IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Fraser, of the Town and County of Perth, North
Britain, and John Ower, of Swan Street, Minories, in the City of London, for
the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Fraser and John Ower
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th June 1878.
“
JAMES FRASER, of the Town and County of Perth, North Britain, and JOHN
OWER, of Swan Street, Minories, in the City of London. IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."
Our Invention relates to sewing machines producing an overhead seam with a
single thread, and consists in the use in the manner herein-after described, of a
seginento-annular shuttle working in a circular race, the said shuttle travelling
round the race without stopping, and containing the whole of the thread necessary
for the work; also of a hooked needle; also of a hook for taking the loop from the
needle to the shuttle; also of a lever or pin for maintaining the thread taut; also
of a peculiar spring guide for the thread, and of a peculiar arrangement of hook
for tightening the stitch and threading the needle with the aid of the ordinary
step, feed, and presser foot.
'
În carrying out our Invention we proceed in the following manner:-A table is
provided supported on the frame of the machine for the cloth to rest upon and pass
over, on the inner edge of which table a notch is made for the passage of the
needle. The needle is fixed above this notch on a vertical bar working down and
up in two sockets in the frame, the bar being outside the edge of the table and
having a projection which carries the needle. The needle is formed with a hook
near the point for the purpose of taking the thread through the cloth. The whole
of the thread is contained in a shuttle which forms the segment of a ring and is
fitted in a circular race, a small part of the race being cut away in order to allow
the loop to pass. The convex periphery of the race is placed close to the inner

page_text: edge of the table and close to the notch for the needle, and the race extends back-
wards from the table. The shuttle revolves in the race and is driven by two pins
attached to a shaft, which is supported on the frame at right angles to the race
and in a line with the centre thereof, leaving a clear space between the shaft and
the ra
race. On the end of the shaft is secured a disc, at the outside of which are two
projecting sockets to carry the two pins before mentioned for driving the shuttle.
The pins which enter holes formed in the shuttle are retracted at a certain part of
the revolution, so as to clear the loop and then again engage with the shuttle, one
pin being re-engaged before the other is retracted. The pins are operated for this
purpose by a stationary cam in conjunction or not with a spring.
The machine is operated in the following manner :-At the commencement of
the work the thread is inserted in the hook of the needle, and the machine being
set in motion the needle passes through the cloth carrying the thread down with it
and forming a loop. A hook provided underneath the table then moves forward
and takes hold of the loop, freeing it from the needle, and carries it over the near
side of the shuttle race, putting it into a position, so that as the shuttle travels it
passes through the loop; as the shuttle passes the hook recedes, at the same time
falling back so as to clear the shuttle. As soon as the shuttle has passed through
(the thread being in the shuttle and the shuttle travelling round) the loop begins
to tighten; a small lever or pin on the inner edge and near the top of the race
maintains the thread taut, the pin being kept up by its end resting against the
edge of the above-mentioned disc, a small portion of which is cut away so as
to allow the pin (under the action of the taut thread) to fall at the requisite periods,
the pin immediately returning under the action of a spring.
When the loop is almost completely drawn up a hook (mounted on a centre so
as to be capable of moving to above the table and to pass close to the needle) takes
hold of the thread after it has passed through the loop and draws the stitch tight.
At that time the feed draws the cloth forward the length of a stitch, bringing the
thread under the point of the needle. The hook returns, placing the thread in the
needle, and the pin then falls to allow the thread to pass it. The thread coines
upon a spring guide consisting of a bow spring with a projection in contact with
the disc before mentioned, and which prevents the thread from passing in one
direction, but allows it to pass by lifting the spring in the opposite direction. The
thread is thus protected until it is drawn up again by another loop, when the
preceding actions are repeated, and so on in succession during the operation of the
machine.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Fraser and John Ower in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th December 1878.
JAMES FRASER, of the Town and County of Perth, North Britain, and JOHN
OWER, of Swan Street, Minories, in the City of London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING MACHINES."
Our Invention relates to sewing machines for producing an overhead seam
with a single thread. According to our said Invention a segmental annular
shuttle is used, working in a circular race, the said shuttle travelling round the
race in one direction and without stopping, and containing the whole of the thread
necessary for the work. In combination with this segmental shuttle are used a
hooked needle for taking the thread through the cloth; a hook for taking the
loop from the needle to across the path of the shuttle; a hook for tightening the
stitch, and with the aid of the ordinary step, feed, and presser foot presenting the
thread to the needle to be passed by it into the cloth; a lever or pin for main-
taining the thread from the shuttle taut after it has passed through the loop;
a spring guide for the thread after it has been released by the aforesaid lever or
pin.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood, we now pro-
ceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner, in or under which
the same is or may be used, or practically carried into effect, reference being had to
the accompanying Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say,-
Figure 1 represents in side elevation; Figure 2, in front elevation (partly in
section); and Figure 3, in plan (with the table removed), a machine constructed
according to our Invention. The remaining Figures are details herein-after
referred to.
Upon the framing A of the machine is supported the table A', for the cloth being
sewn to rest upon and pass over. On the inner edge of the table A¹, a notch
opening out at the side is made for the passage of the needle and of the thread.
The needle a is fixed to work from above this notch down through the cloth, and
the notch to below the level of the table. The needle a is held in a projection b¹
from a bar b, working down and up in two sockets c; on the frame or shuttle race
or other fixed part of the machine the said bar b being outside the edge of the
table. This bar and the needle held by it are shewn separately in Figure 4. The
eye c² of the needle a inclines downwards, and opens out at one side so as to forin
near the point a hook for taking the thread through the cloth.
The whole of the thread is contained in a shuttle d, which is of a segmental
form, being part of a ring, and is fitted to run in a circular raco e, a small part being
cut away at (in order to allow the loop to pass) as seen at Figure 5, which is a
side view of the shuttle and race separate from the machine.
The whole of the tension for the thread is held by the shuttle itself. The raco
e is supported by the framing A, so that its concave periphery is close to the inner
edge of the table and close to the notch for the needle, and the race extends back-
wards from the table. The shuttle & revolves in the race, being overlapped by a
portion of the said race, and is driven by two pins d', d', sliding in sockets or guides
c, c', in a bracket c³, attached to the cam dis c on the end of the driving shaft D.
This disc C is shewn separately in Figures 6 and 7 which represent elevations of
the said disc taken at right angles to each other. The driving shaft D is supported
in bearings D¹ in the frame A, at right angles to the race e and in a line with the
centre thereof, leaving a clear space between its end and the said race e.
The pins
d which drive the shuttle d are formed with heads which enter a cam groove in
the periphery of the fixed disc E, they passing through the guides c' and into holes
d in the shuttle d. Thus as the disc C revolves with the driving shaft D, the

page_text: shuttle is compelled to partake of the motion through the pins d¹ at a certain
point of the revolution of the shuttle, viz., just before the shuttle enters the loop,
that one of the pins d', which is at the head of the shuttle, is withdrawn from the
shuttle and the shuttle enters the loop (being driven by the pin d¹ in its rear),
when the pin which was withdrawn as aforesaid is re-inserted and the other pin
withdrawn, so as to allow of the tail of the shuttle passing through the loop.
The withdrawal and insertion of the pin dis effected by reason of the heads
of the said pins being engaged in the before-mentioned groove in the peri-
phery of the disc E, the said groove being so shaped that just before the shuttle
enters the loop the front pin is withdrawn and the shuttle driven by the rear pin,
and then when the front part of the shuttle has passed through the loop the front
pin is re-inserted and the rear pin withdrawn, to allow of the tail of the shuttle
passing through the loop as before described.
findicates a hook for taking the loop from the needle after it has passed through
the cloth and passing the said loop into the path of the shuttle d. The said hook f
is fixed to a horizontal slider f, sliding in guides underneath the table, and it is
actuated from the face cam f³ on the driving shaft D, a stud on the rod f working
in the groove of the said cam, its cther end being connected to one end of a lover f³
whose opposite end is attached to a stud f on the slider f¹. The groove on the
cam disc f³ is so shaped that the hook fis caused to advance when the needle has
commenced its up stroke.
Attached to the shuttle race is a spring lever g consisting of a projecting pin g',
situated on the inner edge and near the top of the shuttle race. The end of the
pin g¹ rests upon the edge of the disc C. The thread after the shuttle has passed
through the loop rests upon this pin g', and is thereby maintained taut till after
the hook h has acted (as herein-after described), when a cut-away portion of the
edge of the disc C comes opposite the said pin g¹, and under the action of the ten-
sion of the thread the said pin g¹ will fall as herein-after described.
Figure 8 represents an enlarged view of the pin g¹ and its attachments; the
spring 92 being for the purpose of returning the pin g¹ to its original position as
the thread has slipped from it.
i (see Figure 7) indicates a spring kept in position by a guide on the frame A,
which spring has a projection i¹ for receiving the thread when released by the pin
gl, and thus keeping it clear of the moving parts. The under side of the projection
is bevelled, so that the thread may slip therefrom as the shuttle passes through
the loop; and the said projection bears against the face of the disc C as seen in
Figure 7.
h indicates the hook for taking the thread after it has passed through the loop
and drawing it tight. The said hook h is mounted on a rod h¹ turning in a bracket
1. A motion of partial revolution (to cause the hook to advance to near the
needle and take up the thread) is given to the said rod h from the groove 2 in
the face cam C (see Figure 6), through the connecting rods and arms h³, brought
under the table so as to leave the space in front of the shuttle race e clear.
The needle bar b receives its motion from a cam groove in the dise k, into which
groove enters a projection on one end of an arm keyed upon the shaft K, thereby
giving to the said shaft a rocking motion which through the arm 2, transmits to
the needle bar b a rising-and-falling motion.
m indicates a set handle for shifting the band from the loose pulley n to the fast
pulley o; p indicates a treadle by depressing which the operator drives the machine
by shifting the driving band to the fast pulley o.
q indicates a spring for stopping the machine by returning the band to the loose
pulley when the treadle p is released.
indicates the step feed and presser foot, which, through cams and rods s, receives
a rising, falling, and feeding motion in a manner and by mechanism similar to that
used for obtaining similar motions in the Thomas sewing machine, so as to feed
forward the cloth before each stitch. As this mechanism for effecting the said

page_text: movements of the step feed and presser foot is well known it calls for no further
description.
t indicates a presser foot for steadying the work. It may be raised and lowered
through the lever t¹ actuated by the needle bar b.
The action of the machine is as follows:-At the commencement of the work the
thread from the shuttle is placed under the step feed and then inserted in the hook
of the needle a, and the machine being set in motion by depressing the treadle p,
and shifting the driving band on to the fast pulley the needle bar b descends, and
the needle passes through the work, carrying the thread down with it, and forming
a loop underneath the table A'. The needle then begins to rise, and the hook f
moves forward and takes hold of the loop thus formed, freeing it from the
needle and carrying it over the near side of the shuttle race g at the cut-away part
7, in such a position that as the shuttle d revolves it passes through the loop, the
hook freceding to its former position as soon as the shuttle has taken the loop.
As before explained the pins d¹ which drive the shuttle d are withdrawn one at a
time to allow of the passage of the shuttle through the loop.
As soon as the shuttle has passed through the loop the said loop by the move-
ment of the shuttle begins to tighten the pin g, maintaining the thread taut.
When the loop is almost completely drawn up by the movement of the shuttle
the hook h moves and takes the thread which has passed through the loop and
draws the stitch tight. The feed r then draws the work forward the length of a
stitch, bringing the thread under the needle. The hook / returns, placing the
thread in the needle.
As the shuttle moves round, the notch in the periphery of the disc C releases the
ping under the tension of the thread, and the said thread comes upon the spring
guide i, and the projection ¹ prevents the thread passing in one direction and holds
it clear of the moving parts; but as the shuttle comes further round, the thread by
bearing against the bevelled under side of the projection i, urges back the spring
i, and is released. The thread is thus protected until it is drawn up again by
another loop in making the next stitch, when the actions before described aro
repeated, and so on in succession during the operation of the machine. When the
imachine is to be stopped the treadle p is released, and the spring q shifts the band
to the loose pulley.
In order to prevent the thread of the loop from clinging to the shuttle as it
passes therethrough, and following it into the race, a hook u may be fixed upon
the shuttle race, as shewn in Figure 5, the point of the said hook entering a groove
in the shuttle, and by catching the thread of the loops preventing it following the
shuttle. A guide, as at v¹ (Figure 1), may be provided to keep the thread clear of
the shuttle.
Machines may be constructed according to our Invention of various sizes and
suited for light or heavy work.
Machines constructed according to our Invention work much steadier and with
less noise than ordinary machines, and without jar, owing to the circular movement
of the shuttle in place of the reciprocating motion hiberto employed, and it makes
an overhead lock stitch with but one thread.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and the system, mode, or manner, in or under which the same is or may be
used or practically carried into effect, we would observe in conclusion that we wish
it to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise details and modes
of obtaining the motions of the moving parts herein-before described, as the same
may be considerably varied without departing from the nature of our Invention,
the essential feature of which is a segmental shuttle working in a circular race.
What we consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The improved sewing machine consisting of the general arrangement or
combination of parts essentially as herein-before described, and illustrated in the

page_text: accompanying Drawings, or any arrangement and combination of parts constituting
an essentially similar machine.
Second. The employment of sewing machines of the class herein-before referred
to, of a segmental shuttle working in a circular shuttle race, essentially as herein-
before described, and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Fraser, on behalf of myself and the said
John Ower, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
TAMPS TRACER