IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Newton Wilson, of High Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, Sewing Machine Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 25th June 1875, and dated the 1st May 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Newton Wilson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st May 1875.
I, NEWTON WILSON, of High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
5 Sewing Machine Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improved arrangements of loose
wheels and driving appliances for sewing machines, and to improved
means for regulating the feed of sewing machines of the Wheeler and
Wilson type.
The first part of my said Invention consists of certain peculiar
arrangements for rendering the driving wheels of sewing machines fast

page_text: or loose on their shafts, as required, and for throwing in or out of action
the driving and spooling or winding gear.
According to one arrangement of loose driving wheel my improve-
ments consist in mounting the wheel loose upon the driving shaft, and
in fitting into a hole drilled longitudinally in the boss of the said wheel
a loose stud or pin, the end of which is forced outwards by an internal
spring. Against this face of the boss and also upon the driving shaft
there is fitted a fast collar through which works longitudinally a screw
fitted with a milled or other conveniently shaped head, the inner end
of such screw, when screwed fully home, being flush with the inner
face of the said collar and coinciding in position with that of the spring
stud in the wheel boss herein-before referred to. When this screw is
withdrawn slightly by turning the head in the required direction the
spring stud by following it up and entering the hole in the fixed collar
effectually locks the driving wheel with the said collar, rendering the
wheel for the time being virtually fast on the driving shaft. By
screwing home the before-mentioned screw the spring stud will be forced
inwards so as to remove its extremity from the hole in the fixed collar,
in which condition the driving wheel will turn loosely on its shaft.
These adjustments are instantaneously made by simply imparting one or
more turns to the screw in the direction required.
It is obvious that the arrangement might be reversed by placing the
screw in the boss of the wheel and the spring stud in the fixed collar.
According to another arrangement of loose driving wheel I bore the
boss of the wheel slightly conical and fit the same on to a corresponding
conical portion of the driving shaft, an adjusting screw with an enlarged
head in the end of the shaft serving to tighten or release the wheel on
the conical part of the shaft by forcing it further on to the cone or
allowing it to withdraw slightly therefrom.
My arrangement for throwing the driving and spooling gear into or
out of action, as required, consists of an adjusting lever with eccentric
boss which works on a fixed stud, and upon which eccentric boss as a
journal revolves loosely the fly wheel and driving gear attached thereto.
On moving the adjusting lever the position of the centre of rotation of
the driving gear will be changed, thereby causing the said gear to
engage with the pinion or pinions on the driving shaft or shafts whilst
it is disengaged from the pinion of the spooling spindle or vice versa, as
required.

page_text: Another part of my Invention relates to improvements in the driving
or actuating appliances of sewing machines of the Wheeler and Wilson
type. As heretofore constructed these machines are liable to derange-
ment when worked by an inexperienced operator by reason of their
being driven occasionally in the wrong direction, thereby causing the
whole of the working parts also to move in the wrong direction, which
frequently results in general derangement. Now according to this part
of my Invention, I so arrange the driving appliances that in whichever
direction the first motion shaft may be driven no derangement can
accrue therefrom, since in the event of the operator so working the
treadle as to cause the first motion shaft to make one or more turns in
the wrong direction the actual working parts of the machine will not be
affected but will simply remain at rest. This I accomplish in a simple
manner by mounting the small band pulley loose on the driving shaft,
and providing one or more inclined clutch teeth or notches in the side
of the boss thereof. Corresponding inclined notches or teeth are also
provided in the adjoining face of the collar, which is so mounted on
a keyway on the driving shaft as to be fast on the said shaft so far as
regards rotary motion, but free to slide longitudinally along the
keyway against the pressure of a counteracting spring which always
tends to keep the said collar up to or against the face of the pulley boss.
Hence when the pulley is driven in the proper direction its teeth or
notches by engaging with the collar will carry the said collar and shaft
round with them, thereby driving the machine, but on being turned in
the reverse direction the said teeth or notches in the boss of the pulley
will simply ride over the corresponding notches or teeth in the collar
without imparting any rotary motion thereto and consequently the
machine itself remains at rest.
It is obvious that the collar may be fixed on the shaft and the band
pulley be left free not only to revolve loosely thercon but to move
longitudinally along the shaft sufficiently to allow the teeth of the
clutches to ride over each other when required.
Another part of my said Invention relates to the "four-motion feed "
of the Wheeler and Wilson type of sewing machine and consists of an
improved and more convenient means for regulating the same, the stitch
regulator being situate on the right hand side of the cloth plate con-
venient to the right hand of the operator, the operator's left hand being
always required for guiding the fabric.

page_text: The parts constituting the actual feed and regulator are all contained
within or attached to the right hand bracket of the machine and the
regulation of the stitch is effected by the aid of a horizontal lever acted
upon by a spring and engaging into a slot in the inner and upper
portion of the feeder. This lever works horizontally on a fixed centre in
the said right-hand bracket and is controlled in its return motion by the
aid of a bell crank regulating lever attached to the under side of the
cloth plate on the right-hand side thereof.
By the arrangement herein-before described I obtain a simple
compact, economical, and silent feed, with the advantage of enabling
the operator to regulate the length of stitch with the disengaged hand.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Newton Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st November 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NEWTON
WILSON, of High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Sewing
Machine Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Newton Wilson, Her
special license that I, the said Newton Wilson, my executors, ad-
ministrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Newton
Wilson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Newton Wilson, 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, 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

page_text: is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
My said Invention relates,―
First. To certain peculiar arrangements of loose driving wheels for
sewing machines.
Secondly. To a peculiar arrangement to be applied to a sewing
machine for the purpose of throwing in or out of action the driving
gear of the stitching mechanism, and the spooling or winding gear as
required.
Thirdly. To an improved driving arrangement for preventing the
driving of sewing machines in the wrong direction.
And, Fourthly. To a peculiar arrangement and disposition of the
stitch regulating mechanism of sewing machines of the Wheeler and
Wilson type, whereby the stitch can be conveniently regulated by the
disengaged hand of the operator.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet
of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in all the corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of
one of my improved arrangements of loose driving wheel, which consists
in mounting the driving wheel A loose upon the driving shaft B, and in
fitting into a hole drilled longitudinally in the boss C of the said wheel
a loose stud or pin a, the end of which is forced outwards by an internal
spring b. Upon the shaft B and bearing against this face of the boss C
of the driving wheel there is fitted a fast collar D, through which works
longitudinally a screw E formed with a milled or other conveniently
shaped head, the inner end of such screw when screwed fully home
being flush with the inner face of the said collar D, and coinciding in

page_text: its radial position with that of the spring stud a in the wheel boss
herein-before referred to. When this screw E is withdrawn slightly, as
shown in Figure 1, by turning the head in the required direction the
spring stud a by following it up and entering the hole in the fixed
collar D effectually locks the driving wheel A with the said collar,
rendering the wheel for the time being virtually fast on the driving
shaft. By screwing home the before-mentioned screw E the spring
stud a will be forced inwards, so as to remove its extremity from the
hole in the fixed collar D, in which condition the inner end of the
screw E will be exactly flush with the inner face of the fixed collar, and
the driving wheel will turn freely on its shaft. These adjustments are
instantaneously made by simply imparting one or more turns to the
screw E in the direction required.
It is obvious that the arrangement might be reversed by placing the
screw in the boss of the wheel, and the spring stud in the fixed collar,
but I prefer the arrangement I have shown.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of another arrangement of loose
driving wheel for a sewing machine, wherein the boss C of the driving
wheel A is bored slightly tapering or conical, and fits on to a corre-
sponding tapered or conical portion B' of the driving shaft. An
adjusting nut E is screwed on to the end of the driving shaft, and is
sufficiently large to take a bearing against the outer face of the wheel
boss C, as shown in Figure 2; or in lieu of the nut E a screw having a
sufficiently large head may be screwed into the end of the driving shaft.
By turning this nut or screw in the direction required it will obviously
either tighten the driving wheel by forcing it towards the larger end of
the conical or tapered part B of the shaft, or allow it to run loosely by
permitting the boss to release itself by moving towards the smaller end
of the said conical or tapered part B². F is a check nut working on a
smaller screwed portion of the shaft, and having by preference its thread
cut in the reverse direction to that of the nut E.
$$
Figure 3 is an elevation of the driving end of what I call my
Improved Band Singer Machine" (the driving wheel being removed)
fitted with my peculiar arrangement for throwing the driving and the
spooling gear into or out of action as required. This arrangement
consists of an adjusting eccentric boss a (shown more clearly in the
detail, Figure 4) worked by a lever B or otherwise, which boss works
on a fixed stud in the right-hand end of the goose neck or overhanging

page_text: bracket of the machine. Upon the said eccentric boss, as a journal,
revolves loosely the fly wheel A and driving gear C attached thereto,
the pitch line of the teeth of such driving gear being shown by the
dotted circles c and c'. On moving the adjusting lever B upwards or
downwards the position of the eccentric boss and centre of rotation of
the main driving gear will obviously be changed, thereby causing the
said gear either to engage with the pinion D on the driving shaft E,
whilst it is disengaged from the pinon F of the spooling spindle, as
shown by the position of the pitch line c, or vice versa, to engage with
the spooling pinion F whilst it is disengaged from the driving pinion D,
as shown by the position of the pitch line c¹. The end of the lever B
works in a guiding slot in the fence or projecting rim d of the fixed
bracket, and is provided with a tightening nute for the purpose of
fixing the lever in its elevated or depressed position as required.
Figure 5 illustrates my improvements in the driving or actuating
appliances of sewing machines, applicable more especially but not solely
to machines of the Wheeler and Wilson type. As heretofore con-
structed these machines are liable to get out of order when worked by
an inexperienced operator by reason of their being driven occasionally
in the wrong direction, thereby causing the whole of the working parts
also to move in the wrong direction which frequently results in general
derangement. Now according to this part of my Invention I so arrange
the driving appliances that in whichever direction the first motion shaft
may be driven no derangement can arise therefrom, since in the event
of the operator so working the treadle as to cause the first motion shaft
to make one or more turns in the wrong direction, the actual working parts
of the machine will not be affected but will simply remain at rest. This
I accomplish in a simple manner by mounting the small band pulley A
(Figure 5) loose on the driving or crank shaft B and providing one or
more inclined clutch teeth or notches a in the side of the boss thereof.
Corresponding inclined notches or teeth b are also provided in the
adjoining face of a collar C which is mounted on a keyway or feather
on the crank shaft B so as to be fast on the said shaft so far as regards
rotary motion, but free to slide longitudinally along the keyway or
feather against the pressure of a counteracting spring D bearing against
a fixed collar E, which spring always tends to keep the sliding collar C
up to or against the face of the pulley boss. Hence, when the shaft B
is driven in the proper direction the teeth or notches in the collar C by
engaging with those of the boss of the pulley will cause the said pulley
'

page_text: to revolve with them, thereby driving the machine, but on being turned
in the reverse direction the said teeth or notches in the collar C will
simply ride over the corresponding notches or teeth in the boss of the
pulley without imparting any rotary motion thereto, and consequently
the machine itself will remain at rest.
It is obvious that the collar C may be fixed on the shaft and the band
pulley A be left free, not only to revolve loosely thereon, but to move
under the action of a spring in a longitudinal direction along the shaft
sufficiently to allow the teeth of the collar and pulley boss to ride freely
over each other when required.
Figure 6 is a plan of a portion of a sewing machine of the Wheeler
and Wilson type showing my peculiar arrangement and disposition of
the stitch regulating apparatus, which I dispose on the right-hand side
of the cloth plate (in lieu of as heretofore on the left), so that it may be
convenient to the right hand of the operator, the operator's left hand
being always required for guiding the fabric.
The parts constituting the actual feed and regulator are all contained
within or attached to the right-hand bracket A' of the two brackets A, A',
of the machine, and the regulation of the stitch is effected from the
right-hand side of the cloth plate by the aid of a horizontal lever B
acted upon by a spring a which forces it back and engaging into a notch
in the inner and upper portion C of the feeder. This lever works on a
vertical fixed centre 6 in the right-hand bracket A', and is controlled in
its return motion by a bell-crank regulating lever D working on a fixed
centre c on the under side of the cloth plate (shown partly in dotted
lines at E), and situate at the right-hand side of the said cloth
plate.
By the arrangement herein-before described I obtain the advantage of
facility for regulating the length of stitch by the disengaged hand of
the operator..
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The application and use to and in sewing machines of the

page_text: peculiar arrangement of loose driving wheel herein-before described and
illustrated by Figure 1 of my Drawings.
Secondly. The application and use to and in sewing machines of
the peculiar arrangement of loose driving wheel herein-before described
and illustrated by Figure 2 of my Drawings.
Thirdly. The mounting the driving gear of a shuttle or spool lock
stitch sewing machine on an adjustable eccentric boss for the purpose of
enabling the stitching mechanism and the spooling or winding gear to
be thrown in or out of action as required, as herein-before described and
illustrated by Figures 3 and 4 of my Drawings.
Fourthly. The application and use to and with the crank shafts of
sewing machines of the peculiar arrangement for preventing the driving
of such machines in the wrong direction, as hercin-before described and
illustrated by Figure 5 of my Drawings.
Fifthly. The peculiar arrangement of stitch regulating mechanism
for sewing machines of the Wheeler and Wilson type, and the attach-
ment of the same to the right-hand bracket of such machines, whereby
greater facility and convenience are afforded for adjusting the said
mechanism by the right or disengaged band of the operator, as herein-
before described and illustrated by Figure 6 of my Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Newton Wilson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
NEWTON WILSON. (L.S.)
Witness,
- EDWIN P. ALEXANDER,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent,
14, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
W.C.