US1508253A

US1508253A - Button-attaching machine

Info

Publication number: US1508253A
Application number: US632310A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederick N Ross
Original assignee: BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE CO
Current assignee: BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Co
Priority date: 1923-04-16
Filing date: 1923-04-16
Publication date: 1924-09-09
Anticipated expiration: 1941-09-09

Description

Sept. 9 1924. L58253 F. NY Ross 'BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Filed April 16. 1923 7 sheets-sheet 1 Maz gmlmiafz Sept. 9 1924. 1;'5'08253 F. N. ROSS BUTTON ATTACH'ING MACHINE Filed April 16. 1923 v '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jy' l ySmzmm F. N. Rass BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Sept. I 9

Filed April 1e. 192s 7 sheets-sheet l:s

gmlanfa/z "F. N. Ross BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Sept. 9 1924.

7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 16, 1923 uw w;

Sept. 9, 192,4. 1,508,253

F, N. Ross BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Filed April 16. 1923 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 9, 1924. 1,508,253v

F. N. ROSS BUTTON ATTACHINQ MACHINE Filed April 16. 1923 Sheets-Sheet 6 Nfl m n i nl lll

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' F. N. ROSS BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE Filed April 16. 1923 Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

UNIT STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK N. ROS, F PONTIAC, yMICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO BUTTON ATTACI-IING MACHINE CO., OF PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION 0F MICHIGAN.

BUTTON-ATTACHING lIllLIACHIN'E Application filed April 16,

Machines, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to a button attach'- ing machine and more particularly to one which is used for attaching buttons toa fabric that may be readily removed from the fabric. f The stylev of buttons which this machine is adapted to attach fto the fabricare metal back buttons having an eye secured thereto. The said eye is adapted to be inserted 'through a button'hole in the fabric, and the machine forms a wire loop or split ring through the said eye, which will prevent the button from coming loose from the fabric. With this construction, however,

one canv remove the button from the fabric by forcing the wire retaining ring through the button hole in a similar way that an ordinary cuif link is detached from the cuff. The object of the present invention is to provide means whereby the operator may readily locate the button at the exactplace on the fabric where. it is to be attached. This machine is intended to eliminate anyv guess work asv to the locationof the button on the part of the operator, and to eliminate the waste which results from the operation of the present machines on the market.

A further object is'to provide a positive actuation of the cut-0H and ejector plunger. `Furthermore, it is desired to have a machine that will absolutely stop jat'one complete cperation; i. e., the attaching of one button to the fabric, and to prevent any likelihood ofl the machine overrunning, vwhich prevents any likelihood of an accident.

Another object is to providecmeans for Vlocating the resting position of the button, just prior to the attaching operation, at the level of the work table, so that the eye of thebutton may extend through the button hole of the fabric as the operator lays the fabric upon thel Work table.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the machine may be set in an in- 192s.v sein-.i1 No. 632,310.V

operative position when a button is jammed in the plunger head 'or "feed channel, so that theV operatorl may easily remove lthe jammed button with a pair of pliers ors'ome other tool.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 isf a front lelevation of the 'rnachine.l Fig". 2 is a top `plan view thereof. 60 Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly in section, taken on the line of Fig. 4.

F ig.l 4. `is a vertical section takenA online 4.-4jof Fig. 2. A .Y l Fig. 1a 'is' a detail ofthe cam for rocking the cut-off'cam lever. f

Fig. 5 is a side elevational fview partly in sec-tion, showing the cam action" and the button feed.

Fig. 6 isa section on the line 646`of Fig. 5, showing the button feedcontrol. f f Fig; 7 vis asection on the line 7,-7 of Fig. 3, showing the plungerand'grippin'g ngers in the resting position.

Fig. Sis asimilar view showing the plunger lowered-'to receive a button. Figgl is a plan view ofthe top of the plunger. n

F ig'. 9- is'a detail of the wire feed mech-A anism. Fig. l() isa detail inV cut-off cam lever.

.Fig.'11 is a detail inpersp'ective of the ejectorcam lever. v

Fig. 12 is adetail in perspectiveof thel cutting tool. f

Fig. 13 is a detail in perspective of the ejector plunger.

14 is an elevational view Vof the button and wire fastening ring?. i. i

Fig. 15 is a botto-m plan view ofthe wire perspective of the ringy forming die. n

' Fig. 16is a section `on the line 16-16 of Fig. 15.

. This machine is an improvement upon the machine Vdescribed and claimed in. the prior Miner Patent No. 1,140,474issuedMay 25, 1915. In 'this patent a method'and apparatus for forming a split wire ring through the eye of the buttonl is described. The machine is adapted to be driven from any source of power, suc-h as an electric motor, or it may be driven from an overhead drive shaft in a way similar to the driving of most of the existing machines. The shaft a may be driven through a suitable clutch mechanism the said clutch mechanism is 'arranged to be gripped by the driving member c which in turn drives the shaft c through onel complete revolut'OIl.

I reserve the right to claim the. clutch and machine control mechanism in my cope-nding application Serial No. 634,711, since this clutch arrangement forms no part. of the present invention.

y It will be sufficient to describe the clutch and tripping mechanism in a general way in ,this application". rThe driving shaft d is driven directly from an electric motor Lor b-y a belt connection to a main driving shaft, and is continuously rotated. (Figs. y3 and 4). The tripping mechanism consists of a stop lever c pivoted at to the machine support g. The clutch driven member Z) is provided with a projecting tooth it which` is adapted to be engaged kby the stop lever e. The shaft c has a flanged portion e' integral therewith and pivoted -at ,f is a finger y' which is adapted to engage with Athe notch 7c cut in the said flanged yportion i, for the purpose that will hereinafter appear. r[he clutch member Z) is counterbored as at fue; a pin n is carried by the crut-ch and pin is carried by the flanged portion e' of the` shaft while interposed between these two pins is a. com-pression spring A79.

A lever Q is pivote'd at r (Fig. 3) to the machine support, the said lever having pivoted thereto a trip lever e, the said trip leve-r engaging with the stop lever e as `shown in Fig. 3, so that when a hinged foot lever 110 is depressed the rod t which can be attached to the foot lever, will pull down on the lever q and thus pull the stop lever away from the tooth 7L that is carried by the `clutch member b. lt is obvious that when this clutch member is released the compression spring p will force the clutch driven member in a clockwise `direction as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, thus causing the rollers u of the clutch to ride up on the cam surface o, carried by the shaft a, until the driving member c engages the said rollers and causes the shaft a to rotate.

As the tripping lever s has -been pulled downwardly past the engaging shoulder on the stop lever c, the said stop lever e is allowed to bear upon the outer clutch surface and to again engage the tooth it at the end of the revolution. The machine will therefore stop at one complete revolution even though the rod t is held depressed or has been released. The spring` 'w attached to the rod t and the table 5c causes the rod and lever g to return to its initial position when released. lin no way can the machine be caused to be overrun one revolution because when the stop c engages the tooth h at the end of the revolution, the driving member c which is continuously running will disengage itself from the rollers u due to the momentum of the linachine. in instant later the linger will enter the notch 7c. lt is seen thus, that the shaft a is caused to stop when the lever e engages the tooth z 'by stopping the rotation of the clutch roller retaining member l) (Fig. 3). The shaft a. will continue to rotate, causing the rollers a to fall back on the cam surfaces e, thereby disenga'ging theI driving member from the driven member. rlhe advancing of the shaft a after the roller retaining member has stopped causes the spring p to be compressed and the fingerj engagingin the notch 7e at the proper time holds the spring under restraint. Also, as the spring bears on the pin 0 carried by the flanged portion c', lthe resulting pressure taken by the finger and the notch la', the springwill rotate the roner retaining member in a clockwise movement when the said roller retainingy member is released by disengaging the stop lever c from the tooth 7L as described.

Keyed to the shaft c at (Fig. 4) are a number of cam discs, l, 2, and 4; an annular camgroove is provided on the ram l, and the cam lever 6 for actuating the cut-ting `tool, which has a lug portion 7 that engages in the groove 5, is positively actuated by this cam. 'A lug 8 securetv to the face of the cam (Fig. 4a) which causes the eut-oft lever 6 to rock, forcing the cutting tool 9 inwardly at the proper time, (Fig. 2).

A cam groove l0 is formed by the `

cam discs

2 and 3 for guiding the ejector Acan lever ll.. The cam 4 actuates vthe yieldable plunger lever which will be more fully described later.

rlhe discsll, 2, V3 and 4 are rivetedl together as at 13. rllhe shaft 4a is journaled as at 14 andj'l in the machine support g, (Fig. 4). A gear 16 is keyed on said shaft, said gear being adapted to engage with the ordinary counting mechanism which need not bey described or shown las it forms no part of the invention. A. `fly wheel V17 is secured to the end 4of shaft a.

Cam 2 is provided with a circumferential groove 18 around its periphery. vThis groove is narrower and of less depth `for a short distance as at 19, having a cross secn tional area substantially the same as the wire 20, which is fed into the ring forming device 2l; the cam 2 co-acting with the roller 22, 9) will engage the wire by friction and force the same forward to give the correct amount of wire used in forming the vire ring for attaching the button to the fabric. The wire spool 23 is mounted on a bracket 24, secured to support g (Fig. 9) a stud bolt 25 on which the spool 23 r0- tates is carried by the bracket; a spring 26 engaging between the bracket and the washer 27, forces the head 28 of the bolt down upon the spool, tending to retard the free rotation of the spool and to prevent the wire becoming slack. The wire guide member 29 is also supported from the machine support and has a bend 30 therein, which forms additional means for preventing the wire becoming slack; A predetermined length of wire is thus pulled from the spool at every revolution by the restricted portion of the groove .19, and fed into the ringforming device 21, hereinafter described. The cutting tool 9 cuts off thev wire at the proper time, being actuated by the lever 6, already described. As soon as the cut-off plunger has returned to its initial position, the ejector plunger 31 is-arranged to .be forced downwardly by the cam lever 11 t0 eject the button and the wire ring (see Fig. 16).

The hollow plunger (Figs. 5, 7 and 8) which receives and supports the button is composed of a sheet metal shell 32, substantially square in cross section. A supporting die 33 is secured to the top of the shell, and the button is adapted to fit in the seat portion 34 of the supporting die 33. The plunger is provided with a slot 35 (Fig. 5) extending part of the way down from the top, and the shell 32 is prO- vided near its lower end, with a pin 35a. The plunger-actuating lever 36 is pivoted at 37 and is provided with a yoke member 38, engaging the pin 35L to raise or lower the plunger. A cam lever 39 also pivoted at 37 carries a roller 40, which engages the cam 4; the cam lever 39 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 41 and the plunger-actuating lever 36 is provided with a rearwardly extending arm 42. A bolt 43 secured to the arm 42 extends vertically through a hole 44 in the arm 41 and a takeup spring 45 surrounds the bolt shank bearing against the

arms

41 and 42, tending to force the roller 4() against the cam 4. The plunger actuating mechanism is adjustable by the lock nuts 46 threaded onto the end of the bolt 43. This take-up spring acts as a safety device so that if a button is jammed at the head of the plunger the spring will compress as the rroller rides on the cam 4 and there` is no danger of breaking the plunger or any. of the machine parts. j

An emergency lever 47 (Fig. 2) is pivoted at 48 to the machine support g, and is p-rovided with an inwardly extending pin 49, which is located above the acuating lever 36, (see also Fig. 5) and the plunger may be forced downwardly by pressing the emergency lever 47 down, so that the operator may remove a button that is jammed in the machine.

Now refer to Fig. 7. The machine support g 'is provided with a vertical guide 50, in which the plunger is guided and a cover plate 51 is secured on the face of the support by screws 52, (Fig. 1) to hold the plunger in the guide. The machine support is provided with a pair of slots 52a (Figs. 7 and 8) on both sides of the guide way and a pair of fingers 53, .are each pivoted on a pin 54, and contained within one of the slots 52a. A spring 55 tends to force these fingers inwardly, inward movement of said fingers being limited by the fact that the said fingers abut the inside face of the slotted portion 52a, (see Fig. 8) as indicated at 56.

As shown in Fig. 8, the' plunger is positioned at its lowest point of travel. The fingers 53 pressing inwardly, provide a. gap 57 between the ends of the inwardly extending arms 58 of the lingers 53. The button slides by gravity onto the top of the plunger from the chute 70 (Fig. 5) the head of the button resting in the seat portion 34 of the support ing die 33, and the eye of the but-ton is guided in the space formed by the arms 58. In Fig. 5, the plunger is not in the lowermost position when it is adapted Ato receive the but-l ton from the chute. This locates the cor rect position of the button and its vertical extending eye, so that the wire ring may be `accurately formed thro-ugh the said eye let in a way to be described. i plate 51 is provided at the top with an in wardly extending plate portion 59 (Fig. 5) a slot 60 (Fig. 2) being provided in the upper portion of the said cover plate, and a vpair of laterally extending ears 61 (Fig. 7) are carried bythe cover plate. A pair of ngers 62are pivoted onpins 63, carried by theears 61 and springs 64 are securedto the fingers 62 and cover plate 51, tending to pull fingers 62 downwardly to clamp the button between the inner ends 65 of thefingers 62, and the v supporting die 33, as shown in Fig. 7.

Referring again to Fig. 8, it will be seen that the button is received onto the supporting die33 and centrally located by the seat portion 34, the head of the button lying below the arms 58, of the fingers 53. On upward movement of the plunger the button is carried upwardly, the arms 58 are forced outwardly (Fig. 7) until the arms 58 slip ofi' the b-utton, the springs 55 forcing the arms 58 against the sides of the plunger shell 32. The inner ends 65 of the fingers 62, however, still engage the top of the button as shown in Fig 7. They continue to clamp the button to its seat on further movement of the plunger upwardly, and the said fingers 62 slip off the edge of the button, a moment before the eye of the button is inserted in the ringforming device 21, (as shown in Fig. 1). The said lingers 62 are The cover Lacasse arranged to rock in the slot 607 provided in the cover plate 59. lWhen the plunger is withdrawn downwardly the arms 58 of the fingers are forced inwardly over the top of the plunger` and take a position as shown in Fig. S, at which tiine a button is received onto the head of the plunger, the plunger then rising to a position as shown in Fig. i', which ispthe idling position of the machine.

Referring to F 5 and 6, a chute 70 connected to a hopper (not shown) is provided with a longitudinal slot 71 in the top face, and an enlarged central hollow portion 72, the button beinel guided therein. A control member or selector 73 pivoted to the nnderside of the chute on the stud 7'? is constructed as shown in Fig. G to extend over the top of the chute and is provided with downturned ears 7e and 75 which are adapted to intercept the eye of the button. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the downturned ears 711 and 75 are arranged to separately intercept the line of buttons. lt/lounted on the stud shaft i7 is a spring pressed lever 76 which has the downwardly extending arin 78 adapted to engage a cani 797 secured to the side face of the cani disc The cam 79 will force the arms Z8 outwardly rocking the lever 76 and forcing the button control ineinber 73 inwardly in the direction of the arrow as shown in Fig. G. This will cause the downtnrned ear 74 to assume the position as shown in dotted lines of Fig. 6, releasing the button so that it may slide down the chute; but when the downturned ear Tft is pushed ont of the way, the downturned car Z 5 is positioned so as to intercept the string of buttons to prevent more than one button sliding down the chute. @n the return of the control member 73 to its initial position, the downturned ear 5 is moved to a non-interfering position, but the ear 74e is positioned in an interfering position7 which allows the string of buttons to slide downwardly only a short distance or until the ear 74: again intercepts the string as has been described.

Secured to the inner end of the chute 7() are a pair of plates 80, which are what l terni an injector. The end of each plate 80 is beveled as at Si. so that if a button does not slide squarely onto the supporting die 33, it will be caused to do so on the initial upward movement of the plunger because of the fact that the et of the button will he caused to engage this beveled surface 81 and this forces the button onto the supporting die.

rlhe apparatus and method of actually securing the button onto the fabric by means of the wire ring` engaging through the button eye forms no part of the present invention, but it is thought advisable to briefly .describe this operation.

rllhe ring-forming device 21 (Fig. 16) is provided with a vertical hole 88 therethrough in which the bushing 89 is fitted. The ring-forming die 91 is fitted within this bushing. The wire is fed through a hole (Fig. 15) in .the head and the hole 100 in the bushing, said hole being in alignment with the hole 90. 'lhe bushing and die are secured to the head by means of a pin 101a (Fig. The eye of the button is forced into the slot 92 and the wire is pushed and caused to travel ltwice around-the spiral groove 93 cut in the die and at the proper time it will be cut ofi by the cutting tool 9, which is properly timed by the cam 1.

rlhe flattened wings 911 of the ejector 31 are slidable in the slot 95 in the stitchingl die, and after the wire ring has been cut the ejector is forced downward by the cani groove 10vand lever 11, to eject the ring' and button frointhe ring forming head.

ln the operation of the machine the -operator presses on the foot. lever 110, the rod t being pulled downwardly, which actuates the tripping mechanism. This causes the machine to complete one operation. The outton already has its eye inserted througl'i the button hole of the fabric, by the oper-` allor, The plunger when in its highest po sition causes the button to enter the head E217 f so that the wire that is also fed into the said head, will be caused to coil through the said eye. The cutting tool is actuated to cut the wire ring at the `proper time and then the ejector is actuated immediately after the withdrawal of the cutting tool and plunger7 so that the eye of the button and the wire ring will be ejected from the ring-forming device, and the fabric can then be moved over by hand in readiness for attaching an other bntton.

ln the operation of this machine, there is no `danger of the operator failingto pass the eye of the button through the button hole of the fabric, as 'in the idling position of the machine. the button is positioned as shown in Fig. i", on a level with the top of the inwardly extending` portion 59 of the cover plate 51v which l term the work table. lhe eye of the button will entend slightly above the work table, and the fabric may be very easily placed over the button and the button hole located around the eye of the button. When the button hole is not positioned directly over the eye of the .button5 the said eye would tend to pierce the fabric when the ring-forming is in "c-aress, result ing in defective worlnnanship. This is nn-l desirable because. it causes the garment on wnich the buttons are attached to be declared a second ln my machine, when the button hole is not positioned directly over the eye of the button the safety device as described functions and allows the spring l5 to compress lill@ and relieves the tension from .the plunger 32, and as a result,the eyefof'the button v fastening device to the button after it is put through thefabric and is lifted, substantially as described.

2, In a button attaching machine, the combination of a member for supporting the fabric, means for supporting a button when t-he machine yis at rest substantially level with the fabric, said means dropping below the levely of the fab'ric to receive the button and rising. above the level of the fabric and momentarily stopping in such raised position when the fastening device is secured to the button, and means for applying a fasten'- ing device to the button when the same is raised above the' level of the fabric, substantially as described. y l

3. In a button attaching machine, the combination of a table for supporting' a fabric, a button feeding chute, dischargingat a position below the table, a securing-device 'forme ing member above the table, and means for talliing the button from the discharge end of the chute below the table presenting the button when the machine is idle at the level of the table and lifting the button to the securing device forming member when the machine is started.

4L, In a button attaching machine, the combination of a table for supporting the fabric.l a securing device forming means supported above the table, a button feeding chute discharging below the table and a plunger for receiving the button from the feed chute below the table presenting the button at the level of the table when the machine is idle and raising the button into the securing device forming means when the machine begins operation.

5. In a button attaching machine, the combination of a table for supporting the fabric, a button feeding chute discharging below the table, a ring forming means including a die located above the table, a vertically reciprocating plunger provided with a button receiving seat, and means for operating the plunger so that it receives the button from the chute below the table presents the button at the level of the table in idling position of the machine and raises the button into the ring forming mechanism when the machine begins to operate.

6. In a button attaching machine, a table for receiving the fabric, a securing device forming member above the table,` meansfor raising the button and the rfabric above the table so the shanlr` of the button enters the securingy device forming means, and means for clamping the button vonto said raising means during said raising operation. y

'i'. In a button attaching machine, the combination of a table for receiving the fabric, a plunger for raising the fabric and button from the table, means for forming a securing device on said button when in such raised position. and fingers for clamping the but-- ton during such raising operation. y

8. In a button attaching machine, the comM bination ofa fabric supporting table, a

plunger for taking the button from below the table raising it to the level of the table in the idling position `of the machine and then lifting it above the table when the `machine begins to operate, fingers foroguidingthe shank of the button onto'the end of the plunger when *inv its lowermost position, and another set of fingers for holding the button inA its proper position on the end of the plunger during the raising operations.

9. In a button attaching machine, the ,combination of a table, asupporting member below the table, a plunger guided in' said supporting member for taking the button from a position below the table and raising it above the table, one or more fingers for positioning the button shank properly on the end of the plunger when the plunger is in 'its' lowermost position, and one or more lingers for clamping the button onto the end of the plunger, the said fingers being pivoted to the said support.

l0. In a button attaching machine, the combination of a fabric supporting table, a ring forming device supported above the sol table, a support below Ithe table, a plunger the table into they ring-forming device, .av

pair of spring controlled fingers pivoted to the support for properly positioning the button on the end of the plunger when discharged from the chute, and a pair of fingers for holding the button to the end of the plunger when being raised, said fingers pivotally supported on the support. .p

11. In a button attaching machine, the combination of a button feeding chute, a plunger provided with a button seat reciprocating across the mouth of said chute and an injector device located at the mouth of said chute operating in connection with the movement of said plunger to positionthe button on the end of the plunger when same does not slide into such positionwhen `discharged from the mouth of the chute,

l2, In a button attaching machine, the combination of an inclined button feeding chute, a plunger reciprocating vertically across the mouth of said chute and provided with a button receiving seat and a blocl; having an inclined surface 81 located at the end of the inclined chute, said inclined surface arranged to engage the edge of the button when lifted by the plunger so as to properly position iton the button receiving seat if this has not been done initially.

i3. ln a button attaching machine, a button feeding member, a plunger for taking the button from the feedingmember and lifting the same, automatically, yielding means for actuating the plunger and manu-` ally controlled means for operating the plunger in oase this is necessary to return the plunger from a stuck position.

la. In a button attaching machine, the combination of a button discharging chute, a securing device forming means, a plunger for taking a button from the chute and delivering it upwardly into the securing device forming means, yielding means for automatically actuating the plunger in this lifting operation and a manually controlled means for disengaging the plunger in oase it becomes stuck.

l5. ln a button attaching machine, the combination 0f a button discharging means, a securingedevice forming means, a Aplunger for taking a button from the button discharging means and lifting it into the securing device forming means, means for automatically actuating the plunger including a yieldable connection which yields under unusual strain, and manually con trclled means for releasing the plunger When the same jams.

1 6. In a button attaching machine, the combination of a member for feeding buttons, a securing device forming means, a plunger fory lifting the buttons' from the feeding means to the securing device forming means, automatic means including a yieldable connection for actuating the plunger, Said yieldable connection yielding under unusual strain, and an emergency lever foi` returning said plunger to its initial position When the 4saine jams.

1 7. lil a button attaching machine, the combination of.v a button feeding chute, a ringforniing device located above the discharging end of the Chute, a plunger for lifting the but-t0n from the discharging end of the chute into the ring-forming means, an autcrnatic operator for the plunger including a pair of rocking levers connected in driving engagement by a spring that yields under unusual strain, and an'emergency lever which can be engaged With one of the first mentioned levers to release the plunger when the 52H11@ jams.

'In 'testimony whereef .he has afXed his signature.`

rnnnnnrcn N. nose.