Gathering sewing machine and method
AssigneeNIKE, Inc.
InventorCho Se-Je
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sewing machine able to gather one or more materials through a variable speed transfer disc or transfer cup. The gathering operation can assist in joining materials of different lengths without causing a warp or other unintended variation in the sewn article. The gathering operation may be used in connection with sewing of an article of footwear upper with an insole portion to form a foot-receiving cavity. During a sewing operation, a tension on the thread may be adjusted and confirmed with a display output. Similarly, an indication of pressure applied to decrease a rotational speed of the transfer disc or the transfer cup may be presented on a display output to achieve repeatability across operators and articles.
Claims14
A sewing machine, comprising:
- a thread tensioner, the thread tensioner comprising a tightening member and a pressing part, wherein the thread tensioner is adapted to allow adjustment of a tension experienced by a thread extending between the pressing part and the tightening member;
- a gathering assembly, the gathering assembly comprised of a transfer cup and a transfer disc between which an intended article to be sewn is able to pass, wherein the transfer cup has a larger diameter than the transfer disc;
- a brake assembly adapted to variably adjust rotational speed of the transfer disc;
- a speed adjusting assembly adapted to variably adjust rotational speed of the transfer cup;
- and
- an operator tension input allowing for operator adjustment of tension by the thread tensioner.
A sewing machine, comprising:
- a gathering assembly, the gathering assembly comprising a transfer cup and a transfer disc between which an intended article to be sewn is able to pass, wherein the transfer disc has a smaller diameter than the transfer cup;
- a brake assembly adapted to variably adjust rotational speed of the transfer disc;
- a speed adjusting assembly adapted to variably adjust rotational speed of the transfer cup;
- and
- an operator speed input controllably linked with the speed adjusting assembly and adapted to allow operator control of the rotational speed of the transfer cup,
- wherein the transfer cup has a faster transfer speed than the transfer disc as the brake assembly is activated.
A method of operating a sewing machine, the method comprising:
- transferring a first material and a second material through a gathering assembly, the gathering assembly comprised of a transfer cup and a transfer disc;
- applying a brake to the transfer disc to reduce a transfer speed of the second material relative to a transfer speed of the first material;
- stitching the first material with the second material while applying the brake;
- reducing an application of the brake to the transfer disc, the first material and the second material having a same transfer speed;
- and
- stitching the first material with the second material while reducing an application of the brake.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.