IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Horatio Webb, of West Hill Lodge, Hampstead,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by Thaddeus
Hiram Walker, of Topeka, Kansas, United States of America
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Horatio Webb at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th February 1874.
I, HORATIO WEBB, of West Hill Lodge, Hampstead, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," a communication, to be as
follows:-

page_text: I construct the said machines as follows:-Hangers or bearings
project down from the bed plate and carry a shaft which has at one
extremity a grooved driving pulley, and on its other extremity the
mechanism for operating the feed and shuttle carrier; it also carries a
grooved cam for operating the needle arm which is connected with a
vertical needle bar reciprocating in the head of the frame. To the under
side of the bed plate near its forward end is secured a face plate; this
plate has a circular aperture in its centre, and in this aperture a disc of
corresponding diameter secured to the forward extremity of the shaft
rotates.
The shuttle carrier is constructed with a beak at its forward end to
prevent the threads getting in front of the shuttle carrier, and between
the face plate and the said carrier a recess or aperture is formed in the
upper part of the beak of the carrier over the point occupied by the beak
of the shuttle. When the same is in position in the carrier a lid is
hinged to the body of the said carrier for keeping the shuttle in place.
Through the body of the shuttle carrier a hole is drilled, and through
this hole a pin passes and is screwed into the aforesaid disc.
From the lower side of the said shuttle carrier extends downward a
guide rod whose lower extremity is secured by a pin to a block which is
fitted to work in a vertical groove in the said face plate. As the said
shaft revolves the pin securing the shuttle carrier to the disc will carry
the same around, and the guide rod being rigidly secured to the said
carrier and pivoted to the guide block reciprocating in the groove will
keep the shuttle carrier in a horizontal position or nearly so.
The lid hinged to the shuttle carrier is held in position when closed by
a spring.
The feed mechanism and the means for regulating the feed are as
follows: A swinging or vibrating bar operated by an eccentric upon
the aforesaid shaft is employed to actuate the feed bar, a flexible bridge
is secured to a plate, and a lever pivoted to the plate passes between the
said bridge and plate, and by the friction is held in position. The afore-
said bar is slotted to receive a pin secured to the side of the lever, and
this pin will act as a fulcrum or pivot on which the bar is oscillated by
the eccentric, and the distance of this pin from the eccentric will regu-
late the amount of throw of the upper extremity of the bar. The feed

page_text: bar is pivoted to a plate lever which is jointed to the oscillating bar by a
pin, the latter is kept from turning by a guide rod which is supported at
its outward extremity in a vertically adjustable bearing. The object of
this arrangement is to regulate the vertical throw of the feed bar. The
said feed bar is provided with a guide rod for keeping it in a horizontal
position.
A wire or bent rod extends from the upper extremity of the needle
bar a short distance outward at right angles to the needle bar, then
downward parallel with the bar and about midway of its length is formed
into an upwardly inclined plane, the lower part of the wire being returned
to form a slot or stirrup. Two inclines or thin wedges are secured to
the side of the head, and between them the wire reciprocates as the
needle bar is operated; two eyes are secured on the adjustable plate
capable of being adjusted vertically. This mechanism operates as a
"take-up" to regulate and hold the thread taut while the needle moves
above the cloth so as to insure the descent of the thread through the
material on the proper side of the needle to be readily entered by the
shuttle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Horatio Webb in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HORATIO
WEBB, of West Hill Lodge, Hampstead, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Horatio Webb, Her special licence that I, the
said Horatio Webb, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such.
others as I, the said Horatio Webb, 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'

page_text: 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," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Thaddeus Hiram Walker, of Topeka,
Kansas, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Horatio Webb, 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 Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Horatio Webb, 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 Drawing
forming a part of this Specification :-
My Invention relates to sewing machines in which a needle and
shuttle co-operate to form the stitches, and consists in a novel con-
struction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as herein-after
described.
Figure is a side clevation, and Figure 2 a front end elevation of a
machine constructed according to my Invention.
Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section on the line x, x, Figure 1, 2
in the direction of the arrow.
Figures 4 and 5 are detailed views of the "take-up" mechanism.
Figures 6 and 7 shew portions of my Invention detached.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is the bed plate; B, the needle arm; C, the cloth plate; D, D, are 30
hangers or bearings projecting down from the bed plate; E is a shaft
working in these bearings, and which carries at one extremity a grooved
driving pulley, and on the other end the mechanism for operating the feed

page_text: .
mechanism and shuttle carrier. A grooved cam F is secured on it. This
cam operates the needle arm B which is connected with the needle
bar a reciprocating in the head G, and as the shaft E is rotated this
needle bar receives a vertically reciprocating motion. To the under side
of the bed plate A near its forward end is secured a face plate H; this
plate has a circular aperture in its centre, and in this aperture a disc 6 of
corresponding diameter rotates, the same being secured to the forward
extremity of the shaft E, and its face being flush or even with the
surface of the face plate H. I is the shuttle carrier which is con-
structed with a beak at its forward end and a lid J hinged to the body
of the said carrier; this lid closes over the heel of the shuttle and retains
it in the carrier. Through the body of the shuttle carrier a hole is
drilled, and through this hole a pin e¹ screw threaded at one end passes
and is screwed in the disc 6 near its circumference. From the lower
side of the said shuttle carrier extends downward a guide rod c whose
lower extremity is secured by a pin to the block d which is fitted to
work in a vertical groove e cut in the said face plate. As the said shaft
revolves the pin e¹ securing the shuttle carrier to the disc will carry the
same around, and the guide rod c¹ being rigidly secured to the said
carrier and pivoted to the guide block reciprocating in the groove e will
keep the shuttle carrier in a horizontal position or nearly so according
to the length of the guide rod. The lid J hinged to the shuttle carrier is
held in position when closed by the spring f which acts against the bevelled
outer corner of the lid to hold it in place. The lid J is shown open in
Figure 7, the dotted lines representing it in a closed position. The
beak Z at the forward end of the shuttle carrier is for the purpose of
keeping the thread from getting in front of the shuttle carrier, and between
the face plate H and the said shuttle carrier, and causing the breaking
of the thread. t is a recess or aperture formed in the upper part of the
beak Z over the point occupied by the beak of the shuttle when the
same is in position in the carrier. The purpose of this aperture is to
allow the free passage of the needle through the beak down in front of
the point of the shuttle. This aperture tis plainly shewn in Figure 7
which is a top view of the shuttle carrier.

page_text: bridge secured to the plate H; M is a lever which is pivoted to the
plate Hat and passes between the bridge g and plate H, and by the
friction caused by the bridge g and plate H by the former pressing on it
is held in position at whatever point it is adjusted. The aforesaid bar K
is slotted, as shewn in Figure 3, to receive a pin i secured to the side of
the lever M, and it will be seen that this pin will act as a fulcrum or
pivot on which the bar K is occillated by the eccentric on the shaft E;
the distance of this pin from the eccentric will regulate the amount of
throw of the upper extremity of the bar K. Lis the feed bar pivoted
by the pin to the plate lever k, which is in turn pivoted to the
occillating bar K by the pin l. This pin is kept from turning by the
guide rod m which is supported at its outward extremity in a vertically.
adjustable bearing N that can be secured in any desired position in the
slot of the hanger O by means of the thumb screw P. The object of
this arrangement is to regulate the vertical throw of the feed bar, for it
will be seen that as the guide rod is elevated or depressed it will turn
the pin and lever k, and thus either raise or lower the feed bar L.
This feed bar L is provided with a guide rod p for keeping it in a hori-
zontal position, otherwise (as it is pivoted at one point of the lever k) it
would be free to turn on this point and be displaced. Q is a wire or
bent rod which proceeds from the upper extremity of the needle bar a a
short distance outward at a right angle to the needle bar, then downward
parallel with the bar and about midway of its length is formed into an
upward inclined plane R, the lower part of the wire being turned
back to form a slot or stirrup, as shewn in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5.
S, S, are two inclines or thin wedges secured to the side of the head, and
between them the wire Q reciprocates as the needle bar is operated.
T, T¹, are two eyes secured on the adjustable plate U so as to be capable
of adjustment vertically. This mechanism operates as a "take-up" to
regulate and hold the thread taut while the needle moves above the
cloth to insure the descent of the thread through the material on the
proper side of the needle to be readily entered by the shuttle. V is a
tension device composed of two dises compressed by a thumb screw, and
between which the thread from the spool W passes; hence the thread
proceeds to the eye T¹ and through the slot or stirrup Q, then down
through the other eye T and finally through the eye of the needle.
It will now be perceived that as the needle bar ascends the slack
thread between the tension discs and the needle will be taken up by the

page_text: stirrup, and reaching the inclines the two threads will be spread apart'
and the stirrup having reached its highest point the thread will be
slipped over the shoulder of the inclines and be there retained until
the eye of the needle re-enters the cloth, at which point of the needle
bar's stroke the incline R on the stirrup throws the thread off from the
inclines S, S.
It will be obvious that the amount of take-up will be regulated by the
vertical distance of the eyes T, T, from the top of the inclines S, S, the
thread when the needle bar is at its lowest point being held by the eyes
and consequently can only be taken up from these eyes to the shoulder
of the inclines S, S.
X is a presser foot operated by means of the cam lever Y which acts
against a pin projecting from the presser foot rod through a slot in the
rear of the head, as shown in Figure 3.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,―
First. The combination with a reciprocating needle presser foot and
vibrating feed of the rotating shuttle and its carrier, all constructed and
operating as herein described, and for the purpose specified.
Second. The recess t in the shuttle carrier constructed and operating
as herein described, and for the purpose specified.
Third. The shuttle carrier with its long pointed beak Z constructed
and operating as herein described, and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The shuttle carrier with its hinged heel piece J in combi-
nation with the frictional locking spring ƒ to hold and lock the heel
piece in position constructed and operating as herein described, and for
the purpose specified.
Fifth. The locking spring operating as herein described, and for the
purpose specified.
Sixth. The combination with the reciprocating needle and disc tension
of the thread controlling device consisting of the plate or guide U,
inclined stops S, and reciprocating stirrup Q, R, combined, constructed,
and operating together, and with the other parts of the mechanisn, as
herein described, and for the purpose specified.

page_text: Seventh. The adjustable guide U for giving the proper range of thread
to the needle, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Horatio Webb, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Witness,
HENRY JAMES NOONE,
8, Southampton Buildings.
London.
HORATIO WEBB. (L.S.)