Improvements in Sewing Machines.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of New
York, in the United States of America, Sewing Machine Manufacturers.]
Improvements in Sewing Machines.
I ALEXANDER ANDERSON Manager of The Singer Manufacturing Company's
Works, Kilbowie Dumbartonshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
In the present state of the art to which my invention relates that type of sewing
machine which employs a horizontally vibrating shuttle carrier provided with a
substantially cylindrical open ended shuttle, is the most popular form of sewing
machine now in use, and a large majority of operators are more familiar with this
type of machine than any other.
Machines of this class when properly constructed, are light running and compara-
tively noiseless; the shuttles are conveniently accessible so that they can be readily
removed from the carriers when the shuttle slides are drawn out; the tension of the
shuttle thread is easy of adjustment, and to regulate this tension it is not even
necessary to remove a shuttle from its carrier; the shuttles are of the class known
self-threading," and most operators are familiar with winding the long or cylin-
drical bobbins used with these shuttles; and it is for these reasons that this type of
machine has become so deservedly popular and so familiar to a large majority of
operators.
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But notwithstanding the good points of this type of machine it has, as heretofore
constructed, been open to certain objections resulting chiefly from the manner in
which the shuttle is operated, to wit, by a carrier which supports it in moving
contact with a curved shuttle-race. This contact of the shuttle with the race-face
causes considerable friction, and results in great wear on the shuttle, and when oil is
used to reduce this friction and wear the needle thread is of course more or less
soiled.
My invention has for its object to obviate the objection referred to, and this object
I accomplish by providing a horizontally vibrating shuttle-carrier of such construction
that a shuttle race is no longer necessary, the shuttle being entirely supported and
operated by the carrier alone. To this end my improved horizontally vibrating carrier
is preferably formed as an open-work cradle and has front and rear bars between
which the cylindrical shuttle is held, the front bar of the carrier supplying the place
as a front support for the shuttle, of the race heretofore employed; said front bar
being so constructed and the movements of the needle being so timed relative to the
movements of the carrier that no interference between the carrier and needle, to cause
breakage of the latter, will arise, all as will be hereinafter more fully described.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partially broken out of
a sewing machine embodying my invention, the needle bar being fully elevated as
when the stitch is being set.
Fig. 2 is an underside view thereof.
Fig. 3 is an end view with the usual face plate removed from the head of the
machine.
Fig. 4 is a partial plan view below the line X-X, in Fig. 1, chiefly to shew the
shuttle carrier and the shuttle therein, the cover plate being removed.
Figs. 5 to 8 are details chiefly to shew the shuttle carrier in different positions
relative to the needle a³.
Fig. 9 is a plan view and side elevation of the limiting device detached from the
vibrating arm.

page_text: the shuttle.
Fig. 11 is a cross section of the shuttle lying in the shuttle carrier, the section
being in the line X, Fig. 4, the said figure shewing part of the shuttle lever c¹.
Fig. 12 shews a modified form of limiting device or stop.
Fig. 13 a modified form of shuttle carrier.
Referring to the drawings A, represents the bed plate; A¹, the usual overhanging
arm; and A2, the rotating needle bar actuating shaft therein.
The needle bar a², carrying the eye-pointed needle a³, derives its vertically recipro-
cating movements from a needle bar actuating mechanism consisting essentially of
the crank pin a, connected to the hub A³, and joined by a link a¹, to a lug on a
collar secured to the said needle-bar, the latter sliding in usual vertical bearings in
the head of the arm A¹.
The periphery of the hub A³, has a groove a, in which enters a roller or other
stud b, of a take up lever b', pivoted at 62, on a part of the overhanging arm, and
extending outwardly in the usual manner through a slot in the face plate 64, of the
head, the said take up having an eye, as represented in Fig. 1, for the reception of
the needle thread 6, running from the tension device 6, to the eye of the needle.
The tension device 6, may be of any usual construction.
The shuttle mechanism, consists, as herein shewn, of the shaft A2, having a crank
portion 2, which acts on two pin like wings c, of a vertical rock shaft e¹, having
(see Fig. 2) an arm c², which by a link e, is connected to a short arm of a shuttle
lever c, to which my improved shuttle carrier e, is attached in any suitable manner
as by a screw 30, the said lever being shewn as pivoted to vibrate about a stud c³,
at the underside of the bed plate.
The shaft A2, will also in practice, have a suitable cam or eccentric to act upon,
the upper end of a link as d, the said link being connected at its lower end to a feed
actuating rock shaft d', to which is jointed a yoke or frame d², one part of which
has attached to it a toothed feed block or dog d³, while another part of the said feed
yoke has a lug, as do, which is acted upon by a cam d, on, or forming part of, the
lever ¹.
The shuttle carrier e preferably made of spring metal, as sheet steel, is shaped to
present a narrow front bar 31, a back bar or support 13, a lip as h, and a horn as '₂
and the said carrier will preferably have a downwardly bent and rearwardly inclined
nose, as g, fully shewn in Figs. 5 to 8, the said nose being of such shape and length
with relation to the shuttle as to rest directly opposite the needle when the latter is
fully down, as represented in Figs. 5 and 6 which also show the relative positions
of the needle and carrier when the latter is fully retracted; the said nose steadying
the needle for the entrance of the point of the shuttle into the loop of the needle
thread thrown out from the eye of the said needle.
In order to hold the shuttle in such a manner that the loops of needle thread
will not be nipped at the underside of the shuttle, but will pass freely beneath the
same, the carrier e, is preferably formed with a central open space (Fig. 7) and
to adapt the shuttle f, to hang in this space and to be entirely supported by the front
and back bars 31 and 13, of the open work carrier, said shuttle is provided with
longitudinal flanges or ribs 8 and 9 (Figs. 10 and 11) to engage the said bars and
thus suspend the shuttle in the carrier. With this open-bottomed carrier it is of
course impossible for dirt to collect therein to soil the needle thread or to retard the
passage of the loops thereof along the underside of the shuttle; and with the open
work carrier constructed as above described the only points of contact between the
shuttle and carrier will be where the flanges or ribs 8 and 9, rest on the front and
back bars 31 and 13 of the carrier and where the shuttle is brought into contact at
alternate intervals, with the horn h¹, and the lip h, of the carrier.
It is of course necessary for the shuttle, in its vibrating movements to pass close
to the vertical path in which the needle reciprocates, so that the nose of the said
shuttle can enter the loops thrown out by the said needle; and in supporting a shuttle
entirely in a horizontally vibrating carrier it will therefore be necessary for the front
bar of the carrier to cross the path of the needle a³, the position of which relative to

page_text: the carrier, as the shuttle is entering a loop of needle thread, is shewn in Figs. 7
and 8. The needle-bar a², operated from the rotating crank pin a, has a uniform or
regular up and down motion without the dwell or "dip" usually given to needle bars
employed in shuttle machines, but in the present instance it will be clear that, when
the needle has descended to its lowest point it immediately begins its upward move-
ment and continues the same uninterruptedly to its highest point. In order to avoid
any collision between the front bar 31 of the shuttle carrier and the needle which
crosses the path of said bar the latter is elevated at its central portion as shewn more
clearly in Fig. 8, its front end curving downward as it joins the nose g. From this
construction, owing to the regular or practically continuous movement imparted to
the needle it results that when the latter has thrown out its loop in the initial part of
its ascent the depressed forward portion of the said bar 31, will be low enough to be
clear of the needle, which will be above the said forward portion of said bar, as denoted
in Fig. 7; and as the carrier moves forward the needle ascends with sufficient
rapidity so that by 'the time the elevated or shuttle supporting part of the said bar 31,
reaches the path of the needle the latter will be out of the way of said bar, and no
contact between the latter and the needle can therefore occur.
It will therefore be apparent that with the use of a horizontally vibrating shuttle
carrier which entirely supports the shuttle, or in other words, which has a front bar
which steadies the shuttle in front (thus performing the office of the discarded shuttle
race) a needle bar so operated as to have no dwell or "dip" is desirable; and although
I have herein shown the needle bar as having a regular motion imparted thereto
from a rotating crank pin it will be understood that this result might be effected by
a suitably constructed can adapted to lift the needle bar fast enough so that the
point of the needle will be raised sufficiently to enable the shuttle supporting part
of the front bar 31 of the shuti le carrier to pass beneath the needle as the shuttle is
passed through a loop of needle thread.
The cylindrical shuttle f, with an interior chamber for the bobbin 1, is of well
known form and is provided with the open-ended threading slot 7, (common in self
threading shuttles) and with the tension spring f2, and regulating screw f³.
To facilitate the clearance of loops of needle thread from the heel of the shuttle
I preferably depress the heel portions of the front and back bars of the carrier e,
as shewn at 35, Fig. 8, and I also preferably cut or round out the inner faces of
said bars slightly next the heel lip h, as shown in Fig. 7, for the same purpose.
To cause the shuttle to lie normally against the front bar 31 of the carrier by
gravity, the elevated or shuttle supporting portion of said bar is preferably arranged
somewhat lower than the back bar 13, as clearly shewn in Fig. 11, the shuttle
thus normally lying against the said front bar so as to be in proper position to
enter the loops of needle thread, with certainty so that all danger of skipping
stitches is thereby avoided.
To make the machine as nearly noiseless as possible the skeleton carrier e, is
preferably formed from thin sheet steel so as to be clastic or flexible, as an elastic
or flexible piece of metal has less resonance than a rigid piece would have. Thus
as the shuttle is lifted slightly in the carrier as it passes through the loops of needle
thread and as it strikes the horn h¹, or the rear bar h, of the carrier, there will be
much less chattering or rattling with an elastic or flexible carrier than there would
be with a rigid one.
This slender elastic carrier e, is, however, a somewhat delicate device and is liable
to be bent or injured by pressure thereon by the operator in adjusting the shuttle
tension when the shuttle is in the carrier or reinoving it therefrom, and to provide
against this danger of injury to the elastic carrier I combine therewith a limiting
device or stop w, of sufficient strength and rigidity to resist any strain to which
the shuttle carrier may be subjected by pressure on the shuttle. This limiting
device or stop w, is attached to the shuttle lever ct, and thus moves with the said
carrier and is arranged a proper distance below the latter so that there is just sufficient
room as shewn in Fig. 11, for a clear passage of the needle thread between the shuttle
and said limiting device so that a slight downward pressure on the shuttle will cause

page_text: the latter to come in contact with the limiting device or stop, and further tending of
the carrier will thereby be arrested, and any injury thereto be thus avoided. I do not
desire to limit my invention to the exact form or shape herein shown of the limiting
device or stop w.
The nose 9, which steadies the needle, to prevent the shuttle from injuring the same,
instead of being formed on the carrier, as shown in Figs. 5 to 8, may be formed on
the limiting device or stop w, as shewn in Fig. 12, and in such case the shuttle carrier
will be of the construction shewn in Fig. 13.
The throat plate t, is provided with the usual opening t, for the passage of the
needle and also with openings in which the feed dog d³, works.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that I am enabled to provide a horizontally
moving shuttle carrier of proper construction to entirely support and carry a cylindrical
shuttle, thus avoiding the objections incidental to the use of a shuttle race for the
shuttle to work against, my improved carrier being of such a character that the noise
incidental to the rattling of the shuttle in the carrier is reduced to a minimum.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed (as communicated to me)
I declare that what I claim is :-
1. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle of a horizontally vibrating shuttle
carrier having a front bar, as 31, to support the face or outer side of the said shuttle
and being thereby adapted to hold and carry the same without a race, the said front
bar being connected at both ends to the body of said carrier.
2. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle of a horizontally vibrating elastic or
flexible shuttle carrier having a front bar, as 31, to support the face or outer side of
the said shuttle and being thereby adapted to hold and carry the same without a race,
the said front bar being connected at both ends to the body of said carrier.
3. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle having longitudinal flanges or ribs
on its opposite outer sides, of a horizontally vibrating shuttle carrier having a central
open space, to receive the said shuttle, and front and back longitudinal supporting
bars on which the said flanges or ribs on the said shuttle may rest.
4. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar and
needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle having longitudinal flanges or ribs on its
opposite outer sides, of a horizontally vibrating shuttle carrier having a central open
space to receive the said shuttle and front and back longitudinal supporting bars on
which the said flanges or ribs on the said shuttle may rest, the said front bar being
lower than the said rear bar to cause the shuttle to lie closely against the former as
set forth.
5. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle having longitudinal flanges or ribs
on its opposite outer sides, of a horizontally vibrating shuttle carrier having a central
open space, in which the said shuttle ay hang, and front and back longitudinal
supporting bars on which the said shuttle Hanges or ribs may rest, the forward end
portion of the said front supporting bar being depressed below the central or shuttle
sustaining part thereof, to afford a proper clearance for the said needle.
6. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and mechanism for imparting thereto uniform or substantially continuous
movements, of a shuttle having longitudinal side flanges or ribs and a horizontally
vibrating shuttle carrier having a central open space in which the shuttle may hang,
and front and back longitudinal supporting bars on which the said shuttle flanges or
ribs may rest.
7. In a
sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a shuttle having longitudinal flanges or ribs on its opposite outer
sides, of a horizontally vibrating elastic or flexible shuttle carrier having a central

page_text: open space in which said shuttle may hang, and front and back longitudinal supporting
bars on which said flanges or ribs on said shuttle may rest.
8. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a shuttle having longitudinal flanges or ribs on its opposite outer sides
of a horizontally vibrating elastic or flexible shuttle carrier having a central open
space in which said shuttle may hang, and front and back longitudinal supporting
bars on which said flanges or ribs on said shuttle may rest, and a rigid limiting device
or stop as w, placed below said shuttle carrier and movable therewith.
9. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle, of a horizontally vibrating shuttle
carrier having a front bar as 31, to support the face or outer side of said shuttle, and a
forwardly extending needle guiding and guarding nose as g, movable with said carrier
and of sufficient length to project past or beyond said needle when said carrier is at
the extreme limit of its backward throw.
10. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle having longitudinal side flanges or
ribs of a horizontally vibrating shuttle carrier having an open space, in which said
shuttle may hang, and front and back shuttle sapporting bars to receive said flanges
or ribs, and a forwardly extending needle guiding and guarding nose, as g, movable
with said carrier and which projects past or beyond said needle when said carrier is at
the extreme limit of its backward throw.
11. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a substantially cylindrical shuttle having longitudinal side flanges or
ribs of a horizontally vibrating shuttle carrier having an open space in which said
shuttle may hang, and front and back shuttle supporting bars to receive said flanges
or ribs, and a forwardly extending needle guiding and guarding nose as g, formed on
said carrier and which extends past or beyond said needle when said carrier is at the
extreme limit of its backward throw.
12. In a sewing machine the combination with a vertically reciprocating needle bar
and needle and a shuttle having longitudinal side flanges or ribs of a horizontally
reciprocating shuttle carrier having a central open space to receive said shuttle and
front and back shuttle supporting bars 31 and 13 respectively, to receive said ribs or
flanges, said bars having depressed clearances 35 at the heel of the said carrier.
Dated this Twenty-second day of September 1890
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.