Improvements in and connected with Lock Stitch Sewing Machines,
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 8th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 9th Apr., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Lock Stitch Sewing Machines,
We, EDWIN ALLEN COCKLE, Bootmaker, 34, Victor Terrace, Harrow Road,
Willesden, N.W., CHARLES MATTHEWS, Bootmaker 34, Victor Terrace, Harrow
Road, Willesden, N.W., and PERCY HUGHES HEWITT, Barrister-at-Law, Oakley
House, Spring Grove, Isleworth, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:.
This invention has for its object certain detail constructions of fittings of two
reel sewing machines and in the arrangements of parts and their operation for
1st. Governing the motion of the loop from the needle thread around the shuttle
containing the reel.
2nd. For enabling the shuttle and its appliances to work easily and in a hori-
zontal direction, and after passing through the loop from the needle to be released
for the "take up" to act for drawing in the slack thread.
3rd. For enabling the shuttle containing the reel to be taken from its position
for the insertion of a fresh reel.
4th. For enabling the broad end of the shuttle. to be screwed off to facilitate the
removal and insertion of reels.
To enable this invention to be carried into practice, a shuttle carrier race is
provided which is worked by pitman from cam. The shuttle carrier is screwed
into race.
The shuttle is made oblong and round with a slight level to slide
against feed point, it has a very smooth point, and a buffer pin fits into socket with
spring inside to press on buffer pin, which is attached to a flat round plate with
point for engaging into central hole in the reel, and to fix the reel centrally therein.
Also to regulate it, and not to allow it to revolve too fast, thereby preventing too
much thread being loosened. At the base end of the shuttle is fitted a cap which
has a worm attached, thus allowing it to screw in and out. Fixed in the centre
of the cap is a small pedestal, so that, when screwed in, the pedestal fits in the
centre of the end of reel and keeps it in position while in shuttle. The shuttle
has a small thread guide connected inside so as to lead the thread off the reel to
the guide eye, without fear of the thread being kinked whether it comes from the
upper or lower part of the reel, the thread then passes under the tension and
round a small wheel to prevent the thread from being broken. A new reel is
inserted by unscrewing the cap, and, by turning the point of the shuttle upwards,
the empty reel will slide out; when a fresh reel of thread is inserted, and the
cap screwed on, it is ready for working:
Dated this First day of October 1897.

page_text: Improvements in and connected with Lock Stitch Sewing Machines.
We, EDWIN ALLEN COCKLE, Bootmaker, 34, Victor Terrace, Harrow Road,
Willesden, N.W., CHARLES MATTHEWS. Bootmaker, 34, Victor Terrace, Harrow
Road, Willesden, N.W., and PERCY HUGHES HEWITT, Barrister-at-Law, Oakley
House, Spring Grove, Isleworth, 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 to shuttle sewing machines and consists essentially in an
improved construction of shuttle whereby it is adapted to contain an ordinary
commercial bobbin or reel of thread so as to avoid certain well known disadvantages
incidental to the use of a special spool of small capacity such as is generally
employed; these disadvantages including not only greater complication and conse-
quent enhanced cost of the machine due to the necessity of providing special
mechanism for winding the spools, but also loss of time due to the necessity of
frequently stopping, removing, and accurately replacing the work, and of winding
thread from the ordinary reel on to the special spool, such loss bearing a high ratio
to the total time worked.
!
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings
forming part of this specification wherein Figure 1 is a rear end view of a shuttle
constructed according to this invention and Figure 2 is a longitudinal view (partly
in section) of the side of the shuttle which lies next to the shuttle race and needle
groove. Figure 3 is a cross-section on line 3-3 Figure 4 (the internal fittings
being removed) and Figure 4 is a horizontal section. Figure 5 is a cross-section on
line 5-5 Figure 6, and Figure 6 is a top plan view of the shuttle, shewing the
thread guide and tension device. Figure 7 is an elevation of the shuttle carrier
or driver and its guide bar. Figure 8 is a plan of the same and Figure 9 is an end
view shewing the shuttle driver guide bar and shuttle race in cross-section.
Figures 1 to 6 are drawn to an enlarged scale.
The shuttle (A) as shewn in Figures 1 to 6 may conveniently be formed of a
metal casting and is of the same general configuration as other sewing machine
shuttles except that instead of being of D-form in cross-section and open at the flat
side it is of nearly circular cross-section, the flattened side (a), (which works as
usual against the shuttle race so as to pass to and fro across the needle groove)
being closed, and made of a width only sufficient to retain the shuttle in proper
working position in the shuttle driver or cradle. The flattened side of the shuttle
being closed (whereby risk of any loose. thread accidentally escaping from
within the shuttle, as well as liability of the needle point catching in the shuttle,
is obviated) and being of less breadth than the diameter of the contained reel, the
latter cannot be introduced into the shuttle in the ordinary way, and provision is
made for introducing the reel in the longitudinal direction at the heel end by
making the heel of the shuttle a detachable cap (B) in the form of a circular cup
fitting snugly by. its flange (b) into a correspondingly circular seat in the rear end
of the body part (A) of the shuttle, so that the needle thread loop in slipping over the
body of the shuttle will encounter no obstacle and not be liable to catch on the
detachable heel cap. The heel cap is securely locked in position preferably by
inwardly-projecting studs (c) fixed in the body part (A) of the shuttle engaging
(by a partial longitudinal and rotary movement of the heel cap) in bayonet
slots (1) cut in the flange (b) these slots being of such shape that the outward
pressure of the reel on the heel cap due to the thrust of the internal spring here-
after described, will tend to retain the studs in engagement in the slots so as to

page_text: prevent any tendency of the heel cap to become unfastened by the constant jarring
produced by the action of the shuttle driver at each reversal of the direction of
motion. With this object the circular portions of the slots (c¹) make respectively
less than a right-angle with the entering portions of the slots which are in the
longitudinal central plane of the cap, so that the outward thrust on the heel cap
will tend to retain the cap in the position shewn, that is to say with the studs (c) at
the extreme closed ends of the bayonet slots (c), whilst any looseness or shake
between the heel-cap and body portion will be prevented.
The heel-cap (B) is provided with holes (d) for turning it in its seat by means of-
the finger or a suitable tool, and with an inwardly-projecting central cone (e)
adapted to enter the bored centre of the reel (R). The reel (R) is held between
the said cone (e) and a similar cone (f) at the other end formed upon a disc (f¹).
fitted to slide upon a dead spindle (g) fixed in the body of the shuttle, the disc being
prevented from turning with the reel by the angular section of the spindle as seen
in Figure 5: and means (such as a head upon the spindle or a small cross-pin (a¹)
being provided for retaining the disc and spring upon the spindle (g) when the
reel is removed. Between the disc (f) and a suitable abutment formed by the
boss (g) in which the spindle is fixed, a spiral spring (½) is confined so as by its.
pressure against the disc (f¹) to retain the reel securely in position to rotate upon
and between the cones (e, f) as centres, with sufficient friction to check the rotation
of the reel so far as may be necessary to prevent more than the requisite length
of thread becoming unwound, said friction also serving to impart tension to the
thread, whilst the range of elasticity of the spring and the length of the guide
spindle (9) are such as to adapt the shuttle to receive reels of various lengths less
than that of the full-sized reel shewn.
The disc (f) works through an aperture (in which it loosely fits) formed in a
transverse diaphragm (a¹) in the body of the shuttle, whereby any loose thread
which may accidentally become unwound from the reel is prevented from entangling
itself with the spring (h), the disc (f) having a peripheral flange (2) of such.
width that the aperture in the diaphragm (a) will remain closed even should the
disc project beyond the diaphragm as would be the case when a short reel is used.
The body (A) of the shuttle has a slit (2) leading from the open heel end to a
hole (2) at the upper side of the shuttle, partly covered by a spring tension plate (k).
fixed to the exterior of the shuttle by an adjustable screw (¹) which also serves as
the means of regulating the tension given to the thread. A stud (22) upon the
underside of the plate (k) and entering a hole in the shuttle, forms a guide stop.
for the thread during the forward movement of the shuttle, whilst a similar guide:
stop during the backward movement is formed by the forward end of the plate (k).
being curved inwards and outwards as shewn at (/) in Figure 2 and housed in an
aperture (71) in the body of the shuttle. The form thus given to the forward end
of the tension plate (k), whilst offering no obstruction to the passage of the shuttle
through the needle thread loop, admits of the thread being easily passed beneath
that end of the tension plate during the operation of threading the shuttle as
hereafter described.
In order to prevent any possibility of the shuttle thread becoming caught under
the rear end of the tension plate (k) the rear portion of the plate is curved somewhat
towards the flat side of the shuttle as shewn in Figure 6, and its extremity (72) is
bent downwards so as to lie snugly against the body of the shuttle as shewn in
Figure 2.
(m) is a thread-guide of wire fixed within the body of the shuttle by its angularly
bent end (m) being brazed or rivetted in a hole in the side of the shuttle, the
other end being free and projecting sufficiently beyond the open heel end of the
body part (A) to admit of the thread being readily slipped behind it before
the reel is introduced into the shuttle. This guide (m) is provided with a loop (m³) at
about the middle of the length of the reel through which loop the thread runs.
from whichever part in the length of the reel it may be drawn, the straight portion

page_text: of the wire (m) lying in the upper of the two corner spaces formed by the meeting
of the flat side (a) with the tangential portions (a³, a³) connecting that side with
the circular portion of the periphery of the shuttle as shewn in Figures 1, 3, 5,
and 6 whilst the loop (m²) projects over the reel towards the slit (2) and hole (2) as
shewn in Figures 5 and 6.
The operation of threading the shuttle may be very readily performed and is as
follows: The reel having been introduced into the body of the shuttle so that
the thread in unwinding will cause the reel to rotate towards the left hand (looking.
from heel to point of the shuttle), the end portion of the thread which has been
retained in the hand is slipped behind the guide wire (m) from beneath, then
through the slit (i) up to the hole (), then brought round so as to pass under the
forward end (l) of the tension plate (k) and finally emerge from under said plate
at the side opposite to that at which the hole (1) is situate. The thread (M) will
now have assumed a position substantially as indicated in Figures 5 and 6, and the
heel cap (B) having been inserted and locked as already described, the shuttle is
ready to be placed in the machine. It will be observed that in the operation of
threading the shuttle as above described, there is no possibility of delay being
caused through the difficulty of thrusting the end of the thread through a hole or
holes.
It will be obvious that the heel cap (B) may be secured to the body portion (A)
of the shuttle, by other means than those hereinbefore described, without departing
from the spirit of the invention. Thus for example the heel cap might be arranged
to screw into the body of the shuttle, or be held in position by a spring catch or
catches or be attached to the body of the shuttle by means of a hinge at the flat
side of the latter and a latch at the opposite side; the essential characteristic of all
the arrangements remaining the same, namely, that provision is made for intro-
ducing the reel into the shuttle in the longitudinal direction at the heel end, and
for retaining the reel in position substantially as already described.
The shuttle driver (N) is of the ordinary construction, being provided with
horns (n) which embrace the pointed end of the shuttle and drive it on its return
motion, the horns being adapted to give passage to the loop of needle thread
through which the shuttle passes on its forward motion in the ordinary way. It is
also provided with a two-horned ledge (n¹) on which the shuttle rests and with a
horn (2) which engages with the heel end of the shuttle so as to impart thereto its
forward motion. The shuttle driver holds the flat side of the shuttle in contact
with the shuttle race (O) and is mounted to slide along a guide bar (P) upon which
it is reciprocated by connection through a link (Q) with suitable driving mechan-
ism. The needle and shuttle driving mechanisms may be of any ordinary kind used
for shuttle sewing machines, the only alteration needed being such a proportioning
of the dimensions as to increase the stroke of the shuttle driver to the extent
rendered necessary by the increased length of the shuttle; to increase the stroke
of the needle bar to the extent necessary to enable the shuttle to engage with, and
pass through, the loop of the needle thread; and to increase the range of the
'take-up" sufficiently to enable it to take up the slack of the needle thread loop
after the shuttle has passed through the loop on the formation of each stitch, all
these alterations being merely a matter of calculation not necessarily involving any
change in the design or operation of the machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
1. A sewing machine shuttle adapted to contain an ordinary reel of thread-and
constructed of a nearly cylindrical body portion pointed at the front end and
flattened at one side as specified and having an opening for the admission of the
reel at the heel end, in combination with a removable heel-closing cap adapted to.
fit in the heel end of the body portion and with means whereby the heel cap may be.

page_text: locked securely in engagement with the body portion of the shuttle, substantially
as specified.
2. A sewing machine shuttle adapted to contain an ordinary reel of thread and
having its body portion constructed as described, in combination with a removable
heel-closing cap adapted to fit in the heel end of the body portion and with bayonet
stud and slot fastenings whereby the heel cap may be locked securely in engage-
ment with the body portion of the shuttle, substantially as specified.
3. A sewing machine shuttle adapted to contain an ordinary reel of thread and
having a body portion and removable heel-closing cap as described, in combination
with coned centres for the reel to rotate upon, the rear centre being carried by the
said heel cap and the forward centre being splined upon a guide rod fixed longitu-
dinally in the fore part of the shuttle, and with a spring, confined between the last
mentioned coned centre and a fixed abutment, whereby the cone centre is pressed
into engagement with the bore of the reel and rendered self-adjusting to suit
different lengths of reel as described.
4. In a sewing machine shuttle as specified having coned centres as described for
the reel to rotate upon, the combination with the adjustably mounted forward
coned centre, of a transverse diaphragm within the body of the shuttle, apertured
for the passage of the said coned centre, substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
5. In a sewing machine shuttle as specified having coned centres as described for
the reel to rotate upon and a transverse diaphragm within the body of the shuttle
apertured to give passage to the adjustably mounted forward coned centre, the
combination with said adjustable centre of a disc attached thereto, adapted to just
pass through the aperture in the diaphragm and having a peripheral flange of such
width as to ensure said aperture remaining always closed, for the purpose specified.
Dated this 8th day of March 1898.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.