US3003444A - Sewing machine zipper guide - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 10 1961 GARY 3,003,444:

SEWING MACHINE ZIPPER GUIDE Filed June 10, 1959 F27 5? 56 INVENTOR.

v. I BY SEWING MACHILNE ZIPPER GUIDE Lonnie M. Gary, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Jack Fromm, Shaker Heights, Ohio, as trustee Filed June 10, 195?, Ser. No. 819,481 3 Claims. (til. 112-235) This invention relates to a sewing machine attachment for applying metal slide fasteners to garments, and more particularly to a mechanism for guiding the slide fastener into proper operative sewing position with respect to the sewing machine needle when the fastener is being applied to the garment.

Heretofore, considerable difi'iculty has been experienced in sewing the tooth supporting cloth of metal slide fasteners or zippers onto garments with the seams or stitches at opposite sides of the row of teeth parallel to each other and with the tooth supporting cloth unstressed and unwrinkled.

Prior mechanism for holding such zippers in sewing position usually consist of a conventional hold-down shoe or presser foot which holds the zipper cloth and the garment cloth against a conventional advancing mechanism of a sewing machine, a guide being spaced laterally of the presser foot bar to engage the outermost edge of the tooth supporting cloth strips and thereby guide the zipper cloth strips into proper sewing position with respect to the needle. However, since the garment and zipper cloth cloth strips are extremely flexible, this type of guide operates very inaccurately and ineifectively.

An object of the present invention is to provide a slide fastener guide for sewing machines which accurately and consistently guides the zipper or slide fastener in a straight lineal sewing path past the reciprocating sewing machine needle under all operating conditions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener or zipper guide for sewing machines having a Zipper guide channel through which the interlocked row of zipper teeth passes during sewing and which is so arranged that its side walls engage the opposite edges of the row of teeth and guide the zipper by the teeth, leaving the tooth-holding cloth strips free at their outer margins.

Another object is to provide a guide in which the guide channel is elongated endwise to the sewing path, and extends a substantial distance along the path of feed forwardly, or both forwardly and rearwardly, of the reciprocating sewing machine needle so as to cause the two tooth supporting strips of cloth of the zipper to be positioned properly in advance of the sewing position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a slide fastener or zipper guide for sewing machines wherein the guide channel on the zipper guide is adjustable laterally with respect to the reciprocating sewing machine needle so that a single guide can be used with a single needle machine for sewing both tooth supporting strips in position, selectively.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine zipper guide having a guide channel adapted to guide the interlocked row of zipper teeth in a lineal path past the reciprocating machine needle by guidingly contacting the outer exposed edges of the interlocked teeth themselves, such channel having a height greater than that of the interlocked teeth.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine zipper guide that is simple to operate, inexpensive to manufacture, and very dependable in operation.

Briefly, the foregoing objects are accomplished by the provision of a sewing machine zipper guide detachably secured to the pressure foot mounting post of the sewing machine and having a longitudinal guide channel formed in its underside which is adapted to accurately guide the row of interlocked teeth of the zipper past the reciprocat- Patented Oct. 10, 1961 ing needle in a lineal path. The channel is formed to guide the interlocked row of teeth by slidably contacting the outer exposed edges only of the teeth, such channel having a height greater than that of the teeth. The channel extends a substantial distance forwardly and rearwardly of the needle. Additionally, the zipper guide is adjustable laterally with respect to the needle such that that guide channel may be positioned laterally from the needle any suitable distance, as required. With this construction, a zipper guide is provided that will accurately guide the interlocked zipper past the reciprocating needle in a straight lineal sewing path under all operating conditions.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be come apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a conventional sewing machine needle and associated presser foot-bar and showing a zipper guide assembly of the invention secured to the bar and positioned against the sewing machine base late: p FIG. 2 is a left end elevation of the view shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the zipper guide assembly shown in FIG. 1 and showing the relative position of the parts prior to their assembly on the presser foot bar;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the guide member shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a left end elevational view of the guide member shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the mounting bracket shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a left end elevational view of the mounting bracket shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the mounting bracket shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged broken view of a portion of the guide member shown in FIG. 2 and showing the interlocked teeth of a zipper operatively disposed in the guide channel, with a garment, to which the Zipper is to' be attached, disposed below the zipper.

Although the invention is shown and described herein with reference to guiding an interlocked zipper in a lineal sewing path past a sewing machine needle, it may be used for guiding any longitudinal, flexible or semi-flexible object in a straight path past a given point.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown one form of a slide fastener or zipper guide apparatus in the form of a guide mechanism or assembly A constructed in accordance with the invention and detachably secured to the presser foot post or bar 10 of a sewing machine. The guide assembly A, in the present instance, includes a mounting bracket portion 12 and a coacting guide member 14 which is adjustably secured to the bracket .12 in a manner to be described.

The guide member 14 comprises a main body portion 16 having an elongated guide portion 18 extending-in one direction from the body portion at substantially a right angle, as shown. Formed in the underside 20 of the guide portion 18 is an elongated, lineal, zipper-receiving channel 22 which extends the entire length of the guide portion.

In the present instance, the channel 22 is rectangularly configured in transverse section for receiving the upper exposed portion of a row of interlocked teeth of a conventional slide fastener or zipper longitudinally along the channel. The transverse width of the channel is sufficient to guide the interlocked zipper teeth longitudinally through the channel with ample operating clearance. Additionally, the height of the channel is greater than able guide members may be provided having correspond-:

ing size channels for receiving such zippers.

Needle receiving apertures 24 and 25 are formed in each side of the guide portion 18 adjacent the channel 22. With this construction, the guide assembly A may be adapted for receiving the two needles of a dual-needle sewing machine. In the single needle machine shown, either of the apertures 24 and 25 may receive the vertically reciprocating needle 26 mounted in the needle bar 27, since the guide member 14 is adjustable laterally with respect to the needle 25 as will be hereinafter described.

The body portion 16 of the guide member 14 projects upwardly from the guide portion 18 and terminates in a fiat rectangular ledge or shelf 30 formed transversely of the member 14. A threaded aperture 32 is disposed substantially centrally in the ledge 30. v

The bracket portion 12 includes an L-shaped guide shelf-receiving portion 35 having a U-shaped bracket member 36 secured forwardly thereto, as shown. The underside of the portion 35 is formed into a longitudinal channel 37 which is substantially L-shaped in transverse section and is configured to adjustably receive the shelf 30 of the guide 14 in coacting sliding relation. The ridge 33 on the bracket 12 slidably contacts the projection 34 on the member 14 to provide a steady, sliding coaction between the bracket 12 and the member 14. A slot 38 is formed in the top side 39 of the portion 35 for receiving the threaded portion of the lock bolt 40 therethrough, such bolt thence being threaded into the aperture 32 when the bracket portion 12 is mounted on the guide member 14, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the

diameter of the head of the bolt being greater than the width of the slot. With this construction, adjusting means are provided whereby the guide member 14 is adjustable laterally with respect to the bracket 12 and may be locked in any of such lateral positions by tight ening the bolt 40.

The bracket member 36 includes a mounting means for the bar in the form of a slot 42 configured to receive the lower end portion 44 of the pressure foot bar 10 in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The bar 10 is securely retained in such position in the slot 42 by means of the lock bolt 46, which passes through the slot 48 in the bracket member 36 and thence is threaded into the threaded aperture 49 in the end portion 44 of the bar, the diameter of the bolt head being greater than the width of the slot 48.

Operation of the guide assembly A in guiding a zipper in sewing position is shown in FIG. 9 wherein the zipper teeth 52 and 54 are operatively disposed in the zipper channel 22, with the zipper teeth supporting cloth strips 56 and the garment cloth 58 being interposed between the guide member 14 and the sewing machine base plate 60. It is to be noted that the channel 22 has a transverse width sufficient to guide the interlocked teeth 52 and 54 snugly, yet with ample operating clearance. Additionally, the height of the channel is greater than the height of the interlocked teeth. The channel guides the slide fastener by contacting the exposed outer edge only of the interlocked zipper teeth, leaving the tooth supporting strips free so they can adjust themselves to the line of the teeth. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the guide channel 22 extends a substantial distance 'forwardly, and preferably both forwardly and rearwardly of the reciprocating needle 26 along the sewing path. In FIG. 1, the sewing path is from left to right past the needle.

With this construction, a zipper guide is provided that very effectively guides the zipper past the needle in a lineal sewing path under all operating conditions.

By shifting the zipper guide of the, invention laterally, both teeth supporting strips of the zipper can be sewed accurately and successively with a single needle machine with assurance that they will be properly fastened in unstressed and unwrinkled condition at uniform distance outwardly from the row of teeth.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A slide fastener guide apparatus for guiding slide fasteners, which have interlocking rows of teeth with each row secured on flexible strips of material, respectively, so that the strips can be sewed in place with a sewing machine having a pressure foot post and an adjacentvertically reciprocating needle, and comprising, a mounting bracket, means for detachably securing the bracket to the pressure foot mounting post, a guide member, supporting means for adjustably supporting the guide member on the bracket for selective positioning thereof relative to the needle in a direction transversely of the sewing path, said guide member having a longitudinal downwardly open guide channel formed in its underside and disposed parallel to the sewing path, when the guide member is mounted on the bracket, for receiving with operating clearance the interlocked row of teeth and for guiding the interlocked row of teeth endwise of the row in the sewing path which extends forwardly and rearwardly relative to the needle, said channel extending a substantial distance forwardly and rearwardly of the needle when the mechanism is connected to the bracket, said channel being configured in transverse section for engaging with operating clearance those end surfaces of the interlocked teeth which face outwardly laterally of the interconnected rows at the 1 lateral limits of the rows, respectively, thereby to constrain movement of the rows of teeth to the lineal sewing path from a point substantially in advance of the needle to a point substantially to the rear of the needle in the sewing direction, said guide member having undersurfaces for engaging the flexible strips of material adjacent the lateral limits of the rows of interlocked teeth both forwardly and rearwardly of the needle, said guide member having needle receiving passages at and adjacent opposite sides of said channel, said passages being spaced a substantial distance from both ends of the channel and being positioned for alignment with the needle, selectively, by movement of the supporting means to different adjusted positions, and means for securing the supporting means in the adjusted positions, selectively.

2. The structure according to claim 1 wherein said channel has a height greater than the height of the interlocked teeth.

3. The structure according to claim 1 wherein the width of the guide member forwardly from said passages is less than its width rearwardly therefrom so that the strips are visible at opposite sides of the member at a location closely adjacent the outer ends of the teeth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,804 Brooks Aug. 2, 1927 2,151,346 Devoe Mar. 21, 1939 2,868,153 Gordon Jan. 13, 1959 2,909,136 Dixon et a1. Oct. 20, 1959 all, u

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