Improvements in the Method of Securing and Shanking Flat or Shankless Buttons, and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Feb., 1896-Accepted, 19th Sept.. 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of Securing and Shanking Flat or
Shankless Buttons, and in Apparatus therefor.
I, JACOB BROWN, of 71 Chapel Street, Ancoats, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Gaiter Manufacturer, 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 :-
The object of my invention is to supersede the tedious method of shanking
buttons by hand, and I accomplish this in the following manner.
Upon the bed plate of the ordinary zigzag sewing machine I attach a suitable
presser plate, of inetal or other suitable material, the thickness of which is, or can
be, varied to suit the length of shank required. This presser plate is provided
with a suitable slot at one end to allow of the passage of the needle and the with--
drawal of the shank when formed. It is also preferably pivoted to the bedplate
at the end farthest from the slot and furnished with a suitable handle to enable it
to be readily raised at the slot end, to allow of the cloth or other material it may
be desired to sew buttons upon being placed beneath the plate.
Upon this presser plate are pivoted two levers, formed, or attached, at the slot
end into, or to, a pair of metallic jaws or clips, to hold the button it is desired to
attach. One lever is preferably furnished with a suitable tightening screw or
other device, so that its position as respects the other can be regulated to suit the
size of button, and the other is preferably furnished with a suitable spring to retain
it in proper position.
In use, the article it is desired to button is placed upon the table portion of the
sewing machine and beneath the slotted plate; the slot being over the spot where
the button is to be sewn. A suitable button is placed above the plate between the
metal clips formed by, or attached to, the two levers, and then stitched to the
material, the thickness of the plate retaining a sufficient length of thread to form
a shank of the length required.
Attached to a suitable part of the machine, near the slotted plate, (preferably
the presser foot,) is a pivoted lever furnished with a suitable bite, preferably two
pins which take in the thread holes of the button. This bite is lowered upon the
button, and by means of the lever the button is turned or twisted round, so as to
form the thread into a suitable twisted shank, of a tension or cord shape, and
while held in this position the button is again sewn through, and when the work
is withdrawn a perfect and rigid twisted shank of thread is left attaching the
buttons to the cloth or other material.
Referring to the drawings sent herewith:-
Fig. 1 is a plan of my apparatus and Fig. 2 an elevation of the pivoted lever
attached to the presser foot.
a indicates my presser plate, furnished with slot a 2, piroted to lugs bb on the
bedplate of the machine by pivot c, and capable of being raised, for the placing
of the cloth or other material beneath, by means of handle d and pressed down
upon it by means of spring e. Upon plate a are pivoted levers f and g, lever f
being adjusted to the size of button used by means of tightening screw h, lever g
being retained in contact with the button by means of spring i and moved by
means of handle 92. Pivoted to ends of levers and g are jaws k k between which
the button is placed and held (as shown by dotted lines) above the slot a 2.
In this position it is sewn through slot a 2 to the cloth or other material below

page_text: the presser plate a, the thickness of plate a (which may be varied as required)
determining the length of shank. By means of handle (which is moved in the
direction shown by arrow in drawing,) the bite of lever m (in this case, two
points m 2 to take in the thread holes of the hutton) is brought over and secured
to the button. The lever m is then pushed by its handle m 3 in the direction
shown by arrow on drawing, thus turning the button, and forming a firm twisted
shank. While twisted it is again sewn through to secure it in position, which
finishes the operation.
I do not confine myself to the exact apparatus shown although I have found it
the most effective up to the present, as an important part of my invention consists
in twisting the button during the process of sewing by machine, so as to form a
twisted shank, and other apparatus might be used therefor.
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 :-
purpose
1st. Turning a button during the process of sewing by machine, for the
of forming a twisted shauk on the same, substantially as described and shown
hereinbefore and in the accompanying drawings.
2nd. A slotted plate for forming shanks of requisite length, substantially as
described and shown hereinbefore and in the accompanying drawings.
3rd. The combined apparatus, substantially as described and shown herein before
and in the accompanying drawings, for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 1st day of February 1896.
JOHN HENRY TOPHAM,
7 South Corridor, Royal Exchange, Manchester, Agent to Applicant.