WO1991004364A1

WO1991004364A1 - Button attaching machine and method

Info

Publication number: WO1991004364A1
Application number: PCT/US1990/005340
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rickey J. Frye
Original assignee: Frye Rickey J
Priority date: 1989-09-18
Filing date: 1990-09-18
Publication date: 1991-04-04
Also published as: CA2042024A1; EP0479924A4; EP0479924A1; US5088428A

Abstract

This invention relates to the attachment of rows of buttons to workpieces and particularly to the attachment of rows of buttons to sleeves of jackets and the like. A programmable sewing machine (11) is used having button holding devices (78, 79) to hold the buttons (50) and to clamp the workpiece to retain each of the buttons (50) in a predetermined position relative to the workpiece.

Description

BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE AND METHOD This invention relates to the attachment of rows of buttons work pieces and particularly to the attachment of rows of butto to sleeves of jackets and the like.

In the production of jackets, particularly suit jackets wor by men, it is standard practice to sew a row of buttons near th end of each sleeve. Typically, there are three or four buttons i such a row, but there may be more than four or less than three While each button can be sewn onto a sleeve by carefully alignin it in the proper orientation and using a suitable tacking machine it is desirable to automate the process as much as possible, no only to accomplish it with greater speed but also with greate neatness and uniformity.

Objects and Summary of the Invention It is one of the objects of this invention to provide mean usable with an automatic sewing machine to attach a row of severa buttons to a work piece in what is essentially one operation..

Another object is to provide a fixture for a programmabl sewing machine to allow it to hold and attach a row of severa buttons to a work piece constituting the sleeve of a jacket.

A further object is to provide a method for attaching a row o buttons to a work piece in one operation consisting of severa steps.

Still further objects will be apparent to those skilled in th art after they have studied the following description and th accompanying drawings.

In accordance with this invention, the buttons are firs placed on pins at specific positions along an arm movably attache to a programmable sewing machine at a location not far from th stitch-forming mechanism. Then the arm, with the buttons supporte on it in exact positions, is moved into the stitch-forming regio and, specifically, between two button-holding devices mounted o the work holder so that they can move with respect to it as well a & moving with respect to each other. These devices have juxtapose edges, which, at the time the buttons are moved into place betwee them, are laterally spaced far enough apart to be out of the wa of the buttons.

When the row of buttons is in the correct position, th button-holding devices are forced toward each other by suitabl actuating means to press the juxtaposed edges against the entir row of buttons. These edges have recesses to receive edge portion of the buttons and to hold the buttons fast so that they canno move.

The arm on which the have been supported is then moved dow far enough for the tops of the pins to be lower than the lowe surfaces of the buttons and is retracted to the location at whic another set of buttons can be placed on the pins.

After the opposing button-holding devices have a firm grip o the buttons, a work piece is placed on a cloth plate on the bed o the sewing machine, and the button-holding devices are presse down on the work piece to serve as a clamp to hold it firmly i place on the cloth plate.

The button-holding devices are supported on the work holder o the machine in place of the usual clamp and are pivotally mounte so that they can swing outward to provide space for the button between their juxtaposed edges in the manner just described Pivoting of the button-holding devices, first in opposit directions and then back toward the row of buttons between them, i done by fingers moved by actuating means. In order to be sure tha the buttons are held firmly enough when pressed down against th work piece, a wedging device is located where the button-holdin devices will engage it as they are moved down. The wedging actio produces a force on each button-holding device at a locatio relative to the pivot axis of that device to force the juxtapose edges more firmly against the buttons. The extra force on th buttons is accommodated by a strip of elastomeric material at th bottom of the respective groove in the juxtaposed edges.

Because the buttons were originally placed on pins at know locations on the supporting arm and are always held under contro with no chance to move, the sewing machine can be programmed t form the stitches to attach them to the work ;piece without th necessity of human intervention. This not only results in a highe production rate but also neater garments, since every button wil be precisely spaced from the others and all of the button hole will be oriented in the same angular positions.

It is frequently desirable to change from sewing a certai number of buttons , for example, three buttons, on each sleev of one batch of sleeves to sewing a different number, for example, four, on the next batch and later to change back to the origina number or, perhaps, to still another number. In order t facilitate the changeover, the structure that holds the button and moves them into the proper position to be grasped and hel while they are being sewn in place may be divided into separat parts joined together by a quick-change structure similar to th quick-change structure in my U.S. Patent 4,763,587. In addition, the button-holding means may be made separately adjustable t accommodate buttons of different size, particularly those that have the same hole pattern to receive threads to attach them to a sleeve.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a programmable sewing machine.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of apparatus to transport rows of buttons to the machine in Fig. 1 and to hold those buttons in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the transport apparatus of Fig. 2 according to this invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective, fragmentary view of the work holder and cloth plate and part of the button-holding apparatus in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of part of the button-holding apparatus in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of apparatus shown in Fig. 2 to transport buttons to apparatus that holds them while they are being sewn in place H

Fig. 7 is a fragment of the apparatus in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a front view of the apparatus in Fig. 6. Detailed Description of the Invention

The sewing machine 11 in Fig. 1 is to be considered a representative of electronically programmable machines suitabl for this invention. The machine shown is a Brother BAS-310 machine but it is also possible to use other programmable machines, such a those made by Mitsubishi, Juki, and others. Since the most commo use for this invention is to attach a row of buttons to a sleeve it is preferable to use a cylinder bed machine. The machine 11 ha a bed 12 with a cylindrical extension 13. The cylinder enclose part of the stitch-forming mechanism, specifically, the loop-taker under a throat plate 14. A needle 16 constitutes the other mai part of the stitch-forming mechanism, and both of these parts ar driven by power supplied from an electric motor (not shown connected to the mechanism in the machine 11 by a pulley 17.

The machine includes work-holding means 18 comprising a wor holder 19 and a cloth plate 21 joined to the work holder. The wor holding mechanism is moved about on the bed 12 by motors within th base 22 and the housing 23. The work-holding mechanism 18 is move in the Y direction, which is parallel to the central plane of th cylinder 12, by force transmitted through a shaft 24 connected to yoke 26 that supports a second shaft 27 that extends in the direction. The shaft 27 is connected to the work holder 19 and through it, to the cloth plate 21. The work-holding mechanism i moved in the X direction by a motor (not shown) in the base 22.

The work holder 19 in the machine 11 includes a base 28 and a arm 29, one end of which is rigidly attached to the base, to whic the cloth plate 21 is also rigidly attached. The free end of th work holder arm has a vertical plate 31 that has vertical slots 3 and 33 to guide the movement of a clamp foot toward and away fro the cloth plate. In place of the two vertical portions of clam feet that normally occupy the slots 32 and 33, there are tw vertical races 34 and 36 that constitute part of the structure o s this invention and are retained in the slots by vertical guid 37-39.

The front ends of two arms 40 and 41 pivotally mounted on pin 42 through the work holder arm extend through apertures 43 a

44 in the vertical races 34 and 36. As the arms 40 and 41 pivot the clockwise direction, the vertical races are raised from t positions in which they are shown to a higher position. Conversel when the arms 40 and 41 pivot in the counter-clockwise directio the vertical races descend in their respective slots. In t machine 11, the arms 40 and 41 are moved by two pneumatic cylinde

45 and 46 attached to the work holder 19, although oth programmable machines employ different means to operate arms th perform the same function.

The machine 11 also includes a controller 47 and a main swit 48.

Figs. 2 and 3 show only a fraction of the machine 11 to whi is attached a frame 49 for a transport mechanism to carry butto 50 to the stitch-forming region of the machine. The frame includ a horizontal bar 51 bolted to the top of the horizontal arm 52 the machine 11. Two vertical bars 53 and 54 extend down from t bar 51 and are rigidly connected to a second horizontal bar 55 Two plates 56 and 57 extend down from the bar 55, to which they a rigidly attached, and they hold the ends of a pair of parall shafts 58 and 59 that guide the movement of a carriage 60. Moti power to move the latter back and forth on the shafts 58 and 59 i supplied by a pneumatic cylinder 61 attached to the plate 56 an provided with a piston connected to the carriage 60 by a connectin rod 62. Air is supplied to the cylinder through two air lines 6 and 64 to drive the carriage to the right when the pressure in th line 63 is greater than that in the line 64 and back to the lef when the pressure in the two lines is reversed.

A plate 65 rigidly attached to the carriage 60 has a pivot pi 66 on which an arm 67 is pivotally mounted. The arm 67 is limite to a very small amount of movement in response to actuation o another pneumatic cylinder 68. One end of the cylinder i connected to a fixed arm 69 attached near the top of the plate 65 and a piston in the cylinder is connected by way of a connectin rod 70 and a clevis 71 to the arm 67. Air is supplied to th cylinder 68 by two air hoses 72 and 73. When the pressure in th hose 72 is greater than that in the hose 72, the arm 67 is pivote counterclockwise. When the pressure in the line 73 is higher tha that in the line 72 the arm 67 pivots clockwise to the limite extent it can do so.

In the perspective view in Fig. 2 it can be seen that anothe arm 74 extends perpendicularly from the free end of the arm 67 an that the arm 74 in this embodiment has three sets of pins 75-7 extending upwardly from its upper surface. Each set is arrange according to the thread holes in a button, and the sets are space apart along the arm 74 according to the center-to-center spacin from button to button, and the arm 74 extends parallel to th cylinder 13. The carriage 60 is shown in an intermediate position normally, when buttons 50 are to be placed on the three sets o pins, the button-supporting arms 65 and 73 are farther to the lef so as to be farther from the stitch-forming region of the machin 11, thereby giving the operator more room. However, there is n fixed location to which the button-supporting arms must move; the will stop wherever the controls have been set to cause them t stop.

After the buttons have bee loaded on the pins, the control for the machine can be actuated to cause the pneumatic cylinder 6 to move the carriage 60 and arms 67 and 74 to the right to brin the arm 74 over the center line of the cylinder 13. At that time two button-holding devices 78 and 79 must be spread apart, in th positions shown, to allow room for the the buttons supported on th arm 74 to be brought directly in line with the juxtaposed edges 8 and 81. In order to transport the buttons to that position, th cylinder 61 must not only move the carriage fully to the right, bu the small cylinder 68 must elevate the free end of the arm 67 thereby elevating the entire arm 74. It can be seen that there i little vertical space between the cloth plate 21 and th button-holding devices 78 and 79, and so it is not necessary pivot the arm 67 more than just a few degrees counterclockwise.

Once the buttons 50 on the arm 74 are substantially in t plane of the juxtaposed edges 80 and 81 , the devices 78 and 79 c be forced toward each other until they encounter the edges of t buttons. At that time, the edges of the devices 78 and 79 a still far enough above the cloth plate 21 to allow the arm 67 pivot back in the opposite, or clockwise, direction to move t pins down and completely out of the buttons, which are entire supported by the button-holding devices 78 and 79. Once the to of the pins 75-77 are lower than the bottom surfaces of t buttons, the cylinder 61 can return the carriage 60 and the arms and 74 to the left to be entirely out of the path of any part the stitch-forming mechanism and of the buttons and the devices and 79.

It will be observed that the devices 78 and 79 are direct alongside an elongated slot 82 in the cloth plate 21. This sl is long enough to allow the stitches for all of the buttons in row to pass through. Since the cloth plate is affixed to the wo holder 19 (Fig. 1) to which the devices 78 and 79 are attached, t devices 78 and 79 will be over the same region of the cylinder 1 as the slot 82. The arm 74 is only capable of moving transversel and not longitudinally with respect to the cylinder 13, and so i is necessary to be sure that the devices 78 and 79 are properl positioned with respect to the longitudinal dimension of th cylinder 13 so that the precisely correct parts of the juxtapose edges 79 and 81 will engage the buttons placed between them.

Figs. 4 and 5 show the structure that supports and moves th button-holding means 78 and 79. The apparatus in each of thes figures is only fragmentary in order to make it easier t visualize. Certain components appear in both figures, as well a in some of the other figures, and the overall structure can b understood by reference to these common components.

Fig. 4 shows the cylinder 13 and the cloth plate 21 on it. saddle 83 is welded to the cloth plate to hold a guard 84 that ca be set to determine how far a work piece is to be pushed onto th cylinder. The guard has a visible slot 86 and is secured to th saddle by a screw (not shown) through this slot, so that th position of the guard can be adjusted.

Above the cloth plate is the work holder arm 29 and th vertical plate 31 at its end. Both of the slots 32 and 33 ar shown to some extent, but only one vertical race 36 is shown i order to allow more of the slot 32 to be visible. In the absenc of a vertical race in the slot 32, it is possible to see the slo 87 in which the arm 40 is free to move vertically. There is similar slot for the arm 41, but it is behind the vertical race 36

Fig. 4 also shows part of a main support plate 88 on whic both the of the button-holding devices 78 and 79 are pivotall mounted, but neither of those devices is shown in this figure. hole 89 is shown in which the pivot pin for one of the devices i to be placed. In addition, a finger 91 that passes along the fa edge of the vertical plate 31 is shown extending through a vertica slot 92 in the main support plate, and it is to be understood tha a similar finger extends through a similar slot alongside the nea edge of the vertical plate 31.

The main support plate is attached to the vertical race 36 an the other vertical race 34 that is not shown in this figure b means of several machine screws, only one of which is shown. Thi is the screw 93.

Also shown is half of a guard 94 that is more completely show in Fig. 5. In addition, there is a central stud 96 rigidly mounte on the vertical barrier 38 and extending through a vertical slot 9 in the main support plate 88. This stud, but not its fixe mounting, is also shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 shows the mechanism for moving the button-holdin devices 78 and 79 apart and then moving them back toward each othe to grasp a row of buttons. By comparison of the locations of th main support plate 88, the finger 91, the guard 94, and the stud 9 in Figs. 4 and 5, the way the structure in Fig. 5 combines wit that in Fig. 4 is clear. The structure in Fig. 5 also includes a pneumatic cylinder that actuates the button-holding device 78 and the other but holding device 79, not shown in this figure but shown in Fig. 2 being symmetrical with the device 78. The piston in the cylin 99 is connected by a connecting rod 101 to a crank arm 102 rigi mounted on a shaft 103, which is pivotally mounted in two s members 104 and 105 rigidly attached to the main support plate A rear support 106 is attached to the rear ends of the side memb to complete a rectangular structure that extends around vertical plate 31 in Fig. 4.

In addition to the crank arm 102, two other arms 107 and 1 are also rigidly attached to the shaft 103, for example, by screws. The finger 91 projects forward from the arm 107 extends through the slot 92 and through a horizontal slot 111 i bracket 112 that forms part of the button-holding device 78. bracket is pivotally mounted on a pin 113 that is held in place the hole 89 shown in Fig. 4. When air pressure in the cylinder forces the crank arm 102 to pivot clockwise, the shaft 103 rotat in the same direction, carrying with it the arm 107. This til the finger 91 up and causes it to pivot the bracket 112 clockwis which moves the clamp portion 114 of the button-holding device outward relative to the central plane of the structure in Fig. Reversing the air pressure in the cylinder 99 reverses the pivoti of the crank arm 102, the shaft 103, the arm 107, the finger 9 and the bracket 112. As a result, the clamp portion of t button-holding device 78 moves back toward the center, t direction it would move to grasp the edge of a button if one we there to be grasped.

Although the other button-holding device 79 is not shown Fig. 5 in order not to clutter up the drawing, it is clear that would move in the opposite direction from that in which the devi 78 moves. This is because a finger 116 attached to the arm 1 extends through a slot 117 symmetrical with the finger 91 and sl 92 in the main support member 88.

The clamp portion 114 is made with upper and lower plates 1 and 119, respectively. The length of the clamp portion i determined by the number and diameter of the buttons to be sewn o each work piece. Along the edge 121, which is the edge tha confronts the clamp portion of the other button-holding device 7 and has bee referred to previously in this description as juxtaposed edge, there is a gap between the upper and lowe members. This allows the edges of the buttons to fit into th resulting groove 122. Between the upper and lower members 118 an 119, and forming the bottom of the groove 122, is a strip o elastomeric material 123. It is actually this material that th edges of the button are pressed against, and the elastic propertie of the material allow the pressure on the buttons to be increase considerably to be certain that they do not slip. In thi embodiment, the proper locations of the buttons are indicated b three notches 124-126 that allow extra space for forming th stitches to attach the buttons to a work piece.

While the fingers 91 and 116 apply some pressure to th button-holding devices 78 and 79 to cause them to grip the button securely, the fact that the clamp portion 114 of the device 78 an the similar part of the other device 79 are pressed firmly agains each work piece to hold it in place as the work piece and th buttons move from one button-attaching position to the next make it desirable to provide extra pressure to force the devices 78 an 79 toward each other. This is accomplished by the stud 96, whic serves as wedging means. As the pneumatic cylinders 45 and 46 i Fig. 1 force the arms 40 and 41 to pivot counterclockwise relativ to the positions in which they are shown, the front ends of thes arms push the vertical races 34 and 36 down, thereby forcing th main support plate and everything attached to it down. The stu 96, however, does not move. The upper ends of the bracket 112 a its mirror image twin extend part of the way across the slot 97 and, as the main support plate goes down, these ends of t brackets engage the stud, which wedges them apart. Being so wedg causes the lower ends of the brackets on which the clamp portio are mounted, to move toward each other with even greater force th 7Ϊ the fingers 91 and 116 can apply.

Figs. 6-8 show modified arms 167 and 174 to feed buttons the button-holding devices 78 and 79 in Fig. 2. The arm 16 consists of two parts 128 and 129 that are shown as havi overlapping ends 131 and 132, respectively. As shown in Fig. 7 the end 132 in this embodiment has two parallel pins 133 and 134 each with a detent groove 136 and 137, respectively, around it at predetermined location from the surface 138 of the end 132. Th pins 133 and 134 fit precisely in openings 139 and 140 in the en portion 131 of the part 128 and are held therein by detent means As shown in Fig. 8, one of the detent means includes a bal 142 that fits into a hole 143 in the end 131 and is held in plac by an adjustment screw 144 that presses a spring 146 against th ball. The hole 143 is aligned with the hole 140 and is spaced fro the surface 147 of the end part 131 by the same distance that th groove 137 is spaced from the surface 138 so that, when the pin 133 and 134 are fully inserted into the holes 139 and 140, the bal 142 will be forced into engagement with the groove 137.

In the same manner, another detent screw 148 threaded into hole 149 aligned with the hole 139 controls another detent sprin and ball that are not shown but are like the spring 146 and th ball 142. Together, the detent balls controlled by the screws 14 and 148 exert enough pressure on the pins 134 and 133 respectively, to hold the part 129 firmly in place on the part 12 and accurately positioned with respect thereto, while stil allowing the part 129 to be removed from the part 128 by th operator, using finger pressure and without using tools, so as t replace an arm 174 having one pattern of button-holding pins wit another such arm having a different pattern of pins.

The arm 174 differs from the arm 74 in Fig. 2 by having fou sets of pins 175-178. Each of these pins extends perpendicularl from the top surface of the arm 174, and the pins of each set ar spaced apart according to the holes in buttons to be sewn to a wor piece. The arm 174 is attached to the end of the part 129 by tw set screws 181 and 182 that pass through an elongated slot 183 i the arm 174. One of the reasons for making this slot elongated is to allow the arm 174 to be positioned so that the buttons held on the sets of pins 175-179 can be held in the proper positions to be sewn in proper positions on a work piece. As it happens, there are buttons of different diameters that have the same thread hole arrangements and can be sewn to a work piece by a programmable machine using the same stitch-forming program, and the slot 183 facilitates placing such buttons properly.

While this invention has been described in terms of a specific embodiment, it will be understood that modifications may be made therin without departing from the scope hereof.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In a programmable sewing machine having a be stitch-forming means, work-holding means comprising a work hold and a cloth plate attached to the work holder, and means to mo the work holding means to selected points relative to the b according to a program, the invention comprising:

(a) first and second button-holding means separab relative to each other;

(b) means supporting the button-holding means to movable relative to each other and to the work-holding means;

(c) means to separate the button-holding means to recei and release buttons between the first and second button-holdi means and toward each other to grasp the buttons therebetween;

(d) button-supporting means to support a plurality buttons;

(e) means to move the button-supporting means to predetermined location to place the buttons supported thereon position to be grasped by the button-holding means; and

(f) and means to move the button-holding means and t buttons grasped thereby toward the bed to place the buttons in predetermined position relative to a work piece thereon.

2. The invention of claim 1 in which the means to support t button-holding means comprises main support means movably support on the work holder.

3. The invention of claim 1 in which the means to support t button-holding means comprises first and second pivotal suppo means for the first and second button-holding means, respectively

4. The invention of claim 1 in which the first and seco button-holding means comprise laterally separable clamping jaws hold the buttons and to clamp the work piece to retain each of t buttons in a predetermined position relative to the work piece.

5. The invention of claim 4 in which the laterally separab clamping jaws extend substantially parallel to the axis of t cylinder bed.

6. The invention of claim 5 in which the separable clampi jaws comprise juxtaposed grooved surfaces, edge portions of t buttons fitting into the grooves.

7. The invention of claim 6 comprising resilient means defining at least the bottom of the groove of at least one of the clamping jaws to apply substantially equal force to all of the buttons.

8. The invention of claim 6 in which each of the clamping jaws comprises elastomeric means to engage edge portions of buttons held by the clamping means.

9. The invention of claim 6 in which each of the clamping jaws comprises an elongated elastomeric member defining the bottom of the respective groove in that clamping jaw.

10. In a programmable sewing machine having a cylinder bed, stitch-forming means at a fixed location relative to the bed, work-holding means comprising a work holder and a cloth plate attached to the work holder, and means to move the work-holding means to selected points on the bed according to a program, the invention comprising:

(a) main support means movably mounted on the work holder;

(b) means to move the main support means toward and way from the bed;

(c) first and second button-holding means pivotally mounted on the support means and comprising first and second clamping jaws with juxtaposed edges extending substantially parallel to the cylinder bed and movable toward and away from each other to grasp buttons between them;

(d) button-supporting means to support a plurality of buttons in predetermined spaced relationship with respect to each other along a line parallel to the cylinder bed;

(e) means to move the button-supporting means to place each of the buttons supported thereon in a respective predetermine location between the juxtaposed edges of the first and secon button-holding means;

(f) means to move the juxtaposed edges toward each othe to grasp the buttons; and

(g) and means to move the button-holding means toward th IS bed to a predetermined position relative to a work piece thereon.

11. The invention of claim 10 in which the button-supporti means comprises:

(a) a carriage;

(b) guide means supporting the carriage to allow it move toward and away from the button-holding means in a directi lateral to the axis of the cylinder bed;

(c) a transfer arm movably mounted on the carriage;

(d) bracket means extending parallel to the axis of t cylinder bed and comprising a plurality of pins at predetermin locations to hold a plurality of buttons in specific orientatio and spaced a predetermined distance apart;

(e) means to move the carriage along the guide means move the bracket means to a location between and below the clampi jaws; and

(f) means to elevate the bracket means to lift t buttons thereon to the level to be grasped by the clamping jaws.

12. The invention of claim 10 in which the means to move t juxtaposed edges toward each other comprises:

(a) pivotal arm means supported by the main support mea and engaging the pivotally mounted button-holding means; and

(b) means to pivot the pivotal arm means, thereby pivot the button-holding means to separate the clamping jaws wh the pivotal arm means pivot in one direction and to move t clamping jaws toward each other when the pivotal arm means pivot the opposite direction.

13. The invention of claim 12 comprising:

(a) an axle supporting the pivotal arm means;

(b) a pneumatic cylinder mounted on the main suppo means; and

(c) separate arm means rigidly mounted on the axle a connected to the pneumatic cylinder to be pivoted by it to piv the axle and, thereby, the pivotal arm means.

14. The invention of claim 13 in which each of t button-holding means comprises a first part pivotally mount on the main support, the pivotal axis of each of the button-holdi means being between the ends of the respective first part with the clamping jaws being at one end of the respective first part, said invention further comprising wedging means to engage the first parts between the axis and the other end of each of the first parts when the button-holding means reaches a certain proximity to the work piece, thereby to exert a force on each of the first parts to press the clamping jaws more forcefully together.

15. The invention of claim 14 in which the main support means slides parallel to the surface of the work holder and has a central slot between the first part of each of the button-holding means, and the wedging means comprises a projection affixed to the work holder and extending through the slot to engage the first part of each of the button-holding means.

16. The invention of claim 10 in which:

(a) the button-supporting means comprises a first arm having a first part pivotally mounted on the main support means;

(b) a second part;

(c) detent means connecting the second part to the first part securely but hand-releasably; and

(d) a second arm attached to the second part and extending at an angle thereto and substantially parallel with the cylinder bed and comprising alignment means to support the buttons at predetermined positions along the second arm.

17. The method of sewing a row of buttons, each having at least one stitch aperture, at predetermined respective positions along a work piece, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) feeding the row of buttons to gripping means, each of the buttons being placed in a predetermined position relative to the gripping means on a programmable sewing machine having stitch-forming means and with each stitch aperture at a predetermined orientation;

(b) gripping the buttons from opposite sides of the row while maintaining a known orientation of each stitch aperture;

(c) bringing the row of buttons into predetermined relation with respect to a work piece;

(d) moving the buttons and the work piece to a succession \1 of locations to bring a stitch aperture of each button in turn in alignment with the stitch-forming mechanism; and

(e) forming stitches to attach each button, in turn, the work piece.

18. The method of claim 17 in which the step of feeding ea of the buttons to a respective predetermined location relati to the gripping means comprises:

(a) placing each of the buttons on aligned pins extendi upward from a support that extends parallel to the row;

(b) moving the support to a predetermined locatio relative to the sewing machine;

(c) elevating the buttons to a level at which they can b gripped; and

(d) moving the support away from the gripping means afte the buttons on it have been gripped.

19. The method according to claim 18 in which the step o feeding each of the buttons to a respective predetermined locatio relative to the gripping means comprises:

(a) moving the support in a first direction perpendicula to the row and to a location below the level at which the button can be gripped;

(b) pivoting the support to elevate the buttons to th level at which they can be gripped; and

(c) pivoting the support in the reverse direction afte the buttons have been gripped to bring the tops of the pins belo the level of the bottoms of the buttons.

20. The method of claim 17 in which the buttons are gripped b opposing, pivotally mounted jaws, and the method further comprises

(a) pivoting the jaws apart to allow the buttons to b fed between them;

(b) pivoting the jaws toward each other to grip the ro of buttons; and

(c) wedging the jaws toward each other to increase th grip on the buttons as the row of buttons is brought int predetermined relation with respect to the work piece.