Improvements in Bobbins and Thread-controlling Devices for Sewing Machine Shuttles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 7th June, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 4th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 20th Apr., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bobbins and Thread-controlling Devices for
Sewing Machine Shuttles.
I, HENRY ANSON BATES, of No. 187 North Broadway, Yonkers, in the State
of New York, United States of America, Salesman, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
In sewing machine shuttles it has been usual to wind the thread upon a metal
bobbin, but this occupies considerable space within the cavity of the shuttle. In
other instances the thread has been wound up into an approximately cylindrical
form upon a paper tube, but the thread is liable to slip off the end of the cylindrical
bobbin and draw around the axial pin in the shuttle and cause the thread to break
or the sewing to become injured.
The first part of my present invention relates to the thread bobbin with a paper
disc at one or both ends caused to adhere directly to the thread by mucilage or
other adhesive material, the edges of the disc being as large as the cylindrical
bobbin of thread, so that the thread as it is drawn off from the periphery of the
bobbin cannot slip and become entangled around the axial pin of the shuttle upon
which the bobbin revolves.
The second feature of the present invention relates to a means for closing the
sometimes open end of the shuttle to prevent oil or other foreign material coming
in contact with the thread upon the bobbin. With this object in view a disc is
made use of with the edges slightly turned up or made sufficiently thin to hold
within the cavity of the shuttle by the edges of the disc forming frictional spring
contacts, or else the opening at the centre of the disc is sufficiently small for the
disc to be held firmly in its position by the frictional contact thereof with the
central pin that passes through the hole in the disc.
The third feature of this invention relates to a spring in the form of a plate
that acts against the bobbin of thread to apply the friction necessary to prevent
the bobbin rotating too rapidly as the thread is pulled off, so that there may be a
slight tension applied to the thread, and in carrying out this part of the invention
I make a spring with a central opening for the axial pin of the shuttle, and two or
more arms extending outwardly from the ring and bearing upon the interior of the
shuttle cavity, and upon the axial pin a sleeve is applied and held by friction for
adjusting the spring and causing it to bear with greater or less pressure upon the
end of the thread bobbin. Sometimes the sleeve split longitudinally to make
the tubular sleeve into a spring, and in other instances the interior surface of the
sleeve is screw threaded and a thread cut upon the exterior of the axial pin.
The fourth part of my invention relates to sewing machine shuttles in which
there is a case for holding the bobbin, and which case remains substantially
quiescent or is rotated by the thread as it is drawn off, while the exterior portion
of the shuttle either revolves or oscillates, and in this character of shuttle difficulty
has heretofore been experienced in preventing the thread case moving end wise upon
the central pin of the shuttle and thereby either varying the friction upon the
thread bobbin or interfering with the proper tension of the thread as it is
drawn off.
To obviate this difficulty the axis for the thread bobbin is made tubular and split
longitudinally to form a tubular spring, and there is within this a tube that
surrounds the central pin of the shuttle loosely but is held on the pin by an end

page_text: collar or short tube driven on so as to be held firmly, and the case holding the
bobbin is pressed upon this tube, and the spring of the axial tube of the bobbin
case holds the case to the tube that surrounds the central pin of the shuttle, thereby
retaining the bobbin case in its proper relation to the shuttle but allowing the
bobbin case to be drawn off for introducing a thread bobbin, and when the shuttle
hook revolves or oscillates, the bobbin case is free to stand still or to revolve
slowly as the thread is drawn off; and in some instances a disc with a central tube
loosely surrounds the centre pin of the shuttle and forms one side of the bobbin
case, the split tube on the other part of the bobbin case springing over the central·
tube of the disc as the parts of the case are put together, thereby holding the
bobbin case in its proper position to the oscillating or revolving hook of the shuttle
and preventing the thread becoming entangled, especially in oscillating shuttles
where the hook in moving in one of its directions tends to turn the thread bobbin
and produce looseness in the thread that leads off to the sewing.
Dated this 7th day of June 1894.
BREWER & SON,
Agents.
Improvements in Bobbins and Thread-controlling Devices for
Sewing Machine Shuttles.
I, HENRY ANSON BATES, of No. 187 North Broadway, Yonkers, in the State
of New York, United States of America, Salesman, 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 :--
In sewing machine shuttles it has been usual to wind the thread upon a metal
bobbin, but this occupies considerable space within the cavity of the shuttle. In
other instances the thread has been wound up into an approximately cylindrical
form upon a paper tube, but the thread is liable to slip off the end of the cylindrical
bobbin and draw around the axial pin in the shuttle and cause the thread to break
or the sewing to become injured.
The first part of my present invention relates to the thread bobbin with a paper
disk at one or both ends caused to adhere directly to the thread by mucilage or
other adhesive material, the edges of the disk being as large as the cylindrical
bobbin of thread, so that the thread as it is drawn off from the periphery of the
bobbin cannot slip and become entangled around the axial pin of the shuttle upon
which the bobbin revolves.
The second feature of the present invention relates to a means for closing the
sometimes open end of the shuttle to prevent oil or other foreign material coming
in contact with the thread upon the bobbin. With this object in view a disk is
made use of with the edges slightly turned up or made sufficiently thin to hold
within the cavity of the bobbin holder by the edges of the disk forming frictional
spring contacts, or else the opening at the center of the disk is sufficiently small for
the disk to be held firmly in its position by the frictional contact thereof with the
central pin that passes through the hole in the disk.
The third feature of this invention relates to a spring in the form of a plate that
acts against the bobbin of thread to apply the friction necessary to prevent the
bobbin rotating too rapidly as the thread is pulled off, so that there may be a
slight tension applied to the thread, and in carrying out this part of the invention
I make a spring with a central opening for the axial pin of the shuttle, and two or
more arms extending outwardly from the ring and bearing upon the interior of the
shuttle cavity, and upon the axial pin a sleeve is applied and held by friction for
adjusting the spring and causing it to bear with greater or less pressure upon the
end of the thread bobbin. Sometimes the sleeve is split longitudinally to make

page_text: form of sheets before the disks are cut out, in order that it may only be necessary
to moisten the adhesive material in applying the disks to the end or ends of the
wound thread bobbin; and it will be observed that the disks are slightly larger
than the bobbin of thread so that the edges of the disk or disks may project
slightly beyond the thread, as indicated in Fig. 2, and in cutting out the paper
disks it is advantageous to punch in the center of each disk a hole that is slightly
smaller than the interior diameter of the paper tube in order that when the paper
disk is moistened and stuck upon the end or ends of the thread bobbin the paper
of the disk may be firinly connected to the paper tube by spreading the paper at
_the central hole-of-the-disk-by-forcing into such hole any tapering instrument.
which causes the edges of the paper around the central hole to unite with the
interior surface of the paper tube, thus forming a more reliable connection between
the paper tube and the disk or disks, but at the same time the paper disks should
adhere to the thread at the end portions of the cylindrical bobbin of wound thread
for the purposes before mentioned.
The disks of paper or other suitable material that are attached directly to the
surface of the thread as wound to form a sewing machine shuttle bobbin, serve to
produce sufficient friction against the interior of the shuttle to prevent the bobbin
revolving too easily and unwinding the thread too quickly as such thread is drawn off.
The second and third parts of my invention are shown in Figs. 3 to 9.
The shuttle case A is of any desired size or shape and it has within it a cavity
for the reception of the thread bobbin and a central pin B. In the shuttle shown
in Figs. 3 and 4, this pin B is tubular and receives the solid pin C of the bobbin
holder D, which bobbin holder is cylindrical and provided with a cross-bar D' at
one end to which the pin C is attached. In this character of shuttle the bobbin
holder D is usually open at the sides of the cross-bar D'. I find it advantageous
to close this open side by a disk E which is made with a central opening through
which passes the pin C, and the edges of this disk are made sufficiently thin and
slightly larger than the interior diameter of the bobbin holder D, in order that
this disk E may be pressed into place and will hold by the spring of the edges of
the disk, the object of this disk being to furnish a smooth surface for one end of
the thread bobbin F to rub against, and such disk E prevents the thread becoming
soiled.
The thread of the bobbin F is wound upon a tube G, preferably of paper and
of the proper size to slip upon the center pin B outside of the sleeve H. The
spring I is preferably made of thin sheet metal and adapted to be placed within
the recess of the shuttle and preferably at the inner end of the pin B, and with
this object in view the spring I is represented as having a central eye 2 and two
bearing points 3, and this central eye 2 fits loosely around the pin B, and the
sleeve H is made of comparatively thin sheet metal and adapted to slide over the
tubular pin B and remain thereon in any position where it may be placed by
the friction of the sleeve upon the central pin.
I have represented the sleeve H as a tube open or slotted at one side so as to
form a spring clip around the pin B, but this sleeve may be provided with any
frictional device, such for instance as a tongue o², Fig. 9, cut in the sheet metal
for holding the same upon the pin B. This sleeve may be of any desired length.
It will now be understood that by adjusting the sleeve H the spring I may be
pressed more or less closely against the side of the shuttle and at the bottom of
the cavity for the bobbin, and hence when the thread bobbin F is inserted, its
tube G will be pressed more or less closely against the spring I and such spring
will apply more or less pressure to the tube of the thread bobbin according to the
position in which the sleeve H may be placed. If the friction is too great,
the sleeve H is to be pressed inwardly and thereby force the spring I nearer to the
side of the shuttle; if the friction upon the thread bobbin is too little, the sleeve H
is to be drawn outwardly to allow the spring I to expand and press with greater-
force against the tube of the thread bobbin ; and it will be observed that where, the
bobbin of thread is within a cylindrical bobbin holder having an end closed by the

page_text: dick E, the thread at one end of the bobbin is pressed against the inner surface of
the disk, and a certain amount of detaining friction is the result to prevent the.
thread bobbin rotating too freely as the thread is drawn off the same.
In some
kinds of shuttles the disk E will not be required. It will be apparent that if the
surface of the central pin B were screw threaded as seen in Fig. 9, the sleeve H
might be screwed upon the same and the adjustment of the spring effected by the
partial rotation of the sleeve H.
It is difficult to wind the thread bobbin with absolute accuracy and the bobbins
wound by one manufacturer vary from those of another maker, hence it is of
importance to be able to vary the action of the spring friction so as to adapt the
same to the slight variations in the bobbins, and this is effected by the adjustinent
of the sleeve, as aforesaid.
The spring employed by me may be of any suitable shape or material.
The fourth part of my invention is shown in Figs. 10 to 16.
The hook of the shuttle is of any desired character and the same is adapted to
being revolved or oscillated according to the particular sewing machine in which
the improved shuttle is made use of. In Fig. 10 a hook is represented at B', and
in Fig. 13 another shape of hook is represented at B2, and the thread bobbin is of
any ordinary character, usually of thread wound upon a paper tube, and the
bobbin case is adapted to the shuttle hook in the usual manner. In Fig. 11 a
bobbin case A2 is represented of a character adapted to the shuttle hook B¹
shown in Fig. 10, and in Fig. 14 a bobbin case A³ is represented as adapted to the
shuttle hook B², Fig. 13.
I make use of a tubular axis for the bobbin case, the axis being split longi-
tudinally to form a spring, this split axis for the bobbin being adapted to set
around and adhere by friction to a tube which is placed loosely upon the central
pin of the shuttle hook. In Figs. 10 and 12 the central pin of the shuttle hook is
represented at o, and in Figs. 13 and 15 the central pin is represented at o¹, and
the loose tube surrounds the central pin o, Figs. 10 and 12, so that it is loose
and free to turn upon such central pin o, and the tube in Figs. 13 and 15 is also
loose and free to turn upon the central pin o¹, and the size of this loose tube is
such that the split spring tube e, Fig. 11, will set upon and hold to the loose
tube r, Figs. 10 and 12, by friction, and in the same manner the split spring tube el,
Fig. 14, will set around and adhere by friction to the loose tuber, Figs. 13 and 15,
but the spring tube of the bobbin case can easily be drawn off the loose tube r
or when the bobbin case is removed for receiving a thread bobbin.
In order to hold the loose tuber or r upon the central pin o or o', any suitable
device may be made use of. In Figs. 13 and 15 a collar s² is represented as driven
upon the central pin o¹ with sufficient force not to be separated in the ordinary
handling of the shuttle, but the tube rl is left sufficiently loose to turn freely.
Iu Figs. 10 and 12 the projecting edges s¹ are represented as at the end of the
central pino to hold such tube in its position but allow it to revolve freely.
These edges s may be at the end of a tubular pin driven into the tubular central
pin o.
By the devices thus far described it will be observed that the bobbin case A'
or A³ may remain stationary while the hook B or B2 and its central pin o or ol
either revolves or oscillates, and the loose tuber or allows the central pin o or o¹
to turn freely in it but the collar s² or its equivalent s holding the loose tube upon
the central pin, holds by friction the bobbin case in its proper relation to the
hook of the shuttle, so that these parts become substantially one while in use, but
the bobbin case can be easily separated for introducing the thread bobbin or
replaced for use as necessary..
In the shuttle represented in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 it is advantageous to make use
of a disk D² connected to or formed with the loose tuber in order that this
disk D2 may close the bobbin case sufficiently to hold or confine the thread
bobbin, and in Figs. 13 and 15, I have represented a disk D³ as surrounding the
central pin o'.

page_text: The present improvement may be adapted to a variety of shuttles now on the
market, the two forms of shuttle herein represented illustrating the general
character of the improvement.
In shuttles of the character shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, the bobbin case is kept from
revolving by the arm on the case shown in Fig. 11, and in several other kinds of
shuttles the bobbin case is kept from revolving or oscillating.
In my improvement the disk D2 being connected to the bobbin case is also kept
from revolving and thus this disk intervenes and prevents any part of the revolving
or oscillating book rubbing against the bobbin and tending to revolve it in either
one direction or the other, and thereby vary the tension or entangle the thread.
Where the revolving or oscillating shuttle-hook B³ Fig. 16, has upon it a tube e
and the pin p² is on the movable case A, the loose tube will be on this pin p²,
and the tube 2 of the hook B³ be split to receive the pin p² with its loose tube r²,
the parts simply being inverted..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
First. A cylindrical cop of thread having a central tube and at the end of the
cylinder a disk of paper or similar material of a diameter as great as the
cylindrical coil, the said disk being caused to adhere directly to the mass of thread
by mucilage or other adhesive material to prevent the thread drawing around
the axis of the bobbin as the thread is drawn from the cylindrical periphery,
substantially as set forth.
Second. The combination with a sewing machine shuttle having a cavity and a
fixed central pin and a thread bobbin, of a spring adapted to apply pressure to the
thread bobbin, and a removable sleeve fitting closely by friction around the
central pin and within the bobbin and adjustable end wise of the pin to compress
the spring to a greater or less extent against the interior surface of the shuttle
cavity, substantially as set forth.
Third. The combination with a shuttle having a cavity for the thread bobbin
and a central tubular pin, of a spring within the cavity, a sleeve closely surrounding
the tubular pin and held by friction and adjustable lengthwise for compressing the
spring to a greater or less extent, a bobbin holder having a pin entering the
tubular central pin, and a removable disk surrounding the pin and coming into
contact with the bobbin at the opposite side to the spring, substantially as set
forth.
a
Fourth. The combination with the revolving or oscillating shuttle hook and a
central pin, of a loose tube and means for holding the same from end movement
upon the central pin, a removable bobbin case and a split tubular axis forming
spring and setting around the loose tube and held by friction so that the bobbin
case may be removed for introducing the bobbin, or replaced and held by the
friction of the split tube in its proper position in relation to the shuttle hook while
in use, substantially as set forth.
Fifth. The combination with the revolving or oscillating shuttle hook, of a
bobbin case having an arm or similar device by which the bobbin case is kept from
rotating and a disk intervening between the bobbin of thread and the parts of the
revolving or oscillating hook, a tube upon the disk surrounding the pin of the hook,
means for holding the tube on the pin, and a split tube to connect the case with
the tubular axis of the disk, 'substantially as set forth.
Dated this 4th day of Manal 1905
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for Applicant.
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for Applicant.