Improvements in the Manufacture of Buttons.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 4th May, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 14th July, 1894-Accepted, 18th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Buttons.
I, ROBERT ELSDON, of Highlands, Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, in the County of Kent,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of that class of
buttons known as set, spun or closed buttons which commonly consist of a crown,
face or shell attached to a bottom or back provided with a shank for attaching the
button to the garment; but the improvements are more especially applicable to
imitation solid buttons which are intended to resemble buttons made from a single
solid blank with a shank soldered or otherwise connected to the back thereof.
Hitherto it has been found difficult to secure the shank to the button in a simple
and economical manner and so that it shall not work loose or become detached
when strain is put upon it, nor allow of the entrance of liquid into the interior of
the button, and one object of this invention is to obviate this difficulty.
According to this invention I form the bottom or back of the button of a blank
of unequal thickness, being thicker in the centre than at the circumference. In or
about the centre of this blank I punch or otherwise form two holes to receive the
ends of the shank, which holes are of an oblong shape and with their sides and ends
bevilled or countersunk on one or both sides of the blank. The shank may be made
of wire in the usual way, the straight ends being turned over and flattened sidewise
80 as to more or less completely fill the beforementioned holes and to project slightly
beyond the top and bottom surfaces of the blank. The eye of the shank is held
securely in place while the turned-over and flattened ends are pressed or rivetted
over by any suitable means so as to completely fill the holes and bevelled or
countersunk portions in the bottom or back, the inner surface of the latter being
left flush and smooth.
pass
In some cases I employ one hole only in the bottom or back into which I
the turned-over and flattened portion of the shank, and in cases where there is a
space between the inner surfaces of the bottom or back and the crown, face, or
shell, the turned-over and flattened portion of the shank may project beyond the
said inner surface of the bottom or back after having been rivetted, and in this
case the hole or holes may be bevelled from the outer side only.
The bottoms or backs may be reduced towards their circumferences by any
suitable method, for example, by rolling, pressing, or otherwise; or they may be
cast to the required shape. Or the increased thickness in the centre may be
obtained by soldering or otherwise attaching thereto a washer or thickening piece
either inside or outside, or both inside and outside.
For heavy buttons, instead of making the bottom or back of uneven thickness as
before stated, the thickness of the central portion may be maintained throughout,
and in this case I prefer to employ a lighter metal or alloy (aluminium for
example) in order to maintain the required weight without reducing the thickness.
After the shank has been fixed to the bottom or back of the button, as before
explained, the crown, face, or shell is secured to the said bottom or back, and the
button finished in the usual manner, or as may be required.
Dated this 4th day of May 1894.
זגטC זת
R. ELSDON,
Per W. H. Beck,
Agent.

page_text: improvements in the Manufacture of Buttons.
I, ROBERT ELSDON, of Highlands, Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, in the County of Kent,
Gentleman, 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, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of that class of
buttons known as set, spun, or closed buttons, which commonly consist of a crown,
face, or shell attached to a bottom or back, the latter being provided with a shank
for attaching the button to the garment. But the said improvements are more
especially applicable to the manufacture of what are known as "imitation solid "
buttons, that is to say, of buttons which, although formed of the parts above
referred to, resemble those solid buttons which are formed from a single solid
blank, with the shank soldered or otherwise connected to the back thereof.
In manufacturing buttons of the kind referred to it has hitherto been found
difficult to secure the shank to the button in a simple, effective, and economical
manner, and so that it shall not work loose, or become detached, when strain is put
upon it, nor allow of the entrance of liquid into the interior of the button, and one
object of this invention is to obviate this difficulty.
In order that my invention may be more fully understood, I will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
Figures 1 and 2 are transverse sections of a button constructed in accordance
with my invention, Figure 3 an inside view of the bottom or back of such a button,
and Figure 4 a section on line X-X of Figure 3.
Figures 5 and 6 are transverse sections illustrating modifications to be hereinafter
described.
Similar letters relate to like parts in each of the figures of the drawings.
A is the bottom or back of the button, which is formed of a blank of unequal
thickness, as shown, that is to say thicker in and towards the centre than at the
circumference. In or about the centre of this blank I punch or otherwise form
two holes to receive the ends B' of the shank B, which holes are of an oblong
shape and with their sides and ends bevilled or countersunk, as seen in each
of the figures. This bevilling or countersinking may be from both sides of the
blank, as shown in Figure 4 for example, or may be from the inner side only.
The shank B may be made of wire in the usual way, the straight ends B' being
turned over and flattened sidewise as seen in Figure 1. This flattening of the
straight ends B' of the shank B may be effected in any suitable or convenient
manner, and I prefer to leave a slight shoulder on the lower portions of the
flattened ends, which shoulder beds into the slight bevilling or countersinking of
the outer surface of the bottom or back, as seen at B2 in Figure 4 for example.
The turned over and flattened ends B' of the shank B are now placed in position
in the holes formed in the bottom or back A, the said holes being more or less
completely filled by such ends which also project slightly beyond the top surface, or
the top and bottom surfaces of the said bottom or back, as shown in Figure 1. The
eye of shank B is now held securely in place (in a divided die for example) while
the ends B₁ are pressed or rivetted by any suitable means so as to completely fill the
holes and bevilled or countersunk portions in the bottom or back A, the inner
surface of the latter being left flush and smooth, as shown in Figures 2 and 4.
It will be understood that in a button constructed as above described not only is
the blank so securely held in place as to render it almost impossible to be pulled out
without destroying the button, but the said shank is made to form as it were an

page_text: integral part of the bottom or back without any portion, except the eye, projecting
from either of its surfaces, thus enabling the crown, face, or shell C to bed closely
thereon (as shown in Figure 2), and when required, (as in the case of what are
known as "rim livery" buttons for example), to be burnished after the crown, face
or shell is in place. This construction of button also obviates the process of
soldering and precludes the entrance of liquids into the interior of the button,
either in the course of manufacture, or when in use.
The bottoms or backs A may be made in a variety of ways, for example, they
may be stamped or struck out of thick sheet metal, or cut from a drawn rod, in
blanks of small diameter, and reduced in thickness towards their circumferences,
and at the same time increased to the required diameter, by any suitable method,
for example by rolling, stamping, pressing, or otherwise. Or they may be cast
either to the required shape, or the casting afterwards may be brought to the
required shape by any suitable method as before stated. Or the increased thickness
in the centre of the bottom or back A may be obtained by soldering, or otherwise
attaching thereto, a washer or thickening piece, either inside or outside, or both
inside and outside.
For heavy buttons, instead of making the bottom or back of unequal thickness as
before stated, the thickness of the central portion may be maintained throughout;
and in some cases a lighter metal or alloy (aluminium for example), may be
employed in order to maintain the desired weight without reducing the thickness.
In some cases I employ one hole only in the bottom or back A, into which hole
I rivet the turned-over and Hattened portions B₁ of the shank B, as shown in
Figure 5, the central bar A' being thereby dispensed with.
In what are known as hollow buttons, that is to say buttons in which there is a
space between the inner surfaces of the bottom or back A, and the crown, face or
shell C, the turned-over and flattened portions B' of the shank B may project
beyond the said inner surface of the bottom or back A, after having been rivetted,
and in this case the hole or holes may be bevilled or countersunk from the outer
side only. This is illustrated in Figure 6 which is a similar section to Figure 4.
After the shank B has been fixed to the bottom or back A of the button as
secured to the bottom or back A
before explained, the crown, face or shell C
and the button finished in the usual manner, or as may be required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
In a set, spun, or closed, button, the employment of a bottom or back having a
thick central part, with the shank secured in such thick part substantially as
herein before described, and illustrated in the drawings.
Dated this 14th day of July 1894.
Dated this 14th day of July 1894.
A. ELSDON,
Per W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, Agent.
A. ELSDON,
Per W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, Agent.