Improvements in Apparatus Employed in the Manufacture of Buttons.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Dec., 1886.
Complete Left, 2nd Apr., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 8th July, 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus Employed in the Manufacture of
Buttons.
We EDMOND BERZELIUS TILLAM of 38 Saint Oswald's Grove, Rochdale Road
Manchester in the County of Lancaster Engineer, and JOHN THOMAS GIBBINS of
64 Palatine Road, Stoke Newington, London in the County of Middlesex Commercial
Traveller do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
This invention relates to the manufacture of buttons composed of a foundation
covered with cloth and having a cup-formed back somewhat similar for example to the
buttons described in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 3089 of the year 1884
granted to Frederick Louis Niedermeyer, the object of the present invention being to
construct a simple apparatus for the manufacture of this class of covered buttons
whereby various sizes of button can be made and covered by the same apparatus,
whereas with the apparatus hitherto employed for this purpose it has been necessary
to have a separate machine for each size of button.
In our improved apparatus we provide a cylinder, inside which are two or more
thimbles fitting one in the other, and those are placed on a fixed-stud or pillar.
By means of thumb screws in the cylinder, one or more of the thimbles can be
secured inside the cylinder when required, to make the bore of the said cylinder either
larger or smaller according to the size of the button to be made. When they are not
used for this purpose they are fastened to the stud or pillar (instead of to the cylinder)
by means of a pin or bolt, so as to make the stud or pillar larger so as to fit the bore
of the cylinder when making the larger sized buttons.
We also provide three or more loose bushes which are made to fit the different
sized bores in the thimbles and the cylinder. These bushes are made with a thin edge
at the bottom, and the upper part of each is bored out to act as a guide to the punch
which slides therein and is worked up and down by means of a screw or lever.
The cylinder can be moved up and down on the stud or pillar by means of a hand
lever

page_text: The cloth and foundation of the button are first placed on the top of the stud or
pillar, the punch is then brought down sufficiently to bear on the same and hold the
foundation firmly in place whilst by means of the hand lever the cylinder is forced up
the stud or pillar which will strain the cloth tightly over the face of the foundation
so that its upper margin tends to lie inwards above the edge of the foundation.
The punch is then raised sufficiently to allow of the introduction of the back plate
of the button, over which the loose bush is placed, and held down by hand, so as to
hold the back plate in its proper position.
The punch is then brought down so as to clench the two plates together and form
the button, the punch sliding through the bore of the bush which forms a guide.
The punch being then raised and the cylinder lowered the finished button can be
removed.
Dated this 30th day of December 1886.
GEORGE DAVIES,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus Employed in the Manufacture of
Buttons.
We EDMOND BERZELIUS TILLAM of 38 Saint Oswald's Grove Rochdale Road
Manchester in the County of Lancaster Engineer and JOHN THOMAS GIBBINS of
64 Palatine Road Stoke Newington London in the County of Middlesex Commercial
Traveller 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 :-
This invention relates to the manufacture of buttons composed of a foundation
covered with cloth and having a cup-formed back somewhat similar for example to the
buttons described in the Specification of Letters Patent No. 3089 of the year 1884
granted to Frederick Louis Niedermeyer, the object of the present invention being
to construct a simple apparatus for the manufacture of this class of covered buttons
whereby various sizes of buttons can be made and covered by the same apparatus,
whereas with the apparatus hitherto employed for this purpose it has been necessary to
have a separate machine for each size of button.
The nature of our invention and the manner in which the same is to be perforined
or carried into practical effect will be readily understood on reference to the sheet of
drawings hereunto annexed and the following explanation thereof.
Fig. 1 on the drawing is a side elevation of a button making machine constructed
according to our invention.
Figs. 2 and 3 are two transverse sections of a portion of the same and Figs. 4 and 5
are sections of the loose bushes hereinafter referred to.
In our improved apparatus we provide a cylinder a, a inside which is a thimble b, b
(or two or more thimbles) may be used fitting one inside the other, and these are
placed on a fixed stud or pillar d, d.
By means of thumb screws e, e in the cylinder a, a the thimble 6 can be secured
inside the cylinder a, a when required to make the bore of the said cylinder smaller
according to the size of the button to be made. In the section Fig. 2 the thimble b, b
is not secured to the cylinder a, a whilst in Fig. 3 it is shown as secured to the said
cylinder by screwing the thumb screws e, e further in.
When not used for this purpose the said thimble b, b (or thimbles) is fastened to
the stud or pillar d, d (instead of the cylinder) by means of a pin or bolt fƒ (as
shown at Fig. 2) so as to make the stud or pillar d, d to fit the bore of the cylinder a, a
when making the larger sized buttons.
We also provide two or more loose bushes g, g and h, h (Figs. 4 and 5) which are
made to fit the different sized bores in the thimble b, b (or thimbles) and in the
cylinder a, a.
These bushes are made with a thin edge at the bottom and the upper part of each is
bored out to act as a guide to the punch i, i (Fig. 1) which slides thereon and is

page_text: worked up and down on the stud or pillar a, a by means of a screw k, k or by means
of a lever.
We find it preferable (although not absolutely necessary) to have different punches
to suit the different sizes of buttons.
The cylinder a, a can be moved up and down on the stud or pillar by means of a
hand lever.
The cloth and foundation of the button are first placed on the top of the stud or
pillar d, d.
The punch is then brought down sufficiently to hear on the same and hold the
foundation firmly in place, whilst by means of the hand lever the cylinder a, a is
forced up the stud or pillar d, d which will strain the cloth tightly over the face of the
foundation so that its upper margin tends to lie inwards above the edge of the
foundation.
The punch i, is then raised sufficiently to allow of the introduction of the back
plate of the button over which one of the loose bushes g or is placed and held down
by hand so as to hold the back plate in its proper position.
The punch i, i is then brought down so as to clench the two plates together and form
the button in the usual manner the punch sliding through the bore of the bush
which forms a guide.
g or h
The punch, being then raised and the cylinder a, a lowered the finished button
can be removed.
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 :-
In a button making machine of the herein indicated description the combination
with a fixed pillar of one or more thimbles inside a cylinder, and two or more loose
bushes so as to enable the same machine to make two or more sizes of buttons
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings annexed.
Dated this 31st day of March 1887.
GEORGE DAVIES,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,
Agent for the Applicants.