Improvements in Machines for Sewing Shank Buttons to Fabrics.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Mar., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 15th Dec., 1891-Accepted, 12th Mar., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Sewing Shank Buttons to Fabrics.
I, WALTER ELLIS BENNETT, living at No. 45 Sterling Street, in Boston,
Suffolk County in the State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to machines for sewing shank buttons on to fabric,
leather, &c., the object being to provide an improved machine of this class in
respect to simplicity of construction, and efficiency of operation in manipulating the
button and the thread in attaching the former, and the invention consists in certain
improvements in details of mechanism for accomplishing said object.
Heretofore it has been the practice, in machines of this class, to provide
mechanism for holding the button so that its shank is held with one side against
the material under or over the point of the needle, and to sew the button on while
so held.
The improvements herein set forth provide means for manipulating the button
and its attaching loops in an essentially different manner from those above referred
to by primarily holding the button considerably above the material away from the
needle and with the flat sides of its shank in vertical planes. The holder containing
the button then moves end wise in a plane with the material, carrying the button
towards the needle and passes its shank between the needle and a loop carried
thereby, the holder then rocking turns the button over to bring the sides of the
shank to horizontal planes and so holds the button momentarily and then moves
back, letting the button escape therefrom.
During said movements of the button-holder and button a primary loop is, by the
needle, engaged on the button-shank close to the button, and a secondary loop is
carried through the button-eye and opened by a loop-hook, and the button-head is
made to pass through said opened loop by movements of the button-holder, loop-
hook and needle. The said secondary loop is, by the usual thread-tension and the
final downward movement of the needle, drawn closely around the shank of the
button and the primary loop thereon thus completing the attachment of the button
by such an improved disposition of said loops as results in an exceedingly strong and
firm fastening. The line of thread on the under side of the material between the
stitches so formed, is a single one.
The mechanism for effecting the above-described operation in this machine
consists of a hopper in which the shank buttons are placed, and devices for conveying
the buttons through a trough extending from said hopper to or near the needle of
the machine, a button-holder having an oscillating motion under the end of the
button-trough, and a socket therein to receive a button from the latter and having
an endwise movement whereby the shank of the button so held is carried between
the needle and the loop thereon and is turned after receiving said loop to bring
its shank into a horizontal plane, the needle and its said loop of thread standing
vertically opposite the end of said button-holder, and the latter subsequently
moving backwards slightly from the needle and then turning as aforesaid: of a
loop-hook having a movement towards and from the side of said button-holder
and having an oscillating movement in a vertical plane and adapted to engage with
he loop of thread carried by the needle and drawing it to a position and holding
t while the button held by said holder is drawn out from the latter and carried
hrough the loop held by the hook and a tension device for drawing this last-named,
or secondary loop of thread around the shank of the button and against the first
oop of thread which is engaged with the outside of said shank. The sewing

page_text: devices consist of a needle carrying a thread in its eye and having an endwise
reciprocating motion opposite the end of the button-holder and a vibratory motion
across the axis of the latter, and suitable mechanism for so moving the needle
and for imparting oscillating motions to said button-holder and the shaft to
which said loop-hook is attached, and for imparting reciprocating endwise move-
ments to the shafts to which the said button-holder and loop-hook are attached.
The material in this machine, to which the buttons are attached, is fed along to
space the buttons by the said vibratory movements of the needle while the latter
is in the said material.
Dated this 4th day of March 1891.
WALTER ELLIS BENNETT.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Sewing Shank Buttons to Fabrics.
I, WALTER ELLIS BENNETT, of 45 Sterling Street, Boston, County of Suffolk,
and State of Massachusetts United States of America Mechanical Engineer,
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 :-
This invention relates to machines for sewing shank buttons on to fabric,
leather, &c., the object being to provide an improved machine of this class in
respect to simplicity of construction, and efficiency of operation in manipulating the
button and the thread in attaching the former, and the invention consists in
certain improvements in details of mechanism for accomplishing said object, all as
hereinafter fully described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.
In the drawings forming part of this Specification,
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 is a front end view of a machine for
sewing shank buttons to fabric constructed according to my invention.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of detail parts of the machine separated from the
frame thereof, and
Figure 4 is a perspective view of portions of the mechanism shown in Figure 3,
all of which is fully described below.
Figures 5 and 6 are perspective views of portions of the operative mechanism of
the machine separate from the frame thereof and are below fully described.
Figure 612 is a perspective view illustrating the construction of the needle-
bar, needle-bar holder, presser-foot, and mechanism for operating the same, as below
described.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of the front end of the machine showing the lower
end of the button-trough, together with a portion of the mechanism for receiving
and manipulating the button and forming the stitch.
Figure 8 is an end view of the button-holder showing a button therein, and a
side elevation of the needle and of the thread-loop carried thereby, this figure and
Figure 7 showing the fabric in section.
Figure 9 is a similar view to Figure 7, but showing the button-holder, the
needle, and the thread-loop in different operative positions from those they occupy
in the last-named figure.
Figure 10 is a similar view to Figure 8, but showing the needle in a different
position from that which it occupies as shown in the last-named figure.
Figures 11, 13 and 15 are similar views to the aforesaid views Figures 7 and 9,
but they severally illustrate different positions of the button, the needle, and the
thread-loop in the operation of attaching the button to the fabric, all as hereinafter
fully described.

page_text: Figures 12 am 17
what different positions, different steps in the manipulation of the thread-loop, and
the loop-hook in relation to said loop, all as hereinafter described.
Figure 16 illustrates the loop-hook and a portion of its shaft, the end of the
button-holder with a button therein and a button attached to the fabric, together
with the end of the needle.
Figure 17 is a sectional view on line -, Figure 11, with button-trough
removed.
Figure 18 is a plan view of detail parts hereinafter described.
Figure 19 is a sectional view on line - r, Figure 13.
Figure 20 is a plan view (with the button-trough removed) of the mechanism
illustrated in Figure 17.
Heretofore it has been the practice, in machines of this class, to provide mechanism
for holding the button so that its shank is held with one side against the material
under or over the point of the needle, and to sew the button on while so held.
The improvements herein set forth provide means for manipulating the button
and its attaching loops in an essentially different manner from those above referred
to by primarily holding the button considerably above the material away from the
needle and with the flat sides of its shank in vertical planes. The holder containing
the button then moves endwise in a plane at right angles with the material, carrying
the button towards the needle and passes its shank between the needle and a loop
carried thereby, the holder then rocking turns the button over to bring the sides
of the shank to horizontal planes and so holds the button momentarily and then
moves back, letting the button escape therefrom.
During said movements of the button-holder and button a primary loop is, by the
needle, engaged on the button-shank close to the button, and a secondary loop is
carried through the button-eye and opened by a loop-hook, and the button-head is
made to pass through said opened loop by movements of the button-holder, loop-
hook and needle, as below set forth. The said secondary loop is, by the usual
thread-tension and the final downward movement of the needle, drawn closely
around the shank of the button and the primary loop thereon, thus completing the
attachment of the button by such an improved disposition of said loops as results
in an exceedingly strong and firmn fastening. The line of thread on the under side
of the material between the stitches so formed, is a single one.
In the drawing, A indicates the frame of the machine having a horizontal base,
an upright part at one end of the base, and an arm-like formation extending from
the top of said upright part over said base.
The driving shaft H, having a driving pinion m, fixed thereon, is hung to rotate
in suitable bearings in said frame, and has a clutch-driving pulley 1, thereon of
ordinary construction. A hand-wheel F, is fixed to. the rear extremity of the
driving-shaft by which it may be turned by hand for certain adjustments of
mechanism connected therewith.
A cam-shaft J, is hung in the machine to rotate at the side of said driving-
shaft, and has fixed thereon a gear-wheel a, with which said pinion m, engages,
thereby giving shaft J, the requisite rotary motion.
The shaft J, has fixed thereon a triple-grooved cam K, and the cams 22 and s
and " these last three cams having cam-grooves in one side thereof for actuating
parts below referred to, and a cam r, for imparting a vibratory motion to the
needle-bar.
A button-hopper C, is fixed at the end of a button-trough B, and the latter is
fixed in proper position on the upper part of the frame A, as shown in Figure 1,
the lower end of said trough having a cover D, thereon, to properly retain the
buttons in position in the trough (as shown in Figure 7) while they descend one
after another to the lower end thereof where they are delivered to the button-
holder 3.
The mechanism within said hopper C, which elevates the buttons, but which is
not shown in the drawing, is operated by a pawl 23, which is pivoted by one end

page_text: on the extremity of the arm 24, the latter being pivoted by one end on the frame A
(see Figure 1) and has a slot therein as shown, with which a stud on a vertical
lever 25, engages. The extreme upper end of this last-named lever is connected
by a rod 26, with the lower end of a sliding button-turner 27, which lies on the
upper side of the button-trough B, and is given a reciprocating motion thereon by
the vibratory motion of said lever 25. The purpose of said slide 27, is to turn
over any buttons which may be passing thereunder with their shanks uppermost,
and cause the latter to take a position in the shank-slot of the button-trough such
as they should occupy when the buttons shall arrive at the delivery end of the
button-trough, which position is one which permits them to be taken by or
received into a button-socket in the end of the button-holder, as shown in
Figure 16.
The said lever 25, is pivoted near its lower end to the frame A, and has a stud
thereon which engages with one of the grooves of said eam K, on the shaft J,
whereby said lever is given said vibratory motion, and said motion causes the
arm 24, to have a vibratory motion vertically, thereby imparting the requisite
reciprocatory motion to the pawl 23.
The said button-holder consists of a shaft 3, having a head, thereon which
constitutes the holder proper, of the form shown, which, in cross-section, is sub-
stantially that of a segment of a cylinder, the circumferential portion of which is
adapted to have an oscillating movement under and close to the lower end of the
button-trough, from the position shown in Figure 10, to that shown in Figure 12,
and back again, alternately shutting the button-trough against button egress and
presenting its button-socket to receive a button. Said head c³ has a button-socket
in one side thereof to receive the head of one button only when the latter drops
from the lower end of the button-trough B, and hence, when said button is received
and the holder turns under the end of the trough, it serves as a gate to arrest the
movement of the column of buttons above the lower one, (see Figure 7). The
outer end of the head ³, has applied thereto a plate 29, which partly covers
the said button socket at the outer end of said head, in the edge of which plate is
formed a notch 28, in which the shank of the button lies as shown in Figure 16,
when the button dreps into said button-socket.
The said button-holder is hung in bearings 2, 2, on the extremity of the arm of
the frame A, in a position at right angles to the movement of the needle of the
machine and has fixed thereon between said bearings a pinion 5. A geared
segment 6, on the lower end of an arm 30, engages with said pinion 5. Said geared
segment is given a vibratory motion by the connection of its arm 30, with a rock-
shaft 31, and consequently said button-holder has a rocking movement imparted to
it. The said geared segment 6, is caused to have an engagement with the ends
of said pinion 5, by means of the plates e, on the opposite edges of said segment,
to the end that said segment may be employed for giving an end wise movement to
the button-holder, as well as said rocking movement, and therefore said rock-
shaft 31, has a slight reciprocating endwise movement given to it by means of the
lever 32, which is pivoted to the frame of the machine and has a stud thereon
engaging one of the grooves of the cam K, the upper end of said lever being
slotted, as shown and engaging with a friction-block on a stud, which is fixed in
said rock-shaft 31. The above-described connection of the lever 32, with the
shaft 31, serves to impart the requisite endwise motion thereto through which, by
means of the segment 6, the button-holder is given a like movement, but permitting
said shaft 31, to have sufficient rocking motion through which the said segment 6,
is given its said vibratory motion.
The rocking motion of shaft 31, is imparted thereto by means of the cam 22,
on the shaft J, a connecting-rod 33, having a stud therein which engages with a
slot in said cam and has its upper end connected to the extremity of an arm 34,
which is hung loostly on shaft 31, in order that said shaft may have its said end-
wise movement without interfering with the mechanism with which arm 34, is
connected, and to provide for this free endwise movement of shaft 31, a connection

page_text: between said shaft and arm 34, is made, as illustrated in Figure 4. It is seen in
this last-named figure that the arm 34, is made with two short ribs o, o, thereon
between which the extremity of a dog 35, enters, as shown, said dog by its hub
and a set-screw passing therethrough being rigidly fixed to the shaft 31.
Hence
5 it is seen that said shaft by means of the lever 32, may have a slight end wise
movement within the hub of the arm 34, the extremity of said dog 35, sliding
between the ribs o, o, during said endwise movement, it being understood that the
width of said ribs is such as to permit of the maximum endwise movement required
of the shaft 31, without drawing the extremity of said dog from between said
ribs 0, 0.
A loop-hook 36, is hung on the end of a rock-shaft 37, and is adapted through
the motions of said rock-shaft to have vibratory movements parallel with the axis
of said button-holder shaft 3, and by means of other mechanism below described,
to have movements towards and from the side of said button-holder.
The mechanism for imparting a rocking motion to said loop-hook shaft 37,
consists of a rack 38, attached to or integral with a horizontally moving bar 39,
having an engagement with a pinion 40, fixed on said shaft 37.
The said rack-bar 39, is given a horizontally reciprocating movement by means
of a lever 41, which is pivoted to the frame A, and has in its lower end a stud
which engages with one of the grooves of said cam K. The upper end of lever 41,
is slotted and has an engagement with a friction-block on a stud i, in said bar 39.
The endwise movement of said loop-hook shaft 37, whereby said hook has a
movement towards and from the side of said button-holder, is effected by means
of a plate 42, fixed on the side of one of the bearings of said shaft 37, (see
Figures 5 and 6) in which is a cam-sloty, and in said shaft 37 is fixed a stud z,
which engages with said cam-slot and therefore when said shaft 37, rocks in one
direction it is caused to move endwise and draw the loop-hook from the side of said
button-holder and when rocked in the opposite direction the loop-hook is moved
toward said holder.
Said Figures 5 and 6 illustrate in perspective views a supporting casting which
is rigidly secured to the extremity of the arm of the frame A, in which are
provided the bearings and supports for the aforesaid button-holder and loop-hook
shafts. Figure 3 is a rear perspective view of said support and the parts attached
thereto and of one end of said rack-bar and its rack, 38, and Figure 6 is a front
perspective view of the parts shown in Figure 5 and in addition thereto of the
rock-shaft 31, the geared segment 6, and the arm connecting the same with said
rock-shaft.
The usual cloth-plate of the machine 43, is rigidly secured by a pending arm,
as shown in several of the figures, to a downhanging part of the arm of the
machine, said cloth-plate being located as usual in such position as to provide for
the passage of the needle, through a suitable perforation therein. Said cloth-
plate is located directly over the presser-foot 44, and between the latter and the
under side of the cloth-plate the material W, is held upon which the buttons are
to be sewed. It being understood of course, that the said opening through
which the needle passes in the cloth-plate communicates with the usual slot in
said plate which permits of the feed of the material by the vibratory motions of
the needle, and the movement of the material with the buttons thereon under
said plate to and away from one end thereof, as is usual in machines of this class.
Said presser-foot, as is well known by persons skilled in the art of operating this
class of machines, is also similarly perforated and slotted.
The needle, employed for sewing in the machine herein described, is an ordinary
Swing-machine needle having an eye through it near its point, in which the thread
continuously carried while the buttons are being sewed on. The employment
of the above-described needle in this machine obviates the employment of a
east-off.
The said needle r, (see Figure 6 1-2) is carried on the needle-bar 45, and is

page_text: secured thereto by the clamp-block 54. The said needle-bar has the requisite
reciprocating movement in the slot 55, in the needle-bar holder 46.
Said
Said needle-bar-holder has a hub at its lower end, as shown, and is fixed on the
rock shaft o, by a suitable set-screw or screws said shaft being hung in suitable
bearings under the lower part of the frame A, as shown in Figure 2.
shaft o, has a rocking motion in one direction by means of the cams, which has a
cam-slot in one face thereof with which a stud in the end of a lever 47, engages
which is fixed on said shaft o, whereby the latter is so rocked as to give the
requisite backward throw to said needle-bar-holder to bring the point of the
needle r, to a point under the material W, where the stitch is to be made.
To provide means for adjusting and rigidly holding the said needle-bar-holder
in proper operative position relative to the lever 47, so that the said back-throw
of the holder shall be unfailingly in consonance with the movement of the said
lever, the hub of the latter on shaft o, is provided with two parallel arms 56, 56,
between which a laterally extending arm 57, on the hub of the needle-bar-holder
extends, and this latter-named arm is rigidly engaged on its opposite sides by two
set-screws, 58, 58, one in each of said arms 56. By operating said set-screws 58,
it is clearly seen that the upper end of the needle-bar-holder, and consequently the
point of the needle under the material to be sewed upon, may be very nicely
adjusted to any desired point of operation.
Although, as above described, said cams, imparts a positive vibratory motion
in one direction to the needle-bar-holder 46, it is desirable that no wear of said
cam, or other operative parts, shall be permitted in any way to interfere with the
proper degree of the backward throw of the needle-bar-holder whereby the point
of the needle is brought to the proper position under the fabric and under the
button-shank when a stitch is about to be formed, and to that end a spring 59 is
secured to frame A, near shaft o, the free end of which bears against the under
side of the arm 57, on the needle-bar-holder, thereby aiding to insure the desired
back-throw thereof, as aforesaid. An adjusting screw 60, is placed in said frame
over the end of said arm 57, whereby the upward swing of the latter is regulated.
The said spring 59, by bearing on the under side of said arm 57, also serves to
steady the forward throw of the needle-bar-holder, and to hold the stud in
lever 47, which engages with cams, against the cam surface which actuates said
lever.
The forward throw of the needle-bar-holder is effected by the action of a cam w,
fixed on said shaft J, against a pivoted pending lever 61, which is hung on the
frane of the machine, and which bears a friction roll, as shown in Figure 6 1-2,
against which the periphery of said cam w, mores whereby said lever is given a
vibratory motion on its suspending stud or pin. Said lever 61, when vibrated as
aforesaid, is made to swing against an arm 62, which is pivoted by one end to the
needle-bar-holder 46, and the free end of said arm is adjustable towards and from
the pivot-point of the lever 61, for the purpose of varying and adjusting the extent
of the forward throw of the needle-bar-holder and needle to vary the length of
the stitches and the feed-motion of the needle whereby the material is fed along for
the formation of stitches in different places, and to space the buttons as they are
sewed on.
For the purpose of adjusting the free end of arm 62, as aforesaid, a worm
segment 63, is secured on the latter and said segment is operated by means of a
worm-shaft 64, which is supported by the needle-bar-holder, and is provided with
a head as shown, which is seized by the fingers for the purpose of turning it to
adjust the arm 62, as above described.
The needle-bar 45, above referred to, has a stud 66, fixed therein which extends
through a slot 67, in the needle-bar-holder at the base of the needle-bar slot in
the latter, and the requisite vertically reciprocating motion is imparted to said
needle-bar by means of a two-armed cam-lever 48, one arm of which has a stud
therein which engages in a groove in the face of the cam r, and the second arm of

page_text: aid lever, or lower one, has a lot therein, through which the said stud 66, in the
needle-bar extends. The grooved cam r, imports the requisite vibratory motion to
the lever 48, and the latter, in turn, imparts said reciprocating motion, to the
needle-bar. Said cam-lever 48, is hung on a shaft 49, hung in suitable bearings in
the frame of the machine.
The pre-ser-foot 44, having a longitudinal slot therein, as shown, through which
the needle operates, and in which it has its above referred to swinging motions, is
suitably located above the needle-bar-holder, and under the cloth-plate 43, against
which said presser-foot is moved by a spring 65, which moves against the lower
end of the presser-foot leg 50, said spring-pressure serving to hold the material
upon which sewing is being performed, and when said material is to be fed along
by the needle, a cam 66, on said shaft J, acts against a roller supported on a
roller-arm 67, which is secured against the side of said presser-foot leg, opposite
the cam 66, to move said leg and presser-foot downward, away from the cloth-plate
sufficiently to release the material for the purpose aforesaid, and subsequently the
spring 65 returns the presser-foot against the material as before, to hold it while
the sewing is being done.
The thread is drawn from a suitably located spool or bobbin, and is carried
around an ordinary tension 52 which is fixed on the frame of the machine and from
thence over a guide-roller on the needle-bar-holder, and thence through the eye of
the needle, as shown. A hook 51, is attached to the lower end of the presser-foot
leg and in practice extends downwardly and is attached by its opposite end to some
convenient foot-treadle, whereby the operator may, at will, draw the presser-foot
downward away from the cloth-plate for the purpose of inserting work there-
between, or other manipulation thereof.
The operation of my improvements in the within-described button-sewing
machine is as follows:
A quantity of shank-buttons is placed as usual in the button-hopper C, from
which they descend through the trough B, taking their positions one after another
therein, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 7, the button-holder, being at this
stage of the operation in the position shown in Figures 7 and 9, and the point of
the needle being below the fabric W, the latter being placed between the presser-
foot 44, and the cloth-plate 43, as shown in said last-named figures. The machine
now being started the needle pierces the fabric and takes a position relative to the
adjoining end of the button-holder c³, as shown in Figure 7, carrying with it a
The needle then dips or drops
loop of thread to its highest point of movement.
sufficiently to throw out said thread-loop away from the side of the needle as shown
in Figure 8. The button-holder then moves up to the side of the needle and causes
the button-shank, which is now held with its sides in vertical planes, as just
received from the button-trough (its button socket being under the end of said
trough when the needle came up) to be inserted between the needle and said loop,
as shown in said Figure 8. The needle then moves downward thus drawing said
loop of thread over the upper edge of the button-shank as shown in Figures 9
and 10. While the needle is passing still further downward and out of the fabric
the button-holder is turned back in the direction of the arrow in Figure 10, a
quarter of a revolution, and moves backward very slightly from the needle to keep
the last-named, or primary loop out of the way of the needle when it shall next
rise through the fabric, thus bringing the button to a position over the fabric a
little to one side of that which is occupied when the primary loop became engaged
with the button bringing it to the position over the fabric shown in Figure 12, and
with the sides of its shank parallel with the face of the fabric, the primary loop
still being engaged around the shank of the button. The needle then reascends,
piercing the fabric directly under the eye of the button-shank, and passes up
through the latter as shown in Figure 12, bringing with it the secondary thread-
5 loop. The needle now dips or drops slightly thus throwing out said loop slightly
from its side above the button-shank. The loop-hook 36, then swings from the
position shown in Figure 9, to that shown in Figures 11 and 12, and engages said

page_text: secondary loop, as there shown, then moving bodily away from the side of said
holder, in the direction of the straight arrow in Figure 12, and swinging back-
ward at the rear side of the button-holder and carrying the loop with which it is
engaged, and causing it to be opened as shown in Figures 13, 14 and 19. After said
engagement of the loop-hook with the secondary loop, the button-holder begins
to turn back (see arrow pointing to the right in Figure 19) to its first position
thereby causing the button-head to be ejected from the button-socket in the holder
and through said opened loop, while the shank of the button is pivoted on the
needle as shown in said last-named figure. At this stage in the operation the
fabric is fed backward some distance by the needle to space the next button to be
sewed on.
The needle then moves down and, by the aid of the thread tension 52,
draws the secondary loop tightly around the button-shank and the primary loop
thereon, thus completing the stitch as shown in Figures 15 and 16. The button-
holder has meanwhile moved back to its first position (see Figure 15) to receive
another button from the trough after which the operations are repeated as
described. The appearance of the loops or stitches as finally engaged with the
shank of the button, above the fabric, is illustrated in Figures 15 and 16.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In a machine for sewing shank buttons to fabric, a button-holder having a
button-socket in its end to one side of its axis and receiving buttons therein one
after another directly from the button-trough, said holder being supported in a
plane at right angles to the needle-movement and having an oscillating and
an end wise movement, combined with mechanism substantially as described for
imparting said rocking and endwise movements to said holder, substantially as
set forth.
2. In a machine for sewing shank buttons to fabric, a button-holder having a
button-socket in its end to one side of its axis and receiving buttons therein onc
after another directly from the button-trough, said holder being supported in a
plane at right angles to the needle-movement, and having an oscillating and an
endwise movement, a needle having reciprocating endwise movements opposite the
end of said holder, and vibratory movements across the axis thereof, a loop-hook
having movements towards and from the side of said holder and vibratory move-
ments parallel with the axis thereof, combined with mechanism substantially as set
forth for imparting the described movement to said button-holder, needle and loop-
hook, substantially as set forth.
3. In a machine for sewing shank buttons to fabric, a needle having the usual
reciprocating movements and carrying a thread loop through the fabric, combined
with a loop-hook having a vibratory movement in a plane parallel to the side of
said needle and engaging a loop carried thereby, and a movement towards and from
the side of said needle, and mechanism substantially as described, for operating
said needle and loop-hook, substantially as set forth.
4. In a machine for sewing shank-buttons to fabric, a button-holder having a
button-socket in its end to one side of its axis and receiving buttons therein one
after another directly from the button-trough, said holder being supported in a
plane at right angles to the needle-movement and having an oscillating and an
endwise movement, combined with a button-trough under and in contact with the
lower end of which said holder has an oscillating motion, thus serving to receive
and manipulate buttons for presenting them to sewing devices, and as a gate at the
end of said trough, substantially as set forth.
5. In a machine for sewing shank-buttons to fabric, a button-holder having a
button-socket in its end to one side of its axis to receive the head only of a button,
and having a notch in one side thereof through which the shank of a button so
received protrudes beyond the end of said holder towards the needle of the machine,
and having an oscillating and an endwise movement, combined with mechanism

page_text: substantially as described for imparting said oscillating and endwise movement to
said holder, substantially as set forth.
6. The button-holder having a button-socket in its end to one side of its axis
to receive a button directly from the button-trough, and having a pinion 5, on the
shaft thereof, combined with a rocking and an endwise moving shaft 31, an arm 30,
secured on said rock-shaft having a geared segment thereon engaging with the face
and ends of said pinion, and mechanism substantially as described for actuating
said shaft 31, substantially as set forth.
7. The rock-shaft 37, a loop-hook 36, and a pinion 40, fixed on said shaft, a cam-
slot plate 42, fixed on a bearing of said shaft, a stud fixed in said rock-shaft and
projecting into said cam-slot, an end wise reciprocating rack-bar engaging with said
pinion, and mechanism substantially as described, for actuating said rack-bar,
substantially as set forth.
Date is y
5
WALTER ELLIS BENNETT.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.