Apparatus for guiding limp material

Claim 2

Apparatus for guiding material, such as a piece of textile material, in an automatic guidance system, said apparatus comprising a guide wheel and a back-up between which the material is fed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel mounting means about said swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, characterized in that means is provided for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material, wherein said drive means comprises a belt and pulley drive wherein the belt is trained around a pulley on the wheel axis, wherein said drive means further comprises a drive pulley located remote from said guide wheel, said belt being trained around said wheel pulley and said drive pulley, and wherein said apparatus further comprises a frame adapted to be secured to a sewing machine or the like and bearing means carried by the frame mounting said wheel for lateral swinging of the wheel, said wheel mounting means including a hollow shaft journalled in said bearing means, said shaft having said vertical swing axis on its axis, said belt intermediate said wheel pulley and said drive pulley passing through said shaft.

Claim 3

Apparatus for guiding material, such as a piece of textile material, in an automatic guidance system, said apparatus comprising a guide wheel and a abck-up between which the material is fed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel mounting means about said swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, characterized in that means is provided for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material, wherein said drive means comprises a belt and pulley drive wherein the belt is trained around a pulley on the wheel axis, wherein said pulley on said wheel axis constitutes saiD wheel and said belt is trained therearound and extends at least in part beyond the periphery of the wheel thereby to constitute a gripping surface of the wheel engageable with said material, further comprising one or more rings of resilient, nonslip material disposed on the outside of said wheel and constituting a portion of said gripping surface.

Claim 4

Apparatus for guiding material, such as a piece of textile material, in an automatic guidance system, said apparatus comprising a guide wheel and a abck-up between which the material is fed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel mounting means about said swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, characterized in that means is provided for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material, wherein said drive means comprises a belt and pulley drive wherein the belt is trained around a pulley on the wheel axis, wherein said pulley on said wheel axis constitutes saiD wheel and said belt is trained therearound and extends at least in part beyond the periphery of the wheel thereby to constitute a gripping surface of the wheel engageable with said material, further comprising one or more rings of resilient, nonslip material disposed on the outside of said wheel and constituting a portion of said gripping surface.

Claim 5

Apparatus for guiding material, such as a piece of textile material, in an automatic guidance system, said apparatus comprising a guide wheel and a back-up between which the material is fed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel mounting means about said swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, characterized in that means is provided for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material, wherein said drive means comprises a belt and pulley drive wherein the belt is trained around a pulley on the wheel axis, adapted for use on a sewing machine or the like wherein said drive means includes a variable speed drive operable in response to the speed of the feed of the material into the sewing machine, said variable speed drive positively driving said wheel substantially at the speed of feed of said material.

Claim 6

Apparatus for guiding material, such as a piece of textile material, in an automatic guidance system, said apparatus comprising a guide wheel and a back-up between which the material is fed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel mounting means about said swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, characterized in that means is provided for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material, wherein said drive means comprises a belt and pulley drive wherein the belt is trained around a pulley on the wheel axis, adapted for use on a sewing machine or the like wherein said drive means includes a variable speed drive operable in response to the speed of the feed of the material into the sewing machine, said variable speed drive positively driving said wheel substantially at the speed of feed of said material.

Claim 7

Apparatus for guiding material such as a piece of textile material, in an automatic guidance system, said apparatus comprising a guide wheel and a back-up between which the material is fed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel mounting means about said swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, characterized in that means is provided for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material, wherein said drive means comprises a belt and pulley drive wherein the belt is trained around a pulley on the wheel axis, wherein said drive means further comprises a drive pulley located remote from said guide wheel, said belt being trained around said wheel pulley and said drive pulley, and wherein said apparatus further comprises a frame adapted to be secured to a sewing machine or the like and bearing means carried by the frame mounting said wheel for lateral swinging of the wheel, said wheel mounting means including a hollow shaft journalled in said bearing means, said shaft having said vertical swing axis as its axis, said belt intermediate said wheel pulley and said drive pulley passing through said shaft, wherein said frame is swingably mounted on said sewing machine between a lowered operating position in which said wheel is engageable with said material on said back-up and a raised retracted position, and wherein said apparatus of this invention further comprises means biasing said wheel into gripping engagement with said material on said back-up when said frame is in its lowered operating position.

Claim 8

Apparatus for guiding material such as a piece of textile material, in an automatic guidance system, said apparatus comprising a guide wheel and a back-up between which the material is fed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel mounting means about said swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, characterized in that means is provided for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material, wherein said drive means comprises a belt and pulley drive wherein the belt is trained around a pulley on the wheel axis, wherein said drive means further comprises a drive pulley located remote from said guide wheel, said belt being trained around said wheel pulley and said drive pulley, and wherein said apparatus further comprises a frame adapted to be secured to a sewing machine or the like and bearing means carried by the frame mounting said wheel for lateral swinging of the wheel, said wheel mounting means including a hollow shaft journalled in said bearing means, said shaft having said vertical swing axis as its axis, said belt intermediate said wheel pulley and said drive pulley passing through said shaft, wherein said frame is swingably mounted on said sewing machine between a lowered operating position in which said wheel is engageable with said material on said back-up and a raised retracted position, and wherein said apparatus of this invention further comprises means biasing said wheel into gripping engagement with said material on said back-up when said frame is in its lowered operating position.

Claim 9

An automatic guidance system for guiding material, such as a piece of textile material, into a sewing machine, said sewing machine having a needle and means for feeding material forward through the machine for stitching thereof by the needle, said system comprising a guide wheel and a back-up between which the material is fed to the needle and said feeding means, said guide wheel and back-up being located upstream from the needle and feeding means in respect to the direction of feed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel about said Swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, wherein the improvement comprises the provision of means for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material to feed the material toward said feeding means and needle at a speed so related to the speed of feed of the material by said feeding means as to avoid deleterious stretching of the material between said guide wheel and said feeding means.

Claim 10

An automatic guidance system for guiding material, such as a piece of textile material, into a sewing machine, said sewing machine having a needle and means for feeding material forward through the machine for stitching thereof by the needle, said system comprising a guide wheel and a back-up between which the material is fed to the needle and said feeding means, said guide wheel and back-up being located upstream from the needle and feeding means in respect to the direction of feed, means mounting the wheel for rotation on a generally horizontal axis and for swinging movement about a generally vertical swing axis offset from the wheel axis on the upstream side of the wheel axis in respect to the direction of feed, and means for swinging said wheel about said Swing axis to effect lateral swinging of the wheel to shift the material, wherein the improvement comprises the provision of means for positively driving the wheel in the direction of feed of the material to feed the material toward said feeding means and needle at a speed so related to the speed of feed of the material by said feeding means as to avoid deleterious stretching of the material between said guide wheel and said feeding means.

Claim 11

An automatic guidance system as set forth in claim 5 comprising a support, a tubular shaft journalled in said support for rotation on said vertical swing axis, and a wheel carrier on the shaft carrying the wheel downstream from said swing axis, said drive means for the wheel comprising a belt and pulley drive comprising a pulley carried by said support and a belt trained around said pulley, extending through said shaft, and trained around said wheel.

Claim 12

An automatic guidance system as set forth in claim 6 wherein the wheel has a central peripheral groove receiving the belt.

Claim 13

An automatic guidance system as set forth in claim 7 wherein the belt extends at least in part beyond the periphery of the wheel thereby to constitute a gripping surface of the wheel engageable with said material, and the wheel has material gripping rings on opposite sides of the belt.

Claim 14

An automatic guidance system as set forth in claim 5 wherein said drive means for the wheel includes a variable speed drive for varying the speed of the wheel in accordance with variation in the speed of feed of the material by said feeding means.