IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I JOHN HOLROYD of Tomlinson Street Manchester in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer and Machinist do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES to be as follows:-
13
This Invention relates more particularly to button hole sewing machines and
consists in the first place of an improved method of manipulating and securing the
block which works in conjunction with the die for cutting the button hole in the
material as is well understood. The said block is carried by a lever which is
hinged to a suitable part of the machine so as to be capable of being turned down
against the die or thrown back out of the way when not in use. To hold the
block in working position against the pressure of the die I arrange a spring catch
which takes hold automatically of a step or stud on the said block lever when it is
turned down. The said spring catch is pivotted to the base plate or other con-
venient part of the machine and I employ in conjunction therewith a releasing
lever by means of which the spring catch can be released or raised or withdrawn
when it is desired to raise the lever and block. A spring and cam or detent is
arranged at or near the pivot of the block lever to retain it automatically when so
thrown back. When the edges of the button hole are being bound or sewn, one of
the divided ends of thread is apt to interfere with the action of the needle or to
get on the wrong side thereof so as to spoil the work. To ensure a clear path for
the needle and also to keep the thread in its proper relative position I arrange a
finger pivotted horizontally beneath the base plate and worked by a cam on the
feed shaft so as to oscillate at the proper intervals and carry the end of thread clear
of the needle and to the proper side thereof. I also provide an improved tension
arrangement in accordance with which I employ a finger situated between two
standards or stops across which the thread passes from the bobbin. This finger is
worked by a cam on the upper.shaft of the machine so as to pull a certain amount
of thread from the bobbin at each stroke of the needle the tension discs being also
caused by another cam at times to nip the thread as it passes between them. The
said tension arrangement is also applicable to sewing machines other than those of
the button hole type.
D
" L
L 1
1005

page_text: I, JOHN HOLROYD, of 41 John Dalton Street, Manchester, Manufacturer 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 more particularly to button hole sewing machines and
consists in the first place of an improved method of manipulating and securing the
block which works in conjunction with the die for cutting the button hole in the
material as is well understood. The said block is carried by a lever which is
hinged to a suitable part of the machine so as to be capable of being turned down
To hold the
against the die or thrown back out of the way when not in use.
block in working position against the pressure of the die I arrange a spring catch
which takes hold automatically of a stop or stud on the said block lever when it is
turned down. The said spring catch is pivotted to the base plate or other con-
venient part of the machine and I employ in conjunction there with a releasing
lever by means of which the spring catch can be released or raised or withdrawn
when it is desired to raise the lever and block. A spring and cam or detent is
arranged at or near the pivot of the block lever to retain it automatically when so
thrown back.
When the edges of the button hole are being bound or sewn one of the divided
ends of thread is apt to interfere with the action of the needle or to get on the
wrong side thereof so as to spoil the work. To provide a clear path for the needle
and also to keep the thread in its proper relative position I arrange a finger
pivotted horizontally beneath the base plate and worked by a cam on the feed shaft
so as to oscillate at the proper intervals and carry the end of thread clear of the
needle and to the proper side thereof. I also provide an improved tension arrange-
ment in connexion with which I employ a finger situated between two standards
or stops across which the thread passes from the bobbin. This finger is worked by
a cam on the upper shaft of the machine so as to pull a certain amount of thread
from the bobbin at each stroke of the needle, the tension discs being also caused by
another cam at times to nip the thread as it passes between them.
The said tension arrangement is also applicable to sewing machines other than
those of the button hole type.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of so much of a button
hole sewing machine as is necessary to illustrate the nature of my invention.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the reverse side of the goose neck or overhanging arm
shown in Fig. 1, with its attached parts. Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detail views
hereinafter described.

page_text: a is a block and b is a die working in conjunction therewith, for cutting.the
button hole, in the material operated upon, in a manner well understood. The said
block a is carried by a lever c hinged or pivotted to the machine at c² so as to
be capable of being turned down against the die or of being thrown back out of
the way when not in use. d is a spring catch pivotted to the machine at e whereby
the block a may be securely held in position against the upward pressure of the
die during the operation of cutting a button hole through the material. This
spring catch d is provided with a tooth, projection, or hook-like stop adapted to
engage with a corresponding tooth, projection, or hook-like stop c² on the lever c,
and effectually prevent the said lever and attached block a from rising during the
cutting operation. f is a spring secured at one end to the catch d and at its other
end to the frame of the machine, and designed to cause the catch to move forwards
automatically when the lever c is lowered and to cause the teeth, projections or
stops and c² to become interlocked as shown. ġ is a handle for moving the
spring catch backwards to unlock the said teeth, projections, or stops d¹ and c²
when it is desired to throw the block a and lever c backward or upward out of the
operator's way. h is a bent spring secured at one end to the bearing i in which
the lever c turns; it is provided at its free end with a projecting portion or detent i¹
adapted to enter a recess j in the end of the lever c and retain it automatically in
its raised position when thrown back. Fig. 3 is an underside view of the top or
face plate of the machine with a finger or device pivotted thereto for preventing
one of the divided ends of the thread interfering with the action of the needle or
spoiling the work as hereinbefore stated. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the said
plate in its working position, together with the finger or device, feed shaft, cam,
and attached rotating hook. kis the finger pivotted at k¹ and provided with a
downwardly projecting pin so arranged relatively to a cam 7 on the feed shaft m
as to be moved thereby in one direction at the proper intervals, movement in the
opposite direction being effected by a spring n; o is the hook or looper.
In Fig. 2 and in Figs. 5 and 6 which are transverse sections on the lines x. x
and y. y respectively of Fig. 2, is shown an improved tension arrangement wherein
there is employed a finger or lever p situated between two standards or guides q
across which the thread passes from the bobbin r (Fig. 1). This finger is worked
or oscillated by a cam s on the upper shaft t of the machine so as to pull a certain
length of thread from the bobbin at each stroke of the needle. 2 is a double
tension disc which is caused by another cam ul on the shaft t to nip or hold the
thread that passes between the two portions or discs thereof when the finger p
moves to the right as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. To this end the double
tension disc is carried by a pin u² which is moved to the right by a bar or lever v
actuated by the cam w whereby the two halves of the tension disc are forced
against the frame of the machine and the thread between them nipped or held fast.
The herein before described tension arrangement is applicable to sewing machines
other than those of the button hole type.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In a button-hole sewing machine the use in combination with a lever carrying
the block against which the die or cutter works of a spring catch which auto-
matically enters into engagement with and securely holds the said lever and block
in position against the pressure of the die or cutter during the operation of cutting
a button hole substantially as herein before described.
2. In a button hole sewing machine the use in combination with the lever
referred to in the preceding claim of a spring detent or its equivalent for auto-
matically retaining the lever in position when thrown back out of use substantially
as hereinbefore described.

page_text: 3. In a button hole sewing machine the use of a finger or device so arranged
that at each stroke of the needle it carries one end of the ends of the thread
clear of the needle substantially as hereinbefore described and for the purpose set
forth.
4. In a sewing machine the use of a finger or lever so arranged and operated as
to pull off a length of thread from the bobbin, at the required times in combination
with a double tension disc arranged to nip and hold the thread whilst the said
length is pulled off substantially as hereinbefore described.