IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Henry Smith, of Albion Works, Lansdowne
Road, London Fields, in the County of Middlesex, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Henry Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with bis Petition,
on the 20th February 1875.
I, JAMES HENRY SMITII, of Albion Works, Lansdowne Road, London
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to lock stitch sewing machines in which a
shuttle is employed for the under thread, and it consists in improved
construction and arrangements for the presser foot, the take-up of the
needle thread, the shuttle and its carriage, the feed and loop catch, and
an automatic adjustable designer for embroidering, such designer being
applicable for use in chain stitch and other sewing machines.

page_text: For the presser foot I employ a flat blade spring instead of the helical
spring ordinarily used. I fix one end of this spring on a bracket pro-
jecting from the side of the presser guide, and make the other end of
the spring bear in a slot on the top of the presser spindle or on a stud
projecting from its side.
My improved take-up consists of a lever with an eye through which
the thread is passed, which lever is worked by a cam on the revolving
shaft that works the needle. This cam can be set where required on the
shaft, and shaped so as to time the take-up action suitably to the stroke
of the shuttle.
In my improved shuttle I fit a blade lever with a hook projecting
through the upper side of the shuttle. The shuttle thread is passed
through an eye in this hook, and the lever is pressed by a spring so as to
draw the hook towards the front of the shuttle, and to yield backwards
when the strain comes upon the shuttle thread, thus serving to take up
the slack of the said thread. I also mount upon the shuttle carriage a
bell-crank lever, one arm of which usually lies under the shuttle, and
the other arm projects upwards at the back thereof and terminates in a
nose bent over the shuttle. This nose serves to keep the shuttle down
in its carriage and also to retard the passage of the loop of the needle
thread over the shuttle, so that when the machine is employed to work
chain stitch, by suppressing the shuttle thread, the loop formed by the
shuttle is held until the looping hook receives it for the succeding
stroke of the needle through it. This lever has an arm projecting under
the shuttle carriage which can be raised by the finger of the operator so
as to move away the bent end from above the shuttle, and at the same
time to lift the shuttle out of its carriage when it is desired to take out
the shuttle, thus avoiding the use of any separate instrument for that
purpose.
My improved feed is worked by two levers at right angles to each
other, or nearly so, one vertical worked by a crank on the revolving
shaft which works the shuttle, and the other lever horizontal, to which the
former lever is jointed. By means of these levers the feed receives from
the one crank the four-fold motion necessary for advancing the fabric.
The fulcrum of the vertical lever is on a lever that can be moved by hand
along a slot in the vertical lever so as to give the feed more or less
stroke, as may be desired.

page_text: For catching the loop of the needle thread before the shuttle enters it
I provide a hook worked by a cam on the shuttle shaft or otherwise,
which hook is turned so as to enter the bulge formed by the partial
ascent of the needle into which it is immediately followed by the shuttle.
By the use of this hook I am enabled to work the needle without pause
in its up stroke by means of a simple crank, cam, or eccentric.
My automatic adjustable designer for use in embroidering consists of
two springs or arms with points on their under side fixed at a convenient
part of the framing, which points fit into notches or holes at distances
apart in the plate or table of the machine on each side of the presser
foot. The said points may be thrown alternately into or out of gear
with the said notches by means of a levér, screw, or other suitable
means.
When desired to produce circles or parts of circles on the work to be
operated upon, by depressing one of the said points on the springs or
arms upon the work into one of the holes of the plate, the action of the
feed will draw the work round and produce circles upon it, the point
acting as a pivot for the work to turn upon.
When desired both points may be lifted out of the notches and the
work proceeded with straight forward. Attached to the said designer
or other convenient part of the machine an adjustable guide may be
fixed for indicating the distances which it may be desired to traverse
either circular or straight.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Henry Smith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th July 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HENRY SMITH, of Albion Works, Lansdowne Road, London Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Twentieth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said James Henry Smith, Her special

page_text: license that I, the said James Henry Smith, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Henry Smith,
my 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 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," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Henry Smith, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Henry Smith, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say :-
-
This Invention relates to lock stitch sewing machines in which a
shuttle is employed for the under thread, and it consists in improved
construction and arrangements for the presser foot, the take-up of the
needle thread, the shuttle and its carriage, the feed and loop catch, and
an automatic adjustable designer for embroidering, such designer being
applicable for use in chain stitch and other sewing machines.
For the presser foot I employ a flat blade spring instead of the helical
spring ordinarily used. I fix one end of this spring on a bracket pro-
jecting from the side of the presser guide, and make the other end of
the spring bear in a slot on the top of the presser spindle or in a stud
projecting from its side.
My improved take-up consists of a lever with an eye through which
the thread is passed, which lever is worked by a cam on the revolving
shaft that works the needle. This cam can be set where required on
the shaft, and shaped so as to time the take-up action suitable to the
stroke of the shuttle.

page_text: In my improved shuttle I fit a blade lever with a hook projecting
through the upper side of the shuttle. The shuttle thread is passed
through an eye in this hook, and the lever is pressed by a spring so as
to draw the hook towards the front of the shuttle, and to yield back-
wards when the strain comes upon the shuttle thread, thus serving to
take up the slack of the said thread. I also mount upon the shuttle
carriage a bell-crank lever, one arm of which usually lies under the
shuttle, and the other arm projects upwards at the back thereof and
terminates in a nose bent over the shuttle. This nose serves to keep
the shuttle down in its carriage and also to retard the passage of the
loop of the needle thread of the shuttle, so that when the machine is
employed to work chain stitch, by suppressing the shuttle thread the
loop formed by the shuttle is held until the looping hook receives it for
the succeeding stroke of the needle through it. This lever has an arm
projecting under the shuttle carriage which can be raised by the finger
of the operator so as to move away the bent end from above the shuttle,
and at the same time to lift the shuttle out of its carriage when it is
desired to take out the shuttle, thus avoiding the use of any separato
instrument for that purpose.
'
My improved feed is worked by two levers at right angles to each
other, or nearly so, one vertical, worked by a crank on the revolving
shaft which works the shuttle, and the other lever horizontal, to which tho
former lever is jointed. By means of these levers the feed receives from
the one crank the four-fold motion necessary for advancing the fabric.
The fulcrum of the vertical lever is on a lever that can be moved by
hand along a slot in the vertical lever so as to give the feed more or less
stroke, as may be desired.
For catching the loop of the needle thread before the shuttle enters it
I provide a hook worked by a cam on the shuttle shaft or otherwise,
which hook is timed so as to enter the bulge formed by the partial
ascent of the needle, into which it is immediately followed by the
shuttle. By the use of this hook I am enabled to work the needle
without pause in its up stroke by means of a simple crank, cam, or
eccentric.
My automatic adjustable designer for use in embroidering consists of
two springs or arms with points on their under side fixed at a convenient
part of the framing, which points fit into notches or holes at distances

page_text: apart in the plate or table of the machine on each side of the presser
foot. The said points may be thrown alternately into or out of gear
with the said notches by means of a lever, screw, or other suitable
means.
When desired to produce circles or parts of circles on the work to be
operated upon, by depressing one of the said points on the springs or
arms upon the work into one of the holes of the plate the action of the
feed will draw the work round and produce circles upon it, the point
acting as a pivot for the work to turn upon.
When desired both points may be lifted out of the notches and the
work proceeded with straight forward. Attached to the said designer or
other convenient part of the machine an adjustable guide may be fixed
for indicating the distances which it may be desired to traverse either
circular or straight.
On the accompanying Drawings are shewn my before described im-
provements in sewing machines; the other parts of the machine are
omitted for the sake of clearness as they are of well known construction.
Fig. 1 shews a back view, and Fig. 2 shews a side view of the presser
foot with my improved spring arrangement applied thereto. A is a flat
bladed spring, one end of which is fixed to the bracket B formed on the
presser guide C, the other end bears in a slot c formed on the head of
the presser spindle E for the purpose of keeping the presser steady and
in its place. In an intermediate position there is a set screw D for
adjusting the pressure of the spring. A stud d projects from the side of
the presser spindle, against which stud a cam or eccentric F is caused to
be moved by the operator when the presser foot is desired to be raised
from off the needle plate.
In Figs. 1 and 2 is also shown my improved take-up arrangement.
G is the take-up lever having an eye fat its upper end through which
the thread is passed on its way from the spool to the needle. The lower
end of this lever works in a socket H formed on the needle slide frame,
and carries at its outer end a lever or finger I which is actuated by an
adjustable cam J on the revolving needle shaft, which cam can be set on
the shaft so as to give at the proper moment the necessary rocking

page_text: motion to the take-up lever for the purpose of regulating the "slack'
of the needle thread.
"
Fig. 3 shews a front view; Fig. 4, an end view; and Fig. 5, a plan of
my improved shuttle arrangement. J¹ is the shuttle and K is the spring
blade lever working therein with its eye hook k projecting through a
slot in the upper part of the shuttle. This spring in its normal position
lies with its eye hook towards the working face of the shuttle (as shewn
in Fig. 5), but when the strain comes upon the shuttle thread the eye
hook is caused to recede in the slot and thus takes up the slack of the
shuttle thread.
Fig. 6 shews a back view; and Fig. 7, a side view of my improved
arrangement for holding the shuttle in its carriage, for retarding the
needle thread when chain stitch is required, and for raising the shuttle
from its place when desired. L is a bell-crank lever with arms l and l¹;
one of these arms is bent over the top of the shuttle, and thus
serves to retain the shuttle in its place, and at the same time to retard
the passage of the loop of the needle thread. The other arm / lies
under the shuttle, as shewn, and is for the purpose of raising the same
from its carriage. This is accomplished by sharply raising the end of
the lever, which movement removes the bent arm / away from the top
of the shuttle, and at the same time causes the arm to raise the shuttle
from the carriage without the use of a separate instrument for this
purpose.
Fig. 8 shews a front view of my improved arrangement for imparting
the four-fold motion to the feed. M. is a vertical lever attached at its lower
end to a crank N on the revolving shuttle shaft n. The upper end is
connected to a horizontal lever O, on one end of which is formed the
serrated feed, the other end is slotted and works on a pin fixed to the
framing of the machine, as shewn. The vertical lever M is slotted for
the purpose of adjusting its fulcrum o which is on a lever O', which can
be moved by hand along the slot so as to give the feed more or
less
stroke, as desired. It will therefore be seen that by the revolution of
the crank N the necessary four-fold motion is imparted to the feed.
In Fig. 8 is also shewn the arrangement for catching the loop of the
needle thread before the shuttle enters it. P is the hook lever jointed
to two levers p and p³, and p' is the tail which is actuated by means of
a cam Q on the revolving shuttle shaft n. This cam is set so that the

page_text: hook is caused to enter the loop of the needle thread at the required
moment, and thus enables the needle to be worked without a pause in
its up stroke by means of a simple crank, cam, or eccentric.
Fig. 9 shews a front view; and Fig. 10, a plan of one form of my
automatic adjustable designer for use in embroidering, which is shewn t
attached to the presser bar of the machine. R, R, are two arms, at
cach end of which are two points r, r, which points are capable of sliding
along the arms so as to vary the radius of the circle desired to be pro-
duced;
the arms are connected to a rocking socket S; thereby the points
can be alternately brought down into the notches T formed in the cloth:
plate of the machine (as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9). In some cases
these notches may be dispensed with, the point being sufficient to hold
the work down on the plate. By this arrangement it will be seen that
by depressing one of these points the action of the feed in drawing the
work round while the machine is at work will produce circles on it, the
point acting as a pivot for the work to turn upon.
It will be readily understood that various arrangements of this
designer may be employed for this purpose; for instance, the points
may be mounted on springs which will answer the same purpose as the
rocking socket.
In Figs. 9 and 10 is also shewn the adjustable guide for indicating the
distances desired to be traversed. U is a bar bent at one end ", sliding
in a socket u¹, which when required can be adjusted to any desired
length, the bent end indicating the distances desired to be traversed.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise constructions shewn, as the same may
be variously modified without departing from the essential features of
my Invention; but what I claim is,―
First. The use of a flat blade spring for giving the necessary pressure
and keeping steady the presser foot of sewing machines, substantially as
herein described.
Second. The before described improved take-up of the needle thread,
substantially as herein described and shewn on the Drawings.
Third. The before described improved shuttle arrangement for taking
up the slack of the shuttle thread, substantially as herein described and
shown on the Drawings.

page_text: Fourth. The method of employing a bell-crank lever L, one arm of
which, 7, serves to keep the shuttle in its carriage, and also to retard the
passage of the loop of the needle thread over the shuttle, substantially
as and for the purpose herein described.
Fifth. The employment in connection with the above-mentioned bell-
crank lever, of an arm & which on being raised removes the arm / away
from the shuttle, and at the same time raises the arm land lifts the
shuttle from its carriage, substantially as and for the purpose herein.
described and shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the Drawings.
Sixth. The before described improved arrangement for giving the
necessary four-fold motion to the feed, substantially as herein described
and shewn on the Drawings.
Seventh. The before described method of catching the loop of the
needle thread so as to be able to work the machine without pause in the
up stroke of the needle, substantially as herein described.
Eighth. The automatic adjustable designer for use in embroidering,
consisting of two springs or arms with adjustable points on their under
side fixed at a convenient part of the machine on each side of the presser
foot, either of which points will act as a pivot for the work to turn
upon, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein described.
Ninth. In connection with the above designer the use of an adjustable
guide for indicating the distances desired to be traversed, substantially
as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henry Smith, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.