IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR ATTACHING METAL EYELETS TO CLOTH AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR ATTACHING METAL
EYELETS TO CLOTH AND OTHER MATERIALS."-A communication from abroad
by Charles Edward Howard, of Bridgewater, in the State of Massachusetts,
United States of America.
Sealed the 12th May 1863, and dated the 19th December 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th December 1862.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Dranghtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR ATTACHING
METAL EYELETS TO CLOTH AND OTHER MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the application of eyelets to
cloth and other fabrics. To this end a peculiar arrangement of shute is
provided for feeding the eyelets one by one up to or between a pair of punches
or dies, which secure the eyelets to the fabric. This machine is provided with

page_text: a stationary punch, and below it a reciprocating bolster or die arranged in line
with the punch.
The feeding apparatus consists of a cylindrical box for containing the
eyelets, attached to which is an inclined shute down which the eyelets pass
from the box to a position between the punch and bolster. A rotating brush,
mounted excentrically in the box, assists in the delivery of the eyelets into the
shute, the openings through which such delivery takes place being of such
form as to insure the eyelets being delivered right side up. The shute has a
lateral oscillating motion, for the purpose of throwing it out of the line of action
of the dies. Its action is to present the eyelets one at a time to a sliding pin,
which works in the centre of the bolster or moving die, and then move and
keep out of the way while the perforations provided in the cloth or other
material for the reception of the eyelets are placed over them, and while the
eyelets are rivetted by being pressed against the punch by the bolster. This
sliding pin, whose duty is to take the eyelets from the shute and bring them
directly opposite the centres of the punch and bolster, slides or recedes into
the bolster as it comes in contact with the punch in the rivetting operation.
The shute and feed box are mounted on a pivot, and their oscillating motion
is made consequent on the rising of the bolster or moving die, which may be
actuated by a treadle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 19th June 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Alfred
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license, that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others.
as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully,
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great

page_text: Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR ATTACHING METAL EYELETS. TO CLOTH AND OTHER
MATERIALS," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-.
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, has
for its object to facilitate the insertion of eyelets into fabrics and garments,
and consists in the construction of a machine having a stationary punch or
die, and below it a reciprocating bolster or die arranged in line with each
other, together with a box for containing the eyelets, attached to which is an
inclined shute, down which the eyelets pass from the box to a position between
the fixed and moveable dies. A reciprocating brush, mounted excentrically in
the box, assists in the delivery of the eyelets into the shute, the openings
through which the delivery takes place being of such form as to insure the
eyelets being delivered right side up. The shute has a lateral oscillating
motion for the purpose of throwing it out of the line of the dies. Its action is
to present the eyelets one at a time to a sliding pin, which works in the centre
of the bolster or moving die, and then to move and keep out of the way while
the perforations provided in the cloth or other material for the reception of
the eyelets are placed over them, and while the eyelets are rivetted by being
pressed against the punch by the bolster. This sliding pin, whose duty is
to take the eyelets from the shute, and bring them directly opposite the
centres of the punch and bolster, slides or recedes into the bolster as it comes
in contact with the punch in the rivetting operation. The shute and feed box
are mounted on a pivot, and their oscillating motion is made consequent on
the rising of the bolster or moving die, which may be actuated by a treaddle.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing in which Fig. 1
is. a right hand side view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the
same taken in a line parallel with Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of the same with
the punch and its holder broken away to expose the end of the shute and a

page_text: portion of the bolster to view. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the shute; and
exhibiting also the front or lower side of the box, and the openings through
which the eyelets are delivered. Fig. 5 is a transverse section in the line x, x,
of Figs. 1 and 2. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
the several Figures.
b
A is an iron table, intended to be secured to any suitable support, B, and
having secured upon it a standard C, which supports both the box D for con-
taining the eyelets and the inclined laterally oscillating shute F. The shuto
has firmly secured to it a pivot a which is fitted and secured in a suitable
bearing 6 provided for it in the standard C. This pivot is free to turn in its
bearing to permit the oscillation of the shute. The box D, which is nearly
cylindrical in form, is secured to the rear and higher end of the shute, and con-
sequently has a corresponding oscillating motion. The greater portion of the
length of the shute F is only just wide enough for the passage of the eyelets
in single file, and its sides are formed as shown in the section Fig. 5 for the
reception of the eyelets to present them with the flanges downward as they
slide freely by gravitation towards the punch. The eyelets are shown in red
color. The rear and upper portion of the shute which connects with the box D
is wider and of taper form, as shown by dotted outline in Fig. 3, and is covered
by a plate F¹, but the narrower portion of it is uncovered. The front end,
from whence the eyelets are delivered, is slightly turned up to give it a hori-
zontal position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and has fitted to it a spring d,
forming an elastic mouth-piece to prevent the too free delivery of the eyelets
to the pin e, by which they are taken and held in the proper position for the
operation of the bolster and punch, and the said horizontal portion is open on
the right side for the eyelets to pass out and open at the bottom for the upward
passage of the pin e into the eyelets. There are several openings f, f. in the
front portion of the box D opposite the shute, each of which openings is only
just large enough for the passage of a single eyelet. These openings are
formed and arranged as shown in Fig. 4, so that the eyelets can only pass
through them with their flanges in a downward position. E is the brush
working within the box D having its bristles radiating from a central hub
which is fast on a shaft 9 running through the box and working in bearings
in the top and bottom thereof, the said bearings being so arranged that the
points of the bristles work in contact or nearly in contact with the front or lower
side of the box where the openings f, f, are situated. The shaft g is furnished
below the box with a crank arm h, the wrist i of which enters a slot in a station-
ary plate j, which is secured to the standard C. The oscillating movement of
the box D with the shute, while the wrist i is retained in the slot in the platej,

page_text: produces an oscillating movement of the brush about the axis of its shaft g, and
causes the brush to sweep the eyelets back and forth past the openings f,f,
until they are brought right side up opposite to the openings, when they pass out
through the openings into the shute. This action of the brush is assisted by the
oscillating movement to which the box is subjected by reason of its attachment
to the oscillating shute. G is the stationary punch or die held in an upright
position by being secured in a rigid arm H cast with or otherwise secured to
the table A. The point of this punch is of a size and form to fit the eyelets,
and it has a concave shoulder 1 of a suitable form to turn over the upper edges
of the eyelets and rivet them in the cloth or other material. The punch is so
situated with respect to the shute that at the end of the movement of the
latter to the right or in the direction of the arrow shown near it in Fig. 3,
the eyelet which is in its mouth is brought directly under the punch. I is the
bolster or moveable die fitted into the upper end of a plunger K, which is ar-.
ranged directly in line with the punch below the shute where it is fitted to a
suitable fixed upright guide J, which is cast with or otherwise secured to the
table A. The pin e works through this die or bolster, and has applied below
it within the plunger K a spring m, which exerts a constant tendency to force.
it upward but is prevented from forcing it further out of the bolster than is
necessary by a flange on the lower end of the pin. The pin being in the
centre of the bolster and plunger has its axis directly in line with the axis of
the punch. The lower end of the plunger K is connected with the front end
of a vertically operating lever L, the fulcrum n of which is suspended by a link
M from a fixed pin p secured in the lower part of the table A. The rear end
of this lever is to be connected by a rod N with a treadle or other device for
applying power to produce the upward and downward movement of the plunger
and bolster, and the lateral oscillating movement of the shute, the latter move-
ment being obtained from a rod P which is connected with the lever L, and.
the upper portion of which works through a guide opening in the table A.
This rod has formed upon or attached to its inner side a tappet q, which
operates upon the two shoulders r, s, of an upright slide Q, which is slotted to
work vertically upon two fixed guide pins t, t. The rod has also attached to
its inner side a wedge u, which, as the rod is raised by the movement of the
lever L, acts against a horizontally moving lever R, which works upon a fixed
fulcrum v under the table A, and which has its front end connected at w with
the front portion of the shute. The action of the wedge u produces the
movement of the shute to the left or in the opposite direction to the arrow
shown near it in Fig. 3 to carry it out of the way of the punch and bolster pre-
paratory to the operation of the latter to rivet the eyelet. The slide Q carries

page_text: a stop y, and as it is moved upward by the action of the tappet 7 upon the
shoulder r in the completion of the upward movement of the rod P, the stop y
is brought against the right-hand side of the lever R, and so made to prevent that
lever and the shute from moving back in the direction of the arrow shown in
Fig. 3 during the first part of the descent of the lever L, rod N, and plunger K,
and until the plunger K has descended far enough to allow the shute to clear
the point of the pin e, when the tappet comes into operation on the shoulder s
and moves down the slide Q and so withdraws the stop y and permits the
lever R and the shute to be moved to the right in the direction of the aforesaid
arrow by the action upon the said lever of a spring Z secured under the table.
This latter movement of the shute is arrested when its mouth is directly
between the punch and bolster by a cushioned stop T on the table A. The
downward movement of the front end of the lever L is limited by a stop U
secured to the stand B.
The construction and individual operations of the machine having now
been described, the manner in which the eyeletting process is performed by
it will now be explained. The operator stands in front of the machine,
holding the goods which have been perforated at the proper points for the
reception of the eyelets; and operating the lever L by the treadle or other
device provided for the purpose. The movement of the brush, aided by the
movement of the box, causes the delivery of the eyelets into the shute down
which they slide by gravitation to its mouth. As the eyelets severally arrive
in the mouth of the shute they are brought by the downward movement of the
front end of the lever L and consequent movement of the shute in the direction
of the arrow shown in Fig. 3 to a position over the pin e and bolster I, while
the plunger K is in its lowest position and the point of the pin e is below the
shute. The depression of the rear end of the lever L then causes the plunger
K, the bolster, and the pin e to rise, and the pin to pass into the eyelet which
has been brought over it, and the operator then places the hole which is to
receive the eyelet over the point of the pin, after which the continued ascent
of the plunger causes the bolster to force the eyelet into the hole and to lift
up the eyelet and the goods while the shute is being moved aside for the pur-
pose of leaving the eyelet on the pin, and the eyelet is thereby placed on the
punch G, the further ascent of the pin e being prevented after its point has
come into contact with the point of the punch and the bolster pushing the
eyelet off the said pin and on to the punch. As the bolster completes its
upward movement it drives the upper edge of the eyelet against the shoulder /
of the punch, and thereby causes it to be turned outward all round the punch
and rivet the eyelet into the goods. As the bolster descends again the pin e

page_text: is forced upward relatively to it by the spring m, and when this movement of
the pin has ceased, and the said pin has descended a little way from the punch G
with its die or bolster I, the eyelet and the goods are removed from the
punch.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of improved machinery
for attaching metal eyelets to cloth and other materials, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim the arrangement of machinery
above described for facilitating the attachment of metal eyelets to cloth and
other materials.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.s.)