IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING AND STITCHING
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING AND STITCHING."-A com-
munication.
Sealed the 19th January 1853, and dated the 11th November 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry
Johnson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 11th November 1852.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING AND STITCHING" to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to the stitching of leather and woven fabrics.
The machine by which this is effected consists of a vertical sliding
needle carrier, which is actuated by a stud pin in the side of a disc,
this pin working in a differential groove in the side of the needle carrier,
by which means a differential vertical movement is given to the needle.

page_text: The needle itself has an eye formed near its point, and is supplied
by a continuous thread from a bobbin or reel attached to the fixed
portion of the stand. In stitching leather this thread is made to pass
continuously through a small reservoir of oil as it proceeds on its way
to the needle, as by this means the thread more readily passes through
the leather.
After leaving the oil reservoir, it is passed once or twice, as the case
may be, round the shank of a fixed guide, which conducts it to the
neelle; this is for the purpose of increasing or diminishing the
resistance or "drag," according to the nature of the material being
operated upon. A small guide hook is fitted to the upper end of the
needle carrier, and, consequently, moves vertically with it; in this way,
by simply adjusting the angle of the arm of the fixed guide, a greater
or less quantity of thread may be drawn off the bobbin at cach stitch,
regulated, of course, to suit the length of stitch required. The material
to be sewed is traversed along the intended course of the scam by a
small wheel having a roughened surface, and this wheel receives an
intermittent motion from the main actuating shaft by a tappet and
lever movement, the length of each movement giving the length of
stitch, which may be regulated to any extent required by. simply
bringing the end of the tappet lever nearer to or farther from the
tappet. A small plate with smooth under surface, and having a
helical spring above it, serves to hold the material down on to the
surface of the feeding wheel. A small shuttle is caused to traverse
backwards and forwards in a groove beneath the material, this shuttle
being supplied with a reel of its own. It receives its requisite
differential movement in a similar manner to the needle carrier, viz.,
by a stud pin and differential groove. In using this machine the
thread of the bobbin is passed through the guide eyes, and once or
twice round the shank herein-before mentioned, whence it passes to
beneath a retaining catch or holder, and through the eye of the needle;
this catch is caused to press upon the thread at each descent of the
needle, to prevent the accidental formation of a loop above the material,
in which case the thread is liable to be caught or cut by the needle.
When the needle has passed the thread through to the underside of the

page_text: material the thread is released by the catch, and, as the needle ascends,
formis a loop; the shuttle herein-before mentioned now passes through
the loop so formed, drawing its thread with it, so that the two threads
are interlocked; they are now tightened by the combined movements of
the ascent of the needle, the onward movement of the material in one
direction, and the still further movement of the shuttle in the opposite
direction; there are thus three distinct pulls for effecting the drawing
of the stitch
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 11th May 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the sixteenth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that
I, the said John Henry Johnson, iny executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my execu-
tors, 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
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR SEWING AND STITCHING," being a communi-
cation to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said John Henry Johnson, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
The said Invention relates to certain improved arrangements of
machinery, apparatus, or means for sewing or stitching woven fabrics
or other materials, whether for effecting the junctions. thereof, or for
ornamenting the same, with the view of effecting such objects more
efficiently and economically than has been hitherto done. And consists
in the employment of a vertical sliding needle carrier, which is actuated
by a stud pin in the side of a disc, this pin working in a differential
groove in the side of the needle carrier, by which means a differential
vertical movement is given to the needle. The needle itself has an eye
formed near its point, and is supplied by a continuous thread from a
bobbin or reel attached to the fixed portion of the stand. When found
desirable, the thread is passed through a reservoir containing wax, or
other lubricating matter, in order to pass more freely through the
material to be stitched. After leaving the reservoir it is passed round
and through the shank of an adjustable friction guide or arm, and,
further, through a hook or eye fixed to the needle carrier. The
material to be sewed is traversed along the intended course of the seam
by a small wheel, having a roughened surface, and which receives an
intermittent motion indirectly from the main actuating shaft. A small
plate with a smooth under surface, and having a helical spring above it,
serves to hold the material down on to the surface of the feeding wheel.
A shuttle is caused to traverse backwards and forwards in a groove
beneath the material, the same being supplied with a reel. It receives
its requisite movement in a similar manner to the needle carrier,
namely, by a stud pin and differential groove in connection with a
driver, as herein-after described and illustrated. And in order that the
said Invention may be properly understood I shall now proceed to
describe the several Figures on the Sheets of Drawings hereunto
attached.
Figure 1, is a side elevation of the improved sewing machine
complete for use; Figure 2, is a front view of the same corresponding;

page_text: Figure 3, is a vertical section of the machine; Figure 4, is a plan; and
Figure 5, is a separate enlarged elevation of a portion of the shuttle
actuating mechanism. The apparatus is entirely contained upon the
single independent table A, standing on four legs, and carrying the
necessary bearings for the lower movements, and the secondary thread
apparatus, whilst an overhanging bracket B, is bolted down upon the
table face to carry the primary thread action. The machine is driven
by the winch C, fast in the face of a small fly wheel connected with the
first motion spur wheel D, running loose on a stud bolted into the
bracket E, on the main table. This wheel gears with the two other
smaller wheels F, & G, respectively fast on the projecting ends of
the two shafts H, I. The upper shaft H, passes along through an
opening in the upper horizontal arm of the bracket B, projecting into
the space
in the forked end of the latter. This end of the shaft has
fast upon it a stud disc or crank J, the pin or stud K, of which projects
into the differential groove or slot K', in the inner face of the slotted
piece L, shewn in dotted lines at Figure 2, fast on the side of the
vertical needle carrier M, for the primary thread N, or the requisite
clifferential motion may be obtained by fixing the stud pin in the needle
carrier, and keying fast on to the end of the shaft A, a cam or disc
shaped or grooved to give the movement required. This needle carrier
is of considerable length, and is arranged to traverse vertically in a guide
groove between the face of the bracket projections and the front hold-
ing plate O, bolted thereto, the needle P, being clamped to the lower
end of the holder by an eye piece Q, as shewn in the Drawings. This
eye piece answers also as the lower guide for the thread. The primary
thread is contained on the bobbin R, set on a fixed stud in the bracket
piece B, the stud having a thumb nut and friction arrangement for
giving any required amount of tensional " drag." As the thread
unwinds from this bobbin, and is taken up by the succession of stitches,
it may pass, when required to be lubricated, through a small reservoir of
wax or lubricating material S, as shown in the Drawings, being guided
by suitable eyes into and through the material, until it enters an eye T,
in the back end of a horizontal guide arm T'. This arm is screwed
at U, to the face plate O. As the thread passes through the eye T,

page_text: it takes one or two turns round the guide arm as a further drag,
such turns being variable by turning the adjustable spring clip V,
embracing the arm. Thence the thread passes through the eye W, at
the angle of the guide arm, and it finally enters the cyc X, which
travels with the needle holder. By this means the attendant can casily
adjust the length of thread to be taken off the bobbin at each stitch, by
setting round the eye U, to bring the guide arm farther off or nearer to
the eye X, when the latter is at the top of its stroke, for example. The
thread then passes down inside the spring guide Y, and thence through
the guide eye Q, which leads it to the needle eye. The inner end of
the lower shaft I, carries a stud, disc, or crank Z, the stud pin of which
projects into the differential slot of the slide piece a, Figure 5, which
traverses in the dovetail guide b, fast to the framing. This slide piece
carries a vertical arm c, which terminates at its upper end in a
horizontal forked driver d. This driver partially encloses the shuttle c,
which has a slight play between its two forks or curved ends. By this
means there will always be a sufficient space between one end of the
driver and the shuttle for the free passage of the loop, as will be more
fully described hereafter. The shuttle e, of the secondary thread slides
in a grooved guide or shuttle race f, and is fitted with a pirn or bobbin
of thread of its own. The material to be stitched is represented at 9.
It is traversed forward along the line of the intended seam by being
pressed upon the roughened surface of the cloth propeller h, which
works on a fixed stud centro adjustable in the slotted bracket i. The
material to be stitched is held down upon the peripheries of the
propeller by the curved plate j, and helical spring k. The holding plate
is secured to the lower extremity of the vertical sliding bar 7, which is
guided by the fixed pieces m, m'. A moveable catch n, is fitted loosely
to the upper end of the bar, and serves to retain it elevated, when not
in use, by resting upon the surface of the upper guiding pin m. The
propeller is actuated by the lever arm o, which is keyed on to the short
rocking shaft p, working in the main support A. Through the lower
extremity of this arm is passed the short screwed spindle or piece of
wire g, which is fitted with an adjusting nut r. The opposite end of
this spindle is hooked, and has secured to it one end of the cord or

page_text: gut s, which passes round the propeller in a suitable groove; the other
end of this cord is secured to the fixed bow spring t, carried by the
small bracket 1. A second arm v, is keyed on to the rocking shaft p,
and extends beneath the tappet w, on the shaft 1. At each revolution
of this shaft the tappet depresses the lever arm v, and thereby draws
the cords, and wire g, in the direction of the arrow. This movement
turns the propeller slightly, the spring t, allowing the cord or gut to
give, according to the length of stroke of the arm o, which is regulated
by the nut 7. It will be obvious that the length of the stitches will
depend on the degree of movement given to the propeller, and there-
fore the nut r, is employed for regulating the stitches according to the
peculiar kind of work required. The wooden chock x, acts as a detent
inside the propeller; it is pressed against the interior of the rim y, by
the bow springs 2', and z', thereby serving to hold the propeller firm
during the formation of the stitch, and preventing it moving backward
without interfering with its forward motion, when required. In sewing
by this machine the material is guided by hand according to the
direction of the seam, and traverses beneath the plate J, being held
down by the helix k. The descent of the needle holder M, inserts
the needle P, into the material, carrying with it the thread N. By
a peculiar differential motion the needle then makes a slight upward
movement to form a loop beneath the material. Through this loop
is passed the shuttle e, with its thread, thereby enter locking one
thread with the other. After the shuttle has passed through the loop
formed beneath the material to be stitched it makes a pause or dwell
in its course, and its forked driver d, then make a slight backward
movement to allow the primary thread to pass freely over the back
portion of the shuttle. The tightening or drawing of the stitch is
effected by three distinct and simultaneous movements, videlicit, a
further rising of the needle P, the further onward movenient of the
shuttle e, in one direction, and the forward motion of the material
the opposite direction. The shuttle then traverses back again, and is
ready for a second stitch. In order to keep the thread N, at a proper
degree of tension in the needle a self-acting catch 1, (Figures 1, and 2,)
fitted to the side of the fixed bracket B, and works loosely upon a
in

page_text: screw 2; one end 3, of this bent catch presses against the thread, thereby
proventing the formation of slack above the material, and keeping it
well distended during the insertion of the needle. This catch is
actuated and made to press upon the thread N, at each descent of the
neelle, by a small projection or swell 4, on the side of the disc J.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine
or restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have
had occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made
from without deviating from the principles or main features of my
Invention.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the
Eleventh day of May, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.s.)