the eye q to the eye in the
needle clamp u, and thence through the eye in the needle y. The shuttle is

page_text: threaded up in the ordinary way, the tension on the, under thread being
obtained by weaving the thread through the series of holes in the shuttle,
which is shown in Figure 3. Cloth or other material is placed under the
presser foot h¹ and the foot let down, thereby clamping the material to the peri-
phery of the feed wheel. Motion being given by turning the wheel, Figure 3,
in the direction of the arrow, causes the needle to descend and rise a short
distance (the needle being set so that the eye after the rise will be even
with the bottom of the shuttle race) to form the loop or bow of thread for
the shuttle to pass through. The bridle k, attached to the needle bar a¹ by
means of a clamp washer and screw 2, draws down the wire lever through
which the thread is passed, and slacks up a sufficient quantity of needle
thread for the shuttle to pass freely through. The needle then rises, and the
coil spring m causes the wire lever to draw up the thread in advance of the
needle bar to the limit allowed by the fixed bridle j, which is clamped to the
face plate E. These bridles are mounted with leather or other sound-
deadening material at s and t to prevent noise during the action of the
machine. During the last part of the ascent of the needle, and while the
needle is out of the material the feed is affected by the cam T raising the
lever a, which operates the feed dog c¹ and forces the wheel forward the
I required distance for the stitch. The length of the stitch is regulated by
moving the arm 6 forward and back upon the lever a, which gives a greater
or less acting cam surface. As the needle descends for the next stitch the
wire lever is held up by the spring m, and the needle slides upon the thread
until the bridle k draws down the rod 7, and the slack thread is thereby. kept
entirely back of the needle, which prevents any splitting of the thread by the
needle. The bridle k should be set so that (the needle being set right for the
shuttle to pass through the loop) it will commence to slack up the thread
just as the needle eye reaches the material to be sewed, and the bridle j
should be so set that the needle bar will just touch the rod 7 when at its highest
point. The end of the lever 13 rests upon the cam surface on the periphery
of the wheel K, and at each revolution of the crank wheel the screw 9 and
screw piece 8 will vibrate a certain distance, and the end of the screw will
cause the arm 6 to lift the presser foot by means of the link 5 a greater or
less distance as the screw is turned in or out. With the use of my improved
lifting foot, short, curved, and circular seams can be rapidly sewn, and more
perfet work produced. Square corners can be readily turned without slacking
the operation of the machine, and it also prevents puckering the work, which
is incident to sewing machines.
The operation of the braider will be readily understood. The braid or

page_text: cord of varying widths is passed through the hole 5¹ with any pointed instru-
ment, the spring in the under side readily yielding therefor, and holding the
braid flat in the centre of the groove on the under side, and with a slight
tension for the purpose of keeping it smooth. By using the braider with
the lifting foot the sewing of curves, figures, and turning of corners is greatly
facilitated.
Having thus fully described the nature of said improvements, as com-
municated to me by my foreign correspondent, and shown how the same
may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First, combining with the presser foot of a sewing machine the mechanism
for lifting the foot from the material during the time the needle is in
the material being sewed, substantially as described, and for the purposes
specified.
Second, I claim in combination with the feed wheel of a sewing machine
the feed dog c, lever a, and arm b, provided with an adjusting mechanism
for regulating the stitches, substantially as described, and for the purpose
specified.
Third, I claim eonstructing the braider with a yielding spring in the
under side thereof to rest upon and hold the braid in the centre of the groove
with a slight tension for the purpose of holding and properly presenting the
braid of varying widths to the action of the needle, substantially as described
and specified.
Fourth, I claim the combination of a braider with a lifting foot of a sewing
machine for sewing more readily curved and circular work, or turning corners,
substantially as described and specified.
Fifth, I claim the serrated or toothed wheel I for driving the machine,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Haseltine, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
WILLIAM R. LAKE.
GEORGE HASELTINE. (L.B.)