Im- PROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO EMBROIDERING MACHINES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Madders, of the City of Manchester, in
the County of Lancaster, Embroiderer, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO EMBROIDERING MACHINES."
Sealed the 22nd December 1869, and dated the 26th June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Madders at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th June 1869.
I, WILLIAM MADDERS, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Embroiderer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO EMBROIDERING MACHINES,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to means by which embroidering machines may
be worked entirely by the person tracing the pattern or with the
assistance of another person, instead of employing three persons as in
the ordinary machines, and, while saving the very severe labour necessary
to work the carriages in the ordinary machine, a more uniform tension
will be brought upon the threads, and better work produced.

page_text: My improvements consist in arranging the carriages to be worked by
cams, levers, handles, or treadles simultaneously or alternately to and
from the cloth to a uniform length of about two or three inches, and in
using bars, rods, or hooks to come upon the threads between the
needles (while held in the nippers) and the cloth, and take down all the
threads simultaneously, and thus pull them through the cloth. The
bars, rods, or hooks may be weighted or made sufficiently heavy to pull
the threads through the cloth, and they may be lifted by hand or
treadles and by cords and pullys or levers and rods, leaving the threads
suspended in the loop form. The bars, rods, or hooks for the top row of
needles may be made to take the loops of the threads between the spaces
of the lower row of needles when the threads are long, so that they will
be left out of the way of the lower needles when the carriage gocs
towards the cloth.
In working by embroidering machines arranged as above explained
the "pentagrapher" can change the position of the cloth as required by
the pattern while one or both carriages are out; then can lift the bars,
rods, or hooks on one side; then bring in the carriage or carriages by
hand or treadles, and by this act pass the needles from one set of
nippers to the other, and immediately draw out the carriage or
carriages, and allow the bars, rods, or hooks to descend upon the other
side of the cloth; then lift them by the treadles, adjust the pentagraph,
and repeat these operations for each stitch. When hooks are used to
take down the threads one set of hooks on one side of the cloth may
remain down until the other set on the other side of the cloth descends,
by which means the threads will be kept in tension, and will be pre-
vented from becoming entangled, as one set of hooks will ascend when
the other descend. The bars or rods may be allowed to rotate by the
action of the threads in their descent, and may be made of metal
enamelled with glass.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Madders in the Great Seal Patent Oflice
on the 23rd December 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MADDERS, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, 3
Embroiderer, send grooting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Madders, Her special license
that I, tho said William Madders, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Madders, 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
OR APPLICABLE TO EMBROIDERING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Madders, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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 Madders, 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 and the accompanying Drawings (that is to
say)-
My Invention relates to means by which embroidering machines may
be worked entirely by the person tracing the pattern or with the
assistance of another person, instead of employing three persons, as in
the ordinary machines, and, while saving the very severe labour necessary
to work the carriages in the ordinary machine, a more uniform tension
will be brought upon the threads, and better work produced.
My improvements consist in arranging the carriages to be worked by
cams, levers, handles, or treadles simultaneously or alternately to and
from the cloth to a uniform length of about two or three inches, and in
using bars, rods, or hooks to come upon the threads between the needles
(while held in the nippers) and the cloth, and take down all the threads
simultaneously, and thus pull them through the cloth. The bars,
rods, or hooks may be weighted or made sufficiently heavy to pull
the threads through the cloth, and they may be lifted by hand or

page_text: treadles and by cords and pulleys or levers and rods, leaving the threads
suspended in the loop form. The bars, rods, or hooks for the top row
of needles may be made to take the loops of the threads between the
spaces of the lower row of needles when the threads are long, so that
they will be left out of the way of the lower needles when the carriage
goes towards the cloth.
In working by embroidering machines arranged as above explained
the "pentagrapher" can change the position of the cloth as required by
the pattern while one or both carriages are out; then the pentagrapher
or the assistant can lift the bars, rods, or hooks on one side, then
bring in the carriage or carriages by hand or treadles, and by this act
pass the needles from and set of nippers to the other, and immediately
draw out the carriage or carriages and allow the bars, rods, or hooks to
descend upon the other side of the cloth; then lift them by the treadles,
adjust the pentagraph, and repeat these operations for each stitch.
When hooks are used to take down the threads one set of hooks on onc
side of the cloth may remain down until the other set on the other
side of the cloth descends, by which means the threads will be kept
in tension, and will be prevented from becoming cutangled, as one set of
hooks will ascend when the other descend.
Fig. 1 is a sectional clevation of an embroidering machine according
to my Invention, in which only so many of the ordinary parts are shown
as are necessary for explaining my Invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation
of the same machine, in which only part of the ordinary framing is
shown, and in which some of the parts represented in Fig. 1 are omitted.
a, the side framing; b, the ordinary needle or nipper carriages, which
run upon the rails (a¹) to and from the cloth. Each carriage has
beams (6) for two rows of nippers (c), which are only partly represented
in the Drawings. The nipper carriage on one side is shown drawn away
from the cloth to the required extent, and the carriage on the other side
is shown against the cloth (a) ready to receive the needles when passed
through the cloth. One carriage is worked by the assistant in the
ordinary manner, the other carriage, which is on that side at which the
pentagraph is worked, is moved by a treadle (d) on a shaft (d) having
bearings in stands. The motion of this shaft being transmitted by an
arm (d) at that end of the shaft outside the framing, and a rod (d) to
an arm (d), (shown in peculiar dotted line in Fig. 1), upon a corre-
sponding shaft ("), also having bearings in stands, and an arm (d)

page_text: upon this shaft, gives motion by a link (d') to the needle carriage, as
shown. The treadle (d) is made with a belt (d"), so that the foot of the
operator may be passed through it and lift the treadle as well as press it
down. A lever handle may be brought up from the shaft (d'), so that
the carriage may be worked by hand if preferred. The outward move-
ments of the nipper carriages are limited by stops on the framing. The
bars (e) which act upon the threads are connected together to form a
frame, which can slide freely up and down the guide bars (e') secured to
the framing of the machine, as shown. There is one set of bars (e) on
cach side of the cloth. One bar (e) acts upon the upper row of threads,
and the other bar upon the lower row of threads. Between the two
upright bars (e) two wires are stretched, upon which cloth (e) is
stitched, as shown, and from a lower wire another cloth (e) is suspended,
these cloths being for lifting the loops of the threads, and preventing
them from becoming twisted or entangled when left by the bars (e). At
or near each end of the thread bars (e) one end of a chain or cord (e³) is
attached, the other end of cach being secured to a pulley (e) on a cross
shaft (e) having bearings in brackets attached to the framing: By
imparting oscillatory motion to these shafts (there being one for each
side) the thread frames can be moved up and down as required, and this
motion is given by handles and chains or cords, one of which passes
from the handle (es) over two carrier pulleys to a pulley (e) on to one
shaft (e), the other from the handle (e") over one carrier pulley to a
pulley (e) on the other shaft, as shown. At each end of each thread
frame a finger (f) is fixed, which rest when the nipper carriages are
against the cloth upon parts (c³) secured upon the nipper beam (as
shown), so that each thread frame (e) is held up and prevented from
descending before the nipper carriages are sufficiently drawn out. When
both carriages are against the cloth, and after the nippers on one side
have opened and those on the other side have been closed, the assistant
acts upon the nipper carriage with the hand or foot, as the case may be,
and takes hold of the handle belonging to the bars (e) for that side;
the carriage is then forced out and the bars (e) are allowed to descend,
taking down the threads between the cloth and nippers (only shown in
part) by drawing them through the cloth, and when the bars have
descended by gravity to the full extent of the threads they are lifted,
the pentagraph is moved, and the nipper carriage is brought in, and the
same movements are repeated on the other side of the cloth. When the
threads are worked up to the length which the carriages move out, tho

page_text: last few stitches are made by moving the nipper carriages without
moving the bars, which are held up by a hook or stop. When the
thread bars are lifted after having taken down the threads the threads
hang in loops, as shown by the full lines (g). In place of the shafts (e)
for working the thread frames, pulleys and cords or chains may ho sub-
stituted, as illustrated in peculiar dotted line in Fig. 2, and by the
detached end view, Fig. 3. The carrier pulleys employed are placed on
studs secured in brackets fixed to the framing of the machine or ceiling
of the room in which the machine is used. A cord (4) is attached at
each end of the thread frame and passes to a pulley (4) ahove, and then
to a horizontal pulley (4*); the cords from each end are then joined
together and pass over a carrier pulley (4*) under a pulley block (4*)
over another carrier pulley (4") where it is secured, the double conts
passing to the other thread frame suspended in like manner. Stops are
placed on the guide bars (e) to prevent the thread frames from ascending
above a given height. By this arrangement, whichever thread frame
descends the pulley block (4) will ascend, and by pulling down the
pulley block by the handle () the thread frame which has descended
will be mado to ascend, because the pull upon the block tends to lift
both frames, but as there is a stop to their ascent above a given height the
movements is given entirely to that thread frame below the stop the stop.
The pulley block may be connected with a lever if required to give levorago
upon the block. By the last-described arrangement one handle only is
required to work both thread frames. In place of the thread frames
wires with hooks upon them may be used, as illustrated by Fig. 4, which
is a front view of one end of a frame showing a few hook wires, These
wires are secured at the upper and lower end to two bars (e) forming a
frame, and each wire has two hooks (e) soldered or otherwise secured or
formed upon it. These hook wires are placed at the same listanoc apart
as is one row of nippers are above tho other row of nippers, which are
made as narrow as possible to leave space for the wires and hooks to pass
clear between them. The wire hooks are made to work up and down as
near the cloth as possible, and to give clear space for them between the
pippers slits are formed in the nipper boams (6), or the nippers are
made to project to a sufficient extent boyond the nipper beams, There is
a frame of hooks on each side of the cloth, and they are suspended so as
to work up and down by shafts, chains, and pulleys, or cords and pulleys,
or other means. The ends of the frames carrying the wire hooks may
be guided in grooves (e¹) in the side frames of the machine (see Fig. 4
:

page_text: and Fig. 6), and these grooves may be formed to give slight side move-
ments to the frames as they ascend and descend, the said grooves having
inclines formed upon them, as illustrated in Fig. 4. When the frame
begins to descend the hooks are above the threads, the side movement
will first cause the hooks to come over the threads, and then as the
frame descends it will be gradually pushed to one side so as to cause
cach hook of the upper row (when it descends so far) to come into the
middle of the space between the nippers for the lower row of needles, so
that the hooks and wires will be clear of the nippers when the carriage
is pushed towards the cloth. In operating with a machine having hook
wires the nipper carriages need only to be withdrawn from the cloth
sufficient to allow the wire hook frame to descend clear, and when tho
hook wires descend they are not lifted until the needle carriage is pushed
In towards the cloth, and then as the hook wires are lifted on one side
those on the other side descend, so that the threads are kept tight and
are prevented from becoming twisted or entangled, and the time of one
movement of the wire hook frame at each stitch is saved, as compared
with the use of bars, illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, which must ascend
before the carriago is pushed towards the cloth. The hook wire frame
upon one side may be made to ascend in its guide grooves, to be out of
the way when the cloth is to be placed in the machine. Fig. 5 is a
partial end elevation of a machine according to my Invention, arranged
so as to be worked by one person, or by one person with steam or other
power, and Fig. 6 is a plan view of part of the mechanism of the samo
machine. In this machine the hook frames are used arranged as herein-
before described, and the nipper carriages are withdrawn from the cloth
about three inches. The chains or cords that transmit motion to the
hook frames come from pulleys placed at one end of each shaft (c³)
(see Figs. 1 and 2), or if actuated by cords and pulleys simply theso
chains or cords come guide pulleys placed at the end of the machine
over the actuating mechanism, and one cord or chain is made to pass
under a pulley (h) at the end of one of the levers (¹), and is then
taken upwards and secured to a pin in the framing; by this means
the treadle gives double its movement to the cord or chain. The other
cord ar chain for the other hook frame is connected with the other
treadle in like manner. Both these treadle levers (h¹) have their ful-
crums upon the same pin (2), which is secured in the framing, and the
levers or treadles are acted upon by single-acting cams (³) upon the
cam shaft (), which force the treadles downwards to lift the hook

page_text: frames, the movement imparted by the cams being equal to the greatest
length of movement required by the hook frames which descend by
gravity, the cams coming in contact with the treadles sooner for the long
lengths and later for the short lengths. The two nipper carriages (6),
as illustrated, are supposed to both move to and from the cloth simul-
taneously, being connected together at each side of the machine. A
stud () is fixed in the frame to form the fulcrum of a lever ('), onc
end of which is jointed to one end of a link () the other end of which
is jointed on a pin (4) secured in the end of one nipper carriage; the
other end of the lever (¹) is connected to the other carriage in like
manner by another link (), and both nipper carriages are connected
in like manner by a lever and links at both sides of the machine to give
parallel movement to them. When thus arranged movement imparted
to one carriage is conveyed to the other. One end of a link (4) is
jointed upon the pin () from one needle carriage; the other end of the
link is jointed with the end of a vertical lever (4), having its fulcrum
on a pin (4) in the framing. A bowl on this lever is acted upon by a
double-acting cam () on the cam shaft () to give the to-and-fro
motion to the nipper carriages. An oscillating lever (1) is secured upon
a short shaft (1) working in a bearing in the frame, and upon the
outside end of this shaft a upright lever (*) is secured, which is con-
nected by a link (4) with a vertical lever (1) on the stud (4), which
lever is actuated by a double-acting cam (1) on the cam shaft (). The
two arms of the oscillating lever (1) act to open and close the nippers;
cach arm of the lever is arranged to press upon the upper side of a bowl
fixed in a stirrup in the end of the rods working vertically, which
depress the springs of the nippers. The oscillating aruis will pass.
through the stirrups and will remove the pressure of the springs from
the nippers of one carriage, and allow the pressure of the springs to act
on the nippers of the other carriage alternately. The cams are shaped
to give the required movements, as will be explained by reference to the
diagram, Fig. 7, where the peculiar dotted lines represent the datum
lines of the cams, 0 and 360 being the same point of each cam, the full
lines representing the path of each cam, and where the full line is
parallel or coincides with the datum line it represents a pause or dwell
in the movements. The diagram also shows the arrangement of the
cams as to their time of action in relation to each other. The cam
is shaped to bring both nipper carriages against the cloth at o, and to
remain there until 30 to withdraw the carriages between 30 and 105,

page_text: The numbers given
Instead of moving
push them towards the cloth from 105 to 180, to remain there from 180
to 210, to move out again from 210 to 285, and back again from 255
to 360. The nipper cam (15) produces one oscillation of the lever (1)
from 0 to 30, causes it to remain stationary from 30 to 180, and produces
another reverse oscillation in the lever from 180 to 210, and causes it to
remain stationary from 210 to 360. The treadle cams are just the
reverse of cach other in the direction of movement imparted, but they
agree in "dwells" and time of movement. They cause the hook frames
to remain stationary from 0 to 60, to move one up the other down from
60 to 150, to dwell or remain stationary from 150 to 240, and to move
one up the other down alternately from 240 to 360.
are angular degrees of revolution of the cam shaft j.
both nipper carriages together, as in Fig. 5, cach may be moved sepa-
rately by a separate cam and. lever, and the movement may be
transmitted by a shaft, lever, and link to cach carriage, as shown in
Fig. 1. The cam shaft may be rotated by treadles worked by the
pentagrapher, two treadles (m) being used, one for cach foot, onc
ascending when the other is descending, the two treadles being con-
nected by a cord passing over a pulley (m) in a stand. Each treadlo
has an arm (m), having a pawl jointed to it that works upon a ratchet
wheel (m³), there being one wheel for each pawl on a shaft (m), having
bearings in stands, this shaft being geared by spur wheels with the cam
shaftj; or a crank shaft may be geared with the cam shaft, the crank
shaft worked by treadles. The cam shaft may be driven by steam or other
power, a cone friction or toothe clutch being used for suddenly dis-
connecting the cam shaft from the driving power, such clutch being
actuated by a handle or treadle convenient to the pentagrapher, who cau
change the position of the pentagraph, and thus adjust the cloth as
required by the pattern while the machine is in motion, this change
being made after the needles have been withdrawn from the cloth and
before they enter it again.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and
the mode of carrying it into effect, and claim as my Invention,―
Firstly. The system or mode of embroidering by machinery by moving
out the nipper carriage or carriages a short distance, and drawing the
threads through the cloth by bars, rods, hooks, or their equivalents moving
parallel or thereabouts with the plane of the cloth being embroidered,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.

page_text: Secondly. The uso of hooks for drawing the threads through the cloth
when arranged so that one set of looks will ascent as the other set
descend, substantially as hercin-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings.
Thirdly. The arrangement and combination of the nicchanism for
giving the required movements to the nipper carriages and thread frames
by hand, and the combination and arrangement of mechanism for pro-
ducing the movements of the stitching mechanism by cams or other
equivalents when actuated by manual or other power, substantially as
herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Madders, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.