IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BUTTONS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert and Company, Patent Agents,
of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of said invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
BUTTONS," 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 machinery for turning and boring buttons of ivory,
bone, vegetable ivory and similar material.
It has for its object to meet at the same time the following requirements of a
good button lathe:
1. It should finish the button out of the rough, without requiring the material
to be reset or taken out of the lathe before the button has received its proper
shape.
2. The acting tools or cutters should not be much subject to wear and tear.
3. The tools should work accurately and without stoppages.
4. The lathe should be able to turn out much work of the best quality.
5. The lathe should be so constructed, as not to require skilled attendance.
In describing the invention reference will be made to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation, Fig 2 an end view taken from the left side of
Fig. 1, Fig. 3 an end view taken from the right hand side of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 a
plan of an improved lathe. Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are detailed views of the tong-
arrangement for holding the button, while its back side is shaped. Fig. 9 is a
vertical, longitudinal section along the line I-II of the plan. Fig. 10 is a vertical
transverse section along the broken line III-IV. of the plan. Fig. 11 is a vertical
transverse section along line V-VI of Fig. 4. Fig. 12 is a horizontal section
along line VII-VIII of Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a vertical-longitudinal section along
line IX-X, of Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a vertical transverse section along line
XI-XII. of Fig. 4. Fig. 15 is a vertical transverse section along line XIII-XIV
of Fig. 4.
L

page_text: from a suitable head-gear by means of the cone pulleys C. On the shaft of the
latter is fixed the pinion D, which gears into the main spur wheel E on the
shaft G. This shaft G can be set in and out of gear by means of the lever H,
which allows the pinion D to be disengaged from wheel E. The lathe spindles
I, K and L, which are guided in the headstocks P, Q, R are driven from a head gear
by means of the fast and loose pulleys M, N, O. The headstocks Q and R are
supported by the bed B of the lathe, in which they can slide lengthways, see
Figs. 1, 2, 3, 9 and 10. The headstock P however is supported in the headstock Q;
upon which it can slide forward and backward independently of the movement
of Q. The forward and backward motion is given to these headstocks P, Q, R by
the grooved discs or cams S, T, U, mounted on the shaft G, these headstocks being
connected with the grooved discs by means of the arms V, W, X at the lower end
of each of which there is a little roller, which projects into the groove of the
respective cams. Thus by turning the cams, the pins V, W, X must follow the
rise and fall of the grooves in the cams and shift the headstocks forward and
backwards or hold them in one place, according to the direction of the grooves in
respect to the direction of the shaft G. Nearly in the middle of the lathe bed B is
fixed another headstock Y, which carries the revolver disc or chuck Z. The
construction of this will be more fully described hereafter.
In this revolver disc, which rotates and stops intermittently, the raw material is
fastened, out of which a button is to be cut, and it is in accordance with its
movements or stoppages, that the headstock P, Q, R with their spindles and tools
or chisels are pushed towards the disc and shape by their fast rotation the buttons
out of the raw and finish them. It will be observed, that the spindles I and K
shape the front side of the button, whereas the spindle L gives the shape or form
to the back side, a special contrivance being adopted for this purpose.
I am now going to describe the revolver disc and the manner of fastening the
material to be worked in it and also the contrivances for turning and holding fust
this disc at the proper moment.
.
To the headstock Y Fig. 11 is bolted by the two bolts a and b the guide plate or
disc o, in the centre of which is fastened the pin d; Fig. 13. On this pin in front
of the disc c is fitted the revolver disc Z, so that it can be turned round the axis
of the pin. The fixing of the button material in the revolver disc Z is effected in
the following manner. In the back side of -Z are cut the 6 T shaped slots
e1...
es, and into these slots are fitted the sliding pieces f which form claws.
These claws are drawn towards the centre by the helical springs g, so that if any
piece of material is put between the claw of the sliding piece f and the edge of the
revolver disc, it will be held fast between the two. Suitable recesses are provided
for that purpose in addition in the edge of the disc and the lower part of the claw,
so that, if pressed close together, the two recesses form a round hole has can be
seen from the figures 14, 15.
•
The piece of ivory nut or other material when brought into the lathe, being
very rough and irregular at the sides, and thus opposing at times great resistance
to the tools and also when a deep cut is taken, might not be held fast enough by
the springs g only. The claws are therefore further pressed down during the two
first cuts, by the strong springs i, bolted at one end to the circumference of the
fast disc c and pressing with the free ends on the presser bars k k.
From the foregoing it will be seen that the material is properly held, when the
cutters of the spindles I and K are at work, and the working of the machine so
far is the following:
A piece of raw material (ivory nut, bone and similar material) is set into the
revolver disc at a, the clawf being with drawn by the hand, while the disc is at
rest. Motion is then given to the disc by ratchet wheel Z fixed on the pin din
front of the disc, pawl m, lever n, and rod o, the latter being pivoted to the
oscillating cam lever p of peculiar shape. This cam lever has its fulcrum at q and
is so shaped, that the little roller r, which is fixed to the disc s, strikes against the
cam lever at certain moments, thus raising it or pushing it downwards. The disc.8

page_text: In the
is keyed to the shaft G and rotates with it in the direction of the arrow.
position shown in Fig. 14, the lever has just been pulled down, and rod o,
lever n, and pawl m have turned the ratchet wheel and the revolver disc 60° or 1
of a revolution. The roller r now leaves the cam lever free until it reaches the
position r. During this time of rest for the lever and revolver disc a new piece
of ivory nut is fixed at a, while the tools work at ẞy and 6. As soon as r arrives
at the position it strickes against the cam lever, raises it in continuing its
revolution, and the rod o, lever n, pawl m, are raised, so that the latter falls into
the next tooth of the ratchet wheel, ready to turn it another sixth of a revolution,
when the roller r comes in contact with the lever p in its proper place and at the
required moment of its travel.
It was said above, that the claws e are also pressed upon the piece of nut by
the springs i and the press bars k. These must there fore be released when the
revolver disc shall be turned.
Figs. 3, 4, 9, 11, 12 and 13 show the arrangements provided for this purpose.
A sliding piece u is dove-tailed into the back of the disc c, and carries at its
bottom a little roller v, which rests on the circumference of the excentric t; this
excentric is keyed fast on the shaft G and is shaped so as to raise the sliding
piece u at the required moment, whereby the press bars & are pressed upwards.
These bars k are also fitted on the back of c and held there and guided by the
guide piece was well, as by the front side of the headstock Y. Thus the press
bars leave the disc Z free to turn when required, but are pressed down by the
springs i as soon as the excentric t allows it.
A special arrangement is also provided to hold and secure the revolver disc in the
proper place, while the tools are at work. For this purpose the revolver disc Z is
provided at its circumference with notches or gaps w, (Figs. 14 and 15) situated in
the middle between any two sliding claws. Lever a provided with a finger al is
pressed against the revolver disc by the spring y and falls into the gaps, when they
come in its way. In order to relieve the revolver disc from this hold, when
required, a little roller s¹ is fixed to one side of the excentric t, which in its turn.
strikes against the lower inner part of the lever x and presses it down, so that ¹
gets out of the gap in Z and allows the disc to revolve.
The contrivance provided for holding the button when it is turned and shaped
at the back side by the cutter of the spindle L is shown in Figs. 1 to 8.
It consists of a pair of tongs or nippers e, which are fixed to the head-tock Q
and move forward and backwards with it, but receive also a motion independent
of the head stock Q, by means of the cam disc . The proper shape having been
given to the button by the cutters of I and K, and the revolver having turned the
button within the reach of the cutters of L, or of the tongs e, these move towards
it in advance of the headstock Q, a greater speed for a time being given to them
by the relative position of the grooves 5 and T in the cam, so that the tongs while
advancing with the headstock are also pushed forward by the action of the double
lever K. The tongs and lever K are held in place and guided by the brackets >
and u, which latter are bolted to the bed of the lathe. Set screws v serve for
laterally justing the tongs, whereas the vertical set screws w which are worked
simultaneously by the hand wheel and spur wheels y serve to adjust them in
vertical direction and also to open them more or less according to the diameter of
the button to be held. The tongs e have their support or turning point in d, so
that the spring tends always to open them at the right hand side of the Figs. 1, 5,
and 8. Adjustable guide pieces Ę and z serve to ensure, that the opening be not
more or less than required.
These guide pieces being fast with the brackets λ, it will be understood, that if
the tongs are pushed by the lever K towards the right side, the support or
turning point of the tongs will approach Ę and z, and thus the tongs will be
opened more. The guide pieces are of course set so, that the opening corresponds
to the size of the button, which the tongs shall hold fast. If then the tongs have
advanced sufficiently, as to come within reach of the button, their movement is in

page_text: consequence of the peculiar shape of the groove in the cam while the head stock
continues to move; so that the guide pieces and s will be situated nearly at the
right end of the tongs. As will be seen from Fig. 5, the upper half of the tongs
is provided with an inclined plane or a projecting piece near the open end, so that,
when the guide piece reaches this, it will press the tongs together very firmly,
and they will thus hold the button fast on its front side so that its back side may
be finished by the cutters on L.
It now only remains to add, that while this last cut at the back side of the
button is performed and at the same time the finishing cut of the front side by the
cutters on K, the cutters on I have already been with drawn according to the
relative position of the cam S in regard to the cam T and U, so that the vibrations
caused by the cutters on I in cutting the first shape out of the rough, will not be
transmitted to the cutters K and L, when they make their finishing cuts, and a
thoroughly neat and well finished button will be obtained. The button having
been thus finished is now taken out of the lathe, which is done automatically in
the following manner: The headstock goes back in advance of the tongs, so that
these are released from the inclined plane s, and opened by the pressure of the
spring after which the button is free to fall out. But to prevent its falling
towards the tongs, there is a plate p' fixed between the tongs to the bracket μ on
the bed B, this plate stands quite immovable, and if the button should happen to
remain between the tongs, it will be pushed out of them, when the button on its
way back with the tongs and the headstock reaches the edge of the plate p¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
.
In button revolver lathes of the type described above and shown by the
drawings.
1. The mechanism for operating on the material first by three tools simul-
taneously and then by the two finishing tools alone.
2. The method of withdrawing the first headstock with its cutter; by means of
the grooved discs and connections or equivalent mechanism.
3. The mechanism for holding the material to be worked and securing it during
the first and second cut or period of operation by the bars k and spring i,
Fig. 11.
4. The mechanism for turning the revolver disc and holding it fast at the
required moments, Figs. 14 and 15.
b. The pair of tongs and their connections or accessories for holding the button
in front, after the second cut or period of operation, Figs. 1 to 8.
6. The mechanism for pushing the button out of the lathe when finished.
Dated th: 10th low of Tab 1001