AN IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Faulkner Emery, of the State of Massa-
chusetts, of the United States of America, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE."-A communication from Sherburne C.
Blodgett, residing in the State of Pennsylvania, of the United States of
America."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Francis Faulkner Emery
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 22nd September 1858, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, BE IT
KNOWN, that I, FRANCIS FAULKNER EMERY, of the State of Massachusetts,
of the United States of America, am in possession of an Invention of "Ar
IMPROVED SEWING MACHINE;" (the said Invention having been communicated
to me by one Sherburne C. Blodgett, a resident in the State of Pennsylvania,
of the said United States); and I do hereby declare that the nature of the
same, and the manner in which it is to be performed, (or in other words,
its construction and mode of operation) are fully described and ascertained in
and by the following Specification and the accompanying Drawing, of which,
Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of the machine; Figure 2, an elevation of
the opposite side of it; Figure 3, a side view of the table, the hook, and the

page_text: mechanism for operating the latter; Figure 4 is a top view of the bobbin
holder and its auxiliary spring; Figure 5 is a front view of the said bobbin
holder and spring; Figure 6 is a rear elevation of it; Figures 7 and 8 are
side and edge views of the bobbin; Figure 9 is an edge view of the hook
bobbin and the needle; Figure 10 is a rear view of the hook; Figure 11 is
a transverse and vertical section of the machine, such being taken through
the needle; Figure 12 is a horizontal section taken just above the bobbin
holder, and so as to exhibit the relative position of the bobbin holder, the
bobbin and the hook, while the latter is rising up alongside of the bobbin
holder; Figure 13 is a front end elevation of the machine; Figure 14 is an
under side view of the top plate of the table and the feeder, and the spring
and cam lever thereof.
The said machine is calculated to perform sewing in cloth or other material
by the conjoint operations of a needle, a bobbin, and a device or contrivance
for seizing a loop formed by the needle and drawing it around the bobbin in
such manner as to cause the said bobbin to pass through the loop and carry a
thread through it.
I am aware that a machine to perform sewing in such manner is not new,
and therefore my Invention relates to certain improvements thereon, or what
may be termed an improved machine of such character.
The nature of the Invention is as follows, that is to say, it consists, in an
improved mode of operating the hook about the bobbin, viz., with a compound
motion, produced by a crank and an arm, or by two chanks, whereby the
point of the hook is made to travel either in an elliptical or a circular path
without being reversed or made to point upward and downward during its
rotation.
Also, in a peculiar arrangement and application of a back supporter and
loop cast off seperate from the hook, so as to operate with the said hook and
the front supporter or nipper of the bobbin, in a manner not only to support
the bobbin, but to aid in discharging a loop from the hook.
Also, in a peculiar arrangement and application of a guide lip to the back
supporter.
Also, in a peculiar arrangement and application of an auxiliary presser or
spring with respect to the bobbin and its holder.
Also, in a peculiar mode of constructing the hook.
In the Drawing A denotes the frame of the machine as carrying a table d.
From this frame A an arm 6 extends upward, and supports a cloth presser c,
whose office is to press the cloth down upon the bed or towards the feeder.
This feeder consists of a toothed slide bar a, projecting through the top plate

page_text: of the table and under the presser. A notched foot 6* extending down from
the feeder rests on the periphery and against the side of a cam c³, applied to a
driving pulley d. This cam should be properly formed to impart to the
feeder not only an upward movement toward the cloth, but a forward move-
ment such as will feed the cloth along. A spring e applied to the rear end of
the feeder and to the table serves to retract the feeder, the amount of retraction
being governed by a cam lever f.
Furthermore, on one end of a shaft a¹ is a needle carrier a, and on the
other end a slotted arm e, the said needle carrier being made to support the
needle b¹, as shown in Figures 1 and 9. The arm e is constructed with a slotf
for the reception of a round stud g, projecting from a crank wheel B, as shown
in Figure 2, such crank wheel being fixed upon one end of a horizontal
shaft c, carrying a wrist or crank i, and arranged below the top of the table d,
as shown in the Drawing. This wrist or crank i supports the hook D, which
turns freely on a screw pin j, projecting from the said crank i.
In the
Drawing this hook is represented as constructed in the form of a lever,
and with its longer or lower arm jointed to an arm p, turning vertically on a
joint pin or center q, arranged as shown in the Drawing. The bobbin is
represented at E as constructed of two thin plates or discs made concave,
convex, and riveted together at or near their centers. This bobbin is
supported within a holder F, which is sustained in position by a post m, such
holder being made to project horizontally from the said post, and to be
confined thereto by a screw n. This bobbin holder is constructed in two
parts r, s, respectively termed back and front supporters, each consisting of a
thin ring and a plate projecting from it as shown in the Drawing, the back
supporter r being formed with a cast off or projection t or its equivalent, to
operate in a manner to cast the loop from the hook during the rotary motion
of the latter. The two supporters r, s, constituting the bobbin holder should
be constructed of thin metal and of a form so as to easily spring apart, and to
permit the bobbin to be inserted between and held loosely by them, or to be
withdrawn from them as circumstances may require. The construction or
position of the bobbin holder with respect to the path of the hook should be
such as to enable the said hook during its upward movement about the bobbin
to pass by the said bobbin holder. Figure 12 of the Drawing exhibits the
arrangement of the bobbin holder, which is not parallel to what would be the
path of the hook, but as inclined thereto.
Furthermore, an auxiliary spring u applied to the bobbin holder, and con-
structed as shown in the Drawing is arranged so as to press upon the upper
part of the bobbin, and force the same toward or up to the back supporter r.

page_text: Between the two rings of the bobbin holder, the bobbin should fit sufficiently
oose to enable a loop of thread to pass on opposite sides of the bobbin, and
between the two rings at one and the same time. A small projection or
guide extends from the back supporter r in manner as shown in the Drawing,
such constituting a lip or guide to cause the thread of the loop to be directed
to the bobbin, or between the latter and its back supporter. The beak of the
hook D is notched out obliquely as shown at vin Figure 3, and has its heel
projecting over the bobbin as shown in Figure 9, while its point is arranged
obliquely or made to stand toward the needle in such manner as to cause it to
enter the loop of such needle at the proper time. The arrangement of the
heel of the hook, viz., so as to lap over the bobbin, facilitates the passage of
the loop on and over the bobbin. By the rotary motion of the shaft c, the
hook will be carried around the bobbin, the holder of which should be so
formed or arranged so as not to obstruct the upward passage of the hook, and
such hook by being controlled in its movements by the crank i and the arm p,
will be caused to travel in an elliptical path around the bobbin without being
turned over or reversed, as would be the case were the hook made to project
directly from the crank i, and not turn on any pin, or the equivalent projecting
therefrom, and seperate from the shaft of the said crank. By making the
hook to operate with a compound motion in an elliptical path, it is caused not
only to be presented to the loop of the needle to good advantage, but during
its upward movement is tripped or tipped a little in a manner very favorable
for the discharge of the loop from it, such discharge being rendered certain
by the cast off t, against which the loop will be borne by the hook. In lieu
of the arm p, I have contemplated the employment of a crank to be jointed to
the tail of the hook D, and to be arranged below the crank i, and to be of the
same size therewith. The employment of two cranks in manner described
would cause the hook to travel in a circular instead of an elliptical path, but
I prefer the employment of an arm p, instead of an auxiliary crank, as for
some reasons it is much better. The heel part of the hook is notched up
obliquely back (as shown at 2) so as to form an auxiliary hook, which is more
perpendicular than the main hook, and is intended to fetch the loop of the
thread back across the bobbin, which probably could not be done so well with
a single and more crooked hook, and perhaps not at all. The object of the
main hook is to carry the loop of thread back and downward, the small hook
or notch within the main hook serving to fetch the thread back across the
bobbin, this latter being the most delicate and difficult part of the operation,
and if not done to good advantage, the tension of the thread is affected
unfavourably.

page_text: In connection with this point of the operation, the bobbin should be so fitted
between the rings as to have room for lateral and not much perpendicular
play room, in order that the loop of thread may pass each side of the
bobbin with the least friction possible, so as not to draw down upon the loop
unnecessarily hard, and thereby affect the tension irregularly, and draw the
cloth into the slot in the top plate or table.
The operation of the above described machine is as follows:-The shaft C
being put in rotation by any proper motor, while revolving it will set in
operation the needle and the hook, that is, it will cause to be imparted to the
former a reciprocating motion, such as will force it through, and withdraw it
from the cloth at the proper times, and it will also cause the hook to be moved
around the bobbin, that is, in an elliptical path as described. After the
needle may have entered the cloth, and been retracted sufficiently to form a
loop beneath it, the hook will enter the loop, draw it downward, and spread it
open in a manner to enable the bobbin to enter the said loop, while the latter
is being drawn downward by the hook. At such time part of the loop will be
caught by the lip l, and directed to the rear side of the bobbin, while the
outer side of the loop will pass on the front side of the bobbin, and as the
hook rises upward, such hook will be tipped a little so as to readily pass out of
the loop, which afterwards will remain at rest until the hook may seize
another loop from the needle, and draw it downward therefrom, this latter
operation causing the first loop to be drawn into the cloth.
The arrangement or application of the spring u to the upper part of the
bobbin causes the said part of the said bobbin to be pressed away from the
ring of the part 8, in a manner to facilitate the passage of the thread or front
part of the loop between the two.
I lay no claim to a shuttle or needle and a mechanism for operating them
in such manner, and while they carry separate threads, as either to cause the
shuttle carrying one thread to pass through a loop of thread formed and held
in cloth or other material by the needle, or to cause the loop of the needle
thread to be seized by a hook and cast around the shuttle in such manner as
to carry its thread through the loop, as I am aware that such is not new.
Nor do I claim the application of the hook to the bobbin in such manner that
such hook shall revolve in a circular path concentric with the axis of the
bobbin, and be turned over or reversed in position, so that it shall be caused
to point both upward and downward while making each entire revolution; but
what I do claim is the improved mode of operating the hook about the bobbin,
viz., with a compound motion produced by a crank i and an arm p, or by two
cranks, whereby the point of the hook is made to travel either in an elliptical

page_text: or circular path without being reversed or made to point upward and down-
ward during its rotation.
I do not claim supporting the bobbin by holding it in a socket or cup of the
hook by means of a presser; but what I do claim is the above described
arrangement and application of a back supporter, separate from the hook, so
as to operate therewith, and with the front supporter or nipper of the bobbin
as specified.
I also claim the above described arrangement and application of the guide
lip to the back supporter.
Also, the above described arrangement and application of the auxiliary
presser or spring with respect to the bobbin and its holder.
Also, the particular mode above described of constructing the hook, viz., so
that not only the heel part thereof shall lap over the edge of the bobbin, but
the point of the said hook extend obliquely in manner as described or toward
the needle, and so as to operate therewith as explained.
Also the combination and arrangement of the auxiliry hook or notch z
with the main hook, the same being to operate together as specified.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my signature and seal tbis
First day of September 1858.
FRANCIS FAULKNER EMERY.
(L.S.)