AN IMPROVED FEED MOTION FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isaac Merritt Singer, of New York, in the United
States of America, but now of Cornhill, in the City of London, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED FEED MOTION FOR SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 5th November 1861, and dated the 9th May 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isaac Merritt Singer at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th May 1861.
I, ISAAC MERRITT SINGER, of New York, in the United States of America,
but now of Cornhill, in the City of London, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED FEED MOTION FOR SEWING
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to give to the feeder of sewing machines
(that is, the roughened surface by which the fabric under operation is moved
forward and presented to the action of the vertical needle) a reciprocating
motion by a simple and efficient contrivance, either in the direction of the
length of the machine or.at right angles thereto, the change of motion being
effected at pleasure to suit the nature of the work in hand. The feeder I slot
at its inner end to receive a bolt which secures it to the framing, and I support
it from below by a slide which has a rebate at its under side and near its outer
end. The shoulder of this rebate is chamfered so as to work against an

page_text: incline on a fixed cross bar. A reciprocating motion is given to the slide by
one of a series of cams on the main driving shaft of the machine, whereby the
outer end of the slide is elevated as it is forced outward (by reason of its
mounting the incline of the cross bar), and thus the feeder is pressed up into
contact with the fabric on the table of the machine while the fabric is held
down by the ordinary presser foot. To impart the feed motion to the feeder
when it has thus taken hold of the fabric, a bar sliding in a guide, and having
an incline on its inner face, bears agaiust an incline on the side of the feeder,
and thus a lateral motion is imparted to the feeder. For giving it a longitu-
dinal motion the same sliding bar may be used, that bar having a hooked
projection on its outer end, which, when an adjustment is made to bring the
feeder under its operation, will move the feeder forward, and cause it to
traverse the fabric under the vertical needle. The sliding bar will receive its
reciprocating motion from a cam on the driving shaft, and the return motion
of the feeder will be effected by tension springs.
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 9th November 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAAC
MERRITT SINGER, of New York, in the United States of America, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Isaac Merritt Singer, Her special license that I, the said Isaac Merritt-
Singer, my executors, 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 "AN
IMPROVED FEED MOTION FOR SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst.
others) that I, the said Isaac Merritt Singer, by an instrument in writing under.
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and

page_text: 'cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calen-
dar 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 per-
formed, 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) :-
The object of this Invention is to give to the feeder of sewing machines
(that is, the roughened surface by which the fabric under operation is moved
forward and presented to the action of the vertical needle) a reciprocating
motion by a simple and efficient contrivance, either in the direction of the
length of the machine or at right angles thereto, the change of motion being
effected at pleasure to suit the nature of the work in hand.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn so much of a sewing machine
with my improved feed motion applied thereto as will serve to explain its
action.
Fig. 1 shews in plan view the hollow base of the machine with a horizontal
arm projecting therefrom, and containing the parts constituting the improved
feed motion; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under side thereof, and Fig. 3 is a
longitudinal sectional elevation of the horizontal arm and base of the machine,
which parts are either cast in one piece or bolted together.
When applying the ordinary wooden table to the machine to support the
work it is brought up to a level with the face a, a, of the arm A, Fig. 3.
The roughened plate or surface which constitutes the feeder is shewn at b, b,
5 and is attached to the outer end or forms part with a bar 6*, the inner end of
.which is slotted to receive a screw bolt which secures it loosely to the pro-
jecting arm A. As this feeder is intended to move the work under the vertical
needle either in a line with the arm A or at right angles thereto, it is arranged
to receive indifferently a horizontal reciprocating motion either lengthwise or
transverse of the feeder bar, as well as the ordinary up-and-down. motion by
which it is brought into contact with and withdrawn from the fabric under
operation. The feeder 6 projects through the slotted plate or throat c, which
is removable to allow of the insertion of a differently slotted plate, which
change is necessary when it is desired to change the direction of the feed. In
Fig. 4, which represents the arm A in partial plan view, this plate is removed,
the form and position of its slot being indicated by red lines. In this Figure
and in Fig. 1 the feed motion is shewn as adapted for feeding in the direction
of the length of the arm A, but at Figures 5 and 6, which are partial plan
views of the arm, one with the slotted plate in place and the other with it

page_text: removed; the feed motion is shewn as intended to operate laterally, the change
of motion being due solely to the difference in the form of the slots of the
two plates which act as guides to the feeder. On the under side of the feeder
bar bis a projection which rests upon and is supported by a slider d, which is
cranked at its hinder.end, and works in suitable guides made in the base B to
receive it. Within the crank of this slide d. works a cam e, which is mounted
on the main driving shaft C of the machine. A wedge piece is formed on the
under side of the forward end of the slide d, and bears against a fixed pro-
jection or ledge f of the arm A; when therefore the cam in its rotation drives
forward the slide d, its wedge is caused to mount the ledge f and thereby lift
the feeder to its highest position. A coiled spring g (see Fig. 4), connecting
the bar with a fixed pin on the inner face of the arm A, serves to return
the feeder to its depressed and normal position. Coupled to the slide d by a
coiled spring (see Figures 2 and 3) is a second cranked slide i, in the crank
of which works a cam k on the main driving shaft C. The office of this spring
is to keep the slides in contact with their respective cams, and thereby ensuring
their acting alternately as required. At its forward extremity the slide i
works in a guide formed for it in the end of the arm A, and it is provided
with a lateral projection *, which butts against the end of the feeder b. The
inner angle formed by this projection is wedge shaped, to permit of its
bearing against the back of the feeder, and giving it the lateral motion when
that is required for the feed. A pressing spring 1 (Fig. 2) is used to give the
return lateral movement to the feeder.
It will now be understood that when it is desired to feed the fabric in the
direction of the length of the arm A, a plate c is applied to the machine,
having a slot so shaped as to confine the feeder to this direction of motion.
This form of slotted plate is shewn at Fig. 1. While this plate is in use the
against the forward end of the
square shoulder of the projection will bear
feeder, and through the action of the cam k thrust it back in the direction of
the arrow, Fig. 4, while the spring 9 will return the feeder to its former
position after the pressure of the cam k is removed from the slide i. This
backward motion will take place while the feeder is elevated by the slide d,
at which time the ordinary presser (not shown in the Drawing) will press
upon the fabric under operation, and keep it in close contact with the roughened
surface of the feeder; the fabric will therefore be moved under the vertical
needle a distance equal to that of the traverse of the feeder. "The needle will
then strike into the work, pass through the hole in the slotted plate made to
receive and present the slack loop to the shuttle or its equivalent, as will be
well understood by all makers of sewing machines. The cam e, following the

page_text: action of the cam k, will have caused the feeder to rise to effect the above-
described operation of the feeder, and falling out of action immediately after
the cam k bas acted, the spring g will be free to return the feeder to its
quiescent position. When, however, the slotted plate shewn at Fig. 5 is
applied, the feeder will be confined to a lateral movement, and the wedge on
the slide will act upon the feeder, driving it to the position shewn in red at
Fig. 6. The return motion will in this case be effected by the spring 1.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved Feed
Motion 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, imparting a reciprocating motion to the feeder of
sewing machines, either in the direction of their length or at right angles
thereto (such motions being interchangeable at pleasure), in the manner and
for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaac Merritt Singer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the First day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
ISAAC M. SINGER. (LS.)