IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Ward, of Wells Street, Oxford Street,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 10th June 1873, and dated the 17th April 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Ward at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th April 1873.
I, EDWARD WARD, of Wells Street, Oxford Street, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The Invention has for its object improvements in sewing machines, .
and relates, firstly, to a novel mode of working the shuttle in arm
machines. For this purpose I fix an eccentric on the shaft which
operates the needle, and on this eccentric is fitted a strap or block in
which is formed a hole to receive a "ball" fixed to a lever, the lower end
of which is by a link connected to the shuttle carrier.

page_text: The Invention relates, secondly, to a mode of quickly transforming an
arm machine into a table machine and vice versa. For this purpose I
form the table as usual with a slot to fit the arm, but I connect the
table to the foundation of the machine by links connected thereto by
preference near the inner end of the table. A hole is formed in the
arm to receive a projection from the table to hold it in position for use.
Thus when the table is not required it is unfastened (by raising one end
thereof) from the arm, and the links with the table are turned down
on to the foundation of the machine, in which position the machine is
made to occupy less space than when the table is in use. When, how-
ever, the table is required for use it is raised with the links, and the
projection is passed into the hole in the arm, in which position the table
will extend some distance beyond the arm of the machine.
The Invention relates, thirdly, to improvements in the mode of
operating the feed lever, when a top feed is employed in order that the
machine may be readily adjusted to feed either thin or thick work as may
be required. For this purpose I mount on the feed lever an eccentric
upon which presses one end of a lever which is pin-jointed to the head
of the machine, and is acted upon by a cam or wiper fixed on the needle
shaft, a spring acting to keep such lever up to the cam or wiper, thus
by turning the eccentric upon its axis the feed lever may be caused to
be lifted a greater or less distance as may be required for the thickness of
work in the machine.
Instead however of employing the aforesaid arrangement the following
modification may be employed.
In this case the eccentric and the pressing lever are dispensed with
and a lifting lever is pin-jointed to the feed lever. A screw acting upon
one end of this lifting lever is employed to adjust the other end thereof
with respect to the cam or wiper, the feed lever being pulled or pressed
downward on to the work by a spring.
By this arrangement the ordinary lifting spring is dispensed, with and
a definite motion is given to the feed lever, the extent of which is
capable of being adjusted as may required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Ward in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th October 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
WARD, of Wells Street, Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Ward, Her special
license that I, the said Edward Ward, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Ward, 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
Edward Ward, 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 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 Edward Ward, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to.
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The Invention has for its object improvements in sewing machines,
and relates, firstly, to a mode of quickly transforming an arm machine
into a table machine, and vice versa. For this purpose I form the table
as usual with a slot to fit the arm, but I connect the table to the foun-
dation of the machine by links connected thereto, by preference near the
inner end of the table. A hole is formed in the arm to receive a pro-
jection from the table to hold it in position for use. Thus, when the

page_text: table is not required it is unfastened (by raising one end thereof) from
the arm, and the links with the table are turned down on to the foun-
dation of the machine, in which position the machine is made to occupy
less space than when the table is in usc. When, however, the table is
required for use, it is raised with the links, and the projection is passed
into the hole in the arm, in which position the table will extend some
distance beyond the arm of the machine.
The Invention relates, secondly, to improvements in the mode of
operating the feed lever when a top feed is employed in order that the
machine may be readily adjusted to feed either thin or thick work as
may be required. For this purpose I mount on the feed lever an
eccentric, upon which presses one end of a lever which is pin-jointed to
the head of the machine, and is acted upon by a cam or wiper fixed on
the needle shaft, a spring acting to keep such lever up to the cam or
wiper, thus by turning the eccentric upon its axis, the feed lever may
be caused to be lifted a greater or less distance as may be required for
the thickness of work in the machine.
And in order that my said Invention may be more clearly understood
and readily carried into effect I will proceed, aided by the accompanying
Drawings, more fully to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section, and Figure 2 is an end
elevation of so much of a sewing machine as will enable me to describe
the application of my improvements thereto.
a is the main or driving shaft of the machine, on one end of which the
band or driving wheel is fixed. This shaft also carries a bevil wheel c
which takes into and gives motion to a bevil wheel d, on which is fixed
a stud d'. This stud d enters a cam slot formed in a lever e which,
by means of the connecting link f gives motion to the shuttle carrier
(not shown).
The machine, as will be readily understood on reference to the
Drawings, is of the character known as an "arm machine," and in
order to be able readily to convert an arm machine into a table machine,
and vice versa, according to the first part of my Invention, I form the
table g, as usual, with an opening or slot to fit the arm h, but I connect
the table to the foundation i of the machine by links / connected
thereto, by preference near the inner end of the table g, as shown. A

page_text: hole ¹ is formed in the arm h to receive a stud or projection g¹ from the
table to hold it in position for use. Thus when the table is not required
for use, it is unfastened by raising the outer end thereof from the arm h,
and the links k, with the table, are turned down on to the foundation of
the machine, as shown by dotted lines, in which position the machine is
caused to occupy less space than when the table is raised into position
for use. When, however, the table g is raised into position for use,
it would extend some distance beyond the arm of the machine, as shewn
by the full lines in the Drawings.
The second part of my Invention is shown applied at Figure 2, and
relates to the employment of means, whereby a "top feed" may be
readily adjusted to feed either thick or thin work, as may be required.
For this purpose I mount on the feed lever an eccentric m, upon which
presses one end of a lever n which is pin-jointed to the head of the
machine, and is acted upon by a cam or wiper o mounted on the shaft a,
a spring p acting to keep such lever n up to the cam or wiper o, thus,
by turning the eccentric m upon its axis the feed lever may be caused to
be lifted a greater or less distance as may be required for the thickness
of work in the machine.
I would here remark that since filing my Provisional Specification,
I have found that the arrangement therein described of giving motion
to the shuttle does not possess such an amount of novelty as to render it
advisable to lay claim thereto, and further I have discovered that the
second arrangement therein described of adjusting the top feed to
the feeding of thick or thin work docs possess such an amount of
utility as to render it advisable to lay claim thereto, and for these
reasons I desire to disclaim, and I do hereby disclaim, the arrangements
of parts above referred to.
And I would further remark that the mode herein shown and
described of giving motion to the shuttle is an arrangement I use in
lieu of that before referred to, but I do not claim it as forming part of
my present Invention.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the mode
in which I carry the same into effect, I would have it understood that
I do not confine myself to the precise details herein shown and described,
but what I do claim is,-
Firstly. The mode, substantially as hercin shown and described, of
quickly converting an arm sewing machine into a table machinc, and

page_text: vice versa, by connecting the table to the base of the machine by links,
and supporting it at the outer end of the arm by a stud or projection
entering a hole in the arm.
And, secondly. I claim the mode, substantially as herein shown and
described, of adjusting a "top feed" to feed thick or thin work by the 5
employment of an eccentric m mounted on the feed lever 1, such
eccentric m acting in combination with a lever n, which is acted upon
by a cam or wiper mounted on the needle or driving shaft a.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Ward, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of October, in the year of 1
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.