IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Stuart Guinness, of New York, in the
United States of América, 'for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 4th February 1862, and dated the 28th August 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Stuart Guinness
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th August 1861.
I, WILLIAM STUART GUINNESS,, of New York, in the United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in sewing machines.
In constructing shuttle sewing machines, according to one part of my Inven-
tion, in place of giving motion to the needle, the shuttle, and the mechanism
for moving the material being sewn by cams, as heretofore usual, I give motion
to them by means of cranks or excentrics, a separate cam or excentric being
employed for each of the movements for actuating the needle, the shuttle, and
the mechanism for moving the material being sewn, and the three cams or
excentrics contained are all on one shaft. When using a straight needle in
sewing machines, in place of attaching the needle to the lower end of a slide,
as is now usually the case, I attach the needle to an arm which projects from
a slide capable of moving to and fro in guides, the guides being composed by

page_text: preference of a parallel rod or rods, which pass through a hole or holes in the
slide, by which means the slide, which requires to be lubricated with oil, will
not be above the material being sewn, but will be at a distance from it, and
I attach the needle, or it may be needles, as hereafter. described, to the end of
the arm by forming grooves to receive the upper ends of the needles. In the
end of the arm, and around the end of the arm, a tube is placed; through this
tubo a screw is screwed, and by turning the screw so as to cause its end to
bear against the opposite sido,of, the end of the arm, to that in which the
grooves are formed to receive the needles, the needles may be nipped between
the arm and the tube.
In constructing the shuttle of shuttle sewing machines the nose which is at
one of its ends I form above the centre line of the shuttle, and, by preference,
I form the point near the upper face of the shuttle, and in place of arranging
the machine so that the needle shall descend to such an extent that its eye
passes below the bottom of the shuttle, as is the case in the shuttle. machines
now constructed, I arrange the machine so that the cyo of the needle only
descends a short distance below the point or nose of the shuttle; thus, when
the needle rises the loop of thread thrown out from the needle will be near its
top, and the shuttle being pointed near its'upper face, the point of the shuttle
will enter the loop, and as the shuttle is moved forward it will expand the
loop and pass through it. In order that there may be little or no tension on
the needle thread whilst the shuttlo is expanding the loop, I arrange the
macbino in such manner that the thread as it comes from the reel is led off in
a direction away from the needle, and passes through an eyo formed in an arm
of a lever, and from there it is led to the eye of the needle; the lever may
either be adjusted so that by its own weight it keeps a slight tension on the
thread or the upper part of the lever arm may be bent to a curve, and having
friction applied to it to prevent the lever from moving of itself; in this case
when it is required to allow the thread to be slack, to permit the shuttle to
expand, the loop formed by the needle, an instrument, by preference a pin,.on
the slide which carries the needle is caused to act on another arm of the lever
and to turn the lever on its centre, so as to allow the thread to be slack when
the shuttle has expanded the loop. and has passed through it sufficiently to
allow the loop to be tightened. The lever is brought back to its original
position by preference by means of another pin on the slide which carries the
needle, by which means the slack thread will be taken up, the stitch will be
tightened, and as much thread as was taken up in forming the stitch will be
drawn off from the reel. In order to apply the requisite tension to the needle
thread, the thread, as it comes from the reel is passed between two smooth

page_text: discs; these discs are supported on a pin or rod, and one disc, which is capable
of moving up and down on the rod, is pressed by a spring against the other
disc, and the thread is thus nipped between them. The thread is kept between.
the discs by, the, rod having a slot through it, and the thread being passed
through the slot. In place of the shuttle being moved to and fro in a groove
or channel, as heretofore usual in shuttle machines, I arrange the machine so
that the shuttle lies in a holder, which is capable of sliding to and fro along a
straight.bar, the bar passing through a hole in the lower part of the holder.
The bar is parallel with the face or surface against which the face of the
shuttle has to work, and the back of the holder. is made adjustable,. so that it
can be set closer to or further from the face against which the shuttle works,
and a greater or less amount of play may thus be given to the shuttle. As the
shuttle is passing through the loop of the needle thread the loop is to some
extent carried in the direction in which the shuttle is moving, and in order to
prevent the thread being rubbed between the face of the shuttle and the
surface against which it works, this surface is recessed just beyond where the
needle enters, so that the shuttle does not bear against the face or surface at
that point; and in order to some extent to lessen the noise produced by shuttle
sewing machines, I form the shuttle holder of wood.
For the purpose of feeding the material to be sewn past the needle, I employ
two or more smooth surfaces in place of one of the surfaces employed being
roughened, as heretofore. This I prefer to do in the following manner :-
The upper smooth surface is either fixed or is made capable of moving
vertically, and is constantly pressed down by a spring; the lower surface, or it
may be surfaces, is formed on the upper end of a bar having a slot through.it;
through which a pin carried by the framing of the machine passes; through a
hole in the lower end of the bar a crank pin fixed on the axis of the machine.
passes; thus, when the crank is rotated, the upper end of the bar is made to
rise and fall, and also to move laterally, the lateral movement causing the feed
of the material being sewn; and the direction in which the material is moved
will depend upon the direction of the rotation of the crank; the amount of feed
given to the material being sewn may be varied by varying the position of the
pin which passes through the slot in the bar.
Another improvement in shuttle sewing machines consists in employing
two or more needles at a short distance apart from each other. to produce, a
single row of stitches, the needles being one behind the other in a line with
the direction in which the work is moved. The shuttle is passed through the
loops thrown out by the needles, and it may be passed through either in the
same direction that the material being sewn is fed by the workings of the

page_text: machine; or it may be passed through in the opposite direction. By this
means, and by varying the amount of feed given to the material being sewn,
a variety of stitches may be produced.
My last improvement in sewing machines consists in applying to them n
treadle which can be turned into various positions, so that the operator is not
obliged always to sit in the same relative position to the machine; for this
purpose the ends of the rod or bar on which the treadle rocks or turns are
supported by brackets or feet, which rest on the ground, and a ball-and-socket
or other universal joint is applied to the connecting rol of the 'trendle, so that
the treadlo may be turned into various positions. The arm of the treadle, to
which the connecting rod is attached is connected to the trendle in such
inanner that its position on the treadle may be readily varied.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Stuart Guinness in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, WILLIAM
STUART GUINNESS, of New York, in the United States of America, send
grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Stuart Guinness, Her special licence that I, the said William Stuart
Guinness, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Stuart Guinness, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Stuart Guinness; my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their bands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Stuart Guinness, 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, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in sewing machines. In
constructing shuttle sewing machines according to one part of my Invention,
in place of giving motion to the needle, the shuttle, carrier, and to the
mechanism for moving the material being sewn by cams, as heretofore usual,
or by what is equivalent thereto by crank pins working into curved slots in
levers, I give motion to them directly from cranks or excentrics, a separate
crank or excentric being employed for each of the movements for actuating
the needle, the shuttle carrier, and the mechanism for moving the material
being sewn, and the three cranks or excentrics are all contained on one
shaft.
Figure 1 shows a side view; Figure 2, a plan; Figure 3, an end view ;
and Figure 4, a section taken through the line A, B, Figure 2, of a sewing
machine constructed in the above manner.
In each of these Figures, a is the main or driving axis of the machine which
turns in bearings b, carried by the frame, the axis a has formed upon it the
three cranks, the crank c gives motion to the slide d, which carries the straight
needle e, the crank.f gives motion to the shuttle driver g, and the crank pin h
gives motion to the stepper i. The crank pin h projects from the crank arm f'
of the crank f, the pin being placed excentrically to the axis a, the manner in
which motion is given to the needle, the shuttle, and the stepper from the
cranks c, f, and h, is herein-after described; the cranks c and h are on the same
side of the centre of the axis a, and are upon the same radial line, the crank f
is at right angles to the cranks c and h; by this means it will be seen that to
work the machine the axis a may be turned in either direction, as when the
cranks c and h are in their lowest position they will act in the same manner
whichever way the axis turns, and the crank f being at right angles to them,
and having to give motion to the shuttle, which works in a plane at right angles
to the needle, will also act on the shuttle in the same manner, whichever way
the axis is turned.
I would remark in regard to this part of my Invention, that what I claim
is the giving motion to the needle, to the shuttle carrier, and to the mechanism
for moving the material being sewn, directly from three cranks or excentrics,
all contained on one shaft, as herein described.
When using a straight needle in sewing machines, in place of attaching the
needle to the lower end of a slide, as is now usually the case, I attach the

page_text: needle to an arm which projects from a slido capable of moving to and fro in
guides, the guides, being composed, by preference, of a parallel rod or rods;
which pass-through a hole or holes in the slide, by which means the slide
which requires to be lubricated with oil will not be above the material being
sewn, but will be at a distance from it, and I attach the needle, or it may be
needles, as hereafter described to the end of the arm by forming grooves' to
receive the upper ends of the needles in the end of the arm and around the
end of the arm a tube is placed; through this tube a screw is screwed, and by
turning the screw so as to cause its end to bear against the opposite side of
the end of the arm to that in which the grooves are formed to receive tho
needles, the needles may, be nipped between the arm and the tube.
The Drawings show the needle e to be carried, as above described, by an
arm projecting from the slide d; this slide works up and down upon tho
fixed parallel rods d², d, the rods passing through holes in the slide. The
slide is connected by the connecting rod c' to the crank pin c, and a vertical
tó-and-fro motion is thus given to it when the shaft a is rotated; the Drawings
also shew the needle to be fixed to the end of the arm by means of a small
tube d, embracing the end of the arm, the front face of the arm being formed
flat, and having a shallow groove formed in it; in which the stem of the needlo
lies; the front of the tube is also formed flat, and a screw screws through
the back of the tube; so that by screwing in this screw so as to cause its end
to press against the back of the end of the arm d', the needle will be nipped
between the flat face of the tube and the flat face of the arm.
.
In constructing the shuttle of shuttle sewing machines, the nose which is at
one of its ends I form above the centre line of the shuttle, and by preference,
1 form the point near the upper face of the shuttle, a shuttle formed in this
manner is shown at Figure 5, and when using a shuttle thus formed, in placo,
of arranging the machine so that the needle shall descend to such an extent.
that its eye passes below the bottom of the shuttle, as is the case in the shuttle,
machines now constructed, I arrange the machine so that the eye of the needlo
only descends a short distance below the point or nose of the shuttle; thus,
when the needle rises, the loop of thread thrown out from the needle will be
near the top of the shuttle, and the shuttle being pointed near its upper face
the point of the shuttle will enter the loop, and as the shuttle is moved forward
it will expand the loop and pass through it; the machine, shewn in the
Drawings is, however, arranged so that a shuttle formed in the ordinary
manner may be used with it. In order that there may be little or no tension
on the needle thread whilst the shuttle is expanding the loop of the needle:
thread, and yet have sufficient tension upon it to allow the eye of the needle

page_text: whilst above the cloth or other material being sewn to ride upon it; I arrange
the machine in such manner that the thread as it comes from the reel is led
off in a direction away from the needle, and passes through an eye formed in-
an arm of a lever, and from there it is led to the eye of the needle; the lever
may either be adjusted so that by its own weight it keeps 'a slight tension on
the thread; or the upper part of the lever arm may be bent to a curve and have
friction applied to it, or the lever may otherwise have friction applied to it to
prevent the lever from moving of itself; in this case, when it is required to allow
the thread to be slack to permit the shuttle to expand, the loop formed by the
needle, an instrument, by preference a pin, on the slide which carries the needle,
is caused to act on another arm of the lever, and to turn the lever on its centre
so as to allow the thread to be slack when the shuttle has expanded the loop,
and has passed through it sufficiently to allow the loop to be tightened, the!
lever is brought back to its original position, by preference by means of another'
pin on the slide which carries the needle, thus the slack thread will be taken
up, the stitch will be tightened, and as much thread as was taken up in!
forming the stitch will be drawn off from the reel.
The Drawings shew the needle thread to be passed through an eye formed'
in one arm of a bell-crank lever l, and in order to prevent it from turning of
itself, friction is applied to it around its axis by the screw m, the arm l' of the
crank lever is alternately acted upon by the pins n, n', carried by the slide d..
as the slide descends, and after the needle e has been thus caused to enter the.
cloth the pin n acts on the upper side of the arm A, and depresses it, and thus
causes the needle thread to be slack; when the slide rises, carrying with it the
needle, a loop is thrown out from the needle through which the shuttle is
passed, the shuttle expanding the loop, which it can readily do as the thread is'
entirely slack, and after the shuttle has passed through the loop the pin n¹:
raises the arm of the lever, and thus takes up the slack thread, and tightens
the stitch. The arranging shuttle sewing machines as above described, so
that the needle thread is left entirely slack whilst the shuttle is passing through
the loop formed by it is very important when both the needle and the shuttle
are uninterruptedly moved by cranks, as above described.
In order to apply the requisite tension to the needle thread as it comes from
the reel it is passed between two smooth. discs as shewn at o, o, Figures 1.*
and 2, these discs are supported on a pin.or rod, and the upper disc which is
capable of moving up and down on the rod, is pressed by a spring against the
lower disc, and the thread is thus nipped between them. The thread is kept
between the discs by the rod having a slot through it, and the thread being"
passed through the slot. In place of the shuttle being moved to and fro in a

page_text: groove or channel as heretofore usual in shuttle machines, I arrange the
machine so that the shuttle lies in a holder, which is capable of sliding to and
fro along a straight bar, the bar passing through a hole in the lower part of
the holder, the bar is parallel with the face or surface against which the face
of the shuttle has to work, and the back of the holder is mado adjustable, so
that it can be set closer to or further from the face against which the shuttle.
works, and a greater or less amount of play may thus be given to the shuttle.
The Drawings shew the shuttle holder g to be carried by a slide 9', capablo
of sliding to and fro on a bar g², which is parallel with the plate p, against
which the face of the shuttle works, the slide g' has this to-and-fro motion
given to it from the crank f, it being connected to the crank by the connecting
rod, the shuttle holder g can be set either nearer to, or further from the
plate p by the set screws g³ as shown. The holder may, if desired, be made
of wood in order to lessen the noise made by the machine when working.
As the shuttlo is passing through the loop of the needle thread, the loop is
to some extent carried in the direction in which the shuttle is moving, and in
order to prevent the thread being rubbed between tho face of the shuttlo and,
the surface against which it works, this surface is recessed just beyond whero
the needle enters, so that the shuttle does not press the thread against the
face or surface against which the shuttle works.
Figures 6 shew separately an edge view and front view of a portion of a
plate recessed in the manner above described. r is the groove into which tho
vertical needle e descends, and r' is the recoss beyond the groove r..
I would
remark that I am aware that it has before been proposed to make, in the
plato against which the face of the shuttle works, a groove (for the loop of the
needle thread to enter) at an angle to the groove into which the vertical
needle descends, the two grooves coming together at the top of the plate, I do
not therefore claim the same; but what I claim is the recessing the plate just
beyond the groove into which the vertical needle descends as herein described,
the recess being formed from top to bottom of the plate, or being made to
descend below the bottom of the shuttle.
For the purpose of feeding the material to be sewn past the needle, I in
some cases, as, for instance, when sewing lawns or other delicate materials,
employ two or more smooth surfaces in placo of one of the surfaces employed
being roughened as heretofore, this I prefer to do in the following innnner :-
The upper smooth surface is either fixed, or is mado capable of moving
vertically, and is constantly pressed down by a spring; the lower surface, or it'
may be surfaces is formed on the upper end of a bar liaving a slot through
it, through which a pin carried by the framing of tho machine passes; through

page_text: a hole in the lower end of the bar a crank pin fixed on the axis of the machine
passes; thus, when the crank is rotated, the upper end of the bar is made to
rise and fall, and also to move laterally, the lateral movement causing the feed
of the material being sewn; and the direction in which the material is moved
will depend upon the direction of the rotation of the crank; the amount of feed
given to the material being sewn may be varied by varying the position of the
pin which passes through the slot in the bar.
}
.
This mode of giving motion to the moving foot or stepper is alsó applicable
when the upper surface of the foot or stepper is roughened in the ordinary
manner, and is clearly shown in the Drawings. The crank pin on the
shaft a passes through a hole in the lower end of the stepper i; the upper
surface of this stepper is shewn to be roughened; in the stepper is a slot,
through which a pin pl passes. This pin can be slid up or down in a slot in
the frame, and can be set in any position by the screw, and by this means,
as above stated; the amount of feed may be varied.
Another improvement in shuttle sewing machines consists in employing two
or more needles at a short distance apart from each other, to produce a single
row of stitches, the needles being one behind the other in a line with the
direction in which the work is moved, and a separate thread being used for
each needle; the shuttle is passed through the loops thrown out by the needles,
and it may be passed through them either in the same direction that the
material being sewn is fed by the working of the machine, or it may be passed
through in the opposite direction. By this means, and by varying the amount
of feed given to the material being sewn, a variety of stitches may be pro-
duced.
In the Drawings, the Diagrams A, B, and C represent varieties of stitches
which may be formed when two needles are used, and when the material is
being fed in the same direction as the shuttle is passed through the loops.
In these Diagrams, the red and blue lines represent the needle threads, the
black line represents the shuttle thread. Diagram A shews the stitch
formed when feeding a distance equal to the distance between the centres of
the needles; Diagram B shews the stitch formed when feeding a distance
greater than the space between the needles; and Diagram C shews the stitch
formed when feeding a distance more than half, and less than the whole space.
between the needles. The Diagrams D, E, and F, shew varieties of stitches
which may be formed when the material is being fed in the opposite direction
to that in which the shuttle is passed through the loops. The Diagram D
shews the stitch formed when feeding a distance equal to the distance between.
the centres of the needles; Diagram E shews the stitch formed when feeding

page_text: a distance greater than the space between the needles; and Dingram F shews
the stitch formed when feeding a distanco more than half, and less than the
whole space between the needles.
My last improvement in sewing machines consists in applying to them a
treadle which can be turned into various positions, so that the operator is not
obliged always to sit in the same relative position to the machine. For this
purpose the ends of the rod or bar, on which the treadle rocks or turns; are
supported by brackets or feet which rest on tho ground, and which are inde-
pendent of the frame or stand which supports the machine, and a ball-and-
socket or other universal joint is applied to the connecting rod of the treadlo,
so that tho treadle may be turned into various positions.
The treadle is by preference made so as to be worked with both feet at the
same time; and in order that the end of the connecting rod may be attached
to different points of the treadle, a slot is formed along one end of the treadle
board, through which the end of tho .connecting rod is passed, and the end of
the connecting rod may be set in any position along the slot.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Stuart Guinness, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
W. S. GUINNESS. (L.D.)