Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 5th Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 7th Dec., 1888
1 CHARLES GREY HILL. of Arnot Hill near Nottingham in the County of
Nottingham, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The chief object of this invention is to produce in sewing machines which have a
rotating driving shaft below the table, a chain stitch with a locking thread inserted
in it, and thereby to combine with the security of the lockstitch, the elasticity of the
chain stitch.
To this end I employ a looper somewhat like that of the Kohler and Lachman
looper for which a patent was applied for on the 29th of April 1887 No. 6295. This
looper consists of an open ring pointed at one end and forked at the other, and it is
driven like a rotary shuttle by means of an eccentric driver.
I now propose to fit this looper with a bobbin or bobbins for carrying a locking
thread or threads, and I place the bobbin or bobbins below a bridge piece which is
pierced to form a guide for the locking thread or threads. The looper thus arranged
is set loosely in a circular vertical race, and it is caused to enter the loop of the needle
thread, pass through that loop, and present it open to the needle on its next descent.
At this time the forked end of the looper, with the loop upon it, comes under the point.
of the needle, holding the loop open for the needle, which passing into it, receives the
loop onto its stem. During the passage of the looper through this loop, it will lay a
locking thread or threads therein, so that not only will the loop, on leaving the looper,
be caught by the succeeding loop of the needle thread (as is the case in making the
ordinary chain stitch), but in passing away to the work to be tightened into a stitch,
the loop will carry with it the locking thread or threads, which thread or threads
will effectually secure the stitches from the liability to run, if, by accident, either
thread is severed.
By making the forked end of the looper detachable, I am enabled at pleasure to
produce in the machine fitted with my invention, in place of the locked chain stitch,

page_text: the ordinary needle and shuttle lockstitch, and by removing the bobbin from the
forked looper, I can produce in the machine the ordinary chain stitch, when that is
desired, say for the purpose of ornamentation.
The looper may be driven by an excentric driver as before referred to, or in any
other convenient manner.
Instead of setting the looper in a vertical race, I may place it horizontally in a race
secured to the underside of the table, or in any other convenient position, and the
looper will be driven by a driver on the end of a vertical shaft driven by bevil gearing
from the driving shaft below the table, or in any other suitable manner.
In this case the position of the forked end of the looper will be at right angles to
the position it assumes when set in a vertical race.
Dated this 4th day of February 1888.

page_text: I CHARLES GREY HILL of Arnot Hill, near Nottingham in the County of
Nottingham, Gentleman 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 :—
The chief object of this invention is to produce in sewing machines which have a
rotating driving shaft below the table, chain stitches with a locking thread or threads
inserted therein, and thereby to combine with the security of the lockstitch, the
elasticity of the chain stitch.
Another advantage of this invention is that by using a silk or colored thread or
threads for locking the stitches, embroidery effects may be produced in a chain
stitch sewing machine.
In carrying out the objects of this Invention, I employ a circular looper somewhat
like the Kohler and Lachman looper, for which Letters Patent have been granted
dated the 29th day of April 1887 No. 6295.
I now propose to modify the form of this looper, to enable it to receive a bobbin
or bobbins for carrying a locking thread, or threads, and I place the bobbin or
bobbins below, a bridge piece or bar, which is pierced to form a guide for the locking
thread or threads.
The looper may be driven by an excentric driver, as described in the specification of
Patent before referred to, or instead of the excentric driver, I may employ a two-pin
driver, the pins of which driver interlock, alternately with the looper as they revolve
around the axis of the inclined disc which carries them.
In the accompanying drawings
:-
Fig. 1 is a front view of a double pin driven looper, fitted with two bobbins which
are designed to carry locking threads.
Fig. 2 is an edge view, and
Fig. 3 a section of the same, taken on the line 1, 2 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a front view of the looper, modified to receive one bobbin only; and
Fig. 5 is an edge view of the same.
Fig. 6 shews a slight modification of the looper with single bobbin, to adapt it to be
driven by an ordinary Wheeler and Wilson driver.
Fig. 7 is a front view, partly in section, of so much of a sewing machine as is
necessary to show the application of my invention thereto; and
Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of the same.
Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are diagrams shewing the position of the sewing instruments at
various times during the formation of a stitch; and
Figs. 12 illustrate, in inverted plan views, on an enlarged scale, work sewn by the
aid of double and single bobbin loopers respectively.
A is the circular looper, pointed at a to form a nose for entering the loop of the
needle thread, and forked at b to present the opened loop of the needle thread to

page_text: the needle. c is a bridge piece extending across the looper, and serving to form
recesses for the reception of the bobbins B B which carry the locking threads. These
bobbins are made somewhat like the bobbins of a bobbin net lace machine, and are
held in position in a similar manner, being free to turn on the pull of the thread, and
easy of removal and replacement. The looper A (see Figs. 7 and 8) is set loosely in
a circular vertical race C, and it is caused to rotate by means of the pin driver D
keyed to the inclined shaft E, which turns in bearings below the table F of the
machine. This shaft E is driven by means of bevil gears from the shaft G, which is
the shaft ordinarily used for giving motion directly to the looper or hook of the class
of sewing machines to which this invention refers. H is the needle bar, I is the
presser bar, and f is the throat plate.
The looper, in its rotation, is caused to enter the loop of the needle thread, pass
through that loop, and present it open to the needle on its next descent.
At this time,
the forked end of the looper, with the loop upon it, comes under the point of the
needle, holding the loop open for the needle, which passing into it, receives the loop
onto its stem. During the passage of the looper through this loop, it will lay the
locking threads therein, and thus not only will the loop, on leaving the looper, he
caught by the succeeding loop of the needle thread (as is the case in making the
ordinary chain stitch), but in passing away to the work, to be tightened into a stitch,
the loop will carry with it tlie locking threads, which threads will effectually
secure the stitches from the ability to run, if, by accident, the thread of a stitch is
severed.
The bridge piece c, it will be seen, is pierced with two holes for the passage of the
locking threads from the hobbins to the work. These holes are set apart in the bridge
piece, to the furthest practicable extent, in order that they shall lap over their
respective sides of the chain stitch. The points at which they issue from the bridge
piece, coincide with the axis of motion of the looper, to avoid alternations of tension
in the locking threads by the rotation of the looper.
Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, which shew a looper fitted with one bobbin only,
it will be seen that this looper, although in principle the same in construction as the
looper in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is made thinner, and the hole for the passage out of
the locking thread is made in the centre, instead of at one side of the bridge
piece c.
This looper is intended to be actuated, like that first described, by a two-pin disc
driver, the disc being inclined to the plane of rotation of the looper, as illustrated at
Fig. 8, for the purpose of causing its pins to alternately interlock with the looper, and
open a free passage not only for the needle thread loop over the looper, but also for
the passage,
to the work, of the off locking thread.
In the case, however, of the single bobbin looper, which delivers the locking thread
centrally, a driver of this class is not essential. Thus, by slightly modifying the
looper, as at Fig. 6, it may be worked by the excentric driver of the Wheeler and
Wilson machine, when the invention is adapted to such machine.
I will now explain, with reference to the diagrams Figs. 9, 10, and 11, the operation
of the parts for producing the work illustrated at Figs. 12. In Figs. 9, the needle,
having on its stem the last forined loop, has risen to present a new loop to the nose a
of the looper A. In these Figures may also be traced the course of the two
locking threads from their respective bobbins, through the loop, to the face of
the work.
Diagram, Fig. 10, shews the looper advanced by about half a rotation, the loop
which it has caught being opened out to its full extent, and the locking threads being
about to pass into the loop. The needle is shown as at the top of its stroke, it having
delivered the loop, carried on its stem, onto the face of the work.
Diagram Fig. 11 shows the looper as having nearly completed one rotation, that is
to say, it has nearly passed through the loop which it took from the needle. During
this movement of the looper, the feed has taken place, and the needle has descended
through the work, to take up the opened loop, which the tail of the looper is to present
This presentation of the loop to the descending needle is clearly shewn at
to it.

page_text: Fig. 11, and the looper is now ready to escape from the loop, and leave it on the stem
of the descending needle. The next succeeding operation will be for the needle, after
completing its descent, to rise to the position of Figs. 9, and present a fresh loop to
the looper. In this way, the two locking threads are twisted, the one to the right and
the other to the left, of the chain stitch, or if one bobbin only is used, then to the
right of the chain stitch, as illustrated in Figs. 12.
It will be obvious that if ordinary chain stitch work is required, this may be readily
effected in the machine fitted with my invention by working without the bobbins, or
leaving their locking threads unused."
By making the forked end of the looper detachable, I can also produce, in place of
the locked chain stitch, the ordinary neelle and shuttle lockstitch.
Instead of setting the looper in a vertical race, I may place it horizontally in a race
secured to the underside of the table, or in any other convenient position, and the
looper will be driven by a driver on the end of a vertical shaft driven by bevel
gearing from the driving shaft below the table, or in any other suitable manner.
In this case the position of the forked end of the looper will be at right angles to
the position it assumes when set in a vertical race.
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 :-
1. In a sewing machine constructed for, or capable of sewing chain stitches,
the combination therewith, of a circular looper having a pointed end or nose, and
a forked end or tail, furnished with a bobbin or bohbins set excentrically thereto,
for carrying a locking thread or threads, and having a thread guide bar or bridge-
picce as set forth, such lever being rotated by a suitable driving device.
2. A rotary circular looper, which, in passing through the loop of the needle
thread, lays therein a locking thread or threads, and presents the opened loop for
the needle to enter on its next descent, as and for the purpose above set forth.
3. In a sewing machine designed to sew, or capable of sewing, chain stitches,
the production of embroidery such as that illustrated at Figs. 12, by means of an
eye pointed needle, and a circular rotating looper fitted excentrically with a bobbin
or bobbins, carrying the locking thread or threads, and having a thread guide bar
or bridge-piece, as described.
4. A rotary circular looper for sewing machines having a pointed end or nose
and a detachable forked end or tail, and furnished with a bobbin or bobbins set
excentrically, such looper being suitable for use for making either an ordinary chain
stitch; a chain stitch with a locking thread or threads; or an ordinary lockstitch as
set forth.
Dated this and day of November 1888