CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF WORKING SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Raywood, Engineer, of Wentworth, in the
County of Yorkshire, for the Invention of " CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF WORKING SEWING MACHINES"
Sealed the 26th July 1859, and dated the 31st January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Raywood at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st January 1859.
I, JOHN RAYWOOD, Engineer, of Wentworth, in the County of Yorkshire,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF WORKING SEWING MACHINES," to be
as follows:-
My improvements consist in a more certain method of securing the thread
or the loop in forming what is called the chain or tambour stitch, and which I
accomplish in the following manner-Under the table or plate, I attach a
looper, working the same by a lever in connection with the slide of the machine,
so that on the needle passing through the material and forming the loop,
the looper enters the same and secures in a countersink the thread or loop
until the return of the needle to form the next stitch. In connection with
the machine I also introduce a slide working through a cylinder having a
spring to assist the return of the needle, and working through a stuffing box
at each end.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Raywood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
30th July 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RAYWOOD, Engineer, of Wentworth, in the County of Yorkshire, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said John Raywood, Her special licence that I, the said
John Raywood, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said John Raywood, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND METHOD OF WORKING
SEWING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John
Raywood, 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 John Raywood, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say :-
My improvements consist in the mode of forming and properly securing or
holding the thread or loop in what is technically called the tambour or chain
stitch, and for preventing the same from unroving or becoming loose, and I
propose to accomplish this in the following manner :-Upon a proper, I mount
a main driving axle and wheel, and in order to give steadiness to the move-
ment of the axle, I prefer to have the bearing portions to turn in stuffing
boxes; in connexion with the axle, so as to communicate the motion, is a
crank and crank rod, the latter of which gives a vertical reciprocating motion
to a piston which moves in a cylinder or guide which is supported upon the

page_text: frame of the machine; the piston is directly connected with the crank rod,
which.moves in a guide or slot formed in the cylinder. At each end of the
cylinder, where the extremities move out and in, I fix glands of stuffing
boxes, in order to give the piston the greatest steadiness of movement; in the
lower extremity of the piston is the. needle holder, within which the needle,
which is of the usual form, is fixed. Connected with the lower portion of the
piston, and working within a shouldered collar, is a forked gimball, the
forked end working within the collar, the other extremity supported by and
turning freely on one of the ends of a segmental lever having its fulcrum upon
the frame of the machine; the object of this lever is to give the looper a
simultaneous movement with the needle, and produce the most perfect action;
and to effect this I have adopted the novel method of giving the motion to
the looper direct from the piston itself, instead of from the axle or wheel, by
means of cams or excentrics, as is usually done. The one end of the lever, as
before mentioned, is attached to, turns in, and is actuated through the end of
the gimball this end of the lever has also a compensating spring, to enable it
to return to its normal position after a stroke of the piston. The other segment
of the lever, which is forked at its extremity, terminates under the table or
plate, upon which the material to be operated upon is placed, the fork passing
round a curved shank or hook near the end of the looper, so that while the
lever moves in a vertical plane, by means of the action of the forked end upon
the last-mentioned curved shank or hook, it causes the looper to oscillate in a
horizontal arc. The looper, which is in one piece, is fixed. to the under side of
the said table, has a curved shank or hook projecting at each extremity. The
one works in and is actuated by the forked end of the lever as before men-.
tioned; the hook on the other end forms the loop on the thread, receiving,
from the action of the lever an alternate horizontal motion, by which it moves
in a horizontal arc, the face of the hook at each stroke coming close against or
within a countersunk hole in the under side of the table. The same extremity
of the looper in describing the horizontal arc backwards and forwards gives a
species of cam movement to a small vibrating lever, also fixed under the table,:
by means of which it alternately encircles and retreats from the thread after
it has passed through the fabric, and enables the looper- more certainly to
form the loop. The action of the arrangement is as follows:-We shall suppose.
the piston about to descend, the looper is at that moment in that position where
the end of hook is pressed within the countersunk hole under the face of the:
table, and holding the loop formed during the previous stroke ;- as the pistón:
descends, motion is communicated to the lever, by means of the gimball on the
collar of the piston, and
the time the needle in its descent. has passed:

page_text: through the fabric, the looper being acted upon by the forked end of the lever,
has completed the arc through which it oscillates, leaving the loop open for
the needle to pass through; on the needle beginning to ascend, the action of
the lever. is reversed, and the looper is now caused to oscillate through the
same are back again, the hook passing through the double in the thread and
forming another loop, which it holds close within the countersunk hole in the
bottom of the table untill the return of the needle, when oscillating back again,
it sets the loop free, and directly in the course of the needle's motion, so that
it easily passes through it.
The next part of. my Invention relates to the mode in which I form and
actuate my. "feed motion;" that is to say, the means by which I move the
cloth along the table at each succeeding stitch. This is as follows:-Attached
to a bracket fixed to the cylinder or frame, and moving in a joint so as to
vibrate. in a. vertical plane, is a suspended rod; upon the bottom of the rod,
and so as to encompass it freely, and rising half-way up is a hollow box or leg;
the bottom end of which terminates in a foot nearly at right angles to the leg;
this leg with its foot is held on the suspended rod by means of a screw on the
bottom; a spiral spring wound, round the rod holds the foot up from the table
when there is no pressure on the leg. Firmly attached to the frame is a
hollow box, which fits the before-mentioned leg, and within which it lies, when
hanging vertically; within this box is a vibrating lever with projecting arms,
the lower of which, being struck by the arm of the gimball on the piston rod,
causes the upper to force the rod with the leg from out of the box, and out of
the vertical position in which they had been, thus causing the foot to rise and
recede. At the bottom of the said box is another lever turning on a fulcrum;
on the descent of. the piston, the gimball strikes this lever, the other end of
which actuates another vertical lever attached to the suspended rod, and
through this action, causes it again to fall into the vertical plane, bringing the
foot forward for another stitch. Over the head of the leg, and also encircling
freely the rod, is a gland, the upper of which presses against a spiral
spring, round the top of the rod. Screwed on to the gland, and also freely
encircling the rod, is a collar against which the upper arm of the lever strikes,
and this forces the rod, and with it the leg and foot, out of the perpendicular
line. According as the diameter of this collar is great or small, that is according
as it comes nearer or further from the arm of the lever, so the length of the
stitch, which is proportioned to the step of the foot, is greater or smaller; by
raising or lowering this collar by means of the screw it will be brought nearer
or further from the arm of the lever, and in this way the length of the stitch is
adjusted. When the gimball in descending strikes the lever on the bottom

page_text: .
of the box, this lever as before mentioned causes another lever to rise, and by
this movement causes the rod to fall into the vertical position again; but in
addition to this effect it also raises the gland, and hence compresses the top
spring, taking the pressure off the leg and foot, so that the spring round the
bottom being relieved, it slightly raises the foot and this keeps its sole from off
the fabric, until fairly brought forward, and set on it by the forward step. In
the action or step backward, the contrary effect is produced, for the top spring
urging the collar, the gland, and the leg downward, and assisted by their own
weight, the whole pressure acting on the foot keeps it on the fabric during the
movement. In order to make the sole of the foot act upon the fabric, I propose
to shoe it with india-rubber or any rough substance. The thread is supplied
in the usual manner to the needle, but a small bent spring, fixed upon the
end of the piston and consequently moving with it, receives the thread
through it, before entering the needle, and thus pulling a strain upon it,
prevents any more from coming off the reel than is absolutely required for
each stroke of the piston, or rather for each stitch made in the fabric.
In order to render the previous description more clear and intelligible, I
have to this Specification appended the accompanying Drawings, the object of
which is, however, to shew the general nature, construction, and combination
of the different parts and to exhibit the principle and action of the different
parts as a whole in the action of sewing. I do not intend, however, that I
exact details of figure, shape, and combination therein
shewn, as it is evident that, retaining the leading principles of the Invention,
many of the parts may be substituted by other well known equivalents, pro-
confine myself to the

page_text: 3, the cylinder having the two glands 31, 31, at each end; it will be seen that
the piston receives its motion from the crank rod, which, being attached to it;
moves in the vertical slot in the cylinder.
The next described part relates to the mode of working the looper, and
producing and fixing the loop at each successive stitch, the novelty herein
consisting both in the combination by which the action is obtained, and also
the peculiar way in which the motion is produced, namely, direct from the
piston, producing a perfectly simultaneous motion; d is the collar on the
piston within which the forked gimball works on the joint e¹; f, the upper
segment of the lever; f', the lower, turning on the fulcrum f³, through the
pin f, f and fo, the forked ends of f¹; f2, the compensating spring acting on f;
9, the looper fixed to the underside of the table G, (see Figures 4 and 5);
g', the hook in which the forks f5 and fo work; g², the hook which forms the
loop; h, the vibrating guide lever actuated by the head g; h, the guide
passing round the thread; 2, a compensating spring actuating h. When the
piston is in the position shewn in Figure 2, and is about to descend, the
gimball, acted upon by the collar d, actuates, the lever f, and turns it in the
hook g; the looper holding the loop within the countersunk hole on the
under side of the table, and remaining in that position during the descent of
the needle as shewn in Figure 4; by the time that the needle passes through
the fabric, the looper begins to vibrate backwards, setting free the loop,
through which the needle passes; when the needle begins to ascend again, it
has then reached the position shewn in Figure 5; the lever h taking the
corresponding positions shewn in the said two Figures.
6 and 7, which are sectional details;
The next part of my Invention relates to the mode of forming the feed
motion, or moving the cloth on the table at each successive stroke of the
piston, so as to form a new stitch. These parts and their combination are
shewn in Figure 1, and in Figures
i, the joint on which the rod k turns; m², the box or leg terminating in the
foot n; n', the screw holding it on the rod k; m³, a collar for compressing the
spring m²; s, the gland, which when actuated by the lever r, compresses the
spring s, and raises the collar t; o, the box within which the leg m lies. ;
it is open in front to allow the leg, and with it the rod k, to be pressed back-
wards; p, the lever turning in the box o, which, when struck by e, the gimball
fork, pushes out the rod k, and the leg m, through its arm p³, striking the
collar t; 9, the bottom lever, which, when struck by the gimball e¹, acts upon
7, and raises it; thus, when e strikes p, the arm p¹, pressing against the
collar t, pushes out k, and consequently the leg and foot n, which take the
position shewn by the red line, giving what may be called the back step, the

page_text: foot receeding and carrying the fabric with it, the action of the pring s¹, and
weight of the superincumbent parts keeping the sole of the foot upon the
fabric during the stroke; when the gimball strikes, the lever 9, 9', rises and
carries with it r, which, rising and acting on the rod k, causes it to fall back
into the first position again, and at the same time setting free the spring m³, and
allowing it to act upon the foot holds it off the fabric during the step forward.
Having now described my Invention, and the mode of forming it, and the
method of working it, I now wish it understood that what I claim, and want
secured by the before in part recited Letters Patent are,-"
First, the mode of actuating the needle by means of a piston moving in a
cylinder, having glands or stuffing boxes at top and bottom, substantially as
described in the Specification, and generally illustrated in the Drawings
appended.
Second, the means and method of actuating the looper, substantially as
described in the Specification, and generally illustrated in the Drawings.
Third, the mode of forming and actuating the "feed motion," that is,
moving the fabric on the table, and regulating the stitch, substantially as
described in the Specification, and generally illustrated in the Drawings
appended.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Raywood, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year Eighteen
hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JAMES WRIGHT.
42, Bridge Street,
Blackfriars, London.
JOHN RAYWOOD. (L.S.)