IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING APPARATUS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Jackson, of No. 17, Vauxhall Grove,
Vauxhall, near Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING APPARATUS."
Sealed the 10th October 1872, and dated the 18th April 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Jackson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th April 1872.
I, CHARLES JACKSON, of No. 17, Vauxhall Grove, Vauxhall, near
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING APPARATUS,"
to be as follows :—
The object of the Invention is to obtain a secure or lock stitch by the
thread employed being caused to form loops in the fabric; ând after the
formation of each loop returning to pass bodily through-each, loop as
formed.

page_text: Heretofore when working with a single thread in sewing machines the
thread employed, after being passed through a previously formed loop,
is there held for a time in a looped form whilst its needle returns to
take its thread and form a fresh loop in that just produced, and so on,
each succeeding loop being held by another loop, hence by cutting and i
drawing upon any portion of such thread the sewing thread may be
drawn out. But according to my Invention, after each formation of a
loop through the fabric to be united by the thread employed, that thread
is carried bodily through such loop without returning back again for the
formation of a fresh loop.
]
For this purpose the needle or instrument employed as the means of
conducting the thread through or piercing the fabric, to form loops
therein, is affixed to or forms part of the shuttle or other holder for the
thread supplying such needle or instrument. In use, after the needle or
other instrument has been passed into or pierced the fabric and left a 1
loop therein, it retires, and is then passed with its thread entirely
through the loop last formed, and in returning does not pass back again
through the loop. It then enters the fabric and forms another loop,
when having formed such new loop it again with its thread passes
through that loop without passing back through the said loop in :
returning, and so on, each loop being held by the passage through it of
the thread by which the successive loops are formed.
In the formation of plain work or consecutive stitches, the point of the
needle or carrying instrument having passed through the work from one
surface to the other and out again at the surface by which it entered, a
but at a different position thereof, there leaving its loop, which may be
held by a hook or holding instrument whilst such needle or carrying
instrument is withdrawn from the fabric, then to be passed with its
thread bodily through the loop just formed, and so on.
For "
herring bone" work, alternate sideway motion may be given
from one side or row to the other.
For button hole work, the point of the needle or instrument acting as
such having passed through the work to form a loop, that instrument
retires, leaving the loop to be held in position by the hook or holder at
the edge where the needle or instrument acting as such passes with 3
its thread bodily through that loop, and having done so re-enters the

page_text: fabric to form a fresh loop to be passed through, and so on; but the
method of operating to secure the loops by the passage therethrough
bodily of the carrier and its supplying thread may be varied.
•
fabric to form a fresh loop to be passed through, and so on; but the
method of operating to secure the loops by the passage therethrough
bodily of the carrier and its supplying thread may be varied.
By these means a positive locking of the loopings and a most secure
stitching is obtained, adapted to embroidery and a variety of other uses.
:
OFECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Jackson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th October 1872.
•
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
JACKSON, of No. 17, Vauxhall Grove, Vauxhall, near Birmingham, in
the County of Warwick, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Charles Jackson, Her special licence that
I, the said Charles Jackson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Charles Jackson, my executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein 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 APPARATUS,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Jackson,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Scal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
"

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :—
The object of the Invention is to obtain a secure or lock stitch by
the thread employed being caused to form loops in the fabric, and after
the formation of each loop returning to pass bodily through cach loop as i
formed.
Heretofore when working with a single thread in sewing machines the
thread employed, after being passed through a previously formed loop,
is there held for a time in a looped form whilst its needle returns to
take its thread, and thereby form a fresh loop in that just produced, and 1
so on, each succeeding loop being held by another loop, hence by cutting
and drawing upon any portion of such thread the sewing thread may be
drawn out. But according to my Invention, after each formation of a
loop through the fabric to be united by the thread employed, that thread
is carried bodily through such loop without returning back again for the 1
formation of a fresh loop.
For this purpose the needle or instrument employed as the means of
conducting the thread through or piercing the fabric, to form loops
therein, is affixed to or forms part of the shuttle or other holder for the
thread supplying such needle or instrument. In use, after the needle or
other instrument has been passed into or pierced the fabric and left a loop
therein, it retires, and is then passed with its thread entirely through the
loop last formed, and in returning does not pass back again through the
loop. It then enters the fabric and forms another loop, when having
formed such new loop it again with its thread passes through that loop
without passing back through the said loop in returning, and so on, each
loop being held by the passage through it of the thread by which the
successive loops are formed.
In the formation of plain work or consecutive stitches, the point of the
needle or carrying instrument having passed through the work from one
surface to the other, and out again at the surface by which it entered,
but at a different position thereof, there leaves its loop, which may be
held by a hook or holding instrument while such needle or carrying
instrument is withdrawn from the fabric, then to be passed with its
thread bodily through the loop just formed, and so on; but the method
of operating to secure the loops by the passage therethrough bodily of
the carrier and its supplying thread may be varied.

page_text: by these means a positive locking of the loopings and a most, secure
stitching is obtained, adapted to embroidery and a variety of other uses.
But that the Invention may be fully understood I will, by the aid of
the accompanying Drawings, proceed to describe means pursued by me
in carrying the same into effect.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1 and 2 show two opposite side views, Figure 3 an end view,
and Figure 4 a transverse section of apparatus arranged according to my
Invention; Figures 5, 6, and 7 show parts separately. In each of these
views the same letters are employed to indicate corresponding parts
wherever they occur.
1
a, a, is the main frame or bed of the apparatus, and 6 is. an arm or
standard standing up therefrom to support some of the parts. c is
the main or driving shaft, which receives motion by hand acting on a
handle o' applied to the small fly wheel c³ affixed on that axis c, or the
desired motion may be imparted to the shaft or axis c by a strap or band,
operated from a steam engine or other power on a pulley wheel. applied,
to the shaft or axis c. Upon the shaft or axis c is also applied the
pinion c³, the teeth of which take into the teeth of a pinion & applied to
the shaft or axis d. e is the needle which in carrying out my Invention
is applied to the shuttle or holder e', in which is supported the bobbin e
for supplying the needle with the necessary sewing thread. In work
this needle e, with its shuttle or holder, is caused to traverse to and fro
in the channel a' formed in the bed a of the apparatus, and it is operated
by being placed between the horns f and f of the carriage f, which is
capable of traversing to and fro in that channel a', and is operated for
this purpose by a stud ♬ projecting from the under side of it passing
through a slotted opening formed for it in one end of the lever 9. which
is supported to turn on the fixed axis of motion g', and at its other end
carries a truck or bowl g³, which passes into a grooved course ¹ formed
for it in the surface of the cylinder affixed to the shaft or axis d. The
fabric to be sewn is placed on the upper surface a³ of the apparatus, and
so as to pass over the moveable plate a³. In order to facilitate the
passage of the needle with the thread through the fabric, the fabric is
5 depressed or indented into position for that purpose. This depression or
indentation is effected by means of what I call an "indentor" i, which

page_text: is formed with a slit or opening in it, so that whilst its lower edge may
act to indent the fabric to the extent desired, the needle may pass freely
through the opening, and that opening will admit of the plate i freely
leaving the fabric without interfering with the needle or its thread. The
"indentor" i is operated for the desired downward or indenting movements 5
by means of the cam or tappet » (indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1)
affixed on the shaft or axis c, by the tappet acting on one end of the
lever, which moves in the hollow standard b, where it is supported to
turn on the axis i, whilst its other end is received into a recess formed
for it in the sliding plate, to the lower end of which the plate i is 1
affixed. The outer edge of this plate it is V formed, and it is borne upon
by a corresponding recess formed in a projection from the inner side of
the adjustable plate, and the pressure exerted by this plate 1* is
adjustable by means of the set screws 7, 7. The plate is acted upon
with a tendency at all times to draw it upwards, and thereby lift the 1
plate by an internal spiral spring .
In working according to my Invention, after the needle e has passed
nearly through the fabric, that is from its point to near its junction with
the shuttle holder, so as to carry the sewing thread considerably beyond
the loop produced in the fabric by the action thereon of the instrument i, 2
the needle partly retires, so as to cause that portion of thread passed
through the loop of fabric and between it and the eye near the point of
the needle to hang loose, and this loose part is then taken by the end of
the pointer j and drawn downwards so as to form an enlarged loop
adapted for the passage of the shuttle or holder e¹ through it. The 2
needle e then retires back through the fabric, the instrument i and the
portion of fabric depressed by that instrument rise out of the way, and
the needle e, together with its shuttle or holder e', passes entirely
through the loop drawn out by the pointer j, and that thread is thereby
drawn off that pointer. In the continued movement of the apparatus 3
the shuttle is again taken back to a position for the re-entering of the
needle through a fresh loop or depression in the fabric, and so on.
The pointer; is affixed to a small cross shaft ♬, which is supported to
turn in bearings formed for it in the bed plate or frame a, and upon it is
also affixed the arm *, which by an adjustable stud is connected to one 3
end of the arın³, the other end of which forms part of the strap j* of
an cocentric ♬ affixed to the shaft or axis j", and this shaft or axis j® is

page_text: supported so as to be capable of turning in bearings formed for it in or
applied to the bed or frame o, whilst motion is given to this shaft jª by
the teeth of a bevilled pinion ♬ affixed thereon being taken into.by the
teeth of another bevilled pinion affixed on the cross shaft, which is
supported so as to revolve freely in bearings 7", and at its other end
carries another bevilled pinion j", the teeth of which take into the teeth
of a bevilled pinion" carried by the shaft or axis d.
³
The work to be sewn is moved forwards on the surfaces a³, a', by
means of a foot ķ, which is supported so as to turn by the pin joint k³ on,
the lower end of the sliding lever ³, which has a compound motion
imparted to it in the following manner:-The sliding lever is capable
of movement in the groove formed by the stationary part 6 of the hollow.
arm 6 and the adjustable plate 6º, which is adjusted by the set screws b³. -
The upper end of this sliding lever k³ is connected by the link to the
lever, and it is borne downwards with a tendency to cause the foot &.
to bear on the fabric to be sewn by means of the spring . The lever k
turns on the fixed stud kº, and at its other end is acted upon by the cam
or tappet ³ affixed on the shaft or axis c.
For the progressive or feeding movement of the foot / the sliding"
lever is acted upon to move it in one direction by the lower end of
the spring k³, whilst movement in the opposite direction is obtained to it
by the action of the lower crooked end of the arm / acting on the sliding
lever A.
The arm is formed on or applied to the axis A, which is supported to
turn in fixed bearings & projecting from the arm b, and has formed on
or applied to it another arm l, which is rigid, and to that arm is also
applied the elastic arm P, which carries the truck or bowl to run on
the inclined angular cam surface of the wheel P, and in order that the
extent of motion effected to the foot & by the cam surface of the wheel /
may be varied, the end of the rigid arm is formed to receive the screw-
adjusting pin, the inner end of which bears upon the elastic arm P, as
shewn.
:
After the fabric has been sewn through, in forming a stitch it is
desirable to assist it in rising out of the recess into which it has been
carried by the instrument i, and also in order that another portion of
fabric may be similarly acted upon by the instrument i for the formation

page_text: of a fresh stitch. This action I effect by means of the two spring
arms m, m, the lower ends of which are curved on their under sides, so
that when they are borne downwards they may have a tendency to
separate at those portions, and they are also roughened at those lower
sides or surfaces in order that in thus separating they may the better act
upon with a tendency to distend the fabric. The upper end of the
springs m, m, are affixed to the socket m³, which is applied with capa-
bility of adjustment by the screw m³ on the pin m³, and this pin m³ is
formed as an arm connected by a set screw m² to a neck formed on the
lower end of the sliding plate m³, which is capable of sliding vertically 1
between adjustable bearings mo, ma, formed for it as shewn, and it is
operated for the required movement by means of the lever m², one end of
which by its slotted opening embraces the collar on the stud m³, pro-
jecting from the plate m³, whilst this lover is supported to turn on the
fixed stud i', and at the other end it carries a truck or roller m, which is 1
received into and actuated by the curved groove formed in the side
surface of the cam or tappet m™0.

page_text: and held as before during withdrawal of that needle and the passage
it and the thread holder through that new loop, and so on.
•
of
Having thus described my Invention and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details of parts and means of operating
them, as shewn and described, as the same may be varied without
departing from the peculiar character of the Invention; but what I do
claim is, the arranging or combining apparatus used in sewing, whereby.
a secure or lock stitch in the fabric or material sewn is obtained by the
use of a needle affixed to its shuttle or holder carrying its thread bodily
through loops formed on such thread, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Jackson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixthteenth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.