Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 7th June, 1900-Accepted, 7th July, 1900
A communication from abroad by THE CLIMAX MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of San
Francisco, in the State of California, United States of America.
I. JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, M.I.E.E., M.I.Mech. E.. of Norfolk House, Norfolk
Street, London, W.C., in the County of Middlesex, Chartered Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention (as communicated to me from abroad)
to be as follows:
This invention relates to improvements in and connected with button sewing
machines, and the objects of the invention are:-
First, to provide a mechanism by which the needle is caused to reciprocate
twice in the same position, or through the same eye of the button, and is then
shifted to another position in which it is again twice reciprocated, whereby, in
conjunction with a complemental stitch forming mechanism, a double stitch of a
twisted or knotted character is formed, and the button is thereby more securely
held to the material, the twist or hitch in the stitch preventing the threads from
loosening.
Secondly, to provide means for shifting the button clamp so that after a pre-
determined number of stitches have been made through one pair of eyes of a
button with four eyes. the stitching may be commenced through the other pair,
and which may be adjusted for a button with two eyes so that the button clamp
is held in a stationary central position.
Thirdly, to provide means for varying the number of stitches to be made
through each pair of eyes.
Fourthly, to provide means for automatically stopping the machine after a pre-
determined number of stitches have been made.
Fifthly, to provide a clamp, or holder for the button, the jaws of which close
or open with a parallel movement to or from the vibratory path of the needle
equally, whereby buttons of varying diameters are held in the same central
nosition relative to the operation of the needle.
Sixthly, to simplify the constructions so as to render the various adjustments
simple. readily accessible, and easily effected by an unskilled operator.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a button sewing machine constructed in accord-
ance with this invention.
Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the arm and driving mechanism of the
machine, the frame being cut away, in parts, to show mechanism of its interior.
Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view of the rear end of the button clamp
mechanism.

page_text: Figure 5 is a similar view of the forward end, showing the button in position.
Figure 6 is a cross-section of the jaws, taken on the line A-A of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of the button clamp mechanism, partly in section,
on the line B-B of Figure 4.
Figure 8 is a detail view of the cam wheel of the feeding mechanism partly
cut away to show the oppositely inclined ratchet teeth on the periphery thereof,
the dotted lines indicating the shape and position of the cam groove on the rear
of said wheel. .
Figure 9 is a detail view of the shifting mechanism by means of which the
rotary direction of the cam wheel is changed; also showing the centering device
for centering the trigger to hold the stopping mechanism; and in dotted lines is
shown the cam groove in the cam wheel, while the arm rocked by said groove
is shown in full lines.
Figures 10, 11, and 12 are diagrammatic views, which, taken in conjunction
with Figure 9, illustrate the shifting mechanism for changing the rotary direc-
tion of the cam wheel.
Figures' 13, 14, 15 are diagrammatic views of a single lock stitch, a single
hitch stitch, and a double hitch stitch, respectively.
Figure 16 is a front elevation of a button sewing machine provided with modi-
fied forms of the improvements.
Figure 17 is a rear elevation of the same.
Figure 18 is a view, similar to Figure 3, of the same.
Figures 19, 20, 21 are elevations of the cam wheel and cam roller arm in
various positions.
Figure 22 is a side view, partly in section, of the same.
Figure 23 is a side elevation of the cam wheel and bracket, detached.
Figure 24 is a detail showing the position of the parts in sewing on a button
having only two eyes.
Figure 25 is an enlarged plan view of a modified form of button clamp
mechanism.
Figure 26 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the same.
Figure 27 is a horizontal detail section to show the slot in the clamp slides.
Figure 28 is a vertical section to show the same.
Figure 29 is a horizontal detail section to show the mechanism for operating
the third jaw.
The machine itself may be best described by describing at the same time its
mode of operation; therefore, supposing the machine to be at rest, but the cloth
and button in place ready for operation, the operator will depress the free arm a
of a bell crank lever b, one of whose working arms c operates to start the
machine, while the other arm & reverses the mechanism for controlling the
number of stitches. Said starting mechanism is as follows:-The arm creci-
procates a rod e longitudinally of the machine, and so moves a brake block f,
carried by said arm, out of frictional engagement with a tight driving pulley g,
at the same time shifting the driving belt from the loose to the tight pulley.
When the operator releases control of the arm a, a pin h carried by a pivoted
trigger i will have come in front of the end of the rod e, and will now hold said
rod back. The trigger is centered, when free to assume such position, by two
pivoted jaws one on each side of said pin, and connected by a spring.
Thus
the brake and driving belt will remain where shifted until said trigger has been
operated by the mechanism for stopping the machine, hereafter described.
Simultaneously with the starting of the machine, mechanisms are set in motion,
which will, at the proper times, respectively, shift the needle, shift the button,
and stop the machine.
The mechanism for shifting the needle is as follows: The main driving shaft
drives a cam wheel located in the interior of the frame, said shaft making four
revolutions to the cam wheel's one. This rocks. by means of a roller in the cam
groove, an arm n pivoted on the outside of the frame on a rock shaft, and so, by

page_text: a link and suitable connections, shifts the needle bar transversely of the machine.
This shift will take place after two reciprocations of the needle through one eye,
and the return shift after two reciprocations through the other eye.
The reason for making two reciprocations will be best understood by referring
to Figures 13, 14, 15. Figure 14 represents diagrammatically what is known as
a single hitch stitch which differs from the ordinary lock stitch shown in Figure 13
in that in the hitch stitch the under thread is passed through the loop of the
needle thread from a different side from that from which it is passed in the lock
stitch, and thus the under thread makes a twist or hitch when drawn up against
the cloth. In Figure 15 is shown diagrammatically a stitch in which the twist
or hitch is doubled by reason of the return of the needle through the same per-
foration by two complete reciprocations in the same position. When this stitch
is drawn up against the cloth, it will be found that the double twisting of the
under thread, in combination with the needle thread passing upwards, forms what
is, in effect, a knot, and prevents unravelling and loosening of the threads.
To adjust the above shifting mechanism for buttons of varying distances between
eyes, the end of the link p is moved along a T-slot formed in an arc of a circle
formed with the link as a radius, and clamped therealong in any desired posi-
tion. The amount of shift of the needle will evidently depend on the distance
from said centre at which said link end is clamped.
After the completion of the stitching through two eyes, the button has to be
shifted to stitch through the other two eyes.
The mechanism for this is as
follows:-
The rock shaft o carries, on the rear of the machine, a crank s, which, oscil-
lating synchronously with the needle bar, rocks also a pawl-carrier, having two
pawls u. These pawls are adapted to engage, respectively, two sets of oppositely
facing ratchet teeth on the periphery of a cam wheel w. Thus, from the same
rocking motion of the carrier t, the pawls tend to rotate the cam wheel in oppo-
One
site directions, but, of course, only one is in operation at the same time.
pawl acts, and the cam wheel rotates in one direction, during one complete opera-
tion of the machine, and then, when the machine is started again, the other pawl
acts, and the machine is rotated in the opposite direction.
To effect this changing of the pawls, a pawl shifter y is provided. Said shifter
has, at its upper end, a cam surface z, which engages pins on the pawls u, and
either end of the cam surface will throw a pawl out of engagement with the
ratchet teeth while the middle portion will let the other pawl down into engage-
The
ment therewith. Each oscillation of the shifter will change the pawls.
shifter is operated as follows: On stopping the machine the arm d'moves down.
This carries a finger 2 out of engagement with one face of a wedge-shaped tail 3
of the shifter, and so, in conjunction with the spring centering device 4 on the
end of the arm d, brings said finger from the position shown in Figure 9 to the
position shown in Figure 10, or from the position shown in Figure 11 to the
position shown in Figure 12, as the case may be. When now the machine is
started again, the finger will be moved against the other face of the wedge and
will push the shifter into its other position shown in Figure 11 or into that shown
in Figure 9. This will throw the other pawl into operation and will reverse the
direction of rotation of the cam wheel.
The wheel is rotated one ratchet tooth for every complete stitch, by which is
meant a double stitch through each eye,, or, in all, four reciprocations of the
needle. In said wheel is a cam groove 5 having an incline 6. Said incline, as
the wheel revolves, causes a roller 7 in the cam groove to move to or from the
centre of the wheel and so rocks the lever 8 which carries said roller. Said lever 8
rocks a horizontal lever 9, adjustably connected, as shown at 10, with the button
clamp plate 11, and so rocks said plate and the button clamp carried thereby and
shifts the button from its first position to its second. The adjustment 10 permits
of variation of the amount of movement of the clamp for buttons of different dis-

page_text: tances between eyes. If the lever 9 be connected with the plate 11 immediately
over the pivot of said lever, then there will be no movement at all. This is the
position for sewing on buttons having two eyes.
The cam wheel carries two disks 13, adjustably secured thereon and numbered
on their margins, said numbers appearing through a sight 14. Each disk has
a finger 15, and the trigger pin 29 lies between the fingers. The finger which
is advancing towards said trigger pin will, after a predetermined number of com-
plete stitches, strike said pin and move the trigger from its position stoping the
rod e, which will then advance under the tension of a spring 16, and set the brake
and shift the driving belt. The friction of the brake may be varied by adjusting
the tension of the spring 16.
By adjusting the position of the disks 13 so that their fingers are nearer to or
farther from the trigger pin, the number of stitches to be made through each
button may be varied as desired.
The mechanism for clamping the button will now be described. A box 17 is
pivoted on the clamp plate 11. In said box reciprocate the clamp slides 18. 19.
The ends of said slides are oppositely concaved to form jaws 20 and have spring
plates secured above and below each jaw. When an operator desires to sew on
another button, she will depress an arm 21. and will thereby, through a suitable
connection, cause an arm to strike between the tension disks and relieve the
tension. Simultaneously she will, by means of a cam 23 rocked by said arm 21
and engaging a boss 24 depending from the bottom of the box raise the box and
the jaws carried thereby. At the same time also said jaws will be separated by
the rocking of a horizontal lever 25. which, by means of two downwardly extend-
ing studs 26. causes the clamp slides to move in opposite directions. each carry-
ing therewith a jaw. The movement of the two jaws will always be equal in
opposite directions, so that the position of the button relative to the needle will
not be affected by its diameter.
After the operator has inserted a button and removes the pressure from the
arm 21, springs 27, 28, return the parts of the clamping mechanism to the proper
position to clamp the button which has been inserted.
In Figures 16 to 29 are shown the following modifications of the invention:-
The rod e, when released, by the operator starting the machine, is now obstructed
by the arm 30 of a bent pivoted trigger, whose other arm 31 will, at the proper
time, be moved by a pin 32 on the cam wheel to operate said trigger and stop
the machine.
The cam wheel w and pawl carrier are on the rear side of the machine, as
before, but the cam wheel now moves always in the same direction; there is no
pawl shifter y; there is only one pawl 33 and one set of ratchet teeth; there are
no disks 13 having fingers to stop the machine, but in their place the rear face
of the cam wheel carries two pins 32, each of which, in turn, in the revolution of
the cam wheel, engages the arm 31 of the trigger to apply the friction brake and
shift the driving belt., Thus for every complete operation of the machine the cam
wheel makes half a revolution. The number of stitches to be made in said
operation is varied by adjusting the throw of the pawl 33, for, the greater the
throw, the fewer the number of stitches; and this adjustment of the throw is
effected by adjusting the position of the end of the link 35 which communicates
the oscillation of the shaft o to the pawl carrier t, said link 35 being now on
the front side of the machine, and connected to the front end of the lock shaft 36,
which carries said pawl carrier on its rear end.
Corresponding to the crank s on the rear of the machine in its first form is an
extension of the arm n having a T-slot in which the end of the link 35 is adjust-
ably clamped. The farther from the rock shaft o at which said link end is
clamped, the greater will be the throw of the pawl, and the fewer the number of
stitches.
The button clamp plate is still reciprocated by the rocking of a downwardly

page_text: extending lever 136, rocked by the cam-wheel, but said lever is now rocked
thereby indirectly. The lever 8 which carries the roller 6 has now a laterally
extending arm 37 connected by a link 38 to a crank 39 on a rock shaft 40 extend-
ing from the rear to the front of the machine. On the front end of the shaft 40
is an arm 41 having a T-slot. In said slot moves the head of a connection
between a rod 42 leading from the end of the link p to the end of a link 43.
Said link 43 connects with a crank 44 on the front end of the shaft 45, on the
rear of which rocks the lever 136. Thus, by said connections, the cam wheel in
its revolutions rocks the lever 136.
The object of introducing this indirect connection is to permit of the adjust-
ment of the throw for shifting the button being made by the same operation by
which the shift of the needle is adjusted, for, by reason of the connecting
rod 42, as the end of the link p is moved in to or out from the rock shaft o
to vary the shift of the needle, the end of the link 43 will be moved in to or out
from the rock shaft 40, with a corresponding variation in the shift of the button
To adjust the machine for sewing on buttons having only two eyes, the screw 46
which connects the link 38 with the arm 37 is removed, and the free end of said
link 38 is connected to a screw hole 47 by said screw 46. In this position the
crank 39 is maintained in a position exactly halfway between the two positions it
occupies during the two parts of the operation of sewing on a four-eye button,
and the button-holding jaws have likewise assumed such central position.
With the ordinary construction of cam groove and roller, the shift of the
button would be gradual, and a reciprocation of the needle would be made during
the operation of shifting; that is, the needle would strike the button while in a
position intermediate between its first and second positions. To avoid this, pro-
vision is made for an instantaneous shift. Upon the wall of the cam wheel, at
the corner of each descending incline, which is made sharp, is secured a block 48
having a sharp corner, and the arm 8 which carries the roller 6 has a sharp or
square point 49 on the inner side of its end. Thus the roller will be held to the
high dwell until the point 49 has passed the sharp corner of the block 48, when it
will drop instantaneously to the low dwell. A spring 50 furnishes the power
to cause this instantaneous drop. Thus the shift of the button is made between
two reciprocations of the needle.
The curve of the inner side of the arm 8, at its end, is struck from the same
centre as that part of the block 48 with which it comes in contact.
When the machine is stopped, the roller 6 is on a low dwell, and it must be
on a high dwell during the first part of the operation. Therefore the roller must
be brought to the high dwell at the starting of the machine, and thus change
must be completed before and reciprocation of the needle takes place; otherwise
the needle will strike the button in its intermediate position. To accomplish
this, a pawl 51 is provided, which, on the stoppage of the machine, is drawn
back over the ratchet teeth, and, on starting again, moves forwardly instantane-
ously, advancing the cam wheel a sufficient distance to move the roller from the
low dwell to the high dwell.
The modifications in the button clamping mechanism are as follows;-
The cam 23 now actuates a lever 52 to raise the box. The clamp slides 18, 19,
have oblique slots 53, 54, respectively, and in said slots move rollers 55, 56,
carried by a stud 57 moved by the lever 25, and guided horizontally by a guide 58
in a bearing 59 in the under side of the cover 60 of the box. Each jaw 20 is
V-shaped, or approximately so, in vertical section, so as to grasp the edges of
buttons of any thickness. Moreover, a third jaw 61 is provided at the rear of the
button, carried by a slide 62 moving in a transverse bearing in the under side
of the cover of the box, actuated by the engagement, with a roller 63 on said
slide of a cam arm 64 bevelled at 45°, secured to the upper slide 18. Thus, the
obliquity of the slots 55, 54, being the same, and the working edge of the arm 64
being at an angle of 45°, all three jaws will move in straight lines to or

page_text: from a common centre at precisely equal rates, and thus buttons, of various
diameters are equally held in the same central position.
1000
J. G. LORRAIN,
Communicatee.
A communication from abroad by THE CLIMAX MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of San
Francisco, in the State of California, United States of America.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, M.I.E.E., M.I.Mech. E, of Norfolk House, Norfolk
Street, London, W.C., in the County of Middlesex, Chartered Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention (as communicated to me from abroad)
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 improvements in and connected with button sewing
machines, and the objects of the invention are:-
First, to provide a mechanism by which the needle is caused to reciprocate
twice in the same position, or through the same eye of the button, and is then
shifted to another position in which it is again twice reciprocated, whereby, in
conjunction with a complemental stitch forming mechanism, a double stitch of a
twisted or knotted character is formed, and the button is thereby more securely
held to the material, the twist or hitch in the stitch preventing the threads from
loosening.
Secondly, to provide means for shifting the button clamp so that after a pre-
determined number of stitches have been made through one pair of eyes of a
button with four eyes, the stitching may be commenced through the other pair,
and which may be adjusted for a button with two eyes so that the button clamp
is held in a stationary central position.
Thirdly, to provide means for varying the number of stitches to be made
through each pair of eyes.
Fourthly, to provide means for automatically stopping the machine after a pre-
determined number of stitches have been made.
Fifthly, to provide a clamp, or holder for the button, the jaws of which close
or open with a parallel movement to or from the vibratory path of the needle
equally, whereby buttons of varying diameters are held in the same central
position relative to the operation of the needle.
Sixthly, to simplify the constructions so as to render the various adjustments
simple, readily accessible, and easily effected by an unskilled operator.
In the drawings filed with the Provisional Specification,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a button sewing machine constructed in accord-
ance with this invention.
Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same.
Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the arm and driving mechanism of the
machine, the frame being cut away, in parts, to show mechanism in its interior.
Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view of the rear end of the button clamp
mechanism.
Figure 5 is a similar view of the forward end, showing the button in position.
Figure 6 is a cross section of the jaws, taken on the line A-A of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of the button clamp mechanism, partly in section
on the line B-B of Figure 4.
-

page_text: Figure 8 is a detail view of the cam wheel of the feeding mechanism partly
cut away to show the oppositely inclined ratchet teeth on the periphery thereof,
the dotted lines indicating the shape and position of the cam groove on the rear
of said wheel.
Figure 9 is a detail view of the shifting mechanism by means of which the
rotary direction of the cam wheel is changed; also showing the centering device
for centering the trigger to hold the stopping mechanism; and in dotted lines is
shown the cam groove in the cam wheel, while the arm rocked by said groove
as shown in full lines.
Figures 10, 11 and 12 are diagrammatic views, which taken in conjunction
with Figure 9, illustrate the shifting mechanism for changing the rotary direc-
tion of the cam wheel.
Figures 13, 14, 15 are diagrammatic views of a single lock stitch, a single
hitch stitch, and a double hitch stitch, respectively.
Figure 16 is a front elevation of a button sewing machine provided with modi-
fied forms of the improvements.
Figure 17 is a rear elevation of the same.
Figure 18 is a view, similar to Figure 3, of the same.
Figures 19, 20, 21 are elevations of the cam wheel and cam roller arm in
various positions.
Figure 22 is a side view, partly in section, of the same.
Figure 23 is a side elevation of the cam wheel and bracket, detached.
Figure 24 is a detail showing the position of the parts in sewing on a button
having only two eyes.
Figure 25 is an enlarged plan view of a modified form of button clamp
mechanism.
Figure 26 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the same.
Figure 27 is a horizontal detail section to show the slots in the clamp slides.
Figure 28 is a vertical section to show the same.
Figure 29 is a horizontal detail section to show the mechanism for operating
the third jaw.
The machine itself may be best described by describing at the same time its
mode of operation; therefore, supposing the machine to be at rest, but the cloth
and button in place ready for operation, the operator will depress the free arm a
of a bell crank lever b, one of whose working arms c operates to start the
machine, while the other arm d reverses the mechanism for controlling the
number of stitches. Said starting mechanism is as follows:--The arm creci-
procates a rod e longitudinally of the machine, and so moves a brake block f,
carried by said arm, out of frictional engagement with the tight driving pulley g,
at the same time shifting the driving belt from the loose to the tight pulley.
When the operator releases control of the arm a. a pin h carried by a pivotted
trigger i will have come in front of the end of the rod e, and will now hold said
rod back. The trigger is centered, when free to assume such position, by two
pivoted jaws one on each side of said pin. and connected by a spring. Thus
the brake and driving belt will remain where shifted until said trigger has been
operated by the mechanism for stopping the machine, hereafter described.
Simultaneously with the starting of the machine, mechanisms are set in motion,
which will at the proper times, respectively, shift the needle, shift the button.
and stop the machine.
The mechanism for shifting the needle is as follows:-The main driving shaft k
drives a cam wheel 7, located in the interior of the frame, said shaft k making
four revolutions to the cam wheel's one. This rocks. by means of a roller m in
the cam groove an arm. n pivoted on the outside of the frame on a rock shaft o,
and so, by a link and suitable connections, shifts the needle bar transversely
of the machine. This shift will take place after two reciprocations of the needle
through one eye, and the return shift after reciprocations through the other eye.
The reason for making two reciprocations will be best understood by referring

page_text: to Figures 13, 14, 15. Figure 14 represents diagrammatically what is known as
a single hitch stitch which differs from the ordinary lock stitch shown in Figure 13
in that in the hitch stitch the under thread q is passed through the loop of the
needle thread from a different side from that from which it is passed in the lock
stitch, and thus the under thread makes a twist or hitch when drawn up against
the cloth. In Figure 15 is shown diagrammatically a stitch in which the twist
or hitch is doubled by reason of the return of the needle through the same per-
foration by two complete reciprocations in the same position. When this stitch
is drawn up against the cloth. it will be found that the double twisting of the
under thread, in combination with the needle thread passing upwards. forms what
is, in effect, a knot, and prevents unravelling and loosening of the threads.
To adjust the above shifting mechanism for buttons of varying distances between
eyes, the end of the link p is moved along a T-slot formed in an arc of a circle
formed with the link as a radius, and clamped therealong in any desired posi-
tion. The amount of shift of the needle will evidently depend on the distance
from said centre at which said link end is clamped.
After the completion of the stitching through two eyes, the button has to be
shifted to stitch through the other two eyes. The mechanism for this is as
follows:-
The rock shaft o carries, on the rear of the machine, a crank s, which, oscil-
lating synchronously with the needle bar, rocks also a pawl-carrier t, having two
pawls u. These pawls are adapted to engage, respectively, two sets of oppositely
facing ratchet teeth on the periphery of a cam wheel w. Thus, from the same
rocking motion of the carrier t the pawls tend to rotate the cam wheel in oppo-
site directions, but, of course, only one is in operation at the same time.
pawl acts, and the cam wheel rotates in one direction, during one complete opera-
tion of the machine, and then, when the machine is started again, the other pawl
acts, and the machine is rotated in the opposite direction.
'One
The
To effect this changing of the pawls, a pawl shifter y is provided. Said shifter
has, at its upper end, a cam surface, which engages pins 1 on the pawls u, and
either end of the cam surface z will throw a pawl out of engagement with the
ratchet teeth while the middle portion will let the other pawl down into engage-
ment therewith. Each oscillation of the shifter will change the pawls.
shifter is operated as follows: On stopping the machine the arm d moves down..
This carries the finger 2 our of engagement with one face of a wedge-shaped tail 3
of the shifter, and so, in conjunction with the spring centering device 4 on the
end of the arm d, brings said finger from the position shown in Figure 9 to the
position shown in Figure 10, or from the position shown in Figure 11 to the
position shown in Figure 12, as the case may be. When now the machine is
started again, the finger 2 will be moved against the other face of the wedge and
will push the shifter into the position shown in Figure 11 or into that shown in
Figure 9. This will throw the other pawl into operation and will reverse the
direction of rotation of the cam wheel.
The wheel is rotated one ratchet tooth for every complete stitch, by which is
meant a double stitch through each eye, or, in all, four reciprocations of the
needle. In said wheel is a cam groove 5 having an incline 6. Said incline, as
the wheel revolves, causes a roller 7 in the cam groove to move to or from the
centre of the wheel and so rocks the lever 8 which carries said roller. Said lever 8
rocks a horizontal lever 9, adjustably connected, as shown at 10, with the button
clamp plate 11, and so rocks said plate, and the button clamp carried thereby and
shifts the button from its first position to its second. The adjustment 10 permits
of variation of the amount of movement of the clamp for buttons of different dis-
tances between eyes. If the lever 9 be connected with the plate 11 immediately
over the pivot of said lever, then there will be no movement at all. This is the
position for sewing on buttons having two eyes.
The cam wheel carries two discs 13, adjustably secured thereon and numbered
on their margins, said numbers appearing through a sight 14. Each disc has

page_text: a finger 15, and the trigger pin 29 lies between the fingers. The finger which
is advancing towards said trigger pin will, after a predetermined number of com-
plete stitches, strike said pin and move the trigger from its position stopping the
rod c, which will then advance under the tension of a spring 16, and set the brake
and shift the driving belt. The friction of the brake may be varied by adjusting
the tension of the spring 16.
By adjusting the position of the discs 13 so that their fingers are nearer to or
farther from the trigger pin, the number of stitches to be made through each
button may be varied as desired.
:
The mechanism for clamping the button will now be described. A box 17 is
pivoted on the clamp plate 11. In said box reciprocate the clamp slides 18 19.
The ends of said slides are oppositely concaved to form jaws 20 and have spring
plates secured above and below each jaw. When an operator desires to sew on
another button, she will depress an arm 21. and will thereby, through a suitable
connection 22, cause an arm to strike between the tension discs and relieve the
tension. Simultaneously she will, by means of a cam 23 rocked by said arm 21
and engaging a boss 24 depending from the bottom of the box, raise the box and
the jaws carried thereby. At the same time also said jaws will be separated by
the rocking of a horizontal lever 25 which by means of two downwardly extend-
ing studs 26 causes the clamp slides to move in opposite directions each carry-
ing therewith a jaw. The movement of the two jaws will always be equal in
opposite directions, so that the position of the button relative to the needle will
not be affected by its diameter.
After the operator has inserted a button and removes the pressure from the
arm 21, springs 27, 28, return the parts of the clamping mechanism to the proper
position to clamp the button which has been inserted.
In Figures 16 to 29 are shown the following modifications of the invention:
The rod e, when released, by the operator starting the machine, is now obstructed
by the arm 30 of a bent pivoted trigger, whose other arm 31 will, at the proper
time, be moved by a pin 32 on the cam wheel to operate said trigger and stop
the machine.
The cam wheel and pawl carrier are on the rear side of the machine, as
before, but the cam wheel now moves always in the same direction; there is no
pawl shifter y; there is only one pawl 33 and one set of ratchet teeth; there are
no discs 13 having fingers to stop the machine, but in their place the rear face
of the cam wheel carries two pins 32, each of which, in turn, in the revolution of
the cam wheel, engages the arm 31 of the trigger to apply the friction brake and
shift the driving belt. Thus for every complete operation of the machine the cam
wheel makes half a revolution. The number of stitches to be made in said
operation is varied by adjusting the throw of the pawl 33, for, the greater the
throw, the fewer the number of stitches; and this adjustment of the throw is
effected by adjusting the position of the end of the link 35 which communicates
the oscillation of the shaft o to the pawl carrier t, said link 35 being now on
the front side of the machine, and connected to the front end of the rock shaft 36,
which carries said pawl carrier on its rear end.
Corresponding to the crank s on the rear of the machine in its first form is an
extension of the arm n having a T-slot in which the end of the link 35 is adjust-
ably clamped. The farther from the rock shaft o at which said link end is
clamped, the greater will be the throw of the pawl, and the fewer the number of
stitches.
The button clamp plate is still reciprocated by the rocking of a downwardly
extending lever 136, rocked by the cam-wheel, but said lever is now rocked
thereby indirectly. The lever 8 which carries the roller 6 has now a laterally
extending arm 37 connected by a link 38 to a crank 39 on a rock shaft 40 extend-
ing from the rear to the front of the machine. On the front end of the shaft 40
is an arm 41 having a T-slot. In said slot moves the head of a connection
between a rod 42 leading from the end of the link to the end of a link 43.

page_text: Said link 43 connects with a crank 44 on the front end of the shaft 45, on the
rear of which rocks the lever 136. Thus, by said connections, the cam wheel in
its revolutions rocks the lever 136.
The object of introducing this indirect connection is to permit of the adjust-
ment of the throw for shifting the button being made by the same operation by
which the shift of the needle is adjusted, for, by reason of the connecting
rod 42, as the end of the link p is moved in to or out from the rock shaft o
to vary the shift of the needle, the end of the link 43 will be moved in to or out
from the rock shaft 40, with a corresponding variation in the shift of the button
To adjust the machine for sewing on buttons having only two eyes, the screw 46
which connected the link 38 with the arm 37 is removed, and the free end of said
link 38 is connected to a screw hole 47 by said screw 46. In this position the
crank 39 is maintained in a position exactly halfway between the two positions it
occupies during the two parts of the operation of sewing on a four-eye button,
and the button-holding jaws have likewise assumed such central position.
With the ordinary construction of cam groove and roller, the shift of the
button would be gradual, and a reciprocation of the needle would be made during
the operation of shifting; that is, the needle would strike the button while in a
position intermediate between its first and second positions. To avoid this, pro-
vision is made for an instantaneous shift. Upon the wall of the cam wheel, at
the corner of each descending incline, which is made sharp, is secured a block 48
having a sharp corner, and the arm 8 which carries the roller has a sharp or
square point 49 on the inner side of its end. Thus the roller will be held to the
high dwell until the point 49 has passed the sharp corner of the block 48, when it
will drop instantaneously to the low dwell. A spring 50 furnishes the power
to cause this instantaneous drop. Thus the shift of the button is made between
two reciprocations of the needle.
The curve of the inner side of the arm 8, at its end, is struck from the same
centre as that part of the block 48 with which it comes in contact.
When the machine is stopped, the roller 6 is on a low dwell, and it must be
en a high dwell during the first part of the operation. Therefore the roller must
be brought to the high dwell at the starting of the machine, and this change
must be completed before any reciprocation of the needle takes place; otherwise
the needle will strike the button in its intermediate position. To accomplish
this, a pawl 51 is provided, which, on the stoppage of the machine, is drawn
back over the ratchet teeth, and, on starting again, moves forwardly instantane-
ously, advancing the cam wheel.a sufficient distance to move the roller from the
low dwell to the high dwell.
The modifications in the button clamping machine are as follows:-
The cam 23 now actuates a lever 52 to raise the box. The clamp slides 18, 19,
have oblique slots 53, 54, respectively, end in said slots move rollers 55, 56,
carried by a stud 57 moved by the lever 25 and guided horizontally by a guide 58
in a bearing 59 in the under side of the cover 60 of the box. Each jaw 20 is
V-shaped, or approximately so, in vertical section, so as to grasp the edges of
buttons of any thickness. Moreover, a third jaw 61 is provided at the rear of the
button, carried by a slide 62 moving in a transverse bearing in the under side
of the cover of the box, actuated by the engagement, with a roller 63 on said
slide of a cam arm 64,bevelled at 45°, secured to the upper slide 18. Thus, the
obliquity of the slots 53, 54, being the same, and the working edge of the arm 64
being at an angle of 45°, all three jaws will move in straight lines to or
from a common centre at precisely equal rates, and thus buttons, of various
diameters are equally held in the same central position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
-
1. In a button sewing machine a horizontally reciprocating needle making two

page_text: vertical reciprocations in the same position before shifting horizontally to the
other position.
2. In a button sewing machine, the button clamp mechanism and the cam
wheel for shifting it, operated from the rock shaft which shifts the needle hori-
zontally.
3. In a button sewing machine, the cam wheel for shifting the button clamp
mechanism, and the pawl shifter for reversing its direction, operated by the start-
ing of the machine.
4. In a button sewing machine, the starting lever, the finger thereon for
reversing the pawl shifter, and the centering device for said finger.
5. In a button sewing machine, the adjustable connection between the lever
rocked by the cam wheel and the clamp plate, whereby the button clamp can be
shifted to any desired extent or may remain stationary for a two eye button.
6. In a button sewing machine, the cam wheel, revolved step by step synchro-
nously with the shifting of the needle and actuating a trigger to release a brake
setting and belt shifting device.
7. In a button sewing machine, the cam wheel, revolved step by step, synchro-
nously with the shifting of the needle, and, after a predetermined number of such
shifts, stopping the machine, and having means for varying said number, and
an indicator for indicating the number.
8. In a button sewing machine, a button clamp comprising three jaws arranged
to be separated by the operator and moving always equally to or from a common
fixed centre, and means for automatically closing said jaws when released from
the control of the operator.
9. In a button sewing machine, three button supporting jaws moving in unison
and equally in straight lines from a common centre.
10. In a button sewing machine, the button clamping jaws having rigid
mouths divergent in vertical section.
11. A button sewing machine having mechanism for shifting the needle and
mechanism for automatically stopping the machine after a predetermined number
of stitches, a plate or arm operatively connected with each of said mechanisms,
and adjusting set screws thereon, movable, one to vary the amount of shift of the
needle, and the other to vary the number of stitches to be made.
12. In a button sewing machine, the cam wheel having the cam groove, and the
block with the sharp corners near the descending incline, in combination with
the roller arm having the pointed projecting end.
13. In a button sewing machine, the cam wheel and roller having an instan-
taneous shift from one dwell to the other and the pawl actuated by the starting
mechanism to shift the cam wheel to bring the roller to its first position.
14. A button sewing machine having adjustable mechanism for shifting the
needle, adjustable mechanism for shifting the button clamp, and a link connect-
ing said mechanisms whereby the transverse and longitudinal motion of the needle
bar and button clamp, respectively, are always the same.
15. A button sewing machine having a cam wheel, a button clamp, an opera-
tive connection from the cam wheel to the button clamp to shift the latter, and
means for separating said connection and independently shifting the button
clamp and securing it in a central position, for two eye buttons.
16. A button sewing machine having adjustable mechanism for shifting the
needle and adjustable mechanism for shifting the button, an operative connec-
tion between the adjusting devices whereby both are simultaneously adjusted, and
means for clamping the adjusting device of one of said mechanisms.
Dated this 7th day of June 1900
J. G. LORRAIN,
Communicatee.