IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hillman, of Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES."
Sealed the 4th April 1876, and dated the 5th October 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hillman at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th October 1875.
I, WILLIAM HILLMAN, of Coventry, in, the County of Warwick,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for “Im-
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
-
My Invention of "improvements in sewing machines relates to various
improvements in the construction of some of the working parts, whereby
the mechanism is simplified and the cost of construction considerably
reduced.
My first improvement relates to an improved mode of actuating the
needle bar. To this end the tail of the lever which carries the shuttle

page_text: and imparts an elliptic motion thereto is jointed or connected to a lever
or arm mounted on a rocking shaft, which turns in bearings in the fixed
framework or foundation of the machine. Another lever or arm is keyed
on to the end of this rocking shaft, and is connected by a rod to the end
of the needle bar, which is mounted on a centre, so that a rocking or {
vibrating motion may be imparted thereto, and thus be made to com-
municate the requisito up-and-down motion to the vertical rod which
carries the needle.
The next improvement relates to the mechanism for actuating the
feed wheel. For this purpose a gripping arm is mounted on the axle of 1
the fixed wheel, and is made to bear against the boss of the wheel and
drag the wheel round a limited distance when it is acting in one
direction, but slips over the boss and leaves it stationary when acting in
the opposite direction. The tail of a lever connected with the gripping
arm bears against a vibrating arm or lever keyed on to the end of the 1
rocking shaft, so that as this latter rocks in its bearings it lifts up the
tail of the lever connected with the gripping arm, and by this means
drives forwards the feed wheel a limited distance. The return motion of
the gripping arm and its lever is controlled by a spring, which also keeps
the tail of the lever against the vibrating arm on the rocking shaft.
The feed may be made adjustable by adapting to the tail of the gripping
lever a regulating screw, which will bear against the vibrating arm on
the rocking lever, and may be screwed up or down according to the
required length of feed.
The next improvement relates to a device for holding the shuttle in
its place against the face of the feeding wheel. This is effected by
means of a lever arm made with a square knuckle joint, and provided
with a spring which will hold the arm either in the horizontal position
to retain the shuttle in its place, or in a vertical position if it be desired
to remove the shuttle from the machine, as when it requires a fresh &
supply of thread.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said William Hillman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HILLMAN, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Hillman, Her special
licence that I, the said William Hillman, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Hillman, 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 SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Hillman, 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
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Hillman, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):-
The object of this Invention is to simplify the construction and
increase the efficiency of shuttle sewing machines, and to facilitate the
removal and replacement of the shuttle.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 shews in side elevation a shuttle
sewing machine constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is a front

page_text: elevation, and Fig. 3 is a back elevation of the same. The other Figures
shew detached parts, and will be particularly referred to hereafter.
My first improvement has reference to the working of the needle bar,
the rise and fall of which has, as is well understood, to be arranged
relatively to the traverse motions of the shuttle. According to this
part of my Invention I derive the motion for actuating the needle bar
arm from the shuttle carrier, and thus ensure the maintenance of a
proper relation between the motions of the needle and shuttle.
A is the main driving shaft of the machine, receiving its motion from
a hand wheel B through spur gearing C, C¹. On the forward end of
the shaft A is a disc A', carrying a screw a as a crank pin; this crank
pin supports and works the oscillating shuttle carrier D, as explained
in the Specification of the Patent granted to George Haseltine, and
dated Twenty-second June, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five,
No. 1678. The tail end d of this carrier is jointed to a crank arm e
keyed to the forward end of a longitudinal shaft E, which rocks in
bearings in the main framing of the machine. At the rear end of this
shaft is a crank arm e', to which is jointed a connecting rod F, which
leads up to and is coupled by a ball-and-socket joint g with a rock
lever G, having its fulcrum on the bracket arm H of the machine; to
the forward end of this rock lever is connected by a ball-and-socket
joint i a needle bar I, to the lower end of which is fitted the needle I' as
usual.
It will now be understood that as the shuttle carrier is oscillated in the
well-known manner by the revolution of the crank pin a of the disc A'
on the driving shaft A it will impart a rocking motion to the shaft E
through its crank arm e, which motion will, through the crank arm e'
and connecting rod F, be transmitted to the rocking arm G of the needle
bar. The needle bar and needle will thus be actuated through the oscil-
lating shuttle carrier, and a positive independent action will thereby be
maintained between the vertical needle and the shuttle.
The machine shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3 is designed for heavy work,
and for this purposo a wheel feed is considered most advantageous.
As an improvement on the ordinary wheel feed I have designed the
arrangement which is shewn detached at Fig. 4, where K is the feed
wheel mounted loosely on a stud axle carried by a strap piece K³ (see
Fig. 2) connected to a bracket of the main framing. On the hub of the

page_text: wheel K an arm K'is mounted loosely, and pivotted to this arm is a
gripping lever L, the gripping face of which is in the same plane as an
enlargement of the hub of the wheel. The rocking shaft E is fitted with
a tappet 7, which as the shaft E is rocked throws up the gripping lever
into the dotted position of Fig. 4, and thereby drives round the feed
wheel K in the direction of the arrow.
For determining the amount of feed the gripping lever L is provided
with an adjusting screw 7, which rests on the hub of the tappet. The
turning therefore of this screw to the right or left will ensure a greater
or less motion of the gripping lever, and consequently a greater or less
feed of the work under the needle.
For retaining the gripping face against the hub of the feed wheel and
assisting in the rotation of the gripping lever to its normal position a
spring L' is employed, one end of which is secured to the framing, and
the other is attached to a hook on the gripping lever.
To permit of the vertical adjustment of the feed wheel the strap piece K¹
is pivotted at k to the bracket which carries it, and it is cast with a lug
, which is drilled out to receive an excentric that turns on a screw
pin ³ as its centre of motion; this pin is screwed into the bracket
piece before mentioned, and the excentric, which is loose on the pin, is
provided with a handle for turning it. By raising or lowering the
excentric handle the strap piece K' will be rocked on its fulcrum, and
the feed wheel which it carries will be raised or lowered as desired to
take a proper bite of the work to be sewn.
When sewing light work I remove the wheel feed and substitute
therefor the four-motion feed shewn in side elevation at Fig. 5, and in an
inverted partial plan view at Fig. 6. To enable me to do this I provide
below the work plate A* horizontal guides to receive the guide pins m
of the feeder M, and also a lug, as at m³, to receive the adjusting
screw m³.
The disc A' I utilize as a cam, which is embraced by the forked
parts M', Mª, of the feeder M, and serves to give the forward motion
to the feeder, the back motion being obtained as usual by a spring M³.
The limb M is faced with leather to take the pressure of the cam and
ensure a silent feed action, and the limb M' rides upon a cam pro-
jection E* on the rock shaft E for the purpose of giving the up-and-
down motion to the feeder.

page_text: Secondly. The arrangement above described for driving the feed
wheel.
Thirdly. The arrangement above described for retaining the shuttle in
place in and permitting of its ready removal from the shuttle carrier.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hillman, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
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