Improvements in and relating to Sewing Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Dec., 1896-Accepted, 27th Mar., 1897
Winchester, in the County of Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States of
America.]
Improvements in and relating to Sewing Machines..
:
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Figure 1 is an elevation, on a small scale, of the sewing machine and its suspending
and driving mechanism;
Figure 2 is a side elevation; and
Figure 3 an edge view of the suspending and driving mechanism;
:
Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, illustrate the preferred construction of the sewing
machine.
The main object of this invention is to adapt a sewing machine for motion with
relation to the work, instead of moving the work, as heretofore, with relation to the
machine, in order to form a seam. There is a large class of work in which the
parts to be sewed together require to be temporarily secured in relative position, as
by basting or with tacks or pegs, or by clamps, and in some classes of work this
movement of the machine with relation to the work is a matter of great
importance, as for example in the manufacture of turned shoes and welted shoes the
upper may be sewed to the inner sole, or the upper and welt may be sewed to the
inner sole, or the outer sole may be sewed to the welt while the shoe is held on a
jack, or other support.
'
The first essential for this mode of sewing is that the sewing machine shall be
suspended and driven by flexible means, as by its driving belt; and this is the main
feature of this invention, as thereby the sewing machine may not only have a
bodily motion to give the desired length of stitch, but may also be tipped and
turned and tilted as the seam requires, when the parts to be sewed together are
sinuous, as for example a lip on the inner sole and the edge of the upper in turned
shoes and in welted shoes, or the edge of the welt and the edge of the outer sole in
welted shoes. In the drawings the belt g on pulley G is the driving belt, for pulley G
is fast to the main shaft f of the sewing machine, and belt g connects pulley G
with pulley g, which latter pulley is properly driven as by belt g and its
pulleys g and 9, pulley being fast to pulley and 9 being fast to shaft g' of
pulley 98 which is driven by belt g' as indicated in Fig. 1, and in Figs. 2 and 3.
The spring glo holds arm G¹ up to bracket G2 so that the end of lever g² comes
in contact with its stop g" on bracket G2, (Figs. 2 and 3) and belt g' is thereby
slacked as stud g³ moves nearer shaft g' when lever g is swung on its fulcrum at
the end of arm G. But when the sewing machine is grasped by the operator and
pulled down for operation as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, belt g is drawn tight and
acts through lever g² to tighten belt g. It will now be clear that the sewing machine
is suspended by its driving belt or other flexible driving means and can therefore
be moved freely, so far as the length of the driving belt or its equivalent, a flexible
shaft, will permit, and also that as the upper pulley g of the driving belt g can be

page_text: moved against the force of spring 9", the sewing machine can be moved towards
and from the work; and moreover the sewing machine can be properly tipped and
turned and tilted to conform to the sinuosities of the seam.
The arm G', lever g, spring go and stop constitute an automatic belt
slacking mechanism which operates to stop the sewing machine automatically when
left to itself; but it is also important that the machine should be stopped and
started at the pleasure of the operator, and this is accomplished by the finger
lever H, and cord h and lever g², for a pull upon cord h, swings the lower end of
lever inwards and thus slackens belt g. This, will be clear from Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5. The stop enters the groove in the face of cam j³, when the finger
lever H is depressed, and stops the sewing machine with the needle back, or out of
the work. See Figs. 4, 5 and 8.
The sewing machine terminates in the guide post ; and the looper ; (Figs. 4, 5
and 9) which in one position supplements the guide foot j and holds the thread
close to the work so that the needle passes over it; for both ; and j' rest upon the
work and, in the example shown, in the channel of the inner sole D, while the
needle F penetrates the work, in this example the upper D', channel lip d, and
welt d'; and while the needle is in the work the looper foot is lifted by its
spring drawing the thread into the hook of the needle which is then withdrawn,
and looper foot is then depressed by its cam. The cam is on shaft in line
with shaft, and the wrist pin extends through cam, and compels cam and
shaft to rotate with pulley G and shaft. (See Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 8.)
When the needle feed is used the needle penetrates the work close to looper
foot, and the feed mechanism operates and moves the compound guide foot along
the channel, bringing foot j close to the needle, looper foot rising and drawing,
the thread across the needle, so that when the needle is withdrawn it draws a loop
of thread through the work and the preceding loop. See Figs. 5, 7 and 9. The
needle carrier is oscillated by segmental lever forked at its upper end to receive
the box f of wrist pin f, which is fast to pulley G on main shaft, as will be
clear from Fig. 6, which shows these parts with other parts obscuring them removed
or merely indicated. The needle carrier is moved end wise, to feed, by the motion
of lever due to cam on pulley G, and spring ; and these motions of lever/*
move shaft of needle carrier fendwise. (See Figs. 5, 7 and 9.)
The work is clamped between the side of loot ; and the work clamp at the lower
end of lever K which is thrown forward to clamp the work by the spring k, and
moved away from the work by the pawl k carried by the swinging arm . This
arm is thrown forward by the wiper ³ in order to make pawl k engage with the
ratchet on the upper end of lever K, and thus move lever K in a direction to move
the work clamp away from the work. As arm is moved back by its spring,
the pawl strikes the knock off, and is thereby freed from its ratchet, in order
to leave lever K under the influence of its spring k, and cause it to clamp the work.
The looper foot, work clamp and their adjuncts are shown in Figs. 7 and 8 with
other parts removed or indicated.
One chief novelty of this sewing machine is that it may be tipped, tilted and
moved bodily in all directions, for example, may not only be moved bodily to follow
all the sinuosities of a last, including outline as well as curves from toe to heel, but
also held at any angle to the surface of the sole; and while we have shown the
best mode of embodying this invention it will be clear that its principle is above
explained,
The operation will be clear without further description.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, 1 declare that what I claim is :-
First. In combination a sewing machine; its driving belt in which the sewing
machine is suspended; means for actuating the driving belt; and means for moving
the driving belt bodily in a vertical plane to lift and lower the sewing machine

page_text: while it is driven by the driving belt; all organized substantially as described to
permit the sewing machine while in operation to be tipped and tilted and
also moved up, down and sidewise to sew from the shank on one side of a shoe sole,
and about the forepart and toe to the shank on the other side.
Second. In combination a sewing machine; its driving belt in which the sewing
machine is suspended; means for actuating the driving belt; means for moving the
driving belt bodily in a vertical plane to lift and lower the sewing machine while it
is driven by the driving belt; and a finger lever for starting and stopping the
sewing machine, all organized substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 8th day of December 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.