subject: Apparatus For Sewing Kinesio Tape [print this page] An apparatus for use in sewing elastic kinesio tape to fabric, said apparatus comprising means for positioning the elastic tape on the fabric, tape tensioning means for tensioning the elastic tape with any one of a plurality of tape stretching forces, and means for sewing the elastic tape to the fabric while a selected one of the plurality of stretching forces is present in the elastic tape, said tape tensioning means including clamp means for applying a clamping force against the elastic tape, control means for varying the clamping force applied against the elastic kinesio tape by said clamp means, said control means including data storage means for storing data corresponding to a plurality of clamping forces, selector means connected with said data storage means for use in selecting data corresponding to any one of the plurality of clamping forces, and actuator means for effecting operation of said clamp means to change the clamping force applied against the elastic tape in response to actuation of said selector means to select the data corresponding to a clamping force different than the clamping force applied against the elastic tape by said clamping means.
A generally known elastic kinesio tape sewing machine is adapted to place a sewing portion of an elongated elastic tape to be sewn on a fabric, to retain the combined body of the elastic tape and the fabric between feed teeth and a presser foot opposed to the feed teeth, to feed the combined body by the feed teeth and to sew the elastic tape by a sewing needle to the fabric. In this case, the elastic tape is supplied from a tape winding bobbin through a through hole in the presser foot to space between the feed teeth and the presser foot.
Conventionally, in such a sewing machine, the elastic kinesio tape to be sewn is fed to have suitable tension on the fabric. Thus, in the course of the elastic tape from the bobbin to the presser foot, the elastic tape is passed between a pair of retaining members pressing the elastic tape. The retaining members are adapted to press the elastic tape by urging a movable retaining member onto a fixed retaining member by the force of a spring.
