A MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL SHANKS FOR BUTTONS
Year: 1794

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RALPH
HEATON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Jobbing Smith, send
grecting.
WHEREAS His present Majesty King George the Third, by His Royal
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fifth day of September instant, did give and grant unto me, the
said Ralph Heaton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, His special
licence that I, the said Ralph Heaton, my executors, administrators," and
assigns, during the term of fourteen years, therein expressed, should and
night make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "A MACHINE FOR MAKING METAL
SHANKS FOR BUTTONS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso, obliging me, the said Ralph Heaton, under my hand and seal, to
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within one calendar month next and immediately after
the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, relation
being thereunto had, may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Ralph Heaton, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention of a machine
for making metal wire hammered shanks for buttons at one operation, and the
manner in which the same is performed, is particularly described and ascer-
tained by the following description of the Drawings hereunto anuexed:

page_text: 1 is the crank trendle; 2 is the crank wood; 3 is the crank; 4 is a fly
wheel; 5 is the main spindle; 6, 7, 8, are wheels upon the main spindle; 9 is
a pinion wheel with 20 teeth; 10 is a wheel with 40 teeth, and is turned by
the pinion wheel 9; 11 is a spindle; 12 is a wheel; 13 is the catch lever; 14
is the catch; 15 carries one of the pivots of the catch lever; the other is in a
screw which passes through the upright of the frame U; 16 is the bottom
part of the cutter lever; 17 is a catch, fixed on the axle 18, and extends
between the upright of the frame V and the back bearer of the frame X to
the back of the pinion wheel 9; 18 is a three-square axle, on which the
bottom part of the cutter lever is fixed; 19 is the cutter lever rod; 20 is a joint
of the lever; 21 is an iron plate, pierced with holes marked 22, &c. to 34, in
which the various uprights and other parts are fixed, and is fastened to the frame
Tat the holes 22, 23, 24, 25; 36, 37, are the chops; 38 is the top part of the
cutter lever; 39 is the pivot of the cutter lever, and is fixed to the arm of the chop
87; 40 is a universal joint which the lever rod 19 is screwed through; 41, 42, are
two three square slides through the bottom part of each chop 36, 37, with a small
friction wheel at the end of each; 43 is a screw passing through the upright V,
in the inner point of which one of the pivots of the main spindle turus; 44, 45,
support the pivots of the spindle 11; 46, 47, are two steel rolls, small grooves
aro turned on 46 to receive the wire; 48, 49, is an iron frame, in which are the
axes of the rolls; 52 are pinion wheels on the axes of the rolls; 53 is a catch-
wheel on the axis of the roll 47; 54 is a plate with holes in it, to guide the
wire between the. rulls; 55, 56, aro springs which serves to open the chops
96, 37; 57 is a small tube to conduct the wire from the rolls to the clamms, and
is fixed to the frame of the rolls; 58 is the guide; 59 is a three-square axle,
on which the guide is fastened; 60 is the hook for the guide spring; 61 is
the guide pin which forces the wire into the clamms; 62 is a support, fixed on
plate 21 in the hole 30, with a three-square slide through it near the top, in
which is one of the pivots of 59; 63 is a support, fixed on plate 21, in the holo
29, with a screw through it near the top, in which is the other pivot of 59;
64 is the guide spring, fastened to the hook 60; 65 is the guide rod, which
passes through the hole 26, between the center points L, L, of the chops, and
clips the guide, the guide pin passing through it and the guide, which makes a
joint; the guide pin is fastened by a screw at the end of the guide. 66 is a
screw on the guide for the purpose of raising or lowering the guide; 67 is the
guide lever, with a small friction wheel at the end of it; 68 is a three-square
axle, on which the guide lever is fastened by a screw; 69 is the hammer
lever, with a friction wheel at the end of it; 70 is the axle of the hammer
lever; 71, 72, are supports for the axis of the hammer lever, fixed through the

page_text: bottom of the back bearer of the frame X, so that the friction wheel of the
hammer lever may bear underneath the wheel 8, which is on the main spindle;
the contrary side of 72 serves for one axis of 68, the other axis is in a screw
which passes through the back upright of the frame Y, placed so that the friction
wheel of the guide lever may bear underneath the wheel 6, which is on the main
spindle. 73 is the hammer rod, with a slide joint; for the purpose of lengthen-
ing it or shortening it; 74 is an axle on which the hammer is fastened by a
screw; *is a hook upon the helve of the hammer to fasten the spring to; 75 is
a stand, fixed on the plate 21 in the hole 34, and supports one axis of the
hammer; 76 supports the other axis of the hammer, and is fixed in the hole
33 on the iron plate 21; 77 is the [hammer; 78 is the hammer spring; 79 is
a support for the hammer spring; 80 is an upright, with a screw at the top of
it, for the purpose of strengthening the spring; 81 is a three-square axle; 82
is a catch fixed on the axle 81; 83 is a lever which forces forwards the dis-
charger; 84 is a sliding piece which the lever 83 bears against; 85 is the
discharger lever; 86 is a three-square axle which passes through the discharger
lever; 87 is the discharger which is made to bear on the guide pin; 88 is the
discharger spring; 89 is the discharger lever spring; 90 is a weight suspended
from the slide Z, for the purpose of keeping the friction wheel bearing
upon the wheel 7, which is on the main spindle; 91 is a screw through the
upright of the frame U, which supports one axis of 81, and a screw through
the upright of the frame Y, exactly opposite to 91, supports the other axis;
92 is a screw through the upright of the frame U, which supports one axis of
86, and a screw through the upright of the frame Y, exactly opposite to 92,
supports the other axis; 93, 94, support the axis of 18; 95 is a spring staple
which fastens the spring 55; the spring 56 is fastened to the back bearer of
the frame by another spring staple. 96 is a spring staplo which fastens the
guide spring;. 97 is the upper cutter; 98 is the botton cutter, which is a
piece of steel fastened in the chop 37, upon one of the clamms, with a grove
to receive the wire from the conductor 57, the upper cutter being made to
bear exactly at the bottom of the grove; 99 is a friction wheel, which is fixed
to the side of the wheel 6, which is on the main spindle; 100 is a guide to
keep the catch 14 upon the wheel 58. A is that part of the main spindle
where the fly wheel is fixed; B is where the wheels 6, 7, 8, are fixed; C is
where the pinion wheel 9 is fixed; D is where the wheel 10 is fixed; E is the
friction wheel and frame on which the main spindle turns, it is fixed in the
cross timber between the uprights of the frame U, Y; F is where the wheel
12 is fixed;- G is the axis of the catch rod 14 on the lever 13; H is a friction
wheel at the end of the slide Z; K, K, are steel clamms, which are fastened.

page_text: in the chops 36, 37; by sinall screws; hollows are cut in the clamms to the
form of the shank exactly opposite each other; L, L, M, M, are the center
points of the chops; N is a friction wheel fixed to pinion wheel 9; O is a stud
fixed to the back part of the pinion wheel 9; P is the chop catch; Q is the
stand through which the chop catch passes, and is fastened by a screw; it is
fixed on the front hearer of the frame W, so that the catch P may catch the
inside of the bottom part of the chop 37; there is another catch and stand fixed
on the back bearer of the frame X, which catches the chop 36 in the like
mánner;: the use of these catches is to prevent the springs 55, 56, from opening
the 'chops 36, 37, more than necessary. R is a poppet fixed to the hole 28 of
the plate 21, in which is a hole for the centre point, M of the chop 87, the
centre point M of the chop 36 is in a large screw through the same poppet.
S is a poppet fixed in hole 27 of the plate 21. with two screws through it, in
which are holes for the center points L, L. of the chops 36, 37; T is the top
part of the frame; U is the front upright of the frame; V is an upright of
the frame;
X is the back bearer of tho frame; W is the front bearer of the
frame; Y is the back upright of the frame; Z is a slide, which passes through
the axle of the catch lever 13, at the end of which the friction wheel His
fixed. The machine so described is useil in the following manner :-A piece of
wire is put through the hole of the plate 54' between thic rolls, from thence
through the tube 57 to the bottom cutter 98, when motion is given the machine
by the trendle and crank; the friction wheel H, by falling into the cavity part of
the wheel 7, raises the lever 18, and forces the catch 14 into another tooth of
the catch wheel 53, and the circular part of the wheel 7, by raising, the friction
wheel EI, bears back the lever 13, which forces down the catch 14; by which
it draws the wheel 53 so far round as to force a quantity of wire through
through the rolls sufficient to make the shank; a greater or smaller length of
wire.inay be drawn between the rolls by having more or fewer teeth on the catch
wheel, and the friction wheel N being fixed to thic pinion wheel 9, so that it
may bear the cutter lever underneath the joint 20. at the time the circular
part of tlie wheel 7 begins to raise the friction wheel: EL; by which means it
bears up the rod 19 and forces down the upper cutter, tlio, wire being across
the clamms; the wheel 6, on the main spindle is fixed, so that the circular part
of it begins to act upon the friction wheel of the, guide lever (at the time the
friction wheel N bears up the cutter lever, by which means it-forces down the
guidu upon the wire, and bends it down between the clamms; to raise the
cutter, the stud O is fixed to the pinion wheel 9, on the back part of it, so that
it may bear on the catch 17 at the time the friction wheel N has left acting
upon the cutter lever; it being on the same asle as the cutter lever, it bears
up

page_text: down the lever and raises the cutter; the guide pin 61 being within the wire
in the clamms, the clamms are pressed together by the wheel 12 acting upon
the friction wheels 41, 42, at its opposite points at the same time, at which
time the friction wheel of the hammer lever falling into the cavity of the
wheel 8, the hammer spring forces down the hammer and strikes a blow which
flattens the ears of the shank; the hammer is raised again by the circular part
of the wheel 8, forcing down the hammer lever, the clamms are opened by the
springs 55, 56, when the wheel 12 has left acting upon the friction wheels 41,
42. The shank being made, is brought out of the clamms by the friction wheel
of the guide lever falling into the cavity of the wheel 6, at which time the
spring 64 draws up the guide and its pin; the shank is discharged from tho
guide pin by the friction wheel 99 on the wheel 6, which bears up the catch
82, and forces back the lever 83 agatnst the sliding pieco 84, by which the
discharger 85 is forced forwards and discharges the shank from the guide pin;
the discharger is brought to its place again by the spring 89, when the friction
wheel 99 has left the catch 82. The Drawing No. 1 & 2 are drawn by a t
scale; No. 3 is drawn by a half scale.
I have now described my Invention to the best of my power; it has been
impossible for me to do it without describing parts which have been heretofore
in common use. The novelty of the Invention consists in the combination of
these parts, so as to produce the proposed effect by the turning of a winch, by
the rotation of a wheel, or any other circular movement, and this combination
to the best of my knowledge is new, and is of my Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ralph Heaton, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety-four