IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Pearson, of Oldham, in the County of
Lancaster, and Edward Jessop, of Manchester, in the said County,
Machinists, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES,"
Sealed the 29th September 1857, and dated the 7th April 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Pearson and
Edward Jessop at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 7th April 1857.
We, GEORGE PEARSON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, and EDWARD
JESSOP, of Manchester, in the said County, Machinists, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be
as follows:-
We employ a spiral needle instead of the partly circular or straight needle
at present in use. The vertical needle forms the loop in the usual way,
through which our improved spiral needle carries the under thread about an
entire revolution, and there remains until the vertical needle descends through
the cloth or material to be sewn; the spiral needle then moves in the opposite
direction, leaving the under thread round the said vertical needle, thereby
forming the stitch. Motion is given to the spiral needle by means of a cam,
acting upon an arm or lever connected to an endless band or chain passing
round the shaft or tube of the needle, thereby giving it a to-and-fro motion;
or a pinion may be placed upon the spiral needle shaft or tube and a to-and-
Price Sd

page_text: fro motion imparted to it by means of a rack. Upon the needle shaft or tube
we place a spiral cam, the threads of which work upon a fixed wharve or
roller, so that as the needle shaft or tube revolves backwards and forwards it
has also a lateral movement imparted to it to allow the vertical needle to
descend behind the under threads.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Pearson and Edward Jessop in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th October 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
PEARSON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, and EDWARD JESSOP, of
Manchester, in the said County, Machinists, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did. for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said George Pearson and Edward Jessop, Her special license that we,
the said George Pearson and Edward Jessop, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said George Pearson and Edward
Jessop, our 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 we, the said George
Pearson and Edward Jessop, by an instrument in writing under our hands and
seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be to 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Pearson, for and on behalf of
myself and the said Edward Jessop, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is
to say) :-
We employ a spiral needle instead of the partly circular or straight needle

page_text: at present in use. The vertical needle forms the loop in the usual way,
through which our improved spiral needle carries the under thread about an
entire revolution, and there remains until the vertical needle descends through
the cloth or material to be sewn; the spiral needle then moves in the opposite
direction, leaving the under thread round the said vertical needle, thereby
forming the stitch. Motion is given to the spiral needle by means of a cam,
acting upon an arm or lever connected to an endless band or chain passing
round the shaft or tube of the needle, thereby giving it a to-and-fro motion;
or a pinion may be placed upon the spiral needle shaft, or tube and a to-and-
fro motion imparted to it by means of a rack. Upon the needle shaft or tube
we place a spiral cam, the threads of which work upon a fixed wharve roller
or stud, so that as the needle shaft or tube revolves backwards and forwards
it has also a lateral movement imparted to it to allow the vertical needle to
descend behind the under threads.
These improvements will be clearly understood by reference to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, with the figures and letters of reference thereon,
in which Figures 1 and 2 are elevations of a sewing machine having our
improved spiral needle attached; and Figures 3 and 4 are details of the
machine, drawn to an enlarged scale. In all the Figures similar parts are
represented by similar letters.
The spiral needle is represented at a, attached to the shaft b, supported in
the bearings c. Upon the shaft b is the pinion d, geared into the rack e, which
is connected to the lever f, the centre or fulcrum of which is shewn at g; the
said lever has a pin placed in the groove of the cam i, which as it revolves
moves the lever to and fro, and with it the rack, giving the pinion d and
spiral needle a a circular to-and-fro motion.
In order to allow the vertical needle to descend behind the under threads,
we also give the spiral needle a lateral movement, by means of a worm or
spiral cam fixed to the shaft b, the threads of which work upon the stud I,
so that as the cam revolves to and fro the shaft and needle move laterally to
and fro at the same time that they revolve to and fro, which combined motions
ensure great correctness and speed in the formation of the stitch.
The feeding motion vibrates upon the pin or fulcrum m, working to and fro
by means of the cam n, and up and down by the cam, shewn by the dotted
lines o and the spring p. The length of the stitch is adjusted by the screw
and set nut q. It will be perceived that this motion presents great simplicity
and economy.
Having thus fully described the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, we desire it to be distinctly understood that

page_text: we do not contine ourselves to the exact details herein set forth, as such may
be varied or modified without departing from the principle thereof; but we
claim as our Invention, and which, to the best of our knowledge and belief, has
not been hitherto used within the realm, the use of a spiral needle applied to
sewing machines instead of a partly circular one, as hitherto adopted, and the
machinery or apparatus for working the same, as herein described, and
illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Pearson, for and on behalf of
myself and the said Edward Jessop, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named George Pearson, in
the presence of
E. J. HUGHES, Patent Agent,
Manchester.
GEORGE PEARSON. (L.S.)