IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING STRAW
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Sidney Stevens Turner, of Westborough, in the
County of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, United States of
America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING
STRAW."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Sidney Stevens Turner at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 22nd March 1870, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SIDNEY
STEVENS TURNER, of Westborough, in the County of Worcester, State
of Massachusetts, United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR SEWING STRAW," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant
unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and have made solemn declaration that I am the
true and first Inventor thereof.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Sidney Stevens Turner, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing making a
part of this Specification, of which Figure 1 is a front clevation of my
machine; Figure 2 is a plan of my machine; Figure 3 shows a longi-
tudinal section; Figure 4 shows the needle and hook as they appear
above the stock, the hook about scizing the thread preparatory to
drawing it back through the stock; Figure 5 shews the hook as it
appears after having drawn the thread through the stock, the looper D
about entering the loop thus formed.
The object of my Invention is to produce a machine that will form a
stitch suitable for uniting together plaits of straw in an economical and
durable manner.
I construct my machine as follows:-M, Figures 1 and 3, is the main
shaft, which carries the two face cams Cº, Eº, Figure 3, for operating the
needle and hook, and cam II for operating the feeding device, also the
crank pin D for operating the looper; E³, Figure 1, is the needle, and
is attached to the needle carrier E', which vibrates in the slide E, and is
actuated by the cam E, Figure 3, acting through the arm E³, rocker
shaft E', and arm E³, Figure 3. The hook C³, Figure 1, is attached to
the hook carrier C', which vibrates in the slide C, and is actuated by the
cam C, Figure 3, operating through the arm C³, the hollow rocker
shaft C*, Figure 3, and the arm C³, Figure 1. II³, Figure 3, is a feed
roller to which motion may be communicated by the cam H* actuating
a ratchet H³ to impart an intermittent motion to the gears H³, H', I, or
by any other suitable device. The looper D, Figures 1 and 5, receives a
reciprocating motion from the link D', Figure 1. The link D' is made
to operate by the crank D2, which projects from the end of the main
shaft M. K, Figures 1, 3, and 4, represents a loop opener, its function
being to take effect upon the thread in the needle as soon as the needle
in its upward motion shall have passed through the stock, and thus
remove the thread a little way from the needle to allow the hook C³ to
pass through, as shown in Figure 4. This opener K receives a compound.
motion, namely, it swings around its rocker shaft K', Figures 1 and 3,
which motion is communicated to it through the arm K and cam K*,
Figure 3, and also a motion in the direction of the line of the shaft K',

page_text: that is, away from the needle. This motion is imparted to it by a wedge-
shaped piece K³, Figures 1 and 3, against which the arm K' strikes when
actuated by the cam K. This second motion of the loop opener K
serves to throw out the thread a sufficient distance from the needle to
allow the hook C³ to pass between the thread and the needle, as shewn
in Figure 4. L, Figure 2, is a gauge for guiding the plaits of straw,
and is adjusted by the lever L, and is held in position by the clamp L'.
The spool F, Figure 1, is placed upon a spindle and held there by means
of a spring F and set nuts F³, as shown. F is a disc against which the
end of the spool rests, so that if the disc F is made to revolve the spool
will revolve. F' is a wiper attached to the main shaft M, and so arranged
in connection with the disc F that at cach revolution of the main shaft
the spool will be made to perform a part revolution. Fe, Figure 1, is a
lever swinging about the shaft F, its upper end resting against the
disc Fº, upon which it is made to act as a friction brake. The dotted
lines F, Figure 1, represent a cam attached to the main shaft, and
serving to actuate the brake Fº.
My machine operates as follows:-The two strands or plaits of straw
to be sewed are placed upon the feed and guide in the proper position;
then the needle E³ first advances, carrying the thread up through the
stock, the tension being on the thread. When the needle has passed
through sufficiently far the tension is thrown off and the needle begins
to retreat, thus forming a loop above the stock through which the
hook C³ passes; then the needle retreats while the hook is in the loop,
the tension being on, thus enabling the hook to take the loop. This
stage of the operation is represented in Figure 4. Now both hook and
needle retreat, the tension being off, the hook carrying the loop down
through the stock, as shown in Figure 4, sufficiently far for the looper D
to scize it; it is then released from the hook and held while the stock is
being fed along in such a position that the needle in its second move-
ment, the tension being on, may pass through it. The looper then
releases it, and all the operations are repeated as before.
What I claim as new and of my Invention is,―
1. The combination and arrangement of the needle E³ and hook C³
operating substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination and arrangement of the loop opener K and the
needle E³ operating substantially as described and for the purpose set
forth.

page_text: 3. The combination and arrangement of the wiper F', frictional disc F,
and brake F, operating substantially as described and for the purpose
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Sidney Stevens Turner, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this First day of December,
A.D. 1869.
SIDNEY STEVENS, TURNER. (L.S.)