CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1829

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CHURCH, of Bordesley Green, in the Parish of Aston, in the County of
Warwick, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth, by
His Letters under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster the Twenty-sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and twenty-nine, in the tenth year of His reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Church, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Church, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such person or persons as I, the said
William Church, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should agree with,
and no others, from time to time, and at all times, during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTONS AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso, that if I, the said William Church, should not particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,and in what manner the same is
to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and
cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all
liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease,

page_text: .
determine, and become void, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Church, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say):-
--
My improvements in buttons, and in the machinery or apparatus for manu-
facturing the same, consist in certain variations from and additions to a con-
trivance and apparatus for making buttons, for which (in consequence of
communication made by me when residing abroad) a Patent was granted by
His present Majesty to Thomas Tyndall, of Birmingham, Esquire, dated the
Fourth day of December, One thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, a
Specification of which was duly inrolled in the Office of the Rolls Chapel, and
to that Specification I refer as exhibiting the principle on which I manufacture
buttons.
i ..
.. My present improvements on the former machine consist of the following
particulars (videlicet):
First, in the mechanism and method by which the shells or foundations
of the buttons are prepared:
Secondly, in a mode of making a new kind of shank for the backs of buttons,
that is, the machinery or apparatus for forming the said.shank.....
Thirdly, the contrivance by which the florentine or other material for
covering the face of the button is conducted into the machine..
Fourthly, the apparatus, for gathering in the edges of the florentine over the
shell previous to attaching the shank-piece.
And, fifthly, the mode by which the wheels are driven that carry the several
parts of the button for forming it and putting it together.
The particulars of which said improvements are fully set out in the
Drawings hereto annexed, and will be clearly understood by the following
.description thereof, .the similar letters of reference pointing out corresponding
parts in all the Figures..
i
.. Figure 1. is a fronti-view of the complex. machine for making buttons,' with
the present improvements attached; Figure.2.is an end view of the same, taken
at the left hand of Figure 1. The power: by which. the machinery. is to be
driven must be applied to the horizontal shaft A, A, which may be by hand or
by a rigger and band from a steam engine or other first mover, and governed
by a fly wheel. Upon the said shaft a level wheel. B is fixed, taking into a
similar wheel C at the lower end of the short vertical shaft D, having a crank E

page_text: at its upper extremity. From this shaft D arises. the impelling power which
actuates the carriages that feed in the materials of which the button is to be
constituted. On the top of a sliding standard F. is mounted a pair clams G,
which are intended to hold the sheet of thin metal that the shells or. founda-
tions of the butttons are to be made from by the action of.cutting dies in.the
manner herein-after described.. Another sliding standard H carries a similar
pair, of clams I, holding the sheet. of metal out of' which .the discs 'are to be
cut for forming the shank pieces, that is, the back part of the button and its
shank. At the opposite side of back of the machine represented. in Figure 8
the roller K is placed, carrying the florentine or other material for covering
the faces of the buttons: This 'roller is suspended oni pivots bearing in the
sliding frame L, L. A représentation of the parts of the mechanism lying on
the table of the machine M, M, is shewn in the plan or horizontal 'view at
Figure 4, which will explain the movement of the several racks, pinions, and
catches connected with the feeding apparatus above alluded to. The rotation
of the crank E-causes the lever O, see, Figure 4, to vibrate, which moves the
catch P.to and fro; and this catch taking into a rack Q; affixed to the sliding
frame or carriage L, at every stroke of the lever O, moves the rack Q, and
also the sliding frame L, the distance of one tooth. The sliding of this frame
causes the rack R affixed to it to drive a pinion S at the back end of the shaft. T,
which shaft, though represented broken in Figure 4,) crosses the table of the
machine, and has two other pinions attached to its opposite extremity, severally
taking into the, racks V and U, fixed to the sliding plates, to which the
standards Fand H with the feeding apparatus are attached. Thus it will be
perceived that the rotation of the crank E, through the intervention of the lever
O and pall P, moves the sliding bar L for feeding in the florentine, and which
sliding bar, by its rack R, drives the pinion and shaft S, T, which, by means
of the pinions and racks V, U, moves the feeding apparatus for supplying the
two sheets of metal out of which the shells and also the shank pieces of the
buttons are to be made. Let it now be supposed that the sheet of metal for
forming the shells is held in the clams G (see Figs. 1 & 2), and passes
through the slit.of the punch box W, where the disc is to be cut out .In a
similar way the other sheet of metal for making the shanks is held in the
clams I, and passed through the slit in the punch box X for the same purpose.
The constructions of the cutters.for punching out the discs for the shells and
for the shank pieces being similar, though slightly differing in size, are shewn
in section in the detached Figure 5. a is a pin passed through the lever b, and
through the standard c, fixed in the plate d, seen in Figure 2. To one.end of
the lever b is attached the rode, which rod extends downwards, and is "con-

page_text: nected at the bottom to the tappet lever f, hanging in the staple g. This lever
fis acted upon by the cam wheel h on the main shaft A: hence, as the cam h
goes round, the tappet level fis raised, which lifts the rod e, and the tail of the
lever b, and thereby depresses the punch at the reverse end of the lever, by which
means the disc of nietal is cut out of the plate. The particular construction of
W is the punch box before
this punch is shewn by the sectional Figure 5.
mentioned, in which there is a slit for admitting the sheet of metal edgewise.
The cutting punch i is a cylindrical tube of steel which being depressed by the
action of the lever b, in the manner above described, punches or cuts out
against the lower cutter ja disc from the metal sheet, which disc by the
cutter is forced down into the recoss of j. There is a plunger / acting within
the cutting tube i, which is connected to a lever l mounted on an axle in the
standard c; the reverse end of this lever is attached to a rod m, passing
down within the rod e to the cam h, where a tappet lever similar to ƒ and
working within it is acted upon by the cam directly after the disc had been
cut and causes the punch to push the disc through the recess k or drawing
block and turn up the edges (technically called drawing through) and deposit
the shell thus formed in one of the recesses of the carrying wheel n. The disc
for the shank pieces, which are not quite so large as those for the shells, are
cut and drawn through by similar means to those last described.
The punch
box for cutting the shank pieces is shewn at x in Figures 1 and 2, and p is the
hollow rod carrying the cutter, with the plunger within, which are actuated by
the tappet levers 9 worked by a corresponding cam wheel on the main shaft.
These discs are also deposited in one of the carrier wheels 7, ready to be con-
ducted through the machine for the further manipulation of the button, as
described in the former Specification.
Figure 6 represents the system of carrier wheels as seen horizontally detached
from the other parts of the machine, of which there are two more than in
the former Invention, n and r, designed, as above said, for receiving and con-
ducting the shells and shank pieces. These carrier wheels are mounted on
vertical shafts and driven by toothed gear below. In my present method of
forming the shank of the button, the shank piece is conveyed to the several
punchies by the carrying wheels as in the former Specification. Sup-
posing the shank pieces to be deposited in the carrying wheel at the
hole No. 1, after three movements of the machine, it will arrive at the
situation of No. 4, which is immediately under a hole in the wheel s. At
this time the first pair of dies come into operation for piercing and raising
à cross, which is to form the shank. Representations of these dies are shewn
in several Figures, partly in section, drawn full size.

page_text: Figure 7 shews the first pair of dies, by which the piece of metal is pierced in
the form of a cross and raised spherically. When the shank piece has proceeded
on to the next stage No. 5, a pair of nippers are applied for the purpose of round-
ing the edges of one of the bars of the cross or shank. These nippers are con-
nected to one of the descending punches and are shewn detached at Figure 8.
The nippers a, a, are held within the hollow punch, their shape being kept open
by a spring until they have embraced the cross, and a wedge piece b above
them, acting between the tails of the nippers, causes them to close and pinch
the bar of the shank into a round or wire-like form. The wedge piece is
depressed by jointed levers c, d, as seen in Figure 8, and are connected to the
perpendicular rod w, shewn in Figure 3, which rod is acted upon by the
rotatory cam & on the main shaft. The next movement of the machine brings
the shank piece to the situation No. 6, where a similar pair of nippers, actuated
by the same levers and rod, pinch up the other bar of the cross shank, and the
finishing touch is given to the shank at the hole No. 7 where the dies, Figure 9,
are brought into action by the means above stated. The mode of working the
punches in my present machine is very similar to that described in the former
Specification above referred, (that is,) the upper series of punches are fixed to
the upper moveable block Y, Y, and the lower series of punches to the lower
moveable block Z, Z, which are slidden up and down by the side rods, con-
nected to the cranks on the main rotatory axle A, A, by means of which
movements the corresponding punches and dies sliding through the guide plates
are brought for the purpose of giving the required impressions in forming and
putting together the several parts of the button. The discs of florentine or
other material for covering the faces of the buttons are cut out of the piece
simultaneously, with the metallic discs, but at the opposite side or back of the
machine. The florentine, as before stated, is rolled upon the roller K. and is
passed between the drawing rollers into the slit of the punch box Y, where
the cutter constructed as described in the former Specification, is brought
down and made to cut out the disc of florentine through the agency of
the levers and rods 2,,,, at the lower extremity of which is a tappet
lever acted upon by a cam wheel in the centre of the main shaft. It will
now be necessary to refer to the former part of this Specification, in which
the lateral movements of the standards of the feeding apparatus F, H, and
L, L, are described, as being effected by the rotation of the pinions severally
taking into the racks V, U, and R, and it will be seen that the sheets of
metal for forming the shells and the shanks of the buttons and also the floren-
tine for covering them are by those means progressively slidden along through
their respective punch boxes and the disks cut therefrom for the purposes and

page_text: in the way above described. Let it be supposed that a series of discs 'have
been-cut from the ends of each of the sheets of metal and from the pieces of
florentine in straight rows; it now becomes necessary to advance the sheets and
pieces-forward and to traverse them back again, in order to cut another row
of discs from each, the contrivance for doing which is shown in Figures 3 and
4. When the rack Q has slidden, to nearly the end of its range, a tappet e
fixed to the rack comes against an inclined plane on the side of the piece f
and pushes it into the situation shewn by dots; the object of this movement
is, that at the next revolution of the crank E, the end of the lever (* at g'may
strike against the end of the piece F, and cause it to throw the three-armed
lever h into the situation shewn by dots. This movement of the lever h allows
the spring catch i to fall into the teeth of the rack Q and at the same time
withdraws the spring catch P from the rack. The rotation of the crank E in
actuating the levers now causes the rack Q and also the carriage with the
florentine to traverse back again, but simultaneously with the last change the
tappet e strikes against an inclined plane on the catch rod and presses it back,
as shewn by dots, so that as the lever O* vibrates a pin at its end now takes hold
of the hook of k and draws the catch rod along, which moves the lever and
click 1. and causes the ratchet wheel m to be driven forward one tooth. At the
upper extremity of the perpendicular shaft n, to which the ratchet wheel mis
affixed, there is a bevil wheel taking into a similar wheel o on the horizontal
shaft p extending along the back of the florentine carriage. This wheel o is
confined by a bracket and allows the shaft p to slide through it from end to
end, being locked together by a feather. The occasional movements of the
shaft n and p are communicated, by means of toothed gear q to the feeding a
rollers r, see Figure 3, by which means the edge of the florentine is advanced
after cutting each range. In order to set up or advance the sheets of metal
after cutting each range of discs for the shells and shank pieces, a toothed
wheels is placed in the middle of the upper feeding roller which takes into a
toothed wheel sliding on the shaft t. This shaft is therefore driven simulta-
neously with these employed in feeding the florentine, and there being two
pinions of different diameters fixed to, this shaft, taking into racks v, v, and
u, u, which racks are connected to the feeding apparatus by being attached to
the carriages of the clams G and I, the sheets of metal are consequently drawn
in when required. The train of toothed gear which drives the carriages is
actuated by a crank wheel J on the shaft D, see Figure 1. This wheel takes
into a peculiarly formed star wheel, which is shewn in two positions upon an
enlarged scale at Figures 10 and 11. By reference to the former Specification
herein-before mentioned, the mode of gathering in the edges of the florentine
*

page_text: over the shell of the button will be perceived.
I now perform that object in
the manner shewn in Figures 12 and 13. The apparatus consists of two very
thin plates of steel, sliding upon each other; they are mounted in brass frames
and placed between the two central carrier wheels as shewn at Y, Y, in Figure 6;
a peculiarly formed hole is made in each plate, the ends of each hole being'
made semicircular, but of different diameters, so that when the plates are
slidden in one direction, a circular aperture of about an inch is formed, and
when they are slidden in the opposite direction the aperture is constructed.
This movement is effected by the crank levers z, z, acted upon by a cam wheel
on the main shaft. Previous to these gatherers coming into action, the shell
with the disc of the florentine beneath it, driven into one of the holes of the
lower carrier wheel, as is described in the said former Specification, by which
the edges of the florentine are thrown up round the shell, and being thus en-
closed within the wheel, they are conveyed under the aperture of the gatherers,
where by the next operation of the lower punch they are raised up, and the
edges of the florentine brought through the gatherers, which are then drawn
so as to contract the hole and bring the edges of the florentine into a small
compass. At this time the punch with the shank piece descends upon the
gatherers and the aperture of the gatherers now opening allows the shank
to be pressed into the hollow shell, carrying the edges of the florentine with
it, which becomes secured and firmly fixed by the last operation of the punch.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Church, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.