IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isaac Merritt Singer, of New York, in the
United States of America, but now residing at Oldway House,
Paignton, in the County of Devon, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isaac Morritt Singer
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21th February 1874.
I, ISAAC MERRITT SINGER, of New York, in the United States of
America, but now residing at Oldway House, Paignton, in the County
of Devon, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
'
My improvements consist mainly in improved means of presenting
the goods (or material) to the needle to be sewn.
First. Instead of the serrated surface that usually comes in contact

page_text: material so firmly during the action of the feed that the material cannot
be turned to any extent or to any practical purpose while it is being fed
to the needle, and this serrated surface mode of feeding is a very good
one so far as sewing straight lines is concerned, and curves can also be
sown if not too small.
Now in order to facilitate the turning of the material (or goods) while
the feeding surface is in contact with it (or them) instead of the usual
serrated surface I use a ring or rings that shall surround the needle.
This feeding ring must be so placed that the needle or the track in which
the needle travels will at all times be as near as possible in the centre of
the feeding ring, so that when the material (or goods) is turning upon
the ring it will be as near as possible equivalent to turning on the
needle, and for all practical purposes it will be equivalent to turning on
the needle. Now it is quite clear that as the material with the ordinary
feed works turns only when the feeder is detached from the material, the
material (or goods) can only be turned at intervals, but it can be turned
on the feeding ring or rings whether it or they be attached to or detached
from the material to be sewn (at the will of the operator) therefore the
material (or goods) can be turned all the time. This feeding ring need
not entirely surround the needle providing it be a stationary ring or
rings fixed on the feed dog shaped like those described under my
previous Patent dated July 26th, 1805, No. 1941, being of a V shape, I
mean the rings which were described under that Patent as attached to
the throat plate and not to the feeder, but the rings that are used as a
feeding surface may not only be made stationary to the feed dog but
they may be made to turn on the feed dog by means of a groove made
into it (or any other suitable attachment) in which tho rings themselves
may turn.
When rings are used that extend entirely around the needle, whether
fixed to the feed dog or otherwise, the throat plate will have to be of a
different shape from the throats used when the stationary rings extend
only part way around the needle, and instead of being a flat piece as
shewn under my said Patent it must have between the hole that is made
for the needle to pass into and the screw that holds it to the table a
depression large enough to receive the ring and the portion of the feed
dog that is on that side of the needle. And these rings that can turn
independent of the feed dog may have a surface so formed that the
material can turn upon it or them, and in some instances the loose ring

page_text: or rings having the capability of turning with the material (or goods),
or the material (or goods) turning on it or them may be preferred,
because there are some kinds of material to be sewn that might adhere
more strongly to the surface of the feeding ring than the power it would
take to cause the ring itself to turn upon the surface of the feed dog,
therefore the material (or goods) would turn upon the ring, or the ring
upon the feed dog, whichever produced the least resistance, or a ring
having a serrated surface to come in contact with the material at one
end and smooth at the end to turn upon the feed dog can be used, so
that a handle or handles may project out over the top of the table and
underneath the material (or goods) having an eye in the centre that must
surround the said feeding ring in such a manner that the said handle or
handles can turn the feeding ring forward or backwards at the will of
the operator, and at the same time allow the feeding ring to play up and
down through the eye of this lever or levers so that the upper end of
this feeding can present itself to the under side of the material (or
goods) to feed it forward and to drop below the top surface of the said
cyc to allow the feed dog to return back to its position ready to feed
another stitch. This cyc that contains the handle or handles through
which the feeding ring can slide up and down, and by being turned
backward or forward, carrying the feeding ring with it by means of a
slot in one and a feather in the other need not necessarily itself raise up
and down, although it will move forward and back with the feeding ring
in a horizontal line with the top of the table because the upper surface
of said turning cyc will always be below the top of the ring or rings on
the throat plate around the needle, though it need not be but a very
slight distance below the top of the said ring or rings as the top of the
cyc has a smooth surface. The object of this turning cyc containing the
handle or handles is for the purpose of turning the material (or goods)
forward and backward in a better manner than by taking hold of the
material (or goods) directly with the hands, particularly thin material
(or goods), for it will be readily understood that as this turning ring bas
a serrated surface, and the said serrated surface being in contact with
the material (or goods) and the serrated ring being compelled to move
with the turning eye, that by turning the said eye forward or backward
the material (or goods) must necessarily turn with it. But this turning
serrated ring will only turn the material (or goods) forward and back-
ward at intervals, that is to say, when the ring is attached to the material

page_text: The description so far appertains mainly to the use of the feeding ring
or rings of what is termed the under or bottom feed, but the ring feed
or its equivalent is quite as well adapted for what is known as the top
feed. It will be of far greater utility when used above the goods or
material to be sewn, when short curves and angles or figures of any kind
are to be sewn,
from the fact that the material or goods can be turned
either forward or back all the time at the will of the operator. Tho
goods or material can not only be turned forward and back at the will of
the operator when the common feeder is used, that is to say, a feed that
feeds in one direction, but when the universal feeder is used (hereafter
described) the feeding ring itself can be turned forward and back all the
time, or it can be turned round and round, forward or back, whether the
goods or material be turned or not, or the goods or material may turn
forward or back when the feeding ring is turning forward and back, or
vice versa. This universal top feed action may be accomplished in
various kinds of sowing machines, in all of which the result would be
about the same, therefore I deem cach would be equivalent to the other,
but I will now describe the combination that seems to me the most feasible.
Wo will first imagine (for example) the machine known as the Singer
Manufacturing Company, letter A, or Family Sewing Machine, with its
table that holds the projecting arm, which projecting arm sustains a
horizontal top driving shaft, giving motion to a second or perpendicular
shaft, the two shafts being set in motion by the present or similar means of
operating the same. First, the shuttle or the underneath "concatenator
will be moved by the rotating of the lower end of the perpendicular
shaft, and the lever that shall raise and lower the tube that surrounds
the needle carrier, which tube shall contain the whole top feeding appa-
ratus, will also be moved by the said perpendicular shaft. This arm
that holds the horizontal driving shaft must be far enough above the top
of the table of the machine to not only give the requisite stroke of the
needle carrier to perform the operation necessary for the needlo to carry
the thread down and up through the fabric or material to be sewn, but
to admit of a sliding action of the tube that surrounds the needle
carrier, which needle carrier must be so made that the thread can pass
down inside of the bearings or lugs in which it moves, through either by
having a depression made in one side of the needle carrier, or by having
it hollow. This sliding tube that is to slide up and down the needle
carrier, and contains the feed works, may pass up through the lugs that
are on the end of the arm that sustains the needle carrier, thereby
32'

page_text: forming a bearing for the needle carrier to reciprocate in. In this case
the needle carrier must be actuated by means that act above the upper
end of the sliding tube, but if the needle carrier be actuated by a similar
means as employed by the Singer Manufacturing Company's machine,
before referred to, the tubo must not in that case be long enough to
interfere with such action; for instance, it may pass into the lower lug
only. Now this sliding tube near its top end, or some other suitable
point, must have a groove made in its outer surface that shall extend
entirely around it. The object of this groove is for the purpose of
having the end of the lever before mentioned, which lever must work on
a fulcrum at some convenient point between its ends, to enter into, so
that as the sliding tube is turned round the needle carrier this groove
will slide past the point of the lever, yet always embracing the points of
said lever, therefore the lever having an up-and-down motion only is
always ready to cause the sliding tube to reciprocate. Now this lever
will extend back from the sliding tube to the perpendicular rotating
shaft, and there will come in contact with a grooved cam, which will be
attached to the said shaft. The groove in this cam will be so shaped as
to lift the feeding dog clear from the top of the material to be sown after
the feeding has taken place, so that the feed dog can return, and then to
let the feed dog down on to the goods again, and to let the sliding tube
continue farther down, so that a wedge-shaped cam that is affixed to
the sliding tube and turns with it will come in contact with the upper
end of a lever, and cause the material or goods to be fed forward to the
needle.
On the sliding tube is a toothed pinion, which toothed pinion contains
the feeding lever or levers. Although the sliding tube can slide
up
and
down through the pinion the pinion cannot be turned around the needle
carrier unless it carries the sliding tube with it, because a slot will be
cut into the cyc of the pinion, in which a feather or steady pin on the
surface of the sliding tube must work into, or vice versû. On the lower
end of the sliding tube is a flange, which flange when the feed has taken
place must be below the under side of the pinion far enough so that
when the sliding tube begins to move upwards the wedge-shaped cam
will be moved out of contact with the lever No. 2, which lever actuates
the feed lever, and then to come in contact with the under side of the
pinion, lifting it up, carrying the feeding apparatus with it, then letting
the pinion with the feeding apparatus down until the dog comes in

page_text: contact with the top surface of the material or goods, then continuing
its descent downwards, forcing the wedge-shaped cam against the upper
end of lever No. 2, thus causing the material or goods to be fed forward.
This lifting of the feeding surface from the material or goods must begin
as soon as the point of the needle enters the material or goods, and
return to the material or goods in time to cause the needle thread to be
formed unto its loop underneath the goods for the purpose of making
the stitch, unless some other means be used to strip the material or
goods from the needle.
Attached to the pinion or some part of the feeding apparatus there must
be a spring so placed in connection with the feed that it will force under-
neath the lower side of the lower lug, and it must be made adjustable so
as to make the feeder press more or less upon the top surface of the
goods or material while being fed forward. This lower or under side of
the lower lug must have an even surface all the way round the needle so
as to present the same resistance to the spring on whatever side of the
needle the spring may happen to be as the said spring travels around
the needle with the feeding works.
The object of this toothed pinion is to have another toothed wheel to
work into, which toothed wheel can be by means of a crank turned
suddenly forwards or backwards round and round or on any part of the
circlo without hindrance, carrying the feeding apparatus and the sliding
tube with it. This second toothed wheel may be sustained by a bracket
fixed to the arm of the machine, or by any other convenient mode if it
be deemed necessary to change the direction of the feed or scam more
rapidly than it is expedient for the hand to move then by having the
hand toothed wheel larger than the wheel or pinion that is on the sliding
tube and carries the feeding apparatus the desired object will be obtained.
This second toothed wheel may be dispensed with, so can the toothed
pinion that is on the sliding tube, because a lever or levers or a hand
wheel can be attached to the hub that contains the feeding lever springs,
and so forth, whereby the direction of the feed could be changed but
not so quickly as when the second wheel is used.
If the feed dog present to the goods or material similar rings to those
described in the under feed or their equivalents, this turning can take
place whether the feeding surface be in contact with the goods or
material, or not, and the object of these ring feeds is that the direction

page_text: of the feed may be changed more rapidly, thus it will be seen that the
feeder changing the direction of the feed can be turned all the time in
any direction, so can the goods, that is to say, the feeder can be turned
in one direction and the goods in another, or they can be both turned in
the same direction if required; therefore any figure no matter how
intricate may with sufficient practice be wrought in this machine.
The mode I prefer for accomplishing the graduating of the stitches and
keeping the centre of the feeder to the centre of the track of the needle
is as follows:-There must be two perpendicular levers connected to tho
pinion that surrounds the sliding tube; the lever that is next to the
needle carrier must be hinged to the eye of the said pinion as high up
above the pinion itself as it can be and not come in contact with the
wedged cam, therefore the eye of the pinion must project an inch and a
half (more or less) above the body of the pinion, or a lug might be cast
on the side of the pinion for the purpose of attaching this lever to it.
The lower end of this same lever will contain the feeding ring or any
other feeding surface that may be desired. Outside of the first lever
and farthest from the needle bar is placed the second lever hinged to
the lower part of the pinion, and these levers must be about a quarter of
an inch apart. Both of these levers must pass up through the pinion
between its eye and its periphery, and the upper end of the second lever
will come in contact with the wedged-shaped cam when the said cam
is in its downward motion which will force the upper end of said lever
outwards, and it being hinged at or near its middle, which centre is at
the lower side of the pinion, the lower end will be forced inwards towards
the needle carrier. Now it will be observed that the hinged joint of
lever No. 1 is an inch and a half more or less above the hinged joint of
lever No. 2. It is quite clear that if a fulcrum be placed between the
two levers directly opposite to the centre of the second or outside lever,
that lever No. 1 containing the feeding surface would not be moved
either forward or back although lever No. 2 might be forced outward by
the descent of the wedged cam and inward by the returning spring,
which spring must always return the lever No. 1 back to the same
position by its being brought in contact with a positive stop, but if the
6 fulcrum bc moved below the centre of lever No. 2 ever so little a short
stitch would be the result and the movement of the feeder would be
towards the needle carrier and the farther down that the fulcrum bo
moved towards the lower end of the levers the longer the stitches would

page_text: become. In fact any length of stitch from any given length, say a
quarter of an inch to nothing would be the result; and if the fulcrum
be moved above the centre upon which lever No. 2 rocks a reverso
action of the feeding lever will be the result.
The best mode of arranging the movable fulcrum is to have a slot
made in the flat side of lever No. 2 that shall extend above and below
the hinged joint that it rocks upon an inch and a half (more or less).
This slot may or may not extend entirely through the lever parallel with
the pivot of the hinge, a slot must also be made through lever No. 1 of
the same or similar length to the slot in lever No. 2. The slots in the
levers must be perpendicular and parallel with each other when the feed
dog is at the centre of its motion, and at the same time the levers must
be placed far enough apart so as not to interfere with each other during
their motion of feeding. The wedge-shaped cam must also at this
precise period have performed half of its action. Now then by placing
a small piece of metal that shall extend across the flat surfaces of both
the levers this small piece of metal (which must be a quarter of an inch
wide, more or less) must have on its inner surface a tongue that shall fit
into a slot of the lover No. 1. In the other end of this piece of metal
another tongue must project into the slot of lever No. 2 but must not
be rigid like the tongue that projects into slot No. 1, but must be
allowed to oscillate on a centre as the levers move forwards and back-
wards. Now it should be quite understood that this small piece of
metal with its tongue at cither end projecting into the slots of the levers
can be readily moved up and down the said levers, and when moved to
the point desired can be fastened in the lever No. 1 by a set screw
inserted into the end of the tongue opposite the piece of metal. The
reason why I prefer this kind of sliding fulcrum is that the lever No. 1
is carried both ways by a positive motion by the action of lever No. 2.
I have described the above feeding works or arrangements as in
combination with and adapted to the sewing machines as manufactured
by the Singer Manufacturing Company, but they can also be applied to
and used with other makes of sewing machines.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Isaac Merritt Singer in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAAO
MERRITT SINGER, of New York, in the United States of America, but
now residing at Oldway House, Paignton, in the County of Devon,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Isaac Merritt Singer,
Her special licence that I, the said Isaac Merritt Singer, my exc-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Isaac
Merritt Singer, my 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 I, the said Isaac Merritt Singer, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, 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 Scal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Isaac Merritt Singer, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement in writing, and on reference being
had to the accompanying Diawings, that is to say:-
The improvements constituting my present Invention (which is
illustrated on the accompanying Drawings in Figures 1 to 24) consist

page_text: of certain new or improved methods or means of feeding the goods or
material to the needle, of turning the material, and of graduating the
length of the stitches.
A characteristic feature of my Invention consists in the application
and use of a feeding surface composed of one or of two or more con- 5
centric rings with a smooth (or in the modifications described with a
serrated) V or other suitably shaped feeding edge, and applied so as to
partly or entirely surround the needle, and made fast to or capable of
turning upon or around the feed dog, as and for the purposes herein-after
more particularly described, one of the main objects of the Invention 1
being to obtain or allow of perfect freedom of movement of the material
at all times, so that the changing of the direction of the scam may be
effected with great facility and rapidity.
The advantages of my improvements will be at once seen when com-
pared with the ordinary serrated surface method of feeding (which my 1
improvements are intended to supersede), according to which, as is well
known, the material is held so firmly during the action of the feed that
it cannot then be turned to any practical extent, so that such method of
feeding is of practical utility only when required for feeding in straight
or slightly curved lines.
2
Such being the nature and objects of my said Invention, I will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to bo
or may be performed or carried into practical effect, and in order that
the same may be distinctly understood I have marked the annexed
Drawings illustrative thereof with figures of reference corresponding 2
with those in the following explanation thereof. On the annexed
Drawings like Figures indicate like parts wherever repeated.
I will firstly describe the application of my improved ring feeding
arrangements as an under or bottom feed, see Figures 1 to 21.
In Figure 1, which is an end view, 1 represents an ordinary feed dog a
(similar to that used in the Singer Manufacturing Company's, letter A, or
Family Sewing Machine), and 2 represents one of my improved feeding
rings fixed to one end thereof, see Figure 2, a plan view thereof, but it
may be fixed to any other suitable part of the feed dog, depending upon
the machine to which it is applied. These Figures (1 and 2), and 3

page_text: Figure 3, which is a section of Figure 2 through 1*-1*, illustrate the
application of one fixed continuous ring entirely surrounding the needle,
and having a smooth V feeding edge, as seen most clearly in Figure 3.
As the direction of the feed of this ring is continuous its centre is made
with an elongated slot or opening 3 for the neck of the throat plate 7
(see Figure 13), through the centre of which the needle 4 (Figures 1
and 4) passes to pass into, the said slot being elongated to allow of the
feeding movement of the said ring about the said neck. It will thus bo
seen how that the needle or the track in which it travels is at all times
in or near the centre of the ring, so that the turning of the material
upon the ring is practically equivalent to the turning thereof on the
needle. It is therefore clear that this method or modification of feeding
has the advantage over the ordinary method of feeding, in that (as in
the latter the material can only be turned at intervals, when the feeder
is not in contact with it) the material can be turned on the feeding ring
at all times, whether the latter be in contact with the material or not, at
the will of the operator. (Figure 4 above referred to is a side view of
Figure 1, showing the needle as in its lowest position, and with the feed
dog and ring in the position ready to feed a stitch when the needle is
clear of the material. 5 represents an end view of the shuttle). These.
remarks similarly apply to the modification illustrated in Figures 5 and 6
respectively, similar views to Figures 2 and 3. These Figures (5 and 6).
illustrate the application to the feed dog 1 of two fixed concentric and
continuous rings 2 entirely surrounding the needle, and each having a.
smooth V feeding edge.
Figure 7 represents a similar view to Figure 2, but in this modification
the single ring 2 is formed so as only partly to surround the needle, and
in all modifications where formed thus (that is incontinuous) the ring is
fixed or made fast on or to the feed dog. This remark similarly applies
to the modification illustrated in Figure 8, a similar view to Figure 5,
but illustrating the concentric rings 2 as formed so as only partly to
surround the needle; or in lieu of being fixed to or made to form part
of the feed dog, as in the above-described modifications, the continuous
ring or rings (as above referred to) may be made capable of turning on
or around the feed dog, as illustrated in Figures 9 to 12. When the:
rings are thus applied a continuous conical recess C is formed in the feed.
dog, and in this recess a continuous ring 2 (Figures 9 and 10) or two.

page_text: continuous concentric rings 2 (Figures 11 and 12) having smooth V
feeding edges are placed, and in these recesses the said ring or rings
have free circular movement. Figure 9 is a section of Figure 10 through
2*, 2x, and Figure 10 is a plan view of Figure 9; Figures 11 and 12
are respectively similar views.
The capability of circular movement of the rings illustrated in
Figures 9 to 12 necessitates the formation of the holo 3 through which
the neck of the throat plate 7 passes of a circular form to allow of the
feeding movement of the feed dog whatever the position of the ring or
rings.
When continuous rings similar to those illustrated in Figures 1 to 6
and 9 to 12 are used the throat plate 7, Figures 13 to 10, is made of a
different shape to that 7, Figures 17 and 18, used when incontinuous
rings, similar to those illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, are used, and
instead of being of a flat piece, as shown in Figures 17 and 18, and
as used when such incontinuous rings are used, it is made with a
depression 8, Figures 13 and 15, between the needle hole 9 and the
hole 10 for the screw which holds it to the table, such depression being
made large enough to receive the forward edge or edges of the ring or
rings whether fixtures or movable (Figure 13 sufficing to illustrate the
one modification, and Figure 15 the other), and the corresponding or
surrounding portion of the feed dog on the same side of the needle.
Figure 13 is a section of Figure 14 through 3*, 3*; and Figure 14 is a
plan view of Figure 13; Figures 15 and 16, and Figures 17 and 18 are
respectively similar views.
With various kinds of materials rings similar to those illustrated in
Figures 9 to 12 are of peculiar value, as in those cases in which the
material might at times adhere more strongly to the feeding surface of
the ring or rings than the power necessary to cause the latter to turn
upon or around the feed dog the material would cither turn upon
the ring or rings or the latter would turn upon or around the feed dog,
whichever offered the least resistance.
Figures 19 to 21, which are drawn to a different scale, illustrate the
application to the feed dog 1 of a continuous ring 2 formed with a
serrated V shaped (or flat) feeding edge, but applied to the feed dog in
the same manner as that illustrated in Figure 9, that is, it is retained in

page_text: position in and by a conical recess 6. In this modification I encircle
the serrated ring 2 with an eye or boss 11, to and radiating from which
I secure two or more handles 12 projecting out over the table but under
the goods, and by which it can be turned, and I connect the said cyc or
boss and the said serrated ring by a feather or feathers 13 on the one,
and a corresponding notch or notches in the other, so that the said ring
is compelled to partake of all turning or circular movements of the said
handles and cyc cither forwards or backwards, and so that it has also
free play or movement up and down in the said eye, so that its feeding
edge can present itself to the under side of the material to feed it forward
and then drop as usual to return to the position ready to feed another
stitch without necessarily raising or lowering the said cye; but if required
the said eye and handles may rise and fall therewith, in which case the
eye is fitted into a conical recess 11 in the feed dog 1 concentric with
but exterior to that 6 in which the ring 2 is placed, see Figure 19, which
is a cross section. But in other cases the eye 11 is formed and applied
as illustrated in Figures 20 and 21 so as only to partake of the forward
and backward motion of and with the ring 2 in a horizontal line in a
shallow depression 15 made in the top of the table 16 in addition to tho
circular movement which its own rotation imparts to the said ring.
Figures 20 and 21 are both cross sections, the former showing the
position of the eye 11 and handles 12 when the ring 2 has just completed
its feeding, and the latter showing the position thereof when the said
ring is in its lowest and most backward position ready to rise and feed
another stitch.
To prevent interference with the feeding the upper surface of the
cyc 11 is made smooth, and is situated so as to be at all times below
(though necessarily but a very slight distance) the top of the ring or rings
17 which are applied on or to the neck of the throat plate 7, as described
in the Specification of my former Letters Patent, No. 1911/", to allow
of greater facility in the turning of the material.
It will readily be seen that according to this modification the turning
of the material (particularly if thin) either forward or backward can be
cffected in a better manner than can be done by taking hold of it
directly with the hands, for the serrated ring being at all times compelled
to partake of whatever circular or turning movement is imparted to the

page_text: handles 12 and eye 11 at the times when in contact with the material in
addition to feeding it, if it be itself turned it necessarily causes the
material to turn with it.
I will now (secondly) describo the application of my improved ring
feeding arrangements as a top feed, and I consider that it is of the
greater utility when used above the material, especially when short curves,
sharp angles, or intricate figures of any kind are required to be sewn,
from the facts that the material can be turned either forwards or back-
wards during any portion or the whole of the time of feeding, or at any
other time, and that the feeding ring or rings (which in this modification
must always be continuous, and either fixed to or movable upon or
around the feed dog, and have a smooth V or other suitable shaped
feeding edge, or movable upon or around the feed dog, and have a
V shaped or flat serrated feeding edge) and the immediate connections
have also equal freedom of movement, and that both the material and
the feeding ring or rings, whether fixtures or movable, can be turned
together at the same time, or each independently or separately in the
same or in opposite directions, so that any figure however intricate may
with sufficient practice be worked in this machine. I thus obtain a
'universal ring feeding apparatus having advantages over all other
feeding arrangements, which cannot fail to present themselves to the
minds of those acquainted with machinery of this class. This universal
top feeding action can be accomplished in various kinds of sewing
machines by various modifications (necessarily applicable to the
individual cases) of the combinations illustrated in Figures 22 to 24,
and which I will now describe. For example's sake I will describe the
application of this improved arrangement to the machine known as the
Singer Manufacturing Company's, letter A, or Family Sewing Machine,
the projecting arm (18) of which rising from its table (16) carries a hori
zontal top driving shaft (51), which gives motion to the needle
carrier (19) and to a second or perpendicular shaft (22), which actuates
the shuttle (5) and the under feed, the two shafts (22 and 51) being set
in motion by bevil gearing (52) actuated by a cord and pulley (53).
In applying my universal top feed action to this machine I remove
the whole of the usual under feed works, and beneath the table 16 I
leave only the shuttle 5, which I actuate as before, and I make the
arm 18 sufficiently high above the said table to allow, in addition to the

page_text: ordinary stroke of the needle carrier 19 necessary to carry the needle 4
and thread down and up through the material to be sewn of a vertical
sliding motion of a tube 20 surrounding the said needle carrier and
carrying the whole of the feeding works, which motion is imparted by a
clutch lever 21 from the perpendicular shaft 22, as hercin-after more
particularly described.
The sliding tube 20 may pass up through either one or both of the
lugs 21 on the end of the arm 18 and form a bearing for the needle
carrier 19 to reciprocate in. If it passes through both lugs the needle
carrier must be actuated by means operating from above the upper lug,
but I prefer to pass it through only the lower lug, and to actuate it by
the same means as ordinarily used in this machine, as shown in
Figure 22, which is a complete side view (partly in section) of the said
machine as adapted to my present improvements. Near its top (or at some
other convenient part) the sliding tube 20 is formed with an exterior
circular clutch groove 25, with which engages the bifurcated end 26 of
the said clutch lever 21, which works on a fulcrum 27 at some convenient
point between its end and receives its motion from a grooved cam 28
(which is shown in Figure 23, a side view) on the said shaft 22, and
thus (as above mentioned) causes the reciprocation of the said sliding
tube whenever itself in motion. The groove of the cam 28 is shaped
and the cam is applied to the shaft 22 so as to begin to lift the feeding
dog 1 and ring or rings 2 clear from the top of the material after the
feeding thereof has taken place, and as soon as the usual cam 29 has
caused the point of the needle 4 to enter it and then to return it thereto
to the position shewn in Figure 22, before the said cam 29 has caused
tho needle to rise to form the needle thread into its loop under the
material for making the stitch, and then to cause a further descent of
the sliding tube 20 (during the upward movement of the needle and
thread, also caused by the said cam 29) sufficient to cause a wedge-
shaped cam 30, which is attached to one side of the said tube and moves
with it to bear against the upper end of the feeding dog or lever 1 and
cause its lower end carrying the fixed or movable smooth V ring or rings
to feed the material, the needle 4 at such time having risen clear thercof,
after which the needle is caused again to descend and enter the material,
the action is thus repeated. After the feeding movement of the feed
dog 1 the latter is returned to the position ready to feed another stitch by
a spring 45.

page_text: The feed dog or lever 1 is passed through and held by a pivot 31 in
the eye or between the centre and periphery of a toothed pinion 32 con-
nected to the sliding tube in a similar manner (13) as above described,
with reference to the serrated feed ring 2 and eye 11 of the handles 12
(Figures 19 to 21), so that the rotation of the said pinion 32 when
actuated necessarily causes a rotation of the sliding tube 20 (and all it
carrics), but still the said connection 13 allows of said tube having
independent up-and-down motion without at all times necessitating any
corresponding movement of the said pinion. These improvements it will
be at once seen necessitate that the lower part of the needle carrier 19
should be made of a circular shape to allow of the parts mentioned
having the said rotating movements round it. Its upper part however
is formed as usually, so that it shall not itself turn, and it is also formed
with a central hollow 23 or with an equivalent depression in one side
to carry the thread.
On the lower end of the tube 20 is a flange 33 which when the feed
has taken place is sufficiently below the pinion 32 that the upward
movement of the said tube shall be sufficient to carry the wedge cam 30
out of contact with the upper end of the feeding dog or lever 1 before
the said flanges comes in contact with the under side of and lifts the
said pinion and raises the entire feeding apparatus clear of the material,
after which the action is as described in the third preceding paragraph.
Attached to the pinion 32 or some equivalent part (such as the hub 32,
Figure 24, herein-after described) of the feeding apparatus is a spring 34
which bears against the under surface of the lower projecting flange 54
of the clutch groove 25, and is capable of adjustment by means of a
thumb nut 35, so as to cause the feeding dog 1 and ring 2 to press more
or less upon the material as desired while feeding it; the pressure of
the said spring being equally exerted at all times whatever the position
of the feeding apparatus round the needle carrier 19.
The pinion 32 gears with a toothed wheel 36 carried by a bracket 37
depending from the arm 18, and which said wheel can be turned either
forward or backward suddenly or slowly as required by a crank or
handles 38 fixed to it; and the said pinion is thus acted upon so as to
carry the tube 20 and the entire feeding apparatus round the needle
carrier 19 whenever it is pecessary to change the feed or to change the

page_text: feed apparatus round to the position required to feed the material, and
to accomplish it more rapidly than it is expedient for the hand to move.
In this modification the length of the stitches is or may be graduated by
the thumbscrew arrangement 10. Or in lieu of the wheel 36 and pinion
32 I can use a hand wheel or hub 32 as illustrated in Figure 24, a
side view partly in section; and by this arrangement I also effect the
same object but not so quickly.
I will next (thirdly) describe the mode I prefer of graduating the
length of the stitches in this peculiar top feed so as always to keep the
needle 4 or its track as near as possible in or to the centre of the feeding
ring or rings 2. I connect two perpendicular levers 1 and 39 to the
pinion 32 or hub 32 by hinging the one 1 carrying the feeding ring or
rings 2, which is the one nearest the needle carrier 19 to a lug 41 cast
on the upper side or surface of the said pinion or hub, placing the hinge
42 as high above the latter as possible, but so as to escape contact at any
time with the wedge cam 30; and by binging the other 39 which is
placed farther away from the said needle carrier and about ¼ of an
inch from the feed lever 1 (to prevent interference with its motion)
to any part of the said pinion or hub lower then its centre as at 43,
and the upper end of which is forced outwards by the descent of the
said wedge cam, and its lower end inwards towards the said needle
carrier.
Both levers 1 and 39 pass up through the eye of the pinion 32 or
hub 32, or between the centre and periphery thereof, and are connected
by an adjustable fulcrum 44 arranged (as herein-after more particularly
described) so that the above motion of the lever 39 and also its return
motion which is effected by the spring 45, which always brings it back
to one position against or in contact with a positive stop, such as the
side of the tube 20 below the cam 30, can give any desired degree of
movement to the feed dog or lever 1 and ring or rings 2 so as to obtain
any length of stitch required. Lengthways in the lever 1 I form a slot
or groove 46, and in the lever 39 I form a corresponding slot or groove 47,
both such slots or grooves being made of the same length and arranged
so as to be perpendicular and parallel with each other when the feed
dog 1 is at the centre of its motion (which is when the wedge cam 30
has performed its action, see Figure 24), for which purpose tho
fulcrum 44, which consists of a small metal link about ½ of an inch

page_text: wide, is arranged with a rigid squared tongue or inner squared
projection 18, which enters the slot or groove 46 of the lever 1 and keeps
the said link or fulcrum always at right angles therewith, and also
arranged at its other end with a movable tongue or with a pivot 49,
which enters the slot or groove 47 of the lever 39.
The fulcrum or link 44 can be adjusted to any position required, and
in all cases after being moved to and adjusted in the position necessary to
give the desired length of feeding movement of the ring or rings 2 the
rigid tongue 48 is fastened in position by a thumb or set screw 50 passing
through it and into a clamp on the opposite side of the lever 1, which is:
thus carried by a positive motion obtained from the lever 39.
It thus becomes apparent that if the fulcrum 44 be adjusted directly
opposite the centre of the lever 39 that the lever 1 would not receive any
motion therefrom, and that if the said fulcrum be moved a little below
the centre of the lever 39 that a short stitch would be obtained with the
movement of the lever 1 towards the needle carrier 19, also that the
lower down the said levers the said fulcrum is moved that the longer the
stitches would become, so that any length of stitch say from 1 of an
inch to almost nothing can be obtained, and also that if tho said
fulcrum be moved above the centro 49 upon which the lever 39 rocks :
that the motion imparted to the lever 1 would be reversed, that is it
would then feed away from the said needle carrier.
I would here remark that it will be readily understood by those con-
versant with the manufacture of sewing machines that the above-
described improvements can be equally as well applied to and used with
sewing machines of other makes than the one specified.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and
objects of my said Invention, together with the manner in which the
same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical effect,
I would remark in conclusion that I claim as my Invention the
above-described improvements in sewing machines substantially as
described, and as illustrated on the accompanying Drawings; and
especially I claim the application and use of one feeding ring or of two
or more concentric feeding rings, either partly or entirely surrounding
the needle, and having a V or other suitably-shaped feeding edge or 3
surface, either smooth or serrated, and being either fixed to or capable of

page_text: movement upon or around the feed dog, substantially as in the various
modifications herein-before described, and as illustrated on the accom-
panying Drawings, and as and for the purposes respectively specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaac Merritt Singer, have here.
unto set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
ISAAC MERRITT SINGER. (L.S.)