Improvements in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 18th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 9th Dec., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
I, WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN, of The Hawthorns, Newport Road, Stafford,
in the County of Stafford, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in that class of sewing machines,
which produce the stitch known as the lock stitch.
My improvements consist in the employment, in conjunction with other suitable
parts usually used in the class of sewing machines to which my invention is
applicable, of a shuttle and shuttle thread, a take up, a loop opener and cast off, a
shuttle lubricator and a thread locking and tension device.
The shuttle is of a curved form and is filled with thread made up in the form of
a curved cop.
It is worked to and fro by the machine in a circular race and is passed through
the loop of the thread which the needle draws up above the surface of the work.
A specially arranged shuttle carrier is employed which can easily be opened for
the extraction or insertion of the shuttle. Adjustable stops regulate the shuttle
movement and a lubricator is applied to the shuttle race.
The take up is operated by the machine in a bight formed in the thread between
the locking or tension device and the work and pulis down each loop of thread at
the proper time so as to form a stitch, rising again so as to yield up the thread
to the needle as the latter requires it.
The loop opener and cast off is operated by the machine in a circular race and
acts in conjunction with the shuttle and the needle, opening the loop of the thread
to facilitate the passage of the shuttle and assisting by means of a specially shaped
hole or depression formed near its point, into which the point of the needle enters
or dips, in the casting off of the loop of thread from the needle hook.
The thread locking and tension device is operated by the machine so as alter-
nately, at the proper times, to lock fast the thread, to allow of the thread being
supplied under tension and to release the thread so that it is supplied freely.
If desired the nose of the shuttle itself may be so constructed as to act as a
loop opener and cast off and the loop opener and cast off above described may be
dispensed with.
The cop of thread is formed in a winder so arranged that it will simultaneously
wind any desired number of cops at once. The desired number of spindles being
provided and rotated at equal speeds. A cam and change gear arrangement with
thread guides is made use of to lay the thread uniformly upon the spindles and a
rack and gear or equivalent to push all the cops simultaneously off the spindles
when fully wound and a discharging arrangement delivers the wound cops into a
tray or other convenient receptacle. The threads are supplied through a wax pot,
or pot containing other solution desired to be employed, and the whole may be
driven by hand or power as most convenient.
The desired curve and the somewhat flattened sides are given to the cop by a
press in which the pulling of two (or if desired only one) hand levers closes simul-
taneously the properly shaped sides and ends of moulding blocks in upon the
properly placed cop so as to form a mould which imparts its shape to the cop of
thread such shape being that of the inside of the shuttle above referred to.
Dated this 16th day of December 1892.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
I, WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN, of The Hawthorns, Newport Road, Stafford, in
the County of Stafford, Engineer, 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 has for its object improvements in that class of sewing machines 5
which produce the stitch known as the lock stitch.
My invention is particularly intended to be used in sewing machines employed in
the manufacture of boots and shoes and is herein described and illustrated by the
accompanying drawings as applied to a machine used for the purpose of fair
stitching or stitching the sole to the welt, which machine is generally known in the 1
shoe trade as the New Goodyear Stitcher.
Such a machine is provided with a curved awl, a channel gauge or presser foot,
a curved barbed or hook needle, a looper, a needle shield, and a table to support
the work. The machine may also be provided with a "pearler" as described in
Specification of Letters Patent granted to me No. 5538 A.D. 1889, and the looper
may be of the character described in Specification of Letters Patent also granted
to me No. 16980, A.D. 1890.
In sewing machines the portion of thread drawn up by the needle commonly
known as the loop is subject to a to and fro or sawing motion through the work
before it is finally laid in the stitches which exercises a wearing action on the
thread. The extent of the effect of this action upon the thread depends upon the
length of the loop drawn up, which in lock stitch machines must be long enough to
allow the shuttle or its equivalent apparatus to pass through.
Since the length of thread absorbed in making a single stitch is small in
proportion to the length of the loop it necessarily follows that every part of the
needle thread is drawn backwards and forwards through the work a great number
of times and is therefore subjected to a degree of wear from this cause proportionate
to the length of the loop.
Besides this as the whole length of the thread in the loop has to be pulled
entirely through the work every stitch the thread hole itself in the material is
proportionately enlarged. Also the length of the loop to be pulled up to a great
degree governs the speed of the machine in inverse proportion.
The principal object I have sought to attain in this invention is the reduction of
the length of the loop to the smallest possible consistent with a shuttle sufficiently
large to carry an adequate supply of thread and the general good operation of the
apparatus.
In my improved machine the sewing is done with two threads and is of the sort
known as the lock stitch. The one thread is carried on a spool or drawn off from
a ball as required by the machine while the other thread is carried in a curved
shuttle which is reciprocated to and fro by the machine.
The needle and the awl are of a curved form and work in a path which is a
portion of a circle the awl being driven up through the work against the resistance
of a foot or channel gauge so as to pierce a hole for the needle.
The feed of the work is done by moving the awl and the above mentioned foot
or channel gauge sidewise while the awl is in the work.
The work is supported upon a table on which the welt rests and against the front
of which the upper takes, the boot being held by the operator with its sole upper-
most. The table is provided with a hole through which the needle and the awl
work and this hole is sufficiently long in the direction of the feeding movement of
the work to allow of the side movement of the awl above referred to: This table
is locked fast by the machine while the needle and awl are passing through the
work but it is released, and only supported against downward movement by the
pressure of a spring, while the feeding movement is taking place.

page_text: and then clamping it fast by the set screw c¹8 the awl b may be set in regard to the
needle e.
The channel gauge d is mounted on a slide d' which is worked up and down in
the feed slide c by means a lever and cam surface d³.
The lever d is mounted on a pivot d' carried in the feed slide c and is furnished
with a pin d and cam roll dª. At its front end it has a slot d engaging a die d³
which is pivotted on a pin d' in the slide d'.
The table f which supports the work has a slot f¹ through which the needle e and
awl operate. The table f is mounted on a piece fcalled the table segment
carried upon a pivots in the machine frame a and is furnished at its lower end with
a tooth which engages a notch f prepared for it in a slide f arranged to move
in a way f formed in the frame a of the machine. A spring f* tends to keep the
slide forward and the table f up against the work.
For the purpose of holding the table stationary while the needle and awl are
passing through the work and releasing the same in order to allow the feed to take
place the lock lever g is provided being carried on a pivot g' in the machine frame a
and operated by the cam 2 acting on the roll g³ which is carried on the pin 9*.
The lever g is held in action so as to lock fast the slide f and consequently the
table by the spring 9' which is suitably supported upon the pin and bears up
the rod which is connected to the lever g, so as to press down the toe g, formed
at the front end of the lever, upon a liner provided between the slide" and the
toe 9 of the lever 9. Adjusting nuts 9° 90 serve to regulate the amount of
pressure exercised by the spring 9. When the cam 92 comes into action upon
the roll g³ it compresses the spring 9 and by lifting slightly the toe g' releases the
slide and frees the table f
The needle e is curved similarly to the awl band is carried in a stock e¹ like the
awl stock in such a manner that the points of the needle e and awl 6 oppose each
other. The needle stock pivot e is carried in the machine frame a directly in line
with the awl stock pivot 62 and the needle e is operated by means of the needle
segment e carried on the pivot e in the machine frame a. A pine and rolle are
provided in the segment e³ and are operated by the groove e' in the cam a³ in a
similar manner to the awl b already described.
The needle e is supported by a needle shield which is operated about the hub e
of the needle stock e' by toothed gearing e and a segment el carried in the
machine frame a. The segment el being furnished with a pin and a cam
roll engaging the cam formed on the surface of the cam a³. The roll el³
being kept in contact with the cam e¹ by the spring e.
The looper (see also the before mentioned Specification of Letters Patent
No. 16980 A.D. 1890,) is adjustably mounted on a lever ' which is carried on an
inclined pivot 2, the pivot h being carried in a bearing mounted on a pivot h*
in the machine frame a and free to turn in a vertical plane parallel with the plane
of the needle movement. On the rear end of the inclined pivot 2 is another lever
furnished at its upper end with one cam roll 4 which engages the groove 7 of the
cam a and a second roll 8 which lies upon the surface of the same cam a.
These cam rolls and 18 are mounted on suitable pins 10 and " and are kept in
engagement with the cam a' by a spring ". The looper has a hole 13 at
its tip through which the thread passes.
The "pearler" i (see also the before mentioned "Specification of Letters Patent
No. 5538 A.D. 1889,") is carried on a slide working in the table segment f³ and
is operated by a finger carried upon a shaft is also in the table segment.
A lever is mounted on the shaft and connected by a link to a bell crank i
mounted on a pivot 7 in the machine frame and having its other arm connected
by a link to a cam roll 10 which is in engagement with the cam which operates
the "pearler." The time at which the "pearler" operates is determined by the
thickness of the work in hand. The slide f is connected by a link to a bell
crank ¹³ mounted on a pivot and having a link ¹³ connected to the cam roll i¹.

page_text: The object of the "pearler
i is to bear forward the thread during the time the
needle e is drawing up the loop so as to ensure the formation of a
stitch.
"
pearled
29-
Thus far the description of the machine applies to the machine generally known.
in the shoe trade as the "New Goodyear Stitcher "which uses a single thread and:
produces a stitch known as the chain stitch.
I will now proceed to describe my improvements.
The loop opener j is a short bar curved to a portion of a circle and works in a.
circular racej formed in the shuttle plate k. At its front end it terminates in a
point and it has a recess or hole jª formed near the point for the point of the
needle e to enter and so cast off the loop. It is furnished with teeth into which
gears a toothed segment which is mounted on a pin 6 carried in a stand on the
frame a of the machine. The segment is provided with a pin ja and a roll j
which engages the cam surface 10 of the cam a' and is kept in contact with the
cam jo by means of a spring j".
The shuttle is curved to a portion of a circle and contains within it the thread
in the form of a cop and works in the circular race formed in the shuttle plate
which is carried on the frame of the machine. The point k³ is of the form shewn
and the rear end is slightly rounded at the corners. A cross section near the
middle is shewn at Fig. 114. A hinged lid is provided for the insertion of the
cop (see Fig. 23). The thread / issues through a hole near the middle and to
afford tension is threaded in and out through the holes (see Fig. 11) provided for
the purpose.
Instead of employing the loop opener j as above described the point of the
shuttle k¹ may be so formed as to act as an opener and cast off by constructing it as.
shewn in Figs. 15 and 16 with a recess or hole k10 near its point into which the
needle point can enter and so cast off the loop.
l
Carried in the machine.
The shuttle is operated in the following manner.
frame a is a pivot on which is mounted the shuttle segment furnished with a
pin and a roll 3 engaging the cam groove in the cam a°. The segment gears.
into a clamp pinion fast upon the shuttle shaft which is carried in the
bearings and 18 formed or carried in the machine frame a. Upon one end of the
shaft is mounted a bevel gear which gears into the shuttle driving pinion
which is formed on one end of the shaft on which is mounted the shuttle
carrier. The shuttle carrier is made with two arms 13 and 11 and a spring-
arm 20 the one arm 113 is for moving the shuttle forward and the other is for
moving it backward. The former 13 is movable about the hub 18 of the latter to.
allow of inserting and withdrawing the shuttle k¹. They are held in engagement
with one another by means of a pin which enters a hole 1 prepared in the-
carrier to receive it. It is maintained in position by means of a spring 18 and
may be withdrawn by a knob 11.
The spring arm 120 retains the shuttle in the race k² and the collar 21 keeps the
whole from sliding forward off the shaft l".
The thread m (Figs. 21 and 22) from the usual wax pot or spool as the case.
may be, is led to the machine over a tension truck n mounted on a bracket n' at
the rear of the machine: This thread is at times retarded and at times held fast
by means of a lever n² provided with a brake pad n³ and mounted on the same
pivot which carries the awl segment. The lever n is furnished with a pin n
and cam roll n operated by the surface n' of the cam a' and held in engagement.
therewith by a spring n attached to the machine frame a.
The part n of the cam surface n' which leads is fuller or of greater radius than.
the part 10 which follows.
The thread m passes between the brake pad n³ and a spring supported piston n¹¹
so arranged and constructed that when the lever n' is held fully down by the cam
surface at it presses down the piston n" until the shoulder n¹ of the piston takes
upon the surface n¹³ of the socket in which the piston slides and the thread m.
is held fast between the upper end n¹s of the piston n" and the pad n³.
13
When

page_text: however the cam surface n comes into operation the lever is allowed to rise
somewhat and the thread m is then only retarded by the pressure of the spring n
which bears up the piston n" and so is allowed to pass under tension. A further
rise of the lever n² permitted by the depression n in the cam frees the thread m
altogether as the nuts n18 provided on the bottom end of the piston n" coming in
contact with the gland n prevent further rise of the piston . It will readily be
seen that as all the parts n", n, n¹, n¹³ are screwed together, they are easily
adjusted for wear &c. in relation to the lever n².
The thread m passes from the tension truck n over a truck n20 under a guide
truck o over another guide truck o' and under a take up truck o² from which it
passes through the work to the needle e.
The object of this arrangement being that as the take up truck o' acts in the
bight m of the thread m its movement needs only to be half the amount of the
thread taken up.
The take up truck of is carried in the end of the take up lever o which is
mounted on a short shaft of carried in the machine frame a. The shaft of carries
another lever of engaging by means of a die o° and a pin of a lever 08 which is
mounted on a pivot o in the machine frame and engages by means of the pin o¹0
and cam roll ol the groove o¹ of the cam a². Its object is to pull down into the
work the loops drawn up by the needle so as to form stitches.
To facilitate the passage of the shuttle through the loop of thread drawn up
by the needle e and to prevent the wax used with the thread from adhering to the
shuttle an oil cup or lubricator p (see Fig. 5) is fastened in the shuttle race k²
or may be formed thereon, and contains a piece of felt p or other absorbent
material, against which the point of the shuttle ¹ presses at each forward
reciprocation.
To exactly limit the motion of the shuttle adjustable stops q. q¹ are provided
against which the shuttle carrier takes at each end of the shuttle movement.
The machine operates in the following manner.
The work being properly held in position by the operator upon the table f and
between it and the channel gauge d the machine is set in motion in the direction
shewn by the arrows. The awl brises and pierces a hole in the work then together
with the channel gauge d the awl is moved sidewise towards the needle e by the
feed movement, carrying the work with it. (The lock lever g having been
previously released by the cam g² so as to free the work from the pressure of the
table f.) The feed movement completed the table f is then again locked and the
needle e descends through the hole just pierced by the awl which retires before
the advancing needle e. When the needle e is in its lowest position the barb is
exposed below the work and into it the looper now lays the thread in by making
a turn round the needle point. The needle e then ascends and draws up a loop of
the thread m above the surface of the work. The take up o² rising at the same
time so as to yield up the thread to the needle. When this loop has been fully
drawn up the point of the loop opener ; advances into it, immediately followed
by the point of the shuttle and the needle e descends a little way into the
hole j3 formed near the point of the loop opener j. The thread m taking on the
sides of the hole ³ (see Figs. 17 and 18) is prevented from descending with
the needle e which thus sheds off the loop and the more readily as the pointed
form of the opener j assists the thread m to slide sidewise from the needle barb,
and the needle e. then rises again out of the way. (See Fig. 19.) The thread m
is now locked fast by the lever n² and the shuttle ¹ passes on through the loop
which remains supported on the point of the loop opener j until the shuttle ¹ is
through. The loop opener ; then retires and frees the loop, (see Fig. 20) which is
afterwards drawn down by the take up o almost to the surface of the work at
which point the thread lock lever n is relaxed (so that the thread m is retarded
only by the pressure of the spring ) while the take up o completes its downward
movement and pulls home the stitch. The thread m is then altogether released by
the lever n until the shuttle ¹ is again ready to traverse the loop.

page_text: The awl brises again and pierces the work for the next stitch during the passage
already described of the shuttle k¹ through the loop of the thread m drawn up by
the needle e and before the descent of the needle e the shuttle is returned while
the lifting of the channel gauge and the return of the feed slide c take place
after the retirement of the awl b from the work.
ין
The method of winding the cops of thread is shewn in Figs. 24. 25. 26 29. 30
and 31 in which is a frame supported on stands and carrying the working parts
and revolved by
of the machine. The driving shaft carried in bearings
pulleys gives motion by means of gears and to the shafts which revolve
in the bearings. The front ends of these shafts are reduced to long, fine,
tapering spindles 10 on which the cops are wound. To exactly limit the length of
the cops collars are provided upon the spindles with which they revolve.
The collars 12 are supported in bearings formed in frames the ends
of which are adapted to slide, in lines parallel to the spindles 10, in ways 17 formed
in the frame ». Rack teeth are formed in the upper edges of the frame ends 18
in which gear toothed wheels 19 mounted on a shaft 20 carried in bearings 21
provided on the frame r. A handle is mounted on the shaft 20 on turning which
the whole of the frames are simultaneously moved backwards or forwards
parallel to the spindles.10. When in the full forward position the collars are
brought forward completely off the spindles 10 and when in the backward position
are as shewn in the drawings, Fig. 25 and 26.
The wax pots is supported in a water pot s which has a burner &² to heat the
water. The whole arrangement being conveniently carried by attachment to the
stands 1.
The thread is passed through the wax pot and led to the spindles through thread
guides t formed in a bar t¹ conveniently carried by arms t² 12 on pivots 3 t3 in the
ends of the water pot 8. The arms t³ are provided with cam rolls t* t* which
bear upon heart cams being kept thereto by springs to to.
The cams to are
mounted on a shaft carried in bearings 18 18 in the machine frame and revolved
by a set of change gears t" 110 112 from the driving shaft of the machine.
The lever is pivotted about the shaft and can be adjusted to suit various sizes
of the gears t t by cramping it in various positions by means of a thumb
bolt 4 in the curved slot 15. A longitudinal slot in the lever allows the
stud t to be placed in suitable position to accomodate various sizes of the gears t
and to. The gear 10 is fast upon the shaft t. The gears to 12 revolve together
upon the stud and the gear (" is fast upon the driving shaft.
The fully wound cops are thrust forward off the spindles 10 by operating the
handle and are then discharged into a tray by operating the dischargers ¹²
which being carried by a balanced frame u² and levers u³ are pressed downwards
by hand so as to deliver the cops into the tray u.
The desired curve and the flattened side are given to the cop by a press.
(Illustrated in Figs. 27 and 28.) A frame or bede is provided with a slide v¹
working between cover plates and operated by an eccentric or cam ended
press handle. The front of the slide is curved and hollowed at vi so as to
form one side of a mould for the cop. Opposing this is a fixed piece v also curved
and hollowed out at 6 so as to forin the other side of the mould. The ends of
the mould are formed by levers 77 pivotted to the bed at maintained in
position when open by a spring and closed in upon the cop, simultaneously with
the mould o, by the action of the inclined projections to upon the similarly
inclined ends of the levers 7. The lid pivotted to the piece upon
pins and held up when open by springs can be turned down upon the
cop and as the slide moves inwards the cover piece which is formed upon it
comes in upon the edge of the lid 12 and presses it down upon the enclosed
cop. The simultaneous closing of the side of the ends and lid " upon the
enclosed cop by the pressure exercised through the operation of the handle v³ and
opposed by the fixed side of the mould, presses the cop into the shape required

page_text: to fit the shuttle. A projecting rib in the mould indents a corresponding
depression in the cop so as to leave a channel for the issuing thread.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
In a machine working with a curved needle and forming a lock stitch and used
for stitching the soles of shoes to the welts:
1. The use of a circularly curved shuttle, reciprocating in a circular race, the
plane of which is at right angles, or nearly so, to the plane of the movement of the
needle and so placed that the shuttle passes beneath the point of the needle through
the loop of thread drawn up by the needle, the centre about which the shuttle
oscillates being in the plane, or nearly so, of the movement of the needle and
wholly without the body of the shuttle, substantially as described.
2. The use of a circular shuttle race formed with an opening in the bottom edge
through which the needle draws up the loop of thread for the shuttle to pass
through and having a circular loop opener race inside of and concentric with the
shuttle race in which the loop opener moves, substantially as described.
3. The application to the shuttle race of a lubricator for lubricating the shuttle,
substantially as described.
4. The use of adjustable stops for regulating the extent of the shuttle movement,
substantially as described.
5. The use of an oscillating shuttle carrier made with an arm moveable
independently of the other arm for the purpose of readily inserting or removing
the shuttle and with a supplementary spring arm for the purpose of retaining the
shuttle in the race, substantially as described.
6. The use of a loop opener the point of which is formed with a hole or
depression into which the needle dips when casting off the thread and is so shaped
as to open the loop and take the thread off the needle and hold it clear of the
retiring barb, substantially as described.
7. The use of a loop opener the point of which is formed with a hole or
depression into which the needle dips when casting off the thread and is so shaped
as to open the loop and which has a movement, after the needle has dipped into
the hole or depression, so as to carry away from possible contact with the retiring
barb the thread left on the loop opener point, substantially as described.
8. The use of a circularly curved shuttle reciprocating in a circular race the
plane of which is at right angles, or nearly so, to the plane of the movement of the
needle and so placed that the shuttle passes beneath the point of the needle through
the loop of thread drawn up by the needle, the centre about which the shuttle
oscillates being in the plane, or nearly so, of the movement of the needle and
wholly without the body of the shuttle, the shuttle point being formed with a
hole or depression into which the needle dips when casting off the thread and is so
shaped as to open the loop and take the thread off the needle and move it clear of
the retiring barb, substantially as described.
9. The use of a thread locking and tension device so constructed as to act upon
the thread close to the take up and so operated as at times to lock fast the thread,
at times to release the thread and at times to apply pressure to the thread so that
the latter is drawn through under tension, substantially as described.
1 also claim
10. The combination of change wheels, heart cams and thread guides with
spindles for the purpose of winding cops of thread substantially as described.
11. The rack and gear arrangement with the collars for pushing all the wound
cops off the spindles simultaneously, substantially as described.
12. The discharging arrangement for delivering all the wound cops simul
taneously into a tray substantially as described.
13. The combined machine for winding cops of thread consisting of the change

page_text: wheels, heart cams, thread guides, spindles, racks and gears, discharging arrange-
ment and wax pot substantially as described.
14. The press for moulding the cops to the shape desired to fit the shuttle sub-
stantially as described.
Dated this 16th day of September 1893.
W. H. DORMAN.