US2642828A - Tuck-making guide - Google Patents

Description

June 23, 1953 'r. a CARROLL TUCK-MAKING GUIDE Filed June 14, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

FIG.

Tr N a ME m 5 l June 23, 1953 T. E. CARROLL TUCK-IIAKING GUIDE Filed June 14, 1950 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A J ATTO EY Patented June 23, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I .2,s42,s2s p TUCK-MAKING GUIDE 7 Thomas Edward cal-mu, New York, N. Y. I ApplicationJuneld, 1950, Serial No. 168,068

This invention relates 'to improvements in tuck-making devices for sewing machines and has for its object to provide a simple sewingmachine attachment whereby tucks or pleats of various widths may be readily made in a piece of cloth or other fabric at accurately spaced in-' tervals.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple attachment of low manufacturing cost which may be used with any make of sewing machine whereby both the widthoi the tuck or pleat and also the spacing of the tricks or pleats may be speedily and accurately adjusted within a range suflicient to meet the requirements of the trade.

A. further object of the inventionis to provide a device of the character described which is simple and easy to operate and with which a sewing machine operator of ordinary skill may easily and rapidly form pleats or tucks or" uni form width accurately spaced in the cloth or other fabric being sewn.

2 Claims. (01. 112-144 Further objects of the invention'will appear.

from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein'is shown a preferred embodiment tuck-forming device.

In the said drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a sewing machine equipped with my improved tuck-forming device;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the tuckforming device shown in Fig. l on a much enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a vertical sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig 5 is a similar view on line 5--5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a similar view on line 5-6 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, particularly to Fig. 1, I indicatesthe head of the sewing machine mounted in the usual manner on a table over which the work is advanced by the operator. Attached to the top of the sewing machine table at of my improved 7 a distance away from the needle is a bladeor 4 guide 3 over the edge of which the cloth is folded to form the tuck. The blade here shown is of the same shape as shown in my prior Patent No. 2,043,733, but instead of being mounted for reciprocation as in the patent, the blade is supported in fixed position during the operation of the machine, its position, however, being adjustable with respect to the position of the needle in v order to form tucks of shaped configuration having a straight edge 4 along its foot, which straight edge is positioned parallel with the path of travel of the cloth through the machine; The shank of theblade is formed in two parts slidably mounted one on the other, one part being slotted as shownat 5' to receive a clamping screw 6 whereby the straight edge 4 of the blade maybe positioned at varying distances from the needle to provide tucks of different widths. The blade 3 is mounted for pivotal movement around a binding post? so that it may be swung out of they way when the cloth is placed on the table and .then swu'ngfback' The cloth to be sewn is moved across the table of the machine beneath the blade 3 and the tuck formed by folding the edge of the'cloth over the blade as shown in Fig. 3 so that the needle of the machine which forms the stitches imrnediatel beyond the edge of the blade will produce a seam parallel with the fold of the cloth over the edge Of the blade, thereby forming a tuck of a Width equal to the distance from the edge 4 of the blade to the seam formed by the needle 2.

Blades of the type described above are old and well known and my present improvement relates primarily to means for facilitating the folding of the cloth over the edge of the blade 3 at properly spaced intervals and'in lines parallel with the previously formed tucks so as to produce parallel tucks of uniform width and uniformly spaced in the cloth. For this purpose I provide a guiding member ID of the shape shown in Fig. 3, the

guiding member being attached by any suitable means to the top of the machine at a position adjacent to and in advance of the needle, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The guide l0 consists of a strip of sheet metal preferably somewhat resilient and I comprising a substantially flat slotted portion for attachment to the top of the machine, and an upwardly bowed guide portion extending across the machine in front of the needle in position for the end of the downwardly bent outer portion to rest upon the cloth at a point coincident with the previously formed tuck. Otherwise stated, the

between the tucks so that as the cloth is ad vanced under the needle the operator can, by

varying'widths. its-shown,- the blade consists of a flat sheet of steel of L A screw I! having a knurled head is threaded in the base through the slot in the flat portion of the guide l0 near the front edge of the base, the screw having collar 18 seated in a recess in the base I5 and underlying the guide. When the screw I1 is loosened the free end of the guide will be lifted by the collar 18 to the desired extent, dependin upon the thickenss of the fabric. In Fig. 3 Ihave-indicated the range of-ad-- justment of the guide ID in dotted and full lines. respectively.

Means are preferably provided for rapidly and accurately adjusting the guide 10 to make tucks of different widths. To this end one edge of the slotted portion of the guide is provided with rack teeth 2|, which teeth mesh with a pinion 22 attached to the under side of a notched index wheel 23 mounted for rotation adjacent the path of movement of the rack teeth and with the index wheel overlying the guide blade, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2. The index Wheel is notched around its periphery as shown, and co-operating with the notches is a spring-pressed pawl 24 shaped to accurately fit the notches in the wheel and hold the same in adjusted posi tion. The face of the index wheel is provided with accurately spaced index marks so that the guide plate may be quickly moved to the exact position necessary to properly space the tucks and there held by the pawl.

It is the customary practice at present to mark the cloth in which the tucks are to be formed with parallel lines markin the location of the tucks. This is a time-consuming operation which requires careful execution. With my improved guide it is only necessary to have a schedule of the spacing of the tucks and reset the guide, which can be done in a moment's time, whenever the schedule indicates a change in the spacing.

While I have shown and described my improved tuck-spacing guide in the form in which it is now made and sold, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the structural details herein disclosed except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tuck-spacing guide for sewing machines, comprising a guide member having a work-engaging portion and means for adjusting said member transversely of the path of movement of the work through the machine to shift the work-engaging portion to different predetermined distances from the line parallel with the feed passing through the projection of the needle, said means comprising a rack on said guide member, a pinion engaging said rack and means for locking said pinion in different positions of adjustment to hold the guide member against inadvertent movement, comprising an adjusting knob secured to said pinion having marginal notches corresponding to the positions of adjustment of said guide and a locking pawl positioned to engage said notches and hold said knob and pinion against movement, said guide member being slideably supported and at all times free to move under the action of said adjusting means.

2. A tuck-spacing guide as defined in claim 1, in which said pinion is mounted on the table for rotational movement only with respect thereto.

THOMAS EDWARD CARROLL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 23,564 Gould Apr. 12, 1859 413,660 Greene e Oct. 29, 1889 423,452 Snyder Mar. 18, 1890 829,298 Serodino Aug. 21, 1906 1,407,208 McDougal Feb. 21, 1922 1,997,584 Howard Apr. 16, 1935

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