Mattress edge sewing machine

A mattress edge chain-stitch sewing machine including a frame with a material supporting surface, a drive shaft revolubly mounted about a fixed axis in said frame, sewing instrumentalities defining a sewing station for said sewing machine and including a reciprocally driven needle carried by a needle bar mounted in said frame and operable along a fixed and generally vertical centerline and an across-the-line of feed looper mounted in operable combination with said needle for forming chain-stitches, and a feeding mechanism for advancing material beneath said needle bar and along a generally horizontal direction, said feed mechanism including a lower feed roller mounted for rotation about a fixed axis arranged below the material supporting surface of said machine, an upper feed roller biased into operable combination with said lower feed roller, with said upper feed roller being mounted for rotation about an axis in a manner permitting said upper feed roller to be shifted relative to said lower feed roller between a first position, wherein said upper and lower feed rollers are arranged in constant operable combination relative to each other to advance the material beneath the needle bar, and a second position, wherein said upper and lower feed rollers are separated from operable engagement relative to each other and wherein said upper and lower feed rollers are arranged in the line of and rearwardly of the generally vertical centerline of the needle bar by a distance less than 0.8625 inches, measured in the direction of material advancement, with said upper and lower feed rollers being positively and intermittently driven such that material advancing beneath the needle bar is moved in timed relation relative to the reciprocation of said needle bar.

A mattress edge chain-stitch sewing machine including a frame, a needle bar mounted for generally vertical reciprocatory movements within said frame along a fixed axis, a throat plate forming part of a material supporting surface of said machine, with said throat plate defining a working edge for said sewing machine, and with said working edge being disposed in proximate laterally spaced relation from the fixed axis of said needle bar, a looper mounted for rocking pivotal movements laterally across the fixed axis of said needle bar, with a tip of said looper remaining to one side of the working edge of said throat plate as said looper moves across the fixed axis of said needle bar, and wherein said needle bar moves in timed relation relative to the rocking pivotal movements of said looper, and with said needle bar traversing a distance in a single vertical direction at a ratio greater than 2:1 relative to the distance in a single lateral direction traversed by said looper, with said sewing machine further including a mechanism for pulling material along a generally direction and beneath the needle bar, and wherein said mechanism for pulling material along a generally horizontal direction and beneath the needle bar includes a lower positively driven feed roller mounted on said frame for rotation about a fixed axis arranged below the material supporting surface of said machine, an upper positively driven feed roller mounted on said frame for rotation about an axis arranged above the material supporting surface of the machine, and wherein said upper and lower feed rollers are mounted on said sewing machine such that a distance ranging between about 0.5 inches and about 1.0 inch, measured in the direction of material advancement, separates the centerline of said upper and said lower feed rollers relative to the centerline of said needle bar.

A mattress edge chain-stitch sewing machine having a frame, a drive shaft revolubly mounted in said frame, a needle bar driven by said shaft and reciprocal along a fixed path of travel, a throat plate arranged beneath the needle bar and forming part of a material supporting surface for said machine, with an edge of said throat plate being disposed in proximate lateral relation to said needle bar defining a working edge of said machine, and a stitch forming mechanism comprising:

• stitch forming instrumentalities including a needle mounted to a lower end of said needle bar for movement along a fixed generally vertical reciprocal path of travel;
• and with said stitch forming instrumentalities further including a looper arranged pivotal and across-the-line of feed movements relative to and in combination with said needle to form chain stitches in a workpiece, and with a tip of said looper remaining to one side of the working edge of said machine during a sewing operation;
• and
• wherein the needle traverses a distance in a single vertical direction at a ratio greater than 3:1 relative to the distance in a single lateral direction traversed by said looper during a single stitch forming cycle of said machine.