IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Walter Vosper, of Stoke Devonport, in
: the County of Devon, Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 12th June 1874, and dated the 4th April 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Walter Vosper
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,.
on the 4th April 1874.
I, CHARLES WALTER VOSPER, of Stoke Devonport, in the County of
Devon, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
“IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
i
Hitherto sewing machines have been made to do plain sewing
separately or button-hole stitching separately. By my improvements
the machine can be made to do both, by the operator simply altering a
screw in the following manner, viz. :—
1st. The needle will be made to vibrate so as to alternately pierce the
work and alternately pass over the edge, the shuttle passing through the

page_text: loop made by the needle making the lock stitch; this will be the plain
button hole or overcast stitch.
A lever will be attached to the needle bar and carried to a cam fixed
on the shaft of the machine, which cam will give the lever a forward
movement and a spring will bring it back; the spring will also be placed
on the shaft.
The cams will be made of two different movements according to tho
construction of the machine, either by cog wheels or an archimedian
ratchet, the ratchet being so formed as to give a quarter of circle at
cach revolution of the machine, the cam being wedge shaped and
attached to a screw can be screwed up to lengthen the stitch or with-
drawn to shorten it.
The shuttle will be made by different ways, viz., an ordinary sewing
machine shuttle will be so made that the side instead of having holes
drilled as at present will have a slot instead, and a clasp placed on the inside
and having tongues on it will make the tension by means of passing tho
thread over them whilst in an upright position. The clasp when threaded
will be lowered into the shuttle sufficiently to allow the base of the
tongues coming under the holes, and so giving free passage for the
thread. The other kind of shuttle will be of a different nature, it being
of the shape of an egg cut in half, only sharp at the point, the bobbin
being placed in the hollow space, it being made to fit the place, and a
clasp with tongues on it will cover it over; this clasp will be arched
shaped.
+
In order to work this shuttle it will be necessary to alter the machine, a
viz., by placing an cliptic motion so as to cause the shuttle to have a
continuous motion and making but little or no noise; this motion will
also cause the needle to almost have a continuous motion; thereby
avoiding the jirk of starting and stopping as at present exists in
sewing machines. This motion can be applied to machines to make the
button or overscaming stitch, or to machines making plain stitching

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Charles Walter Vosper in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 30th September 1874..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
WALTER VOSPER, of Stoke Devonport, in the County of Devon, Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Charles Walter Vosper, Her special
licence that I, the said Charles Walter Vosper, my exccutors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such other's as I, the said Charles Walter
Vosper, my executors; administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make;
usc, 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 Charles Walter Vosper, my executors or administrators;
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and scals, should particularly 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 Offico. within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
. NOW. KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Walter Vosper, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
Hitherto sewing machines have been made to do plain sewing
separately or button-hole stitching separately. By my improvements
the machine can be made to do both. by the operator simply altering a
screw in the following manner, viz. :—.
First. The needle will be made to vibrate so as to alternately pierce
the work and alternately to pass over the edge, the shuttle passing!

page_text: through the loop made by the needle making the lock stitch; this will
be the plain buttonhole or overcast stitch.
A lever will be attached to the needle bar and carried to a cam fixed
on the shaft of the machine, which cam will give the lever a forward
movement and a spring will bring it back, the spring will also be placed
on the shaft.
The cams will be made of two or more different movements according
to the construction of the machine, either by cog wheels or an archi-
median ratchet, the ratchet being so formed as to give a quarter of a
circle at each revolution of the machine; the cam being wedge shape
and attached to a screw can be screwed up to lengthen the stitch or
withdraw to shorten it.
The shuttle will be made by different ways, viz., an ordinary sewing
machine shuttle will be made so that the sides instead of having holes
drilled as at present will have a slot instead; a clasp placed on the inside
and having tongues on it will make the tension by means of passing the
thread over them whilst in an upright position; the clasp when threaded
will be lowered into the shuttle sufficiently to allow the base of the
tongues coming under the holes, and so giving a free passage for the
thread. The other kind of shuttle will be of a different nature, it being
of the shape of an egg cut in half, only sharp at the point, the bobbin
being placed in the hollow space, it being made to fit the place, and a
clasp with tongues on it will cover it over; this clasp will be arched
shaped.
In order to work this shuttle it will be necessary to alter the
machine, viz., by placing an cliptic motion so as to cause the needle to
have a continuous motion and making but little or no noisc. This
motion will also cause the needle to have a continuous motion, thereby,
avoiding the jerk of starting and stopping as at present cxist in many:
sewing machines. This motion can be applied to machines to make
the button hole or overscaming stitch, or to machines making plain
stitching only.
And in order to fully illustrate and ascertain the nature of this my
said Invention, reference is now made to the accompanying five
Sheets of Drawings, and to the figures and letters of reference, shown
thereon, the same letters referring to like parts in the various Figures,.

page_text: these improvements consisting therefore in adapting any suitable lock
stitch sowing machines to perform overseaming, fancy stitching, and
button hole work, by imparting to the needle a parallel lateral motion.
In No. 1 Drawing is shewn the principal upon which this is accom-
plished, viz., at the head of the machine is placed a parallel guide, as
marked Fig. 1, G (Figs. 2 and 4 are end views of Fig. 1), which
maintains the motions of the needle bar in parallel lines, at the same
time as the up-and-down motion is performed by the machine.
This parallel guide will be made in the following manner, viz., the
disc with the crank on it, as marked H, will be made of one piece of
metal, which being bored through the centre will admit the driving shaft
of the machine, on which shaft will be placed a peg or eccentric which
being placed in a groove or slot in the hole drilled_as aforesaid will cause
the disc to revolve at the same time that it may slide in and out on the
shaft; this tubular end of the disc will work in another tube (marked C)
connected to the parallel guide, which though it does not revolve will bo
made so as to slide in and out with the disc carrying the disc and needle
bar with it, thus giving the desired parallel motion.
The in-and-out motion is produced by the following means:-A rod or
tube will be screwed or fastened to the tubular end of the parallel guide
(as shown in No. 1 Drawing, letter C); this rod will extend to an
eccentric motor, letter E; this eccentric motor being made in the
manner hercin-after described will give the alternate motion described
in the Provisional Specifications, viz., one of these will be made with
sides similar to a wedge, only that two of its slides will be equal in
thickness to that of the point, the other sides being large at one end.
and tapering to the point, the other will be made as shewn in the same-
Drawing, letter Z. By this motion will be produced a stitch, as shewn
at Y, whilst the former will produce a similar stitch to that shewn at X,
the latter making two stitches over the edge of cloth and two in the
cloth; furthermore, to produce this it will be necessary to cause the
shaft on which this wedge is placed to perform one quarter of a circle,
whilst at the same the driving shaft performs a whole. This will be
accomplished by means of a ratchet or four-angled barrel, as shown-
at D, Fig. 1, which said ratchet will obtain its motion from the driving.:
shaft by means of a cam, as shewn at F, Fig. 2, a groove being made in
the cam so that at each revolution of the shaft one of the angles of the -

page_text: ·
ratchet traversing the groove will be carried by the eccentric portion of
the groove to the top of the cam, whilst another angle of the ratchet
takes its place and so performing a continuous quadrilateral motion; and:
by this means the machine will be prevented from turning the wrong
way whilst in operation. Next is shewn the way in which the machine
will be regulated so as to do the plain quilting stitch or fancy stitching,
as before described, and which is accomplished by the following
methods, viz., at letter A (No. 1 Drawing, Fig. 2, is placed a screw
the inside of which will be bored sufficiently large enough to admit the
shaft which bears the ratchet in which hollow will revolve the shaft,
whilst the wedge being placed against the end of the screw it will be
seen that as it is screwed up the wedge will be driven inward, and as it
is so driven will give a longer vibrating motion to the needle guide. On
the inside of this wedge and the ratchet there is placed a spiral spring
which will force the wedge back when the screw is withdrawn, as shewn
in No. 3 Drawing, letter, Fig. 2, A and D. Next, to perform this it will
be necessary to make the following further alterations in the ordinary
sewing machines, which alterations will consist of the shuttle raco
extended so as to allow a large groove for the needle to vibrate in and
out, as shewn at letter I (Drawing No. 1), Fig. 3, and a swifter motion
being given to the shuttle so as to prevent the pause in the needle, as is
the case with ordinary sewing machines. This motion will be obtained
by having a piece of metal flattened with a groove or slot in it, as showny
at letter J (No 1, Figure 3, Drawing); it will be hinged at one end and.
as the crank revolves will impart to the shuttle a swift motion one way,
whilst the return is slower; this will also be performed as described at
letter J, Fig. 3. (No. 2 Sheet), this one being curved from the centro
to one end, whilst it is straight from the centre to the other end; again,
a slotted cloth-presser will be made to allow the needle to pass freely.
whilst moving in a lateral motion; furthermore, the feeder will have.
two jaws, sufficient space being left between them to allow for the afore.
said motion of the needle.
S
Secondly. My improvements further consist, as displayed in (No. 2;
Drawing Sheet), here the shuttle traverses at right angles to that shown
in (Sheet No. 1), and it is therefore necessary not only to cause the
needle to vibrate, but also to cause the shuttle race and carrier to vibrate
in time with the needle, and to produce this the ratchet is placed under-
neath the base of the machine, as shewn at letter A, Fig. 2 Drawing,

page_text: Sheet 2); the same motions as before described being carried out, see
No. 1 Drawing Sheet) with this exception, a rod or lever is attached to
the shuttle carrier and race, and another rod or lever attached to the
parallel head of the machine, as shewn at letter B, these levers or rods
both terminating at the wedge C, C; therefore as the wedge is screwed
in the longer will be the motion imparted both to the shuttle race D,
Fig. 1, and the parallel guide, and as it is withdrawn the shorter will the
motion become; the shuttle race is similar to that described in the same
Drawing, the said race having parallel guides to it, as shewn at letters
D, D, D; D, Fig. 1. The lever carrying this motion from the eccentric
or wedge is marked E. A slotted cloth plate, Figs. 1 and 2, will be
used for this machine also and a slotted cloth presser, the parallel motion
being similar to that in the machine described in No. 1 Drawing Sheet),
with the exception that there will be no disc to revolve on the inside of
the head, the up-and-down motion being the same as in Howes' or
Thomas' principal, the importance of my Invention being in the parallel
guide of the needle bar and the other motions attached to it to producd
the effects described.
$
Thirdly. In No. 3 Shect of Drawings are shown various plans by
which I substitute the aforesaid motions if necessary, these are described;
by Figures 1 and 2, with letters to distinguish their various parts;
firstly, Fig. No. 1, which has a double cam fixed on the main shaft; this
čam is made with two grooves in it each being parallel on one half and
intersect each other on the other half, as shewn at letter A, Fig. 1. A
key will be fitted into one of these grooves of an oblong shape and
sharp at the points, so that as the shaft and cam revolve the key passes
from one groove into the other groove; at the crossing it will be seen
that at cacli alternate revolution of the machine the key will be carried
from one side to the other of the barrel of the cam. This key being
attached to a lever or rod, as shown at C, Fig. 1A and 1 (dotted line),.
will impart a vibrating motion to a slotted bar, as shewn at D, in which
slotted bar is placed a pin connecting it to the lover E which when moved
up and down by the screw F will impart a longer or shorter motion to the
rod or lever E, which said lever or rod extending to the parallel guide E,
Fig. 3, of the needle bar will give the said needle bar the required
motion as desired by the operator."
Again, in Fig..No. 2 is shewn another kind of motion; though the
cam is the same. as at. Figure No. 1, the motions produced will be some
}

page_text: what different through the action of the regulator, which said regulator
will be made as described at letter A, being a wedge-shaped bar, which
wedge-shaped bar will pass through a hole in the frame, cach end being
screwed so as to prevent vibration but loose enough to allow it to slide
in and out. This will be effected by means of a thumb or other screw,
as shewn at B, Fig. 2, which being screwed up will increase the lengtli
of the vibratory motion by forcing the lever C out towards the head of
the machine, whilst a spring placed on the shaft or in proximity to
the lever will bring it back again, as shown at D, Figs. 2 and 2 A; this
spring will also be used in the machine described in the first part of this
Specification, sec Drawing, Sheet No. 1, letter K.
In Drawing, Sheet No. 3, Figure 3, will be seen the extra or external
appliance to be used for various kinds of work; in this instance a- crank
will be placed on the ratchet shaft, as shewn at A, Fig. 3; to this crank
will be attached a lever B extending to the head of the machine and
again attached to a crank, which crank will be secured to a shaft C;
this shaft passing down the head of the machine, as shewn at this
place and in Fig. 5, letter C, the btotom end of which will work in a
pivot in a flat piece of metal, as shown at D, Fig. 5; to this will be
attached a pair of arms, as shown at E, Fig. 7 and Fig. 8; therefore as
the machine is set in motion the arms will cross and recross each other
at every alternate stroke of the needle, and it will be seen that only at
each alternate revolution they will cross each other, whilst at each other
alternate motion they will recross each other. The ends of these arms
have a hole drilled through them through which will be passed a thread,
cord, or braid; the ends passing under the cloth presser of the machine
will open so as to allow the needle to pass through, whilst before the
needle returns they will have recrossed each other and will again open
to permit the needle to pass between them; this will produce a fine edge
to a button hole; furthermore, knitting may be performed by the
same operation; each line of thread as it is laid on increasing the width
of the material and producing a pattern cither by the use of wool, silk.

page_text: Drawings, being placed on the shaft turned by the large wheel, this
being regulated by a screw, as shown in No. 1 Sheet of Drawing,
letter A, Fig. 2.
I also make an alteration in the take-up lever, viz., instead of being
in the front of the head as in some machines it will be hinged at ono
side and pass across the front and protrude through the side of the head
facing the operator, as shown in No. 3 Sheet of Drawing, Fig. 5,
letter A, the dotted lines giving the outline of its motions. Also two or
three holes will be made for passing the thread through the bottom, one
being required for light and the upper for heavy work; a check spring
will be used. as shown at letter B, Fig. 5.
I also make the shuttle carrier to differ from any others; viz., as is
seen at Fig. 6, the hinder part of the carrier being a separate piece and
attached by means of a screw on which screw it will hinge, as seen at
letters A and B, Fig. 6; a spring will be secured to the carrier so as to
keep this piece in its proper position, as shown at C.. In order to.
remove the shuttle it will require the operator to press the back part;
the front part will at the same time rise upwards and carrying the
shuttle with it to the position shown at letter D, a dotted line being
made to show it when up, by pressing this down the attached part will
change position on the spring, viz., an angle, as shewn at letter E, will
pass to letter F, the spring keeping it there until the shuttle is again
returned. This part will be made with a ledge on the top to slightly
cover a portion of the back of shuttle and so prevent it from jumping
up when in motion.
The shuttle will be made in shape similar to that of other machines
with this improvement, that instead of holes being made in the side for
procuring a tension for the thread a slot will be made through the side,
and underneath this will be placed a clasp with tongues on it, which
clasp may be made as shewn in No. 1 Sheet of Drawings, letter S. OF:
the tongue may be placed on the side of the shuttle with a clasp on the:
outside to keep the thread in its proper place. The Drawing describes
one kind only, the others being of little importance.
:
:
In No. 3 Sheet of Drawings, Fig. 9, will be seen the button hole guide.
I propose to adopt, viz., in the centre will be scen: a slot something in
sliape to a keyhole, as seen at A, and surrounding it will be a guard,

page_text: _ 3
letter B, the object of this being to place a peg for the purpose of
guiding the button hole. At a little distance, letter C, is another .slot
for another guiding peg. At the upper end is a circular spring, as
shewn at letter D; this spring will be used to keep the garment steady
whilst being operated on, the garment first being placed over the arm
F and F seen at each side of guide.
In No. 4 Sheet will be seen anotlier mode for producing the
oscillating motion in the needle bar, viz., there will be a cam on the
main shaft which at each revolution will come into contact with a
wedged-shaped lever hinged near the centre, as shown at letter A, Fig. 1;
this lever being placed in a case with a slot through it, a peg or screw
passing through the slot will form the hinge for lever described, the
driving cam coming into contact with it when in the position described
in the Drawing, causes it to pass over to the other side of the case, as
shown in the dotted lines, letter A and B, Fig. 1 and 2; a spring will
be placed at the end, as shown at letter C, and will keep it steady until
the next revolution of the cam forces it back again, thus at cach
alternate revolution the lever will be moved from side to side in the case
and thereby impart an alternate motion to the needle bar, as before
described. The screw or peg which passes through the case is united
to a rod on the opposite side, as shown in the dotted line, letter E; this
rod will extend to the same kind of regulator as shewn at Fig. 1, letters
Ċ and D, in Number 3 Sheet of Drawings, Fig. 1 and 2 A.
This casc
will be screwed to the framework of the machine, as shown at Fig. 2,
letters F, F, Fig. 3, and may be removed at the will of the operator.
In Drawing No. 5 is seen the plan I propose to adopt for machines to
work either by hand or foot power.
The features in this machine differ somewhat from the others, inasmuch,
that the driving cog wheel is made with a cam, as shewn at Fig. 1, letter A,
Fig. 3, letter A, attached to it, shaded side projecting. This driving wheel
is twice the size of the others. The cam is placed on the inside bars, as.
seen at letter B; this cam is made with one-half. circle projecting at an;
even distance whilst the other is evenly indented; a cam roller will be
placed against the face-of this, as seen at letter C, Fig. 3, thus when the
machine is set in motion it will cause a vibrating motion to the lever; the
cam roller will be secured to the lever D, which lever or fulcrum will work.
.

page_text: Sixteenth. The motion under the base for giving motion to the shuttle
carrier, as herein-before described and shewn in Sheet No. 5, Fig. 2,
letter A, and Fig. 1, letter I.
In witness whercof, I, the said Charles Walter Vosper, have here.
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.
CHARLES WALTER VOSPER. (L.s.)