A MACHINE FOR SEWING BOOKS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Amos Holbrook, junior, of Lynn, in the County
of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, of the United States of
America, for the Invention of "A MACHINE FOR SEWING BOOKS."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Amos Holbrook, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 11th May 1868, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME. I, AMOS
HOLBROOK, junior, of Lynn, in the County of Essex, and State of
Massachusetts, of the United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "A MACHINE
FOR SEWING BOOKS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent
for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am the true
and first inventor thereof.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Amos Holbrook, junior, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
making a part of this Specification.
The nature of my Invention consists in combining with a series of
sewing needles actuating mechanical devices in such a manner that
if "signatures" of a book be passed to the machine while the
same is in operation they will be taken and carried into the machine,
properly adjusted, and securely sewed to each other. The several
movements and their actuating devices are of such a complicated nature
that they can only be understood by inspection of the Drawings and
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my Invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation
showing the "feeder" and "traveller" movement; Fig. 3 is an enlarged
perspective view showing the needle movement; Fig. 4 is a plan of the
machine.
In the construction of a working machine I should not confine myself
strictly to the details represented in the Drawings, though I now propose
to describe the machine in all its details.
In the Drawings A, B, B, B, B, B', B', represent the base standards
and table of my machine, to which the working parts are attached by
the various devices shown.
L", Figs. 1 and 4, is the main shaft of the machine, to which is
attached the cam barrel H, which operating through the lever H',
shaft H", segment H", and gear H*, actuates the thread carrier I. The
gear L, Figs. 1 and 4, is attached to a short shaft which carries the
cam G, a small part of which is shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and indicated 3
more plainly by dotted lines in Fig. 2. This cam G, Fig. 2, acts
on the end d of the lever H", Figs. 1 and 2, which acting through the
link H and the crank C, Fig. 1, actuates the. "feeder" C³, O", 0,
that is, throws it into the perpendicular position shown in Fig. 1,
or holds it horizontal, as shown in Fig. 2. This "feeder" consists 3
of two plates or leaves, the upper one of which is whole, while
the lower one C", C, is divided into two parts, the upper plate C¹

page_text: being attached to the shaft c, Fig. 4, while the leaves forming the
lower plate are attached to two prongs c¹, c", Fig. 1, extending from
the shaft c, so that when the "feeder" assumes the horizontal position
shown in Fig. 2 the "traveller" D may pass through between the upper
and lower leaves of the "feeder," and thus take from the "feeder" the
signature which may have been previously placed upon it; this will be
more fully explained in the use of the machine.
The "traveller" D, Figs. 1, 2, and 4, is a plate of metal which slides
from the rear end of the ways f,f', Figs. 1 and 4, through the "feeder "
when the same is horizontal, as represented in Fig. 2, nearly to the
points of the needles N¹, N", Fig. 1. This "traveller" D is actuated by
a crank pin D, Fig. 2, which working in the slot of the lever Du
actuates the link D', and through it the "traveller." Small slots or
channels are cut into the front edge of the "traveller" D; these slots
correspond in number and position with the needles, so that when the
"traveller" is at the end of its forward stroke, and is holding a signature
while being sewed, the needles may pass through the back of the
signature into these slots far enough to hook to the parallel thread;
these slots or channels are represented by dotted lines at t, f, Fig. 4.
J, Figs. 1, 3, and 4, is a table supported.by springs j, j, which rest
upon the hanger J', Fig. 1; this table supports the signatures which
have been sewed together.
O, O', Figs. 3 and 4, are short rods which we will call needle bars
holding the needles N', N". These needle bars have a compound motion,
that is, they slide longitudinally, and revolve on their own axes. These
needle bars are moved back and forth by the lever P, Figs. 1, 3, and 4,
which is attached to a rocker shaft R' which is operated by a vertical
arm R, the said arm R being moved by a cam Q' on the face of the cam
barrel H, Figs. 1 and 4. Each needle bar works through a collar h,
Figs. 3 and 4, which is attached to a bar a immediately under the needle
bar. The collar h is permanently attached to a and slides freely back
and forth with it, but is held back by springs when not forced forward
by other parts of the machine. Each needle bar has affixed to it a
barrel k and pulley N and M", Figs. 3 and 4. Around the pulley N¹
a band or cord O" passes, one end of said cord being attached to a spiral
spring q, Fig. 4, while the other end is attached to the lever Q; this
cord when operated by the lever Q will cause the needle bar and con-
sequently the needle itself to revolve. A pin i, Fig. 4, inserted in the

page_text: collar h serves as a stop, against which a shoulder e made in the barrel k
strikes, thus the revolution of the needle is limited to half a turn.
V', V", Figs. 1 and 4, are arms so arranged that when the needles are
properly revolved and pushed forward the knobs V attached to the
needle bar will come in contact with the said arms, and thus the needle
bar will be prevented from revolving until it has been pushed back
sufficiently far for the knob V to clear the arm V. The lever Q,
Figs. 1 and 4, operates the cords O", O", said cords being reacted upon
by the springs q, q; the lever itself is operated by the cam S, Fig. 1.
To use my Invention as a single-thread machine I proceed as follows:
-I place a spool of suitable thread upon a standard attached to H*,
not shown in the Drawings, and thread the carrier by passing the
thread through holes or eyes 8, 8, Fig. 1. If now the machine is
started, and the signatures are fed in, it will proceed to sew the different
signatures together, and to deposit them as fast as sewed upon the
table J.
The process of feeding in the signatures and forming the stitches is
as follows: Whenever the "feeder" C¹, C", C, assumes the upright
position shown in Fig. 1 the operator places a signature of a book upon
it, one fold of each signature being upon either side of it. At the next
motion of the machine the "feeder "assumes the horizontal position shown
in Fig. 3, and the "traveller "D passes in between the plates of the feeder
and consequently within the fold of the signature, and the "traveller"
continues to advance until it has carried the signature nearly to the
points of the needles N', N", Fig. 4. The "traveller" with the signature
now becomes stationary, and remains so until the needles have had time
to enter the saw scarf previously made in the back of the signature and
the thread carrier has passed the thread within the fold of the signature,
laying the threads on the hooks of the needles, and until the needles have
hooked the said thread and have withdrawn themselves from the
signature. Now the "traveller" retires, leaving the signature on the
table J, and takes from the "feeder" a second signature, which is in
its turn passed forward to the needles, then becoming stationary; the
needles, still holding the loop of the previous signature, again pass
forward into the new signature and take the thread of this signature as
before described in the case of the first one, and draw it through the loops
previously formed on the needles. Now as the needles withdraw they
make a half turn, and thus cast off the first loop. As the "traveller " D

page_text: is passed forward again the needles are revolved so that the hook is
on the upper side ready to enter the succeeding signature. The
"traveller now again retires, leaving the second signature together with
the first on the table J. The next and succeeding signatures undergo
the process above described for the second signature until the book is
complete.
I claim as new and my Invention in a book-sewing machine, the
"traveller " D, working substantially as described and for the purpose
sot forth.
2nd. The slots or channels made in the front edge of the traveller D,
substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
3d. In a book-sewing machine the combination and arrangement of
the slotted lever D with the crank disk ", the link D', and the
traveller D, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
4th. In a book-sewing machine the feeder C¹, 0, 0, working
substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
5th. In a book-sewing machine so arranging the "feeder" and its
adjuncts that the feeder will automatically vibrate from a horizontal
to a vertical position, substantially as described and for the purpose set
forth.
6th. In a book-sewing machine the thread carrier I constructed and
operated substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
7th. In a book-sewing machine a series of needles in combination
with the traveller D working substantially as described and for the
purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Amos Holbrook, junior, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of March, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.