Cap driver for embroidery machine
OwnerKenneth H. W. Evansinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cap driver for supporting a cap holder on an embroidery machine has a cylindrical shell that is yieldably biasedly supported on support rollers and guided during rotation by guide wheels that are rotatably attached to one end of a pivotable arm that allows the guide wheels, and cylindrical shell, to ride over obstructions that may occur during rotation of the shell. The guide wheels mate with a rail that has a surface elevated above the outer surface of the shell. The cap driver overcomes the problem of fixed support and guide wheels that previously caused distortion of the cylindrical shell when obstructions were encountered during rotation. Also, the present invention overcomes the problem of debris buildup in a circumferential guide groove on the outer surface of the shell.
Claims8
A cap driver for an embroidery machine, said cap driver being rotatably mounted on a moveable frame of said machine and comprising:
- a cylindrical shell having arcuate inner and outer surfaces;
- a plurality of support rollers rotatably mounted on said moveable frame and in rolling contact with the arcuate inner surface of said cylindrical shell;
- a circular rail member circumferentially mounted on said arcuate outer surface of the cylindrical shell and having a predefined outer surface disposed in radially outwardly spaced relationship with respect to the arcuate outer surface of said cylindrical shell;
- and,
- a plurality of guide wheels each being rotatably mounted on and pivotably moveable about a predetermined position on said moveable frame and having a circumferentially disposed flanged portion shaped to rotatably engage at least a portion of the predefined outer surface of the circular rail member, the flanged portion of each of said plurality of guide wheels being maintained in yieldable biased contact with said outer surface of the rail member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.