IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Shakespear, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Sewing Machine Manufacturer, and George
Пllston, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Machinist, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 15th September 1871, and dated the 21st April 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Shakespear
and George Illston at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 21st April 1871.
We, THOMAS SHAKESPEAR, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Sewing Machine Manufacturer, and GEORGE ILLSTON, of
Birmingham, aforesaid, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention relates to those parts of sewing machines by which the
feeding of the fabric or article being sewn is effected, and consists of the
construction and arrangement of parts herein-after described, whereby
the feeding is effected noiselessly, the feeding bar readily removed for

page_text: cleaning or otherwise, the feed points capable of ready and accurate
adjustment in case of wear in the feeding bar, and the cam or incline
giving the longitudinal motion to the feed bar capable of ready removal
and adjustment.
The feed bar is made solid, that is, in one piece, excepting the adjust-
able feed points herein-after described. The rising motion of the feeding
end of the bar is effected by an excentric acting on a projecting piece
or block on the under side of the bar, a spring pressing upon the said
bar immediately over the said block keeping it to its bearing on the
said excentric, as well as pressing it longitudinally so as to keep it to
its bearing against the cam or incline by which its longitudinal motion
is produced.
The feed points of the bar are made capable of rising and falling on
the end of the feed bar in the following manner: The said points arc
formed on the top of a vertical slide connected to the end of the feed
bar by means of a horizontal screw, the said screw passing through a
slot in the said vertical slide, and taking into the end of the bar. On
the under side of the end of the bar is another and vertical screw, upon
one side of the head of which the bottom of the said vertical slide rests.
In order to adjust the feed points the horizontal screw is slackened and
the vertical screw on the under side of the bar turned until its head has
raised the feed points to the required level. The said feed points are
then fixed by tightening the horizontal screw.
The cam or incline by which longitudinal motion is given to the feed
bar is constructed in the following manner :-A solid bush or collar is
fixed on the driving axis by means of a screw, the said cam or incline
being connected to the said bush by two screws, upon which the said
cam or incline can swivel, so as to bring it into a plane at right angles
to the axis or give it the required inclination to that plane. At the
rear end of the said bush is a flange, and a screw with a milled head
passing through the said flange bears against the cam or incline at a
point midway between the two screws on which it swivels, and at the
opposite point is a spring between the said flange and cam or incline.
By turning the milled head of the said screw any required inclination
can be given to the cam or incline, and the length of feed thereby
adjusted. By withdrawing the screw by which the bush is connected
to the driving axis the said bush and the cam or incline' are removed
together. After removal it is only necessary in replacing the bush to

page_text: make a mark on its flange coincide with the mark on the driving axis
when it takes the proper position, and the inconvenience arising in
replacing these parts as ordinarily constructed is avoided.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Shakespear and George Illston in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 12th October 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, THOMAS
SHAKESPEAR, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Sewing
Machine Manufacturer, and GEORGE ILLSTON, of Birmingham, aforesaid,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Shakespear and George Illston,
Her special licence that we, the said Thomas Shakespear and George
Illston, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Thomas Shakespear and George Illston, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Thomas Shakespear and George Illston, our executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Thomas Shakespear and George
Illston, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention and in what

page_text: manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :—
Our Invention relates to those parts of sewing machines by which the
feeding of the fabric or article being sewn is effected, and consists of the
construction and arrangement of parts herein-after described, whereby
the fecding is effected noisclessly, the feeding bar readily removed for
cleaning or otherwise, the feed points capable of ready and accurate
adjustment in case of wear in the feeding bar, and the cam or incline
giving the longitudinal motion to the feeding bar capable of ready
removal and adjustment.
The feed bar is made solid, that is, in one piece, excepting the
adjustable feed points herein-after described. The rising motion of the
feeding end of the bar is effected by an excentric acting on a projecting
piece or block on the under side of the bar, a spring pressing upon the
said bar immediately over the said block keeping it to its bearing on the
said excentric as well as pressing it longitudinally, so as to keep it to its
bearing against the cam or incline by which its longitudinal motion is
produced.
The feed points of the bar are made capable of rising and falling on
the end of the feed bar in the following manner:-The said points are
formed on the top of a vertical slide connected to the end of the feed bar
by means of a horizontal screw, the said screw passing through a slot in
the said vertical slide and taking into the end of the bar. On the under
side of the end of the bar is another and vertical screw, upon one side of
the head of which the bottom of the said vertical slide rests. In order
to adjust the feed points the horizontal screw is slackened, and the
vertical screw on the under side of the bar turned until its head has
raised the feed points to the required level. The said feed points are
then fixed by tightening the horizontal screw. The horizontal screw
alone may be used to adjust and fix the separable feed points.
.
The cam or incline by which longitudinal motion is given to the feed
bar is constructed in the following manner :-A solid bush or collar is
fixed on the driving axis by means of a screw, the said cam or incline
being connected to the said bush by two screws upon which the said cam
or incline can swivel, so as to bring it into a plane at right angles to the
axis, or give it the required inclination to that plane. At the rear end
of the said bush is a flange, and a screw with a milled head passing
through the said flange bears against the cam or incline at a point mid-

page_text: way between the two screws on which it swivels, and at the opposito
point is a spring between the said flange and cam or incline. By
turning the milled head of the screw any required inclination can be
given to the cam or incline, and the length of feed thereby adjusted.
By withdrawing the screw by which the bush is connected to the
driving axis the said bush and the cam or incline are removed together.
After removal it is only necessary in replacing the bush to make a mark
on its flange coincide with a mark on the driving axis when it takes the
proper position, and the inconvenience arising in replacing these parts as
ordinarily constructed is avoided.
Having explained the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to
describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan, and Figure 2 in end elevation (partly in
vertical section) a sewing machine of the kind known as a Wheeler and
Wilson machine, the said machine being furnished with feed mechanism
constructed according to our Invention.
In Figure 1 the table or platform is removed for the purpose of better
exhibiting the feed mechanism. The other Figures represent detached
parts of our Invention, as herein-after explained. The same letters
of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawings.
a is the driving axis of the machine, on one end of which the hooker
or looper 6 is made or fixed; c is the needle arm carried by the rocking
shaft d, the said rocking shaft being worked from the driving axis a
by the excentric and rod e as usual; f is the solid feed bar having at
the feed end the adjustable feed points 9. The said feed barf with its
adjustable feed points 9 is represented detached from the machine in
plan of upper side, side elevation, and plan of under side in Figure 3,
and the adjustable feed points are represented detached from the feed.
bar in front elevation, side elevation, and plan in Figure 4. The rising
motion of the feeding end of the bar f is effected by the excentric h
on the driving axis a, the said excentric acting against the block f' on
the under side of the bar f; and the longitudinal motion of the feeding
bar is effected by the cam or incline i on the said driving axis a. A
spring (see Figure 1). presses upon the bar f. immediately over the-

page_text: block, and keeps the said bar to its bearing on the excentric /, and
also pressing the said bar longitudinally so as to keep it to its bearing
against the cam or incline i. The bearing end fª of the bar f is made
of horn or other non-metallic material fixed by a dovetail as repre-
sented. The back end f* of the feed bar f is supported upon the
upright and slides between the said upright and the under side of
the table, or platform m. By the rotation of the driving axis a the
fecd barf is at the proper time first lifted by the cam h, so as to raise
the feed points g above the surface of the table m, and then advanced
by the cam or incline i to feed forward the fabric; the feed bar f
being returned to the position represented in Figures 1 and 2 on the
retiring of the "rises" or acting parts of the cams and i. By thus
constructing the feeding mechanism the feeding is effected noiselessly.
When it is wished to remove the feed bar f from the machine for
cleaning, or for adjusting the feed points, the table m is unscrewed and
removed. By then removing the spring / from its slot in the bar the
latter may be lifted from its place and removed.
The cam or incline i, by which the longitudinal motion of the feed
barf is effected is capable of adjustment to regulate the length of feed.
The said cam or incline is constructed in the manner which will be best
understood by an examination of the detached views of the said cam or
incline and parts connected therewith at Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of the
Drawings; Figure 5 representing the said cam and its bush in side
elevation, and Figures 6 and 7 sections of the same taken at right angles
to one another. Figure 8, a side elevation, section, and front elevation
of the cam or incline separately; and Figure 9, a front elevation and side
and back clevations of the bush separately. The said cam or incline i
is carried upon the bush n, the latter being fixed on the driving axis a
by the screw p passing through the flange 9 of the said bush. The
cam or incline i is connected to the bush n by means of two screws r, r,
upon which the said cam or incline can swivel, so as to bring it into a
planc at right angles to the driving axis a, as seen in Figure 7, or give
it the required inclination to that axis, as seen in Figures 1, 2, and 5.
A screws with a milled head passes through the flange 9 of the
bush n, and bears against the cam or inclinc i midway between the two
screws r, r, on which it swivels. A coiled spring t is situated between
the flange 9 and cam i at a point opposite the screw 8, a recess t³ (sec
Figure 9) receiving the said spring t. The said spring & tends to press

page_text: the cam or incline i in contact with the screw 8. A stop on the
flange 9 prevents the cam or incline i being pressed by the spring t
beyond a plane parallel to the said flange 7. By turning the milled
head of the screws the required inclination can be given to the cam or
incline i and the length of feed thereby adjusted.
When it is required to remove the cam or incline i from the driving
axis a, it is only necessary to withdraw the screw p, when the bush n
and cam or incline i may be removed together.
To facilitate the accurate adjustment on the driving axis.a of the
bush n carrying the cam or incline i, a mark u (see Figure 9) is mado
on the flange q, and a similar mark v (see Figure 1) is made on the
driving axis a, so that on replacing the bush n on the driving axis it
is only necessary to bring the mark on the flange to the mark v on
the driving axis to cause the said bush to take its proper position on the
driving axis.
The separable and adjustable feed points 9 of the feed bar ƒ are
constructed as follows:-The said feed points are formed on the top of
the vertical slide g², the said slide working in a recess at the feed end
of the barf (see Figure 3). The said slide g³ is fixed to the barf by
means of a horizontal screw w passing through a slot x in the said slide,
and taking into the end of the bar f (see the section, Figure 2). When
it is necessary to adjust the feed points g, in consequence of the wear
of the feed barf, the screw w is slackened, when the slide g² may be
raised in the end of the feed bar f, and the feed points g brought to the
required level. By then driving home the screw w the adjusted feed
points are fixed in their place in the end of the bar f..
In order to obtain greater security in the fixing of the adjustable
feed points g the arrangement of parts represented in section and plan
of under side in Figure 10 may be employed, that is to say, in
addition to the horizontal binding screw to a vertical screw y may be
used, on one side of the head of which vertical screw the bottom of the
slide g³ of the feed points rests. In this arrangement, in order to adjust
the feed points, it is necessary after slackening the horizontal screw w
to turn the vertical screw y until its head has raised the feed points g
to the required level. The feed points are then fixed by tightening the
horizontal screw w.
The food mechanism herein-before described is applicable to other

page_text: adjustable feed points are applicable to feed mechanism other than that
herein-before described and illustrated in the Drawings.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and 'the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood
that we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described
and illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention of improve-
ments in the feed mechanism of sewing machines,―
Firstly. The construction of the feed bar and the arrangement of the
cams / and i for giving it the necessary rising and longitudinal motions,
whereby the feeding is effected noiselessly and the feed bar readily
removed and replaced, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The construction and arrangement of the cam or incline i
and parts connected therewith, substantially as herein-before described:
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, for adjusting the length
of feed and permitting of the ready removal of the cam or incline from
and its adjustment on the driving axis of the machine.
Thirdly. Making the feed points of the feed bar separable from the
said feed bar and capable of ready and accurate adjustment on the i
said bar in case of wear of the said bar, substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Shakespear and George
Illston, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day of
October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and 2
seventy-one.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
THOMAS SHAKESPEAR. (L.S.)
GEORGE ILLSTON.
33
(L.S.)