Improvements in Sewing Machinery.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 31st July, 1893-Accepted, 30th Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machinery.
I ALFRED ANGEL CUMING of Hingham, in the State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, Mechanic, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
:-
This invention has for its object the production of a novel sewing machine
employing three threads and adapted to make a stitch which will accumulate the
thread in the hole made in the material, leather, etcètera, made by the eye-pointed
penetrating needle entering the material from above
According to this invention the improved sewing machine contains an eye-
pointed thread-carrying needle to penetrate the material; a work support; a
thread carrying looper located below the material and cooperating with the said
needle; a thread carrier to contain and present a third thread; and a loop detainer
to enter and detain temporarily the loop of third thread, whereby the latter is
retained in doubled form in the loop of looper thread during the time that the
needle bar rises to draw the loop of looper thread into the material.
In leather work, it is frequently necessary to use needles of different diameter,
and to enable the looper referred to to work equally well with whatever diametered
needle is employed, I have mounted the looper pivot on a feeler block which prior
to the entrance of the looper into the loop of needle thread, feels for and takes a
bearing in the needle then in the material, the feeler feeling the needle below the
work support.
In this way, the centre of motion of the looper is always correct whatever the
diameter of the needle.
I employ in a sewing machine containing an eye pointed penetrating needle; a
feeler to contact with the needle; and a looper pivotally mounted on said feeler
and adapted to cooperate with the needle and needle thread.
An eye-pointed needle, cooperates with a thread carrying looper adapted to put
a loop of its thread through the loop of needle thread, and a third thread carrier
adapted to enter the loop of looper thread, combined with a loop catcher to hold
the loop of third thread and cause the latter to hold the loop of looper thread while
the said loop of looper thread is being drawn into and concealed in the work by the
loop of needle thread.
Also I employ a horn to constitute a work support, a movable carriage or feeler
thereon, a circularly moving thread carrying looper having its fulcrum on the said
carriage, and an eye-pointed needle and needle bar, combined with devices to actuate
the said needle, looper and carriage.
Also I use, an overhanging arm; a carriage adjustable thereon, and having
bearings for the needle bar; a needle bar therein, its attached needle; means to
actuate the needle bar, and a horn-like work-support, combined with a feeler and a
circularly movable thread carrying looper mounted thereon, a carrier for a third
thread, and devices to move the said feeler, looper and third thread carrier.
With relation to the feeding mechanism, according to my invention my improved
sewing, machine contains a head to receive and guide a needle bar and provided
with journals; a yoke having collars mounted loosely on said journals and adapted
to be rotated partially in one or the other direction about said journals; a bar
carrying frame pivoted upon one of the collars of the said yoke and provided with
an incline and a screw or projection, the said pivot being in line with the longi-
tudinal centre of the needle bar; a needle bar adapted to be moved in said head;
a rod provided with a foot, a spring to normally depress said rod, and a feeding

page_text: cone adapted to be moved vertically by the needle bar, means to lift the said needle
bar and the bar carrying foot, and a work support.
The feeding mechanism, embodies a frame provided with a projection; a yoke
upon which the said frame is pivoted; vertically arranged journals about which the
said yoke may be turned in one or the other direction; a bar having a foot to bear
upon the material; a feeding cone; means to move it vertically, a lever, connections
between it and the bar having the foot; means to move the said lever; and a work
support.
Dated the 1st day of November 1892
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machinery.
I ALFRED ANGEL CUMING of Hingham, in the State of Massachusetts, United
States of America, 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:-
This invention has for its object the production of a novel sewing machine
employing three threads and adapted to make a stitch which will accumulate the
thread in the hole made in the material, leather, etcetera, made by the eye pointed
penetrating needle entering the material from above.
One part of this invention consists in a sewing machine containing the following
instrumentalities, viz. an eye-pointed thread-carrying needle to penetrate the
material; a work support; a thread carrying looper located below the material
and cooperating with the said needle; a thread carrier to contain and present a
third thread; and a loop detainer to enter and detain temporarily the loop of third
thread, whereby the latter is retained in doubled form in the loop of looper thread
during the time that the needle bar rises to draw the loop of looper thread into the
material substantially as will be described.
In leather work, it is frequently necessary to use needles of different diameter,
and to enable the looper referred to to work equally well with whatever diametered
needle is employed, I have mounted the looper pivot on a feeler block which prior
to the entrance of the looper into the loop of needle thread, feels for and takes a
bearing on the needle then in the material, the feeler feeling the needle below the
work support.
In this way, the centre of motion of the looper is always correct whatever the
diameter of the needle.
Another part of this invention therefore consists in a sewing machine containing
an eye-pointed penetrating needle; a feeler to contact with the needle; and a
looper pivotally mounted on said feeler and adapted to cooperate with the needle
and needle thread, substantially as will be described.
Another part of the invention consists in an eye-pointed needle, a third carrying
looper adapted to put a loop of its thread through the loop of needle thread, and a
third thread carrier adapted to enter the loop of looper thread, combined with a
loop catcher to hold the loop of third thread and cause the latter to hold the loop
of looper thread while the said loop of looper thread is being drawn into and
concealed in the work by the loop of needle thread, substantially as will be
described.
Also, in a sewing machine, a horn to constitute a work support, a movable
carriage a feeler thereon, a circularly moving thread carrying looper having its
fulcrum on the said carriage, and an eye-pointed needle and needle bar, combined
with devices to actuate the said needle, looper and carriage, substantially as will be
described.

page_text: Also in a sewing machine, an overhanging arm; a carriage adjustable thereon,
and having bearings for the needle bar; a needle bar therein, its attached needle;
means to actuate the needle bar, and a horn-like work-support, combined with a
feeler and a circularly movable thread carrying looper mounted thereon, a carrier
for a third thread, and devices to move the said feeler, looper and third thread
carrier, substantially as will be described.
With relation to the feeding mechanism, my invention also consists in a sewing
machine containing a head to receive and guide a needle bar and provided with
journals; a yoke having collars mounted loosely on said journals and adapted to be
rotated partially in one or the other direction about said journals; a bar carrying
frame pivoted upon one of the collars of the said yoke and provided with an incline
and a screw or projection, the said pivot being in line with the longitudinal centre
of the needle bar; a needle bar adapted to be moved in said head; a rod provided
with a foot, a spring to normally depress said rod, and a feeding cone adapted to
be moved vertically by the needle bar, means to lift the said needle bar and the
bar carrying foot, and a work support, substantially as will be described.
Also in a sewing machine feeding mechanism, a frame provided with a projection;
a yoke upon which the said frame is pivoted; vertically arranged journals about
which the said yoke may be turned in one or the other direction; a bar having a
foot to bear upon the material; a feeding cone; means to move it vertically, a
lever, connections between it and the bar having the foot; means to move the said
lever; and a work support, substantially as will be described.
The machine herein to be described has been devised for the production of a
stitch composed of three threads, one at one and two at the other side or face of
the material. For the mechanical production of said three-threaded stitch I have
devised an organization comprehending an eye pointed penetrating-needle to carry
a thread through the material, supported, preferably, upon a horn; a looper
carrying a second thread and working in the arc of a circle about a substantially
vertical pivot said looper entering and pulling a loop of looper-thread into the loop
of needle-thread, an under or third thread-carrier resembling a needle and actuated
to enter the loop of looper-thread; and a thread-catcher to enter and hold the loop
of third thread after the latter has been passed through the loop of looper thread.
As the stitch is drawn up, set, and finished, the loop of needle-thread acts to draw
into the material a doubled part of the looper-thread, together with a doubled part
of the third thread, the loop of third thread, not itself locked by the passage of
another thread through it, serving, by being bent through and about a bight of the
looper thread, to keep the latter in the loop of needle-thread. The stitch referred
to shows at one side staple-like stitches from one thread, and at its other side staple
like stitches from two threads and the latter in practice may be of the same or
different size or material. The stitch when in the material resembles a lock stitch,
and while it has all the advantages of a lock-stitch it is stronger and possesses
greater elasticity, the loops of thread filling the hole made by the awl to a greater
extent than is possible with a lock or shuttle stitch, or with an ordinary chain-
stitch, and consequently the stitch is especially advantageous for leather and boot
or shoe work. These stitch-forming devices operatively organized form one part
of my invention.
In leather-work it is frequently necessary to use needles of different diameter,
and to enable the looper referred to to work equally well with whatever diametered
needle is employed I have mounted the looper-pivot on a feeler-block which prior
to the entrance of the looper into the loop of needle-thread, feels for and takes a
bearing on the needle then in the material, the feeler feeling the needle below the
work-support. In this way the centre of motion of the looper is always correct,
whatever the diameter of the needle.
Prior to my invention I am aware that three threads have been used in a stitch;
but I am not aware that any machine has ever had, below the cloth support and
cooperating with an eye-pointed thread-carrying penetrating needle, two inde-
pendently actuated thread carriers, such as the looper and needle referred to, the

page_text: '
Fig. 14
a detail of part of the needle-bar and needle.
Fig. 2 is a left-hand side elevation thereof,
Fig. 2 shews the oscillating yoke detached.
Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation with the framework broken away so as to show the
operative parts otherwise concealed by the framework.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the cam B.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the cam G ;
Fig. 6 an enlarged view of part of the work support or horn containing the stitch
forming devices which cooperate with the eye pointed needle partially shewn
directly above it.
Figs. 7 and 8 shew different positions of the stitch-forming devices in the
production of the stitch.
Figs. 9 and 10 are details to be referred to Fig. 10 being an under side view of
some of the parts shewn in Fig. 9.
The framework consists, essentially, of a base or column A, having an over-
hanging neck or arm A², to the forward end of which is adjustably connected, by.
bolts or set-screws A', a carriage A, in the front end of which are suitable
bearings for the needle bar A, it having at its lower end a suitable needle A°.
Loosening the bolts or screws A³, their shanks being of less diameter than the holes
of the overhanging arm, through which they are extended, enables the needle-bar
and needle to be adjusted to place the latter correctly with relation to the throat of
the work support.
The framework referred to has suitable bearings for the main shaft B of the
machine, it having as shewn, a suitable fly or drive wheel B₁ and a series of cams
to be described which operate the various parts of the machine.
In this present
instance of my invention the work support A' is made in the shape of a horn, the
said work-support being attached to the framework by suitable screws A³.
Heretofore great difficulty has been experienced in attempts to use a narrow
small ended horn in connection with a sewing machine making a stitch with more
than a single thread; but by experiment I have devised stitch forming devices,
which I shall presently describe, which take up but very little room, are capable of
being operated within the practical limitations of the tip of a horn, leaving the
latter of such small size as to readily reach any part of the interior of a shoe which
is to be stitched.
The needle-bar A' in the present embodiment of my invention has at one side a
loose block a (represented by dotted lines in Fig. 2 and by full lines in Fig. 1,)
which block is embraced by the slotted end of a needle bar actuating lever B²,
pivoted at B3, and having at its other end a suitable roller or other stud a', which
enters a groove B in a cam B, fast on the shaft B, the said cam having at its
opposite side a groove B6, (see Fig. 4,) in which enters a roller or other stud a*,.
(shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 3) attached to one end of a looper-actuating lever a³,
having its fulcrum at a* and connected by a link a with a lever a, to be described.
The cam B has a roller or other stud b, (shewn by dotted lines Fig. 2,) which acts
on a lever B, pivoted at B and connected in suitable manner, as by a link B,
with a foot-lifting lever B₁0 (represented as pivoted at B) on a suitable stand.
The foot-lifting lever B10 has at its outer end a swivel-post C, to which is adjustably
connected by a screw C¹ a stud C, which by a link C³ is attached in suitable
manner to the upper end of the foot-carrying bar C, the connection shewn in the
present instance being by a loop in the lower end of the link, which embraces a
set-screw of a collar fast upon the said bar C by a set-screw.
The feed-carrying bar is extended through suitable bearings of a frame C,
pivoted at C upon an oscillating yoke C' (shewn separately in Fig. 24,) said yoke.

page_text: having two collars provided with openings to embrace the upper and lower ends of
the outer portion of the carriage A', so that the said oscillating yoke may be
moved about the needle bar in any direction, the pivot C, referred to, being
substantially in line with the longitudinal centre of the needle-bar, the yoke
referred to being capable of being rotated partially to the right or left about the
needle-bar according to the direction it is desired to feed the material by or through
the action of the foot CB at the lower end of the bar C. One of the bearings for
the bar C is marked 2, and said bar is surrounded by a strong spring 3, one end of
which rests against the said bearing and its other end against an adjustable
collar 4 on the bar, the spring acting normally to keep the foot down upon the
material.
The upper end of the frame C³ has a feed regulating device, (shewn as a
screw a the inner end of which or a block at the said inner end contacts with a
feed-cone D, and by the said cone the said frame C is caused to vibrate in one or
another direction when the foot is resting upon the material to thus feed the said
material on the horn, the operator controlling the direction of feed by turning the
yoke and frame C³ more or less about the longitudinal centre of the bearing for the
needle bar.
The feeding cone is represented as a sleeve having a cam shaped or beveled
lower end d and a closed upper end d', the sleeve deriving its vertical movements
by the contact of the upper end of the needle bar with the said cap d', the sleeve
being guided in its vertical movements by a portion of the bearing through which
the needle-bar works.
The frame C has a beveled shoulder r, against which the beveled part d of the
feeding-sleeve acts as the sleeve is lifted, the screw a**, referred to, contacting
with the body of the sleeve as the latter descends, and by turning the screw in or
out the feed may be shortened or lengthened. It is obvious that the foot and
bar perform not only the functions of a presser foot and bar, but also of a feed foot
and bar.
In the feeding apparatus above described the frame C is free to vibrate by or
through the action of the feeding-cone about a centre substantially in line with the
longitudinal centre of the needle-bar, as thereby when the foot is moved to feed the
material the spring also acts to keep the foot down upon the material and the feed
of the material is always toward the needle, or from the operator toward the needle,
or the feed is toward the throat in the work support.
The needle is supplied with a thread 5, taken from a suitable spool or support
and led, preferably, first through a guide 6, thence about a suitable tension device 7,
which may be a pulley, thence through a guide 8 and a take up 9, thence through
a suitable guide 10 and through a slot in the needle-bar, (see Fig. 14, where the
lower end of the needle bar is représented as enlarged,) and through the eye of the
needle.
The take up device 9 is represented as a rod guided at 12 in a suitable loop or
bearing and extended through a swivel-block 13, see Fig. 1 attached to the upper
end of a lever 14. pivoted at 15, and having a suitable roller or other stud, which
enters a cam groove (the shape of which is best shewn in Fig. 1) in a cam E, fast
on the shaft B. The shaft B has fast upon it two cams G H. The cam G
(see Fig. 5) has a groove G¹, which receives a roller or other stud projecting from
one arm of a lever G², having its fulcrum upon the rod a', the opposite end of the
said lever being attached by a suitable link or connection, as G³, to one end of a
thread carrier G', which carries the third thread marked t.
In order to adjust the position of the thread-carrier G correctly with relation to
the other parts, the junction of the connection G with the lever G2 is preferably.
made in an adjustable manner, as by a small plate or block G, it having a slot
through which is extended a suitable screw 18. The cain H has in its inner side a
groove, the shape of which is best shewn by the dotted lines H' in Fig. 2, said
groove receiving a roller or other stud at the upper end of a lever H, having its
fulcrum on the rod a', the opposite end of the said lever being adjustably joined, as

page_text: described, with relation to the lever G2 with a connection H³, operatively joined
with the loop detainer or holder h', pivoted at 2 upon the work-support or horn,
the point of the said loop-detainer being projected upwardly, the connection being
attached to it between its fulcrum and its free end.
The looper a, the shape of which is best shewn in Figs. 7 and 8, has an eye,
through which is extended a looper or second thread I, taken from some suitable
spool or bobbin (not shewn). This looper has its fulcrum upon a stud a' erected
upon a feeler a³, in this present instance of my invention slotted at its under side,
as at a', to receive and be guided by suitable studs, as a¹0, (represented by dotted
lines in Fig. 6) said studs or projections guiding the said feeler in its movements.
The front end 19 of the feeler is so shaped or arranged as to contact with the rear
side of the needle when the latter is down through the material and preparatory to
the passage of the point of the looper through the loop of needle thread from the
eye pointed needle Aº.
A spring a, suitably supported in the horn or work
support acts against a portion of the said feeler and serves normally to push the
feeler toward the tip of the horn, the said spring operating to move the feeler in
that direction whenever the connection a' is moved in the direction of the arrow
near it in Fig. 6. preparatory to and as the looper a commences to move in the
direction to pass through the loop of needle-thread, the movement of the feeler,
however, taking place, and the point 19 thereof coming in contact with the needle,
as stated, before the point of the looper arrives in position to enter the loop of
needle thread. This feature of mounting the looper upon a movable carriage or
feeler the position of which is registered with relation to the needle preparatory
to the passage of the looper with its thread through the loop of needle-thread
constitutes a novel feature of my invention, and by it it is possible for the looper
to properly cooperate with a needle of any usual diameter without adjustment of
parts.
Prior to my invention I am not aware that a looper of any formn has ever been
mounted upon a feeler so that the pivotal point of the looper might be auto-
matically put into correct operating position with relation to a needle whatever
may be the diameter thereof, so this part of my invention is not limited to the
exact form of devices shown. In other words, the employment of the fecler
preceding the action of the looper insures always the correct entrance of the
looper into the loop of needle-thread.
The connection a³ in the present embodiment of my invention is represented as
a wire, one end of which is bent up and enters a slot 21 in the looper.
I will now briefly describe the operation of the stitch-forming devices, it being
supposed that a stitch has already been made. The needle A will be made to
penetrate the material, and by the time that the needle reaches substantially its
lowest position the feeler, by or through the action of the spring a", permitted by
the cam B with the intervention of the lever a³ controlling the looper a*, will
come against the rear side of the needle. The looper, being then in correct
position with relation to the needle, will be moved about its fulcrum to enter the
loop of needle-thread, the carrier G for the third thread will instantly be thrust
forward through the loop of looper-thread, and the thread catcher or detainer h¹
will rise and enter the loop of third thread, the parts being then substantially as
in Fig. 7. Now the carrier for the third thread starts back, leaving its loop in
the loop of looper thread and held by the thread-catcher ', and as or about as
the third thread-carrier is so being retracted the needle rises through the work, the
looper retaining the loop of needle-thread until the eye of the needle A' is substan-
tially out of the work, when the looper is retracted, leaving the threads substantially
as in Fig. 8.
The needle now continues to rise, drawing the loop of looper thread yet in it
and in doubled form into the work, and just before the needle finishes its upper
stroke to set the stitch and actuate the feed the loop catcher or detainer retires
from the loop of the third thread, so that the needle as it completes and draws the
loop of looper-thread into the material will also draw the bent or doubled end of

page_text: the third thread t into the hole in the stock male by the needle. When the threads
are of the same colour, it requires a fairly close observer to detect the presence of
the third thread referred to, and yet the two doubled-over loops completely fill up
the needle-hole with thread, the wax, which will of course be present on the thread
in usual manner, making a very tight or plugged seam. During this operation of
forming the stitch the take up is actuated to aid in setting the stitch, and the
needle bar as it is completing its upward movement lifts the conical feeding-sleeve
and effects the feeding of the material for a
new stitch. It will be noticed that
the foot C never draws the material away from the needle after a stitch or draws
it from the needle toward the operator; but, on the contrary, the foot when it acts
to feed the material pushes the material from a circle outside the needle-hole of the
machine, through which the needle works toward the said needle-hole, and it will
also be noticed that the pivot for the frame C³ is brought as closely as possible to
the work support.
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the particular devices employed
to actuate the stitch-forming mechanism referred to may be variously modified
without departing from my invention, and it will also be obvious that the shape and
direction of movement of the actuating parts of the devices referred to, especially
those contained in the horn, would have to be modified in order to adapt the stitch-
forming mechanism to a machine having a flat bed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
In a sewing machine the combination or arrangement and use of the following
instrumentalities
1. An eye-pointed thread-carrying needle to penetrate the material, a work
support, a thread carrying looper located below the material and cooperating with
the said needle, a thread-carrier to contain and present a third thread, and a loop-
detainer to enter and detain temporarily the loop of third thread, whereby the
latter is retained in doubled form in the loop of looper thread during the time
that the needle-bar rises to draw the loop of looper-thread into the material,
substantially as described.
2. The combination or arrangement and use of an eye-pointed penetrating
needle; a feeler to contact with the needle; and a looper pivotally mounted on
said feeler and adapted to cooperate with the needle and needle thread substantially
as described.
3. The reciprocating eye-pointed needle, a thread-carrying looper adapted to
put a loop of its thread through the loop of needle thread, and a third thread
carrier adapted to enter the loop of looper-thread, combined with a loop-catcher to
hold the loop of third thread and cause the latter to hold the loop of looper-thread
while the said loop of looper thread is being drawn into and concealed in the work
by the loop of needle-thread, substantially as described.
4. The horn constituting a work-support the movable carriage or feeler thereon
the circularly-moving thread-carrying looper having its fulcrum on the said
carriage, and an eye-pointed needle and needle-bar, combined with devices to
actuate the said needle, looper, and carriage, substantially as described.
5. The overhanging arm, the carriage adjustable thereon and having bearings
for the needle-bar, the needle-bar. therein, its attached needle, means to actuate
the needle bar, and the horn-like work-support, combined with the feeler and the
circularly-movable thread-carrying looper mounted thereon, a carrier for a third
thread, and devices to move the said feeler-looper and third thread-carrier,
substantially as described.
6. A head to receive and guide a needle bar and provided with journals; a yoke
having collars mounted loosely on said journals and adapted to be rotated partially
in one or the other direction about said journals; a bar carrying frame pivoted
upon one of the collars of the said yoke and provided with an incline and a screw

page_text: or projection, the said pivot being in line with the longitudinal centre of the needle
bar; a needle bar adapted to be moved in said head; a rod provided with a foot,
a spring to normally depress said rod, and a feeding cone adapted to be moved
vertically by the needle bar, means to lift the said needle bar and the bar carrying
foot, and a work support combined so as to constitute a feeding mechanism
substantially as described.
7. A frame provided with a projection; a yoke upon which the said frame
is pivoted; vertically arranged journals about which the said yoke may be
turned in one or the other direction; a bar having a foot to bear upon the
material; a feeding cone; means to move it vertically, a lever, connections
between it and the bar having the foot; means to move the said lever; and a
work support, arranged so as to cooperate together as a feeding mechanism
substantially as described.
8. The various parts of the apparatus employing three threads and adapted
to make a stitch which will accumulate the thread in the hole made in the
material (such as leather) made by the eye pointed penetrating needle entering it
adapted to cooperate together substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated the 31st day of July 1893.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.