IMPROVE- MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Ward Cooper, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Machinist, and George Lowe, of Birmingham,
aforesaid, Engraver and Enameller, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
..
Sealed the 25th February 1873, and dated the 2nd September 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Ward Cooper
and George Lowe at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 2nd September 1872.
We, EDWARD WARD COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Machinist, and GEORGE LOWE, of Birmingham, aforesaid,
Engraver and Enameller, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of the combination or arrangement of the
parts of mechanism herein-after described for working the needles of
sewing machines, and also for working the shuttles or hooks of sewing
machines.

page_text: The mechanism constructed according to our Invention for effecting
the said motions is noiseless in action and not liable to get out of
order.
We will describe our Invention as constructed for working the needle
and shuttle of a sewing machine. To the rear end of the rocking lever,
by which motion is given to the needle bar, a link or connecting rod is
jointed, to the lower end of this link or connecting rod the upper end
of a second link or connecting rod is jointed, and the lower end of the
said second link is jointed to the frame of the machine. When the two
links are in a line with one another the rear end of the rocking lever of
the needle bar is at its highest point, and when the links form an angle
with one another the rear end of the lever is depressed; the extent of
the depression being dependent on the degree to which the links deviate
from a right line. On the end of the driving shaft of the machine is a
crank (or excentric) to which one end of a crank rod is jointed. The
other end of this crank rod is jointed to the joint which connects
together the two links herein-before described, the ends of the said
crank rod and links turning on a common centre. By the motion given
to the crank rod on the rotation of the driving shaft the said crank rod
gives a reciprocating motion to the joint of the links, whereby the said
links become alternately inclined on either side; their rectilinear position
and a rising and falling motion is thus given to the rocking levers, and
the required reciprocating motion communicated to the needle bar and
needle. The difference between the two strokes of the needle is deter-
mined by the length of the crank rod.
In order to give motion to the shuttle we joint a horizontal connecting
rod to a short arm on the extreme end of the crank rod. The said
connecting rod passes nearly horizontally along the frame of the machine,
and is secured to the shuttle carrier; by the motion of the crank rod
the required reciprocating sliding motion is given to the shuttle carrier.
The connecting rod may however be jointed to either of the links
described.
When a hook is employed in place of a shuttle we give motion to the

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Ward. Cooper and George Lowe in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th February 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWARD
WARD COOPER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Machinist,
and GEORGE LOWE, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Engraver and Enameller,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Edward Ward Cooper and George Lowe,
Her special license that we, the said Edward Ward Cooper and George
Lowe, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said Edward Ward Cooper and George Lowe, our executors, admi-
nistrators, 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, 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 we, the said Edward
Ward Cooper and George Lowe, our executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us, or them, 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 Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Edward Ward Cooper and George
Lowe, 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: :-
Our Invention consists of the combination or arrangement of the parts
of mechanism herein-after described for working the needles of sewing
machines and also for working the shuttles or hooks of sewing machines.

page_text: The mechanism constructed according to our Invention for effecting
the said motions is noiseless in action and not liable to get out of order.
We will describe our Invention as constructed for working the needle
and shuttle of a sewing machine :-To the rear end of the rocking lever
by which motion is given to the needle bar a link or connecting rod is
jointed. To the lower end of this link or connecting rod the upper end
of a second link or connecting rod is jointed, and the lower end of this
second link is jointed to the frame of the machine. When the two links
are in a line with one another the rear end of the rocking lever of the
needle bar is at its highest point, and when the links form an angle with
one another the rear end of the lever is depressed, the extent of the
depression being dependent on the degree to which the links deviate from
a right line. On the end of the driving shaft of the machine is a crank
or excentric to which one end of a crank rod is jointed. The other end
of this crank rod is jointed to the joint which connects together the two
links herein-before described, the ends of the said crank rod and links
turning on a common centre. By the motion given to the crank rod on
the rotation of the driving shaft the said crank rod gives a reciprocating
motion to the joints of the links, whereby the said links become alter-
nately inclined on either side their rectilinear position, and a rising and
falling motion is thus given to the rocking lever and the required recipro-
cating motion communicated to the needle bar and needle. The required
difference in the two strokes of the needle is determined by the relation
between the length of the crank rod and the position of the driving
shaft.
In order to give motion to the shuttle we joint a horizontal connecting
rod to a short arm on the extreme end of the crank rod. The said con-
necting rod passes nearly horizontally along the frame of the machine
and is secured to the shuttle carrier. By the motion of the crank rod
11.
11

page_text: Figures 1 and 2 represent side elevations (portion of the frame or
case being in vertical section) of a sewing machine containing mechanism
constructed according to our Invention for working the needle and shuttle
carrier of the said machine, and Figure 3 is a cross section of Figure 2
taken on the line a, a. In Figure 1 the parts of the mechanism are
represented in the positions which they respectively occupy when the
needle is at its bighest point, and in Figure 2 the said parts are repre-
sented in the positions which they respectively occupy when the needle
is at its lowest point. The same letters of reference are used to indicate
the same parts in each of the Figures of the Drawings.
b is the rocking lever, turning on the centre c, for giving motion to
the needle bar d, and needle e, f is the driving shaft, and 9 is the driving
pulley. On the end of the driving shaft f within the case or frame h of
the sewing machine is a crank i. Jointed to the rear end of the rocking
lever b is a link, arm, or connecting rod k, and jointed to the lower end
of the said link or arm k is a second link, arm, or connecting rod 7. The
lower end of the second link or arm is jointed to the base of the frame
h of the machine, the said lower end of the link or arm oscillating
upon the centre n, carried by the block m. Jointed to the crank pin
of the crank is a crank rod p, the opposite end of the said crank rod
being jointed to the inner ends of the two links or arms k, l, by a joint
pin q, the said joint pin also jointing the two links or arms k, l, together
(see the cross section Figure 3). On the rotation of the driving shaft f
a reciprocating motion is given through the crank i and crank rod p to
the joint q of the jointed links or arms k, l, whereby the said links
become alternately inclined on either side their vertical position, and a
rising and falling motion is thus imparted to the rocking lever b, and the
required reciprocating motion communicated through the said rocking
lever to the needle bar d and needle e. When the two links or arms k, l,
are in a line with one another, as represented in Figure 2, the rear end
of the rocking lever b is at its highest point, and the needle e has pierced
the fabric to be sewn and is at the end of its down stroke, and when the
links or arms k, l, form the angle with one another, represented in
Figure 1, the rear end of the rocking lever 6 is depressed to its full
extent and the needle e is at the end of its up stroke. When by the
motion of the crank rod p the links k, l, are inclined to one another at
the right hand side of their straight position, they deviate less from a
right line than when they are in the position Figure 1, and hence the

page_text: r
needle e has only a short upward stroke given to it. This diminished
inclination of the two links when in the last described position is occa-
sioned by the position of the crank shaft f being such that the links k, l,
are in the same vertical line when the crank pin has passed through a
considerable angle from its highest position, as will be understood by an
examination of Figure 2. The shuttle carrier is worked by the nearly
horizontal connecting rod 8, the said rod being jointed at one end to the
said shuttle carrier r and at the opposite end to the arm p² on the extreme
end of the crank rod p, or the rods of the shuttle carrier may be jointed
to the joint part. of either of the links k, l. As the crank rod p makes
its reciprocating motion to alternately incline and straighten the links k, l,
for working the rocking or needle lever the required reciprocating
sliding motion is given to the said shuttle carrier. The sliding motion
of the rod s may be made to actuate a hook when a hook is used in place
of a shuttle.
Instead of employing a crank and crank rod to give motion to the
links k, l, an excentric and excentric rod may be used.
By an examination of the Drawings it will be seen that in consequence
of the links or arms k, l, by which the rocking lever 6 of the needle bar
is worked being jointed to the base of the machine the whole of the
resistance of that lever is transmitted to and borne by the base of the
machine. It therefore follows that the crank pin has little or no resist-
ance to bear in working the mechanism, such force only being required
to be exerted by the said crank pin as is sufficient to produce the required
straightening and inclination to one another of the links or arms k, l.
The actuating or driving mechanism of the machine is thus very durable,
and its liability to get out of order is reduced to a minimum.
Those parts of the machine which we have not described and repre-
'sented are such as are common to sewing machines and constitute no
part of our Invention, and we have omitted the said parts in the Draw-
ings in order that the mechanism constituting our Invention may be the
better understood.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we
do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and illus-
trated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
our Invention. But we claim as our Invention of improvements in

page_text: sewing machines, the combination or arrangement of the parts herein.
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings for
working the needles and shuttles or hooks of sewing machines, that is
to say, giving the required motion to the rocking or needle lever of the
machine by means of the two links or arms marked k, l, jointed together
at their inner ends and jointed at their outer ends to the base of the
machine and to the rocking or needle lever respectively, the said links
being worked from a crank or excentric on the driving shaft so as to
alternately incline the said links or arms to one another, and bring them
into the same line for the purpose and substantially as described and
illustrated. Also working the shuttle or hook of the machine from a
connecting rod geared to and worked from either of the links or arms k, l,
or geared to and worked from the crank or excentric rod jointed to the
said links or arms substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof we, the said Edward Ward Cooper and George
Lowe have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-fourth
day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-three.
EDWARD WARD COOPER. (L.S.)
GEORGE LOWE.
(L.S.)
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.