Patent Application
20110079172
This invention relates to quilting. More specifically, this invention relates to a device which can be attached to a quilting machine for creating a plurality of intricate stitching designs.
Quilting is a hobby and profession that has been performed for years. Specifically, a sewing machine is used in order to provide decorative patterns to a piece of fabric in order to manufacture a quilt. While a skilled seamstress is able to provide many different designs using merely a sewing machine and sewing table, many problems remain. Specifically, providing pattern designs that have circles therein can be extremely difficult. Following a curved path not only is tedious, takes a steady hand, and one wrong movement can ruin an entire design. As a result, many frustrations result when curved designs are attempted.
As a result of this problem devices have been made to attempt to help individuals provide curved stitching. Specifically, attachments can be provided to sewing machines to provide a curved design. However, problems remain with these types of attachments. Specifically, the sewing machine cannot be held in place thus rendering many of these attachments ineffective and difficult to operate.
In recent decades, quilting machines (aka longarm quilting machines) have been used to replace the slow and tedious task of hand quilting. The quilting machine consists of a C-frame sewing head which is movably mounted to a table or frame. The sewing head is mounted to the table or frame via trolleys or carriages which can be moved in both the X and Y axes. The fabric to be quilted is fastened to the table or frame via long rollers. The fabric is stretched horizontally between two parallel rollers, which are separated from one another typically by a distance of 10″ to 30″. The C-frame sewing head reaches over and under the exposed fabric, and sews the multiple layers of fabric together. The sewing head is moved in any combination of X and Y directions while stitching, and thereby creates stitching designs in the fabric.
While the experienced quilting machine operator is able to create intricate decorative stitching designs by manually moving the sewing head across the fabric, several problems remain for less experienced operators. Specifically, simple curves, arcs, and circles are extremely difficult to create with consistent results. More intricate designs cannot be replicated accurately by even the most experienced quilter. Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide an improved device which can be attached to the quilting machine in order to consistently control the movement of the sewing head, thus making a plurality of decorative stitching designs.
A quilting device secured to fabric rollers of a sewing table. The quilting device has a crossbar adjustably attached to the rollers. A base having a rotatable baseplate is attached to the crossbar, the rotatable baseplate having a periphery with a plurality of notches. A spiro attachment connected to the baseplate wherein the spiro attachment has a plate having internal teeth. The quilting device connected to a sewing machine by way of a stylus arm such that the quilting device controls the movement of the sewing machine.
The figures show an attachment device 10 that can be secured to the fabric rollers 12 of a sewing table 14 and attached to a sewing machine 16 (aka longarm quilting machine)(not shown). The attachment device 10 has a base 18 that has a crossbar 20 that mounts across the front 22 and rear 24 fabric rollers 12, spanning the exposed quilt material. There are two methods of attaching the crossbar 20 to the fabric rollers 22, 24:
In a first arrangement, the crossbar 20 has a first vertical flange 26 which hooks behind the rear fabric roller 24. In this arrangement the crossbar 20 has a second vertical flange 28 which, similar to the first vertical flange 26, hooks behind the front fabric roller 22, (on the side opposite the rear fabric roller 24). A clamp 30 then applies pressure inwardly on the front fabric roller 22 and rear fabric roller 24, thus holding the crossbar 20 in place by pulling the front 22 and rear 24 fabric rollers toward one another. Included is an adjustment bracket 32 for adjusting the length of the crossbar 20 to accommodate different spans between rollers 12 (which varies from one sewing machine manufacturer to another). In one arrangement the adjustment bracket 32 is a separate piece from crossbar 20 having an L-shaped form having a pair of slots 34 in parallel spaced alignment on its top surface which allows the adjustment bracket 32 to slide along crossbar 20 in a direction parallel to slots 34. Each slot 34 receives an attachment member 36, such as a bolt, screw or wing nut or the like. These attachment members 36 pass through crossbar 20 and adjustment bracket 20 and tighten thereby adjustably connecting crossbar 20 and adjustment bracket 32 at a desired length.
In a second arrangement, the clamp 30 has a second clamp flange 38 which hooks on front fabric roller 22 on the side opposite second vertical flange 28. A clamp 30, which is any form of clamp known in the art such as a lever-clamp, a screw-type clamp, or the like, then applies pressure inwardly on the same front fabric roller 22, thus holding the crossbar 20 in place by squeezing the front fabric roller 22 alone. The distal end 40 of the crossbar 20 is connected to a vertically adjustable member 42, which is adjustable in length and in angle. Vertical adjustment member 42 has an adjustment jig 42a which connects to an angular extension arm 42b whose length and angle are adjusted by adjustment mechanism 42c, in this case a locking knob. The angular adjustment arm 42b is adjustable to an upward angle, a downward angle or flat so as to fit various sewing machines. Angular extension arm 42b terminates at its distal end in a pad 44 which rests on the top surface of rear roller 24 regardless of the height of the rear roller 24 in relation to the height of the front roller 22. (Note that on some quilting machines the front 22 and rear 24 rollers are parallel to one another, while on other quilting machines the rear roller 24 may be several inches above the front roller 22).
Attached to the base 18 is a rotatable baseplate 46 that has a center opening 48 and a plurality of radial holes 50 that extend outwardly from the center opening 48 to a serrated periphery 52 that includes a plurality of notches 54. Two types of holes 50 extend radially from the center opening 48, round holes 56 and square holes 58 to be used depending upon the application desired. Locking pin 60 is utilized in association with the notches 54 of the periphery 52 of the baseplate 46 in order to lock the baseplate 46 in a specific position. Additionally, attached to the baseplate is a locking mechanism 62 that includes a slide bar 64, that connects to locking pin 60, and a keeper 68 so that the locking pin 60 may be secured within a notch 54 to lock the baseplate 46 in place.
The attachment device 10 additionally has a stylus arm 70 that has a pin 72 disposed therethrough at a first end 74 that fits within the rounded holes 56 of the baseplate 46 and extends to a second end 76 wherein the stylus arm 70 is attached to the sewing machine 16 via a front bracket or back bracket 78 that is attached to either the front or back 80 of the sewing machine 16. The bracket 78 has a slot 82. The stylus arm 70 has an opening 84 (not shown) wherein a pin 86 is used to secure the stylus arm 70 within the slot 82 through opening 84. The bracket 78 allows one to adjust the front to back position of the sewing machine 16 without moving the quilt. The bracket 78 additionally can be formed to fit any particular machine, and can be adjusted to find the center of a quilt block without having to advance the quilt. In this manner, the attachment device 10 allows positioning of the sewing machine 16 without the need to move the quilt, thus providing advantages over other attachment devices.
A plurality of templates 100 may be attached to the baseplate 46 of the attachment device 10. Each template 100 has openings 102 therein to attach to the baseplate 46. As an example, one template 100 may lock by way of locking pins 104 disposed through template 100 and be able to be rotated 90 degrees and lock again in order to make a crosshatch. Thus an individual is able to rotate the template 100×number of notches for a new starting point depending on the design. Thus the pin 72 of the stylus arm 70 follows the template design to move the sewing machine 16 to sew the desired design.
In addition to templates 100, an eccentric tool 110 may also be fit across the baseplate 46 of the attachment device 10 to provide circular patterns. The eccentric tool 110 is generally rectangular in shape having a plurality of centered openings 112 therethrough so that a locking pin 114 may be disposed through a first opening in the eccentric tool and through a radial hole in the baseplate 46 while the pin 72 of the stylus arm 70 is also disposed through an opening 112 in the eccentric tool 110. The eccentric tool 110 can then be rotated to move the sewing machine 16 in a circular pattern.
Also provided in the figures is a spiro attachment 120 that can be attached to the crossbar 20 and sits, or rides on, the baseplate 46. Specifically, the spiro attachment 120 contains 3 major parts including a plate or gear holder 122 having internal gear teeth 124 wherein the plate 122 is secured to the stylus arm 70 and acts as a slave that moves the sewing machine 16. The plate 122 has a recessed area 126 for receiving a middle gear 128 and a slot 130 disposed within the recessed area 126 that matches up with the square radial holes 58 of the base plate 46 of the attachment device 10. The middle gear 128 is a reducer ring gear that has a cartridge holder or a pocket 132 that has external teeth 134 on its outer periphery to mesh with the internal teeth 124 of the plate 122 and additionally has internal gear teeth 136. The middle gear 128 fits within the recessed area 126 of the plate 122 so its exterior teeth 134 matingly mesh with the interior teeth 124 of the plate 122. The plate 122 rotates as a pinion gear 138 and walks around the middle gear 128 in order to create a spiro graph. The third part is a plurality of gear cartridges 140 that are received by the internal teeth 136 of the middle gear 128. The gear cartridges 140 have a curved periphery and a slot 130 and square openings 146 disposed therein to attach the cartridges 140 within the middle gear 128.
A crank 150 is also provided in association with the spiro attachment 120 and has a pin 152 with a lock knob 154 and a square driveshaft 156 that is disposed through the square hole 58 of the pinion gear 138, and then through a radial square opening 58 in the baseplate 46 to secure the spiro attachment 120 thereto. A crank handle 158 is then affixed to the top of the square driveshaft 156 to provide rotation of the spiro attachment 120. Additionally, a pair of bearings (not shown) can be placed on either side of the middle gear plate of the spiro attachment 120 in order to minimize wear on the gearing. Thus, depending upon which radial square hole 58 in the baseplate 46 an individual places the square driveshaft 156, and the number of teeth on the pinion gear 122 used by the individual, different spirograph (trochoidal) designs can be created by rotating the crank handle 158.
A spiro centering tool 160 may also be inserted within the internal gear of the spiro attachment 120. The spiro centering tool 160 has intersecting cross member 162 and a central pin 164 that can be utilized to position the center of the plate 122 of the spiro attachment 120 axially with the center of the baseplate 46. In use the middle gear 128 and gear cartridges 140 are removed and the spiro centering tool 160 is placed against the internal gear teeth of the plate 122.
Additionally, a spreader bar 166 and tray 168 may also be secured to the attachment device 10. The spreader bar 166 flexes and/or supports the rollers 12 of the quilt table 14 in order to prevent compression from the toggle clamp 30. In an embodiment wherein the spreader bar 166 presents a tray 168 an individual may use the tray 168 to place sewing supplies thereon.
Thus provided is an attachment device 10 that can be secured to a quilting machine 14 in order to facilitate the creation of different patterns into the material. Included are provisions for templates, an eccentric tool and a spiro attachment to make curved patterns and spirographs. Thus, at the very least the stated objective has been met.
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that other various modifications could be made to the device without parting from the spirit and scope of this invention. All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/249,319 filed Oct. 7, 2009.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61249319 | Oct 2009 | US |
