GB2265912A - Control pedal for a sewing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A control pedal (40) for a sewing machine for operation by a standing operator is arranged to lie outside the projected area of the working surface of the stand (10) on which the machine is mounted and is supported by the floor (for the operator's comfort). The pedal may be made up of two plates namely a support plate (46) which rests on the floor and a pedal plate which lies generally parallel to the support plate but is rockable back and forth on a rocking bar formation thereof. One end (44) of the pedal plate is connected to the sewing machine by means of a connecting rod. The support plate (46) may be hinged to a bar (23) of the stand so that the pedal can be moved to a stowed position (broken lines) under the working surface. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements Relating to Machine Stands This invention relates to machine stands such as sewing machine stands which are structures for supporting machines such as sewing machines at which personnel work.

For a large number of years, sewing machine stands have been of the sit down variety insofar as the operators of the sewing machines sit at the stands whilst working. Underneath the stand working surface the stand has frame members supporting a treadle or several treadles being foot pedals which are operated by the operator to control the opoeration of the sewing machine. A treadle pedal may be a one-way treadle pedal or a two-way treadle pedal. The one-way treadle pedal operates a single function of the sewing machine, whilst the two-way pedal operates one function when the pedal is tilted in one direction, and another function when the pedal is tilted in the opposite direction.For example, the two-way pedal may be arranged to operate the drive motor of the sewing machine when the pedal is pushed downwardly with the toe, and to operate automatically a stop mechanism when the pedal is tilted rearwardly with the heel.

Recently, it has been discovered that better working conditions and more efficiency result if the operators are organised to work in standing positions and in groups. When working in such position and in such groups, it is awkward for the operators to reach the conventionally positioned treadle pedals under the support surface.

The present invention addresses this problem, and provides modification to the treadle pedal operation for the sewing machines mounted on upright sewing machine stands, and in acordance with the invention, the treadle pedal is positioned for support by the floor and outwardly of the projected area of the support surface so that the user can stand at the working surface and comfortably operate the treadle pedal. A suitable connecting mechanism (which may be the conventionally provided connecting rod mechanism) couples the treadle pedal to the sewing machine in order to permit the operation of same upon operation of the pedal.

Preferably, the pedal is adapted to be moved to a stored position under the support surface when not in use in order to prevent the pedal from causing an undesirable obstruction.

The movement may be achieved by connecting the treadle pedal to the stand framework by means of a hinge so that the treadle pedal can be hinged between the stored position and the use position.

The pedal may be a one-way pedal or may be a two-way pedal, or in fact each sewing machine stand may be associated with two pedals one of which is a one-way and the other of which is a two-way pedal.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a specific pedal is provided and comprises a two-way pedal which is arranged for support from the floor so that the receiving surface of the pedal for the user's foot is above the floor surface by as little distance as possible, said pedal being tiltable in a forwards direction under force, or in a rearwards direction also under force, from a median position.

The two-way pedal is preferably stable in said median position.

Preferably, the pedal comprises a pedal plate hinged to a support plate which in use is supported by the floor, said support plate having a front end and a rear end, the front end being connected to the stand framework by means of said hinge.

The rear end may have a raised portion to which the pedal plate is hinged for the two-way rocking movement to form a rocking bar for the pedal plate.

The pedal plate may also have a front end and a rear end, the front end having a raised portion to form a toe stop for the user's foot.

The raised portion at the front end of the pedal plate may also serve as a mounting for a lug or arm to enable the pedal plate to be connected to the sewing machine operating mechanism.

Alternative arrangements are possible. For example, the pedal may be mounted by being connected to a support plate by means of a two-way hinge allowing the said forwards and rearwards tilting. Alternatively, the pedal may be connected to said support plate by means of a single pivot, and there would be rubber buffers or the like between the pedal and support plate in order to maintain the pedal in the median position.

In an alternative arrangement, a two-way treadle system for a sewing machine is provided and comprises two treadle pedals positioned side by side, one of said pedals being coupled to a sewing machine by suitable connecting mechanisms and said pedals being interconnected by a means such that downward pressure on one pedal causes the other pedal to move upwards and vice versa. The treadles are preferably hinged to their arm base plates or they may be hinged to a single base plate.

The pedal or each pedal as provided in accordance with the invention preferably is constructed or metal with rubber or the like tread pads and has a lug or arm to enable the pedal to be readily adapted to conventional connecting rods which are used in connection with the sit down sewing machine stand.

The lug or arm may be mounted on the pedal for position adjustment relative thereto in a direction transverse to the pedal length and the lug may have several connection holes, to facilitate effective connection to said connection rods The invention and the particular examples of the various aspects thereof, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a sewing machine stand of conventional form at which the operator sits in order to operate the sewing machine; Fig. 2 is an elevation similar to Fig. 1 but showing a sewing machine at which the operator stands upright in order to operate the machine; Figs 3 and 4 respectively are perspective views of sewing machine stand frames showing the different treadle pedals used in the case of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and Figs. 5 and 6 a perspective view and side elevation of the treadle pedal shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Fig. 1, a conventional sewing machine stand 10 is of the configuration indicated generally in the figure. The stand 10 has a working surface 12 and sewing machine 14. The working surface 12 is at an appropriate height to enable an operator 16 to operate the sewing machine 14 whilst in the sitting position shown.

Under the working surface 12 is a treadle pedal 18 which is adapted to be pivoted about an axis 20. The toe end of the treadle pedal is connected to the sewing machine by means of a connecting rod 22 which is made up of respective parts arranged in overlapping arrangement and a locking device 24 can be unlocked to enable the parts to be moved further apart or closer together to alter the effective length of the connecting rod 22. The treadle pedal 18 shown is a two-way pedal insofar as the operator can tilt the pedal in a downwards direction by applying toe-pressure in order to pull the connecting rod 22 to a down position, or can apply pressure to the heel portion of the pedal to cause the pedal to tilt rearwardly and force the connecting rod 22 upwardly.

Typically, a two-way pedal when tilted downwardly causes the drive motor of the sewing machine to operate so that sewing can take place. When the connecting rod is, however, pushed upwardly by the rearwards tilting of the pedal this may cause several other functions such as an under bed trimming function which cuts the cotton fed from the sewing machine to the needle, and may also cause the sewing machine to stop in a desired position in which the needle is out of the cloth material being sewn.

Also under the support surface 12 may be a second treadle pedal which is a one-way treadle pedal and which performs its function only when the pedal is tilted by the operator by downwards depression of the toe portion. Only the two-way pedal is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows in slightly more detail the construction of the treadle pedal shown in Fig. 1. The stand 10 is of slightly different configuration. The pedal is carried by a cross bar 22 of the stand so as to pivot on bearings 20 and the pedal 18 is provided with a bracket 30 which is coupled to the connecting rod 22. It is to be noted from Fig. 1 that the foot receiving surface 32 of the pedal on which the user's foot rests is of significant height X from the floor surface on which the apparatus stands.

As stated herein, it has been found that it is physically better for operators and more efficient if operators are in a standing position whilst working and recently, therefore, there has been introduced an upright sewing machine stand 36 (shown in Fig. 2) of which the support surface 12 is of appropriate height for a working operator 38 in the standing position Stands 34 and 36 may be one and the same stand, and it may be simply adjustable in height to move between the two positions. If a treadle pedal arrangement as shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 3 were to be adopted for the stand of Fig. 2 however, it would be most inconvenient for the operator to move his or her leg to a position under the support surface 12 to operate the treadle pedal 18.This has been overcome in a prior art upright sewing machine stand by providing electronic pressure pads on the floor surface which are operated by the operator. The pressure pads are coupled to the sewing machine through electrical connections but these are rather expensive and the present invention provides a relatively simple and effective arrangement for overcoming this difficulty.

In the arrangement of Fig. 2, the treadle pedal 40 (shown diagrammatically) is substantially at ground level and is positioned so as to be supported by the floor and to extend laterally outwardly beyond the projected plan area of the support surface 12 as shown in Fig. 2. The projected edge of the support surface 12 is shown at 42 in Fig. 2 and it will be seen that the treadle pedal 40 extends outwardly to a convenient position for engagement by the operator's foot indicated by reference 41. It is not necessary, therefore, for the operator 38 to move his or her leg to a position under the support surface 12 for the operation of the pedal.

As shown in Fig. 2, as the pedal is supported by the floor, the height of the foot support surface of the pedal is located at a much smaller level Y above the floor surface 34 and, therefore, the user can keep his foot on the pedal and still feel relatively comfortable and unstressed.

Fig. 4 shows, in similar fashion to Fig. 3, the pedal 40 when connected to the stand 36. The pedal 40 (shown in more detail in Fig. 4) is provided with a bracket 44 which is similar to bracket 30, and the bracket is in turn for coupling to the connecting rod 22.

Referring now in some detail to Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the sewing machine stand 10 is provided with the cross bar 23 on which the pedal 40 is mounted. Pedal 40 comprises a support plate 46 which in use rests on the floor, and at the front end of the support plate 46 is provided a vertical portion 48 to which is secured for example by welding one arm of a hinge 50. The other arm of the hinge 50 supports a connection plate 52 by which the pedal 40 is bolted to the bar 23 by bolts 54.

Bar 23 has adjustment slots 56 by which the pedal position lengthwise of the bar 23 can be adjusted.

At the rear end, the plate 46 has an upwardly and rearwardly inclined ramp or rocker bar portion 58, best seen in Fig. 6, and to this portion is welded one arm 60 of a hinge 62, the other arm of which is secured to the underside of a pedal plate 64. Pedal plate 64 as shown in Fig. 6 is as close to the floor surface 34 as possible and is spaced therefrom by the distance Y also indicated in Fig. 2.

Pedal plate 64 at the front end has a raised portion 66 which forms a toe stop to prevent a user from stubbing his or her toe against the upwardly projecting portion 48 of the support plate.

Operation of the described pedal will be clearly understood from Fig. 6 which shows the pedal in the median position, in which it is stable. The pedal can be rocked by the operator in a forwards or rearwards direction as indicated by arrow 68 in order to perform the functions hereinbefore described.

The upper surface of the pedal plate 64 like the pedal 18 may be provided with a friction gripping material such as rubber or the like and indicated by reference 70 in Fig. 5.

The pedal 40 is supported by the floor when it is in use making its operation effective and providing comfort to the user, but when the pedal is not in use, it may be hinged about the hinge 50, 52 in order to position the pedal as shown in chain dotted lines in Fig. 4 so that it lies under the stand working surface and rests on a further cross bar 72 of the frame 10.

A simple and effective means is provided for the pedal operation of a sewing machine when the machine stand is of a type at which the operator stands, for example as shown in Fig. 2.

The pedal 40 may form an integral part of the stand when it is manufactured, but preferably it is of a type shown in Fig.

4 whereby an existing stand can be converted.

The components of the pedal may be constructed of any suitable material such as metal or plastics, or any combination of these materials.

Claims (11)

1. In or for a sewing machine stand a treadle pedal positioned or adapted to be positioned for support by the floor and outwardly of the projected area of the support surface so that a user can stand at the working surface and comfortably operate the treadle pedal.

2. A treadle pedal according to Claim 1, wherein the pedal is connected or adapted to be connected to the stand so that it can be moved to a stored position under the support surface when not in use.

3. A treadle pedal according to Claim 2, wherein the movement is achieved by connecting the pedal to the stand framework by means of a hinge so that the treadle pedal can be hinged between the stored position and the use position.

4. A treadle pedal according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the pedal is a two-way pedal adapted to be rocked forwards from a median position to effect operation of one function of the sewing machine, and rearwards of the median position to operate another function of the sewing machine.

5. A treadle pedal according to Claim 4, wherein the pedal is stable in said median position.

6. A treadle pedal according to Claim 4 or 5, wherein the pedal comprises a pedal plate hinged to a support plate which in use is supported by the floor.

7. A treadle pedal according to Claim 6, wherein said support plate has a front end and a rear end, the front end being connected or adapted to be connected to the stand framework by means of said hinge.

8. A treadle pedal according to Claim 7, wherein the rear end has a raised portion to which the pedal plate is hinged for the two-way rocking of the movement, to form a rocking bar for the pedal plate.

9. A treadle pedal according to Claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the pedal plate has a front end and a rear end, the front end having a raised portion to form a toe stop for the user's foot.

10. A treadle pedal according to Claim 9, wherein the raised portion at the front end of the pedal plate serves as a mounting for a lug or arm to enable the pedal plate to be connected to the sewing machine operating mechanism.

11. In or for a sewing machine stand substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.