Year: 1888

page_text: We WALTER HENRY DAVIS, Watch and Clock Maker and JOSEPH HOWARD,
Mechanician, both of 213 St. John Street, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex
do hereby declare the nature of our said invention to be as follows :—
The object of our invention is to construct a cheap, handy, light, and compact form
and arrangement of sewing machines, to work either by means of hand power or
treadle.
Our improvements in the needle-driving mechanism are as follows:-The needle
holder is carried by two levers, a short distance apart, and so arranged that
they allow the use of a straight needle, and dispense with the ordinary needle
slide.
The driving lever, from which the needle receives its motion, has its fulcrum midway
between its extremities or thereabouts; one end of the lever being operated by an
eccentric or its equivalent, driven by speed gear. The other end of this lever is
pivotted to the needle holder. The second lever is also pivotted to the needle holder,
and works parallel to the driving lever, and a short distance therefrom; the distance
between the fulcrums of the two levers being equal to the distance between the pivotted
centres on the needle holder.
This mechanism is suitable to either lock-stitch or chain-stitch machines, and works
with much less friction than the ordinary form of needle slide.
We construct the feeder with double serrated surfaces, one on each side of the needle,
whereby the feed is rendered steady and uniform.
In constructing the baseboard of portable hand sewing-machines, we provide hinged
brackets, which can be extended and made to rest upon the table, when employed in
heavy work.
We wish it to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact details
hereinbefore described, as the position of the fulcra and other matters may be varied
to suit the power, speed, and method of operating the machines.
Dated 3rd March 1888.
GEO. DOWNING,
Agent for Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Sewing Machines.
We, WALTER HENRY DAVIS, Watch and Clock Maker, and JOSEPH HOWARD,
Mechanician, both of 213 St. John Street, Clerkenwell, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained_in_and_by_the
following statement:-
The object of our invention is to construct a cheap, handy, light, and compact form
and arrangement of sewing machines, to work either by means of hand power or
Breadle.
Our improvements in the needle-driving mechanism are as follows:-The
needle holder is carried by two levers, a short distance apart, and so arranged
that they allow the use of a straight needle, and dispense with the ordinary
needle slide.
The driving lever, from which the needle receives its motion, has its fulcrum midway
etween its extremities or thereabouts; one end of the lever being operated by an
eccentric or its equivalent, driven by speed gear. The other end of this lever is
pivotted to the needle holder. The second lever is also pivotted to the needle holder,
and works parallel to the driving lever, and a short distance therefrom; the distance
between the fulcrums of the two levers being equal to the distance between the pivotted
centres on the needle holder.
This mechanism is suitable to either lock-stitch or chain-stitch machines, and works
with much less friction than the ordinary form of needle slide.
We construct the feeder with double serrated surfaces, one on each side of the needle,
whereby the feed is rendered steady and uniform.
In constructing the base board of portable hand-sewing machines, we provide hinged
brackets, which can be extended and made to rest upon the table, when employed in
heavy work.
And in order that our said invention may be particularly described and ascertained
reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts.
Fig. 1 is an elevation showing the method of securing the parallel action of the
needle by means of two levers. Fig. 2 is a plan of the feeder, drawn to an enlarged
scale. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 1-2 of the cloth plate, showing the form of
the upper part of the feeder, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the base board, showing
the extended bracket for imparting additional steadiness to the machine when employed
in heavy work.
a is a portion of the frame of the machine. is the driving lever having its fulcrum
at b'. d is the connecting rod. c is a second lever pivotted to the frame at c¹. e is
the needle holder, to which the lever bis pivotted at 62 and the lever cat c². The
needle is thus kept constantly in a vertical position. is a portion of the cloth plate,

page_text: hh are two slots in which the feeder works. The feeder is formed with two
separate serrated surfaces, each working in a sloth one on each side of the needle
slot i.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the base board without its surmountings. m is a
hinged bracket, which may be extended to the position at n (shown by dotted lines).
This bracket may be made to slide in a groove, if preferred; or two brackets may be
so fitted, one at each end of the base board.
We wish it to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact details
herein before described, as the position of the fulcra and other matters may be varied
to suit the power, speed and method of operating the machines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
1. The arrangement of needle holder allowing the use of a straight needle dispensing
with the ordinary needle slide substantially as herein before described and illustrated
by the drawings.
2. The method of working the needle levers by means of the eccentric substantially
as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings.
3. The construction of the feeder with double serrated, surfaces substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings.
4. In sewing machines such as hereinbefore described the hinged brackets made
and constructed substantially as and for the purposes herein before described and
illustrated by the drawings.
5. The general arrangement and combination of parts together forming our improve-
ments in sewing machines substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by
the drawings.