IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Heaven, of No. 2, Richmond Grove East,
Longsight, Manchester, Embroiderer by Machinery, and Robert Smith,
of 24, Higher Chatham Street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Manchester,
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING
MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Heaven and Robert
Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 21st March 1861.
We, ALFRED HEAVEN, of No. 2, Richmond Grove East, Longsight, Man-
chester, Embroiderer by Machinery, and ROBERT SMITH, of 24, Higher Chatham
Street, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Manchester, Machinist, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING MACHINES,"
to be as follows:-
These improvements consist in working embroidering frames by means of
steam or other motive power, instead of by hand, as is usual at present. To
work the carriage to and fro, which is now performed by hand labour, we place
a pulley or a toothed wheel in connection therewith, which is driven by a cord,
belt, chain, or rack, as may be found most convenient, which is put in motion
by gearing driven by steam or other motive power. To reverse the direction

page_text: of motion of the carriage when it arrives at the end of the stretch, the threads
are drawn tight, the said threads give motion to a lever or levers which will
reverse the direction of motion of the said pulley or toothed wheel, and give a
return motion to the carriage towards the cloth frame.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Heaven and Robert Smith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st September 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALFRED
HEAVEN, of No. 2, Richmond Grove East, Longsight, Manchester, Embroiderer
by Machinery, and ROBERT SMITH, of 24, Higher Chatham Street, Chorlton-
upon-Medlock, Manchester, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Alfred Heaven and Robert Smith, Her special licence that we,
the said Alfred Heaven and Robert Smith, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such other as we, the said Alfred Heaven and Robert Smith, our
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 for "IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING MACHINES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Alfred Heaven and
Robert Smith, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Alfred Heaven and Robert Smith, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
These improvements consist in so constructing embroidering frames or
machines, that they may be self-acting, and be worked by means of steam or

page_text: other motive power, instead of by hand labour, as is usual at present. To
work the carriage to and fro, we place a pulley or toothed wheel in connection
therewith, which is driven by a cord, belt, chain, or rack, as may be found
most convenient, to which motion is communicated by gearing driven by steam
or other motive power. To reverse the direction of motion of the carriage,
when the carriage arrives at the end of the stretch, that is to say, when the
threads are drawn tight, the tightening of the said threads gives motion to a
lever or levers, which reverses the direction of motion of the said pulley or
toothed wheel, and by means of suitable apparatus gives a return motion to
the carriage towards the cloth frame.
In small light machines, the carriage may be made to traverse to and fro by
means of a traddle and crank, or by using a hand wheel.
Having described the nature of the Invention, we will now proceed to
describe the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, referring to the
other motive power, instead of by hand labour, as is usual at present. To
work the carriage to and fro, we place a pulley or toothed wheel in connection
therewith, which is driven by a cord, belt, chain, or rack, as may be found
most convenient, to which motion is communicated by gearing driven by steam
or other motive power. To reverse the direction of motion of the carriage,
when the carriage arrives at the end of the stretch, that is to say, when the
threads are drawn tight, the tightening of the said threads gives motion to a
lever or levers, which reverses the direction of motion of the said pulley or
toothed wheel, and by means of suitable apparatus gives a return motion to
the carriage towards the cloth frame.
In small light machines, the carriage may be made to traverse to and fro by
means of a traddle and crank, or by using a hand wheel.
Having described the nature of the Invention, we will now proceed to
describe the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, referring to the
accompanyng Sheets of Drawings which form part of this Specification.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Sheet 1 represents an end elevation of one half of an embroidering machine
constructed according to our Invention; the other half is exactly similar in
construction.
In each Sheet
Sheet 2 represents a front elevation of part of the machine.
of Drawings the same letters of reference indicate like parts.
A, A, is the framework of the machine; B, & carriage, one on each side of
the frame, and have a too-and-fro motion on the race or frame C; this
carriage B is drawn from the cloth frame j by the strap II, and drawn to the
same by the strap x. The steam or other motive power is communicated to
the machine by a strap Z*, which drives the shaft O by means of the pulleys
S, S, one of which is loose, in order that the machime may be stopped when
required. From this shaft O motion is communicated to the shaft D by means
of the bevel wheels N, N, which drive the pulley M, thence by the strap L to
the fast and loose pulleys K, which drive the wheel J by toothed wheels. On
the same shaft carrying the wheel J is a smaller pulley or boss, round which
is coiled the strap H; the other extremity of the strap H is fastened round
the pulley G, fixed on the extremity of the shaft D, which extends across
the frame, and is supported by and revolves in bearings E fixed to the carriage.
At or near each end of this shaft D is keyed or fastened a spur or rack wheel F,
which is in gear with a rack fixed on the frame or race C; therefore, when the
wheel J revolves in the direction shewn by the arrow, the strap H coils or laps
round the smaller pulley or boss fixed thereto, and by means of the wheel F

page_text: and rack, draws the carriage from the cloth frame j. Now it is necessary that
as soon as this carriage B is sufficiently drawn out from the cloth frame j to
tighten the threads h, h, that the direction of motion of the carriage be reversed,
that is to say, that it returns towards the cloth frame; also when the carriage B
has made a movement. to and fro, the carriage on the other half of the machine
must repeat it; this is effected in the following manner :-The attendant
pentograph worker has his feet resting upon the projecting arms Q, Q, fixed
on the rod R, a bearing or footstep rests on the rod R, and supports the inclined
shaft T carrying the friction pulley U, the rim of which is covered with leather
to increase friction. Fixed upon the shaft O are two friction discs S¹, S', a short
distance from the friction pulley U. The shaft T communicates motion to the
change shaft X by means of the bevel wheels V & W (see Sheets 1 & 2).
On the change shaft X are fixed two eccentrics Y, Y, and each eccentric opens
the nippers of one carriage by acting upon the lever Z. This change shaft X
has an oscillating or rocking motion, that is, makes only part of a revolution,
and on making the change the tappet k, fixed on the end thereof, strikes the
swivel catch (see Sheet 2) attached to the bar m, and pushes it forward until
it arrives at the position shewn by the dotted lines, and as the swivel catch is
rigid only on pressing it in one direction, it allows the tappet k to pass on,
making the return motion without disturbing the bar m. The weighted end l'
of the catch is to bring it to its upright position against the projection ² when
the tappet has passed. The rod or bar m is jointed to the lever n, and com-
municates motion to the rod a through the rod e, which is supported by and
turns in bearings g fixed to the carriage race C. The rod a serves also. as a
belt fork to the belt L, & one extremity a' of a lever is acted upon by the
spring o, and the other end is fixed to the rod e, which works the bar or rod a
acting on the catch bar d, held by the catch b. The short arm p is fixed to.
the oscillating or rocking bar q, which turns freely upon the pivots r, and is
adjusted by the weights to keep the position shewn in Sheet 2. The stud c,.
fixed in the short arm p, rests against the under side of the catch bar d;
therefore, when the rod or bar q is pressed down, it turns on its pivots r, and
the stud c raises the bar d, and so releases it from the catch b; the spiral
spring o then draws back the lever a, and the belt L is drawn on the loose
pully, and the outward motion of the carriage from the cloth frame is
stopped.
We will now proceed to describe how the tightening of the embroidering
threads acts upon the rod or rocking bar q, so as to reverse the direction of
motion of the carriage, that is, return towards the cloth frame j. On the
threads h, h, being pulled tight by the outward motion of the carriage, the

page_text: fallers f, f, are raised; this movement depresses the lever t on the lower faller
shaft u, till it comes in contact with the rocking bar q; this bar q turns on its
pivots r, r, and releases the catch bar d, and the belt L is drawn on the loose
pulley by the action of the spiral spring o on the lever a', which by partly
turning the rod e gives motion to the belt fork a, in the manner herein-before
described; the carriage is then drawn towards the cloth frame by a weight or
weights in the following manner:-To each end of the carriage, as at w, is
fastened a belt or chain a, which laps round and is fastened to the compound
pulley y, which turns on the stud y'; to the boss of the small pulley is fastened
another belt z, to end of which hangs the weight v. A simple pulley would
suffice, with the belt passing over, but we prefer two, as the weight is heavier
and travels a shorter distance. When the carriage B is drawn out by the
strap L being on the fast pulley K, it raises the weight by the strap & coiling
round the compound pulley y, and when the belt L is on the loose pulley, the
carriage B then having nothing to hold it, is immediately pulled in towards
the cloth frame by the weight v. There is a similar weight and pulley
attached to the other side of the carriage B.
Having now described the several parts of our improvements, we will now
shew how the power is applied in working the machine so as to draw out the
carriage when making a stitch. We will suppose the carriage to be in, that
is to say, near the cloth frame, and the horizontal shaft O, O, to be in motion,
driven by steam or other motive power or by a hand wheel. The action of
the machine will be as follows:-The attendant presses with his foot on one of
the projecting arms Q, Q, slightly lifting the other foot from the other arm;
this presses the friction pully U against one of the friction discs S', S', which
will make the shaft T revolve and turn the change shaft X a portion of a
revolution; this movement turns the excentrics Y, Y, which lower the end of
the lever Z, and allow the nipper springs of the carriage to close on the needles,
and the lever on the side of the change shaft to open the nipper springs of the
opposite carriage. During this movement the lever k has pushed forward the
swivel catch and rod d, and drawn the belt L on to the fast pulley K, which
gives motion to the wheel J, coiling round its boss the chain or belt H, and
thus draws out the carriage in the manner herein-before described. When
the carriage is drawn out sufficiently to pull the embroidering threads h tight,
the bar d is released from the catch b, and the spiral spring o draws the strap
on to the loose pulley, when the weight or weights v give the return motion to
the carriage in the manner herein-before described. He then presses his foot
on the other projecting arm of the rod R, which reverses the direction of
motion of the shaft T, as the friction pulley U is in contact with and drives

page_text: the opposite friction disc; this communicates a precisely similar motion to a
carriage on the other half of the machine. The carriages thus continue work-
ing, each stretch shortening as the embroidering threads are used up in working
the patterns. What we claim is the combination of the mechanical movements
for driving or working the carriages of this description of embroidering
machines by steam or other motive power, and as a means for doing this we
claim the employment of the force obtained by the tightening of the em-
broidering threads when the carriage arrives at the end of the stretch to act on
the reversing mechanism, and so cause the carriage to make its return
movement.
In witness whereof, we, the said Alfred Heaven and Robert Smith, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Nineteenth day of September,
in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
HENRY WREN,
Chorlton-on-Medlock,
Engineer.
L.8.)
(L.S.) ROBERT SMITH.