IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES FOR EMBROIDERING AND STITCHING BUTTON HOLES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES FOR EMBROIDERING
AND STITCHING BUTTON HOLES."-A communication from abroad by
Eugene Moreau and William Ballard Isaacs, both of San Francisco,
California, United States of America, Gentlemen.
Sealed the 5th January 1872, and dated the 3rd August 1871.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
5 Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES FOR

page_text: EMBROIDERING AND STITCHING BUTTON HOLES," a communication, to be as
follows:
The object of the present Invention is to provide an improvement in
sewing machines of that class which are employed to make button
holes.
The bed plate is provided with a recess in which plays a shuttle.
I use a cloth holder composed of three parts; the lower part or bed is
provided with an aperture in the shape of a button hole. The upper
part is connected with the lower part by a hinge. The middle part is
also provided with a button-hole shaped aperture, and is connected with
the upper part. The under surface of the upper part is bevelled all
around and fits into a corresponding bevelled surface in the upper part
of the bed, so that the inner edges of both surfaces will come in contact.
A screw is fastened to the bed, and a thumb nut with a washer bears on
the upper part, thus pressing the middle part against the bed. The
cloth being inserted between the lower and middle parts of the holder,
is firmly secured in its position by turning the nut. The said cloth
holder is fastened to a slide through an aperture in the bed plate. This
slide moves across another slide resting on bearings which are part of
the bed plate. The motion of these two slides guides the cloth holder
under the needle. The first-mentioned slide is provided with a slot, in
which works a pin fastened to a rod; the said pin passes through to the
other side of the rod so as to work in the slot of a crank. The other
slide is provided with a slot, in which works a pin fastened to a rod and
reaching through to the other side of the said rod, so as to work in the
slot belonging to another crank. On the lower surface of the first crank
is a pin fastened opposite to the centre of the slot; this pin passes
through a rod to work into a groove in a cam plate below. The last-
mentioned rod oscillates freely on a stud fastened to the bed plate; a pin
fastened to the extremity of the first crank connects it with a rod and
lever. The other crank is similarly constructed and connected to a
groove in the cam plate below and a rod, and at its extremity to another
rod and lever. The cam plate is allowed to revolve freely on a bearing|
fastened to the bed plate, and is provided with four cam grooves. The
last above mentioned rods are connected with an elbow oscillating on a
stud fastened to the bed plate; a connecting rod transmits motion to the
said elbow from a lever. Four cams are fastened to the driving wheel
shaft. One of the cams gives motion to the lever which drives the

page_text: elbow; another cam drives the needle arm; another cam actuates the
lever or elbow which drives the shuttle; and another cam actuates
the lever which by the connecting rod moves the feeding brake which
causes the cam plate to revolve. The needle bar is guided by an arm
and driven by a lever, and the needle operates in combination with two
hooks or loopers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my exccutors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, 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 FOR EMBROIDERING AND STITCHING BUTTON HOLES," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Eugene Moreau and William Ballard
Isaacs, both of San Francisco, California, United States of America,
Gentleman, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inver-
tion, 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

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, forming a part of this Specification.
The object of the present Invention is to provide an improvement in
sewing machines of that class which are employed to make button holes;
and I adopt a new and useful method of carrying the cloth under the
needle in such a manner as to form the button hole; and also use a
novel stitch for sewing the button hole.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan of the said machine shewing the mechanism for
carrying the cloth holder; Figure 2 is a plan shewing the cloth holder
and the manner in which it is connected with the mechanism carrying
it; Figure 3 shows the mechanism for sewing the button holes;
Figure 4 is longitudinal vertical section shewing the disposition of the
cams and needle arm; Figures 5, 5%, and 5b, shew the details of the
cloth holder.
A is a bed plate provided with a recess in which plays a shuttle B';
C is a cloth holder composed of three parts B, C, D; D is the lower part
or bed provided with an aperture D* in the shape of a button hole. The
part B is connected with the part D by a hinge A¹. The part C is also
provided with a button-hole shaped aperture, and is connected with the
upper part B by the hinge b. The lower surface of the part B is bevelled
all around, and fits into a correspondingly bevelled surface in the upper
part of the bed D, so that the inner edge of both surfaces will come in
contact. A screw F is fastened to the bed D, and a thumb nut E with
a washer bears on the upper part B, thus pressing the part C against the
bed D. The cloth being inserted between the parts C and D is firmly
secured in its position by turning the nut E, and the pressure of the
part B being taken on the centre of C the latter is free to oscillate
around the hinge b, and thus adapt itself to the inequalities of the cloth.
The cloth holder is fastened to the slide D through an aperture in the bed
plate. This slide moves across another slide F¹ resting on the bear-
ings a, a', which are part of the bed plate. The motion of these two
slides guides the cloth holder under the needle. The slide D is provided
with a slot, in which works a pin 62 fastened to a rod b³. The pin b²

page_text: crank G during the making of the body of the button hole; but
approaching the cyclet it gradually goes from the centre, thus following
the oscillations of the slots in the crank. At the same time in the
crank E the pin which connects it to the slot d is held at the right
distance from the centre by the action of the groove H while making
the body of the button hole, and gradually leads back to the said centre
when making the head, so that at the extreme end of the head or eyelet
there is no movement of the slide F¹. The effect of the combination of
these two motions is as follows:-The cloth oscillates under the needle
from right to left and left to right until approaching the bead, the side
oscillation gradually ceases to take place in the opposite direction when
at the top of the eyelet. The actions of the cams are so timed as to
allow the needle to pass through the cloth while the cloth carrier is
motionless. The needle bar R is driven by the needle arm N¹, which is
actuated by the cam N. The cams O and N leading the shuttle and
needle bar are so cut that during one half of a revolution the point of
the needle T will pass below the point of the shuttle B¹ and remain there
until the said shuttle has passed through the loop, thereby taking a
lock stitch; but during the other half revolution the shuttle remains
motionless. The needle T is thrust down only half way, and coming
up again throws a small loop, which is held in place by the hooks or
loopers X, X', until in the next half revolution. The needle T goes
through the loop to take a lock stitch as before. Then the loop stitch
and lock stitch are drawn up together, and the cams are so timed as
to take the loop stitch at the outer part of the button hole and the lock
at the inner edge. These two stitches being drawn up together in the
last place form the cord running all around this edge. The motion
given to the cloth under the needle by the combination of these rect-
angular motions is not only one of translation (as in Figure 3) but one
oscillation all around the shape shewn in Figure 2 as a base. It is
evident that the size of the oscillation or throw of the cloth from the
inner edge is dependent on the distance the pins 62, d¹, are thrown out of
the centre of the slots on the cranks G, E', by the action of the grooves I
and N of the cam plate S. It is furthermore evident that the shape of
the button hole depends on the shape of the two grooves J and K.
Moreover the same mechanism can be applied to the needle arm instead
of the cloth, so that in that case the cloth would stand still and the
needle actuated by the same mechanism as above described would shape
and oscillate accordingly.

page_text: Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the
same, I claim, a machine for embroidering and stitching button holes
constructed and operating in the manner herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my band and scal, this First day of February, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
Witness,
W. J. Lowe.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)