US 5,209,171 AGranted

Carpet edge binding machine

OwnerMartin L. Andersoninventor

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Abstract

A machine for sewing a binding tape to a cut edge of carpeting comprises a wheel-mounted sewing machine having an opposed pair of pinch rollers engaging opposed sides of the carpeting, the pinch rollers being inset from the cut edge and one of the rollers being intermittently motor driven in synchronism with the reciprocating movement of the sewing machine's needle assembly. As the one pinch roller is driven, the sewing machine moves along the floor as the binding tape is played from a reel, folded longitudinally and stitched to the carpet edge. The machine incorporates a spring-biased needle guide which effectively surrounds the needle shank as it moves reciprocally up and down to create the stitches. This guide prevents deflection of the needle and possible breakage thereof should it encounter a hard object, such as a glue bead or the like in the carpet backing. The wheels on which the sewing machine rides are mounted on the bottom on a pan-shaped base which supports the sewing machine and prevents soiling of the carpet by lubricating grease. The pan-shaped base also shields certain of the mechanical linkages of the sewing machine from damage incident to rough handling.

Claims8

Dependent claims

In a machine for sewing binding tape to a cut edge of floor carpeting, said carpeting having a pile surface on a backing layer, said machine comprising a supply of fabric binding tape, wheels, and having a baseplate supporting a machine arm on an upper side thereof, said machine arm having a needle assembly mounted therein and a drive motor for reciprocally moving said needle assembly in a generally vertical direction for generating stitches, carpet feeding means for engaging the carpeting to be bound, and means mounted on said baseplate for folding said binding tape over the cut edge of said carpet as said sewing machine is advanced along said edge of said carpet and said stitches are applied to said binding tape and carpet, the improvement wherein:

said feeding means consisting of a driving roller with a longitudinally serrated surface and being driven intermittently by said drive motor through a flexible shaft to engage said pile surface of said carpet and an idler roller for engaging said backing layer to advance said sewing machine along said edge of said carpet,
said driving roller being journaled for rotation about an axis offset slightly laterally of an axis of movement of said needle assembly and engages said carpet over an entire length of said roller a predetermined distance inward of said cut edge of said carpeting and out of lateral alignment with said needle assembly.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.