CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."-A com-
munication.
Sealed the 30th June 1857, and dated the 20th January 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th January 1857.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
The object of the first of these improvements is to obtain a universal feeding
movement to feed the cloth or other material to be sewed in any and every
direction, and to enable the direction of the movement to be changed as often
as may be desired. This part of the Invention consists chiefly in confining
and giving motion to the material between the face of a rotating disc or plate,
through, and in line with, or nearly in line with whose axis the needle or
needles work, and the periphery of a roller, whose axis is nearly or quite per-
pendicular to the axis of the said disc or plate, and radial thereto, the said

page_text: roller being moveable around the needle, so as to bear upon the material on
any side of the needle. Upon motion being communicated either to the disc
or to the roller, motion will be given to the material between them in a direc-
tion parallel with the plane in which any portion of the roller rotates; the
roller, when not having the motion imparted directly to it in the first place,
-receiving rotary motion from the disc through the friction of the material.
The second improvement is only applicable to those machines in which the
stitch is made with two threads by the combined operations of the needle and
shuttle. This improvement consists in providing for any slight variation of
the direction of the motion of the shuttle, that may be necessary to bring the
shuttle in proper relation to the needle, by fitting the shuttle with grooves to
run upon two parallel ways or guides that are adjustable laterally on a box or
block, which is adjustable in a direction perpendicular to the adjustment of the
said ways or guides.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton, in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th July 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigus, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," being a com-
munication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Edward Newton, 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 same

page_text: 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 I, the said William Edward Newton; 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 statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :—
The object of the first of these improvements in sewing machines is to
obtain an universal feeding movement, to feed the cloth or other material to be
sewed in any and every direction, and to enable the direction of the movement
to be changed as often as may be desired. This part of the Invention consists
chiefly in confining and giving motion to the material between the face of a
rotating disc or plate, through, and in line with, or nearly in line with whose
axis the needle or needles work, and the periphery of a roller whose axis is
nearly or quite perpendicular to the axis of the said disc or plate, and radial
thereto; the said roller being moveable around the needle, so as to bear upon
the material on any side of the needle. Upon motion being communicated
either to the disc or to the roller, the material will be moved forward between
them in a direction parallel with the plane in which any portion of the roller
rotates; the roller, when not having the motion imparted directly to it in the
first place, receiving rotary motion from the disc, through the friction of the
material. This improvement is applicable to those machines in which the
stitch is formed with two threads, by the combined operations of a needle and
shuttle, or of two needles, or to machines in which it is formed with a single
thread by a needle and looper.
The second improvement is only applicable to those machines in which the
stitch is made with two threads, by the combined operations of the needle and
shuttle. This improvement consists in providing for any slight variation of the
direction of the motion of the shuttle that may be necessary to bring the
shuttle in proper relation to the needle, by fitting the shuttle with grooves to
run upon two parallel ways or guides that are adjustable laterally on a box or
block, which is adjustable in a direction perpendicular to the adjustment of
the said ways or guides.
The Invention is fully illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, which
exhibits a machine having both improvements applied. Fig. 1 is a front view
of the machine; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same at right angles to
Fig 1, in the line x, a; Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, are views of part of the
machine in detail. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
the several Figures.

page_text: A, Figs. 1 and 2, is a cast-iron box, constituting the base of the machine,
and containing the cams by which the movements are imparted to the several
parts of the machine, from the driving shaft B, which works in bearings in the
ends of the box. This shaft may have its rotary motion given by hand through
the agency of a crank wheel C, or by any other convenient means. To the
front of the box, and near one end thereof, there is firmly attached a long
horizontal arm of cylindrical form, upon which the material to be sewed is to
be supported while the sewing is performed. This arm consists of a cylinder D
of cast iron, provided with à flanch a, by which it is bolted to the box A, and
having a broad and deep square groove b, b, extending along its upper side
from one end to the other, to contain the shuttle box or race way, and part of
the mechanism of the shuttle motion, all of which is enclosed by thin metal
shell or tube E, F, that fits tightly over the exterior of the cylinder D. The
part F, of the shell E, F, is made separate from the other part, to constitute
a movable cap which may be taken off the end of the cylinder D, to enable
the shuttle G to be taken out without removing the whole of the shell. The
construction of the above described cylindrical arm is fully illustrated in Figs.
2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; Fig. 3, being a transverse section thereof in the plane of
the needle's motion; Figs. 4 and 5, top views of a portion thereof; and
Fig. 6, a top view of the same, with the shell removed. H is a long horizontal
arm bolted through a flanch c, to a standard I that is erected upon the front
part of the top of the box A, near the opposite end thereof to that where
stands the cylinder A; the arm II is parallel with the cylinder A, and has at
its front end a second arm H, either cast with or attached rigidly to it; said
arm H standing horizontally at right angles with the arm H, and serving to
carry the guides of the sliding bar J, which carries the needle e; the arm H is
made hollow to contain the rock shaft R, (see Fig. 1,) to which is attached the
rocking arm K, by which the necessary movement up and down is given to
the needle bar L, the said bar being secured by a set screw d in à headpiece
L*, which is taken hold of by the forked end of the rocking arm.
ment of the rock shaft R, to operate the needle is produced by a cam on the
shaft B, within the box A, acting on an arm attached to the rear end of the
rock shaft R; this cam, and the arm upon which it acts are not represented,
as they are the same as in some other sewing machines which are presumed to
be well known; M is the spool which carries the thread for the needle, and is
placed on the top of the arm H; N is a well-known device for producing
friction on the aforesaid thread to give it the necessary tension in sewing, and
is also placed on the top of the said arm; the thread is shewn in red color.
The move-
None of the parts of the machine thus far described with reference to the

page_text: Drawing are claimed as parts of this Invention, but have only been described
to aid in the explanation of those parts which constitute the Invention, the
description of which will now be proceeded with.
f(Figs. 2, 3, and 4) is the disc, and g (Figs. 1, 2, and 5,) the. roller
between which the cloth or other material s to be sewed is confined, and
by which it is moved; the motion being. in this illustration of the Invention
given to the roller g. The disc is made of a flat piece of metal, and sunk in the
seat of a flattened portion of the upper part of the shell E of the cylinder D,
so as to stand flush with or not very perceptibly raised above the surface of the
flattened portion of the shell E, and is fitted into the said shell so as to turn
freely, and a circular opening is provided in its centre for the needle to work
through. It is preferable, however, to make this opening larger than is
necessary for the needle to work through, and to leave a small boss i standing
up from the solid metal at the centre of the seat prepared for it in the shell E,.
to fit the said central opening of the disc, as is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, leaving
an opening through the centre of the boss i for the needle to pass through, as.
is shewn in Figs. 2 and 3. The disc f is fitted to its seat so as to rotate with.
the least possible amount of friction. In a sewing machine in which the
sewing is performed on a flat bed, the disc f would be fitted to a bearing within
a circular plate. f, as shewn in Fig. 8, which is a plan view of the said plate
and dise in the same manner as it has been described as fitted to the cylinder;
and the plate would be sunk in the bed or table V and secured, as shewn in
Fig. 9, which is a vertical section through the centre of the disc. The roller g
has a toothed or roughened periphery; it is fitted to turn on an axle & secured
in foot piece 7, which extends downwards from one side of the collar 1, which
is fitted loosely to the cylindrical exterior of the guide m of the needle bar L,
which guide is made in one piece, with a plate m* that is bolted to the front
of the bar H. The axle k is slightly inclined from a horizontal position, as
shewn in Fig. 2, so as to bring the roller as close as possible to the needle.
The collar is prevented from turning on the guide m by means of a set screw
03 screwing through an ear o²; on a ring o" that is attached rigidly to or forms
part of a plate o that is attached screws p, p, passing through slots p*, p*,
in the said plate to the end of the arm II*, in such a manner that the plate o is
capable of sliding up and down. The set screw o³ is only unscrewed to allow
the collar to be turned on the cylindrical exterior of the guide m when it is
necessary to change the direction of the feeding movement, which is done by
turning the said collar, as above mentioned. The set screw o³ connects the
collar with the ring o* and plate o, in such a manner that the said collar and
the roller, will rise and fall with the said plate, the collar / sliding freely on the

page_text: guide m; hence, by raising the plate o by means of a hand lever attached to
the back of the arm H*, the roller may be lifted up, and by means of a spring w
attached to the back of the arm H*, and pressing on the top of the sliding
plate o, the necessary pressure is given to the roller to produce friction enough
on the cloth or material to be sewed to give it the feeding movement. The
point of the set screw o working in a groove in the collar l, as shewn
in Fig. 2, keeps the said collar attached to the plate o, even when the said
screw is slackened enough to let the roller turn. It will be understood that,
as the collar with the feed roller g attached is capable of turning all round
the guide m, the feeding motion may be given in any direction, the direction
being always in the same plane as, or parallel with, the plane of the revolution
of the roller. The roller in all its positions is at the same distance from the
needle as the needle bar L passes through the centre of the guide m, round
which the roller is adjusted, and the needle is in the centre of the bar L. The
rotary movement of the roller g on its axle to feed the material s is effected by
means of a bevil-toothed ring q* on the lower part of the exterior of a loose
collar (see Figs. 1, 2, and 5,) that is fitted to rotate freely upon the collar l,
said toothed ring gearing with a corresponding toothed ring q2 on one side of the
roller g; and the said loose collar q having a spur-toothed ring q³ on the upper
part of its exterior gearing with a spur pinion (Fig. 1) that is secured on
the lower part of an upright spindler that works in bearings s, s, attached to
the same plate m to which the guide m is attached. This spindler receives
the necessary rotary motion to cause the rotation of the loose collar q, and the
feed roller through a bevil gear 2 at the top, which gears with a bevil pinion
t on the front end of a horizonal spindle t, that works in one bearing in the
upper part of the plate m", and in another bearing in a standard P erected on
the box A at the side of the standard I. This spindle I carries at its rear end
two ratchet wheels W, W¹, one of which receives motion after the completion
of each stitch from one of two pawls v, v², carried by a frame Q that works
in guides in the back of the standard P. The frame Q is attached to a rod U,
which derives a reciprocating motion from the action of a cam S of the shaft
B upon a rocking arm T, one end of which is connected by a pivot u to the
back of the box A, and the other to the bottom of the rod U. The rocking
arm I is kept in contact with the cam S by a spring 21. A back view of the
frame and ratchet wheels is given in Fig. 7. The two ratchet wheels W, W',
have their teeth set in opposite directions, and their pawls v, vl, on opposite sides
of the axis, and the two pawls are furnished with spring tails and vl, which
are connected with a transverse bar X in such a manner that by moving the
said bar longitudinally, either pawl may be thrown in gear with its respective

page_text: ratchet wheel, the other being at the same time always thrown out of gear.
The bar X is provided with two slots w, w', to slide on studs w*, w*, secured
to the front of the frame Q, and by making the slot w in the form of an
inverted arch, and applying a spring y to the bar to hold it down, the bar is
caused to be held by the spring with either end of the slot in contact with
the stud w, thus holding either pawl in gear as may be desired. The use
of two ratchet wheels with their teeth set in opposite directions, allows rotary
motion to be given to the spindle r, in either direction by throwing the proper
pawl into gear. Upon rotatory motion being communicated to the spindle r, a
corresponding motion is given to the roller g, to impart the feed movement to
the cloth or other material, at the same time the disc f receives motion upon
its axis through the friction of the material upon it. Although the surface of
the disc moves in circles, the distance it moves during every movement of
the material is so short that the circular movement will not affect the straight-
ness of the feed, if a slight drag be produced upon the material somewhere
in the desired line of feed, either by hand or mechanical means. The
direction of the foed may be stopped at any point in a piece of work by stop-
ping the machine while the needle is in the work, so as to confine it in its
place before moving or changing the position of the roller, and the work will
proceed in a new direction without any irregularity in the stitches at the point
where the change of direction takes place. The roller g should always be
raised from contact with the material before changing its position. Instead
of giving motion to the roller g to feed the material, the motion may be given
to the disc f, and the roller g will then receive motion by the friction of the
cloth. In order to prevent the needle thread from being interfered with by
the feeding mechanism, a hole is made directly through the needle bar L from
top to bottom for the said thread to pass through after passing from the
tension pin N through an eye 23 at the end of the arm K, and over a guide
24, attached to the top of the needle bar.
Y (Figs. 2, 3, and 6.) is the shuttle box, consisting of a square block of
metal fitting snugly within the groove b, b, of the cylinder D, and containing
in itself a longitudinal groove 11, 11, which must be somewhat wider than the
shuttle. On the top of this block of metal are secured two metal plates
12, 12, one on each side of the groove 11, 11; said plates overhanging the
groove, as shewn in the detached view Fig. 3, so as to form two guides for
the shuttle G to travel between, the shuttle being grooved in each side to fit
easily to the said plates. These plates, which constitute the raceway have
recesses 13, 13 (Fig. 6), cut in them near where the needle passes between
them, after passing through the cloth, said recesses being for the purpose of

page_text: allowing the loop of the needle thread to be extended by the shuttle passing
through it. The plates 12, 12, are secured to the block Y, by screw bolts
14, 14, and the holes in the plates through which the screw bolts pass are
elongated in a direction transverse to the length of the plates, in such a
manner as to allow the plates to be moved laterally to adjust the line of move-
ment of the point of the shuttle in a lateral direction. The shuttle box Y is
secured in the slot b, b, of the cylinder by means of a screw 15, passing
through one side of the cylinder, and screwing into the block. This screw
when screwed up draws the block up against the side of the slot b, b, so tightly
as to prevent its being shifted from its position by the operation of the
machine, and when unscrewed the said screw liberates the block, but yet serves
as a pivot upon which it is capable of moving in a vertical direction to adjust
the line of movement of the shuttle in that direction. The shuttle is driven
by means of a driver Z, that is connected by a rod 16 with a vibrating arm or
leaver 17, that receives motion from a cam 18, on the shaft B; the shuttle is
confined to the driver between two small figures 19, 19, standing upon each
side of it near the point, and a movable button 20 which stands up against
its heel. In the rear portion of the slot 11 of the shuttle box there is arranged
a lever 22, having a point at its front end, which point is held in such a
position by the action of a spring 23 on the rear end of the lever, that, as the
shuttle advances to enter the loop in the needle thread, the said point leads
the said loop directly under the shuttle, which, as it continues to pass on
through the loop, rides over and forces down the pointed end of the lever
which runs in a groove in the bottom of the shuttle, and thereby prevents the
escape of the loop from it until the heel of the shuttle passes it, and it is time
to draw tight the loop.
The shuttle box Y may be fitted in the same manner as herein described,
to a recess made below the surface of the flat table, when the machine is con-
structed with a flat table instead of the cylinder herein described.
Having now described the Invention of certain improvements in sewing
machines which has been communicated to me by my foreign correspondent as
aforesaid, I claim,-
First, confining and giving motion to the cloth or other material during the
sowing operation, by means of a revolving disc f arranged upon or within the
cylinder table or other fixed bed upon which the sewing is performed, and
having its axis in line with the needle, combined to operate together with a
roller g that bears on the opposite side of the material, and is made adjustable
to any position in a circle round the centre of the said disc to vary the
direction of the seam in lines on any side of the needle, whether the motion
I

page_text: be imparted to the material from the revolving disc or bearing roller, as
hercin described.
Second, fitting the shuttle with grooves to a pair of laterally adjustable
plates, ways, or guides 12, 12, on a box or block Y, which is adjustable per-..
pendicularly to the said plates, ways, or guides, substantially as and for the
purpose herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
0
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)