US1339766A - Guard for power-table driving mechanisms - Google Patents

Description

I. D. KAR LE. GUARD FOR POWER TABLE DRIVING MECHANISMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAYS, 1919 2 SHEETSSHEET l- INVENTOR flu). 4% BY 1 Patented May 11, 1920.

ATTORNEY J. D. KARLE,

GUARD FOR POWER TABLE DRIVING MECHANISMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, I919.

1,339,766, Patented May 11,1920.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY JOHN D. KARLE, OF ROSELLE PARK, NEW JERSEY,

ASSIGNOR TO THE SINGER MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

GUARD FOR POWER-TABLE DRIVING MECHANISMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Application filed. May 3, 1919. Serial No. 294,413.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN D. KARLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Roselle Park, in the 'county'of-Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Guards for Power-Table Driving Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

In factory installations where numerous small machines, such as sewing machines, are customarily arranged in rows upon long power-tables and belted up to power-transmitting devices and line shafting mounted beneath such tables, it is often desirable to provide guarding devices for shielding the operators, as well as the work, from contact with the belts, driving pulleys, &c.

The various guards heretofore used possess many disadvantages. The majority of such guards are made of sheet-metal and are comparatively costly to install. Some are constructed of hinged plates which when the guard is opened to expose the power-mechanism, are intended to rest upon the floor and are consequently in the way of the feet and knees of an operator making repairs to or adjustments of the power mechanisms. Others of the guards heretofore used are made up in the form of sliding sheet-metal doors. Inasmuch as one or the other of these doors must necessarily remain closed, the line shaft cannot be fully exposed and access thereto is more or less obstructed.

The object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive guard of simplified construction which may be readily applied to power-tables commonly used in garment factories, and which will effectively serve its purpose of guarding the operator against accidents.

A further object of the invention is to provide a guard which will effectively resist accidental displacement, but which may, when intended by the operator, be readily shifted to an out-of the way position to expose the line shafting, belts, &c., for adjust ment or repair.

In its preferred embodiment, the invention comprises afiexible canvas apron having its upper and lower edges stiffened preferably by parallel supporting rods. The upper rod is mounted horizontally beneath the power-table in suitable hangers which are secured to the under side of the tabletop. The apron is of such size that the lower rod or stiffener reaches to the usual foot-board with which power-tables are customarily equipped; said lower rod being releasably secured to the foot-board by suitable fastening means.

The present guard is intended for use in con unction with any suitable transmitterguard for the usual clutch-device used for controlling the speed of the machine to be driven; a preferred form of such guard being disclosed in the application of P. Hleb, Serial No. 294,486, filed herewith.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a power-table equipped with my improved guard. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the transmitter-guard shifted to expose the power-transmitter or clutch device. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the power-table. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the flexible guard and its supporting rods, and Fig. 5 spring-clips used for securing the guard in lowered or operative position.

The present improvement, in the form selected for the purposes of the present this closure, is embodied in a power-table of the well-known type, including the table-top 1 carried by the legs 2 which support a footboard or guard-rail 3 and cross-brace at carrying one of a series of similar hangers 5 for the line shaft 6. The transmitting mechanism of such power-tables usually consists of a so-called transmitter or treadle-controlled clutch device 7, the live member of which is belted up to the pulley 8 on the line shaft, and the driven member of which is belt-connected to the sewing machine 9 to be driven.

Such transmitters are customarily protected by means of a sheet-metal guard 10 of suitable construction, preferably such as disclosed in the said Hleb application. As the details of construction of the guard 10 is a detail view of one of the form no part of the present invention, further description thereof is believed to be unnecessary; it being understood that the guard is so constructed that it may be readily removed or preferably shifted from protecting position, as shown in Fig. 2, when it is desired to expose the transmitter 7. In the present instance the guard 10 is slidably hung from the rod 10 and may be shifted laterally to expose the transmitter.

In a power-table fitted with a transmittor-guard 10 there is usually a large open space above the foot-board 8 and between such guard and the adjacent leg 2 at the lefthand side thereof. The present improvement is designed to meet the demand for an inexpensive and efiicient guard for closing this space and thus safe-guarding the machine operatives. In its preferred embody ment, the present guard consists of a heavy strip 11 of flexible material, such as canvas, hemmed or folded at its upper and lower edges to form pockets 12 through which are passed the upper and lower parallel stiffen ing rods 13, 14, the extremities of which project somewhat beyond the lateral edges 15, 16 of the guard 11.

' The upper rod 13 is supported horizontally beneath the table-top 1 by means of a pair of hangers or brackets 17 disposed at the opposite ends of such rod. Each of the hangers 17 is constructed n the form of an arm having a base 18 at its upper end and an apertured boss 19 at its lower end for reception of the rod 13.

The lower rod let is secured to the footboard 3 by readily releasable means which may conveniently take the form of a pair of stout spring-clips 20 secured to the footboard 3 and having opposed resilient aws 21 forming an upwardly and outwardly opening'mouth into which the opposite ends of the rod 14: may be forcibly inserted when the guard 11 is being placed in operative position.

When access to the shaft 6, pulleys 8 &c., is desired, the operatormay withdraw or lift the rod it from the spring-clips 20 and fold the apron over the rod 13 or hang the rod 14tupon the hooks 21 which are formed on the lugs 19. By having the mouths of the spring-clips 20 open in an outwardly or forwardly inclined direction, accidental inward pressure upon the guard 11 will not tend to dislodge the rod 1 1 from said clips which, as stated, are made strong enough to resist being permanently bent in ordinary use. The guard 11 may be made of any suitable flexible material. If canvas is used, it may be fire-proofed by a treatment with water glass or other suitable sizing.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is- 1. The combination with a power-table including a table-top and power mechanism top, a rod below said table-top, of a guard comprising a pair of brackets secured to the under side of the table-top, a rod mounted in said brackets, a flexible apron supported at its upper edge by said rod and carrying a second rod at its lower edge, means for sustaining said second rod in operative position and means whereby one of said rods may be readily released to permit the apron to be folded to expose the power mechanism.

2. The combination with a power-table including a table-top and power mechanism below said table-top, of a guard comprising a pair of brackets secured to the under side of the table-top, a rod mounted on said brackets a flexible apron supportedat its upper edge by said rodand carrying a second rod at its lower edge, and devices for sustaining said second rod inlowered and elevated positions.

3. The combination with a power-table including a table-top, a foot-board and a power-shaft extending lengthwise of said foot-board, of a guard comprising a pair of supporting brackets secured to the tabletop, a rod mounted in said brackets, a flexible apron supported at its upperedge by said rod and carrying a second rod at its lower edge, and means for releasably securing said second rod to the foot-board.

4. The combination with a power-table having a table-top, a foot-board and a power-shaft extending lengthwise of said foot-board, ofa guard comprising a pair of supporting brackets secured to the tableible apron supported at its upper edge by said rod and carrying a second rod at its lower edge, and means for releasably securing said second rod to the foot-board, said brackets having hooks for supporting said second rod when the guard is raised to expose the power-shaft.

5. The combination with a power-table having a table-top, a foot-board, a powershaft extending lengthwise of said board, of a guard comprising a pair of supporting brackets secured to the table-top, a rod mounted in said brackets, a flexible apron supported at its upper edge by said rod and carrying a second rod adjacent its lower edge, and spring-clips secured to said footboard for releasably gripping the opposite ends of said second rodand thereby securing the lower edge of the apron in position closely adjacent the foot-board.

6. The combination with a power-table having a tabletop and a power-shaft extending lengthwise of and beneath the tabletop, of a guard for said shaft comprising a flexible apron, means for stiffening the upper and lower edges of said apron, and

devices for sustaining the apron at'its upper and lower edges in operative position beneath the table-top.

mounted in said brackets, a flex 7. The combination with a power-table ing the latter in operative position, and having a table-top and a power-shaft exmeans whereby the apron may be readily tending lengthwise of and beneath the tablereleased along one of said edges and folded 10 top, of a guard for said shaft comprising a to a position exposing said power-shaft.

5 flexible apron, rigid means secured to the In testimony whereof, Ihave signed my power-table and extending along the upper name to this specification. and lower edges of the apron for sustain- JOHN D. KARLE.

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