GB2218119A - Sewing machine hem edge guide - Google Patents

Abstract

A sewing machine hem edge guide (10) is adapted to be mounted at a sewing machine work station comprising a work table (11) and a sewing machine (12). The guide (10) co-operates with a stitching head (13) of the sewing machine (12), by guiding the edge of a piece of fabric in a folded-over manner to the stitching head (13) so that operation of the latter can form a stitch line or lines which form a hem along the edge, and the guide comprises: an inclined guide plate (14) which is positionable in line with the stitching head (13) so as to define a predetermined edge feeding line for a piece of fabric, an edge guide (17) positionable downstream of the guide plate (14) so as to guide the folded-over edge of the piece of fabric to the stitching head (13) and a guide nose (18) positionable so as to co-operate with the edge guide (17) in order to engage the folded-over fabric edge to guide the latter in a substantially flattened state to the stitching head (13). The guide nose also acts to uncurl an inwardly curled edge of the workpiece. A profiled guide plate 20 uncurls an outwardly curled workpiece edge. There is an underply trimmer 24 to trim the underply prior to advancement of the workpiece to the stitching head 13 and an edge guide 25. <IMAGE>

Description

SEWING MACHINE HEM EDGE GUIDE This invention relates to a sewing machine hem edge guide and has been developed primarily, though not exclusively, with a view to providing improved stitching of hems along fabric edges which have an inherent tendency to curl along their edges.

Examples of fabric which tend to curl along their edges include fine knitted fabrics, and there are considerable problems, with existing sewing machines and hemming folders, in providing a satisfactory quality of stitched hem along garments made from such fabrics. Thus, upon presentation of such a fabric to a machine foot of a sewing machine, with this edge folded-over to form a hem which can be stitched, there is a tendency for the fabric to curl, with consequent non-uniform presentation of the hem to the machine foot and as a result the production process is a laborious and tedious one.Indeed, in the case of very badly curled fabrics (especially inward curling fabrics), the hemming process with existing techniques would have proved impractical, without first carrying out a costly pre-overlock neatening operation, in an attempt to stabilise the fabric edge prior to the hemming operation. The curling which takes place sometimes is in the form of an inward curl, and sometimes an outward curl, but in either event there are problems in forming uniform hem stitching.

There is therefore a clear need to provide a hem fabric edge guiding and hemming system which incorporated fabric uncurling facilities and hem width adjustments and which can operate more reliably on an automated or semiautomated basis and in a way which places less demand on operator skill to achieve a satisfactory result.

According to the invention there is provided a sewing machine hem edge guide which is adapted to be mounted on a work table so as to co-operate with a stitching head of a sewing machine by guiding the edge of a piece of fabric in a folded-over manner to the stitching head so that operation of the latter can form a stitch line or lines which form a hem along said edge, in which the guide comprises: an inclined guide plate which is positionable in line with the stitching head so as to define a predetermined edge feeding line for a piece of fabric which is to be hemmed by the stitching head; an edge guide positionable downstream of the guide plate so as to guide the folded-over edge of the piece of fabric to the stitching head; and a guide nose positionable so as to co-operate with the edge guide in order to engage the the folded-over fabric edge so as to guide the latter in a substantially flattened state to the stitching head.

The hem edge guide according to the invention is therefore able to guide, smoothly and accurately to the stitching head, a folded-over edge of a piece of fabric (which may not be flat i.e. curled, or which has a tendency to curl), in a flattened state so that hemmed edges can be formed of uniform required width throughout their length.

This therefore reduces the requirement for special skill and attention to be paid by the machine operator for each operation. and therefore enables good quality products to be produced on a continuous basis without placing undue demands on the operator.

Preferably, the hem edge guide is in the form of an attachment which can be readily mounted on the platform or work table on which an industrial type sewing machine is mounted, such as a Pegasus machine (W664-34 Type) having a left hand fabric trimming facility and fabric waste removal via a suction removal system.

When the attachment is mounted in position, this will be such as to co-operate with vertically reciprocating type scissors which trims the folded-over hem edge prior to presentation to the stitching head.

The nose guide is particularly suitable for uncurling a fabric edge which has an inward curl, though it should be understood that it can be operated with already flattened material, or that having an outward curl.

To facilitate the uncurling of an outwardly curled folded-over fabric edge, a profiled guide plate may be provided which is arranged so as to guide the outwardly curled fabric edge and then cause it to be flattened as it is passed to the guide nose.

The inclined guide plate may have a guide line which is adjustable laterally of the feed path to the stitching head, so as to permit variation in hem width.

The edge guide and the nose guide are preferably linearly reciprocable from an inoperative position in which a fresh fabric piece can be introduced, to an operative position in which they co-operate to guide the fabric edge to the stitching head.

One embodiment of the sewing machine hem edge guide according to the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a sewing machine working station or platform to which a sewing machine hem edge guide according to the invention may be mounted as an attachment; Figure 2 is a schematic perspective illustration of the hem edge guide according to the invention, and illustrating the manner by which a folded-over fabric edge can be guided thereby to the stitching head of a sewing machine; and, Figure 2a is a detailed view of an edge guide and a guide nose of the hem edge guide shown in Figure 2.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is shown schematically in plan view an embodiment of sewing machine hem edge guide according to the invention, which is designated generally by reference 10, and which is adapted to be mounted at a sewing machine work station which comprises a work table 11 and a sewing machine 12. The guide 10 co-operates with a stitching head 13 of the sewing machine 12, by guiding the edge of a piece of fabric in a folded-over manner to the stitching head 13 so that operation of the latter can form a stitch line or lines in order to complete the formation of a hem along the edge. In the illustrated embodiment, the stitching head 13 is a double needle head, so that two lines of stitching can be formed.

The guide 10 comprises an inclined guide plate 14 which is mounted along a front edge 15 of the work platform of the sewing machine 12, and is inclined to the vertical, so as to form a guide platform along which a piece of fabric can be passed upwardly and then forwardly towards further parts of the guide 10. The guide plate 14 is positioned in line with the stitching head 13, and is able to define a predetermined edge feeding line for a piece of fabric which is to be hemmed by the stitching head. In particular, the guide plate 14 has a guide line indicator 16 which is adjustable laterally of the feed path to the stitching head 13, so as to permit variation in hem widths, and/or the amount of fabric margin to be removed during the trimming process.

Downstream of the inclined guide plate 14, with respect to the direction of feed of the fabric edge to the stitching head 13, there is arranged a curved edge guide 17 which is linearly reciprocable between a withdrawn inoperative position, (not shown in Figure 1), to an operative position in which it can guide the folded-over edge of the piece of fabric to the stitching head 13.

There is also provided a guide nose 18, which cooperates with the edge guide 17, in a manner to be described in more detail below, and which functions to engage a folded-over fabric edge so as to guide the latter in a substantially flattened state to the stitching head 13, operating in conjunction with the edge guide 17.

The guide nose 18 also is linearly reciprocable from its withdrawn and inoperative position shown in Figure 1, to a position closely adjacent to the advanced position of the edge guide 17, for fabric edge guiding purposes.

A fabric support/guide bar arrangement 19 is provided, extending substantially horizontally over the surface of the work table 11, at a level substantially that of the upper edge of the inclined guide plate 14, so as to facilitate guiding of the major part of the piece of fabric as its folded-over edge is fed to the stitching head 13 for hemming to take place.

The guide nose 18 serves to uncurl and to flatten the underlying portion of a folded-over fabric edge and feed the fabric edge towards the fabric trimming knife, especially when the fabric is of such a character that it tends to form an inward curl.

In addition, to enable the guide 10 to function with an outwardly curled folded-over fabric edge, a profiled guide plate 20 is provided, arranged intermediate the guide plate 14 and the guide nose 18, and which defines inclined guide surfaces which function to guide the outwardly curled fabric edge towards a feed gap defined between the guide nose 18 and the edge guide 17 towards the fabric trimmer 24, so as to flatten any curled edge prior to passage to the stitching head 13. The plate 20 may be adjusted in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis taken generally through pivot point 20a, to provide optimum fabric control/uncurling of an outwardly curled fabric edge.

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the component parts of a sewing machine hem edge guide attachment according to the invention, and Figure 2 shows in more detail the construction and arrangement of the component parts. Corresponding parts are therefore designated by the same reference numerals. As can be seen from Figure 2, both the inclined guide plate 14, and also the guide nose 18 are laterally adjustable to suit requirements, and the guide plate 14 is also vertically adjustable to suit requirements. There is shown a piece of fabric 21 having a folded-over edge 22 with an underlying narrow ply 23 which has been guided by the hem guide 10 and is now being advanced towards the stitching head for the hem to be formed permanently.The piece of fabric 21 has its edge folded underneath, and it may be assumed that it has an edge curl as shown in the detail by reference 22a in Figure 2. The fabric piece 21 will therefore be advanced upwardly over the inclined guide plate 14, at an appropriate lateral position, and then advanced forwardly to the guide nose 18, which takes the form of a bulbous nose plough, and this functions so as to flatten any edge curling, and subsequently an underply trimmer 24 operates in order to trim the edge of the underply, prior to advancement to the stitching head 13 and an edge guide 25 co-operating therewith. It will be noted that the edge guide 25 is linearly reciprocable towards and away from the stitching head 13.

In the event of a fabric piece being presented, having an edge curled as shown by reference 22b in the detail of Figure 2, the folded over fabric edge will be guided first to the profiled guide plate 20, which guides the fabric edge, while uncurling it, to the nose 18 which operates, in co-operation with the hem former/edge guide 17, to guide and flatten the fabric edge and then advance it to the stitching head.

Therefore, the illustrated embodiment of hem edge guide according to the invention is able to flatten any curls or unevennesses in a folded-over fabric edge, and to guide the fabric edge to the stitching head in such a way that a substantially uniform width of hem is presented to the stitching head, without the need for any speciallised skills. Of course, in addition to operating with inwardly and outwardly curled fabric edges, the guide can function satisfactorily with initially flat material, such as shown by reference 22c in Figure 2.

The embodiment of the invention therefore provides a simple but reliable operating/control system for ensuring satisfactory guiding and flattening of folded-over fabric edges which require hemming, and without the need for air jets or the like, though of course these could be provided if required for certain circumstances.

Claims (8)

1. A sewing machine hem edge guide which is adapted to be mounted on a work table so as to co-operate with a stitching head of a sewing machine by guiding the edge of a piece of fabric in folded-over manner to the stitching head so that operation of the latter can form a stitch line or lines which form a hem along said edge, in which the guide comprises: an inclined guide plate which is positionable in line with the stitching head so as to define a predetermined edge feeding line for a piece of fabric which is to be hemmed by the stitching head; an edge guide positionable downstream of the guide plate so as to guide the folded-over edge of the piece of fabric to the stitching head; and, a guide nose positionable so as to co-operate with the edge guide in order to engage the folded-over fabric edge so as to guide the latter in a substantially flattened state to the stitching head.

2. A guide according to Claim 1, and adapted to be mounted on the platform or work table on which a sewing machine is mounted.

3. A guide according to Claim 2, in which the sewing machine has a left hand fabric trimming facility and fabric waste removal via a suction removal system.

4. A guide according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a profiled guide plate is provided which is arranged so as to guide the outwardly curled fabric edge and then cause is to be flattened as it is passed to the guide nose.

5. A guide according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the inclined guide plate has a guide line which is adjustable laterally of the feed path to the stitching head, so as to permit variation in hem width.

6. A guide according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the edge guide and the nose guide are linearly reciprocable from an inoperative position in which a fresh fabric piece can be introduced, to an operative position in which they co-operate to guide the fabric edge to the stitching head.

7. A guide according to Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

8. A sewing machine working station or platform provided with a guide according to any one of the preceding claims.