AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SEWING LEATHER AND OTHER HEAVY FABRICS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SEWING LEATHER AND OTHER HEAVY FABRICS."
-A communication from abroad by John Boyle, of the City,
County, and State of New York United States of
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 19th March 1873.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SEWING LEATHER AND
OTHER HEAVY FABRICS," to be as follows:-
The object of the Invention is to construct an awl-feed shuttle sewing
machine by means of which heavy fabrics may be sewed in such a
manner that the rough burrs produced on one side of the fabric may be
obviated, and the piercing be combined with the feeding of the same by

page_text: the motion of the awl in connection with the powerful action of the
pressure bar, the corresponding movement of the shuttle being produced
by suitably constructed shuttle cranks.
The Invention consists of a machine constructed in proportion to the
heavy fabrics to be sewed thereon with a pressure sufficient to allow the 5
rapid and effective piercing and feeding on the face plate. The pressure
is produced by a segmental cam formed on a wheel of the needle bar,
gliding over a friction roller at the end of an elbow lever and acting
on the presser bar.
The fabrics are pierced by the awl and fed to the needle which on 1
entering the hole above the receding awl carries back the burrs and
uneveness of the upper surface, distributing them equally by the thread
stitches. The shuttle is guided by a double crank motion gearing with
the lower feed shaft allowing thereby a strong and unbroken construction
of the same.
The main shaft is supported in the horizontal arm or standard of the
machine and drives the feed shaft which is placed below the face plate
by means of suitable gearing. At the end of the main shaft is applied
the wheel which transmits the motion to the needle bar, a segmental cam
extension of which wheel acts on a small friction roller at the upper end
of a vertical lever which is connected by an elbow piece to the middle
part of the presser bar. A shoe with projecting pins serves to keep the..
elbow piece on the guide part of standard and prevent any change in
the position of the vertical lever. The elbow piece passes across the
· presser bar, and bending around it into a recess of the guide standard
allows the easy up-and-downward motion of the presser bar when not in
contact with the cam extension before referred to, but produces a strong
friction of the pressure bar with guide standard as soon as the cam
extension engages the friction roller. The leather or other heavy fabric
is held thereby rigidly on the face plate by the pressure foot so that the
awl may readily pierce the fabric from below. The awl feed is arranged
perpendicularly under the needle and the pressure foot below the face
plate. The rotary motion of the lower feed-shaft is transmitted to an
awl carriage which imparts the proper motion to the awl. This carriage
moves in a dovetailed groove of a guide rail, and consists of a guide.
piece with a vertical lug at one side and a spiral spring at the other side,
which gives by means of an oval eccentric keyed to. feed-shaft. a.

page_text: reciprocating motion to the awl. The ascending and descending motion
is imparted to the awl by a wedge eccentric on feed shaft, said awl
being mounted in a socket carried on a rectangle guided by vertical
bolts.
The combination of both motions causes the awl to ascend through
the throat plate, pierce the fabric held there by the pressure foot and
feed the same to the descending needle which follows the receding
awl, and enters the whole from above, carrying the burr towards the
interior of the fabric and producing an even surface. As soon as
the needle ascends, the awl pierces and feeds the fabric again, allowing
a rapid sewing with smooth and elegant seams. The shuttle is carried
in the shuttle race by a slide piece with projecting prongs which take
hold of the end shuttle. This slide piece moves in a lateral slot of the face
plate and is pivoted by a downwardly extending lug to an intermediate
crank pivoted to the crank of an auxiliary shaft.
Suitable cog wheels serve to impart the motion to the shuttle cranks
without interfering with the feed shaft, the latter serving mainly to
overcome the resistance of the fabric in feeding, being not weakened by
the shuttle connection.
▸ SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 29th August 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander
Melville Clark, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times

page_text: 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 "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SEWING LEATHER AND OTHER HEAVY FABRICS,"
a communication to me from abroad by John Boyle, of the City, County,
and State of New York, United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, 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 1
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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, 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 accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
The object of this Invention is to construct an awl feed shuttle sewing
machine by means of which heavy fabrics may be sewn in such a
manner that the rough burrs produced on one side of the fabrics may be
obviated, and the piercing be combined with the feeding of the same by
the motion of the awl in connection with the powerful action of the
pressure bar, the corresponding movement of the shuttle being produced
by suitably constructed shuttle cranks.
The Invention consists of a machine constructed in proportion to the
heavy fabrics to be sewn thereon with a pressure sufficient to allow the
rapid and effective piercing and feeding on the face plate. The pressure
is produced by a segmental cam placed on wheel of needle bar gliding a
over a friction roller at end of elbow lever and acting on the pressure bar.
The fabrics are pierced by the awl and fed to the needle which on
entering into the hole above the receding awl, carries back the burrs and
uneveness of the upper surface, distributing them equally by the
thread stitches. The shuttle is guided by a double crank motion a
gearing with the lower feed shaft allowing thereby a strong and un-
broken construction of the same.

page_text: In the accompanying Drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevation
of the improved awl feed sewing machine partly in section; Figure 2 a
bottom view of the same with part of the lower feed shaft broken off to
show crank connection of shuttle; Figure 3 a vertical transverse section
on the line c, c, Figure 1, showing awl feed in connection with cam
wheel and pressure lever; and Figure 4 a detailed section of awl feed
ready for needle. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
▾
A represents the frame of the sewing machine of suitable material
and dimensions adapted to the work to be performed; the horizontal
standard B supports the main shaft C which drives by suitable gearing D
the feed shaft E below the face plate F. At the end of the main
shaft C is applied the wheel a which transmits the motion to the needle
bar b. A segmental cam extension a¹ of wheel a acts on a small friction
roller d at the upper end e of a vertical lever f, which is connected by
elbow piece g, under right angles to the middle part of pressure bar h.
Projecting pins of shoe i keep lever piece g on guide part of standard B
and prevents any change in the position of friction lever f, g,; lever
piece 9 passes across pressure bar h and bending around it into a recess
of guide standard B allows the easy up-and-downward, motion of the
pressure bar when not in contact with cam extension a¹, but produces a
strong friction of the pressure bar h with guide standard B as soon as
the cam extension engages roller d. The leather or other heavy fabric
is held thereby rigidly on face plate F by pressure foot ³, so that the
awl may readily pierce the fabric from below. The awl feed is arranged
perpendicularly under the needle and the pressure foot h¹ below face
plate F. The rotary motion of feed shaft E is transmitted to the awl
carriage G which imparts the proper motion to awl k. The carriage G
moves in the dovetailed groove of guide rail 7, and consists of guide piece /¹
with vertical lug t at one side and spiral spring u at the other side, which
gives by means of oval eccentric m¹ keyed to shaft E reciprocating
motion to the awl. Vertical bolts n guide the rectangle o, o, which
carries the awl socket p and imparts by wedge cccentric m of shaft E
the ascending and descending motion to awl k. The combination of
both motions causes awl k to ascend through the throat plate, pierce the
fabrics held there by pressure foot h³, feed the same to the descending
needle which follows the receding awl and enters the hole from above,
carrying the burr towards the interior of the fabric and producing an
even surface. As soon as the needle ascends, awl k pierces and feeds the

page_text: .
fabric again, allowing a rapid sewing with smooth and elegant seams.
Shuttle q is carried in the shuttle race by a slide piece with projecting
prongs which take hold of the ends of the shuttle. Slide piece r
moves in a lateral slot to of face plate F, and is pivoted by a down-
wardly extending lug³ to intermediate crank s pivoted again to crank ť¹
of auxiliary shaft H. Suitable cog wheels keyed to shafts E and H
impart the motion to the shuttle cranks without interfering with the
feed shaft E. The latter serves mainly to overcome the resistance of the
fabrics in feeding, not being weakened by the shuttle connection.
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
1st. Wheel a of needle bar 6 having segmental cam a¹ in connection
with roller d and friction lever f, g, acting on pressure bar h to produce
strong pressure on fabrics, substantially as described.
2ndly. The awl feed produced by awl carriage G moving in guide rail
and eccentrics m and m³, as set forth.
3rdly. The combination of the parts of the foregoing clauses with
standard B, main shaft C, feed shaft E, face plate F, and frame A, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
thwoo
Witness,
HENRY W. DEWEY,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
A. M. CLARK. (L.S.)