IMPROVE MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Henry Smith, of East Road, Hoxton, in
the County of Middlesex, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE
MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
Sealed the 8th June 1866, and dated the 13th December 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Henry Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th December 1865.
I, JAMES HENRY SMITH, of East Road, Hoxton, in the County of Middlesex,
Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the application to sewing machines of what may
be termed a thread holder, inasmuch as that it causes the thread to be held or
gripped during a certain period of the revolution of the machine, and at a
point near the needle, whereby it better insures the throwing out of the loop
through which the shuttle or second thread carrier passes, and prevents the
missing or slipping of the stitches so frequently made in ordinary machines.
For this purpose I apply a little sliding bracket-like piece, the horizontal limb
of which comes immediately under the arm or guide projecting from the needle
slide, through which the thread passes in its progress to the needle. In

page_text: ordinary the thread passes freely through this guide, therefore any elasticity
exhibited by the thread between that point and the supply bobbins is free to
be transmitted to that part of the thread through the needle, and forming the
loop mentioned; this elasticity of the thread often acts prejudicially on the
loop, causing it to contract and the shuttle or lower thread carrier to miss, and
hence the slipping of the stitches. The little bracket I mount to slide in the
same direction as the needle carrier, and it is brought back to a stop by a
slight spring. The needle carrier and thread guide before mentioned in
descending at a certain point comes in contact with the little sliding bracket,
the thread then lying over it, in which position it nips the thread and holds it
till the needle rises a certain distance, when it recedes from contact with
the spring bracket, the latter being limited in its motion by the stop aforesaid.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Henry Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th June 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HENRY SMITH, of East Road, Hoxton, in the County of Middlesex, Machinist,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Henry Smith, Her special licence that I, the said James
Henry Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said James Henry Smith, 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," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said James Henry Smith, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Henry Smith, 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 Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention relates to the application to sewing machines of what may be
termed a thread holder, inasmuch as that it causes the thread to be held 'or
gripped during a certain period of the revolution of the machine, and at a
point near the needle, whereby it better insures the throwing out of the loop
through which the-shuttle or second thread. carrier passes, and prevents the
missing or slipping of the stitches so frequently made in ordinary machines.
For this purpose. I apply a little sliding bracket-like. piece, the horizontal
limb-of-which comes immediately under the arm or guide projecting from
the needle slide, through whichthe thread passes on its progress to the needle:
In ordinary the thread passes freely through: this guide, therefore any
elasticity exhibited by the thread. between that point and the supply bobbin
is free to be transmitted to that part of the thread through the needle, and
forming the loop mentioned;. this elasticity of the thread. often acts pre-
judicially on the loop, causing it to contract or to be thrown out on the
wrong side of the needle, and the shuttle or lower thread carrier to miss it,
and hence the slipping of the stitches. This little bracket, which I mount to
slide in the same direction as the needle carrier, is brought back to a stop by
a. slight spring. The needle carrier and thread guide before mentioned in
descending at a certain point comes in contact with the little sliding bracket,
the thread then lying over it,. in. which position it nips the thread and bioks
it till the needle rises a certain distance, when its recedes from contact with
the spring bracket, the latter being limited in its motion by the stop aforesaid.
The spring used to bring up the sliding bracket also produces the required
nip or hold of the thread, for which its strength is more particularly
Figure 1 represents a side view of a sewing machine, the general arrange-
ment and construction of which it is unnecessary to describe here, being well
known; Figure 2 is.an end view of the arms of the machine. Both of these
Figures show the part or parts the application and operation of which
constitutes my Invention. This part consists of a sliding bracket-like piece a,
which is shown separate at Figures 8, 4, and 5; Figure 8 showing, a front.
view thereof. in.its guides or sockets in position for work and as, at Figure, 1;

page_text: Figure 4, a transverse vertical section of the sockets with the part a turned
round and out of the working position; while Figure:5 is a plan of Figure 3.
b, b¹, are two guides fixed on the face c (one of the fixed guides in which the
needle carrier moves up and down, as well understood); these guides receive
the stem e of a, which by preference I make round for the convenience of its
turning in the guides when it is desired to be moved out of position. I place
a helical spring f on stem e, which rests on the lower guide b', and having a
constant tendency to expand its other end, bears against a cross pin 9, passing
through stem e, whereby it lifts the stem and presses the pin g against the
upper guide b, which acts as a stop for it. When not otherwise acted upon
the part a, e, always remains in the raised position. To keep the round stem e
and part a in position, while at same time free to slide up and down, a pin
traverses a slot i in guide 6'; this is during the working, while if it is desired
to turn the part a out of the way for any purpose, the stem and part a, e, are
simply depressed till pin h is below 6'; the whole is then rotated on its axis
until pin his free to rise in another slot at back part of groove b', at which
point it will be half way round. When the part a is in position for work it is
immediately under the arm 1, through an eye in the end of which the thread
from the bobbin passes to the needle. This thread guide as usual is fixed to
the needle carrier, and when it descends with the needle it comes in contact
with the part a, which is disposed in close proximity to the needle and in
such position, as also the guide l, that the thread in passing from guide to
the needle eye must lie across part a, and consequently receives all the
pressure required to move part a in opposition to its spring f, the thread
(which is shown red) is therefore nipped and held during the whole period that
the part remains below the highest position of a. The thread is conducted
through the several guides 1, 2, 3, 4, from the bobbin 5, as usual. As
before mentioned, this holding of the needle thread by part a at the time the
loop is being formed through which the shuttle with the second thread is to
pass prevents the elasticity of the thread leading from the bobbin acting
prejudicially upon said loop and causing the shuttle to miss; moreover it is
thereby insured that the slack thread which forms the loop shall be always
thrown out on the proper side of the needle for the shuttle to pass through,
instead of taking a position partly on one side of the needle and partly on
the other, as frequently occurs in ordinary sewing machines, which causes the
stitches to be missed. The thread gripper may be applied to other kinds
of sewing machines, as will be readily understood without illustration or
further description.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-

page_text: forming the same, I declare that what I claim as my Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the appli-
cation of part a represented in the Drawing annexed, or any mere mechanical
equivalent therefor, to sewing machines, whereby the needle thread (top
thread) of a sewing machine is gripped and held during a period of the
revolution of the machine, as and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Henry Smith, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
W. CLABK,
Patent Agent,
58, Chancery Lane,
London.
JAB. H. SMITH. (LS.)