IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: -
LETTERS PATENT to Richard Mott Wanzer, of Hamilton, Dominion
of Canada, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
APPLICABLE TO SEWING MACHINES."-A communication from: Thomas
Hall, of Northampton, County Hampshire, United States of
America.

page_text: 2. A cam and bearer for effecting the proper take-up of the slack
thread at each operation of the needle.
•
3. A swivel cam ór finger plate for lifting the presser foot, and
enabling the foot to be turned clear of the work.
4. A screw and plate clipping arrangement for holding and for 5
adjusting the position of the needle.
5. A lever and link arrangement for shifting the working direction of
the feeder at the will of the operator.
6. An arrangement of appliances for utilizing the main driving band
for winding purposes, the appliances being fixed upon the frame of the 1
main wheel permanently, or detachable, as desired.
7. A combination of appliances for operating the shuttle driver and a
rock shaft at the bottom of the frame, a hollow shaft being in connection
with an arm passing through it with levers for actuating the feed.
The several parts can be used in combination upon or to the same 1
machine, or any one or more of them can be used separately as found
necessary.
For the sake of clearness the Invention is hereafter described with
all the details fitted or applied to one machine.
The fore end of the main spindle carries a disc on or in the face of 2
which are two grooves or slots for the reception of two sliding blocks
with projecting pins which pass through or into the head of a connecting
rod whose lower end is fitted to the needle bar. The two sliding blocks
are arranged to cross the path of each other on the disc, being rotated to
produce the necessary up-and-down movement of the needle bar. At 2
the back of the disc or close thereto is a cam which rotates with it, and
this has one end of a lever or bearer acting upon its periphery to cause
the lever to rock, and its opposite end to draw and take up the slack
thread at the required time, the thread first passing through a fixed eye,
then through the lever end to a fixed or a spring claw on the top end of 3
the needle bar, from whence it descends to the eye of the needle in the
usual manner.
The presser foot stem passes up through a socket in the fore frame of
the machine and has a peculiar shaped finger piece fastened to it, so
that as one end is lifted by the finger of the operator the other end abuts 3

page_text: and is free to turn upon the socket lump to retain the foot in its lifted
position. The stem is continued upwards through another socket in the
head, in which a helical spring with a face plate is arranged for giving
the desired pressure upon the work when the foot is lowered.
The lower end of the needle bar has a screw passing through it, and
its end bears against a plate, in the face of which the needle is arranged,
so that on turning the screw in one direction the needle can be pushed
outwards to adjust it over the centre of the hole into which it has to
pass to the looper, hook, or shuttle. This plate has in the front of it a
second plate held thereto by a screw to enable the needle to be pushed
back and adjusted over the hole should it be too far to the front. By
this means by loosening and tightening the two screws in the proper
manner a perfect adjustment of the needle can take plate.
The main spindle has an eccentric upon it (inside or outside of the
frame) embraced by a strap whose leg has a projection upon its lower
end carrying a double frame or link between which a sliding block can.
be slid on the lift, or the depression of a lever centred at one end to tho.
frame, the other end being free to the operator. The sliding block is so
placed that to carry it above a certain point a shift of the feed can be
effected at the will of the operator, the movement being transmitted to.
the feeder by a lever and rod centred below the level of the rock plate..
The amount of feed is also regulated by this lever and link arrangement..
.
A small roller is mounted upon a stand or arm in proximity to the
main wheel so that the main cord can be slipped therefrom on to the
roller, when necessary, for winding thread upon a bobbin, one end of the
bobbin being received by the roller spindle, and the other end by a
spring clamp. The object of this plan is that the winder alone is driven
by the main cord, the machine mechanism being disconnected and
therefore stationary. If the machine is worked by a treadle the winding
appliance can be a fixture upon the main wheel.
The shuttle driver rock shaft is actuated by a link connected by a
lever from the outside at one end, the other end having a lever with a
slot in it for moving the feed to and fro by a pin within the slot. A
cam imparts the upward movement of the feed, a lever being employed:
in connection for regulating the length of stitch.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Richard Mott Wanzer in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
MOTT WANZER, of Hamilton, Dominion of Canada, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of July, 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 me, the said Richard Mott Wanzer, Her special
licence, that I, the said Richard Mott Wanzer, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Richard Mott Wanzer,
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 "Iй-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO SEWING MACHINES," Communicated
to me from abroad by Thomas Hall, of Northampton, County Hampshire,
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Richard Mott Wanzer, 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 Richard Mott Wanzer, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to special devices or apparatus applicable to
sewing machines, and consists of,-
1. A grooved disc actuated by the main shaft or spindle, the grooves
being so cut that two pins and sliding blocks upon a connecting rod
cause the up-and-down movement of the needle bar.

page_text: 2. A cam and bearer for effecting the proper take up of the slack
thread at each operation of the needle.
. 3. A swivel cam or finger plate for lifting the presser foot and
enabling the foot to be turned clear of the work.
4. A screw and plate clipping arrangement for holding and for
adjusting the position of the needle.
5. A lever and link arrangement for shifting the working direction of
the feeder at the will of the operator.
6. An arrangement of appliances for utilizing the main driving band
for winding purposes, the appliances being fixed upon the frame or the
main wheel permanently or detachable, as desired.
7. A combination of appliances for operating the shuttle driver, and
a rock shaft at the bottom of the frame, a hollow shaft being in con-
nection with an arm passing through it with levers for actuating the
feed.
The several parts can be used in combination upon or to the same
machine, or any one or more of them can be used separately as found
necessary.
The fore end of the main spindle carries a disc on or in the face of
which are two grooves or slots for the reception of two sliding blocks
with projecting pins which pass through or into the head of a connecting
rod whose lower end is fitted to the needle bar. The two sliding blocks
are arranged to cross the path of each other, on the disc being rotated,
to produce the necessary up-and-down movement of the needle bar. At
the back of the disc or close thereto is a cam which rotates with it, and
this has one end of a lever or bearer acting upon its periphery to cause
the lever to rock and its opposite end to draw and take up the slack
thread at the required time, the thread first passing through a fixed eye
then through the lever end to a fixed or a spring claw on the top end of
the needle bar, from whence it descends to the eye of the needle in the
usual manner.
The presser foot stem passes up through a socket in the fore frame
of the machine, and has a peculiar shaped finger piece fastened to it so
that as one end is lifted by the finger of the operator the other end abuts.
and is free to turn upon the socket lump to retain the foot in its lifted.

page_text: position. The stem is continued upwards through another socket in the
head in which a helical spring with a face plate is arranged for giving
the desired pressure upon the work when the foot is lowered.
The lower end of the needle bar has a screw passing through it, and
its ends bear against a plate in the face of which the needle is arranged
so that on turning the screw in one direction the needle can be pushed
outwards to adjust it over the centre of the hole into which it has to pass
to the looper hook or shuttle. This plate has in the front of it a second
plate held thereto by a screw to enable the needle to be pushed back
and adjusted over the hole should it be too far to the front. By this
means by loosening and tightening the two screws in the proper manner
a perfect adjustment of the needle can take place.
The main spindle has an eccentric upon it (inside or outside of the
frame) embraced by a strap whose leg has a projection upon its lower
end carrying a double frame or link between which a sliding block can
be slid on the lift, or the depression of a lever, centred at one end to the
frame, the other end being free to the operator. The sliding block is
so placed that to carry it above a certain point a shift of the feed can be
effected at the will of the operator, the movement being transmitted to
the feeder by a lever and rod centred below the level of the work plate.
The amount of feed is also regulated by this lever and link arrange-
ment.
A small roller is mounted upon a stand or arm in proximity to the
main wheel so that the main cord can be slipped therefrom on to the
roller when necessary for winding thread upon a bobbin, one end of the
bobbin being received by the roller spindle, and the other end by a
spring clamp. The object of this plan is that the winder alone is driven
by the main cord, the machine mechanism being disconnected and
therefore stationary. If the machine is worked by a treadle the winding
appliance can be a fixture upon the main wheel or upon the stand or
table.
The shuttle driver rock shaft is actuated by a link connected by a
lever from the outside at one end, the other end having a lever with a
slot in it for moving the feed to and fro by a pin within the slot. A
cam imparts the upward movement of the feed, a lever being employed
in connection for regulating the length of stitch.

page_text: Figure 1 is an clevation of a complete machine from the position of
the operator; Figure 2, an elevation of the head portion only; and
Figure 3, part of the front with the face plate removed; Figure 4, a
section of the needle bar from the top, showing the needle holder.
A is a wheel or disc shown separately in Figures 5 and 6, which is
fixed to a shaft S, designed to turn in the direction shown by the arrow
on Figure 3. In the face of the wheel A are two grooves E, E, which
cross each other at a distance from the centre of the wheel, these grooves
can be either straight or curved and can cross each other at any angle
suitable to give the needle the desired motion. In each groove a sliding
piece D, Figure 7, is free to move, and these pieces or blocks drive a
connection rod B by pins d, d, the rod B being connected at its lower
end to the needle bar C. The action of this is such that the needle after
going down through the fabric is caused to rise a short distance so as to
form a loop of thread for the shuttle or bobbin to enter and again to dip
or go down in order to allow the shuttle to pass easily through the loop,
then to rise out of the fabric for another stitch. The thread T is passed
through the eyes of the take-up mechanism, first through the stationary
guide J, then through the end of the lever H, then through an eye in G
at the end of the needle bar C. The piece G can be fixed stationary on
to the needle bar or made with a spring, as shown in Figure 3. After
the shuttle has passed through the loop of the needle thread the rise of
the needle bar carries with it the thread in the eye G. At the same
time the cam K causes the lever H to pull the thread down in an
opposite direction to the movement of the needle bar. By this joint
action the thread loop is quickly taken up. The downward movement of
the lever H. ccases before the upward movement of the needle bar which
allows the thread to be taken up slower by the action of the needle bar
alone. When the thread has been pulled tight enough the lever I then
moves upward and prevents the needle bar from drawing the thread any
further than is desirable to form a perfect stitch. When the needle bar
descends the lever H also moves downward and keeps the slack thread
from the point of the needle until the needle enters the fabric, when the
lever again rises so as to allow sufficient thread for a new loop to pass
around the shuttle. The presser foot N is fixed on the end of the bar M
which is fitted to slide in the face plate R, and in an adjustable tube O.
The bar M can be lifted, turned, and prevented. from turning by the
lever L which is pivoted to M by a screw.

page_text: the length of the stitches sewn by the needle. In this case the working
direction is determined by the position of a sliding block m within the
race of a rocking guide n, the guide being centred upon a pin at p so
that it can incline with its top end to the right or to the left, as desired,
by the operator shifting the lever up or down. The rock guide has a
projecting lip q on one edge, and this is actuated by the rod b and the
excentric from the main shaft of the machine. The rock guide pin p
projects from a levert on the back end of the feeding foot bar, the bar
being supported by lugs upon the base plate, as shown:
Figures 15 and 16 show detached the arrangement of mechanism for
operating the spooler or shuttle bobbin by the main band of the machine,
the band being first removed from the main wheel and placed upon the
spool driver. m¹ is the band wheel and pulley; and n¹ is the spooler
frame. On the top of the spooler frame is a small pulley O, the axle of
which is drilled to receive one end of the bobbin, Figure 17. is
spring fastened to the spooler frame. The bobbin is placed between the
spring and the spooler frame, and when the bobbin is to receive the.
thread the driving belt or band is removed from the large pulley m¹ and
is placed in the small one o. By this means the winding of the thread
on the bobbin is done without driving the working parts of the machine,
the object being to prevent much unnecessary friction and wear of the
needle bar and other portions of the machine.

page_text: whereby the shuttle driver and the feeding foot or plate are operated
from or by the same lever b, as.and for the purposes set forth.
In witness whercof, I, the said Richard Mott Wanzer, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of November, Onc
thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street,
London.
R. M. WANZER. (L.S.)