IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer, & Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINES."-A commu-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th February 1861.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 58, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer & Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a machine applicable for sewing and embroidering,
and consists, 1st, of an upper needle, which is made to turn, for the purposes
of sewing and embroidering; an oscillating motion is also imparted to this
needle for drawing through the thread by means of levers worked by a cam
which receives motion from a pulley, crank, or otherwise; 2ndly, of a lower
hook, which forms the knot of the thread from the upper needle, and which
may also change its position to operate in different directions. The alternate
movement of rotation of this hook is furnished by a rod having a screw thread,
on which is screwed and unscrewed a friction surface. The rotating motions
of the needle and hook for embroidering and sewing in different directions are
effected simultaneously, that is, the needle and hook are connected by shafts
Price &1

page_text: and conical gear, so that when motion is imparted to one part the other will
receive a corresponding motion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
August 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lano, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer &
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of February in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reigu, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, 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 AND EMBROIDERING
MACHINES," a communication from abroad by Louis Alphonse Maureau, of 29
Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, 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 William Clark, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to an improved machine adapted for embroidering
with the chainstitch all kinds of fabrics & leather; its construction and action
in all its arrangements are very simple, and I believe will effectually attain
the object desired, the characteristic feature of the Invention being to impart

page_text: In
to the needle or hook a rotating movement, as herein-after described.
effect, the rotating movement of the hook is indespensable in embroidering
the chain stitch, otherwise it would be necessary to change the position of
the fabric according to the form of the design to be executed, which is
difficult or even impracticable on a small scale, & impossible on a large scale.
A machine constructed according to this Invention is represented in the
annexed Drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal elevation, and
Fig. 2 an end view. In the two Figures the same letters represent the
same parts seen in different positions.
I will now mention the four principal parts of the machine, which, are 1st,
the hook or needle A, which is represented in detail in the annexed Drawings;
2ndly, the guard B, for exerting pressure on the fabric, so that the needle may
rise readily through it with the thread taken from below; 3rdly, of a tubular
eccentric hooker C mounted on an axis having an exterior helix; the tube &
axis are pierced at the centre with a longitudinal hole through which the thread
first passes by its rotating movement; the hooker twines the thread round the
needle each time it penetrates the fabric. On the thread being hooked the needle
ascends and the hooker reassumes the place it occupies at the commencement
of each revolution effected by its eccentric free extremity; 4thly, a part
intended to keep the thread always in tension, a spring fixed on its axis retain-
ing the thread when the traction caused by the needle ceases. The different
parts above mentioned are set in motion by eccentrics placed on the axis D,F,
Fig. 2; the eccentric G on the extremity of this axis imparts the vertical
movement to the needle by means of the rod H & lever I pivotted at the
middle of its length. The parts J & K slide and receive their movement
through levers I & L, communicated to them by the eccentric. The part J
carries at its extremity an axis M, pierced with a hole which receives the
stem or needle carrier N, the extremity of this axis M is split, which permits
of fixing the needle stem by means of a nut O. It will be seen from this that
the movement of the needle A is the same as that of parts J & M. The
eccentric or cam P determines by its outline projections the motion of the
hooker C round the needle when this last has penetrated and passed under-
neath the fabric. The eccentric acting as indicated in the Drawing on the
nut Q raises the latter, which imparts a rotating movement to the helix, the
hooker C,which is solid with the helix during this movement, passes the thread
round the needle, which then returns with its stitch. The eccentric P now
presents a hollow to the truck roller which has the effect of simultaneously
returning the nut & hooker to the point of starting. The third eccentric
placed parallel to P on the axis D, F, determines the movement of the

page_text: guard B; the lever L communicates with the piece K by means of pointed
rod S, while the thread T carries at its middle a nut U, which has at one
extremity a right & at the other a left hand screw thread so that the rod T
may be lengthened or shortened, & by such lengthening or shortening the
pressure of the guard on the fabric is regulated. The arms V & W are
intended to maintain the truck roller R at all times in contact with the
eccentric without the aid of a spring; one of the peculiarities of this machine
is the simultaneous rotary movements of the needle & hooker, which is effected
without disturbing their ordinary working, to obtain this concurrence of move-
ment the tubular needle carrier is furnished with a bovil toothed wheel sup-
ported by a plate, which permits of this wheel (the whole being rigid) rising
and falling, but if the wheel is turned it carries with it the tube and con-
sequently the needle. The rotating movement of the hooker is transmitted by
the gearing keyed on the shaft X, Y, Z, as seeu. The bevil-wheel a carries
at its centre a hole in which passes the helix & two fixed pins which pass
freely in two holes of the nut Q. This nut has a vertical movement which
is not obstructed by the two pins above mentioned, the object of which latter
is to determine the place and impart the rotating movement of the wheel a
to said nut, which follows that of e in its movement. It will be easily under-
stood that the wheel a, by displacing the nut Q, carries with it the hooker,
the resting place of which should always be behind the needle. The simul-
taneous rotating movement of the needle and hooker is transmitted by means
of a treadle which receives from the left foot of the workman an up & down
movement, & so turns the needle to the right or left by means of gearing in
communication with the rod Z. This machine is particularly applicable to
stitching & embroidering gloves; to effect this on the table of the machine
is fixed a second table or open plate represented at Fig. 3, in plan & in section
on line 1, 2, at Fig. 4. This open plate g, is furnished with claws or springs
h, intended to hold the material tight and in tension on which the embroidery
is being effected. A metallic slide i fixed at will by means of a binding
screw is furnished with grooves k, which allow the needle to pass through
and at same time serve as guides or conductors to the latter; hinge on
slide whereby it may be raised or lowered when required.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-Supposing the machine to bo
at rest the needle & guard occupying the most elevated position of their
course, and the hooker tube placed on the opposite side to that of the
needle hook, the latter first descends with the guard which presses on the
fabric & keeps open the openings formed by the needle.
When the latter has penetrated the fabric sufficiently the hooker in which

page_text: The
the thread passes performs a revolution round the needle, which then rises,
carrying with it the thread which is to serve for the following loop.
guard then rises free of the fabric in order to permit of its being shifted in
position, & the hooker returns to its starting point in readiness for a
succeeding revolution in an inverse direction to the first. The same move-
ments are repeated for each stitch.
Having described the nature of the Invention, & the manner of performing
the same,
I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by
the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is :-
First, the rotating movement of the needle or hook which obviates the
necessity of changing the position of the fabric according to the pattern to
be worked; I also claim the right of dispensing with the rotating move-
ment of the needle when embroidering in straight lines, it being only
necessary for working patterns or designs.
Secondly, the guard B for exerting pressure on the fabric to allow of the
needle rising after penetrating it, without obstruction, together with the
thread taken from beneath.
Thirdly, the eccentric hooker tube C with its exterior helix by the rotation
of which the thread is wound round the needle cach time it penetrates
beneath the fabric.
Fourthly, the method of keeping the thread in tension by means of a
spring & parts as described which act on the thread as soon as the traction
of the needle ceases.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.