IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PASTE AND ENAMEL BUTTONS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Constant Jouffroy, Duméry, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn, in the
County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF PASTE AND ENAMEL BUTTONS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Constant Jouffroy
Duméry at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 14th April 1853.
I, CONSTANT JOUFFROY DUMERY, of Paris, in the Empire of France,
and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF PASTE AND ENAMEL BUTTONS" to be as follows:-
My machines are of two kinds: first, for manufacturing several
buttons at a time; and, secondly, for manufacturing but one button at
each stroke.
In all machines that have been used for the manufacture of pasie
buttons, all the operations are made successively at the same point,
and require a considerable time for the manufacture of one button.
In order to obtain greater rapidity the number of moulds is increased:

page_text: this renders the apparatus expensive. I have surmounted many diffi-
culties by suppressing the points for the piercing of the holes, and by
dividing the operations thus:-Supposing the lower part B, of the
tool A, B, Fig. 1, Sheets 1, and 7, brought under a distributor C,
placed at the lower part of the sieve D, containing the pulverized
matter, and furnished internally with a circular agitator E, and with
vertical stuffers F, having simultaneously a rectilineal and rotary
motion. If the circular agitator work continuously, to prevent the
cavities that might be made in the plastic matter by their eccentric
motions, and conduct the matter facing a hole or aperture made in the
slide c, and corresponding to the lower parts of the moulds, the cavities
in the slide c, are filled with metal that is not compressed, but equally
distributed. When the slide has passed over the part c', and "", the
holes d, then face the openings of the same dimension, made in the
plates surrounding the slide. A slight pressure on the cleaning reed G,
will free the slide of the matter it contains, which is received at the
lower part b, b. The matter ought to be likewise distributed by a
circular distributor, having its lower part under the sieve. If, while the
lower part b, b, is being supplied with paste, the upper part a, a, con-
taining the button previously struck, to be transferred from the opposite
side, and that a pressure be made by the part H, which causes the
buttons to fall on a moveable plate I, in consequence of a slight motion
given to a, a, of the upper stamp. The striking operation is made by
obtaining a pressure by a lever or screw, when the two parts of the
mould are facing each other. The joint dividing horizontally the neck
or collar a, a, and b, b, of the mould, one of the two halves of this
collar remains constantly round the lower part, while the other half is
attached to the upper part, and by the joint of the collar the charging
and throwing off may be made simultaneously. The charging of a
part is prepared in the distributor, while the striking and the reception
of the matter are made by horizontal rectilineal motion given to the
receiving plate I. My mode of striking differs likewise from the usual
mode, by the elasticity given to the points by the levers B', thus
equalising the pressure, so that if, notwithstanding the precautions with
the distributor, there existed any inequalities in the charging, the

page_text: pressure on the button would always be.equal, whatever its thickness
might be; thus fewer buttons are spoiled.
My mechanism has less wear and tear. The operation of piercing is
made simultaneously (by my machine); thus the upper portion of the
tool A, A, though it cannot. be fixed to N, is adjusted at all the parts
where the metals 'come into contact, and. is furnished at the different
parts where it is joined with vulcanized india-rubber stuffing or
washers K, K, so that at the moment the pressure is made it becomes
air tight. The drilling tools are' pierced at the points forming the holes
in the buttons; these holes cross equally, the plate bearing the drilling
tools; and it is in a cavity made round these holes that the india-rubber
stuffing is inserted; similar holes are made in a hollow prism V', placed
under the pressing plate. Each extremity of this prism is provided with a
valve box, bearing a tube, to which is adapted a jointed or elastic pipe,
having the other extremity fixed to a recipient, in which is an air
or air compressing machine, establishing a current of air sufficiently
strong to clear the holes by blowing. The air contained in the recipient
and in the pipe is stopped at the entrance of the prism, by the valve,
on which it. causes a pressure; and it is only at the moment that the
operation of pressing the mould is at its greatest intensity that the
valves being, displaced by the lower eccentrics O', the air rushes into
each of the holes with the rapidity it has on issuing from an air gun,
and produces a perforation of the buttons without altering the angles of
the mould. The piercing operation by means of air might also be made
by hollow pressing plate, in which one or several pistons would constantly
compress the air, or even the simple depression caused by the vacuum
made on the side, that the clearing of the holes might be effected.
DESCRIPTION OF SHEETS 7, 8, 9, 10.
pump
Fig. 1, front elevation of the machine; 2, vertical'section, through the
line A, B. This Figure shows the curves of the several eccentrics giving
the motions. Fig. 3, section through the line C, D, of Fig. 2, showing
the details of the tool. Fig. 4, horizontal projection of the machine.
Supposing half of the sieve D, to be taken away, so as to show the
whole of the tool; Fig. 5; horizontal section, half through E, F, that is

page_text: to say, supposing the upper part of the tool to be taken away, and that
the other half through G, H, that is to say, through the axis of the two-
kneed shaft. A, A, upper part of the tool, to which the piercing plate is
adapted. B, B, lower part of the tool, in which the counter piercers are
inserted. B', dinamometrical lever, at the extremity of which the
pressure is made.
a, a, upper portion of the jointed collar. a', upper
moulds. b, lower moulds. b, b, lower half of the jointed collar.
c, distributing slide, worked by the parts c', acting on the slide in the
direction b, c, and not in the direction c, b. C', are springs, which
bring the slide to its former position. D, sieve, into which the powder
is thrown. E, circular agitator. F, small agitator. F', pinion on the
axis of the agitator. Q, toothed wheels, forming grooved eccentrics,
working the agitator, the small agitators raising the upper part of
the tool. The unstuffing tool, the compressing agents for the deposit
of the buttons on the plates, the traveller or car bringing the plate
and the valves for the piercing of the buttons. Q', toothed wheel,
forming grooved eccentrics, working the chains for advancing the plates;
the cross piece raising the plate, the inclined plane for the cam K'.
F", vertical rack working the circular agitator. G, a cross beam,
kept in place by the rod g. E, compressing rod crossing to effect
the deposit of the buttons on the plates. H', H', lever, jointed at the
point H", and receiving its motion from the cam h", ", ". I, sliding
plates. i, endless chain, bearing the plates I', not having a rotary
motion, by the arrangement I", the lever I", and the cams V, V, V.
J, traveller, bearing the plates on which the buttons are deposited.
J', J', cranks and levers, working the traveller J, and receiving their
motion by the cams J', J', J': these cams are only brought into
motion every eight turns; in the other turns the roller follows the cir-
cular groove "j", j", and only leaves it when an incline K, has
opened the cam K', K'. L, cross piece, having hooks, which raise the
plates when the traveller or car has brought them facing the position
they are to occupy on the endless chains. L', levers and axes, serving
to work the cross beam L, and set in motion by the cam H", H", H".
M, moveable pieces, carrying the wheels and pinions, and making the
wheels, communicate with the two other wheels 9', ': these two

page_text: pieces are made moveable, so that the number of buttons placed on
each plate may be varied. N, pressing plate. N', cranks of the
plate N. O, india-rubber washers, for the passage of the air from
the cavity V', to the moulds b. O, eccentric, lifting the valves of the
prisin. P, double kneed shaft, bearing the wheels 7, 9'. R, axis and
pinions, working the machine. S, lever arm, on a pivot round the
axis X, and receiving its motion from the excentric y, and y".
Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Sheets 1, to 6, represent the machine for the
manufacture of buttons singly. H, collar, in the circumference of
which are a certain number of cavities, each containing a mould
moving in the direction of the radius: round this collar the operations
for the striking are simultaneously made; at each turn of the principal
shaft E, the collar H, advances one division by the rack cut in it, and
which sets in motion the eccentrics and the counter pieces h', h. When
one of the cavities is facing the upper mould, adapted to a vertical
groove, setting in motion a crank D, and the lever C, this upper
mould descends and compresses the matter; at the same time the
cavity is furnished with paste or matter in passing under the sieve in
which the agitator works; and the button, after having been struck at
the upper part of the collar H, and transferred in consequence of the
rotary motion of the collar to the lower part, is deposited on a
refractory earthenware slab, which is displaced at each operation, so as
to make room for the following button. At the moment that the
pressure is effected, the air which the piston j, of the air pump J, has
compressed during the remainder of the operation is thrown into the
interior of the stamp by a detent j", similar to the detent of an air
gun, and the matter sticking to the holes is expelled. To avoid the
machine becoming oxidated, the air is dried by some of the means in
use. The different motions that the plate makes to receive the
buttons are effected by a crank K, acting on a double ratchet, which
gives a to and fro motion to the plate in the direction of its length, and
of which the shaft at each of the extremities of the run of the machine
acts by means of a reverse piece, causing the plate to advance. In the
side direction, of the thickness of a button. Each time the plate has
accomplished its longitudinal course, and when the last row is com-

page_text: pleted
drawn by the first ratchet acts on the driving shaft to
<letach it from the machine by means of an unconnecting hook. The
mode of charging the machine with the paste can be varied thus:-It
may be made on cups, each receiving a single button, and arranged on.
an endless band, made to pass successively at the point where the
button falls; and the charging, instead of being over the moulds, may
be made at another point near the machine, by the aid of a lever
bringing the matter necessary for each supply. The upper and lower
part of the apparatus cannot be displaced laterally, but only raised &
separated vertically from a sufficient quantity for the plates receiving
the products, and the small cars bringing the material to pass between
the two moulds, either at the same time or successively. In this case
the machinery, instead of pulling the upper and lower portions of the
tool, displaces on one side the plates to withdraw them from pressure,
and on the other the load or charge to convey it under the sieve sup-
plying the small cars. When the matter by its cohesion is slow "in.
falling, a pneumatic pump is placed under the holes of the lower mould,
and, when the upper mould is raised, causes a current of air, whose
force throws out the particles of matter which might stick to the holes
of the mould. A small brush or stick nay replace this pump, as with
thom the holes may be cleaned
pleted
drawn by the first ratchet acts on the driving shaft to
<letach it from the machine by means of an unconnecting hook. The
mode of charging the machine with the paste can be varied thus:-It
may be made on cups, each receiving a single button, and arranged on.
an endless band, made to pass successively at the point where the
button falls; and the charging, instead of being over the moulds, may
be made at another point near the machine, by the aid of a lever
bringing the matter necessary for each supply. The upper and lower
part of the apparatus cannot be displaced laterally, but only raised &
separated vertically from a sufficient quantity for the plates receiving
the products, and the small cars bringing the material to pass between
the two moulds, either at the same time or successively. In this case
the machinery, instead of pulling the upper and lower portions of the
tool, displaces on one side the plates to withdraw them from pressure,
and on the other the load or charge to convey it under the sieve sup-
plying the small cars. When the matter by its cohesion is slow in.
falling, a pneumatic pump is placed under the holes of the lower mould,
and, when the upper mould is raised, causes a current of air, whose
force throws out the particles of matter which might stick to the holes
of the mould. A small brush or stick may replace this pump, as with
them the holes may be cleared.
DESCRIPTION OF SHEETS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6.
Fig. 1, elevation of the machine seen from 'behind.
"
2, left side elevation of the same.
99
33
3, right side elevation of the samé.
4, longitudinal section, through A, B, of Figs. 2 & 3.
5, horizontal projection of the machine.
6, lateral section of the machiny through C, D,. Fig. 1.1
A, framework; B, vertical groove; C, lever; D, dynamometrical.
crank, measuring and equalizing the pressure given to the products

page_text: causing the ring or circle to advance one division; h', crank & return
motion of the crank of the ratchet; I, shaft, round which the circle H,
rotates; beam throwing off the buttons when struck; ', crank con-
necting the beam i, with the lever C; J, air pump; j, piston of air
pump; ', passage and course of the air; j", air valve; K, crank for
the horizontal displacement of the plates; R, ratchet, with a detent
acting singly; k, ratchet, for the longitudinal motion; L, ratchet &
bolt catch for the lateral or side motion of the plates; 7, latchet, rising
& falling, acting on bolt of ratchet L; l', screw. & nut, making the
lower framework advance laterally; M, sieve, into which the paste is
placed; m, screw agitator, forcing the matter to fall & fill the cavities
in the mould; N, stopping lever; O, apparatus to dry the air; o, air
entrance; P, pump, aspirant the air by means of the pipes T, and
sending it into the pump J, by means of the pipes "T"; U, hygrometer.
This process may be applied to screw presses worked by 'hand,
The tool
either for a single button, or for several at a time.
has a double working collar, Figs. 1, 2, 3, & 4, as in the mul-
tiplicate machine. The force applied to the fly wheel forces the paste
to pass from the lower plate into the upper. In consequence of the
difference of power of the springs, & during the pressure, the peilal
opens the valve, giving entrance to a portion of air compressed in a
reservoir. The lever being raised, a pressure on the second pedal frees
the button that has been struck, and raises the upper plate by means
of a backward motion, connecting the pedal with it. Figs. 5, & 6,
represent small bollow [the word shovel is here inserted in pencil],
having a lower groove. Above is a platform, receiving the basin or
cup, into which the button falls. One stroke of the lever-moulds the
button. The friction pulleys L, L, are an improvement in screw
presses, and allows to raise the circle M, in such manner x as to avoid
the use of muscular force. The pedal N, sets in motion the circle.
Sheet Fig. 1, longitudinal section of the machine; Fig. 2, front
view of the machine, with section through A, B, Fig. 1; Fig. 3,
horizontal projection of the machine; Fig. 4, section through c, d;
Figs. 1, & 2. A, stamping-out tool; A', wooden frame for the same;
B, screw, giving pressure; C, slides; D, upper part of the tool;

page_text: E, lower part of tool; d, upper mould; F, point at which the air arrives;
G, pedal & lever working the valve; H, columns or pillars working
on the upper plate D, when the fly wheel is up; J, pedals & lever
working the pillar H; K, T shaped pieces, bearing the pulleys L; L;
M, fly wheel; N, pedals & levers working pulley L; N', pedal &
lever working pulley I; O, elastic tompion, to regulate the course of
the fly wheel.
Pulverising. For pulverising & sifting the matter, a grooved cylin-
der, with interior circular grooves, is used. In each of the grooves
are one or several balls, which pass over the products that are intro-
duced; the cylinder is divided into separate chambers by partitions in
the shape of sieves. These sieves are placed so as to radiate and have
their plane in the direction of that of the axis; they are connected
together by inclined planes, which send the products passing through a
sieve into a next partition. A current of air may be used to expel the
pulverised products from one partition into another. A funnel may
be used to introduce the pulverised matter. Sheet
Fig. 1, longi-
tudinal section by the axis of rotation; Fig. 2, horizontal projection of
the pulveriser; Fig. 3, side section through a, b. A, supports, made
fast to the ground framework B; C, cylinder; D, balls, crushing the
matter; E, sieve, with decreasing openings; F, pulleys & gearing
working the apparatus; G, pipe connecting the cylinder to the aspi-
rating chamber; H, chamber, with partitions, freeing the air from dust;
I, aspirator.
Mixing Apparatus.-The cylinder A, has but one pivot, B; it works
on a false bearing. The closing part c, is central, & replaces the
second pivot. The various stages of the operation may be seen when
the products are not volatile. The frame that bears the extremities of
the axis of the apparatus is on two pivots, perpendicular to those of the
cylinder. The gearing E, may be set in motion, & the whole of
the apparatus, notwithstanding this double perpendicular joint, giving
the facility of inclining or emptying the cylinder while it is turning, and
with a blade having the shape of the interior of the cylinder, the whole
matter may be cleared out. The axis of the cylinder is perforated to
allow the introduction of the liquids or gases.

page_text: Baking. The buttons manufactured by this process being a kind of
enamel, may be fired in ovens used for firing enamel; but there is an
advantage to use, in lieu of the ordinary ovens, the improved oven
represented in Sheet
of the drawings. Fig. 1, vertical section of
circular oven; Fig. 2, plan & horizontal sections of the circular oven,
Fig. 1; Fig. 3, vertical section of an oven having
and cir-
culation of the products; Fig. 4, plan & sections of Fig. 3. A, Figs. 1,
& 2, grate; B, flame channel; C, passage for the products; D, circular
oven, in which the products are circulated; E, plates bearing the pro-
ducts; F, car of masonry; G, cast iron plates supporting car; II, rails
in connection with the car; I, rollers, mounted upon shafts receiving
their motion from the exterior; J, doors; K, door, with register or
vertical slide; L, L, Figs. 3, & 4,
; M, space for
circulation of flame; N, passage for the escape of products of com-
bustion; 0, circular vault, in which the products circulate; P, stanols,
on which the products are placed; Q, car & accessories; R, door, for
introducing & taking out the products.
Moderating Oven.---Fig. 4, Sheet
, represents an oven heated at
its upper extremity with the waste heat of one of the before-described
ovens, or by a grate, and cooled at its lower extremity by a current of
air C, D.
Firing by Gas. The direct action of the flame of the combustible gas
may be used instead of the heat of burning coal; pure or carburetted
hydrogen, & air or oxygen, are received separately in a small gas
meter A, which regulates the pressure, and provides a certain quantity
of the two gases; quantities which may be diminished or increased by
the help of the cocks B, & pass separately into a small gas-meter C,
of the capacity of three or four pints, containing an agitator D. The
mixture is effected in this gas-meter. The tube in connexion with the
firing tubes is furnished with a metallic cloth or wire E, as this
mixture is explosive. The small gas-meter may be dispensed with,
as the gases may be easily mixed in the tube containing, the metallic
cloth: Figs. 11, and 12, Sheet The orifice from which the gas
escapes is composed of small capillary tubes F, Fig. 7, Sheet
presenting a surface rather larger than the surface of the buttons to be
.
"

page_text: fired. It turns constantly on a horizontal plate G, distributing the
heat so as to gradually fire the button. The buttons are exposed to a
series of small gas jets or burners H, or to two heated passages I, to
raise or decrease the temperature of the button.
Moulding by Gravitation.-The apparatus is composed of a vessel of
refractory earthenware, having nearly the shape of a mortar, and placed
in a furnace B, in such manner as to raise the temperature of the vessel
to a suitable degree. The lower part of the mortar has a small circular
opening O, and rests on a basis C, pierced with a hole corresponding to
that of the vessel, which has an earthenware or cast-iron pipe passing
through the masonry or the ash-pan of the furnace. The opening in
the bottom of the mortar is closed by an iron rod covered with refrac-
tory earthenware, and its conical extremity is partly introduced in the
hole O, and thus acts as a valve: Fig. 13, Sheet The matter is in-
troduced into the mortar, the valve closed, and when the whole matter
is in a state of fusion, and that the vitrified matter is suitably purified,
that is to say, when it has no more bubbles, the rod is raised, and it
flows through an aperture E; the matter falls, at a red heat, on a
metallic plate F, having a small slit, into which is adapted a bar Q;
this bar has its extremity in the vitrified matter. The apparatus is
arranged in such manner that the drops may always fall exactly at the
same place. The valve being suitably worked, buttons of various sizes
may thus be obtained.
.
Moulding by Dies.-Instead of receiving the vitrified matter in the
manner described, it may be received in the hollow die, having the form
of the under part of the button; and in the soft matter four small steel
rods are made to enter, which form the holes; an upper die completes
the shape of the button.
Paste or Matter.-Till now the jalspath of oxide of iron, employed
pure, or mixed with a variable quantity of kaolina, with some hundredth
parts of lime of potash or of soda, forming the basis of different qualities
of buttons. This substance, through the absence of an earthy oxide, or
of metal, and by the insufficient quantity of alkali to make it a fusible
compound at a moderate temperature, requires, in consequence of its
nature, a considerable quantity of caloric. To remedy this. the jalspath.

page_text: silicate of alumina and of potash, may be replaced by one or several
simple silicates or compounds artificially produced, and to which hard-
ness, tenacity, fusibility, & various shades may be given by the
addition of natural silicates of salts of oxides, or other suitable sub-
stances. The jalspath, kaoline, and other natural silicates, may be used
by introducing into them a suitable quantity of alkaline bases, earthy or
metallic, which thus produce silicates that are easily melted & made
into a kind of glass or crystal. The artificial silicates, simple or com-
pound, always form à vitrified matter, but the application of these
substances, pure or mixed, have not yet been cinployed in the
mechanical manufacture of perforated buttons. All vitrified matter
may thus be turned to account for the manufacture of buttons.
To color & harden the buttons, oxides, metals, acids, chlorides, and
hyodurates, sulphuretes, &c. may be employed. To unvitrify the matter
recourse must be had to substances that deprive the matter of the alkali;
for instance, silex in fine powder, kaoline, &c. To obtain this result,
the buttons may be heated in a cement by aid of the Reaumur machine
for porcelaine; but I prefer to mix directly the unvitrified matter with
a silicate powder.. If the contrary result be desired, potash. soda, oxide,
lead, zinc, bismuth, is added.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Constant Jouffroy Duméry, in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 14th October 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
CONSTANT JOUFFROY DUMERY, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and
of 16,. Castle Street, Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Constant Jouffroy Duméry, Her

page_text: special licence that I, the said Constant Jouffroy Duméry, my ex-
ecutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Con-
stant Jouffroy Duméry, 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, usc, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PASTE
AND ENAMEL BUTTONS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Constant Jouffroy Duméry, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and scal, 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 Constant Jouffroy Duméry, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, that is to say:
My invention consists, firstly, of improvements in the product, and,
secondly, in the mode of manufacturing buttons. These means of
manufacturing comprise a new arrangement of machinery, improve-
ments in preparing apparatus for the pulverizing and mixing, new
micans of baking by gas, and moveable furnaces; an application for
moulding the paste while licated, and a new composition of paste.
The improvement consists of rounding the holes on each side of paste
and enamel buttons, as in Figures 8, 9, Sheet 7, instead of as they are
generally made, with sharp edges (see Fig. 9 bis, Sheet 1). These sharp
edges cut the thread, and render the buttons objectionable.
The pur-
pose of improving this product is to extend and render its application
general by doing away with the only serious inconvenience which it
now presents.

page_text: OF THE MACHINES..
The machines are of two kinds: the one for making many buttons
at a time, the other for making but one at each pressure. In all
machines which make paste buttons, the operations of charging, striking,
piercing, and withdrawing, are made successively at the same point, and
require a considerable time to perform the whole series of operations
necessary for making buttons. To compensate for this delay the
number of moulds is increased; and another difficulty occurs, which
consists in the great expense of apparatus, and the keeping it in repair,
and which, besides, does not afford all the advantages which could be
expected, in consequence of the numerous rejections which are occa-
sioned by the irregularity of pressure resulting from the too great extent
of the striking, and the inevitable inequality of the charging.
In addition to these inconveniences, the necessity of employing
piercers for piercing buttons requires such a precision, that it entails a
considerable expense, and almost renders the difficulties more compli-
cated by arranging the edges of the punches in such a manner as to
round the edges of the holes of the buttons. These difficulties are
surmounted by suppressing all kinds of piercers for the piercing of the
holes, and by dividing the operations to effect the simultaneous action
of several of them, as I shall demonstrate by describing the two machines
which I have invented, and which produce, the one an indeterminate
number of buttons, the other but one at a time. I suppose the lower
half B, of the instrument A, B. (Fig. 1, and 2, Sheets 1, 2, 3, & 5;)
brought under a distributor C, placed at the lower part of a sieve D,
containing the pulverable substances, and furnished inside with a
circular agitator E, and with vertical agitators F, having simul-
taneously a rectilinear and rotary motion. If the circular agitator
works in a manner sufficiently continuous to prevent the formation
of the cavities which the plasticity of the matter might occasion, each
of the agitators, by its eccentric movement, will conduct the material
opposite a hole made in the slide C, and corresponding to the lower
parts of the moulds. The holes of the slide C, will be filled with
material, not compressed, but merely uniformly spread; and when the

page_text: slide will have passed the space C", C", the holes d, will become opposite
the holes of the same size made in the plates surrounding the slide.
A light pressure exercised upon the clearing comb G, will force the
matter from the slide. This will be received by the lower part b, b, of
the mould, and it will only then be necessary to carry this half mould
towards the point of the machine, where the pressure operates; that is
to say, under the lower part, which corresponds to it. The distribution
of the matter could also be made by a circular distributor, presenting
its lower part under the sieve, and, after a half turn, depositing the
matter in the lower part of the instrument.
The
If, while the lower part b, b, is furnished with paste, the upper part
a, a, containing the button previously struck, has been carried to the
opposite side, and there it has encountered the means of pressure H,
which makes the buttons fall upon a moveable plate I, in consequence
of a slight movement given to the counter collar a, a, of the upper
stamp, we shall have an idea of all the operations of the machine,
except the striking and piercing, which will be described.
striking is performed, like all operations of this nature, by exercising
a pressure by one of the means afforded by the lever, the screw, &c. &c.,
when the two halves of the moulds are fitted to one another; also, it is
not by the means which afford the compression that my process is dis-
tinguished. It differs from those actually in use, first, by the horizontal
division of the ring or collar a, a, b, b, of the mould. One of the two
halves of this collar remains constantly around the lower part, while the
other half does not cease from accompanying the upper part; and it is
precisely this division of the ring or collar of the mould which allows
the functions of charging and expelling to be simultaneously performed.
The charging, on the one hand, for which all the elements are pre-
pared in the distributor during the operation of the stamping, and, on
the other hand, the reception, the place of which is arranged, likewise,
during the striking by a rectilinear horizontal movement given to the
receding plate I, so that it may leave a space necessary for a fresh row
of buttons.
The second point by which my stamping differs from the present
stamping consists in the elasticity given to each of the stamps by the

page_text: levers B', giving them the property of rendering the pressure uniform;
so that if some of them receive an unequal quantity of material,—that is
to say, if, notwithstanding the precautions taken for the distribution,
there are inequalities in the charging,―the pressure exercised upon the
button would be always uniform, whatever be its hickness. In this
way I diminish the considerable number of rejections which the mul-
tiple stamping occasions, and the different parts of the mechanism are
not subject to wear and tear more at one time than other, whatever
may be the irregularity of the charge.
.
The third part, by which my stamping is superior to that effected by
screws, consists in the equality of its operations, obtained by rigidity and
by the gearing at the extremities of the compressor N', N', and which
it is impossible to obtain with a pressure exercised only at a central
point, which central point is unable to bear the oscillating movements
which are produced by the irregularities of charging, and which tend
to blunt the edges of the moulds and stamps, to increase the wear, and
render very difficult and expensive the precision of working which this
kind of manufacture requires. The piercing, which is the object of a
special adaptation of work, requires piercers and a particular gearing,
which also renders necessary a great precision in the arrangement of the
holes, and in this machine, worked instantaneously, at the moment of
stamping, as follows:-
:
The upper part of the apparatus A, A, although not being able to be
fixed to the compresser N, is, nevertheless, sufficiently well adjusted in
all the parts where the metals come in contact, and well armed at the
different joints with little washers of vulcanised caoutchouc K, K, so
that at the moment when the pressure is exercised, although the
caoutchouc is only local, the joint which results from its juxta-position
or compression prevents all passage of the air. -
The stamps are pierced completely through in the points which form
the holes in the buttons; these holes, or one only, uniformly pass the
plates which bear the stamps; and it is in a cavity made round this
hole that the india-rubber washer just mentioned is fixed. Similar
corresponding holes are made in a hollow prism V', situated above the
compressor. Each extremity of this prism is furnished with a box,

page_text: with a valve bearing a tube, to which a pipe, jointed or elastic, is fitted,
having the other extremity fixed to the recipient, in which a special
machine compresses the air to a sufficiently great pressure to establish
a current sufficient to effect a proper clearing of the holes. The air
confined in the recipient and in the pipe is stopped at the entrance of
the prism by the valve upon which it passes. It is only at the moment
when the operation of the pressure of the button mould is at its maxi-
mun, and the air being displaced by the lower eccentrics O', the air
rushes in each of the holes with the rapidity with which it rushes from
an air gun, and produces a perfect perforation of the buttons, without
the slightest alteration of the edges of the mould. This operation of
piercing by the air might be also effected by having a hollow com-
pressor, in which one or more pistons would compress the air necessary
for each blowing. The current of air may even be in an opposite
direction; that is to say, from downwards upwards. Perhaps, even
the simple depression produced by the vacuum established on one
side, where the clearing is desired to be made, would suffice. It is
not, however, in the manner of using the air that my Invention con-
sists, but in the application of the air to the clearing the holes of the
2, vertical section in the line A, B. This Figure shows the
curves of the different eccentrics which effect all the
movements.
3, section through C, D, of the Figure 2. This Figure
shows the details of the apparatus.
,horizontal projection of the machine, supposing half of the
sieve D, to be raised to show the instrument.
5, horizontal section; the half through E, F, that is to say,
supposing the upper part of the instrument raised, and
the other half through G, H, that is to say, through
the axis of the two-cranked axle.
e Figures, the same letters indicate the same parts.

page_text: a, a, upper half of the jointed collar.
a', upper moulds.
b, lower moulds.
b, b, lower half of the jointed collar.
C, distributing slide, worked by the parts C', which only act upon the
slide in the direction b, c, and not back from c, to 6. There are springs,
which make the slide return to its first position. D, sieve, in which the
powder is poured. E, circular agitator. F, small agitators. F', pinion
upon the axis of the agitator. F", vertical toothed rack, working the
circular agitator. G, cross bar, kept in place by the rod g. II, com-
pressing and cross bar, for the deposit of the buttons upon the plates.
H', H', lever, jointed to the point H", and receiving its motion from the
cam h", h", h". I, plates, for placing the buttons in the oven. i, end-
less chain, bearing the plates. I', nut, having a rotary movement by
the arrangement of gearing I", the levers I", and the cams V, V, V.
J, car, bearing the plates upon which the buttons are placed.
cranks and levers, working the car J, and moved by the cams.
J', J',
J', J, J. These cams only act once in eight revolutions; in the
other revolutions, the roller follows the circular groove j", j", j", and
only leaves it when an inclined plane K, causes the cam K', K', to work.
L, cross bar, bearing the forks which raise the plates when the car
has brought them opposite the position which they should occupy on
the endless chain. L', levers and axles to work the cross bar L, and
acted upon by the cam h", ", ". M, moveable pieces, bearing the
wheels and pinions, making the wheels 7, communicate with the two
other wheels g'. These two pieces are moveable, so as to be able to
vary the number of buttons placed upon each plate. N, compressor,
compressing the buttons. N', cranks of the compressor N. O, caout-
chouc washer, for the passage of the air from the cavity V', to the
B

page_text: moulds b. O, eccentric, raising the valves of the prism. P, axlé, with
double crank, bearing the wheels q, and q. Q, toothed wheels, forming
grooved eccentrics, working the agitators, the raising up of the upper
part of the machine, the clearing, the deposit of the buttons upon the
plates, the car carrying the plates and the valves for the piercing of
the buttons by the air. Q', toothed wheels, forming grooved éccen-
trics, working the chains for the advance of the plates, the cross bar
raising the plates, the inclined plane of the cam K'. R, axles and
pinions working the machine. S, arm of the lever, revolving around
the axis X, and receiving its motion from the grooved eccentric Y,
and from the other eccentric at the upper part of the instrument A, A,
by means of the arrangement for return motion Y.
The machine for a single button, and. which is represented in the
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, Sheets 2, and 3, consists of a ring or collar H,
in the circumference of which are made a certain number of holes. In
each of these cavities a mould is placed, able to move in the direction of
the radius. It is around this ring that the different operations relative
to the striking occur simultaneously. Thus, at each of the revolutions of
the principal shaft E, the ring H, advances one division by the effect of
the cogged teeth formed in its circumference, and which work, in the
requisite manner, the whole arrangement of eccentric crank and return
movement h, and h'. When one of the cavities faces the upper mould
fixed to a vertical slide, which are put in movement by the crank D, and
the lever C, this upper mould descends and compresses the material;
at the same time the preceding cavity is furnished with the paste as it
pastes in the sieve in which the agitator works; and the button, after
having been struck on the upper part of the ring H, and having been,
in consequence of the rotation of this ring, carried to the lower part,
is deposited on a plate of refractory earth, which is freed of a sufficient
quantity in the required direction in order to make room for the
buttons about to be manufactured. At the moment when the pressure
is effected, the air which the piston j, of the air pump J, has compressed
during the cessation of the operation, is injected into the interior of the
stamp by means of a spring J", similar to the spring of an air
gun, and
the matter which stops up the holes becomes expelled. In order that

page_text: the mechanism may not oxydize by the moisture of the atmosphere, we
take care to dry the air beforehand, by the ordinary means. The
different evolutions which the plate makes to receive the buttons are
effected in a satisfactory mode by a single axle K, acting on a double.
ratchet; the object of which is to make the plate advance and return
longitudinally, and the axle of which acts at each of its extremities by
means of a return motion upon a second double toothed piece, which
causes the plate to advance in the lateral direction of the thickness of a
button at each time this plate has terminated its longitudinal course.
And when the last row is complete, a click, worked by the first tooth,
acts upon the moving axle, to detach it from the machine by aid of
ungearing apparatus.
:
The manner of charging with paste, and the reception thereof, may
vary in this way, that in the single machine, which we have just
described, the reception of the material can take place in the cupels,
each receiving a single button arranged upon an endless sheet, which
causes them to pass one after another under the point where the button
is left; and the charging, instead of being placed above the moulds,
can be placed in another situation by means of the arms of the. lever
bearing the material, charge by charge, as in machines for coining
money, to the place where the button is to be stamped. Likewise, in
the multiple machine, the upper and lower parts of the apparatus
need not be displaced' laterally, but only be raised and separated
vertically a sufficient space, so that the plates receiving the products,
and the little cases bearing the material, may pass between the two
moulds, either at the same time, or one after the other. In this case,
the mechanism, in place of working the upper and lower parts of the
apparatus, separates the plates on one side to remove them from the
pressure; and, on the other side, the charging, to carry it under the
sieve which supplies the cases. When the primary matter is of a
nature to allow it, the blowing is suppressed, and one only of the two
moulds is used.
Figure 7, Sheet 1, represents the matter which occupied the place
of the holes before the compression falls to the lower parts, assisted,
as it is, by the form which is given to the edges of the moulds to round

page_text: the holes of the products, and by the conical form of the lower holes.
When the matter, by its cohesion, is delayed from descending, the
holes of the lower mould are put in communication with an air pump,
which, directly after the upper mould is raised, effects a rush of air, the
rapidity of which bears away the particles which may be attached to the
sides of the holes of the mould. If the machine to which I apply the
full stamps renders the application of a pneumatic apparatus difficult,
a small brush or stick is introduced into the holes of the lower mould,
to divide the dust, and cause it to descend by a circular lateral or
vertical agitation. My purpose, either with the aid of the air, or with
the upper mould, with or without the help of the vacuum, is to
suppress all mechanical piercing of the holes, and at the same time, as
has been shown already, to obtain results infinitely superior to those
at present obtained, by giving the buttons holes with rounded edges.
DESCRIPTION OF SHEETS 2 AND 3.
Figure 1, front elevation of the machine.
Figure 2, lateral elevation, left side.
Figure 3, lateral elevation, right side.
Figure 4, longitudinal section through a, b, of Figures 2, and 3.
Figure 5, horizontal projection of the machine.
Figure 6, lateral section of the machine through c, d, of Figure 1.
A, framework; B, vertical slide; C, lever directing the slide; D,
dynamometrical crank, rendering the pressure given to the products
uniform; b, connecting mail; b, wedge, for varying separation of the
moulds; E, axle, with handle and cam; F, toothed wheel; G, pinion,
pulley, and driving wheel; "H, collar bearing the moulds; h, ratchet,
making the collar advance one division; ', crank and return move-
iment of the tooth of the ratchet; I, axle, round which the collar
bearing the moulds turns; i, bar, for removal of stamped buttons ;
i, crank, connecting the cross bar i, to the lever c; J, air pump;
j, piston of the air pump; j', direction of the air; j", air stop;
K, crank of separation of the plates horizontally; k, ratchet with double
click; k, toothed bar for the longitudinal movement; L, ratchet catch
for the lateral movement of the plates; 1, oscillating picce, which.

page_text: moves the stop of the ratchet; l', screw and its nut, causing the lower
framework to advance laterally; M, sieve, in which the material is
placed; m, helical agitator, forcing the material to descend and pene-
trate into the cavities of the mould; N, ungearing rod, communicating
with the mechanical gearing, for stopping and putting in motion the
apparatus; O, apparatus for drying the air; o, entry for the air;
P, pump, drawing air by means of pipes T, and sending it in the pump
J, by means of pipes T'; T, suction pipes; T', compressing pipes;
U, hygrometers.
I will now describe the means that are employed in my process rela-
tive to the stamping of buttons by the press, either for a single button,
or many at the same time. The instrument has a double working
collar, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, Sheet 5, like in the multiple machine, the
compression exercised by the driving wheel forces the paste from the
lower plate into the upper one, in consequence of the difference of
power of the springs, as has been explained previously; and during the
exercise of the compression a working of the pedal opens the valve,
which gives outlet to a small portion of air compressed beforehand in
a reservoir serving one or many machines. When the balance is raised
up, a second pedal, which disengages the button and causes the upper
plate to reascend by means of a return motion, which connects the
pedal with the upper plate.
Here the advantage of my double collar for striking, which permits
mc, even in working by hand, to affect simultaneously the charging and
the withdrawal of the button, is to be particularly noted. For this
purpose I have contrived for this double work a small ladle, Figures 5,
and 6, Sheet 6, with a lower slide like those in use, but surmounted by
a platform holding the vessel in which the button falls, so that at one
and the same movement of the balance beam the button is struck,
replaced upon the upper part, and deposited in the vessel, while the
charging is effected. A no less important improvement that I have
made in screw presses employed in the manufacture of buttons consist
in the application to these instruments of friction pulleys L, L', for
lowering and raising the crown M, of the press, so as to save the work-
man from too great exertion. A simple. movement of the pedal N,

page_text: lowers the crown; and, if the blow of the balance béam is not suffi-
ciently powerful and sudden to mak it return to its starting point, a
like movement upon the pedal N', is sufficient to bring it to its first
position.
DESCRIPTION OF SHEET 5..
Figure 1, longitudinal elevation of the machine.
"
33
2, front view, with part in section through 1, 6, of Figure 1.
3, horizontal projection of the machine.
4, horizontal section through c, d, of Figures 1, and 2.
A, shears; A', framework for them; B, screw, for the pressure;
C, small slides; D, upper part of the instrument; E, lower part;
d, upper mould; e, lower mould; F, entrance of the air from any
recipient whatever; G, pedal and lever, working the valve for the blow-
ing H, rods, working the upper plate D, when the driving wheel is
above, so as to make the button fall; J, pedals and levers, working
the rods H; K, pieces of a T shape, bearing the two pulleys L, and
L', turning in a contrary way, working the driving wheel M; M; driving
wheel, working the screw; N, pedals and levers, working the pulley L;
this pulley turns the driving wheel to effect the pressure; N', pedals
and levers, working the pulley L'; this pulley turns the driving wheel
to raise the screw; O, elastic pad, to regulate the course of the driving
wheel.
3. PREPARING APPARATI.
(PULVERIZING.)
The grinding and sifting having a very great influence in the manu-
facture of paste buttons, I have effected a mechanical pulverizing in a
mortar 'turning on an axis, and with an eccentric pestle, whereby all
the materials to be ground must be inevitably brought, under the
nastle

page_text: divisions in form of sieves or network, in order that the materials may
only pass into the next chamber when they have received in the pre-
ceding chamber the desired degree of work.
These sieves are placed in
say, radiating and having
the most advantageous manner, that is to
their plane nearly in the plane of the axis. They are joined to one
another by inclined planes at the left side, which force the material which
has crossed a sieve, to descend into the next case. In order that the
material may always go in the direction of the work, I have arranged
the whole apparatus so as to give it an incline at will. Thus the passage
of the air from one chamber to another is accelerated or diminished,
and consequently the production of the whole apparatus, by clearing
away each chamber of the products which may be made use of in the
next chamber. When I divide materials which require a perfect
tenuity, I do not confine myself to this work of mechanical sifting; the
pulverized material is forced by a current of air to pass into a second
chamber, divided by a certain number of partitions, where a deposit
occurs by reason of the weight of the particles. To avoid giving to the
orifice for the introduction of the material a too great dimension, which
would render the rush of the air less strong, the materials to be pulver-
ized are introduced by a funnel immersed in a semi-circular trough, in
which. it raises the materials as they are dropped:

page_text: In general, to mix chemical substances together, a revolving drum
or ellipse is used, into which the substances are introduced with a
certain quantity of balls, which perform the operation satisfactorily, but
with great expense. The action of these apparati is difficult, trouble-
some, and uncertain. The elliptical box A, has only one pivot B; it
works eccentrically; the closing C, is central, that is to say, that it
occupies the place of the second pivot (wanting), and allows the operator
to follow the course of the operation when the products are not volatile.
Independently of this facility of open operation, I have desired that the
emptying of the apparatus could be made without the trouble and the
time which the raising of the balls and the material require, and without
the loss of material which the application of the lateral sifting entails.
The framework which bears the supports of the axis of the mixing
apparatus is mounted upon two pivots perpendicular to those of the
ellipse, and the gearing E, arranged so that the whole apparatus can
be moved notwithstanding this double perpendicular articulation, which
allows of slanting and of even reversing the whole ellipse, whilst it is
turning, so as to empty successively, or all at once, the balls and the
material which it contains, or in such a way that, with a sheet having
the form of the sides of the ellipse, the material will be caused to come
out only as it covers the sides of the vessel. The elliptical axis is
pierced in places, to introduce at will the liquids, or the necessary gases
for the operation; to permit those to escape which result from the
mixing. Figures 4, 5, & 6, Sheet 6.
4. OF THE BAKING.

page_text: that is to say, presenting its convex part upwards, and its concave
downwards. This concave part serves as an arch to a kind of circular
gutter, occupied by a car of the same form and dimensions, mounted upon
a railway, and having a continual rotary movement. This car supports
a construction of brickwork, solid or hollow, or of materials which may
be good conductors of heat, and terminates near the arch by a surface
furnished with small projections for supporting the plates bearing the
buttons to be baked, which circulate under the arch while the flaine
surrounds it, held and guided as it is by a covering in masonry, fixed
at a distance from the arch which covers the materials. Thus the whole
surface of the plate bearing the products is exposed to an uniform
temperature in all its parts; the action of the heat is graduated during
the whole operation, because the product is caused to be moved towards
the fire, that is to say, in an opposite direction to the flame. Any
return of the plate is not necessary during the operation, and all the
hand-work is confined to a simple placing in and withdrawing from
the oven.
The operation is accelerated or rendered slower in two
ways; by the draft, if it is the intensity of the heat which is to be varied,
and by the acceleration, or the contrary, of the speed of the car, if it is
desired to change the duration of the baking.
If it should be necessary that the flame should circulate equally
under the plates, that is to say, in the moveable part, either by
establishing a fire in the moveable part itself, and feeding from
below, or even by constructing the furnace in the fixed part, by
making holes lateral to the sides of the moveable part, and by effecting
a very rapid draft on the side diametrically opposite, so as to force
the product of combustion to be kept in the moveable channel,
in consequence of an atmospheric pressure established in the circular
channel. This circulation of the products in the fire may be applied
to ordinary porcelain furnaces; and in this case the fire-places being,
as usual, outside, the flame may rise, then descend, and again rise, in
the central chimney, after having surrounded a circular case in which
the partition works, with shelves upon which the plates with the
buttons rest, as is shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, Shcet S. The
moving of the moveable piece may be effected mechanically or by

page_text: hand, and in a continuous or intermittent manner; continuous, by
placing in and withdrawing the plate while the products pass; inter-
mittent, that is to say, suitable to the charging and exit, and determined
by them, or by the degree of the baking. The channel and railway are
to avoid the elevation in the temperature of the different parts of the
circulating mechanism. To avoid the direct radition of the lower
cold portions, it is necessary to break the straight line by making the
materials of the moveable part enter the fixed part; and this can be
casily done. What I have done with regard to the furnace with a
circular channel may also be applied to the furnace with rectilinear
channel with moveable divisions. In this case, for saving of trouble
and economy of heat, two furnaces should be joined, working in
different directions, in such a manner that the discharging of the one
should take place on the side where the other discharges.
Regarding the transmission of caloric in this oven, the whole surface
of the products to be baked receives the whole heat, the complete
intensity of the flame is distributed, and the whole arch is attacked by
the flame. Whilst in the muffled furnaces, three of the little sides
only are acted upon or visited by it; and this is not by lateral propa-
gation, by communication from one place to another, as the heat is
transmitted and arrives at the centre, slowly, expensively, unequally,
and irregularly.
Regarding the opposition to the baking, the elevation of temperature
which this species of oven can communicate to the pieces which are
submitted to it, allows of enriching the manufacture of the buttons
with a mass of substances more refractory, more difficult to bake and
vitrify, but at the same time more solid and less friable, than the tender
and fusible substances that are chosen and worked together, to bring
them within the power of fusion by a muffled furnace.
Regarding the success of the baking, I can at will either attack the
materials with an intense heat, or make them undergo a graduated
temperature, according to the requirements of the products, a result
impossible to be obtained by the muffled furnaces. Likewise I can
take out the plates, and make them pass slowly and in succession
through a series of temperatures, crossing them incessantly, if their

page_text: delicate nature renders it necessary, without being obliged, as with
the muffed furnaces, to expose them quickly to the cold air.
Regarding the rapidity. of the baking, I can keep up, on the
whole surface of the plate charged with buttons, an uniform tem-
perature, whilst in the muffled furnaces the anterior part which is
near the entrance is infinitely lower than that of the bottom.
Regarding the simplicity and rapidity of work, in consequence of
the uniformity of temperature, I am able to bake in one single time,
whilst by the muffled furnace it is necessary to turn the product by the
aid of a suitable instrument, and without which turning there would
only be one portion of the surface completely baked.
a man faces, to expose them quickly to the cold air.
Regarding the rapidity. of the baking, I can keep up, on the
whole surface of the plate charged with buttons, an uniform tem-
perature, whilst in the muffled furnaces the anterior part which is
near the entrance is infinitely lower than that of the bottom.
Regarding the simplicity and rapidity of work, in consequence of
the uniformity of temperature, I am able to bake in one single time,
whilst by the muffled furnace it is necessary to turn the product by the
aid of a suitable instrument, and without which turning there would
only be one portion of the surface completely baked.
DESCRIPTION OF SHEET 8.
Figure 1, vertical section of a circular furnace, with a contrary
current.
Figure 2, plan and horizontal section, at different heights, of the
circular furnace, represented Figure 1.
Figure 3, vertical section of a furnace with fire places and circulation
of the products.
•
Figure 4, plan and sections, at different heights, of the furnace
Figure 3.
Note. In the Figures 1, and 2, the same letters indicate the same
parts, the same as Fig. 3, and 4.
A, (Figures 1, and 2,) furnace; B, channel for circulation of the
flame; C, channel for outlet of the products; D, circulating oven or
channel, in which the products circulate; E, plates bearing the pro-
ducts; F, car in masonry; G, plate of cast iron, supporting the masonry
of the car; .H, rails for the car; I, rollers, mounted upon axles, which
receive their movement. from the exterior; J, door, for placing and
withdrawing the products; K, register door or vertical drawer; L, L,
(Figures 3, and 4,) fire places; M, space for the circulation of the
flame; N, outlet for the products of combustion; O, circular arch,
in which the products circulate; P, shelves for the products; Q; car
and its accessories; R, door, for placing and withdrawing the products.

page_text: CUPELS.
An important point among the modifications which I have introduced
into this branch of the manufacture consists in the reception of the
products after the stamping in cupels constructed of refractory materials,
and having, if necessary, the hollowed form of the under part of the
button, Figure 1, Sheet 7. This mode of reception presents, with regard
to the process in use, very marked advantages as to cost, simplicity,
and difference of work.
TEMPERING OVEN.
To remedy the inconveniences of a rapid withdrawal from the oven,
I place the products in a channel A, B, Figures 3, and 4, Sheet 7,
heated at its upper extremity only, either with the waste heat of one of
the ovens, or with a special fire, and cooled at its lower part by a cur-
rent of cold air C, D. The lower extremity of this channel is opened
at will, to let out the products as they are cooled, and as is necessary
to make room for new ones.
WASTE HEAT.
Working mechanically, and having to use a motive power, I apply
to this manufacture the arrangements used in forges to make use of the
waste heat of puddling furnaces, reverberatory, &c. &c., an application
which has not yet been made to the manufacture of enamel buttons. In
this application I make, below the generator, a cavity or fire capable of
containing a certain quantity of bricks or different pieces of refractory
earth, and I arrange the holes and registers so as to direct the flame of
the fires either under the generator or in the ovens, or even in one
first and then in another, by commencing at will by one of the two, in
such a manner that for the drying of the bricks the furnace will receive
it secondly, and for their baking it will receive it first, so as to direct
it then under the cauldron.

page_text: the heat afforded by coal, and which only reaches the products after
having traversed a vault or a refractory plate. When I speak of any
combustible gas whatever, I mean that the gas may be pure hydrogen
or carburetted hydrogen, with a suitable quantity of atmospheric air
added, or of pure oxygen gas, or even the product of the evaporation of
volatile substances, such as alcohol, ether, essence of turpentine, oils,
&c. &c., or, lastly, of many gases or vapours mixed together. I give
here only some examples of application, for it is easy to perceive of how
many varieties this new mode of baking is susceptible, either as regards
construction of apparati, in the arrangement of the pipes for the entry
and regulating of the different gases to be mixed, or as to the in-
dustrial result, according as hydrogen, air, or oxygen predominates;
that is to say, according as the flame is rendered reduisante, oxidante,
or neuter. Thus, to give an idea, a button containing oxyde of copper
will become green by the oxidante flame, and red by the reduisante
flame; with the oxyde of iron it will become yellow by the oxidante
flame, and black or dark green by the reduisante flame. These
different examples will suffice to show the multiplicity and the
diversity of the applications that are possible here, and how difficult
it would be to specify them in detail. I do not confine myself
to the details which I have expressed, but to the discovery of baking
paste and enamel buttons, of all kinds, by the direct action of the flame
of any gas whatever. Hydrogen, pure or carburetted, and air or
oxygen, are received separately, each in a small gasometer A, which is
for the purpose of regulating the pressure, so as to furnish a determi-
nate volume of the two gases. These gases, of which the respective
quantities may be increased or diminished at will by aid of cocks B,
suitably arranged, go separately to a little gasometer C, of the capacity
of about three quarts, containing an agitator D, constantly put in motion.
It is in this little gasometer that the mixing is effected; and, as this
mixing is explosive, the tube in communication with the tubes for
combustion is furnished with metallic sheets E. I will add, that the
little gasometer may be dispensed with, whilst the gaseous mixture may
be made with facility in the tube containing the metallic sheets (sec
Figures 11, and 12, Sheet 7). The orifice whence the gaseous jet

page_text: escapes is composed of an union of little capillary tubes F, (Figure 7,
Sheet 7,) more or less near, and more or less in number, so as to pre-
sent a little greater surface than the surface of the buttons to be baked.
This arrangement of little tubes turns constantly in a horizontal plate G,
so as to extend the heat at the point of the baking, that the button may
be gradually heated, and that it may not be suddenly acted upon by the
jet of flame from the turning tubes. I arrange before and after this
jet of gas either a series of small burners E, less powerful and gradu-
ated, or two conduits I, heated exteriorly to raise and lower the tempera-
ture of the button gradually. The heat may likewise be uniformly
extended by turning the product, and leaving the furnace stationary. In
this case, it may be of a form analogous to the Figure 7 bis, Sheet 7.
If the gas which escapes is not supposed explosive, the division should
be considered as being made by a jet of hydrogen gas. The division
following and immediately contiguous will be completely similar, and
will permit to escape, as is necessary, either the air or the oxygen, and
thus a third division if a third gas is necessary. Each of these rows,
which are repeated as many times as the size of the apparatus demands.
is regulated by cocks on purpose for them. For this second apparatus
the endless chain upon which the cupels are placed receiving the
buttons should, if the product requires it, bear little circular plates,
having a rotary movement, to ensure, with regard to certain delicate
arrangements, a sufficient uniformity of temperature. This apparatus
affords every guarantee and fulfils all the conditions of a perfect manu-
facture; it permits of baking all kinds of buttons with holes, and even
buttons with shanks, as will be seen presently, by the
MOULDING IN A HOT STATE.
From the analysis or decomposition which I have made of the porce-
lain paste, and the new elements which I have substituted for it, it
results that I have enriched my manufacture in all branches of the
ceramic art; that is to say, that by the aid of different proportions I find
that I make use of the baked earth, and of the most vitreous sub-
stance; only, as my mixtures are of a nature to be treated only by
moulding, in the first instance, by cold, and the subsequent baking, I

page_text: effect it by instruments which I have described previously; but since,
by its proportions, my composition enters into the series of fusible
materials, I treat it by different processes, which I will describe.
CASTING BY GRAVITATION.
The apparatus is composed of a vessel A, of refractory earth, having
nearly the form of a mortar, and placed in a furnace B, so as to allow
of the temperature of the vessel being raised to a suitable point. The
lower part of the vessel is pierced with a little circular opening O, and
the vessel upon a stand C, also pierced with a hole corresponding to
that of the vase, the prolongation of which, in sheet or cast iron,
crosses the masonry or the ash-pit of the furnace. The opening
pierced in the bottom of the vessel is shut by the aid of a ring of iron,
covered with refractory earth, the conical extremity of which is engaged
partly in the hole O, and thus performs the office of a valve, Figure 7,
Sheet 6. The material which is to be operated on is introduced into
the vessel by holding the valve closed; then, when the whole is in
fusion, and the vitreous material is suitably purified, that is to say, de-
prived of bubbles, the rod causing the valve to work is raised more or less,
the pouring out takes place, and a drop E, which can be made greater
or less at will, falls. This drop tends to fall more easily, as, in elon-
gating, it draws out; and, being in a high temperature, the little stream
melts it, and makes the drop take a spherical form. By receiving this
drop, which continues for a long time at its red heat, upon a metallic
plate F, having a little division, in which a shank q, is placed, slightly
exceeding the plate, the shank becomes fixed in the drop of vitreous
material E, and thus a button with a shank K, is obtained. As nothing
is easier than to arrange the apparatus so that the drop may always
fall exactly in the same place, and consequently always upon a shank,
this manufacture offers no difficulty, and it may be understood that by
suitably regulating the play of the valve, and that of the plate receiving
the drops, buttons of various sizes may be obtained.
MOULDING BY THE MOULD.
If, instead of receiving the drops of vitreous material upon a shank
placed in a little cavity, they are received in a hollow mould presenting
the form of the lower part of a button, and that immediately after its

page_text: fall, the mould being supposed hot, a piercer, presenting the hollow
impression of the upper part of a button, is applied, the vitreous mass,
by a light pressure even, will exactly fill the cavity comprised between
the stamp and the mould, if, at the same time as the pressure is made,
four small steel rods are arranged, so as to penetrate into the soft
mass; or, even if the arrangement of moulds for buttons with rounded
holes, and the blowing of the air, is adopted, and the mould and
stamp arranged so as to cut the scam occurring from the excess of the
material, a button with holes remarkable for the purity of their form
is obtained. This, mode of manufacture allows of producing upon
buttons the most elaborate designs; it is sufficient to engrave them
upon the stamp, and the exact imitation of the designs produced by
weaving presents no difficulty. It will, moreover, be understood that
cither to buttons with holes or with shanks, all forms and all imaginable
appearances may be given mechanically by the aid of the stamp and the
mould, engraving, carving, and engine turning, chemically, and by the
composition, and the color of the vitreous material. The same arrange-
ment of vessel will serve also for the preliminary fusion of the materials.
I may here allude to the baking by gas, which allows also of
manufacturing buttons with shanks, as will be scen. The vitreous
matter is reduced into a very thick powder; the shank is fixed in a
little groove made in a piece of charcoal, or in a plate covered with
sulphate of lime, or any other isolating substance; this hole is placed
at the bottom of a little cavity. The shank, exceeding the hole slightly,
is covered with a certain quantity of vitreous material; then the whole
is submitted to the jet of gas, until completely fused. The perfectly
vertical direction which can be given to a jet of gas allows the glass
to take a spherical form, and the shank becomes soldered to the button.
If the button is to receive an impression, the mould which bears this
impression must be placed, either mechanically or by hand, upon the
soft sphere which the glass forms, at the moment when it is sufficiently
soft to penetrate into the fine parts of the engraving.
OF THE PASTE OR MATERIALS.

page_text: potash, or soda, has formed the base of the different qualities of buttons
called in commerce by the names of paste, agate, opal, porcelain, &c.
This substance, from the absence of terreous or metallic oxyde, and the
insufficient quantity of alkali which it contains to form a compound
fusible at a moderate temperature, requires, in consequence of its
nature, a considerable quantity of caloric, which can only be obtained
at a very great expense, of combustible material, and which, besides
this direct and immediate expense, is a cause of the very rapid deterio-
ration of furnaces, and the frequency of their repairs. It is to remedy
this double inconvenience that I have undertaken a series of researches
for the purpose of replacing felspath (silicate of alumina and natura
potash) by one or more silicates, simple or composed artificially, and
to which I can give, by the aid of an addition of natural silicates, salts,
oxydes, or any other substances whatever, the hardness, tenacity, fusi-
bility, appearance, or colour desired. I can also use the felspath,
kaolin, and other natural silicates, by introducing a suitable quantity
of alkaline base, terreous or metallic, to produce silicates easily fusible.
For this purpose I transform them by the aid of fusion, or simply of a
burning, into a perfect glass or crystal.
The artificial, simple, or multiple silicates, no matter what their
chemical composition, always form a vitreous, glassy, crystal, or enamel
matter, or at least a vitrifiable material, the manufacture of which is
already well known; but the application of these substances, pure or
mixed, has not yet been made to the mechanical manufacture of buttons
with holes or shanks. All vitreous substances, in general, which
industry produces for various purposes, may be employed in this new
kind of manufacture. The glass for windows, the glass for looking
glasses, the glass for bottles, crystal, glass for drinking, colored crystals
and enamels, &c., formed the primary matter, either as I use them in
the state of waste or rubbish, or as I manufacture them specially for
this work. To vary the appearance of the buttons, to color them, or
give them a great hardness, I add to the vitreous matter certain metals,
very divided: oxydes, acids, chlorides, bromides, iodides, fluorides, sul-
phurs, phosphorus, &c., metallic terreous salts, natural silicates or
mineral substances, often very complicated or even organic substances
or salts. If it is desired to. vitrify the matter, I have recourse to the

page_text: substances which tend to take possession of the alkali, as, for example,
silica, in fine powder, kaolin, &c. I can likewise obtain this result by
heating in cement the moulded buttons, by the aid of machinery.
Reaumur, for the porcelain which bears his name, operated in this
manner; but I prefer to mix directly with the silicate in powder the
vitrifying materials, the proportions of which I can vary, besides, ac-
cording to the composition of the glass. If I desire to obtain a contrary
result, I have recourse to an addition of potash, soda, oxyde of lead,
zinc, bismuth, &c., which oppose themselves efficaciously to the vitri-
fication. To obtain different colours, I add directly to the vitreous
material in powder, certain oxydes or metallic and terreous salts, such
as peroxyde of iron, the sesquioxydes of chromium, the sulphate of
iron, the pyrophosphates, &c. &c. The others, by reason of the dis-
engaging of gas, occasion a bubbling in the mass; I obviate this incon-
venience by a burning, and even sometimes by a preliminary fusion.
This is what I do with regard to the carbonate of lime, oxyde of cobalt,
of almost all the nitrates, carbon, organic substances, &c., which pro-
duce this result. To obtain white or colored products having particular
properties, I mix felspar, certain volcanic and argilaccous materials,
fractions of porcelain and colored pottery, slate, &c., &c., with the
powder of glass or crystal. The manufacture besides is of a greater
simplicity; glass, crystal, or enamel are reduced to powder; then the
substances for modifying their qualities or appearance are added, the
proportion of which varies from 1 to 20%. The intimate mixing may
be made wet or dry. If the substance introduced produces a bubbling,
it is to be burned for a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or even
melted completely; it has then to be pulverized again. It is evident
that only one pulverization can be made for the specially prepared
silicates, since all the substances which enter into their composition are
immediately added. The powder, slightly wet, is moulded perfectly
into buttons, and better than felspar; it requires .consequently no special
preparation. As these vitreous materials melt at a moderate tempera-
ture, the baking of these new buttons can be effected by dark red to
light red heat; but it is effected ordinarily by a cherry red heat, and
requires on an average three to six minutes. An essential condition
is the uniformity of heat, and the slow gradation of temperature of the

page_text: ordinary red heat.
The continuous circular furnace, which we have
previously described, leaves nothing to be desired with this regard.
Not only by aid of the above-described process can all qualities of
buttons which felspar can give, be obtained, but many of these
products are gifted with properties entirely new. These results certify,
that the buttons obtained with artificial silicates, pure or mixed, will
surpass those of the old method of manufacture, and will be preferred
to them. As may be seen, the principal object of this Invention consists
in the obtaining and the composition of primary material fit for the
manufacture of buttons, composed essentially of silicates obtained
artificially, by replacing felspar and other pastes called ceramic, employed
at the present time. The result of which is, 1st, a lower baking tem-
perature, more rapid, more economical, and less deteriorating to the
furnaces; 2nd, a reduction in the cost of the primary materials; 3rd,
the use of an infinity of oxides or other coloring substances, decom-
posable at a high temperature, although perfectly resisting to the
temperature which the baking of the buttons requires; 4th, the pos-
sibility of modifying, ad infinitum, and at will, the different component
parts, to obtain varieties in the product infinitely more numerous; 5th,
the production of a large quantity of my primary materials, by the
simple mixing of the constituent principals which enter into the com-
position of these materials, without being obliged to have recourse to
a preliminary fusion; the combination in this case taking place at the
time of the baking of the buttons.
This part of my Patent is intended, then, for the manufacture of
buttons, having for their base the silicates and boro-silicates, simple or
multiple, pure, or with the addition of other salts or substances what-
ever, and obtained by art, either by aid of the direct combination of
the constituent principles of these silicates or boro-silicates, or by the
aid of natural silicates and other salts or minerals, suitably combined
to produce a vitrifiable mass..

page_text: improvement which it constitutes, and the material advantages which
result therefrom to the consumer, but also because it is the sole exterior
distinctive character, by the aid of which I can distinguish my products.
Regarding the machines, the new points of my improvenient consists
in the completely mechanical manufacture of a product which has not
been obtained till the present tinie, except by numerous apparati; that
is to say, worked, directed, and supplied by manual labour: Likewise,
as to the machines, it is principally the industrial result which I patent,
as the greater part of the means which unite in its realization might
be advantageously applied distinctly in numerous machines. I allude
to them in this summary, to make it well understood, that they are not
only in their combination, but: ench separately, my.Invention. These
principal points are,-1st, the stamping in a double collar, the machine
being for one button or multiple, as it may be worked by.hand or.by
power. 2nd, tlie pressure uniformly regulated and dynamometrically
limited. Srd, the piercing by the compressed air, the vacuum, and the
rounded and clear forms, with or without the help of the vacuum.
4th, the deposit and the direct arrangement of the products upon. the
plates and upon the baking cupels, either in the place of the stamping
or beyond the place of pressure. 5th, the mechanical, movement of
the receiving plates or cupels. 6th, the introduction of the cupels in the
manufacture of ceramic buttons. 7th, the mechanical distributor,
either as. it works in the machine or outside it, or with the aid of a
carrier, or with the removal of the instrument. 8th, the agitator, and
the single or multiple rods. 9th, the simultaneous action of many
different operations. 10th, the circular mould bearers, having the moulds
parallel to the axis, and working horizontally or slanting, and working
upon the circumference of the circle. 11th, the mechanical movement
of the screw presses used for the buttons.
For the preparing apparati, a rotative mortar, with eccentric pestle,
without application of the rush of the air.
Lastly, an improved mixing apparatus.
Regarding the baking and the ovens, for the inanufacture of paste
and enamel buttons, the improvements are,--First, the motion, either
circular, rectilinear, horizontal, vertical, or inclined, of the products in
channel heated exteriorly, and open at the two extremities for .the.
a

page_text: placing and withdrawing of the same. Secondly, the employment of
the waste heat. Thirdly, the intermediate use of the tempering oven.
Also the application of gas for baking buttons, whatever may be the
nature of the gas and the mode of its application; that is to say, the
gas may act directly upon the products, or it may act by the interven-
tion of a body interposed between the flame and the product.
As regards the moulding in a hot state, the compositions of the
paste may have a greater or less vitreous character, of which I avail
myself to introduce the hot casting. It is, then, the fact of this hot
casting, either manual or mechanical, applied to buttons that I claim.
That which characterizes the paste consists in the fact, that more or
less fusibility can at will be communicated to it; and, consequently, it
may be baked at a more or less elevated temperature, and, indepen-
dently of this property, it may be combined at the time of its baking by a
simple preliminary mixing with a mass of substances serving to modify
its properties and its colour; and, lastly, it may be obtained in certain
cases by the simple mixture of the different parts which constitute it,
without having recourse to a preliminary fusion. That is to say, that
this Patent includes six principal branches of improvement, viz. :—
A new product. A new arrangement of machine for the cold stamp>-
ing. A series of preparatory apparatus. A furnace, and a new
mode of baking by gas. The introduction of a hot moulding. And,
lastly, a new composition of paste.
I claim the method of manufacturing paste and enamel buttons, as
herein described, and of which the principal points are specially
indicated in the foregoing summary.
In witness whereof, I, the said Constant Jouffroy Duméry, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
three