IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC APPARATus and IN THE APPLICATION OF THE SAME FOR OPERATING SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC APPARATus and
IN THE APPLICATION OF THE SAME FOR OPERATING SEWING MACHINES." -A
communication from abroad by Soloman Jones and Elias Dorsey
Lawrence, both of the City and State of New York, United States
of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at
"
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 14th September 1871, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at
•
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 14th September 1871, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN ELECTRO-MAGNETIC. APPARATUS AND IN THE, APPLICATION OF. THE SAME FOR

page_text: OPERATING SEWING MACHINES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant
unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it has
been communicated to me from abroad by Soloman Jones and Elias
Dorsey Lawrence, both of the City and State of New York, United
States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming
a part of this Specification:-
The main object of the present improvements is to furnish a sewing
machine that shall be driven or operated by the direct application of
electricity to its needle bar. The great advantages of this combination
are found in its simplicity and cheapness, avoiding, as it does, all
complicated mechanism, and rendering entirely unnecessary the ordinary
heavy and expensive castings, such as crank shafts, treadles, fly or
balance wheels, and others, which have heretofore been invariably used
in connection with all sewing machine motors, and to avoid which is
a great desideratum.
This Invention consists, first, in arranging in a frame suitably sup-
ported on the rear section of the stationary arm of the sewing machine
two sets of electro-magnets. Between these magnets oscillates a motor
lever that is directly connected with the needle of the sewing machine.
This lever is provided with armatures so arranged that one shall be
opposite each magnet and secured in such relative position thereto that
at the proper instant it shall be acted on by its magnet. These magnets
are connected with the battery by means of the positive and negative
wires through connecting screws in the usual manner. These electro-
magnets being arranged in two sets as stated are so connected with each
other that the magnets of each set are simultaneously excited, and are
further so connected by a cross current wire that when the sliding
current breaker interrupts the circuit with one set it shall instantly. be
completed with the other or opposite set, and thus by the action of the
magnets through the armatures on the lever impart to the same a
continuous oscillating or vibratory movement. This sliding current
breaker travels over a bar to and fro on a vertical line, and is retained

page_text: in its proper position by means of stationary guide and bearing pins
which pass through slots on its face, and is provided with bearings on its
inner surface, against which at proper intervals through the action of
the magnets the lever is driven. This action carries the sliding current
breaker so as to cause it by its direct action to interrupt the positive
connection with one set of magnets, and thus, through the connections
herein-after described, so complete it with the other that instantaneously
they shall be in condition to exert their full power, which causes the
immediate return of the lever. Thus a continuous vibratory or
oscillating movement is imparted to the lever, and it in turn acting on
the sliding current breaker causes it so to interrupt and complete the
connections at the desired moment with the different sets of magnets
as to secure a mechanism uniform, reliable, and entirely automatic in
operation.
The said Invention also consists in providing the motor lever with
armatures of such character as will not only cause the magnets the
more readily to exert their power thereon, but which owing to their
peculiar form are the more readily freed from their influence when
through the action of the breaker bar the current is broken so as to
bring the opposite series of magnets into action. To accomplish this
object I construct the armatures with a receding or recessed face having
holes or perforations at their base. Armatures thus constructed, practical
experience has shewn to possess the following advantages over those
formed with the ordinary plane or flat surface. The entire force is
concentrated within the cavity. This adds greatly to the potency of
the magnet, enables it to exert its power at a much greater distance, and
allows of an increased vibratory play of the lever. Moreover, with this
form of magnet the current is not only more effective but is more
readily interrupted and completed. The perforations in the base are
for the escape of the compressed air, and are positively essential to the
successful working of the armatures.

page_text: armature secured at such a position as to be readily acted on by the
magnets; Figure 6 is a front view of a motor lever, the armaturės
having a concave form; Figure 7 is a bottom view of the lever and
armatures, the latter being perforated to permit the escape of air;
Figure 8 is a plan of the lever and armatures detached; Figure 9 is a
vertical sectional view on the line x, x, Figure 7.
.
A is the bed plate of an ordinary sewing machine; A¹, the stationary
arm; B, the cloth plate; and B', the presser; all constructed and
arranged in the usual manner. The connection of the motor directly
with the needle bar C is completed and effected simply through the
agency of a pivoted or hinged link c, and is equally applicable to all
sewing machinės, no matter what their distinctive characteristics may
be. This link c which unites the needle bar C and the motor lever D is
attached to the upper section of the former and to the extreme end of
the latter. This bar D is of any suitable material and of the form
illustrated in the Drawing, that is to say, it is slightly taper from the
point of its fulcrum or bearing to its outer end, and recessed on the
upper and lower faces of a portion of its rear section in order to receive
and properly secure the 'plates G, GI, to which are attached the
armatures G, G. This lever D is secured in the slotted or socket head
of an upright post D' by means of a fulcrum pin d, on which it freely
oscillates or vibrates. This post D¹ is firmly attached to the stationary
arm A¹. E is a rectangular frame connected to the rear section of the
arm A¹ by means of a screw a or other equivalent attachment. This
frame may be constructed of any desired substance, except its front
wall E', which must be of some suitable non-conducting material, as
the sliding current breaker bar travels upon it. F, F, are the electro-
magnets, which are secured in sets at the upper and lower section of
the frame E. Each set of magnets consists of a pair, they are arranged
on suitable bearing plates F¹, F¹, and are secured by wedge-shaped
pieces f, f, and screws e, e, to the frame E. These wedge-shaped pieces
are interposed between the plates F¹, F¹, and the horizontal walls of the
frame E, and serve to hold the electro-magnets F, F, in a position best
calculated to enable them in the most effective manner to exert their
force on the armatures G, G. H is a sliding current breaker constructed
of any material which will permit of its acting as a conductor. This
plate is provided with two oblong slots H, H', through which run the guide
posts h, h. The ends of the sliding bar H are curved to form two current

page_text: breaker keys H³, H³, one at each end of the bar. On the under side of
the bar H and travelling on the bar E¹ are two projections or bearing
points h³, h2, which through the action of the lever drive the breaker bar
backward and forward on the plate E. On this plate E¹ are two plates
of silver or platinum 1, 1, as clearly shewn in Figure 4. L, L, are the
connecting screws or binding posts that connect the positive and negative
wires to the magnets F, F; h receives and secures the positive wire 2, and
the negative wire 3. The wire 4 through its forked arms 5, 6, com-
pletes the negative connection between the battery and the two sets of
magnets F, F; 7, 7, are the wires that unite the magnets comprising
each set; 8 is a wire that is connected to the post h of the current
breaker, and, like the positive wire 2, projects through its post. These
two wires 2, 8, run together and are united by a key on a table or other
convenient platform. The key is not shewn as its operation is well
understood, and there are many forms accomplishing the same result.
When these two wires are in contact the circuit is closed, and the positive
current from the battery is through the wire 8 communicated to the
post h, and thence to the sliding bar H, and by it transmitted to either
set of the magnets F, F, through the action of the keys H2, H2, on the
plates 1, 1, and the wires 9, 9; K is an ordinary break bar and regulates
the stroke of the machine through a set screw, pressure band, or rod
or other equivalent device. K' is a screw shown resting in a socket on
the rear of the machine. It is used to fasten the machine to a table or
platform, being inserted in a screw socket bearing under the bed piece
or plate A. M, M, are water tubes that are inserted through the bar E',
and in immediate contact with the rear face of the platinum plates i, 1.
The object of these cold water tubes is to prevent the plates 1, 1,
becoming unduly heated by the action of the electrical sparks. The
armatures G, G, may be hollow, and either of the concave form shewn
in Figure 5, or the hollow socket form shown in Figure 6. On the
bases of the hollow armatures G, G, are one or more openings c¹, c',
which serve for the escape of the compressed air that as the armatures
approach is forced to escape through the openings.
The operation of my Invention is as follows:-The wire 3 being
connected to the negative pole of the battery conveys its current to the
wire 4 through the binding post L', and by the aid of the forked
wires 5, 6, is communicated to each of the sets of magnets F, F. This
arrangement leaves cach set in condition to act the moment the positive

page_text: •
wire completes the circuit therewith; 2 is the wire that is attached to the
positive pole of the battery and projects through the binding screw L.
This wire 2 and the wire 8 are so connected by a key that at any
moment they can be brought instantly together or separated. When
the wires 2 and 8 are in contact the positive current is instantly con-
veyed through the post to the sliding bar H, from which it is
communicated to the magnets, and completes and interrupts the circuits
in the following manner:-When the key H³ of the sliding bar H is on
one of the platinum plates 1 this bar, acting as a conductor, communicates
its
power
to the plate 1, from which it is transmitted to one of the set
of magnets F, F, which instantly exerts its power on the armatures G, G,
drawing the lever D in direct contact with this set of magnets. But
this movement of the lever through its pressure on one of the bearing
points ² has carried the sliding bar to such a position that the key H²,
just described as in connection with the plate 1, now rests on a non-
conducting surface, and the positive contact with its set of magnets is
consequently interrupted. This same movement however conveyed the
other key H² to the opposite plate 1, which causes its relative magnets
through the wire 9 now to exert their force. This action causes the
return of the lever which striking against the bearing 2 carries the
sliding bar back in the reverse direction to that in which it has just
travelled. The key that had been in contact is thus relieved and the
other brought into action. Thus a rapid oscillating or vibratory move-
ment is imparted to the lever, which through its action on the sliding
current breaker, automatically completing and interrupting the current,
brings the opposite magnets into action.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondents, and shown how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First. The hollow armatures G, G, constructed as described.
Second. The hollow armatures G, G, when provided with one or more
openings c¹, c, substantially as described.
Third. The electro-magnets F, F, lever D provided with armatures G, G,
needle bar C, insulator bar E¹, and sliding conductor bar H, when
combined and arranged to operate substantially as described.
Fourth. The electro-magnets F, F, lever D provided with armatures G, G,
and needle bar C, when the same are combined and arranged to operate
substantially as described.

page_text: Fifth. The non-conducting plate E³, having conductor plates 1, 1,
attached, and the sliding current breaker bar H, when the same are
constructed and arranged to act in connection with the battery and
magnets, substantially as described.
Sixth. The water tubes M, M, arranged to prevent the undue, heating
and burning of the plates 1, 1, by the electrical sparks.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.
Witness,
EDWARD C. JACKSON.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)