IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Greenwood Engineer and Socrates Keats,
Machinist both of Leeds in the County of York for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Greenwood and
Socrates Keats at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
27th December 1883.
ARTHUR GREENWOOD Engineer and SOCRATES KEATS, Machinist, both of Leeds
in the County of York
16 IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES,"
This invention relates chiefly to that class of Sewing Machines in which two
waxed threads are used to produce a stitch suitable for Welt sewing.
The invention applies more particularly to a machine for which a patent was
granted to Arthur Greenwood and John William Ramsden dated 3rd June 1882
No 2617, and is intended mainly to supersede the use of what is known as the
looper. The feed of the work is effected by the hooked needle, the needle bar
receiving for this purpose an oscillating motion in addition to its vertical motion.
The feed action of the needle is however assisted by means of a reciprocating bar,
which is beld down to the work by a spring presser, and which in the case of
sewing welted Boots and Shoes acts as a guide for presenting the welt to the work
on the last.
Supposing it is desired to sew together the insole, the upper, and the welt, we
use a stationary sewing plate of a peculiar construction, which serves, like a looper,
to present the needle thread to the hooked needle preparatory to its rising through
the work to form a stitch.-This sewing plate is suitably shaped at its front end to
form a guide for the work, its end underlying or abutting against the turned up lip
or flange of the insole to which the upper and the welt are to be sewn.
This
forward end of the plate is rebated, and the rebate is formed into two recesses by a
slight horizontal projection or swell of the metal, for the purpose to be presently
explained. This divided rebate is intended to receive the needle in its two
positions of oscillation, while the projection which forms the two recesses
constitutes a support for the thread, and insures its lying in the path of the hook
I Price 1071

page_text: of the needle during its ascent.-In the underside of the sewing plate, externally of
the recess into which the needle plunges to enter the work, a diagonal hole is
drilled which opens into the recess. The needle thread, drawn from a bobbin
below the machine, enters this hole, and passing upwards, is laid across the swell
or support to the second recess, over which it is held by the attendant when first
starting the machine. The needle descending into the work through the hole just
pierced by the awl or pricker (which operates in the well known manner) is moved
forward to the second recess, springing in its way past the projection or swell before
mentioned, and carrying with it the work the length of a stitch. The needle then
rises, and its hook coming under the overlying thread, will be drawn up by the
hook through the work, and formed into a loop to receive the locking thread from
the overlying shuttle or spool case. The welt, led down through a guide attached
to the stem of the presser, passes under a peculiarly shaped reciprocating guide,
which underlies the presser, and transmits to the work the pressure from that
instrument. This welt guide forms the termination of an arm which is pivotted
on the pin that carries the awl or pricker lever, such pin being mounted in a post
that is capable of receiving an axial motion. The pricker lever, as is not unusual,
receives both an up and down, and a to and fro horizontal motion from cams
provided for the purpose. This horizontal motion occurs when the pricker is clear
of the work, and it serves merely to actuate, through its fulcrum pin, the welt
guide carried by the arm which is loose upon the fulcrum pin of the lever. A cut
is made horizontally through the guide for the passage of the welt, the under face
of the guide being cut away to expose as little frictional surface as possible to the
welt. The heel of this guide is roughened or serrated to ensure its biting firmly on
the work when held down by the presser, and being moved forward at the time
that the needle makes its lateral advance, it will assist in feeding forward the work.
The presser is locked to prevent the work rising under the pull of the ascending
needle, but when unlocked, the welt guide will be free to return to its backward
position.
When a cop case is used such as that described in the specification above referred
to, we give to the instrument which serves to divide or open out the shuttle thread,
a vertical oscillating as well as an advancing and receding motion. For this
purpose we mount the stem of the divider in a sleeve socket, which is pivotted to
the framing of the machine, and receives a vertically oscillating motion from a cam
shaft. Another cam on this shaft imparts a reciprocating motion to the divider,
and thus the compound motion required for the divider is produced. This divider,
it should be stated, besides opening the loop of the shuttle thread by its point
being thrust into the loop, receives also the loop from the hooked needle, and draws
it back over the cop case, releasing it when the loop has reached a position in
which it may be drawn tight by the well known stitch tightening apparatus. It is
therefore to enable the divider to perform this duty that it is now proposed to
mount it in an oscillating sleeve or guide.
It may be remarked that when pump or turn shoe sewing is required, the welt
guide will not be furnished with a welt, but will act merely in holding down and
feeding the work.
It should also be stated that the sewing plate may be used with advantage in
machines in which a hooked needle is used to produce chain stitches.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Arthur Greenwood and Socrates Keats in the Patent Office on the
27th June 1884.
ARTHUR GREENWOOD Engineer and SOCRATES KEATS Machinist both of Leeds in
the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES"
This Invention relates chiefly to that class of Sewing machines in which two
waxed threads are used to produce a stitch suitable for welt sewing.
The invention applies more particularly to a machine for which a Patent was
granted to one of us in conjunction with John William Ramsden dated 3rd June 1882
N° 2617 and is intended mainly to supersede the use of what is known as the
reciprocating looper.-The feed of the work is in this instance effected by the
booked needle the needle bar receiving for this purpose an oscillating motion in
addition to its vertical motion.-The feed action of the needle is however assisted
by means of a reciprocating bar which is held down to the work by a spring
presser and which in the case of sewing welted boots and shoes acts as a guide for
presenting the welt to the work on the last.
We use a stationary sewing plate of a peculiar construction which besides acting
as a guide and support for the lasted work serves the purpose of a looper, viz, to
present the needle thread to the hooked needle preparatory to its rising through
the work to form a stitch. This sewing plate is so shaped at its front end as to
underlie or abut against the turned up lip or flange of the insole to which the
upper and the welt are to be sewn and it is so constructed as to present to the
hooked needle on its ascent through the work, the needle thread after the manner
of a reciprocating looper.
When using the stationary thread case of Greenwood and Ramsden we give to
the instrument which serves to divide or open out the shuttle thread a vertical
oscillating as well as an advancing and receding motion by a peculiar arrangement
of mechanism that will hereafter be particularly described.
In the accompanying drawings the manner of adapting our improvements to a
waxed thread sewing machine arranged for welt sewing is clearly set forth.
Fig 1 Sheet I is a side elevation of the machine
Fig: 2 Sheet II is a front elevation of the same.
Fig 3 Sheet III is a sectional plan taken in the line 1, 2 of Fig: 1 shewing
the means for obtaining the needle feed motion
Fig: 4 is a sectional plan taken on the liue 3. 4 of Fig: 1 shewing means for
obtaining the divider motion.
Fig: 5 is a sectional plan on the line 5, 6 of Fig: 1 shewing the means for
obtaining the welt guide and pricker motions.
Figures 6 Sheet IV shew the sewing plate detached in top plan, inverted plan,
edge and front views
Figures 7 shew the welt guide detached in top plan, inverted plan, and inside
views.
Figures 8 show the device for conducting the prepared strip of leather or welt
to the welt feeding guide in side and sectional views
Fig: 9 shews in section a lasted boot in the position in which it is held by the
workman on the sewing plate when the parts are being stitched together the needle
being shown in the work.
Fig: 10 is a similar view with the welt guide in the position it occupies when
guiding the welt to the upper and insole.
In Sheet V the several cams employed to operate the sewing instruments are
shown as laid out.

page_text: A is the main framing of the machine cast in one piece and serving to carry the
working parts Bolted to this main framing is a bracket casting A¹ carrying the
sewing plate a which forms the support for the work.
On one side of the bracket casting and below the swing plate a works the
pricker b carried by the pricker lever B and the pulley c of the stitch tightening
apparatus C. Fitted to the vertical portion of the framing is the guide box A2 for
receiving the needle bar D which carries a hooked needle d and the presser bar E
which is furnished with a smooth presser foot e
Instead however of the needle bar sliding in a guide formed in the box A³ we fit
it in a pendent guide D pivotted to the slotted face of the box.-This guide we
connect to an arm D2 carried by a vertical rock shaft D³ which has its bearings in
the main framing, a second arm (D) from this rock shaft carries a bowle which is
acted upon by a cam D³ keyed to the vertical cam shaft F and it is by the rotation
of this cam that an oscillating motion is imparted to the guide D¹ and needle bar D
for the purpose of feeding the work. The up and down motion of the hooked
needle is obtained as heretofore by a rock lever De carried by trunnions which
work in bearings at the top of the framing.-The rear end of this lever carries a
bowle in contact with a grooved cam D' keyed on the cam shaft F the rotation of
which imparts the requisite up and down motion to the needle.--Bolted to the
vertical portion of the framing is a forked bracket G which supports the stationary
thread case g for containing the locking thread.-h is the divider which is slotted
to allow the hooked needle d dipping into it and leaving its loop thereon at the
back of the hook on the end of the divider.-This divider as described in the
Specification of the Patent above referred to takes the loop from the hooked needle
and lays it over the thread case.
In order to give to the divider the peculiar movements requisite for transferring
the loop from the hooked needle to the thread case (which case performs the office
of a shuttle) we mount the stem H of the divider in a sleeve socket H' which is
pivotted to the framing of the Machine and extends rearwards towards the cam shaft F
The socket H¹ carries a bowle and receives an oscillating motion in a vertical plane
from a cam H2 keyed on the cam shaft F We also impart a reciprocating motion
to the divider h by connecting it through a rod HS to a bell crank lever H* pivotted
on the framing A and carrying a bowle which is operated on by a cam H³ keyed
to the cam shaft F By this means the compound motion required for the divider
is produced This divider it should be stated opens the loop of the shuttle thread
by its point being thrust into the loop it thus receives the loop from the raised
hooked needle and draws it back over the thread case releasing it when the loop
has reached a position in which it may be drawn tight by the well known stitch
tightening apparatus C operated by the cam C¹ on the cam shaft F.
The presser bar E is locked by means of a rocking bar E¹ the forward end of
which is slotted and passes into the guide box A2 to allow the stem of the presser
to pass up through it This bar is connected by an eye bolt to a short rock lever E²
pivotted to the main framing and carrying a bowle which is acted upon by a
cam E³ keyed to the cam shaft F When by the rotation of this cam the rear end
of the bar is raised its forward end resting in a slot of the guide box as a fulcrum
will grip the presser bar and hold it firmly to the work against the upward pull of
the needle thread Underlying the presser foot e is a reciprocating welt guide i
which assists the needle in feeding the work The construction of this guide is
clearly shewn in the detached views Figures 7 where i' is an underlying finger
forming with the upper part i the guide for the welt which is led down from a
conductor attached to the presser bar E and shewn detached at Figures 8
The
presser foot e bears upon the flat surface * of Figures 7 and holds the welt guide
down upon the work The finger is roughened near its root to enable it to take
a firm hold of the work and when advanced in the direction of the arrow feeds the
work towards the needle and thereby assists the needle which moves the welt guide
to feed the work forward The welt guide is carried by an arm I pivotted to a
vertical post I' which turns in a bearing secured to the main framing The pivot

page_text: pin of this arm also carries a rock lever B to which the pricker bis attached The
rear end of this rock lever is fitted with two bowles which are acted upon by the
cams B1 and B2 on the cam shaft F for the purpose of giving an oscillating motion
in a vertical plane to the pricker and also of imparting an axial motion to the
vertical post 1 through which a reciprocating horizontal feed motion is imparted to
the welt guide.
In the detached views Figures 6 the construction of the sewing plate and fixed
looper a is clearly shown The forward end of the plate it will be seen is rebated
and the rebate is formed into two recesses 1 and 2 by a slight horizontal projection
or swell 3 of the metal This divided rebate is intended to receive the needle & in
its two positions of oscillation while the projection 3 constitutes a support for the
thread and insures its lying in the path of the hook of the needle during its ascent
In the underside of the sewing plate externally of the recess 1 into which the
needle plunges to enter the work a diagonal hole 4 is drilled which opens into the
recess 1
The needle thread drawn from a bobbin below the machine enters this
hole and passing upwards is led across the swell or support 3 to the recess 2 across
which it is held by the attendant when first starting the machine The hooked
needle descending into the work through the hole just pierced by the awl or
pricker b (which operates in the well known manner) is moved forward to the
second recess springing (by reason of its elasticity) in its way past the projection
or swell 3 and carrying with it the work the length of a stitch The needle then
rises and its hook coming under the overlying thread will be drawn up by the
hook through the work and formed into a loop to receive the locking thread from
the overlying thread case g
So soon as the needle has reached its full height the divider will advance and
open the loop the needle will then dip into the slot of the divider and deliver the
loop thereto after which it will rise again and the divider being clear of the needle
will now pull the loop over the thread case as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1
It should be remarked that the thread case g before receiving the loop of the needle
thread is locked in its carrier or support G; this is to prevent its being displaced
by the drag of the loop The locking is effected by a cam G¹ (on the cam shaft F)
acting on a bell crank lever G² to one arm of which a forked rod G³ which embraces
the shuttle is attached. As this forked rod is drawn back by the rocking of the
bell crank lever it will grip the broader part of the thread case and hold it firmly
in position In order however that the loop may escape from over the case the
forked rod is advanced thereby leaving a space between it and the case for the loop
to pass away. This passage of the loop from the case is effected by the drag of
the stitch tightening apparatus C.
It may be remarked that when pump or turn shoe sewing is required the welt
guide will not be furnished with a welt but will act merely in holding down and
feeding the work
From the foregoing description of the sewing plate a it will be readily understood
that it may be used as a looper in chain stitch sewing machines provided with a
hooked feeding needle The feed of the work serving to draw the needle thread
taut and hold it in the proper position for the rising hooked needle to take the
thread for forming a fresh loop.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of 'Improvements in Sewing
Machines" and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect we wish it
to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent we claim.
First The sewing plate constructed as described with a divided recess for
presenting the needle thread to the hook of the laterally moving hooked needle
as the needle rises to pass up from the work whether such sewing plate be used in
connection with a double thread or a single thread sewing machine.
Second In combination with a feeding hook needle and a presser foot the welt
guide constructed as described with a roughened surface and receiving a recipro-
cating motion to and from the needle for the purpose of holding down the work
and assisting the needle in feeding the work.

page_text: Third: The means above described for imparting the required compound motion
to the divider, such means consisting of a pivotted sleeve socket for receiving the
sliding stem of the divider which stem is slidden in its socket by a rocking bell
crank lever connected by a rod to the stem, the sleeve socket being also rocked on
its fulcrum by a cam provided for the purpose.
In witness whereof I the said Arthur Greenwood have hereunto set hand and
seal the 25th day of June in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
eighty four.
ARTHUR GREENWOOD (L.S.)