IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Hillman at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 12th
November 1872.
I, HENRY HILLMAN, of Oaken Gates, in the County of Salop, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows :—
The first part of my Invention relates to the means of imparting
the necessary movements to the needle arm and the shuttle rod in
sewing machines, and the object of this part of my Invention is to
dispense with the cam grooves and rollers, such as are used in the
"Thomas" machine, which are both heavy in make and heavy to work.
In carrying out this part of my Invention I fit upon the driving shaft
three cams one for working the needle arm, one for working the shuttle
rod, and the other for working the feed levers. These cams are not
grooved but operate by surface contact only without the use of rollers.
The cam for working the needle arm is so shaped as to lift the rear end
of this arm at the proper time, in order to cause the needle to pass

page_text: down through the work, and then to allow the said rear end to be
drawn down by a spring in order to raise the needle above the cloth
plate. The cam for working the shuttle rod is so shaped as to move the
shuttle to the left hand and then to allow the shuttle to be forced
back by a spring, in order to pass through the loop. The third cam, viz.,
that for working the feed levers, may be similar to that now used in the
Thomas machine.
The second part of my Invention has for object to enable the shuttle
to be taken out and replaced without moving any of the parts of the
machine except the shuttle rod, and without moving the work or
breaking the top thread, also to allow the under thread to be adjusted
when necessary by simply moving the shuttle rod; I effect this by
means of the spring above mentioned which returns the shuttle rod to
the right after having been moved to the left by the cam. This spring
is so placed that it can be moved to the left by hand, and this movement
has the same effect as that of the cam and can be produced without
working the cam shaft. When so moved to the left the shuttle can be
taken out of the box and again replaced.
The third part of my Invention relates to the top thread tension
and consists in the employment for regulating the tension of a comb or
a row of pins, the thread being led in and out of the teeth or pins, and
the tension being increased by leading the thread through an additional
number of the teeth or pins.
The fourth part of my Invention relates to the means of regulating
the stitch, and consists in making the regulating screw square or with:
flat sides, and in employing a check thumb screw to take against one of
the flat sides. The regulating screw will thus not shift accidentally as
the ordinary screw is liable to do.
The fifth part of my Invention relates to the feed foot and consists
in making the foot with two toes one of which can be removed when a §
binder is employed or when it is required to stitch on the edge; the
guide or the binder can thus be brought close up to the needle.
The sixth part of my Invention consists in making the bottom of the
shuttle box a little lower in front than at the back, so that the shuttle
will always keep to the front and is therefore sure to take the loop if 8
properly formed, and the shuttle is also less liable to jump.

page_text: The seventh part of my Invention relates to the slot or opening cut
in the front of the shuttle box for the needle to work in, and consists in
cutting this slot only partly through the front of the box. The loop
is thus prevented falling to the front and being missed by the shuttle.