IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for an Invention of
" IMPROVEMENTS
IN BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES." A communication
from abroad by John Kennedy Harris, of Springfield, in the County of Clarke,
State of Ohio, United States of America, Inventor and Civil Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th August 1881.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53,. Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENTS FOR
SEWING MACHINES." [A communication from abroad by John Kennedy Harris,
of Springfield, in the County of Clarke, State of Ohio, United States of America,
Inventor and Civil Engineer.]
The Invention relates to that class of button hole attachments where the cloth is
held in a clamp and oscillated laterally, and at the same time is given an inter-
mittent longitudinal movement forward and backward under the action of the
needle by a lever connecting with the needle. bar. Heretofore much difficulty has
been encountered in obtaining a reliable, adjustable, and durable feed motion
properly timed with the oscillating movement, so as to act simultaneously with it
both forward and backward. For this purpose many devices have been tried, such
as double racks and pinion operated by cog or ratchet wheels, cams, screws,
scrolls, &c., but all have been found too complicated and expensive for general
family use.
The object of this Invention is to cause an oscillating cloth clamp to feed itself
longitudinally forward and backward, that is, while oscillating on one side of a
centre line to feed itself intermittently in one direction, and when oscillating on
the other side of said centre line, to feed itself intermittently in the opposite
direction, the length of feed being self regulating, and always proportioned to the
width of oscillation. Also to better work the ends of the button hole and to
simplify and cheapen the construction of the whole attachment.
The Invention consists in a cloth clamp having an oscillating movement laterally
to the line of feed, and a progressive intermittent feed produced directly by the
contact of said oscillating cloth clamp against a relatively stationary stop abutment
Dmine G21

page_text: or other resistance. It also consists in a button hole attachment formed essentially
of a bed plate, an oscillating cloth clamp, a lever for connecting with the needle
bar, and devices for connecting said lever with the cloth clamp to oscillate it when
the centre of oscillation of said cloth clamp is between the needle hole and the
oscillating devices. The Invention also further consists in the peculiar construction
and arrangement of devices for converting the oscillatory movement into an inter-
mittent progressive feed lengthwise of the button hole, for which purpose a friction
clutch and springs are used, and also in the peculiar construction and arrangement
of the ship-over devices for establishing a new line of feed, parallel to the first for
working the other side of the button hole.
I will now describe the construction of the attachment more fully. The bed
plate has its sides at its rear end turned up to form lugs for holding the devices
which impart an oscillating movement to the cloth clamp from the reciprocating
needle bar. The bed plate also has a duplicate of the rear shuttle race slide
attached to its underside for connecting with the sewing machine, which slide is
provided with a suitable fastening to prevent the slide from slipping back.
The cloth clamp is carried by and oscillated with a subjacent guide plate, the
centre of whose oscillation is near the middle of its length. The rear end of this
guide plate is made yoke shaped, and has two inclines struck up on its opposite
sides. Pivoted to the bed plate just over this yoke end of the guide plate is a
T shaped lever which is pivoted to the guide plate, and has at its other end
upturned lugs that lie in front of the inclines. In a plane between the lugs and
inclines there rests a crescent shaped piece which is pivoted to the pendent skirt of
a part of the needle bar lever. This crescent piece is pivoted to said skirt at its
middle lower edge, and is provided with a stop device at the top to limit its
oscillation, while its opposite ends play in slots in the skirt of the part of the
needle bar lever. These devices constitute means for oscillating the guide plate,
and their action is as follows:-When the needle bar lever is oscillated by its
forked connection with the needle bar, the crescent piece is oscillated at right
angles to its plane, to act alternately on the lugs and through the T-shaped lever
and its pivot to deflect the guide plate, the crescent piece being alternately shifted
on its pivot to act alternately on the lugs, which shifting is effected by the inclines,
so that after one end of the crescent piece has acted on a lug (to throw the guide
plate in one direction) on its back stroke, this end of the crescent piece strikes an
incline which tilts the piece and throws its opposite end down in a position to act
upon the other lug, and throw the guide plate in the other direction.
As a modification-of-this-part-of the Invention I may arrange the crescent
shaped piece to rest in a horizontal plane instead of in a vertical plane. In such
modification the T lever is at right angles to the guide plate, and the inclines are
formed on a separate slide which rests in a vertical plane. This slide however is
connected to the guide plate at the point where the T shaped lever connects with
it, and the inclines therefore have the same movement as the guide plate, though
not made in one piece with it. The guide plate is made forked at its end opposite
the yoke, and such forked end surrounds the needle hole. Projecting upwardly
from about the middle of this guide plate are two ears, and at a point midway
between the two projecting ears said plate is pivoted to the ship:over slide, which
in turn is attached loosely to the bed plate by slots and screws in transverse
relation, so that a movement of the ship-over slide longitudinally will ship-over the
guide plate to any desired distance on each side of a straight longitudinal centre
line passing through the needle hole. Let it be distinctly understood that this
guide plate does not travel back and forth carrying the cloth clamp, but simply
oscillates horizontally on its pivot by means of suitable devices actuated by the
needle bar or other available movements of the sewing machine.
A straight steel bar passes loosely through the ears of the guide plate, and is
firmly connected at each end to the cloth clamp, both the upper and lower plates
of which are bent up over the said bar. Fitted to said bar and sliding freely
thereon is a clutch lever, which has a sleeve that encircles the bar, and is retained

page_text: in position exactly over the centre of oscillation by means of two opposite spiral
springs on said bar, and are held in place by the cars of the guide plate. The
upper plate of the cloth clamp is connected to the lower at the rear end, at which
point lugs grasp the shank of the guide plate, while the front ends or rectangular
frames of the cloth clamp rest between the forked arms of the guide plate. A
lever is provided for opening or closing the two parts of the cloth clamp. The
cloth clamp in all its parts has the same oscillating movement as is communicated
to the guide plate, and as the former is free to slide back and forth on the latter,
it is easily seen how the desired intermittent self feeding movement of the cloth
clamp both forward and backward by virtue of its own oscillation can take place.
For adjusting the ship-over slide, a lever having a cam head on its underside is
made to engage with upturned edges of the ship-over slide so as to move it longi-
tudinally in one direction or the other whenever the lever is thrown to one or the
other of its positions. On the top of this lever is a pin secured to an adjustable
plate on said lever, and which pin passes through a slot in the end of the clutch
lever before mentioned. When the adjusting lever is thrown in one direction the
ship-over slide is shifted, and the pin by the same movement is made to bear
against one side of the slot in the clutch lever and acts as a stop or abutment
against which the clutch lever is strained for a feed movement in one direction,
and which pin is thrown to the other side of the slot and forms a stop or abutment
against which the clutch lever is strained for movement in the reverse direction
whenever the position of the adjusting lever and ship-over slide is changed. Now
it will be seen that the clutch lever closely encircles the bar of the cloth clamp, but
is held in constant and normal relation to the oscillating guide plate by the cars
and springs. When therefore the guide plate is oscillated the bar is oscillated, and
so would be the clutch lever if it were free to move. As a matter of fact, however,
it cannot move in one direction since it is held by the stop pin, and the result is
that the clutch bites the bar and said stop pin reacting on the bar feeds the same
and the cloth clamp forward compressing the spring in front of it; then on the
alternate stroke, the grip being released, the tension of this spring forces the clutch
back to its middle position for a new hold.
As the guide plate and cloth clamp oscillate again the same advance feed move-
ment will be produced, and so on until one side of the button hole is worked.
Then on moving the ship-over slide the stop piece is brought into position to bear
against the opposite side of the slot in the clutch lever; and as the clutch in the
other half of the oscillation now bears against this pin, the longitudinal feed
movement of the cloth clamp will be reversed, the other spring now coming into
play, but acting precisely as the first. Instead of one stop pin working in a slot of
the clutch lever, two such pins may be arranged to work on opposite sides of said
lever to produce the same effect.
Among the advantages which characterise the Invention may be mentioned the
fact that the oscillating cloth clamp is made self feeding by causing the oscillation
to be converted directly into an intermittent feed, and by which an exact relation
always exists between the extent of oscillation and the extent of feed, preserving
automatically a proper relation between these two factors for different sizes of
button holes. Another advantage is that the ship-over movement and the change
in the direction of the feed is effected by one and the same adjustment. Further-
more an advantage belonging to the friction clutch is that it permits of almost
infinitesimally small steps of feed which cannot be had where a definite toothed
structure is employed as a means for effecting this step by step movement. Again,
by having the centre of oscillation of the cloth clamp between the oscillating.
devices and the needle hole, I am enabled to use a much longer lever for con-
necting with the needle bar, which makes an easier strain upon the needle bar.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th February 1882.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENTS FOR
SEWING MACHINES." A communication from abroad by John Kennedy Harris, of
Springfield, in the. County of Clarke, State of Ohio, United States of America,
Inventor and Civil Engineer.
The Invention relates to that class of button hole attachments where the
cloth is held in a clamp and oscillated laterally, and at the same time is given
an intermittent longitudinal movement forward and backward under the action
of the needle by a lever connecting with the needle bar. Heretofore much
difficulty has been encountered in obtaining a reliable, adjustable, and durable feed
motion properly timed with the oscillating movement so as to act simultaneously
with it both forward and backward. For this purpose many devices have been
tried, such as double racks and pinion operated by cog or ratchet wheels, cams,
screws, scrolls, &c., but all have been found too complicated and expensive for
general family use. The object of this Invention is to cause an oscillating cloth
clamp to feed itself longitudinally forward and backward, that is, while oscillating
on one side of a centre line to feed itself intermittently in one direction, and when
oscillating on the other side of said centre line to feed itself intermittently in
the opposite direction, the length of feed being self regulating and always
proportioned to the width of oscillation. Also to better work the ends of the
button hole and to simplify and cheapen the construction of the whole attachment.
To these ends the Invention consists in a cloth clamp having an oscillating
movement laterally to the line of feed, and a progressive intermittent feed produced
directly by the contact of said oscillating cloth clamp against a relatively
stationary stop abutment or other resistance. It also consists in a button hole
. attachment formed essentially of a bed plate, an oscillating-cloth-clamp,-a-lever for
connecting with-the-needle-bar, and devices for connecting said lever with the cloth
clamp to oscillate it when the centre of oscillation of said cloth clamp is between
the needle hole and the oscillating devices.
The Invention also further consists in the peculiar construction and arrange-
ment of devices for converting the oscillatory movement into an intermittent
progressive feed lengthwise of the button hole, for which purpose a friction clutch
and springs are used, and also in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the
ship over devices for establishing a new line of feed parallel to the first for working
the other side of the button hole.
The peculiarities of these latter devices I will fully describe in connection with
the accompanying Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation with a part of
the support for the needle bar broken away; Figure 2 is a plan view, showing in
dotted lines the oscillatory movement of the cloth clamp and its guide; Figure 3
is a plan view with the cloth clamp removed, showing in dotted lines the ship over
movement of the cloth clamp guide for working the other parallel side of the
button hole; Figure 4 is a vertical cross section through the line x-x, of Figures 2
and 3; Figure 5 is a vertical longitudinal section through the line y-y, of
Figure 2; Figure 6 is a vertical transverse section through the line z-z, of Figure 1
looking in the direction of the arrow; Figures 7, 8, and 9, are views of a modi-
fication of the devices for oscillating the cloth clamp; Figure 7 being a vertical
section through line w-w, of Figure 8; Figure 8 being a view looking in the

page_text: direction of the double arrows in Figure 7 with the needle bar lever and its.
attachments removed; and Figure 9 being an underneath view of the needle
bar lever and its attachments looking in the direction of the single arrow in
Figure 7.
A is the bed plate having its sides at its rear end turned up to form lugs E, E,
for holding the devices which impart an oscillating movement to the cloth clamp
from the reciprocating needle bar. The bed plate A also has a duplicate A¹ of the
rear shuttle race slide attached to its underside for connecting with the sewing
machine, which slide is provided with a suitable fastening to prevent the slide
from slipping back. The cloth clamp is carried by and oscillated with a subjacent
guide plate B, the centre of whose oscillation is near the middle of its length, as
shown by the dotted lines of Figure 2. The rear end of this guide plate is made
yoke shaped, and has two inclines g, g, struck upon its opposite sides. Pivoted to .
the bed plate A just over this yoke end of the guide plate is a T shaped lever d,
which at f is pivoted to the guide plate, and has at its other end upturned lugs e, e,
that lie in front of the inclines g, g. In a plane between the lugs e, e, and
inclines g, g, there rests a crescent shaped piece c (see Figure 6) which is pivoted
to the pendent skirt of the part D' of the needle bar lever. This piece c is pivoted
to said skirt at its middle lower edge, and is provided with a stop device at the
top to limit its oscillation, while its opposite ends play in slots in the skirt of the
part D¹. These devices constitute means for oscillating the guide plate B, and
their action is as follows:-When the lever D, D¹, is oscillated by its forked
connection with the needle bar the piece c is oscillated at right angles to its plane
to act alternately on the lugs e and through lever d and its pivot f to deflect the
guide plate B, the piece c being alternately shifted on its pivot to act alternately
on the lugs e, e, which shifting is effected by the inclines g, g, so that after one end
of c has acted on a lug e (to throw the guide plate in one direction) on its back
stroke, this end of c strikes an incline g which tilts the piece c and throws its
opposite end down in a position to act upon the other lug e and throw the guide
plate in the other direction. The general structure and principle of operation of
these devices for 'oscillating the cloth clamp is substantially the same as that
shown and described in a prior United States Patent, No. 235,235. The present
construction however differs from that described in said Patent in that the
inclines g, g, are located directly on the guide plate, or have the same movement
with the guide plate in coming into position to strike the ends of the crescent
shaped piece c. As a modification of this part of the Invention I may arrange the
crescent shaped piece c to rest in a horizontal plane, as in Figures 7, 8, 9, instead
of in a vertical plane. In such modification the lever d is at right angles to the
guide plate, and the inclines g, g, are formed on a separate slide g³ which rests in
a vertical plane. This slide g³ however is connected to the guide plate B at the
point where lever d connects with it, and the inclines therefore have the same
inovement as the guide plate though not made in one piece with it. The guide
plate is made forked at its end opposite the yoke, and such forked end surrounds.
the needle hole 8. Projecting upwardly from about the middle of this guide plate
are two lugs or ears h, h, and at a point midway between the two projecting ears,
said plate is pivoted at i to the ship over slide J, see Figures 4 and 5, which in
turn is attached loosely to the bed plate by slots and screws k in transverse
relation, so that a movement of slide J longitudinally will ship over the guide
plate B to any desired distance on each side of a straight longitudinal centre line
as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3.
Let it be distinctly understood that this guide plate B does not travel back and
forth carrying the cloth clamp, but simply oscillates horizontally on its pivot by
means of suitable devices actuated by the needle bar or other available movements
of the sewing machine.
F is a straight steel bar passing loosely through the ears h, h, and firmly con-
nected at each end, to the cloth clamp C, C, both sections of which are bent up

page_text: over the said bar. Fitted to bar F and sliding freely thereon is a clutch lever T
which has a sleeve that encircles the bar, and is retained in position exactly over
the centre of oscillation by means of the two opposite spiral springs a, a, which
surround bar F, and are held in place by the raised projections h, h, from guide
plate B. The upper plate C¹ of the clothi clamp is connected to the. lower at l, at
which point lugs grasp the shank of the guide plate while the front ends or
rectangular frames of the cloth clamp rest between the bifurcations of the guide
plate. G is a lever for opening or closing the two sections of the cloth clamp.
Now it is evident the cloth clamp in all its parts will have the same oscillating
movement as is communicated to the guide plate B, and as the former is free to
slide back and forth on the latter it is easily seen how the desired intermittent
self feeding movement of the cloth clamp both forward and backward by virtue of
its own oscillation can take place.
For adjusting the ship over slide J, a lever H having a cam head m on its
underside (see Figure 4) is made to engage with upturned edges of the ship over
slide so as to move it longitudinally in one. direction or the other whenever the
lever His thrown to the one or the other of its positions. On the top of this
lever H is a pin o secured to an adjustable plate on said lever, and which pin
passes through a slot in the end of the clutch lever I. When the lever H is
thrown in one direction the ship over slide is shifted, and the pin o by the same
movement is made to bear against one side of the slot in the clutch lever, and acts
as a stop or abutment against which the clutch lever is strained for a feed move-
ment in one direction, and which pin o is thrown to the other side of the slot and
forms a stop or abutment against which the clutch lever is strained for movement
in the reverse direction whenever the position of the lever H and ship over
slide is changed. Now it will be seen that the clutch lever I closely encircles the
bar F of the cloth clamp, but is held in constant and normal relation to the
oscillating guide plate by the ears h, h, and springs a, a; when therefore the guide
plate is oscillated the bar. F is oscillated, and so would be the clutch lever I if it
were free to move. As a matter of fact however it cannot move in one direction
since it is held by the stop pin o, and the result is that the clutch bites the bar F,
and said stop pin reacting on bar F feeds the same and the cloth clamp forward,
compressing the spring in front of it, then on the alternate stroke, the grip being
released, the tension of this spring forces the clutch back to its middle position for
a new hold.
As the guide plate and cloth clamp oscillate again the same advance
feed movement will be produced, and so on until one side of the button hole is
worked;-thon-on-moving-the-ship over slide J the stop pin o is brought into
position to bear against the opposite side of the slot in the clutch lever, and as the
clutch in the other half of the oscillation now bears against this pin, the longi-
tudinal feed movement of the cloth clamp will be reversed, the other spring now
coming into play but acting precisely as the first. Instead of one stop pin o
working in a slot of the clutch lever, two such pins may be arranged to work on
opposite sides of said lever to produce the same effect.
Among the advantages which characterise the Invention may be mentioned the
fact that the oscillating cloth clamp is made self feeding by causing the oscillation
to be converted directly into an intermittent feed, and by which an exact relation
always exists between the extent of oscillation and the extent of feed, preserving
automatically a proper relation between these two factors for different sizes of
button holes. Another advantage is that the ship over movement and the change
in the direction of the feed is effected by one and the same adjustment. Further-
more an advantage belonging to the friction clutch is that it permits of almost
infinitesimally small steps of feed which cannot be had where a definite toothed
structure is employed as a means for effecting this step by step movement. Again,
by having the centre of oscillation of the cloth clamp between the oscillating
devices and the needle hole I am enabled to use a much longer lever for connecting
with the needle bar which makes an easier strain upon said bar..

page_text: Having described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. In a button hole attachment for sewing machines, the combination with an
oscillating cloth clamp of a stop stationary in relation to said cloth clamp, and a
single device adapted to engage said cloth clamp and to impinge against said
stationary stop whereby the oscillating movement of the cloth clamp is directly
converted into a progressive right line movement, substantially as described.
2nd. In a button hole attachment for sewing machines, the combination of a
bed plate, an oscillating cloth clamp, a lever pivoted at its rear end to the bed
plate and arranged longitudinally above the cloth clamp for connecting with the
needle bar, and devices located at the rear end of the cloth clamp and lever for
connecting said lever with the cloth clamp to oscillate it, the said cloth clamp
having a centre of oscillation between the needle hole and the said oscillating
devices, substantially as shown and described.
3rd. The combination with the cloth clamp having bar F, of means for oscillating
it, a friction clutch embracing said bar, springs arranged upon the opposite sides
of said friction clutch, and a stop or resistance adapted for contact with the friction
clutch to cause the same to feed the cloth clamp in either direction through its
oscillation, as described.
4th. In a button hole attachment for sewing machines, the combination with an
oscillating cloth clamp, of a stop stationary in relation to said cloth clamp, and a
friction clutch adapted to engage said cloth clamp and to impinge against said
stationary stop, substantially as and for the purpose described.
5th. The combination with the bed plate and the cloth clamp, of the transversely
adjustable ship over slide J, and the guide plate B for the cloth clamp pivoted to
the ship over slide for a centre of oscillation and adjustable with said slide, as
shown and described.
6th. The combination with the cloth clamp bar F and the friction clutch I
arranged thereon as described, of an adjustable lever provided with stop o, as and
for the purpose described.
7th. The combination with the cloth clamp having bar F and the friction
clutch I, of a ship over device and a stop adapted to be simultaneously adjusted
for shifting the goods and reversing the feed, as described.
8th. The devices for oscillating the guide plate consisting of the pivoted piece c
operated by the needle bar lever, the lever d having lugs e, e, and pivoted to the
guide plate and inclines g, g, arranged as described, to have the same movement
as the guide plate, all combined as shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
mu hond and cool this Twanky sighth dev of February Å TV 1882