AN IMPROVED SEWING MA"
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mecha-
nical Draughtsman, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED SEWING
MA"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 18th January 1853.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE" to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in an arrangement of machinery wherein a
bearded needle is actuated, and made to throw a line of looped stitches
into any fabric that may be required to be stitched. The fabric to be
stitched is hung upon pius projecting from two circular racks which
move in grooves formed in the face of a. circular frame. These racks
are driven by pinions taking into their teeth, and thus the fabric is
passed under the action of the needle, which has a quick reciprocating
motion, similar to that of the needles of stocking frames. Abreast of

page_text: this needle, and carried by the same arm, is a stiletto, which pierces
holes in the fabric to allow of the needle passing freely through the
The needle and the stiletto work through small holes in the
circular framing, the diameter of the one through which the needle
passes being such as to depress the beard in the manner in which the
beards are depressed in stocking frames by the presser bar. The needle
is thereby enabled to pass through the fabric and form a loop at the
back thereof, which loop is made by laying a thread under the beard.
It then passes out-and carries in a second loop, which it lays within the
former loop, and so on,-thus-forming-a-line of-stitches-in-the fabric, the
thread appearing double on one side, and single on the other. The
motion of the needle and the traverse of the fabric alternates, the motion
of the fabric being effected when the needle is drawn in clear of the
fabric, and the stitching action of the needle-takes place when the
fabric is quiescent. These motions are produced by suitable mecha
nical contrivances which may be driven by hand or steam power as
thought desirable..
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 18th July 1853.
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 Eighteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth 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, admi-
nistrators, 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 there-

page_text: after 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. Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE," being a communication from
abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing, under my hand and seal;
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 iminediately 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 performed, 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, as communicated' to me by my foreign corre-
spondent, consists in an arrangement of machinery wherein a bearded
needle is employed for throwing a line of looped stitches into the fabric
that is required to be stitched. The fabric to be operated upon is hung
upon pins projecting from two circular racks, which move in grooves
formed in the face of a circular frame. These racks are driven by
pinions taking into their teeth, and thus the fabric is passed under the
action of the needle, which having a quick reciprocating motion similar
to that of the needles of stocking frames, and being in like inanner
supplied with thread, is passed backwards and forwards through the
fabric, and thereby leaves a chain of loops on the inner face thereof.
Carried by the same arm is a stiletto, which pierces holes in the fabric
to allow of the needle passing freely through the same.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1, represents this improved
construction of sewing nachine in plan view; Fig. 2, is a sectional.
elevation taken in the line 1... 2, of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a side elevation,
with a portion of the framing broken away; and Fig. 4. is a cross
section taken at or near the line 3. 4, of Fig. 1.
The frame of this machine consists of a bed plate a, and a circular

page_text: rini b, b, by which it is surrounded.
In the outer face of this rim two
annular grooves or recesses are formed for the reception of two circular
racks c, c, which are furnished with tenter pins to receive the fabric
to be operated upon, and hold it at tension while it is being carried
forward under the action of the needle. Gearing into the lower rack c
is a pinion d, which is keyed to a shaft c, supported by bearings on the
under side of the bed plate. Rotary motion is communicated to this
pinion by the means to be presently explained, and this motion is
transmitted through a pinion *, (carried by a stud in the frame a.) to
the upper rack c. ff. are standards bolted to the bed plate, and
carrying a shaft g, on which a cam wheel 7, a driving pulley, and a
fly whcel k, are keyed. In contact with one face of this cam wheel
is an anti-friction bowle 7, which is carried by a bell crank lever m, the
fulcrum of which rests in lugs projecting from the under side of the
bed plate. This bowle 7, is allowed to come into contact with the cam
by reason of a slot which is cut in the bed plate immediately below
the can wheel, and it is kept up to its bearing position by means of a
helical spring from a fixed stud in the frame being attached to the
tail of the bell-crank lever. Jointed to the tail end of the lever is a
pawle or click ", which takes into the teeth of a ratchet o, on the
shaft e.
When, therefore, the shaft g, is rotated, and the increasing
diameter of the cam wheel h, is brought to bear upon the bowle 7, the
crank lever which carries the bowle will be rocked, and the pawle
driven forward and made to turn the ratchet o. But as this ratchet o,
is keyed on the same shaft as the pinion d, an axial motion will be
imparted to that pinion, and, through it, the racks c, and c, will
be made to slide in their grooves, and carry forward the fabric under
the action of the needle. The vertical acting face *, of the cam wheel
is formed as shewn in the diagramı Fig. 5, and is intended to give the
forward and backward movement to the needle. To this end a vibra-
ting lever p, which works on a fulerum pin projecting downwards from
the bed plate is furnished at one end with a bowle, (see the detached
view, Fig. 5) which bears against the cam face, and at its other
end it carries a pin, which takes into a saddle piece 7' affixed to the
under side of a rod q, to the outer end of which the bearded needle 1', is

page_text: affixed. This needle rod 2, is secured to the plate a, by guides, which
are bolted thereto, and permit the rod to slide freely upon the bed
plate when motion is communicated to the rod from the cam *,
through the vibrating lever p. The bed plate is slotted immediately
below the needle rod q, (see Fig. 2,) to allow of the projection through
the plate of the saddle piece q', and of a pin ", also -attached to the
rod q, and connected to the central stem of the bed plate by a helical
spring, which ensures the quick return motion of the rod with its
needle. The rim b, is pierced with two small holes, (see the detached
sectional views, Figures 6, and 7,) one of which is to allow of the
passage through the rim of the needle. To permit of the needle pass-
ing freely through the fabric to be stitched the bar is fitted at its outer
end with a stiletto, set abreast of the needle, and at a distance there-
from equal to the length of the stitch to be formed. The second small
hole in the rim is to permit of the free passage to and fro' of this
stiletto. It will now be understood that when the needle is driven
outwards the stiletto will accompany it, and pierce a hole through the
fabric in advance of the operation of the needle, and ready for its
admission at the next outward thrust of the rod 7. Bolted to the
rim b, and adjacent to the needle is a brackets, which carries a guide
piece s, pierced with holes, corresponding to the holes made in the
rim for the passage through of the needle and stiletto. This guide
piece stands a little distance beyond the rim sufficient to allow of the
fabric to be stitched passing freely between the two, and it is intended to
depress the beard of the needle when the needle is making its return
motion, which operation is effected by reason of the small diameter of
the hole through which the needle is passed; the outer end of the hole
is chamfered to permit of the free ingress of the needle. Affixed to one
of the guides of the rod q, is a spring thread carrier t, which receives a
slight up and down motion for the purpose of laying the thread under
the beard of the needle. The upward movement of the thread carrier
takes place as the needle moves inwards, and it is effected by a
bowle w, which is mounted on the needle rod, being brought to bear.
upon a raised piece on the under side of the thread carrier. On the.
recession of this bowle a coiled spring connected at one end of the bed.
plate, and at the other to the thread carrier, draws down the carrier to..

page_text: its lowest position. The thread, is taken from a reel v, and passed
under a binding spring w, to keep it at tension, thence over a fixed
pina, to to the threaded carrier, the extremity of which is provided with
un eye to receive the thread. Having thus pointed out the construction
and use of the several parts of which the improved sewing machine is
composed, I will now proceed to explain their combined operation.
The fabric to be stitched is first stretched upon the tenter pins of the
circular racks c, c, and rotary motion is then communicated by a band
from any first mover to the pulley i, in the direction of the arrow. The
cam h, will now' through the intervention of the vibrating lever p,
drive out the needle bar, and cause the needle to enter and pass
through the hole last pierced by the stiletto. As the cam projection.
passes from under the bowle of the lever p, the spring g³, will draw
back the needle bar, and at the same time cause the bowle u, to lift
the thread carrier, by which action the thread will be laid under the
beard of the needle. The beard of the needle will now, as the needle
retires, be pressed down against its stem by the pressing plate *, and
the thread being thereby secured under the beard will be drawn
through the fabric in the form of a loop. The needle being now
clear of the fabric, the traverse of the racks c, c, (with the fabric
suspended therefrom) for a distance equal to the length of a stitch will
take place. This traverse is effected, as was before explained, through
the agency of the cam h, on the periphery of the cam wheel, the crank
lever m, the click ", the ratchet wheel o, and the pinions d, and .
and by this means sufficient thread is drawn off from the needle to
form the required length of looped stitch. The continued rotation of
the cam will now have brought a second projection on the cam face h*,
into contact with the bowle of the lever p, and the needle will be again
thrust forward through the fabric. On returning, as before explained,
it will draw a loop of thread through the loup last formed, and thus pre-
vent that loop from running down when released from the stem of the
needle. The beard of the needle being depressed by the pressing
plates, the secured loop will be free to slide off the needle, and this
it will do when the needle has arrived at the end of its course. The
traverse motion of the fabric is then continued for a distance equal to
the length of a stitch, and the like operations are successively repeated

page_text: until the completion of a seam. The fabric is then shifted, and the
sewing operation is recommenced. By this means seams composed of
stitches, as shewn at Fig. 8, are produced. This machine may be
driven by hand or power, but when driven by power, as indicated by
the Drawings, the driving pulley should be capable of being thrown
out of action with great facility. For this purpose it may be coll-
venient to make the pulley run loose on its axle, and fit on to a conical
boss on the cam wheel (as shewn at Fig. 4). Then by means of a
crank lever y, (Fig. 1) provided with a handle z, and comected
to a forked lever, which embraces the boss of the pulley, rotatory
motion may be communicated to the cam wheel by pressing the
driving pulley on to its conical boss, or the motion of the machine
may be suspended by throwing the pulley and cam wheel out of
connection with each other. It will be understood that this machine
is constructed to form two stitches for every revolution of the driving
: 1.1.
Having now described the nature and operation of the Invention as
communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, I wish it to be
understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim, first, the general arrangement of parts, as above set forth, cou-
stituting the improved sewing machine. And particularly I claim the
use of the bearded needle, pressing plate, and thread carrier in com-
bination as above explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this Eighteenth day of July,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
thren
0
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.s.)