IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Wright Alderton, of Ipswich, in the County
of Suffolk, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES."
Sealed the 26th April 1864, and dated the 3rd November 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Wright Alderton,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd November 1865.
I, THOMAS WRIGHT ALDERTON, of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain peculiar arrangements of the feed motion
of sewing machines, and also to an arrangement of mechanism for driving a
shuttle.
According to one arrangement of feed motion I obtain all the movements
required in a four-motion top feed from a cam fixed on the front end of a
driving shaft contained in the fixed arm of the machine, such cam being
enclosed in a box or chamber in the front end of the bracket. If a feed iu
one direction only be required the cam will have two actuating surfaces only,
[Price 8d.]

page_text: the one to raise the foot and the other to give the lateral motion thereto;
but when a duplex feed is required so as to enable the cloth to be propelled
in either of two directions at right angles to each other, the cam is provided
with an additional actuating surface, namely, one on the side or face thereof
which is brought into play when required, whilst the other actuating surface
remains out of action. The surface which lifts the foot is always in action in
whatever direction the feed may be effected. The stem of the foot is jointed
to a horizontal cross lever at its upper end, and this cross lever works on a
centre in the head of the fixed bracket, a projection on the under side of the
lever resting upon that part of the feed cam which gives the lifting motion to
the foot. The propelling motion of the foot is transmitted to it by a lever
which works on a centre in the back of the bracket head, the upper end of
the lever being provided with an adjusting screw which is acted upon by the
feed cam, whilst the lower end of the lever bears against the stem of the
feeding foot.
When a duplex feed is required the lever is provided at its
upper end with two adjusting screws, the one being acted upon by the
periphery of the cain and the other by the face or side of the cam, each screw
being brought into or out of action according to the direction of feed required;
in this case also the lever should work on a double or universal joint in order
to allow it to vibrate in the directions required. In the duplex feed an
adjustable guide is employed for guiding the lower end of the stem of the
feeding foot, this guide serving for either direction of feed by simply turning it
upon a hinge pin or centre. Spings are employed for pressing down the foot
and for producing the return stroke of the same after propelling the cloth.
The needle slide is driven from a pin in the face of the feed cam, such pin
engaging into a curved slot in the slide. The shuttle driver in this machine
is worked by means of a three-sided cam fast on the rear end of the driving
shaft and working in a cross head on the upper end of a vertical rod inside the
pillar of the fixed bracket. The lower end of the vertical rod is connected by
a link to one arm of a bell crank, the other arm of which is coupled to the rod
of the shuttle driver. By having a considerable portion of the shuttle cam
made concentric to the centre of rotation, a pause or dwell will be obtained in
the motion of the shuttle at each front and back traverse.
Another part of my Invention relates to improvements in the feed notion of
William Frederick Thomas's sewing machine, numbered 2079, and dated the
14 September 1855, its object being to obtain a duplex feed in that machine
in a more simple manner than has hitherto been effected.. For this purpose
the rocking shaft which actuates the feeding foot is capable of receiving a
longitudinal reciprocating motion as well as a rocking motion. The arm of

page_text: this shaft which is acted upon by thefeed cam is further provided with adjusting
screws each acted upon by a separate cam surface, and these surfaces are
combined to form one feeding cam. If three directions of feed be required,
three screws and cam surfaces will be used, and one of the three screws,
according to the direction of the feed desired, will be in action at one time,
whilst the other two are out of action, so that by simply bringing one or other
of these screws into action the machine will feed either to the right or left of
the operator or from him. If it is only required to feed in two directions at
right angles to eaach other a duplex cam will be employed in combination
with two screws, or with one screw made so as to be brought to bear upon
either of the two cam surfaces desired.
Another part of my Invention relates to what is known as the needle feed,
and consists in imparting a lateral play to the lever arm which carries the
needle by means of a cam surface acting upon a tail piece on the needle lever,
the lever itself vibrating upon a double or universal joint, and receiving its
up-and-down motion from a crank in the face of the cam above referred to or
from a groove cut thereon; another groove in the circumference of this can
gives motion to a looper or shuttle, as the case may be.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Wright Alderton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd May 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WRIGHT ALDERTON, of Ipswich, in the County of Suffolk, Machinist, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Wright Alderton, Her special license that I, the said Thomas
Wright Alderton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Thomas Wright Alderton, 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," upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that I, the said Thomas Wright Alderton, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal
of one of them, should particularly describe and ascertain the natureof the said
Iuvention, 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 Thomas Wright Alderton, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to certain peculiar arrangements of the feed
motion of sewing machines, and also to an arrangement of mechanism for
driving a shuttle.
According to one arrangement of feed motion I obtain all the movements
required in a four-motion top feed from a cam A fixed on the front end of a
driving shaft contained in the fixed arm of the machine, such cam being
enclosed in a box or chamber in the front end of the bracket. If a feed in
one direction only be required the cam will have two actuating surfaces only,
the one to raise the foot and the other to give the lateral motion thereto; but
when a duplex feed is required so as to enable the cloth to be propelled
in either of two directions at right augles to each other, the cam is provided
with an additional actuating surface, viz., one on the side or face thereof,
which is brought into play when required, whilst the other actu ating surface
remains out of action. The surface which lifts the foot is always in action in
whatever direction the feed may be effected. The stem of the foot is jointed
to a horizontal cross lever at its upper end, and this cross lever works on a
centre in the head of the fixed bracket, a projection on the under side of the
lever resting upon that part of the feed cam which gives the lifting motion to
the foot. The propelling motion of the foot is transmitted to it by a lever
which works on a centre in the back of the bracket head, the upper end of
the lever being provided with an adjusting screw which is acted upon by the
feed cam, whilst the lower end of the lever bears against the stem of the
feeding foot.
When a duplex feed is required the lever is provided at its
upper end with two adjusting screws, the one being acted upon by the
periphery of the cam and the other by the face or side of the cam, each screw
being brought into or out of action according to the direction of feed required;
in this case also the lever should work on a double or universal joint in order
to allow it to vibrate in the directions required. In the duplex feed an

page_text: adjustable guide is employed for guiding the lower end of the stem of the
teeding foot, this guide serving for either direction of feed by simply turning
it upon a hinge pin or centre. Springs are employed for pressing down the
foot and for producing the return stroke of the same after propelling the
cloth. The needle slide is drawn from a pin in the face of the feed cam, such
pin engaging into a curved slot in the slide. The shuttle driver in this
machine is worked by means of a three-sided cam fast on the rear end of the
driving shaft, and working in a cross head on the upper end of a vertical rod
inside the pillar of the fixed bracket. The lower end of the vertical rod is
connected by a link to one arm of a bell crank, the other arm of which is
coupled to the rod of the shuttle driver. By having a considerable portion of
the shuttle cam made concentric to the centre of rotation a pause or dwell
will be obtained in the motion of the shuttle at each front and back traverse.
Another part of my Invention relates to improvements in the feed motion
of the Thomas' machine, described and illustrated in the Specification of
Letters Patent granted to William Frederick Thomas in the year One
thousand eight hundred aud fifty-five, and numbered 2079, its object being to
obtain a duplex feed in a more simple manner than has hitherto been effected.
For this purpose the rocking shaft (referred to in the said Specification) which
actuates the feeding foot is capable of receiving a longitudinal reciprocating.
motion as well as a rocking motion. The arm of this shaft, which is acted
upon by the feed cam, is further provided with adjusting screws each acted
upon by a separate cam surface, and these surfaces are combined to form one
feeding cam. If three directions of feed be required, three screws and cam
surfaces will be used, and one of the three screws, according to the direction
of the feed desired, will be in action at one time, whilst the other two are out
of action, so that by simply bringing one or other of these screws into action
the machine will feed either to the right or left of the operator or from him.
If it is only required to feed in two directions at right angles to each other
a duplex cam will be employed in combination with two screws, or with one
screw made so as to be brought to bear upon either of the two cam surfaces
desired.
Another part of my Invention relates to what is known as the needle feed,
and consists in imparting a lateral play to the lever arm which carries the
needle by means of a cam surface acting upon a tail piece on the needle lever,
the lever itself vibrating upon a double or universal joint, and receiving its
up-and-down motion from a crank in the face of the cam above referred to,
or from a groove cut therein; another groove in the circumference of this
cam gives motion to a looper or shuttle, as the case may be.

page_text: And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
I shall refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all
the corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of one arrangement of shuttle
machine constructed according to my Invention, and provided with one of my
improved feeding devices; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the bracket
shewing the needle slide; Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of the same
shewing the feeding device; Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section of the
rear end of the fixed bracket shewing the mechanism for actuating the shuttle
driver; and Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are details of some of the several parts
which I shall herein-after fully describe and refer to.
A is the foot of a four-motion top feed, which is actuated so as to receive
all its requisite movements from the compound feed cam B (Figure 5) fast on
the front end of the main driving spindle C of the machine. This cam is
represented as adapted for aduplex feed wherein the cloth can be fed in either
of two directions at right angles to each other by a simple adjustment or
change of certain of the parts. In this case three distinct cam surfaces, 1, 2,
and 3, are combined in one cam, the part 1 (shewn dotted in Figure 5)
serving to lift the feeding foot, whilst the part 2 gives a lateral motion thereto
or across the arm of the machine, and the part 3 a longitudinal motion,
namely, parallel to the arm of the machine, either of these two parts being
used as required. The stem D of the foot is jointed to the cross lever E,
which works on a fixed centre F in the head of the fixed bracket, a small
projection a on the under side of the lever resting upon the part 1 of the cam
which gives the lifting motion, whilst a spring brings the foot down again.
G is a lever which imparts the propelling motion to the foot; it works on a
centre c, and when intended to feed in either of two directions this lever
is caused to work on a swivel centre, which will enable it to vibrate freely in
two directions at right angles to each other. It may either be constructed as
shewn in Figures 1, 3, and 6, namely, provided with a single adjusting screwd
on the upper part G1 of the lever, which part is made to turn or swivel one
quarter of a revolution, so as to cause the same screw d to be operated upon
either by the cam surface 2 or the cam surface 3, according to the direction
of the feed required, in which arrangement a spring e is employed as a check
to hold the part G¹ in either position when once adjusted; or, if preferred,
this swivel action of the part G¹ of the lever may be dispensed with and two
screws d, d', (Figures 7 and 8) fitted thereto, the one screw being acted upon

page_text: by the cam surface 2 and the other by the cam surface 3 as required, it being
simply requisite to adjust forward that particular screw which is intended to
operate. The lower end of this lever is provided with a pin which works in a
vertical slot in the stem of the feeding foot, and thus imparts the desired
forward or lateral propelling motion thereto. H is an adjustable guide, which
is attached by a pin or pivot to the bracket arm, and serves to guide the stem
of the feeding foot in whichever direction it may be feeding the cloth, it being
simply requisite for this purpose to turn the guide into the horizontal position
shewn in Figures 7 and 8, or into a vertical position. In the one position
the side f(see detail, Figure 9) of the guide serves as the guiding surfaco for
the stem of the foot, whilst in the other position the edge of the guide
operates as the guiding surface. g is a spring for producing the return of the
foot after propelling the cloth; this spring is placed at such an angle as to
operate in whichever direction the foot may be feeding. I is the needle slide,
which is actuated by a pin in the back of the feed cam, such pin working
in a differential slot i in the slide, as is well known in sewing machines. J is
the three-sided cam for working the shuttle driver; it is fast on the rear part
of the main shaft C, and works in a slotted cross head K on the rod L, which
is connected by a link M to the short arm of a bell crank N, the longer arm
of which is jointed to the rod O of the shuttle driver. As a large portion
of the cam J is concentric with the shaft C, it follows that a considerable
dwell is obtained in the movement of the shuttle after each front and back
stroke or traverse.
Figures 10 and 11 illustrate my improvements in the feed motion, for
which Letters Patent were granted to William Frederick Thomas, bearing
date the Fourteenth of September, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five,
No. 2079. According to my improvements the rocking shaft A which
actuates the stem B of the feeding foot receives a longitudinal recipro-
cating motion on the pins or centres a, «, in addition to its rocking motion.
The arm C of this rocking shaft, which is operated upon by the feed cam D,
is further provided with two or more adjusting screws 1, 2, 3, (as shewn in
Figure 11,) each acted upon by a separate cam surface, the whole of such
surfaces being combined in the one cam D. In Figure 11 the apparatus is
arranged to feed in either of three directions, three screws being employed,
two of the screws being out of action whilst the third is in action; or, in lieu
of having separate screws for each cam surface, one screw only may be
einployed, and the arm C made to turn or swivel as herein-before described
in reference to Figures 1, 3, and 6, so as to cause the same screw to be

page_text: operated upon by either of the cams according to the direction of feed
desired.
Figure 12 is a sectional elevation of a looper machine provided with my
improved needle feed; Figure 13 is a transverse section of the same; and
Figure 14 is an under side plan thereof. In this feed I impart a slight lateral
vibration to the needle arm A, as well as a vertical vibration, and therefore I
mount this lever arm A upon a species of double or universal joint, as shewn
at B, of which 1, 1, and 2, 2, represent the pivots for the vertical and the
lateral vibrations of the arm respectively. C is a tail piece secured to the
arm A and projecting back underneath the table of the machine. The end
of this piece is slotted as shown at ", and within this slot revolves an eccentric
> fast on the first-motion spindle c, which imparts the vertical motion to the
needle lever or arm A. The lateral motion which gives the feed is derived
from an adjustable pin d in the end of the tail piece C working against a
cam surface 3. A groove 4 in this cam gives motion to a looper or to a
shuttle, as the case may be. In lieu of the slot a and eccentric b, shown in
Figure 12, it is obvious that a face cam 6 (Figure 16) may be employed, a
pin in the end of the tail piece C working in the groove a of the face cam.
Figure 16 represents the modification of the parts when a shuttle is
employed in lieu of a looper, the cam groove 4 in that case driving the arm 5
of the shuttle driver; the feed-regulating pin is shown attached to the table
in lieu of to the tail piece C.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim asthe Invention secured to me by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent, is, ―
1st. The peculiar construction and arrangement of duplex feed mechanism
for sewing machines, as herein-before described and illustrated by Figures
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 and the Drawings attached.
2nd. The peculiar arrangement of mechanism for actuating a shuttle driver
in a sewing machine, as herein-before described and illustrated by Figure 4 of
the Drawings.
3rd. The application and use of a longitudinally reciprocating rocking shaft
in combination with two or more feeding cams and separate screws, or with a
single screw made to swivel, as herein-before described and illustrated by
Figures 10 and 11 of the Drawings.
4th. The mounting of the needle arm of a sewing machine upon double or

page_text: what is known as the needle feed, in the manner herein before described and
llustrated by Figures 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Wright Alderton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
THOMAS WRIGHT ALDERTON. (L.S.)