IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR SEWING THOSE PARTS OF WOVEN AND OTHER MATERIALS AND SUBSTANCES WHERE BUTTON HOLES OR OTHER OPENINGS OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN AT THE EDGES ARE REQUIRED AND FORMED, OR IN WHICH BUTTON HOLES OR OTHER OPENINGS OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN AT THE EDGES ARE USED, APPLICABLE ALSO FOR SEWING, EMBROIDERY, OR ORNAMENTING, WHERE A STITCH OF THE KIND IS DESIRED
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Dowling, of No. 24, Jewin Street, in the City of
London, Machinist, and Charles Frederic Trelawny Young, of New Cross, in
the County of Kent, Consulting Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR SEWING THOSE
PARTS OF WOVEN AND OTHER MATERIALS AND SUBSTANCES WHERE BUTTON
HOLES OR OTHER OPENINGS OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN AT THE EDGES ARE
REQUIRED AND FORMED, OR IN WHICH BUTTON HOLES OR OTHER OPENINGS
OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN AT THE EDGES ARE USED, APPLICABLE ALSO FOR
SEWING, EMBROIDERY, OR ORNAMENTING, WHERE A STITCH OF THE KIND IS
DESIRED."
Sealed the 29th March 1878, and dated the 2nd October 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Dowling and Charles
Frederic Trelawny Young at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 2nd October 1877.
JAMES DOWLING, of 24, Jewin Street, in the City of London, Machinist, and
CHARLES FREDERIC TRELAWNY YOUNG, of New Cross, in the County of Kent,
Consulting Mechanical Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND ARRANGE-
MENTS FOR SEWING THOSE PARTS OF WOVEN AND OTHER MATERIALS AND
SUBSTANCES WHERE BUTTON HOLES OR OTHER OPENINGS OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN
AT THE EDGES ARE REQUIRED AND FORMED, OR IN WHICH BUTTON HOLES OR
OTHER OPENINGS OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN AT THE EDGES ARE USED, APPLICABLE
ALSO FOR SEWING, EMBROIDERING, OR ORNAMENTING, WHERE A STITCH OF THE
KIND IS DESIRED."
"
This Invention relates to that class of sewing machines or apparatus known as
button-hole machines, and has for its object improvements in the arrangement
and mode of action, whereby we are enabled to obtain better work and a quicker
result than in the machines in ordinary use for this purpose, this arrangement being
entirely automatic or self-acting, that is, it completes the whole operation of sewing
the sides and ends of what is, or is to be, the button hole or opening, feeds the stuff
ID SAJT

page_text: or material being worked both breadth ways and lengthways or across whilst the
needle and apparatus are in motion, without needing the material or substance or
working parts of the apparatus to be moved or shifted by hand, or any lever, cam,
or other independent part to be actuated by hand during the operation, all being
done entirely by the machine itself, as it is only necessary to place the material or
substance in the machine under the needle, secure it by the clamp set on the
machine, and when the hole or opening is sewn, remove it and perform the same
operation with the next part to be sewn.
By our arrangement the "purl" around the edge is more perfectly, firmly, and
neatly formed, a more correct and even tension of the thread attained during the
operation of sewing; and in the case of button holes the bar or stitching across at
the ends of the opening is put in so as to increase the strength of the same at that
part from the peculiar manner in which it is formed, and a particular movement
or adjustment of the needle in regard to that of the shuttle is employed to ensure
these results.
The parts by means of which the required motion is given to the material
operated on, in order to enable the needle and its accessories to form the sewing
required for the hole or opening may, or a modification of them, be arranged so as
to be applied to existing sewing machines, so as to enable them to be used for this
purpose, but require to be modified so as to suit the different machines in use,
according as they are used with a double or single thread, or are actuated and fed
lengthways or across the length of the machine.
In carrying out our Invention we employ a suitably formed reciprocating needle
and shuttle working in connection with a movable or adjustable top plate or table,
on which the material or substance to be operated on is placed, and in which a
suitable opening for the passage of the needle is formed which is placed on an
under sliding plate capable of being adjusted to be moved lengthways or sideways
as required, within certain limits to suit the material or substance being sewn during
the operation of sewing, and which is or may be provided with suitable guides and
springs, so as to control and ensure its proper movements. This movable or
adjustable plate or table and under sliding plate receive their movement by means
of a cam or its equivalent, actuated by or connected with the driving shaft which
receives the motion, and is or may be kept up to or against the cam by a spring or
springs, or it or their equivalent, or connected so as to receive the motion from the
shaft in a suitable and convenient manner, a projection or part connected with or
attached to the under sliding plate receiving the motion given by the cam or driving
shaft, and by means of suitable guides or stops, or other suitable arrangement with
which it comes in contact, or by which the movement is transmitted during its
reciprocations, gives the movable or adjustable plate or table the particular motion
necessary to make the stitches at the ends and sides of the sewing for the button
hole.
When a cam is employed for actuating the under sliding plate, it may be formed
with a suitable groove or grooves, or so arranged as to act on its edge or face, and
made so as to slide on the shaft which carries it, in order that the necessary
adjustment for the desired or required length of sewing, or the kind of material or
substance to be worked on may be obtained, and holes and graduations are or may be
made in or marked on the cam and its connections or parts in order to facilitate
the adjustment, proper means being provided to secure and maintain the cam or
parts in its or their proper position or positions when the adjustment is completed,
and whilst the machine is in use.
If preferred, the required motion may be obtained by the use of an eccentric or
by means of a rack and pinion.
The cam is so formed as to give the necessary pause or dwell required during the
operation of sewing the button hole, and a feed motion such as a wheel provided
with teeth and a ratchet, or the silent feed motion, or actuated by friction, and which
is or may be operated by a lever and spring actuated by an eccentric or cam
attached to or connected with the driving shaft, is employed to give the

page_text: requisite travel to the material or substance to be sewn to enable the stitches to
be properly placed, or a rack and pinion may be used to transmit the necessary
movement from the driving shaft.
The work is kept in its place and pressed down on the movable or adjustable
top plate or table during the time of being sewn, by means of a clamp attached to
the framing of the machine, which clamp is so arranged by means of suitable joints
or sliding parts as to be able to follow all the movements of the work and top plate
or table without allowing the work to shift, and is kept down on the work by means
of a spiral or other suitable spring or its equivalent, which gives it the action
obtained in the presser foot of the sewing machine. This clamp can be readily
swung clear of the work plate or table and machine, so as to leave all clear under and
about the needle, and allow of the other parts being inspected or detached without its
being required to be removed or otherwise interfered with, and also gives free space
round and about the needle and work when in use, thereby greatly increasing
convenience in using the machine.
This arrangement of clamp is applicable to other purposes where such an action
or series of movements are required.
The needle and shuttle are so adjusted in respect to their movements in regard to '
each other that the needle shall have entered the material or substance being worked
as far as its eye before the shuttle returns, in order that the required tension may
be obtained to avoid the slack thread which would otherwise exist and prevent the
closeness and evenness of the work, and the regularity and solidity of the "purl"
of the sewing or the same object may be obtained by making the shuttle move the
reverse way, i.e., have its point placed in the opposite direction.
In working on very fine material, we employ a needle of an oval or flattened
section, so as not to make too large a hole in proportion to the thread or cotton
used, a result which is not attained by the use of a round needle for such
purpose.
The stitching is produced by giving the movable or adjustable top plate or table
a quick reciprocating action across or at right angles to the line of motion of the
under sliding plate whilst the needle works up and down as usual and the shuttle
travels backwards and forwards, by which means the length of the stitch is obtained,
whilst by the simultaneous travel of the under sliding plate the distance apart of
the stitches and length of the sewing are regulated, and when the material has
travelled to that point at which the bar at either and both or each ends of the
button holes to be formed, the transverse motion of the movable or adjustable top
plate or table and work is increased to about double, or so as to give the desired or
required length of stitch to be used in the bar, and by the motion or travel of the
under sliding plate and work being continued at the same time at a diminished
speed, if desired, the desired distance apart of the stitches forming the bar is obtained,
so that in place of the material being stationary during this operation, and the
sewing producing of lump of thread, the material continues in simultaneous move-
ments in both directions, vizt., crossways and lengthways, and the bar is formed of a
series of consecutive stitches, whereby a much neater piece of work is produced, and
the wear and strain distributed over a larger surface of the material, as well as less
damage being done to the material by the operation.
It will be seen that by the arrangement herein-before described we are enabled
to produce a machine which can automatically sew the parallel sides and square
ends of button holes or openings where such sewing is required, without requiring
any extraneous aid during the operation, and which can also be modified for other
sewing uses.
The button hole or opening may be sewn first, and then cut through the material,
or be cut first and then afterwards sewn by the machine, as desired or preferred.
The whole of the parts may be supported by and work in a suitable framework
or framing, and means of adjustment for the various parts are provided wherever
they are required.

page_text: The machine may be driven by hand, by the foot, or by any suitable power as
most convenient or preferred.
The arrangement and modification embodied in this apparatus may be modified
so as to be applied for sewing together or joining canvas or other material at the
edges, so as to form bags or sacks, the joining of carpets, or other similar operations.
When applied to these purposes the feed motion is altered to suit the kind of work,
and the reciprocating or vibrating motion of the material being worked is caused to
be at right angles to the length of the machine or part carrying the needle and
shuttle.
A suitable feed may be obtained by the use of a cam, lever, and rock shaft, the 1
distance apart of the stitches being adjustable by a modification of the plan, herein-
before described, as applied to this purpose. The clamp or presser foot is also modi-
fied to suit the requirements of the case.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said James Dowling and Charles Frederic Trelawny Young in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 2nd April 1878.
JAMES DOWLING, of No. 24, Jewin Street, in the City of London, Machinist, and
CHARLES FREDERIC TRELAWNY YOUNG, of New Cross, in the County of Kent,
Consulting Mechanical Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND ARRANGE-
MENTS FOR SEWING THOSE PARTS OF WOVEN AND OTHER MATERIALS AND
SUBSTANCES WHERE BUTTON HOLES OR OTHER OPENINGS OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN
AT THE EDGES ARE REQUIRED AND FORMED, OR IN WHICH BUTTON HOLES OR
OTHER OPENINGS OR OPENINGS OVERSEWN AT THE EDGES ARE USED, APPLICABLE
ALSO FOR SEWING, EMBROIDERING, OR ORNAMENTING, WHERE A STITCH OF THE
KIND IS DESIRED."
This Invention relates to that class of sewing machines or apparatus known as
"button hole" machines, and has for its object improvements in the arrangements
and mode of action whereby we are enabled to obtain better work and a quicker
result than in the machines in ordinary use for this purpose, this arrangement being
entirely automatic or self acting, that is, it completes the whole operation of sewing
the sides and ends of what is, or is to be, the button hole or opening feeds the stuff
or material being worked both lengthways or across whilst the needle and apparatus
are in motion without needing the material, or substance, or working parts of the
apparatus to be moved or shifted by hand, or any lever, cam, or other independent
part to be actuated by hand during the operation, all being done entirely by the
imachine itself, as it is only necessary to place the material or substance in the
machine under the needle, secure it by the clamp, set the machine in motion, and
when the hole or opening is sewn remove it from under the needle and perform the
same operation with the next part to be sewn. Where preferred or desired however,
the apparatus may be made so as to be partially self-actiug by leaving out the
stopping movement and the self-actuating movement and operating the barring and
shilting by hand.

page_text: By our arrangement the "pearl" or "purl" around the edge is more perfectly;
firmly, and neatly formed, a more correct and even tension of the thread attained
during the operation of sewing, and in the case of button holes the bar or stitching
across at the ends of the opening is put in so as to increase the strength of the
same at that part from the peculiar manner in which it is formed, and a particular
movement or adjustment of the needle in regard to that of the shuttle is employed
to ensure these results.
The parts by means of which the required motion is given to the machine
operated on in order to enable the needle and its accessories to form the sewing
required for the bole or opening may, or a modification of them, be arranged so as
to be applied to existing sewing machines so as to enable them to be used for this
purpose, but require to be modified so as to suit the different machines in use,
according as they are used with a double or single thread, or are actuated and fed
lengthways or across the length of the machine.
In carrying out our Invention we employ a suitably-formed reciprocating needle
and shuttle working in connection with a movable and adjustable top plate or
table attached to or connected with a suitable framework to carry the parts on
which the material or substance to be operated on is placed, and in which a suitable
opening for the passage of the needle is forined (and which is placed on an under-
sliding plate, frame, or part), capable of being adjusted to be moved lengthways or
sideways as required within certain limits to suit the length of the hole, the length
of the stitch, and the distance apart of the stitches, and also the material or
substance being sewn during the operation of sewing, and which is or may be
provided with suitable guides and springs so as to control and ensure its proper
movements. This moveable and adjustable top plate or table and under sliding.
plate frame or part receive their movements from or by means of a cam lever and
rocking shaft, all or any of which are made adjustable, or from a cam or its
equivalent, actuated by or connected with the driving shaft or actuating part which
receives or transmits the motion, and is or may be kept up to or against the cam by
a spring or springs, or its equivalent, or connected so as to receive the motion from
the shaft or actuating part in a suitable or convenient manner, a projection or part,
or its equivalent, attached to or connected with the under sliding plate, frame, or
part receiving the motion given by the cam, or driving shaft, or actuating part, and
the moveable and adjustable top plate or table by means of the lever and rock shaft
and suitable guides or stops or other suitable equivalent arrangements with which
it comes in contact, or by which the movement is transmitted during its reciproca-.
tions, receives in conjunction with the under sliding plate frame or part the par-
ticular motions necessary to make the stitches at the ends and sides of the sewing
for the button hole.
When a cam is employed for actuating the under sliding plate frame or part, it is
of the kind which gives equal times at equal speeds, or uniform velocity and distance,
such as is shown in Sheet 1 at b, and it may be formed with a suitable groove or
grooves, or arranged to act on its edge or face, and in this case made of a suitable
length, and so as to slide on the shaft which carries it in order that the necessary.
adjustment for the desired or required length of sewing, or the kind of material or
substance to be worked on may be obtained, and holes or graduations are or may be
made in or marked on the cam or its connections or parts, or both, in order to
facilitate the adjustment, proper means being provided to secure and maintain the
cam or parts in its or their proper position or positions when the adjustment is com-
pleted and whilst the machine is in use.
If preferred the required motion may be obtained by the use of an eccentric suit-
ably applied, or by means of a rack and pinion, or by the use of a half-toothed
wheel or pinion working into two racks suitably arranged to transmit the recipro-
cating or travelling movement.
The cain employed is or may be so formed as to give the necessary pause or dwell
that may be required during the operation of sewing the button hole, and a feed
motion, such as a wheel provided with teeth, and a ratchet or the silent feed motion

page_text: used in wood-working machinery, or a suitable modification of the same, or actuated
by friction as a friction clutch, and which is or may be operated by a lever and
spring actuated by an eccentric or cam attached to or connected with the driving
shaft or actuating part or parts is employed to give the requisite travel to the
material or substance to be sewn to enable the stitches to be properly placed, and
suitable means for adjusting or varying the travel or amount of motion of each or
all of the parts is or may be provided where needed.
The work is kept in its place and pressed down on the moveable and adjustable
top plate or table during the time of being sewn by means of a clamp attached to
the framing of the machine, which clamp is so arranged by means of suitable joints
or sliding parts as to be able to follow all the movements of the work and top plate
or table without allowing the work to slip, and is kept down on the work by
means of a spiral or other suitable spring, a weight, or its equivalent, which gives
it the action obtained in the presser foot of the sewing machine. This clamp can
be readily swung clear of the work plate or table and machine so as to leave all
clear under and about the needle, and allow of the other parts being inspected or
detached without its being required to be removed or otherwise interfered with, and
also give free space round and about the needle and work when in use, thereby
greatly increasing convenience in using the machine.
This arrangement of clamp is applicable to other purposes where such an action
or series of movements are required.
To prevent the needle being broken or bent by the act of moving or shifting the
clamp, we attach to, form on, or connect with the clamp a pin, projection, or part
entering a hole or opening in the frame, which on moving the clamp is caused to
project through the frame and beyond the lever actuating the needle, and so prevent
the reciprocation of the lever whilst the clamp is off the top plate or table, but as
the lever covers this opening, except when in the position which raises the needlo
to its greatest height, it will be seen that the clamp can only be moved when the
lever and needle are in such a position as will prevent damage, and then moving
the clamp locks the lever, and so prevents mischief, all that is needed being to place
the lever in the position which leaves the opening free, and allows of the clamp
being swung off the top table. The arrangement of clamp and parts shown in
Sheet 2 may be used for effecting the same result.
By preference, in the entirely self-acting apparatus, we arrange the machine when
applied to working button holes so that the work shall commence on the bar at
one end of the button hole, work it, then work down one side of the hole, next
work the bar at the other end of the hole, then come back over the bar, work the
other side of the hole, and then work over the first bar again, when the machine
stops from the driving or actuating part being put out of gear by the machine itself,
and on shifting the clamp to remove the hole just worked, and placing a fresh one
or part under the needle, this again puts the machine in gear with the driving part,
so that the fresh hole can be worked.
The needle and shuttle are so adjusted in respect to their movements in regard to
each other, that the needle shall have entered the material or substance being worked
as far as its eye before the shuttle returns in order that the required tension may be
obtained to avoid the slack thread which would otherwise exist, and prevent the
closeness and evenness of the work, and the regularity and solidity of the "pearl" or
purl" of the sewing, or the same object may be attained by making the shuttle
move the reverse way, i.e., have its point placed in the opposite direction to that
ordinarily employed.
"
In working on very fine material we employ a needle of an oval or flattened
section, so as not to make too large a hole in proportion to the size of the thread,
cotton, or silk used for sewing, a result which is not attained by the use of a round.
needle for such purpose.
The stitching is produced by giving the moveable and adjustable top plate or
table a quick reciprocating action across or at right angles to the line of inotion of
the under sliding plate frame or part, whilst the needle works up and down as usual,

page_text: and the shuttle travels backwards and forwards, by which means the length of the
stitch is obtained, whilst by the simultaneous travel of the under sliding plate framo
or part the distance apart of the stitches and length of the sewing are regulated, and
when the material has travelled to that point at which the bar at either and both
or each end of the button hole is to be formed, the transverse notion of the moveable
and adjustable top plate or table and work is increased to about double, so as to
give the desired or required length of stitch to be used in the bar, and by the
motion or travel of the under sliding plate frame or part and work being continued
at the same time at a diminished speed, if desired, the desired distance apart of the
stitches forming the bar is obtained, so that in place of the material being stationary
during this operation, and the sewing producing a lump of thread, the material
continues in simultaneous movement in both directions, i.e., crossways and length-
ways, and the bar is formed of or by a series of consecutive stitches, whereby a
much neater piece of work is produced, and the wear and strain distributed over a
larger surface of material, as well as less damage being done to the material by the
operation.
It will be seen that by the arrangement herein-before described we are enabled
to produce a machine which can automatically sew the parallel sides and bar the
square ends of button holes or other openings where such sewing is required, without
necessitating the employment of any extraneous aid during the operation, or
requiring to be used by a highly skilled operator, and which can also be modified
for other sewing uses, besides comprising within itself all the points of a far more
complete and convenient machine than any heretofore produced, althrough if desired
or preferred it may be made only partially automatic or self-acting by dispensing
with those parts which make it so, and retaining those producing the stitch;
the barring and stopping being performed by actuating hand levers or their
equivalent.
In place of allowing the machine to commence the sewing at any part of the
button hole, we by preference adjust it so that it commences by making the first
bar and finishes by completing it on its return, as herein-before described.
The button hole may be sewn first, and cut through the material afterwards if
desired, or be cut first and then afterwards sewn by the machine, as desired or
preferred. In order that the machine may perform its work satisfactorily in those
cases when the hole is cut previous to its being worked or sewn, we arrange the
presser foot or clamp so as to open or expand lengthways by the pressure of the
spring, weight, or other equivalent, used to cause it to retain the work in its proper
position during the sewing so that it may give and maintain the proper tension or
strain on the stuff to cause the sewing or working, or working along the edges, to
be evenly performed and prevent the material from rising and falling too much
when acted on by the needle during the sewing. The expanding of the presser foot
or clamp being caused by the wedge action of the part to which the two jaws are
attached on the inclined surfaces of the two jaws, the under side of the presser
foot or clamp may be provided with one or more sharp points or projections to
enable the stuff or material to be held firmly in its place, or it may be roughened,
serrated, or otherwise so formed as to produce the required result, or pins, points,
projections, roughened and serrated surfaces, may be used in combination.
may remark that there is no novelty in the use of an expanding presser foot or
clamp.
We
The clamp, or part or parts of the same or in connection therewith, may be so
arranged as to act on a part, or the other portions of the machine, so as to cause the
action of swinging it off the plate or raising the presser foot, or part, off the plate or
work, to put the driving parts in connection or gear, so that the action of putting a
fresh part to be worked under the needle shall put the machine in the condition to
work on, actuating the same, out of which position it had previously gone on the
completion of the hole or sewing for which it is adjusted, the same having put the
driving parts out of gear.
The whole of the parts forming this apparatus may be supported by and work in

page_text: a suitable framework or framing, and means of adjustment, for the various parts
and movements are or may be provided wherever they are required.
The machine may be driven by hand, by the foot, or by any suitable power, as
most convenient or preferred, and cast iron, steel, wrought iron, gun metal, phosphor
bronze, and malleable cast and case-hardened iron, or other suitable metal or
material, may be used in forming the various parts as desired or preferred, and the
size of the machine may be varied as desired.
The arrangements and mode of action embodied in this apparatus may be modified
so as to be applied to sewing together or joining canvas or other material at the
edges so as to form bags or sacks, joining carpets, or other similar operations. In
sewing sacks, carpets, sails, or other work capable of being done by the machine the
feed motion is altered and arranged to suit the work to be performed and the
vibrating or reciprocating motion of the machine is caused to be lengthways of the
machine, the feed being at right angles to the length of the machine.
A suitable feed movement may be obtained by the use of a cam, lever, and rock
shaft, a rack and pinion or other suitable and convenient means, the distance apart
of the stitches and depth to which they extend from the edge being adjustable by
a modification of the plans herein-before described. The clamp or presser foot is
also modified to suit the requirements of the case.
In some cases the machine or part carrying the needle and shuttle may be arranged
so as to travel along the material to be worked, the same being stationary, or also
so as to be fixed to an independent and separate support, and the feed and part on
which the stuff or material to be worked is placed may be arranged as an inde-
pendent part and so placed as to prevent the work in a proper position to be acted on
by the needle and receive the vibrating and reciprocating movement, and, if pre-
ferred, on motion being given to the same, communicate sufficient power to the part
to which the needle and shuttle are connected, and actuate the same, or it may be so
arranged that on operating that part of the apparatus to which the needle and
shuttle are attached or connected, motion may be transmitted to the part on
which the material to be worked is placed, and thus enable the same to be sewn.
Sheet 1 represents a longitudinal elevation on the side facing the operator, of one
size, and arrangement of our improved machine, as herein-before described, as arranged
for working button holes with an entirely automatic action, as herein-before described,
the parts hidden by the frame or other parts of the machine being shown dotted and
indicated by the small letters.
A, A, is the frame or body of the machine on or to which the various portions
work or are attached or connected; B is the hand wheel attached to the shaft C,
which, by means of a grooved or other suitable cam or arrangement formed thereon
or connected to the same, operates the lever D which actuates the needle, and by
turning which the machine and its parts are operated. This shaft C also carries a
cam C, which actuates the shuttle bar or driver i, and also the grooved or belt
pulley a for enabling the machine to be actuated otherwise than by the hand
wheel B, the pulley a being shown dotted, the cam or pawl b, also shown dotted, for
operating the feed clutch c, also shown dotted (which in this case is a modification
of the silent feed or friction clutch), by means of the lever d, also shown dotted;
also a pinion, shown dotted, for actuating the cam wheel e, shown dotted, which, by
means of the lever fattached to the rocking or vibrating shaft E working in
suitable bearings, the part behind the frame being shown dotted, and the shorter
lever g at the other end in contact or connected with, or acting against the top
plate or table F or suitable stops therein, gives the vibrating or rocking movement
to the top plate or table on which the work rests, sufficient end play being given to
E to enable it to shift from the smaller to the larger part of the cam wheel, or vice
versa, according as it forms the bar or the sewing at the edges. F is the vibrating
or rocking moveable and adjustable top plate or table resting or sliding in or on
and moved from right to left or longitudinally with and by the under sliding plate
frame or part j, shown dotted, which moves with or on two or more guides H, H,
one only being shown attached to or working in the prolongation I of the

page_text: frame A, A, in which the shuttle works, and which carries the under sliding plate
frame or part j and the other parts of the apparatus. On the part ja projection or
part G is formed or attached, as herein-before described, which moves in contact
with the cam h, shown dotted and pushed one way by the action of the cam, and is
or may be caused to follow the cam the other by means of a spiral or other suitable
spring, which keeps it constantly up against the cam. The same result may be
obtained by causing the cam to work in a loop or frame suitably formed to meet
the requirements of the case, and formed on or attached to or connected with the
projection or sliding plate frame or part, so that it is alternately pushed and pulled
by the action of the cam, or in any of the several ways or by the various means
known to engineers, whereby lost motion is avoided and the part caused to travel
equal distances both ways in equal times during the operation of sewing.
The arrangement for actuating and guiding the needle, giving tension to the top
thread and fixing the needle in the slide or bar, may be as shown or in any other
suitable and convenient manner which enables the required result to be obtained,
and the shuttle may be actuated by a driver bar or rod, as is done in the machine
known as Thomas's. Sheet 2 shows in back elevation the arrangement shown in
Sheets 1, 3, and 4, similar parts being denoted by similar letters of reference. In
this view the clamp B', B¹, with its parts and locking arrangements B³, as herein-
before described, is shown.
Sheet 3 shows in plan the arrangement of the parts in the entirely automatic or
self-acting machine, as herein-before described, and illustrated in elevation in
Sheets 1 and 2.
A, A, the frame, the part carrying the needle and its parts being broken off, as
shown by the section; B, the hand wheel, which contains the cam for actuating the
bar or lever for working the needle; C, the shaft for carrying the same; C, the
cam for actuating the lever or driver i which operates the shuttle, and is mounted
on the shaft C, shown dotted; E, the rocking or vibrating shaft, which operates the
top plate or table F by means of the lever ƒ and short lever g at its other end, as
shewn in Sheet 1, the prolongation or part of the under sliding plate frame or
part j, by which it receives the movements from the cam h, being shown at G,
which also acts as a guide, and passes across the frame and under the shaft C
through a suitable guide, as shown, the other two guides being shown at H, H, the
same being connected with, working in, or attached to the prolongation I of the
frame A, A. The part G may, if preferred, be made as wide as the length of the
adjustable cam h so as to form a shield or cover for the same. J shows the driving
clutch on the shaft C, the shaft being shown dotted, which is thrown in and out of
gear by the fork mounted on the rock shaft K, which is actuated by the lever and
rod, and controlled by the stop L, L, and put into action by the pin or lug M on
the feed wheel working on the cam shaft N, and is actuated by a spring, in one
direction and by the clamp in the other, so as to be put into and out of gear by the
automatic operation of the machine.
Sheet 4 shows, in Figure 1, in part section and elevation, the end view of the
machine facing the part where the needle works, the needle and its position being
shown by the dotted line a. A, A, the frame; K, the rock shaft and lévers K', K³,
connected with the driving clutch J, shown in Sheet 3, for disengaging the clutch,
as shown in Sheet 3, the same letters in this applying to those shown in
Sheet 3.
In this arrangement the clutch is shown as being adapted to be put into gear by
the lever which gives the pressure on the clamp, a small feather on which the clamp
slides being shown at x, and the pin and locking arrangement at B³, B³.
Figure 2 shows in elevation and section the cam wheel e, shown in Sheets
1, 2, and 3.
Figure 3 shows in elevation and section an arrangement of wheel and lever
connected with or attached to the shaft N, for giving through the shaft E, with the
aid of a spring or springs or their equivalent, and the lever f, the required vibratory
movements of the top plate F, and so as to give the depth of stitch for the edges of

page_text: the hole, and by the notches or openings in the same, shown at 0, 0, 0, 0, into which
the sliort lever f on the shaft E drops or enters during working, enables the barring
action to take place, and when used renders any end play of the shaft E, as herein-
before described, unnecessary.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to or may be performed or carried into practical effect, we desire to state that
we do not limit or confine ourselves to the precise details of an entirely automatic or
self-acting machine, as shown in the accompanying Drawings, as the same may be
modified without departing from the nature of our said Invention, nor do we claim
as of our Invention the application and use of machinery for sewing or working
button holes, as this has been done before, nor do we claim any of the parts as new
except when applied and combined together, and acting in the manner and for the
purposes herein-before described, but what we do claim as of our Invention, and
desire to have protected by Letters Patent is,—.
First. The arrangement and construction of an automatic or entirely self-acting
sewing machine, so as to vary the throw of the work for the barring, and stop and
disengage, or go out of gear with the driving power when the sewing required and
for which it has been adjusted is completed, and put into gear by shifting the work,
as herein-before described, illustrated, and specified; also, arranging the said machine
so as not to be entirely self-acting, retaining the sewing and actuating arrangements,
but actuating the stopping, barring, and disengaging actions by means of levers or
other convenient means actuated by cams or other suitable arrangements, worked
independently of the machine by hand or foot, substantially as herein-before
described.
Second. The combination of the sliding under plate frame or part with the
moveable adjustable top plate or table, and on which the top plate reciprocates, and
with or on which it travels, as herein-before described, illustrated, and specified.
Third. The half pinion and rack for actuating the sliding under plate, frame, or
part; the application of what is known as Peachey's mangle motion with a double
rack and pinion, the silent feed or clutch, and the adjustable sliding or shifting cam,
whereby, by a continuous rotating motion of one part in one direction, a recipro-
cating or right-and-left travel or movement in the sliding plate, frame, or part, with
equal distances in equal times is obtained, and the form and arrangement of cam
and wheel and lever and rock shaft for vibrating or reciprocating the top plate or
table, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described, illustrated, and
specified.
Fourth. The positions of the needle and shuttle or its movement relatively to
that of the shuttle in making the stitches, as and for the purposes herein-before
described.
Fifth. The clamp and its arrangement of parts for holding the work on the top
plate or table, and locking the lever for actuating the needle and the arrangement
of the same, and the expanding presser foot, as and for the purposes herein-before
described, and as illustrated and specified.
In witness whereof, we, the said James Dowling and Charles Frederic
Trelawny Young, have hereunto set our hand and seal, this Second day
of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
JAMES DOWLING.
(L.S.)
CHA³. F. T. YOUNG. (L.S.)