IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR PERFORATING, SEWING, STITCHING, PEGGING, AND RIVETTING
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
BROWN, of Sadler's Wells, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eighth day of February,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, in the twelfth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Brown, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Robert Brown, my exors,
adiñiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Robert Brown, my exors,
adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR PERFORATING, SEWING, STITCHING, PEGGING, AND RIVETTING;
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Robert
Brown, should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same,
reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that, in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Robert Brown, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manuer the same is to be carried into effect, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention relates to a mode of arranging machinery, whereby the sewing
or stitching of one or more pieces of fabric or material may be effected by
the passing through and through of a needle, such passing through and
through of the needle being facilitated, especially in thick goods, by a per-
forating instrument, which makes the holes for the needles; and also to so
arranging such machinery that pegs & pins for rivets may be inserted through
the holes made by the perforating instrument, and such pins may have their
ends acted on to rivet two or more pieces of metal together. But in order
that the Invention may be better understood and readily carried into effect,
I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shews a plan, Figure 2 shews a right-hand side view, Figure 3
a front view, and Figure 4 a back view of machinery arranged according to
my Invention. The other views shew some of the parts separately, in order
that their construction may be more clearly understood. In each of the
Figures the same letters indicate the same parts whenever they occur. a is
the bed plate of the machine, from which rise the standards a', a', supporting
the main or driving shaft b, which has motion given to it by means of a gut
or band, from a steam engine or other power, passing partly round the wheel e,
or motion may be given to the machine by hand, there being a handle c¹ pro-
jecting from the wheel c for this purpose. The standards a³, a', also support
the V pieces a³, a², by which the frame d, carrying the perforating instrument,
and instruments for working the needles and parts connected therewith, are
supported and guided. The fabric to be sewn or stitched is held between the
two plates e, e, the plate e of which is formed with sockets e, which embrace the
uprights a³, a³, with a capability of the plates being set at the height required,
by means of set screws e'. The plate e is formed with staples e, which pass
through holes formed in the plate e', such staples being capable of receiving
wedges e, by which the two plates e, e', are retained together, holding the
fabric between them. The fabric is thus held stationary whilst the operation
of sewing or stitching takes place, at the same time the piercing and sewing in-
struments have given to them a step by step movement, by their being carried

page_text: by the travelling frame d, the movement of which is effected in the following
manner: On the ends of the shaft bis affixed the ring cam d', which receives
and in its movement actuates the truck on the end of the link d², which is
guided in its movement by the framing as shewn, and is connected by pin
joints to the rod d³, which passes through a socket d; this socket has a nut
formed upon it by which it is supported, with a capability of turning freely in
a piece d³; and this piece has a screwed neck formed upon it, in order to
its passing partly through the slotted bearing a', with a capability of being
set at the required height in the bearing a', by means of the screw nut do,
which screws on to the neck of the piece d³. The object of this arrangement of
these parts is, that by raising or lowering the piece d³, the length of leverage
of the arm d (which acts as a lever) may be varied, causing the driver ď² to
travel a longer or shorter distance during each movement, thus causing the
ratchet wheel d³, driven thereby, to move partly round a longer or a shorter
distance; and this ratchet wheel is affixed to the shaft do, which is supported
in the bearings a³, and has a screw thread formed thereon passing through a
nut carried by the frame d, thus giving motion to that frame. A is the
piercing instrument for making the perforations, and B is the bolster or
counter die, which is formed as is shewn, so as to facilitate the removal of
the cut away portion of fabric or of metal when used for that purpose. These
instruments A and B are screwed into carriers g and h, so as to be readily
removed and replaced by others of a different size, as may be required.
The carriers 9 and h are each formed with a V piece g, h, by which they
are capable of sliding for adjustment, and of being fixed on the plates i, j;
carried by the rods i, j, which are worked by the levers 1, 3, and they are
guided in their movements by guide plates carried by the standards d¹º, d¹¹,.
from the plate d. The lever turns upon an axis ³, carried by a-support from
the standard do, and at its lower end the lever 2³ is connected by pin joints to
the sliding rod i', which at its inner end carries a truck or roller , which is
actuated so as to actuate the instrument A by means of the cam course ?".
In like manner the lever turns upon an axis carried by the support j³
from the standard d", and is connected at its lower end in like manner to
a sliding rod which at its inner end carries a truck or roller, which is actuated
by the cam surface-, so as to control the movement of the instrument B:
C is the needle, of which only one is used when it is simply required to sew
with a single thread two or more pieces together, but when stitching is
required to be performed or a double thread used, there would be two such
needles employed. The needles are held, pushed through, and taken hold of
on the other side, by means of fingers k, of which there are two kinds shewn

page_text: by the Drawings, but this is not material; each consists of two parts (1), (2),
having sufficient elasticity to admit of their being separated by an instru-
ment, to receive or release the needle C, and yet hold the needle to draw
or push it through the fabric when the instrument is not so acting. The
parts (1) and (2) are affixed to a piece 3, which is carried by the guide
piece k' affixed to the bar , and these bars are guided on the standards
do, do, and are actuated by levers m, which, by means of rods with trucks at
their ends in like manner to the rod it, are actuated by the cam surfaces n. The
fingers k are capable of being set to move, and are guided in their movement by
means of the spring guides o, the stems of which are held in the socket o¹, and
retained in position by means of set screws, as shown. The instruments are
affixed to plates, which are guided in their movement on the standards d¹º, d",
and at the outer ends are acted upon by levers, which turn upon pins 7,
carried by supports from the bearings do, d", and at their lower ends these
levers are connected to rods, which at their inner ends carry trucks,
which are received into the cam courses i, by which their movements are
controlled. The cams for actuating the levers i, j, b, & m, are affixed to
a hollow spindle which embraces the axis b, and is supported in bearings from
the frame d, so as to travel from back to front of the machine with the
frame d; but the hollow spindle is caused to revolve with the axis b, by there
being a feather projecting from the hollow axis into a groove formed length-
wise in the axis b. The thread used is attached at one end to the eye of the
needle, at the other end the thread is held in the work after the first sewing
through has taken place, and in order to drawn the thread through and tighten
the new stitch after the needle, I make use of the hooked instrument P, which
is acted upon for this purpose in the following manner :-There are two of
these instruments p to each needle, one to act on each side of the fabric, and
each turns upon a centre pin carried by its carriage p¹, which is arranged so
as to be guided up and down in a groove (one to each carriage p') in the
guide pieces p, a portion of one of which, with its carriage in two positions, is
shewn at Figures 5 and 6. The carriages p' are moved up and down in their
grooves by means of bands p, p, as I will presently proceed to describe.
The hooks p have a tendency constantly to renain (in relation to their car-
riages) in the position indicated by Figure 5 by reason of the spring p+, but
as the carriage p' is lowered into the position, Figure 6, the surface of the
spring p, carried by the hook lever p, comes against the pin po, by which the
thread previously taken on to the hook p will be thrown off, but when the
hook has passed down below the stud po, the spring p' will act to throw the
hook again into the position indicated by Figure 5, so as to to be in position to

page_text: draw out the loop of thread again when the carriage again ascends, and in
doing so the spring p will be on the outside of the stud p", and in passing it
will give way. Each of the carriages p¹ is connected at its upper ends by
means of thin metal or other bands p³ to one of the rods plo, carried by the
conical drums p; the bands p³ pass over the pullies pe down to the rods p¹º.
The band p' is attached to the lower end of the two opposite carriages p',
and passing under the pulley ps it connects those two carriages together. The
pulleys parc each carried by rods which are capable of sliding in the parts
of the frame d, and so move along with that frame whilst they are borne
against the bands by means of springs, as shown; but as the thread becomes
progressively used up it will become shorter; it is therefore necessary that the
distance which the hook p shall rise be altered accordingly. For this purpose
the bands p pass partly round conical drums p", which diminish in diameter
in the direction in which the frame & travels. The bands p³ are caused to
travel along the drums with the frame d, by their being connected to socket
pieces 7, which are carried by necks formed on the tubes q', which tubes have
connected to them by pin joints slotted links q, the slots of which receives
pins qs in the arms ', projecting from the frame d, thus controlling the ends
of the bands p³ connected to the rods p, to travel along the drums p", as
the frame d travels across the machine. The movements of the conical
drums ps are alternating movements produced in the following manner :-On
the axis is fixed the cam r, which receives the truck r on one end of the
lever ³, and actuates that lever. The lever turns on the axis 19, and at
the other end is formed into the toothed segment r, which takes into and
gives an alternating motion to the pinion on the axis of one of the conical
drums p; on this axis is affixed the bevilled toothed wheel, which takes
into the bevilled toothed wheel on the axis r, upon which is affixed the
bevilled toothed wheel 1, gearing into the bevilled pinion 7.10 on the axis of
the other conical drum p". The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The fabrics having been secured between the plates e, e', and the plate e
placed in the machine, and the machine put in motion, holes are first pro-
duced by the passing through of the perforating instrument A, which is aided
in its operation of cutting by the instrument B, which at the time of cutting
rests close against the other side of the fabric or material; the instruments
A and B arc then withdrawn from the fabric, and the frame d is caused to
travel towards the back of the machine, a distance equal to the distance
required between the holes to be made by the instruments A, and this distance
is regulated by the position of the socket d' in respect to the arm. The
needles having been applied to the ends of the fingers k, act simultaneously

page_text: with the perforating instrument A, to carry the thread through the holes
already made by the instruments A, and as the operations of both needles
(when two are used) are alike, I will simply describe the operation of one;
and I will suppose it to be placed in its fingers on the right-hand side of the
machine, it will then be pushed into the fabric by its right-hand pair of
fingers, whilst its left hand pair of fingers will be opened by the instrument 1,
to receive the needles in its further movement towards the left-hand side of
the machine; the instrument of the fingers on the left-hand side of the
machine will then be withdrawn, allowing those fingers to nip the needle and
take it through the fabric to the left; at the same time that the needle is
taken hold of by its pair of fingers on the left hand of the machine, the
instrument opens its fingers on the right-hand side of the machine, so as to
release the needles from that side of the work. Previous to the instruments
on the left-hand side of the machine coming up to take the needle through
the fabric to the left of the machine, the hook instrument p on that side of
the machine has come down to its lowest position, and when the needle is
through the fabric, that hooked instrument ascends as indicated by Figure 5,
drawing out the length of thread to that side of the machine, thereby
tightening the stitch just made. A movement of the frame d, equal to the
distance between the holes made by the instrument A, having taken place,
the needle is then in like manner pushed through the fabric from the left to
the right, and is again taken hold of by the fingers on the right-hand side
of the machine, and the hooked instruments on the left descend to release the
thread, as shown by Figure 6. The operations of the hooked instruments
on the right-hand side would be precisely similar to those described with
respect to the hooked instrument on the left. The operation of the other
needle when used are precisely similar, but whilst one needle is passing
through the fabric to the left, I prefer that the other needle should be passing
through the fabric to the right, and the stitches thus produced will cross
each other in the holes. The operations of the machine thus far are
described only for acting upon the fabric in straight lines, but the same may
be caused to act upon the fabric in a curved direction, by giving the required
form to the upper edge of the combined plates e, e³, and causing them to rise
and fall as the frame d passes across the machine, in such manner that the
line of perforating and sewing may always be in a line with the instruments
used for that purpose. In order that this may be more clearly understood,
I have shown some of the parts separately at Figures 7, 8, & 9, where e, e',
are the two plates; the sockets of the plate e are capable of sliding freely on
the guides a³, and there is a slot in the plate z carried by the framing a, cor-

page_text: responding in its curved form with the curved edge of the plate e; this slot
receives a pint from the plate e, controlling the movement of the plates e,
and keeping the work in the required relation to the instruments. When it is
required to produce what is called an "over-and-over" stitch, the frame e would
be caused to rise up out of the way after every other movement of the needle,
so that only every other time of the passing of the needle will produce a stitch,
and in this case the frame d will be controlled to move towards the back of
the machine only every other time of the needles passing from one side to the
other in place of every time, as now. When the machine is to be used for
the operation of rivetting metal, the perforating instrument would be caused
to act the same as already described, but in place of the fingers I employ
hammers, as shown at Figures 10, 11, & 12, which show three views of parts
full size, sufficient to illustrate this modification. c, e, are the plates between
which the piece of metal to be rivetted is held; A and B are the perforator
and counter die; the rivets to be inserted into the rivet holes are conducted
by the groove in the plate D, from a suitable hopper, into a position to be
pushed forward by the hammer E, which is carried by the frame d, and is
acted upon by a lever in a similar manner to the finger k, before described.
The hammer E forces the rivet into the hole made by the perforating instru-
ment A; when the rivet is fully in the hole, another hammer F, also worked
in a similar manner to the instruments k, comes up and produces a head on
that end of the rivet. The plate D is supported by bearings from the frame d,
so as to travel with that frame. When the hammer E recedes, a fresh rivet
will fall down upon the spring G, into position to be pushed forward by the
next movement of the hammer E, the spring G giving way at such time.
When it is required to unite two or more pieces of fabric or material together
by pegging, apparatus, such as shewn at Figures 10, 11, & 12, would be
employed, but as in this case no rivetting would take place, the instrument E
would simply force the peg on to its place, and the instrument F would simply
act as a holder to support the fabric or material being pegged.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that what I
claim is, the mode herein described of combining mechanical parts into a
machine for perforating, sewing, stitching, pegging, and rivetting.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Eighth day of August, in the
year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Robert Brown came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.