IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad
by Frederick William Grote and Claus Ortgiers Tietjen, both of New
York City. United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th February 1863.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in certain novel devices for extending the loops of
the upper or needle thread on the under side or back of the cloth or other
material to be sewn, and carrying the under or locking thread through
them.
Also in a novel mode of combining the needle-operating lever with the said
devices for extending the loops of the needle thread, and carrying the locking

page_text: thread through them, whereby the operation of the said device is produced by
the same crank or its equivalent, by which the movement of the needle-operating
lever is produced.
Also in a novel construction and arrangement of the feeding apparatus for
feeding the cloth or other material in all directions, and in a novel mode of
applying the needle in combination with such feeding apparatus, to keep the
planes of revolution of the feed wheel always at the same distance from the
line of motion of the needle.
Also in an improved "take-up" for drawing back through the cloth or other
material the slack of the loops of the needle thread.
And further, in an improvement in the tension device for producing and
regulating the tension on the upper or needle thread.
In the accompanying Drawings, forming part of this Specification, Fig. 1 is
an elevation, partly in section, of a sewing machine constructed according to
this Invention, and embracing the several improvements; Fig. 2 is a vertical
section of a portion of the stationary arm or bed on which the work is per-
formed, and of the devices for extending the loops of the middle thread, and
passing the locking thread through them; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view
corresponding with Fig. 2. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the several Figures.
A, B, C, D, is the framing of the machine, consisting of a long square
arm A, which constitutes the bed on which the cloth or other material is
supported in the sewing operation; an upper arm B, which contains the
guides for the needle bar E, and carries the needle operating lever D, the
shaft F, and all the upper works of the machine and feet C, C. The needle-
operating lever is of curved form, and works on a fulcrum pin a secured in
the arm B. Its shorter arm is connected by a sliding piece band pin c, with
the needle arm, and its lower arm has in its lower part a slot d, which receives
a crank wrist e, carried by the rotating shaft F, which works in a bearing in
the lower part of the arm B. This crank gives the lever the necessary move-
ment to operate the needle bar. The devices for extending the loops of the
upper or needle thread, and passing the lower or locking thread through them
consist of a peculiarly constructed hollow upright cylinder, having an oscillating
motion about its axis, a stationary hooked plate H, Figs. 2 and 3, arranged
within and close to the bottom of the said cylinder, and a spool I, which
supplies the locking thread placed in an open cylindrical case J, which is
arranged loosely within the cylinder G, and supported upon the plate H, the
whole being arranged within a suitable cavity f. f, in the arm or bed A, in

page_text: such a position that the needle n passing through the hole j in the plate j',
which covers the cavity f may enter between the cylinder G and spool case J.
The cylinder G is furnished at its bottom with a concentric hollow shaft or
sleeve G', which is bored to fit easily upon the stationary upright pin g, to
which the stationary plate H is secured. This sleeve has upon it a pinion K,
which gears with a toothed rack L' on a horizontal bar L, which is arranged
and fitted to slide longitudinally within the arm or bed A, and which derives a
longitudinal movement from the needle-operating lever D by being furnished
with a pin h, Fig. 1, which protrudes through a slot i in the front of the arm
on bed B, and enters the slot d in the lever D. The longitudinal movement
of this bar L causes its rack L' so to act upon the pinion K, as to produce an
oscillating movement of the cylinder G about its axis once back and forth to
the extent of about seven-eighths of a complete revolution for every downward
and upward stroke of the needle. The hollow cylinder G has in one part of
its circumference an opening 12, and one side of this opening is chamfered
off externally to a sharp or nearly sharp edge, and finished off to a point 14,
the position of which is slightly above the upper edge of the plate II, which is
turned slightly inward to enable it to pass close to the needle n after tho
latter has entered between the cylinder and the spool case, and thereby to
ensure its catching the needle thread for the extension of the loop. Some
distance behind the point 14 there is on the exterior of the said cylinder an
inclined shoulder 13 for catching the loop and causing one portion of it to pass
over the top of the said cylinder, and of the spool case J and spool I, and
another portion of it to pass under the spool case, and in order to permit this
there is an opening 15, 16, in the bottom of the said cylinder close to its inner
periphery for the passage of the needle. The general form of the stationary
plate H is that of a circle, somewhat smaller than and concentric with the
interior of the cylinder G, except that it has projecting from its periphery two
teeth 17, 18, something like saw teeth, and a recess 19 in front of the tooth 17,
which is so situated that the needle passes down just in front of it. The
tooth 18, which is a short distance behind the tooth 17, has its point turned
slightly downward, but the tooth 17 conforms to the general surface of the
plate H. The spool I is arranged of metal, and is made to turn freely within
the case J, in which it is secured by a nut j fitted to a screw thread on a
central pin k, which is firmly secured in the bottom of the case; and the said
spool has friction produced upon it to prevent the locking thread unwinding
from it too freely by means of a spring 1, which is applied under the said
nut within a central cavity provided in the said case, the said spring bearing

page_text: upon a flange m provided at the bottom of the said cavity. The locking thread,
represented in blue color, passes from the said pool through two or more
holes n', m', in one side of the spool case J, being laced in and out through
the said openings to produce friction upon it. The case J is made of an
external diameter sufficiently smaller than the internal diameter of the
cylinder G to allow plenty of room between them for the passage of the needle
and the loop of the needle thread. The said case rests on the stationary
plate H; and in order that it may have the smallest practicable bearing
thereon, it is made with two small rounded bosses p, p, on its bottom. To
keep the said case out of contact with the needle, there is a small fixed guard
bar attached to the needle plate j', and entering the cylinder G between
the said cylinder and the said case. The operation of the cylinder G and its
contained parts in forming the stitch is as follows:-While the needle is
descending the cylinder G turns in the opposite direction, bringing the point 14
just beyond the needle, and as the needle rises, the said cylinder turns in the
direction indicated by the arrow Fig. 3. As the needle commences its
upward movement, and the cylinder G its movement in the direction of the
arrow, the portion of the thread on that side of the needle which is farthest
from the centre of the cylinder is left slack, and the point 14 enters between
the needle and that portion of the thread, and as the movements of the needle
and cylinder continue, the shoulder 13 catches the side portion of the needle
thread, and extends it in the form of a loop, where, as well as in Fig. 1, the
needle thread is shown in red color, after which the further continued move-
ment of the cylinder G carries the upper part of the so extended loop over
the top of the spool and the lower portion of the said loop under the spool
case, the latter portion entering the cylinder through the opening 15, 16, and
the loop being detained close to its neck at one side of the stationary plate H
by means of the tooth 18 until the whole loop has passed the axis of the
spool case when it has arrived in the position to pass over the tooth 17, and
escape from the said plate, after which it is easily drawn over the rest of and
entirely off the spool case, which having now passed through the loop of the
needle thread, has left the locking thread encircled by the needle thread. The
slack of the loop is drawn up by the "take up," which will be presently
described. The stitch thus made is of the same character as that made by the
shuttle sewing machine.
The feeding device is what is known as a top wheel M, and the whole of
the feeding mechanism is above the cloth or other material to be sewed. The
wheel M having a roughened or toothed periphery is attached to the lower end,

page_text: of an upright bar N, of which the portion above the wheel is made cylindrical,
and fitted to guides u, u', in the arm B, in which it can move up and down to
lift the wheel up from and bring it down upon the work, as well as turn freely
to change the direction of the planes of revolution of the wheel, to enable it to
feed the cloth in various directions, as may be desired. The lower part of the
said bar N is made with an offset at to bring the wheel on one side of the
axis of the said bar, and so enable the needle to be brought directly in line with
the axis of the said bar N, by giving the lower part of the needle bar a proper
bend or offset, as shown at s, and thereby cause the feed wheel to be always close
to the middle, however the direction of the planes of revolution may be varied by
turning the bar N. The feed wheel is pressed down upon the cloth by means
of a spring 27, applied at the upper part of the bar N, the pressure being
regulated by the nut 28, fitted to a screw thread on the bar, and the said bar
is raised up to raise the feed wheel and permit the introduction of the cloth
under it, and permit the removal or adjustment of the same by means of a
lever N', attached to the bar N by a pin; the said lever having a cam-like
end, which is brought into action on the top of the upper guide u by raising
the other end of the said lever. The bar N is secured to keep the planes
of revolution of the feed wheel in such direction as may be desired, and
prevented from turning to change the direction of the feed until desired to do
so by means of a pin v, which is firmly secured in the said bar, and which enters
any one of a series of notches 20, 20, in the top of the guide u¹. To change
the direction of the feed the bar E is raised by the lever N¹ high enough to
withdraw the pin v from the notches 20, 20, then turned to bring the said pin
over another notch, and afterward allowed to descend. The axle w, to which
the feed wheel is firmly secured, is fitted to turn freely in a bearing in the lower
part of the feed bar N, and the feed wheel is operated to produce the feed by
means of a lever P, which has one extremity constructed to form a double-
pointed dog x, Fig. 4, one of the points of the said dog entering a notch in a
collar a¹, which is loose on the axle w of the feed wheel, and the other entering
a notch in a shoe y', which is fitted to the interior of the rim y of the feed
wheel. By raising the outer end of the lever P, its dog x is caused to press
the shoe y' against the rim of the wheel, and so turn the wheel in the direction
shown, and by depressing the said end of the lever it is caused to release the
dog from the rim and move it upward thereon without moving the wheel. The
collar has attached to it a spring z, which presses against a corner on the
lever P, in such manner as to support the weight of the said lever, and at
the same time exert a tendency to keep the dog from pressing against the

page_text: shoe y' when not desired to press against it. The collar a¹, shoe y¹, and
lever P, are kept in place by means of a plate, which is fitted loosely both to
the axle axle w and to the interior of the rim y, and which is kept in place by
being arranged between the feed wheel and the bar N. The lever P works
through an opening in this plate. The said lever has its movement by which the
feed wheel is operated produced by being connected by a rod Q with the lower
arm R¹ of an elbow lever R, which is pivoted to the bar N by a pin 21, and
the upper arm R of which is partly received within a vertical slot in the said
bar. A spring 22 is applied within the slot to the upper arm R, in such
manner as to tend to throw it out from the bar N, but the said arm is pressed
inward every time the needle bar N descends by means of a wiper 23 attached
to the needle bar, and partly surrounding the bar N, and by this means the
lower arm R¹, rod Q, and lever P, are raised, and the feed wheel turned: The
length of the feed is regulated by a screw 24, which is screwed through the
said lever R, R¹, to come in contact with the bottom of the slot in the bar N,
and thereby regulate the distance to which the arm R of the said lever is
forced out by the spring 22; or instead of the length of feed being regulated
in this way, it may be regulated by shifting the connection of the rod Q along the
arm R'; S is the "take-up "lever working on a fixed pin 26, which secures it to
the front of the arm B, and having an eye at its extremity through which the
needle thread is rove after passing through an eye 25 in the head of the needle
bar E, and through a stationary eye 29, secured in the arm B. By the
arrangement of the thread in the "take up," it will be seen that the thread is
trebled between the eye 26 of the needle bar E and the stationary eye 29.
The lever S has applied to it a pin, which only requires to be strong enough to
hold it up when unsupported by the needle operating lever D. The said lever
is drawn down by the action of the cylinder G in the extension of the loops of
the needle thread, and is raised up to draw back the slack of the loop through
the cloth by the action upon it of a pin or projection 32 on the back of the
needle-operating lever D, and owing to the trebling of the needle thread
between the eyes 25 and 29, a considerable quantity of thread is kept in
reserve between the top of the needle bar and the eye of the needle, and the
depression of the lever S is caused to yield up the thread as freely as required,
to permit the extension of the loop on the under side of the cloth by the action
of the cylinder G, and the raising of the said lever is caused to draw back the
said thread as rapidly as required to draw back the slack of the loop, the
movement of the thread through the cloth permitted and produced by the said
lever being three times as great and as quick as the movement of the eye at

page_text: the end of the lever. The large size to which the loop requires to be extended,
owing to the large size of the spool J, renders such a movement of the thread,
as is above described, very desirable; by using a large spool I, the necessity
of frequently rewinding the thread is obviated, and this is one of the advantages
of the within-described construction and arrangement of the devices for
extending the loops of the needle thread through them. To obtain as great as
practical a movement of the lever S, the said lever is made with a projection 33
on its under side for the pin 32 on the needle-operating lever to act upon, and
the face of this projection upon which the said pin 32 acts is tangential to a
circle described from the fulcrum pin 26, so that in the movement of the pin 32
upon the said surface in raising the lever S, its distance from the fulcrum
pin 26 increases very little, and hence the movement of the end of the lever
becomes very little slower as it proceeds than would be the case if the surface
on which the pin 32 acted were radial or nearly so with the fulcrum pin.
Above the lever S there is a fixed stop 34 attached to the arm B, to prevent
the said lever from being raised by the spring higher than is necessary while
the needle-operating lever is descending.
The device for producing and regulating the tension on the needle is
shown in Fig. 1. The spool T which supplies the said thread is placed upon
a spindle U, and secured firmly against a fixed collar 38 upon the lower part
of the said spindle by means of a nut 35 working on a screw thread on the
upper part thereof. The lower end of the said spindle is fitted into a bearing
in a piston V, which fits to a cylindrical hole in the top of the arm B, and the
upper end of the said spindle is kept in place by the point of a centre screw 36,
which screws through the head of the goose neck standard W, secured on the
top of the arm B. Under the piston V there is applied within the same
cylindrical hole a spiral spring 37, which presses the said piston upward against
the collar 38, and produces friction between the said piston and collar, and
this friction is made greater or less by screwing down the screw 36 more or
less, and so producing a greater or lesser compression of the spring, and the
tension on the thread is in proportion to the friction so produced. A washer 39
of cloth or leather is placed between the piston and the collar 38, to enable
the latter to work smoothly and render the friction uniform.
Between the tension device and the needle bar, there is arranged upon the
arm B a device for oiling the thread, which in sewing leather and some other
materials is generally desirable. This device consists of a deep cup X secured
into the top of the arm B, and the piston Y fitted easily into the top thereof.
The cup has a hole 40 drilled transversely through it for the thread to pass

page_text: through, and the piston has attached to its lower end a piece of woollen cloth,
sponge, or other material, which will hold a small quantity of oil, and which is
pressed down upon the thread by the weight of the piston, so that the thread in
passing the cup may have its surface oiled. The thread may be wound partly
or wholly round the cup, which may thus be made a means of producing
friction upon it by turning it upon its axis to cause the thread to be wound
upon it more or less.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, my 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," a coma to me from abroad by Frederick William Grote and
Claus Ortgiers Tietjen, both of New York City, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Clark, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
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 William Clark, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,

page_text: to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention consists in certain novel devices for extending the loops of
the upper or needle thread on the under side or back of the cloth or other
material to be sewed, and carrying the under or locking thread through them.
Also in a novel mode of combining the needle-operating lever with the said
devices for extending the loops of the needle thread and carrying the locking
thread through them, whereby the operation of the said device is produced
by the same crank or its equivalent, by which the movement of the needle-
operating lever is produced.
Also in a novel construction and arrangement of the feeding apparatus for
feeding the cloth or other material in all directions, and in a novel mode of
applying the needle in combination with such feeding apparatus to keep the
planes of revolution of the feed wheel always at the same distance from the
line of motion of the needle.
Also in an improved "take up" for drawing back through the cloth or other
material the slack of the loops of the needle thread.
And, further, in an improvement in the tension device for producing
and regulating the tension on the upper or needle thread.
In the accompanying Drawing, forming part of this Specification, Fig. 1 is
a front view partly in section of a sewing machine constructed according to
this Invention, and embracing the several improvements; Fig. 2 is a top view
of the same; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of the feed
mechanism; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of portions of the said
mechanism; Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a portion of the stationary arm or
bed on which the work is performed, and of the devices for extending the
loops of the needle thread and passing the locking thread through them;
Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view corresponding with Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a
side view of one of the loop extending devices; Fig. 8 is a plan of the same;
Fig. 9 is an elevation of the needle bar and feed wheel bar at right angles to
Fig. 1; Fig. 10 is a horizontal section of the same; Fig. 11 is a view of the
take up at right angles to Fig. 1. Similar letters of reference indicate
corresponding parts in the several Figures.
A, B, C, C, is the framing of the machine, consisting of a long square arm A,
which constitutes the bed on which the cloth or other material is supported in
the sewing operation an upper arm B, which contains the guides for the needle
bar E, and carries the needle-operating lever D, the shaft F, and all the

page_text: upper works of the machine and feet C, C. The needle-operating lever is
of curved form and works on a fulcrum pin A, secured in the arm B. Its
shorter arm is connected by a sliding piece b and pin c, with the needle arm, and
its lower arm has in its lower part a slot d which receives a crank wrist e, carried
by the rotating shaft F, which works in a bearing in the lower part of the arm B.
This crank gives the lever the necessary movement to operate the needle bar.
The devices for extending the loops of the upper or needle thread and
passing the lower or locking thread through them, consist of a peculiarly
constructed hollow upright open cylinder G (see Figs. 1, 5, and 6),
laving an oscillating motion about its axis, a stationary hooked plate H
arranged within and close to the bottom of the said cylinder and a spool I,
which supplies the locking thread placed in an open cylindrical case J which
is arranged loosely within the cylinder G and supported upon the plate H, the
whole being arranged within a suitable cavity f, f, in the arm or bed A in such
a position that the needle n passing through the hole j in the plate j', which
covers the cavity f may enter between the cylinder G and spool case J;
the cylinder G is furnished at its bottom with a concentric hollow shaft or
sleeve G which is bored to fit easily upon the stationary upright ping,
to which the stationary plate His secured.
This sleeve has upon it a
pinion K, which gears with a toothed rack L' on a horizontal bar L, which
is arranged and fitted to slide longitudinally within the arm or bed A, and
which derives a longitudinal movement from the needle-operating lever D, by'
being furnished with a pin h, which protrudes through a slot i in the front of
the arm or bed B, and enters the slot d in the lever D. The longitudinal
movement of this bar L causes its rack L' so to act upon the pinion K as to
produce an oscillating movement of the cylinder G about its axis once back
and forth to the extent of about seven-eighths of a complete revolution for
every downward and upward stroke of the needle. The hollow cylinder G has
in one part of its circumference an opening 12, and one side of this opening
is chamfered off externally to a sharp or nearly sharp edge, and finished off to
a point 14, the position of which is slightly above the upper edge of the
plate H, as shown in Fig. 7, and which is turned slightly inward, as shown
in Figs. 6 and 8, to enable it to pass close to the needle n after the latter.
bas entered between the cylinder and the spool case, and thereby to ensure its
catching the needle thread for the extension of the loop. Some distance
behind the point 14 there is on the exterior of the said cylinder an inclined
shoulder 13 for catching the loop, and causing one portion of it to pass over
the top of the said cylinder and of the spool case J and spool I, and another

page_text: portion of it to pass under the spool case; and in order to permit this, there
is an opening 15, 16, in the bottom of the said cylinder close to its inner
periphery for the passage of the needle. The general form of the stationary
plate His that of a circle somewhat smaller than, and concentric with the
interior of the cylinder G, except that it has projecting from its periphery two
teeth 17, 18, something like saw teeth, and a recess 19 in front of the tooth 17,
which is so situated that the needle passes down just in front of it. The
tooth 18, which is a short distance behind the tooth 17, has this point turned
slightly downward, but the tooth 17 conforms to the general surface of the
plate H. The spool I is made of metal, and is arranged to turn freely within
the case J, in which it is secured by a nut j fitted to a screw thread on a
central pink, which is firmly secured in the bottom of the case, and the said
spool has friction produced upon it to prevent the locking thread unwinding
from it too freely by means of a spring l, which is applied under the said nut
within a central cavity provided in the said case, the said spring bearing upon
a flange m, provided at the bottom of the said cavity. The locking thread,"
represented in blue color, passes from the said spool through two or more
holes n, n, in one side of the spool caso J, being laced in and out through
the said openings to produce friction upon it. The case J is made of an
external diameter sufficiently smaller than the internal diameter of the
cylinder G to allow plenty of room between them for the passage of the needle
and the loop of the needle thread. The said case rests on the stationary
plate H, and in order that it may have the smallest practicable bearing
thereon, it is made with two small rounded bosses p, p, on its bottom. To
keep the said case out of contact with the needle there is a small fixed guard
bar g attached to the needle plate ¹, entering the cylinder G the cylinder G
between the said cylinder and the said case.
The operation of the cylinder G, and its contained parts, in forming the
stitch is as follows:-While the needle is descending, the cylinder G turns in
the opposite direction to that of the arrow shown near it in Figs. 6 and 8,
bringing the point 14 just beyond the needle, and as the needle rises, the said
cylinder turns in the direction indicated by the arrow. As the needle com-
mences its upward movement, and the cylender G its movement in the
direction of the arrow, the portion of the thread on that side of the needle
which is furthest from the centre of the cylinder is left slack, and the point 14
enters between the needle and that portion of the thread, and as the move-
ments of the needle and cylinder continue, the shoulder 13 catches the said
portion of the needle thread, and extends it in the form of a loop, as shown in

page_text: Fig. 6, where, as well as in Fig. 1, the needle thread is shown in red color,
after which the further continued movement of the cylinder G carries the
upper part of the so extended loop over the top of the spool case and spool
and the lower portion of the said loop under the spool case, the latter portion
entering the cylinder through the opening 15, 16, and the loop being detained
close to its neck at one side of the stationary plate H by means of the
tooth 18 until the whole loop has passed the axis of the spool case, when it
has arrived in a position to pass over the tooth 17, and escape from the said
plate, after which it is easily drawn over the rest of and entirely off the spool
case, which having now passed through the loop of the needle thread, has left
the locking thread encircled by the needle thread. The slack of the loop is
drawn up by the "take up," which will be presently described. The stitch thus
made is of the same character as that made by the shuttle sewing machine.
The feeding device is what is known as a top wheel M, and the whole of
the feeding mechanism is above the cloth or other material to be sewed.
The wheel M having a roughened or toothed periphery is attached to the
lower end of an upright bar N, of which the portion above the wheel is made
cylindrical and fitted to guides u, u', in the arm B, in which it can move
up and down to lift the wheel. up from and bring it down upon the work as
well as turn freely to change the direction of the planes of revolution of the
wheel to enable it to feed the cloth in various directions as may be desired,
The lower part of the said bar N is made with an offset at r, see Fig. 9, to
bring the wheel on one side of the axis of the said bar as shown in Figs. 9
and 10, and so enable the needle to be brought directly in line with the axis
of the said bar N, by giving the lower part of the needle bar a proper bend or
offset as shown at S in the said Figures, and in Fig. 1, and thereby cause the
feed wheel to be always close to the needle however the direction of its planes
of revolution may be varied by turning the bar N. The feed wheel is pressed
down upon the cloth by means of a spring 27 applied at the upper part of the
bar N the pressure being regulated by a nut 28 fitted to a screw thread on
the bar, and the said bar is raised up to raise the feed wheel, and permit the
introduction of the cloth under it, and permit the removal or adjustment of
the same by means of a lever N¹, attached to the bar N by a pin t, the said
lever having a cam like end, which is brought into action on the top of the
upper guide u, by raising the other end of the said lever. The bar N is
secured to keep the planes of revolution of the feed wheel in such direction
as may be desired, and prevented from turning to change the direction of the
feed until desired to do so by means of a pin v which is firmly secured in the

page_text: said bar, and which enters any one of a series of notches 20, 20, (see Figs. 1
and 2) in the top of the guide u¹. To change the direction of the feed the
bar E is raised by the lever N¹, high enough to withdraw the pin v from
the notches 20, 20, then turned to bring the said pin over another notch, and
afterwards allowed to descend. The axle w, to which the feed wheel is firmly
secured, is fitted to turn freely in a bearing in the lower part of the feed bar N,
and the feed wheel is operated to produce the feed by means of a lever P,
which has one extremity constructed to form a double pointed dog x, as
shown in Fig. 4, one of the points of the said dog entering a notch in a
collar a¹, which is loose on the axle w of the feed wheel, and the other entering
a notch in the shoe y', which is fitted to the interior of the rim y of the feed
wheel. By raising the outer end of the lever P, its dog x is caused to press
the shoe y' against the rim of the wheel, and so turn the wheel in the direc-
tion of the arrow shown upon it in Fig. 4, and by depressing the said end of
the lever it is caused to release the dog from the rim, and move it upward
thereon without moving the wheel. The collar a¹ has attached to it a spring z
which presses against a corner on the lever P, in such manner as to support
the weight of the said lever, and at the same time exert a tendency to keep
the dog from pressing against the shoe y', when not desired to press against
it. The collar x, shoe y', and lever P are kept in place by means of a plate M',
see Fig. 9, which is fitted loosely both to the axle w, and to the interior of the
rim Y, and which is kept in place by being arranged between the feed wheel
and the bar N. The lever P works through an opening in this plate. The
said lever has its movement by which the feed wheel is operated, produced by
being connected by a rod Q, with the lower arm R¹ of an elbow lever R, R¹,
which is pivoted to the bar N by a pin 21, and the upper arm R of which is
partly received within a vertical slot 42 in the said bar. A spring 22 is
applied within the slot to the upper arm R in such manner as to tend to throw
it out from the bar N, but the said arm is pressed inward every time the
needle bar N descends by means of a wiper 23, attached to the needle bar
and partly surrounding the bar N, and by this means the lower arm R',
rod Q, and lever P, are raised and the feed wheel turned. The length of the
feed is regulated by a screw 24, which is screwed through the said lever R, R¹,
to come in contact with the bottom of the slot 42 in the bar N, and thereby
regulate the distance to which the arm R of the said lever is forced out by
the spring 22, or instead of the length of feed being regulated in this way
it may be regulated by shifting the connection of the rod Q along the arm R'..
S is the "take up " lever working on a fixed pin 25, which secures it to the

page_text: front of the arm B, and having an eye 30 at its extremity, through which the
needle thread is rove after passing through an eye 26 in the head of the
needle bar E, and through a stationary eye 29 secured in the arm B. The
arrangement of the thread in the "take up" is shown best in Fig. 11, which
is a view of it at right angles to Fig. 1, and it will be there seen that the
thread is trebled between the eye 26 of the needle bar E and the stationary
eye 29. The lever s has applied to it a spring 31, which only requires to be
strong enough to hold it up when non-supported by the needle-operating
lever D. The said lever is drawn down by the action of the cylinder G in
the extension of the loops of the needle thread, and is raised up to draw back
the slack of the loop through the cloth by the action upon it of a pin or
projection 32, on the back of the needle-operating lever D, and owing to the
trebling of the needle thread between the eyes 26 and 29 a considerable
quantity of thread is kept in reserve between the top of the needle bar and
the eye of the needle, and the depression of the lever s is caused to yield up
this thread as freely as required to permit the extension of the loop on the
under side of the cloth by the action of the cylinder G, and the raising of the
said lever is caused to draw back the said thread as rapidly as required to
draw back the slack of the loop, the movement of the thread through the cloth
permitted and produced by the said lever being three times as great and as
quick as the movement of the eye 30 at the end of the lever. The large size
to which the loop requires to be extended, owing to the large size of the
spool J, renders such a movement of the thread as is above described very
desirable. By using a large spool I the necessity of frequently rewinding the
thread is obviated, and this is one of the advantages of the within described
construction and arrangement of the devices for extending the loops of the
needle thread and passing the locking thread through them. To obtain as
great as practicable a movement of the lever s, the said lever is made with a
projection 33 on its under side for the pin 32 on the needle-operating lever
to act upon, and the face of this projection upon which the said pin 32 acts is
tangential to a circle described from the fulcrum pin 25, so that in the move-
ment of the pin 32 upon the said surface in raising the lever 8, its distance
from the fulcrum pin 25 increases very little, and hence the movement of
the end of the lever becomes very little slower as it proceeds, as would be the
case if the surface on which the pin 32 acted were radial or nearly so with
the fulcrum pin. Above the lever S there is a fixed stop 34 attached to the
arm B to prevent the said lever from being raised by the spring 31 higher than
is necessary, while the needle-operating needle is descending. The device for

page_text: producing and regulating the tension on the needle thread is shown in Fig. 1.
The spool T which supplies the said thread is placed upon a spindle U, and
secured firmly against a fixed collar 38 upon the lower part of the said spindle
by means of a nut 35, working on a screw thread on the upper part thereof.
The lower end of the said spindle is fitted into a bearing in a piston V, which
fits to a cylindrical hole in the top of the arm E, and the upper end of the said
spindle is kept in place by the point of a centre screw 36, which screws
through the head of a goose neck standard W secured on the top of the arm
B; under the piston V there is applied within the same cylindrical hole a
spiral spring 37, which presses the said piston upward against the collar 38,
and produces friction between the said piston and collar, and this friction
is made greater or less by screwing down the screw 36, more or less, and so
producing a greater or less compression of the spring and the tension on the
thread is in proportion to the friction so produced. A washer 39 of cloth or
leather is placed between the piston and the collar 38, to enable the latter
to work smoothly and render the friction uniform. Between the tension device
and the needle bar there is arranged upon the arm B a device for oiling the
thread, which in sewing leather and some other materials is generally desirable.
This device consists of a deep cup X, screwed into the top of the arm B, and
a piston Y fitted easily into the top thereof. The cup has a hole 40 drilled
transversely through it for the thread to pass through, and the piston has
attached to its lower end a piece of woollen cloth, sponge, or other material,
which will hold a small quantity of oil, which is pressed down upon the
thread by the weight of the piston, so that the thread in passing through the
cup may have its surface oiled. The thread may be wound partly or
wholly round the cup, which may thus be made a means of producing friction
upon it, by turning it upon its axis, to cause the thread to be wound round it
more or less.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be pro-
tected by the berein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the combination of the cylinder G, the spool case J, spool I, and
stationary plate H, the whole constructed and arranged to operate substantially
as and for the purpose herein specified.
Secondly, combining the cylinder G with the needle-operating lever by
means of the pinion K, the longitudinally moving rack bar I, the pin H in the
said bar and the slot d in the said lever, all substantially as and for the pur-
pose herein specified.

page_text: Thirdly, the construction, combination, and arrangement of the bar N, car-
rying the feed wheel and the needle bar E, substantially as herein specified,
whereby the feed wheel is enabled to be adjusted around the needle to feed in
varous directions, and always kept close to the needle.
Fourthly, operating the feed wheel by means of a dog lever P, applied to
the said wheel, a lever R, R', attached to the bar N, which carries the feed
wheel, and connected with the dog lever P and a wiper 23, attached to the
needle bar, the whole combined and arranged to operate substantially as
herein specified.
Fifthly, the take up lever applied, as described, in combination with the eye
26, in the needle arm and the stationary eye 29 below, and furnished with a
projection 83, to be acted upon by a projection 32, on the needle-operating
lever, substantially as herein set forth.
Sixthly, the piston V, spring 37, and screw 86, applied in combination with
each other with the arm B, and with the spindle U, carrying the spool T, and
operating substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
W. G. E. SWINNOCK,
53, Chancery Lane,
London.
W. CLARK. (L.S.)