EP2508663B1

EP2508663B1 - Sewing machine with device for spool changing

Info

Publication number: EP2508663B1
Application number: EP12163460.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Guerreschi
Original assignee: Vi Be Mac SpA
Current assignee: Vi Be Mac SpA
Priority date: 2011-04-07
Filing date: 2012-04-05
Publication date: 2018-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 2032-04-05
Also published as: ITVR20110070A1; EP2508663A1; TR201819045T4

Description

The present invention refers, in general, to a sewing machine with a particular device for the substitution of the spool received in the crochet.
More particularly, the present invention refers to a sewing machine in which the spool received in the rotary crochet in the base of the machine is easily replaceable.
As is known, the sewing machines performing a mechanical sewing in the industrial sector to sew together two or more pieces of cloth are usually conceived according to different constructive techniques on the base of the various operations to be performed.
For instance, one-needle units or units provided with more needles are known to sew articles of clothing such as jeans trousers, trousers in general, various garments, shirts, technical fabrics such as airbags and so on.
In the most conventional forms, said versions are provided with a base and an upper head which are connected to each other through an arm and an upright. One or more oscillating needles are positioned in the head to pierce with a first thread the fabrics to be sewn while means such as one or more crochets are included in the base to cooperate with the needle for the formation of the stitch, the base being also provided with a conveying device for the conveyance of the pieces of fabrics to be sewn.
The crochet receives the spool with the second thread which cooperates with the first thread to form the stitch. The axis of rotation of the crochet may be vertical or horizontal.
In case the axis of rotation of the crochet is horizontal, the crochet is easily accessible in the inside of the base; in fact, in this case, when it is necessary to substitute the spool, it is sufficient to open a port of the lower side part of the base and substitute the spool,
In case the axis of rotation of the crochet is vertical, it is necessary to reach the crochet from the upper part of the base of the sewing machine. In fact, in this case, a removable plate is put on the upper part of the base to allow the spool to be substituted.
This operation is rather difficult in case the upper part of the base of the sewing machine is equipped with apparatuses such as the belt conveyor devices handling the fabrics according to specific programs or other apparatuses of various types. When the spool received in the crochet has to be substituted, the operator must remove said apparatuses to free the room above the removable plate and replace the spool. However, this operation involves time costs.
The patent documents US 4 223 617 and US 2006/0180065 disclose a sewing machine with a tiltably looptaker for allowing replemishment of thread supply. The patent document WO 2004/113603 discloses a flexible, multi-head, heavy duty stitcher with automatic bobbin.
An aim of the invention is to overcome the above disadvantaaes and other ones by carrying out a sewing machine in which the spool received in the crochet is easily accessible and allows a comfortable substitution.
A further aim of the invention is to build a sewing machine in which the crochet and the relative spool are reached easily.
Another aim of the invention is to build a sewing machine in which the access to the crochet and the substitution of the spool take place safely.
A further aim of the invention is to build a sewing machine in which the substitution of the spool contained in the crochet is accomplished without removing fabrics or apparatuses from the base.
The above aims and other ones are reached according to the invention through a sewing machine comprising a head with at least one needle and a base in which at least one rotary crochet is comprised and has a vertical axis of rotation when the sewing machine is operating. In the inside of the crochet, a basket is received and receives, in turn, a spool.
The base comprises at least one block which receives the crochet and is movable in relation to the base so that the block is arranged alternately in a working position in which the crochet is under the needle, or in a non-working position in which the crochet is moved away from the needle so as to be accessible.
In particular, the block of the sewing machine according to the invention comprises a basket stopping element, fixed to said block and suitable for stopping the basket in which the spool is received even when the block is moved away so that the sewing machine phase is not lost.
In the sewing machine according to the invention, it is also possible to position the crochet in such a position to allow an easy substitution of the spool without removing fabrics or apparatuses on the base. This position is reached with a simple displacement of the block comprising the crochet.
Besides, the basket stopping element, which is integral with the block, allows the spool to be substituted without interrupting the synchronism or phase of the machine. In other terms, when the block is moved to substitute the spool, the basket in the crochet is not moved, nor rotated since it is locked by the basket stopping element and therefore, it remains in the same position in which the sewing had been interrupted befre accomplishing the substitution of the spool. In particular, the sewing machine is characterized by the fact that the base comprises a dog feed which moves ahead the cloth to be sewn and that the block is pivoted through a pin to the base so that the block rotates round the pin and is brought from the working position to the non-working position, and vice-versa. In this way, in case the movements are accomplished manually, it is sufficient for the operator to grip the block and make it rotate around the pin.
The pin may have a horizontal axis so that the crochet is accessible from a side, namely, a side of the base of the machine.
Advantageously, the pin has a horizontal axis which is parallel to the development direction of the base so that in the rest position, the crochet is accessible from the base side in front of the operator.
The block is locked in the working position through locking means, in the form of one or more magnets.
The release of the block from the working position is obtained by means of lever mechanisms to facilitate the operations performed by the operator. Besides, in the sewing machine according to the invention, moving means are comprised to move the block from the working position to the non-working position, and vice-versa, in an automatic, controlled way.
Further features and details of the invention will be better understood from the following specification supplied as a non-limiting example as well as from the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is an axonometric top view of a sewing machine according to the invention in a configuration in which the block receiving crochet and spool is in the working position;
Fig. 2 is a detail indicated with A in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is an axonometric top view of the sewing machine in Fig. 1 in the configuration in which the block is in position for the substitution of the spool by allowing the access to the crochet and to the relative spool;
Fig. 4 shows the block in which the crochet and the relative spool are received.

With reference to the accompanying figures, in particular to Figures 1 and 3, number 10 denoted a sewing machine comprising a base 12 and a head 14 which are connected to each other through an upright 16 and an arm 18. The base 12 comprises a main body 22 on which an upper plate 24 is disposed. The fabric to be sewn slides on the upper plate 24.
As represented in Figures 1 and 3, a block 20 is pivoted upon the main body 22 by means of a pin 26 which is disposed horizontally in the same direction of development of the base 12.
The block 20, represented apart in Fig. 4, comprises a crochet 28 with a basket 29 in which a spool 30 may be received. The block 20 is provided with a basket stopping element 32 to prevent the basket 29 and the spool 30 received in the basket 29 to rotate relative to the crochet 28.
The crochet 28 in the block 20 is suitably connected to devices of known art allowing an automatic, controlled rotation of the crochet 28. These devices are disposed in the main body 22 of the base 12. In particular, the pin 26 coincides with the transmission shaft disposed longitudinally in the base 12; consequently, the pin 26 acts as an axis around which the block 20 may rotate and in addition, the pin 26 moves the crochet 28 by means of suitable gears of known art, partially represented in Figure 4.
According to a first configuration, called hereinafter working configuration, the block 20 is disposed in such a way, relative to the main body 22 of the base 12, that the axis of the crochet 28 is vertical and orthogonal to the surface of the plate 24, as it appears from Figures 1 and 2.
In said configuration, the crochet 28 and the relative spool 30, received in the crochet, are disposed under the needle 36 so that the sewing operation is performed on the fabric, as visible in Figure 2.
In case it is necessary to substitute the spool 30 or in case it is necessary for the operator to reach the crochet 20 easily, the block 20 is rotated around the pin 26 in order to assume a second configuration, called configuration for spool substitution, represented in Figure 3.
In this configuration, the axis of the crochet 28 is horizontal and the crochet is reachable laterally, relative to the base 12. In this position, the operator can reach the crochet 28 easily for the substitution of the spool 30 or for an upkeep of the crochet 28.
The rotation of the block 20 and consequently the rotation of the crochet 28 may be effected by the operator manually.
The locking of the block 20 in the positions corresponding to the working configuration and to the configuration for spool substitution takes place through a rigid coupling of the block 20 with the main body 22 of the base 12. In particular, the lower surface of the plate 24, adjacent to the block 20, comprises a magnetic element on which the block 20 abuts so that the block 20 is locked in position. In this way, it is possible to permanently maintain the axis of rotation of the crochet 28 in a vertical position in order to allow a regular working of the sewing machine.
A lever mechanism, not represented in the Figures, facilitates the release of the position of the block 20 according to the first working configuration.
According to a variant of the invention, in a sewing machine of the so-described type it is possible that the movement of the block between the working configuration and the configuration for the spool substitution may be effected by means of a mechanical system, for instance a piston, which, in addition to the rotation, locks the block in the wished position in an automatic, controlled way.
According to another variant, in a sewing machine according to the invention, the movement of the crochet in the block takes place through autonomous driving means and the pivot permitting the rotation of the block does not act as a transmission shaft transmitting the motion between the base and the crochet having a vertical axis.
Through the rotation of the block and the position of the crochet in the configuration for the spool substitution, the sewing machine according to the invention may comprise also a device for an automatic spool substitution, which is disposed at the side portion of the base.
A technician of the sector could make changes or variants which are to be considered as included in the scope of protection of the present invention. For instance, the pivot around which the block rotates with the crochet may be disposed horizontally but in an orthogonal position, and not in a parallel position as in the above described case, relative to the development of the base and arm of the sewing machine. In this way, in the rest configuration for the spool substitution, the crochet is turned laterally but it is disposed on the short side of the base of the sewing machine.

Claims

Sewing machine (10) comprising a head (14) with at least one needle (36), and a base (12) in which at least one crochet (28) is comprised, that can rotate and has a vertical axis of rotation when in a working position when the sewing machine is sewing a cloth, said at least one crochet (28) receiving a spool basket (29) which in turn receives a spool (30), wherein the base comprises at least one block (20) which receives the at least one crochet (28) and is movable in relation to the base (12) so that the at least one block (20) is arranged alternately in the working position in which the at least one crochet (28) is under the at least one needle (36), or in a non-working position in which the at least one crochet (28) is moved away from the at least one needle (36) so as to be accessible, wherein the at least one block (20) is pivoted relative to the base (12) through a pin (26) so that the at least one block (20) rotates round the pin and is brought from the working position to the non-working position, and vice-versa; the base (12) comprising a dog feed which moves the cloth to be sewn; the at least one block (20) being locked through locking means in the working position,
characterized by the facts that the locking means comprise a magnet, and
that the at least one block (20) comprises a spool basket stopping element (32) fixed to said at least one block (20) and suitable for stopping the spool basket (29) by preventing its rotation when the at least one crochet (28) is moved away from the at least one needle (36).
Sewing machine (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein a device for an automatic spool substitution is comprised, said device for an automatic spool substitution being disposed at the side portion of the base.
Sewing machine (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the pin (26) has a horizontal axis.
Sewing machine (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the pin (26) has a horizontal axis which is parallel to the development direction of the base (12).
Sewing machine (10) according to claim 4, wherein the pin (26) is a transmission shaft which is connected with the crochet (28) so as to rotate said crochet (28) when the block (20) is in the working position.
Sewing machine (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein lever mechanisms are comprised to disengage the at least one block (20) from the working position.
Sewing machine (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein moving means are comprised to move the at least one block (20) from the working position to the non-working position, and vice-versa.