Abstract: The disclosure improves the quality of seams in sewing using a sewing machine, and includes: a holder holding fabric; a driver being detachable from a bed of a sewing machine and driving the holder along an upper surface of the bed; a position detector detecting a position of a sewing needle of the sewing machine in an up-down direction; and a controller controlling driving of the holder, which is performed by the driver, based on a detection result of the position detector.

Abstract: A sewing machine external unit includes: a holder holding fabric; a driver being detachable from a bed of a sewing machine and driving the holder along an upper surface of the bed; a pressing member moving in an up-down direction according to movement of a sewing needle in the up-down direction, pressing the fabric while the sewing needle is stuck in the fabric, and rising together with the sewing needle in response to the sewing needle coming out of the fabric and rising; a position detector detecting a position of the pressing member in the up-down direction; a signal output part outputting a signal to the sewing machine; and a controller outputting a needle drive signal for driving the sewing needle from the signal output part to the sewing machine, and controlling driving of the holder and/or the sewing needle based on a detection result of the position detector.

Abstract: A catalyst including a first catalyst ingredient which is at least one element selected from a group consisting of Pt, Pd and Ir, or oxides thereof; and further able to include at least one element selected from a group consisting of Au, Ag, Cu, Fe, Sb, Se, Te and Ta, or oxides thereof, as a second catalyst ingredient, carried on at least one of a silica-boria-alumina composite oxide or a zeolite with a silica-to-alumina molar ratio of more than 30, in amounts of from 0.1 to 10 g of the first catalyst ingredient and from 0.01 to 5 g of the second catalyst ingredient based on one liter of the catalyst with the second to first catalyst ingredient weight ratio being less than 1.