IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, of the Firm of
Harris and Mills, of 35, Southampton Buildings, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by John Knous,
of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, in the United States of
America.
:
Sealed the 7th November 1873, and dated the 2nd September 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Joseph
Barnard Mills at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 2nd September 1873.
I, BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of the Firm of Harris and
Mills, of 35, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," a communication to me from abroad
by John Knous, of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, in the United
States of America. to be as follows:-

page_text: adjuncts, whereby the operative parts of the machine may be thrown
into or out of action at will, while the driving wheel and treadle may
continue their motions; to a means whereby the clutch is actuated to
stop the machine, and in such manner as to overcome all momentum of
the operative parts; to a specific means for positively lifting the presser
free from the fabric; to a combination of the stop motion with the
presser lifter, whereby the presser is lifted from the cloth by the same
act which arrests the motions of the feed and of the needle while the
latter is about at its lowest point and in the cloth; to the construction
and operation of a cam sleeve as a means for effecting these results; and
to the construction and application of an adjustable plate employed in
connection with the presser lifting lever, whereby the presser may be at
discretion lifted just enough to free the fabric, whether thick or thin, and
whereby an undue and needlessly strong blow of the presser upon the
goods when the presser drops may be avoided.
And the Invention relates, secondly, to the employment of means
for rendering the action of the take-up lever adjustable, so that it may
accord with the variations required in changing the work from thick to
thin goods, and vice versa, and also to means for regulating the action
of the feed lever.
The first part of the Invention is as follows:-A portion of the main
shaft connected with the other by two cranks is made tubular for the
greater part of its length. Within this tube is a plug, against which a
spiral spring located within the inner end of the tube exerts a constant
force, pressing the plug outwardly, that is, toward the fly wheel. A
portion of this tube is made square to receive a disc or clutch wheel,
whose periphery is made slightly conical that it may make, when desired,
a frictional engagement with a corresponding conical cavity made at the
centre of the inner face of the fly wheel.
A pin passing through the clutch wheel, tubular shaft, and plug
serves to hold them all together, but the hole in the shaft being clon-
gated permits a short movement of the clutch wheel upon the shaft, and
consequently to or from the fly wheel, when the plug shall be given an
endwisc movement. Such endwise movement against the pressure of
the coiled spring is effected through the agency of a cam sleeve, which
is also secured to the tubular shaft and the plug by a pin, the hole in
this shaft permitting the endwise play of the plug, as above stated. It
S

page_text: is preferred also to make the pin hole in the plug slightly elongated, the
better to insure a fulness in' its movement outward, that there may be
no failure in effecting the engagement of the clutch disc with the driver.
A flange limits the outward play of the clutch disc or wheel. The
square part of the shank relieves the pin from sustaining all the strain
of driving.
The cam sleeve is provided with a cam or swell on the face nearest tho
driving wheel. This cam in the revolution of the shaft while in the act
of making stitches runs free from operative contact with anything, but
when it is desired to stop the sewing, as above stated, while the needle is
in the cloth, the sleeve is shifted to the left, carrying with it the clutch
wheel, and freeing the latter from the driving wheel, this action being
effected by a lever oporated from the upper surface of the table by
pressure of the thumb or fingers of the operator upon a thumb piece or
button. When so pressed it forces upward another lever, whose other
end is thus correspondingly forced downward, bringing such end within
the range of motion of the cam. The resistance thus offered by the
lever compels the sleeve to shift enough to release the clutch and stop
the movement of the shaft, as well as of all the moving parts of the
machine, the fly wheel only continuing its movement. This stoppage is
not abrupt and jarring, and being done gently by the action of the
incline, and then the fly wheel continuing its motions without restraint,
all momentum of the working parts is overcome, or rather it is borne
and sustained by the now detached fly wheel.
The lever bearing against the cam sleeve is furnished with a spring,
which restores it to its normal position out of range of the cam whenever
the operator desists from pressing upon the lever. In such case the
coiled spring within the shaft immediately restores the clutch into con-
nection, and sewing proceeds as usual.
On the left side of the cam sleeve, either in direct contact with it or
very close to it, is one arm of a bent lever, the other arm of which lies
just beneath the lower end of a vertical rod, whose upper end is pivotted
to a crank or arm on a rock shaft. At the forward end of this rock
shaft is a laterally projecting curved arm, which at its lower end bears
against a plate on the presser lifting lever. When the sleeve is shifted
to the left it actuates the lover, which causes the lifting of a rod, and
consequently the rocking of the shaft and the pressure of an arm against

page_text: a plate, which being held by a screw to the lifting lever causes the
presser foot to be raised and held up until the shifting back of the cam
sleeve permits the bent lever to be restored to its normal position. A
slot and adjusting screw in the plate admit of a shifting of the position
of the plate upon the lifting lever, so that the tip of the arm shall when
actuated come into action against the rear edge of the plate at an earlier
or later period in its movements, as may be desired, this provision of
adjustment being for the purpose of graduating at will the height to
which the presser shall lift to free the goods at the period of unclutching
the driving mechanism.
The second part of the Invention is as follows:-In rendering the
take-up lever adjustable it may be pivotted to the needle slide, and may
be connected by a link to a piece provided with a slot, and capable of
adjustment by means of a set screw upon the arm of the machine; or
the take-up lever may be pivotted to an adjustable slide arranged to be
moved up or down upon the needle bar, and secured in the desired
position by means of a set screw or pin; or the take-up lever may be
provided with several pivot holes, and thus be rendered capable of being
shifted so as to use either of the holes as its fulcrum, by which it is hung
to the needle bar.
The feed regulating device consists of a worm, having its thumb piece
or head projecting above the surface of the table, and so mounted that
it shall not advance or retreat when turned. This worm gears with a
worm wheel fixed on one end of a shaft, on the opposite end of which is
rigidly fixed a short slotted arm, in the slot of which rides a pin pro-
jecting from the feeding bar, which is so hung as to be capable of
moving endwise, more or less, when lifted by its cam, the degree of such
endwise movement being determined by the degree of inclination from
a vertical line which has been given to the slot, this variation of its
inclination being effected by the turning of the shaft on which it is
fixed.

page_text: .
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 2nd March 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BEN-
JAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS, of the Firm of Harris and Mills, of
35, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills,
Her special licenso that I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said. Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, my executors, administrators, and
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 to me from abroad by John Knous, of Hartford, in the
State of Connecticut, in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills, 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 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 Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills,
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 thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :—
The Invention has for its object improvements in sewing machines,

page_text: The aim of the present Invention is to make them simpler, cheaper,
and more ceffiient in action, and the same is constructed as follows :-
The portion A¹ of the main shaft A, and which portion is connected with
A by the two cranks B, B³, is made tubular, as seen, for the greater part
of its length. Within this tube is a plug 1, against which a spiral
spring 2, located within the inner end of the tube, exerts a constant
force, pressing the plug outwardly, that is, towards the fly wheel C.
This tube A¹ is made square at 3 to receive the disc or clutch wheel D,
whose periphery is made slightly conical that it may make, when
desired, a frictional engagement with a corresponding conical cavity 5
made at the centre of the inner face of fly wheel C.
:
A pin 6 passing through wheel D, tubular shaft A', and plug 1 serves-
to hold them altogether, but the hole 7 in the shaft being clongated
permits a short movement of the clutch wheel upon the shaft, and con-
sequently to or from the fly wheel, when the plug shall be given an
endwise movement. Such endwise movement to the left (in the
Drawing) against the pressure of the coiled spring is effected through.
the agency of a cam sleeve E, which is also secured to the tubular shaft
and the plug by a pin 8, the hole 9 in this shaft permitting the endwise
play of the plug, as above stated. It is preferable also to make the pin
hole in the plug slightly elongated, the better to ensure a fulness in its
movement outward, that there may be no failure in effecting the engage-
ment of the clutch disc with the driver. A flange 10 limits the outward
play of the clutch disc or wheel. The square part of the shank relieves
the pin 6 from sustaining all the strain of driving. C¹ is the bolt
which holds the fly wheel C to place upon its shaft.
The cam sleeve E is provided with a swell or cam 11 on the face
nearest the driving wheel, this cam in the revolution of the shaft while
in the act of making stitches running free from operative contact with
anything; but when it is desired to stop the sewing, as above stated,
while the needle is in the cloth, the sleeve is shifted to the left, carrying
with it the clutch wheel D, and freeing the latter from the driving
wheel, this action being effected by the following instrumentalities :-
F is a lever, operated from the upper surface of the table by pressure of
the thumb or fingers of the operator upon thumb piece or button f.
When so pressed it forces upward the lever G, whose other end is thus

page_text: correspondingly forced downward, bringing such end within the range
of motion of the cam 11. The resistance thus offered by the lover
compels the sleeve E to shift to the left enough to release the clutch
and stop the movement of the shaft, as well as of all the moving parts of
the machine, the fly wheel only continuing its movement. This stop-
page is not abrupt and jarring, and being done gently by the action of
the incline, and then the fly wheel continuing its motions without
restraint, all momentum of the working parts is overcome, or rather it
is borne and sustained by the now detached fly wheel.
Lever G is preferably provided with a swell g at the part which bears
against the cam sleeve, and it is furnished with a spring 12, which
restores it to its normal position out of range of the cam whenever the
operator desists from pressing upon the lover F. In such case the coiled
spring within the shaft immediately restores the clutch into connection,
and sewing proceeds as usual.
On the left side of the cam sleeve E, either in direct contact with it or
very close to it, is one arm of a bent lever 13, the other arm of which
liés just beneath the lower end of a vertical rod 14, whose upper end is
pivotted to a crank or arm 15 on the rock shaft 16. "At the forward end
of this rock shaft is a laterally projecting curved arm 17, which at its
lower end bears against a plate 18 on the presser lifting lever 19. When
the sleeve E is shifted to the left it actuates lever 13, which causes the
lifting of rod 14, and consequently the rocking of the shaft 16 and the
pressure of arm 17 against the plate 18, which being held by a screw 20
to the lifting lever 19, causes the presser foot H to be raised and held
up until the shifting back of sleeve E permits the bent lever 13 to be
restored to its normal position. In Figure 3 the presser foot is shown
as thus raised, the parts being shown in position to effect this result.
The slot and adjusting screw 20 in plate 18 admit of a shifting of the
position of the plate upon the lever 19, so that the tip of arm 17 shall
when actuated come into action against the rear edge of the plate at an
earlier or later period in its movements, as may be desired, this provision
of adjustment being for the purpose of graduating at will the height to
which the presser shall lift to free the goods at the period of unclutching
the driving mechanism.
By this means, whether the material being sewn is of the finest muslin

page_text: or the thickest material ever operated upon by the machine, the presser
may be adjusted to lift just the required degree, whatever that may be,
and yet barely free itself from the top surface of the goods, and conse-
quently no blow or jump is given to the presser when free to descend
again beyond the minimum amount possible.
It will be observed that the novel mechanism for accomplishing this
in no wise interferes with the ordinary function of the lifting lever,
which may be operated by hand in the usual manner to lock the presser
bar and its foot to its extreme elevated position.
The feed regulating devices, being the second part of the Invention,
are shown in Figures 6, 7, and 8.
F is a worm, having its thumb piece or head 6 projecting above the
surface of the table in a convenient position, so as to be readily turned
by the operator, and so applied to the table that it shall not advance or
retreat when so turned. This worm gears with the worm gear G on the
end of shaft H, at whose opposite end is rigidly affixed a short slotted
arm I, in the slot 7 of which rides a pin projecting from the feeding
bar K, this bar being so hung as to be capable of moving endwise, more
or less, when lifted by its cam 8, the degree of such endwise movement
being determined by the degree of inclination from a vertical line which
has been given to the slot 7, this variation of its inclination being
effected in the most positive and simple manner by the turning of
shaft H on its axis through the agency of the worm F, the latter also
positively locking the shaft and its arm I to the desired position without
possibility of accidental derangement.
This mode and means of turning the shaft and holding it secure when
turned have other advantages over the spring locking lever formerly
employed for that purpose, namely, there is no liability of accidentally
deranging the adjustment of the feed, as nothing which may strike or
catch the thumb piece 6 can change its position, as was liable to be the
case with the spring lever alluded to. Moreover, the extent of adjust-
ment (as compared with the use of such spring lever, which could lock
itself only in the holes provided for that purpose) is under absolute
control to the most delicate degree, for there is no positive point within
the whole range of its feeding movement at which it must stop in order

page_text: Sixthly. I claim in combination with the shaft and its slotted
arm I the worm gear G upon said shaft and the non-advancing worm F,
the combination operating substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Joseph Barnard Mills,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of
February, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-four.