AN IMPROVED SEAM SSTITCHING AND CLOTH STRETCHING MACHINE
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of Brandon
and Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, South-
ampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVED SEAM SSTITCHING AND CLOTH STRETCHING
MACHINE." A communication from abroad by Alfred Sumner
Dinsmore, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
-
:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-
Brown at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 7th July 1874.
I, WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-
Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,.
London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for:" AN IMPROVED SEAM STITCHING AND CLOTH STRETCHING.
MACHINE," to be as follows:-
:-

page_text: cloth or fabric in order to convert them into á continuous piece, such as
is necessary in many operations in and branches of manufacture, and
the particular object sought is to ensure a perfectly straight seam where
two ends are thus joined, for if not straight the pieced web will not be
straight nor flat, and will be correspondingly obstructed and the results
defective or unsatisfactory.
To attain the proposed end the Invention consists primarily in the
employment of a sewing machine combined with a track frame and
appropriate connecting mechanism, whereby the sewing machine proper
shall when driven automatically travel in a positively straight line, so as
to carry its stitch-making devices across the end of the cloths or goods
to be seamed together, the cloth in the meantime being held stationary.
It further consists in devices for effecting the traversing motion of the
machine for disconnecting it from such devices, for returning. it to its
starting point, and in a special mechanism for stretching and holding
the goods.
:
The sewing machine may be an ordinary machine so far as the stitch
is concerned, and the machine is arranged to rest and slide upon ways or
tracks in parallel rails which extend lengthwise of a frame. The frame
and rails may be of any desired length to suit the widest goods across
which the stitching mechanism is to traverse when uniting the ends
of the fabrics. This travelling or traverse motion is effected as
follows: The prime motor gear in communicating a revolving motion
to the shaft by means of suitable gearing gives also revolving motion to
a worm on said shaft, and this movement of the worm gives a slower
revolution to a worm gear which is rigidly secured to a vertical shaft,
which last-named shaft has also secured to it another and similar worm
gear, so that both gears shall revolve coincidently. The latter gear is so
arranged as at will to be thrown either into or out of engagement with a
fixed non-revolving screw-threaded cylindrical bar. It will now be seen
that when they are thus in engagement the movement of the shaft
which puts the sewing mechanism into operative action will also cause
said latter gear as it revolves to progress steadily along the threaded bar,
and thus carry along the whole sewing machine in the same direction,
that is, across the frame from one end towards the opposite end, the
distance being entirely under the control of the operator and determined
by the width of the fabric or in other words by the length of the seam
to be made.
ン

page_text: To disengage the gear from the bar a locking lever is employed which
acts upon an arm (through which passes the shaft on which are both
the gears), and keeps the before-mentioned latter gear and the threaded
bar in engagement against the stress of a spring, and when this locking
lever is turned so as to free the arm, the spring throws them out of
engagement. When so out of engagement the machine may be slidden
upon its track as may be desired to any position needed, as for instance
back to its starting point preparatory to making a seam.
It will be seen from the above that the path of the machine and con-
sequently of its needle and stitches across the fabrics must be absolutely
in a right line, and the seam made a perfectly straight one.
The devices for receiving, stretching, and holding the stretched fabrics
while being united are as follows:-A slotted swing plate having thereon
pins upon which one selvage of the fabric may be impaled is so pivotted
and controlled in its movements by its irregular slot and a pin, that
when a hand lever is slightly lifted from its latch and moved to the
right, it will throw forward that end of the plate which carries the pins
bringing them outward in front of the frame. Another slotted plate at
the opposite end of the frame is arranged to be slidden and secured at
any required distance along a band which extends across the frame to
adjust for cloths of any width.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Morgan-Brown in the Great Seal Patent.
Office on the 2nd January 1875.
TO. ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers'
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue'
Gaillon, Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of July, 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 suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Morgan-Brown,

page_text: Her special license, that I, the said William Morgan-Brown, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Morgan-Brown, 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 "AN IMPROVED SEAM STITCHING AND CLOTH
STRETCHING MACHINE," (a communication to me from abroad by Alfred
Sumner Dinsmore, of Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America),
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Morgan-
Brown, 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 William Morgan-Brown, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
The Invention is especially designed for joining together the ends of
pieces of cloth or fabric in order to convert them into a continuous piece
such as is necessary in many operations in and branches of manufacture,
and the particular object sought is to insure a perfectly straight seam
where two ends are thus joined, for if not straight the pieced web will
not be straight nor flat, and will be correspondingly obstructed; and the
results defective or unsatisfactory...
To attain the proposed end this Invention consists primarily in the
employment of a sewing machine combined with a track frame and
appropriate connecting mechanism, whereby the sewing machine proper
shall when driven automatically travel in a positively straight line, so
as to carry its stitch-making devices across the ends of the cloths or goods'
to be seamed together, the cloth in the meantime being held stationary..
It further consists in the special devices for effecting the traversing
motion of the. machine, for disconnecting it from such devices, for
returning it to its starting point, in a special mechanism for stretching
and holding the goods, and in other details herein-after mentioned.
;

page_text: In the Drawings forming part of this Specification Figure 1 is a side
elevation partly in section, and Figure 2 is a plan of a machine
illustrating the Invention.
A represents a sewing machine which in this instance is of the form
of the Wilcox and Gibbs' single thread machine, but it must be under-
stood that any other class of machine whether making the chain, double
chain, or lock stitch may be used in practicing the Invention. The
sewing machine is, arranged to rest and slide upon ways or tracks a in
parallel rails 6 which extend lengthwise of a frame B, which frame and
rails may be of any desired length to suit the widest goods across which
the stitching mechanism is to traverse when uniting the ends of the
fabrics. This travelling or traverse motion is effected as follows:-The
prime motor gear c in communicating a revolving motion to the shaft d
by means of gear e, gives also revolving motion to the worm fon said
shaft, and this movement of the worm gives a slower revolution to the
worm gear g which is rigidly secured to the vertical shaft h, which last-
named shaft has also secured to it another and similar worm gear i, so
that both gears g and i shall revolve coincidently. This latter gear i is
so arranged as at will to be thrown either into or out of engagement
with a fixed non-revolving screw-threaded cylindrical bar k. It will
now be seen that when they are thus in engagement the movement of
the shaft d which puts the sewing mechanism into operative action will
also cause gear i as it revolves to progress steadily along the threaded
bar k, and thus carry along the whole sewing machine in the same
direction, that is, across the frame B from one end towards the opposite
end, the distance being entirely under the control of the operator and
determined by the width of the fabric, or in other words by the length
of the seam to be made.
To disengage the gear i from -bar k a locking lever is employed,.
which when in the positions shewn in the Drawing acts upon the arm m
(through which passes the shaft / on which are both the gears g and i),
and keeps i and k into engagement against the stress of a spring o, and
when this locking lever is turned so as to free the arm m, the spring
throws them out of engagement. When so out of engagement the
machine may be slid
upon its track as may be desired to any position
needed, as for instance back to its starting point preparatory to making

page_text: It will be seen from the above that the path of the machine and
consequently of its needle and stitches across the fabrics must be ab-
solutely in a right line and the seam made a perfectly straight one, such
as is shewn in the dash lines p, p, Figure 2, the dotted lines q, L, L, Q,
representing the sides and end of a piece or pieces of fabric.
.
The devices for receiving, stretching, and holding the stretched fabrics
while being united are as follows:-A slotted swing plater having
thereon pins upon which one selvage of the fabric may be impaled is so
pivotted and controlled in its movements by its irregular slot, and a pin
that when the hand levert is slightly lifted from its latch u and moved
to the right, it will throw forward that end of the plate 7 which carries
the pins v, v, bringing them outward in front of the frame. Another
slotted plate at the opposite end of the frame is arranged to be slid
and secured at any required distance along the band w, which extends
across the frame to adjust for cloths of any width.
To operate the combined apparatus first move the sewing machine to
the left hand of the frame, throw the levert forward so as to bring the
points v, v, forward in front of the traversing pathway of the needle,
then hook the selvages at the ends of the cloth on to the points v, v, and
v, v, then draw the levert back to its catch u; this draws the cloth
directly under the needle and stretches the goods. Now move the
handle so as to bring into gear with k, and then put the sewing
machine into action, and the same shaft that actuates the stitching
mechanism will cause the machine to pass over the stationary goods and
stitch across it. The machine may then be moved back and other ends
of goods united in the same manner.
It is evident that the details of construction may be varied to uso
mechanical equivalents of some of the parts or to vary their position to
accomodate for different kinds of work or for different styles of sewing
machines which may be employed, but without departing from the spirit
of the Invention.
The track may be of any desired length and the machine may be dove-
tailed to it or otherwise so long as it be firm enough and yet travel
thereon.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the said
Invention and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would have
it understood that what I claim is,―

page_text: First. In combination with the stationary frame the devices herein
described for holding the fabric in a stretched and stationary condition,
and a sewing machine arranged to travel automatically in right lines on
ways or guides upon and across such frame and across the breadth of the .
stretched fabric, substantially as shewn and set forth.
Second. The combination of the shaft d, worm f, shaft h, gears 9 and
i, and threaded bar k, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
.
Third. The combination with the gear g of the arm m, locking lever 1
or its equivalent, and spring o, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Fourth. The combination of the slotted swinging plater provided
with pins, the locking lever t, and the plate adjustable on the band w,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this First day of January, in the
of
year our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-