Fabric pusher foot for making piping or welting

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a fabric presser foot for a sewing machine for sewing a filling material into a fabric.

[0002] A seam that joins two layers of fabric together can be designed or constructed in many different ways. One possible form of such a seam is piping or welting. Both piping and welting refer to a fold in fabric that is filled with filling material. Piping is often used as a decorative element on garments, for example on uniforms, to emphasize the seam. Piping can also be used to reinforce a seam, for example on the edges of trouser pockets or the seams of seat cushions. Welting is very similar to piping in terms of design and construction, but is mainly used to reinforce the edges of cloth or tarpaulin, so that these edges can be easily inserted into a holder and held in place by it.

[0003] With piping, the filling material is typically a cord, a thick string, a rope, or a plastic-based filler or round cord. With piping, the filling material can also be a dimensionally stable rod or tube.

[0004] To create piping or welting, the filling material is placed on a piece of fabric and the fabric is then folded over the filling material so that the fabric fits snugly against the filling material. The resulting two layers of fabric are placed on top of each other close to the filling material and then joined together. Typically, the two layers of fabric are sewn together, with the sewing typically performed using a sewing machine. When sewing the layers of fabric together, it is crucial, among other things, that the fabric fits snugly against the filling material and that the seam runs close to the filling material while maintaining a certain distance from the filling material.

[0005] For creating piping or welting with a sewing machine, special sewing machine feet, sewing machine presser feet, or fabric presser feet are available. These are also called piping feet or welting feet. Such a piping or welting foot typically includes a recess in the sole of the foot designed to guide the filling material past the sewing machine needle during sewing, allowing the sewing machine needle to sew a seam next to the filling material, which is edged with the tight-fitting fabric, to join the two layers of fabric.

[0006] A typical piping or welting foot can only sew filler material into a fabric that has a specific spatial dimension. This specific spatial dimension is determined by the spatial dimension of the indentation in the sole of the foot.

[0007] To produce piping, for example, cords with a cord diameter of 3 mm or 5 mm are sewn into a fabric. If the sewing is done using a sewing machine, a first piping foot is used to produce piping with a cord with a cord diameter of 3 mm, the first of which has a recess that matches the 3 mm cord. To produce piping with a cord with a cord diameter of 5 mm, a different piping foot is used, the recess of which has a different spatial dimension, namely that matches the 5 mm cord. The same applies to conventional welting feet.

[0008] A presser foot for a sewing machine is known from JPH07272U. The presser foot sole comprises a presser foot body and a guide body. The guide body is mounted on the presser foot body by means of an adjusting screw, adjustable transversely to the direction of movement of the fabric. This allows the width of a guide gap between a guide surface of the guide body and the presser foot body to be adjusted to accommodate and guide piping or welting of different thicknesses during sewing. The guide surface of the guide body can be straight or have a curvature at its lower end.

[0009] US3031985 relates to a tape edge sewing machine in which a tape binder, a core guide, and an adjustable guide plate are arranged on a pivoting support mounted on the forearm. The guide plate serves to resiliently press the tape with the bound core against the edge of a mattress, ensuring that these parts fit tightly together during the sewing process.

[0010] Prior art piping or welting feet can sometimes only process one filling material size into a piping or welt and are not very flexible in their use. It is an object of the invention to provide a fabric presser foot that allows a piping or welt to be produced using a sewing machine and that can be used more flexibly than known piping or welting feet.

[0011] The object is achieved by a fabric presser foot according to the features of claim 1. The dependent claims relate to preferred embodiments of the fabric presser foot.

[0012] The invention relates to a fabric presser foot for a sewing machine for pressing a fabric to be sewn onto a needle plate or onto a fabric pusher element of the sewing machine so that the fabric can be transported in a feed direction during sewing, comprising a shaft for attaching the fabric presser foot to a sewing machine, a needle opening through which the sewing machine needle can be passed during sewing, and a fabric presser foot sole with an elongated recess in the fabric presser foot sole, wherein the elongated recess extends along its longitudinal direction laterally next to the needle opening so that the longitudinal direction runs parallel to the feed direction during sewing, the elongated recess forming a guide wall which is designed to guide a filling material to be sewn into the fabric to be sewn past the needle opening in the feed direction during sewing, and to press it against the fabric to be sewn,and the elongated recess has an extension L in the longitudinal direction, an extension B in the width, and an extension T in the depth, wherein the guide wall comprises a guide wall section that is fixed in position relative to the needle opening and a guide wall section that is displaceable relative to the needle opening, wherein the displaceable guide wall section is displaceable and lockable along a displacement direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the elongated recess, so that one of the extensions B, T can be variably adjusted by displacing and locking the displaceable guide wall section.

[0013] The shank of the presser foot is typically attached to the presser bar of a sewing machine. The presser bar is usually tensioned by a spring and presses the attached presser foot down onto the needle plate or fabric feed bar, so that a fabric to be sewn that lies between the presser foot sole and the needle plate or fabric feed bar can be clamped and fed in the feed direction. The shank of the presser foot is thus attached to a sewing machine in such a way that the presser foot is pressed down onto the needle plate or fabric feed bar as described above, and the fabric to be sewn can be clamped and fed in the feed direction. For this purpose, the shank can have a receptacle for an end section of the presser bar, into which receptacle the end section can be inserted.The presser foot can then be connected to the presser bar by clamping it against the end section of the presser bar. Clamping can be achieved, for example, using a screw clamp or a tension lever device.

[0014] When sewing, the needle opening allows the sewing needle to penetrate the fabric being sewn. The needle opening forms a recess in the presser foot through which the sewing needle can be guided while sewing. The needle opening is typically designed to allow passage through multiple needle positions while sewing. At the same time, the needle opening is designed so that the fabric remains pressed down as the sewing needle emerges.

[0015] The presser foot sole is the part of the presser foot that is closest to the fabric being sewn or that is in direct contact with it during sewing. The presser foot sole comprises a surface along which the fabric is fed during sewing. The fabric to be sewn is pressed down onto the needle plate or the feed bar by the presser foot sole and clamped in such a way that the fabric can be fed in the feed direction.

[0016] The elongated recess extends laterally next to the needle opening, allowing the sewing needle to pierce the fabric next to the elongated recess. This elongated recess can, for example, be semi-tubular.

[0017] The elongated recess forms a guide wall. This guide wall is designed so that a filling material, which is to be sewn into the fabric to create piping or piping, is guided past the needle opening during sewing.

[0018] When using a fabric presser foot according to the invention to produce piping or piping, the filling material is typically placed on the fabric to be sewn, which is then wrapped snugly around the filling material so that the filling material lies between two layers of fabric. The filling material is then edged or wrapped with a layer of fabric. To complete the edge or wrapping, the two layers of fabric are sewn together close to the filling material and at a certain distance from the filling material. To do this, the filling material wrapped with a layer of fabric is guided into the elongated recess of the fabric presser foot. As a result, during sewing and thus during the transport of the fabric to be sewn, the filling material, which is wrapped with a layer of the fabric to be sewn, is guided past the needle opening in the elongated recess.At the same time, the two layers of fabric to be joined are transported in the transport direction under the needle opening so that the two layers of fabric next to the filling material can be pierced by the sewing needle and the two layers of fabric can thus be joined by sewing.

[0019] The guide wall is also designed to press the filling material against the fabric to be sewn, i.e. against the surrounding layer of fabric, so that the filling material can be transported together with the fabric to be sewn.

[0020] The dimension L corresponds to the longitudinal length of the depression. The dimension T corresponds to the depth of the depression in a direction perpendicular to the presser foot sole. The dimension B corresponds to the width of the depression in a direction perpendicular to both the depth and the length. The dimension refers to the spatial extent of the depression.

[0021] The guide wall comprises a guide wall section that is fixed in position relative to the needle opening. "Fixed in position" means that the position of this guide wall section is fixed or predetermined relative to the needle opening.

[0022] The guide wall also includes a movable guide wall section that can be moved relative to the needle opening. "Movable" means that this guide wall section, i.e., its position, can be moved relative to the needle opening.

[0023] The displaceability is provided along a displacement direction that runs transversely to the longitudinal direction of the elongated recess.

[0024] The movable guide wall section can be locked.

[0025] Lockable means that the movable guide wall section can be moved from a movable state to a locked state, in which the movable guide wall section is fixed, blocked, or locked with respect to its movement. The movable guide wall section can also be moved from a locked state to a movable state.

[0026] The movable guide wall section is movable such that the extent of the elongated recess can be variably adjusted by moving and locking the movable guide wall section. An extent refers to one of the extents B and T. Variably adjustable means that an extent can be adjusted differently or is variably adjustable. This means that the extent can be adjusted differently or is variably adjustable by moving and locking the movable guide wall section. For example, the extent B can be adjusted to a first width and a second width by moving and locking the movable guide wall section, wherein the first and second widths are different. The same applies to the extent T.

[0027] By providing a movable guide wall section, the spatial extent of the recess can be variably adjusted. This makes it possible to adapt the inventive presser foot to the spatial extent of the filling material to be sewn in. Thus, the inventive presser foot can be used flexibly and eliminates the need for multiple presser feet for sewing in filling materials with different spatial dimensions, thus eliminating the need for changing the presser foot.

[0028] By providing a fixed guide wall section, the variable adjustment of the spatial extent of the recess is easily enabled by moving the movable guide wall section relative to the fixed guide wall section, while simultaneously keeping the guide wall stable. The fact that only one guide wall section is movable also makes the presser foot easier to manufacture. Based on prior art piping feet or welting feet, it can be seen that it was initially recognized that it is disadvantageous to provide such piping feet or welting feet that are only designed for sewing in a filling material with a specific spatial extent.

[0029] In a second step, it was recognized that it is worthwhile to design the recess, which guides the filling material past the sewing needle during sewing, in such a way that its spatial extent can be varied or adjusted and thus adapted to different spatial extents of a filling material.

[0030] In a third step, it was recognized that this variable adjustability can be provided by the guide wall having a fixed guide wall section and a movable guide wall section.

[0031] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the dimensions B and T are variably adjustable by moving and locking the movable guide wall section. This means that, according to this embodiment, both the dimensions B and the dimensions T are variably adjustable. This allows the spatial extent of the recess to be adapted in two dimensions to the spatial extent of the filling material. This results in optimal guidance of the filling material, regardless of the set spatial extent of the recess. In particular, the one layer of fabric surrounding the filling material is pressed firmly against the filling material, regardless of the set spatial extent of the recess.

[0032] According to the invention, the positionally fixed guide wall section has a plane, and the displacement direction runs parallel to this plane, wherein the displaceable guide wall section is displaceable along this plane.

[0033] This plane can enclose an angle W of 0° ≤ W ≤ 90°, preferably of 20° ≤ W ≤ 70°, more preferably of 30° ≤ W ≤ 60°, more preferably of 40° ≤ W ≤ 50°, in particular of 45°, with the shaft.

[0034] This allows the movable guide wall section to be moved by means of a simple sliding movement. This allows the presser foot to be used flexibly and is easy to handle. According to a further embodiment of the presser foot, the fixed guide wall section extends between the movable guide wall section and the needle opening, wherein the fixed guide wall section is designed to guide the filling material past the needle opening at a specific distance from the needle opening during sewing.

[0035] This ensures that the two fabric layers to be joined can be pierced by the sewing needle at a specific distance from the filling material, regardless of the spatial extent of the filling material. This results in an improved, more uniform finish of the piping or piping.

[0036] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the displaceable guide wall section is displaceable along the displacement direction toward the fixed-position guide wall section and / or away from the fixed-position guide wall section.

[0037] This ensures that the spatial extent of the recess can always be adjusted so that the filler material is pressed against the fixed wall section. This results in better controllable guidance of the filler material.

[0038] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the fabric presser foot has a displacement device with a guide which is fastened to the fabric presser foot, and a slider element guided in the guide, wherein the displaceable guide wall section is formed on the slider element, so that the displaceable guide wall section can be displaced by displacing the slider element.

[0039] The guide can, for example, be a linear guide. The linear guide then extends along the direction of displacement and parallel to it. The linear guide can be groove-shaped.

[0040] The slide element can be dimensioned so that it can be guided in the linear guide, in particular in the groove-shaped guide.

[0041] The slide element can be designed such that the width of the slide element matches the width of the groove-shaped guide, in such a way that the slide element can be guided in the groove-shaped guide.

[0042] The slide element can be designed such that the thickness of the slide element matches the height of the groove-shaped guide, in such a way that the slide element can be guided in the groove-shaped guide.

[0043] The slide element can be designed such that the width and thickness of the slide element matches the width and height of the groove-shaped guide, in such a way that the slide element can be guided in the groove-shaped guide.

[0044] This ensures that the movable guide wall section can be moved easily and controllably along the displacement direction.

[0045] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the displaceable guide wall section and the slider element are designed such that the displaceable guide wall section can be removably attached to the slider element.

[0046] This ensures that the movable guide wall section is interchangeable. Different guide wall sections can be attached to the slider element. Guide wall sections that can be attached in this way can differ, for example, in their sliding properties or wear characteristics. This makes the presser foot flexible and adaptable.

[0047] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the slider element has male or female plug elements and the displaceable guide wall section has corresponding female or male plug elements, wherein the displaceable guide wall section and the slider element can be plugged together by means of the plug elements.

[0048] A male connector element can be a protruding element. The protruding element can, for example, be pin-shaped. A male connector element is designed to be plugged into a female connector element.

[0049] A female connector element forms a receptacle for a male connector element and is configured such that the male connector element can be inserted into the receptacle. The female connector element can be a recess configured such that a male connector element formed as a protruding element can be inserted into the recess.

[0050] Such a plug-in connection allows for a simple and secure connection of the guide wall section to the slider element. This makes the presser foot flexible and adaptable.

[0051] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the fabric presser foot has a locking device, wherein the displaceable guide wall section can be locked by means of the locking device.

[0052] This ensures that the movable guide wall section can be easily and securely locked into place. This allows for easy and secure adjustment of the presser foot to the filling material being sewn.

[0053] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the latching device comprises a first latching means and a second latching means, wherein the first latching means is formed on the slider element and the second latching means is formed on the guide and the first latching means can be latched on the second latching means.

[0054] The first or second locking means can be a pivotably mounted rocker, with a protruding, hook-shaped element formed at one end of the rocker. The rocker can be pivoted from a rest position under the action of force, with a restoring force acting on the rocker, pushing the rocker back to its rest position.

[0055] The first or the second locking means can be formed by hook-shaped recesses, each corresponding to the protruding, hook-shaped element, wherein these are designed such that the protruding, hook-shaped element of the rocker can be locked into a hook-shaped recess corresponding thereto.

[0056] To engage, the end of the rocker with the protruding, hook-shaped element is pivoted from its rest position under the application of force. The protruding, hook-shaped element is then positioned relative to a corresponding hook-shaped recess in such a way that the restoring force causes the protruding, hook-shaped element of the rocker to engage the corresponding hook-shaped recess.

[0057] This ensures easy and secure locking. This allows for easy and secure adjustment of the presser foot to the filling material being sewn.

[0058] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the displacement direction with the shaft encloses an angle W of 0° ≤ W ≤ 90°, preferably of 20° ≤ W ≤ 70°, more preferably of 30° ≤ W ≤ 60°, more preferably of 40° ≤ W ≤ 50°, in particular of 45°.

[0059] This allows the movable guide wall section to be moved with a simple sliding movement. This makes the presser foot flexible and easy to handle.

[0060] According to one embodiment of the fabric presser foot, the slider element has a handle.

[0061] This allows the movable guide wall section to be easily moved. This makes the presser foot easy to handle and offers excellent performance characteristics.

[0062] The handle may extend along the sliding direction and protrude from the slider element in a direction away from the recess.

[0063] The presser foot according to the invention is described in more detail below purely by way of example using specific embodiments illustrated in the figures. They show: Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a presser foot according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the Figure 1 shown embodiment of a fabric presser foot according to the invention, wherein each of the three front views shows the fabric presser foot with differently adjusted extensions B and T of the elongated recess; and Figure 3 the three front views of the Figure 2 , each with a filling material guided in the elongated recess.

[0064] Figure 1shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a fabric presser foot 1 according to the invention. The fabric presser foot 1 comprises a shaft 4. The shaft 4 can be attached to a presser bar of a sewing machine. For this purpose, the shaft 4 has a receptacle into which an end section of a presser bar can be inserted and in which the end section of the presser bar can be fixed. The fabric presser foot 1 shown also comprises a fabric presser foot sole 6 which is connected to the shaft 4 so as to be pivotable about an axis. The fabric presser foot 1 shown comprises a needle opening 5 through which the sewing machine needle can be passed during sewing. The fabric presser foot 1 comprises an elongated recess 7 in the fabric presser foot sole 6, said elongated recess 7 forming a guide wall. When sewing piping or piping, this guide wall guides a filling material 8 to be sewn into a fabric past the needle opening 5 next to the needle opening 5.Attached to a presser bar, the guide wall presses the fabric 2 to be sewn against the filling material 8. The elongated recess 7 has an extension L in the longitudinal direction, an extension B in the width, and an extension T in the depth. The guide wall comprises a fixed guide wall section 9 and a guide wall section 10 that is displaceable relative to the needle opening 5. The displaceable guide wall section 10 is displaceable along a displacement direction 11 transverse to the longitudinal direction of the recess 7. For this purpose, the displaceable guide wall section 10 is removably attached to a slide element 15. For removably attaching the displaceable guide wall section 10, the male plug elements 16b in the form of protruding pin-shaped elements, and the slide element 15 has female plug elements in the form of recesses that are designed such that the pin-shaped elements can be inserted into the recesses.A handle 18 is formed on the slider element 15, which allows easy movement of the movable guide wall section 10. The fabric presser foot 1 comprises a locking device 17 by means of which the movable guide wall section 10 can be locked.

[0065] Figure 2 shows three front views of the Figure 1shown embodiment of a fabric presser foot 1 according to the invention, wherein each of the three front views shows the fabric presser foot 1 with differently adjusted extensions B and T of the elongated recess 7. The three front views of the fabric presser foot 1 show the slider element 15, the handle 18 formed thereon, and a rocker 19 formed on the slider element 15. The rocker 19 comprises a hook-shaped element that can be latched into a hook-shaped recess formed on the guide 14. The guide 14 comprises several such hook-shaped recesses. By pressing on the end of the rocker 19 that is opposite the end with the hook-shaped element, the rocker 19 can be pivoted out of the rest position. With the rocker 19 in the position pivoted out of the rest position, the slider element 15 can be displaced along the displacement direction 11.The hook-shaped element of the rocker 19 can be positioned relative to a hook-shaped recess such that when the pressed end of the rocker 19 is released, the hook-shaped element of the rocker 19 can be engaged in the corresponding hook-shaped recess. Furthermore, the three front views show the elongated recess 7 in the presser foot sole 6. The guide wall formed by the elongated recess 7 comprises a plane 12 along which the displaceable guide wall section 10 can be displaced such that the dimensions B and T of the elongated recess 7 can be adjusted. The displaceable guide wall section 10 shown can be displaced along a displacement direction 11 that forms an angle W of 45° with the shaft 4.

[0066] Figure 3 shows the three front views of the Figure 2, each with a filling material 8 guided in the elongated recess 7. The filling material 8 is wrapped by a layer of the fabric 2 to be sewn, whereby the enveloping layer of fabric lies snugly against the filling material 8. Close to the filling material 8, the two fabric layers to be joined by sewing come together. The fixed guide wall section 9 enables the sewing needle to pierce the two fabric layers at a certain distance from the filling material 8. By connecting the two, in Figure 3 A piping or piping can be made from the layers of fabric shown by sewing.

Claims

1. A presser foot (1) for a sewing machine, for pressing down a fabric (2) to be sewn onto a stitch plate or onto a feed dog element of the sewing machine such that the fabric during sewing is transportable in a transport direction (3), the presser foot comprising: a shank (4) configured to fasten the presser foot (1) to a sewing machine, a needle opening (5) through which the sewing machine needle is able to be guided during sewing, a presser foot sole (6) having an elongate depression (7) in the presser foot sole (6), the elongate depression (7) in the presser foot sole (6) extends along a longitudinal direction thereof laterally adjacent to the needle opening (5) such that the longitudinal direction during sewing extends parallel to the transport direction (3), the elongate depression (7) forms a guide wall which during sewing is configured to guide a filler material (8) to be sewn into the fabric to be sewn in the transport direction (3) laterally beside the needle opening (5) and past the needle opening, and to press said filler material (8) against the fabric to be sewn, and the elongate depression (7) has an extent L in the longitudinal direction, an extent B in the width, and an extent T in the depth, characterized in that the guide wall comprises a guide wall portion (9) that is positionally fixed relative to the needle opening (5) and a guide wall portion (10) that is displaceable relative to the needle opening (5) and the displaceable guide wall portion (10) is displaceable along a displacement direction (11) and lockable transversely to the longitudinal direction of the elongate depression (7) such that one of the extents B, T transverse to the extent L of the elongate depression is variably adjustable by displacement and locking the displaceable guide wall portion (10), characterized in that the positionally fixed guide wall portion (9) has a plane (12), the displacement direction runs parallel to this plane (12), and the displaceable guide wall portion (10) is displaceable along this plane (12).

2. The presser foot (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the extent B and the extent T are variably adjustable by displacement and locking the displaceable guide wall portion (10).

3. The presser foot (1) according to any of Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the positionally fixed guide wall portion (9) extends between the displaceable guide wall portion (10) and the needle opening (5), and the positionally fixed guide wall portion (9) during sewing is configured to guide the filler material (8) past the needle opening (5) at a specific spacing from the needle opening (5).

4. The presser foot (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the displaceable guide wall portion (10) along the displacement direction (11) is displaceable at least one of towards the positionally fixed guide wall portion (9) or away from the positionally fixed guide wall portion (9).

5. The presser foot (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises a displacement apparatus (13) having a guide (14) and a slider element (15) which is guided in the guide (14), and the displaceable guide wall portion (10) is configured on the slider element (15) such that the displaceable guide wall portion (10) is displaceable by displacement of the slider element (15).

6. The presser foot (1) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the slider element (15) has a handle (18).

7. The presser foot (1) according to Claim 5 or Claim 6, characterized in that the displaceable guide wall portion (10) and the slider element (15) are configured such that the displaceable guide wall portion (10) is removably fastenable to the slider element (15).

8. The presser foot according to Claim 7, characterized in that the slider element (15) has male or female plug elements (16a, 16b), and the displaceable guide wall portion (10) has mutually corresponding female or male plug elements (16a, 16b), and the displaceable guide wall portion (10) and the slider element (15) are pluggable into each other via the plug elements (16a, 16b).

9. The presser foot (1) according to any of Claims 2 to 8, characterized in that it further comprises a latching device (17), and the displaceable guide wall portion (10) is lockable by the latching device (17).

10. The presser foot (1) according to Claim 9, characterized in that the latching device (17) comprises a first latching element and a second latching element, the first latching element is configured on the slider element (15), and the second latching element is configured on the guide (14), and the first latching element is latchable onto the second latching element.

11. The presser foot (1) according to any of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the displacement direction (11) and the shank (4) enclose an angle W of 0°≤ W ≤ 90°, preferably of 20° ≤ W ≤ 70°, more preferably of 30° ≤ W ≤ 60°, more preferably of 40° ≤ W ≤ 50°, in particular of 45°.