US3420197A - Tufting presser foot for zigzag sewing machines - Google Patents

Description

1969 s. s. :JACOBSEN ETAL 3,

TUFTING PRESSER FOOT FOR ZIGZAC: SEWING MACHINES Filed May 8, 1967 INVENTOR- Sigurd S. Jacobsan, Frank J. Barfosz, and Manfred R. Laidig AT ORNEY Witness flgahnal 75 41 United States Patent 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sewing machine presser foot is disclosed having a needle aperture into which two parallel stitch supporting fingers project. The simultaneous formation of two rows of tufted stitches using this presser foot is illustrated.

Summary of the invention This invention relates to sewing machine attachments for producing tufted seams by the provision of a stitch supporting finger over which successive stitches are formed to produce elongated loops or tufts of the sewing thread on the fabric being stitched.

While it is known in the art to provide a stitch supporting finger over which stitches may be formed to provide loose stitching or to provide tufted stitches, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel arrangement of a plurality of such stitch supporting fingers on a presser device which is advantageously useable on a zigzag sewing machine capable of producing a multiple stitch zigzag pattern. The sewing machine needle thereby stepping over a respective one of the plurality of stitch supporting fingers on each of the multiple stitches during each lateral jog of the needle so as to produce simultaneously a plurality of rows of tufted stitches.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and effective arrangement for securing the stitch supporting fingers on the presser device utilizing a single rivet and notch means in the needle aperture of the presser device both to locate and to secure the stitch supporting fingers in predetermined position thereon.

Description of the views of the drawings With the above and additional objects in view, this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing of a preferred embodiment in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a presser foot embodying the features of this invention illustrated together with a fragment of a conventional sewing machine presser bar and needle bar and showing a fragment of work fabric being stitched,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 1 but without the work fabric and stitches,

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the presser foot of FIGS. 1 and 2, and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the presser foot of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Detailed description Referring to the drawings, 11 indicates a presser bar of a sewing machine formed wit h a slabbed portion 12 against which a presser foot is adapted to be accommodated. The slabbed portion of the presser bar may be formed with a tapped hole (not shown) to receive a knurled fastening screw 13 for securing a presser foot thereto. Indicated at 14 is a needle bar preferably of the 3,420,197 Patented Jan. 7, 1969 type which can partake of both endwise reciprocatory as well as laterial jogging motion for the formation of zigzag stitching. A needle clamp 15 on the needle bar serves to secure thereto an eye-pointed thread carrying sewing machine needle 16.

The sewing machine of which the needle and presser bars form a portion, for the purpose of this invention, is preferably of the type as is known in the art which is capable of producing a multistitch zigzag pattern. A multistitch zigzag pattern is one in which the jogging of the needle from one side to the other is accomplished in a series of steps, each step in the same lateral direction and with a stitch being formed at each step.

The presser foot of this invention is formed with a shank provided at the upper extremity with a presser bar embracing tang 21 which is slotted as at 22 to accommodate the knurled fastening screw 13. Extending angularly from the bottom of the presser foot shank is a flat sole plate 23 formed at the free extremity with a toe portion 24 which is preferably upturned.

The presser foot sole plate 23 is formed with needle accommodating aperture indicated generally at which extends from a front wall portion 31 adjacent to the toe portion of the presser foot sole plate rearwardly to the presser foot shank. The presser foot shank is formed with an aperture 32 which joins the sole plate needle aperture 30 and extends upwardly therefrom. The side walls 33 and 34 of the needle aperture 30 may preferably be slightly tapered converging toward the presser foot shank. In the front wall 31 of the needle aperture a notch 35 is formed which serves, as will be described hereinbelow, to locate and secure the tuft forming elements in place on the presser foot.

The stitch supporting member which provides for the formation of tufts is indicated generally as at and is preferably formed of a continuous sheet metal strip which is bent at its center into a U shape. Each free extremity of the U-shaped bent strip defines separate stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42 which are joined at the base 43 of the U-shaped member. Preferably, each of the stitch supporting fingers are congruent and slightly tapered downwardly at the top toward the free extremity. The Width of the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42 determines the height of the tufts which will be formed over the fingers by the sewing threads and the fingers may, therefore, be formed of a width considerably greater than the thickness of the presser foot sole plate 23. Preferably, a step 44 is formed in the underside of the base portion 43 of the stitch supporting member 43 so that when applied upon the presser foot sole plate, the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42 will project downwardly into the needle aperture.

The stitch supporting member 40 is secured on the presser foot sole plate by means of a rivet which is set into a hole 51 in the toe portion of the presser foot sole plate. The rivet passes within the base of the U-shaped stitch supporting member and is formed with a head 52 which overlies and constrains the stitch supporting member on the presser foot. As illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42 depend into and engage the notch 35 on the front wall of the needle aperture thus to constrain the stitch supporting member 40 from turning about the axis of the rivet 50 and providing a means for locating the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42 in a predetermined parallel relation as indicated by the space A in FIG. 4. As also illustrated in FIG. 4, the needle aperture side Walls 33 and 34 are spaced apart a sufficient distance as to extend laterally from the stitch supporting fingers each a distance B, C respectively, which is equal to the spacing A between the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42.

In FIG. 2, the needle 16 is illustrated in a central position passing between the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42, and dot and dashed lines R and L indicate the right and left hand positions of the needle during a multiple stitch zigzag pattern of needle jogging motion. FIG. 1 illustrates a work fabric 60 in which a seam is being stitched utilizing a needle thread 61 and in which the needle partakes of the multistitch zigzag pattern of movement successively into the three positions illustrated by the needle and lines R and L in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the needle has completed a stitch in the position corresponding to the line L in FIG. 2 and will next penetrate between the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42 as in the solid line position illustrated in FIG. 2 and [make a loop or tuft in the row of tufts 62 which are for-med over the stitch supporting finger 42. Following this stitch the needle will next penetrate in the position corresponding to the line R of FIG. 2 and will produce a loop or tuft in the row of tufts 63 over the stitch supporting finger 41. The work fabric 60 will be fed toward the rear of the presser foot by any conventional Work feeding mechanism of the sewing machine during each stitch formation and thus the loops or tufts in the rows 62 or 63 will be drawn with the work fabric off the free extremity of the stitch supporting fingers, clearance for such movement of the tufts being provided by the presser foot shank aperture 32 which preferably extends upwardly from the sole plate a distance equal to the height of the stitch supporting fingers 41 and 42.

It will be appreciated that while two stitch supporting fingers and a multistitch zigzag pattern movable in three lateral positions of the needle is illustrated in the drawings, a greater number of stitch supporting fingers can be actuated together with multistitch zigzag pattern providing a correspondingly greater number of successive lateral steps during jogging motion in each direction. The use of a sheet metal stitch supporting finger which may be relatively thin and does not occupy inordinate space in the needle aperture provide for the use of the largest number of stitch supporting fingers to be accommodated between the maximum lateral shift of the needle of the zigzag sewing machine.

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

1. A sewing machine presser foot for forming tufted seams comprising a shank, means on said shank for 10- cating said presser foot relatively to a sewing machine, a flat sole plate projecting angularly from said shank and terminating in a toe portion, said sole plate having formed therein a needle aperture, a stitch supporting member, a plurality of stitch supporting fingers on said stitch supporting member extending in equidistant and substantially parallel relation, said stitch supporting fingers each comprising a fiat blade having width substantially greater than the thickness of the presser foot sole plate, means for securing said stitch supporting member on said sole plate adjacent the toe portion thereof with said stitch supporting fingers arranged substantially normal to said flat sole plate and extending into said needle aperture toward said shank, said needle aperture in said sole plate extending to said presser foot shank, and said presser foot shank having formed therein an aperture joining said needle aperture and extending from said sole plate a distance substantially equal to the width of said flat blades.

2. A sewing machine presser foot as set forth in claim 1 in which said stitch supporting member comprises a sheet metal strip bent into U shape of which the free extremities define equidistant stitch supporting fingers, and which said means for securing said stitch supporting member on said sole plate comprises notch means formed in that edge of said needle aperture adjacent to said sole plate toe portion and having a width substantially equal to the distance between said stitch supporting finger, a headed fastener passing within the base of said U-shaped stitch supporting member, and means for securing said sole plate with said stitch supporting fingers each engaged in said notch means.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

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