IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINERY, AND IN TUCK MARKERS TO BE USED THEREWITH.
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Borthwick Smith and James Starley,
both of St. Agnes Works, Coventry, in the County of Warwick, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINERY, AND IN TUCK
MARKERS TO BE USED THEREWITH.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Borthwick
Smith and James Starley at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 20th September 1873.
We, WILLIAM BORTHWICK SMITH and JAMES STARLEY, both of
St. Agnes Works, Coventry, in the County of Warwick, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINERY, AND IN TUCK MARKERS TO BE USED THEREWITH,"
to be as
follows:-
-
"
The objects of this Invention are to economize the labour and cost of
constructing sewing machines, and to increase the general efficiency of
the machine, while at the same time the friction of the working parts is
diminished,

page_text: The class of machines to which these improvements are more parti-
cularly applicable is that in which the needle and shuttle reciprocate
vertically and horizontally respectively.
In machines of this class the working parts are ordinarily below the
bed plate of the machine, which arrangement necessitates the frequent
reversal of position of the machine (during its construction) for the
inspection or adjustment of several working parts. In order to avoid
the delay and difficulties consequent thereon we arrange the shuttle
race and feed mechanism on the upper face of the bed plate of the
machine, so that on the removal of the table of the machine the whole
of the parts shall be easily accessible.
The shuttle we prefer to carry in a holder formed on the upturned
end of a horizontal reciprocating lever pivotted below the bed plate,
which is slotted to allow the end of the lever to project through it.
The shuttle works against a horizontal curvilinear race.
At its rear
end the reciprocating lever or shuttle driver carries a spherically
headed pin, which is connected with a similarly formed crank pin on
the lower spur pinion of the driving gear by means of a link, which while
admitting of facile application forms an efficient ball-and-socket con-
nection. This link may consist of two parallel strips of metal, in the
inner faces of which and at their opposite ends are semispherical sockets
to receive the spherically headed pins. When the two strips are placed
face to face and secured by screws they will embrace the spherically
headed pins, and thus form antifriction joints capable of easy fitting and
ready adjustment for wear. Instead of this compound link one bar
with sockets (at its opposite sides and ends) for the pins may be used,
the connection with the pins being maintained by clip springs attached
to the bar. The bar is worked by the rotation of a longitudinal shaft
carried at one side of the upper face of the bed plate of the machine.
This shaft is formed with a crank near its front end, and terminates in a
crank pin. On the crank rests the end of the horizontal feed bar sup-
ported in vertical slotted guides, and the crank pin at the extreme end
of the shaft passes through a short slotted link jointed to the feed bar.
The supply of thread to the needle is controlled by a vertical rocking
lever operated direct by a cam on the upper driving shaft. This lever is
mounted on one end of a short shaft supported in bearings on the under
side of the head of the machine. An arm on this shaft bears against

page_text: the periphery of the cam, it being held thereto by the tension of the
thread, which passes through an eye in the end of the rock lever. The
thread passes from the tension apparatus through.a fixed eye on the
head of the machine to the eye at the top of the needle bar, thence
through a staple on the front head plate of the machine to the thread
controller, and back through the staple to the needle. By the combined
action of the needle slide and thread controller the needle thread will
be taken up and given out according to the necessities of the stitch at
an equable tension.
In order to time the shuttle action in machines where the shuttle is
driven by a reciprocating lever the pivot pin is in an eccentric bush, the
turning of which in its bearing by a thumb piece or handle will advance
or retard the action of the shuttle to suit the various kinds of work sub-
mitted to the machine.
To prevent the turning of the machine in the wrong direction, and
also to facilitate the separate turning of the pulley for winding shuttle
bobbins when driven by treadle or steam power, the hub of the main
geer wheel is made to receive the driving pulley, which is free to run
loosely thereon. A slot is cut in the boss of the pulley, and an inclined
recess in the hub of the geer wheel to allow of a lever, catch, or click
entering and locking the gear wheel and pulley together. When how-
ever the pulley is turned in the wrong direction the lever catch will
slip, and no motion will be communicated to the geer wheel.
For hand machines we propose to lock the fly wheel to the geer
wheel by means of a bolt sliding in guides in an arm of the fly wheel,
and passing through holes in the bosses of the fly wheel and geer wheel..
Or a spring catch or a screw may be employed in lieu thereof to lock
the parts together.
The last part of this Invention relates to an improved form of tuck
marker to be adapted to the sewing machine when tucks are required
to be made. This instrument, which is attached by a bracket to the
head plate of the machine, consists of two knife-edged discs mounted in
opposed vertical inclinations on stud axles in a forked spring holder, so
that their lower edges nearly touch each other. The stem of this tuck
marker is carried by a bracket from the front of the machine, and is
made capable of bearing with an adjustable pressure on the material to,

page_text: be marked, a small portion of which will be nipped or gathered up
between the lower edges of the discs as it passes under, and a permanent
and continuous crease formed thereon.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said William Borthwick Smith and James Starley in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th March 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
BORTHWICK SMITH and JAMES STARLEY, both of Saint Agues Works,
Coventry, in the County of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said William Borthwick Smith and James
Starley, Her special license that we, the said William Borthwick
Smith and James Starley, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said William Borthwick Smith and James
Starley, our 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 MACHhinery, and in Tuck MARKERS TO BE USED THERE-
WITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William
Borthwick Smith and James Starley, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, 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 Borthwick Smith, on
behalf of myself and of the said James Starley, do hereby declare the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
The objects of this Invention are to economize the labour and cost of
constructing sewing machines, and to increase the general efficiency of
the machine, while at the same time the friction of the working parts is
diminished.
The class of machines to which these improvements are more parti-
cularly applicable is that in which the needle and shuttle reciprocate
vertically and horizontally respectively.
In machines of this class, from many of the working parts being below
the bed plate of the machine, the frequent reversal of position of the
machine (during its construction) is necessitated for the inspection or
adjustment of the working parts. In order to avoid the delay and
difficulties consequent thereon we arrange the shuttle race and feed
mechanism on the upper face of the bed plate of the machine, so that on
the removal of the table of the machine or plate that supports the work
the whole of the parts shall be easily accessible.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sewing
machine constructed according to our Invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view
of the same, the bracket arm and the parts in immediate connection
therewith being removed; and Fig. 3 is an elevation of the front of the
machine.
A is the bed plate of the machine; and B is the bracket arm carrying
the head C, in which the needle bar D and presser bar E are free to
slide as usual; F is a horizontal shaft turning in bearings in the bracket
arm B, and receiving rotary motion through spur gearing (not shewn
in the Drawing) from the hand wheel or driving pulley G; H is the
table or cloth plate on which the work is placed. It is attached to the
bed by screws, as at 1, 1, and it serves as a cover for the shuttle carrier
and feed mechanism, which stand up above the bed of the machine; I is
the shuttle which is carried in a holder K, formed on the up-turned end
of a horizontal reciprocating lever K¹ pivotted below the bed plate A,
which plate is slotted to allow the front end of the lever to project

page_text: through it. The shuttle works against a horizontal curvilinear race I',
Fig. 2. At its rear end the reciprocating lever or shuttle driver K¹
carries a spherically headed pin k, which is connected with a similarly
formed crank pin on the lower spur pinion L of the driving gear by
means of a link M, which while admitting of facile application forms an
efficient ball-and-socket connection. This link may consist of two
parallel strips of metal (as shewn in the detached views, Figures 4),
in the inner faces of which, and at their opposite ends, semispherical
sockets to receive the spherically headed pins k, l, are formed.
When the two strips are placed face to face, and secured by screws,
they will embrace the spherically headed pins, and thus form anti-
friction joints capable of easy fitting and ready adjustment for wear.
Instead of this compound link one bar with sockets (at its opposite
sides and ends) for the pins may be used, the connection with the
pins being maintained by clip springs attached to the bar. This
arrangement is shewn in side and edge views at Figures 5, where M
is the socketted link piece, and M', M³, the springs (slotted at their outer
extremities) for retaining the spherically headed pins k, l, in their sockets.
The feed bar is worked by the rotation of the longitudinal shaft L'
carried at one side of the upper face of the bed plate of the machine.
This shaft is formed with a crank ♬ near its front end, and it terminates
in a crank pin 12. On the crank rests the end of the horizontal feed
bar N supported in vertical slotted guides O, and the crank pin 12 at the
extreme end of the shaft passes through a short slotted link n jointed to
the feed bar N.
The supply of thread to the needle is controlled by a vertical rocking
lever Poperated by a cam P¹ on the upper driving shaft F. This lever is
mounted on one end of a short shaft supported in bearings on the under
side of the head C of the machine. An arm P2 on this shaft bears
against the periphery of the cam P¹, it being held thereto by the tension
of the thread, which passes through an eye p in the end of the rock lever P.
The thread passes from the tension apparatus through a fixed eye con
the head of the machine to the eye d at the top of the needle bar, thence
through a staple c¹ on the front head plate of the machine to the eye p
of the thread controller P, and back through the staple c¹ to the
needle D¹. By the combined action of the needle carrier and thread
controller the needle thread will be taken up and given out according to
the necessities of the stitch at an equable tension.

page_text: In order to time the shuttle action in machines where the shuttle is
driven by a reciprocating lever we fit the pivot pin in an excentric bush,
the turning of which in its bearing by a thumb picce or handle will
advance or retard the action of the shuttle to suit the various kinds of
work submitted to the machine.
At Figures 6 and 7 we have illustrated this part of our Invention as
applied to a machine for which a Patent was granted to one of us,
bearing date March 8th, 1871 (No. 620). It may however be applied to
the pivot pin of the shuttle carriage driver in the machine, shewn at
Figs. 1 and 2, and to other shuttle machines having a lever for driving
the shuttle.
In these Figures Q is the reciprocating lever, by which motion is
transmitted to the shuttle driver; Q' is the excentric bush, in which the
pivot pin q of the lever Q is fitted. The excentric bush is free to turn in
its bearing in the cast-iron framing of the machine, and it is fitted at its
outer end with a handle Q2 for giving it an axial adjustment. By turning
this bush it will be seen that the pin q may be advanced towards the
head of the machine, and retracted therefrom to the extent of the
excentricity of the bush. The effect of this will be to modify the action
of the link R to which the lever Q is pivotted, and which itself is
pivotted to the crank pin of the rotating disc R', and thereby to
advance the throw or to retard the throw of the shuttle, as may be
desired. A screw q¹ connected to the handle Q2 serves by binding
against the framing of the machine to lock the excentric bush in the
3 position in which it is set.
The last part of this Invention relates to an improved form of tuck
marker to be adapted to sewing machines when tucks are required to be
made. This instrument is shewn as fitted to the head of a machine at
Fig. 8. It consists of two knife-edged discs S, S, mounted in opposed
vertical inclinations on stud axles in an elastic spring holder T, so that
their lower edges nearly touch each other. The stem of this tuck
marker terminates in a slotted tail piece or bracket, which is made fast
to the head of the machine by a clamping screw U. The tuck marker
which projects in front of the machine is made capable of bearing with
an adjustable pressure on the material to be marked, a small portion of
which will be nipped or gathered up between the lower edges of the
discs as it is passed under them by the action of the feed, and a per-
manent and continuous crease will thereby be formed on the work.

page_text: The longitudinal slot in the tail end of the stem is to allow of the adjust-
ment of the tuck marker to suit different widths of tuck.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of " Improvements
in Sewing Machinery, and in Tuck Markers to be used therewith," and
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be t
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent we
claim,―
First. The arrangement above described for bringing the mechanism
for working the shuttle and the feed bar above the bed plate of the
machine for the purposes above set forth.
Second. The socketted link coupling above described and the trans-
mission of motion through such link or its equivalent from the back end
of the longitudinal side shaft L¹ to the shuttle driver.
Thirdly. The arrangement above described for transmitting motion
from the longitudinal crank shaft L³ to the feed bar.
Fourthly. The arrangement above described for controlling the supply
of thread to the needle, and taking up the slack thread.
Fifthly. The means above described for adjusting or timing the
shuttle action to the varied requirements of different fabrics.
Lastly. The construction of tuck marker above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Borthwick Smith, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
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