Method of and apparatus for attaching slide fastener coupling chains to a flexible support
AssigneeOptilon W. Erich Heilmann GmbH
InventorHalmut Heimberger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of and a sewing machine for affixing a continuous chain of coupling members for a slide fastener to a flexible support, e.g. a garment or a tape to be applied to a garment, utilizes a fabric fed by a mechanism below the worktable and a presser foot with a feeder above the worktable which advances the coupling chain in a composite movement including up-and-down and back-and-forth components. According to the invention, at least one of the drives is adjustable so that the increment of the displacement of the respective member (fabric or coupling chain) can be varied to ensure that the two members are stitched together free from undulations or corrugations after the stitching operation or any subsequent treatment to which the product may be subjected.
Claims10
A method of securing a slide fastener coupling chain to a flexible support, comprising the steps of:
- (a) incrementally advancing said support past a stitching location;
- (b) feeding said coupling chain to said support and said stitching location and incrementally advancing said coupling chain past said location;
- (c) sewing said coupling chain to said support at said location by repeatedly passing a sewing needle between coupling heads of said chain and through said support at said location synchronously with the increment feeds of said support and said coupling chain;
- and
- (d) controlling the displacement per increment of feed of at least one of said incremental feeds to ensure flat, corrugation-free contact of the coupling chain with the support to which it is stitched at least after washing or ironing treatment thereof.
An apparatus for sewing a coupling chain to a flexible support comprising:
- a sewing machine table provided with a fabric-feed mechanism for advancing said support past a stitching location;
- a sewing machine head overhanging said table and provided with reciprocatable needle bar displacing a needle through said support at said location in synchronism with said mechanism;
- a biased presser foot mounted on said head and riding on said support at said location;
- a transport foot on said presser foot engageable with a coupling chain for advancing same past said location for stitching of said coupling chain to said support by said needle;
- a chain-feed mechanism synchronized with said needle bar for incrementally displacing said chain past said location;
- and
- control means operatively connected to one of said mechanisms for varying the displacement increment thereof to ensure flat contact of said chain and said support upon the stitching of said chain to said support.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.