IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Gustav Kallmeyer, of Bremen, in the Empire of
Germany, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."
Scaled the 22nd March 1872, and dated the 23rd October 1871.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Gustav Kallmeyer at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 23rd October 1871, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Gustav
KALLMEYER, of Bremen, in the Empire of Germany, Manufacturer, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-

page_text: ment, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention consists of an improved construction of sewing machines
working with a shuttle and needle, by means of which either the ordinary
lock-stitch or button hole stitching may be produced at will.
The construction of the said improved machine is clearly shewn on
the accompanying Drawings, on which Figure 1, Sheet I., shews a plan
of the under side of the machine; Figure 2, Sheet II., shews a side
elevation of the same, and Figures 1 to 11, Sheet III., shew detached
details. Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in each of the
Figures.
A' is the driving pulley of the machine, with fly wheel. B' is the
driving spindle, upon which are fixed the cams A and B that actuate
respectively the needle bar and the shuttle. The cam B imparts motion
to the shuttle driver Y', Figure 1, by means of the lever X', which has a
small roller or truck working in the cam groove and which is connected
to the shuttle driver by the rod X. The spindle B' carries furthermore
the double excentric C, D, which by its revolution lifts and pushes the
transporting lever E' by acting against the opposite projections F and G
on this lever. To the lever E' is fixed the transporter or feeder wo by
means of a screw. E is the stitch regulator, which is also carried by the
spindle B'. Z is the groove in which the guide plate y slides, and to this
guide plate is fixed the shuttle driver Y¹. Z' is the groove in which the
shuttle driver with the shuttle slides.
A novel and important part of this Invention is the thread presser, of
which the description of the part on the under side of the machine will
be given presently. This thread presser controls the supply of thread
from the shuttle and has proved to be advantageous for ordinary work,
but is indispensible for producing a regular button hole stitch. If,
namely, the stitch is formed on the inner edge of the button hole
without this contrivance the threads are no doubt locked together
properly, but as the upper thread has a continued tension put upon it,
and as the locking of the threads receives in this kind of stitch no support
from the material, the under thread would be drawn up with greater or
less irregularity.
The thread presser 6 is always in action, that is, it presses the shuttle
thread against the side of the groove Z¹ in which the shuttle runs, and

page_text: thus puts a tension upon the thread. It is only put out of action at the
moment when the amount of thread required for a stitch is drawn off
the shuttle, such putting out of action being effected by the contrivance
c carried by the shuttle driver Y'. (This position of the thread presser
is shewn at Figure 5, Sheet III.) As soon as the contrivance c has
passed the thread presser b sufficient thread will have been drawn from
the shuttle, whereupon the spring a acts on the thread presser so as
to put the tension on the thread again. The thread presser 6 now holds
the shuttle thread again until the shuttle driver Y' together with the
contrivance c has performed its entire stroke from left to right, and the
contrivance c has again reached the thread presser b. On the return
stroke (from right to left) the thread presser 6 is not acted upon by the
contrivance c, which latter is however always brought into position by
the spring d.
The needle bar N (Fig. 2, Sheet II.) receives its vertical motion from
the cam A by means of the two-armed lever H turning upon the pin F¹
and having a roller taking into the cam groove A. The upper arm of
the lever H terminates in a fork, and is connected to the needle bar N
by means of a block & turning upon a stud on the needle bar, as shewn
at Figure 2, Sheet III.
The most important part of the machine is the contrivance for
imparting a lateral motion of the needle, the mechanism employed for
which purpose
is situated directly in front of the head of the machine.
For effecting the lateral motion of the needle the plate S, in which the
needle bar N moves vertically, is capable of receiving lateral motion, for
which purpose it slides on guides at its upper and lower ends, as shewn
in the side view of this part at Figure 3, Sheet III. This lateral motion
of the needle has to be brought into action when it is required to make a
button hole stitch instead of the ordinary stitch, and the mechanism for
producing this lateral motion is as follows:-To the stationary part of
the head of the machine is attached a small arm M' carrying a stud h
(Fig. 4, Sheet III.) upon which turn the slotted lever M and the ratchet
wheel R with disc Q fixed thereto. The slotted lever M is actuated by
the roller O (Figure 1) on the lever H; it carries a pawl P in gear with
the ratchet wheel R, and thus carries the latter round with it in one
direction. The disc Q being fixed to the ratchet wheel R it also receives
the same motion as the latter. The number of projections and recesses
on the disc Q is the same as the number of teeth on the ratchet wheel.

page_text: Upon the sliding plate S is fixed a finger or tappet L; if now the disc Q
is turned by the motion of the lever M it acts with one of its projections
against the tappet L, and by this means the plate S together with the
needle bar will receive a lateral motion to the left. During the time
that the needle bar N now performs its downward motion for making a¦
stitch the disc Q remains in the same position relative to L; on the
following motion of the lever H (whereby the upward motion of the
needle bar is effected) the disc Q is turned so as to remove the said
projection from L and to bring one of the recesses in front of the latter,
whereby the spring W is enabled to move the sliding plate S together
with the needle bar back to the right, as far as the small lever H' will
permit. The next motion of the lever H again brings one of the
projections on Q against L, whereby the plate S is again moved to the
left, and so on as before described, the motion of S from right to left
being effected by the disc Q and the return motion by the spring W.
]
The plate S with the needle bar can also be made to receive a lateral
motion of double the distance of the above, for finishing the ends of the
button hole by stitching across both edges of the hole at those points.
For this purpose the small lever H' (which is attached to the stationary
part of the head of the machine beneath the plate S) is turned up, 2
whereby the plate S will be allowed to traverse double the distance to
the right. Figure 1, Sheet III., shews the lever H' in this position.
As shewn at Figure 4, Sheet III., the disc Q is covered and protected
by a casing; under this casing a felt disc t is placed on the disc Q, and
the casing and felt disc are pressed against the disc Q by means of the 2
nut on the screw h, in order to prevent any backward motion of this
disc.
If it is desired to revert from the button hole stitch to the ordinary
stitch again, the pawl P is raised over the small projection on the spring
o, whereby the pawl together with the ratchet wheel R and disc Q are 3
put out of action. By this means the lateral motion of the plate S and
necdle bar N is stopped, and the needle bar only performs the usual
vertical motion for forming the ordinary lock stitch.
For making button-hole stitches with this machine the roller presser
shewn at Figures 2, Sheet II., and 7, Sheet III., is required. As the
feeder wo pushes the fabric onward from below the roller U is made to
rotate upon its pin. The outer edge of this roller is milled in order to

page_text: Fifth. The before-described peculiar construction of cloth holder,
whereby button holes can be sewn without having been previously
stitched over by hand.
In witness whereof, I, the said Gustav Kallmeyer, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of October, in the year 5
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
GUSTAV KALLMEYER. (L.S.)