US501930A - Guide for sewing-machines - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HUBERT FOSTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY.

GUIDE FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,930, dated July 25, 1893. Application filed February l0, 1893. .Serial No. 461,720. (No model.)

Toa/ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHAaLEs HUBERT Fos- TER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and 5 State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Guides, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. xo In joining the edges of two pieces of fabric, (as in sewing up the sides of a shirt) by a lap seam known as a flat fell secured by two rows of stitches, it has heretofore been customary to use a presser-foot scroll hemmer of I5 ordinary construction made large enough to take in the two pieces of folded fabric. The scroll hemmer has been employed for this purposeinstead of an ordinary lap seam guide for the reason that when the part of the 2o seam where a gusset was to be inserted was reached the lap-seam guide would be in the way, while the work about the gusset can be properly manipulated with the hemmer. But in the use of the scroll hemmer in making this z 5 lap seam there has been more or less difficulty in properly guiding the edges of the two pieces of fabric so that there would be just the right amount of fullness to make the edges lap properly, the edges having a tendency to run 3o out laterally so that sometimes, unless great care was exercised by the operator, imperfe'ct seams would be formed.

My invention has for its object to obviate the difficulty referred to by providing a guide, g5 of novel construction, by the use of which, in connection with a presser-foot scroll hemmer, perfect lap seams can be readily and easily made, even when the sewing machine is run at a high rate of speed, without requiring special to skill or care on the part of the operator. To

this end I have constructed a guide comprising a vertical flange or rib the forward or inner part of which is turned over in the form of a scroll and the outer part of which is i5 preferably provided with a horizontal lip extending on the same side of said iiange as the said scroll. The said guide is preferably furnished at its outer end with a shank by which it may be pivotally attached to the work- :o plate of the machine so that it may readily be swung aside out of the way when not in use, or when the gusset part of the seam is to be formed, a stop on the said work-plate limiting its return movement when again swung back into working position. 5 In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a Singer two-needle machine with my invention applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a detail front end view of a part thereof. Fig. isa'detail plan 60 view of the guide, and Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrative of the work to be performed by the use of my invention.

A denotes the head at the forward end of the bracket arm of the sewing machine. 65 B is the needle-bar carrying two needles b,

b, and C is the presser bar to the lower end of which is attached the scroll hemmer presserfoot c, which is, or may be, of the well known construction heretofore in use, the said 7o presser-foot being, for clearness of illustration, shown slightly lifted from working position.

D is the work-plate of the machine and is secured to an arm or cylinder E in which are 75 the shuttles, the shuttle drivers and the feeding mechanism.

Attached to the work-.plate D is my improved guide consisting of the base f from which rises the vertical rib or iiange g the 8o forward or inner part of which is turned over in the form of a scroll h which slopes downward forwardly, the rear or outer part of said flange being preferably turned over to form the lip t' which is horizontal, or approximately 85 so, and which extends on the same side of said flange as said scroll. The said guide is pivotally attached to the work-plate D by the screw a passing through the outer end of the shank f which extends outward from the 9o base f, so that the said guide may be readily swung around to the left out of the way when not wanted for use, a suitable stop, as the pin CZ on the work-plate, being provided to secure accurate placing of said guide when swung 95 back into working position, and when in such position the vertical flange or rib g will be in a line about midway between the two needles4 of the machine and about central in front of the scroll hemmer. (See Fig. 2.)

In the use of my invention the two pieces of fabrics y, (Fig. 4) are entered into the scroll hemmer in the usual manner, the piece being so arranged that its edge extends up vertically against the lower side of the horizontal gage lip i, while farther forward it is curled over beneath the scroll h. The piece y is so held that it overlies the said lip and scroll which thus divide or separate the two pieces of fabric so that they can easily be adjusted with relation to each other. No special care need be taken in adjusting the edge of the piece y excepting to draw it well over to the left, as any extra-fullness of edge thereof will be properly taken care of by the scroll hemlner of the presser-foot c. As the machine is started the operator, by the pressure of a finger against the left side of the flange g, holds the edge of the piece a; up against the lip and at the same time easily guides the edge of the piece fg over the said lip and the scroll h so that the goods are thus accurately directed to the presser-foot scroll hemmer and to the needles to form lines of stitches denoted by thedotted lines a through the lapped edges of the fabrics. Thus without requiring special skill on the part of the operator, and with the exercise of no great care, lap-seams may, by the use of my invention, be readily formed; while the pivotal attachment of the guide to the work-plate permits it to be readily and quickly swung aside when the gusset part of the seam is reached, and as quickly returned for operation when desired.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination witha two-needle sew ing machine provided with a presser-foot scroll hemmer, of a guide, for use in making lap seams, said guide comprising a vertical rib or fiange having its forward or inner part turned overinto a downwardly and forwardly sloping scroll, and the said vertical rib or flange being arranged in a line about midway between the two needles of the machine.

2. A sewing machine guide, for use in making lap seams, comprising a vertical flange having at its outer part a horizontal lip and having its inner or forward part turned over to form a downwardly and forwardly sloping scroll.

3. A sewing machine guide, for use in making lap seams, consisting of a base provided with an outwardly extending shank by which to attach the guide to the work-plate of the machine, and a flange extending upward from said base and provided at its outer part with a horizontal lip and at its inner or forward part with a forwardly and downwardly sloping scroll.

4. The combination with a two-needle sewing machine provided with a presser foot scroll hemmer, of a guide consisting of the base f having the shank f by which said guide is pivotally attached to the work-plate of the machine, said base having also the flange or rib g arranged in line about midway between the needles of the machine, and the said flange or rib being provided at its outer part with the horizontal lip t' and at its inner or forward part with the scroll h.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES HUBERT FOSTER.

Witnesses:

CHAs. ELKIN, WALTER J. PETTIT.

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