Improvements in Buttons.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 5th June, 1894-Accepted, 7th July, 1894
Improvements in Buttons.
I, CHARLES RADCLIFFE, of 389 Mulberry Street, in the City of Newark,
County of Essex, and State of New Jersey, United States of America,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
My invention has reference to a novel method of securing the several parts of a
button, and I employ in connection with the back-plate of a button, a suitably
annealed steel post, which is pointed and which by means of a suitable press or
machine is forced through a solid or slightly punctured hub, thereby cutting a
proper slot or rectangular opening in the hub, and when the upper portion of said
steel post is bent by means of the proper tool, the sides of said opening in the hub
will serve as cutters to force themselves into the opposite edges of the post, and
thereby form oppositely projecting arms on said post to cause the completed button
to be firmly held on the material and the hub and back-plate of the button to
closely hug the material.
The object of the invention therefore is, to dispense with the use of a hub having
previously formed slot or rectangular opening, thereby dispensing with the
employment of an extra die, and also to dispense with a post having the previously
formed and oppositely projecting holding arms thereon, which dispenses with the
use of another die.
The invention therefore consists in the novel steps of securing the parts of the
button, to wit-first, puncturing the shell or hub by means of a pointed and. flat
post on the back-plate of the button, second, said post by such insertion forming its
own opening or slot in the hub, and lastly, said opening or slot in the button
producing incisions in the post to form a complete button.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which
similar letters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in each of
the several views.
In said views,
Figure 1 is a top view of my improved form of button; Figure 2 is a side view
of the same, attached, to the material.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of the several parts of the button, the pointed post
on the back-plate being about to puncture the shell or hub of the button; Figure 4
is a like view, with the said pointed post forced entirely through the shell or hub;
and Figure 5 is a view illustrating the several parts of the button in position after
the upper portion of the post has been turned and the edges of the opening or slot in
the hub or shell have made incisions in the edges of the post and have formed
holding arms or lugs on the post.
Figure 6 is a view of the back of the hub provided with a small hole centrally
arranged therein, and Figure 7 is a like view of a hub or shell in which the hole
is dispensed with, and Figure 8 is a side elevation of the post and back-plate.
In said drawings, A indicates the button which is composed of a suitable face-
plate or upper shell a provided with a central perforation or hole a' secured to the
aub 6 in the usual manner, by means of the overlapping edges a².

page_text: The hub used in this form of construction is of the usual construction except that
its inwardly curved portion 6' is left solid, as in Figure 7, or it may be punctured
with a small hole 62, as in Figure 6.
Integral with the shoe or back-plate c, or separate therefrom if desirable, is
formed or struck up thereon a flat post e provided with the pointed portion c³
formed by the angular portions and c* of said post, as clearly illustrated.
Said post is made of suitably annealed or tempered steel, and in order to secure
the herein above described parts of the button to the fabric, said pointed post is
forced through the cloth and by means of suitable machinery, or a press, the
pointed portion of said-post-is-forced-through the solid portion b', or through the
hole in the hub 6, thereby-forming-a-rectangular slot or opening in said
curved. portion 61 of the hub or shell, as will be seen from Figures 1 and 4.
A suitably slotted tool is then inserted through the opening a' in the face-plate a
and over the free and pointed end-portion of the post c.
A slight turn of said tool, either by hand or by machinery, will tend to twist the
upper portion of said post in opposite directions against the edges of the slot or
opening in the hub of the button. Although the said hub is usually made of
tin, which is a much weaker metal than the sheet steel post, said edges of the slot
or opening will act like cutters and form incisions in the opposite edges of the
post directly above the upper and inner surfaces 6 of said hub, thereby closely
drawing the parts together, forcing the back-plate or shoe e tightly against the
fabric and causing the securely locked or holding engagement of the several parts
of the button on the cloth.
It will thus be seen that by this means and method of securing the post to the
hub of the button, the parts of the button can readily be secured to cloth of
different thicknesses, without that the parts of the button are loosely secured to
the cloth, which a very objectionable feature, as this produces rattling of the parts
and sometimes causes the back-plate to be pulled entirely through the material,
especially when the button is secured to a very thin piece of cloth.
By this means I have secured a much cheaper button, as I dispense with the use
of a suitable die or other tool for forming the rectangular slot or opening in the
shell or hub of the button, said steel post being of sufficient thickness and stiffness
to be readily forced through the thickness of metal of which the hub is made, when
the several parts of the button are brought together.
It is preferable however, to first puncture the back or curved portion 6' of the
hub or shell 6 with a small hole 62, whereby the post c¹ is forced centrally through
the metal of the hub.
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. The herein described method of securing a button to a piece of cloth, which
consists in forcing a pointed flat post on a back-plate or shoe of the button through
the material, then forcing said pointed post through the hub or shell of the button,
and causing said post to form a rectangular slot or opening in said hub, and then
twisting the upper portion of said post against the opposite edges of the slot in the
hub, said edges thereby forming incisions in the opposite edges of the post and
thereby being forced across said slot in the hub, to cause the holding or locked
engagement, substantially as set forth.
2. The herein described method of securing a button to a piece of fabric, which
consists in forcing a pointed flat post on a back-plate or shoe of the button through
the material, then placing a hub or shell provided with a small central perforation
over said post and forcing said pointed post through the hub or shell of the button and
causing said post to form a rectangular slot or opening in the hub, and then twisting
the upper portion of said post against the opposite edges of the slot in the hub, said
edges thereby forming incisions in the opposite edges of the post, and the upper

page_text: portion of the post thereby being forced across said slot in the hub, to cause the
holding or locked engagement, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 10th day of May 1894.
CHARLES RADCLIFFE.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.