IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES." -A
communication from abroad by Elias Howe, junior, of New York, in the
United States of America.
Sealed the 1st August 1865, and dated the 15th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 15th February 1865.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be
as follows:-
.
This Invention relates to improvements in the details of sewing machines,
the chief objects being to increase the efficiency of such machines, and to
facilitate the manipulation of the work by the attendant.
The first improvement consists in obtaining a positive and equable feeding
motion irrespective of the angle at which the sewing operation may be pro
[Price 8d.]

page_text: ceeding, and thereby ensuring an equality in the length of the stitches made
in sewing curves. The cloth to be sewn has hitherto been held between the
presser foot and the roughened feed plate,a: a point not coincident with that
atwhich the sewing takes place, cousequently the stitches are longer or shorter,
according to the direction in which the arc of a circle is being turned. To
remove this defective action of the ordinary feeding mechanism of sewing
machines the feeding surface is slotted at its centre to allow the needle to pass
through it, and through this slot projects a tubular needle throat fitted to the
side of the shuttle race, but easily removeable therefrom. This tube rises
above the level of the ordinary throat plate, through which the roughened
feed plate plays, so that the work to be sewn is held between the top of the
needle throat and the presser foot, and can be moved around the needle as a
centre, and from this centre, at which the sewing operation takes place, each
feed motion will be of the same determined length, whatever may be the radius
of the curve to be sewn. The feed bar which carries the roughened feed
surface at about the middle of its length is attached to the under side of the
bed of the machine by a fixed pin passing through a slot in the end of the
bar, which attachment admits of the bar receiving a slight traversing motion.
Near its opposite end the feed bar rests upon a cam on the driving shaft,
which in its rotation gives the required rise and fall, and the extreme end is
cranked downwards, and acted upon by a secoud cam on the driving shaft,
from which the feed bar receives its traverse motion, the return motion being
obtained as usual from aspring attached to any convenient part of the machine.
An adjusting screw carried by a lug on the under side of the bed determines
the distance of the return motion of the bar, and consequently the length of
the stitch.
.
As an improvement in needle thread controllers, the following contrivance
is proposed to be employed :-Mounted loosely on a screwed pin projecting
from the needle bar guide box is a V-grooved pulley, to which a tendency is
given by a coiled spring to maintain a normal position. The thread passing
down from the upper end of the needle bar to the eye of the needle is drawn
into the groove and held there while the needle is descending to pierce the
cloth, but on the further descent of the needle the increased strain on the
thread will cause the thread to leave the groove and produce the slack required
to form the loop below the work. On the rise of the needle to tighten the
stitch the thread will be again drawn into and held in the groove of the
pulley.
For the purpose of maintaining a uniform tension on the shuttle thread a
modification of the thread controller above described is adopted. The con

page_text: struction of the shuttle is also changed with the view to facilitate the placing of
the bobbin in the shuttle, of holding it therein securely, and readily releasing
it therefrom. In the face of the fore end of the shuttle a recess is cut for the
reception of a volute spring, on which rests a washer, having a circular hole
large enough to receive the shoulder of a flanged screw whose stem is screwed
into the body of the shuttle. Grooves are cut on the face of the washer, one
to guide the thread from the shuttle bobbin to and around the shoulder of the
flanged screw, and the other to conduct it to the point at which it passes out
of the shuttle. Between the flange of the screw and the washer the thread
may receive the desired amount of friction by simply screwing up the flanged
screw, and thereby compressing the volute spring. The bobbin is held
securely in its place by means of a lever hinged to the bottom side of the
shuttle, so as to lie alongside the bobbin when closed. This lever opens
outwards for the insertion and removal of the bobbin. The free end of this
lever is bent at a right angle, and is of the interior width of the shuttle. A
semicircular notch cut in the end of the lever forms a bearing for the axle of
the bobbin, which is also stepped into a hole in the body of the shuttle.
Through this lever holes may be drilled to guide the thread to the thread
controller.
A further improvement in shuttles consists in making them with a hinged
shell instead of a hinged lever. On one side of a face plate, having the usual
form of a shuttle, are two lugs, which form bearings for the axle of the bobbin.
A small rod having the form of a staple is affixed to the inner side of the face
plate, near one edge thereof, and it is in length nearly equal to that of the
bobbin. Near the opposite edge of the face plate is a spring, attached by a
screw to a fixed stud. This spring passes over one of the bobbin bearings
which serves as a fulcrum. At its extremity is an eye, through which the
thread is passed after being led under the rod or staple before mentioned.
The shell of the shuttle is formed of sheer steel, and it is attached to the face
plate by a hinge, and secured at its fore end to the late by means of a spring
I
latch. The exit of the thread is through a hole in the shell, made near the
fore end, so that the thread passing from the eye of the spring is brought
along its top side before passing out of the shuttle. By this means the spring
can be caused to bear with any required force upon the thread by adjusting
its attaching screw, which will cause the depression of one end and the eleva-
tion of the other, giving different degrees of tension by pressure on the thread
which lies between the spring and the shuttle case.
As an improvement in the means of driving the shuttles of sewing machines
the reciprocating driver is fitted with a rock shaft, which carries a short rock

page_text: lever or catch. One end of this rock lever is made wedge-shaped in cross
section, and takes into the space between the tail piece and rear of the
shuttle. The rear end of this rock lever by pressing a coiled spring on its
rock shaft is caused to bear against the top face of an irregular cut step
formed in the shuttle race. As, therefore, the shuttle driver traverses the
race the rear end of the lever, in meeting an incline on the face of the step
will be raised, and the wedge-shaped end of the finger will be forced down
and take hold of the shuttle, but when the loop is to be passed over the rear
end of the shuttle the wedge-shaped end of the lever is raised by the action of
the coiled spring to allow the loop to slip off the shuttle.
In sewing materials of a sticky or gummy nature they are liable to interfere
with the positive forward movement of the feed. To prevent this interference,
it is proposed instead of the usual presser foot to employ bevilled presser
rollers, either singly or in pairs, mounted on inclined stud axles at the lower
ends of the presser bars. When a pair of presser rollers is used, they are
mounted on presser bars, set one on either side of the needle bar. The
inclination of the rollers is to give room for the needle bar to descend to its
lowest position, and yet allow of the rollers pressing on the small circular
throat plate. These rotary pressers may be used as guides in sewing "lap"
seams.
In place of guiding the round presser bars of sewing machines by a pin
projecting therefrom, and working in a slot cut in the covering plate of the
guide box, it is proposed to make one side of the slot adjustable, so as to
admit of its being "set up "against the pin as the pin wears loose. The lever
for raising and lowering the presser foot or roller is placed near the top of the
presser bar, its head fitting it loosely. A pin projecting from the presser bar
rests on the lever head, formed with two inclines, up one of which the pin
rides when the lever is turned. A notch at the top of the incline receives the
pin when it is desired to retain the presser in an elevated position.
An improved mode of attaching the presser foot to its bar is to turn down
the end of the presser bar to a conical form, so that the binding screw which
attaches the foot to the bar may bear against the cone, and thus draw the
socket of the foot firmly into contact with a shoulder on the end of the presser
bar.
In order to wind the thread upon bobbins by means of the sewing machine
the following contrivance is adopted :-A frame having bearings with an
adjustable centre pin and a revolving spool, between which the bobbins to be
wound are placed, is attached to the outer end of a strong spring that is
secured to the table of the machine.. Through a slot in this spring an

page_text: adjusting milled-headed screw is passed, and screwed into the table.. By
means of this screw the spring may be depressed, and a friction roller on the
spool brought to bear upon the periphery of the fly wheel of the machine,and
receives rotary motion therefrom. The fly wheel is mounted loose on the
driving shatt, and made fast thereto when the sewing mechanism is required
to be driven by a plug or key which slides in a socket cast in the boss of the
fly wheel, and is forced down by a screw into close contact with the shaft.
When the winding of a bobbin is required, the screw is slackened, and the
fly wheel, driven by a strap or otherwise, will revolve on its shaft without
imparting rotary motion thereto. An advantage consequent on this mode of
fixing the fly wheel is, that should the action of the machine be suddenly
arrested by an accident, this attachınent will allow the momentum of the
fly wheel to expend itself between the plug or key and the shaft in friction.
Another improvement in sewing machines relates to the prevention of
irregular sewing and the breakage of needles by reason of the needle bar
wearing loose. In those machines in which the needle bar receives a
reciprocating motion through a rocking lever the improvement is applied as
follows: At the end of the lever is a socket, in which is placed a short rod
which is jointed to the needle bar; a helical spring contained in the socket
forces out this rod and keeps the needle bar up to one side of its slide.
To prevent the point of the shuttle in its traverse motion striking against
the needle, a piece of steel, curved on its top edge, and having a groove
running round its curved edge and down its side, is let into the bed of the
machine, below the shuttle race. The edges of this groove are chamfered off,
and by these chamfered edges the needle is guided in its descent. By the use
of set screws for securing the cams of sewing machines upon their shafts a
burr is formed upon the shaft. To prevent this it is proposed to reduce the
diameter of the shaft at the part where the clamping screw bites, and thus a
burr, if formed, will not prevent the withdrawal of the cam from the shaft, or
interfere with its lateral adjustment.
To ensure the setting of needles in sewing machines being at once accurately
adjusted with respect to the face of the shuttle race, it is proposed to make
the heads of the needles and the socket in the needle bar with a flat side, so
that when a needle has been once properly flattened, it may be attached to its
bar without requiring adjustment.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 15th August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special licence that I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,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," being a communication to me from
abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, 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 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:
This Invention relates to "improvements in the details of sewing machines,
the chief objects being to increase the efficiency of such machines, and to
facilitate the manipulation of the work by the attendant.
:
The first improvement consists in obtaining a positive and equable feeding
motion irrespective of the angle at which the sewing operation may be pro-
ceeding, and thereby ensuring an equality in the length of the stitches made
in sewing curves. Hitherto the bite which the presser foot and the roughened
feed plate have on the cloth to be sewn has been at a part so situate with

page_text: respect to the line of sewing, that when a curve is being turned the stitches
are longer or shorter according to the direction which the curve takes. To
reinove this defective action of the ordinary feeding mechanism of sewing
machines,a support concentric with the needle and surrounded by the feeding
surface, as shown in Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings is adopted.
Fig. 1 shews in transverse sectional elevation so much of a sewing machine as
will serve to explain the relative actions of the feeding surface or plate, the
presser foot, and the vertical needle. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken at
right angles to Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the feed plate. This
plate shewn at a is slotted at its centre to allow the needle 6 to pass through
it,and through this glot projects a tubular needle throat c,formed as shewn at
Figures 4 and with a plate which fits into V-guides in the side of the shuttle
race, and is easily removeable therefrom. This tubular projection rises above
the level of the ordinary throat plate d, through which the roughened feed
plate plays, so that the work to be sewn is held between the top of the tube c
and the presser foot, and it can be moved around the needle as a centre, and
from this centre at which the sewing operation takes place, each feed motion
will be of the same determined length whatever maybethe radius of the curve
to be sewu. The bar a¹ which carries the roughened feed plate slides in a
guide at the under side of the table or bed of the machine, and. it is attached
thereto by a fixed pin passing through a slot in the end of the bar, which
attachment admits of the bar receiving a slight traversing motion. Near its
opposite end the feed bar rests upon a cam d on the driving shaft e,which cam
in its rotation gives the required rise and fall, and the extreme end of the feed
bar is cranked downwards and acted upon by a second cam d¹ on the driving
shaft from which the feed bar receives its traverse motion, the return motion
being obtained as usual from a spring attached to any convenient part of the
machine. An adjusting screw f, carried by the feed bar, guides on the under
side of the bed determines the distance of the return motion of the bar, and
consequently the length of the stitch to be sewn.
The secondimprovementrelates to the construction and operation of thread"
controllers for maintaining a determinate tension on the shuttle thread, and
for putting the proper tension on the needle thread during the descent of the
needle, to keep it clear of the needle point, and then to produce the requisite
slack for forming the loop for the shuttle to enter. I will first describe the
improvement as applied to the needle thread, referring to Figures 1 and 2
above-mentioned, and also to Fig. 5, which shows the needle just piercing
the cloth and the thread about to free itself from the action of the thread
controller:

page_text: The improved needle thread controller is constructed as follows:-Mounted
loosely on a screwed ping, projecting from the needle bar guide box is a
V-grooved pulley h, to which a tendency is given by a coiled spring h¹ to main-
tain a normal position. The thread passing down from the upper end of the
needle bar to the eye of the needle is drawn into the V groove, and held there
while the needle is descending to pierce the cloth as shewn at Fig. 1. The
eye of the needle will then slide on the thread and all danger for the needle to
pierce the thread will be removed, and at the same time there will be slack
between the top of the needle bar and the pulley h. On the further descent
of the needle, as at Fig. 5, the increased strain put on the thread will cause-
the pulley to turn slightly on its axis, and the thread will then leave the
groove and produce the slack required to form the loop below the work, as
shewn at Fig. 2. On the rise of the needle to tighten the stitch after the
shuttle thread has been laid in the loop, the thread will be again drawn
into and held in the groove ofthepulley, thatpulley revolving on its axis under
the drag of the thread in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1. In order,however,
to ensure its remaining stationary, while the eye of the needle is sliding down
the thread it is held in contact with the guide box by means of the screwed
pin g and spring h¹, the pressure of which must however be adjusted to allow
the pulley to yield to the drag of the thread when the needle has reached the
position of Fig. 5. For the purpose of maintaining a uniform tension on the
shuttle thread, a modificationofthethread controllerabove described is adopted
as shewn at Figures 6 and 7, which represent a shuttle fitted with this thread
controller, Fig. 6 being a longitudinal section of the shuttle, and Fig. 7 a face
view of the same.. In these views it will be seen that the construction of the
shuttle is somewhat changed, the object of which change is to facilitate the
placing of the bobbin in the shuttle, of holding it therein securely, and of
readily releasing it therefrom. In the face of the fore end of the shuttle i a
is cut for the reception of a spiral spring k, on which rests a washer /
having a circular hole (see the detached view, Fig. 8) large enough to receive
the shoulder of a flanged screw m (shewn detached at Fig. 9) whose stem is
screwed into the body of the shuttle. Grooves are cut on the face of the
washer, one to guide the thread from the shuttle bobbin n to and around the
shoulder of the flanged screw m, and the other to conduct it to the point at
which it passes out of the shuttle. Between the flange of the screw and the
washer the thread may receive the desired amount of friction by simply
screwing up the flanged screw and thereby compressing the spiral spring.
I will now explain the improvements relating to the construction of shuttles
forming the third head of the Invention. The bobbin n, Figures 6 and 7, is
recess

page_text: held securely in its place by means of a lever o hinged to the bottom side of
the shuttle so as to lie alongside the bobbin when closed; this lever opens
outwards for the insertion and removal of the bobbin as shewn by dots at
Fig. 6. The free end of this lever is bent at a right angle, and is of the
interior width of the shuttle. A semicircular notch cut in the end of the
lever forms a bearing for the axle of the bobbin, which is also stepped into a
hole in the body of the shuttle. Through this lever holes are drilled to guide
the thread to the thread controller.
A further improvement in shuttles consists in making them with a hinged
shell p, as shewn at Fig. 10, instead of a hinged lever. This Figure represents
the shell raised, and exposing the internal arrangement of the shuttle. Fig. 11
shews the shuttle with the shell removed, and Fig. 12 shews the shell
detached, and in plan view; Fig. 13 shews the shuttle with the shell removed
to shew the manner of mounting the full bobbin, and Figures 14 and 15 are
cross sections of the shuttle, Fig. 14 shewing one of the bearings for the
axle of the bobbin, and Fig. 15 the means for putting tension on the thread.
On one side of a face plate q, having the usual form of a shuttle are two
brackets q', which form bearings for the axle of the bobbin. A small rod 1,
having the form of a staple is affixed to the inner side of the face plate q, near
one edge thereof, and it is in length nearly equal to that of the bobbin. Near
the opposite edge of the face plate is a springs, attached by a screw to a
fixed stud; this spring passes over one of the bobbin bearings which serves
as a fulcrum; at its extremity is an eye through which the thread is passed
after being led under the rod or staple before mentioned. The shell of the
shuttle is formed of sheet steel, and it is attached to the face plate by a hinge,
and secured at its fore end to the plate by means of a spring latch 1. The
exit of the thread is through a hole in the shell made about the middle of
its length, so that the thread passing from the eye of the spring is brought
along its top side before passing out of the shuttle; by this means the spring
can be caused to bear with any required force upon the thread by adjusting
its attaching screw, which will cause the depression of one end and the
elevation of the other, giving different degrees of tension by pressure on the
thread which lies between the spring and the shuttle case.
The fourth head of the Invention relates to an improvement in the means
of driving the shuttles of sewing machines, and is illustrated at Figures 16,
17, 18, and 19, the object being to prevent the noise caused by reason of the
shuttle not being held in positive contact with its driver, but driven rather by
the striking actions of the driver. The reciprocating driver v, shewn in plan
view at Fig. 16, and in elevation at Fig. 17, is fitted with a rock shaft v',

page_text: which carries a short rock lever or catch »2; oneend of this rock lever is made
wedge shaped in cross section (see Figures 18) and takes into and is capable of
filling the space between the tail piece and rear of the shuttle. The rear end
of this rock lever by the pressure of a coiled spring on its rock shaft is caused
to bear against the top face of an irregular cut step formed in the shuttle
race; as therefore the shuttle driver traverses the race the rear end of the
lever in meeting an incline on the face of the step will be raised, and the
wedge-shaped end of the finger will be forced down and caused to take hold
of the shuttle as shewn at Fig. 18, but when the loop is to be passed over
the rear end of the shuttle, the wedge-shaped end of the lever is raised by
the action of the coiled spring as shewn at Fig. 19, and it will thus allow the
loop to slip off the shuttle. When this is effected the lever will again be
depressed, and thus it will be in positive contact with the shuttle at both ends
of its course, thereby preventing the noise due to the rattling of the shuttle
in its driver.
The fifth head of the Invention relates to certain improvements in pressers.
In sewing materials of a sticky or gummy nature they are liable to interfere
with the positive forward movement of the feed. To prevent this is one
object of the Invention, which is illustrated in Sheet II. of the Drawings.
Instead of the usual presser foot, bevilled presser rollers, either singly as at a,
Figures 1 and 2, or in pairs as shewn at Fig. 3, are employed, mounted on
inclined stud axles at the lower ends of the presser bars b. When a pair of
presser rollers is used they are mounted on presser bars set one on either side
of the needle bar. The inclination of the rollers is to give room for the
needle bar to descend to its lowest position, and yet allow of the rollers pressing
on the small circular needle throat c before referred to. These rotary pressers
may be used as guides in sewing "lap" seams in leather or other thick
material, the one pressing upon the upper or overlapping piece, and the other
on the under or overlapped piece as shewn at Figure 4. In order to prevent
the round presser bars of sewing machines (which are guided by a pin pro-
jecting therefrom, and working in a slot cut in the covering plate of the guide
box) from turning when the pin wears loose, and thus allowing the presser
foot to move laterally and give the work a tendency to move in a zig-zag
course, one side of the slot is made adjustable so as to admit of its being
"set up" against the pin as the pin wears loose. In Figures 1 and 2 c is the
slot formed in the guide box d, and e is a pin projecting from the round presser
bar into the slot c; this slot is partly formed by a small block f, secured in place
by a screw; when therefore the pin wears it is only necessary to "set up" or
slightly advance the block f, and the side of the slot will be proportioned to

page_text: the pin e.
For raising and lowering the presser foot or roller, a lever g,
formed with a hollow cam shaped head g', is applied to the top of the presser
bar, the hollow head of the lever fitting the presser bar loosely. A pin h
projecting from the presser bar bears on the face of the hollow cam g¹, which
is formed with two inclines, up one of which the pin h rides when the lever
is turned. When the presser is down the steadying pine is at the bottom of
its slot as shewn at Figure 2, and the lever is in the drawn position of
Figure 5, but as the lever is turned to the first dotted position it will draw
the steadying pin to the top of the slot, a further movement of the lever to
the second position, and the pin h will now pass to the position shewn at
Figures 1 and 6. A notch at the top of the incline receives the pin h where
it is retained so long as the presser is required to remain in an elevated
position for the adjustment or removal and replacement of the work. An
improved mode of attaching the presser foot to its bar is shewn at Figure 7
it consists in turning down the end of the presser bar to a conical form, so
that the binding screw which attaches the foot to the bar may bear against
the cone, and thus draw the socket of the foot firmly into contact with a
shoulder on the end of the presser bar.
The sixth head of the Invention relates to an arrangement for winding
the thread upon bobbins by means of the sewing machine; this is shewn in
plan view at Figure 8, and in elevation at Figure 9. A is a strong elastic
spring frame having bearings 1,2, to receive respectively an adjustable centre
pin 3, and a revolving spool 4, between which the bobbin to be wound is
placed; this frame A is secured to the table of the machine; through a slot
in this spring frame an adjusting milled headed screw 5 is passed and screwed
into the table. By means of this screw the spring may be depressed, and a
friction roller 6, mounted on the spool thereby brought to bear upon the
periphery of the fly wheel B of the machine, in order that it may receive
rotary motion therefrom. The fly wheel B is mounted loosely on its driving
shaft for the purpose of driving the bobbin winder without acting on the
sewing mechanism.
The mode however of locking the wheel to its shaft forms the seventh head
of the Invention. The fly wheel is made fast to the shaft c by the means
shewn in the sectional view, Figure 10, whenever the sewing mechanism is
required to be driven. D is a plug or key which slides in a socket E, cast
in the boss of the fly wheel, and takes into an annular recess formed on the
axle C; it is forced down by a screw F into close contact with the shaft; this
-screw F
passes through the rim of the wheel which is tapped to receive it,
and bearing on the end of the plug causes it to lock the fly wheel on its shaft.

page_text: When the winding of a bobbin is required the screw is slackened and the fly
wheel driven by a strap or otherwise will revolve on its shaft without imparting
rotary motion thereto. An advantage consequent on this mode of fixing the
fly wheel is, that should the action of the machine be suddenly arrested by an
accident, this attachment will allow the momentum of the flywheel to expend
itself between the plug or key and the shaft in friction. Another adaptation
of this principle of securing wheels on their shafts is shewn at Figures 11
and 12, which show a novel mode of securing the cams of sewing machines
to their shafts. Hitherto by the use of set screws for securing the cams of
sewing machines upon their shafts, a burr has been formed upon the shaft;
'to prevent this it is proposed to reduce the diameter of the shaft at the part
where the clamping screw bites, and thus a burr if formed will not prevent
the withdrawal of the cam from the shaft or interfere with its lateral
adjustment.
The eighth head of the Invention relates to the prevention of irregular
sewing and the breakage of needles by reason of the needle bar wearing
loose. In those machines in which the needle bar receives a reciprocating
motion through a rocking lever, the improvement is applied as shewn at
Fig. 13. At the end of the lever G is a socket, in which is placed a short
rod H, this rod is jointed to the needle bar I, which slides as usual in the
guide box K. A helical spring contaned in the socket of the lever G,
forces out the rod H, and keeps the needle bar up to one side of the guide
box.
The ninth head of the Invention is designed to prevent the point of the
shuttle in its traverse motion striking against the needle. To this enda guard L
is applied to the shuttle race, this guard is formed of a piece of steel curved on
its top edge as shewn detached at Figures 14, and in position at Figures 13
and 15, and it has a groove running round its curved edge and down its side;
it is let into the bed of the machine below the shuttle race, and with its groove
in a line with the needle. The edges of this groove are chamfered off, and by
these chamfered edges the needle is guided in its descent.
The last improvement relates to a mode whereby the setting of needles in
sewing machines with an accurate adjustment with respect to the face of the
shuttle race will be ensured. To this end the heads of the needles and the
socket in the needle bar are formed with flat contact sides as shewn at
Figure 16, so that when a needle has been once properly flattened it may be
attached to its bar without requiring adjustment.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in
Sewing Machines as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I

page_text: wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent,
I claim,-
First, the arrangement above described for ensuring an uniform length of
stitch in turning curves.
Second, the application of the grooved pulley or its equivalent for giving
the requisite tension and slack to the needle thread as described, and also the
application of the V grooved tension apparatus above described to shuttles of
sewing machines.
Third, the mode of securing the bobbin in the shuttle as described, and also
the construction of hinged shell shuttle as described.
Fourth, the driver for working the shuttle, constructed and operating as
above described.
Fifth, the improvements above described in relation to pressers.
Sixth, the arrangement of parts above described for effecting the winding
of spools and bobbins.
Seventh, the means above described for securing the fly wheels of sewing
machines on their shafts, and of facilitating the removal of cams of such
machines from their shafts.
Eighth, the coupling the needle bar to its rocking lever in the manner and
for the purpose above explained.
Ninth, the application to the shuttle race of the guard for protecting the
vertical needle from the shuttle point as described.
Tenth, fitting needles to their needle bars, in the manner and for the purpose
above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto.
set my hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
30
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (LB.)