IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
ELDRED WALKER, of Bouverie Street, in the City of London, Engraver, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Sixth day of January, in the ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Arthur Eldred Walker, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Arthur Eldred
Walker, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Arthur
Eldred Walker, my exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the
Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Arthur Eldred Walker, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are funy described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows part of a plan of a machine constructed according to my
Invention. Figure 2 shows part of a longitudinal section of the machine.
Figures 3 and 4 show the two side views of the main frames and gearing of
the principal parts of the machine. Figure 5 shows a front view of the
machine taken at the dotted lines (1, 2,) Figure 1; and the nature of the
apparatus through which the fabrics are fed into and by which they are
guided to the machine are shown by the front views thereof at Figures
6 and 7; and the apparatus for drawing the fabrics as they are joined by
sewing will readily be understood on examining Figure 8, which is a plan,
and Figure 9, which is a longitudinal side view thereof. Figure 10, a, a,
shews the construction of needle used in this machine. The machinery is
shown in the position of having been at work, and having joined the edges of
two fabrics together. b, b, is the framing of the machine, the nature of
which is clearly shewn in the Drawing. c is the main or driving shaft or axis
of the machine, on which is fixed the fly wheel d and the handle e, by which
handle the machine is put in motion. f is a cog wheel affixed on the main
shaft or axis c; this wheel ƒ takes into and gives motion to the intermediate
cog wheel g. The intermediate cog wheel 9 gives motion to the cog wheel h
on the axis of the lower of the pair of rollers i, the bearings of the upper roller
being borne down by springs, so that the surfaces of the rollers i, i, are kept in
constant contact, and so as to draw the work forward on the needle as fast as
it is performed on the point of the needle by the aid of the other apparatus, as
hereafter explained. The needle a remains stationary, and is supported in
grooves in the rollers j, such rollers turning freely. in their bearings as the
fabrics are moved along the needle by the rollers. i, i, and also when moved
along the needle by the rollers k, k, as hereafter explained. The needle is
formed with two projections or stops a', a², and the needle is prevented moving
back by means of catches 7 and m acting against one of those stops. a or a³ at
all times; and such catches have at all times a tendency by their springs /¹
and m³ to come against the needle, but they are respectively held back at
proper intervals by cam surfaces, so as to allow the fabrics as they have been

page_text: sewn, and have accumulated on the needle, to pass under the catches, all which
will be better understood hereafter, when other parts have been explained.
On the axis of the lower roller i is affixed the cog wheel n, which takes into
and drives the pinion o affixed on the axis of the intermediate cog wheel o¹,
and the intermediate cog wheel o¹ takes into and drives the pinion p on the
crank axis p', such crank axis p¹ giving motion, by means of the connecting
rod q, to 'the bar r, which is cranked at both its ends 7, and the cranked ends
7 move on axes or necks, as shown; and to the front of the bar is fixed the
plater, having a slit therein, the nature of which is clearly shown in the
Drawing, and by means of which the edge of the fabric A is kept correctly, as
is shown; the edge of the fabric B being kept correctly by coming against the end
of the plate 3, and under the projecting portion, as shewn. The bar r, being
caused to rise and fall to the positions shown by dotted lines in Figure 2, will
cause the fabrics A and B, at their edges or selvages, which overlap each other,
to pass above and below the point of the needle; and as the fabrics are constantly
drawn along the needle, then a further quantity of the fabrics will be drawn on
to the point of the needle each time that the fabrics are carried above and
brought below the point of the needle. The fabrics A and B being wound
on rollers not shewn in the Drawings, they are guided into the machine as
followss is a fixed frame, having the guides t and v fixed thereto, as shown.
From these guides the two fabrics A, B, proceed respectively between the two
pairs of rollers u, u, w, w, and thence through the slits & in the plate y, which
is cranked at its ends, and turns on axes or necks at y', the plate being
constantly borne down by springs, all which will readily be understood on
examining the Drawings. The catch 1 for holding the needle is fixed on the
axis ', and is a projection against which the spring constantly presses.
* is an arm affixed to the axis 1, the truck or roller of the arm l' constantly
resting against the cam surface ¹ on the axis of the lower roller k, by which
cam surface the catch will be at intervals removed from holding the needle, in
order during such intervals that the fabrics accumulated on the needle may
be moved along the needle by the rollers k, and the rollers k only come into
action for that, purpose at the time the catch 2 is raised, and the raising
of the upper roller k off the lower roller k is effected by means of the pro-
jecting surfaces on the lower roller k, the bearings of the axis of the upper
roller being constantly pressed downwards by springs, as shown. The
rollers kc, k, receive motion in the following manner:-9' is a cog wheel affixed
on the axis of the lower roller k, the cog wheel g' receiving motion from the
intermediate roller 9, and consequently the lower roller / will be caused to

page_text: revolve at all times, but it will not act on the fabrics so as to drag them on
the needle except when the upper roller is allowed to descend and press on
the lower one, when the surface contact of the lower roller will carry round the
upper roller k, and the two together will move the fabrics A, B, along the
needle. The catch m is fixed on the axis m³, and there is a projection m³
from that axis, against which the spring m¹ constantly presses with a tendency
to keep the catch constantly down, but it is only allowed to descend at
intervals when the catch is required to be raised, and this is done in the
following manner-m is an arm affixed to the axis m³, such arm, by its truck
or roller constantly pressing against the cam surface ¹, affixed on the axis of
the roller z, all which will readily be understood on examining the Drawings.
The roller z has pulleys or grooves formed in the ends thereof; these pulleys
receive two endless cords 2, there being a similar roller at a distance, which
support and carry the endless cords, and on these endless cords the board C is
placed, the slits at the end of the boards receiving the endless cords and holding
them sufficiently tight to be caused to move therewith, and the endless cords aro
kept distended by the frame which carries the roller ³, being constantly drawn
on by a weighted cord. The board Ċ carries a bobbin on an axis, with the
thread to be used for sewing the fabrics together wound thereon. The fabrics
having been, in the first place, sewed together for a short distance by hand,
before introducing the same into the machine, the ends of the fabrics are to be
fixed to the board C, and in the working of the machine the board will at
intervals receive motion by the endless cords being put into motion by the
roller =, which roller at intervals receives motion in the following manner :-
D is a cog wheel which receives motion from the cog wheel g', such cog wheel
D being fixed on the axis E; and on the other end of the axis E is fixed a
portion of a cog wheel F, which, constantly revolving with the axis E, will at
intervals put in motion the cog wheel G fixed on the axis of the roller z, and
the wheel G is prevented moving at those times when not in gear with the
part of a wheel F by means of the lever catch H, which has a tendency to fall
into the teeth of the wheel G, and will at all times do so when not prevented
by the cam surface I on the axis E. It should be stated that the upper
rollers i, k, have each a band of wash leather, as shown, and the lower rollers
i, k, are roughed with slight grooves, as shown, in order to aid the holding of
the fabrics by the rollers.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for performing the same, I would have it understood that
I make no claim to any of the parts separately, nor do I confine myself to the

page_text: precise details, so long as the peculiar character of the Invention be retained.
But what I claim is, the mode of combining mechanical parts into a machine
for sewing, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Eldred Walker, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.