IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES AND IN SEWING MACHINE NEEDLES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Galloway Weir, of Carlisle Street, Soho,
in the County of Middlesex, Sewing Machine Manufacturer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES AND IN SEWING
MACHINE NEEDLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Galloway
Weir at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 23rd February 1872.
I, JAMES GALLOWAY WEIR, of Carlisle Street, Soho, in the County of
Middlesex, Sewing Machine Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES AND IN SEWING
MACHINE NEEDLES," to be as follows:-
My improvements are applicable to either lock stitch, chain stitch, or
other machines, whether they are operated by hand or foot. The said
improvements relate, first, to a novel tension device for sewing machines.

page_text: This tension device has a hollow screw passed through a screw-threaded
hole at one end of a forked carrier or bracket, which is firmly secured
upon the needle bar. Through this hollow screw I pass a pin or rod on
whose inner end is fitted a cone, between which and the end of the screw
a spiral spring is coiled upon the rod. The said cone is fitted loosely so
as to turn upon the said rod, and between and upon this cone and
another cone fixed on the forked bracket the reel or spool of thread is
carried. The screw has a head or knob, and may be thereby screwed in
or out of the bracket to cause the cones to bind the reel or spool more or
less tightly between them, and thereby adjust or vary the tension as
desired. When the reel or spool is to be put in place or removed it is
only necessary to either turn back the screw or pull back the rod or pin
far enough to liberate the reel. By this contrivance the operator is
saved the trouble and inconvenience of removing and replacing any nuts,
springs, cones, or other parts in removing and replacing the reels or
spools.
Another part of my improvements relates to a peculiar contrivance for
so operating the feed mechanism that the same will act when the driving
wheel is turned in either direction. For this purpose I place on the
under shaft two cams or eccentrics, one of which is fixed and the other
loose on the said shaft. The fixed cam has shoulders or pins, which
project into a recess or groove in the loose cam; and the latter has a stop
pin, which allows it to turn partially round on the said shaft, but which
cannot pass the shoulders or pins on the fixed cam. The fixed cam gives
the required vertical movement to the feed bar, and the loose cam gives
to the said bar its forward or feed movement, which, whether the driving
wheel is turned either forward or backward, will always take place at
the proper moment, and there will be no delay or imperfection of the
work through missing stitches, as is frequently the case with other
machines.
My said Invention relates, thirdly, to means whereby I insure the
ready insertion of the needle in the correct position in the needle bar of
a sewing machine. For this purpose I form a projection or feather on
the lower portion of the shank of the needle, and make a corresponding
groove or channel in the bottom of the needle bar. When the said pro-
jection is fitted in the groove the needle will be properly inserted. The
said needle is then secured by a small screw passed through the side of
the needle bar.

page_text: My said Invention relates, fourthly, to a contrivance for regulating the
length of the stitches in a sewing machine. A regulating screw is
arranged to act on the feed bar or a block forming part of the feed
mechanism, and by adjusting this screw the stitch is lengthened or
shortened. To the head of this screw I attach a small handle, which is
arranged to be stopped on one side by the cloth plate and on the other
side by the frame, or by suitably arranged projections thereon, so as to
prevent the turning of the screw too far in either direction for the proper
regulation of the stitches.
In combination with this regulating screw I use a tightening screw
and a pressure block or cushion to compensate for the wearing of the
regulating screw, and to obviate the necessity of removing the same and
replacing it by a new one. The said block is composed of alternate
layers of brass or other suitable metal and india-rubber. This block or
cushion is placed under the stitch regulating screw, and by adjusting the
tightening screw the block is pressed on the said regulating screw, which
is thereby tightened or slackened as desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Galloway Weir in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd August 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, James
GALLOWAY WEIR, of Carlisle Street, Soho, in the County of Middlesex,
Sewing Machine Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in
the thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Galloway Weir,
Her special licence that I, the said James Galloway Weir, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Galloway Weir, 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

page_text: Tawiudy might make, use, exercise, and vend, WICHI the ՄԱՆԵԱ
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for “IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES AND IN SEWING
MACHINE NEEDLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said James Galloway Weir, 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 James Galloway Weir, 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing forming a part of this Specification.
My improvements are applicable to lock stitch, chain stitch, or other
sewing machines, whether they are operated by hand or foot. The said
improvements relate, first, to a novel tension device for sewing machines.
This tension device has a hollow screw passed through a screw-threaded
hole at one end of a forked carrier or bracket, which is firmly secured
upon the needle bar. Through this hollow screw I pass a pin or rod on
whose inner end is fitted a cone, between which and the end of the screw
a spiral spring is coiled upon the rod. The said cone is fitted loosely
so as to turn upon the said rod, and between and upon this cone and
another cone fixed on the forked bracket the reel or spool of thread is
carried. The screw has a head or knob, and may be thereby screwed in
or out of the bracket to cause the cones to bind the reel or spool more or
less tightly between them, and I thereby adjust or vary the tension as
desired. When the reel or spool is to be put in place or removed it is
only necessary to either turn back the screw or pull back the rod or pin
far enough to liberate the reel. By this contrivance the operator is
saved the trouble and inconvenience of removing and replacing any nuts,
springs, cones, or other parts in removing and replacing the reels or
spools.
Another part of my improvements relates to a peculiar contrivance for

page_text: wheel is turned in either direction. For this purpose I place on the
under shaft two cams or eccentrics, one of which is fixed and the other
loose on the said shaft. The fixed cam has shoulders or pins, which
project into a recess or groove in the loose cam; and the latter has a stop
pin which allows it to turn partially round on the said shaft, but which
cannot pass the shoulders or pins on the fixed cam. The fixed cam gives
the required vertical movement to the feed bar, and the loose cam gives
to the said bar its forward or feed movement, which, whether the driving
wheel is turned either forward or backward, will always take place at
the proper moment, and there will be no delay or imperfection of the
work through missing stitches, as is frequently the case with other
machines.
My said Invention relates, thirdly, to means whereby I insure the
ready insertion of the needle in the correct position in the needle bar of
a sewing machine. For this purpose I form a projection or feather on
the lower portion of the shank of the needle, and make a corresponding
groove or channel in the bottom of the needle bar. When the said pro-
jection is fitted in the groove the needle will be properly inserted. The
said needle is then secured by a small screw passed through the side of
the needle bar; or, instead of using the shoulder and groove I obtain the
same result by making the shank and hole of a peculiar shape, as herein-
after set forth.
My said Invention relates, fourthly, to a contrivance for regulating the
length of the stitches in a sewing machine. A regulating screw is
arranged to act on the feed bar or a block forming part of the feed
mechanism, and by adjusting this screw the stitch is lengthened or
shortened. To the head of this screw I attach a small handle, which is
arranged to be stopped on one side by the cloth plate and on the other
side by the frame, or by suitably arranged projections thereon, to prevent
the turning of the screw too far in either direction for the proper regu-
lation of the stitches.
In combination with this regulating screw I use a tightening screw
and a presser block or cushion to compensate for the wearing of the
regulating screw, and to obviate the necessity of removing the same and
replacing it by a new one. The said block or cushion is composed of
alternate layers of brass or other suitable metal and india-rubber. It is
placed under the stitch regulating screw, and by adjusting the tightening

page_text: screw the block or cushion is pressed on the said regulating screw,
is thereby tightened or slackened as desired.
which
Figure 4 is a horizontal section on the line x, x, Figure 3.
Figures 5 to 14 shew detached portions of my improvements.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
A is the frame of my machine; B is the cloth plate; C is the driving
wheel, which by the toothed wheels D, E, E¹, imparts the required
movements through the two horizontal shafts to the needle bar, the
looper, and the feed mechanism.
My improved tension device is most clearly shown in Figure 2. a is 1
the hollow screw, supported in the carrier or bracket b, attached to the
needle bar c; d is the pin or rod passed through the said hollow screw,
and carrying the cone & on its inner end; d is the other cone fixed on
the bracket; e is the reel or spool supported between these two cones;
a' is the head of the hollow screw; d³ is a button or knob on the rod d;
f is the spiral spring coiled around the rod d, and tending to press the
cone d' against the reel.
The contrivance for operating the feed mechanism in such a manner
as to permit the feed to act when the machine is turned in either
direction is clearly illustrated in Figures 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
and 14. g is the cam that is fixed on the shaft of the machine, and i
is the loose cam. Figure 6 is a longitudinal section shewing the two
cams in their proper position on the shaft h. Figure 7 shews the inner
face of the fixed cam g with its shoulders g'. Figure 8 shows the corre-
sponding face of the loose cam i with its pin . It will be seen that in
this arrangement the shoulders g¹ project into the recess ³, and the pin ¹
is secured in the rim of the cam i.
Figures 9, 10, 11, are similar views of a modification of the above
cams, wherein the loose cam i has shoulders it, and is made to work on

page_text: the neck h* of the fixed cam g, which has a pin h³ arranged to act on the
said shoulders.
Figures 12, 13, and 14 are similar views of another modification of this
part of my Invention, wherein the fixed cam g has two pins ho, which
enter the recess of the loose cam i, and the pin of the latter is
arranged to be acted on by the pins hº.
The feed bar j has a shoulder j, whereon the cam g acts to give the
required movement to the said bar; k is an intermediate block, whose
extremity k¹ is acted on by the loose cam i, and whose other extremity k³
bears on the feed bar lever at j³ to give the said bar the required move-
ments. The fixed cam always turns with the shaft, and drives the loose
cam by its shoulders or pins, which are so arranged that when the
motion of the machine is reversed the loose cam changes its position
with regard to the fixed cam just so much as is necessary to insure the
proper action of the feed.
Figures 1 and 4 also shew my improved contrivance for regulating the
length of the stitches in a sewing machine. o is the regulating screw,
whose point forms the fulcrum of the block k. o¹ is the handle of the
said screw, which handle, as shown in Figure 1, is stopped on one side
by the edge of the cloth plate B, and on the other side by the point A¹
of the frame A. p is the tightening screw, and q is the presser block or
cushion which is pressed against the regulating screw o by the screw p to
compensate for the wearing of the said regulating screw.
The means whereby I ensure the ready insertion of the needle in the
needle bar of a sewing machine are clearly illustrated in Figures 5, 5º,
which are vertical sections in intersecting planes of the said bar, and
Figure 5b, which is an end view of the said bar. 7 is the needle; is
the projection or feather thereon; m is the groove in the needle bar into
which the said feather fits when the needle is inserted in the bar, as
clearly shewn in Figure 5; n is the screw for securing the needle. Or
instead of forming the needle with a projection or feather I make the
part of the needle which enters the needle bar triangular or with two
flat sides, and on the end of the needle bar I secure a plate c³, having
a hole of corresponding form into which the needle is fitted; see
Figures 5°, 5d.
The shape and construction of the above-described devices may be
modified so long as the essential features of the various parts of my
Invention as above set forth are retained.

page_text: Having thus fully described the said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I claim,—
++
First. The tension device, with the parts constructed, combined, and
operating as herein set forth.
Second. The contrivances for so operating the feed mechanism that 5
the same will act when the driving wheel is turned in either direction,
as herein set forth.
Third. The contrivances for ensuring the ready insertion of the needle
in its correct position in the needle bar, as herein set forth.
Fourth. The contrivance for regulating the length of the stitches made 1
in a sewing machine, as herein set forth.
Fifth. In combination with the said regulating contrivance the
tightening screw and presser block or cushion, as herein set forth for
the purpose specified.
Sixth. The combination in a sewing machine of the above specified 1
novel devices and contrivances with the other parts of the machine, as
herein described for the purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Galloway Weir, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy- 2
two.
JAMES G. WEIR. (L.S.)
Witness,
BRUCE SHEPHERD,
Clerk to Messrs. Smith & Co.,
13, Northumberland Street,
Charing Cross,
London.