IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Lomax, George Francis
Bradbury, Thomas Chadwick, and Thomas Singleton at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 20th
May 1878.
We, HENRY LOMAX, of Over Darwen, Machinist, and GEORGE
FRANCIS BRADBURY, of Oldham, Machinist, and THOMAS CHADWICK,
of Oldham, Machinist, and THOMAS SINGLETON, of Over Darwen,
Gentleman, all in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES,"
to be as follows :-
The first part of this Invention consists in an improvement by which
articles can be braided in the machine better and with greater facility
than heretofore.
The main feature in this improvement is that the braiding is done
on the under side of the work, that is to say, on the side of the material
next to the table of the machine, for which purpose the side of the
article to be braided is turned downwards, and the pattern is traced or
laid upon the
upper the braid to be sewn on the article is brought
side;

page_text: up through the hole that the needle passes down in making a stitch;
the machine is worked precisely as in sewing, and as it is arranged for
the braid to fill the hole, or nearly so, the needle must pass through
the said braid at every stitch. It then only remains for the operative,
while the machine is working, to move the cloth according to the 5
pattern traced or laid upon the upper surface to ensure the braid being
sewn on in exactly the pattern the cloth was made to move in.
We guide the braid to the hole before named in any convenient way,
and to accommodate different widths of braid we make the hole adjustable,
that is to say, the plate in which the hole is formed is made in two 1
parts, one of which slides over the other; one part of the hole being
formed in each part of the plate, and by sliding one part more or less
over the other the hole can be contracted or expanded.
1
The principal advantage obtained by this means of braiding is, that
the braid being next to the feeder, which moves the work along is the
first to receive motion from the feeder, the cloth receiving motion by
being pressed between the braid and the presser foot; so that in reality
the braid moves the cloth, and as it cannot give any more motion than
it receives itself, perhaps not quite so much, it is accordingly sewn on
easy or full, that is to say, not stretched, as is usually the case with 2
all other braiding apparatus.
Another great advantage of this means of braiding is, that the operative
can distinctly see the pattern to be braided, since it is not obscured by
the braid or the apparatus usually employed to hold it.
Another part of our Invention is an improvement in the thread 2
controller, and in the take up, by which we combine the two articles
and make the combined article do the work of both more effectually.
This combined controller instead of being rigid, like an ordinary
thread controller, is made capable of a certain amount of motion; it is
in form a sort of staple or oeillet, connected with a delicate spring, 3
which by drawing it down at the proper time causes it to perform the
office of a take up. When the needle bar is at its highest point the
tension then upon the thread draws up this controller to its highest
point against a stop; it is then rigid, and acts as an ordinary controller.
When the needle bar begins to descend the controller descends also 3
by virtue of the spring, it takes up the slack thread caused by itself
when at its highest point, and when at or near its lowest point it comes

page_text: "
in contact with and rests upon a "top feeder, that is to say, an upper
feeder working in conjunction with an ordinary lower feeder, which
usually projects through the table of the machine, and is used for
moving the work along; this top feeder has at a certain time an upward
motion to relieve it from the cloth, and this happens at the time that
the shuttle is passing through the loop; this top feeder accordingly
lifts the controller at that time and allows it to give its slack thread
freely and uninterruptedly to form the shuttle loop as soon as the
shuttle has passed through the top feeder descends and allows the spring
of the controller to come into play once more. This controller can bo
worked without the motion given to it by the top feeder, but it is not
with quite so beneficial a result, as the shuttle has then to overcome
the force of the spring to form its loop.
Another part of our Invention consists in the manner of actuating
a certain pair of controller discs; these discs are two flat plates of
metal, placed at the front of the arm of the machine; a bolt passos
through them, and also through the metal of the front of the said arm;
a spring is placed next the head of the bolt, and a nut on the end next
the plates. The spring acts upon the head of the bolt and causes the
plates to be pressed together, thus creating a certain amount of drag
or friction on the thread passing between them, and serving to prevent
any slack thread hanging about the needle point. When however the
shuttle is going through the loop it is desirable that there should be
no drag upon the thread, and for this purpose the link which drives
the needle bar is allowed, at the proper time, to press upon the head of
the bolt, and so open the discs.
Another part of our Invention is an improved tension for the needle
thread. It consists of a flat spring, fastened at one end and curved a
little at the other, it is pressed against a plate by a screw at some
distance from the curved end; the thread is slipped between the plate
and the spring, and leaves or comes from the curved end of the spring
at an angle; the pressure between the plate and the spring constitutes
the tension, and the angle before named is such that if a lump or any
inequality should occur in the thread the tendency will be to lift the
end of the spring, and so allow it to escape, thus equalizing the
tension.
Another part of our Invention consists in improvements in the shuttle.
Ton the batter reculation of the tension unon the thnood ITA maka

page_text: the end of the tension spring with an open slot, which slides on to a
headed pin fixed in the shuttle side; a regulating screw is placed in
the other end of the spring, and serves not only to keep it in position
endways but also to cause it to press against the said shuttle side. The
thread is slipped into the same slot as the headed pin, and brought along
between the spring and the shuttle side, there receiving tension. The
headed pin is sufficiently long to allow the spring a little play to give
way for any inequalities in the thread, a more uniform tension is thus
secured than could be obtained when the spring was riveted to the
shuttle side; a more convenient way of threading is also obtained by 1
being able to slip the thread into the slot in the spring instead of having
to put it through a hole.