Improvements in or relating to Sewing Machines.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left. 6th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 9th Mar., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Sewing Machines.
A communication by CHARLES AUGUSTUS HILL, of Worcester, in the County
of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Manufacturer.
1, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster and High Holborn, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows: :―
This invention has for its object the construction and provision in a sewing
machine, of dual or multiple stitch-forming appliances adapted for simultaneously
forming independent seams or rows of stitches, and the combination therewith of
an operating mechanism, and means whereby one or either of the needle-bars,
with its needle, can be stopped or independently thrown out of action without
stopping the machine, or interfering with the continued operation of the other
needle or stitch-forming appliance upon the work, and the needle thus thrown out
of action again put into action while the machine continues running at full
operating speed; so that the several needles, or stitching mechanisms, can work
in unison for double seam stitching, or independently for single seam stitching;
and the change from double to single seam, or vice versa, can be instantly effected
without stopping the machine.
In carrying out this invention a practicable means is to combine, with the
plurality of needle-bars, a reciprocating operating device or cross-head for
imparting motion to the needle-bars, the latter being disconnected therefrom
except by suitable stop-devices carried on the respective needle-bars, and that can
be thrown into and out of the path of movement of said cross-head by aid of a
releasing mechanism and a swinging arm under convenient control of the operator.
There is also provided a spring-catch or holding device, arranged on the frame or
head of the machine, and adapted for engaging the needle- bar when it is thrown
out of action and at its elevated position, and there holding it while it remains
idle, so that the idle needle will not interfere with the operation of the other
needle, or needles.
There is preferably combined with the stop, or its operating lever, a device for
relaxing the thread at the same time that the needle-bar is thrown out of action; "thus
avoiding undue strain on the thread or slackness caused by the thread being drawn
out by the take-up, while the needle is idle. The throat-plate of the machine is
provided with a slot or slots, in communication with the needle-throat, which slot
affords space for swing of the idle thread under the work when a needle is stopped ;
so that the work can be moved or horizontally rotated without drawing out too
much of such thread and creating slackness which would cause a disarrangement
of the stitch or loose loops of the under thread when stopping and restarting one
needle while the other is operating.
Dated this 5th day of November 1894.

page_text: ating to sewing machines.
A communication by CHARLES AUGUSTUS HILL, of Worcester, in the County
of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Manufacturer.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster and High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :--
This invention relates to that class of sewing machines provided with two
needles and two shuttles for the purpose of simultaneously forming two independent
seams or rows of stitches, and the invention has for its object to provide means
whereby one of the needles may be thrown out of operation without stopping the
machine, or without interfering with the operation of the needle still at work, the
needle thus thrown out being capable of being restored to operative position
also without stopping the machine or interfering with the operation of the other
needle.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figures 1 and 2 are sectional side views of the head of a sewing machine with
the invention applied thereto;
Figure 3 is a sectional front view of the same.
Figures 4 and 5 are detail views to show more clearly the means for connecting
or disconnecting the needle-bars from their reciprocating operating device.
Figure 6 is a detail view of one of the movable stops carried by 'the needle bars.
Figures 7 and 8 are detail views of a hand lever by which the needle bars may
be thrown out of operation and the tension relaxed, the catches that co-operate
with said lever being represented in dotted lines.
Figures 9 and 10 are plan and sectional views, respectively, of the throat-plate
showing a feature of invention.
Figure 11 represents an example of one class of work for the performance of
which this invention is particularly adapted, and
Figure 12 illustrates a modification to be referred to.
A denotes the head at the forward end of the arm of a sewing machine, and Ba
portion of the driving shaft journalled in the arm, and provided at its forward end
with a cylinder provided with a cam groove 6 for operating the take-up C,
said cylinder having a crank pin to which is jointed the pitman D which serves
to operate the needle bars E reciprocating vertically in suitable guideways formed
in the head of the machine. The pitman D carries at its lower end a cross head d,
and the needle bars E are slotted for the reception of the ends of said cross-head.
The needle bars are provided with movable stops F, which, when thrown inward
so as to be in the path of the portions of the cross-head d which extend within
the needle bars, serve to connect said needle bars with the cross-head, so that
they will reciprocate with the vertical movement of the cross-head, but which,
when thrown out of the path of the said cross-head, permit the latter to work
idly in the slots without operating the needle bar or bars. Thus when a stop is
removed from the path of the reciprocating cross-head, the needle bar, by which
said stop is carried, will remain at rest while the other needle bar continues its
operation. The said stops, in the form of the invention herein shown, are pivoted
at their lower ends to the needle bars, and springs g, also carried by the needle

page_text: bars, are provided to normally force the stops inward to the operative positions,
more clearly shown in Figure 4.
H denotes a lever pivoted, at 7, to a suitable stationary support on the head of
the machine; said lever, in the form of the invention herein shown, is provided
with an operating handle h¹. Pivotally supported within the head of the machine,
on opposite sides of the lever H, are releasing catches i, the lower ends of which
are normally pressed, by a spring, against a lug or rib on the inner side of
the lever H, below its pivotal point, so that as the lever is moved to the right or
left, one or the other of said releasing catches will be moved outward to such position
that a lug or projection, with which each of the pivoted stops F is provided,
will, when the needle bar rises, ride up the lower inclined face of said releasing
catch and thereby withdraw the stop F from the path of the reciprocating cross
head by which the needle bar is operated, the said lug or projection f, after riding
above the lower inclined face of the releasing catch is retained, by the stress of
the spring g, acting on the stop, in contact with the upper or outer face of the said
releasing catch (see Figures 2 and 5) so that the needle bar, by which the stop is
carried, will be retained in an elevated position when the reciprocating cross head
next descends, said cross-head being free to work without actuating the needle bar
since the stop F has been removed from its path.
J denotes the tension device through which the thread for the needle carried
by the right hand needle bar is passed, said tension device being carried by a
pivoted arm K provided with a pink entering a slot formed in an extension
of the lever H so that when the handle of said lever is moved to the right, as
shown in Figure 2, to throw the right hand needle out of operation, the tension
device J will be lifted toward the take-up C, thereby relaxing the thread so
that said take-up will not draw the thread of the needle which is thrown out
of operation through the said tension device, for if the thread were drawn
through the tension device during the time when the needle was inoperative
there would be a certain amount of slack thread which would not be taken up
in the stitch first formed after the said needle were again thrown into operation,
and an untightened loop would therefore be left in the seam. This operation
of relaxing the thread is effected simultaneously with the throwing of the needle
lar out of action so that the operator need not give special attention to the
thread relaxing operation, and as the tension device will be restored to its normal
position when the lever H is moved to throw the idle needle bar into operation,
the thread will be at all times so controlled as to retain its proper operative
relation with the needle which is thrown in and out of action: The stop F and
'catch devices for the left haud or other needle-bar and the operation thereof is
substantially the same as that described for the right hand needle-bar and it
will be understood from the construction herein shown that if the depending.
handle of the lever H be thrown to the left from the position shown in Figure
the left hand needle bar will be thrown out of operation in the same manner
as the right hand needle bar will be thrown out of operation if the said lever
handle be thrown toward the right, as shown in Figure 2, but it is not deemed
:ecessary in this connection to illustrate the tension device for the thread carried
by the left hand needle or means for relaxing the thread passing through said
tension device; as the illustration of this part of the invention in connection
with the right hand needle bar is sufficient to enable those skilled in the art
to understand the same. For some kinds of work only the right hand needle
bar will be thrown out of operation and a sewing machine fitted to have only
a right hand needle bar to be thrown out of operation will be clearly within
the scope of this invention, as will be readily understood.
The shuttle mechanisms or devices for carrying the under threads, are not
herein illustrated, as it will be understood that such mechanism can be of any.
well known kind and arranged for operating in conjunction with the needles in
any suitable or efficient manner.
In performing work such as is shown by Figure 11 which represents a

page_text: toe cap stitched to the vamp or upper of a shoe by two rows of simultaneously
formed stitches; the stitching operation, commencing at the point 1, will be
continued with both needles in operation until the stitching reaches the point
denoted by the line 2, then the right hand needle will be thrown out of operation
in the manner hereinbefore described, without stopping the machine, the left
hand needle continuing its operation up to the point 3 and continuing the same,
after the work has been quickly turned, to the point denoted by the line 4
when the right hand needle will again be thrown into operation, without stopping
the machine, and will continue its work until the stitching of the piece of work
is completed. During the time when the right hand needle is out of operation
and the feeding of the work continues, if the shuttle thread were to be drawn
up through an ordinary hole or throat in the throat plate a certain amount of
slack thread, equal to the distance which the work had moved during the time
when the stitching was progressing from the point 2 to the point 3, would be
drawn from the shuttle which co-operates with the needle thrown out of action,
and this amount of slack thread would be too much to be taken up by the first
stitch formed after the needle is again thrown into operation, and a loose loop
in the seam would therefore result. To obviate this difficulty, a throat plate M
is provided such as is shown in Figures 9 and 10. In this throat plate the
throat m for the needle opens into a slot m' which extends both backwards and
forwards from said throat in the line of the feed or movement of the work, in
such a way that as the feeding of the work progresses after the right hand
needle has been thrown out of operation, the shuttle thread, instead of passing
straight upward through the said needle throat and then straight horizontally
(as denoted by dotted line 5 in Figure 10) will pass out of the throat m into
the slot m' and will thus draw from the delivery point 6 of the shuttle, as
denoted by the inclined line 7, Figure 10, which position it will assume when
the left hand needle has reached the point 3, Figure 11. In turning the work
sharply to continue the single seam sewing after passing the point 3, the work is
swung around on the left hand needle at m² as a pivotal point, and in this turning
operation the shuttle thread will be moved from the position denoted by dotted
line 7 to that denoted by the dotted line 8, Figure 10, and when the work has
progressed up to the position denoted by the line 4, Figure 11, and the shuttle
thread is then again drawn into a vertical line, there will not be more slack thread
than will be required for the first stitch formed after the right hand needle is again
thrown into operation. Thus by providing the throat-plate with the slot m¹ and a
needle throat opening into said slot, the difficulty arising from drawing too much
slack thread from the shuttle during the time the needle is out of operation is
avoided.
The embodiment of this invention is not limited to the precise details herein
shown, as these may be varied widely without departing from the spirit of the
invention as will be understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention
relates. Thus instead of relaxing the thread of the needle thrown out of action by
moving the tension device bodily towards the take up, this thread relaxing operation
might be effected by employing a stationary tension device, as J', and passing the
thread running from the same to the take-up C through an eye in the end of a
lever K operated like the lever K to relax the thread (see Figure 12). Also the
form of catch or retaining device, for holding up the needle-bar which is thrown
out of operation, might be varied.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is-
1. The arrangement in a sewing machine having a plurality of needle-bars, of a
reciprocating device or cross-head for operating said needle-bars, adjustable
stop-devices carried by the respective needle-bars adapted for connecting and
disconnecting said bars with said operating cross-head, and means under control of

page_text: the operator, whereby one or either of said needle-bars can be thrown out of action
and again into action, without stopping the machine or interfering with the
operation of the other needle-bar.
2. In a sewing machine, the combination with two needle-bars, one of which is.
provided with a longitudiual slot, of a reciprocating operating device or cross-head
normally extending into the said slot, and an adjustable stop carried by and thus..
movable with the slotted needle bar and adapted to be thrown into and out of the
path of movement of the said reciprocating device or cross-head, to reciprocate the
said needle-bar or to permit the same to be stopped while the machine is in
operation.
3. In a sewing machine the combination with two needle-bars, of a reciprocating
operating device for said bars, means constructed and adapted to disconnect said
operating device from one of said bars while the machine is in operation, and a
catch, supported by or formed on a stationary part of the head of the machine, for
holding the needle-bar which is thrown out of operation in an elevated position
when it reaches the limit of its upward movement.
4. In a sewing machine, the combination with two needle bars and a take-up, of
a reciprocating operating device for said bars, means constructed and adapted to
disconnect one or either of said needle-bars from said operating device while the
machine is in operation, a catch, supported by or formed on a stationary part of
the head of the machine, for holding the needle-bar which is thrown out of
operation in an elevated position, and means, operating simultaneously. with the
disconnecting mechanism, for relaxing the thread of the needle which is to be
thrown out of operation, so that too much slack will not be drawn by the
take-up.
5. In a sewing machine, the combination with two needle bars, a take-up, a.
reciprocating device for operating said needle-bars, and means for disconnecting
one of said needle-bars from said operating device; of a movable tension device,
and connections between said tension device and the needle-bar disconnecting-
nechanism; whereby said tension device is lifted or moved toward said take-up.
when the needle bar is thrown out of operation by the disconnecting mechanism.
6. In a sewing machine, the combination with two needle-bars, an operating
device for said bars and means for disconnecting one or more of said bars from
said operating device, of a throat-plate having a throat for the needle which is to.
be thrown out of operation, and having also a slot into which said throat opens.
and which slot extends both backwards and forwards from said throat in the line
of feed.
7. In a sewing machine, the combination with the needle-bars E, one of which is.
provided with a vertical slot, of a reciprocating block or cross-head D extending
into said slot, said needle-bar being provided with a pivoted spring acted stop F
the upper end of which may be thrown into or out of the path of movement of the
reciprocating block or cross-head D, said stop having a lug or projection f, a spring
for moving said stop inward to its operative position, a pivoted releasing catch or
retaining device i, a lever having a part engaging said releasing device i and serving
to move the same outward against the stress of its spring into position to be
engaged by the said lug or projection on said stop, to withdraw the latter from.
the path of movement of the cross-head working in the slotted needle-bar, and.
thus throw said needle bar out of action.
Dated this 5th day of February 1895.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.