Title of Invention

PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING MACHINE.

Abstract

THE PRESENT INVENTION DISCLOSES A PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING MACHINE 1 MOUNTED ON A PRESSER BAR A FOR COMPOSING A SEWING MACHINE, FOR PRESSING A WORKPIECE (CLOTH) E SUPPLIED AT A NEEDLE LOCATION TO A FEED DOG, IN WHICH THE PRESSER FOOT 4 IS SEPARATED FROM THE PRESSER PLATE 3 AND REPLACED WITH ONE SELECTED OUT OF PLURAL TYPES OF PRESSER FOOT 4 SUITED TO THE SEWING METHOD, SO THAT THE SEWING METHOD OR THE SEWING WIDTH MAY BE SET OR CHANGED FREELY. OTHER PARTS ARE USED COMMONLY AND HENCE IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING MACHINE 1 AND THE MANUFACTURING COST IS LOWERED. THE PRESSER FOOT 4 IS PRESSED TO THE CLOTH BY THE ELASTICITY OF THE PRESSER PLATE 3 ITSELF , AND THE CLOTH GUIDE 5 GUIDES THE CLOTH E IN THE CLOTH FEED DIRECTION.

Full Text

Background of the Invention 1. Field of the invention The present invention relates to a presser foot for a sewing machine. 2. Description of the Prior Art Hitherto, when pressing a workpiece by the above presser foot for sewing machine, as shown in Fig. 9, for example, a presser foot for sewing machine 21 is lowered vertically, a cloth E supplied at a needle location is pressed by a presser foot 24 attached to a clamp 22, to a feed dog D projecting to the upper surface of a throat plate C, but since a needle hole 24d formed in the presser foot 24 is set in the size, shape and needle width suited to the sewing method, when changing the sewing method and sewing width, the presser foot for sewing machine 21 must be replaced with one suited to the sewing method, and it takes time and labor in replacing work. Yet, the presser foot for sewing machine 21 is assembled integrally with the clamp 22 and presser foot 24, plural types of presser foot for sewing machine 21 ... must be prepared corresponding to the sewing method and sewing width, and the manufacturing cost is high, and control or handling of parts is complicated. (c) Summary of the Invention It is hence a, primary object of the invention to realize a constitution for detaching and replacing only the presser foot for composing the presser foot for sewing machine, and therefore when changing the sewing method, it saves time and labor for replacing the entire presser foot for sewing machine, and other parts are used commonly and the total number of parts is smaller, so that the manufacturing cost may be lowered. In other object of the invention, since a presser foot suited to the sewing machine is selected and replaced out of plural types of presser foot, the sewing method or sewing width may be changed and set freely. In a different object of the invention, since the presser plate and presser foot are integrally fixed by fixing means, drop of presser foot or change of its position during sewing can be securely prevented, and the workpiece can be pressed securely in stable state. In a further object of the invention, since the concave part and convex part are engaged with each other to fix the presser foot to the presser plate, it saves labor of fixing by screw or clearing the fixing, so that the presser foot can be detached and replaced easily and simply. In a further different object of the invention, since the workpiece is guided in the cloth feed direction by a cloth guide, change of sewing position and sewing width of the workpiece can be prevented securely, so that the workpiece can be sewn in specified sewing state accurately and neatly. Accordingly, the present invention provides a presser foot for a sewing machine, said presser foot being mounted on a vertical presser bar of the sewing machine, having means for attaching said presser foot to said vertical presser bar, said means for attaching comprising: spring means; means for connecting said spring means to said vertical presser bar; a horizontal presser plate connected to said spring means; and detent claw means connected to sides of said presser plate ; and said presser foot being capable of pressing a workpiece supplied at a needle location to a feed dog of the sewing machine, wherein the presser foot is adapted to be pressed against the workpiece by the elasticity of the presser plate and the spring means; and said presser plate being provided to a clamp fixed to said vertical presser bar and said presser foot is detachably provided by fixing means at the end of said presser plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a side view showing a mounting state of a presser foot for sewing machine for chain stitch. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal side view showing a mounting state of a presser foot. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal front view showing a mounting state of a presser foot. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a detaching and attaching method of presser foot. Fig. 5 is a side view showing a mounting state of a presser foot for sewing machine for lock stitch. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a detaching and attaching method of presser foot. Fig. 7 is a side view showing a fixing method of presser foot. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal front view showing other fixing method of presser foot. Fig. 9 is a side view showing a mounting state of presser foot for sewing machine in a prior art. (e) Description of the Preferred Embodiments A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below while referring to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows a presser foot for sewing machine 1 used in stitch sewing of a cloth E of a workpiece, which is installed at the lower end of a presser bar A for composing a sewing machine (not shown) for chain stitch, and the cloth E supplied at the needle location immediately beneath a sewing machine needle B is pressed to a feed dog D projecting to the upper surface of a throat plate C. The presser foot for sewing machine 1 is composed of, as shown also in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, a set of clamp 2 and presser plate 3, five types of presser foot 4 setting the needle width of needle hole 4d mentioned below at arbitrary needle width sizes (for example, needle width of 3.2 mm, 4.0 mm, 4.8 mm, 5.6 mm, 6.4 mm), and a cloth guide 5 provided at the front end side of the presser foot 4. The needle width of the needle hole 4d may be set, for example, at 3.2 mm or less or 5.6 mm or more. The clamp 2 is formed, for example, by die-cast forming or cutting process, and the presser bar A is inserted and screwed into a shaft fixing portion 2b formed at the upper end side of a clamp main body 2a. In a receiving portion 2c formed at the lower end side of the clamp main body 2a, a passing portion 3c and a spring portion 3d of the presser plate 3 mentioned below are inserted, and a screw 6 is passed through both side walls 2e, 2e of the receiving portion 2c and the passing portion 3c of the presser plate 3, and locked. The spring portion 3d of a folding portion 3b abuts against the wall 2d of the receiving portion 2c, and the presser foot 3 is thrust in a direction of pressing the cloth E to the feed dog D by the elasticity of the presser plate 3 and the spring portion 3d. The presser plate 3 is formed of a thin elastic metal plate, and the folding portion 3b formed at the rear end side of the main body 3a is folded and formed in a forward open form (for example, horseshoe form) by folding back almost horizontally the rear end side of the main body portion 3a to the forward direction. The passing portion 3c formed nearly in the center of the folding portion 3b is folded and formed in a downward open form (for example, horseshoe form) for passing and allowing the screw 6 therein, by folding back the central portion of the folding portion 3b backward. The spring portion 3d of the folding-back side abuts against the wall 2d of the receiving portion 2c, and support pieces 3e formed at both sides of the passing portion 3c abut against the lower end side of the wall 2e. Detent claws 3f formed at both edges of the rear end side of the main body portion 3a are stopped in stopping grooves 4c formed at both side ends of the presser foot 4 mentioned later, and the presser foot 4 is. held in an overlaid state (or slidable state) at the lower end side of the main body portion 3a. On the other hand, a nearly square opening 3g formed in the middle of the front end side of the main body portion 3a is formed in a size and shape so that the needle hole 4d may be exposed almost entirely as the needle hole 4d of the presser foot 4 mentioned below is visible from the plane. A hole 3h formed at the front end side of the main body portion 3a communicates with a hole 4e formed near the needle hole 4d of the presser foot 4, and a screw 7 is driven and fixed into the hole 4e through the hole 3h, and the opening 3g and needle hole 4d communicate with each other. The screw 7 driven into the hole 3h may be also fitted against the upper side of the presser foot 4. The presser foot 4 is composed of a thick metal plate, and a round portion 4b formed at the front end side of the main body portion 4a is folded back in the specified radius of curvature obliquely upward, and is folded and formed in a curvature shape so that the cloth E may be pressed in easily. The stopping grooves 4c formed at both side ends are formed in the groove width and groove depth for stopping the detent claws 3f, and are formed continuously along the side end portion of the main body portion 4a, and the rear end side is opened in a state for allowing insertion and removal of the detent claws 3f. The needle hole 4d formed in the middle of the front end side of the main body portion 4a has a shape suited to chain stitch sewing, and is formed in a size and shape for allowing vertical motion (swing motion) of three needles B. The needle hole 4d may be also formed in a size and shape suited to other sewing method. The cloth guide 5 is formed of a thin metal plate, and the support piece 5b formed at the front end side of the mounting plate 5a is overlaid at the upper side of the round portion and the overlaid portion is fixed by a screw 8. The support piece 5b may be also bonded and fixed (for example, fused and adhered) to the round portion On the other hand, the guide plate 5e for guiding the cloth E is installed in a state projecting to the front side of the round portion and the support piece 5f formed at the upper end side of the guide plate 5e is stopped at the upper side of the support piece 5c formed at : the rear end side of the mounting plate 5a, and opposite to the support piece 5f, the nut 5g is fitted to the lower side of the support .piece 5c, and the support piece 5f and nut 5g are fixed by a screw 9 through a slot 5d formed in the support piece 5c, and the guide plate 5e. is slidably provided in the slot 5d. The guide plate 5e is curved at a radius of curvature nearly corresponding to the front side of the round portion) 4f,b"and is formed in a smooth curve as seen from the side, so that the cloth E may be guided smoothly. By thus constituted presser foot for sewing machine 1, the operation for pressing the cloth E is described below. First, as shown in Fig. 1, the presser foot for sewing machine 1 is vertically lowered, the presser foot 4 is pressed to the cloth E supplied at the needle location, and the cloth E is pressed to the feed dog D projecting to the upper surface of the throat plate C by the elasticity of the presser plate 3 itself and the spring 3d. Next, driving the sewing machine (not shown), the cloth E is transferred in the cloth feed direction by the feed action of the feed dog D, and the sewing machina B is moved vertically to sew stitches. At the same time, the cloth E is guided in the cloth feed direction by the cloth guide 5. The cloth guide 5 may be also separated from the presser foot 4 during sewing operation. When changing the sewing width (needle width), as shown in Fig. 4, after clearing the fixing by turning the screw 7 by using a turning device (for example, Phillips screwdriver or ordinary screwdriver), the presser foot 4 is removed from the lower end side of the presser plate 3, and one presser foot 5 suited to the sewing method is selected from plural types of presser foot 4 manufactured preliminarily. The presser foot 4 is inserted from forward or fitted from beneath into the lower end side of the presser plate 3, the detent claw 3f of the presser plate 3 is fixed in the stopping groove 4c of the presser foot 4, and the hole 3h of the presser plate 3 and the hole 4e of the presser foot 4 communicate with each other and are fixed by the screw 7, and therefore the sewing width can be set and changed freely only by combining the clamp 2 and presser plate 3, and the presser foot 4 of desired size. Thus, by separating the presser foot 4 from the presser plate 3 for composing the presser foot for sewing machine 1, since one presser foot 4 suited to the sewing method is selected out of plural types of presser foot 4 ,V the sewing method or sewing width may be set and changed freely. In addition, when changing the sewing method, it saves time and labor for replacing the entire presser foot for sewing machine 1, and other parts are used commonly and the total number of parts is smaller, so that the manufacturing cost may be lowered. Further, by fixing the detent claw 3f of the presser plate 3 in the stopping groove 4c of the presser foot 4, since both are integrally fixed by the screw 7, drop of presser foot 4 or change of its position during sewing can be securely prevented, and the cloth can be pressed securely in stable state. In addition, since the presser plate 3 itself is elastically deformed corresponding to the thickness of the cloth E, and an adequate pressing force is applied to the cloth E, the cloth E can be transferred securely and stably. Yet, it is not necessary to assemble other elastic part, and the entire assembling job can be done easily and simply. Still more, since the cloth E is guided in the cloth feed direction by the cloth guide 5, change of sewing position and sewing width of the cloth E can be prevented securely, so that the cloth can be sewn in specified sewing state accurately and neatly. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 show a presser foot for sewing machine 11 used in a lock stitch sewing machine (not shown), and it is composed of three sets of clamp 12 and presser plate 13, and 14 types of presser foot 14,set at desired needle width sizes corresponding to each set (for example, 1/16, 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, 3/16, 7/32, 1/4 inches, 9/32, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 13/32 inches, or 7/16, 1/2 inches). Since the clamp 12 and presser plate 13 of the set corresponding to the sewing method and the presser foot of arbitrary size corresponding to the set are combined, the same actions and effects as in the foregoing embodiment are obtained. At the lower end side of the clamp 12, the passing portion 13c and spring portion 13d of the presser plate 13 are fixed with a screw 16, and a stopping groove 14c of the presser foot 14 is fixed in a detent claw 13f of the presser plate 13, and both are fixed with a screw 17. Needle holes 14d, 14d of the presser foot 14 are formed parallel across an interval in a size, shape and length for allowing vertical motion of the sewing machine needle B through an opening 13g of the presser plate 13. The cloth guide 5 may be formed on the presser foot 14, or the presser foot 14 may be changed to a desired size (for example, 1/6 or less or 1/2 or more). Fig. 7 shows other fixing method of the presser foot 4, in which a convex portion 3i formed at the front end side of the presser plate 3 is fixed in a concave portion 4f formed near the needle hole 4d of the presser foot 4, and the presser foot 4 is overlaid and fixed at the lower end side of the presser plate 3. Since the front end side of the presser plate 3 is flexible (indicated by virtual line in the drawing), and fixing of the convex portion 3i and concave portion 4f is cleared, it saves the labor of fixing with the screw 7 and clearing its fixing, so that the presser foot 4 may be detached and attached easily and simply. Incidentally, the screw 7 may be also used. Fig. 8 shows a further different fixing method, in which stopping portions 4a formed at both side edges of the presser foot 4 may be stopped (or fitted) and fixed in both side edges 3j of the presser plate 3. In this fixing method, the presser plate 13 and presser foot 14 may be fixed. In the correspondence between the constitution of the invention and the above embodiments, the workpiece of the invention corresponds to the cloth E of the embodiments, and similarly the fixing means corresponds to the screws 7, 17, detent claws 3f, 13f, convex portion 3i, stopping grooves 4c, 14c, concave portion 4f, and claw 4g, the convex portion corresponds to the detent claws 3f, 13f, convex portion 3i, and edge 3j, and the concave portion corresponds to the stopping grooves 4c, 214c, concave portion 14f, and stopping portion 4g, but the invention is not limited to the constitution of the illustrated embodiments alone. The presser plates 3, 13 may be formed in a common structure, and may be used commonly when fixing anyone of the presser foot 4 or 14. The pressing surface of the presser foot 4, 14 may be coated with a sliding member of a small contact resistance such as Teflon resin or silicone resin, or a sliding member formed in sheet or film may be adhered and fixed. As other fixing method, alternatively, by exciting one or both of presser plate 3, 13 and presser foot 4, 15, they may be attracted and fixed by the magnetic force. WE CLAIM; 1. A presser foot 4 for a sewing machine 1, said presser foot 4 being mounted on a vertical presser bar A of the sewing machine 1, having means for attaching said presser foot 4 to said vertical presser bar A, said means for attaching comprising: spring means 3d; means for connecting said spring means 3d to said vertical presser bar A; a horizontal presser plate 3 connected to said spring means 3d; and detent claw means 3f, 13f connected to sides of said presser plate 3; and said presser foot 4 being capable of pressing a workpiece E supplied at a needle location to a feed dog D of the sewing machine, wherein the presser foot 4 is adapted to be pressed against the workpiece E by the elasticity of the presser plate 3 and the spring means 3d; and said presser plate 3 being provided to a clamp 2 fixed to said vertical presser bar A and said presser foot 4 is detachably provided by fixing means at the end of said presser plate 3. 2. A presser foot for a sewing machine as claimed in claim 1 which is of plural types to be detachably provided at the end of the presser plate 3 according to the sewing method to be adopted for the workpiece E. 3. A presser foot for a sewing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said fixing means is composed of mutually engaged one of detent claws 3f,13f, convex portion 3i, and edge 3j and one of stopping grooves 4c, 14c, concave portion 4f and stopping portion 4g provided on the confronting sides of said presser plate 3 and presser foot 4. 4. A presser foot for a sewing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cloth guide 5 for guiding said workpiece E in a cloth feed direction is provided at the front end of said presser foot 4. 5. A presser foot for sewing machine substantially as herein described particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings. 6. A sewing machine incorporating a presser foot as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5. The present invention discloses a presser foot for sewing machine 1 mounted on a presser bar A for composing a sewing machine, for pressing a workpiece (cloth) E supplied at a needle location to a feed Dog, in which the presser foot 4 is separated from the presser plate 3 and replaced with one selected out of plural types of presser foot 4 suited to the sewing method, so that the sewing method or the sewing width may be set or changed freely. Other parts are used commonly and hence it is not required to replace the entire presser foot for sewing machine 1 and the manufacturing cost is lowered. The presser foot 4 is pressed to the cloth by the elasticity of the presser plate 3 itself, and the cloth guide 5 guides the cloth E in the cloth feed direction.

Documents:

00072-cal-2000-abstract.pdf

00072-cal-2000-claims.pdf

00072-cal-2000-correspondence.pdf

00072-cal-2000-description (complete).pdf

00072-cal-2000-drawings.pdf

00072-cal-2000-form 1.pdf

00072-cal-2000-form 18.pdf

00072-cal-2000-form 2.pdf

00072-cal-2000-form 3.pdf

00072-cal-2000-form 5.pdf

00072-cal-2000-gpa.pdf

00072-cal-2000-letter patent.pdf

00072-cal-2000-reply f.e.r.pdf