US259996A - Feeding mechanism for button-sewing machines - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER E. BENNETT, OF NEW BBITAIN,-CONNEOTIOUT.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOFt BUT-TON-SEWING MACHINES.,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslatent No. 259,996, dated June 2'7, 1882.

Application filed February 15, 1882.

l To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, WALTER E. BENNETT, of New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism for Button-Sewing Machines, ot' which thel following is a specification.

My invention relates to feeding mechanism for button-sewin g machines (or other machines requiring an analogous feedin gdevice) in which a magnet, a hopper, and a feeding-trough are combined so that the movement of the magnet raises thebuttons from the hopper and deposits them in the feeding-trough; and the objects of my invention are to produce a feeding mechanism which shall be simple in construction,

convenient and efiicient in operation, andV a convenient point of the machine for further( operation in any ordinary manner. As such machines constitute no part of my-invention, I consider it unnecessary to represent the same. A l

The feeding-trough A is substantially the same as in other button-feeding mechanisms. Its lower member, a, has a groove in its upper edge, Haring outward at its mouth (see Fig. l) to receive the shank of the button and allow it to pass atwise through the groove, while the body of the button rests upon the upper edge of a, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Its upper member, b, is elevated sufficiently above the lower member to allow the buttons to pass through, as shown. They are stopped by the spring-hook c, and are let out as fast as wanted by removing the hook away from under the lower end of the trough, all as in prior machines.

The novelty of my feeding mechanism resides in the parts for feeding the buttons to the trough A. I

, At the upper end of the trough I arrange a wheel, B, mounted so as to revolve on a suit- (N'o model.)

able shaft provided with the pulley O or other suitable means for driving said wheel. By the side of said wheel B is a hopper, D, made semicircular in cross-section, but with the end or side toward the wheel larger than the opposite side, whereby the hopper slants toward the wheel, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. Upon the wheel B, I place one or more magnets, d d, with their ends about flush with the periphery ofthe Wheel B and in line with the slot through the trough A, and also so as to leave the ends of the magnets exposed for a short distance upon the side ot the wheel which faces the hopper. Extending from the upper end of the trough, at the top edge of the wheel, there -is a wiper, f,'which lies close by the side of the Wheel, near its edge. One or more agitators, g, are secured to the body of the wheel the trough.- When the magnet is moving within the bottom of the hopper only its sides near the ends are accessible to the buttons. The Shanks of the buttons are attracted by the magnet and the buttons (one or more of them) are carried upward while clinging to the sides l of the magnet until they come'in Contact with the wiperf, as shown at h, Fig. 1.

The upper edge of the wiper at its highest point projects slightly above the upper edge of the wheel and ends of themagnets. While the magnet is carrying a button from tbepoint represented at h, Fig. 1, to the point represented for the button t', Fig.2, the wiper moves A the button upward from the sides ofthe mag' net over and upon the ends thereof, and on further forward movement the button is drawn along by its shank into the trough. AW'henthe magnet is carried away from the trough by the revolution of the wheel the buttons are pulled off the magnet and are free to -slide down the trough, as in other feeding mechan- ICO isms. The operation is repeated nearly every time that a magnet passes through the hopper and by the wiper, thereby depositing one or more buttonsin the trough. Vhen the trough is full the buttons are carried upward, as bc fore, but fall back into thehopper, so that it is only necessary to have the wheel move fast enough to keep the trough supplied, and it' it feeds faster than required no harm will result.

If desired, instead of makingthe hopper so as to cover the edge of the wheel and ends of the magnets, it may be enlarged from a point near the bottom up to that edge which is on the wiper side, so that after the magnets pass the bottom the buttons can cling to the ends of the magnets as well as to their sides.

I have herein shown a hopper upon only one side of the wheel; but, it' desired, a like hopper might be placed on the other side ofthe wheel and the magnets exposed therein in like manner.

Other kinds of buttons may be fed by this machine-as, for instance, those with heads or bodies ot' any non-magnetic material and with shanks of iron or otherlnagnetic material.

'lhe machine may also be employed for feeding buttons or analogous smallarticles which are made of magnetic material throughout, as well as those in which only part of the article is magnetic.

I prefer to mount the magnet or magnets to move within the hopper upon a revolving wheel; but it is evident that the same result may be attained by mounting the magnet to move on an oscillating or reciprocating arm or other magnet-carrier.

The feeding-trough, instead of heilig thc one that the button-sewing machine will come in direct connection with, may bemerelyachute to convey the buttons to such a trough or to any other trough or machine. The upper end ot' the trough, which receives the buttons from the magnets, is therefore the only part which is essential to my invention.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination of the feeding-trough, the hopper, the magnet, and mechanism for moving the magnet within the hopper and presenting it to the trough, substantially as described, and t'or the purpose specified.

2. The combination of the feeding-trough, the wheel with magnets mounted thereon, and the hopper placed at one side ot' said wheel, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of the feeding-trough, the hopper, the magnet-carrier, and the wiper, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

WALTER E. BENNETT.

Witnesses:

J AMES SHEPARD, JOHN EDWARDS, Jr.

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