US2149755A - Strip folder - Google Patents

Description

March 7 1939. A. A. AcKE'RMAN 2,149,755

STRIP FOLDER Filed April 10, 1937 16 H I :fllbert v9. flekermm 19 19 v wmw I Patented Mar. 7, 1939 UNITED SATES PATENT FEE s'r nr FOLDER Application April 10, 1937, Serial No. 136,071

1'7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in strip-folding attachments for use more particularly in connection with sewing machines and has for its primary object to facilitate the production of straps, belt-loops and kindred articles from strips of material.

The present invention also aims to provide a folder of simple and compact form for-inturning the side edges of superposed strips of material.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the parts of the strip-folder described in connection with the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 represents a vertical and substantially central longitudinal section of the strip-folder, together with a transverse section of the bedplate of a sewing machine to which the stripfolder is applied. Fig. 2 represents a top plan view of the strip-folder and a portion of the sewing macine bed-plate and presser-foot, and

illustrates the work in the finishing operation to form a strap. Fig. 3 represents, in perspective, the individual casing and arbor units of the stripfolder. Fig. 4 represents a transverse section of the strip-folder substantially on the line ii of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 illustrates, in perspective, the end portions of the superposed strips as initially secured together. Fig. 6 illustrates, in perspective andpartly in section, the end portion of the strap in the finishing operation. Fig. '7 represents a transverse section of the finished strap intermediate the ends thereof.

Referring to the drawing, the improved stripfolder is illustrated as applied to a sewing machine having a bled-plate i provided with a throat-plate 2. Operating through said throatplate 2 is a feed-dog 3 which may be actuated in any usual or suitable manner to advance the work. Opposed to the feed-dog 3 is a presserfoot 4 carried by the lower end of a presser-bar 5, the presser-foot being provided with needleslots 6 spaced transversely of the line of feed. A vertically reciprocatory needle-bar l carries at its lower end a pair of needles 8 (only one of which is shown), arranged abreast with respect to the direction of feed of the work and cooperating below the throat-plate 2 with any usual or suitable complementary stitch-forming mechanism (not shown).

The improved strip-folder has at one side thereof a supporting shank 9 formed with slots IE to receive the folder securing screws l l which, in the present instance, are threaded into the front slide-plate 12 of the bed-plate l. Carried by the folder-shank 9 is a primary folder-section or casing unit comprising a tubular casing l3, preferably although not necessarily rectangular in cross-section. As illustrated in the drawing, the tubular casing 53 has a top wall i l, a bottom wall l5 and opposed side walls 58, said walls being tapered to define a tubular passageway constricted toward the delivery end of the folder. Projecting inwardly from each of the side walls I6 is a fold-edge turning lip ll disposed substantially midway between the top and bottom casing-walls, the lips ll being spaced from eachv other and preferably extending from adjacent the front end of the tubular casing to the delivery end thereof. The upper and lower faces of the lips I! preferably merge concavely into the respective side walls l6, thereby providing a plurality of opposed curved guiding walls adapted to inturn the edges of superposed strips of material.

The bottom wall l5 of the tubular casing it has a forward extension l5 which forms the bottom of a trough having substantially parallel up-' standing side walls It extending forwardly from the casing side walls Hi, the side edges of the trough-bottom l5 being spaced from the side walls Hi, to define therebetween substantially parallel slots IS. The forward end of the trough bottom wall I5 is bent under and is soldered or otherwise suitably secured to a cross-bar is connecting the side walls 86. Adjacent the front end of the tubular casing 83, the trough side walls iii are each provided with upwardly open notches 2B.

Complemental to the primary folder-section above described is an auxiliary folder-section or arbor unit 2! comprising a block 22 of which the side walls, adjacent one end of the block are provided with fianges 23 forming spaced strip-guiding .ears extending above and below the upper and Extending rearwardly from the upper and lower faces of the block 22, toward the delivery end of the folder, are preferably substantially fiat tongues or arbors 25 and 25 tapered toward the free ends thereof. The arbors are spaced from each other so that, in the operative position thereof, the upper arbor 25 is disposed above and the lower arbor 26 below the plane of the casing lips H. The upper arbor 25 has its free end terminating substantially at the delivery end of the tubular casing l3, while the lower arbor 26 has a reduced and preferably narrowed extension or finger 2'! which in its operative position underlies the presser-foot 4 within the field of action of the feed-dog 3. The presser-foot 4 is preferably provided in its work-engaging face with a clearance groove 28 for said finger Z'l. The side edges of the arbors 25 and 2 5 are spaced from the side walls 16 of the casing l3 and are complemental to the inner concave faces of said casing, above and below the casing-lips H, in inturning the side edges of superposed strips of material.

In the formation of straps and similar articles made from superposed strips of material with inturned side edges, diiiiculty has been experienced in finishing the ends of the straps in a manner such that the ends of the strips are also inturned and secured by stitches. In accordance with the present improvement, the end portions of superposed strips A and B are first secured together by a single line of stitches S, conforming to the desired shape of the strap-end when finished, as illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing. The ends of the strips beyond the seam may be snipped off to remove surplus material, and the strips are then reversed, i. e., the stitched strips are turned inside out, thereby to inturn the joined ends of the strips, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

The arbor-unit 2| is withdrawn endwise from the casing-unit l3 and the two arbors 25, 26 are inserted between the reversed strips A and B, until the arbor-finger 27 engages the previously closed end of the strips. One of the strips, as A, is thus disposed fiatwise upon the arbor 25 and between the upper of the stripguiding ears 23, while the other strip B is disposed fiatwise below the arbor Z6 and between the lower of the ears 23. The arbor unit 2|, thus loaded, is then inserted arbor-end first into the casing-unit l3 to seat the supporting pins 2 in the side-wall notches 2i and the lower ends of the ears 23 in the slots. I8. By suitably spacing from each other the opposed lips I! of the casing E3, the requisite clearance is afforded for operatively positioning the loaded arbor-unit.

Inasmuch as the finger 27 in its operative position underlies the presser-foot 4, it will be understood that the act of assembling the primary and loaded auxiliary folder-sections serves also to position the previously closed end of the Work under the presser-foot. By now placing the sewing machine in operation, the feed-dog 3 engages the lower ply of the work-strips and feeds said strips oil from the arbor-finger 27, thereby drawing the strips through the strip-folder. The margins of the strips are thereby bent by the lips ll about the side-edges of the arbors 25 and 26, as will be readily understood, and the superposed, inturned side-edges of the strips are advanced to the needles 8 to receive the stitches S and S, thereby to secure said inturned side edges.

It will be noted that the auxiliary folder-section pins 24 are guided into the notches 2!! by the upper edges of the trough side-walls l6. Consequently, the auxiliary folder-section 2| need only be inserted into the primary folder section sufficiently to enable the feed-dog 4 to engage and advance the work, whereby if desired the stitches S, S" may be started substantially from the end of the strap. As the stitching progresses, the auxiliary folder-section is then advanced. into its normal operative position.

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

1. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a longitudinally-tapered tubular casing having opposite side walls provided interiorly of the casing with opposed lips, arbors disposed within said casing above and below said lips and extending longitudinally of the casing in spaced relation to said side walls, and sup-porting means for said arbors.

2. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a tubular casing having opposite side walls provided interiorly of the casing and substantially medianly of the width of said side walls with opposed fold-edge turning lips, strip-separating arbors disposed within said casing in spaced relation to said side walls above and below the plane of said lips, and supporting means for said arbors.

3. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a tubular casing having side walls each provided interiorly of the casing with a fold-edge turning lip merging concavely at opposite sides thereof into the inner face of the respective casing side wall, substantially flat arbors disposed within said casing with their side edges spaced from the casing side walls above and below said lips, and supporting means for said arbors.

4. A sewing machine strip-folder having opposite side walls each provided lengthwise thereof with a fold-edge turning lip having its opposite faces merging concavely into the proximate faces of said side walls, arbors having opposite side edges coacting with said lips and said side walls at opposite sides of said lips in inturning the margins of superposed strips of material, strip-guiding walls confining said strips to flatwise engage said arbors, and supporting means for said arbors.

5. A sewing machine strip-folder having tapered side walls provided lengthwise thereof with inwardly directed and opposed fold-edge turning lips, substantially fiat strip-separating arbors having their side edges respectively disposed at opposite sides of said lips in spaced relation to said side walls, strip-confining folder-walls disposed adjacentthe outer faces of said arbors, one of said arbors having a rearward extension of reduced width projecting beyond the workdelivery end of said walls, and supporting means providing for shifting said arbors endwise as a unit, relatively to said walls, from and into operative position.

6. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a longitudinally-tapered tubular casing having opposite side walls provided interiorly of said casing with opposed lips, arbors complemental to said side walls and lips in inturning the side edges of superposed strips of material, said arbors being disposed within said casing and extending longitudinally thereof in spaced relation to said side walls above and below said lips, and means for detachably supporting said arbors upon said side walls.

7. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a longitudinally-tapered tubular casing having side walls provided with inwardly directed and opposed lips, said side walls having forward extensions each provided with an upwardly open notch, arbors disposed within said casing and extending longitudinally thereof in spaced relation to said side walls above and below said lips, a spacing block connecting the forward ends of said arbors, and oppositely directed pins projecting from said spacing block and adapted to be seated detachably in said notches, thereby to support said arbors.

8. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a tubular casing having its side and bottom walls extending forwardly from the tubular portion thereof to form an upwardly open trough, said side walls within the tubular portion of the casing having inwardly directed and opposed foldedge turning lips, an arbor-carrying block adapted to be detachably supported upon the side walls of said trough, and substantially flat arbors extending from said block into said tubular casing with the side edges of said arbors spaced from the side walls of said casing above and below said lips.

9. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a longitudinally-tapered tubular casing having side walls provided with inwardly directed and opposed lips, an upwardly open trough having substantially parallel side Walls and a bottom wall in substantial alinement with the side and bottom Walls, respectively, of said casing, the trough side walls each having an upwardly open notch and the trough bottom wall being provided with substantially parallel slots extending longitudinally of said trough, an arbor-carrying block provided with oppositely directed pins adapted to be removably seated in said side wall notches, said block having spaced depending flanges adapted to enter the trough bottom wall slots, and substantially flat arbors adapted to extend from said block into said tubular casing with the side edges of said arbors spaced from the side walls of the casing above and below the casing lips.

10. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a tubular casing having side walls each provided with an inwardly directed lip spaced from the lip of the other side wall, an upwardly open trough having substantially parallel side walls and a bottom wall in substantial alinement with the side and bottom walls, respectively, of said casing, an arbor unit providing strip-guiding faces with side edges adapted to extend longitudinally of said casing at opposite sides of said casing side-wall lips, a finger extending from said arbor unit beyond the work-delivery end of said casing, and means for removably supporting said arbor unit upon the side walls of said trough.

11. In a sewing machine, the combination with work-feeding mechanism and stitch-forming mechanism including a pair of reciprocatory needles spaced crosswise of the line of feed, of a strip-folder disposed in front of said needles comprising complemental casing and arbor units adapted to inturn the side edges of superposed strips of material, said arbor unit being separable from said casing unit and having a finger extending, in the operative position thereof, beyond the delivery end of said casing unit and into the field of action of said feeding mechanism.

12. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, separable casing and arbor units providing complemental edge-folding means arranged to inturn the side edges of superposed strips of material between said strips, said arbor unit including flatwise superposed arbors providing vertically spaced fold-defining members within said casing adjacent each of the opposed side walls thereof.

13. A strip-folder for sewing machines, comprising, a casing providing a plurality of opposed edge-turning walls, a plurality of arbors disposed within said casing and complemental to said walls in inturning the side edges of superposed strips of material between said strips, one of said arbors having a finger projecting beyond the work-delivery end of said casing, and supporting means providing for removing said arbors endwise from said casing.

14. A sewing machine strip-folder having opposite side walls each provided lengthwise thereof with a fold-edge turning lip, said lips being spaced from and directed toward each other, arbors disposed between said side-walls and complemental to said side walls and lips in inturning the side edges of superposed strips of material between said strips, strip-confining folder-walls disposed adjacent the outer faces of said arbors, and supporting means providing for withdrawing said arbors endwise from between said side walls.

15. A sewing machine strip-folder having opposite side walls each provided lengthwise thereof with a fold-edge turning lip directed toward the lip of the opposite side wall, substantially fiat strip-separating arbors disposed at opposite sides of said lips and widthwise extending from adjacent one of said side walls to adjacent the other side wall, strip-confining folder-walls disposed adjacent the relatively remote faces of said arbors, and supporting means providing for shifting said arbors endwise as a unit and relatively to said side walls from and into operative position.

16. A strip-folder for sewing mchines, comprising, a longitudinaly tapered tubular casing having side walls each provided interiorly of the casing with a fold-edge turning lip opposed to the lip of the opposite side wall, and substantially flat arbors within said casing complemental to said side walls and lips in inturning the side edges of superposed strips of material between said strips, one of said arbors having an extension projecting beyond the work-delivery end of said casing.

17. A strip-folder for sewing machines adapted to inturn the side edges of superposed strips of material between said strips, comprising a tubular casing having opposed edge-turning walls, and flat-wise superposed arbors disposed within said casing and providing a pair of vertically spaced side edges complemental to each of said edgeturning walls.

ALBERT A. ACKERMAN.

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