US2891496A - Presser roller attachments - Google Patents

Description

June 23, 1959 E; c, KUNES 2,891,496

. PRESSER ROLLER ATTACHMENTS Filed Oct. 26, 1956 2 Sheets-Shea}: 1

:5 i: INVENTOR.

Earle C. Kunes WITNESS I BY A TORNEY June 23, 1959 E. c. KUNES PRESSER ROLLER ATTACHMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct 26, 1956 lNVENTOR. Earle C. Kunes BY WITNESS United States Patent PRESSER ROLLER ATTACHMENTS Earle C. Kunes, Milford, Conn., assignor to The Singer I Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 26, 1956, Serial No. 618,605 '2 Claims. Cl. 112-214 This invention'relates to sewing machines and more particularly to an upper puller feed presser roller which when employed to cooperate with a bed-supported lower driven feed roller forms a puller feed mechanism drawing the material being sewn past the stitching point.

It is an object of the-present invention to provide a puller feed presser roller which is constructed and arranged in a manner such that, in the event that fabric being sewn has sections of varying thickness which are in engagement between the presser roller and lower feed roller, the puller presser roller will automatically compensate for the difierence in thickness to maintain a uniform and equal pressure on each fabric section and thereby draw the fabric past the stitching point along a straight line.

It is a further object to provide a puller presser roller device which is constructed as a unitary attachment, whereby the attachment may be selectively secured to or removed from a sewing machine having a lower feed roller to form therewith a puller feed mechanism.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a means for elevating said puller presser rollers out of engagement with the lower feed roller simultaneously with the raising of the usual presser foot, whereby the removal of the fabric from the sewing machine is greatly facilitated.

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of a sewing machine embodying the puller feed presser roller attachment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the machine illustrated in Fig. 1 and showing the puller feed presser roller attachment.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the puller. feed presser roller attachment taken along the line 3-3 of Fig.1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the head taken substantially along the line. 4--4 of :Fig. 2 showing details of the treadle lifting mechanism for simultaneously lifting the presser bar and puller presser roller section.

The machine embodying the present invention includes a bed 11 having a standard 12 rising from one end thereof, which standard supports an overhanging bracket arm 13 that terminates in a head 14 in which is journaled a spring depressed presser bar 15 and the usual reciprocating needle bar not shown. A cloth plate 16 is mounted on the bed 11 to form a work supporting surface. Behind the stitching instrumentalities and the presser bar 15 there is journaled in the bed 11 a driven lower feed roller 17 which may be driven either continuously or intermittently by well known mechanism not shown. The feed roller 17 has a serrated peripheral feed surface 18 which is arranged to project through an opening in the cloth plate 16 and cooperate with the upper puller feed roller attachment 19 carried by the head 11.

The upper puller feed presser roller attachment 19 comprises a rectangular supporting frame 20 having "ice formed adjacent one of the vertical reaches 21 an inwardly projecting attaching bracket 22 which receives screws 23 securing the frame 20 to the rear of the sewing machine head 11. Loosely journaled for vertical sliding movement in the spaced horizontal reaches 24 of the frame 20 are a pair of parallel presser rods 25 each having secured to its lower end a supporting bracket 26 carrying a horizontal trunnion 27 upon which is journaled for free rotation a roller section 28 which is adapted to engage the lower feed roller 17. As shown, the respective roller sections 28 are slightly spaced in side-by-side relationship whereby the roller sections 28 may each rotate about its respective trunnion independently of the other.

Yieldably to urge each of the roller sections against the lower feed roller 17 there is provided on each of the presser rods 25 an encircling coil spring 29 that abuts at its upper end against the shoulder of an adjustable hearing sleeve 30 supporting the rod 25 in the upper horizontal frame reach 24. At its other end the spring abuts against a split collar 31 secured to the rod 25.

The split collars 31 are each formed with a laterally projecting guiding extension 32 which is slidably disposed in an elongated slot 33 formed in the vertical frame reaches 21. This arrangement limits the vertical movement of the bars 25 and prevents the rods 25 from tuming about their longitudinal axis, whereby the respective roller sections are maintained in their side-by-side relationship. For the purpose of maintaining the desired sliding fit between the guiding extension 32 and slot 33, the guiding extension may be provided, as shown in Fig. 3; with a slit 34 which receives a screw 35 having a tapered head 36, which head 36 serves to spread the slit 34 and thereby renders the width of the guiding extension 32 adjustable to achievethe desired contacting or sliding relationship.

The roller sections 28 may be raised and lowered relatively to the lower feed roller 17 by either a foot treadle mechanism or a manual hand lift means. While in the embodiment of the invention shown both treadle and hand lift means are incorporated in the attachment, it is to be understood either may be eliminated without in any way affecting the function of the other. For the purpose of utilizing either type of lifting means there is carried by each split collar 31 a lifting plate 37, one end of which is secured to the inner side of the split collar 31 by a screw 38 which also secures a disc follower 39 on the liftingplate 37. The disc followers 39 on the lifting plates 37 are arranged in spaced side-by-side relationship in a manner such that each of the rods 25 are individually movable and when engaged by the hand lifting means are levated simultaneously to raise the rollers 28 out of engagement with the lower feed roller as will hereinafter be described. The free ends of the lifting plates 37 are formed with inwardly turned flanges 40 also arranged in spaced side-by-side relationship in a manner such that they are simultaneously engageable with the treadle lifting mechanism in a manner later to be described.

For the purpose of by hand raising and lowering the presser rollers relative to the feed roller, there is pivotally journaled in spaced ibearings formed on the lower portion of the frame 20 a shaft 41, one end of which extends beyond the frame 20 and has secured thereto a handle 42. Also secured on the shaft 41 is a lifting cam 43 formed with a camming surface 43a (Fig. 2) positioned to engage both of the disc followers 39 and simultaneous 1y raise both of the presser troller sections 28 when the handle 42 is lifted. To maintain the presser rollers in a locked raised position the cams 34 may be formed with a locking notch 43b.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the foot treadle lifting mechanism includes a lifting lug 44 secured on a presser bar lifting strap 45 and located to engage the inturned flanges 40. The lower end portion of the lifting strap 45 is provided with an elongated slot 46 through which a lateral lifting finger 47 clamped on the upper end of the presser bar 15 extends. The other end of the lifting strap 45 is connected to an arm of a bell crank 48 pivotally carried on the head 14. Connected to the other arm of the bell crank 48 is one end of a link 50, the other end of which is connected to a second bell crank 51 which is connected to a treadle (not shown) by a chain 52. In the absence of a lifting force exerted on the treadle, the presser bar 15 is normally yieldably urged downwardly by a leaf spring 54 engaging the upper end of the bar, the lower end of the lifting strap abutting against a stop pin 53. In this position the lifting finger 47 is freely yieldably movable in the lifting strap slot 45 and the presser roller lifting lug 44 is located in alignment and :below both of the inwardly turned flanges 40 of the lifting plate. When the rollers are to be raised, the treadle is depressed whereupon the lifting strap 45 and lifting lug 44 substantially simultaneously engage the presser foot lifting finger 47 and the lifting plate flanges 40 respectively and raise the presser roller sections relatively to the cloth plate 16.

From the foregoing description it is readily apparent that the presser roller attachment of the present invention has many advantages particularly in the event that the fabric being stitched and passing beneath the roller sections is formed with a seam which only partially extends along the length of puller feed mechanism. With the present structure, wherein the presser roller comprises a plurality of presser roller sections 28 which are each independently mounted on individual yieldably movable supporting bars, the presser roller sections over the seamed and unseamed sections of fabric may automatically yield relatively to each other, whereby the varying thicknesses of seamed and unseamed fabric are each maintained against the lower feed roller with a uniform and equal pressure. Accordingly, the pull exerted on each of the fabric sections is substantially equal and the fabric will be drawn through the stitching instrumentalities along a straight line. By the provision of the adjustable bearing sleeves 30, which abut against the upper ends of the coil springs 29, the amount of pressure exerted by each roller section may be determined and the direction of pull on the fabric sections beneath the roller section may be accurately controlled. Thus, if for any reason the force of springs 29 become unbalanced and the pressure exerted on the different thickness fabric sections is not equal and the material is thereby pulled past the stitching instrumentalities on a curved line, by merely adjusting the bearing sleeves 30 the equal pressure may be again obtained to exert a straight line pull on each fabric section.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

1. A sewing machine including a bed and a lower feed roller journaled therein, a head and including a presser bar mounted therein, a plurality of rods mounted on said head for limited axial movement substantially normal to the bed, a puller presser roller section rotatably carried by each of said rods and arranged in side-by-side relationship along a line transversely of the direction of feed, a resilient means on each of said rods normally urging said puller presser rollers into axial alignment and into engagement with said lower feed roller and yielding to permit independent movement of said puller presser roller sections relatively to each other away from said lower feed roller whereby when fabric having sections of varying thicknesses transversely of the direction of feed passes beneath each of said presser roller sections said presser roller sections are movable out of axial alignment and the varying thicknesses of fabric sections are each maintained on said roller feed with an equal pressure, and lifting means mounted on said sewing machine head and operatively associated with each of said rods and said presser bar substantially simultaneously to raise said presser bar and said presser roller sections away from said bed.

2. A sewing machine including a bed and lower feed roller journaled therein, a head and including a presser bar mounted therein, a plurality of rods mounted on said head for limited axial movement substantially normal to the bed, a puller presser roller rotatably carried by each of said rods, resilient means engaging each of said rods normally urging said puller presser rollers into axial alignment and into engagement with said lower feed roller and yielding to permit independent movement of said puller presser roller sections relatively to each other away from said lower feed roller whereby when fabric having sections of varying thickness passes beneath each of said presser roller sections said roller sections are mova-ble out of axial alignment and the varying thicknesses of fabric sections are each maintained on said roller feed with equal pressure, a lifting plate secured to each of said rods, and lifting means arranged on said head and engageable with said lifting plates and said presser bar substantially simultaneously to raise said presser bar and said roller'sections away from said bed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,715,119 Clarkson May 28, 1929 2,401,216 Becker May 28, 1946 2,726,614 Hale Dec. 13, 1955 2,741,197 Winberg Apr. 10, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 430 Great Britain of 1865

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