IMPROVEMENTS IN QUILTING MACHINES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Bristow Hunt, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's
Inn, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN QUILTING MACHINES." -A communication from
abroad by William John Tate and Henry Reeve Mitchell, of.
66
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Bristow Hunt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd September 1871.
I, BRISTOW HUNT, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County,
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do. hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN QUILTING MACHINES," (a communication to
me from abroad by William John Tate and Henry Reeve Mitchell, of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America,) to be as
follows:-

page_text: The end frames of the machine proper are connected together by
three flanged bars, two of which are directly opposite each other, and
serve as ways for a traversing-carriage referred to hereafter, and also as a
support for the work plates and shuttle supporters of a number of sewing
machines, of which there are as many as it is desired to form rows of
stitches on the quilt.
The main driving shaft of the machine turns in suitable bearings of
the end frames, and is provided at one end with a suitable driving pulley
or pullies. On the driving shaft adjacent to one end of the same and
within an extension of one of the end frames are three cams and an
eccentric. Two of the cams lift two arms secured to two rock shafts
and partially rotate the latter, and the third cam similarly lifts another
arm which turns loosely upon one of the rock shafts and is connected by
a rod to an arm of a third rock shaft, the latter having the required
motion in one direction imparted to it from the third cam, through the
medium of these devices. These three arms are held down to the
operating cams, and the rock shafts are turned in the proper directions
by means of strong spiral springs connected at one end to two of the
arms, and at their opposite ends to a strap, which after passing
downward and around a pulley, is fastened to the arm of the third
rock shaft.
The required movements are imparted to the needles and shuttles of the
sewing machines by the three rock shafts which receive their forward
propelling movement from the springs and not from the cams; which
merely effect the return movement, the object of which arrangement is
that the needles and shuttles can yield in case of meeting with an
obstruction to a sufficient extent to prevent any breakage or injury of
the parts, or the whole of the needles can be lifted or the shuttles drawn
back after stopping the machine, in case stitches are dropped or other
accidents occur. This it will be evident could not be done if cams
or other positive or unyielding mechanism were relied on.
Each sewing machine has a frame so bolted or otherwise secured to
the third flanged bar that it can be adjusted upon the latter from or
toward the other machines. The frames of the machines alternately
project outward from the bar to a greater and less extent, the machines
being in other words so arranged in two parallel rows that the needles
of one set of machines may penetrate the work at a greater distance
outward from the bar than those of the other set. .....
b

page_text: Each sewing machine has a vertical needle bar and presser bar
sliding in its frame. The needle bars of the machines having their
frames nearest the bar are operated by arms by arms projecting from one
of the rock shafts, and connected to the said bars by rods, and the
needle bars of the other and alternate machines are operated in a similar
manner from the second rock shaft; the said rock shafts being so tinied in
their movements that they shall operate all of the machines of both rows
simultaneously.
:
:
The presser bars, instead of being held down continuously upon the
work as usual, are pressed down upon the same on the descent of the
needle bars by arms of the latter, which are forced against spiral springs on
the said presser bars. When the needle bars are raised the pressure of
the springs is relieved and the presser bars are lifted bodily from the
work by the arms which strike lugs on the said bars. With this
arrangement the work can be fed forward without that undue resistance,
which would be offered by the whole number of presser bars if they were.
held down continuously..
i
The sliding shuttle carriers are operated simultaneously and in propér
time to carry the shuttles through the loops, of needle thread by arms of
the third rock shaft, which are connected to the said carriers by rods.
Each shuttle carrier has two holes extending entirely through it for the
passage of two horizontal guiding rods upon which the carrier is
arranged to slide, the said rods being secured' at their opposite ends to
blocks which are clamped together, and to two of the flanged bars of
the fixed frame by set screws or otherwise. These clamping blocks and
with them the shuttle carriers and shuttles can be adjusted from or
toward each other upon the.bars.
}
1
:
As the frames carrying the needle bars and pressers are also adjustablo
in the same manner from or toward each other upon the third bar, it
will be readily seen that the rows of stitches formed by the machines
upon the quilts can be made at any desired distances apart. A work plate
for each sewing machine is secured to the upper edges of the opposite
blocks, and to one side of the said blocks is secured a plate, between
which and the carrier the shuttle is held laterally. The shuttle is lield-
in a proper position vertically by a bent lever. lung to the carrier, and
it is held longitudinally by a lug on the carrier and by a hook on the
said lever which passes partly around the nose of the shuttle. The:
lever is held in either of two positions' by a spring secured to the carrier:
A

page_text: and bearing against its arm, and when the said lever is turned down-
ward the shuttle can be readily removed from beneath the machine and
as readily replaced by another. This is an important feature of the
Invention, as it enables the whole to be readily detached at any time
without interfering with the corresponding parts of the other sewing
machines, and also enables the machines to be adjusted toward or from
each other upon the three bars for the purpose of regulating the
distances between the rows of stitches, the frames of the upper parts of
the sewing machines being also made adjustable for this purpose.
In quilting machines as heretofore constructed the shuttles have been
arranged to slide in a race, from which they could only be removed
from the top after lifting up the work. This lifting up of the work and
withdrawing of the shuttle from the top of the race involved a con-
siderable loss of time, and was very inconvenient, especially when the
shuttle to be removed or replaced was beneath the centre of the quilt.
To overcome this objection the race has been dispensed with altogether,
and there is substituted therefor a carrier as described, the bent or
shutting holding lever on the carrier enabling the shuttle to be turned
downward, and readily removed from beneath the machine without
requiring any lifting up of the work. Another objection to the ordinary
When the
race was the difficulty of overcoming the effects of wear.
carrier, however, begins to work loosely upon its guiding rods, the
latter can be readily removed and replaced by others of a larger
diameter.
+
Each sewing machine is provided with a tension device consisting of
a lever hung to a rock shaft, which derives its motion from the
The spool is
eccentric (before referred to) on the driving shaft.
hung to the lever, and the latter operates in conjunction with the
needle bar, so as to give and take up the slack thread at the proper
moments.
The traversing carriage before referred to forms one of the most
important features of the Invention, as by it the whole course of the
work beneath the needles, both laterally and longitudinally, and conse-
quently the pattern to be formed by the stitches, is determined. This
carriage extends entirely around two of the flanged bars of the frame,
and consists of vertical side bars or plates arranged outside of the bars,
and connected together above and below the latter by transverse rods,
:

page_text: to the uppermost of which are hung rollers which run upon the flanges
of the bars; and while supporting the carriage enable it to be moved
readily from side to side across the bed of the machine. Two rollers,
attached to adjustable hangers of the uppermost rod, run upon the inner
edges of the bars, and prevent the carriage from slipping from its
position upon the frame.
From the side plates of the carriage project brackets, to which at one
end of the machine are hung three geared feeding rollers, and at the
opposite end of the machine three similar geared take-up rollers, the
journals of the uppermost roller of each set being acted upon by
weighted levers, which, while holding the said rollers downward against
those beneath, enable them to yield to a sufficient extent to adapt
themselves to inequalities to the thickness of the work passing between
them and the said under rollers.
It may be here remarked that if it is wished that the quilting stitches
made by the sewing machine needles should produce any desired
pattern, the carriage and the work itself by a proper arrangement of
suitable mechanism and pattern bars, in connection with the driving
shaft, must be fed to the needles in straight, curved, or zig-zag lines
corresponding to the pattern required, by which means a variety of
patterns can be produced.
At one end of the machine proper, adjacent to the feeding rollers, is
a supplemental frame or feeder for supplying the materials of which the
quilts are to be made. This consists of a frame supporting a large box
or receptacle to be filled with a supply of shoddy or cotton wadding;
and supporting also two rollers, upon which are wound calico or other
fabric. The receptacle has a perforated or gauge bottom, a hinged
door for the introduction of the wadding, and a sliding door on the side
adjacent to the feeding rollers arranged to be raised and lowered by a
set screw. The said receptacle has also a revolving beater for forcing
the wadding through the outlet opening, and into the converging space
between the two thicknesses of fabric, one of the latter passing over the
bottom of the receptacle, and the other around a roller, and both
together with the wadding passing between the feeding rollers. This
roller is hung to the sliding door, and can be raised and lowered with
the latter for the purpose of regulating the size of the converging space,
into which the wadding is to be introduced, and consequently. of
determining the thickness of the filling.
:

page_text: 4
The combined fabric and wadding is drawn across the machine by
an intermittent motion imparted to one of the lower drawing rollers
by any suitable friction clutch, deriving its movement from a cam on
the driving shaft through the medium of a spring lever. This friction
gear is of such a character as to turn the roller in one direction only by
the outward movement of the lever, and being held stationary when the
said lever is drawn inward by its spring against the narrow portion of
the cam.
This friction gear or its equivalent is preferred to the usual
pawl and ratchet for imparting an intermittent rotary motion in one
.direction.
A reciprocating motion across the frame of the machine can be
imparted to the carriage by a cam on a short transverse shaft connected
by bevil gear with the driving shaft. The cam acts upon a spring
lever which controls a friction clutch, the latter imparting a slow inter-
mittent movement to a pulley hung to a spindle, which has its bearings
in brackets secured to the fixed frame of the machine. On the spindle
there is a heart-shaped cam which acts upon rollers of a lever hung
to the fixed frame, and imparts a vibrating motion to the said lever,
which motion is transmitted to the carriage by a rod connected to the
upper end of the lever and to one of the upper rods of the carriage.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Bristow Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 22nd March 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BRISTOW
HUNT, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Bristow Hunt, Her special licence
that I, the said Bristow Hunt, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Bristow Hunt, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time

page_text: 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN QUILTING MACHINES,”
(a communication to me from abroad by William John Tate and
Henry Reeve Mitchell, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United
States of America,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Bristow Hunt, 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 Bristow Hunt, 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 in writing, and on reference being. had to the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, that is to say:—
This Invention consists of certain improvements in quilting machines
as described hereafter.
Figure on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is a vertical
sectional view of the improved quilting machine; Figure 2, a plan view
of one end of the same; Figure 3, an enlarged view of part of Figure 1;
Figure 4, a section on the line 1, 2, Figure 2, drawn to an enlarged
scale; Figure 5, a section on the line 3, 4, Figure 2, also enlarged;
Figure 6, an enlarged plan view of the frame of the machine and its
traversing carriage; Figure 7, a vertical section of part of the machine
on the line 5, 6, Figure 6; Figure 7, an edge view of Figure 7;
Figure 8, a sectional plan on the line 7, 8, Figure 7; and Figures 9, 10,
and 11, detached views of one of the shuttles and its carrier.
The end frames A, A', of the machine proper are connected together
by three flanged bars B, B, and C, Figures 1, 3, and 5; the two former
of which are directly opposite each other and serve as ways for a
traversing carriage D more particularly referred to hereafter, and also
as a support for the work plates and shuttle supporters of a number of
sewing machines F, F', of which there are as many as it is desired to
form rows of stitches on the quilt, Figures 2 and 3. The main driving
shaft G of the machine turns in suitable bearings a, a, a, of the end

page_text: .frames, and is provided at one end with a suitable driving pulley or
'pulleys. On the driving shaft adjacent to one end of the same and
.within an extension A² of the end frames A¹ are three cams b, b',
and 6, and an eccentric 6' (see Figures 2 and 4). The cams 6 and 6¹
lift two arms c and c¹ secured to rock shafts H and H', and thus
partially rotate the latter; and the cam 6ª similarly lifts an arm c² which
turns loosely upon the rock shaft H and is connected by a rod c³ to an
arm c¹ of a rock shaft H³, the latter having the required motion in one
direction imparted to it from the cam 6 through the medium of these
devices. These 3 arms c, c¹, and c², are held down to the operating
cams, and the rock shafts are turned in the directions of their respective
arrows Figure 4, by means of strong spiral springs d, d, connected at
one end to the arms c and c³, and at their opposite ends to a strap d',
which after passing downward and around a pulley is fastened to the
arm ct of the rock shaft H². The required movements are imparted to
the needles and shuttles of the sewing machines by the three rock
shafts H, H¹, and H2, as will presently appear; and these shafts receive
their forward propelling movement from the springs d, d, and not from
the cams which merely affect the return movement; the object of which
arrangement will be hereafter described. Each sewing machine F
and F¹ has a frame e so bolted or otherwise secured to the bar C that it
.can be adjusted upon the latter from or toward the other machines. The
frames of the machines F¹ project outward from the bar to a greater
extent than those of the machines F and are alternated with the latter
as best observed in Figure 2; the machines being in other words so
arranged in two parallel rows that the needles of one set of machines
may penetrate the work at a greater distance outward from the bar C
than those of the other set. This will be readily understood on
referring to Figure 6, where the row of dots x, x, x, &c., represents the
needles of the machines F and the dots x, x¹, &c., those of the
machines F. Each sewing machine has a vertical needle bar f and
.presser bar g sliding in the frame.e. The needle bars of the machines F
are operated by arms f¹ projecting from the rock shaft H and connected
to, the said bars by rods f³, and the needle bars of the machines F¹ are
operated in a similar manner from the rock shaft H¹; the said rock
shafts being so timed in their movements that they shall operate all of
the machines of both rows simultaneously (see Figure 3). The presser
.bars, instead of being held down continuously upon the work as usual,
are pressed down upon the same on the descent of the needle bars by
(

page_text: arms h of the latter, which are forced against spiral springs h³ on the
said presser bars. When the needle bars are raised the pressure of the
springs is relieved, and the presser bars are lifted bodily from the work
by the arms which strike lugs ² on the said bars. With this
arrangement the work can be fed forward without that undue resistance
which would be offered by the whole number of presser bars if they
were held down continuously. The sliding shuttle carriers i, Figure 3,
are operated simultaneously and in proper time to carry the shuttles
through the loops of needle thread by arms of the rock shaft H³,
which are connected to the said carriers by rods . Each shuttle carrier
has two holes extending entirely through it for the passage of the two
horizontal guiding rods j, upon which the carrier is arranged to slide,
the said rods being secured at their opposite ends to blocks j¹ and j*,
Figures 3, 9, and 10, which are clamped together and to the flanged
bars B and B of the fixed frame by set screws or otherwise. These
clamping blocks and with them the shuttle carriers and shuttles can be
adjusted from or toward each other upon the bars B and B¹. As the
frames e carrying the needle bars and pressers are also adjustable in the
same manner from or toward each other upon the bar C, it will be
readily seen that the rows of stitches formed by the machines upon the
quilts can be made at any desired distances apart. A work plate k for
each sewing machine is secured to the upper edges of the opposite
blocks, and to one side of the said blocks is secured a plate k¹,
between which and the carrier the shuttle is held laterally, Figures 9
and 10. The shuttle is held in a proper position vertically by a bent
lever 1, Figure 11, hung to the carrier at the point ", and it is held
·longitudinally by a lug on the carrier, and by a hook on the said
lever 1, which passes partly around the nose of the shuttle. The lever
is held in either of the two positions shewn in Figures 9 and 11 by a
spring m secured to the carrier, and bearing against its arm m²; and
when the said lever is turned downward as shewn in Figure 11, the
shuttle can be readily removed from beneath the machine and as readily
replaced by another. This is an important feature of the Invention and
will be more particularly referred to hereafter.
Each sewing machine is provided with a tension device consisting of
a lever n, hung to a rock shaft I, which derives its motion from the
eccentric before referred to) on the driving shaft G. The spool is
hung to the lever n, and the latter operates in conjunction with the

page_text: needle bar, as herein-after described, so as to give and take up the slack
thread at the proper moments. The traversing carriage D, before
referred to, forms one of the most important features of this Invention,
as by it the whole course of the work beneath the needles, both laterally
and longitudinally, and, consequently, the pattern to be formed by the
stitches is determined. This carriage extends entirely around the flanged
bars B and B of the frame, and consists of vertical side bars or plates
o, o, arranged outside of the bars B, B', and connected together above
and below the latter by transverse rods o¹, o³, to the uppermost of
which are hung rollers p, p, which run upon the flanges of the bars
B, B', and while supporting the carriage enable it to be moved readily
from side to side across the bed of the machine. (See Figures 5 and 6.)
Two rollers p', p', attached to adjustable hangers of the rod o¹, run upon
the inner edges of the bars B, B', and prevent the carriage from
slipping from its position upon the frame. From the slide plates o, o, of
the carriage project brackets p², to which at one end of the machine are
hung three geared feeding rollers J, J', and J², and at the opposite end
of the machine three similarly geared take-up rollers K, K³, and K, the
journals of the uppermost roller of each set being acted upon by
weighted levers p³, which, while holding the said rollers downward
against those beneath, enable them to yield to a sufficient extent to
adapt themselves to inequalities in the thickness of the work passing
between them and the said under rollers Figures 1 and 3. At one end
of the machine proper, adjacent to the feeding rollers J, J', and J², is a
supplemental frame or feeder for supplying the materials of which the
quilts are to be made. This consists of a frame L, Figure 1, supporting
a large box or receptacle M, to be filled with a supply of shoddy or
cotton wadding, and supporting also two rollers N, and N¹, upon which
are wound calico or other fabric. The receptacle M, has a perforated or
gauge bottom, a hinged door q, for the introduction of the wadding,
and a sliding door q', on the side adjacent to the feeding rollers, arranged
to be raised and lowered by a set screw q². The said receptacle has also
a revolving beater P, for forcing the wadding through the outlet opening
and into the converging space between the two thicknesses of fabric, one
of the latter passing over the bottom of the receptacle and the other
around a roller q, and both with the wadding passing between the
feeding rollers J, J', and J. The roller q, is hung to the sliding
door q', and can be raised and lowered with the latter for the purpose of
regulating the size of the converging space into which the wadding is to

page_text: be introduced, and consequently of determining the thickness of the
filling. The combined fabric and wadding marked X in the Drawings
is drawn across the machine in the direction of the arrow 1. Figures
1, 3 and 5; by an intermittent motion imparted to the lower drawing
roller K', by any suitable friction clutch Q, deriving its movement from
a cam r on the driving shaft G, through the medium of a spring lever rª¹;
(see Figure 5). This friction gear is of such a character as to turn the
roller. K¹ in one direction only, as indicated by the arrow 2, it being turned
by the outward movement of the lever, and being held stationary when
the said lever is drawn inward by its spring against the narrow portion
of the cam. This friction gear, or its equivalent, is preferred to the usual
pawl. and ratchet for imparting an intermittent rotary motion in one
direction. A reciprocating motion across the frame of the machine can
be imparted to the carriage D, by a cam s, on a short transverse shaft
G₁, connected by bevil gear with the driving shaft G (see Figures 6 and 7).
The cam 8 acts upon a spring lever s¹, which controls a friction clutch s³,
the latter imparting a slow intermittent movement in the direction of
the arrow 3, Figure 7, to a pulley s³, lung to a spindle s', which has its
bearings in brackets &³, secured to the fixed frame of the machine. On
the spindle s, there is a heart-shaped cam t, which acts upon rollers
,, of a lever R, hung to the fixed frame, and imparts a vibrating
motion to the said lever, which motion is transmitted to the carriage D
by a rod t connected to the upper end of the lever and to one of the
rods o' of the carriage (see Figures 7 and 7).
In order that the machine may be fully understood I will first proceed
to describe the simplest method of operating it, that is for forming
straight rows of stitches as indicated by the dotted lines ≈ in Figure 2.
The shaft G' is thrown out of gear with the driving shaft in order that
the carriage D may remain stationary. The calico or other fabric from
the rollers N and N' is drawn tightly across the machine and passed
between the two sets of rollers J and K, and the receptacle M is filled
with loose shoddy or other material with which it is desired to fill the
quilts. The machine is then set in motion, the driving shaft and beater
P turning in the direction of their respective arrows. Figure 1 and the'
latter feeding the filling material uniformly into the converging space
between the two thicknesses of fabric. The door q¹ and roller q¹ can, as
before mentioned, be raised or lowered so as to determine the size of the
outlet opening, and thus regulate the quantity of wadding fed into the

page_text: converging space between the two thicknesses of fabric, the beater Pas
it revolves throwing the surplus material back into the receptacle, and
serving also to cleanse the material by beating the dust out of the same
through the lower thickness of calico and through the perforations in
the bottom of the receptacle. The work prepared for the needles, as
above described, is carried forward to the same at regular intervals by
the motion imparted to the roller K¹ from the cam r'on the driving shaft
through the medium of the spring lever r¹ and friction clutch Q. As
the work is thus fed to the needles the latter are operated simultaneously
and in proper time in respect to the shuttles by the rock shafts H, H¹,
and H2, and the devices described, the machines forming what is known
as the ordinary lock-stitch, and the needles penetrating both thicknesses
of fabric and the filling, so as to quilt or bind the whole tightly together
by straight and parallel rows of stitches z, as indicated by the dotted
lines in Figure 2.
The sewed material, as it passes from the machine, may be wound
upon a roller or rollers or be cut at once into suitable lengths for quilts,
which can be afterwards bound at the edges by hand or by the aid of an
ordinary sewing machine. As the needles are caused to penetrate the
material, and the shuttles to pass through the loops of needle thread by
the action of the springs d, d, Figure 4, instead of by a direct pressure
from the cams b, b', and 6³, the needles and shuttles can yield in case
of meeting with an obstruction to a sufficient extent to prevent any
breakage or injury of the parts, or the whole of the needles can be lifted
or the shuttles drawn back after stopping the machine in case stitches
are dropped or other accidents occur. This it will be evident could not
be done if cams or other positive mechanism were relied on. The tension
levers n, operated by the rock shaft I, descend as the needle bars
commence to rise to form the loop, and continue to descend as the
needle bars make a second partial descent before finally rising, and the
said tension levers are then lifted with the needle bars.
The result of these several movements is that the thread is slackened
sufficiently to form a loop for the passage of the shuttle, and that the
cutting of the thread by the nose of the shuttle and the tangling of the
same after the passage of the latter are prevented. This tension device
however is applicable to sewing machines generally.
:
I will now proceed to describe the operation of the traversing carriage
Din respect to the fixed sewing machines. If the shaft G' be thrown

page_text: into gear with the driving shaft and the machine be set in motion, the
cam and the devices connected therewith will act uniformly and
regularly upon the drawing rollers K and feed the work to the needles
uniformly and at regular intervals as before described, and the cam s will
in like manner and at the same time through the medium of the carriage
D carry the work transversely beneath the needles, first in one direction
and then in the other, the result being that zig-zag instead of straight
rows of stitches will be formed upon the quilt. This result could be
attained with a single row of needles, but by the use of the double row
of needles x and x' arranged as before described patterns of a much more
intricate character, such for instance as those illustrated by the dotted
lines in Figure 6, can be produced.
To produce the diamond pattern shown in the upper part of Figure 6
there must be a combined lateral and longitudinal feeding of the work,
so that each needle shall form a zig-zag row of stitches, and these zig-zag
rows must meet each other at the angles so as to produce the desired
diamond-shaped pattern upon the quilt. To accomplish this the feeding
must be so regulated that each of the rear needles x shall, before the
motion of the carriage D is reversed, bring its row of stitches quite up to
the point at which the sewing was commenced by the adjacent outer
needle x. This operation will be readily understood if it be borne in
mind that the entire number of zig-zag rows of stitches should, in the
upper part of Figure 6, have been made by the needles marked 1, 2, 3, 4,
respectively, and that the rows of stitches between the straight lines 5
and 6 has been formed by the needle 1, the row between the lines 6 and 7
by the needle 2, &c. The inclined arrow in Figure 6 indicates the
drection of the feeding of the work to continue the row of stitches.
'
7
To produce the peculiar pattern shown in the lower part of Figure 6
the work must also be fed both laterally and longitudinally, but as.
curved instead of straight rows of stitches have in this case to be formed
the feeding it will be evident must be defferential, the lateral feed pre-
dominating at one point, and the longitudinal feed at another. This
result is attained by a very simple arrangement of pattern bars which
regulate the action of the cams and s upon the spring levers r¹ and s¹¸.
and consequently the extent of the movement of the friction clutches Q
and s³, Figures 5 and 7, and the longitudinal and lateral feeding of the.
work by the drawing rollers K and carriage D. The extent of the action
of the cam » upon the spring lever r³ is determined by a simple inclined

page_text: bar T, rigidly secured to the end frame A³ of the fixed frame, but capable
of adjustment upon the same (see Figures 5 and 6). This pattern bar is
set at such an angle in respect to the lever that as the latter is moved
laterally with the carriage D in the direction of the arrow 7, Figure 6, it
will be gradually moved outward from the cam r, so that when the
carriage reaches the limit of its movement in the direction of the arrow
7 the outward. throw of the cam r will move the lever to but a very
slight extent, the longitudinal feeding of the work by the rollers K being'
consequently limited also, as their movement depends upon that of the
said lever. On the reverse movement of the carriage D in the
direction of the arrow 8 the lever r¹ will be permitted by the pattern bar
to be brought more and more within the control of the cam, the move-
ment of the said lever and consequently the longitudinal feeding of the
work being greatest when the carriage D has completed its movement in
the direction of the arrow 8.
·
The extent of the movement of the carriage D, and consequently that
of the lateral feeding of the work, is determined by a nearly similar
arrangement of devices, except that in this case the pattern bar U,
Figures 7 and 8, instead of the lever s¹ has a sliding movement imparted
to it, while the said lever is hung to the fixed frame. The pattern bar is
inclined in respect to the lever s¹, and acts upon the latter in the same
manner as does the bar T upon the lever ¹. It is secured to a block u,
arranged to slide upon guides u¹ in a direction at right angles to the
movement of the carriage, and it receives its motion from the latter.
through the medium of a slotted bell-crank lever w; hung to the bar C
of the fixed frame and connected to the block u and to the cross piece o¹
of the carriage. The movement of the carriage in the direction of the
arrow 9, Figure 8, will have the effect of moving the pattern bar U
in the direction of its arrow, and of consequently throwing the lever §¹
outward from the cam 8, so as to limit the action of the same upon the
said lever, and consequently limiting the movement of the carriage and
the extent of the lateral feeding of the work; the rapidity of the move-
ment of the carriage being least when it has moved to its full extent in
the direction of the arrow. On reversing the movement of the carriage
the movement of the inclined pattern bar will also be reversed, and the
lever s¹ will gradually be brought more and more under the control of
the cams, and the rapidity of the movement of the carriage and the
extent of the lateral feed will be increased in the same ratio: "With a'

page_text: double row of needles and the differential feeding of the work, determined.
as above described by means of the pattern bars, it will be evident that
such a pattern as that illustrated in the lower part of Figure 6 can be
readily produced. To produce this pattern it is mainly essential that the
pattern bars should be so arranged in respect to each other that the
lateral feed should predominate at the outset, and constantly decrease;
while the longitudinal feed constantly increases, this producing one-half
of the curve-that, for instance, marked 9 in the Drawing-while to
produce the remaining half of the curve shewn at 10, must be a constant
decrease of the longitudinal feed, and corresponding increase of the
lateral feed. The work, in other words, must be fed to the needles on
curved lines corresponding to the desired curves of the rows of stitches.
By changing the angles of the pattern bars a variety of patterns can be
produced; and by using curved instead of straight pattern bars, waved
lines of stitches of various characters can be formed (see Figure 6).
Another feature of this Invention is the arrangement of the shuttles
for the sewing machines, with their carriers and carrier guides. These
parts, as before described, are complete and independent for each sewing
machine, and are secured to the flanged bars B, B¹, of the fixed frame;
by clamping blocks and j, Figures 3, 9, 10, and 11: This enables the
whole to be readily detached at any time without interfering with the
corresponding parts of the other sewing machines, and also enables the
machines to be adjusted toward or from each other upon the bars B, B',
and C, for the purpose of regulating the distances between the rows of
stitches, the frames e of the upper parts of the sewing machines being
also made adjustable for this purpose, as before described.
In quilting machines as heretofore constructed, the shuttles have been
arranged to slide in a race, from which they could only be removed from
the top after lifting up the work. This lifting up of the work and with-
drawing of the shuttle from the top of the race involved a considerable
loss of time and was very inconvenient, especially when the shuttle to be'
removed on replaced was beneath the centre of the quilt.
To overcome this objection the race has been dispensed with altogether,
and there is substituted a carrier i for the same, as before described, the
bent or shuttle holding lever 7 on the carrier enabling the shuttle to be
turned downward and readily removed from beneath the machine
without requiring any lifting up of the work.

page_text: 8. The combination of a series of needles arranged in two rows, one
behind another and alternating with the other, and devices for feeding
the work beneath the needles, substantially as described.
9. The combination of the bar H or H' operating a series of needle
arms; the bar H³ operating a series of shuttles and springs or cams or
their equivalents, whereby the needle arms are depressed and the
shuttles moved forward by the action of the springs, as and for the
purpose set forth.
10. The carrier sliding on a guiding rod or rods, and having a
projection h in combination with the adjustable lever / and with the
spring m or equivalent device for retaining the lever after adjustment.
In witness whereof, I, the said Bristow Hunt, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.