US2737133A

US2737133A - Spiral sewing attachment for sewing machines

Info

Publication number: US2737133A
Application number: US368372A
Authority: US
Inventors: Desperak Sam; Roschko Joseph; Desmond Gerard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1953-07-16
Filing date: 1953-07-16
Publication date: 1956-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1973-03-06

Description

INVENTORS.

ITORNEY.

2 Sheets-Sheet l SAM DESPERAK JOSEPH ROSCHKO GERARD DESMOND BY THEIR A March 6, 1956 s. DESPERAK ETAL SPIRAL SEWING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 16, 1953 March 6, 1956 s. DESPERAK ET AL 2,737,133

SPIRAL SEWING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed July 16, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS.

S A M DESPERAK JOSEPH ROSCHKO GERARD DESMOND BY QZM THEIR ATTORNEY.

United States Patent SPIRAL SEWING ATTACHMENT non SEWING MACHINES Sam Desperak and JosephRoschko, Brooklyn, and Gerard Desmond, Franklin. Square, N. Y.

ApplicationJuly 16, 1953, Serial No. 368,372

4 Claims. (Cl.i112-2) This invention relates'to a spiral sewing attachment for sewing machines and it constitutes an improvement over the spiral stitching attachment which is disclosed and claimed in our co-pending patent application Serial when of a fragile nature tends to become distorted and to tear and the spiral stitching also becomes distorted. Said attachment occupies a relatively large space on the sewing machine table.

The spiral sewing attachment herein claimed affords many advantages over our earlier spiral stitching attachments described in said co-pending patent application and consequently the present spiral sewing attachment constitutes a marked and very substantial improvement over the prior art. 7

In the present device, the work is-moved in a straight path toward and away from the sewing machine needle. There is only one cam in the present attachment and that is the cam which engages and actuates the work supporting means. The work supporting meansis simply a bar which is mounted for movement-longitudinally of itself in either direction, that is, both toward and away from the sewing machine needle. The cam which actuatessaid bar may be of the closed cam track top in which case the cam would not only thrust or propel the work supporting bar in outward'directionbut it-would also. pull or draw said work supporting bar in inward direction. The cam may, however, have only a single cam face along its outer edge, in which case it'would serve only to push or thrust the work supporting-bar away from it. A spring would be employed to maintain the bar in engagement with said cam face and to urge it in the direction of said cam when the cam tends to release it.

An important feature of the present attachment, as of the earlier patent, is the clutch mechanism whereby the-work supporting means may be stopped from moving at any stage of the operation of the attachment and whereby it may be moved to any selected position along its normal path of movement. Consequently, at the conclusion of one spiral stitching operation the attachment may be returned to its starting position preparatory to engaging in the next spiral stitching operation. Similarly, should the thread happen to break during the course of a spiral stitching operation, the attachment may be returned to the position whichit occupiedat the precise moment that the thread broke so that the stitching operation may. resume from that point on without any outward evidence of an interruption or breakirr the stitching.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1- is aplan view of a spiral sewing attachment made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. '2 is a fragmentary plan view showing a different type of cam mechanism for use in the same attachment which is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the attachment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is another fragmentary side view thereof, showing the work holding means, including the means for holding the work down upon said work holding means.

Fig. 5 is a view of the underside of the cam mechanism and clutch mechanism looking in the direction of arrows 5,5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a somewhat schematic plan view showing a work piece on the work holder.

The attachment herein claimed includes a base plate '10 which is mounted on a sewing machine table 12. It maybe set into said sewing machine table so'that' the work 14 will be supported on a common plane with the operative surface of the table top. 'U-shaped brackets '16- and 18 are secured to base plate 10 by means of screws 20 or other fastening means. Slidably supported onbase plate 10 and under

brackets

16 and 18 is abar 22- which may be described as the work supporting bar of the attachment herein claimed. At the forward end of work supporting bar 22 is a pin 24 which projects and points upwardly. It is on this pin that work 14 may be impaled; To hold the work on the work supporting bar 22 and to prevent it from disengaging pin 32 to work supporting bar 22.

It will be observed that a button 36 is provided below block 28- and for engagement therewith. This button is urged upwardly by means of compression spring 38. There is sufiicient friction between spring-urged button 36and block 28'to hold rod 26 in any selected angular position about=the axis of screw 30. It will be observed that block 28 is provided witha rounded corner 40 at itsback end. This rounded corner will allow block 23 to pivot about screw 30 although said block is continuously engaged by button 36. 'At the forward end of rod 26 is a hole 42 which is formed in said rod axially there When the workis impaled'on pin- 24, rod 26 may be pivoted inclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4 to the position which it is shown to occupy in said Fig. 4.

The spring tension'which button 36-exerts upon block 28 will tend to hold rod 26 in its sai'd'Fig. 4 poistion and-in-suh position said rod will prevent, displacement of the -'work from the work supporting pin 24;

It-will-be observed at this point that an arcuate' plate 44 is-mounted on the forwardlyextendingportion or arm of -rod- 26: When the work is rotated on pin 24 during the spiral stitching operation, it tendsto foldfup wardly and upon itself and this arcuate plate 44" engages the workandpreventssuch folding. ltwill 'be observed that a spring wire-'46 is secured at its upper end by means of screw 48' to the sewing machine head 50. At the lower endofwire 46' is a shoe 52 which is situated in front of the sewing machine needle 54. Shoe 52 engages the work as the work is fed'to the sewing machine needle and said shoe smoothes the'work and helps feed it smoothly and uniformly to the, needle. 7

It will be understood that work supporting bar '22 is 22 away from said sewing machine needle will now be described.

Cam 62 is pivotally mounted on a vertical shaft 64 for angular movement on a horizontal plane. An arcuate cam track 66 is formed in cam 62. A cam follower 68 is mounted on bar 22 for engagement with said cam track 66. Cam follower 68 may be a roller having a diameter which is but slightly smaller than the width of cam track 66. It will be understood that when cam 62 is caused to turn in one direction about the vertical axis of shaft 64, the engagement of cam follower 68 with cam track 66 will cause bar 22 to move in one longitudinal direction. When cam 62 is caused to turn in the opposite direction on shaft 64, bar 22 will be caused to move longitudinally in the opposite direction.

A variation of this cam arrangement is shown in Fig. 2 where a cam 70 is provided which is adapted to be used as a substitute for cam 62. This cam 70 does not have a cam slot or track corresponding to cam slot or track 66 in cam 62. Instead, it is provided with a cam face 72 along its peripheral edge and it is said cam face which cam follower 68 engages. An extension spring 74 is secured at one end by means of screw 76 to bar 22 and it may be secured at its opposite end by means of screw 78 to cam 70. The action of this spring is to hold cam follower 68 in engagement with cam face 72 of cam 70. It also functions as the means of pulling bar 22 longitudinally in one direction away from the sewing machine needle. Cam 70 serves only to push said bar 22 in the opposite longitudinal direction, that is, in the direction of said sewing machine needle. It will be understood that although spring 74 is shown to be attached at one end to cam 70, this is purely illustrative as it may equally as well be attached to a fixed part of the attachment, such as the base plate 10.

Shaft 64 is suitably supported in vertical position for rotary movement about its own longitudinal axis. At its lower end is a bevel gear 86 which is engaged by a second bevel gear 82. The latter gear is secured to a horizontal shaft 84 on which a pulley 86 is mounted. A drive belt 88 engages pulley 86 and suitable means, including a speed reduction gear box and the motor drive mechanism of the sewing machine, operate through said belt 88 to cause said pulley and said bevel gear wheels and shaft 64 to rotate. Actually, the speed of rotation of shaft 64 is such that the work will rotate any number of times, say as many as ten or fifteen or twenty times or more for each revolution of shaft 64.

Although cam 62 is mounted on shaft 64, it is not fixed to said shaft and it is possible, as will hereinafter be seen, for said cam and said shaft to move relatively to each other either in the same angular direction or in opposite angular directions. A disc-shaped member 90 having a hub or collar 92 is secured to shaft 64, either by means of pin or set screw 94 or by any other suitable and conventional means. Disc 90 always rotates with shaft 64 in the same angular direction. A ring-shaped bead or raised portion 96 is formed on disc 90 peripherally thereof. Engageable with said bead 90 is an arm 98 and more particularly groove 100 formed in said arm 98. Arm 98 is mounted at one end on cam 62 by means of screw 102 or by any other suitable means. An expansion spring 104 is secured at one end to the opposite end of arm 98 and said spring is secured at its opposite end to a pin 106 which is secured to cam 62. There are several such pins 106 and they are all disposed vertically at equally spaced intervals from each other and from the axial center of shaft 64. It will be noted particularly in Fig. 5 that pins 106 engage bead 96 of disc 90. In other words, these pins 106 serve as bearings between cam 62 and the peripheral bead 96 of disc 90.

Slot 100 may be an arcuate slot situated and oriented in such manner on arm 98 as to enter into concentric relation to bead 96 when arm 98 is in one position and into eccentric relation to said bead 96 when arm 98 is in another position. Spring 104 acts upon arm 98 to swing it to its last mentioned position wherein slot 100 is eccentric relative to bead 96. When arm 98 is in this position, the walls and corners of slot 100 engage bead 96 and any angular movement of disc thereby causes angular movement of arm 98 and cam 62 to which said arm is attached. The cam will now move integrally with said disc 90. When it is desired to stop the cam or to move it relative to disc 90, all that need be done is to swing arm 98 to its first mentioned angular position wherein its slot enters into concentric relation to bead 96. There is no longer any locking or gripping action between said arm 98 and said bead 96 and consequently arm 98 and cam 62 are free either to stop or to move relative to disc 90. This movement of arm 98 to a position wherein its slot is concentric with bead 96 takes place against the action of spring 104.

It will be noted that a second arm 108 is provided on cam 62. This second arm is pivotally mounted at one end on shaft 64. At its opposite end it is provided with a handle 110 which extends vertically upwardly there from. A second handle 112, also extending vertically upwardly, is secured to cam 62 a spaced distance from handle 110. By squeezing the two handles together, that is, by moving handle 110 in the direction of handle 112, arm 108 may be moved in clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1. It will be noted that a notch 114 is formed along one edge of arm 108 and said notch is engageable with a pin 116 on arm 98. As viewed in Fig. 1, spring 104 acts upon arm 98 to cause it to swing in clockwise direction and into engagement with notch 114 on arm 108, thereby causing said arm 108 to move in counterclockwise direction as far as it is permitted to go in that direction. When the two

handles

110 and 112 are squeezed together, arm 108 will be moved in clockwise direction against pin 116 and against the action of spring 104. Arm 98 will accordingly be caused to move in counterclockwise direction to bring its arcuate slot 100 into concentric relation with bead 96, thereby releasing said bead and freeing cam 62 for angular movement rel ative to disc 90 or for no movement whatsoever although disc 90 continues to rotate.

It will be observed that cam 62 is now free to be moved manually to any desired position as, for example, its starting position or to a position at which the sewing machine thread happened to break. Thus far nothing has been said regarding the stopping of shaft 64 and of the drive mechanism connected thereto. It will be seen in Fig. 1 that an arm 118 projects laterally horizontally from bar 22. Adjustably secured to arm 118, by means of screws 120, is a wire loop 122 which is closed at both ends. This wire loop may, when screws 120 are loosened, be moved longitudinally of bar 22 in either direction. Screws 120 may be tightened to lock said wire member 122 in any selected position on arm 118. It will be observed that a wire arm 124 projects laterally outwardly from the back end of wire loop 122. This wire arm 124 is engageable with switch arm 126 of a normally open microswitch 128. When bar 22 is moved rearwardly to its dotted line position in Fig. 1, wire arm 124 will engage switch arm 126 and will actuate said switch arm to close the switch. This switch is connected to the circuit which energizes the solenoid which controls the sewing machine clutch. Consequently, when switch 128 closes, the circuit to said solenoid will be made and the solenoid will be energized. This will disengage the clutch which connects the sewing machine to the sewing machine motor and the sewing machine will accordingly stop. Since the drive mechanism of the attachment herein disclosed and claimed is also connected to the same drive mechanism which operates the sewing machine, the closing of switch 123 will cause the attachment herein claimed to stop.

The foregoing illustrates preferred forms of this invention and it will be understood that the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims are sufficiently broad to encompass variations in the disclosed forms of this invention and also other forms as well. For example, when cam 62 turns in clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, bar 22 will be drawn downwardly away from the needle, also as viewed in said Fig. 1. It will be understood that the cam may be so oriented that it will draw the bar away from the needle when the cam turns in counter-clockwise direction. Other variations are of course within the purview of the present invention.

We claim:

l. A spiral sewing attachment for sewing machines having a drive mechanism operating a work feed and a needle, comprising a horizontal base plate adapted to be mounted on a sewing machine adjacent the work feed and needle, parallel guides mounted on said base plate, a work support slidably mounted between said guides with its front end facing said needle for movement in parallel relation to said guides, said guides being oriented on said base plate relative to said needle to guide said work support in a horizontal straight line toward and away from said needle laterally of the path of feed of the Work feed, a cam plate disposed on a horizontal plane above said base plate and adjacent the back end of said work support, said cam plate being angularly movable about a vertical axis and having a vertically disposed cam face formed thereon, a cam follower being provided on the work support in engagement with said cam face, whereby angular movement of said cam plate about its vertical axis causes the work support to move in a straight line between said guides in one direction relative to the needle, a rotary drive mechanism adapted to be operatively connected to the sewing machine drive mechanism, and a disengageable clutch connected between said rotary drive mechanism and said cam plate below the cam plate, operable means extending through the cam plate and connected to the clutch to engage the clutch and cause the cam plate to engage in angular movement about its said axis, and to disengage the clutch and free the cam plate from engaging in angular movement and thereby to stop the straight line movement of the work support.

2. A spiral sewing attachment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the cam plate has a cam slot formed therein for said cam follower, said vertical cam face being provided on one side of said cam slot and a second vertical cam face being formed on the opposite side of said cam slot, said cam faces being parallel to each other, whereby angular movement of said cam plate in one direction about its said vertical axis causes one of said cam faces to engage the cam follower and to push said cam follower together with the work support on which it is mounted in one straight line direction relative to the sewing machine needle, and whereby angular movement of said cam plate in the opposite angular direction causes the other cam face to engage the cam follower and thereby to pull said cam follower together with said work support in the opposite straight line direction relative to said sewing machine needle.

3. A spiral sewing attachment in accordance with claim L'Wherein a spring is connected between the work support and the cam plate to urge the work support in the direction of the cam plate and thereby to maintain said cam follower in engagement with said cam face, whereby angular movement of the cam plate in one direction about its said axis causes the cam follower and work support to move in one straight line direction relative to the sewing machine needle and against the action of the spring, and whereby angular movement of the cam plate in the opposite direction about said axis enables the cam follower and work support to move in the opposite straight line direction relative to said sewing machine needle in response to the action of said spring.

4. A spiral sewing attachment in accordance with claim 1, wherein the cam plate is mounted for angular movement in either direction about its said vertical axis and wherein the rotary drive mechanism is adapted to rotate in only one direction, said clutch comprising a rotatably mounted disc which is connected to said rotary drive mechanism for rotary movement therewith in a common direction, and a locking arm which is pivotally secured to said cam plate, said disc having an annular bead formed thereon and said locking arm having a slot formed therein which accommodates said bead, said bead being eccentric with respect to the pivotal axis of said locking arm, the side walls of said slot in the locking arm being thereby engageable with said head to lock the locking arm and disc against relative movement when said locking arm is in one angular position about its said axis relative to the bead so as to cause the cam plate to move integrally with said disc when the disc engages in rotary movement with the rotary drive mechanism, said side walls of the slot being disengageable from said bead by said operable means connected to the clutch to free the locking arm and disc for relative movement when the locking arm is moved to another angular position about its said axis relative to the bead, thereby freeing the cam plate from the disc and enabling the cam plate to stop or move relative to the disc although the disc continues to engage in rotary movement with the rotary drive mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,462,168 Denemark July 17, 1923 1,909,138 Vollmer May 16, 1933 2,086,835 Adkisson et a1 July 13, 1937 2,437,624 Sutker Mar. 9, 1948 2,551,261 Gensheimer May 1, 1951 2,674,963 Guide Apr. 13, 1954