IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Wiseman, of Luton, in the County of Bedford,
Sewing Machine Merchant, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Wiseman at the
· Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st July 1880.
EDMUND WISEMAN, of Luton, in the County of Bedford, Sewing Machine
Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
This Invention relates chiefly to improvements upon and additions to the
machinery or apparatus for sewing straw plaits or braids, for which Letters Patent
were granted to me on or about the 22nd of June 1878, No. 2485, parts of which
improvements may also be combined with other sewing machines wherein the
length of stitch and corresponding degree of tension requires to be frequently
altered. My improvements consist in the combination with the class of sewing
machines hereinbefore referred to, of a peculiar arrangement of adjustable automatic
tension, which is varied or adjusted by the act of varying the length of stitch,
and is also automatically and independently relieved as required during a portion
of cach revolution of the machine. According to one mode of carrying out my
Invention, I employ a longitudinally sliding spindle working within a suitable
bearing fixed to the bed plate or other convenient part of the machine, this spindle
being so connected by a bell crank or other lever with the adjustable stitch
regulating mechanism or vertically adjustable slide 3, referred to in the Specification
to my said former Patent, as that on altering the length of the stitch, the pressure
of the spring upon one of a pair of tension discs shall be increased or diminished.
According to one mode of accomplishing this, I fix to the said sliding spindle a
boss, having a transverse inclined slot therein, within which moves transversely to
the spindle one end of a bell crank lever, the opposite end of which is forked, and
is acted upon by a projection on the stitch regulating slide. In this arrangement
the forked end of the lever is made sufficiently wide to allow of the up and down
motion of the main slide which carries the said stitch regulating slide 3. The two
tension discs aro mounted loosely upon the before mentioned sliding spindle, or
upon a collar sliding freely thereon, which collar, when used, is employed in the

page_text: manner and for the purpose hereinafter explained. A helical spring regulated by a
thumb nut on the end of the sliding spindle serves to press the discs together, as is
well understood. On moving the stitch regulating slide 3 up or down for the
purpose of varying the length of stitch, the bell crank or other lever so acts upon
the sliding spindle as to cause it to slide longitudinally more or less along its
bearing, and thereby increase or diminish the pressure of the spring, and the
consequent grip of the tension discs necessitated by the alteration in the length of
stitch. In addition to this alteration in the tension, I sometimes combine a further
arrangement, whereby the absolute and automatic release of the tension is effected
at any desired portion of each revolution of the machine. For this purpose I
employ the before mentioned sliding collar on the spindle, and mount the tension
discs upon such collar, which projects more or less through the discs. In front of
the outer end of the sliding collar, and also mounted loosely upon the said spindle,
there is situate a washer which is recessed on the face next the tension discs, and
against the opposite or plain side of which one end of the spring presses so as to
bring the recessed side thereof in contact with the discs. The sliding collar is
moved at each revolution along its spindle by the action (direct or otherwise) of a
lever worked by a special cam on the main shaft. The outward movement of the
collar forces back the recessed washer, and thereby releases the grip of the discs
upon the thread at and during the time required, the grip being restored imine-
diately on the backward or inward movement of the sliding collar under the action
of a spring or otherwise. The use of the hereinbefore described tension arrangement
obviates the necessity for any slack thread appliance. In the before mentioned
class of sewing machines, when found desirable to augment the pressure of the
presser foot at the moment when the sewing instruments are about to penetrate the
work from below, I propose to employ an auxiliary or additional spring acting upon
the presser foot, and governed by a cam on the main shaft.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edmund Wiseman in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
January 1881.
EDMUND WISEMAN, of Luton, in the County of Bedford, Sewing Machine
Merchant. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
My said Invention relates to improvements chiefly in the class of sewing machines
for sewing straw-plaits or braids, for which Letters Patent were granted to me
bearing date the 22nd of June 1878, No. 2485, that is to say, sewing machines
wherein an eye pointed needle and a hooked instrument both fitted to and carried
by one and the same slide or needle arm, and disposed parallel to each other, the
one behind the other in the line of stitching or in the direction in which the feeder
carries the work, are employed together and in combination with a looper or loopers

page_text: acting in the manner set forth in the Specification to my said Patent. The object
of my present Invention is to vary or adjust the tension of the thread in machines
of the class referred to, and in other sewing machines of like character by the act
of varying the length of stitch, also to effect the automatic releasing of the tension
as required during one or more portions of each revolution of the machine, which I
accomplish by combining with such like, or other sewing machines where applicable,
one or both of the tension devices hereinafter described.
The first of these tension devices is so arranged and operated as that the tension
of the thread shall be adjusted by the act of varying or adjusting the length of
stitch, such tension device being governed or regulated by the position of the
stitch regulating appliance of the sewing machine. It is chiefly designed for use in
combination with straw-braid stitching machines of the kind described in the
Specification to my said former Patent, although it is also applicable to other
sewing machines of like character in which the length of stitch and corresponding
degree of tension require to bo frequently altered.
The second of these tension devices consists of a peculiar adjustable and
automatic tension and releasing device governed by a special cam on the driving
shaft, or by any other suitable moving part of the sewing machine, whereby the
tension is automatically and independently released at intervals as required, during
one or more parts of each revolution of the machine. It is applicable not only to
straw-braid sewing machines of the class referred to, but also to other sewing
machines, where an automatic tension is capable of being advantageously
employed.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to
the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, tho
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed represents a side elevation of my
said improved straw-braid sewing machine, slightly modified in some of the minor
working parts, and having my peculiar tension devices hereinbefore referred to
combined therewith. This Figure represents the opposite side of the machine to
that shown by Figure 1 of the Drawings attached to my said former Specification;
Figure 2 is a front or face view of the same machine, corresponding to Figure 1,
and showing the stitching and feeding mechanism and stitch regulating device, all
as previously specified under my Patent aforesaid; Figure 3 is a separate detail
elevation drawn to a larger scale, showing both of my said peculiar tension devices
combined together; Figure 4 is a corresponding detail elevation of the same looking
at right angles to Figure 3; Figure 5 is a horizontal section of the said combined
tension devices, also corresponding to Figure 3; Figure 6 is a detail showing the
connection between the stitch regulator or slide of the sewing machine and the
tension device, and illustrating how the latter is governed by the position of
the former, and Figure 7 is a full sized detail side elevation of the cam, which
actuates or governs the second tension device hereinbefore referred to.
As the stitch forming devices, feeding device, and stitch regulating device, shown
in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the means for actuating
them, are all substantially the same as described in my said former Specification,
I have not considered it necessary to recapitulate here the description of their
construction and mode of operation, but with a view to enabling such parts of my
Drawings as are the same as or equivalents for those previously specified by me
to be inore readily identified, I have marked them where they occur in the
Drawings annexed, with reference letters and numbers corresponding to those ou
the Drawings attached to my said former Specification.
The first of my tension devices which is designed for being governed or actuated
by the stitch regulator or slide of the sewing machine consists of a spindle 16
sliding longitudinally within a bearing 17 fixed to the bed plate, or other con-
venient part of the machine. This spindle 10 is so connected by means of a bel!
crank or other lever with the adjustable stitch regulating mechanism or vertically

page_text: adjustable slide 3 referred to in the Specification to my said former Patent, as that
on altering the length of the stitch by shifting the stitch regulator or slide 3, the
pressure of the helical spring 18 upon one of a pair of tension discs 19 shall be
increased or diminished. To carry out this object I fix to the sliding spindle 16 a
boss 20 having a horizontally inclined slot 21 (shown dotted in Figure 5), made
transversely on the underside thereof, within which slot moves to and fro trans-
versely to the axis of the spindle the flattened and inclined end 22 of the vertical
arm of a bell crank lever 23, the horizontal arm of which is forked at its
extremity 24, and is acted upon by a projection or pin 25 carried by the stitch
regulating slide 3, as shown clearly by the details, Figures 5 and 6. The fork 24
of the bell crank lever is made sufficiently wide to admit of the constant up and
down motion of the vertical slide y, which carries the stitch regulating slide 3, as
set forth in the Specification to my said former Patent. The tension discs 19 are
mounted loosely upon the spindle 10 or upon a loose collar 26 (see Figure 5),
sliding freely along the said spindle, which collar when used is employed in the
manner and for the purpose hereinafter explained. The helical spring 18 which is
regulated by a thumb nut 28 on the end of the sliding spindle 16 serves to press
one of the discs against the other, as is well understood. On moving the stitch
regulating slide 3 up or down by the small lever 6 (Figure 2), for the purpose of
varying the length of stitch, the flattened and inclined end 22 of the vertical arm
of the bell crank lever 23 so acts upon the inclined slot 21 in the boss 20 on the
sliding spindle 10, as to cause that spindle to slide longitudinally more or less along
its bearing 17, according to the degree of movement of the bell crank 23, thereby
increasing or diminishing more or less (according to the direction in which the
spindle is moved and the amount of its motion), the pressure of the spring upon the
tension discs 19, as required by the alteration in the length of stitch. This
adjustment of the tension or pressure on the thread, as it passes from the bobbin
between the said discs on its way to the aperture 7 (Figures 1 and 2) made
through the front standard, is consequently governed or regulated by the height or
vertical position of the stitch regulating slide 3.
In order to effect the absolute and automatic release of the thread at one or more
points in each revolution of the machine, which I accomplish by my second
arrangement of tension device, I mount the tension discs 19 upon the before
mentioned sliding collar 26, which collar projects slightly through both discs, and
enters a recessed washer 29, also mounted loosely on the sliding spindle, and
pressing with its recessed face against the outer one of the tension discs, it being
held against such disc by the helical spring 18 acting upon its outer surface, as
shown clearly in Figure 5. The sliding collar is slid one or more times at each
revolution of the machine along the spindle 16 by the action of the upright
lever 30 and connecting link 31 (Figures 3 and 4), the lever being worked to and
fro by a special cam 32 fitted for that purpose on the main shaft E of the machine,
assisted by the spring 33 which gives the return movement.
movement of the collar 26 along the spindle 16 forces back the recessed washer 29,
and thereby releases the pressure of the outer disc upon the thread at and during
the time required, the pressure being restored immediately by the spring 18 during
the backward or inward movement of the sliding collar, such pressure being
adjustable at will by the nut 28.
The outward
In Figure 4 of my Drawings, I have shown the cam 32 as formed with a single
projection so as to act once only upon the actuating lever 30 of the automatic
tension and releasing device at each revolution of the machine, thereby releasing
the thread from pressure during the time the feed takes place, and allowing the
thread to render freely. I prefer however to make this cam of the form shown
in full size detail in Figure 7; that is to say, with two projections 34 and 35, the
cam being timed with reference to the movements of the feeder and of the needle a,
hooked instrument b, and loopers c and d of the sewing machine, so as to produce
the following results :-When the wider projecting part 34 of the cam is acting
upon the lover 30 of the tension device, the grip on the thread is removed or

page_text: released so as to allow the thread to render freely during the time the feed is in
action, and whilst the needle and hook are below the cloth plate or table. When
the part 36 of the cam is opposite the lever 30, the grip on the thread is restored
by the action of the spring 18, this taking place at or about the time the points of
the sewing instruments are entering the work, the grip being maintained until
they are about completing their upward movement. When the projecting part 35
of the cam is in action the grip on the thread is again released, allowing the
loopers c and d to take up the thread freely at the commencement of their action,
and at the commencement of the descent of the sewing instruments, such grip
being allowed to be restored again (by the part 37 of the cam, as previously
described) by the time the loopers have completed about half their traverse, and
the sewing instruments have completed about half their downward movement above
the fabric. This grip is maintained until the points of the sewing instruments
have about descended through the work, by which time the loopers have completed
their action and the feed is about to commence, when the operations are repeated,
as before described. I wish it to be understood that where I have used the term
grip on the thread," I do not intend to imply a dead or positive grip, or such as
would absolutely prevent the drawing off of the thread from the bobbin, but an
adjustable, clastic, or yielding spring pressure.
Although I have shown and described my improved tension devices as combined
together and forming a compound device arranged so as to have two distinct
functions, the one brought into action by the stitch regulating mechanism or
slide 3 of my sewing machine, as previously patented, and the other by a special
cam 32 on the main shaft of the said machine, it is obvious that the alternate
automatic release and tension arrangement worked by the cam 32, and the
arrangement by which the tension is adjusted through the stitch regulating
mechanism or slide 3, may be employed separately and independently of each
other.
By the use of the hereinbefore described adjustable automatic spring tension and
releasing device in combination with my previously patented arrangement of
sewing and feeding mechanism, I am further enabled to dispense with the use
of a "take-up lever."
Should it be found desirable to augment the pressure of the presser foot at the
moment when the sewing instruments are about to penetrate the work from below,
an auxiliary or additional helical spring may be fitted inside the arm o of the
machine, so as to press upwards against a loose collar 38 (Figures 1 and 2), through
which passes a rod 39 having an enlarged head and connected at its lower end to
the lever, which is pressed downwards at each revolution by the cam q on the
main shaft. But although I have partially shown such an arrangement in Figure 1
of my Drawings, I do not claim it as part of my present Invention. In lieu of an
arm on the rocking spindle / receiving its motion direct from the periphery of the
cam i, as in my said former Specification, I prefer to transmit the motion by a face
grooved cam i, to the arm h', through the intervention of a vibrating upright lever h²
and link ³, as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings, I prefer also to
use a face grooved cam k in lieu of a crown cam for actuating the looper d, this
cam acts upon a lever 42 connected by a link 43 to the end of the lever 44 mounted
on the rocking spindle which carries the looper d.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that I do not claim generally an intermittent
tension device, nor the so increasing the resistance to the delivery of the thread
during a portion of the stroke of the needle as practically to prevent its delivery,
neither do I claim the imparting a self-acting intermittent tension of the needle
thrend by holding such thread rigidly or clamping it between nipping surfaces at
any part of the stroke of the needle, but what I consider to be novel and original,

page_text: and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The peculiar combination and arrangement of parts of a tension apparatns
for straw-braid and other like sewing-machines, whereby the tension of the thread
is adjusted by the act of varying or adjusting the length of stitch, such tension
device being governed or regulated by the stitch regulating appliance of the
machine, substantially as and for the purpose herein before described and illustrated
by the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Secondly. The peculiar combination and arrangement of parts constituting an
adjustable automatic spring tension and releasing device for sewing machines, with
the appliances for actuating the same for the purpose of effecting the absolute
removal at one or more parts of the stroke of the needle of the pressure of the
well known friction or tension discs of adjustable spring tension apparatus by
the positive and direct action of the machine itself, substantially in the manner
and for the purpose herein before described and illustrated by the Drawings
annexed.
Thirdly. The combination in one device of a tension arrangement governed or
actuated by the stitch regulator of a sewing machine and an adjustable automatic
tension and releasing arrangement governed or actuated by a cam or other suitable
moving part of the same sewing machine, substantially as and for the purpose
herein before described and illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
Fourthly. The combination of the herein described peculiar arrangement of
tension device governed or regulated by the stitch regulating appliance with the
peculiar arrangement of sewing machine described in the Specification to my said
Patent of June 22nd, 1878, No. 2485, or with other sewing machines of like
character requiring the length of stitch and corresponding degree of tension to be
frequently altered, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore described and
illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
Fifthly. The combination of the herein described peculiar arrangement of
adjustable automatic tension and releasing device and its operating mechanism,
with the peculiar arrangement of sewing machine described and claimed in the
Specification to my said former Patent, or with other sewing machines to which
an automatic tension device can be advantageously applied, substantiaily as and for
the purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated by the Drawings annexed.
Sixthly. The combination with the peculiar arrangement of sewing machine
described in the Specification to my said former Patent of a tension device governed
or regulated by the stitch regulator or slide of the said machine.
Seventhly. The combination with the peculiar arrangement of sewing machine
described in the Specification to my said former Patent of an adjustable automatic
tension and releasing device governed or regulated by a cam or other convenient
moving part of the said machine.
hand
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Wiseman, have hereunto set my
and seal, this Twenty ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.