IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING CLOTH OR OTHER MATERIAL
Year: 1854

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left; by the said Nehemiah. Hunt
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on, the 19th January 1854.
'I, NEHEMIAH HUNT, of the State of Massachusetts, of the 'United
States of America,. do thereby declare the nature of the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING CLOTH OR OTHER MATERIAL"
[which Invention was communicated to me by Christopher Hodgkins, of
the said State] to be as follows:-
The machine in which the said improvements have been made is of
the kind wherein sewing is performed by the conjoint action or opera-
tions of a needle and a shuttle in a manner well known and understood,
the shuttle being moved back and forth in its race by what is termed
a driver or carriage; within a rectangular recess of which the shuttle

page_text: is placed, the length of the opening or recess in the driver for the
reception of the shuttle being a little larger than the bearing points of
the shuttle against the ends of the recess, in order to permit the thread
of the needle to pass on, over, and off the shuttle. In this machine
the cloth or material to be sewed is fed or moved along with an inter-
mittent motion by a serrated or toothed wheel, on whose periphery the
cloth is borne.
In ordinary sewing machines of such description there is no short
backward movement and interval of rest given to the shuttle driver
immediately after it has thrown the shuttle driver forwards, and before
it moves the shuttle entirely back through its race; the consequence
is, that under such circumstances the thread of the needle, while being
drawn off the heel of the shuttle, has to pass in contact with such heel
and the arm or part of the shuttle driver against which the heel of the
shuttle rests. This of course creates a movement of the shuttle and
considerable friction on the thread, such friction often producing a
serious impediment to the use in the needle of a thread formed of a
weak fibrous material, such as cotton. While a slight backward move-
ment is being given to the shuttle driver in order to open or enlarge
the space between the shuttle and the next adjacent part of the driver,
the shuttle remains still or at rest in its race, its inertia and the
friction of it against the sides of its race preventing it from being
moved until the other arm of the shuttle driver, or the other end of the
shuttle recess of the driver, is moved into contact with the toe, nose, or
pointed end of the shuttle. Therefore the nature of one part of my
Invention consists in a combination with the mechanism by which
the shuttle is impelled, or has reciprocating movements, of mechanism
for causing the shuttle driver to have a backward movement a short
distance, and an interval of rest immediately after each forward move-
ment of it, the same being to open the space between the heel of the
shuttle and the end of the shuttle recess of tlie driver, and so as to
facilitate the passage of the loop off the heel of the shuttle, as specified.
My Invention further consists in an improved mode of constructing
and operating the brake or clamp contrivance by which the feeding
wheel is operated, the same consisting of two concentric surfaces or a

page_text: circular groove, formed or applied to the face or side of the feeding
wheel, in combination with a lever clamp applied to operate or bear
against the said two opposite concentric surfaces or sides of the groove,
and carried by a lever, and operated by a spring and cam separate from
that which operates the said lever. In my improved feeding apparatus:
the friction brake is made to act against two surfaces at one and tlie
same time, and in such manner or with such power of hold upon
them as to completely prevent it from slipping on them while the feed
wheel is being moved. When a friction brake or knuckle is made.
to operate against a single surface or flange upon the feed wheel it
is very apt to slip on the same, and thus the stitches of the line of
sewing would be liable to be made of variable lengths. A little oil
or dirt getting between the surface and the brake on which it acts
is almost sure to cause the brake to slip on the surface. The
peculiar manner in which my improved brake is applied to the feed
wheel, and made to operate on it, renders it practically impossible to
slip on the wheel while it is producing a movement of the wheel,
and this notwithstanding oil or dirt may by accident get into the groove
of the feeding wheel. The grip or hold of the brake on the feeding
wheel is not produced by the movement of the lever which causes
the brake to turn the feeding wheel, but by a separate mechanism,
viz., a cam slide and a spring, which by their co-operation and action
produce the grip or hold of the brake in the groove of the feed
wheel before any motion is given to the lever by which the brake is
moved, so as to move the feed wheel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Nehemiah Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office
..on the 29th April 1854.
•
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
NEHEMIAH HUNT, of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts,, of the
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of January, A.D. 1854,

page_text: in the seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for. Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Nehemiah Hunt, Her
special licence that I, the said Nehemiah Hunt, my executors, admi-.
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Nehemiah Hunt,.
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,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING CLOTH OR OTHER MATERIAL,"
[the same being a communication to me by Christopher Hodgkins,. of
the aforesaid State of Massachusetts,] upon the condition [amongst
others] that
the said Nehemiah Hunt; by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and, ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the samé to be. filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office, or Office of Her Majesty's Commissioners of Patents, within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Nehemiah Hunt, 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 Specification, and the accompanying Drawings,. letters,
figures, and references thereof: .
Of the said Drawings Figure 1 denotes a top view of my improved
sewing machine; Figure 2, is a..side elevation of it; Figure 3, is a
vertical, central, and longitudinal section of it; Figure 4, is an under
side view of it; Figure 5, is a transverse section of the table of it,
shewing the feeding wheel and apparatus for imparting movement to it.
In the said Drawings A denotes the frame or table of the machine;
B, is the goose neck or arm thereof; C, is the main driving shaft,
having a fly wheel D placed upon it; E, is the needle carrier; F, is
the needle; G, the shuttle; H, is the shuttle driver; I, the shuttle
race. My machine being one which performs the operation of sewing
by the conjoint action of a needle and the shuttle in a manner well

page_text: known and understood, the shuttle having imparted to it an intermittent
rectilinear movement. As the mechanism by which the needle is made
to move in vertical directions is not essentially different from such as :is.
generally adopted in similar machines it needs no particular description:
The cloth during the operation is fed. along by the intermittent rotary
movement of a feeding, wheel L, which is placed and made to revolve
on a stationary shaft.M, which serves as a support to one end of the
driving shaft. This feeding wheel is formed with a serrated or toothed
periphery and with a circular: groove or channel a, made!in its inner
side and concentric with its periphery, as seen in the Drawings. Into
this groové: a T shaped lever or brake N is inserted, an end view of
that part of the lever which is inserted. in the groove' a. being repre-
sented in. Figure 6, while in Figure 7. a side view of said levers.
given. The part 6 of the lever is a portion of an annulus, whose
transverse section corresponds with that of the groove, it being made to
fit the groove so that it can slide freely in it, while the lever stands.
perpendicularly to the plane of the side of the-feeding wheel: The
fitting of the brake part 6 of the lever with respect to the groove should
be such that when the lever is turned a little, or 'moved out of a
position at right angles to the side of the wheel, the brake shall be
made to bind or press against the two opposite concentric surfaces of
the groove of the wheel. A screw or pin c, extended from an arm d, of
a lever O, is made to enter a hole formed in the brake lever. One end
of a spring. Pais attached to the outer side of the brake lever at or
near the brake; such spring being made to project. beyond the inner end
of the brake lever, and to rest against one end of a slidet Q, inserted
and made to slide freely in the lever O, and to be moved outwards by
a camoR fixed on the driving shaft. There is another cam S fixed
on the driving:shaft, the office of such cam being to depress the lever O;
such lever turning on a fulcrum at T, and being raised by the contractile
power of a:spring U. The extent of upward movement of the lever 'O:
is regulated by a stop screw V; against which an arme from the lever
abúts when the léver rises, up to its highest position.', Under this state
of things. during the revolution of the driving shaft the brake lever will
be moved by its cam, so as to bind or bear against the two opposite

page_text: concentric sides of the groove a, and as soon as this has been ac-
complished the lever O will be moved downwards by its cam, and
thereby move the brake lever, and cause it to rotate the feed wheel:
the distance required for the production of a stitch of the sewing.
In my improved. feeding apparatus the friction brake is made to
act against two: surfaces at one and the same time, and in such
manner or with such power of hold upon them as to completely pre-
vent it from slipping along on them while the feed wheel is being
moved. When a friction brake or knuckle is made to operate against
a single, surface or flange upon the feed wheel it is very apt to slip on
the same, and, thus-the stitches of the line of sewing would be liable.
to be made of variable lengthis. A little oil or dirt getting between.
the brake or surface on which it acts is almost sure to cause the brake.
to slip on their surfaces. The peculiar manner in which my improved
brake is applied to the feed wheel, and made to operate on it, renders it
practically impossible to slip on the wheel while it is producing a move-
ment of the wheel, and this notwithstanding oil or dirt may by accident
get into the groove of the feeding wheel. The grip or hold of the brake
on the feeding wheel is not produced by the movement of the lever
which causes the brake to turn the feeding wheel, but by a separate
mechanism, viz., a cam slide and a spring, which by their co-operation
and action produce the grip or hold of the brake in the groove of the
feed wheel before any motion is given to the lever O, by which the
brake is moved so as to move the feed wheel. The shuttle driver H
is attached to a slide or carriage A', which is moved by means of a bent
lever B', actuated by a grooved C', fixed upon the driving shaft. The
form of the groove of this cam is developed in Figure 8. During the
entire revolution of the cam it causes the shuttle driver to be twice
moved forward and backward, each half of the cam being constructed
so as to produce one backward and one forward movement of the
shuttle. Into the groove of the cam a round pin or projection D¹ from
the lever B is caused to extend, 'such projection being made of a
diameter to correspond with the width of the groove of the cam. That
end of the lever B' which is connected with the shuttle driver has an
elongated slot E¹ formed through it,. a pin F¹ being passed through

page_text: such slot and into the carriage of the shuttle driver. By means of
such slot and pin the lever is enabled during its movements on, its
fulcrum G to effect a reciprocating rectilinear motion of the carriage
of the shuttle driver. Besides having imparted to it a reciprocating
rectilinear, movement by means of the parts g, h, of the cám, the
shuttle driver, after it has moved forwards so as to throw the shuttle
into the loop of the needle, is moved backward a short 'distance by the
part i of the cam, and it remains stationary while the part of the
scam is, moving on the projection of the lever. The object of this back
movement of the shuttle driver is; to open a space between the heel of
the, shuttle and the next adjacent arm 7 of the shuttle driver, in order
to ensure the passage of the loop of thread over the heel of the
shuttle when the thread is drawn into the cloth by the elevation of
the needle.
In ordinary sewing machines, wherein the shuttle is operated by a
driver of the kind above mentioned or described, there is no short back-
ward movement and interval of rest given to the driver immediately
after it has thrown the shuttle forwards, and before it moves the shuttle
entirely back through its race; the consequence is, that under such
circumstances the thread of the needle, while being drawn off the heel
of the shuttle, has to pass in contact with such heel and the shuttle
driver arm resting against it. This of course causes a movement of
the shuttle and considerable friction on the thread of the needle, which
friction is often so great as to render it difficult, if not impossible, to
use cotton thread in the needle, it being necessary to employ a stronger
thread made of silk or other suitable material. While the slight back-
ward movement is being given to the shuttle driver in order to open
or enlarge the space between the shuttle and next adjacent arm of the
driver, the shuttle remains still in its race, its inertia and the friction
of it against the sides of its race prevent it from being moved until the
other arm of the shuttle driver is moved into contact with the nose of
the shuttle.
ว
I am aware that there is nothing new in moving the feeding wheel
by means of a friction brake, knuckle, or clamp, and a lever combined
therewith, the same being represented in the Specification and Drawings

page_text: of a Patent granted by the Government of the United States to Isaac
M. Singer on the Twelfth day of August, A.D. 1853; I therefore lay
no claim to such device; but what I do claim is, my improved mode of
constructing and operating the brake or clamp contrivance, the same
consisting of two concentric surfaces or a circular groove a, formed as
described in the face of the feed wheel, in combination with a lever
clamp N, applied to operate or bear against the said two opposite con-
centric surfaces or sides of the groove, and carried by a lever O, and
operated by a spring and a cam separate from that which operates the
lever O, the whole being substantially as specified.
I also claim in combination with the parts g, h, of the cam groove
or mechanism for imparting to the shuttle driver its reciprocating
rectilinear movements the parts i,k, of the cam groove, or a mechanism
or means of causing such shuttle driver to have a backward movement
a short distance, and interval of rest immediately after each forward
movement of it, and just 'before' the loop of thread is drawn off the
shuttle, the same being substantially as above described, and so 'as to
open the space between the heel of the shuttle and next adjacent arm
of the driver before the shuttle is moved backward, such opening or
enlargement of the said space being to facilitate the passage of the loop
over the heel of 'the shuttle, as herein-before specified."
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the
First day of February, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four.
NEHEMIAH HUNT. (L.S.)
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