IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Owen Robinson, of Champion Works, Kettering,
in the County of Northampton, Sewing Machine Manufacturer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 27th April 1875, and dated the 2nd November 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Owen Robinson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd November 1874.
I, OWEN ROBINSON, of Champion Works, Kettering, in the County
of Northampton, Sewing Machine Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to
be as follows:-
The first part of my Invention is designed to prevent the turning of a
sewing machine backward. For this purpose I use springs, pawls, tappets,
friction clips, or dogs made of steel, iron, leather, or other soft material
arranged to act within and upon the driving wheel of the sewing machine.
The said pawls, tappets, clips, or dogs act upon the rim, flange, or boss

page_text: of the driving wheel, or upon a second wheel, or upon a shaft of the
machine, and they are so arranged that the driving wheel when turned
in one direction will act upon the said pawls, tappets, clips, or dogs and
drive the machine, but when the wheel is turned backward the said
pawls, tappets, clips, or dogs are disengaged and the wheel moves freely
or independently, and while it continues to revolve backward the
machine is at rest.
The second part of the said Invention relates to operating the winder
for filling the spools for the shuttle by turning the driving wheel
backward without working the machine as above described. For this
purpose I provide the periphery of the driving wheel internally or
externally with a V groove. This groove receives the edge of a wheel
fixed on the shaft of the winder and formed with bevel edges corre-
sponding in shape to the V groove in the driving wheel. The winder is
jointed to the frame of the machine, and on the circumference of its
joint is a V edge acted upon by a flat spring. When the winder is
turned up against the V groove in the driving wheel, the flat spring acts
upon the V edge on the circumference of the winder joint, causing
sufficient friction between the two wheels to rotate the winder. By this
winder operating as described the spools for the shuttle can be quickly
filled, and when the winder is withdrawn from the driving wheel the flat
spring acts upon the other side of the ✓ edge on the boss of the winder,
thereby keeping it at rest.
My Invention relates, thirdly, to a separate and independent winding
wheel placed between the hand or driving wheel and the centre gear
wheel, and turning freely upon the boss of the said gear wheel. This
winding wheel has a V groove on the outer edge as described in con-
nection with the other wheel, and it has a handle whereby it is turned
freely without turning the machine.
The said Invention relates, fourthly, to so constructing the winders of a
sewing machines that by raising the winder against the driving wheel
the latter is thrown out of gear with the machine, and may be turned
freely upon its own axis whilst the machine is at rest. The said wheel
thus operates the winder only, and whether turned backward or forward
will turn the winder. But by adjusting the said winder to its place of a
rest the driving wheel is brought into gear for working the machine.
The said Invention relates, fifthly, to so arranging the winder that by
turning the driving or hand wheel backward the machine remains at

page_text: rest, and at the same time the winder is brought up against the driving
wheel; by this device 'the spools can be filled while the machine is at
rest, and as soon as the driving wheel is moved forward the winder is
adjusted out of action and remains at rest whilst the machine is in motion.
5 I carry into effect the said fourth and fifth parts of my Invention as
follows: Around the boss of the hand wheel I place a ring whose
position is eccentric to the axis of the said wheel, and through which
passes a screw or pin extending inward with its point in the proper
position to enter a hole in the said boss. This ring is attached by a pin
O or joint to the gear wheel and rests upon a lever or arm of the winder,
and when the winder is to be thrown out of gear the said lever is
depressed and the ring made concentric with the gear wheel, the said
screw or pin then entering the hole in the boss of the driving wheel,
thereby coupling the two wheels together so that the machine is operated
5 by turning the hand wheel. A spring arranged within the said ring
tends to keep the same concentric with the boss. When the winder is
to be used its lever is raised, and then by turning the wheel backward an
incline on the boss acts on the said screw or pin, raises the ring, and
adjusts the pin clear of the said boss, and the two wheels being thereby
disconnected the hand wheel drives the winder without operating the
machine.
The said Invention relates, sixthly, to the working of the shuttle
carriers in hand sewing machines. The lower shaft extends throughout
the length of the machine. On the end adjacent to the driving wheel is
a pinion, and on the other end are cams for moving the feeder. Gearing
into this pinion at its under side is a curved rack attached to a rocking
lever. This rocking lever has its fulcrum upon a stud fixed between the
upper pinion and the central gear wheel; it has a fork or two prongs
which embraces an eccentric upon the upper pinion, and when motion is
given to the said upper pinion the eccentric revolves, imparting a
rocking motion to the lever, which imparts this motion to the lower
pinion. At the end of the lower shaft, near the shuttle race, is another
pinion or an arm or eccentric connected with the shuttle carrier, and by
the rocking motion of the said shaft through this pinion, arm, or excentric
the shuttle is driven backward and forward.
My Invention relates, seventhly, to an improved method of working
the rocking levers of hand sewing machines by extending throughout
the length of the base of the machine a shaft which has bearings at

page_text: both ends, and is provided with arms keyed on it for giving motion to
the rocking shaft. This shaft is operated by an excentric or double disc
crank placed on the lower driving shaft between the bearings of the said
shaft or by a stud or excentric on the pinion near the driving wheel
connected with an arm on the rocking shaft. An arm at the shuttle
end of the said shaft is connected to the shuttle carrier.
The said Invention relates, eighthly, to the needle cam of a sewing
machine, and is designed to prevent the rapping of the said cam on the
cam disc or face. On the front side of the cam I fix or form a lug, and
through this lug there is a hole of the same diameter as the presser bar
of the machine, and so arranged that when the cam is fixed upon the
needle bar the said lug slides upon the presser bar with little friction
and no noise, and forms a guide for the needle bar, taking away the
bearing of the cam upon the disc, and allowing the machine to work
with great freedom.
My Invention relates, ninthly, to providing a sewing machine with a
silent adjustable feed. For this purpose I place on the end of the lower
driving shaft an eccentric jointed by a connecting rod to the feeder;
this connecting rod has a slot midway between the eccentric and feeder.
An arm or lever jointed at one end and pressing on a register plate at
the other has a pin which slides in this slot. By raising the said arm or
lever the stitch is shortened, and by lowering it the stitch is lengthened.
Or I may cut the teeth upon the top of the upright connecting rod and
arrange the same to serve as the feeder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said Owen Robinson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st May 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, OWEN
ROBINSON, of Champion Works, Kettering, in the County of North-
ampton, Sewing Machine Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in
the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
3

page_text: Figure 6 is a transverse section of the driving wheel and adjacent
parts, illustrating the manner of throwing the said wheel into and out of
gear with the machine.
parts, illustrating the manner of throwing the said wheel into and out or
gear with the machine.
Figure 7 is a similar section illustrating modification of Figure 6.
Figure 8 illustrates a modification of the feed mechanism herein-after
described.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
A is the frame of the said machine; a, the cloth plate; b, the driving
wheel; c, the needle; d, the needle bar; e, the shuttle; f, the shuttle
race; g, the feeder; and h, the winder.
The first part of my Invention is designed to prevent the working of a
sewing machine when the driving wheel is turned backward. For this
purpose I use springs, pawls, tappets, friction clips, or dogs made of
steel, iron, leather, or other soft material arranged to act within and
upon the driving wheel b. The said pawls, tappets, clips, or dogs act
upon the rim, flange, or boss of the driving wheel, or upon a second
wheel, or upon a shaft of the machine, and they are so arranged that the
driving wheel when turned in one direction will act upon the said pawls,
tappets, clips, or dogs, and drive the machine, but when the wheel is
turned backward the said pawls, tappets, clips, or dogs are disengaged,
and the wheel moves freely or independently, and while it continues to
revolve backward the machine is at rest. The manner in which I prefer
to carry into effect this part of my Invention is clearly illustrated in
Figure 6. The driving wheel b is formed with a socket 6', through
which I pass a pin or rod 63, which has a shoulder 68. The driving
wheel runs loose upon the boss of the central toothed wheel i, and in
combination with these wheels I arrange a notched wheel or disc j, which
is fast upon the said central toothed wheel. The handle b* of the pin b²
is cranked and the inner end of the said pin has a pawl or catch b* which
is arranged to take into the notches of the wheel j. I place in the
socket 6' a spiral spring 66, which tends to keep the pawl in the notches
of the wheel j, and the driving wheel is thereby locked to the gear wheel,
and while the said wheel is turned forward the parts will remain in this
position. When the machine is to be turned backward the first
movement of the hand upon the handle * will raise the pawl out of the
notch of the wheel j, and then the driving wheel will continue turning
backward without actuating the sewing mechanism.

page_text: In the modification of this device illustrated in Figure 7 the pin 6ª
enters holes in the wheel or disc j and is held therein by the spring b*.
On the outer side or face of the socket b¹ I form an incline 6º, which when
the handle 6+ is pulled back acts like a cam thereon, and draws the pin
out of the hole, thereby releasing the driving wheel.
The second part of the said Invention relates to operating the winder
for filling the spools for the shuttle by the driving wheel when the latter
is turned backward without actuating the machine as above described.
For this purpose I provide the periphery or rim of the driving wheel b
either internally or externally with a groove b' of the peculiar shape
shewn. This groove receives the edge of a wheel ' fixed on the shaft ³
of the winder h, and formed with bevel edges corresponding in shape to
those of the grooves in the driving wheel. The winder is jointed to
the frame of the machine at ³, and on its joint is a V shaped projection
or edge arranged in combination with a spring h'. When the winder is
adjusted so that the periphery of the wheel ' enters the groove b' in the
driving wheel, the said flat spring so acts upon the V edge of the
joint ³ as to press the wheel ¹ into the groove b' with sufficient friction
between the two wheels to rotate the winder. In some instances I may
make the wheel of india-rubber. With this winder operating as
described the spools for the shuttle can be quickly filled, and when the
winder is withdrawn from the driving wheel the flat spring acts upon
the other side of the V edge on the joint of the winder, thereby keeping
it away from the driving wheel, so that it remains at rest.
My Invention relates, thirdly, to a separate and independent winding
wheel placed between the hand or driving wheel and the centre gear wheel,
and turning freely upon the boss of the said gear wheel. This winding
wbeel has a groove on the outer edge, similar to that above described.
This winding wheel is larger in diameter than the driving wheel, and has
a handle whereby it is turned freely without turning the machine.
The said Invention relates, fourthly, to so constructing the winder of
a sewing machine that by raising the winder against the driving wheel
the latter is thrown out of gear with the machine, and may be turned
freely on its own axis whilst the machine is at rest. The said wheel
thus operates the winder only, and whether turned backward or forward
will turn the winder; but by adjusting the said winder to its place of
rest the driving wheel is brought into gear for working the machine.
This part of my Invention is illustrated in Figures 1, 3, and 3ª, and also

page_text: in Figures 6 and 7.. Upon the inner side of the driving wheel 6 I form
or fix a wheel or disc 1, with notches in its periphery. The central
toothed wheel i is formed with a boss or hub 2, which turns freely on the
pinn secured in the frame of the machine. On the said boss i the
driving wheel b rotates, and is loose or independent thereon, except when
locked with the said gear wheel. To the central toothed wheel I
attach a ring m, which is pivotted or jointed to the said wheel by a
screw or pin m¹. A stud or pin m³ projects from the said ring in such a
position as to engage with the notches when the ring m is concentric
with the wheel, as in Figure 3, and when these parts are in this position
the driving wheel is locked to the said central toothed wheel, and when
turned will give motion to the sewing mechanism. This position of the
ring will be maintained while the lever 5 of the winder is raised, as in
Figure 3, but when the said lever is depressed, as shewn in Figure 3", so
that its extremity / bears upon the ring m, the ring is made excentric
to the axis of the driving wheel, and raises the pin m² from the notches /¹
of the disc l. The driving wheel being then released will turn without
operating the sewing mechanism, and as the adjustment of the lever
brings the winder wheel into contact with the driving wheel the said
winder will be rotated by turning the driving wheel, until the lever ½³ is
again turned into the position shewn in Figure 3. This part of my
Invention may be readily adapted to the "Singer" and other existing
machines. In some instances, instead of having the ring secured to the
toothed wheel, it is pivoted to a separate plate or disc fixed in a shaft.
The said Invention relates, fifthly, to a modification of the above,
wherein I so arrange the winder that by turning the driving or hand
wheel backward said driving wheel is disconnected from the gear
wheels, so that the machine remains at rest, and at the same time the
winder is brought up against the driving wheel. By this device the
spools can be filled while the machine is at rest, and as soon as the
driving wheel is moved forward the winder is adjusted out of action, and
remains at rest whilst the machine is in motion. I effect this object by
forming the said notches with a bevel or incline on one side, so that
when the driving wheel is turned back the said inclines will raise the
pin m² out of the notch, and bring the ring into its excentric position.
The lever ³ is so arranged in combination with the ring m that when
the latter is thus made excentric it moves the said lever inward or
toward the centre of the wheel, and thereby brings the winder into
oneration.

page_text: My Invention relates, sixthly, to means for actuating the rocking
shuttle lever of a hand sewing machine. This part of my Invention is
most clearly illustrated in Figure 5. 7 is the lower shaft, on which I fix
an excentric q', just inside the front end bearing of the said shaft. This
excentric is connected to the rocking lever q* about midway between its
fulcrum q³ and its upper end q'. The boss of this lever is fitted to
vibrate freely upon the fulcrum pin q³ which is fixed in the frame, the
said upper end of the lever is connected through the link q' with the
shuttle carriage 9. This method of operating the shuttle is very
advantageous in combination with the novel feed mechanism herein-after
described. I may modify this mechanism as follows, that is to say :-I
may have a rocking shaft extending throughout the length of the base
of the machine, the said shaft having bearings at both ends and being
provided with an arm at its rear end arranged in combination with a
pin- on the gear wheel of the lower shaft q, and by which the said
rocking shaft is operated. The rocking lever q is in this modification
fixed on the said rocking shaft.
The said Invention relates, seventhly, to the needle cam of a sewing
machine, and is designed to prevent the rubbing and rapping of the said
cam on the cam disc or the face of the machine. This part of my
Invention is clearly shewn in Figure 2, and is carried into practise as
follows :― -On the needle bar d I fix or form a cam d', which has a
groove in its inner side for the pin 71 of the cam disc to work in. On
the front or outer side of this cam & I fix an eye or lug ď², which is
fitted to slide freely upon the presser bar 8 of the machine. This eye
works upon the presser bar with little friction and no noise, and forms a
guide for the needle bar, taking away the bearing of the cam upon the
disc or the face of the machine, and allowing the same to work with
great freedom.
My Invention relates, eighthly, to providing a sewing machine with a
silent adjustable feed. For this purpose I employ the devices illustrated
in Figure 2, that is to say, I place on the end of the lower driving
shaft an eccentric t, jointed by a connecting rod or link t¹ to the
feeder g, which is a straight bar working in guides g' at the ends
of the shuttle box or race, and has teeth or notches on its upper part g².
This connecting rod has a slot 1, and an arm or lever ³, jointed at t*,
has a pin which slides in this slot. This pin forms an adjustable
fulcrum upon which the said lever oscillates when actuated by the

page_text: "
eccentric t. At its end t✶ the said arm or lever presses upon a notched
plate. By raising this end of the said arm or lever the fulcrum pin 15
is brought nearer to the upper end of the said connecting rod, and the
stitch is thereby shortened, and by lowering the said arm the fulcrum
pin is brought nearer to the excentric, and the stitch is correspondingly t
lengthened.

page_text: direction to operate the winder while the sewing mechanism remains at
rest.
Fifth. The modification of this device wherein the driving wheel is
disconnected from the central toothed wheel, and the winder is brought
into operation by the turning back of the said driving wheel, as herein
set forth.
Sixth. The shuttle driving mechanism, comprising the rocking lever
which operates the shuttle carriage, and is actuated by the excentric
placed on the lower shaft between the bearings of the same in com-
bination with the feeder, as herein set forth.
Seventh. The device for guiding the needle bar, consisting of the eye
or lug fixed or formed on the cam, and fitted to slide upon the presser
bar in such a manner that the said cam works without touching the cam
disc or face of the machine.
Eighth. The feed mechanism, comprising the straight bar working in
guides and operated by an excentric through the medium of the con-
necting rod or link which oscillates on an adjustable fulcrum carried by
the arm or lever, which is raised and lowered to regulate the length
of the stitches, and secured in any required position, as herein set
forth.
Ninth. The modification of this feed mechanism, whereby the said
connecting rod or link is made to serve as the feeder, as herein set
forth.
Tenth. A sewing machine in which the aforesaid winder and adjusting
devices, shewn in Figures 3 and 3*, the shuttle driving mechanism, the
needle bar guide, and the feed mechanism are arranged to operate in
combination with the other parts of the machine, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Owen Robinson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
Witness,
-H. J. NOONE.
OWEN ROBINSON. (L.S.)