Abstract:
A magazine for a plurality of reels of tape provided with a device for selecting a reel of tape to be used, comprising a plurality of supports for the reels, which can slide on a guide so that the reels form a stack whose axis is parallel to the guide, elements for actuating simultaneously the plurality of supports along the guide in order to position the reel of tape to be used in a preset point of the guide.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a magazine for a plurality of reels of tape provided with a device for selecting a reel to be used and a reel to be replaced.  
           [0002]    The invention is meant to have various applications. In particular, reference is made to the application of the magazine to the feeding of sewing machines, in which the tape is taken from a reel and sewn in order to trim, reinforce and finish an article. For example, in so-called mattress border stitching machines the tape is applied so as to cover the perimetric edges of the mattress. Currently, replacing the tape if the reel is depleted or replacing it with another one of a different type requires rather long times on the part of operators, due to the lack of immediate availability and promptness of preparation of the new reels.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a magazine that is capable of storing a plurality of reels and is structured so as to allow to replace depleted reels and select the reel to be used in each instance.  
           [0004]    Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a magazine that can be combined with a sewing machine, particularly a mattress border stitching machine.  
           [0005]    This aim and this and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved with a magazine for a plurality of reels of tape provided with a device for selecting a reel of tape to be used, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of supports for said reels, which can slide on a guide so that said reels form a stack whose axis is parallel to said guide, means for actuating simultaneously said plurality of supports along said guide in order to position the reel of tape to be used in a preset point of said guide.  
           [0006]    Advantageously, the supports are suitable to be moved independently of each other, so as to be able to move each individual reel into a position in which it is not aligned with said stack in order to be removed and/or replaced with another reel. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the following description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a magazine combined with a sewing machine for applying borders to mattresses;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the magazine of FIG. 1, taken from another viewpoint;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is an enlarged-scale view of the detail enclosed in the circle of FIG. 2;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a plan view of the detail of FIG. 3 in a different operating position;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is an elevation view of the magazine;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6 is a sectional view, taken along the line A-A of FIG. 4;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is a view of a device combined with the magazine for tensioning the tape being unwound;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is another view of the device of FIG. 7;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the de vice of FIGS. 7 and 8;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 10 is a view of a device for automatic selection of the reel to be used from the magazine. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    With reference to FIG. 1, the reference numeral  1  designates a known type of border stitching machine for applying borders to mattresses, i.e., for covering with a tape  2  the edges of a mattress. The machine consists of a sewing machine equipped with guiding and folding means, which guide the tape  2  to as to surround with it the edges of the mattress and allow their sewing in order to form a ridge that surrounds the mattress perimetrically.  
         [0019]    The tape  2  is unwound from a reel  3 , which together with other reels is contained in a magazine, generally designated by the reference numeral  4 . As shown more clearly in FIGS.  2  to  5 , the magazine  4  is composed of two vertical posts  5 , with the upper and lower ends of which two respective brackets  6  and  7  are rigidly coupled.  
         [0020]    The brackets  6  and  7  support a cylindrical bar  8  and a threaded rod  9 , which are parallel. More specifically, the bar  8  has opposite ends inserted in seats of the brackets  6  and  7 , while the threaded rod  9  is rotatably supported in the brackets  6  and  7  by means of bearings  10  and  11 .  
         [0021]    The threaded rod  9  is rotationally coupled to the output shaft  12  of a gearmotor  13 , which is coupled by means of a flange under the lower bracket  7 . The gearmotor  13  is of the reversible type in order to be able to actuate the rod  9  in both directions of rotation.  
         [0022]    Multiple supports  14  can slide on the bar  8  and on the threaded rod  9 ; in the illustrated example, such supports are four, but their number can vary according to the requirements. Each support  14  is composed of a laminar arm  15 , which is substantially triangular and is provided with an internally threaded bush or female thread  16  and with a sliding bush  17 . The female thread  16  is engaged on the threaded rod  9 , while the bush  17  slides on the bar  8 . In this manner, the rotation of the rod  9  determines the sliding of the bush  17  on the bar  8 , which accordingly acts as a guide.  
         [0023]    As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, the bush  17  is composed of two cylindrical half-shells  18  and  19 , which are mutually pivoted by means of a pivot  20  that is parallel to the bar  8 . The half-shell  19  can oscillate with respect to the half-shell  18 , which is fixed to the arm  15  so that its semicylindrical cavity  21  is directed toward the bar  8 . Likewise, on the arm  15  there is a recess  22 , which allows the bar  8  to engage and exit from the cavity  21  of the half-shell  18 .  
         [0024]    In the sides of the half-shells  18  and  19  that lie opposite those crossed by the pivot  20  there is a threaded hole  23  and a screw  24  with a knob  25 . When the half-shell  19  is turned in abutment against the half-shell  18 , the screw  24  is screwed into the hole  23  so as to complete the closure of the bush  17  on the bar  8  and allow the axial movement of the arm  15  following the rotation of the threaded rod  9 , preventing the arm  15  from rotating about the threaded rod  9 .  
         [0025]    Each arm  15  supports a container  26  for a respective reel  3  of tape  2 . The container  26  is constituted by a circular plate  27 ; a centering pin  28  for the reel  3  rises centrally from the plate, and a cylindrical side wall  29 , with a radial exit slit  30  for the tape  2 , rises peripherally from said plate.  
         [0026]    The operation of the described magazine is as follows.  
         [0027]    When the magazine is full, i.e., when in each container  24  there is a respective reel  3 , the bushes  17  of the supports  14  are closed on the bar  8  (see FIG. 2), so that the containers  26  form a stack whose axis is parallel to the bar  8 .  
         [0028]    When one wishes to feed the border stitching machine  1  with a tape  2 , the gearmotor  13  is actuated and, by turning the threaded rod  9 , lifts the entire stack of containers until the container that contains the intended tape is arranged at the level intended to ensure perfect guiding of the tape to the border stitching machine  1  (see FIG. 1).  
         [0029]    If the drawn tape  2  is used up, the gearmotor  13  is reactivated in order to bring to the intended level a container  26  that contains a new reel. In the meantime, the bush  17  of the container whose reel has been depleted is opened by unscrewing the screw  24 , so as to allow the arm  15  to turn into a position in which the container lies outside the stack and can be supplied with a new reel. The container thus replenished is returned to the stack with the others and rigidly coupled to the bar  8  by closing the bush  17 .  
         [0030]    A substantial advantage of the present invention is the fact that it allows not only the rapid replacement of depleted reels but also the replacement of one tape with another one that differs in terms of quality, material and dimensions.  
         [0031]    Numerous modifications and variations are possible in the practical embodiment of the invention. In particular, by mutually spacing the supports  14  appropriately, it is possible to replace the reels while leaving the containers  26  stacked and therefore without having to use openable bushes such as the bushes  17  described in the above example.  
         [0032]    In another version, the supports  14  are rotationally rigidly coupled to the bar  8  by bushes and the containers  26  are placed outside the stack by providing means that allow to move the containers with respect to the supports  14 .  
         [0033]    Advantageously, at the exit  30  of each container  26  there is a device  31  (see FIGS.  7 - 10 ) for adjusting the tension applied by the sewing machine  1  to the tape  2  being fed. Such device is constituted by a bracket  32 , which is fixed to the plate  27  and protrudes from the exit slit  30 . Two pins  33 ,  34  for guiding the unwound tape  2  are fixed to the bracket  32  at right angles thereto. The pin  33  is located in the slit  30  on the plane of the side wall  29 , while the pin  34  is mounted on the bracket  32  on the outside of the container.  
         [0034]    A block  35  is also fixed to the bracket  32  and is provided with a seat  36  in which a lever  37  is articulated; the lever oscillates about a pivot  38  that is perpendicular to the bracket.  
         [0035]    The lever  37  has a first arm, with the end of which a bar  39 , parallel to the pin  34 , is rigidly coupled. The pin  34  lies within the rotational arc of the bar  39 , so that the bar provides a sort of presser that acts on the tape  2  guided between the bar  39  and the pin  34 , retaining it by friction.  
         [0036]    The friction is obtained by means of a screw  40 , which acts on the lever  37  with the interposition of a spring  41  and, by being screwed more or less tightly, allows the bar  39  to clamp the tape  2  against the pin, so as to apply friction to the tape and adjust its tension as required by the sewing machine  1 .  
         [0037]    The described magazine can be provided with an electronic device for automatic selection of the container to be used.  
         [0038]    As shown in FIG. 10, the device comprises a control unit  42  controlled by a plurality of buttons P 1 , P 2 , . . . P n , each of which is associated with a value stored in memory which indicates the level of a respective support  4  along the guiding bar  8  and corresponds to the position of the container that contains the tape to be fed to the sewing machine.  
         [0039]    The signal that indicates the real elevation of the containers is established by a potentiometer  43 , installed on the bracket  6  and controlled by the threaded rod  9 .  
         [0040]    By acting on a button P 1 , P 2 , . . . P n , the operating cycle of the gearmotor  13  is started, raising or lowering the stack of containers  26  until the signal supplied by the potentiometer  43  corresponds to the signal stored in the control unit  42 , causing the threaded rod  9  to stop in the position in which the selected container is at the intended level.  
         [0041]    The described magazine can be used both vertically, i.e., with a vertical stacking of the supports, and horizontally, i.e., with the supports arranged along a horizontal axis.  
         [0042]    The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. BO2001A000014 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.