IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."-A communication
from abroad by Leonard Erni, of Zurich, Machinist.
Sealed the 3rd November 1868, and dated the 7th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th May 1868.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," a communication to
me from abroad by Leonard Erni, of Zurich, Machinist, to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates more particularly to what are known as shuttle
or lock-stitch sewing machines, although certain of the improvements
are applicable to other descriptions of sewing machines.

page_text: According to this Invention the motions for the shuttle and feed are
obtained by means of a vibrating vertical lever, the upper end of which
is actuated by a crank cam or eccentric on the driving shaft carried in
the fixed arm or overhanging bracket of the machine, whilst the lower
end of this lever is connected by a sliding ball and socket or universal
or other suitable joint with one end of a horizontal vibrating lever
working on a vertical centre pin or pivot secured to the under side of the
bed plate. The opposite or free end of the horizontal lever carries the
shuttle holder and driver, the shuttle being caused to reciprocate hori-
zontally in the arc of a circle, and being curved on its flat side from the
point to the heel to suit the curved surface against which it works, the
usual shuttle race or channel being dispensed with. This horizontal
lever carries an adjustable inclined piece which may consist of a
cylinder having one end tapered or made conical, such cylinder having
its position adjusted longitudinally in its holder by the aid of an
As the
adjusting screw which serves to vary the length of stitch.
inclined or conical piece reciprocates longitudinally in company with
the before-mentioned horizontal lever, it imparts a vertical rocking
movement to the feed lever, which is provided at one end with an
antifriction bowl or roller maintained by the action of a spring against
the incline or conical ended cylinder, whilst the other end of the feed
actuating lever is connected to a vibrating arm working freely on the
axis of the feed wheel and consequently transmits a vertical recipro-
cating or vibrating motion thereto. This movement is caused to
produce an intermittant rotatory motion in the feed wheel itself through
the aid of one or more friction pieces which are of a conical, or tapered,
or wedge form, and work into a correspondingly shaped annular groove
in the feed wheel, whereby a better. hold is obtained thereon. By
altering or adjusting the position of the inclined piece it follows that
more or less of the incline will act upon the feed lever and consequently
the throw of that lever will. be varied and the length of the stitches
correspondingly increased or diminished. The needle is carried in a
vertical sliding holder which derives its motion direct from a crank pin
or cam on the front end of the driving shaft working in a differential
slotted piece secured to the needle slide.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 7th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middle-
sex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or 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," a communication from abroad
by Leonard Erni, of Zurich, Machinist, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, do
hereby declare the nature of the 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
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thercon, that is to say:-
The said Invention relates more particularly to what are known as
shuttle or lock-stitch sewing machines, although certain of the improve-
ments are applicable to other descriptions of sewing machines, and has

page_text: for its object the rendering of shuttle and other sewing machines
noiseless or nearly so in working.
According to this Invention the motions for the shuttle and feed are
obtained by means of a vibrating vertical lever, the upper end of which
is actuated by a crank, cam, or eccentric on the driving shaft, carried in
the fixed arm or overhanging bracket of the machine, whilst the lower
end of this lever is connected by a species of sliding ball and socket or
universal joint with one end of a horizontal vibrating lever working on
a vertical centre pin or pivot secured to the under side of the bed plate
The opposite or free end of the horizontal lever carries the shuttle holder
and driver, the shuttle being caused to reciprocate horizontally in the
arc of a circle, and being curved on its flat side from the point to the
heel to suit the curved surface against which it works, the usual shuttle
race or channel being dispensed with; this horizontal lever carries an
adjustable inclined piece, which may consist of a cylinder having one
end tapered or made conical, such cylinder having its position adjusted
longitudinally in its holder by the aid of an adjusting screw, which
serves to vary the length of stitch. As the inclined or conical piece
reciprocates longitudinally in company with the before-mentioned
horizontal lever it imparts a vertical rocking movement to the feed
lever, which is provided at one end with an antifriction bowl or roller,
maintained constantly by the action of a spring against the incline or
conical ended cylinder, whilst the other end of the feed actuating lever is
connected to a three-armed vibrating lever, working freely round the axis
of the feed wheel, such last-mentioned lever thus receiving a vertical
reciprocating or vibrating motion from the feed lever; this movement
produces an intermittant rotatory motion in the feed wheel itself by the
aid of one or more friction pieces or dogs, which are of a conical, tapered,
or wedge form, and work into a correspondingly shaped annular grooved
pulley in one piece with the feed wheel, whereby a better frictional hold
is obtained thereon. By altering or adjusting the position of the inclined
piece or conical ended cylinder before mentioned it follows that more or
less of the incline will act upon the feed lever, and consequently the
throw of that lever will be varied, and the length of the stitches
correspondingly increased or diminished. The needle is carried in a
vertical sliding holder, which derives its motion direct from a crank pin
or cam on the front end of the driving shaft, working in a differential
slotted piece secured to the needle slide.

page_text: And in order that the 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 annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a sectional elevation of the
improved sewing machine; Figure 2 is a corresponding front elevation
thereof; Figure 3 is a corresponding back elevation partly in section;
Figure 4 is a plan of the under side of the machine, shewing the
mechanism for actuating the shuttle and the feed wheel. The rest of
the Figures are details, which will be herein-after more fully referred to.
A is the bed plate of the machine to which is secured the hollow
overhanging fixed bracket B, which carries the driving shaft C working
in bearings at a secured by screws on to the bracket. This shaft is
provided with a fly wheel and grooved driving pulley D, and transmits
all the requisite motions to the various working parts of the machine.
The needle slide E derives its motion from a crank pin 6 on a disc F
secured to the front end of the driving shaft, such pin working in a
differential slotted piece G secured to the needle slide. The movements
of the shuttle and feed wheel are transmitted by means of the vertical
vibrating lever H which works on a fulcrum I inside the upright.
portion of the fixed bracket and is slotted at its upper end, within
which slot works a crank c formed on or fitted to the driving shaft, the
crank pin being provided with an antifriction roller to ease its motion
to and fro along the slot. The lower end of the lever H is cylindrical
and fits easily but accurately inside a tubular socket piece K, as shewn
in the full sized detail sections at Figures 5 and 6. The lower end of
the socket piece K is enlarged and is fitted easily but accurately on to a
cylindrical block L, through which passes the cylindrical extremity d of
the horizontal vibrating lever M, care being taken to make the parts
fit easily but without being loose, the lower end of the socket piece
which embraces the cylindrical block L is slotted, as shewn, in order
that it may fit over the part d of the lever M; the lever M works.
on a fixed stud centre N screwed into the bed plate, and as it vibrates
its rear end describes the arc of a circle, shewn by red lines in
Figure 4, whilst the lower end of the vertical lever H describes the
arc shewn by red lines in Figure 3. As the planes in which these
two arcs are described are respectively horizontal and vertical it is.

page_text: necessary that the parts forming the connection or joint between the
two levers shall have free play so as to accommodate themselves to
the varying relative positions of the contiguous ends of the vertical
and horizontal levers H and M, for which purpose they have been
specially adopted. The horizontal vibrating lever M is provided at its
front end with a shuttle carrier O, the shuttle being carried by the
end of the lever itself in lieu of sliding in a grooved race as in ordinary
shuttle sewing machines, whereby one great cause of noise in this class
of machines is obviated; the face or flat side of the shuttle must be
curved from nose to heel to conform to the are or curve of the surface
or face P, P, against which it works. At right angles to the main
lever M and equidistant from the fulcrum N are two branch arms Q, R,
which carry the feed actuating and stitch regulating mechanism. This
mechanism consists of a metal cylinder R (shown in full sized detail at
Figure 7) by preference of hard steel or gun metal, one end of such
cylinder being tapered or made conical, as shown clearly in Figure 7.
This cylinder is secured by a pinching screw on to the spindle e, which
spindle passes freely at one end through the end of one of the arms Q,
whilst the opposite end of the spindle has a screw thread f formed
thereon and screws into the other arm Q. By turning more or less the
milled head S fast on the screwed spindle it is obvious that the conical-
ended cylinder will be moved longitudinally backwards or forwards
between the two arms Q, the object of such longitudinal adjustment
being to vary the length of stitch as herein-after explained. T is a
friction blade spring which presses upon the regulating cylinder and
prevents any accidental rotation or displacement thereof during the
working of the machine. Upon the upper surface of the cylinder R
rests the antifriction roller g carried in the end of the feed actuating
lever U working on a fulcrum V, a spring tending always to keep
the roller g in contact with the surface of the regulating cylinder.
The opposite end of the lever U engages into a slot or fork made in
the friction piece or hinged dog W which actuates the feed wheel X.
This wheel is roughened on its periphery, and revolves upon the fixed
stud or pin Y, which is secured in a slotted bracket Z cast on
the under side of the bed plate by a nut and washer, as shown in
Figure 2. In one piece with the feed wheel X are cast two V-grooved
pulleys x, x, in the groove of the larger one of which is adjusted the
A-shaped end of a friction bar or spring i, the pressure upon the pulley
being regulated by the adjusting screw k. The object of this friction

page_text: arrangement is to check any tendency the wheel might have to move
in the reverse direction when the friction dog W is making its back
stroke, and thereby to ensure a dead intermittant forward movement
of the feed wheel. The friction dog W is hinged at 7 to one of the arms
of the three armed vibrating lever m. The other two arms each carry
a A-shaped friction piece n firmly secured to their respective arms in
a line with the radis of the wheel, whereas the friction dog W is jointed
to its arm at a point slightly above the horizontal diameter of the wheel,
as shown by the blue lines in Figure 2; the lever m is slotted in the
centre so as not to have any actual bearing upon the stud pin Y, and
thereby enables a firm and direct hold to be taken of the V grooved
friction pulley a¹ at three points in its circumference by the dog W and
the two A-shaped friction pieces n, n. A blade spring o serves to keep
the eccentric hinged friction dog W firmly engaged in the V groove of
the pulley when the feed motion is being produced. It will be.
observed that the cylindrical and conical surface of the feed actuating
and stitch regulating cylinder remain always in contact with the pulley.
in the end of the lever U in all points of the revolution of the main
shaft, and hence the absence of any striking or knocking action, and the
consequent silent motion of the feed. The length of the stitch depends
upon the length of the inclined or conical portion of the regulating
cylinder, over which the antifriction roller passes, which may be varied
by simply adjusting the position of the cylinder longitudinally by
turning the milled head S. The greater the length of travel of the
roller g along the conical or inclined portion of the regulator R the
greater will obviously be the throw or movement of the lever U, and
hence the longer will be the stitch, and vice versa. It is obvious that
the cylinder and cone might be replaced by a flat surface and incline,
but by using a cylinder and cone which are rotated slightly at every
fresh adjustment of the stitch the antifriction roller g will travel along
a different portion of the surface, and hence the liability to wear is con-
siderably reduced. p is a spring lever for taking up the slack thread,
it passes through a slot in the needle slide, and is depressed by the
top of the slot coming in contact with it as the needle slide descends.
A spring q serves to elevate the lever when the needle slide is rising.
In order to vary the time at which the lever commences its descent,
and to impart a greater or less movement thereto, an adjustable rod 1,
shown clearly in the sectional detail, Figure 8, is fitted into the upper
part of the needle slide, the lower end of this rod projecting into the

page_text: slot in the needle slide through which the spring lever p passes. A
small set screw 8 is screwed into the adjustable rod r, and works
along a slot in the upper part of the needle slide. By pushing the
rod downwards and securing it by the screw 8, it is obvious that
its lower end, which virtually forms the upper extremity of the slot,
through which the spring lever works, will be brought into contact
with such lever sooner than if the said rod were adjusted to a more
elevated position and hence the throw of the lever p will be increased.
In order to prevent the noise which would otherwise be occasioned
by the striking of the end of the adjustable rod against the spring
lever a pad or cushion t of leather, india-rubber, or other suitable
material is secured to the lower end of such rod, a similar pad or
buffer being also fitted to the upper end of the slot in the front
of the fixed bracket arm through which the spring lever works (see
Figure 2), so that as the lever is elevated by the action of its spring
to the top of the slot v it shall strike against a sound deadening stop or
buffer.
Although I have illustrated and described the said improvements as
being applied to a reciprocating shuttle sewing machine, such com-
bination or portions of the same being more eminently adapted for
the production of a perfectly noiseless shuttle machine, or desideratum
which has long been looked for, but never hitherto attained, it is obvious
that some of the improvements may be applied to other forms of sewing
machines, for example, the peculiar joint or means for coupling or
connecting together the contiguous extremities of the vertical and
horizontal vibrating levers H and M, whereby a perfectly noiseless
action is obtained, may be applied to a sewing machine wherein a
horizontal vibrating lever actuated from an overhead driving shaft is
employed for carrying a reciprocating looper. The peculiar mode of
imparting movement to the feed actuating lever, also the arrangement
of A-shaped hinged friction dog W, and V-grooved pulley x, 1, with
the friction spring i, and peculiar mode of varying the length of stitch
without changing the relative positions of the actuating surface and
the end of the lever to be acted upon, whereby a perfectly noiseless feed
mechanism is obtained, are all equally applicable to other sewing
machines employing the wheel feed.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used

page_text: 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 general construction, arrangement, and combination of
parts whereby a noiseless reciprocating shuttle sewing machine is
obtained, substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The peculiar construction and arrangement of joint for
connecting a vertical vibrating lever with a horizontal vibrating lever
in sewing machines, substantially as herein-before described and
illustrated by my Drawings.
Third. The combination with a horizontal vibrating lever carrying
either a shuttle or a looper of an adjustable cylinder with conical end
or an adjustable flat surface with inclined end for imparting the requisite
motion to the feed mechanism and for regulating the length of the
stitch, substantially as herein-before described.
Fourth. The application and use of a tapered or A-shaped hinged
friction dog working in a correspondingly shaped friction groove in
the feed wheel, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated
by the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of
November, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)