Improvements in Wax-thread Lockstitch Sewing Machines, suitable for Sewing Harness Work, Boots and Shoes.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Wax-thread Lockstitch Sewing Machines, suitable
for Sewing Harness Work, Boots and Shoes.
I, HARRY SENIOR ELLIS, of Hope Cottage, Hanover Lane, Leeds, in the
County of York, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in lock-stitch sewing machines in
which two waxed threads are used, and has for object, measuring the required
length of thread for the needle to form the loop, tor obviating the wearing or
fraying of the thread during its passing over the barbed hook of the needle, whilst
passing through the material and until taken off by the hook of the shuttle,
placing the thread in position for the hook to take hold of, forming the point of
curved hook needles used in these machines,. also forming the hook of oscilating
shuttles in such manner, as to enter and open the loop of the needle thread and
to release or strip it from the needle, thereby dispensing with the use of a
separate loop opener and thread stripper and for applying tension to the shuttle
thread. For these purposes, on one end of an oscilating shaft carried in a suit-
able bearing of a bracket secured to the machine, is secured a measuring lever,
having its extreme end bent upwards in the form of a hook, on the other pro-
jecting end of the shaft is secured another lever which receives motion from a
suitable cam secured on the main shaft of the machine, taking against a runner
or die mounted on a fixed stud provided in the end of the said lever.
The adjustable thread guide has an extension formed on it, its outer surface
being bent or curved to suit the are formed by the movement of the hook on
measuring lever, and forms a lead or rest for the needle thread to lay on, its inner
surface being cut away for the passage of the needle. The curved hook needle
has its point formed on its outer periphery, it being tapered or backed away
from the barb to the point from its inner periphery and two sides only.
The shuttle is nearly cylindrical in shape, a part of its circumference being
cut away is such a manner as to form a hook, both sides being cut away, so that
its foremost end terminates in a long point, part of which may be parallel with
one side and terminating with a hollow which joins with the outer taper side,
the point may be centrally situated or may be in any convenient position with
the thickness of the shuttle, such point being sufficiently sharp to enter and
open the loop of the needle thread which has passed through the material, the
needle giving a slight return movement until the barb of the hook passes into
the hollow part formed in the hook of the shuttle, thereby depositing the thread
onto the shuttle hook, when the needle quickly retires allowing the shuttle to
complete the lock stitch. In the body of the shuttle is a receptacle for holding
a spool or cop of thread, which is retained therein by a lid swivelling on a screw
on one side, and is retained in position when closed by a bevilled edge on a part
of the lid taking into a bevilled undercut part on the shuttle. Tension to the
shuttle thread being furnished by a flat bladed spring which is secured in a

page_text: groove formed in a suitable position on the periphery of the shuttle, which is held
in position and is adjustable by a setscrew.
The thread passing from the receptacle formed in the shuttle, through a hole
formed in the side about in the centre of its depth, passes under the above flat
bladed spring, and then through a groove formed in the edge of the body of the
shuttle, to the inside of the receptacle again, and and thence passes through a
hole in the lid, the necessary tension being put on by turning the set screw.
Dated the 2nd day of July 1898
Improvements in Wax-thread Lockstitch Sewing Machines, suitable
for Sewing Harness Work, Boots and Shoes.
I, HARRY SENIOR ELLIS, of Hope Cottage, Hanover Lane, Leeds, in the
County of York, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in lock-stitch sewing machines in
which two waxed threads are used, and has for objects to provide for the mea
suring of the required length of thread for the needle to form the loop; for
obviating the wearing or fraying the thread during its passage over the barbed
hook of the needle whilst passing through the material and until taken off by
the hook of the shuttle; for placing the thread in position for the hook to take
hoid of; and for applying tension to the shuttle thread, another object being to
so form the points of the curved hooked needles used in these machines and the
hooks of the oscillating shuttles in such manner as to enter and open the loop
of the needle-thread and to release or strip it from the needle, thereby dispensing
with the use of a separate loop opener and thread stripper.
In order that the invention may be clearly understood, reference is made to
the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a part side elevation, Fig. 2 a part
front view of a machine for sewing welts to the uppers of boots and shoes, and
for turn boot sewing.
Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are respectively a plan, a front view a top view and an
underside view of a shuttle according to this invention.
Fig. 7 is an elevation of a spool for use therein.
Figs. 8 to 15 are elevations and front views of the relative positions of the
needle and shuttle as used in a machine for sewing the welts to the uppers of
boots and shoes, and for turn boot and shoe sewing.
Fig. 16 is a plan of an adjustable thread guide, according to this invention.
Figs. 17 to 24 are elevations and front views of the relative positions of the
shuttle and needle as used in a machine for fair stitching the sole to the welt.
Figs. 25 to 27 are front views of the relative positions of the shuttle and
needle as used in a machine for sewing harness work, belting and closing.
The curved needle 1 has its point 2 situated at its outer periphery, the end
portion of the needle being tapered or cut on the incline from the barb or hook 3
on the inner periphery 4 towards the outer periphery 5, the two sides of the end
portion of the needle being inclined towards each other.
The shuttle 6 (see Figs. 3 to 6) is formed from a cylindrical boss of the requi-

page_text: site thickness, part of which is cut away to form a hook 7. The sides 8, 9 of
the hook 7 are cut away or inclined towards each other so that its foremost end
terminates in a point 10; part of the side 8 of which may be parallel or nearly
so with the part and terminates with or merges into a hollow 11. The point of
the hook may be centrally situated in the thickness of the body of the shuttle or
it may be formed in a position towards one side thereof. The hook 7 may be
formed separately from the body of the shuttle, and secured thereto by a screw 14
which passes through a dovetailed part 12 of the hook into the body of the shuttle.
The dovetailed part 12 fits a reversely dovetailed groove 13. In the body of the
shuttle is a recess 15 preferably furnished with a centre pin 16 for holding the
spool 17 on which the thread is wound.
The cop or spool 17 is retained within the shuttle by a lid 18 swivelling on a
stud or screw 19 and held in the closed position by a bevelled edge 20 taking
into a bevelled undercut part 21 on the shuttle. On the outside of the shuttle.
is a groove or recess 22 in which is secured a flat bladed tension spring 23, the
pressure exerted by which can be adjusted by a set screw 24. The thread from
the cop or spool 17 passes from the inside of the recess 15 to the outside through
an orifice 25, then passes under the spring 23 through a groove 26 formed in the
body of the shuttle into the recess 15, and then passes out again through an
orifice 27 in the lid 18. The required tension of the thread is produced by the
screw 24 pressing more or less against the spring 23.
The shuttle 6 is placed in a shuttle holder 25 provided with a cover 263, swivel-
ling on a stud 27* and held in position by a screw 28. The shuttle is oscillated
by a driver 29 on a shaft 30 carried in bearings 31, and provided at its outer
end 32 with a pinion 33 gearing with a sector lever 34 mounted on a stud 35, and
receiving motion from a cam 36 on the main shaft 37 through a roller 38 mounted
on a stud 39.
40 is an adjustable thread guide, rectangular in section, and adjustably secured
to a carrier 41 on a standard 42 by means of a set screw 43 (as shown in Fig. 1)
or the thread guide 40 may be adjustably secured in a carrier 44 of a bracket 45
secured to a standard of the machine, as shown in Fig. 18. The thread guide 40
is formed with an orifice 46, through which the thread passes. Part of one
side 47 of the thread guide is formed with a groove 48, over which the thread
passes in such a manner that as the point of needle enters the said groove it will
be able to take hold of the thread; the reverse or opposite side 49 of the thread
guide is rounded from the hole 46 towards the point 50 so as to form a rest or
support 51 for the needle thread, which passes over the groove 48, whilst it is
being measured out by the thread-giver 52, which has on its outer end a hook 52ª.
The thread-giver 52 is, in some instances, mounted on one end 53 of an oscil-
lating shaft 54 carried in bearings 55, the other end 56 of which has secured to
it a lever 57 furnished with a stud 58 provided with a roller 59 which bears
against and is operated by a cam 60 secured to the main shaft 37 (Fig. 1).
Referring to Figs. 17 to 24, the thread giver 52 is mounted on a stud 61, is
normally kept in the position shown in Figs. 22 and 24, by means of a spring 62,
and receives motion from a lever which operates upon the end 63 of the thread
giver. The thread giver 52 shown in Figs. 25 to 27 is operated in a similar
manner to that shown in Fig. 1. In Figs. 8 and 9 the thread giver 52, of a
machine for sewing the welt to the sole of a boot or shoe is shown as having
partly laid the needle thread on the thread guide 40 for the hook of the needle
to engage with; in Figs. 10 and 11 the thread giver has measured out the requi-
site length of thread; Figs. 12 and 13 show the needle delivering its thread onto
the hook of the shuttle and Figs. 14 and 15 show how the lockstitch is made.
Figs. 17 to 24 show a similar operation of forming the lockstitch in a fair sewing
machine, whilst Figs. 25 to 27 show a similar operation performed by a straight
needle machine-such as is used for sewing harness, belting and closing work.
In lockstitch sewing machines using two waxed threads for sewing leather,
either for boots or shoes, fair sewing, welt sewing, harness work, belting or

page_text: closing work, the shuttle is or may be operated either above or under the work
in the same line as the movement of the needle, or it may be placed and operated
at right angles to the line of movement of the needle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. In lockstitch sewing machines of the kinds herein referred to in which two
waxed threads are used a shuttle provided or formed with a hook and having a
suitable thread tension device, substantially as described and shown.
2. In lockstitch sewing machines of the kinds herein referred to in which two
waxed threads are used, an adjustable thread guide provided with a groove for
the needle to work in and a support for the needle thread substantially as
described and shown.
3. In lockstitch sewing machines of the kinds herein referred to in which two
waxed threads are used the combination with an adjustable thread guide as men-
tioned in the preceding claim, a thread measurer or giver for measuring out the
thread and placing it on the rest or support of the thread guide substantially as
described and shown.
4. Lockstitch sewing machines using two waxed threads of the kinds herein
referred to comprising a shuttle, an adjustable thread guide and a thread giver
or measurer constructed, arranged and operating substantially as described.
Dated this 30th day of March 1809
R. E. P. CRAVEN,
Chartered Patent Agent,
King Street Chambers, 52, Wellington Street, Leeds,
Agent for the Applicant.
R. E. P. CRAVEN,
Chartered Patent Agent,
King Street Chambers, 52, Wellington Street, Leeds,
Agent for the Applicant.