Abstract: Provided is a buttonhole switch mechanism of a buttonhole sewing machine including a buttonhole presser mounted on a lower end of a presser bar of the sewing machine and having a presser frame, a buttonhole switch mechanism disposed on an arm section of the sewing machine, a feed dog disposed below the buttonhole presser to move cloth, a sewing needle forming stitches in the cloth with vertical movement, a controller performing control on the movement of the feed dog and the sewing needle, a fixing member fixed to a non-movable part of a sewing machine main body, a mount supported so as to be movable in the front-and-rear direction with respect to the fixing member, an adjustment mechanism adjusting and fixing the relative positions of the fixing member and the mount in the front-and-rear direction, a lever member supported by a rotary shaft provided at the mount, and the detection switch fixed to the mount.

Abstract: The sewing machine includes a presser body, a presser frame, a button holding device including a fixed portion and a sliding portion, a position detecting device including a sliding base attached to the presser frame and a sliding member coupled to the presser body and slidable with respect to the sliding base, a button diameter detecting switch, and a control device. The control device obtains, from the position detecting device, a shift amount of the presser body from a sewing start position when the button diameter detecting switch detects that a sewing operation is carried by a length that corresponds to a diameter of a button, and controls a drive of a sewing needle and the feeding of the workpiece such that a buttonhole stitch corresponding to the diameter of the button is formed.

Abstract: The device is designed for sewing buttons (28) using common household sewing machines. To simplify button sewing with household sewing machines, the invention proposes a button-sewing foot (10) which can be snapped into the pressure-foot holder (14) of the sewing machine. By means of retaining elements (26, 30) the button (28) can be pressed against the button-sewing foot (10) in such fashion that, independent of the position of the latter, the needle of the sewing machine can be aligned with a given button perforation (32).

Abstract: The present invention comprises a method and an apparatus for rapidly orienting and advancing buttons to be sewn. The invention employs a Programmable Logic Controller to control the steps of orientation and advancement and eliminates the need for time consuming set-up and adjustment of limit switches to control the movement of components within the button oriented and advancer. The use of a Controller to actuate the steps of orientation and advancement allows for the reduction of parts and consolidation of parts onto one plate that may be easily affixed to an industrial sewing head.

Abstract: A device for feeding buttons to a sewing position. The device centers the buttons and adjusts the width and height of a button feeding passage in accordance with the dimension of the buttons to be conveyed by a conveyor belt, thus appropriately arranging the buttons on garments at the sewing position. The device has two movable guide beds defining a button guide channel. A height adjusting unit is provided above the button guide channel and is vertically moved relative to the channel in accordance with the dimension of the buttons, thus adjusting the height of the channel. A width adjusting unit is operated in conjunction with the two guide beds so as to adjust the width of the channel in accordance with a width of the buttons. A centering unit is operated in conjunction with the width adjusting unit so as to center each of the conveyed buttons at an outlet of the channel.

Abstract: An apparatus for binding a button-fixing thread running through a button sewed on a garment or other fabric, which is capable of winding a binding thread around the button-fixing thread by several turns in a safe, simple, easy and convenient manner while forming a twist with the binding thread at every turn, thereby not only preventing the button from being separated due to a loosening of the button-fixing thread during a strong washing operation or an operation of passing the button through a button slit formed in the garment, but also achieving an improvement in the binding operation and an improvement in the reliability in use.

Abstract: A polarizing beam splitter for separating an upstream beam from a downstream beam according to the polarization of an incident beam is provided between first and second light sources emitting laser beams at respective wavelength and an objective lens. A phase plate for providing a phase difference to a beam incident on the polarizing beam splitter is provided between the polarizing beam splitter and the light sources. A portion of the laser beam incident on the polarizing beam splitter is reflected by the polarizing beam splitter and caused to be incident on a photo-detecting unit, so as to prevent an unnecessary portion of the laser beam is incident on the photo-detecting unit. According to the invention, the laser beam is used efficiently and the cost of fabricating an optical disk apparatus is reduced by eliminating a need for a gain controlling circuit in the photo-detecting unit.

Abstract: A button attaching device for attaching a button having four holes to a layer of material includes a holder having a front end and a rear end, four rodless fastener dispensing needles projecting out from the front end of the holder and two fasteners, each having a foot at each end of an elongated filament. Each foot is removably mounted on one of the rodless fastener dispensing needles. A cover is removably mounted on the front end of the holder and includes an anvil. In use, the cover is removed from the holder and the layer of material placed on the cover over the anvil. The button is then placed over the layer of material. The holder is then pushed in the direction of the cover so that the needles and fastener feet extend through the holes in the button and through the layer of material, with the tips of the needles striking the anvil. The tension on the filaments of the fasteners causes the feet to pop out from the needles.

Abstract: A self-contained button attachment assembly. In a preferred embodiment, the assembly comprises a fastener dispensing tool. The tool includes a hollow, open-ended, unitary housing having a top portion and a bottom portion. The top portion and the bottom portion are generally cylindrical in shape, the top portion having a substantially greater cross-sectional diameter than the bottom portion. Four hollow, slotted needles are fixedly mounted in the housing and extend out through the bottom thereof. Four ejector rods are slidably mounted within the four needles, the four ejector rods being fixedly mounted at their respective top ends on a plate that is slidably mounted within the top portion of the housing and is accessible through the open top end thereof. The assembly also comprises a conventional garment button of the type having four transverse openings.

Abstract: In a method for winding round the button stem of a button sewn by a sewing thread to an article of clothing, in which a winding thread made from an elastomeric plastic is wound on under tension onto the thread bundle formed from sewing thread between the button and the article of clothing, in a simpler manner a reliable fixing of the winding thread end is brought about in that the winding thread, following the wrapping of the thread bundle, is drawn off the stem in a direction roughly at right angles to the axis with a tension increased to beyond its yield point, before the separation thereof at the button stem. The thread end extending over several coil turns is firmly fixed between the previously placed coil turn as a result of its diameter greatly reduced by complete elongation. Two embodiments of an apparatus for performing the method are also described and the apparatus is constructed as a compact, esily handleable hand-operated device.

Abstract: A device for use in a button sewing machine which uses a wire of elastic material for maintaining looseness to that portion of the needle thread between a button and material to which the button is to be sewn while preventing the needle thread from being pulled out of the eye of the needle and at the same time preventing the wire from being warped.

Abstract: A button guide turning assembly for automatic button delivery system for delivering buttons from a button supply serially in a given orientation to button affixing apparatus includes a pair of elongate, spaced apart parallel button guides together defining a channel through which the buttons pass in the automatic button feeding system. One of the button guides exerts greater friction on the buttons than the other of the guides, thereby to cause the buttons to rotate. In order to facilitate appropriate spacing of the button guides for buttons of different diameter, a pair of elongate, spaced apart, parallel calibration elements together define at least one button-receiving area. Each calibration element is secured to respective one of the guides for movement as a unit therewith and is configured and dimensioned such that, when the two calibration elements abut a button in the button-receiving area, the guides are appropriately positioned to pass buttons of like diameter through the channel.

Abstract: A button sewing aid for use with sewing machines holds various size buttons securely in one position on the fabric during the machine sewing operation. A button holding jig has a groove cut therein, the groove having converging sidewalls which hold and support a button between them. An open channel extends from the front edge of the jig towards the rear edge and terminates at a base portion of the jig adjacent the rear edge. An elongated spacing pin extends from the base portion towards the front edge and is positioned within the open channel. The sew through holes in the button are positioned to lie on either side of the spacing pin.

Abstract: A sewing machine comprises a sewing machine support arm with a cloth feeding plate mounted on the support arm over which the material to be sewn is fed. A stop element is mounted on the support arm and it overlies the cloth feeding plate and it includes a portion which defines a material stop against which the material to be sewn may be positioned. The stop is made of a compressible material and it is compressible in the direction toward the feeding plate. A presser plate associated with the machine may advantageously be in the form of a button clamp may be moved downwardly into engagement with the stop which is raised slightly above the material and compress it downwardly until the plate clamps the material in place for the sewing operation.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to an improvement to spring type flexible chutes provided for delivering disk-like objects from a supply source to an attaching machine. The improvement includes a resilient, elongated spacer which may be inserted into the guideway of the chute for changing the space constraints thereof to maintain a uniform planar orientation of the disk-like objects between the supply source and the machine whereby allowing one chute to be used for multiple purposes.

Abstract: An attachment for feeding reinforcing back buttons to a sewing machine which has a feed for main buttons to a button clamp which is positioned over a work material which is moved through a sewing station to sew the main button together with the back button which is fed beneath the material comprises a plate member which is mountable on a support arm of the sewing machine over which the material is fed. The attachment includes a plate member over which the material is fed which has a button chute guide groove defined thereon terminating in a button recess having a button aligning stop edge. The back button feed chute is connected to the plate for feeding back buttons in succession into the recess against the aligning stop edge. The guide groove is advantageously machined in an exchangeable plate which may attach to the work support arm of a sewing machine.

Abstract: A pivotally movable cam having a double pointed looper thereon for seizing thread loops on one side of a sewing needle is formed with raised surfaces to engage the thread on the opposite side of the needle and thereby position the thread loops for looper point seizure.

Abstract: A button attaching device is provided with a bifurcated needle holding member which can be utilized to adjust the spacing between a pair of needles, and with a needle cover which attaches to the bifurcated member to protect one from injury by the needles and form a unit that can be conveniently carried on the person of a user.

Abstract: A button clamp assembly having an unalterable pivot and provided with interchangeable turret assemblies which cooperate with other universal assemblies in controlling the planar displacement of the articles being delivered to the machine's sewing station. The interchangeable assemblies are mounted in a manner permitting a consistent clamping relationship to be maintained between the turret assembly and the machine's work support regardless of the article's thickness or ligne/diameter.

Abstract: A button attaching tool is provided with a base, a pair of needles which have collapsible and expandable thread receiving eyes and which project from the base for use in penetrating a layer of material and the holes of a button to be attached to the material, and a member for stripping the material and button from the needles.

Abstract: A button attaching hand tool is provided with a box-like structure which includes a fixed and adjustable needle, and which includes a button storage compartment. A slidable shroud on the box-like structure for extricating a button and material from the needles is movable between a position in which an operator is shielded from injury by the needles and another position in which the needles are exposed for button sewing use.

Abstract: A button sewing device is provided with a base; a pair of needles which carry collapsible thread formed loops, and project from the base for use in penetrating a layer of material and the holes of a button to be attached to the material; and with elastomeric material over the base compressible by pressure on the material to which the button is to be attached, and expandable to raise such material and thereby cause the loops to be opened above the button for receiving a thread bundle.

Abstract: In the method of the present invention of sewing a button, simultaneously with guiding the needle thread through the holes of the button and through the cloth and forming from this thread a foot between the button and the cloth, a stem is also formed by wrapping the thread about the foot being formed. To perform this wrapping around the foot being formed with the needle thread, a reserve length of this thread is provided after guiding it through one of the holes of the button and through the cloth, this reserve length being used to wrap around the foot being formed, simultaneously with the successive guiding of the thread through the holes of the button and the cloth.

Abstract: Button stitching and sewing machine comprising a control disc with paths to control a needle swinging device and a cloth moving mechanism which is complete with an orienting device. Combined, conjugated control paths of the disc include first main sections for controlling button stitching, second such sections for controlling fixing stitches, and third main path sections for controlling the shank formation. According to the invention, fourth path sections are inserted for controlling through stitches, namely between the second and the third main path sections. Additional, optional features are also disclosed.

Abstract: An automatic button feeder is disclosed including a lifting mechanism arranged for facilitating disengagement of the orientating mechanism associated therewith. The lifting mechanism includes a slideably supported member means which is connected to the orientating mechanism of the button feeder by means of a curved leaf spring. An actuator, which is responsive to movement of the button clamp lifting mechanism, moves the slideable member, and thus the orientating mechanism connected thereto, whereby facilitating disengagement of the latter in timed relation to the sewing cycle.

Abstract: Apparatus for delivering buttons to and positively removing them from a sewing station after they have been secured to a fabric. A button loader feeds buttons to a button conveyor which moves them through a sequence of steps. An indexing means actuates the conveyor as well as an orientating means which aligns the buttonholes for the sewing step. After the sewing step a means operates on the button and attached fabric to force disengagement with the conveyor.