(19)
(11) EP 0 426 031 A1

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(43) Date of publication:
08.05.1991 Bulletin 1991/19

(21) Application number: 90120590.6

(22) Date of filing: 26.10.1990
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC)5D05B 75/00, D05B 75/02
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE CH DE DK ES FR GB GR IT LI LU NL SE

(30) Priority: 26.10.1989 NL 8902658

(71) Applicant: VAN ENGELAND MANAGEMENT B.V.
NL-7611 KA Aadorp (NL)

(72) Inventor:
  • van Engeland, Willi
    NL-7608 Almelo (NL)

(74) Representative: Schumann, Bernard Herman Johan et al
Arnold & Siedsma, Advocaten en Octrooigemachtigden, Sweelinckplein 1
2517 GK Den Haag
2517 GK Den Haag (NL)


(56) References cited: : 
   
       


    (54) Industrial sewing machine, sewing machine table and control pedal


    (57) The invention relates to industrial sewing work e.g. in a ready-made clothing workshop.
    For such an application the invention provides an industrial sewing system, comprising:
    • an industrial sewing machine (1) provided with a motor, (2) particularly an electro-motor, said motor comprising an adjustable coupling for adjusting the operation speed of the sewing machine,
      a control pedal, (3) connected with the coupling by means of connecting means, (4) and
    • a table (8) for supporting the sewing machine.

    Preferably the system is implemented such that the table comprises:
    • a support structure, (5-13)
    • a table top (8) supported by said support structure for supporting said sewing machine,
    • height-adjusting means (11-12) for adjusting the height of the table top, and
    • angle-adjusting means (22-23) for adjusting the angular position of said table top.



    Description


    [0001] The invention relates to industrial sewing work e.g. in a ready-made clothing workshop.

    [0002] For such an application the invention provides an industrial sewing system, comprising:
    • an industrial sewing machine provided with a motor, particularly an electro-motor, said motor comprising an adjustable coupling for adjusting the operation speed of the sewing machine,
      a control pedal, connected with the coupling by means of connecting means, and
    • a table for supporting the sewing machine.


    [0003] Preferably the system is implemented such that the table comprises:
    • a support structure,
    • a table top supported by said support structure for supporting said sewing machine,
    • height-adjusting means for adjusting the height of the table top, and
    • angle-adjusting means for adjusting the angular position of said table top.


    [0004] The use of height-adjusting means and angle-adjusting means appears to be of the utmost importance in practice to have the staff members work with the system in an ergonomically responsible fashion. It appears that resulting from a correct height- and angle-adjustment which every staff member can choose at his or her own wishes and ideas, the working position can improve in such a way relative to a usual position that one has to assume and maintain during a working day for many hours, that back-aches, shoulder-aches and other complaints that can cause a relatively high illness-absenteeniism, appear to occur substantially little often.

    [0005] A simple embodiment is that, of which the height-adjusting means comprise at least one leg having an adjustable length, said leg comprising:
    • two hollow leg portions which are relatively telescopically shiftable and can be locked in a chosen position, the lower leg portion can rest on the floor, if necessary by means of a foot, and the upper leg portion is coupled with the table top by means of coupling means,
    • driving means for relatively shifting said leg parts, said driving means comprising:
      • an operating member such as a hand-operable handle for a motor, and
      • a screw spindle and a nut cooperating therewith, the one of which is rigidly fixed to the one portion of a leg and the other is connected with the other portion of that leg in a rotational fashion, but locked for axial movement, and can be rotated by said operating member.


    [0006] Preferably the support structure comprises two legs. In order to nevertheless be able to adjust the height of such a table with simple means, that embodiment may serve, that has the feature that the support structure comprises at least two legs and in that the height-adusting means have one operating member in common.

    [0007] In a specific embodiment the system is characterized by a connection tube extending between both legs, a driving rod extending through said tube, and being driveable at the one side by height-adjusting operating means present at the one leg and, at the other hand, can drive the height-adjusting operating means present at the other leg.

    [0008] In this last connection it should be noted that the rotatable driveable coupling rod between both height-adjusting operating means can also be present at the upper side. In the above described embodiment the connection tube serves as envelope or socket for the drive rod, but also for stiffening the structure, which may be of great importance, particularly in view of the large weight of industrial sewing machines.

    [0009] An alternative embodiment which is very easily and readily operable is characterized by an operating handle coupled with a driving shaft for driving the height-adjusting means.

    [0010] A simple embodiment of the system displaces the feature in that the angle-adjusting means comprise:
    • a hinge,
    • a slit hole having the shape of an argue of a circle concentric with said hinge, said hole cooperating with a locking screw, said slit hole and said locking screw being present in and connected with the support structure and/or the table top, respectively, for fixing the chosen angular position of the table top.


    [0011] In a practical embodiment the system has the characterizing feature that the driving shaft carrying the handle is carried by a bearing at the table top, in such a way that the handle extends in outward direction relative thereto, and that the driving shaft is hingeable or flexible, e.g. a flexible shaft or a shaft having at least cardanic coupling.

    [0012] In a certain embodiment the system has the feature that the adjusting pedal comprises a hingeable foot operating plate and a control arm, and that
    the connection means comprise two bowden-cables that can be loaded by said control arm for tensile forces for increase in an increasing degree and in a decreasing degree, respectively, activating the coupling for increasing and decreasing respectively, the operating speed of the sewing machine.

    [0013] Also the invention relates to a sewing machine table as specified above as a part of a system according to the invention.

    [0014] Furthermore the invention relates to an operating pedal for an industrial sewing machine as specified above as a part of the system according to the invention.

    [0015] Figures 1-4 enclosed herewith show several features and particulars of the system according to the invention.

    Figure 1 shows an industrial sewing machine system in perspective view;

    Figure 2 shows the sewing machine table according to Figure 1 in a perspective view partly broken-away;

    Figure 3 shows a perspective view partly broken-away of the operating pedal;

    Figure 4 shows the control pedal according to Figure 3 in another embodiment which is connected with the coupling between the motor and the sewing machine by means of bowden-cables.



    [0016] Figure 1 shows an industrial sewing system, comprising:
    an industrial sewing machine 1 provided with an electro-motor 2, said electro-motor comprising an adjustable coupling for adjusting the operating speed of the sewing machine 1,
    an operable and controllable pedal 3 connected with said coupling by means of two bowden-cables 4, and
    a table 5 for supporting the sewing machine 1.

    [0017] The table 5 comprises:
    two legs 6, 7,
    a table top 8 carried by said legs for supporting the sewing machine 1,
    height-adusting means to be specified herein below for adjusting the height of the table top 8, and
    angle-adjusting means to be specified herein below for adjusting the angular position of the table top.

    [0018] The legs 6, 7 each have an adjustable height and thereto comprise each:
    two hollow leg parts 9, 10, 11 and 12 that can shift relative to each other and can be locked in a chosen position, the lower leg parts 9, 11 being adapted to rest on the floor by means of a foot 13, and the upper leg parts 10, 12 being coupled with the table top 8 by means of adjustable coupling means 14, and
    driving means for relatively shifting the leg parts 9, 10; 11, 12, said driving means comprising:
    a hand-operable handle 15, and
    a screw spindle 16 and a nut 17 cooperating therewith, the nut 17 being rigidly coupled with the leg portion 11 (in this case for brevity's sake only the structure of leg 7 is described), in which the handle 15 can by means of a pinion system 8 bring the screw spindle 16 into rotation for height-adjustment of the table top. Thereto between both legs 6, 7 a connection tube 19 extends through which a rotatable driving rod 20 extends, which at the one side is driven by a pinion system 18 and at the other side drives the pinion system 21 present at a leg 6. Thus the height-adjusting means have one operating member in common, namely the handle 15.

    [0019] The angle-adjusting means comprise:
    a hinge 14 present at both sides of the table top, and
    a slit hole 22 having the shape of an argue of a circle concentrically arranged relative to said hinge and cooperating with a locking screw 23, by means of which the table top can be fixed relative to the legs 6, 7 in a chosen angular position of the table top 8.

    [0020] The driving shaft 24 carrying handle 15 is supported tiltably at the table top 8 by means of a bearing 25 and comprises a cardanic coupling 26.

    [0021] The control pedal 3 according to Figure 3 comprises a foot 27 and a foot-operable plate 29 coupled therewith by means of hinges 28. The bowden-cables 4 mentioned already can be loaded on tensile forces by the control arm 30 arranged on plate 29 in an increasing and decreasing degree, respectively, due to which the coupling (not shown) forming part of motor 2 can be activated in a higher or lesser degree for increasing and decreasing respectively, the operating speed of the sewing machine at constant driving speed of the motor.

    [0022] Figure 4 shows an operating pedal 31 in an alternative embodiment. The bowden-cables 4 in this structure are connected with a fixed sleeve 32 and a height-adjustable inner member 33, respectively, the height of which can vary as a reaction on the operation of the control pedal 31. The inner member 33 controls the coupling mentioned.


    Claims

    1. Industrial sewing system, comprising:

    - an industrial sewing machine provided with a motor, particularly an electro-motor, said motor comprising an adjustable coupling for adjusting the operation speed of the sewing machine,
    a control pedal, connected with the coupling by means of connecting means, and

    - a table for supporting the sewing machine.


     
    2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the table comprises:

    - a support structure,

    - a table top supported by said support structure for supporting said sewing machine,

    - height-adjusting means for adjusting the height of the table top, and

    - angle-adjusting means for adjusting the angular position of said table top.


     
    3. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the height-adjusting means comprise at least one leg having an adjustable length, said leg comprising:

    - two hollow leg portions which are relatively telescopically shiftable and can be locked in a chosen position, the lower leg portion can rest on the floor, if necessary by means of a foot, and the upper leg portion is coupled with the table top by means of coupling means,

    - driving means for relatively shifting said leg parts, said driving means comprising:

    - an operating member such as a hand-operable handle for a motor, and

    - a screw spindle and a nut cooperating therewith, the one of which is rigidly fixed to the one portion of a leg and the other is connected with the other portion of that leg in a rotational fashion, but locked for axial movement, and can be rotated by said operating member.


     
    4. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the support structure comprises at least two legs and in that the height-adusting means have one operating member in common.
     
    5. System according to claim 4, characterized by a connection tube extending between both legs, a driving rod extending through said tube, and being driveable at the one side by height-adjusting operating means present at the one leg and, at the other hand, can drive the height-adjusting operating means present at the other leg.
     
    6. System according to claim 2, characterized by an operating handle coupled with a driving shaft for driving the height-adjusting means.
     
    7. System according to claim 2, characterized in that the angle-adjusting means comprise:

    - a hinge,

    - a slit hole having the shape of an argue of a circle concentric with said hinge, said hole cooperating with a locking screw, said slit hole and said locking screw being present in and connected with the support structure and/or the table top, respectively, for fixing the chosen angular position of the table top.


     
    8. System according to claim 6, characterized in that the driving shaft carrying the handle is carried by a bearing at the table top, in such a way that the handle extends in outward direction relative thereto, and that the driving shaft is hingeable or flexible, e.g. a flexible shaft or a shaft having at least cardanic coupling.
     
    9. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the adjusting pedal comprises a hingeable foot operating plate and a control arm, and that
    the connection means comprise two bowden-cables that can be loaded by said control arm for tensile forces for increase in an increasing degree and in a decreasing degree, respectively, activating the coupling for increasing and decreasing respectively, the operating speed of the sewing machine.
     
    10. Sewing machine table as specified in any one of claims 2-8.
     
    11. Operating pedal for an industrial sewing machine as specified in claim 9.
     




    Drawing













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