IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR EMBROIDERING
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 58, Chancery Lane, in the County
Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
OR APPARATUS FOR EMBROIDERING." -A communication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th April 1857.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declaro the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR EMBROIDERING" (a communication), to
be as follows:-
This Invention is illustrated in the Drawings annexed, in which Figure 1 is
an end view; Fig. 2, a vertical section; and Fig. 3, a side view. a, a, frame;
b, cross-piece; c, rails; d, truck of the carriages; d', axle of the carriages;
e, bracket, supporting the needle pincers and the parts by which they are
actuated; f, longitudinal rails, forming a support for the needle pincers;
9, fixed part of the pincers, held by screw g'; h, moveable part, the upward.
movement of which is produced by a spring h; i, support fixed on e;-
j, shaft, turning on i, furnished with excentrics or cambs acting on the levers-

page_text: and to cause the pincers to slacken or grip the needles, which needles pass from
one set of pincers to the one opposite to it after passing through the material
to be embroidered.
As will be seen, four ranges of pincers are here arranged, but a greater
or less number can be employed, if desired. k, crank handle or mover; 1,
wheel gearing with the wheel '; m, lever supporting 11, it oscillates at m³,
and is terminated at the lower part by an elongated hole or slot; n, pulley, or
projecting pin on which engages in the elongated hole of h; o, shaft; p. p',
9, 9', treadles, connected to the pullies p, p, by bands. The working of the
treadles give to the shaft o an alternate movement; in these movements
tho wheel gears first with wheel t, and then with wheel t"; "u, u, pullics
communicating motion to the carriages; they are surrounded by endless bands,
which pass over pullies u", u"; r, r, bevel gearing, the latter r¹ mounted on
a vertical axis, carrying a toothed double segment, which gears at each
extremity with racks 8, 8, which racks are continued the length of the
machine in the form of rods; v, v, angle blocks, fixed by binding screws to
the rack rods; x, x, vertical shafts in brackets e; y, y, levers, fixed on
shafts x, x, forked at their extremities, whereby they are put in connection
with picces v, v, by which an oscillatory motion is communicated from rods 8, s,
to the shaft x, x; z, boss, furnished with a segment of a bevil wheel, which
gears with the segment, mounted on shaft j. Thus, in moving either treadle
action is transmitted by crank & first to one carriage d and then to another,
which alternately opens and shuts all the needle pincers of one carriage.
1, 1, frame, forming a support for the material to be worked upon; 2, 2, parts
to tighten the frame; 3, 3, slide guides of frame 1, 1; 4, 4, ledges or ribs to
keep the stuff to be operated on in proper position; 5, frame on which the stuff'
is fixed, caused to slide in frame 1 by means of screws 6, 6, which are con-
nected by shaft 7 and by gearing to produce at each side of the machine a
like motion; 8, 8, tightening screws; .D, guides of the frame; E, parts of
suspension;. F, upright; G, pantograph, suspended by F, F"; H, plate
where the model or pattern of embroidery is placed; I, longitudinal shafts,
furnished with crank arms I', joined together by rods; J, K, levers, fixed on
shaft I, joined horizontally in pairs by an iron wire (not represented in the.
Drawings); L, levers, mounted on shafts I to lower the shafts I and the wires;
M, levers, mounted on shafts I; these levers abut on a stop picce M". These
levers raise the horizontal wires of levers K. M'; plates, occupying the width.
of the machine, on which the whole range of the wires rest. To work the
machine, the embroiderer turns with the right hand crank handle k, first to the
right and then to the left, to make the first carriage pass out, which conveys.

page_text: away the four ranges of needles; this carriage having arrived at the extremity
of its course, the tracing point of the pantograph is changed, which moves the
frames 1, 1. The crank is then turned in a contrary direction, which-brings
back the first carriage; the treadles are then worked, when the first carriage
slackens the four ranges of pincers to release the needles, which are then
nipped by the pincers of the other carriage. The movement of the crank is
then changed a third time, which works the second carriage. The extremity
of the pincers have steel seats or recesses for the needles, and each needle has
a hole in the middle, and is pointed at each end.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd October 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, tho
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during tho
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR EMBROIDERING," a communication, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Clark, my exccutors 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 Clark, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following

page_text: statement, reference being had to the two Sheets of Drawings hereunto
annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This. Invention is illustrated in the annexed Drawings, wherein Fig. 1 shows
the end view of a loom having four tiers of needles, and also shows the point
of commencement of the movements of the various parts of the loom; it is at
this side that the embroiderer takes his station to work the loom.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section through x, c, Fig. 3.
Fig. 8 is a longitudinal elevation of the loom on the right of Fig. 1. The
sliding carriage is not shown in this Figure.
Figs. 4 and 5 are details herein-after referred to.
In all these Figures similar letters of reference indicate like parts where
they recur..
a, a, rectangular frames, connected together by the centre uprights a',
rising to a certain height and supporting at the upper part a longitudinal beam
or tio securing the two end frames to each other; b, transverse beam, connecting
the two end frames to which the pantograph is attached; c, c, ribbed rails,
sustained by brackets on the frames a, a, and in pairs on each side of the
machine; d, d, truck of the sliding carriage, formed of two pairs of .coupled
wheels; each pair of wheels rolls on one of the rails c, c. The two pairs of
wheels of each rail are coupled together by the hollow stay d³. It will be seen-
that by this arrangement there is a four-wheel sliding carriage occupying the
whole width of the machine, disposed on each side of the embroidering frame;
e, e, c, brackets, fixed to the part d', and supporting the rows of needle pincers
and the parts giving and controlling their movements; thus, throughout the
whole length of the loom there are four sets of needles, the one above the
other; f(see Fig. 5), longitudinal rail forming a support for the needle
pincers; g, fixed part of a needle pincer held on rail ƒ by the pinching screw g¹;
h, moveable part of a needle pincer, jointed on the part 9. The rise of the
large lever arm his effected by a spring 9", fixed to the part g. The
embroidering needle is pointed at both ends and furnished with an eye at the
middle of its length; it is alternately held and let go by pincers opposed to
each other on opposite sides of the material to be embroidered, mounted
on each rail and furnished as described. ., vertical supports fixed to the
brackets e; j, shafts fitted in bearings of supports i, and furnished with
excentrics (see Fig. 5), acting as a cam on the lever h, and which gives
and permits of two motions. When the lower part of the excentric (or that
nearest the centre) is turned downwards, the spring " lifts the large armı
of hand, obliges the upper jaw to bear on the lower part a causing it to
pinch the needle; on the contrary, when the extreme part of the excentric

page_text: rubs against the arm h, the pincer loosens its hold and the needle is free.
k, driving handle which may be replaced by a strap and pulley when tho
action is effected by mechanical means; I, toothed wheel keyed on the axis of
the crank k and gearing with the wheel ; m, lever supporting tho handle k
and its axis, also the wheel and " on the same spindle; its point of oscillation
is at m; it is terminated at the lower part by a long slot hole n; n', disc or
crank arm furnished with a projecting crank pin which takes into the eye'n
of lever m; this crank is keyed on the shaft o; o, shaft pivotted at its
extremities on two pedestals; pand p³, two pullies keyed on shaft o; qand q³,
treadles each oscillating at one of its extremities on a fixed axis; they com-
municate with pullies p and p¹ by means of two straps which encircle each of
their respective pullies to the extent of half a revolution and are there fixed;
the one is wound to the left and the other to the right. It will be understood
that by moving the treadles one after the other, a partial rotary motion, first to
the right and then to the left, will be imparted to the shaft o which is actuated.
by the pullies p and p'. These motions cause the crank n' to turn with a
corresponding motion; this crank by means of its pin causes the lever n to.
oscillate, which moves the wheel and makes it gear alternately with wheel t
or wheel t¹, cach of which is keyed on separate shafts ",, which traverso
the whole length of the machine. u and u¹, fixed on shafts t¹, t, fur-
nished with radial pins; they are each encircled by an endless strap or chain u™,
which is attached one to each of the two sliding carriages d, d, and communi-
cates the alternate to-and-fro movements imparted to t; these straps pass
over return pullies u" at the extremity of the loom; r and 7, bevil wheels
actuated by the shaft o; the first r is fixed on the shaft o, while the latter r' is
fixed on a vertical axis which carries two segments of a toothed wheel gearing
with the racks 8, 8, which are continued in the form of rods throughout the
length of the machine and pass through various guide bearings. vand v², are:
clutch tappets which are fixed on the rods of s, s, in the desired positions
by means of binding screws; x, x, vertical shafts fitted in bearings mounted
on the brackets e, e; y and y', horizontal levers whose bosses are adjusted
and fixed on the shafts a, a, by binding screws; these lovers carry a pin
at their free end entering the tappet, and when the tappets v and v³ pass
to and fro, the levers y and y' are by them caused to oscillate and give a cor-
responding oscillatory motion to the shafts a, ;,, bosses on the shaft a to
which they are fixed by binding screws; each of these bosses is furnished with
a segment of a screw wheel, which gears with a similar segment of a wheel="
keyed on shaft (see enlarged view, Fig. 5). This gearing of the two seg
ments actuates and controls the partial rotation of the shaft j.

page_text: . It will now be understood that by moving the one treadle or the other, the
action of the motive crank is transmitted now to one sliding carriage and then
to the other, and that the same treadle at the same time governs the opening
and shutting of the needle pincers by communication through racks s, &, and
shafts and j. 1, 1, moveable frame on which the cloth or fabric to be em-
broidered is stretched; 2, 2, horizontal stretchers of the frame 1, 1; 3, 3, guide
eyes fixed to the stretchers of the frame and sliding on rods D; 4, 4, three
pairs of ribs forming part of the cloth frame, having a certain space between
them to receive the fabric; 5, 5, tension screw for stretching the fabric;
D, vertical guides for the frame 1, 1, which receive the eyes 3, 3; E, parts
of suspension placed near the two extremities of the moveable frame to
which cords furnished with counterweights are attached; these cords pass
over pullies E¹ keyed on a longitudinal shaft suspended from the ceiling;
F, upright fixed at the bottom to the girder b, and at the top to the ceiling,
carrying a pulley F'; G, pantograph; it is suspended by two cords furnished
with counterweights, one of which is suspended over pulley F', and the other
over pulley F fixed to the ceiling; A¹ (Fig. 4), upper part of the frame
where the pantograph is attached; D' (Fig. 4), suspension bearings fixed to
the cloth frame permitting it to traverse on rollers E; B', a cross slide con-
necting the pantograph to the frame, so that by a sliding motion in a horizontal
direction the frame can be moved and adjusted laterally, while at the same time
it can be moved and adjusted vertically by the vertical slide, which renders it
capable of embroidering designs of an extent commensurate with the action of
the pantograph and with the lateral and vertical motions of the slides without
disarranging the system; H, board on which the design or drawing to be
embroidered is adjusted; I, longitudinal shafts carrying several crank arms
I, I, I, connected together by rods J; K, lever arms fixed on the shafts I,
the upper ends of which levers are connected together by a stretched wire,
cach pair or set of levers K are similarly connected; L (see Fig. 1), levers
keyed on shafts I, and intended to act on them and on the wires in order to
make them descend; M, levers fixed on the shafts I by means of sockets and
thumb screws; these levers effect contact with a stop M" fixed to the frame «;
the function of these levers is to raise the wires of the levers K at a given
moment.
Supposing the whole mounted as indicated in the Drawings, also the fabric.
to be embroidered mounted on the frame, the rows of needles threaded and in
their places, and the drawing or design to be embroidered placed in position on
the board H. In order to work the machine the embroiderer holds the crank
handle in his right hand and turns it in a certain direction in order to give

page_text: motion to the parts of the sliding carriages which pinch the needles, as before
described; during the exit or retiring motion of the frame the levers L causé
the wires to descend, which press on and strike down the needle threads; the
motion of the sliding carriage is continued till all the threads are in tension.
At this moment the point of the pantograph is conducted by the left hand to
the next point indicated on the Drawing, which produces throughout the frame
a motion parallel and proportional to that of the pantograph on the model
Drawing. The sliding carriage re-enters by the contrary motion of the crank k,
but on re-entering the lever M abuts against the stop M" and raises the wire
again above the needles, which is necessary to permit their free action. The
sliding carriage having entered again, the operator now works the treadles
which release the needles from the hold of the pincers of the sliding carriage
which has just entered again and causes them (the needles), after passing
through the fabric, to be held by the pincers of the other carriage. The samo
motion of the treadles transmits the motion of the crank n' to the sliding
carriage w which has just taken hold of the needles; the crank handle k is
again turned in order to withdraw the second sliding carriage; the other carriago
at this time remains immoveable; the point of the pantograph is then moved by
hand to the next point of the design to be worked, and it is held there till
the succeeding movement is to be made.
The fixed part g of the needle pincer, in which the needle remains while
held by lever h, is faced with steel in order to prevent the wear which takes
place in the needle pincers of such machines. M' are fixed boards, occupying
the whole length of the machine, on each of which a row of threads is
deposited; N, strips of hoop iron fixed on the supports i, which occupy the
whole length of the loom and serve to limit the course of lever h, when the
worn-out or broken needles are to be replaced by hand in order that the
clasticity of the springs g" may not be deteriorated by the operator in removing
and renewing such needles.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of perform-
ing the same, I declare that what I claim to be protected by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the suspension of the frame on which the fabric to be embroidered is
stretched, as described.
Secondly, the transmitting motion to the needle carriers by rotary move-
ments.
.
Thirdly, the facing of steel throughout the surface of the jaws on which the
needle bears in the needle pincers

page_text: Fourthly, the arrangement and application of the double frame to em-
broidering machines, as herein-before described.
Fifthly, the arrangement and disposition of the sliding carriages with an
indefinite number of working parts, that is to say, with any number of rows of
needle pincers and repetitions of the parts required.
In witness whereof, I, William Clark, have hereunto -set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
WILLIAM G. E. SWINNOCK.
WILLIAM CLARK. (L.B.)