IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWING
MACHINES." A communication from abroad by William Cleveland Hicks,
of Boston, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 23rd November 1861, and dated the 8th August 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th August 1861.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWING
MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the details of sewing
machines, whereby their action will be materially improved. To this end it
is proposed to introduce improved tension apparatus, whereby a large amount
of slack thread may be thrown off to form the slack loop through which the
shuttle passes, thus allowing, among other advantages, of large sized shuttles
being conveniently used.

page_text: The vertical needle thread as it passes from the usual thread retainer to
the needle, is led through an eye in a crank arm, that is secured by a clamping
screw to a short axle that lies a little in the rear of the vertical needle bar,
and has its bearings in the bracket arm which carries the needle and presser
bars. On this axle is mounted a pinion which gears into a rack on the needle
bar; as therefore this bar rises and falls, the crank arm will receive an
axial motion. By this movement of the crank arm slack thread will be
delivered to the needle at the proper moment, and it will also be taken up
again before the needle bar has reached its highest position, in time to allow
the needle to tighten the stitch last made. Or in lieu of thus controlling the
slack, the thread may be led through an inclined slot cut in a bracket piece
attached to the vertical needle bar before it passes down to the eye of the
needle. If now this slotted bracket piece be made to work in a guide (formed
with an inclined face) on the needle bar guide box, the slot will on the rise
of the needle bar lift the thread, and bring it over a shoulder on the upper
end of the guide of the slotted bracket. On the descent of the needle bar, the
thread to form the slack will still remain on this shoulder, but when the
needle has entered the cloth to be sewn, the thread by the wedge-like action
of the slot will be pushed off its bearing point, and the slack will thus in-
stantly be made ready for forming the slack loop below the cloth. The rise
of the needle from the work, and the take up of the slack will in this modifi-
cation also be simultaneous.
Another part of the Invention relates to the feed wheel, the chief object
being to raise and lower it with facility to suit various thicknesses of work.
To this end the wheel is mounted in its bearing so as to allow of its receiving
a vertical movement, and upon its axle is mounted an arm with a pin hole
bored in it. Through the bearing a hole is made opposite the pin hole of the
arm to form the socket for the fulcrum of a hand lever. From this fulcrum
projects an excentric pin, which when the lever is in place enters the pin hole
in the arm.
The simple depression or elevation of this lever will therefore
raise or lower the feed wheel in its bearing to any desired extent within the
limits of the excentric. For rotating the wheel a clamping driver is used.
This consists of a loose segment piece pierced with a square hole, and fitting
into a ring groove in the face of the wheel. Projecting into the square is a
flat-sided pin carried by a lever, which is jointed loosely to a slotted lever that
rocks on the axle of the feed wheel as its fulcrum. This slotted lever, is
secured by an adjustable clamping nut to a second slotted lever, which rocks
on a fulcrum pin carried by a bracket on the under side of the table of the
machine, and which is fitted at its forward end with a pin for taking into the

page_text: groove of a face cam keyed to the driving shaft. The rotation therefore of
this cam will rock the levers, and at each repetition of this motion the seg-
ment piece which is caused to bite against the sides of the ring groove in
which it lies, by the pressure of a spring will move forward and drive round
the wheel a portion of a revolution. To maintain the wheel in position during
the return motion of this driver, a second segment piece is provided, the same
being carried by a fixed arm, and made to bite the wheel by the pressure of
a spring.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, adininistrators, 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWING MACHINES," a communication from
abroad by Cleveland Hicks, of Boston, in the United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particu-
larly 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 follow-

page_text: ing statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the details of sewing,
machines, whereby their action will be materially improved. To this end it
is proposed to introduce improved tension apparatus, whereby a large amount
of slack thread may be thrown off to form the slack loop through which the
shuttle passes, thus allowing, among other advantages, of large sized shuttles
being conveniently used.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, an arrangement is shewn as
applied to a shuttle machine for giving off the thread, and taking up the slack
as required. Fig. 1 is an elevation of the machine partly in section, the
better to explain the means for operating the tension apparatus; Fig. 2 is a
front view of the vertical needle guide box, shewing the tension apparatus
applied; Fig. 3 is a side view of the same parts. The tension appa-
ratus consists of a crank a, having an eye in its end, through which the
thread is rove on its way from the spool to the needle. The axle a¹ of this
crank passes through the centre of the boss of the pinion b, which works in a
recess made for it in the cast-iron bracket arm A. The crank a is caused to
turn with the pinion by means of a clamping nut c on the end of the crank
axle. This nut when screwed up, rests against the boss of the pinion b, and
thus the crank and pinion are coupled together by friction. The object of
thus attaching the two is to be able to set the crank in its proper position for
correctly delivering off and taking up the thread. As the pinion b makes
only a portion of a revolution, so the eye in the end of the crank describes only
an arc of corresponding extent, it is necessary, therefore, to be able to place the
arm in that portion of the circle in which the arc is to be traversed. At d
(Figures 2 and 3) is shewn the guiding eye for the thread to pass through
on its way to the take-up crank and to the needle, thus it will be seen that
the vibration of the crank towards the eye allows the thread to be slackened,
and that in the reverse motion it is taken up and tightened. As the thread
must be fully drawn up before the needle has finished its up stroke, provision
is made that no more thread shall be drawn off by the crank than is required
by setting it by its pinch nut, so that the eye in the end of said crank, the
axis thereof, and the guide eye, shall be in line as shewn by the dotted lines
in Fig. 3. Hence, although the crank continues to moves onward with the
needles' ascent, the thread will merely be held tight, and be no longer drawn
up. The detached view, Fig. 4, exhibits a modified form of crank, whereby
the thread when fully drawn up, will not be held against the crank axle, but
as the rotation continues will pass by the axle, and suffer a slight slackening

page_text: up again, because then the eye in the end of the crank having passed the
central line is once more approaching the point d. This slight slackening up
is important in sewing in some kinds of materials. Motion is communicated
to the crank arm by means of a rack which gears into the pinion b, and
5 receives its reciprocating motion from a rod f connected to a rock lever B.
A bowle carried by this lever works in the groove of a face cam C on the
main driving shaft D, which cam also serves to drive the shuttle. The other
parts of the machine having no special relation to the above-described improve-
ment will require no special notice. They are merely shewn in the Drawing
to make the operation of the thread tension apparatus the more evident.
Another mode which may be adopted for controlling and giving out the
slack is shewn in Sheet II. of the Drawings, as applied to a machine which
embraces also certain improvements for operating the feed wheel, and
adjusting it relatively to its work, which improvements form the last part
of this Invention. By the action of this improved arrangement of thread
controller, a slight loosening of the thread is effected as the needle com-
mences its descent, and thus the thread being relieved from' strain, and allowed
to form slack, there will be no tendency to draw or bend the needle from its
path, as is apt to be the case when the thread is tight and the needle in use is
a fine one, by the angle given to the thread and pull upon the needle by
the feed of the cloth across the path of the needle each stitch that is made.
Fig. 1, Sheet II., represents in side elevation a double thread or eye-
pointed needle and shuttle sewing machine, with the before-mentioned
improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a partial front view of the same,
and Fig. 3 is a partial sectional elevation taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 are diagrams, illustrating the action of the improved
controller. A is the table or platform of the machine, and B the bracket
arm or neck, which projects over the table to hold the perpendicular
needle bar N, in which is fastened the needle n. The needle bar is caused to
vibrate vertically by an angular lever concealed and passing down behind the
main driving shaft C, and carrying a bowle, which works in the groove of a
cam C*, driven by a treadle and crank worked by the foot or by other suitable
motive power mechanism. The shuttle is vibrated by a similar lever, lying
horizontally and operated by the cam C through a bowle which the horizontal
lever carries. The action of the needle shuttle and feed is similar to that of
machines in common use, I shall therefore only describe in detail the parts
bearing specially upon the Invention. The thread controller consists mainly
of two leading parts D and E. The part D is attached to the needle
carrier or other equivalently moving portion of the machine, and assumes the.

page_text: form of a lateral arm or bracket, projecting from the needle bar near its top and
extending over and down the guide box containing the needle and presser bars,
so as to play up and down with the needle bar at a suitable distance from the
side of the box. This moving arm or bracket D, has its vertical elbow made
with a slot a, the one side of which, nearest the guide box, is shaped to form
an inclined plane b, the upward slope of which is from the side of the guide
box. The slotted elbow is also provided at its bottom with a wire or other
saddle c, sloping downwards towards the guide box, and of a certain width
relatively to the stationary part E of the controller, so as to embrace the latter
for a purpose herein-after described. The stationary part E of the controller,
is a simple inclined plane projecting from the side of the guide box, its slope
lying away in an upward direction therefrom. It is formed with a shoulder or
step d, and its face is slotted in order to receive within it the angular slide of
the reciprocating arm D. The needle thread passes from the bobbin R, round
a uniform tension regulator W, up through an eye e, projecting from the
bracket arm B, through the slot a of the reciprocating arm of the controller,
and down in front through another projecting eye f in the guide box to the
needle n. From this description, and an inspection of the Drawing, it will
readily be seen that as the needle bar ascends the reciprocating arm D of the
controller carries the slack thread along with it, exerting no force however to
tighten the stitch until approaching the termination of its upward stroke. In
such ascent the tendency of the stationary incline E, and angular lifting saddle c
on the thread is to move it away from the side of the guide box, or out of the
perpendicular, but when the arm D and needle bar with which it moves reach the
Lighest point of their upward stroke, (as shewn at Fig. 4), the needle thread slips
or is slidden off the wire saddle cand on to the shoulder d of the stationary in-
cline E. This taking up of the slack of the slack of the needle thread however,
to secure the tightening of the stitch, is only one function of the controller.
As the needle bar and reciprocating arm D commence their descent, the
needle thread is left supported on the shoulder d where it was lodged as des-
cribed, and at this point, that is, the commencement of the down stroke of the
needle, a temporary and slight relaxation is given to the tension of the needle
(which the Inventor denominates an intermediary tension) by the retiring of
the wire saddle c from the thread, and the sole support of the latter on the
shoulder d, which being narrower than the saddle c (as shewn in the detached
view, Fig. 5) causes a certain diminution in the tension, or a slight falling or
loosening of the needle thread. This prevents undue strain on the needle and
needle thread, and keeps the needle, if a fine one from being bent or drawn to
one side by the feed of the cloth, the length or distance of a stitch, and which

page_text: movement of the cloth necessarily gives an angular or lateral direction to the
needle thread between the needle eye and the material being sewn (as shewn
in the diagram Fig. 6) but the effect of which, as regards strain on the needle
eye, or undue draft on the needle thread, is obviated by the intermediary
tension effect of the controller just described, such relaxation in the tension of
the needle thread is, as already mentioned, only temporary at the point, and for
the purpose or purposes specified, and as the needle bar and reciprocating
arm D continue their descent, and until the needle eye nearly reaches the
cloth the needle thread is held supported at a proper tension on the shoulder d
of the incline E, which avoids all kinking of the thread as it is brought down
to the cloth, but as the needle eye enters, or just before it enters the material,
the inclined side 6 of the reciprocating arm D comes into play, and pushes
the needle thread from the shoulder d, thereby causing it to drop or hang
loose free from all restraint and giving to it that slack which is necessary on
the needle thread being drawn through the cloth for the easy and certain
formation of its loop on the under side of the cloth for the shuttle with its
filling thread to pass through. On the ascent of the needle again, the same
action takes place as before, the controller at first gently lifting the needle
thread and tightening its pull towards the close and leaving it on the shoulder
d, to be subjected to intermediary tension as the needle commences its descent,
and after a suitable interval, or as the needle nearly reaches the material to be
abruptly and loosely cast off as before described.
I will now describe the mode of raising and lowering the feed wheel, and
also the arrangement for driving and locking the same. The raising of the
feed wheel it will be understood is necessary to do heavy work, to pass over
heavy seams, and it is also important to have the feed wheel project as little
as is practicable above the table when light work is in hand. This is effected
in various machines by loosening the nut which holds the feed wheel stud and
then moving the wheel up or down by hand; but it is important to be able to
move the feed wheed up or down, as the case may be, while the machine
is in operation, which cannot be done by the old contrivance, and it is also
important to move the wheel up or down very gradually, or almost impercep-
tible distances. To effect this, it is now proposed to cause an excentric to act
upon the wheel, and raise or lower its axis of rotation.
By referring to Figures 1 and 2, Sheet II., it will be seen that the feed
wheel F is mounted loosely on a stud axle F*, and that this axle is carried by
a slotted bearing G, which allows of its receiving a slight vertical movement.
This axle is made fast to the bearing G by a clamping nut, and upon the axle
is mounted an arm H, through which a pin hole is bored.
Opposite the pin

page_text: hole of the arm H a hole is made in the bearing G, to form the socket for the
fulcrum of a hand lever I. From this fulcrum projects an excentric pin i,
which, when the lever is in place, enters the pin hole in the arm H. The
simple depression or elevation of this lever will therefore raise or lower the feed
wheel in its bearing to any desired extent within the limits of the excentric, as
will be readily understood by inspecting Fig. 2, where the red lines represent
the hand lever I thrown up, and the feed wheel raised to its highest
elevation.
A modification of this arrangement for adjusting the height of the feed wheel
a front view of the wheel with the
is shown at Figures 7 and 8, Fig. 7 being
parts for raising and lowering it, and Fig. 8, a vertical section of the same. In
this case the stud axle F* of the wheel F is passed through an excentric hole in
the prolonged boss of the hand lever H, which works in the bearing G. The
axle F is tapped at its outer end to receive a clamping nut, which secures
it firmly to the boss of the hand lever. As therefore the hand lever H is
turned, it will raise or lower the feed wheel to any required extent, the limits
of which movement are, as in the first example, determined by the amount
of excentricity possessed by the fulcrum of the hand lever.
segment
The last part of the Invention relates to the means of giving the requisite
axial motion to the feed wheel. In the face of the wheel F an annular groove
is formied for receiving two loose segment pieces K, L, the one for driving and
the other for checking the back motion of the wheel. These loose
pieces are each composed of two parts, which are pinned together and are
therefore free to expand, and a square hole is made through them, as shewn at
Fig. 3. Projecting into the square of the segment piece K is a flat-sided pin
carried by a rocking arm K', which is jointed loosely to a slotted lever K2,
that rocks on the axle F* of the feed wheel as its fulcrum. This slotted lever
is secured by an adjustable clamping screw to a second slotted lever K³, which
rocks on a fulcrum pin carried by a bracket on the under side of the table of
the machine. This lever K³ is fitted at its forward end with a pin, which takes
into the groove of a face cam K', keyed to the driving shaft C. The rotation
therefore of this cam will rock the levers, and at each repetition of this motion
the segment piece K will be caused to expand and bite against the sides of the
annular groove in which it lies, and being at the same time pulled forward by
the lever K', it will drive round the wheel a portion of a revolution. On the
return of the arm K' for the purpose of taking another stroke, a spring K will
come into action and throw back the segment piece K to its normal position.
In order to maintain the wheel in position during the return motion of the
driver K, the second segment piece L is brought into action. This segment

page_text: piece is carried by a rocking arm L', furnished like the arm K¹ with a flat-
sided square pin, which enters the square hole in the segment piece. This
rocking arm is carried by a bracket attached to the under side of the table of
the machine, and from the same bracket projects a spring L³, which bears upon
the segment piece L. While the wheel F is moving forward, the segment
piece will present no obstacle to its axial motion, but on its attempting a
reverse motion the arm L' will be depressed, and it will thereby cause the seg-
ment to bite the wheel and hold it firmly in position. The spring L³ serves to
maintain the segment piece L in its normal position.
The advantages of this simple means for preventing the back motion of the
feed wheel is very great, as it entirely relieves the feed wheel from the friction
caused by the brakes now used to prevent back motion, and renders the feed
more sure and certain, as with the brake formerly used upon the wheel it could
sometimes move back, thereby shortening the length of stitch, but by this
arrangement the slipping is entirely prevented.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in the
Construction of Sewing Machines," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
wish it to be understood, that under the above in part recited Letters Patent
I claim,
-
First, the means above described for controlling the delivery of the thread
to the vertical needle.
Secondly, the combination of parts above described for adjusting the position
vertically of the feed wheel, and for effecting and controlling its axial motion.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)