Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Dec.. 1886
Complete Left, 31st Aug., 1887
Complete Accepted, 4th Oct., 1887
I, ALBERT GEORGE PRINCE, of No. 179 Aldersgate Street in the City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention relates to a simple and compact construction of machine for
embroidering by forming on a fabric a series of chain stitches which may follow any
desired pattern.
and a cam.
The frame of the machine has a base by which it can be clamped or otherwise fixed
on a table or stand, an upright back from which about midway projects a table or
plate to receive on it the fabric to be embroidered, and at the top a forwardly
projecting goose-neck from the front of which extends downwards a guide for the
needle and presser foot. Along the goose-neck extends a horizontal spindle which at
its hinder end has a winch handle for turning it, and at its front has ou it a crank pin
On the crank pin is mounted free to turn a boss through which passes
the upper end of the needle secured in the boss by a setting screw. The lower part
of the needle passes through a tube which is fixed to a plate that has a laterally and
vertically oscillating movement imparted to it by the cam and the crank pin which
passes through a cam slot in the plate. The tube itself is mounted on a fulcrum free
to rock and to slide up and down, while the needle is free to move up and down
within the tube. The needle has not an eye like an ordinary sewing machine needle
but has near its point a hook like that of a crochet needle. Besides the moving parts
above mentioned, there is on the driving spindle a face cam which gives oscillation to
an arm that extends down along the frame and is connected to a horizontal lever
which is mounted below the table and has at its end a guide eye for the thread. On
a pin at the side of the frame is placed the thread reel which can be more or less
tightened by a screw and spring so as to give more or less tension to thread as it is
drawn from it. The thread is led from the reel, first through a hole in the frame,
then through an eye at the end of a spring at the base of the machine, and finally

page_text: through the eye of the lever under the table. On turning the spindle the needle is
caused by the crank movement to ascend and descend and also to rock laterally while
the tube through which it passes also ascends and descends to a a less extent and
rocks laterally, and at the same time the lever under the table is caused to oscillate
horizontally. The needle having descended through the fabric placed on the table,
and presenting its crochet hook below the table, the lever carrying the thread makes
a stroke by which the thread is passed partly round the needle closely embracing it
above the hook. The needle then ascending, its hook carries up through the fabric a
loop of the thread: descending again through the loop and the fabric, it receives on
its hook a fresh loop which it carries up through the fabric and through the previous
loop, and thus loop after loop is formed producing a chain stitch on the face of the
fabric. By the rocking movement of the needle the fabric is at every stroke advanced
a certain distance determining the length of the stitch. The spring at the base of the
machine allows for the movement of the lever which makes the thread embrace the
needle and takes up the slack given out on the return stroke of the lever. The tube
through which the needle passes serves to retain the loop of thread on the hook when
the needle is rocking in the direction to give advance to the fabric, and serves also to
prevent the previously made loop from engaging again on the hook as the needle
ascends.
The movements of the tube and also of the thread guide lever below the table may
he made positive by suitably shaping the cams which work these parts, but it is
generally preferable, on the score of simplicity, to arrange each cam so as to give
movement only in one direction in opposition to a spring which effects the back
stroke.
Dated this 2nd day of December 188s
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, ALBERT GEORGE PRINCE of No. 179 Aldersgate Street in the City of London 30
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
This invention relates to a simple, cheap, and serviceable construction of embroider-
ing machine so arranged that a crochet needle reciprocating vertically and laterally 35
causes a line of chain stitches to be produced on the face of a fabric, the vertical
strokes of the needle forming the successive loops of the chain and the lateral

page_text: movements of the needle feeding the fabric onwards as will be described with reference
to the accompanying drawings in which
Fig. 1 is a side view. Fig. 2 is a front view. Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4 is a
plan taken on a plane immediately above the table, part of the table being broken
away to shew the reciprocating thread guide below it.
C is
the
The frame A of the machine is in one piece cast, or it may be stamped from plate
with a projecting rib a along each edge to give it lateral stiffness. It is fixed on a
base B which can be clamped or otherwise fixed on a table or suitable stand.
the plate or table on which is laid the fabric to be embroidered. Along the goose
neck which forms the upper part of the frame A extends a spindle D caused to revolve
by the hand applied to the crank handle d at its one hand. On the other end of the
spindle D is fixed a cam disc E having a crank pin which with a boss F fixed upon
the pin is free to revolve. In a hole in this disc is fixed by a setting screw
needle N which has a crochet hook near its point. On the front of the goose neck is
fitted a presser foot G which is strained down by a spring g. Between the disc E
and the boss F is fitted a sliding plate il having through it a peculiarly shaped slot
and at its upper corner a backwardly projecting lip that extends over the cam
disc E on the periphery of which there is a prominence e. The lower end of the
plate H has attached to it a tube K fitted free to slide through a boss k which is free
to rock on a pivot in the lower part of the face of the goose neck.
A spring presses the tube K downwards.
On the spindle D is fitted to slide a tube L from which projects downwards an
arm that is bent forward extending under the table and is jointed to an arm M
pivotted to the underside of the table. The end of the tube L is cut obliquely and
facing its end is a cam boss d on the spindle D also cut obliquely a spring d¹
surrounding the spindle D presses the tube L towards the right.
R is the thread reel mounted on a pin projecting up from the base B. The thread >
is led from the reel through a guide eye between adjustable tension discs T through
an eye at the end of a spring S fixed in the hollow of the base B, and finally through
an eye m at the end of the arm M up to the last made stitch in the fabric.
On driving the spindle D the needle N is made by the revolution of the crank
boss F to reciprocate up and down through and descending, beyond the tube K and
down through the fabric to present its point and crochet hook under the table Cand
below the arm M. When the needle has thus descended the inclined face of the
boss d² acting on the inclined end of the tube L causes that tube with its arm 7 to
move towards the left and thus the arm M is caused to sweep round to the position
shewn by the dotted lines m³ in Figure 4, thus causing the thread to embrace the
needle N just above its hook. The needle now rising engages on its hook a loop of
the thread and carries it up through the fabric and through the loop which had been
previously made, and which is now on the upper side of the fabric; the needle
continuing its course upwards takes the new loop with it into the tube K, and when
the needle is beginning its next descent the prominence on the disc E acting on the
liph of the plate H raises that plate and the tube K setting free the loop so that the
needle descends again through the fabric leaving above the fabric the loop just made.
While the needle N and the tube K make these vertical movements, they also
oscillate laterally on the pivot and thus the needle while it is in the fabric moves it
forward the space of a stitch at every revolution of the spindle D. The cam disc E
and the slot in the plate H are so shaped that when the needle is beginning to draw a
loop up through the fabric the tube K has descended so that its lower mouth presses
on the fabric and prevents it from being dragged upwards by the hook of the needle.
Thus, by the continued revolution of the spindle D, the needle is caused to form
successive loops of thread, each loop drawn up through the loop formerly made, and
at the same time to advance the fabric a certain distance, so that these successive
loops present on the face of the fabric a line of chain stitches following any desired
pattern, embroidering the fabric.
The spring S while it yields to the movements of the arm M and of the needle N
maintains a certain strain on the thread, so that as each loop is drawn up by the

page_text: needle, the loop previously made becomes tightened. Usually for embroidery it is
sufficient to provide for a certain length of stitch without alteration. If however it
should be desired to alter the length of stitch, the pivot of the boss & instead of being
fixed may be fitted in a slotted hole of the goose neck with a tightening nut so that it
can be adjusted a little lower or higher. If the fulcrum were set lower down the
lateral movement of the needle while in the fabric would be lessened and consequently
the stitch would be shorter. If on the other hand were set higher the lateral
movement of the needle would be increased and consequently the stitch would be
.made longer.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
:-
1. An embroidering machine, wherein a needle N actuated by a boss F on a
revolving cam disc E, is made to slide through a tube K receiving a combined
rocking and up and down motion from the boss F and cam disc E, substantially as
and for the purposes herein described.
2. In an embroidering machine imparting motion to a thread guide arm M that
lays the thread in the hook of the needle by means of an arm 7 sliding with a tubular
part L upon the driving spindle D, on which it receives a to and fro motion by means
of the cam boss ² and spring d' substantially as herein described.
3. The use in combination with the guide arm M referred to in the preceding
claim, of the tension spring S and tension discs T by means of which the thread
passing from the reel R to the eye of the guide arm is subjected to a yielding strain
substantially as herein described.
4. The combination of the framing A, B, C the shaft D with cam disc E boss F
cam d² and spring d¹ the needle N, the tube K with plate H and lip the arm L
and guide arm M. constituting an embroidery machine arranged and operating
substantially as herein described.