Improvements in Sewing Machinery for the Production of "French-vein" or Hem-stitch.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1887
Complete Left, 14th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted, 20th Jan., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machinery for the Production of
"French-vein" or Hem-stitch.
I, JAMES HEGGAN of Mount Street, Dromore, County Down, Ireland, Mechanic
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My present invention has for its object improvements upon an invention for which
Letters Patent were granted to me daied January 3. 1884 No. 582, whereby I obtain
greater simplicity in the construction and operation of the parts, greater certainty of
action and a cheaper construction of machine.
In carrying my present invention into effect 1 place the driving shaft and the hook
or looper shaft at right angles to the position occupied by such parts in my former
machine, that is to say they run from back to front instead of longitudinally of the
machine. I also employ the hook or looper shaft solely for the purpose of carrying
and operating the looper or hook and I employ a separate stud or counter shaft to
carry the cams for giving the traversing motion to the moveable part of the head
carrying the needle slide and for operating the feed lever. These cams are rotated
by gearing from the main or driving shaft. The hook or looper shaft receives rotary
motion from the main or driving shaft according to my invention by means of
a pair of links connected to double crank pins carried by each of such shafts but other
suitable arrangements of gearing or connections may be employed for such purpose.
By this arrangement of parts I greatly simplify the arrangement and operation of
the machine as by the hook or looper standing in the same plane as that in which
the moveable part of the head moves I am enabled to keep the hook or looper shaft
and the bobbin holder in fixed positions in relation to the other fixed parts of the
machine thereby dispensing with an endwise travelling shaft for carrying and
operating the hook or looper and for giving the required motions to the moveable
portion of the head.
1 employ a feed lever mounted at its rear end on a stud or axis carried by a sliding
bar working in guides over the hook or looper shaft and such feed lever receive: the
required motions from two levers operated by suitable cams carried by the stud or

page_text: counter shaft herein before referred to and such stud or counter shaft also carries a
cam which by suitable lever and connections gives the required motions to the moveable
part of the head.
The needle arm and thread handler are operated by cams on the main or driving
shaft and the latter is divided and is provided with similar connections to those
described in the Specification of Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to for the
purpose of accelerating and retarding the rotary motion of the looper at the required
times.
The length of stitch is regulated in the following manner. The cam operating the
lever employed to give, the traversing motion to the feed lever is of conical form and
the end of the said lever is inclined so as to stand parallel with the face of said cam:
a slot is formed in such inclined part of the lever and a nose piece is mounted thereon
which is provided with binding means so as to enable the said lever to be lengthened
or shortened as may be required to obtain the desired length of stitch, the said lever
is kept up to its cam by a spring.
בו
1
JAMES HEGGAN.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machinery for the Production of
"French Vein" or Hem-stitch.
1, JAMES HEGGAN of Mount Street, Dromore, County Down, Ireland, Mechanic,
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 present invention has for its object improvements upon an invention for which
Letters Patent were granted to me dated January 3rd 1881 No. 582 whereby obtain
greater simplicity in the construction and operation of the parts, greater certainty of
action and a cheaper construction of machine.
In carrying my present invention into effect I place the driving shaft and the
hook or looper shaft at right angles to the position occupied by such parts in my
former machine, that is to say they run from back to front instead of longitudinally
of the machine. I also employ the hook or looper shaft solely for the purpose of
carrying and operating the looper or hook and I employ a separate stud or counter
shaft to carry the cams for giving the traversing motion to the moveable part of the
head carrying the needle slide and for operating the feed lever.
These cams are
rotated by gearing from the main or driving shaft. The hook or looper shaft receives
rotary motion from the main or driving shaft according to my invention by means of
a pair of links connected to double crank pins carried by each of such shafts but
other suitable arrangements of gearing or connections may be employed for such
purpose. By this arrangement of parts I greatly simplify the arrangement and
operation of the machine as by the hook or looper standing in the same plane as that
in which the moveable part of the head moves I am enabled to keep the hook or
looper shaft and the bobbin holder in fixed positions in relation to the other fixed
paris of the machine thereby dispensing with an endwise travelling shaft for carrying
and operating the hook or looper and for giving the required motions to the moveable
portion of the head.
I employ a feed lever mounted at its rear end on a stud or axis carried by a sliding
bar working in guides over the hook or looper shaft and such feed lever receives the
required motions from two levers operated by suitable cams carried by the stud or
counter shaft herein before referred to and such stud or counter shaft also carries a
cam which by suitable lever and connections gives the required motions to the moveable
part of the head.
The needle arm and thread handler are operated by cams on the main or driving
shaft and the latter is divided and is provided with similar connections to those
described in the specification of Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to for the
purpose of accelerating and retarding the rotary motion of the looper at the required
times.

page_text: The length of stitch is regulated in the following manner. The cam operating the
lever employed to give the traversing motion to the feed lever is of conical form and
the end of the said lever is inclined so as to stand parallel with the face of said cam;
a slot, is formed in such inclined part of the lever and a nose piece is mounted thereon
which is provided with binding means so as to enable the said lever to be lengthened
or shortened as may be required to obtain the desired length of stitch, the said lever
is kept up to its cam by a spring.
And in order that my said invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully to
describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front view, Figure is a plan and Figure 3 is an end view of a
sewing machine constructed according to my invention for producing "French Vein"
or Hem Stitch. Figure 4 is a back view of parts employed for communicating
motion from the driving shaft to the hook or looper shaft. Figures 5 and 6 are
respectively a side view and a plan of the feed lever and some adjacent parts.
Figures 7 and 8 are respectively a side and an end view of the bobbin carrier. Figure 9
is a vertical section of the same with the bobbin in position therein and Figures 10
represent the two halves of the bobbin carrier in section and separated from each
other with the bobbin between them.
Figures 11 and 12 are opposite end views of the stud or counter shaft showing the
cams carried thereby and figures 13 and 14 are inner face views of the cams on the
driving shaft.
In all the figures like parts are indicated by similar letiers of reference.
a is the frame of the machine, a' is the work plate, and a is the arm carrying the
fixed part of the head and the moveable part thereof, which latter is suspended
and works on a screw a fixed in the top of the part a³, and the part a' is guided by a
screw a which works in a slot formed in the part a'.
is the main or driving shaft, c is the stud or counter shaft and d is the hook or
looper shaft. The main or driving shaft is driven by a strap or band passing around
the pulley & and it communicates motion to the stuil or counter shaft c through the
toothed gearing 62, c', whilst it communicates motion to the hook or looper shatt, d
according to my invention by means of a pair of links e connected to double crank
pins and d fixed respectively on such shafts and d. Other suitable arrangements
of gearing or connections may however be employed to communicate motion to the
look or looper shaft d.
In carrying my present invention into effect I place the driving shaft 6 and the
hook or looper shaft dat right angles to the position occupied by such parts in my
Former machine, that is to say, from back to front instead of longitudinally of the
machine. I also employ the hook or looper shaft d solely for the purpose of carrying
and operating the looper or hook and 1 employ the separate stud or counter shaft c
to carry the cam for giving the traversing motion to the moveable part at of the
head carrying the needle slide and the cams h. i. for operating the feed lever k.
The feed lever k is mounted at its rear end on a stud or axis k carried by a sliding
bar working in guides over the hook or looper shaft d and such feed lever k receives
the required motions from two levers 1. m. operated by the cams h. i. carried by the
stud or counter shaft c which latter also carries the cam which by means of a
lever and link or connection a¹ gives the required motions to the moveable part at of
the head..
The needle arm or lever g' is operated by a cam g² on the main or driving shaft b
and the thread handler o is operated by a cam o' also on said shaft and the latter is
divided and provided with similar connections to those described in the specification
of Letters Pateni hereinbefore referred to for the purpose of accelerating and
retarding the rotary motion of the hook or looper at the required times.
The length of stitch is regulated in the following manner. The cam
operating

page_text: the lever employed to give the traversing motion to the feed lever k is of conical
form and the end of the said lever is inclined so as to stand parallel with the face
of said cam ; a slot is formed in such inclined part of the lever and a nose piece l
is mounted thereon which is provided with screw binding means operated by the
lever so as to enable the said lever to be lengthened or shortened as may be required
to obtain the desired length of stitch, the said lever is kept up to its cam by a
spring P
The bobbin and bobbin holder 1 prefer to employ are shown separately at Figures 7
to 10. P is the bobbin which is enclosed in a case 7 formed in two parts q', q²,
connected together by a screw ³ on the interior of the part passing and screwing
into a hollow axle fixed to the part 2, upon which the bobbin is free to
revolve.
P
The bobbin holder y is held in position in the centre of the hook or looper d by a
spring holder and the thread from the hobbin p passes out of the holder through
a hole 7³.
The bobbin holder 4 is formed with a projection q which by coming against a
projection on the spring holder prevents rotation of the bobbin holder but the
bobbin p is free to revolve therein. By this construction and arrangement of parts a
smooth exterior is provided for the bobbin over which the needle loop can be drawn
without difficulty or fear of entanglement. I do not however claim this construction
of bobbin holder as part of my present invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
In sewing machinery for the production of "French Vein" or Hem stitch the
peculiar arrangement and combination of parts substantially as herein shown and
described and for the purpose stated.
Dated this 11th love of Draanshan 1007
JAMES HEGGAN.
By Harris & Mills,
23, Southampton Buildings,
Agents.