IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR POLISHING BUTTONS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR POLISHING BUTTONS." A communication from abroad by
George Packard Warner, of Leeds, in the County of Hampshire, and State of
Massachusetts, United States of America.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th May 1876.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middle-
sex, Patent Agent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR POLISHING BUTTONS." A
communication from abroad by George Packard Warner, of Leeds, in the County of
Hampshire, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America.
This Invention relates to an improved machine for polishing buttons of vegetable
ivory or other proper material.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a side view; Figure 2 is a front view; Figure 3 is
a top view; Figure is a partial section on plane, ; Figure 5 is a top view
from plane, ; Figure C is a detail view in central vertical section of shaft
(herein-after referred to) modified for certain purposes.
ย
The letter a denotes the table of the machine; b, b, uprights; c, main shaft; d,
pitman from crank on main shaft giving vertical reciprocation to cross head e bear-
ing the punch die f. Pin h on disc g gives reciprocation to pivoted lever i, and
through the medium of connecting rod & to slide 1, on which is pivoted the pawl m,
pressed forward by spring n against the periphery of carrier plate o, which rotates
on pin p, taking into notches r, so as to give step-by-step rotation to the carrier
plate which rests on plate s, and contains the button sockets t, into which the button
blanks are fed, and after being operated on escape through the trough or pipe u.
The carrier plate is held locked at proper intervals to allow the buttons to be operated
on by the pawl v, Figure 5, pressed forward by spring w. This pawl is unlocked
from its hold on the carrier plate at proper intervals to allow the step-by-step rota-
tion by the shoulder on slide 1. Under the table is hung the vertical shaft y,
rotating from shaft z, through the medium of gears a', b'. The lower bearing or
step c for shaft y is upon plate d, underneath which is spring el, the purpose and
office of which is this:-The buttons while being polished rest upon the top of
Die A.71

page_text: shaft y, under pressure of die f; these buttons vary in thickness somewhat even
when cut at first to uniformity on account of unequal expansion or contraction in
subsequent drying, and when a thick button comes under the polishing operation
the spring allows shaft y to give and to prevent breaking the button or strain-
ing the machine; the strength of the resistance of spring e¹ is regulated by nuts f¹
on bolts. Nuts h¹ hold plates to proper elevation. Shaft y rotates continuously,
and as the carrier plate brings the buttons one by one under operation over and
upon the end of this shaft the carrier plate there stops for a proper interval, the
punch dief descends and presses upon the button; and the upper end of shaft
being roughened the button revolves with it, and thereby the upper face of the
button is polished by rotation against the smooth face of the punch dic. The punch
die then ascends, leaving the button in its sockets, and the button moves on.
If the button chance to adhere to the punch die it is detached by means as
follows: Inside the punch die is the extractor rod i pressed upward by spring j
As the punch die commences to ascend the vertical arm of the pivoted bell-crank
lever carried on the cross head strikes against bar k, pushing the lateral arm
downward, and thereby causing the extractor to project from the punch die, and so
detach the adhering button.
I have found that buttons with full back and thin edge, and flat or nearly flat
top will not always readily move out of the die which is on the top of shaft y, and
when they do not they are apt to be caught and broken by the rotating carrier
block. To obviate this difficulty with such buttons I construct the top of shaft y
as shown in central section in Figure 6, where y denotes the shaft in which is set
the extractor m³, pressed upward by spring n', kept from rising too high by the
cross pin o¹ running through the mortise 2, and from falling too low by the shoulder
m² abutting on the shoulder y².
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, 1 declare that what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent
is,―
1st. In combination the non-rotating die f, the rotating die y, and the spring c³,
substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
2nd. In combination the reciprocating die f, extractor i, and operating lever j
all substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
3rd. In combination the rotating carrier plate o, rotating shaft y, and extractor
m², all substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
A CLARK (1.5)