IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING FLAT BUTTONS TO FABRICS, AND OTHER SUITABLE MATERIALS.
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Raphael Hunter Brandon of No. 1 Rue Laffitte Paris
in the Republic of France, Engineer and Patent Agent, for an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING FLAT BUTTONS TO FABRICS,
AND OTHER SUITABLE MATERIALS. A communication by The Morley Sewing
Machine Company of Boston, Massachussets, United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Raphael Hunter Brandon at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st March 1882.
RAPHAEL HUNTER BRANDON of No. 1 Rue Laffitte Paris in the Republic of
France Engineer and Parent Agent IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SEWING
FLAT BUTTONS TO FABRICS AND OTHER SUITABLE MATERIALS. A communi-
cation by The Morley Sewing Machine Company of Boston Massachussetts
United States of America
This Invention relates to the details of construction of a needle feed sewing
machine in which an eyed needle and a hook needle are used in combination with
a loop carrier operating above the work and at right angles to the vertical line
in which the needles move when they pass through the fabric, the object being to
sew buttons on the fabrics by carrying a double thread froin the under side of said
fabric up through a button and across that part of the button between the holes
therein and thence down through the fabric and so sewing on one button after
another in a line with a continuous thread and to feed said fabric along to place
In the Drawing
said buttons at any desired distance one from the other.
forming part of this Specification Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sewing
machine embodying these improvements Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same
with the front plate of the machine removed. Figure 3 is an isometric view of the
pivoted needle-bar case detached from the machine. Figure 4 is a rear isometric
view of the pivoted needle-bar case and a portion of its operating devices and showing
part of the frame of the machine in dotted outlines. Figure 5 is a plan view.
Figure 6 is a plan view of the end of a needle-bar. Figure 7 represents a needle-
adjusting block. Figure 8 is a view shewing the position of the loop carrier with
the loop of thread carried from the eyed-needle across the path of the hook needle
after the eyed-needle has reached its highest point and been retracted to throw out
the loop. Figure 9 is a plan view of the same. Figure 10 is a view of the parts
shown in Figure eight after the hook needle has reached its highest point and the
needles in feeding have moved somewhat away from the loop carrier. Figure 11 is
a plan view of the same. Figure 12 is a view of the parts shown in Figure eight
at the conclusion of the feed motion, the loop carrier having moved back and the

page_text: needles having been partially drawn out of the button. Figure 13 is a plan view
of the same showing in a dotted line the position of the next button. Figure 14 is
a view of the position of the parts shown in Figure eight after the stitch through
the button is completed. Figure 15 is a plan view of the top side of the fabric
with a row of buttons sewed on and Figure 16 is a view of the under side of the
same.
Like letters refer to like parts in the several parts.
**
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In the Drawings "A" is the frame of the machine; "B" is the driving shaft ;
"D" is a driving pulley, having a cam groove formed in one side of it shown in
dotted lines in Figure one. A" is a feed lever cam on shaft "B": a' is a crank
disc also on shaft "B" carrying a crank pin "e"; "b" is a slotted feed lever
adjustably pivoted to frame "A at a; c is a feed lever stud connecting the upper
end of lever b with arm f; d is a needle-bar case pivoted to frame "A at 2;
f is a vertical arm on the needle-bar case d; g is a front cap secured upon the end
of the machine and over the needle-bar case and its parts; h is a short arm on the
edge of cap g, in which is a set screw, i, adjustable to and from the edge of the
needle-bar case over which it stands; the front face of the needle-bar case; d, is
grooved vertically to receive the flat needle-bars 3, 4, and the cast off bar 5; an
adjustable screw 6 is set in the edge of the needle-bar case and operates against a
spring between its point and the side of the cast off bar, as shown in Figure two
to retain the cast off bar closely in position. said needle-bars as aforesaid are flat
and lay one against the other as shown in the several Figures. The under one 4
has secured in its end the eyed-needle, 7, and the outer one, 3, carries the hook-
needle, 8. Through cach of said needle-bars is cut a crank-pin slot, 9, in needle-bar 3
and the one in bar 4, is shown in dotted lines on said bar 3 in Figures two and
three. The rear side of the needle, bar case d, next to the crank disc a¹, is cut away
to permit the end of the crank pin e, to enter said slots, first passing through that
in bar 4, and next entering that one in bar 3, as shown and to move in a circle
around the axis of the shaft B and thus cause vertical reciprocating motions to be
given to both of said needle-bars in the order described hereinafter.
In Figure six is shown enlarged a plan view of the upper end of the needle-bars
in which provision is made for setting the needle at different points relative to the
vertical central line of the needle-bar so that the needles may be spread from or
made to approach each other to adjust them to operate through buttons which are
drilled with more or less spread of holes. The said adjustment is provided for by
enlarging the Chamber in the end of the needle-bar which receives the shank of the
needle so that with such needle shank there may be placed in said Chamber one or
more blocks w, properly grooved to have the needle shanks fit them. Thus, if it be
desired to move the needle 8, to the right, the block, W, beyond the needle is
removed, and placed in that position occupied by the needle said needle will take a
position equal to the thickness of the removed block, farther away from the left
side of the bar and vice versa. The cast off 5 is operated by any of the well
known devices employed for that purpose. A spring 10 secured to frame A bears
against the needle-bar case to throw it towards the adjusting screw i A presser-foot-
bar 12 is fitted in frame A carrying by the aid of a spring 13 the presser-
foot up against the under side of the needle-plate 14 A presser-bar lifting
lever t of ordinary construction is pivoted in the frame A as shewn in Figure 2
Any suitable take up may be used with this machine.
A bar kis fitted to be operated with vertical reciprocating movements in frame A
by its connection by means of a stud O in its lower end with the cam-groove in
the side of pulley D the end of the said stud O being adapted to enter said cam-
groove An elbow lever N is pivoted to frame A as shewn in Figure 1 and its
ends are slotted and engage one with a pin in the side of bar K and one with a
pin in the side of a horizontal loop corrier bar S adapted to have a reciprocating
longitudinal motion on the top of frame A To one end of said bar S is attached
a loop carrier of the form shewn in the several Figures and adapted to have its
down hanging point Carried back and forth by the ends of the needles as hereinafter

page_text: described. A needle plate 14 is secured to frame A and has a slot 21 made in it
at the base of which a small point projects between the needles 8 and 7 as shewn
in Figure 5. The operation of my machine in sewing flat or drilled eyed buttons
into fabrics is as follows. First the degree of feed movement of the needles is
fixed by determining the oscillatory movement of the needle-bar case D on its
pivot at 2 in frame A The starting point of the feed motion is from the position
the needles are shewn in Figure 5 and the adjustment of the feed is to determine
the distance said needles shall swing from said point in Figure 5 toward the open
end of slot 21 in the cloth plate 14 The feed lever b is vibrated on its pivot by
the action of cornice a on shaft B against the lower end of said lever The stud c
secures one end of lever to the arm f lever b being adjustibly pivoted at a³ rides
upon cam a thus By moving the pivot of said lever the swing of the needles is
varied The free end of lever b rides upon cam a The adjusting screw i in
arm h Figure 1 is turned against the edge of the needle-case until the points of
the needles will move up through the needle plate about at the base of the slot 21
in the needle plate as shewn in Figure 5 The fabric to be sewed upon is placed
between the needle plate and the presser-foot the needles at this time standing
quite down out of the way
The eyed needle is threaded as in an ordinary machine the thread being
drawn from a spool over any suitable intermediate tension device Now by
slightly turning shaft B the needle bar 4 carrying the threaded eyed-needle is
first moved up through the fabric and the needle-bar 3 carrying the hook-
needle then begins to move up and passes through the fabric the eyed-needle
having reached its highest point. Shaft B is now stopped and a button is placed
by hand or by the use of some suitable feeding device down over the points of
the two needles upon the fabric Shaft B is again started and the eyed-needle
first begins to draw downward out of the fabric. This movement causes a loop
to be formed on the side of the needle above the button As soon as said loop is
thrown out the loop carrier moves across the path of the eyed needle catching
upon its point said loop and carrying it across the path of the hook needle whose
point has risen high enough to intercept the lower part of the loop The relative
positions of the needles the loop-hook and loop at the above described period in
the operation of the said parts as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 The machine
now feeds by the swing of the needle-bar case d and the needles carrying the
fabric with the button along towards the open end of the slot 21
As the
points of the needles swing under the loop carrier in feeding as just described
the end of the hook needle rises further up and presses against the lower
part of the loop its upper part being held back by the loop carrier and both needles
have risen to an equal height and the hook-needle has been carried so high through
the loop that the latter passes around it below its hook and the loop and needles
are in the positions shown in Figures 10 and 11 The loop-carrier now moves
back towards its starting point the points of the needles as above described having
been by the feed motion as above described swing beyond and across the track of
the said loop-carrier thus causing said loop-carrier on its back stroke to pass behind
them whereas on its forward stroke it passes in front of them thereby carrying the
loop over the book needle The eyed-needle is moving downward while the
machine feeds its length of stitch passing out of the fabric leaving the loop over
the hook-needle as shown in Figures 12 & 13 the loop being drawn into the hook
by the action of a proper take up and held there until it passes down through
the button and fabric as shewn in Figure 14 when the thread is slacked The
hook needle now passes quite out of the fabric drawing the loop with it. The
needle-frame now swings back to its starting point bringing the points of the
needles again in proper position to move up again through the fabric A cast off* 5
or one such as is used on an ordinary wax thread sewing machine is employed
to cast the loop off from the hook-needle when the second and succeeding stitches
are made in like manner as the first except that in making the subsequent
stitches the hook-needle passes up through a previously made loop. Figure 15

page_text: illustrates the appearance of the top side of a strip of fabric upon which buttons
have been sewed as just described and Figure 16 illustrates the underside of
said fabric showing the appearance of the stitch thereupon Series of the above
described needle-bars and swinging frames are hung on the same stud 2 and are
driven by the shaft B and the bar S actuates as many loop-spreaders as there
are series of said needle-bars so that these devices may be grouped together in
a line to form four (more or less) sets of sewing on devices adapted to operate
simultaneously to sew a row of four (more or less) buttons across a card
Connection is made between shaft. B and a suitable driving shaft by any well
known clutch device whereby shaft B is made to complete one revolution when
started and then stop while other four buttons are placed on the ends of the
needles upon the card.
What I claim as my Invention is
1 The combination in a needle feed machine for sewing flat or drilled eyed
buttons to fabrics of an eyed needle and a hook-needle of two independent needle-
bars of a pivoted needle-bar case carrying both needle-bars side by side and
operating mechanism and of a loop carrier located above the work on the cloth
plate to move forward and back across the line of the feed motion of said needles
substantially as set forth
2 The combination in a needle feed sewing machine of the needle-bar-case d
pivoted in frame A of a hook-needle and an eyed-needle and two needle bars
standing side by side and of appliances substantially as described for imparting to
said needle-bars differential vertical movements and for imparting to said needle-
bar-case a vibrating movement in said frame substantially as set forth.
3 The combination in a sewing machine of a moveable needle-bar-case of the
crank disc a having fixed in it the crank-pin e of two needle-bars having cam-slots
in them of varying form in both of which slots said crank-pin operates simul-
taneously substantially as set forth
4 The combination with the needle-bar-case pivoted to frame A and having the
arm thereupon of the feed lever b the stud c the cam a on shaft B and spring 10
substantially as set forth.
5 In a needle feed sewing machine the combination of two independent
needle bars laying side by side and mechanism to operate said needle-bars
vertically and needle-feed mechanism substantially as described of a loop carrier
to catch and bold the thread loop while the ends of the needles swing away from it
substantially as set forth.
6 The combination in a sewing machine of two needle-bars a hook-needle and
an eyed needle and operating mechanism of a moveable needle-bar-case and feed
mechanism and of a loop carrier having a reciprocating movement across the line
of movement of said needles substantially as set forth.
7 In combination with a needle-bar having a chamber in one end thereof for the
reception of the shank of the needle a hooked-needle and an eyed-needle the clamp
screw 20 and one or more adjusting blocks w substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
In witness whereof I the said Raphael Hunter Brandon have hereunto set
my hand and seal the Twentieth day of february One thousand eight
Witness
D. H. BRANDON
No. 1 rue Laffitte
Paris.
R. H. BRANDON. (L.S.)