IMPROVE- MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Willcox, of 1, Ludgate Hill, 'in the City of
London, Sewing Machine Manufacturer," for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SEWING MACHINES."--A' communication from abroad by Charles
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Willcox at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th October 1863.
J;
I, JAMES WILLCOX, of 1, Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, Sewing
Machine Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," a communication from abroad by
Charles Henry Willcox, of New York, in the United States of America, to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to a device for preventing the occurrence of
"missed" or "dropped" stitches in sewing machines, whether operating with a
shuttle or with a looper.
And, secondly, to a novel form of apparatus to be temporarily attached to
sewing machines when sewing tucks, its object being to make the crease in

page_text: the cloth for one tuck during the time another tuck is being stitched in the
same machine.
According to the first part of this Invention it is proposed to employ a
"needle hole" or "throat piece" having a projecting part on the end next to
the shuttle or looper, and such projecting part has a rounded slot or groove
made vertically therein, or in the path of the needle, so that on the descent of
the needle it will pass along this slot or groove, the side of the needle furthest
from the shuttle or looper being in contact with the bottom of the slot or
groove whilst the side nearest the shuttle or looper is about flush with the
surface of the projection on the "throat piece" above referred to. By this
means the loop is prevented from forming on the opposite side or back of the
needle, but is free to form on the front side of the needle to be entered by
the shuttle or looper, which should just graze the face of the projecting part of
the "throat piece." If this loop should have any disposition to twist round
the needle out of the path of the shuttle or looper point, it will be arrested by
the projection above referred to, and held in the proper position for the
entrance of the point of the shuttle or looper therein.
According to the second part of this Invention it is proposed to employ a
pair of serrated spring nippers or pincers actuated by the descent of the needle
slide, so as to catch hold of the cloth and nip or crease it simultaneously with
the stitching of another tuck, such crease being made parallel to and at the
proper desired distance from the line of stitches in the tuck being stitched.
A thin flat piece of metal is situate on the cloth plate underneath the nippers
or pincers, and down close to which the nippers or pincers descend when in
operation, the object of this piece of metal being to assist the jaws in taking
hold of the cloth to form the crease. When rising the jaws open again and
allow the cloth to be fed forward, the nipping or creasing action being repeated
at every stitch.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Willcox in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 3
25th April 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WILLCOX, of 1, Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, Sewing Machine
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 3
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Willcox, Her special license that I, the said James
Willcox, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said James Willcox, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," a communication to me from abroad by
Charles Henry Willcox, of New York, in the United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Willcox, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or
under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 James Willcox, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
'
The said Invention relates, firstly, to a device for preventing the occurrence
of "missed" or "dropped" stitches in sewing machines, whether operating
with a shuttle or with a looper.
. And, secondly, to a novel form of apparatus to be temporarily attached to
sewing machines when sewing tucks, its object being to make the crease in
the cloth for one tuck during the time another tuck is being stitched in the
same machine.
According to the first part of this Invention it is proposed to employ a
"needle hole or throat piece" having a projecting part on the end next to the
shuttle or looper, and such projecting part has a rounded slot or groove made
vertically therein, or in the path of the needle, so that on the descent of the
needle it will pass along this slot or groove, the side of the needle furthest
from the shuttle or looper being in contact with the bottom of the slot or
groove, whilst the side nearest the shuttle or looper is about flush with the
surface of the projection on the "throat piece" above referred to. By this
means the loop is prevented from forming on the opposite side or back of the

page_text: needle, but is free to form on the front side of the needle to be entered by the
shuttle or looper, which should just graze the face of the projecting part of
the "throat piece." If this loop should have any disposition to twist round
the needle out of the path of the shuttle or looper point, it will be arrested
by the projection above referred to, and held in the proper position for the
entrance of the point of the shuttle or looper therein.
According to the second part of this Invention it is proposed to employ a
pair of serrated spring nippers or pincers actuated by the descent of the needle
slide, so as to catch hold of the cloth and nip or crease it simultaneously
with the stitching of another tuck, such crease being made parallel to and at
the proper desired distance from the line of stitches in the tuck being stitched.
A thin flat piece of metal is situate on the cloth plate underneath the nippers
or pincers, and down close to which the nippers or pincers descend when in
operation, the object of this piece of metal being to assist the jaws in taking
hold of the cloth to form the crease. When rising the jaws open again and
allow the cloth to be fed forward, the nipping or creasing action being repeated
at every stitch.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
corresponding Figures.
Figs. 1 and 2 of the Drawings represent front and side views respectively
of portions of the frame and working parts of a Willcox and Gibbs' sewing
machine, to the cloth plate (A) of which (shown in section) is secured the
"needle hole or throat piece" (B), on the end of which towards the looper (C)
is the device. I am about to describe. The "needle hole piece" (B) is shown
detached from the machine in several positions. Fig. 3 represents an end
view, Fig. 4 a side view (same as in Fig. 2), Fig. 5 a top view, Fig. 6 a side
view (reverse of Fig. 4), and Fig. 7 a view from underneath. By reference
to the several views of the needle-hole piece it will be seen that under the
needle-hole there is a projection (e), through which in the path of the needle
is made a rounded groove (f). The perpendicular face of the projection (e)
towards the looper (C) is just grazed by the point of the looper during its
revolution.
I will now proceed with the aid of Figs. 8 and 9, which represent end and
side views of the needle-hole piece B (of which the device forms part), the
looper (C), and needle (9), to explain the manner in which the device shown
prevents the loop of thread from twisting out of the path of the looper. The

page_text: red lines represent the thread. The needle (9) it will be seen passes down
through the needle-hole into the groove (f) in the projection (e), and having
reached the lowest point of its motion commences to rise, which causes the
thread to bow out in a loop, on the side of the needle towards the looper, the
loop being entirely prevented from forming on the opposite side by the back
of the groove, into which the needle fits. The point of the looper (C) just
grazes the face of the projection (e) and the side of the needle (9), and is
shown as just about entering the loop. It will readily be seen that if the loop.
has a disposition to twist around the needle out of the path of the looper
point it will be arrested by the projection (e), and held in the path of the
looper point, which, being sharp, will, if necessary, pick it off the face of the
projection (e). The impossibility of the looper failing to enter the loop is
apparent, as, the device described makes it impossible for the loop to bow out
on the wrong side of the needle, or twist out of the path of the looper.
The device which forms the subject of the second part of this Invention is
known, as a tucker," and is intended to be used like the devices for binding,
cording, or hemming, now well known in connection with or as an attachment
to a sewing machine. Its object is to make a crease for the succeeding
"tuck" at the same time that one "tuck" is being stitched. (Fig. 10 is a side.
view of part of a Willcox and Gibbs' sewing machine with the "tucker"
attached; Fig. 11 is a top view of the cloth plate and guide of the machine
with the "tucker" attached; and: Fig. 12 is a front view of the same:
(A), Fig. 10, represents part of the frame of a Willcox and Gibbs' sewing
machine, to which are attached the lever (B), the needle bar (C), and the
cloth plate (D). The guide (E) is adjusted to any desired position on. the
cloth plate by the thumbscrew (F); (G) is the frame of the "tucker," which
has a slot (H),in. it, through which passes, the screw. (I), by means of-which
and the nut (J) the "tucker" is fastened to.the cloth plate of the machine.
Attached to the frame (G) by the screw. (K) is an arm (L), which sat! (a) is
made thin, so as to form a spring, and at the other end is bent down toward
the cloth plate at (M), and has its. end serrated and brought to an edge.
Hinged to this jaw (M) at (Z) is another jaw (N) serrated like the first, the
two together forming. a pair of pincers. To the upright part of the frame.(G).
is hinged at (V) the lever (O). to which is connected the spring (P), which
at its lower end is connected with the upper end of the jaw (N). Attached
to the frame,(G) and projecting out in front of the jaw (M) is a thin flat piece'
of metal (Q), down close to which the jaw (M) descends when in operation,
its office being to assist the jaws (M and N.) in taking hold of the cloth to

page_text: form the crease for the "tuck." The operation is substantially as follows:-
The usual guide (E) is used in connection with, the tucker to gauge the
distance of the seam from the folded edge of the cloth which is being tucked.
The "tucker" and guide having been adjusted to the proper relation with
each other and the needle, the rule being to set the "tucker" so that it will
make the crease double the distance from the needle that the guide is, the
cloth is folded by hand for the first tuck, and put in the machine under the
jaws (M and N) with the folded edge touching the guide (E). The machine
is then set in motion, and the lever (B) in its downward motion strikes the
lever (O), which, by means of the spring (P) presses the jaws (M and N)
down on the cloth, and the downward motion of the levers (B and O) con-
tinuing causes the spring (P) to shut the jaws (M and N) tightly together,
in doing which they pinch up a portion of the cloth between them, forming a
well defined crease. The downward motion of the lever (B) being completed,
it commences to rise, the lever (0) rising with it releasing the spring (P),
which as it unbends opens the jaws (M and N), which are then lifted clear of
the cloth by the arm (L) to their original position. The feed of the machine
then carries the cloth forward the length of one stitch preparatory to another
descent of the needle.
It will be readily understood from the foregoing that while the machine is
sewing a seam parallel to the folded edge of the cloth the "tucker" is forming
a crease for the succeeding tuck exactly parallel to the seam without attention
from the operator, thus saving the time that would have to be employed in
measuring and folding the cloth, which by hand takes more time than sewing
the seam does.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,----
First, the application and use to and in sewing machines of a "needle-hole
piece" provided with a projection, which is grooved or channelled in the path
of the needle, as and for the purpose substantially herein-before described.
Second, the application and use to and in sewing machines of nipping jaws
actuated by the machine itself for the purpose of making the crease for one
tuck in a piece of cloth whilst another tuck is being stitched, substantially as
herein-before described.
Third, the combination in a sewing machine of self-acting nipping jaws for

page_text: creasing the fabric, and a flat plate, or its equivalent, projecting above the
surface of the cloth plate for assisting the jaws in taking hold of the fabric,
substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, 1, the said James Willcox, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.
JAS. WILLCOX. (L.S.)