IMPROVEMENTS IN. EMBROIDERING MACHINES
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Lloyd Wise, of 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex-for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN. EMBROIDERING
MACHINES a communication from F. Martini and Company, of Frauenfeld, in
the Republic of Switzerland.
HJ 101
4:71
2. 100%
11 91. d 14. J
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said William Lloyd Wise at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st May 1883.
:
WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields in the county of Middlesex
"IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING MACHINES" (a communication to me from
F. Martini and Company of Frauenfeld in the republic of Switzerland)
C
1
1J
This invention relates to continuous thread embroidery machines, and has reference
more particularly (1) to a brake which upon the stoppage of the machine.comes
automatically into action, and arrests the motion of the pantograph; (2) to means
for operating the cloth presser; (3) to means for drawing out or stretching the
thread; (4) to the construction of the thread catcher or hook; (5) to means for
operating the catcher or hook; and (6) to the application of a boring or piercing
apparatus to the back carriage of the machine.
(
✓✓
The accompanying two sheets of illustrative drawings shew so much of an
embroidery machine according to this invention as is necessary for.the comprehen-
sion of the nature of the improvements, it being understood that the arrangement
of the needles in two rows, the disposition of the embroidery frame and the use of
the pantograph are similar in this machine to those in known mechanical.embroidery
machines.
t
Я
44
The front or needle carriage which travels to and fro, consists of a tube (5) Fig. 1
Sheet1 and Fig. VIII Sheet II to which the frames (7) are attached.... To these
frames the needle bars 8 are screwed and on them the needles are situated
(Fig. 1).
->
'
The hind carriage which is constructed in a similar manner and carries, the bars
(9) (Figs. IV to IX) for the thread hooks or catchers, is fixed and is intended to be
only drawn back for the purpose of more conveniently stretching a fresh fabric and
for the boring or piercing of holes,, ·

page_text: The machine is driven by a belt pulley which is constructed as a friction
coupling. The stopping and starting is effected by means of treadles. The driving
pulley operates directly a through shaft (14) (Figs. VII and VIII) fitted into the
uprights (1a) (Figs VI to VIII) and provided with cranks (15) (Figs. VI and VIII)
at both ends of the machine. These cranks drive the needle carriage (5) through
connecting rods (16) the needle carriage being provided at both ends with the
gudgeons (6) (Figs. VI and VIII
When the treadle (11) (Fig. II) is operated to stop the machine a lever 18 is
simultaneously put in motion through draw rods and moves two parallel rails (19)
in such a way that the pantograph arm which is situated between them is jammed
and held fast in whatever position it may happen to be. This arrangement materially
contributes to the facility with which the embroidery is done and to the preservation
of the design.
Until the drawing out of the front length of the thread is finished the cloth is
pressed by both of the cloth pressers (20) (Fig. IX) to the needle plate (21)
(Fig. IV) but during the preparation for a fresh stroke it is left loose. This
operation is performed by means of a projection on the connecting rod (16)
(Figs. VI and VIII) which in its oscillating movement presses down and sets free
at the suitable moment a lever; this lever moves in the same direction a draw
rod which lifts off and sets free the two cloth holder brackets (20) running
lengthwise, through the machine. This lever mechanism occurs at both ends of the
machine..
0
The two uprights of the machine are connected by two fixed frames or stretchers
24 (Figs. I and VI) which carry the needle spools (25), thread brake (26) and
spindle (27) on which the stretcher levers are fastened. The levers (28), carry bars
(29) which are provided with holes through which the separate threads are drawn.
The movement of the tightening levers is effected by the motion of the needle
carriage. The two outer frames 7 carry the set screws (30) while in brackets 31
attached to them are fixed the set screws (32) (Fig. 1). The set screws in their to
and fro movement come in contact with a cam or excentric segment (33) which
through the lever (34) moves the spindle (27) and consequently also the stretcher
bars 29 to and fro. The upper and lower stretchers are coupled together by
connecting rods (35)
The thread hooks or catchers are at the same time the spool bearers for the back
threads and are shewn in Fig. III at a, 3, 7 and 8 (enlarged). The hooks or
catchers lie horizontally and perform oscillating rotating movements through an
angle of about 220°, as shewn in Fig. (V) where a and b represent the initial and
terminal positions respectively. The needle enters the body of the hook or catcher
excentrically as shewn in Fig. (V) a, and in its return movement produces a loop.
which is seized by the point of the hook or catcher and by the turning movement
of the latter the loop is caused to slide through or under the thread in a manner
similar to that which obtains in an ordinary sewing machine. In the position
shown at b (Fig. V) the thread is already stretched. by the thread stretcher. The
thread of the back spool Band y Fig. (III) which lies free in a hollow of the hook
or catcher is drawn through the slit (37) into the recess (38) and thereby comes
under the brake spring (39). There is also arranged in the hook or catcher the
jointed arm (40) which is provided with a hole (41) through which the spool thread
is finally drawn; it is so bored as to lie in the turning centre of the catcher so that
the back thread is always equally stretched. The stitches are therefore formed as
in the ordinary shuttle machine. The hooks or catchers lie free in corresponding
hollows (42) of the back bars (9) (Figs. IV and V) and are prevented from springing
out by small plates (43).
The hooks or catchers are worked by small cranks (44) which put in motion
tappets (45). These tappets have two projecting tappet studs (46 and 47)
(Figs. IV and V) which cause the catchers to oscillate. The motion of the cranks
(44) is derived from the rails (48) running lengthwise of the machine, which by
parallel cranks (49) receive a parallel but circular oscillating motion Fig. (VIII).

page_text: In these rails are fixed pivots (50) which are connected with the cranks (44) by
links (51) (Figs IV, V and VIII). By the to and fro motion of these rails the
hooks or catchers are put into rotary oscillating movement. The motion of the
rails is derived from the crank pin (15) (Figs. VII and IX) which operates a slotted
link (52) and through the connecting rod (53) drives a bent shaft (54). This
shaft (54) carries at top and bottom the levers (55) (Figs. VI to VIII) which
finally are connected with the rails (48) through the connecting rods (56).
As an auxiliary apparatus there is applied piercing apparatus for punching, holes
in the fabric to be embroidered, to the back carriage (in contra distinction to the
ordinary embroidery machine where a similar apparatus is applied to the front
carriage).
•
"
The fabric holder brackets (20) (Fig. IX serve as boring plates for this apparatus.
Fig (IX) shews the apparatus when boring is being done and (IXa) when it is put
out of operation. It is put in motion with the back carriage through a crank
handle.
It is evident that the details of the mechanism by which the various objects are
effected may be modified without departure from the principles of the invention.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Lloyd Wise in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st November 1883.
WILLIAM LLOYD WISE of 46 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING MACHINES (a communication to me from
F Martini and Company, of Frauenfeld, in the Republic of Switzerland)
This invention relates to continuous thread embroidery machines, and has
reference more particularly (1) to a brake which upon the stoppage of the machine
comes automatically into action, and arrests the motion of the pantagraph; (2) to
means for operating the cloth presser; (3) to means for drawing out or stretching
the thread; (4) to the construction of the thread catcher or hook; (5) to means
for operating the catcher or hook; and (6) to the application of a boring or piercing
apparatus to the back carriage of the machine.
The general arrangement of this embroidery machine is, as far as the disposition
of the needles in two rows, the suspension of the fraine; and the use of a pantagraph
are concerned, similar in this machine to that in known mechanical embroidery
machines.
Referring to the four sheets of drawings herewith, Fig 1 represents a front
elevation of the improved embroidery machine in its general disposition.
Fig II a side elevation shewing the arrangement of the pantagraph.
Fig III a part front elevation of the machine shewing a side elevation of the
driving gear for the pantagraph.
Fig IV a cross section through those parts situated before and behind the fabric
upon which the embroidery is to be produced, showing the thread stretcher, needles,
and part of the gripper motion.
Figs V and VI shew two different arrangements of the thread stretcher, Fig VỊ
being a cross section corresponding to the front elevation shewn in Fig V.
Figs VII and VIII are respectively plan and cross elevation of the thread catcher
attachment.
Figs IX to XII shew the thread catcher to an enlarged scale.
Figs XIII to XV are respectively side elevation, front elevation, and plan of the
thread catcher motion.
Fig XVI is a cross section through the crank link for the thread catcher motion.
Fig XVII illustrates the piercing apparatus fixed to the thread catcher bar or
bearer.
Referring to Figs 1 and 2, 1 represents the standard, 2 the frame, 3 the frame
balance weight and lever arrangement, and 4 the pantagraph. The front oscillating
carriage carrying the needles, which is shewn in detail in Fig V, and is also to be
seen in Figs I, III, IV, VI, and XV consists of a tube 5 to which are secured the
two frames or carriers 7. To the latter are attached the bars 8 upon which the
needles are placed. The hind carriage which is constructed in a similar manner,
and which carries the bars 9, Figs IV, VII, VIII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, for the
thread catchers or hooks is stationary, and is only moved for the purpose of
enabling the operator, to more conveniently attach a new piece of fabric, and for the
purpose of piercing holes.
The machine is driven direct from a counter shaft by means of the pulley 10
Figs I, II and III. This pulley is constructed as a friction coupling, and it is
thrown in or out of gear by means of the foot treadles 11 and 12 Figs I, II, and III.
The pulley 10 drives the main shaft 14, Figs II to IV and Figs XIII to XVI,
which is supported in bearings in the standards 1 and 1° Figs I and XV It is

page_text: provided with a crank 15 at each end of the machine, Figs XV and XVI; these
cranks operate by means of the connecting rods 16 the needle carriage 5 which has
on each end a gudgeon 6, see Figs III and XV.
•
When the treadle 11 (Fig III) is operated to stop the machine the connecting
rod 17 working an arrangement of levers 18 is put into action simultaneously.
Two parallel rails 19 are by these levers operated in such a manner that the
pantagraph lever 4 which passes between them is tightly gripped between the
bars 19 and held in any position in which it may happen to be. This materially
facilitates the continuity of the embroidery work and adds much to the preservation
of the pattern.
Until after the completion of the operation of drawing tight the front thread,
the fabric is held by means of the two cloth pressers or fabric holders 20, Fig II
to the needle plate 21 Fig VIII, and during the act of changing for a new stitch,
is released. These results are attained by means of a projection or nose on the
connecting rod 16 Fig II, which in its oscillating motion depresses at a suitable
moment the lever 22 and again releases it. This lever moves the rod 23 in the
same direction, and the latter, as will be seen plainly from the drawings, lifts.and
releases the two fabric holder bars 20 which extend the whole length of the
machine. The arrangement of levers occurs at each end of the machine.
The two uprights or standards 1 and 1ª of the machine are connected by two
frames or stretchers 24 (Figs I to IV) and on these are carried the needle
bobbins 25, thread brakes 26, and spindles 27, Upon the latter are fixed the
thread tightening levers 28 These levers 28 carry the bars 29 provided with a
number of holes, through which the separate threads pass and are drawn tight.
The movement of the thread stretcher is accomplished by means of the motion of
the needle carriage. The two outer frames or carriers 7 are furnished with set
screws 30, and in a bracket 31 carry the set screws 32 (Fig V). These set screws
in their forward and backward motion come in contact with a cam or eccentric
segment 33, which, by means of the lever 34, operates the shaft 27, and gives a to
and fro motion to the stretcher bars 29. The upper and lower stretching
While in
arrangements are coupled to each other by means of rods 35.
Fig V the arrangement for putting the brake on the bobbin thread is repre-
sented in a manner generally used in sewing machines (the thread passing
between two small discs pressed together by springs) in Fig IV a modification is
shewn. This modification which, in addition to acting like an ordinary brake for
stretching the threads, also includes the use for that purpose of weights, and
permits the thread to be stretched so tight until it leaves the thread catcher that it
must either become loose or break, but after this it can be stretched according to
necessity with a varying amount of tension. By means of the spring 58 which is
operated from the shaft 59 through the lever 60, rods 61, and shaft 62, the
bobbin 25 containing the thread is held firmly until the thread is drawn off the
thread catcher; but since during this time the lever 28 has performed part of its
motion, and the thread guiding wire 63 has remained stationary, and since the
lever 64 does not permit of any release, the thread must necessarily become loose
from the thread catcher or hook. At the same moment however, when the thread
is released from the thread catcher, the lever 64 fixed to the same shaft 65 as the
thread guide 66, slides over the segment 69, and the thread guide wire 63 with its
levers 64 and 66, and its shaft 65, is now capable of rotary motion until the end of
the stretch. The small connecting rod 70 couples, by means of two levers 67, the
stretchers of the upper and lower row of needles, and by using more or less
weight 68 the thread can be stretched more or less as desired. Instead of screwing
the thread rail 29 firmly into the draw lever 28, it might be made adjustable
in the direction of the levers as shewn in Fig IV
The thread hooks or catchers are at the same time the bobbin carriers for the
hind threads, and are shewn enlarged in Figs IX to XII. The hooks or catchers
are placed horizontally, and make oscillating rotating movements through an angle
of about 220 degrees, as shewn in Figure VII where the initial and final position

page_text: are indicated at a and b. The needle enters to the body of the hook or catcher
eccentrically as shewn at a in Fig VII. As the needle recedes there is formed
below the eye of the needle a loop, which loop is carried away by the point of the
hook, and by means of the rotary motion of the latter the hook passes through
the thread loop in a similar manner to that which obtains in an ordinary sewing
machine. In the position shewn at b in Fig VII the thread has already been
tightened by means of the thread stretcher. The thread of the hind bobbin 36
(Figs X and XI), which bobbin rests loosely in a recess formed in the hook or
catcher, is drawn through the slot 37 into the recess 38, and is then carried up in
the recess 39. To the catcher there is also fixed, by means of a hinge, the bent
bar 40, which has a hole 41 through which the bobbin thread is finally drawn,
and which is drilled in such a manner that it lies in the axis of rotation of the
catcher, thus ensuring the hind thread to be always equally stretched. The
formation of the seam is therefore similar to that produced by the ordinary shuttle
machine The hooks or catchers rest freely in corresponding recesses 42 of the
bars 9 (Figs VII and VIII) and are prevented by means of plates 43 from jumping
out of their position.
.
The hooks or catchers are set in motion by means of small cranks 44 to which
are attached carriers 45. These carriers are provided with two studs 46 and 47
(Figs VII and VIII) which cause the catchers to oscillate. The motion of the
cranks 44 is derived from the bars 48 extending the whole length of the machine,
and which receive by means of the parallel cranks 49 a parallel but circular oscil-
lating movement (Figs VII, VIII and XV). These bars 48 carry studs 50, which
by means of short rods 51 are coupled to the crank 44. By means of the to and
fro motion of this bar, the catchers are set to receive a rotating oscillating motion.
The movement of the bars is produced through a crank pin 15 (Figs XIII to XVI)
which is directly coupled to a slotted link 52, and by means of a connecting rod 53
gives motion to a cranked shaft 54. This shaft 54 carries at top and bottom the
levers 55 which are connected by means of the connecting rods 56 to the bars 48.
As an auxiliary appliance for the purpose of piercing holes into the fabric which
is to be operated upon, a (so-called piercing apparatus shewn in Fig XVII is
provided, and is fixed, contrary to the position usual in embroidery machines, on
the hind carriages, and not as is general in similar apparatus, on the fore carriage.
The fabric holder bars 20 serve as matrices or boring plates for this apparatus.
Fig XVII shews this apparatus in full lines as it stands when in operation, and
in the dotted lines at a when not in use. It is operated with the hind carriage by
means of a hand crank. I have described the machine as having two rows of
needles, but it is evident that the invention might be applied to machines having
only one row of needles, or three or more rows.
Having thus described the nature of the said invention and the manner in
which it is to be performed or carried into effect (as communicated to me as afore-
said) I would have it understood that what is considered to be novel and original
and is therefore claimed as the invention secured to me by the Letters Patent first
hereinbefore in part recited is :-
In an embroidering machine,
1, The use of a brake for arresting the motion of the pantagraph, the said brake
coming into action when the machine is stopped, substantially as described.
2. The brake for actuating upon the pantagraph consisting of a two armed lever
from the ends of which two rods, extending in nearly vertical direction, are
coupled to brake bars or blocks in such a manner, that by the alteration of the
position of the lever the brake bars or blocks are either drawn closer together or
pushed farther apart securely tightening a piece between them or releasing the
same from their grip, substantially as described
3. Effecting the motion of the fabric holder by means of lugs or projections fixed
to rods 16, connecting the main shaft 14 to the needle carriage 5, and transmitting
this motion by means of levers and rods to the fabric holder plates 20 substantially
as described.

page_text: 4. The method substantially as described of moving the thread tightener by
means of the impulse exerted by either side of the needle carriage alternately upon
a lever of the thread stretcher shaft and segment 33.
5. The use of a carrier for producing rotary oscillating motion on a thread
catcher, the said thread catcher being placed eccentrically to the needle inlet in a
recess in the fixed bar 9, and containing eccentrically to the carrier shaft a thread
bobbin, held in position by a hinged bar, and provided with a slot 38 on the thin
shell, for the exit of the thread, which latter is carried along on the flat side until
it is finally passed through the hole 41 in the hinged bar; the pointed end of the
thread hook or catcher being bent upwards to enable it to enter more freely in the
needle thread loop substantially as described.
6. Producing the oscillating rotating motion of the shaft for the thread catcher
carrier by means of the bar 48; the to and fro longitudinal motion of which is
converted by parallel cranks 40 to a circular oscillating motion, and by means of
suitable mechanism is transformed into the corresponding rotating motion of the
thread catcher carrier shaft substantially as described.
7. The method substantially as described of converting the rotating motion of
the shaft 14 into a to and fro motion of the rods 56 which consists in actuating
the bars 48 by means of crank links and connecting rod 53, the latter containing a
bearing for a crank shaft or lever 54, the motion of which is transmitted to other
levers 55 and so finally to the bar 56, substantially as described.
8. In embroidery machines with continuous thread, mounting a piercing apparatus
on the hind carriage substantially as described
In Witness whereof I the said William Lloyd Wise have hereunto set my
hand and seal this twenty first day of November in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty three.
L.D.)