AN IM- PROVED ÅRRANGEMENT OF FEED REGULATOR FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Bown, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Shuttle Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IM-
PROVED ÅRRANGEMENT OF FEED REGULATOR FOR SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 18th April 1871, and dated the 21st October 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bown at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st October 1870.
I, WILLIAM Bown, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Shuttle Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED ARRANGEMENT OF FEED REGULATOR FOR SEWING
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of apparatus, whereby
the traverse of the feed bar or dog of sewing machines may be adjusted
with facility to increase or diminish the length of stitch as desired.
Supposing the Invention to be applied to a Wheeler and Wilson sewing
machine, I attach to the under side of the cloth plate in a line with the

page_text: sliding frame or bar that carries the feed dog a bracket, which is fitted
with a stud axle. On this axle I mount a cam piece against the face of
which bears an elastic lever carried also by the cloth plate, the free end
of which lever serves as a stop for limiting the back motion of the
feeding dog, and is adjusted to any desired position by the turning of
the cam piece on its axis. A portion of the periphery of this cam piece
is milled so as to present a holding surface to the grip of the fingers of
the operator of the machine, and the cam piece is so mounted as to
project slightly through a slot formed in the cloth plate. By the side
of the milled edged portion of the cam piece is a graduated portion which
through a lateral extension of the before-mentioned slot in the cloth
plate is brought into view. These graduations are numbered and serve
to indicate as they are brought up (by the turning of the cam piece)
into line with a mark on the cloth plate, the amount of traverse allowed
for the feeding dog, and consequently the length of feed and stitch to
which the machine is adjusted. To prevent the cam piece from being
inadvertently turned, and thus changing the length of stitch, it may be
desirable to indent the cam face and provide the spring lever which
bears upon it with a stud or catch for entering the indents. Thus an
elastic stop will be provided which must be first overcome before the
cam piece can be turned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Bown in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st April 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
Bown, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Shuttle Manu-
factuer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Bown, Her special
licence, that I, the said William Bown, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Bown, my executors,

page_text: 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 "AN IMPROVED
ARRANGEMENT OF FEED REGULATOR FOR SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Bown, my executors or
administrators, 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 Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Bown, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of apparatus whereby
the traverse of the feed bar or dog of sewing machines may be ad-
justed with facility to increase or diminish the length of stitch as
desired.
Supposing the Invention to be applied to a Wheeler and Wilson
sewing machine I attach to the under side of the cloth plate in a line
with the sliding frame or bar that carries the feed dog a bracket which
is fitted with a stud axle. On this axle I mount a cam piece, against
the face of which bears an elastic stop piece carried also by the cloth
plate, which stop piece serves to limit the back motion of the feeding
dog, and is adjusted to any desired position by the turning of the cam
piece on its axis. A portion of the periphery of this cam piece is milled
so as to present a holding surface to the grip of the fingers of the
operator of the machine, and the cam piece is so mounted as to project
slightly through a slot formed in the cloth plate. By the side of the
milled edged portion of the cam piece is á graduated portion, which
through a lateral extension of the before-mentioned slot in the cloth
plate is brought into view. These graduations are numbered and serve
to indicate as they are brought up (by the turning of the cam piece) into

page_text: line with a mark on the cloth plate, the amount of traverse allowed for
the feeding dog, and consequently the length of feed to which the
machine is adjusted.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn my improved feed
regulator as applied to a Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine, but it
will be obvious when the nature of the Invention is fully understood
that it may be readily adapted to other arrangements of sewing
machinery.
Fig. 1 shews in plan view the feed plate of a Wheeler and Wilson
sewing machine with my improvements applied thereto, so much of the
machine being indicated as will illustrate the operation of my Invention ;
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same; and Fig. 3 is a trans-
verse section taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, and looking in the direction
of the arrow.
A, A, is the feed plate, a portion of which is broken away at Fig. 1 to
shew more clearly the parts beneath; B is the sliding frame that carries
the feed dog B', and this frame is mounted in guides C, C, as usual.
The feed dog receives its forward, backward, and vertical motions in the
usual or any approved manner, and it is to provide a facile means of
determining with exactness the amount of back motion the feed dog
shall receive (in order to the regulating of the length of stitch to be
sewn) that the present improvements have been designed; D is a rotary
cam piece shewn detached in cross section at Fig. 4; this cam piece is
mounted on a stud axle carried by a bracket E affixed to the under side
of the cloth plate. Interposed between the inclined face d of the cam
piece and the tail of the sliding frame B is an elastic stop piece G shewn
detached at Fig. 5, which is made fast to the under side of the cloth
plate A.
An opening made in the cloth plate allows of a milled band ď¹
on the periphery of the cam piece projecting through the cloth plate as
shewn at Fig. 2, and renders visible from above the plate a graduated
band on the periphery of the cam piece, the graduations of which are
numbered. The operating face of the cam takes a helical form, and
upon it bears the stop piece G which serves to arrest the sliding frame B
at its back motion. The graduations on the cam piece are intended to
indicate to the person working the machine the position of the stop
piece G. Thus when this stop piece is at its most backward position the
graduation numbered one will be in line with a nick or indicator on the
feed plate, and as it is advanced by the action of the inclined cam face

page_text: the amount of its advance will be shewn by the increasing numbers on
the graduated band being brought into view. To prevent the cam piece
from being inadvertently turned and thereby changing the length of
stitch I find it desirable to indent the cam face as shewn at Fig. 3 and
to provide the spring stop which bears upon it with a stud or catch for
entering the indents. Thus an elastic catch will be provided, the
pressure of which must be first overcome before the cam piece can be
turned. The bearing surface of the spring stop may be formed of
ebony or ebonite to reduce the noise caused by the striking of the sliding
frame B against it.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved
Arrangement of Feed Regulator for Sewing Machines" and explained
the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood
that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim, the arrange-
ment above described for facilitating the-adjustment of the traverse of
the feed bar or dog of sewing machines.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bown, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twentieth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
TUTT
DANZAT