US2841106A

US2841106A - Sewing machine clamps

Info

Publication number: US2841106A
Application number: US506907A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herbert E Althens
Original assignee: Reece Corp
Current assignee: Reece Corp
Priority date: 1955-05-09
Filing date: 1955-05-09
Publication date: 1958-07-01
Anticipated expiration: 1975-07-01

Description

July 1, 1958 H. E. ALTHENs v2,841,106

SEWING MACHINE cLAMPs Filed May 9, 1955 AGE T United States Patent O w Reece Corporation, Waltham, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 9, 1955, Serial No. 506,907 Claims. (Cl. 112-237) This invention relates to a sewing machine and more particularly to means for raising and lowering a button holding presser foot of a button sewing machine.

In sewing machines for attaching buttons to a garment the garment is usually held by a work clamp which moves laterally in a horizontal plane so as to locate the garment and the button to be attached thereto in a position whereby a needle which reciprocates in a stationary Vertical path will pass through the holes of the button alternately. The amplitude of the lateral movement of the work clamp must also be adjustable to accommodate buttons having various spacings between their holes. The work clamp is usually provided with a lower member which engages the underside of the work andan upper presser foot member which presses down on the top of the work to hold it in position on the lower member. The upper member is usually in the for-m of a clamp which receives the button and holds it in place for sewing.

In this invention the upper presser foot member is mounted on a rod for vertical movement in a sleeve which is fixedly mounted on an upper extension of the lower portion of the clamp. Connections are provided between the rod and a treadle for raising and lowering the clamp. If the connecting means are attached to only one side of the rod, there will be a tendency for the rod to tilt in the sleeve and cause the rod to bind therein. If the means are connected to both sides of the rod the pressure on both sides must be equal or a similar binding will occur.

Since the position of the treadle and part of the connecting means will remain xed while the work clamp shifts the binding tendency of the rod in the sleeve will be increased when the clamp is shifted into its most extreme positions. In the case of the connecting means being connected to opposite sides of the rod one connection will be longer than the other and it will be necessary to provide a means for equalizing the lengths of the connecting means. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide means for actuating the button holding presser foot which will exert an equal pressure on both sides of the presser foot mounting rod when it is being actuated.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel means for raising and lowering a. button holding presser foot of a button sewing machine.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel means for equalizing the tension on cables attached to opposite sides of a rod which is slidable in a sleeve so that the rod will not bind in the sleeve when actuated by the cables.

Still another object of this invention is to provide means whereby the tension exerted on opposite sides of a presser foot for raising the same will be equal regardless of the position of the work clamp.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide means for equalizing the tension on cables having slightly different lengths and which are connected at one of their ends to a rod slidable in a sleeve and at their l 2,841,106 Patented July 1, 1958 ACC 2 other end to the same actuating member whereby bind# ing of the rod in the sleeve will be eliminated when the rod moves therein under the influence of the cables and the actuating member.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical elevation of the right side of the machine with parts broken away;

Figure 2 is a cross section view taken on line 2 2 of Figure l; and,

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings there is illustrated in Figure 1, a sewing machine for attaching buttons to a garment which comprises a bed plate 1t), an upwardly extending portion 12 at the rear of the bed plate 10 and an overhanging arm 14 which extends forwardly from the vertical portion 12 above the bed plate 16. The bed plate 10 contains the looper mechanism, not sho-wn, and the overhanging arm carries the needle bar actuating mechanism also not shown.

The overhanging arm 14 is provided with a central downwardly extending U-shaped portion 16 the legs of which are provided with axially aligned openings 18 and 20. The opening 18 is larger than the opening 20 and has mounted therein a bushing 22 which is provided with a central opening 24 therethrough having the same diameter as the opening 2t). A shaft 26 extends through the

openings

20 and 24 and has a portion thereof extending forwardly of the U-shaped portion 16. The shaft 26 is mounted so as to be freely movable longitudinally in the

openings

20 and 24 as well as being rotatable therein about its axis.

A U-shaped member 28 is disposed within the opening formed by the bed plate 10, the vertical portion 12 and the overhanging arm 14. The member 28 is open at the front and is provided with a boss 30 which receives the `forward portion of the shaft 26. The boss 30 is provided with a slit 32 and has screws 34 mounted thereon for tightening the boss 34 on the shaft 26 for preventing relative movement therebetween. Secured to or integral with the forward upper end of the member 28 is a sleeve 36 having a vertically extending bore 38 therein. A hollow rod 40 which has a spring 42 disposed therein is mounted in the sleeve 36 for vertical movement, see Figures 2 and 3. Secured to the lower end of the rod i0 is a button holding presser foot indicated generally at 44. The presser foot 44 coacts with the forward lower end of the member 28 to clamp the work in position.

The spring 42 is of a length so that it extends above the upper end of the rod 40 and the sleeve 36 is provided with a plate 46 which closes the upper end of the bore 33. Suitable screws 48 hold the plate 46 in position and the .spring 42 bears against the plate 46 to urge the presser foot 44 downwardly to clamp the work. The lower end of the sleeve 36 is'cut away as at 50 and a plate S2 is held in the cut away portion by screws 54. The rod 40 is provided with a slabbed portion 56 which bears against the plate 52 to prevent rotation of the rod 40 in the sleeve 36.

Fixedly secured to the shaft 26 intermediate the legs of portion 16 is a collar 58 having an arm, not shown, which is connected to a mechanism for oscillating the shaft 26 about its longitudinal axis. The collar 58 is provided witha Vslotitlwhich receives a pin 62 mounted on an arm 64. The arm1`64 is connected to a mechanism,

not shown, for moving the shaft lengthwise of its longitudinal axis. Thus it will be seen that the lower end of the member 28 can be moved from one side to the other so that the needle may pass alternately through the holes in a button held in the presser foot and may be shifted forwardly and rearwardly when sewing a four hole buttOIl.

The rod 40 is provided with a projection 66 extending from each side thereof to which are secured the ends of two cables 68 one of which is shown in Figure 1. The other end of each of these cables is secured to the end of one of a pair of levers 70, one of which is shown in Figure 1, and which are fixedly mounted on a cross shaft 72. Fixedly mounted on the shaft 72 is a lever 74 which carries at its upper end a pin 76 which is engaged by the forked end 78 of a lever 80 xed on a rock shaft 82.

Mounted on the rock shaft 82 is a lever 84 which has secured to its free end a cable or chain 86. The other end of the cable or chain 86 is connected to a foot pedal, not shown, by which the button clamp may be raised or lowered.

The cables 68 pass over sheaves 92 carried on the ends of a shaft 94 mounted in a bore 96 in the upper arm of member 28. The shaft 94 is enlarged in the middle and tapered slightly toward the ends as shown in Figure 2, whereby the shaft 94 can rock or tilt within the bore 96. Also mounted on the shaft 94 outwardly of each of the sheaves 92 is a guard 98 to retain the cables 68 in position on the sheaves 92.

It will thus be seen that by providing a tilting or rocking movement of the shaft 94 the position of the sheaves 92 will be automatically adjusted when the cables 68 are 'tensioned so that the pull on the opposite sides of the rod 40 will be equal. This will automatically compensate for slight variations in the lengths of the cables. Further since the clamp must be adjustable for various size buttons the use of shaft 94 will compensate for Variations in the distance between the ends of levers 70 and the projections 66 caused by the differences between the center line of the machine and the points of attachment of the cables 68 to the rod 40 when the machine is adjusted to provide more or less sidewise movement of the work clamp. t

' From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all 'suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, a work clamp, said work clamp including a lower work supporting member and a presser foot member coacting therewith for clamping work therebetween, a single post mounted on said work clamp for vertical movement thereon with respect to said lowerwork supporting member, said presser foot being mounted on said post for movement therewith, actuating means for raising and lowering said presser foot member with respect to said Work supporting member, said actuating means including a pair of cables connected to opposite sides of said post, and means for equalizing the pressure exerted on the opposite sides of the post by the actuating means when said presser foot is being raised.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said actuating means includes a plurality of interconnected links mounted for pivotal movement on said machine, one of said links being connected to a foot pedal, others of said links being connected by said cables to the opposite sides of said post whereby actuation of said foot pedal will move said presser foot member.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said equalizing means includes a pair of sheaves over which said cables pass, said `sheaves being mounted on `opposite ends of a shaft, and means permitting said shaft to rock about a point intermediate its length.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said work clamp includes an upper arm spaced above and overlying said work supporting member, a transverse bore having a constant diameter in said upper arm, said shaft being enlarged at its middle and being tapered towards its opposite ends, said shaft being mounted in said bore whereby it may rock on its enlarged portion.

5. An equalizing means for equalizing the tension on a pair of cables having one of their ends connected on opposite sides of a member to be moved and their other ends connected to an actuating member, said means including a pair of sheaves over which said cables pass, said sheaves being mounted on opposite ends of a shaft, and means permitting said shaft to rock about a point intermediate its ends, said last named means including an enlarged portion at the center of said shaft, said shaft being tapered towards its opposite ends, and a bore having a constant diameter in which said shaft is mounted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,119,100 Mills Dec. l, 1914 1,620,249 Corrall et al Mar. 8, 1927 1,841,958 Kendall et al. Jan. 19, 1932 2,327,021 Cushman Aug. 17, 1943 2,510,014 Faulkner May 30, 1950