Improvements in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Aug., 1892-Accepted, 1st Oct., 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
I, NATHANIEL WHEELER of Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States of
America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object improvements in that class of sewing mechanism
wherein a circularly moving loop-taker fixed directly to a shaft engages a loop of
needle thread, and without passing through it casts the said loop about an under-
thread in a wound mass, the said under thread being located within a circle
traversed by the point of the loop taker.
Before proceeding to describe my invention, I will premise by saying that in
machines of the class referred to, as heretofore commonly constructed, the under-
thread has been wound upon a bobbin contained in a bobbin-case, and the latter
when put in place in the cavity at the face of the loop-taker has been controlled as
to the extent of its outward or lateral movement toward and from the face of the
loop-taker by a so-called bobbin-holder, and this bobbin-holder has been considered
an essential requisite.
The loop-taker referred to has taken a thread from an eye-pointed needle, and
has drawn the thread to form a loop and said loop has been cast off the point of the
loop-taker about the bobbin-case containing the under-thread, and the loop taker
during this operation has had to pull sufficiently hard on the thread to enable the
latter to make a path for itself between the bobbin-case and the inner cavity of the
loop-taker, the strain being sufficient to move the bobbin-case radially with relation
to the centre of motion of the loop-taker, and also laterally or away from the face
of the loop-taker; and the outer half of the loop of needle-thread when being cast
about the bobbin case has had to make a path for itself between the bobbin-case
and the inner face of the usual bobbin case holder.
In order that the bobbin-case might be so moved it has been necessary to
make the diameter of the bobbin case sufficiently less than the diameter of the
cavity in the loop taker, to enable the loop of needle-thread to be passed about the
bobbin case and between it and the face of the bobbin-holder and of the loop-taker,
and this space, it will be obvious has had to be sufficient for the coarsest thread
required.
As a result of this looseness, the bobbin-case has had imparted to it a jumping
movement which increases with the speed of the machine and such jumping of the
bobbin-case has acted to pinch and abrade the needle-thread more or less according
to the speed, the jumping manifesting itself audibly and the noise increasing with
the speed.
So also this class of machine has commonly had co-operating with its loop-taker
a loop-check which acts to detain the loop of needle-thread just after the latter has
ween cast off or about the bobbin-case and until the point of the loop-taker engages
a new loop, and after which the loop-taker in the formation of a new loop draws
away from the loop-check the old loop and causes it to enter into the stitch then
being finished by the action of the loop-taker in making a new loop.
The loop-taker referred to has behind its point and extending partially about its
periphery, an overhanging flange or lip which serves the purpose of a cast-off, and
the face of the hook is provided with a substantially circular cavity except where
the said cavity is cut away and opened out at a point between the heel of the
cast-off and the throat of the hook, said cavity constituting what is denominated

page_text: needle clearance and being of sufficient size to leave between the inner face of the
bobbin and the loop-taker a space large enough for the reception of the needle
while the latter is below the cloth plate.
It will be remembered, in that class of machine wherein a circularly moving
shuttle passes entirely through a loop of needle thread, that the shuttle usually
runs in a race requiring oil, but by the use of a loop-taker of the class described in
the organization hereinafter to be specified the presence of oil at or about the
under-thread is entirely obviated.
Seeking to improve the class of machine using a loop taker substantially such
as referred to, and to overcome difficulties heretofore experienced in that class of
machine, I have devised mechanism co-operating with the said loop-taker whereby
the employment of the usual bobbin-holder opposite the face of the loop-taker is
rendered unnecessary, dispensing with the bobbin-holder relieving the thread from
injury, which is frequently the case while the thread is passing between the face of
the bobbin-case and the said holder, for the holder offers in practice very con-
siderable resistance to the thread, the resistance being detrimental to a greater or
less degree in proportion to the speed of the machine and the fineness or quality
of the thread used.
It will readily be understood that it is a great desideratum in a sewing machine
to be able to utilize any thread which the owner can get, and hence I have tried in
my experiments to produce a stitch-forming mechanism of the class referred to which
will not abrade the needle-thread, or in other words I have aimed to so manipulate
the loop of needle thread that it will be subjected to no more, but rather less,
strain and friction than is produced when a thread is carried by a rotating
shuttle.
The point of a loop-taker connected directly to a rotating shaft always travels in
a defined path with relation to the path of movement of the eye-pointed needle,
whereas the point of a circular shuttle will it will be obvious deviate more or less
from the needle line owing to wear between the shuttle and its race such deviation
of the point of the shuttle with relation to the path of the needle resulting not only
in skipping stitches, but in the breaking of needles, such difficulties increasing with
the speed of the machine.
In my improved machine, I employ a bobbin-case or shell located between the
under-thread and the interior flange or lip of the loop-taker, the said bobbin case
or shell being preferably of metal and being restrained from rotation with the
loop-taker.
This bobbin-case or shell is provided at its inner edge with an open notch or
pocket, and this pocket is so located with relation to the path of movement of the
eye-pointed needle and the point of the loop-taker back of its point is so con-
structed, that as the point of the loop-taker engages the needle-thread, it draws
the latter down quickly toward the centre of rotation of the loop-taker and puts
one-half of the said loop into the notch or pocket in the bobbin-case and holds the
bight of the loop within the circle occupied by the bobbin-case and within the
needle clearance.
The half of the loop of needle-thread put into the pocket or notch in the bobbin
case or shell referred to, remains there during the entire operation of expanding
the loop, the other half of the loop during its formation crossing the outer face of
the bobbin-case or shell, and finally being cast off the point of the loop-taker, the
loop taker giving up its loop before its point arrives again at the needle, a take-up
acting quickly to take up the loop and draw it from the point of the loop-taker and
out through said pocket or notch referred to, thus setting the stitch before the point
of the loop-taker again arrives at the needle to draw another loop, the loop thus
once discharged from the loop-taker point never again coming against the said
loop-taker and bobbin-case.
In this way each stitch is made and finished before a loop for a second stitch is
commenced.
I have represented the bobbin case or shell as having an open face for the

page_text: reception of the under-thread, the latter in this present instance of my invention
being wound upon a bobbin mounted upon a post carried by a cross-bar forming
part of the rear side of the bobbin case or shell; and to enable this bobbin-case or
shell to remain in proper position within the circumference of the loop-taker
without the aid of the usual bobbin-holder, I have provided the bobbin-case except
the small portion thereof occupied by the notch or pocket referred to, with a radial
fin which enters an annular groove in the inner wall of the overhanging lip or flange
forming the cast-off portion of the loop-taker.
The machine herein to be described may be run at very high speed without the
employment of oil in connection with its under-stitch-forming devices, and without
subjecting the thread used to any strain or friction whatever except at the instant
of tightening or setting the stitch.
In the construction of the loop-taker a portion of the overhanging flange or lip
referred to is made removable in order that a bobbin-case or shell, in case of
necessity may be removed and a new one supplied.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my invention may be con-
veniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partially broken away, representing a sewing
machine embodying my invention.
Figure 2, is a detail showing the crank at the end of the loop-taker shaft, and
part of the lever having the pin to enter the slot of the crank.
Figure 3 is a partial front end elevation of the machine shown in Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a detail of the finger co-operating with the bobbin-case or shell.
Figure 5 is a partial section on the line a Fig. 3.
Figure 6 is a front or face view of the loop-taker alone, with part of its flange
removed.
Figure 7 is a top or plan view of the loop-taker shown in Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a view of the loop-taker shown in Figure 6, but inverted and with
the entire flange.
Figure 9, is a horizontal section of the hook shown in Figure 8.
Figure 10 represents the detachable portion of the loop shedder or cast-off
flange.
Figures 11 to 15 inclusive show successive positions of the loop-taker and its
co-operating parts.
Figure 16 shows the bobbin-case or shell in front elevation.
Figure 17 a top or plan view of the bobbin-case or shell shown in Figure 16.
Figure 18 is a perspective view of the bobbin case or shell, and
Figure 19 shows the bobbin by itself.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is a bed plate, A' an upright; A an overhanging arm; and A³ the head-
plate or cap attached by screw A¹ and covering the bearings for the needle
bar A, having the eye-pointed needle A6, and the presser-bar A' having the
presser-foot A³
The bed plate is provided with a throat plate suitably slotted for the passage of
the needle and the usual feed points of the feed dog or device B₁ of the four-
motioned variety the same being only partially shown.
The arm A has suitable bearings for the main or needle bar actuating shaft C
having a suitable crank C' which actuates a lever Ca slotted to embrace and slide
over or rock on a fulcrum C2, the lower end of lever C³ having a roller or stud C8,
said stud entering a curved slot 2 in an arm C₁ attached to a shaft C to the
opposite end of which is fixed the loop-taker C having a point 3, a throat 4, a
heel 5, a needle clearance space 6, and a groove 20 within its overhanging flange.
The needle bar shaft has on it a take-up cam D shown by dotted lines Figure 1,
having a suitable peripheral slot D2 in which enters a roller or stud of a take-up
lever D', the said cam actuating the said take-up positively in all directions.
The take-up is extended through a slot 12 in the plate A³.
The needle-thread t, taken from some suitable source as the spool D³, is subjected

page_text: to the action of a tension device 16 and then to a slack thread controller 17, and is
led to the eye of the take-up, and to the eye of the needle.
The bobbin-case or shell a is circular in shape, and at its rear side it has an open
notch or pocket a¹.
This notch or pocket is so located with relation to the path of the needle at the
time when the point of the loop-taker engages the needle thread, and the throat of
the loop-taker back of its point is so shaped, or its angle from its point is such that
as soon as the point 3 engages the needle-thread the throat 4 of the point instan-
taneously puts one-half of the loop into the pocket and within the space
circumscribed by the bobbin-case or shell, carrying said loop in toward the centre
of rotation of the loop-taker, the said half remaining in said pocket while the other
half of the loop in the further rotation of the loop taker is, by the cast-off, flange or
lip 7 passed across the front of the bobbin case or shell as in Figures 12 and 13, the
loop when the point 3 arrives in the position Figure 14 slipping off the point 3 and
being drawn up quickly by the take-up D', the loop of needle thread being during
this operation cast about the under or second thread, the needle thread during the
operation described except at the time of the action of the take-up being
substantially free from any strain or abrasion.
In this present embodiment of my invention I have shown the under or second
thread as wound upon a small disc bobbin c, but this invention is not limited to the
particular shape or construction of the under thread mass as it may be of any usual
or customary shape or character.
I have herein represented the bobbin-case of a form open at its outer end and
provided at its inner end with a bridge a having an outwardly extended post a³
provided with a retaining device shown as a pivoted latch a acted upon by a
spring a, see Figure 5, said latch when turned over substantially parallel to the
bridge serving to keep the bobbin on the said stud.
This construction is of great advantage, for owing to the open front of the
bobbin-case the latter may be kept in the space at the front of the loop-taker and
the bobbin be put into or from the bobbin-case without removing the bobbin-case
as heretofore common in this class of machine.
The bobbin-case or shell is also shown as provided with a radially projecting fin as,
except for the small portion of the bobbin-case occupied by the notch or pocket a¹,
said fin entering the groove 20 in the inner wall of the overhanging flange or lip of
the loop-taker, see Figures 5, 7 and 9.
The loop taker has a portion a' attached thereto by screws 13, 13, said portion a
being omitted from Figures 6 and 7 and shown separately in two views in
Figure 10.
A bobbin-case or shell may be put into position in the loop-taker cavity while
the portion a is removed, and then by putting back the portion a the bobbin-case
or shell will be kept in position against removal, the fit of the fin in the groove of
the loop-taker being a substantially close one, for owing to the fact that the
needle-thread is put in the notch or pocket and there held the said thread is not
compelled to pass between the periphery of the fin a', and the inner wall of the
flange of the loop-taker.
The bobbin-case or shell interposed between the thread mass and the inner wall
of the flange or lip of the loop-taker, is restrained from rotation with the loop taker
because of a projection or horn 14 thereof which is engaged by a notched part 15 of
a finger 16.
The fin of the bobbin-case or shell co-operating with the loop-taker as described
renders the usual bobbin-holder unnecessary.
The needle clearance forms a space for the needle while the point of the loop-
taker is drawing the needle-thread to make and cast a loop thereof about the
under-thread, the said needle clearance and notch or pocket a¹ being in open
communication as the point of the loop-taker engages the loop so that one half of
the said loop put into the pocket while the needle clearance space is opposite the
pocket remains therein until the needle clearance in the further movement of the

page_text: loop taker again comes opposite the said pocket, at
thread is drawn out from the pocket and up to the cloth by the take-up.
The loop-taker shaft is adapted to have imparted to it a variable movement
during the formation and discharge of each loop of needle thread, the accelerated
speed commencing as the point of the loop taker commences to enter and expand the
loop of needle-thread, the fast or accelerated speed continuing until about as the
take-up commences to act.
This accelerated movement is effected as herein shown by the stud 08, of lever C³
working in the curved slot 2 of the arm C of the rock-shaft C³.
This invention is not, however, limited to the exact devices shown by which to
impart a variable motion to the loop-taker as instead I may use any other devices
commonly used in sewing machines for imparting variable movements to a rotating
loop-taker. My invention consisting in providing the rear edge of the bobbin-case
or shell with a notch or pocket, is not limited to the shape of the bobbin-case or
shell, or to the exact shape of the loop-taker, or to the distance about the periphery
of the loop-taker that the cast off flange or lip is extended, and although I consider
the open face of the bobbin-case of very great advantage, yet the bobbin might be
closed at its outer side and still not depart from this invention.
It will be noticed that the throat of the loop-taker starts from the point of the
loop-taker and leads in towards the centre of motion of the loop-taker in a direction
to intersect the needle clearance, and the inclination of the throat is such as to
quickly draw down the loop of needle thread into the pocket a within the circle
defined or circumscribed by the inner end of the bobbin-case or shell, and the
overhanging flange or cast off of the loop-taker is so shaped that in its rotation it
carrics one-half of the loop of needle thread out away from the loop-taker shaft.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
.
1. The circularly moving loop-taker provided with a point having as a con-
tinuation of it an over-hanging cast-off flange or lip, said point having a throat
leading inwardly toward the centre of motion of the said loop-taker, in combination
with a bobbin-case or shell having an open notch or pocket, and containing an under
thread so arranged that the throat of the loop taker acts to pull one part of the loop
of needle thread into the said open notch or pocket as the loop-taker commences to
draw the loop, the said part of the loop put into the said notch or pocket remaining
therein until, and being drawn out therefrom after, the other part of the loop has
been cast about the under thread, substantially as described.
2. A sewing machine containing an eye-pointed thread carrying needle, a loop-
taker provided with a point prolonged by an overhanging flange or lip to serve as a
cast-off and having a throat and a needle clearance space the throat leading into the
said clearance space toward the centre of motion of the loop-taker; a bobbin case
or shell containing an under or second thread, said case having an open notch or
pocket into which one half of the loop of needle thread is extended and held within
the space circumscribed by the loop-taker while the loop of needle thread is
being cast about the under or second thread, and a take-up to draw the said loop
out of said notch or pocket and off from the point of the loop-taker and finish the
stitch before the point of the loop-taker in its continued movement again engages
the loop of needle thread, substantially as described.
3. A sewing machine containing an eye-pointed thread carrying needle, a loop-
taker provided with a point prolonged by an overhanging flange or lip to serve as a
cast-off; a bobbin case or shell containing an under or second thread, said case
having an open notch or pocket into which one-half of the loop of needle thread is
extended and held within the space circumscribed by the loop-taker while the loop
of needle thread is being cast about the under or second thread, a take-up to draw
the said loop off from the point of the loop-taker and out of said notch or pocket to
finish the stitch before the point of the loop-taker in its continued movement again

page_text: engages the loop of needle thread, and devices to rotate said loop-taker at a variable
speed during the formation cf each stitch, substantially as described.
4. The use in a sewing machine having an eye-pointed thread-carrying needle,
and a circularly movable loop-taker provided with a point, of a bobbin-case or shell
having at its rear side an open notch or pocket, and having an open face for the
reception of a mass of under or second thread, substantially as described for the
purpose specified.
5. The use in a sewing machine having an eye-pointed thread-carrying needle,
and a circularly movable loop-taker provided with a point, of a bobbin case or shell
having at its rear side an open notch or pocket and having an open face for the
reception of a mass of under or second thread, and provided with a radial fin to
enter a groove within the overhanging flange constituting the cast-off, substantially
as described for the purpose specified.
6. An eye pointed needle, and a circularly movable loop-taker provided with a
point, a cast-off flange, a throat, and a clearance space, a bobbin-case or shell
having at its rear side an open notch or pocket, and having an open face for the
reception of a mass of under or second thread, and provided with a radial fin to
enter a groove within the overhanging flange constituting the cast-off, and having a
post and locking device, the post receiving about it the under or second thread,
substantially as described and for the purpose specified.
7. A sewing machine containing the following instrumentalitics, viz. :-an eye-
pointed thread carrying needle; a take up, a cam to operate the same; a circularly
moving loop-taker provided with a point, a flange or cast-off in continuation thereof
and grooved internally, a needle clearance space and a throat leading from the
point inwardly toward the centre of motion of the loop-taker and to the needle
clearance space; a bobbin case or shell having an open face for the reception of a
bobbin containing an under or second thread and having a radial fin, and at its inner
end an open notch or pocket into which the point and throat of the loop-taker puts
one-half the loop of needle thread prior to casting said loop about the under or
second thread, said throat holding said loop within the said notch or pocket and
within the space circumscribed by said bobbin case or shell until the take-up takes
the loop of needle thread off the point of the hook; and means to restrain the
rotation of the said bobbin-case or shell with the said loop-taker, substantially as
described for the purpose specified.
Dated this 2nd dow of Au 1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.