AN IMPROVED STITCHING AND BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Helwig, of Old Kent Road, in the County
of Kent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED STITCHING AND BUTTON
HOLE SEWING MACHINE."
Sealed the 27th July 1869, and dated the 6th April 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Helwig at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th April 1869.
I ARTHUR HELWIG, of Old Kent Road, in the County of Kent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
STITCHING AND BUTTON HOLE SEWING MACHINE," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to a machine wherein the work is performed with
a single thread, which is carried by a needle and secured by means of
a hook or looper.
The main object of my Invention is to furnish an efficient and cheap
machine for sewing button holes, and the nature of the said Invention
consists chiefly,—

page_text: First. In giving to the needle of such a machine a lateral to-and-fro
motion transversely to the direction of the sewing, so that the needle
descends alternately on the inside and outside of the edge of the hole,
also in the peculiar means employed for effecting this transverse to-and-
fro movement of the needle, and in the combination of such means with
the mechanism for giving to the needle the ordinary vertical recipro-
cating motion, whereby the thread is carried through the work.
Secondly. In the novel construction and arrangement of the vibrating
hook or looper, which operates in combination with the needle for
looping the thread, and in the peculiar method of operating the said
looper, whereby the looping of the thread is effected continuously
without any derangement of its regularity by the lateral variations in
the position of the needle.
Thirdly. In constructing and arranging the mechanism, so that by a
simple adjustment of certain parts thereof the said machine may be used
either for button hole work or for plain stitching.
In my machine, as in ordinary chain stitch machines, the thread is
carried through the work by the needle, and at each descent thereof a
loop is taken by the hook or looper and held while the needle in its
succeeding descent carries another loop through the first one, the loops
or stitches being tightened as the needle ascends. In the said machine
the reciprocating action of the needle bar may be obtained in any con-
venient and suitable manner, which will not prevent or interfere with
the additional operation required in applying my Invention to the
machine. I prefer to form the needle bar with a transverse aperture or
slot, and to operate the same by a rotating crank, whose pin works in
the said slot. In order that the needle may descend alternately, as
herein-before specified, on the inside and outside of the edge of the
button hole, it is necessary that the needle bar while being properly
supported and guided in suitable bearings should be capable of lateral
movement to such an extent as will produce the required variations in
the position of the needle; for this purpose I support the said bar in
bearings in a forked rod which is firmly supported upon the frame, but
which is free to slide in its bearings in the direction of the length of the
machine. The said rod is extended behind its forked portion to the
rear of the frame and its end bears against a cam, which is so formed
and arranged that when properly adjusted it gives the rod at each
revolution a to-and-fro motion. It will thus be seen that the needle

page_text: bar has two motions, each of which is independent of the other, the said
bar working up and down freely in the bearings in the forked rod, while
the latter moves to and fro across the work carrying the needle bar with
it, so that the needle descends at every alternate stroke on opposite sides
of the line of sewing as required. In front of the needle bar and within
the front plate or cover I place a plate, at the back of which is a spring,
and the said spring acts continually to press the forked rod into contact
with the cam. The said cam is attached to a toothed wheel which gears
into a wheel fixed on the needle bar shaft, or is otherwise connected with
the wheel which communicates motion to the operative parts of the
machine. The cam and toothed wheel are fitted to turn upon a stud or
pin which is fixed in a bracket attached to the frame, and this stud is
so arranged that when it is desired to throw the cam out of connection
with the forked sliding rod the said cam can be moved back into such
a position as to turn without operating the said rod. This means of
adjustment is provided to allow the machine to be used for ordinary or
plain stitching. I prefer to effect the adjustment of the cam by means
of a screw nut fitted on the end of the stud. The said nut when turned
in the proper direction will press the cam into contact with the rod, and
when turned in the opposite direction will withdraw it therefrom. It
is obvious, however, that other devices may be used instead of this nut,
and also that instead of the spring and plate above described a spring
otherwise arranged may be employed to keep the rod in contact with
the cam. The vibrating hook or looper which holds the loops of thread
while the needle passes through them is arranged to vibrate in a vertical
plane at the side of the needle. The point of this hook, or the portion
whereon the loops are held is a thin triangular piece with its face, which
lies adjacent to the path of the needle, hollowed out or made concave.
The hook is arranged in such a position that this triangular part works
in a plane parallel with that of the lateral motion of the needle, and the
side of the said triangular part forms a portion of this plane. The loops
of thread taken from the needle are stretched over this concave portion,
and the needle must descend in this space between the thread and the
surface of the hook. The concavity of the hook must therefore be of
a width equal to or greater than the distance between the extreme
lateral positions of the needle, so that the latter will at each stroke
descend within this concave part. As the needle rises this triangular
part of the hook stands in a vertical position, or nearly so, with its point
downward, but in order that the hook shall take the loops from the

page_text: needle without being affected by the different positions assumed thereby
it must have a motion in such a direction that the point of the hook
will not fail to enter the loop at each descent of the needle. To give
the hook this motion I prefer that the centre whereon it vibrates should
have a horizontal to-and-fro motion, and that the vibrations of the hook
should be produced by such motion. I therefore support the pivot or
axis of the hook in a sliding plate, which is moved to and fro by means
of levers connected with a cam or eccentric fixed on the needle bar
shaft or upon the driving wheel. The hook is constructed with an arm
to which is attached a spring, whereby the said arm is held in such a
manner that as the sliding plate moves away from the needle the
triangular part of the hook is left in a horizontal position; in this
position as the said sliding plate moves forward the hook advances
towards the needle, and by means of a a stop is turned over into a vertical
position, taking the loop from the needle as the same rises.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said Arthur Helwig in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
HELWIG, of Old Kent Road, in the County of Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Arthur Helwig, Her special licence that
I, the said Arthur Helwig, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Arthur Helwig, 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 of "AN IMPROVED STITCHING AND BUTTON HOLE
SEWING MACHINE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Arthur Helwig, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should

page_text: 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 Arthur Helwig, 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 accompanying
Drawings forming a part of this Specification:-
My Invention relates to a machine wherein the work is performed
with a single thread carried by a needle and secured by means of a
hook or looper.
The main object of my Invention is to furnish an efficient and cheap
machine for sewing button holes, and the nature of the said Invention
consists chiefly,-
First. In giving to the needle of a single thread machine a lateral
to-and-fro motion transversely to the direction of the sewing so that
the needle descends alternately on the inside and outside of the edge
of the hole, also in the peculiar means employed for effecting this
transverse to-and-fro movement of the needle, and in the combination
of such means with the mechanism for giving to the needle the ordinary
vertical reciprocating motion whereby the thread is carried through
the work.
Secondly. In the novel construction and arrangement of the vibrating
hook or looper which operates in combination with the needle for
looping the thread, and in the peculiar method of operating the said
looper whereby the looping of the thread is effected continuously without
any derangement of its regularity by the lateral variations in the
position of the needle.
Thirdly. In constructing and arranging the mechanism so that by a
simple adjustment of certain parts thereof the said machine may be
used either for button hole work or for plain stitching.
The said Invention also consists in the novel combination of the
aforesaid devices together and with the other operative parts of the
machine.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OP THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my improved sewing
machine; Figure 2 is a section on the line x, x, Figure 1; Figure 3
is a plan of the under side of the said machine; Figures 4, 5, and 6
shew the looper detached. Like letters indicate corresponding parts
throughout the Drawings.
A is the frame supported on the base A', and B is the cloth plate, C
is the needle bar, and D the crank shaft provided with the crank E for
operating the said bar, and also provided with a wheel F to which the
power is applied in any convenient manner. In my machine as in
ordinary chain stitch machines the thread is carried through the work
by the needle a, and at cach descent thereof a loop is taken by the
book or looper 6 and held while the needle in its succeeding descent
carries another loop through the first one, the loops or stitches being
tightened as the needle ascends. In the said machine the reciprocating
action of the needle bar C may be obtained in any convenient and
suitable manner which will not prevent or interfere with the additional
operation required in applying my Invention to the machine, I prefer
however to form the said needle bar with a transverse aperture or
slot C, and to operate the same by the rotating crank E, whose pin E¹
works in the said slot as shewn in Figure 2. In order that the needle
may descend alternately as herein-before specified on the inside and
outside of the edge of the button hole, it is necessary that the needle
bar C while being properly supported and guided in suitable hearings
should be capable of lateral movement to such an extent as will produce
the required variations in the position of the needle, for this purpose I
support the said bar in bearings in a forked rod o which is firmly
supported upon the frame A, but which is free to slide in its hearings A
in the direction of the length of the machine. The said rod is extended
behind its forked portion to the rear of the frame A, and its end
bears against the cam or excentric d which is formed or fixed on the
shaft e, and is so arranged that when properly adjusted it gives the
rod c at each revolution a to-and-fro motion. It will thus be seen
that the needle bar C has two motions, each of which is independent
of the other, the said bar working up and down freely in the bearings c
in the forked rod c while the latter moves to and fro across the work
carrying the needle bar C with it to and fro between the lines 1 and 2

page_text: (Figure 1) so that the needle a descends at every alternate stroke on
opposite sides of the line of sewing as required. In front of the needle
bar C¹ and within the front plate or cover f I place a plate g, between
which and the said front plate is a spring h, and the said spring acts
continuously to press the forked rod c into contact with the cam d.
The said cam is attached to the bevel wheel i which gears into the
pinion; fixed on the needle bar shaft D, or is otherwise connected with
the wheel F which communicates motion to the operative parts of the
machine. When it is desired to throw the cam d out of connection
with the forked sliding rod c, the said rod by means of the screw k
can be held in such a position as not to come in contact with the
cam which will then turn without operating the said rod. This means
of adjustment is provided to allow the machine to be used for ordinary
or plain stitching for which it will be found very efficient. It is obvious
that other devices may be used instead of this screw for adjusting the
rod c, and also that instead of the spring hand plate g above described,
a spring otherwise arranged may be employed to keep the rod c in
contact with the cam d. The vibrating hook or looper 6 which holds
the loops of thread while the needle a passes through them is clearly
illustrated in Figures 4, 5, and 6. Figure 4 shews the front of the
looping point 6'; Figure 5 is an edge view looking in the direction
of the arrow 3; Figure 6 is a back view looking in the direction of
the arrow 4. The said hook is arranged to vibrate in a vertical plane
at the side of the needle, as clearly shewn in Figure 3, the point 6¹ of
this hook, or the portion whereon the loops are held, is a thin triangular
piece, with its face, which lies adjacent to the path of the needle,
hollowed out or made concave at 6³, as shewn in Figures 4, 5, and 6.
The hook 6 is arranged in such a position that this triangular part 6¹
works in a plane parallel with that of the lateral motion of the needle,
and the side of the said triangular part occupies a portion of this plane.
The loops of thread taken from the needle are stretched over this concave
portion, and the needle must descend in this space between the thread
and the surface of the hook, as shewn in Figure 3. The concavity of
the hook must therefore be of a width equal to or greater than the extreme
distance between the lines 1, 2, Figure 1, (that is, the extreme lateral
positions of the needle a,) so that the latter will at each stroke descend
within this concave part 6º. As the needle a rises the triangular
part b' of the hook 6 stands in a vertical position or nearly so with its
point downwards, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2, but in order that the

page_text: hook 6 shall take the loops from the needle a without being affected
by the different positions assumed thereby, the said looper must have
a motion in such a direction that the point 6 of the hook will not fail
to enter the loop of thread at each descent of the needle a.
To give
the hook 6 this motion I prefer that the centre 68 whereon it vibrates
should have a horizontal to-and-fro motion, and that the vibrations of
the hook 6 should be produced by such motion, I therefor support the
pivot or axis 63 of the hook in a sliding plate or bar which is moved
to and fro by means of levers 1, 2, connected with a cam or excentric /
fixed on the shaft e or by other suitable mechanism. The said bar
is held by screws 1 passing through the slot 1. I prefer that the looper b
should have a slight lateral vibratory motion as the needle is about to
enter the loop, and I impart this motion to the looper by making the
slot slightly curved at the end 7, as shewn in Figure 3. The hook h
is constructed with an arm 6 to which is attached a spring m whereby
the said arm is held in such a manner that as the sliding plate / moves
away from the needle a, the triangular part b' of the hook is left
in a horizontal position, in this position as the sliding plate / moves
forward the hook 6 advances towards the needle a, and by means of
a stop is turned over into a vertical position taking the loop from
the needle a as the same rises. 1 is a spring for keeping the lever /²
in contact with the cam 1. In the machine illustrated in the Drawings
the feed bar o is operated through the lever p by the cam P, but this
arrangement of parts is not essential to my Invention.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shewn how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice I
claim,―
First. Giving to the needle of a single thread sewing or stitching
machine a lateral to-and-fro motion transversely to the seam or direction
of the sewing, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
.
Second. The peculiar construction of the devices or mechanism for
producing this lateral to-and-fro movement of the needle, and the
combination of the same with the needle bar and other parts in such
a manner that the vertical and lateral motions of the needle are each
effected continuously without interfering with the other.
Third. The vibrating looper constructed, arranged, and operating,
substantially as set forth.

page_text: Fourth. The combination of the said looper with a needle having a
vertical and a lateral to-and-fro motion, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
Fifth. A machine as herein described whose parts are so constructed
and arranged that the said machine can be adjusted either for button
hole work or plain stitching.
Sixth. The combination of the said devices together and with the
other operative parts of the said machine, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Helwig, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
ARTHUR HELWIG. (L.S.)