US820089A - Button-sewing mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

122. SEWING MAGHUJES,

PATENTED MAY e, 1905. J A. A. BOUTON.

.. BUTTON SEWING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED HOV. 20, 1901.

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WITNESSES 2 ?M.omw

ATTORNEY PATENTED MAY 8, 1906 A. A. BGUTON.

BUTTON SLWIN G MECHANISM.

APPI-IGATI'JH FILED NOV.20,1901.

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wnuesses APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, 1901.

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INVENTOR m 1- Man 1- BY M- x %M- ATTORNEY macaw. I mmum 00., mvo-mwaumns. WAWNOY'M. n c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR A. BOUTON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORA- TION OF OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

icatenteoi liiay 8, 1906,

Application filed November 20. 1901. Serial No. 82,969.

To all whom it may concern.-

holding device having button-holding jaws that may be tilted to an angular position relatively to the work in order to facilitate the insertion of a button into or removal from its position between said jaws. In order to accomplish this result, I make use of a buttonholding device having a tiltable or pivoted portion carrying the button-holding jaws, and this tiltable portion of the button-holding device will preferably be controlled in its operation by the presser-bar of a sewing-machine of suitable construction-such, for example, as the Standard button-sewing machine, with which my improved button-holding device will usually be employed-said presser-bar when raised serving to raise the utton-holding jaws and the button and also to tilt them to an angular position away from the work. Moreover, the button-holding jaws of the device will usually be released from the button by a jaw-spreading device operated by the presser-bar, and in the preferred construction the jawspreading device is fastened directly to the presser-bar of the machine and the button-holding jaws are pivotally connected with the jaw-spreading device in such a manner that as the jaws are tilted away from the work they are simultaneously spread apart to release them from the button.

When a button-holding device having a tilting movement is employed and the axis of movement is shifted by the presser-bar as the latter is raised or lowered for thick or thin goods, the button is thrown slightly away from its central osition with respect to the needle, and an adjusting device for centering the button, regardless of the vertical position of the axis of its tilting movement, is an important' feature of my invention. 5 5 In order to adapt a button-holding device for use with buttons of various sizes, it is desirable to provide means for locating the button at a third point in its edge, and an imortant feature of my im roved button-holdmg device is an adj ustab e stop movable with one or both of the button-holding jaws to accommodate itself to buttons of different diameters and locate the eyes of the buttons in the proper position with res ect to the needle re ardless of the size of the utton. 4n sewing buttons of difierent thicknesses it is difficult to clamp the buttons securely at their edges when jaws having a single depth of opening for the edges of the buttons are employed, and another feature of my invention relates to an adjustable jaw constructed so as to center itself automatically regardless of the thickness of the button to be clamped thereby. Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fi ure -1 j is a rear elevation of a portion of a Standard button-sewing machine havin my improved button-holding device applie thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the button-holding device in its 0 erative position in engagement with the wor Fi 3 is a similar view showing the button-holding jaws tilted away from the Work when the presser-bar is raised. Fig. 4 is an under side view of the. button-holder and illustrates the j aw-spreading means and the adjustable button-stop that is movable in unison with the button-holding jaws. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of said button-holder with the jaws in their closed position. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 7 is a sectional detail illustrating the adjustable jawspreading means. Fig. 8 is a sectional detail of one of the self-centering button-holdin 'aws. 5 Similar characters designate ike parts in the different figures of the drawings.

In said drawings the sewing machine pro er to which the button-holding device is app ied, and which comprises the bed-plate 1 and overhanging arm 2, each supporting cooperatin stitch-forming devices, may be of the usua construction as employed in'said Standard machine and adapted to form stitches, as in such machine, although the button-holding device maybe used i'n connection with other well-known sewing-machines.

My improved button-holding device is preferably connected with the presser-bar 7, 5 forming part of such machine, that is supported to have an oscillating movement for the purpose of presenting to the needle in alternation either one of two eyes through which the needle is passed in sewing on a button; but as the devices for imparting this movement to the resser-bar constitute no part of my invention they are not illustrated erem.

In some respects the button-holding device herein shown is similar to other buttonholders employed for clamping a button in place during the sewin on of the samethat is to say, said device as a pair of buttonholding jaws capable of gripping and releas- 0 ing a button and also movable toward and from the work to engage or release the same,

the button-holder also having suitable means for holding the work in place on the clothplate as the needle is passed first through one and then through the other of a pair of eyes in the button. In the resent construction, however, the button-ho der is made up of two main parts hinged together to permit a pivotal or tilting movement of one part of the de o vice relative to the other. In this construc tion the up er of these hinged portions of the button -ho der is fastened directly to the resser-bar and its movements correspond exactly to those of said presser-bar, while the lower portion of the button-holder carries the button-holding jaws and is connected to a fixed point in such a manner as to permit a relative movement of the lower portion of the holder with respect to the part secured to the 0 presser-bar, and this relative movement is made use of to tilt the jaws away from the work and to spread the same to release a button after it has been sewed on the work, the rincipal function of this tilting movement 5 eing to bring the button-holding jaws to such an angular position as will enable the operator to insert a button in place or remove the same readily and wit out loss of time. The upper portion of the button- 50 holder embodies two principal arts, one of which is a plate 8, having a for ed or bifurcated arm 9 projecting therefrom and adapted to straddle the presser-bar 7 and be clamped in place thereon by means of suit- 5 able clam nuts and washers, such as 10 and 11, the ot er principal element being a second plate 12, pivoted to the plate 8, as by means of apin or stud 13, secured to the plate 8 and threaded at its outer end to re- 60 ceive clamping and check nuts 14 and 15 to hold said plates together and permit of a rockin or swinging movement of the plate 12 witIi its supported parts relative to the plate 8 in a manner to be hereinafter referred At the lower end thereof the plate 12 has a pair of forwardly-extending arms or ears 16, between which the lower portion of the button-holder carrying the gripping-jaws is intended to be pivoted.

The releasing or jaw-spreading means for disengaging the button-holder from a button will preferably have its operating element mounted on the upper portion of the buttonholder, and in this construction I have illustrated at 17 a pair of jaw-spreading arms or cams, the cam-faces of which are designated by 17. These cams are preferably adjustable toward and from each other for the purpose of coacting properly with the buttonolding jaws when t e latter are set to receive buttons of different diameters, and these jaw-spreading cams will preferably be pivoted to the upper portion of the plate 12, as by means of screws 18, and may be adjusted simultaneously toward and from each other by a suitable device, such as the right and left hand screw 19, passing through correspondingly-threaded openings in projections or bosses 20 on the spreading arms or earns 17 a coiled spring, such as 21, being placed between one of the studs 20 and the ead of the screw 20 for the purpose of exerting endwise pressure on the latter and prevent undue turning or movement of the same after adjustment.

The main element of the lower or tiltable portion of the button-holder is a carrying or supporting plate, such as 22, to which the button-holding jaws are connected in such a. manner as to be capable of gripping and releasing a button, this plate having in the present instance a pair of upturned arms or ugs 22, pivoted to the arms 16' of the upper ortion of the button-holder by screws 22".

n this construction the button-holding or gripping-jaws proper (designated by 23) are carried at the ends of a pair of holding mem bers or arms, such as 24, that are pivoted at their rear ends to the supporting-plate 22 by means of screws 25, synchronous opening and closing movements of said arms and aws being obtained by providing at the adjacent edges of the arms 24 intermeshing gear-segments or gear-teeth 26.

Suitable meanssuch, for example, as the coiled spring 27, connecting the two arms 24- are employed for closing the jaws, and this spring, being a compression one, will normally tend to draw such aws together when said arms 24 are released by the lowering of the jaw-spreading cams 17.

It will be evident that the jaw-spreading means should preferably embody a suitable member or members coacting with the earns 17, but located on the tiltable portion of the button holder, for effecting the proper spreading of the arms 24 and their jaws 23.

construction are a pair of faces 28, located in 1 til 3 inner edges of the arms 24 and preferabl TM- 5 The coacting elements shown in the preseN Tk convergin" toward the forward end of the button-ho der to form cam edges cooperative with the cam faces or edges 17 of the jaw-spreading cams 17, both of these comlementary devices being provided with obique faces in order to facilitate the spreading of the arms 24.

. walls 29, adapted to swing The button-holding or buttongripping jaws proper, which are designated by 23, are preferably so constructed as to be self-adjusting to buttons of different sizes and thicknesses. Each of them has in this case a pivoted gripping member 29, pivoted on pins 30 and working in openings 31 in the jaws 23, said pivoted gripping members having stopfrom the position shown in Fig. 8 into engagement with the walls 23 of the fixed portions of the jaws. Said pivoted gripping members are also undercut to form the button-gripping faces 32 and 32, which are normally in the (positions shown in Fig. 8, but when turne on the Hot 30 will be brought closer to a coacting ed face, such as 33, of the jaw 23, and thus reduce the depth of the opening between the faces 32 and 33 to conform to the thickness .of the thinner button. It will be evident that as the jaws of the holder are brought close together to grip the button the periphery of a thin button will engage the walls 32 and force them outward until the up er side of said button is engaged by the wal s 32, when all of the walls 32, 32, and 33 will clamp the button firmly. Suitable springs, such as 34, secured to the jaws 23, may press against heel portions 35 of the pivoted gri ping members 29 and hold the same norma ly in the position shown in Fig. 8;

For the purpose of tilting the button-holding aws away from the work I connect the plate 22 to a suitable fixed point in such a manner as to permit such plate and the grip- 'pin -jaws to oscillate about a given point,

suc as the pivot-pin 35. This pivot-pin in the-present construction passes through one end of a twisted link 36, the upper end of which is in turn pivoted to a screw 37 for movement about an axis at right angles to that of the pivot 35'. such as 38, is mounted on the pivot-screw37 and at its upper end is mounted on the eccentric 39 of the eccentric-lever 40, a pivot-screw 41 passing through the eye of said link and secured to a suitable fixed point, such as the depending arm of the angle-lpiece 42, secured to the lower end of the over anging arm 2 of the machine, serving to support the rear end of the button-holder and permit a slight vertical shiftin thereof when the eccentric-lever is turned, w liereby the gripping-jaws may be centered again with respect to the needle if they have been tilted away from their normal position by the vertical movement of the pwisr-bar on the insertion of work of differ- A second twisted link,

In connection with the gripping-jaws I may employ Presser-feet, such as 43, movable in vertical openings in the fixed (gripping-jaws 23 and preferably secure to feet against the material. It will be evident that these resser-feet will grip the work and cause the same to readily move with the button and its holder during the sewing-on operation. i

In order to locate buttons of difierent diameters with their eyes in roper position with respect to the needle, I make use of a button-stop, preferably located at the back of the button-holding jaws, and this stop may be jaws. In the construction shown the arms 24, by which the button-holding jaws are supported, are connected by a linkage com prising two links 45 and 46, the latter of which is extended at its forward end and has a cam-slot 46, in which works a pin 47, carried by a slide 48, working in a uideway formed between a guide-plate 49 an the carrier-plate 22, to which said uide-plate is fastened. At its forward ent? said slide has a buttonstop 50, which depends into the plane of the button-grippin jaws and is movable therewith, it being evi ent that the construction described is such as to cause the button-stop to move away from the buttonholding jaws as the latter spread apartand move toward said jaws as the approach each other, these jaws and the button-stop forming three elements of the button enga ing and locating device and servin to ho buttons of difierent sizes firmly in p ace with their eyes in proper position with respect to the needle.

The button-holder may be shifted into and out of its working position, so that its presserfeet will engage or release the work, by any suitable means-such, for example, as a lever 51, operated either by hand or by a treadle from any suitable point (not shown) and having a loose connection, as indicated at 52, with the presser-bar. When the resser-bar is down, as shown in Fig. 2, the resser-feet will be in enga ement-with the material and the button-hol in jaws willbe clamped upon a button, such as the upper or narrow portion of the cam 17 (see Fig. 7) being at this time in engagement with the cam-faces 28 of the arms 24. When the presser-baris raised, however, as shown in Fig. 3, to release the presser-feet and holder from the work, the cam 17 will immediately spread the arms 24 and the button-holding jaws (as well as the button-stop 50) and Wlll simultaneously tilt said jaws about the pivot 35 and raise the cam 17 by the movement of the two portions of the button-holder about the pivot 22" When the buttons to be sewed to the work have two pairs of eyes therein, the presserbar will be vibrated by its operating mechansprings, such as 44, which hold said presserhaving an adjustable connection with thrf, said jaws and being cooperative with one of 130 ism (not shown) in one direction so as to enable the needle to descend first through one and then through the other of a pair of eyes in the button at one side of its center (the button-holder turning slightly at such times about the pivot-points 35 and 41) until a certain predetermined number of stitches has been made, after which the buttonholder may be automatically shifted about its pivot 13 in a direction lengthwise of the machine to bring the other pair of eyes in position to be vibrated and receive a like number of stitches through the same, a link or connecting-rod 52 being employed herein for this purpose and operated from a suitable mechanism (not shown) for switching the button-holder and its button at the proper time and presenting said other pair of eyes to the needle.

What I claim is 1. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with a vertically movable sup ort and a vertically-stationary support, of a utton-holder comprising two main arts or sections hinged to ether, one of sai arts being attached to an carried by the sai verticallymovable support and the other carrying a pair of button-holding jaws and being connected with the said stationary support, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with a vertically-movable support and a vertically-'stationary support, both being carried by the overhanging arm of the machine in a position above the work-plate thereof, of a button-holder comprising two main parts or sections hinged together, one of said parts being attached to and carried by the said vertically-movable support and the other carrying a pair of button-holding jaws and being connected with the said stationary support, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with a movable support, of a buttonholder carried by said suppbrt and having a pair of button-holding jaws tiltable relatively to the work, and adjustable means cooperative with said support for tilting the jaws, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with a movable support, of a button-- holder carried by said support and having a pair of button-holding jaws tiltable relatively to the work, and adjustable means, embodying an eccentric-lever, cooperative with said support for tilting the jaws, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with a movable support and a stationary support, of a buttonholder' comprising two mam arts or sectionshinged together, one of sairfparts being attached to the said movable support and the other being provided with a pair of'button-holding jawsand said stationary support, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a button-sewing machine, the combi nation with a vertically-movable support, of a button-holder carried by said support and having a pair of button-holding j aws tiltable relatively to the work, means cooperative with said support for tilting the jaws, and

j aw-spreading means carried by and verticall movable with the said support.

7. n a button-sewing machine, the combination with a movable support, of a buttonholder carried by said support and having a pair of button-holding jaws tiltable relatively to .the work, means cooperative with said support for tilting the jaws, and jaw-spread a button-holder carried by said support and having a pair of button-holding jaws tiltable relativel to the work, means cooperative with sai support for tilting the aws, and ad justable aw-spreading means disposed be tween said jaws and being carried by the said vertically-movable support.

9. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with a vertically movable support and a vertically-stationary support, of a button-holder comprising two main parts or sections hinged together, one of said parts having a j aw-spreading device normally stationary with respect thereto and being attached to the said verticallymovable support, and the other having a pair of button-holding jaws and being connected with the said stationary support, for the purpose set forth.

10. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with the vertically-movable presserbar thereof, of a button-holder carried by said presser-bar and having a pair of buttonholding jaws movable both horizontally and vertically relatively thereto, means cooperative with the presser-bar for tilting the aws vertically, and means carried, b and vertically movable with the presserar for controlling the horizontal or spreading movement of the jaws.

11. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with the presser-bar thereof, of a button-holder carried by said presser-bar and having a pair of button-holding jaws tiltable relatively to the work, and a vertically-movable j aw-spreading cam carried by the presserbar and being cooperative with one of the said aws.

12. In a button-sewing machine, the combination with a button-holder movable toward and from the work and having a pair of button-holding jaws one of which is adjustable toward and from the other, of a jawspreading cam vertically movable between IIO withdrawal of the button-holder from the work.

13. In a button-sewin machine, the combination with a buttonolder movable toward and from the work and having a pair of button-holding jaws adjustable toward each other, of a jaw-spreading cam vertically movable between said jaws and being cooperative with one of the same.

14. In a button-sewin machine, the combination with a buttonolder movable toward and from the work and having a pair of button-holding jaws adjustable toward and from each other, of a jaw-spreading cam vertically movable between said jaws and being cooperative with both of the same and adjustable for openings of different widths.

15. The combination with a button-holder vertically movable toward and from the work and having a air of button-holding jaws, of means norma ly tending to close such jaws, and ajaw-spreading cam vertically movable between said jaws and being in normal engagement therewith.

16. The combination with a button-holder vertically movable toward and from the work and havmg a air of button-holding jaws, of means norma 1y tending to close said jaws, and a combined jaw-s reading and jaw-adjusting device vertica y movable between said jaws and e aging therewith.

17. The combination with a button-holder having a pair of button-holding jaws movable toward and from each other, of a linkage the same and operative immediately on the 4 connecting said jaws, one of the members of which is dprovided with a cam-slot, a slide supporte independent of the jaws and having a pin extending into the said cam-slot to effect connection with the linkage and be controlled thereby, and a button-stop carried by said slide.

18. The combination with a pair of associated button-holding jaws movable in a horizontal plane toward and from each other, of a pair of pivoted coacting button-gripping members carried respectively by said aws and being movable in a directlon transversely to the plane of movement of the said buttonholding jaws.

19. The combination with a pair of associated button-holding jaws movable in a direction toward and from each other and each being provided with a fixed button-engaging face, of a pair of pivoted sprin -pressed button-gri ping members carrie respectively by sai jaws and being movable in a direction transversely to the plane of movement of the said button-holding jaws and toward and from the said fixed button-engaging faces thereof.

In testimony whereof'I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 15th day of November, 1901.

ARTHUR A. BOUTON.

I Witnesses:

CHAS. O. EMMoNs, W. O. WALKER.

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