IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES, AND IN WINDERS FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Willis, of Worcester, Shoe Manufacturer,
and George Rice, of Worcester, Tailer and Draper, for the Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES, AND IN WINDERS FOR SEWING
MACHINES."
Sealed the 2nd February 1866, and dated the 23rd August 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Willis and George
Rice at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 23rd August 1865.
We, HENRY WILLIS; of Worcester, Shoe Manufacturer, and GEORGE RICE,
of Worcester, Tailor and Draper, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES, AND IN WINDERS FOR SEWING
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
14
Our improvements in sewing machines consist in so constructing the spool aud
shuttle that the thread may be wound on the spool without removing it from
the shuttle. To effect this we make a hole or opening in the heel end, or in
both ends of the shuttle, into which holes or openings we put the ends of the
spindle of one of the winders herein-after described; the end of the spindle of
the winder having a slot to receive the end of the spool. and hold it while
revolving. In closed or box shuttles, we pass the thread on to the spool through
a slot in the shuttle, or the shuttle may open on hinges.
Our improvements in winders for sewing machines consist of the mechanical
arrangements herein-after described for guiding the thread while being wound

page_text: on the spool, so as to cause the said thread to be wound uniformly on the spool m.
Winders made according to our Invention may either be used in connection
with sewing machines. so that the winding of one spool may be effected by
the machine itself, while the thread on a previously wound spool is being used,
or the said winders may be used apart from sewing machines.
The mechanical arrangements constituting our improvements in winders
have for their object the carrying backwards and forwards of a guide or tension
plate, through a hole in which the thread being wound passes. The said
tension plate performs an alternating motion in a line parallel to the axis of
the winder, the said motion being uniform or nearly uniform. By the guiding
of the thread by means of the said tension plate the said thread is wound with
great uniformity on the spool.
In one of our improvements, the guide plate is carried backwards and for-
wards by a sliding rod having near one end a plate at right angles to the
-rod, the said plate has a slot in which a crank pin engages. By the rotation
of the axis carrying the crank an alternating motion is given to the tension
plate. In order to make the motion of the rod carrying the guide plate uniform,
and to reverse its motion quickly, the crank axis requires to rotate with a speed
quickest when the motion of the guide is about being reversed, and slowest
when the guide plate is in the middle of each stroke. To effect this we give
motion to the crank axis in the following manner:-A worm on the axis which
gives motion to the spool gears into a worm wheel, on the axis of which is a
toothed wheel of a nearly elliptical figure. the longer diameter of the said
wheel being somewhat greater than twice its shorter diameter; this wheel
gears into a toothed wheel on the crank shaft, having nearly the shape of the
figure 8 or an hour-glass shape. The part of the elliptical wheel of longest
diameter gears with the part of the hour-glass wheel of shortest diameter.
By these means the uniform motion of the worm wheel is made to give the
required motion to the crank axis necessary to produce a uniform rotation in
the guide plate. The crank is made capable of being lengthened or shortened
so as to increase or diminish the length of the stroke of the guide. Instead of
driving the worm wheel by a worm on the axis which gives motion to the
spool, the said worm may be made on an intermediate axis motion, being
communicated from the axis driving the spool to the said intermediate axis by
means of conical friction gearing: by means of the said gearing the motion
of the tension plate in relation to that of the spool may be varied; or in place
of the nearly elliptical and hour-glass shaped wheels described a hollow nearly
elliptical cam may be fixed on one of the faces of the worm wheel. The cross
arm of the bar carrying the slide is in this case provided with a slide on which

page_text: is fixed a pin or projection taking into the said hollow cam. By the rotation
of the cam a nearly uniform reciprocating motion is communicated to the
tension plate.
Another of our improvements consists in giving the required motion to the
bar carrying the tension plate by a heart-shaped cam fixed on one face of the
worm wheel described. A pin on the bar carrying the tension plate bears
against the said cam; by the rotation of the said cam the required motion is
given to the tension plate. The pin on the tension plate bar is kept to its
bearing against the cam by means of a coiled spring, or a crown wheel, the
cylindrical edge of which instead of being made into teeth is made of a zig-zag
form, may be employed to give the required motion to the sliding bar which
carries the tension plate. The axis of the said crown wheel is in a line with
the sliding bar, and the zig-zag edge of the said wheel acts on a pin on the
said bar. The said crown wheel is driven from the axis which gives motion
to the spool; the return motion of the sliding rod is produced by a spring.
Another of our improvements consists in giving motion to the tension plate
by means of a screw, the said tension plate being fixed on a screw box in
which the screw works. The said screw is parallel to the face of the worm
wheel, and one half the circumference of the worm wheel is provided with
crown teeth. One end of the screw described is made into a long pinion
which lies against, the face of the worm wheel in the direction of a diameter of
the said wheel. The crown teeth take into the teeth of the long pinion. As
the said crown teeth only extend round half the face of the wheel the motion
of the said wheel causes the teeth to engage with the pinion on the screw on
opposite sides of its centre at each semi-revolution, and consequently to give
rotation in opposite directions to the pinion and screw at each half rotation
of the worm wheel, the uniform motion of the worm wheel thus produces a.
uniform reciprocating motion in the tension plate.
We also give the required motion to the tension plate by means of a screw,
one-half of which is right-handed and the other half left-handed. An oscillating
lever attached to the tension plate is furnished at its ends with clips which
are made to engage alternately with the right and left handed screw. By this
means the direction of the motion of the tension plate is changed at the
required times. The oscillation of the lever is effected by cams on the ends
of the screws, or on the ends of the spindle. The oscillation of the lever may
however be produced by other equivalent mechanical arrangements. Instead
of making the right and left handed threads on different parts of the screw,
they may be made to extend from end to end of the screw, the said right and
left handed threads crossing one another. As the tension plate travels back-

page_text: wards and forwards it is made to change at the end of each stroke the thread
in which it engages, and is thus carried backwards and forwards with a uniform
motion.
We also produce the required motion in the tension plate by means of a
double rack and pinion, the said pinion being made to work alternately on the
top and bottom of the rack, by means of a hinge on the spindle shaft.
Or a
hollow double rack may be employed with which the pinion works, the said.
pinion being made to engage alternately with the upper and lower racks.. A
toothed quadrant may be employed instead of the pinion with slight modifica-
tion of the details.
We also produce the required uniform reciprocating motion by means of a
crank motion, similar to that herein-before described; the crank. being made
to act on a hollow cam on the bar of the tension plate, the acting surfaces of
the hollow can being of a cycloidal figure.
In the various arrangements described, tension in the thread may be
produced in addition to that produced by the tension plate by means of pressure
on the large reel of thread produced by a spring or weight. Instead of
applying the several mechanical arrangements described to effect the motion of
the tension plate, the said arrangements may be made to give a reciprocating
longitudinal motion to the spool, the tension plate in this case being
stationary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Willis and George Rice in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd February 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, HENRY
WILLIS, of Worcester, Shoe Manufacturer, and GEORGE RICE, of Worcester,
Tailor and Draper, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Henry Willis and George Rice, Her special licence that we, the said
Henry Willis and George Rice, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Henry Willis and George Rice, -our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein.

page_text: 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 SEWING MACHINES, AND IN
WINDERS FOR SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others,) that we,
the said Henry Willis and George Rice, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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.
°
Henry Willis and George Rice, do
Invention, and in what manner the
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said
hereby declare the nature of the said
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-"
Our improvements in sewing machines consist in so constructing the spool
and shuttle that the thread may be wound on the spool without removing it
from the shuttle. To effect this we make a hole or opening in the heel end
or in both ends of the shuttle, into which holes or openings we put the ends
of the spindle of one of the winders, herein-after described, the end of the
spindle of the winder having a slot to receive the end of the spool and hold it
while revolving. In closed or box shuttles we make the shuttles open on
hinges.
Our improvements in winders for sewing machines consist of the mechanical
arrangements, herein-after described, for guiding the thread while being
wound on the spool so as to cause the said thread to be wound uniformly on the
spool. Winders made according to our Invention may either be used in con-
nection with sewing machines, so that the winding of one spool may be effected
by the machine itself, while the thread on a previously wound spool is being
used or the said winders may be used apart from sewing machines.
The
The mechanical arrangements constituting our improvements in winders
have for their object the carrying backwards and forwards of a guide or
tension plate through a hole, in which the thread being wound passes.
said tension plate performs an alternating motion in a line parallel to the axis of
the winder, the said motion being uniform or nearly uniform. By the guiding
of the thread by means of the said tension plate the said thread is wound
with great uniformity on the spool.
..
In one of our improvements the guide plate is carried backwards and
forwards by a sliding rod, having near one end a plate at right angles to the

page_text: rod; the said plate has a slot in which a crank pin engages. By the rotation
of the axis carrying the crank an alternating motion is given to the tension
plate. In order to make the motion of the rod carrying the guide plate
uniform, and to reverse its motion quickly the crank axis requires to rotate
with a speed quickest when the motion of the guide is about being reversed.
and slowest when the guide plate is in the middle of each stroke. To effect
this we give motion to the crank axis in the following manner: A worm. on
the axis, which gives motion to the spool, gears into a worm wheel, on the
axis of which is a toothed wheel of a nearly elliptical figure, the longer
diameter of the said wheel being somewhat less than twice its shorter diameter;
this wheel gears into a toothed wheel on the cranko shaft, having nearly the
shape of the figure 8, or an hour-glass shape. The part of the elliptical
wheel of longest diameter gears with the part of the hour-glass wheel of
shortest diameter. By these means the uniform motion of the worm wheel
is made to give the required motion to the crank axis necessary to produce a
uniform motion in the guide plate. The crank is made capable of being
lengthened or shortened, so as to increase or diminish the length of the stroke
of the guide. Instead of driving the worm wheel by a worm on the axis
which gives motion to the spool, the said worm may be made on an inter-
mediate axis. motion being communicated from the axis driving the spool to
the said intermediate axis by means of conical friction gearing. By means
of the said gearing the motion of the tension plate, in relation to that of the
spool, may be varied. Or in place of the nearly elliptical and hour-glass-
shaped wheels described, a hollow nearly elliptical cam may be fixed on one
of the faces of the worm wheel. The cross arm of the bar carrying the slide
is in this case provided with a slide, on which is fixed a pin or projection
taking into the said hollow cam. By the rotation of the cam a nearly
uniform reciprocating motion is communicated to the tension plate.
Another of our improvements consists in giving the required motion to the
bar carrying the tension plate by a heart-shaped cam fixed on one face of the
worm wheel described. A pin on the bar carrying the tension plate bears
against the said cam. By the rotation of the said cam the required motion
is given to the tension plate. The pin on the tension plate bar is kept to its
bearing against the cam by means of a coiled spring or a crown wheel, the
cylindrical edge of which, instead of being made into teeth, is made of a zig-
zag form, may be employed to give the required motion to the sliding bar
which carries the tension plate. The axis of the said crown wheel is in a line
with the sliding bar, and the zig-gag edge of the said wheel acts on a pin on
the said bar. The said crown wheel is driven from the axis which gives

page_text: motion to the spool. The return motion of the sliding rod is produced by
a spring.
Another of our improvements consists in giving motion to the tension plate
by means of a screw, the said tension plate being fixed on a screw box, in
which the screw works. The said screw is parallel to the face of the worm
wheel, and one half the circumference of the worm wheel is provided with
crown teeth. One end of the screw described is made into a long pinion, which
lies against the face of the worm wheel in the direction of a diameter of the
said wheel. The crown teeth take into the teeth of the long pinion. As the
said crown teeth only extend round half the face of the wheel the motion of
the said wheel causes the teeth to engage with the pinion on the screw on
opposite sides of its centre at each semi-revolution, and consequently to give
rotation in opposite directions to the pinion and screw at each half rotation of
the worm wheel. The uniform motion of the worm wheel thus produces a
uniform reciprocating motion in the tension plate.
We also give the required motion to the tension plate by means of a screw,
An oscil-
one half of which is right-handed, and the other half left-handed.
lating lever attached to the tension plate is furnished at its ends with clips,
which are made to engage alternately with the right and left handed screw.
By this means the direction of the motion of the tension plate is changed at
the required times. The oscillation of the lever is effected by cams on the ends.
of the screw, or on the ends of the spindle. The oscillation of the lever may,
however, be produced by other equivalent mechanical arrangements. Instead
of making the right and left handed threads on different parts of the screw they
may be made to extend from end to end of the screw, the said right and left
handed threads crossing one another. As the tension plate travels backwards
and forwards it is made to change at the end of each stroke the thread in which
it engages, and is thus carried backwards and forwards with a uniform motion.
We also produce the required motion in the tension plate by means of a
double rack and pinion, the said pinion being made to work alternately on
the top and bottom of the rack by means of a hinge on the spindle shaft; or
a hollow double rack may be employed, with which the pinion works, the said
pinion being made to engage alternately with the upper and lower racks; a
toothed quadrant may be employed instead of the pinion, with slight modifi-
cation of the details.
We also produce the required uniform reciprocating motion by means of a
crank motion similar to that herein-before described, the crank being made
to act on a hollow cam on the bar of the tension plate, the acting surfaces of
the hollow cam being of a cycloidal figure.

page_text: In the various arrangements described, tension in the thread may be
produced, in addition to that produced by the tension plate, by means of
pressure on the large reel of thread produced by a spring or weight. Instead
of applying the several mechanical arrangements described to effect the motion
of the tension plate, the said arrangements may be made to give a recipro-
cating longitudinal motion to the spool, the tension plate in this case being
stationary.
Having explained the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in elevation, and Figure 2 in longitudinal section, the
shuttle and spool of a sewing machine constructed according to our Invention.
a is the shuttle of the ordinary form, to which shuttle the spool upon
which the thread is wound is connected, but the said spool is capable of a
rotatory motion in the said shuttle. An opening is made in both ends of the
shuttle, into which the ends of the centres of the spindle of one of the winders
herein-after described may enter. One end of the axis of the spool has a
square or angular figure given to it. In order to wind the thread on the
spool in the shuttle a, Figures 1 and 2, the end of the thread is coiled upon
the spool and the shuttle put between the ends of the spindles of the winder,
the ends of the spindles having properly shaped holes in them to receive the
ends of the spool b, and hold the said spool while revolving. On the rotation
of the spindle of the winder a rotatory motion is given to the spool b, the
shuttle a remaining stationary between the spindles, and the thread is wound
rapidly and uniformly upon the spool.
Figure 3 represents in plan and end elevation a shuttle made to open on
hinges, constructed according to our Invention. By making the spool and
shuttle of sewing machines, according to our Invention, the thread is wound
on the spool without removing the spool from the shuttle, the shuttle is thereby
made fit for use in a shorter time and with greater ease than when the spool
has to be removed from the shuttle for refilling and again placed in the shuttle
after refilling.
Figure 4 represents in elevation, and Figure 5 in plan, a winder constructed
according to one of our improvements. a, a, are the uprights of the winder,
fixed to the base plate or support b; c is the axis or spindle of the winder
between which and the adjustable centre c the spool upon which the thread
is to be wound is fixed. Motion is given to the spindle by a band or cord
from the sewing machine or other convenient source of power passing over
the pulley d on the said spindle. On a fixed bar e in a line parallel with

page_text: slides, the said carrier having
one or more of the holes, in
The tension plate g can slide
The said tension plate g has
the following manner: The
the spindles c, c2, carrying the spool, a carrier
fixed to it the guide or tension plate g through
which plate the thread being wound passes.
upon the carrier f, and is fixed by the screw h.
a reciprocating sliding motion given to it in
carrier of the tension plate is provided with a cranked arm f, upon the end
of which the connecting rod i of the crank k turns. The crank is con
nected to the axis of the toothed wheel I, which toothed wheel receives motion
from the toothed wheel p. Motion is transmitted from the axis or spindle c,
giving motion to the spool to the toothed wheel p by the worm m on its end
gearing with the worm wheel n, upon the axis of which worm wheel n, the
toothed wheel p is situated. The toothed wheel p is of a nearly elliptical
figure, the long diameter of the said wheel being somewhat less than twice its
shorter diameter. The wheel, with which the said elliptical wheel p gears,
has nearly the shape of the figure 8, or an hour-glass shape. By the rotation
of the toothed wheel I a nearly uniform reciprocating sliding motion is given to
the tension plate g, and the thread is wound upon the spool with great
uniformity, the shape of the toothed wheels p and causing the crank rod i
to be reversed quickly, and the crank axis to rotate with a speed quickest
when the tension plate is about being reversed, and slowest when the
tension plate is in the middle of each stroke. The crank can be lengthened
or shortened, and thus made to increase or diminish the stroke of the guide
or tension plate g by making the said crank slide into or out of the boss on
the wheel, the said crank being fixed in the boss by the screw represented.
We do not limit ourselves to the method described and represented of
iransmitting the motion of the hour-glass wheel to the tension plate g, as
the said motion may be transmitted in various other ways with the same
enect.
Figure 6 represents in elevation another arrangement of our Invention
in which a hollow nearly elliptical cam is made to give a nearly uniform
reciprocating motion to the guide or tension plate instead of the elliptical and
hour-glass shaped wheels represented in Figures 4 and 5; g is the guide or,
tension plate carried by the bar h, the said bar having at one end a bracket
or knuckle i, which slides upon the fixed bar k, and the opposite end of the
On the face of the
said bar h works through the framing of the winder.
worm wheel is a slide (indicated in dotted lines) capable of sliding in the
direction of a diameter of the said wheel.. The said slide 1 carries at one end a
pin m, which pin m passes through the slot in the cross arm of the bar h
and also engages in the fixed hollow 'nearly elliptical shaped cam n (indicated

page_text: in dotted lines), supported in front of the worm wheel 1. By the rotation of
the worm wheel 1, the pin m is made to traverse the hollow cam n, and thereby
to communicate a nearly uniform reciprocating motion to the bar h and tension
plate g.
In the arrangement, Figure 6, motion is transmitted to the worm
wheel by the worm p. on the end of the axis q. instead of from the axis
driving the spool, a driving band passing over the pulley r giving the rotatory
motion to the said axis q. The motion of the axis q is transmitted to the
axis s for driving the spool by means of the conical friction gearing t, u, v.
By this means the motion of the spool in relation to that of the tension plate g
may be varied.
Figure 6 represents in elevation, a modification of the arrangement repre-
sented in Figure 6. Instead of giving the reciprocating motion to the sliding
bar h. carrying the tension plate g. by means of the elliptical cam nas
represented, we effect the same object by means of an elliptical toothed wheel
or cam u, fixed to the frame e, with which wheel or cam a circular toothed
wheel gears. The toothed wheel is carried by a slide a, working between
guides on the face of the worm wheel 1. The teeth of the wheel. are kept
in gear with those of the elliptical wheel or cam by means of the coiled
spring, one end of which is fixed to the face of the worm wheel 1, and the
other end to the slide a, by which the toothed wheel is carried. The
wheels u,, have teeth upon the whole of their circumferences; a few only of
the teeth are represented in the Drawings.
The prolonged end of the axis
of the wheel is engaged in a slot in a cross arm on the bar h, similar to the
cross arm marked on the bar h, Figure 6. By the rotation of the worm
wheel, the toothed wheel is carried round the fixed elliptical wheel or cam u,
and the axis of the said wheel being engaged with the slotted arm of the
bar gives to the said bar and to the tension plate g, carried by it a nearly
uniform reciprocating motion. The motion communicated to the axis z may
in this arrangement be transmitted to the axis driving the spool with a
variable speed by means of the speed pulleys represented.
Figure represents another arrangement of our Invention in which the
reciprocating motion of the tension plate is given by a heart-shaped cam, and
the tension plate is so constructed that the winder can be used to wind the thread
upon spools of different lengths. a is the bar to which the tension plate b is con-
nected in the manner herein-after explained, the said bar being guided by
and working through the framing c of the winder; d is a heart-shaped cam
fixed on the face of the worm wheel 'e, the said wheel e receiving motion
from the worm f. On the sliding bar a is a V-shaped point or projection g made
to bear against the heart-shaped cam d, by the pressure of the coiled spring h₁

page_text: in the manner represented. On the rotation of the worm. wheel e a nearly
uniform reciprocating motion is given through the cam d and projection
The lever b is
tension plate. b
to
the sliding bar a, and from the said sliding bar to the tension plate. b.
In order to regulate the distance through which the tension plate b travels,
the said tension plate is connected through the arm or lever b. with the
sliding bar a, the said lever be turning on the centre b³.
connected to the bar a and, tension plate b by pins on the
and knuckle, engaging in slots at the ends of the said lever b². The
tension plate b has a sliding motion on the fixed bar i. The lever b²
of the tension plate can be raised or lowered so as to lengthen, or shorten
that arm of the said lever which is connected to the tension plate b. The
centre, on which the lever b turns, is capable of being raised and lowered
on the bar b, by the mechanism represented in the side elevation of the said
parts, Figure 7. By the raising and lowering of the centre 6 a greater or
'less range of motion is given to the tension plate b, so as to accommodate the
winder to wind the thread upon spools of different lengths. The motion of
the driving shaft in this winder may be transmitted to the axis of the spool
with a variable speed by means of a band passing over the conical pulleys
represented.
Figure 8 represents another arrangement of our Invention for giving the
reciprocating motion to the tension plate. « is an axis, working in bearings
in the uprights of the winder, to which axis a rotatory motion is transmitted
from the axis b carrying the pulley c through the pinion d on the said axis,
toothed wheel e, pinion f, and toothed wheel g. The said axis a carries a
cylinder or wheel h, on the cylindrical surface of which are zig-zag depressions
or grooves i having the form represented. The bottom of the tension plate k
is pointed, as represented, and its point works in the grooves of the said wheel-h.
By the rotatory motion of the wheel the bottom of the tension plate is made
to traverse the zig-zag grooves in the wheel h, and thereby communicate a
nearly uniform backward and forward sliding motion to the tension plate k.
The tension plate is in this arrangement constructed somewhat differently
from that last described. In this case both the tension plate k and its bottom
end slide respectively on the fixed bars m, n, and the lever p is connected to
the bottom end 7 and tension plate k by slotted joints. The lever p turns on
the fixed centre p*. By raising or lowering the upper pin p in its slot a
greater or less range of motion may be given to the tension plate k as may be
required. The axis of the pulley c carries a series of toothed speed wheels q,
so that by gearing the toothed wheel r on the axis s for driving the spool with
one or other of the speed wheels q a different speed may be given to the spool

page_text: compared with that given to the tension plate. The two centres between
which the spool is held are capable of rising and falling in the framing of the
winder.
Figure 9 represents in front elevation an arrangement of our Invention in
which the reciprocating motion is given to the tension plate by means of a
screw. is the screw, working in bearings in the framing of the winder; bis
the tension plate, having at its bottom a screw box c. The rotatory motion
of the screw box c is prevented by the tension plate sliding on the guide rod d;
e is the worm wheel, to which motion is given by the worm f on the driving
shaft, one half of the circumference of the said worm wheel being provided
with crown teeth g. the other half being plain, as represented. The screw a
is parallel to the face of the worm wheel e, and its end carries two pinions h, i,
(or one long pinion may be employed) the teeth of which pinions alternately
gear with the teeth of the crown wheel g. On the rotation of the worm
wheel e the teeth of the crown wheel g are made at each semi-revolution to
engage with one or other of the pinions h, i, situated on opposite sides of the
centre of the said crown wheel, and thus give rotation in opposite directions to
the screw a at each half rotation of the worm wheel c, that is to say, when
the crown wheel 9 occupies the position represented, and the worm wheel e
is rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow, the motion of the screw a
is about being reversed by the engagement of the crown wheel with the
pinion h. On the said crown wheel making a semi-rotation, it is engaged with
the pinion i, and disengaged from the pinion h; a motion in an opposite
direction is thereby given to the screw a. By the rotatory motion of the
screw a in opposite directions the screw box c is carried backwards and forwards
upon the screw a, and communicates an uniform reciprocating motion to the
tension plate b. By means of an intermediate toothed wheel either pair
of the toothed wheels on the spool axis and driving axis may be geared
together, and the relative speed of the spool and tension plate thereby
changed.
Figure 10 represents another arrangement of our Invention in which the
reciprocating motion is given to the tension plate by means of a screw, one
half of which is right hand and the other half left hand. a is the tension plate,
sliding on the fixed bar b; c is an oscillating lever, turning on a centre c² at
the bottom of the tension plate a; the free ends of the oscillating levere carry
clips or half screw boxes c, c', which half screw boxes are made to engage
alternately with the right and left handed portions of the screw d, so as to
change the direction of the motion of the tension plate a at the required times
in the following manner:-e is a connecting rod passing from the oscillating

page_text: lever to the sliding plate, the free and bent end of the said rod e moving
backwards and forwards in the slot in the said plate / during the motion of the
tension plate a. The plate is capable of rising and falling in its frame, being
guided in its motion by the pins and slots represented. Below the plate f is a
worm wheel g, receiving motion from a worm h, situated on the end of the
right and left handed screw d. On the face of the said worm wheel g is a
cam i, having nearly a semi-cylindrical figure, which cam on the revolution of
the worm wheel g is made to bear against the point or projection of the
plate f, and raise the said plate in its frame, and cause the lever c to oscillate
on its centre, and thereby engage the screw box with the left-hand portion
of the screw d, and at the same time disengage the opposite screw box c* from
the other portion of the screw d, as represented. The motion of the tension
plate a is thereby changed. When by the rotation of the worm wheel the
cam i is moved from under the point of the sliding plate f, the said plate
falls and the lever c is again made to oscillate on its centre and engage the
screw box with the right-hand portion of the screw d, and lift the screw
box c from the other portion of the screw, and thus reverse the motion of the
tension plater. In this way the screw boxes of the oscillating lever care
made to engage alternately with the right and left hand portions of the screw d,
so as to communicate to the said lever c, and to the tension plate a carried by
it, a uniform reciprocating motion. Motion is transmitted from the driving
axis to the screw d through the toothed wheels t, u. In place of the half
screw boxes c, ct points or two or three teeth or short racks may be carried
by the oscillating lever c, and made to engage with the threads of the screw d.
Instead of changing the direction of the motion of the tension plate by the
arrangement just described, the arrangement represented in Figure 11 may be
adopted. In the said arrangement, Figure 11, in place of an oscillating lever
we employ a saddle piece 1, carrying the tension plate a, the said saddle piece
sliding on the guide bar b, and the half screw boxes 12, F, instead of being
rigidly connected to a lever are in this case capable of rising and falling in
the saddle piece 1. The said sliding half screw boxes 1, 1, are made alter-
nately to engage with the right and left hand portions of the screw d by means
of a lever or rod m turning on the centre m² of the saddle piece 1. The said
od m passes through the arms of the saddle piece and stems of the half
screw boxes 1, 13, and an oscillating motion is given at the proper times to the
said rod, and consequently to the screw boxes 1, 1, by the end m³ of the rod m
vorking alternately over and under the edge of the fixed plate p. The end m³
of the rod m is bent or turned at right angles to the other part. The shape
of the end m, and the manner in which it slides on the edge of the plate p,

page_text: will be readily understood by an examination of the separate plan of the said
parts in Figure 11. The rod m is pressed upon in opposite directions by the
springs q, r. When the bent end. m³ of the rod m is working on the top edge
of the plate p, the half screw box is engaged with the right hand portion of
the screw d, the spring. being compressed by the motion of the said rod.
When the end of the rod has arrived at the cut away part of the plate p, the
spring a depresses the said. end. By the descent of the rod m it is turned on
its centre m, and the screw box raised from the right-hand portion of the
screw d, and the. half screw.box 12 engaged with the left-hand portion of the
said screw d, the motion of the saddle piece I and that of the tension plate a
is thus reversed. On the tension plate making its reverse motion, the end m³
of the rod m slides under the edge of the fixed plate p, and when the said end m³
has arrived at the end of the plate p, nearest the tension plate e, it is raised
by the pressure of the spring on to the top of the said plate, and the direction
of the motion of the tension plate is thus again changed by the turning of the
rod m upon its joint, in the manner before explained.
Instead of using a right and left handed screw on the same axis separate
screws geared together may be used, and instead of making the right and
left handed threads on different parts of the screw, the said threads may be
made to extend from end to end of the screw, the right and left-handed threads
crossing one another.
The last-described arrangement of our Invention is represented in elevation
in Figure 12. a is the tension plate sliding on the guide bar b; c is the
right and left handed screw, the threads of which cross one another, as repre-
sented. The said screw is made on the axis d, to which motion is given from
the axis driving the spool by the conical frictional gearing e, f, the wheel e
being maintained in gear with the wheel by the spring g. The frame
carrying the axis d and tension plate a is raised and lowered by the screw and
screw box h, i. The bottom of the tension plate a carries a projecting
piece a nearly as broad as the diameter of the screw c, the bottom of the said
piece having a hollow or concave figure. The said piece a of the tension
plate works in the threads of the screw c, as represented. By the rotation of
the screw c the tension plate a is made to travel backwards and forwards
upon the bar b, the piece a of the tension plate changing at the end of each
stroke the thread in which it engages; a nearly uniform reciprocating motion
is thereby given to the tension plate. The piece a is capable of a partial
rotation, but the slot in the bar b prevents any rotatory motion in the said
part a² until it arrives at either end of the said slot. The slot is enlarged at
each end so as to permit a motion of partial rotation in the piece a when it

page_text: arrives at the end of the slot, and has to pass from one thread into the other
thread of the screw.
Figures 13 and 14 represent other arrangements of our Invention, in which
a double rack and a pinion engaging with the said rack are employed for
giving the reciprocating motion to the tension plate.
In the arrangement, Figure 13, a rack a, having teeth on its top and bottom
edges, is carried by the frame b, which frame is connected to the sliding bar c,
to which the tension plate d is fixed. The said rack a is capable of rising
and falling in the frame b, being guided in its motion by pins on the ends and
middle of the rack working in the vertical slots represented; the said rack is
also pressed in opposite directions by the springs e, f, bearing upon the end
pins of the said rack. On the axis of the worm wheel g. which receives
motion from the worm h, is a pinion i which gears with the said rack. By
the rotation of the pinion i it is made alternately to work on the top and
bottom of the double rack i, so as thereby to give a reciprocating motion to
the bar and tension plate d, the rack being raised and lowered alternately
in the frame b by the springs e, f, when the said rack has come to the end
of its stroke, and its opposite edge made to gear with the pinion. The
pinion is kept in gear with the rack by the helical springs represented.
In Figure 14 we use a hollow double rack with which the pinion g gears,
the rising and falling motion of the rack being effected in this arrangement
by a cam on the axis of the toothed wheel m, the said toothed wheel m
receiving motion from the pinion i which gears with the rack h, the said
pinion being of sufficient length to gear both with the rack and toothed
wheel. The double rack is made on an expanded part of the sliding
bar c carrying the tension plate d; the said part c has a plate at its back
provided with, slots, in which slots pins on the upright of the winder work, and
thus guide the rising and falling motion of the said bar. The cam which
gives the rising motion to the rack acts upon a point or projection c on the
bottom edge of the part, as represented. The action of the winder,
Figure 14, is the same as that of the winder represented in Figure 13,
excepting that the sliding bar c carrying the tension plate has a slight rising
and falling motion.
Figure 15 represents another arrangement of our Invention in which a
toothed quadrant or portion of a toothed wheel p is employed to gear alter-
nately with the opposite sides of the double rack k instead of a pinion, as in the
last-described arrangement, in order to ensure the gearing of the quadrant p.
with the upper or lower rack, as the case may be, so as rapidly to reverse the
motion of the tension plate; the axis of the said quadrant carries an arm q,

page_text: of the sliding bar c has on
When by the rotation of the
the bar e has made its complete
having a pin on its inner side, and the frame
its opposite ends inclined projections s, t.
quadrant p on one or other side of the rack
stroke, and the said quadrant is about to gear with the opposite side of the
rack the pin r on the arm q comes against one or other of the inclined pro-
jections s, t, and causes the rack to be pressed quickly into gear with the
quadrant p.
Figure 16 represents another arrangement of our Invention in which the
reciprocating motion is effected by a crank in combination with a cycloidal
cam. a is the tension plate carried by the bar b, the said bar having at its
end a hollow cam c of a cycloidal figure; the said cam c is guided in its sliding
motion by the framing of the winder. Behind the said cam is a toothed
wheel d, having on its face a crank pin e, which pin engages in the hollow of
the cam, and bears against the acting surfaces of the said cam. Motion is
transmitted from the shaft f driving the spool to the toothed wheel d by the
worm g on the axis gearing with the worm wheel h, the axis of the said
worm wheel carrying on its end a pinion i which gears with the said toothed
wheel d. By the revolution of the toothed wheel d the crank pin e on its
face is made to traverse the cycloidal surface of the cam c, and give to the bar b
and tension plate a nearly uniform reciprocating motion. The bar b is
pressed in opposite directions by the coiled springs k, 1; the spring bears
at one end against the bracket n on the upright of the winder and at its other
end against the collar in on the bar b. The other spring 1 bears at one end
against the knuckle of the tension plate and at the other end against the
bracket n. By means of the said springs' k, l, the cam c is maintained against
the crank pin e during the reciprocating motion of the said cam, the spring
acting on the cam when it is moving from right to left and the spring acting.
on the cam when it is moving in the opposite direction.
Figure 17 represents an arrangement of gearing for changing the relative
speed of the spool and the tension plate; this arrangement may be applied to
the several machines described and represented. a is a loose friction wheel sliding
on the axis b, b'. The part b of the spindle is square or angular, and rotates upon
the wheel a; the part of the spindle is cylindrical, and the worm c turns
freely thereon. The worm c gears with the worm wheel d, and communicates
motion thereto; on the end of the worm c is a friction wheel e of the same
size as the wheel a; the said wheel e is fixed to the worm c; f is a face wheel
driven by the pulley g. The friction wheels and e both bear against and
take motion from the face wheel f, the wheel a giving motion to the spool
and the wheel e giving motion through the worm c and worm wheel d to the

page_text: tension plate. The motion communicated to the worm c by the face plate f
has a fixed ratio to the motion of the said face plate, the wheel e being situated
at a fixed distance from the axis on which the said face plate turns; but
the motion communicated to the wheel a which drives the spool may be made
of greater or less velocity compared with that of the face plate f, and the
tension plate, by sliding the wheel a nearer to or further from the axis of
the face plate and fixing it by a set screw at the required position on the
spindle b.
.
The different arrangements described and represented for changing the
relative speeds of the spool and tension plate may be combined with other of
the arrangements for moving the tension plate than those in connection with
which they are described and represented, that is to say, the speed mechanism
represented in one winder may be used in connection with the tension plate
mechanism of another winder instead of that in combination with which it is
represented and described. Fast and loose pulleys may be put on the spool
or driving axis of the several winders for conveniently throwing the mechanism
into and out of gear.
In the several arrangements of our Invention, herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, tension in the thread being wound
on the spool may be produced by means of pressure on the large reel of thread
in addition to that produced by the tension plate.
Instead of applying the several mechanical arrangements described and
represented to effect the motion of the tension plate, the said arrangements
may be made to give a reciprocating longitudinal motion to the spool, the
tension plate in this case being stationary; we prefer, however, to employ the
arrangements of the parts described and represented.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from
the nature of our Invention; but we claim, as our Invention,-
Firstly, constructing the spool and shuttle of sewing machines substantially
in the manner herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, whereby the thread may be wound on the spool without removing
it from the shuttle.
Secondly, the several arrangements or combinations of parts of winders for
sewing machines, herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings, whereby a uniform reciprocating motion is given to the tension
plates or to the spools of the said winders and the thread wound upon the

page_text: spools with great uniformity; also the arrangements or combinations of parts
described and represented for changing the relative speeds of the tension plates
and spools of winders for sewing machines.
In witness whereof, we, the said Henry Willis and George Rice, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Sixteenth day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
HENR WILLIS. (L.S.)
GEORGE RICE: (L.S.)