US3051538A - Sewing machine cabinet - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 28, 1962 .1. T. PARSONS SEWING MACHINE CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 19, 1960 Joe 7. 94.60/75 ATTORNEK Aug. 28, 1962 J. T. PARSONS 3,051,538

SEWING MACHINE CABINET Filed Sept. 19, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I,

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ilnited States atent @iifise 3,051,538 SEWING MACHINE CABINET Joe '1. Parsons, Box 212, Osceola, Ark. Filed Sept. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 56,796 2 Claims. (Cl. 312-30) This invention relates to cabinets for sewing machines and has particular applicability to cabinets for sewing machines of the free-arm type.

As will be known to those familiar with the sewing machine art, most free-arm machines are sold as portable units. When sold in this manner the machines are accompanied by a carrying case having removable sides so that the machine can be uncovered for use. If the machine is to be used for Work in which the free-arm is necessary (for example, the forming of any hollow tubular element such as a sleeve) satisfactory results can be obtained by merely placing the uncased machine on a table or other work bench. However, in situations where it is desired to employ the machine for conventional flat bed sewing, the small surface area of the bed coupled with the awkward spacing of the bed high above the base of the machine, makes the use of the machine for such purposes difiicult. There is no support for the fabric adjacent the bed and, consequently, it is not an easy task to maintain free feed of the material through the machine.

Accordingly, there have been provided cabinets designed to provide removable support surfaces adjacent the freearm so that at the selection of the operator the sewing machine can be used either for flat bed or free-arm work. The machine is carried by a shelf or supporting platform located within and below the level of the top of the cabinet. The platform is hinged so that when not in use the platform can be lowered in the cabinet to bring the machine fully therein.

The present invention has for one of its principal objects the provision of a unique latching arrangement for releasably engaging and holding the machine supporting platform in its elevated or normal working position. One of the principal advantages of the invention is that it provides a latch mechanism so constructed as to permit disengagement of the latch mechanism from the shelf with much greater ease and facility than is the case in presently known cabinets of this type. A feature of the invention in this respect is that the latch operating element is readily accessible to the operator, being located so as to be capable of manipulation without placing the hand inside the cabinet. This facilitates the handling of the machine during its retraction into the cabinet and assists in preventing any injury to the operator in the event the operator should lose his grip on the machine during retraction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet and shelf latching arrangement therefor in which the shelf is firmly supported in the elevated position and in which the shelf is automatically latched in the elevated position as it is moved upwardly from the retracted position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cabinet in which the latch mechanism is so constructed as to support a part of the shelf in the retracted position of the latter, thus simplifying the over-all structure and reducing the over-all cost of same.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet and shelf latching mechanism therefor which is designed to provide an optimum of leg room beneath the cabinet even when the shelf is in the retracted position.

Other and further objects of the invention together with the features of novelty appurtenant thereto will appear in the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the instant specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts in the various views;

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a cabinet incorporating the features of the invention, the cabinet being shown in the completely closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged front perspective view of the upper portion of the cabinet, the top cover and front cover shown in their open positions;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the sectional components of the top moved to the open position permitting mounting of a machine on the inner support shelf;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along a vertical fore-to-aft plane bisecting the main body of the cabinet;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 66 of FIG. 4 in the direction of the arrows, the shelf in this instance being shown in its elevated horizontal position.

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, in the preferred embodiment of my invention the cabinet is rectangular in configuration, being supported on legs 10, 11, 12 and 13. Rigidly secured to these legs and forming the casing or housing for the machine are the opposite end walls 14 and 15 and a back wall 16 (FIG. 3). The front of the upper portion of the cabinet is covered by a swinging door 17, which in this case is shaped to resemble a pair of outer drawer surfaces. As is believed evident from the drawings, door 17 is mounted for swinging movement about a vertical axis, preferably being connected to leg 11 by hinge 18. The hinge permits the door 17 to be swung from the closed position illustrated in FIG. 1 through to the open position illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The top of the cabinet is covered by an outer cover or lid 19 which, like door 17, is hinged along one edge. The hinges are shown at 19a, 19b and 190. Thus the lid 19 can be swung sideways from its covering position, as illustrated in FIG. 1, to the side extended position illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. In the latter position, it forms a continuation of the working surface or top of the cabinet.

While more will be said of the top later, it will be noted at this point that the top includes rigid marginal portions having contiguous sections 20a, 20b and 200 which are supported by and firmly secured to the main body of the housing. Located within the marginal surfaces just described and coplanar therewith are a pair of top forming elements 21 and 22. The adjoining edges of these surfaces are cut out to form an aperture 23 which conforms in outline with the outline of the conventional free arm of a free-arm sewing machine. Since the sewing machine plays no part in the present invention, it is not shown other than in broken lines in FIG. 4. There the free arm is indicated generally by reference numeral 25 and the base or pedestal by reference numeral 26.

It will be noted that top portion 21 is mounted for upward swinging movement about a hinge axis 22 (FIG. 4). The portion 22 of the top is secured to a vertical front member 24. The lower edge of member 24 is secured to the stationary front piece 26 by means of hinges 27 so that when desired the top portion 22 can be swung downwardly to the position illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, located below the top of the cabinet and hingedly connected to the inner front member 25 by hinge 28 is a two-part shelf having the forward portion 29 and rearward extension 30. The combined area of the shelf is a such that when the parts 29 and 30 are in the horizontal position shown in FIG. 3, the shelf substantially fills the inside cross section of the casing. As is shown in FIG. 4,'the rear extension 30 of the shelf is hingedly connected by hinge 31 to the rearward edge of shelf portion 29.

The shelf portion 29 is provided with mounting attachments for the sewing machine, these comprising the bar 32 with offset flange 33 near the rearward edge of portion 29 and the bar 34 having the pivotal latch 35 near the forward edge. Latch 35 is pivoted as at 35a to bar 34.

As can best be seen in FIG. 4, the offset flange 33 and pivotal latch 35. are designed to overlie and engage the opposite edges of the pedestal to hold the machine to the shelf portion 29. It will be evident, of course, that other means of securing the machine to the shelf may be employed.

In the lower or inoperative position of shelf 29-30, that is, the position illustrated in FIG. 4, the portion 29 thereof rests in an inclined disposition upon suitable stop members 36, secured to the inside surfaces of the opposite end walls 14 and 15. While only one such stop 36 is shown, it will be understood that a like stop is found on end wall 14.

In order to latch the shelf in the elevated working position illustrated in FIG. 2, there is provided a pair of upright latching members 38 and 39 which are respectively located adjacent the inside surfaces of the end walls 14 and 15. Each latching member is pivoted near its lower end to the adjoining end wall as by screws 40 and 41, respectively. The screws are located on a common horizontal axis. The lower ends of the latching members are connected rigidly with one another by a cross bar 42.

It will be noted that'near their upper ends the latching members 38 and 39 are provided on the forward edges with notches 38a and 39a which are so dimensioned as to receive therein portions of the rear edge of shelf part 29 adjacent the opposite sides thereof when the shelf is in its elevated or horizontal position. The width of the rear shelf extension 30 is less than that of the part 29 whereby to expose those portions of the rearward edge of the latter in the zone of the latching members so that they may be received in the notches 38a and 39a;

While the left-hand latching member 38 (as viewed in FIG. 5) terminates at its upper end'within the casing, the upper end being indicated at 38b, the 'righthand latching member has an upwardly tapered extension 3% which extends upwardly through an aperture 43 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) formed in the marginal section 20c of the top of the cabinet. Aperture 43 is elongated in the fore and aft direction so as to provide suificient freedom of movement of extension 39b to permit the latching member to move rearward far enough to disengage notch 39a from the shelf. The upper end of extension 39!) is made flush with the upper surface of section 200 so as to permit complete closing of cover 19.

The upper ends of the latching members 38 and 39 are biased toward shelf part 29 by a tension spring 44 having one end secured as at 45 to the lower edge of the back 16 of the cabinet and'the other end as at 46 to the underside of the latch cross bar 42. It will be noted that the latching members are so disposed that as the shelf part 29 is raised from the solid line position of FIG. 4 to the horizontal position, the rearward edge portions of the part 29 will engage and displace the latching members until the part 29 reaches the horizontal whereupon the rear edge comes into alignment with the notches. Spring 44 then causes the latching members to return toward the shelf part 29 to engage the notches therewith.

To lower or retract the shelf from the horizontal position, the operator grasps the sewing machine, and while pulling forwardly or upwardly with one hand thereon, pushes the extension 39b rearwardly in aperture 43 until the notches 38a and 39a are disengaged from the corresponding portions of shelf part 29. Of course, it will be evident that any movement of latching member 39 is accompanied by corresponding movement of latching element 38, because of the tie therebetween afforded by the cross bar 42. The holding pressure on the machine is then relaxed slightly to permit the shelf to drop below the plane of the notches. Thereupon, both hands can be used for further lowering of the machine, it no longer being necessary to apply unlatching pressure to extension 39b. Lowering of the machine continues until shelf part 29 strikes the ends of the stop blocks 37. i

As the shelf is lowered, shelf extension 30 remains in the same plane as part 29, until the former strikes the cross bar 42. Thereafter, the shelf extension will be folded toward shelf part 29, being supported by the cross bar 42. This arrangement maintains the entire operating mechanism within the upper and lower edges of the walls of the casing, adding to the attractiveness and neatuess of the unit, as well as preserving leg room thereunder.

Depending on the use to which the machine is to be put, the movable components 21 and 22 of the top can be placed either in the closed position illustrated in FIG. 2 or open position illustrated in FIG. 3. The latter will employed when the machine is being utilized for freearm sewing. When it is desired to use the machine as a conventional sewing machine, portions 21 and 22 will be brought into coplanar relationship with the bed of the sewing machine, which is the disposition shown in FIG. 2. Of course, during raising and lowering of the machine the movable top components 21 and 22 must be so disposed of as to be out of the way of the machine, which is the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3.

Once the machine is lowered into the casing, top portions 21 and 22 are returned to the position of FIG. 2. The cabinet is finally closed by swinging cover 19 over to its top covering position and closing the front swinging door 17.

From the foregoing it will be seen that my invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a sewing machine cabinet of the type having a hollow housing with a top, a pair of opposed side walls, a front wall, a back wall and an opening in the top, a shelf within the housing having one edge pivotally connected with the inside of the front wall of the housing for swinging movement of the shelf about a first horizontal axis located adjacent said front wall from a horizontal position to a downwardly inclined retracted position, said shelf, when in said horizontal position, substantially filling the inside horizontal cross sectional area of said housing, means for securing a sewing machine to said shelf so that in the horizontal position of the shelf the machine extends upwardly through said opening and in the reltracted position of the shelf is below the top, a pair of elongate substantially upright latching members each pivoted respectively to the opposed side walls of the housing for movement about a'common, second horizontal axis parallel with but spaced from said first axis, said latching members spaced from one another to lie near said opposed side walls and having latching recesses adapted to engage the shelf at edge locations remote from the first axis and intermediate the front and rear edges of the shelf whereby. to releasably support same in said horizontal position, tie means tying said latching members together for simultaneous movement, resilient means urging the said latching members into the position wherein said latching portions engage said shelf, one of said latching members extending upwardly past the upper surface of said shelf and through a second opening in said cabinet top for access thereto, said opening being of a size sufiicient to permit sufiicient pivotal movement of the latching members away from said shelf as to permit disengagement of the latching portions from the shelf whereby said shelf may be lowered to its retracted position, said shelf having openings adjacent said latching members constructed to permit said pivotal movement of said latching members and subsequent downward movement of the shelf without interference with the latching members.

6 2. A sewing machine cabinet as in claim 1 wherein said shelf is formed as a main body hinged to said front wall and extension portion hinged to said main body for movement about a third horizontal axis, said extension adapted to fold toward said main body and rest upon the tie means when the shelf is in the retracted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 740,434 Howe Oct. 6, 1903 2,247,380 Hohmann July 1, 1941 2,527,319 Marsac Oct. 24, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 74,452 Austria July 25, 1918

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