Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Sept., 1886.
Complete Left, 23rd June, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 5th Aug., 1887.
I, JOHN RUFUS REYNOLDS of No. 60 Woodland Street, Hartford in the State of
Connecticut, United States of America, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
Letters Patent have heretofore been granted for book sewing machinery in which
the signature is laid upon an arm that projects from a vertical shaft, and the signature
is presented to the sewing mechanism as the shaft is rotated progressively and
reference is hereby made to the patent granted in Great Britain, February 11th, 1879
to David McConnell Smyth No. 538, for the general character of the machine in
which the present improvements are available.
Where semi-circular needles are made use of as in the aforesaid patent, it is difficult
to puncture the paper of the signature by the needles themselves, because such needles
are liable to spring or bend, hence it has usually been necessary to saw or otherwise
notch the folded back edges of the signatures previous to placing the same in the
machine.
One feature of my present invention relates to an improvement in the arms that
receive and hold the folded signatures whereby each folded signature is punctured at
the required places immediately before the needles pass into the signatures in sewing
the same, thereby the difficulty heretofore experienced of injuring the sheets by the
notches is prevented and at the same time the perforations are always made at the
proper places for the needles to enter and it is only necessary to place the folded signa-
tures properly upon the successive arms as they are carried around by the revolving
shaft, and in addition to this the perforations do not require to be as large as the
notches heretofore made use of and they are not objectionable in appearance.
The vertical shaft is revolved intermittently as in aforesaid patent and projecting
from the same are arms upon which the signatures are to be laid.
The sewing
mechanism is composed of semi-circular needles and the looping devices connected
with the same as hereafter mentioned.
Each of the arms is made in the same manner and I will therefore only describe one
of them. The arm is in the form of a metal bar extending out from the hub of the
shaft and having through it vertical mortices for the passage of the perforators or
CD
.
1177

page_text: lances. These mortices and lances are at the proper distances apart to perforate the
paper at the places where the needles are to enter and to leave the fold of the
signature.
Each lance or perforator is in the form of a narrow thin blade with a sharp point at
one end and the mortices in the arm are of the proper size for the perforators to slide
freely in such mortices, and the arm is preferably made with removable plates that
cover the mortices at one side and retain the lances in their proper positions.
The top edge of the arm is recessed to form the cavities through which the needles
pass in performing the sewing and at the sides of this arm there are plates of thin sheet
metal the same being secured to the arm by rivets or screws.
Beneath the arm and between the plates is a connecting bar that is grooved
vertically for the reception of the lower ends of the perforators and these are clamped
to the said bar by screws, so that said perforators are raised and lowered bodily by a
movement given to the bar.
The screws pass through the plates and also through cam slots in the reciprocating
bar, and this bar has longitudinal slots that receive the shaped lower ends of the
plates, that hang down from the connecting bar so that when this bar is moved end wise
the cam slots raise or lower the same and with it the connecting bar is moved up
and down bodily to project the perforators above the top of the arm on to withdraw
the same below such arin.
In the normal position the perforators are depressed, so that the upper ends are
entirely below the top edges of the arms and the signatures are laid upon the arm as
said arms come round successively and when the arm with the sheet upon it arrives at
the place where the sewing is performed and the shaft and arms are raised up as in
aforesaid patent, the sheet is held down upon the arm by stationary fingers projecting
from the bar that supports the shafts of the needles, and at this moment an end move-
ment is given to the reciprocating bar by any suitable device such for instance as a
hook that passes down over a roller or stud upon the reciprocating bar, and in so doing
the lances or perforators are rapidly raised and pass through the back fold of the
signature, making the required perforations for the passage of the sewing needles
and then the bar being reciprocated in the other direction the perforators are withdrawn
and the sewing is proceeded with.
The needles are semi-circular, or nearly so, and the eye of each needle is near the
end, and each needle is attached upon the end of a shaft by a screw, and to its shaft the
proper movement is given at the right time for passing the needle into and out of
the signatures.
I find it advantageous to groove those semi-circular needles upon the outer periphery
from the shank to the point in order that the threads may lie in such groove as the
needle passes through the paper thereby lessening the wear upon the thread and
the tendency of the paper to cut the thread, and to guide the needle in its downward
movement, I make use of a grooved block fastened upon the frame above the folded
edge of the signature, and there is a plate or cap that retains the needle in its place,
but the needle is unobstructed as it slides through the guide. The thread to each
needle passes around the guide bars and also around the take up bar and from the guide
bar the thread passes down around the guide block and through the eye of the needle
and thence to the previously sewed signature.
As the needle swings back its point rises into the groove in the guide block, hence
the thread lies within the groove of the needle between the eye and the point, and the
groove of the needle prevents the thread being pinched and injured by contact with
the needle and the block.
All the needles swing in the same direction and they are to be operated simul-
taneously so that a signature will be sewed with as many ranges of loops as there are
needles that operate in sewing the same.
In the stitch that is made by this machine, each line of sewing is made by one thread,
the thread being passed as a loop into the signature at one place and out at another
place and the second loop of thread passes through the end of the first loop and so on.
In the before mentioned patent, each looper is shewn as passing through the loop of

page_text: thread and holding the same open for another needle to pass through the same as its
point rises out of the signature and such looper is drawn back and drops its loop and
goes forward again taking a loop of thread at the eye of the needle, but the looper
acted in connection with two needles working in opposite directions. In my present
invention there is one looper to each needle, and there are usually as many needles in
the machine as are required for the largest sizes of signatures and the strongest
binding and when sewing smaller signatures some of the needles are not in use or are
disconnected or removed.
The looper shaft is supported near each end in frames. Each looper is connected to
the shaft by a collar and clamp screw, there being preferably peripheral grooves in the
shaft at the proper places for the loopers, and the cylindrical shank of the looper
passes through the clamp collar and partially into the groove and the parts are held
firmly by the screw that tightens the collar upon the shaft also binding the shank of
the looper.
The shaft can slide freely end wise through its bearings in the frames as well as
revolve therein, and to give such shaft the necessary oscillating motion and endwise
motion to properly move the loopers, I make use of a lever that receives the proper
movement by a cam, and it is connected at its upper end by a hinge to the sleeve that
surrounds the looper bar where it projects outside the frame.
There is a collar around the looper bar and within the sleeve and a helical spring
surrounds the looper bar between the collar and an inward flange at the end of the
sleeve; and a collar or nut surrounding the looper shaft is adjusted by screwing it
end wise upon said shaft, and there is a screw for clamping said nut, and the sleeve is
slotted diagonally and the pin in such slot passes through the collar. It is preferable
to have diagonal slots at each side of the sleeve.
The operation of this part is that when the sleeve is pressed towards the frame the
looper shaft is slipped end wise by the pressure of the flange of the sleeve against the
spring, and when the collar reaches the side of the frame the further end movement
of the looper shaft is arrested, but the sleeve is moved further in the same direction
and the inclined slot and pin give to the looper bar a partial rotation.
Upon the lever moving in the other direction the first operation is to give the
looper bar a partial rotation the reverse way as the inclined slot moves back on the
pin, and then the further movement draws the looper bar end wise by the end of
the sleeve taking against the collar and this collar being adjustable, the position of
the looper bar end wise and consequently of the loopers can be regulated.
The relative motions given to each needle and its looper is as follows:
Suppose the needle about to enter the signature, and the looper as holding the
previous loop ready for the needle to pass into the signature and go through the first
loop; then the partial rotation of the looper shaft carries the looper back and drops the
first loop around the needle; then the looper swings forward again taking a loop of
thread from the needle as the needle draws back leaving a second loop of thread on
the looper with the first loop of thread around it, the second loop is spread by the
lateral movement of the looper, and then the looper is carried back laterally to the
first position with the loop spread for the stitch through the next signature.
In these motions the threads are looped with the double threads passing along in
the signatures and the loop at the end in one signature receiving through it the
threads of the loop in the next signature.
These operations cannot be performed in book sewing advantageously without the
production of more or less slack thread, another feature of my improvements is for
taking up the slack thread; another feature is to prevent the tension on the threads
tearing or injuring the paper; another feature is to hold the sewed signatures back
out of the way of the fresh and unsewed signature. These features are next
described.
Upon the underside of the frame that carries the needle shafts I place a notched
plate that projects in the front of said frame and it has notches at the places where
the loopers are located, and the semi-circular needles pass down and their points rise
up, so as not to obstruct the action of the needles or of the loopers that act with them,

page_text: and the signature upon the arm is raised up beneath such plate and held there during
the sewing operation, and when the threads are pulled up the paper cannot be torn by
the threads because the metal plate supports the paper.
There is a bar provided with a plate on the top that projects towards and beneath
the notched plate, and its edge is notched in a corresponding manner so as not to
interfere with the sewing, and after the signature has been sewed and the arm drops
down out of the same the bar is to be brought up and the edge of the plate presses the
signatures back out of the way of the next signature as it is brought up to place by an
arm, to be sewed.
The loop tighteners are in the form of downwardly projecting fingers with hooks
on their lower ends; these tighteners are fastened upon a bar that lies above the
frame against another frame or plate, and this bar is suspended by springs and its
upward movement is limited by an adjustable stop.
A rock shaft is supported in bearings upon the frame, and there are arms that carry
the take up bar and also arms that act upon the top edge of the bar to force it down,
and at the end of the bar there are inclined lips that are within similarly shaped
stationary guides upon the frame, hence as the bar is pressed down a slight end
motion is given to it.
.
The rock shaft receives its motion at the proper time by a cam that acts upon a
rod that passes to an adjustable crank pin in the arm and the parts are timed so that
the bar is forced down directly after the sewed signature has been pressed back, so
that the lower ends of the loop tighteners pass through the notches of the plates and
outside the face of the sewed sheet and the plate holds the signatures back in place
until a fresh signature is brought up to be sewed, and the tighteners remain in that
position until the sewing needles have passed into this next signature. The positions
of these parts are such that the threads draw from one signature to the next directly
over the hooks of the tighteners and as the stitch is taken, the tighteners are raised by
the springs and catch the threads and draw them up, thereby tightening the previous
loop around the needle; but before the needles draw out of the signature, the bar is
slightly depressed again, and the loops by their elasticity, and by springs on the loop
tighteners are thrown off the tighteners, and the slack thread is drawn up by the end wise
movement of the shaft, looper and other parts as the needle draws back, thereby ensuring
the proper tightening up of the stitches in each signature as the same is sewed.
Dated this 24th day of September 1886.
BREWER & SON,
For the Applicant.

page_text: I, JOHN RUFUS REYNOLDS, of No. 60, Woodland Street, Hartford in the State of
Connecticut, United States of America, Machinest, do hereby declare the nature of
my said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SEWING BOOKS, 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 an improvement upon the book sewing device shown in
British Letters Patent, granted to D. M. Smyth, Feb. 11, 1879, No. 538; and May 24
1881, No. 2277.
In the said patent the threads are carried through the signatures by semi-circular
needles and the loop that is left in one signature receives through it the point of the needle
and the loop of thread in the next signature, but there is of necessity considerable slack
thread in forming the respective loops, and it is found that the threads have con-
siderable friction upon them in consequence of passing over the edges of the paper at
the perforations and hence it is difficult to pull up the preceeding loops by the
movement of the needle itself.
My invention relates to means for taking up the slack thread and tightening each
stitch as the signatures are sewed, to the construction of the needle for preventing the
thread being worn and broken, to devices for perforating the paper for the passage
of the needles and to other features all hereinafter detailed.
In the drawing Fig. 1, is an elevation of three of the needles and the devices used
in connection with the same. Fig. 2, is a section vertically at the line x, x, fig. 1,
Fig. 3, is a plan view at the line y, y, fig. 1. Fig. 4, is an elevation of the devices
for moving the looper shaft. Fig. 5, is an end view of the same. Figs. 6, 7 and 8
represent the needle in larger size. Fig. 9, is a skeleton showing the looping of the
threads. Figs. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are diagrams of the needle and loopers in
the different positions.
Upon reference to the aforesaid patents it will be found that the folded sheets or
signatures are placed upon arms and brought around successively and present the
sheets or signatures to the sewing mechanism. One of these arms is represented
sectionally at e, fig. 2.
The needles are semi-circular or nearly so as seen in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, and the

page_text: eye of each needle is near the end, and each needle is attached upon the end of a
shaft by a screw K as in aforesaid patents and to its shaft the proper movement
is given at the right time for passing the needle into and out of the signatures.
I find it advantageous to groove these semi-circular needles upon the outer periphery
from the shank to the point, in order that the threads may lie in such groove as the
needle passes through the paper thereby lessening the wear upon the thread and the
tendency of the paper to cut the thread, and to guide the needle in its downward
movement I make use of a grooved block 2 fastened upon the frame D above the
folded edge of the signature and there is a plate or cap 3 that retains the needle in
its place, but the needle is unobstructed as it slides through the guide. Upon
reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the thread to each needle passes around the
guide bars 5 and 6 and also around the take up bar 7, and from the guide bar 6 the
thread passes down around the guide block 2 and through the eye of the needle and
thence to the previously sewed signature. As the needle swings back, its point rises
into the groove in the guide block 2, hence the thread lies within the groove of the
needle between the eye and the point, and the groove of the needle prevents the
thread being pinched and injured by contact with the needle and the block 2.
Upon reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that all the needles swing in the same
direction and they are to be operated simultaneously so that a signature will be sewed
with as many ranges of loops as there are needles that operate in sewing the same.
Fig. 9 indicates the stitch that is made in this machine, that is to say, each line of
sewing is made by one thread, the thread being passed as a loop into the signature
at one place and out at another place and the second loop of thread passes through the
end of the first loop and so on.
In aforesaid patents each looper A' is shown as passing through the loop of thread
and holding the same open for another needle to pass through the same as its point
rises out of the signature and such looper is drawn back and drops its loop and goes
forward again taking a loop of thread at the eye of the needle, but the looper acted
in connection with two needles working in opposite directions. In my present
invention there is one looper to each needle, and there are usually as many needles
in the machine as are required for the largest sizes of signatures and the strongest
binding, and when sewing smaller signatures some of the needles are not in use.
The looper shaft is supported near each end in frames; the frame ² at one end
is shown in Figs. 4 and 5.
Each looper is connected to the shaft b1, by a collar 10, and clamp screw, there
being preferably peripheral grooves in the shaft at the proper places for the loopers,
and the cylindrical shank of the looper passes through the clamp collar and partially
into the groove and the parts are held firmly by the screw that tightens the collar
upon the shaft also binding the shank of the looper.
The shaft 6 can slide freely end wise through its bearings in the frames 62, as well
as revolve therein; and to give to such shaft the necessary oscilating motion and
end wise motion to properly move the loopers, I make use of the lever b, that receives
the proper movement by a cam, and it is connected at its upper end by a hinge 12,
to the sleeve 6, that surrounds the looper bar b' where it projects outside the frame b³.
There is a collar 13, around the looper bar band within the sleeve b', and a helical
spring 14 surrounds the looper bar between the collar 13, and an inward flange at
the end of the sleeve; and a collar or nut 16 surrounding the looper shaft is adjusted
by screwing it end wise upon said shaft, and there is a screw 17, for clamping said
nut 16, and the sleeve 6 is slotted at 18, diagonally and the pin 19, in such slot
passes through the collar 13. It is preferable to have diagonal slots at each side of
the sleeve.
The operation of this part is that when the sleeve 65 is pressed towards the frame &,
the looper shaft is slipped endwise by the pressure of the flange of the sleeve against
the spring, and when the collar reaches the side of the frame 6 the further end move-
ment of the looper shaft is arrested, but the sleeve is moved further in the same
direction, and the inclined slot 18 and pin 19 give to the looper bar a partial rotation.
Upon the lever 6', moving in the other direction, the first operation is to give the

page_text: looper bar a partial rotation the reverse way as the inclined slot 18 moves back on the
pin 19, and then the further movement draws the looper bar end wise by the end of
the sleeve taking against the collar 16, and this collar being adjustable, the position
of the looper bar end wise and consequently of the loopers, can be regulated.
The relative motions given to each needle and its looper will be understood by
reference to Figs. 10 to 15.
Fig. 10 shows the needle about to enter the signature, and the looper a³, as holding
the previous loop ready for the needle to pass into the position of Fig. 11, and go
through the first loop; then the partial rotation of the looper shaft carries the looper
back and drops the first loop around the needle, as in Fig. 12, then the looper swings
forward again taking a loop of thread from the needle as in Fig. 13, as the needle
draws back to the position shown in Fig. 14, leaving a second loop of thread on the,
looper with the first loop of thread around it; the second loop is spread by the lateral
movement of the looper as in Fig. 15, and then the looper is carried back laterally
to the position in Fig. 10, with the loop spread for the stitch through the next
signature, the end motion of the looper bar carrying the looper laterally from the
position of Fig. 15 to that of Fig. 10, and the partial revolution of the looper bar
swinging the looper from the positions of Figs. 10, and 11, back to that of Fig. 12,
and forward to that of Figs. 13 and 14.
In these motions the threads are looped as shown in the skeleton Fig. 9, the double
threads passing along in the signatures and the loop at the end in one signature
receiving through it the threads of the loop in the next signature.
These operations cannot be performed in book sewing advantageously without the
production of more or less slack thread; one feature of my improvement is for taking
up the slack thread. Another feature is to prevent the tension on the threads tearing
or injuring the paper; another feature is to hold the sewed signatures back out of
the way of the fresh and unsewed signature. These features are next described.
Upon the underside of the frame D that carries the needle shafts, I place a notched
plate 20 that projects in the front of said frame, and it has notches at the places
where the loopers are located and the semi-circular needles pass down and their
points rise up, so as not to obstruct the action of the needles or of the loopers that act
with them, and the signature upon the arm e, is raised up beneath such plate and held
there during the sewing operation and when the threads are pulled up the paper
cannot be torn because the metal plate supports the same.
The bar 23 is provided with a plate 24, on the top that projects towards and beneath
the plate 20, and its edge is notched in a corresponding manner so as not to interfere
with the sewing, and after the signature has been sewed, and the arm e drops down
out of the same the bar 23 is to be brought up, and the edge of the plate 24 presses
the signature back out of the way of the next signature as it is brought up to pluce
by the arm e to be sewed.
The loop tightners 25, are in the form of downwardly projecting fingers with hooks
on their lower ends; these tightners are fastened upon the bar 26, that lies above the
frame D against the plate or frame D', and this bar 26, is suspended by the springs 28,
and its npward movement is limited by the adjustable stop 30.
The rock shaft 32, is supported in bearings upon the frame and there are arms that
carry the take up bar 7, and also arms 33 that act upon the top edge of the bar 26,
to force it down, and at the end of the bar 26, there are inclined lips 34, that are
within similarly shaped stationary guides 36, upon the frame D' hence as the bar 26,
is pressed down, a slight end motion is given to it.
The rock shaft 32 receives its motion at the proper time by a cam that acts upon
the rod 40, that passes to the adjustable crank pin 41, in the arm 43, and the parts are
timed so that the bar 26 is forced down directly after the sewed signature has been
pressed back, so that the lower ends of the loop tightners pass through the notches of
the plates and outside the face of the sewed sheet, and the plate 24 holds the
signatures back in place until a fresh signature is brought up to be sewed, and the
tightners 25 remain in that position until the sewing needles have passed into
the signature. The positions of these parts are such that the threads draw from one

page_text: signature to the next directly over the hooks of the tightners and as the stitch is
taken, as indicated in Figs. 11, 12 and 13, the tighteners are raised by the springs 28,
and catch the threads and draw them up, thereby tightening the previous loop around
the needle as in Fig. 13; but before the needles draw out of the signature, the
bar 26 is slightly depressed again and the loops, by their elasticity, spring off the
tightners as indicated in Fig. 14, and the slack thread is drawn up by the end wise
movement of the shaft, looper and other parts as the needle draws back to the position
shown in Fig. 15, thereby insuring the proper tightening up of the stitches in each
signature as the same is sewed.
The groove in the periphery of each semi-circular needle, extending past the eye
and to the base of the point, receives the thread when the eye of the needle is raised
above the bottom of the guide block 2, thereby preventing the thread being clamped
or worn against the guide block.
Where the semi-circular needles are made use of as in the aforesaid patents, it is
difficult to puncture the paper of the signature by the needles themselves, because
such needles are liable to spring or bend; hence it has usually been necessary to saw
or otherwise notch the folded back edges of the signatures previous to placing the
same in the machine.
Another feature of my present invention relates to an improvement in the arms
that receive and hold the folded signatures whereby each folded signature is punctured
at the required places immediately before the needles pass into the signatures in
sewing the same, thereby the difficulty heretofore experienced by injuring the sheets
by the notches is prevented and at the same time the perforations are always made at
the proper places for the needles to enter, and it is only necessary to place the folded
signatures properly upon the successive arms as they are carried around by the
revolving shaft, and in addition to this, the perforations do not require to be as large
as the notches heretofore made use of and they are not objectionable in appearance.
Referring to the drawings Fig. 16, is an elevation of one of the arms and of part
of the shaft for supporting the same. Fig. 17 is an endview of the said arm in
larger size. Fig. 18 is an elevation and Fig. 19 a plan view of the arm alone.
Fig. 20 is an elevation and Fig. 21 a plan view of the connecting bar. Fig. 22 is an
elevation and Fig. 23 a plan view of the reciprocating bar. Fig. 24, is a plan view
in larger size illustrating the manner of clamping the perforators to the connecting
bar, and Fig. 25 is a section in larger size at the line 2, 2, fig. 16.
The vertical shaft C is revolved intermittently as in aforesaid patents, and projecting
from the same are the arms e upon which the signatures are to be laid. The sewing
mechanism is not represented in Figs. 16 to 25, but may be that before set forth
with reference to Figs. 1 to 15, or it may be that represented in the aforesaid
patents.
Each of the arms e is made in the same manner, and I will therefore only describe
one of them.
The arin e is in the form of a metal bar extending out from the hub of the shaft C,
and having through it vertical mortices for the passage of the perforators or
lances 62. These mortices and lances are at the proper distances apart to perforate
the paper at the places where the needles are to enter and to leave the fold of the
signature. Each lance or perforator is in the form of a narrow thin blade with a
sharp point at one end, and the mortices in the arme are of the proper size for the
perforators 62 to slide freely in such mortices, and the arm e is preferably made with
removable plates 63 that cover the mortices at one side and retain the lances in their
proper positions.
The top edge of the arm e, is recessed to form the cavities through which the
needles pass in performing the sewing and at the sides of this arm e there are
plates 64, of thin sheet metal the same being secured to the arm by rivets or
screws 65.
Beneath the arm e, and between the plates 64 is a connecting bar 66 that is grooved
vertically for the reception of the lower ends of the perforators 62, and these are
clamped to the said bar 66 by screws 67, so that said perforators are raised and

page_text: lowered bodily by a movement given to the bar 66. The screws 68 pass through the
plates 64, and also through cam slots 69 in the reciprocating bar 70, and this bar 70
has longitudinal slots 71 that receive the L shaped lower ends of the plates 72 that
hang down from the connecting bar 66 so that when this bar 70 is moved end wise, the
cam slots 69 raise or lower the same and with it the connecting bar 66 is moved up
and down bodily to project the perforators 62 above the top of the arm or to
withdraw the same below such arm.
In the normal position the perforators 62 are depressed, so that the upper ends are
entirely below the top edges of the arms e, and the signatures are laid upon the arms
as said arms come around successively, and when the arm with the sheet upon it
arrives at the place where the sewing is performed and the shaft and arms are raised
up as in aforesaid patents, the sheet is held down upon the arm by stationary fingers
projecting from the bar that supports the shafts of the needles, and at this moment an
end movement is given to the reciprocating bar 70 by any suitable device such for
instance as the hook 74 that passes down over the roller or stud upon the reciprocating
bar 70 and in so doing the lances or perforators are rapidly raised and pass through
the back fold of the signature making the required perforations for the passage of the
sewing needles and then the bar 70 being reciprocated in the other direction the
perforators are withdrawn and the sewing is proceeded with as described herein or as
in either of the aforesaid patents.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :—
1st. The combination in a book sewing machine, of a range of semi-circular
needles, all standing in the same direction and moving simultaneously to carry the
threads through the signatures, loopers to hold the threads as the needles draw back
and to present the loops to the same needles from which the threads were drawn after
such needles have passed through the next signature, thereby uniting the signatures
by the ranges of interlooped threads, substantially as set forth.
2nd. The combination in a book sewing machine, of semi-circular needles, shafts
for holding and oscillating such needles, loopers for taking loops from the needles as
the points emerge from the signatures, and presenting them to the same needles at the
next stitch and loop tightners and mechanism for moving the same and drawing up
the respective stitches substantially as set forth.
3rd. The combination with the loopers and looper shaft, of a sleeve with inclined
slots, a cross pin, a spring between the sleeve and the looper shaft and stops to limit
the end movement given to the looper shaft, whereby the looper shaft is turned, and
the loopers swung by a continuation of the end movement given to the sleeve,
substantially as set forth.
4th. The combination with the semi-circular needles and the shafts for the same, of
the loopers and the notched plate 20, against which the fold of the signature rests
while the sewing is performed, substantially as set forth.
5th. The combination in a book sewing machine of the semi-circular needles and
their shafts, the loopers and looper shaft, the arms for holding the signature while
being sewed, the notched plate 20, against which the signature is held, and the bar for
pushing the signature back, and the loop tightners that pass in between the sewed
signature and the signature that is presented for sewing, substantially as set forth.
6th. The combination with the semi-circular needles, grooved on their outer edges
for the thread, of stationary guides through which the needles pass, substantially as
Bet forth.
7th. The semi-circular or nearly semi-circular needle having a groove upon its
periphery extending from the shank to the point and an eye through the needle near
the point and opening into the groove substantially as set forth.
8th. The combination with an arm upon which the folded signatures lay in a book
sewing machine, of a range of perforators or lances within such arm and mechanism
for projecting and withdrawing such lances to perforate the signatures for the passage
of the sewing needles, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 9th. The arm e, slotted vertically, the perforators received within such slots, the
connecting bar to which the perforators are attached, the plates 64 at the sides of
the arm, the reciprocating bar having cam slots, and the screws passing through the
plates 64 and cam slots, substantially as set forth.
10th. The combination with the arm and plates 64, of the perforators passing
through mortices in the arms, the connecting bars 66, to which the perforators are
attached, the reciprocating bar 70, and the plates 72 for connecting the bar 66, and
the reciprocating bar 70 substantially as set forth.
Dated this 23rd day of June 1887