IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING-MACHINES
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Talmage Bastand
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th March 1881.
CHARLES TALMAGE. BASTAND, of Albany Road, Camberwell, in the County of
Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING-MACHINES."
My Invention relates to that class of lock-stitch sewing-machines which have a
straight vertical needle and a transversely reciprocating shuttle.
In such machines as heretofore constructed the needle in its action dwells or
remains stationary during its vertical movements to facilitate the formation of the
stitch, that is to say, the needle first descends through the material being sewn,
then rises sufficiently to form a loop, into which the point of the shuttle passes,
and then dwells or remains stationary; the needle then descends again to slightly
Blacken the thread, and when the shuttle has passed through the loop again rises
to complete the stitch.
In my improved machine however I dispense with the cams and other mechanism
heretofore necessary to produce such a dwell or pause in the movement of the
needle, and so combine the needle and shuttle that they receive a continuous
movement, that is to say, they do not remain stationary during any period in the
formation of the stitch. My improved machine will make a greater number of
stitches at every revolution of the driving wheel, and will consequently effect a
greater amount of work in a given time than such machines as heretofore
constructed.
By my Invention I also improve the devices for carrying the shuttle and the
feed mechanism of such sewing machines, and also other parts of the same, as
hereinafter described.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I connect the needle-bar to the
forward end of a lever or arm pivotted to the ordinary goose-neck or overhanging
arm of the machine, the rear end of the said lever being connected by a rod or

page_text: link to an excentric on the main shaft of the machine, from which shaft it derives
its motion.
To impart the requisite motion to the shuttle-carrier which is adapted to
reciprocate on a bar or rod supported in the frame of the machine I provide the
said carrier with a downwardly extending arm which is connected by an elbow-
piece to a crank upon the main shaft. Upon this carrier I place a cradle which is
formed to receive the shuttle. In this cradle I form slots, through which set
screws pass into the shuttle-carrier, so that the said cradle supporting the shuttle
may be adjusted relatively to the said carrier as desired. The object of this
adjustment is to so regulate the positions of the needle and shuttle that as the
needle rises to complete the formation of a stitch no strain will be exerted upon
the upper thread by the tail end of the shuttle, that is to say, by the adjustment
of the aforesaid cradle the shuttle may be caused to occupy such a position
relatively to the needle that as the latter commences its upward movement the
thread will be drawn up freely and will not be subjected to the friction, strain,
and consequent breakage which frequently occur in ordinary sewing machines,
from the fact that the tail end of the shuttle has not passed entirely through the
loop when the needle rises to complete the stitch.
To provide for moving the cloth or other material intermittently past the needle
I provide feed-mechanism which is constructed as follows, that is to say:-Upon
the main shaft I arrange an excentric which works in a strap on the lower end of
an arm or lever, whose upper end is provided with a serrated plate or piece which
passes through a slot in the work-table and operates to move the material in the
usual manner. To provide however for regulating the distance the work is moved
by the reciprocation of the feed, and consequently the length of the stitch produced,
I provide the said lever with a longitudinal or vertical slot. Into this slot fits a
stud or fulcrum formed on a block adapted to slide in ways in the main frame of
the machine; upon this stud the said lever is arranged to rock. By raising or
lowering the said block by means of a lever pivotted to the frame the distance of
the said stud or fulcrum from the centre of the main shaft will be increased or
decreased, so that the upper end of the lever will be caused by the revolution of
the excentric to reciprocate to a varied extent, that is to say, when the stud is near
the upper end of the slot in the aforesaid lever the upper serrated end of the latter
will move only to a comparatively slight extent, but when the said stud is near the
lower end of the slot in the said lever the serrated end of the same will move to a
much greater extent.
To prevent the lateral displacement or the turning of the presser-foot and presser-
bar, and regulate the pressure of the spring which presses the said presser-foot
upon the work, I arrange on the said presser-bar an adjustable collar provided
with a flat face which rests in contact with a flat surface on the front of the goose
neck of the machine. The said collar may be adjusted longitudinally upon the
presser-bar as desired to regulate the tension of the spring surrounding the same,
and is secured or clamped upon the said bar by a set screw.
The bobbin winder in my improved machine is pivotted to the frame of the
same or to its stand, and at its end opposite to that at which the ordinary friction
wheel is arranged is provided with a slot through which a set screw passes. This
slot permits the friction wheel to be adjusted into or out of contact with the
periphery of the driving wheel, and the set screw serves to retain the bobbin-
winder and friction-wheel in either position desired.
To facilitate the oiling of the bearing of the driving wheel and the screw-stud,
by which it is secured to the main frame of the machine, and upon which it
revolves, I form in the said screw an oblique opening or hole which passes through
the head of the same and extends to a point midway or nearly so between the
ends of the bearing surface or part of the said screw stud and wheel, so that when
oil is poured into the said hole it will be evenly distributed upon the whole of
such bearing surface. I prefer to use in my improved machine the take-up devices

page_text: described in the Specification of my former Letters Patent dated July 19th,
A.D. 1877, No. 2765.
By the above described arrangement and combination of parts I am enabled to
construct a machine which may be caused to work and sew in either direction by
the simple reversal of the direction of motion of the driving wheel, and without
the necessity of special adjustment of any of the parts. This capability of sewing
in two directions will be found of great advantage when sewing bulky goods or
materials, as, for instance, when quilting is to be effected by the machine, as when
one row of stitches is completed in one direction it is simply necessary to adjust
the work laterally to the distance desired between two rows of stitches, and to
work the machine in the opposite direction to complete the next row of stitches.
I thus obviate the necessity for moving the whole body of the material below the
needle prior to the commencement of each row of stitches, and also the breaking
off of the upper and lower threads, as by drawing sufficient of the upper thread
from the reel to allow the work to be moved laterally below the needle to the
distance required between the rows of stitches a second row may be proceeded with
without any disconnection of the said threads.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Charles Talmage Bastand in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th September 1881.
CHARLES TALMAGE BASTAND, of Albany Road, Camberwell, in the County of
Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."
My Invention relates to that class of lock-stitch sewing-machines which have a
straight vertical needle and a transversely reciprocating shuttle.
In such machines as ordinarily constructed the needle in its action dwells or
remains stationary to facilitate the formation of the stitch, that is to say, the
needle first descends through the material being sewn, then rises sufficiently to
form a loop, into which the point of the shuttle passes, and then dwells or remains
stationary; the needle then descends again to slightly slacken the thread, and
when the shuttle has passed through the loop again rises to complete the stitch.
In my improved machine however I dispense with the cams and other mechanism
heretofore necessary to produce such a dwell or pause in the movement of the
needle, and so actuate the needle and shuttle that they receive a continuous
movement, that is to say, they do not remain stationary during any period in the
formation of the stitch.
My improved machine can therefore make a greater number of stitches, and
consequently perform a greater amount of work in a given time than such machines
as heretofore constructed.
Figure
1 is a side elevation, and
Figure 2 a front elevation of my improved machine.
Figure 3 is a plan of the said machine with the plates which cover the shuttle 2
race and carrier drawn outward.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section of the machine on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figures 5 and 6 are vertical transverse sections of the said machine on the
lines y, y, and z, z, Figure 3.
Figure 7 represents in plan and end view my improved shuttle supporting cradle 3
hereinafter described.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
a represents the frame of the machine, and a¹ the ordinary goose-neck or over-
hanging arm of the same; b is the main shaft from which the various parts of
the machine are actuated; c is the needle bar connected directly to the forward 3
end of a vibrating arm or lever d, pivotted at d¹ to the goose-neck a¹; e is
the shuttle-carrier, and the shuttle; g is the presser-foot; h is the driving wheel
of the machine, which may be driven by hand or by means of a belt, and is
provided internally with teeth which gear with and impart motion to a toothed
pinion i on the main shaft b. The remaining parts are hereinafter described.
In order to impart the requisite vertical movements to the needle-bar c I insert
in the short arm of the vibrating lever d, to whose front end the said bar is secured,
as above stated, a screw ", which is provided with a rounded portion or ball, over
which the upper end of a connecting rod or link j fits. The lower end of this rod
has a strap formed thereon, which strap embraces the excentric k, secured upon 4
the main shaft b of the machine, from which the said rod derives its motion, and
through the aforesaid lever d reciprocates the needle-bar and the needle carried
thereby.
By the longitudinal adjustment of the screw 7, so that its rounded portion or

page_text: ball is brought nearer to or farther from the pivot ď of the lever & the travel of
the needle-bar may be varied.
To impart motion to the shuttle-carrier e, which is adapted to reciprocate on a
bar or rod Z, supported in the frame of the machine, I provide the said
carrier with a downwardly extending arm e¹, which is connected by an elbow
piece to a crank b¹ upon the main shaft b. Upon this carrier I place
a cradle m, which is designed to receive and support the shuttle f. In this
cradle I form slots m', through which set screws m³ pass into the shuttle carrier e;
by loosening these screws the said cradle may be adjusted relatively to the said
shuttle-carrier e as desired, and may then be secured in position by tightening up
the said screws. The object of this adjustment is to so regulate the movements or
travel of the needle and shuttle that as the needle rises to complete the formation
of a stitch no strain will be exerted upon the upper thread by the tail end of the
shuttle, that is to say, by the adjustment of the aforesaid cradle the shuttle may be
caused to occupy such a position relatively to the needle that as the latter com-
mences its upward movement the thread will be drawn up freely, and will not be
subjected to the friction, strain, and consequent breakage, which frequently occur
in ordinary sewing machines from the fact that the tail end of the shuttle has not
passed entirely through the loop when the needle rises to complete the stitch.
To provide for moving the cloth or other material intermittently past the
needle I provide feed mechanism which is constructed as follows, that is to say :-
Upon the main shaft b I arrange an excentric or crank 62, which works in a strap n³,
on the lower end of an arm or lever n, the upper end of this lever is provided with
a serrated plate or piece n², which passes through a slot in the work-table and
operates to move the material in the usual manner. To provide however for
regulating the distance the work is moved by the reciprocation of the said feed-
lever n, and consequently the length of the stitch produced, I provide the said lever
with a slot n³. Into this alot fits a stud or fulcrum o¹, formed on a block o, adapted
to slide in a slot or ways in the main frame of the machine; upon this stud the
said lever n is arranged to rock. By raising or lowering the said block by means
of a lever o³, which is pivotted to the frame a at o*, and which embraces a pin or
screw o³, on the block o, the distance of the said stud or fulcrum from the centre of
the main shaft will be increased or decreased so that the upper end of the lever
will be caused by the revolution of the excentric or crank 6 to reciprocate to a
varied extent, that is to say, when the stud o¹ is near the upper end of the slot n³,
in the lever n, the upper serrated end n³ of the latter will move only to a com-
paratively slight extent, but when the said stud is near the lower end of the slot
in the said lever the serrated end of the same will move to a much greater
extent.
To prevent the lateral displacement or the turning of the presser-foot g and
presser-bar g¹ and regulate the pressure of the spring g³ which presses the said
presser-foot upon the work I arrange on the said presser-bar an adjustable collar g³
provided with a flat face which rests in contact with a flat surface on the front
end of the goose-neck a¹ of the machine. The said collar may be adjusted
longitudinally upon the presser-bar g¹ as desired to regulate the tension of the
spring g surrounding the same, and is secured or clamped upon the said bar by a
set-screw, as shewn.
The bobbin-winder p in my improved machine is pivotted to the frame of the
said machine, or to its stand or table, as shewn, and at one end is provided with a
slot p', through which a set-screw p³ passes. This slot permits the friction-wheel
to be adjusted into or out of contact with the periphery of the driving wheel h,
and the set screw p³ serves to retain the said bobbin-winder and friction-wheel in
either position, as desired..
To facilitate the oiling of the bearing of the driving wheel h and the screw-stud,
by which it is secured to the main frame of the machine and upon which it
revolves, I form in the said screw an oblique opening or hole which passes through
the head of the same and extends to a point midway, or nearly so, between the

page_text: ends of the bearing surface or part of the said screw-stud and wheel, so that when
oil is poured into the said hole it will be evenly distributed upon the whole of
such bearing surface.
The take-up devices which I employ in my improved machine are constructed as
follows, that is to say:-On the needle-bar c, and at or near the upper end of the
same I secure by means of a screw q" a small metal piece q, through the boss of
which the said screw passes. From this boss project downward three parallel
vertically slotted arms q¹. In combination with these arms I arrange on the part a³
of the head of the goose neck through which the needle-bar slides two lugs or
ears r, r, which project outward in planes parallel with those occupied by the said
arms q' and occupy such a position that the central arm of the three arms q¹ will
pass between the lugs or ears r and the two outer arms q¹ will pass outside of the
said lugs or ears in the movement of the needle-bar c. It will be seen that these
ears or lugs r have holes 1 through them. When the machine is properly threaded
the upper thread a is brought from the reel s¹ through the tension device.t, or any
other suitable tension device, and is passed through the slots in the arms q¹ and
the holes in the ears r, and then through a small spring-guide u to the needle,
as shewn in Figures 1 and 2. The slots in the arms q have such a length and are
so arranged that during the lower portion of the needle's stroke, that is to say,
while the shuttle is passing through the loop the thread will be quite slack or free,
but as the needle-bar c rises the thread will be held down by the ears or lugs r at
two points, and there will be a take-up action to the exact extent required. The
spring guide u is arranged to alternately hold and release the thread, that is to say,
it acts in such a manner that in the descent of the needle-bar the thread is so
held that the needle slides down the thread while the latter is held taut, but at
the moment the shuttle is passing through the loop the said spring-guide is caused
to release the thread.
By the above described arrangement and combination of parts I am enabled to
construct a machine which may be caused to work and sew in either direction by
the simple reversal of the direction of motion of the driving wheel and without the
necessity of special adjustment of any of the parts. This capability of sewing in
two directions will be found of great advantage when sewing bulky goods or
materials, as for instance, when quilting is to be effected by the machine, as when
one row of stitches is completed in one direction it is simply necessary to adjust
the work laterally to the distance desired between two rows of stitches and to
operate the machine in the opposite direction to complete the next row of stitches.
I'thus obviate the necessity for moving the whole body of the material below the
needle prior to the commencement of each row of stitches, and also the breaking off
of the upper and lower threads, as by drawing sufficient of the upper thread from
the reel to allow the work to be moved laterally below the needle to the distance
required between the rows of stitches; a second row may be proceeded with
without any disconnection of the said threads.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
The improvements in sewing machines, substantially as above set forth and for
the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Talmage Bastand, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.