IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING, STOPPING, AND REGULATING THE SPEED OF SEWING MACHINES AND OTHER REVOLVING MACHINERY
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Smith, of Hackney Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS
OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING, STOPPING, AND REGULATING THE SPEED OF
SEWING MACHINES AND OTHER REVOLVING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 20th December 1864, and dated the 21st June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Smith, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st June 1864.
I, ALFRED SMITH, of Hackney Road, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREAKS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING, STOPPING, AND REGULATING THE SPEED
OF SEWING MACHINES AND OTHER REVOLVING MACHINERY," to be as follows:-
I proceed to describe my break applied to a sewing machine. I use
break blocks, one of which is connected to a jaw, the tops of which jaws are
held together by a spring, the jaws are connected and free to move upon
a stud, and terminate in legs bent outwards from the stud; these legs are
slotted near their lower ends and receive in the slots the ends of a transverse
bar; the legs also carry at bottom friction pulleys, and to the cross bar I
attach a connecting rod. I connect to this rod an upright fixed at bottom
to a treadle. The belt for driving the sewing machine is passed over
a driving pulley of large diameter and another pulley of small diameter on
the main shaft of the sewing machine. The break blocks encircle this latter
pulley. The driving belt is loose, and to put any desired tension upon it the

page_text: treadle is depressed, which simultaneously brings down the friction pulleys on
the ends of the legs, tightens more or less the belt, and opens the jaws, thereby
releasing the break blocks entirely from the pulley on the main shaft of the
machine. On releasing the treadle, the pressure from the belt is diminished,
and the spring acts to cause the break blocks to advance upon and check,
regulate, or stop the motion of the machine. I sometimes employ a spring
break, which I construct as follows:-I take a wedge break and fit to the back
thereof a strong spring, also an upright which carries two parallel shafts, to
which a semicircular break block is connected, and between the upright,
and the block surrounding the shafts I place springs. The wedge break is
worked by a lever, and is pushed and kept back free from the wheel on the
main shaft of the machine. Now in order to regulate the speed of the wheel,
the wedge break is allowed to advance towards the wheel, when the break
block will be pressed by its springs more or less forcibly against it till the
wedge is brought up to finally stop the motion of the wheel.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Smith, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st
December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
SMITH, of Hackney Road, in the County of Middlesex, Enigneer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alfred Smith, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred Smith, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred
Smith, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREAKS
OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING, STOPPING, AND REGULATING THE SPEED OF SEWING
MACHINES AND OTHER REVOLVING MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Smith, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 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 I, the said Alfred Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is
to say:-
I proceed to describe my break applied to a sewing machine, I use break
blocks, one of which is connected to a jaw, the tops of which jaws are held
together by a spring; the jaws are connected and free to move upon a stud,
and terminate in legs bent outwards from the stud; these legs are slotted near
their lower ends and receive in the slots the ends of a transverse bar ; the
legs also carry at bottom friction pulleys, and to the cross bar I attach a con-
necting rod. I connect to this rod an upright fixed at bottom to a treadle.
The belt for driving the sewing machine is passed over a driving pulley of
large diameter and another pulley of smaller diameter on the main shaft of
the sewing machine; the break blocks encircle this latter pulley.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is an elevation of a break or appa-
ratus constructed as just described. A is a frame; a, a¹, are break blocks
connected to jaws b, b', the tops of which are held together by a spring c;
the jaws are connected and free to move upon a stud d, and terminate in
legs e, e', bent outwards from the stud; this stud also serves to connect the
break to the frame A. The jaw 6 is formed in a piece with the leg e, and
the jaw 6 with the leg e¹; the legs e, e³, are slotted at f, f, and receive in the
slots the ends of a transverse bar g; the legs e, e', also carry at bottom friction
pulleys h, h; i is a connecting rod attached to the bar 9 and to the side of the
frame; jis an upright connected to the rod i and fixed at bottom to a
treadle k; is the belt for driving the sewing machine; it is passed over a
driving pulley m and another pulley n of smaller diameter on the main shaft
of the sewing machine. The break blocks a, a, encircle this pulley n, as seen
in the Drawing. The belt is loose, and to put any desired tension upon it
the treadle k is depressed, which simultaneously brings down the friction
pulleys h, h, on the ends of the legs e, e¹, tightens more or less the belt, and
opens the jaws b, b', thereby releasing the break blocks a, a', entirely from the
pulley n. On releasing the treadle k the pressure from the belt is diminished
and the spring acts to cause the break blocks a, a¹, to advance upon and check,
regulate, or stop the motion of the machine. I sometimes employ a spring
break which I construct as represented in side elevation in Figure 2, and in

page_text: plan in Figure 3. I take a wedge break a, and fit to, the back thereof a
strong spring b, also an upright c which carries two parallel shafts d, d, to which
a semicircular break block e is connected, and between the upright c and the
block e surrounding the shaft d, d, I place springs f, f. The wedge break a is
worked by a lever g leading to a treadle or other similar appliance, and is pushed
and kept back free from the wheel h on the main shaft of the machine.
Now, in order to regulate the speed of the wheel h, the wedge break a is
allowed to advance towards the wheel, when the break block e will be pressed
to its spring f, f, more or less forcibly against it till the wedge a is brought up
to finally stop the motion of the wheel. I have only thought it necessary to
describe the manner in which my Invention is applied to sewing machines, as
the application of my breaks, or apparatus, or other revolving machinery will
be fully understood without further explanation.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, constructing breaks or apparatus for checking, stopping, and regu-
lating the speed of sewing machines and other revolving machinery substan-
tially as herein-before described with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Second, constructing breaks or apparatus for checking, stopping, and
regulating the speed of sewing machines and other revolving machinery sub-
stantially as herein-before described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 of
the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-first day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.