A BUTTON-HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Frederick Redfern, of the General Patent Office,
4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the
Invention of "A BUTTON-HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES." A
communication from abroad by William Randel, John William Cipperly, John
Calvin Cole, and Theodore Edwin Haslehurst, all of Troy, in the County of
Rensselaer, and State of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 3rd July 1877, and dated the 10th May 1877.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said George Frederick Redfern at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th May 1877.
GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the General Patent Office, 4, South Street,
Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent. "A BUTTON-HOLE ATTACH-
MENT FOR SEWING MACHINES." A communication from abroad by William Randel,
John William Cipperly, John Calvin Cole, and Theodore Edwin Haslehurst, all of
Troy, in the County of Rensselaer, and State of New York, United States of
America.
Figure 1 is a plan view, Figure 2 is a front elevation, Figure 3 is a plan view of
part of the bottom plate, a portion of it being removed to show the moving
mechanism beneath; Figures 4 and 5 are plan views of the under side of the
vibrating arm containing the feeding device, and Figure 6 is an enlarged and
detached view of the reversible feed motion.
The object of the Invention, communicated to me, is to produce a button-hole
attachment that can be applied to any ordinary sewing machine, by means of
which the button hole will be perfectly stitched on each of its edges, the material
being carried to the needle by means of an automatic feeding device, which can be
adjusted to suit the character of the work required.
As shewn in the Drawing A is the bottom plate to which the principal parts of
the Invention are connected, and which is intended to be substituted for the
ordinary cloth plate of some kinds of sewing machines, while in others it can be
attached directly to the bed of the machine, the mode of attachment being dependent
upon the style of the machine upon which it is used; B is a vibrating armi pivotted

page_text: to the plate A by means of the screw b¹; its recessed arm B¹ is made hollow on its
under side for the purpose of containing the feeding device; C, a shifting guide bar
placed inside of the recessed arm B¹, and provided with a groove c¹ and cross bar c²,
the latter passing through openings formed on the sides of the recessed arm, main-
taining the guide bar C in perfect line during its changes of position, as herein-
after described. One of the arms of the cross bar c² is provided with a notch into
which the pawl D engages; this pawl is pivotted to the vibrating arm, and is held
in the notch of the cross bar by the spring d. A rod E is attached to the pawl D,
and is provided with a stop F having an arm f projecting sidewise therefrom, and
which is secured to and rendered adjustable upon its rod by means of the set screw
G, which projects through the arm B¹; a cross pin e, inserted in the rod E, serves
as a check to prevent the pawl D from being raised too far. The outer end of the
cross bar c² is cut away, so as to present a beveled surface against which the spiral
face h¹ of the lever H bears for the purpose of moving the guide bar C inward.
The lever H is pivoted to the vibrating arm by the stud h². By means of the
spring I, which engages in the cross bar c², the guide bar C is forced outward, as
herein-after described; J is the clamp plate having a slide j¹, which fits into the
groove of the guide bar C, and is guided thereby. Two projecting ears serve to
connect the clamp plate J and slide j¹ together, leaving the surface of the slide
exposed to receive the pressure of the friction spring K (which is secured to the
cross bar c² by the screw k¹), the function of which will be herein-after described.
The feeding device is connected to the clamp plate by means of the rack L, which
is pivotted to the end of the slide by the stud, so as to allow it to vibrate
thereon. This rack is preferably made with its back edge formed into an obtuse knife
edge, and for the purpose of holding the rack in gear with its pinion the bearing piece
M (made to fit the back of the rack) is placed directly opposite the centre of the pinion
of the feeding device. By this means a sufficient vibration is afforded to the rack, free
from any danger of its becoming cramped. The pinion N of the feeding device has
a spindle n¹ passing out through the top of the recessed arm B', where it is provided
with a head n² for turning the pinion by hand when it becomes necessary so to do;
O is a ratchet wheel secured to the spindle n¹; P, an arm having an eye or hub
surrounding the spindle n¹, but unconnected therewith, so that either may be
moved independently of the other; Q, another arm placed between the pinion N
and arm P; it has an elongated eye through which the spindle n¹ passes, so as to
allow of the eye being shifted sidewise in the manner herein-after set forth; it is
pivoted to the arm P by the pin 7. R, a double pawl pivoted to the arm P by
the pin ; it is provided with a stud 2, which is secured thereto, and which
passes through a curved slot in the arm P, and engages in a slotted opening in
the end of the arm Q; S, springs secured to the end of the guide bar C at its
opposite sides, and so arranged that one of them will press against the corresponding
side of the eye of the arm Qin such manner that as the guide bar is moved a
corresponding movement of the eye of the arm Q occurs. This, as will readily be
seen, forces the double pawl R into a position that will bring the required point of
it into contact with the teeth of the ratchet wheel O; T is a slotted arm pivoted
to the arm B by the stud t¹; it has an opening 2, which engages upon the stud p¹
of the arm P for the purpose of communicating motion to the feeding device in the
manner herein-after described. U is a brake lever pivoted to the arm B¹ by the
stud u¹, and so arranged that upon the completion of the button hole the hub of the
rack L is brought into contact with the beveled end of the lever, thereby causing
a pin on the other end of the lever to press against the side of the eye of the arm Q
forcing the double pawl R into a neutral. position, so that neither point of it will
engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel, and entirely stopping the operation of
the feed; V is a sliding stop piece having a handle v¹ for operating it projecting
from the arm B¹. By means of this stop piece the double pawl R may be thrown
into its neutral position at any moment, and the feeding mechanism thereby stopped.
When the double pawl R is in its neutral position the slide may be moved in
either direction by turning the pinion N by means of the head n². The clamping

page_text: device consists of the clamp plate J and the arm W provided with a socket w
carrying a spring presser foot w² having an open frame w³ with teeth on its under
side, and fitting into an opening formed in the clamp plate. The material to be
operated upon is inserted in the clamping device by raising the presser foot and
passing the goods between it and the clamp plate. When adjusted in its proper
position the presser foot firmly clamps the material, and retains it until it is
removed therefrom.
It is obvious that the operation of this presser foot differs materially from that of
the presser foot commonly used upon sewing machines, for the reason that in this
device it holds the material securely, and carries it. during all of its changes of
direction, while the ordinary presser foot (which simply holds the material on the
machine in proper condition to be acted upon by the feed and for the action of the
needle) pemits the material to move under it.
X is a cam secured to the shaft x' (of the sewing machine), and provided with
suitable grooves for imparting motion to the arm Y, which is pivoted by the stud y¹
to the under side of the plate A (a portion of which in Fig. 3 of the Drawing is
broken away to show the parts X and Y). The arm Y has a slotted opening y² for
the purpose of receiving and adjusting the screw stud 62, which is secured thereto, and
passes through the slotted opening 63 of the vibrating arm B, thereby forming a
connection between the two arms, so that the motion of the arm Y is transmitted
to the arm B; Z is an adjusting screw fixed to the bottom plate A for adjusting the
position of the sliding block z¹ in the slotted opening of the bottom plate to regulate
the length of the stitches; the sliding block 2' is provided with a pivoted stud ³,
which engages in the slot of the arm T.
The operation of the Invention is as follows:-The material to be worked is
clamped in its proper position in the clamping device, and the requisite motion
being given to the cam X a coincident vibratory motion is thereby imparted to the
arms Y and B. By the movement of the arm B the pivoted end of the arm T is
carried back and forth with it, and the stud z², acting as a pivotal point, gives to
the arm Tan oscillating motion, which is communicated to the arm P of the feeding
device. By moving the guide bar C (by means of the lever H) into the position
shown in Figure 4 of the Drawing one of the springs S forces the eye of the arm Q
in the direction the guide bar is moved. This causes the arın Q to turn upon its
pivot q, whereby the position of the double pawl R is changed, so as to bring one
of its points to engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel Ŏ, as shown in Fig. 4.
By the continued vibrations of the arm P (by the means herein-before stated) an
intermittent motion is imparted to the pinion N, which is communicated to the
clamping device through the rack L and its attached parts, thereby the feeding of
the material to the action of the needle of the sewing machine in the proper
direction is effected. The pressure of the friction spring K upon the slide pre-
vents the pawl R from giving a retrograde motion to the ratchet wheel O during
the return strokes of the pawl, the springs S yielding sufficiently at such times to
allow the point of the pawl to pass freely backwards over the points of the teeth
of the ratchet wheel. When the stitching is completed on one side of the button
hole one of the ears engages with the arm f of the stop F secured to the rod E,
which carries the pawl D out of its notch in the cross bar C², whereupon the spring
I forces the guide bar C into the position shown in Fig. 5, shifting the clamping
device sidewise, so as to bring the unfinished side of the button hole under the line
of the needle, at the same time the arm Q and pawl R are forced by one of the
springs S into the position shown in Fig. 5, by which the direction of the feed
is reversed, and the material is fed so as to stitch the other side of the button hole
until the hub of the rack L strikes the beveled end of the brake lever U, and forces
the pawl R into its neutral position, as herein-before described, thereby throwing.
the feeding device out of action, and leaving the attachment in a condition for
repeating the operation.
By the vibratory motion of the arm B the stitches are alternately made at the
edge of the button hole and at a distance from its edge, which distance may be

page_text: varied by adjusting the position of the stud 62 in the slot of the arm Y, whereby
the movement of the arm B can be increased or diminished.
I claim as the Invention, communicated to me,-
First. The button-hole attachment for sewing machines herein described, con-
sisting of the arm B provided with an automatic feeding device, constructed sub-
stantially as herein set forth, operated by means of the vibratory movement of the
arm B required for placing the stitch alternately at and back from the edge of the
button hole in the manner herein specified.
Second. The combination of the vibrating arm B, stud 22, and arm T as a
means for imparting motion to the feeding device, as and for the purpose herein
specified.
Third. The combination of the guide bar C provided with a cross bar c², spring
pawl D, and lever H, as and for the purpose herein specified.
Fourth. The automatic feeding device, herein described, consisting of the com-
bination of the rack L, pinion N, ratchet wheel O, arms P and Q, double pawl R,
and springs S, as and for the purpose herein specified.
Fifth. The combination of the guide bar C and slide 1 having projections
with
the spring pawl D, rod E, adjustable stop F, and spring I, as and for the purpose
herein specified.
.
Sixth. The combination with the adjusting screw Z, sliding block 21 (held in a
fixed position in the slotted opening of the plate A, except when moved therein by
the adjusting screw), and stud 22 of the arm T for regulating the length of the
stitch, as herein specified.
Seventh. The combination of the slide and brake lever U with the arm Q and
pawl R, as and for the purpose herein specified.
Eighth. The combination of the guide bar C with the slide j¹ and the clamping
device, as herein described and for the purpose specified.
Ninth. The combination of the vibrating arm B provided with an automatic
feeding device, constructed and operated as herein described, with the spring pawl D
and its disengaging mechanism, guide bar C, and spring L, as and for the purpose
herein specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Frederick Redfern, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.