IMPROVEMENTS IN. SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1869

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by William Brookes at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Declaration,
on the 27th November 1869, pursuant to the 9th Section of the
Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BROOKES, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN. SEWING MACHINES," (a communication to
me from abroad by Thomas Layton Melone, of Mount Gilead, in the
County of Morrow, and State of Ohio, in the United States of America),
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1
is a side elevation of the machine; Figure 2 is a top view of a portion of
the bed plate showing the cloth plate and feed points and tablet in their
proper relation to the cloth plate; Figure 3 is a top view of the ratchet
wheel with the friction cap in place; Figures 4, 5, and 6 are respectively
front, side, and back views of the pawl and its attachments; Figure 7
is a side elevation of the opposite side of the machine to that shown in

page_text: Figure 1; Figure 8 is a detail view on a larger scale of the toe of the
lever G, which supports the feed tablet; Figure 9 is a side view of the
ratchet wheel E¹ and adjacent parts, with the cap D' removed; Figure 10
is a vertical section of the lower end of the needle bar; Figure 11 is a
bottom view looking upwards of the friction cap D'; Figure 12 is a top
view of the ratchet wheel and adjacent parts, with the cap D' removed;
Figure 13 is a bottom view of the feed mechanism; Figure 14 is a side
view of the threader; Figure 15 presents a front, bottom, and side view
of the cloth prosser and its foot t. The same part is marked by the
same letters of reference in the several Figures where it occurs.
My Invention relates to those sewing machines which are intended to
change the direction of the seam as often as may be required to follow
a pattern however intricate and varied its lines may be. It consists
mainly of a peculiar construction and arrangement of parts and devices
by which I am enabled to revolve the feeding mechanism around the
needle as a centre, either partially or wholly, and as many times as may
be required in the same direction or in opposite directions without
entangling the thread or affecting the relations of the needle to the other
parts of the mechanism, so that the line of the seam can be changed
without limit and without moving the cloth upon the cloth plate, and
without any rotation of the needle, the needle and the other portions of
the machine remaining as to their construction and general mode of
operation the same as in ordinary sewing machines of the class to which
they belong.
My Invention further consists in various details of improvement in
the construction and operative mechanism herein-after more particularly
set forth. To sew a seam in the various directions required in following
an intricate pattern, it has heretofore been necessary either to turn the
work on the cloth plate so as to present in the proper line of feed or
to rotate both the needle and the feed in order to preserve the proper
relation between them and with them to rotate all the parts of the
mechanism which require to maintain a fixed relation to each other.
In the machine the capability of changing the direction of the feed is
absolutely with limit, and there is no interference between the feed
mechanism and the thread, the latter being carried down through the
needle bar out by the side of the needle and inserted in the eye of the
needle near the surface of the cloth, and thus entirely removed from
the possibility of interference by the revolving feed mechanism.

page_text: To enable others skilled in the art to make and use the improvements
I will proceed to describe the construction and operation of the
machine, referring to the Drawings by the letters of reference marked
thereon.
The base of the machine is a flat bed plate A, to the rear of which
is attached a stout standard B having a long fixed arm B' projecting
towards the front end of the machine, and forming the support of the
arbor C, which is the main shaft of the machine. This arbor has upon
its rear end the band pulley D to which the driving power is applied:
Immediately in front of the pulley D on the arbor C is a cam E which
gives vertical reciprocating motion to a sliding bar F, the lower end of
which abuts against the rear end of a rocking lever G hung on a trans-
verse rocking shaft working in lugs on the bottom of the bed plate. The
rear arm of the lever G is the longer. On the end of the forward arm
of said lever is a toc (shown in front and side view in Figure 8)
perforated for the passage of the needle, and supporting on its upper
surface the smooth circular tablet K, which forms an important part of
the feed mechanism. The centre of this tablet is perforated for the
passage of the needle. The function of the lever G is to raise and lower
the tablet K. Attached to arbor O, in front of excentric E, is the
grooved cam H, the groove in the face of which receives a roller c on a
pin on the end of the upper and shorter arm of lever I. This groove is
so arranged as to give to the lever I a back and forth movement at each
revolution of the cam so timed as to impart the proper motions to the
shuttle. To the lower end of lever I is pivotted the rod J, which
operates the shuttle in the ordinary way. The shuttle moves in a race
below the cloth plate and is uncovered by the removal of the slides h, g,
in the common manner. Above the shuttle is the plate K', from the
upper surface of which the circle of feed points i (see Figures 1, 2, and 7,)
projects upwards around the hole in plate K', through which the
tablet K has a vertical reciprocating motion. On top of the fixed
arm B' are placed the spool L, tension pulley M, and thread guides, all
of which operate in the usual way in supplying thread to the needle.
On the arbor C, near its forward end, is the needle bar cam P having a
groove
on its surface which receives a roller turning on a pin attached
to the end of the lower and shorter arm of the bent lever Q, whose
fulcrum j is attached to the stud O projecting from the upper surface
of the arm B', as shown in Figures 1 and 7. The cam P is so con-
structed as to give one stroke to the needle at cach revolution of the

page_text: arbor C, and that so timed with reference to the throw of the shuttle as
to secure the proper harmony between the operations of the two parts.
The long arm of lever Q is hollow its end to receive the shank of a
coupling pin R which is hinged to a similar pin 8 on the upper end of
the needle bar T. This arrangement allows the needle bar to reciprocate
in a vertical line without being drawn aside by reason of its connection
with lever Q. The needle bar T is a hollow cylinder working
vertically through the extreme end of the fixed arm B¹ and through the
collars W and I herein-after described. The needle is attached to the
centre of the lower end of the bar in the usual way, and the thread passes
down through the bar and alongside of the needle, and is threaded
into the eye near its point after passing out of the hole r in the lower end
of the bar.
"
The construction of the lower end of the needle bar is clearly shown
in Figure 10. The thread is passed through the needle bar by the aid
of a threader K2 (Figure 14) which is a wire with a fork in its lower end
to catch the end of the thread and force it through the bar. The threader
is guided in its passage to the thread opening by the peculiar form
given to the interior of the lower end of the needle bar, as shown in
Figure 10. The needle hole in the centre of the bar T is marked 8.
On the arbor O in front of the cam P is another cam G with grooves
in its face receiving a pin projecting into them from the end of the
upper and shorter arm of the bent lever H' which has its fulcrum at m.
The grooves in this cam are so arranged as to give an up and down stroke
to the lever H' at every two revolutions of the arbor C. The end of the
horizontal arm of the lever H has a fork in it which engages with a
flange on the upper end of a cylinder or collar I', to the lower edge of
which is attached a rod n, which operates the braiders o, p, hung to a
bracket attached to the lower side of the ratchet wheel E. Any
number of braid spools q attached to the same wheel supply material to
the braiders. These braiders operate in the usual way, but the peculiar
arrangement for driving them is adopted in order to adapt the braiders
to the revolving feed mechanism. In front of cam G¹, on arbor C and in-
serted in the forward end of said arbor, is a crank wrist u which is received
by a horizontal slot in the upper end of a bar V, to the lower end of
which is attached the collar W, which has a vertical reciprocating
movement at each revolution of the arbor. This collar is outside of the
collar I and moves independently of it. A groove in this collar receives
the end of the upper arm of a bent lever X which operates the sliding

page_text: plate Y to which the upper end of the cylinder Y' in which the cloth
presser Z works is attached. As the collar W is moved up and down
the lever X moves the sliding plate Y back and forth to produce the.
feed movement of the cloth presser, this movement is regulated by set
screws F. On the lower end of the presser Z is the presser foot t,
shown in Figures 1, 7, 13, and 15, the latter Figures showing a bottom
view. A portion of its under surface is roughened as shown to produce
friction, and there is a recess in one side through which the needle works.
The shank of the presser is held in the cylinder Y in which a spiral
spring with a downward reaction is coiled around it.
It is held
upward against the force of this spring by a pin p', projecting from its
shank and working in a slit and recess in the cylinder Y after the.
manner of a bayonet joint. The shaft which forms the fulcrum of the
lever I runs through the standard B, and on that side of the machine.
represented in Figure 7 receives on its end the curved slotted arm A¹
which is rigidily fixed to it. To this arm is attached the rod 6 by the.
set screw C, which regulates the distance from the centre f at which.
the end of the rod is fixed. The forward end of rod b is pivotted to a
lug d' on the friction cap D' which is operated by the rod. The cap D'.
fits snugly on top of the ratchet wheel E', being held on by a pin which
projects from the inside of the cap into a groove a' in the side of the
wheel, and by a spring z having a friction dog 2¹ on its free end which,
is pressed against the edge of the wheel by the set screw 8' (Figure 11).
which regulates the amount of friction between the cap D¹ and the,
periphery of the wheel E. The throw of the slotted arm A' regulates,
the amount of motion imparted, to the wheel E¹ by the friction cap D',
at each revolution of the arbor C. When the rod b is so attached to the.
arm A' that the centre of the set screw C¹ coincides with the centre of,
the axle, no motion is imparted to the wheel E¹ as the arbor C rotates.
When on the other hand the rod 6' is attached to the arm A¹ at its free
xtremity, the maximum of motion is given to the wheel E' at each
revolution of the arbor. Between these limits the motion is susceptible
of any required gradation. As the wheel E' carries the feed mechanism
and operates it the adjustments just referred to regulate the speed of the
feed. The ratchet wheel E' has teeth on its periphery which receive.
either arm of the double pawl w according as one or the other is thrown
into gear with them in operating the machine. The direction in which
the wheel E' will revolve in obedience to the impulses of the friction
cap D' depends on which arm of the pawl w is engaged with the teeth:

page_text: of the wheel. The pawl w and its attachments are clearly shown in
Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6. The pawl is pivotted to a bracket V, and the
arm that is to engage the ratchet teeth is determined by the position
of a pendulous spring operated by pins y projecting from the periphery
of the wheel E. When one of these pins strikes the pendulous spring a
the position of the pawl is reversed, and the direction in which the
wheel E' is rotating is instantly changed. A spring a¹ attached to the
back of the bracket V counteracts the spring x and aids in controlling
the position of the pawl and holding it to its work.
A peculiarity will be observed in the construction of the toe piece c¹
which supports the tablet K. It is fully shown in Figure 8. The
object of supplementing the thickness of the tablet plate by the short
tube c is that in whatever direction the thread may pass from the shuttle
through that plate it will by reason of passing through the tube c be
subjected as nearly as possible to an equal degree of friction and tension,
whereas if the thread passed immediately from the shuttle through a
thin plate the tension and friction on it would in one position of the
shuttle amount almost to nothing, while in the opposite position they
would be quite considerable, thus producing uneven work. The shuttle
is cut away sufficiently to pass the tube c without contact. It will be
understood that the cam P being fixed near the end of the arm B' in a
definite and unchangeable relation to the needle bar the arm B¹ may be
indefinitely lengthened without affecting the operation of the machine
or requiring any increase in the size and weight of the operative parts,
except that which relates to the length of the arbor. The working parts
can therefore be kept as light as possible, while the extension of the
arm B' affords large space under it for the manipulation of the cloth or
other work.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-Power being applied to
the pulley D revolution is imparted to the arbor C, by which all the
operative parts of the machine are driven. The needle bar and shuttle,
are operated in their proper relation to each other as in ordinary shuttle
machines by the cams and levers which govern their respective
movements.
:
The first peculiarity in the operation of the machine is in the mode
of effecting the feed. The round smooth tablet K riscs and falls in
the opening provided for it in the cloth plate, and is alternately above
and below the level of the circle of feed points i by which the opening

page_text: is surrounded. It therefore by its operation alternately raises the
cloth out of contact with the points i and into a position to be moved
readily in any direction on the cloth plate, and then lets it fall
upon the points, which entering its under surface prevent its being
turned or moved in any direction. Co-operating with the tablet K in
producing the feed is the cloth presser z, the rough under surface
of whose foot t comes into contact with the cloth to be moved when
this is lifted from the cloth plate and off the points i by the upward
movement of the tablet K. The presser foot t at the same instant
receives the proper impulse to produce the feed movement. Whilo
the presser foot after effecting the feed is moving back preparatory
to a repetition of the feeding movement the tablet K has descended
and allows the cloth to be again caught by the points i and fixed
in its position on the cloth plate. Thus we have a feed produced
by holding the cloth between two alternating rough and smooth
surfaces, the cloth being always between either a smooth surface
below and a rough surface above or between a rough surface below.
and a smooth surface above, the cloth being moved forward while
in the former position by the impulse of the presser foot and held
stationary while in the latter to allow of the retraction of the presser..
This method of feeding is applicable to machines which do not embrace
the other peculiarities of the Invention or use a feed mechanism capable
of revolving around the needle bar as a centre.
The other peculiarities of the operation arise out of the nature of the
feed mechanism by which it is made capable of revolving around the
needle bar in the manner and for the purpose herein-before set forth..
This requires that whatever parts are obliged to sustain a fixed position
relatively to the feed mechanism must revolve with it. Hence the
braiders o, p, instead of being operated in the usual way are worked by
a rod attached to the lower edge of the collar I', which rotates with the
wheel E', the flange on the upper rim of the collar slipping through
the fork on the end of the arm of the lever H' by which the collar is
raised and lowered to work the braiders. The working of the braiders
does not therefore interfere with their revolution with the wheel E', to
which they, as well as the feed mechanism, are attached. They thus
maintain in every position of the feeding device their proper relation to
the line of seam.

page_text: The revolution of the feed mechanism is effected as follows:-The
cam H imparts a rocking movement to the shaft f of the lever I.
On the rear end of that shaft is attached the slotted arm A¹ which
has the same oscillating movement as the upper arm of lever I. By
rod 6' this motion is transmitted to the friction cap D', which embraces
the wheel E as before described and imparts its motion to it. In
whichever direction the wheel E¹ is moved by the cap D' the arm of
the pawl w which is in gear with the ratchet on its periphery prevents
the return of the wheel and keeps it moving in the same direction as
long as the cap is driven and the same arm of the pawl continues in
gear. When the opposite arm of the palvl is thrown into gear the
wheel E is rotated in the opposite direction. To reverse the motion
of the wheel therefore it is only necessary to change the arm of the
pawl that is in gear with the ratchet. Both pawls may when desired
be thrown out, and in that case the motions of wheels E' can be con-
trolled or arrested by hand. While the pawl is in gear the motion of
the wheel E' can, owing to the frictional character of the driving power,
be at any time arrested by hand. The cloth presser, the position of
which in relation to the needle bar governs the direction of the feed,
is held in cylinder Y' attached by its upper end to a plate sliding in
guides within the wheel E'. It receives the feeding movement from the
bent lever worked by the collar W which is raised and lowered by
the crank u, the wrist of which works in a slotted yoke on the top of the
rod V, to which collar W is attached. This movement is entirely
independent of the revolving movement of wheel E', so that the feed
goes on whether the wheel E' revolves or not. When a straight scam
is desired the set screw C¹ is loosened and the rear end of the rod b is
lowered in the slotted arm A' until the centre of the set screw coincides
with the centre of shaft f. In this position no rotation of the wheel E
takes place, while yet the feed goes on without interruption, and a
straight seam is produced. By raising the rear end of the rod 6 in the
arm A¹ the straight seam is instantly changed to a curved one turning
either to the right or left, according as one or the other arm of the pawl
is in gear with the ratchet on wheel E'. Thus by raising and lowering
rod b and altering the pawl to any combination of straight and curved
lines of seam can be produced without any limit but the will of the
operator. Pins y, y, set in the periphery of the ratchet wheel will
reverse the pawl automatically as often as may be desired, and thus a
serpentine seam of any degree or frequency of curvature may be

page_text: Brookes' Improvements in Sewing Machines.
produced continuously without the intervention of the operator. This
principle of the automatic production of predetermined patterns is
believed to be capable of large and important developement.
Having thus fully described the Invention, what I claim as new and
desire to secure by Letters Patent is,--
First. The hollow needle bar T constructed as and for the purpose
specified.
Second. The method of carrying the thread to the needle by passing
it down through the needle bar and out of the side of the needle as
described.
Third. In a sewing machine having the thread carried to the needle
through a hollow needle bar I claim revolving the feed mechanism around
the needle bar as a centre, as set forth.
Fourth. In a sewing machine revolving the feed mechanism con-
tinuously in either direction around the needle bar or needle as a centre
any number of times more than one in the manner and for the purpose
described.
Fifth. The combination of the cam G¹, lever H', collar I', and rod n
in the manner described for the purpose of operating the braiders o, p,
as set forth.
Sixth. The friction cap d¹ constructed and operating as described.
Seventh. The method described of effecting the feed by having the
cloth at all times between a rough and a smooth surface, said surfaces
being in contact alternately with the upper and the lower surface of
the cloth and operating alternately to free the cloth while being fed and
to fix it while the feed foot is being retracted preparatory to a renewed
impulse, substantially in the manner specified.
Eighth. The tablet K constructed and operating as described.
Ninth. The circle of stationary feed points i arranged for conjoint
operation with the tablet K, substantially as set forth.
Tenth. The pins y arranged on the periphery of wheel E' for the
purpose of operating automatically the pawl w and reversing the direction
of rotation of that wheel, as specified.

page_text: Eleventh. Operating automatically the feed mechanism of a sewing
machine so as to cause the seam to follow a predetermined pattern
substantially in the manner described.
Twelfth. The combination of one or more braid spools with the
revolving feed mechanism for the purpose of maintaining the proper
relation between the braid supply and the braiders during the revolution
of the feed, as specified.
Thirteenth. The arrangement of the parts for operating the needle
bar near the end of the fixed arm B' for the purpose of allowing an
indefinite extension of that arm in order to provide more ample room for
the work without increasing the size and weight of the operative parts
referred to, all as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Brookes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine.