Machine for Manufacturing Buttons.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 3rd Feb., 1894
Machine for Manufacturing Buttons.
We, ANDERS OSTBYE and HANS CHRISTIAN HANSEN, both of the City of
Gjövik, in the Kingdom of Norway, Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to a machine for manufacturing buttons.
In such machines as hitherto constructed the buttons have been partially
prepared in one or more pressing machines, and the parts afterwards joined by
hand or by another machine. The object of our invention is to provide a machine
which will completely and continuously manufacture buttons and for this purpose
the strips of tin plate or sheet-metal from which the buttons are to be made, are
conducted into the machine in two places, one strip on each side of the machine
table. The strips are fed by hand into a guiding or feed mechanisin, which by
means of an arrangement, hereinafter described, conducts the strips in below the
punch, which at the same time punches out the parts of the button and the holes
in the middle of the same and give the said parts their required form.
When the punches have punched out the parts of the button the latter are
conveyed to an intermittently rotating pressing disc by means of two carriers one
of which turns one part of the button so that the side which form the outer surface
of the button comes downwards on the pressing disc, while the other conducts the
part of the button direct away onto the part first brought, whereupon the punch
above presses the parts of the button together and the ready made button can then
be pushed out of the machine.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a plan of a machine for manufacturing buttons constructed according
to our invention.
Figure 1 is an elevation of a detail of the same.
Figure 2 is a section of the machine on the line of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section on the line y-y of Figure 1 shewing the press and punch
arrangement.
Figures 3 and 3B are sections of details.
Figure 4 is a section of the machine on the line
the carriers.
of Figure 1 shewing one of:
. !
...
Figure 5 is a section on the line ww of Figure 1. .
Figure 6 is a vertical section of one of the punches.
Figure 7 is a similar view of the other punch.
Figure 8 is an elevation shewing the actuating mechanism of the feeding device.!
a is a guide plate through which the strip of metal is fed by hand into. the
machine, it being further guided by the roller until it reaches the carriage.
between the spring plate of which * (Figure 8) and the support it is clamped fast
Figures 1 and 2). This carriage which slides in a groove has a forward and
ackward movement imparted to it in the direction of the arrows and each time it
eds a part of the metal strip under the punch arrangement hereinafter:
described and shown most clearly in detail in Figures 6 and 7, whereby a round
piece corresponding to the circumference of the button is punched out. Afterwards.
he strip passes into the other carriage which conducts the punched metal stripe
out of the machine into a receiver or the like. The clamping of the strip each
ime it is fed forward is effected by a pawl d, which is keyed to a pivot " and by

page_text: means of an arrangement of cranks d², rods №² and №ª and levers №³ driven from an
eccentric (Figures 1, 2 and 8) on the main shaft e is moved slightly up from and
down onto the metal strip at each stroke of the eccentric the arrangement of rods
moving the carriages, forward and backward in consequence of the pawl d
alternately pressing upon the metal strip and spring plate (Figure 8) so that
the crank is held fast and thereby transfers its further movement to the
carriages, 2. On the other side of the machine is another feeding arrange-
ment, exactly like , for another metal strip from which also by means of
the punch C2 round button-pieces are punched. These two punches C, C² which
will be hereinafter more particularly described differ however from each other in
that the first holds the button piece while the other releases it immediately after
the punching. From these punches the button-pieces are conveyed in the
following manner: F is a carrier for the button-piece from the punch C¹ and has
three movements, one jumping or upward and lown movement effected by an
eccentric g (Figure 4) with a swell and a notch or depression, on the main-shaft,
moving up a rod which is immediately afterwards forced down by a spring
on the other end of a connecting-rod ; the carriage F¹ has also an oscillating
movement in a horizontal plane in the directions of the arrows imparted to it by an
eccentric / which communicates an oscillating motion to a lever and this lever f
acts upon the spring band or strip" which is twisted like a spiral spring round the
rod and by which, assisted by the spring, the rod is caused to oscillate;
the third movement of the carriage is that of the rod round its own axis, caused
by the bevel-wheel which gears with the toothed segment and during the
horizontal oscillating movement of the carriage causes the turning movement of
the rod.
The rodas, as shown in Figure 1, a four-toothed claw, the teeth of which
are somewhat flexible. Each time the rod ' oscillates in a horizontal plane the
said turning and up and down movements take place, so that when the claw fis
under the punching arrangement C, the claws are turned upwards at the same
time as the rod f' is lifted and thereby catches the metal piece punched out in the
punching arrangement. Immediately after the rod swings again in a horizontal
plane against the pressing disc I, the rod 7 turns so that the claw comes down
and as soon as this has come above one of the plates the rod f' receives a push
downwards with the result that the part of the button being in the claw, is
spitted on the four prongs on the plate which prongs just correspond to the
holes in the part of the button.
The arrangement of the two eccentrics g and and the swell and depression
of the eccentric is such, that the up and down, swinging and turning movements
of the carriage F' take place separately at the proper tinies as before described
(see Figure 4).
The disc I receives an intermittent rotation in the direction of the arrow caused
by an eccentric keyed to the main-shaft e (Figures 1 and 3) which eccentric
through the medium of rods and and a ball and socket joint causes a rod or
pawl to work in ratchet teeth on the disc 1; is a spring which keeps the rod
or pawl close to the teeth 18.
The rods or pawls one on each side of the pressing disc 1, work intermittently
and alternately so that at each stroke they separately take up a position against
the teeth as shown in Figure 1.
The second carrier F2 is shown in Figures 1 and 5 and is placed opposite F¹ but
is more simply arranged; it only having an up and down motion and an oscillating
motion in a horizontal plane; for actuating it 'two eccentrics 9' and ' are employed
keyed to the main shaft e of which the eccentric g' has a notch or depression. The
oscillating portion of the carrier F with its arm in a horizontal plane, from the
punching arrangement C² to the pressing disc 'l is caused by an arrangement of
rodyspring, connecting rod 3, lever, spring band or strip and spring jº
just like that provided for the carrier F. As before stated the part of the button
punched out in the punching arrangement C² is released from the punch immediately

page_text: after the punching and lies on the matrix. When now the arm is above the matrix,
it receives a push downwards through the notch in the eccentric g', by which the
prongs on the underside of the arm are caused to enter the holes in the part of
the button; at the next moment the arm swings in the horizontal plane against
the pressing disc I until the carried button piece is right above one of the plates/
ridelicet, above one of the pieces brought from the punch C. The piece brought
from the punch C' forms the front side of the button, while the piece from C2 forms
the back.
Both the parts of the button separate from their respective carriers and are
kept back on the plates by two levers (Figures 1 and 3) catching
respectively into the claw and the teeth above the part of the button and at
the right moment these levers swing round upon their pivots, and strike the
parts off the claw" and teeth respectively by their free ends receiving an
upward stroke from the following rod arrangement shown in Figure 3. On the
main-shaft is keyed an eccentric having two diametrically opposite notches; on
this eccentric bear the free ends of two rods ³, oscillating on pivots, in the
machine-table; to these pivots are keyed two sinall levers k, to which levers
are attached rods, mounted on pivots, k in the machine-table. It will be
obvious that the rods ³, as soon as their free ends (which are furnished with
small rollers and are acted upon by a spring ) take into the notches on the
eccentric, will cause the keyed levers, and the rods, to rock; one of the
rods will thereby be caused to slightly push the rod 4, working loose in
the machine-table which rod then strikes upwards on the free ends of the
levers k, as before described.
The two parts of the button brought to the plates one on top of the other (as
shewn in Figure 3) are now joined or put together so as to form a complete
button (as shown at Figure 3"), by a punch m (Figure 3) with a concave underside.
As soon as every one of the plates during the intermittent rotation of the disc !
(Figures 1 and 3) has passed beneath the punch m, the latter is carried down by
an eccentric on the main shaft and an arrangement of rod m² and arm m², the
parts of the button being thereby pressed together, as will be clearly understood
by reference to Figures 3, 3 and 3.
By the further rotation of the disc I the ready made button is brought under an
exhaust tube o and is here pushed out of the machine by a rod working loosely
in the machine-table, and actuated from an eccentric / similarly to the rod and
by a similar arrangement k³, k, ko, k, k7. There only remains now to describe the
punching arrangements and C². The first is represented at Figure 6 the body p
of the punch being furnished with holes or sockets on each side; within ilis
body is a punch or die p³ and in the interior of this is a rod p* provided with
pins p. Securely connected to the body p by screw-threads and a nut is the
cutter or punch proper and securely but detachably connected with the die p³
by means of set screws is a ring the said set screws being also connected with
the body by springs. 7 is the bed or support of the matrix q¹ which together
with the punch gives the part of the button its required shape. is the table of
the machine.
.?
When the metal strips are brought in under the punch and the punch descends
the cutter first cuts off a small piece, and then the inner punch or die p³ presses
the said piece against the matrix and forms it of the required shape for the front
of the button at the same time that the pins p entering corresponding holes in the
matrix punch the sewing holes (usually four) in the part of the button. When
ow the punch again rises the elasticity or spring of the edge of the button-piece
after the punching will cause the button-piece to be retained within the cutter /
until the ring comes against a fork s embracing the body thereby stopping
both the ring and the punch ", which latter during the further upward move-
ment of the body p', will force the piece put just at the moment that the claw f
is immediately beneath it, which claw then takes hold of the button-piece and
conveys it to the pressing disc I.
10

page_text: :
The second punching arrangement C² is nearly the same as C₁; p' is the
body with sockets or holes p²; inside this punch-body is the punch p³ securely but
punch
detachably connected with the ring by screws ; inside the punch is the
rod with pins and the cutter securely connected with the body p, by the
nut ; the ring is however here acted on by a larger downwardly-acting spiral
spring and the operation is as follows:-When the punch body descends the
punch first presses against the metal-strip, but gives way and acts against the
counteracting spring p", until, after the cutter p' has punched out the round
button-piece, it comes against the bottom of the body and in conjunction with
the matrix forms the back part of the button. When the punch-body again
rises the punch p³ is retained a little on account of the spring until the cutter p
has completely released its hold of the part of the button and the screws with
the ring are moved downwards in the sockets or holes p, when the punch p³ also
leaves, and the button-part is left on the matrix whence it is brought to the pressing
disc I as before descrilied.
The whole machine works accurately and quickly and the product is highly
satisfactory.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A machine for manufacturing buttons in which the two parts, of which the
button consists, are punched and formied respectively in two punching devices
from which by means of two carriers they are respectively brought to a rotating
pressing disc so that the button-parts are placed one upon the other and afterwards
pressed together by a pressing or punching device for the purpose of completely
and continuously making buttons in one and the same machine.
2. A machine for manufacturing buttons in which the two parts of which the
button consists are punched and formed respectively in two punching devices C and C²
and brought by two carriers F1 and F2 from the punching devices C and C² to a
pressing disc I rotating intermittently in such a manner that one part of the button
(the front) is first placed in position and the other part (the back) is then placed
upon the front after which the button-parts by means of a pressing device 1, m', m², m
are pressed together or joined together so as to form a ready made button and then
pushed out through an opening o, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In a machine for manufacturing buttons the punching device C substantially
as described and shown in Figures 6 and 1 of the accompanying drawings.
4. In a machine for manufacturing buttons the punching device C2, substantially
as described and shown in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.
5. In a machine for manufacturing buttons the carrier Farranged and operating
substantially as described and shown in Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.
6. In a machine for manufacturing buttons the carrier Farranged and operating
substantially as described and shown in Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
7. In a machine for manufacturing buttons the pressing disc I rotating inter-
mittently and arranged substantially as described and shown in Figures 1 and 3 of
the accompanying drawings.
8. The improved machine for manufacturing buttons hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 28th day of December 1002
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.