IE44089B1 - Method of and apparatus for securing a rope to fishing nets - Google Patents

Abstract

1508953 Sewing nets to ropes AINO LINDEMAN AB OY 26 Feb 1976 [28 Feb 1975 23 Dec 1975] 07660/76 Heading DIG A rope is secured to the edge meshes of a fishing net by overlock stitches which engage the threads of the edge meshes and only that side of the rope lying adjacent thereto. The edge meshes of the net 15 are passed over a guide tube 21 through which the rope 22 is passed, the work then passing over a rotatable wheel 18 having mesh engaging pegs 19 and a rope receiving groove 20 into which rollers 23 push the rope. The work then passes through the overlock sewing machine 12. The net is tensioned by passing over a bar 14 biassed clockwise as seen in Fig. 7, a split bush 16 securing the work.

Description

This invention relates to a method of securing a rope to the edge meshes of a net and to apparatus for carrying out the method.

Fishing nets and similar fishing devices are nowadays made preferably from nylon yarn which is almost invisible in water and is very strong.

·.. The net is manufactured at predetermined widths in automatic machines.

The securing of a float-rope to the upper edge of the net and of a leadrope to the lower edge of the net has hitherto been done manually, usually with needle and thread, whereby each mesh individually or in pairs must be picked up and fastened by tying half a mesh to the rope with '10 a suitable knot. This work is both time-consuming and expensive.

Attempts aimed at finding methods to perform this work mechanically have not until now lead to the desired result. One difficulty is that the edge meshes of the net must not slide along the rope, which would be the case if they were to be fastened with rings or the like. It has been proposed to fasten the rope to the edge meshes of the net by sewing the rope with a sewing machine using stitches extending fully around the rope. This manner of sewing does not, however, prevent the rope from sliding inside the tunnel formed by the stitches. Additionally, the amount of thread consumed by the stitches is very large and the seam thus .20 obtained forms a bulky and broad band, which is undesirable.

As the float-rope normally consists of a rope or line provided with equa]ly spaced-apart floats, the last mentioned method also makes the mechanical securing of the rope to the net more difficult. Yet another type of float-rope exists wherein the rope or line itself is somewhat thicker and has hollow spaces containing thin, short floats, e.g. of styrox. The line or float-rope has in this case no bulging parts indicating the floats themselves, the float-rope being quite uniformly thick along its whole length.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of securing a rope to the edge meshes of a net, comprising feeding the edge meshes of the net and the rope to a sewing machine and securing the edge meshes of the net to the rope by means of overlock stitches which engage the threads of the edge meshes and engage only that side of the rope which lies adjacent to the seam formed by the stitches.

According to the present invention in another aspect there is provided apparatus for carrying out the method, comprising a sewing machine capable of producing overlook stitches, and a feeding device for feeding the net and rope to the sewing machine, said feeding device comprising a rotatable wheel having on its periphery a plurality Of radially outwardly extending pegs for engaging the meshes of the net and a groove extending around the periphery for receiving and guiding the rope in relation to the net.

When such a rope, which in a known manner is enclosed in a fabric or web, is attached to the edge meshes of the net by securing every stitch to this fabric or web and the outer corner of the edge meshes a thin and smooth seam is obtained which accurately secures the rope to the net. Any sliding of the rope relative to the net is thus not possible. 440S3 Some embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Figure 1 shows part of the upper edge of a net with an attached rope with one float shown.

Figure 2 shows in a similar manner the upper edge of a net with an attached rope, the rope in this embodiment being provided along its whole length with floats enclosed by a web and threaded through the edge meshes of the net.

Figure 3 shows part of the lower edge of the net with an attached lead-rope.

Figure 4 shows in a similar manner part of the lower edge of the net, the lead-rope being threaded through the edge meshes of the net.

Figure 5 shows a modification of the embodiment according to Figure 1, wherein a float-rope is pulled through the edge meshes of the net.

Figure 6 shows a further modification, and Figure 7 shows a perspective view of suitable apparatus for performing the method.

The net consists of meshes 1 which are connected by connecting knots 2. To the free corners 3 of the net edge meshes, a rope 4 with inserted, web-enclosed floats or weights 8, respectively, it fastened. The web-enclosed floats 8 can be made from any suitable buoyant material, e.g. that sold under *styrox. The corners 3 of the edge meshes are fastened to the rope 4 by means of a sewing machine working with two or more threads. The rope 4 is fastened *styrox is a trade mark 4 0 8 8 either by letting it run freely during the sewing operation along the edge of the net (Figures 1, 3 and 6) or by threading it through the edge meshes (Figures 2, 4 and 5) which facilitates the guiding of the rope into the correct position in relation to the net.

According to the invention the seam 9 is sewn to catch the threads in corners 3 of the edge meshes and that part of the fabric or web of the rope 4 which is closest to the seam 9. Thus a seam 9 extending fully over the rope 4 does not come into question. It is thus possible to make the seam 9 very thin and the stitches rather far apart as the stitches running through the rope fabric secure the rope 4 into correct position in relation to the edge meshes.

At those points where the rope 4 is provided with visible floats 3 the rope 4 is laterally pushed during the sewing operation so that a free position of the seam 9 according to Figure 1 or a seam according to Figure 6 is formed which is not stitched to the rope. According to Figure 2 the rope 5 is threaded through the edge meshes by means of a line which during the manufacture of the net has been made to run through all the edge meshes. In Figure 2 two different seams 10 and 11 are shown. The seam 10 is situated at the side of the rope 5 facing the net, whereas the seam II runs along the outer edge of the net.

In Figure 5 a float-rope 4 is shown which has been threaded through the edge meshes of the net and wherein the freely extending seam 9 passes over the float 8 at its outer side. Figure 6 discloses a web with relatively small meshes and a rope 4 provided with floats 8 of a size exceeding the size of the meshes. In this case it is not possible to feed the rope 4 through the edge meshes but in order to obtain some rigidity along those parts of the net edge where the float 8 is not secured, a smooth auxiliary line is threaded through the edge meshes and attached to these by a seam running along the whole net length whereas the float-rope 4 is sewn only between the floats 8 in a way similar to the method according to Figure 1.

Figures 3 and 4 disclose the fastening of a lead-rope 6, 7 to the meshes of the net. The lead-rope 7 suitably comprises a tubularly ]0 woven string containing small lead weights inside the string. Regarding the lead-rope 7 it is important to perform the sewing operation without the needle of the sewing machine hitting the lead weights but only the surrounding fabric.

A sewing machine suitable for this purpose is one capable of producing an overlocking stitch and working with three threads, one straight needle from above and two bent needles under the table at the stitch plate. It is, however, self-evident that the invention is not restricted to any particular type of overlock sewing machine as there are numerous machines capable of making the seam in question.

A suitable apparatus for performing the method according to the invention is disclosed in Figure 7. The apparatus comprises a sewing machine 12 with a clamping foot and needle, shown quite schematically. In front of the sewing machine a feeding wheel 18 is suitably freely rotatably mounted on the front edge of the working table 13.

One edge of the net 15 together with the rope 22 is guided by the wheel 18. For this purpose the rather wide periphery of the wheel 18 is provided with a plurality of equally spaced apart pegs 19 extending into the meshes of the net. According to this embodiment the edge meshes of the net are threaded onto a long tube 21, through which the rope 22 is pulled. The person working the machine sits in front of the feeding wheel 18 and guides the rope 22 projecting from the outlet end of the tube 21 to the periphery of the wheel 18, simultaneously distributing the edge of the net with the aid of the pegs 19 as uniformly as possible along the rope. The periphery of the wheel 18 is also provided with a groove 20 for the rope. The apparatus is also provided with rollers 23 arranged above the groove, the rollers 23 being freely rotatably mounted on a yoke fastened to the table 13. The rollers 23, which are suitably rubber covered, are preferably resiliently mounted to the yoke and the yoke may be movable along the table 13 for adjusting its position in relation to the groove 20. The rollers 23 force the rope 22 into the groove and keep it fixed, whereas the pegs 19 hold the edge meshes of the net 15 in relation to the rope 22 so that these are sewn together as is shown in Figures 2, 3 or 4. In the case where the meshes of the net are larger according to Figure 5, a float-rope is threaded through the edge meshes, and a bigger feeding tube 2T is used allowing also the floats to be pulled through. In this case the suspension of the yoke or rollers 23, respectively, is additionally to be adjusted to allow the floats to pass under the ?5 rollers 23.

The sewing of a rope according to Figure 6 is performed by feeding an auxiliary line through the tube 21 and securing it to the net by the seam which binds all the edge meshes of the net. The rope 4 with its big floats 8 is however fed manually so that only those parts of the rope 4 which lie between the floats 8 are sewn to the edge meshes and the auxiliary line.

In order to make sure that the net meshes are released from the pegs 19 when the sewing machine rotates the wheel 18 and pulls the net towards itself, one or several releasing or steering bows may be provided to lift up the meshes when these are to leave the feeding wheel 18. Two such bows 24 are shown in the drawing, one end being fastened to the sewing machine 12 and the opposite end for example to the shaft of the feeding wheel 18. The feeding wheel 18 is preferably exchangeable so that a wheel of different diameter and having a different spacing of the pegs 19 along its periphery may be used according to the size of the net meshes.

In order to facilitate the feeding of the net 15 a tensioning device is provided at the left hand end of the table as viewed in Figure 7.

This device comprises for example a tensioning arm 14 which by means of a spring tends to turn the arm in a clockwise direction (as viewed from above) and keep it in the indicated position. The arm 14 is suitably provided with a rubber sleeve 16 which is split open and which is removed prior to arranging the net over the arm, the net falling freely towards the floor. Thereafter the sleeve is clamped from above onto the arm over the net, which thus is fixed between the sleeve and the arm.

The free end Ite of the arm is bent upwards to prevent the net from sliding off the arm. In Figure 7 the part of the net which is threaded over the feeding tube is indicated at I5Jt> and the part leaving the needles of the sewing machine at 15a.. The finished sewn net is collected behind the sewing machine.

The sewing machine may be provided with auxiliary means for pushing the floats to one side when these reach the needle. The means may comprise for example an arm extending downwardly from the sewing machine frame and following the edge of the rope and pressing the floats in a direction away from the seam when the needle performs the sewing of the free seams 9 according to Figures 1 and 5 and the seam according to Figure 6.

Claims (14)

1. A method of securing a rope to the edge meshes of a net, comprising feeding the edge meshes of the net and the rope to a sewing machine and securing the edge meshes of the net to the rope by means of overlock stitches which engage the threads of the edge meshes and engage only that side of the rope which lies adjacent to the seam formed by the stitches.

2. The method claimed in claim 1, in which the rope is threaded through the edge meshes of the net prior to stitching and the rope is sewn to the edge meshes either by providing an outer seam of stitches connecting the outer corners of the edge meshes to the rope, or an inner seam of stitches connecting the threads of the edge meshes to the rope.

3. The method claimed in claim 1, in which the rope runs outside the edge meshes and is secured by the stitches to the outer corner of the edge meshes.

4. The method claimed in any preceding claim, in which the rope is provided with spaced-apart floats or weights which extend beyond the diameter of the rope, said stitching not being engaged with the rope in the region of the floats or weights.

5. The method claimed in claim 4, in which an auxiliary line is provided which extends through the middle of the seam formed by the stitches.

6. The method claimed in any preceding claim, in which the edge meshes of the net are threaded onto a tube before being fed to the sewing machine and the rope is fed through said tube.

7. Apparatus for carrying out the method claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a sewing machine capable of producing overlock stiches, and a feeding device for feeding the net and rope to the sewing machine, said feeding device comprising a rotatable wheel having on its periphery a plurality of radially outwardly extending pegs For engaging the meshes of the net and a groove extending around the periphery of the wheel for receiving and guiding the rope in relation to the net.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, including a tube onto which the edge meshes of the net can be threaded and through which the rope can be fed.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8, including two press rollers arranged to force the rope into said groove, said rollers being freely rotatable and resiliently mounted to a yoke adjustable in relation to a work table on which the sewing machine is mounted.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, including a pivotably mounted tensioning arm provided with a clamping sleeve for resiliently tensioning the net during sewing.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, in which the clamping sleeve comprises a rubber sleeve split open and mounted on the arm for clamping the net laid over the arm.

12. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 11, in which said rotatable wheel can be exchanged for a wheel of different diameter and having a different distribution of pegs.

13. A method of securing a rope to the edge meshes of a net, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. Apparatus for securing a rope to the edge meshes of a net, 5 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings.