AN IMPROVED BUTTON HOle ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isidor Nasch of Whitechapel Road in the county of
·
Middlesex, Engineer for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED BUTTON HOle
ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isidor Nasch at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd September 1882.
ISIDOR NASCH of Whitechapel Road, in the county of Middlesex, Engineer
AN IMPROVED BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES
"
This invention relates to an improved button hole attachment for shuttle sewing
machines, the object of the improvements being simplicity of construction whereby
the attachment can be produced at a comparatively low cost, is not liable to get
out of order and can be easily applied to or removed from a sewing machine.
A suitable arrangement for carrying out my invention is as follows;
I provide a frame or bracket adapted to be fixed by screws to the head of the
sewing machine; the said frame carries on a suitable pivot or arbor, a combined
star cam and ratchet wheel a spring pawl works in the teeth of the ratchet wheel
the said pawl being connected to and operated by a lever or arm one end of which
pivots or works on the cam arbor, and the other end passes into the head of the
machine through a suitable slot, in such a manner that the reciprocating movement
of the needle bar (and the action of a spring) operates the lever or arm and thereby
the star cam by means of the hereinbefore described ratchet and pawl; to the
frame or bracket is jointed the upper end of a vertical arm or lever having a cam
or projection adapted to the herein before described star cam; to the lower end of
the cam lever is jointed one end of a horizontal sliding bar through the other end
of which passes and works a pin or rod connected to one arm of a cam or bell crank
adapted to turn on the needle bar and the other arm of which cam carries the
needle of the attachment. A spring keeps the cam lever against the star cam.
An attachment of this description being applied to a sewing machine the
operation would be as follows:

page_text: The material in which is cut the button hole to be stitched is placed on the
machine in the usual manner when stitching button holes, and the machine being
set in motion, the star cam operated as hereinbefore described, will by means of
the cam lever communicate a horizontal reciprocating motion to the sliding bar
which by means of the cam or bell crank on the needle bar will communicate a
horizontal curved reciprocating motion to the needle in addition to the vertical
motion it receives from the machine in the ordinary manner. By this arrangement
the needle carries the thread through the material at each alternate downward
movement, and the shuttle passes through as usual; the needle is then raised and
moves horizontally so as to pass over the edge of the button hole on its next
downward movement, the shuttle again passes through and the material being
carried forward the next stitch is made and so on; when one side of the button
hole is stitched, the material is turned and the other side stitched in a similar
manner to that hereinbefore described.
I
Instead of the needle having à curved horizontal reciprocating motion communi-
cated to it, it may have a straight motion communicated to it for which purpose
form the star cam with contrite projections
For "barring" the button hole, I employ a lifter carrying a cam so arranged as
to increase the extent of the horizontal movement of the needle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Isidor Nasch in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th March
1883.
ISIDOR NASCH of Whitechapel Road in the county of Middlesex,. Engineer
"AN IMPROVED BUTTON-HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES"
This invention relates to an improved button hole attachment or arrangement of
apparatus for use in shuttle sewing machines, or equivalent machines or sewing
machinery; the object of the improvements being simplicity of construction whereby
the attachment or arrangement can be produced at a comparatively low cost,
is not liable to get out of order and can be easily applied to or removed from a
sewing machine.
A suitable arrangement for carrying out my invention is as follows:-
I provide a frame or bracket adapted to be fixed by screws to the head of the
sewing machine; the said frame carries on a suitable pivot or arbor, a combined
star cam and ratchet wheel; a spring pawl works in the teeth of the ratchet wheel
the said pawl being connected to and operated by a lever or arm one end of which
pivots or works on the cam arbor and the other end passes into the head of the
machine through a suitable slot in such a manner that the reciprocating movement
of the needle bar (and the action of a spring) operates the lever or arm and
thereby the star cam by means of the hereinbefore described ratchet and pawl; to
the frame or bracket is jointed the upper end of a vertical arm or lever having a
cam or projection adapted to the hereinbefore described star cam; to the lower end
of the cam lever is jointed one end of a horizontal sliding bar through the other
end of which passes and works a pin or rod connected to one arm of a cam or bell
crank adapted to turn on the needle bar and the other arm of which cam carries
the needle of the attachment or arrangement. A spring keeps the cam lever
against the star cam.
Instead of the needle having a curved horizontal reciprocating motion communi-
cated to it, it may have a straight motion communicated to it for which purpose I
form the star cam with contrite projections.
For barring" the button hole I employ a lifter carrying a cam so arranged as
to increase the extent of the horizontal movement of the needle.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
the same by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which figure 1, sheet 1,
represents a front elevation and figure 2, sheet 1, a plan of the underside of a
button hole attachment or arrangement constructed according to my invention and
in which the needle has a curved horizontal reciprocating motion communicated
to it, the attachment or arrangement being shewn applied to the detached fore
part of the head of a sewing machine and the parts being in the position they
would occupy when the needle is raised and ready to pass over the edge of the
button hole; figures 3, and 4, sheet 1, similar views to figures 1, and 2, shewing
the position the parts would occupy when the needle is about to pass through the
material in which the button hole to be stitched is cut; figure 5, sheet 1, is an edge
view of figures 3, and 4, shewing the attachment or arrangement applied to the
head of a sewing machine; figure 6, sheet 1, is a back elevation of figure 3, and
figure 7, sheet 1, a similar view shewing the position the parts would occupy when
the needle bar has been lowered; figures 8, to 14, sheet 1, detached views of the
principal parts forming the attachment or arrangement; figures 15, and 16,
sheet 2, are a front elevation and an edge view respectively-shewing an attach-
ment or arrangement in which the needle has a straight horizontal motion

page_text: .
communicated to it; figure 17, sheet 2, is a back elevation of the same the fore
part of the head with the attachment or arrangement being supposed to be
detached from the machine. The several figures are drawn full size and similar
letters in all the figures represent similar or corresponding parts, except that in
sheet 2, capital letters are used.
I will first describe my improvements by reference to figures 1, to 14, sheet 1.
a, is the frame or bracket fixed by the screws b, to the head c, of an ordinary
sewing machine; d, e, the combined star cam and ratchet wheel turning on their
pivot or arbor h¹, in the frame or bracket a; the star cam is shewn in. detached
front and side views respectively at figures 8, and 9, and the ratchet wheel in front
and side views at figure 10, the star cam has seven teeth or projections and the
ratchet wheel has twenty eight teeth; f, is the pawl and g, the spring of the same
the said pawl working in the teeth of the ratchet wheel e; g', spring click for
preventing the backward movement of the ratchet wheel e; h, is the lever or arm
to which the pawl f, is connected and by which the pawl is operated; one end of
the lever or arm h. pivots or works at h', on the arbor of the star and ratchet
wheels d, and e, and the other end passes into the head c, of the sewing machine
through a suitable slot formed therein as shewn in figures 6, and 7.; the lever h, is
shewn in detached front and side elevations at figure 11; i, is the needle bar of
ordinary construction which (by means of the ordinary needle bar cam) in its
downward movement depresses the lever or arm h; j, spring for raising the lever
or arm when the needle bar i, is raised; k, is the vertical lever or arm jointed at 1,
to the frame or bracket a; m, is the cam or projection on the lever k, adapted to
and operated by the star cam d, as hereinafter described; this lever is shewn in
detached front, back, and side elevations at figure 12; n, is the horizontal sliding
bar jointed at o, to the lower end of the cam lever k; the horizontal barn, is shewn
in elevation and plan at figure 13; p, is the pin or rod passing and working
through the free end q, of the bar n, and connected to the arm r, of the cam or
bell crank, 1, which turns at s, on the cranked end t, of the needle bar i; the
other arm, of the cam or bell crank carries the needle u, of the attachment or
arrangement; the cam or bell crank is shewn in detached side elevation and plan
at figure 14; v, is the spring for keeping the cam lever k, against the star cam or
wheel d; z, is the lifter pivotted to, the cam lever k, for "barring" the button hole
by increasing the extent of the horizontal movement of the needle.
An attachment or arrangement of the construction hereinbefore described being
applied to a sewing machine the operation is as follows:-
The material in which is cut the button hole to be stitched is placed on the
machine in the usual manner when stitching button holes the slit in the material
being passed over the ordinary guide on the needle plate used in making button
holes and the parts of the attachment or arrangement being in the position shewn
in figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, with the needle u, ready to pass through the material, if
the machine be set in motion the needle bar i, in descending will by means of its
cam move down the lever or arm h, into the position shewn in figure 7, the needle
with the thread passing through the material and the shuttle will pass through the
loop; the needle bar then rising the lever or arm h, will be raised with it by means
of its spring j, and in its upward movement will by means of the spring and pawl
g, and f, move the ratchet wheel e, the extent of two teeth and consequently the
star wheel d, will move sufficiently to allow the cam or projection m, on the lever
k, to enter the following depression in the star wheel d, as shewn in figure 1,
which it will be caused to do by means of its spring v; the lever k, being thus
moved inwards will carry with it the horizontal bar n, which by means of the
pin or rod p, (which also serves as a guide) will operate the cam or bell crank r, rl,
and the needle u, will be moved horizontally into the position shewn in figures 1,
and 2, and on its next descent will travel over the edge of the button hole; the
shuttle then passes and the needle bar with the needle again rising moves the
ratchet e, and star cam d, as before, the cam lever being thereby moved onto the
following projection of the star cam d, so as to draw back the horizontal bar n

page_text: and move the cam or bell crank r, r, with the needle u, from the position shewn
in figures 1, and 2, back to the position shewn in figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, ready for
the needle u, to again pass through the material and so on.
By this arrangement it will be seen that the needle has a horizontal curved
reciprocating motion communicated to it in addition to the vertical motion it
receives from the machine in the ordinary manner.
The material is carried forward as the stitching proceeds in the usual manner
and when one side of the button hole has been stitched the material is turned
round and the other side is stitched in a manner similar to that herein before
described.
When both sides of the button hole have been stitched the lifter z, is moved into
the position shewn in figure 12, thereby increasing the surface of the projection or
cam m, on the lever k, whereby the extent of the horizontal movement of the
needle will be increased.
The attachment or arrangement shewn in figures 15, 16 and 17, sheet 2, is sub-
stantially the same as that shewn in sheet 1, except that the star cam D, is formed
with contrite teeth or projections and the bell crank R, R', is dispensed with the
horizontal bar N, being connected direct to the needle carrier R, which takes the
place of the bell crank and slides in the needle bar I, and consequently the recipro-
cating motion communicated to the cam lever K, communicates a straight
horizontal reciprocating motion to the needle instead of a curved horizontal
reciprocating motion as in the arrangement shewn in sheet 1. The ratchet wheel E,
is formed with twelve teeth instead of with twenty eight teeth as hereinbefore
described when referring to sheet 1, and the star cam D, has only six teeth so that
the ratchet wheel E, moves forward to the extent of one only of its teeth instead of
two as hereinbefore described.
'
I have invented a very convenient method for disconnecting or putting the
attachment or arrangement out of action so that the sewing machine may be used
for ordinary sewing purposes. This method has been made the part subject of
Letters Patent applied for by me on the twenty fifth day of January one thousand
eight hundred and eighty three N° 409 and will be found fully described in the
complete specification of the said Letters Patent.
In the drawings I have shewn the attachment or arrangement as applied to a
machine operating as in the ordinary Singer machines but it will be understood
that it is equally applicable to other classes of shuttle sewing machines and I have
described the attachment or arrangement as used for stitching button holes but it
will be evident that it is equally applicable for over seaming, herring bone stitching
and the like.
Having thus described my said invention and the best means I am acquainted
with for carrying the same into effect I would have it understood that what I
claim is:-
Firstly. The combination of parts forming the improved attachment or arrange-
ment of apparatus for use with sewing machines or machinery for stitching button
holes or equivalent work such as for overseaming or herring bone stitching or the
like arranged and operating substantially in the manner herein before described and
represented in figures 1, to 14, sheet 1, of the accompanying drawings.
Secondly. The modified arrangement constructed substantially as hereinbefore
described and represented in figures 15, 16 and 17, sheet 2, of the accompanying
drawings.
Thirdly. In an attachment or arrangement of apparatus for use with sewing
machines or machinery for stitching button holes or equivalent work such as for
overseaming, herring bone stitching and the like the combination of the star cams
and ratchet wheels d, e, D, E and levers k, K for communicating a horizontal
reciprocating motion to the needle as hereinbefore described and represented in the
accompanying drawings.
Fourthly. The combination with the lever k, of a lifter such as z, for the purpose

page_text: of increasing the extent of the horizontal movement of the needle when a button
hole is to be barred as hereinbefore described and represented in the accompanying
drawings.
In Witness whereof I the said Isidor Nasch have hereto set my hand and
seal this nineteenth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty three
Witness
G F REDFERN
Patent Agent
4 South St
Finsbury
I. NASCH (L.S.)