IMPROVEMENTS SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Andrews, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
SEWING MACHINES."
IN
Sealed the 29th April 1873, and dated the 1st November 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Andrews at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st November 1872.
I, WILLIAM ANDREWS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
* IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows, that is to say:―
My improvements chiefly relate to those descriptions of sewing
machines, in which "hooks" are used instead of " shuttles," and which
"
"chain stitch.
produce either the "lock" or
I form a hook of peculiar shape to produce a stitch the same as that
made by the "Willcox and Gibbs'" machine; this hook is attached to

page_text: the back end of a cross shaft below the plate, and it is worked by mitre
gearing, one toothed mitre wheel being on the cross shaft and the other
upon a longitudinal shaft actuated at the rear of the machine by a
handle, treadle, or pulley; upon the front end of the cross shaft is
secured a crank pin, working in a slotted lever or arm, which is made
rigid with or formed as part of the needle arm or lever, so that both
levers or arms work together, by which arrangement the employment of
intermediate levers or parts is dispensed with.
I also use the slotted lever or arm, working as described, in com-
bination with a "hook and bobbin " arrangement, similar to that used
in the "Wheeler and Wilson" machine to produce a lock stitch.
My Improvements also consist in placing the cloth plate and the cross
shaft at an angle with each other for the purpose of obtaining a sufficient
throw of the needle arm to enable the thread to come off the hook before
the eye of the needle enters the material in the case of lock stitch
machines, and to give increased facility for clearing the threads in using
chain stitch machines.
The presser arm of my improved machine I attach thereto by letting
it into a vertical socket formed in a standard and securing it therein by
any suitable means.
I prefer to drive the machine by a pair of pullies connected by a cross
band, and to prevent the friction of such band at the part where it
crosses I arrange the axes of the pullies at an angle with each other.
My Invention further relates to an improved feed motion applicable
to most kinds of sewing machines and, to the one before described; in
connection with the ordinary feed cam and mover I arrange an
intermediate lever working on a centre and having a hinged piece at one
end, which is operated upon by an adjusting screw passing through the
intermediate lever so that the hinged piece or the intermediate lever may
bear against the feed cam and regulate the length of stitch required;
and also produce a silent movement of the parts by reason of their
mutual contact.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Andrews in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ANDREWS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of November, in the,
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Andrews Her special license
that I, the said William Andrews, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Andrews, 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," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Andrews, 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 Andrews do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say :—
My improvements chiefly relate to those descriptions of sewing.
machines, in which "hooks" are used instead of "shuttles," and which
produce either the "lock" or "chain" stitch.
I form a hook of peculiar shape to produce a stitch the same as that made
by the "Willcox and Gibbs'" machine; this hook is attached to the back
end of a cross shaft below the plate, and it is worked by mitre gearing,
one toothed mitre wheel being on the cross shaft, and the other upon a

page_text: longitudinal shaft actuated at the rear of the machine by a handle,
treadle, or pulley; upon the front end of the cross shaft is secured a
crank pin working in a slotted lever or arm, which is made rigid with or
formed as part of the needle arm or lever, so that both levers or arms
work together, by which arrangement the employment of intermediate
levers or parts is dispensed with.
I also use the slotted lever or arm, working as described, in combination
with a "hook and bobbin" arrangement similar to that used in the
"Wheeler and Wilson" machine to produce a lock stitch.
My improvements also consist in placing the cloth plate and the cross
shaft at an angle with each other for the purpose of obtaining a sufficient
throw of the needle arm to enable the thread to come off the hook before
the eye of the needle enters the material`in the case of lock stitch
machines, and to give increased facility for clearing the threads in using
chain stitch machines.
The presser arm of my improved machine I attach thereto by letting
it into a vertical socket formed in a standard and securing it therein by
any suitable means.
I prefer to drive the machine by a pair of pullies connected by a cross
band, and to prevent the friction of such band at the part where it
crosses I arrange the axes of the pullies at an angle with each other, or
by another arrangement I drive the machine by means of a pair of
friction pullies kept together by a spring and eccentric pin working in
combination with each other.
My Invention further relates to an improved feed motion, applicable
to most kinds of sewing machines, and to the one before described. In
connection with the ordinary feed cam and mover I arrange an
intermediate lever working on a centre and having a hinged piece at one
end which is operated upon by an adjusting screw passing through the
intermediate lever so that the hinged piece or the intermediate lever
may bear against the feed cam and regulate the length of stitch required,
and also produce a silent movement of the parts by reason of their mutual
contact.
I will now proceed to describe certain parts of my Invention more
fully in detail by aid of the accompanying Drawings, reference being had

page_text: Figure 1 is a front clevation, and Figures 2 and 3 arc side clevations of
a sewing machine with some of my improvements, as already described,"
applied thereto; the machine is shewn with a hook and bobbin ar-
rangement, similar to that used in the Wheeler and Wilson machine, to
produce a lock stitch.
(a) is the hook within which lies the bobbin, held in place by the
hinged plate or guard (b); the hook (a) is attached to one end of a cross
shaft (c) below the plate (d), and worked by mitre gearing (e), one
toothed mitre wheel being on the cross shaft (c) and the other upon a
longitudinal shaft (ƒ) actuated at the rear of the machine by ordinary
pullies (g) and handle (9¹), or by treadle or other suitable driving power;
upon the front end of the cross shaft (c) is secured a crank pin (h) upon
the disc (i) working in a slotted lever or arm (k) which is made rigid
with or formed as part of the needle arm or lever (m) so that both levers.
or arms work together, by which arrangement the employment of
intermediate levers or parts is dispensed with.
My improvements also consist in placing the cloth plate (d) and the
cross shaft (c) at an angle with each other, as shewn in Figure 1, for the
purpose of obtaining a sufficient throw of the needle arm (m) to enable
the thread to come off the hook before the eye of the needle enters the
material in the case of lock stitch machines, and to give increased facility
for clearing the threads in using chain stitch machines.
Figure 4 illustrates my improved feed motion, which is applicable to
most kinds of sewing machines and to the one already described in con-
nection with the ordinary feed cam or crank (n) and mover (o) ; I arrange
an intermediate lever (p) working on a centre and having a hinged piece
(p) at one end which is operated upon by an adjusting screw (») passing
through the intermediate lever, so that the hinged piece (p') or inter-
mediate lever (p) may bear against the feed cam (n) and cause the upper
end (2) of the intermediate lever to bear more or less against the
end of the mover (o), according to the adjustment of the screw, so
as to regulate the length of stitch required, and also to produce a silent
movement of the parts by reason of their mutual contact; the remaining
parts shewn in the Drawings do not refer to my Invention, and need
no further description, being such as are in general use.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be carried into effect, I claim,

page_text: without limiting myself to these precise details, the several improvements
in sewing machines, substantially, as herein more fully set forth and
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Andrews, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
WILLIAM ANDREWS. (L.S.)