Improvements in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 26th May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 24th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 1st Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
I, MARK THOMAS DENNE, of 1, Tower Road, Eastbourne, in the County of
Sussex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
7
:
My invention relates to sewing machines and chiefly to that class of such
machines known as lock-stitch fair stitching machines and in which barbed needles
and rotary shuttles are used.
According to my invention I arrange the rotary shuttle of such a machine to"
take the thread directly from the needle whereby I dispense with the usual thread
lifter, and I arrange the shuttle to rotate in a plane at right angles to that in which
the needle moves, the shuttle being arranged above the needle so that the spool
thread will lie in the channel of the sole.
The shuttle itself is formed with a simple hook which enters the loop of the
thread and adjacent to the shuttle I fix a horn or projection adapted to catch the
thread at one side of the loop and hold the same to cause the loop to open:
The needle carrying disc is so operated that it will dip to disengage the needle
from the thread just after the latter is caught by the hook of the shuttle.
The shuttle is preferably driven from a worm on the driving shaft of the machine
engaging with a worm wheel on the spindle operating the shuttle.
I prefer to operate the awl through the medium of a lever actuated by a cam or
or cam groove on the main driving shaft and engaging at its free end in a slot in
the awl carrying disc in such a manner that power will be applied to it with
greatest effect when the greatest amount of work is to be done.
In combination with the shuttle and barbed needle arranged as hereinbefore
described I advantageously employ a thread guide and thread puller of the kind
described in the Specification filed with my application of even date with this
application.
:
1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
I, MARK THOMAS DENNE, of 1; Tower Road, Eastbourne, in the County of
Sussex, Engineer, 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:-
My invention relates to sewing machines and chiefly to that class of such
machines known at lock-stitch fair-stitching machines and in which barbed needles
and rotary discoidal shuttles are used.
According to my invention I arrange the rotary shuttle of such a machine to
take the thread directly from the needle whereby I dispense with the usual
thread-lifter or opener, and I arranged the shuttle to rotate in a plane at right
angles to that in which the needle moves, the shuttle being above the needle
so that when stitching boots the spool thread will lie in the channel of the sole.
The shuttle itself is formed with a simple hook which enters the loop of the
needle thread. The needle carrying disc or segment is so operated that it will
[Price 8dt dàiz Hotdones

page_text: sengage the needle from the thread just after the latter is caught by the
hook of the shuttle.
The shuttle is driven from a worm on the driving-shaft of the machine engaging
with a worm-wheel on the spindle operating the shuttle.
I prefer to operate the awl through the medium of a lever actuated by a cam
or cam-groove on the main driving-shaft and engaging at its free end in a slot
in the awl carrying disc or segment in such a manner that power will be applied to
it with greatest effect when the greatest amount of work is to be done.
In combination with the shuttle and barbed needle arranged as hereinbefore
described I advantageously employ a thread-guide and thread-puller of the kind
described in the Specification filed with my application of even date with this
application.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a fair-stitching sewing machine constructed
according to my invention; and,
Figure 2 is a. plan:
Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Figure 1:
Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4, Figure 3; and,
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of part of the machine, the section being taken
on the line 5-5, Figure 3:
Figures 6 to 29 are views of details hereinafter described; and,
Figures 30 to 37 are views illustrating the operation of the stitch-forming parts
of the machine :
Figures 6 to 14 are drawn to a larger scale than the rest of the figures.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
á indicates so much of the framing of the machine as is necessary in describing
my invention, and 6 is the driving-shaft supported in bearings in the said frame
and carrying the cams and gearing through which the movements are imparted
to the various parts as hereinafter described:
c is the rotary shuttle (which is shewn detached in Figures 6, 7 and 8 which
are respectively an elevation, a plan and a section on the line 8-8, Figure 6)
and is the hook thereof which is somewhat sharp. d is the shuttle-race
which is secured to the upper projecting part of the frame a, the said shuttle-
race being shewn detached in Figures 9 and 10 which are respectively an
elevation and a section on the line 10-10, Figure 9. Motion is imparted to the
shuttle from a disc c carrying a projection designed to engage in the recess
adjacent to the hook of the shuttle, as shewn in Figures 1 and 3, the said disc being
attached to one end of a shaft c³ mounted in bearings in the frame a and carrying
at its other end a worm-wheel c with which spiral or helical teeth cupon the
periphery of a disc c secured to the driving-shaft bare adapted. to engage, the
worm-wheel being designed to revolve twice for each revolution of the disc e
e is the shuttle-spool which is shewn detached in elevation and section in
Figures 11 and 12 respectively, the said spool being mounted upon a pivot or pin e
in a recess in the rotary shuttle, as shewn most clearly in Figure 8; and is a
guide for the shuttle thread, which guide is shewn detached in front and side
elevation in Figures 13 and 14 respectively. This thread-guide also serves to
keep the spool e in the shuttle, the said guide being suspended upon the end of the.
spool-pivot e, as shewn in Figures 6 and 8, the said end of the pivot e¹ being
recessed, as shewn most clearly in Figure 7, and the hole f¹ for receiving the pin
being shaped as shewn in Figure 13, so that the said guide will not be liable
to become detached. At the back of the guide f is a projecting arm f² which
extends between the spool and the inside of the shuttle and is provided with
an eye through which the thread passes as it leaves the spool. From this eye the
thread passes through a hole f and thence over the rib upon the surface of
the plate f, the said rib having arranged in conjunction with it a spring-plate ƒ³

page_text: which serves to prevent the thread from coming off the rib fand also by
pressing more or less upon the thread serves to produce a certain amount of tension
thereon, which tension can be regulated by means of the screw fe. Any other
suitable guide may be employed.
g is the needle carrying disc or segment and 91 is the needle, which latter
has the hook or barb formed upon the opposite side from that on which the shuttle-
hook enters the loop. The said disc y is loosely carried in a boss on the frame a,'
a disc
*being connected to it to keep it in position. 9' is a shaft supported at one
end in the disc g but independent thereof and at the other end moving in a boss on
the frame a The said disc g is operated by a cam-groove g³, formed in one face of
the disc, through the medium of the lever g carrying a roller g³ running in the
groove 9³ and mounted at one end upon a shaft g in the frame a, the other end
being connected to the disc g by a link 98. The said needle segment with its
operating mechanism is shewn detached in Figures 15 and 16 which are respectively
an elevation and a plan of the same.
I arrange in conjunction with the disc g a needle-guide which is shewn detached
in front and edge view in Figures 17 and 18 respectively. This guide is mounted
upon the elongated boss h' of the disc g and is provided with an eye h2 through
which the needle g₁ is passed, as shewn in Figure 3. is a spring which is
attached at one end to the frame a and at the other end to the needle-guide h
through the medium of a link 4, the said spring, as shewn, being arranged to press
downwardly and hold one end of a recess in the needle-guide h in contact with
a pin h upon the needle disc g, as shewn most clearly in Figure 3. With this
arrangement immediately the needle disc is moved by means of the cam-groove g³
the spring acts to retain one end of the recess in contact with the pin
that the relative positions of the thread-guide and of the needle-guide h and needle
do not shift until the said needle-guide comes to lie upon the top of the work, the
said needle-guide then remains stationary, the needle moving independently thereof.
On the return movement of the needle the pin 6 again strikes against the said end
of the recess to lift the needle-guide to its normal position against the pressure
of the spring h³.
so
i is the awl for puncturing the work for the passage of the needle and also for
effecting the feed. This awl is secured to a disc or segment secured on the
shaft g2 and is operated by a cam-groove in a disc secured to the shaft b, the
said cam-groove acting upon a roller on a lever, one end of which lever is
pivotted upon the shaft g whilst the other end engages by means of a pin with a
slot in the segment i¹. The arrangement of the awl and its operating mechanism
is shewn detached in elevation and in plan in Figures 19 and 20 respectively. The
mechanism described by reference to Figures 19 and 20 is only for the purpose of
moving the awl for perforating the work. The mechanism which I employ for
moving the awl to effect the feed of the work is shewn detached in Figures 21, 22
and 23 (which are respectively an elevation, a plan, and a section on the line 23-23
Figure 21) and comprises a disc j having a cam-groove j in its periphery, which
groovej engages with a roller jupon one end of a lever j³ pivotted by a pin j to
the frame of the machine and jointed at its other end to a projecting pin upon a
bar sliding in the frame a. Upon this bar is a fork which embraces the
segment carrying the awl i in such a manner that as the cam-groove j' acts upon
the roller the bar will be caused to slide with its fork j' and thereby move the
disc laterally upon the shaft g. The length of this lateral movement of the awl
carrying segment determines the length of the feed, and in order to make this
length adjustable, the lever 3 is slotted and the pivot is made adjustable in the
slot. For this purpose the lower end or head of the said pivot is adapted to
slide in guides in the frame a, as shewn most clearly in Figure 21 and Figure 23,
and in order to fix the position of the said pivot without at the same time
gripping the lever, a bush is placed around the pivot and a nut and washer
is placed on the upper end of the same, as shewn, so that the tightening of the said
1

page_text: nut causes the head of the lower part of the pivot to be drawn into frictional
contact with its guides.
k
"..k is the welt guide or support upon which the work is placed, the said support
having formed in it a slot for the passage of the awl from the underside and of
the needle from the upper side, and k² is an arm or channel-guide secured to the
-frame a against which the upper side of the work is adapted to press the said guide
entering the channel for the stitches. In order that this welt-guide & may yield
relatively to the channel guide 2, the said guide is secured to a bracket 3
pivotted at upon a stud in the frame a and acted upon by a spring 4 in order to
normally press the guide k towards the guide ² so as to grip the work between
them; as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3. By thus arranging the guide k
relatively to the guide ² it is obvious that the work will be constantly gripped but
not with sufficient force to prevent the same from being moved forward by means of
the awl as hereinbefore described.
I
a
In order that the welt-guide & shall be locked or prevented from yielding during
the time that the needle is passing therethrough and the stitch being formed,
provide for locking the bracket and for this purpose I form upon the said
bracket ratchet-teeth 6 and, upon an arm k pivotted on a pin k in a bracket k*,
I fix a block having ratchet-teeth adapted to engage with the teeth 4. Upon
the periphery of the disc I form a cam-projection designed to act against
roller upon the arm. 12 is a spring which normally tends to move the
bracket so that the teeth upon the block engage with the teeth 6. With
this arrangement it will be understood that when the cain-surface k on the disc
is in contact with the roller k¹ the latter will be moved so as to move the teeth of the
block out of engagement with the teeth k against the pressure of the spring k¹²:
when, however, the roller " of the arm moves into contact with the plain surface
of the disc 3 under the action of the spring 2, its teeth engage with the teeth k³,
thereby locking the bracket k³.
The arrangement of the welt-guide and of the locking mechanism therefor is
shewn detached in Figures 24 and 25 which are elevations at right angles to each
other of this mechanism.
1, Figures 1 and 3, is the thread-guide which I advantageously employ in my
improved machine and which forms part of the subject matter of my application of
even date with this application. This thread-guide is a triangular plate secured to an
arm attached to the bracket k* and arranged in proximity to the path of the
needle below the work-support k as shewn.
.cam.
m is my thread-puller which operates in conjunction with the thread-guide 7 and
which also forms part of the subject matter of the said application of even date.
This thread-puller, with its operating mechanism, is shewn detached in elevation
and plan in Figures 26 and 27 respectively, and consists of an arm having a hooked
end m¹ and secured to a bar m² sliding in bearings m³ in the frame a, as shewn in
Figure 1. The said bar m² has also connected to it an arm m² carrying a roller m³
running in a groove m³ of a cam m7, the said cam being secured to the driving-
shaft b. The said arm m² also carries rollers m*, m* running on the periphery of the
It will be noticed by reference to Figures 26 and 27 that the periphery of
the cam is so shaped as to impart a forward and backward movement to the hook
in addition to the lateral movement imparted thereto by the groove m³. Normally
the hook occupies a position at one side of the path of the needle and its first
movement is laterally in order to cause the hook m¹ to engage with the thread, then
rearwardly to pull the thread into the barb of the needle, then forwardly to slacken
the thread as it is pulled by the needle through the work and then again laterally
to disengage the hook from the thread. In order that the hook may partake of
these different movements, the bar m² to which the puller is attached is adapted to
slide and also partially rotate in its bearings m³ under the action of the cam m².
ms is a spring which serves to keep the rollers m*, m* in contact with the periphery
of the cam m².

page_text: n is the take-up lever which at one end is pivotted upon the shaft g' and at the other
end provided with a pulley n¹ over which the thread passes. This take-up lever nŉ is
operated by a cam n² upon the shaft b, which acts upon a roller n³ upon the lever n.
n is a spring which serves to maintain the roller n³ in contact with the cam n'. In
order that the take up shall be adjustable, the pivot of the roller n³ is made
adjustable in a slot n in the lever n so that by placing the said roller nearer to or
further from the pivotal point of the said lever n the amount of movement imparted
to the end carrying the pulley n¹ may be increased or diminished. This take-up
lever with its operating mechanism is shewn detached in elevation and plan in
Figures 28 and 29 respectively.
o, o are pulleys over which the thread for the needle passes from the reel or
bobbin (not shewn) to the take-up pulley n', the pulley o, around which the thread
makes a complete turu rotating on a stud on the bracket while the pulley o'
rotates on a stud on an extension of the arm . o² is a pulley between the
pulleys o, o for regulating the tension of the said thread, the said pulley o² being
mounted upon a lever p pivotted upon the pin 48 in the bracket * as shewn most.
clearly in Figures 3 and 4. One end of this lever p is notched at p' to receive the
hooked end of a spring p², the other end of which is secured to the framing. By
placing the hook of the said spring p² into one or the other of the notches p¹ nearer
to or farther from the pin ka the spring will act with less or greater force upon the
lever p and thereby correspondingly increase or diminish the pressure of the pulley o*
upon the thread.
In order that the needle thread shall be held against movement except when it is
necesssary to take sufficient thread to form a stitch I arrange for locking the
pulley o around which the thread passes. For this purpose I form on the periphery
of the pulley
o a series of ratchet-teeth 9, 9, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4, and in
conjunction with these ratchet-teeth I arrange a block q' having teeth corresponding.
to the teeth q and adapted when in engagement with the teeth 9 to hold the said
pulley o against rotation. This block q is attached to one end of a lever 92
pivotted upon the shaft of the bracket and having at its other end a roller q
against which a cam-projection 9 upon the disc c and beside the teeth c³, as shewn
in Figures 3 and 15, is designed to operate at the proper time in order to lift the
block q so that its teeth are out of engagement with the teeth q, thereby leaving
the pulley o free to rotate.
The operation of the apparatus herein before described is as follows and will be
best understood by reference to Figures 30 to 37, Figures 30 and 31 being front
and side elevations representing the stitch-forming parts of the mechanism in one
position, Figures 32 and 33 front and side elevations representing the same parts in
another position, and Figures 34, 35, 36 and 37 front elevations representing the
same parts in other positions.
and
Assume the needle to be at the lowest point of its stroke, as shewn in Figures 30
and 31, the thread-puller m now engages with the thread from the last stitch and
pulls it backwards, that is to say, towards the cams and down the inclined edge of
the thread-guide into the V-shaped notch formed at r, by the needle
thread-guide so that the thread lies against the needle and a loop of thread is
formed between where it crosses the barb of the needle and the last stitch, as
shewn in Figures 32 and 33. The needle now moves upwards taking the thread,
and the thread-puller comes forward until it reaches the front, when the loop slips
off, as shewn in Figure 34. The take-up at the same time rises to prevent the
thread running through the barb while the needle is rising to the top of its stroke.
The shuttle c (which is geared to rotate twice to one revolution of the shaft d)
during the movement described above has completed one revolution empty, and is
so timed that just as the needle arrives at the top of its movement, the hook e*
passes within the loop which is pulled up by the needle from the upper surface of
the work, and engages with the front thread thereof, as shewn in Figure 35. When
this is done the needle dips and the hook c* rotating at the same time releases the

page_text: thread from the barb of the needle. The back thread of the loop which comes
direct from the last stitch is caused to pass behind the shuttle while the front thread
is, by the shape of the hook, caused to pass across the front of the shuttle, as
shewn in Figure 36, thus enclosing the spool thread, the loop being carried up the
shuttle passing underneath the driving projection on the disc c¹ behind the
shuttle.
ว
When the thread has passed across the centre of the shuttle the take-up lever
moves down reducing the size of the loop until the opening of the hook has nearly
reached the lowest point of its travel when the take-up lever n draws the thread
down into the work over the spool thread, as shewn in Figure 37, the pulley o
during the entire upward movement of the take-up being unlocked to allow sufficient
thread to form the next stitch to be drawn from the bobbin or ball.
While the above described operations of the shuttle and needle are taking place
the awl is moving upwards into the work until the point has just penetrated it
when it moves to the left (having pierced the work at the distance from the plane
of the needle movement of the length of a stitch) until it is in a line with the
needle. The needle now commences to descend, the awl remaining stationary until
the needle has almost reached it when they both move together through the puncture
until the lower end of the stroke is reached while the shuttle is making its revolution
empty.
During the time the awl is feeding the work the work-support k is unlocked and
is only kept up in position by the spring k; it is again firmly locked immediately
the awl commences to descend and also unlocked to allow the work to be placed in
the machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a sewing machine of the kind hereinbefore described a rotary shuttle
arranged to rotate in a plane at right angles to that in which the needle moves and
to take the thread directly from the needle, substantially as described.
2. In a sewing machine of the kind described, the combination of a circularly
curved barbed or hooked needle having the hook formed upon the opposite side
from that on which the shuttle hook enters the loop, and arranged to dip after the
shuttle hook has passed, with a rotary discoidal shuttle having a sharp hook and
placed across the line of movement of the needle and directly above it in such a
manner as to allow the point of shuttle hook to enter between the two strands of the
loop from the opposite side to the opening of the barb of the needle and immediately
below the point of the needle and to throw the loop over itself, the dip of the needle
after the hook has passed allowing the loop to drop from the barb, thereby dis-
pensing with any device for opening the loop or disengaging the thread from the
needle other than the shuttle hook itself, substantially as described.
3. The combination with a circularly curved hooked needle and a discoidal
shuttle arranged to rotate across the line of movement of the needle twice to one
revolution of the cam shaft of a large worm mounted upon the said shaft and
gearing with a worm-wheel upon the shuttle driving shaft to give motion to the
shuttle, substantially as described.
4. In a sewing machine of the kind hereinbefore described provided with a
semi-rotary needle, a semi-rotary awl and a shuttle rotating in a plane at right
angles to the needle and awl, the combination with the said awl and its carrying
segment of a lever pivotted at one end and at the other end engaging with a slot
in the said segment and operated by a cam, substantially as, and for the purposes,
described.
5. In a sewing machine the combination of a rotary shuttle operated by worm-
gearing, a semi-rotary needle moving in a plane at right angles to the said shuttle
so that the hook of the latter may take the loop directly from the needle, an awl'

page_text: operated as described to pierce the work and also to feed it forward and a yielding
work-support or welt guide, substantially as described.
6. The manufacture and use of the improved machine consisting of the parts
constructed and combined substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings and operating as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Dated this 24th day of February 1893.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.