JP2001096088A - Sewing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sewing machine, which a user can adjust parameter relate to sewing excluding a conveyance speed of sewing cloths sensuously with good machine response. SOLUTION: In a sewing machine M, by sliding an operation part 13a of a speed volume 13, a motor speed of the sewing machine is changed and a conveyance speed of sewing cloths varies. By subscribed operation on a touch panel with a transparent touch keypad on a LCD 10, the motor speed of the sewing machine changes to a prescribed fixed value and a seam length or a needle swing width becomes changeable responding to sliding of the operation part 13a. The seam length or the needle swing width is adjusted responding to position of the operation part 13a, so that a user can recognize adjusting level sensuously. And the machine response is improved by adjusting the seam length and the needle swing width immediately responding to moving position of the operation part 13a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sewing machine for forming a seam on a work cloth while transporting the work cloth, and more particularly to a sewing machine having a movable operation part, and The present invention relates to a sewing machine capable of adjusting a transfer speed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of sewing machine has sewing means for forming a seam on a work cloth while transporting the work cloth, and a movable operation section, and the sewing is performed according to the position of the operation section. And an adjusting means for adjusting the conveying speed of the work cloth by the means. In the sewing machine configured as described above, when the operation unit is moved, the adjusting unit adjusts the transport speed of the work cloth by the sewing unit according to the position of the operation unit. The drive speed of the entire sewing means, such as the vertical movement speed of the sewing needle, is also adjusted in one-to-one correspondence with the adjustment of the transport speed. For this reason, the stitch can be formed by the sewing means while the work cloth is conveyed at a conveying speed desired by the user. The adjusting means may be a so-called speed volume mainly composed of a variable resistor whose resistance value changes according to the position of a knob as an operation unit.

Further, in this type of sewing machine, attempts have been made to make it possible to adjust the length of a stitch, the swing width when sewing a zigzag pattern, and the like. In this case, the length and the swing width of the seam are generally adjustable by a so-called touch panel having touch keys made of transparent electrodes on the surface of the display.

[0004]

However, on the touch panel, the length and the swing width of the stitch are displayed as numerical values, so that it is impossible to make intuitive adjustments. And the like cannot be freely changed. The slow response speed of the touch panel requires a predetermined time for confirming key press such as chattering elimination, and further increases or decreases only one step (for example, 0.1 mm) for each key press. This is because they cannot do it.

[0005] When adjusting the transport speed of the work cloth by the speed volume, the amount of adjustment can be intuitively grasped in accordance with the position of the knob, and when the knob is moved, it is instantaneous in accordance with the position. The above-mentioned conveyance speed is adjusted, so that the responsiveness is extremely good. On the other hand, other parameters such as the stitch length and the swing width could not be properly adjusted with the conventional sewing machine as described above. For this reason, for example, even if it is attempted to sew a zigzag pattern while changing the swing width, the change in the swing width cannot be changed as desired, and a desired pattern cannot be formed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sewing machine capable of adjusting parameters relating to sewing other than the transport speed of a work cloth with good response and intuitively.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a sewing means for forming a seam on a work cloth while conveying the work cloth;
A sewing machine having a movable operation unit, and a speed adjustment unit that adjusts a transfer speed of the work cloth by the sewing unit according to a position of the operation unit; and a function of the speed adjustment unit, The sewing machine further includes a function switching unit that performs switching for adjusting another parameter relating to the operation of the sewing unit. When the function switching unit performs the switching, the speed adjustment unit performs the other switching according to the position of the operation unit. It is characterized in that parameters are adjusted.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, when the function of the speed adjusting means for adjusting the transport speed of the work cloth is switched for adjusting other parameters relating to the operation of the sewing means, the speed adjustment is performed. The means adjusts the other parameters according to the position of the operation unit. Then, since the other parameters can be adjusted according to the position of the operation unit, the amount of adjustment can be intuitively grasped. In addition, when the operation unit is moved, the other parameters are immediately adjusted according to the position, so that the responsiveness is extremely improved. Therefore, in the present invention, parameters related to sewing other than the transport speed of the work cloth are responsive, and
It can be adjusted intuitively. For example, if the swing width of the needle can be set as the other parameter, the zigzag pattern can be sewn freely while changing the swing width.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the function switching means executes the switching, the transport speed of the work cloth by the sewing means is fixed. . In the present invention, when the function switching unit executes the above switching, that is, when the speed adjusting unit is used for adjusting the other parameters,
The transfer speed of the work cloth by the sewing means is fixed. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to perform sewing at a constant speed while changing the other parameters by the speed adjusting means. Therefore, according to the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the sewing operation can be performed more stably.

[0010] The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
In addition to the configuration described above, the function switching means selectively switches the function of the speed adjustment means at least for adjustment of desired parameters including a stitch length and a swing width. The length and swing width of the stitch are extremely strong parameters that are required to be freely changed during sewing. In the present invention, the function of the speed adjusting means can be selectively switched by the function switching means for adjustment of desired parameters including at least the stitch length and the swing width. For this reason, it is possible to freely change the length of the seam during sewing or to freely change the swing width, and the seam pattern formed by the sewing machine can be made more desired. . Therefore, according to the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect of the present invention, an effect that a desired seam pattern can be more preferably formed on a work cloth is generated.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to third aspects, further provided is an instruction means for instructing the switching by the function switching means in response to a user operation. It is characterized by: In the present invention,
The user can instruct the function switching means to perform the switching by operating the instruction means. Therefore,
In the present invention, the function of the speed adjusting means can be switched or not arbitrarily switched as described above. Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of the first to third aspects, an effect that the operability of the speed adjusting means can be further improved is produced.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a switching state displaying means for displaying a switching state of the function of the speed adjusting means by the function switching means is further provided. It is characterized by having. In the present invention, the switching state display means displays the switching state of the function of the speed adjusting means by the function switching means. Therefore, it is possible to immediately know what function the speed adjusting means has at present based on the display state of the switching state display means. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily prevent the user from making a sewing error by mistaking the function of the speed adjusting means. Therefore, in the present invention, claim 1
In addition to the effects of the invention described in any one of the above-described embodiments, an effect is obtained that the user can be prevented from misunderstanding the function of the speed adjusting means, and the operability can be further improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the fifth aspect, there is further provided an instruction means for instructing the switching by the function switching means in response to a user operation,
The switching state display means also serves as the instruction means. That is, the present invention has both the structure of the indicating means described in claim 4 and the structure of the switching state display means described in claim 5, and both of them have one structure. For this reason, in the present invention, it is possible to extremely arbitrarily switch or not switch the function of the speed adjusting unit as described above, and to prevent the user from misunderstanding the function of the speed adjusting unit. This can be realized together without complicating the configuration of the device. Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 5, there is an effect that the operability of the speed adjusting means can be further improved without complicating the configuration.

[0014]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an appearance of a sewing machine M to which the present invention is applied. In the following description, the near side of FIG. 1 is the front of the sewing machine M, and the left side of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sewing machine M includes a bed 1, a pillar 2 erected from the right end of the bed 1,
An arm 3 extending leftward from an upper end of the pillar 2 so as to face the bed 1; The bed 1 has a feed dog vertical movement mechanism 51 for vertically moving the feed dog 50 (see FIG. 2).
And a feed dog back-and-forth movement mechanism 52 for moving back and forth, a thread wheel catcher (for example, a horizontal shuttle: not shown), which accommodates the lower thread bobbin and cooperates with the sewing needle 6, and the like. In the pillar 2, a card slot 2a for mounting an external ROM card 40 in which data of a stitch pattern such as a decorative pattern added as an option is recorded is formed on the right side surface.

The arm portion 3 has a needle bar vertical movement mechanism 53 (see FIG. 2) for vertically moving a needle bar 5 having a sewing needle 6 attached to a lower end thereof, and swings the needle bar 5 in a direction perpendicular to the cloth feeding direction. A needle swinging mechanism 54, an upper thread feeding mechanism 55 for feeding an upper thread toward the sewing needle 6, a balance driving mechanism (not shown) for moving the balance up and down by adjusting the vertical movement of the needle bar 5, and the like. I have. As shown in FIG. 2, power is transmitted from a main shaft 62 driven by a sewing machine motor 61 to a feed dog longitudinal movement mechanism 52, a feed dog vertical movement mechanism 51, a needle bar vertical movement mechanism 53, and a balance drive mechanism. The feed dog longitudinal movement mechanism 52 is configured so that the feed amount of the work cloth can be adjusted by a feed amount adjusting mechanism 56 driven by a feed dog pulse motor 63. The needle swing mechanism 54 is driven by a needle swing pulse motor 65, and the needle thread feeding mechanism 55 is driven by a needle thread feeding pulse motor 67.

Returning to FIG. 1, the head 4 of the arm 3
A start / stop key 12 for instructing start and stop of the sewing operation is provided, and a speed volume 13 for adjusting a transport speed of the work cloth mainly by the feed dog 50 is provided on the arm portion 3 above the start / stop key 12. . The speed volume 13 is mainly composed of a variable resistor, and is a known device that generates an analog signal corresponding to the position of the operation unit 13a (hereinafter, also simply referred to as the position of the speed volume 13).

A color liquid crystal display 10 is provided on the front surface of the arm portion 3. The liquid crystal display 10 has various stitch patterns such as practical patterns and decorative patterns, various function names, and even pattern names and various function names. Is displayed. On the front surface of the liquid crystal display 10, touch keys 11 made of transparent electrodes are provided in a matrix in correspondence with the display positions of the decorative patterns, the pattern names, and the function names indicating the functions. That is, the liquid crystal display 1
0 and the touch keys 11 constitute a so-called touch panel, and selection of a desired decorative pattern and instruction of a function can be realized by pressing the touch keys 11 corresponding to these decorative patterns, pattern names, and function names. it can.

Next, a control system of the sewing machine M will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, a control device C for controlling the entire sewing machine M includes an input interface 21, a CPU 22, a RO
It is mainly composed of a microcomputer in which an M23, a RAM 24 and an output interface 25 are connected by a bus 26. The input interface 21 is connected to the start / stop key 12, the touch key 11, and the speed volume 13, and also connected to the external ROM card 40 when the external ROM card 40 is mounted in the card slot 2a. In addition, a foot controller 29 is optionally connectable. The output interface 25 includes the various motors 61 to 67 provided in the sewing machine M and a liquid crystal display (L).
CD) 10 is connected.

Next, the processing executed by the control device C will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a main routine of a process executed by control device C. However, the reference symbol Si (i = 1, 3, 5,
...) indicate each step (the same applies hereinafter).

When this control is started by turning on the power, the control device C first executes an initialization process such as clearing each memory of the RAM 24 (S1).
Is displayed on the liquid crystal display 10 (S3). As shown in FIG. 4, this pattern selection screen includes:
A pattern key 101 for selecting straight stitching, expansion / contraction sewing, zigzag stitching, etc. as a seam pattern, a swing increase / decrease key 102 for increasing / decreasing a swing width of the sewing needle 6 when sewing the stitch;
A length increase / decrease key 103 for increasing / decreasing the length of a stitch, a thread tension setting key 105 for setting a thread tension, and
A swing volume key 107 and a length volume key 109, which will be described later, are displayed.

Returning to FIG. 3, after displaying the pattern selection screen in S3, it is determined whether any of the pattern keys 101 on the screen has been pressed and a pattern has been selected (S5). Is selected (S5: YES),
The selected pattern is displayed on the pattern display unit 111, and the process returns to S5.
The process proceeds to (S7). FIG. 4 corresponds to a state where the pattern key 101a corresponding to the zigzag sewing is pressed.

If the pattern key 101 has not been pressed (S5: NO), such as when a pattern has already been selected in S7 or when the pattern selected as the default is used,
Whether the swing volume key 107 has been pressed (S1
1) Whether the length volume key 109 has been pressed (S13), whether the start of sewing has been instructed by pressing the start / stop key 12 (S15), or whether other keys have been pressed. (S17) are sequentially determined. If no key is pressed (S5: N
O, S11: NO, S13: NO, S15: NO, S1
7: NO), and repeats steps S5 to S17 to wait while displaying the pattern selection screen.

The other keys include a swing increase / decrease key 102, a length increase / decrease key 103, a thread tension setting key 10
5 and the like. When these keys are pressed (S
17: YES), the corresponding key processing (S19), for example, the swing width, stitch length, or thread tension displayed between the swing increase / decrease key 102, the length increase / decrease key 103, or the thread tension setting key 105. After performing the process of changing the set value of the above, the process returns to the loop process of S5 to S17 again.

When the swing volume key 107 or the length volume key 109 is depressed, the control device C changes the function of the speed volume 13 from the function of adjusting the conveying speed of the work cloth to the swing of the sewing needle 6 as described later. Change to a function that adjusts the width or stitch length. Therefore, when the swing volume key 107 is pressed (S11: YE
S), a warning is displayed to the effect that the adjustment of the transport speed by the speed volume 13 becomes impossible (S21), and the display of the swing increase / decrease key 102 is deleted from the liquid crystal display 10 as shown in FIG. 5 (S23). In S23, as shown in FIG. 5, a speed increase / decrease key 113 for adjusting the transport speed is additionally displayed on the liquid crystal display 10, and the swing increase / decrease key 10 is displayed.
The value displayed between 2 and the speed volume 13
Change to a value corresponding to the position of. In addition, between the speed increasing / decreasing keys 113 forming a pair for increasing and decreasing, a display for visually expressing the transport speed (speed) is provided. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5, the swing volume key 107 is highlighted (S25), and a flag FLG described later is displayed.
Is set (S27), and the process proceeds to the above-described loop processing of S5 to S17.

When the length volume key 109 is depressed, a warning is displayed in the same manner as described above to the effect that it is not possible to adjust the transport speed with the speed volume 13 (S31), and the length increase / decrease key 103 is displayed. Is deleted (S3
3) The length volume key 109 is highlighted (S3
5), the flag FLG is set to the length (S37), and the flow shifts to the loop processing. Also in S33, a speed increase / decrease key 113 for adjusting the transport speed is additionally displayed on the liquid crystal display 10.

After the various settings are made as described above, when the start of sewing is instructed by pressing the start / stop key 12 (S15: YES), the control device C drives the above-described motors 61 to 67. Then, a sewing process for actually sewing the work cloth is performed (S41). Next, the sewing process will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the sewing process is started, the control device C starts the sewing machine motor 61 (S51).
Subsequently, the speed of the sewing machine motor 61 (including the speed of transporting the work cloth by the feed dog 50, the vertical movement speed of the sewing needle 6, and the like)
A motor speed determination process for determining the overall drive speed of the sewing machine M is executed (S53). In this motor speed determination processing, as shown in detail in FIG. 7, first, it is determined whether or not the foot controller 29 (FC) is mounted (S91), and if it is mounted (S91: YE).
(S), the speed of the sewing machine motor 61 is set to a speed corresponding to the depression amount of the foot controller 29 (S9).
2).

When the foot controller 29 is not mounted (S91: NO), the state of the flag FLG is referred to, whether the flag FLG is set to swing (S93), and the flag FLG is set to the length. It is sequentially determined whether or not it has been performed (S94). When neither the swing nor the length is set in the flag FLG (S93: NO, S9
4: NO), that is, during the processing of S5 to S17 described above, the swing volume key 107 is also changed to the length volume key 109.
If no button is pressed, the speed of the sewing machine motor 61 is set to a speed corresponding to the position of the speed volume 13 (SPV) (S95). If the flag FLG is set to either swing or length (S93: Y
ES or S94: YES), the speed of the sewing machine motor 61 is fixed to a predetermined speed set on the touch panel by operating the speed increase / decrease key 113 (S96).

After the speed is determined in one of S92, S95, and S96 in this manner, the flow shifts to S55 in FIG. 6, where the feed drive timing at which the feeding of the work cloth by the feed dog 50 should be started. It is determined whether or not. If it is the feed drive timing (S55: YES), S
The data of the feed amount preset in the sewing program corresponding to the pattern selected in 7 is read (S57), and subsequently, it is determined whether or not the flag FLG is set to the length (S59). If the flag FLG is set to the length (S59: YES), the feed amount read in S57 is corrected according to the position of the speed volume 13 (S61), and the flag FLG is set to the length. If not (S59: NO), the feed amount is set to the length increase / decrease key 1
After performing the correction according to the value set on the touch panel by the operation of 03 (S63), the process proceeds to S65. In S65, in order to realize the corrected feed amount, the feed dog pulse motor 63 is driven to control the feed amount adjusting mechanism 56.
Make adjustments.

After the driving of the feed dog pulse motor 63 in S65, or when it was not originally the feed drive timing (S55: NO), it is determined whether or not it is the swing drive timing to perform the needle swing (S71). ). If it is the swing drive timing (S71: YES), data of the swing width preset in the sewing program is read (S73), and it is determined whether the flag FLG is set to swing (S71). S75). If the flag FLG is set to swing (S75: YES), S7
After the swing width read in 3 is corrected in accordance with the position of the speed volume 13 (S79), if the flag FLG is not set to swing (S75: NO), the swing width is swung by the increase / decrease key 102. After the correction according to the value set on the touch panel by the operation (S81), the process proceeds to S83. In S83, in order to realize the corrected swing width, the swinging pulse motor 65 is driven to operate the swinging mechanism 54.

After the drive of the needle swing pulse motor 65 in S83, or when it was not originally the swing drive timing (S71: NO), it is determined whether or not the sewing program corresponding to the pattern has been completed (S85). . If the sewing program has not been completed (S85: NO), the process proceeds to S53, and the above-described processing is repeated.
85: YES), after the sewing machine motor 61 is stopped (S8
7), the process proceeds to the above-described loop processing of S5 to S17 (FIG. 3).

As described above, in the sewing machine M according to the present embodiment, when the swing volume key 107 or the length volume key 109 is depressed and the flag FLG is swung or set to the length (S27 or S37), the speed volume 13 The swing width of the sewing needle 6 or the length of the stitch can be adjusted according to the position (S79 or S61).
For this reason, the swing width or the length of the seam is responsive,
Moreover, it can be adjusted intuitively. Therefore, it is possible to freely change a desired swing width or a desired stitch length during sewing. For example, by making the swing width adjustable according to the position of the speed volume 13 (S27), the zigzag pattern can be sewn freely while changing the swing width.

At this time, the transfer speed of the work cloth can be adjusted by the foot controller 29 if it is mounted (S92), and the sewing operation can be performed while changing the transfer speed to a desired transfer speed. . On the other hand, even when the foot controller 29 is not mounted, the transport speed is fixed to the predetermined speed set on the touch panel (S96), so that the sewing operation can be performed extremely stably.

Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to arbitrarily instruct the switching of the function of the speed volume 13 by depressing the swing volume key 107 or the length volume key 109 (S11, S13).
The switching state is displayed by reversing the keys 107 and 109 (S25, S35). For this reason,
It is possible to satisfactorily prevent the user from making a sewing mistake by misunderstanding the function of the speed volume 13 and further improve the operability of the speed volume 13. In the above description, a case has been described in which the function of the speed volume 13 is switched from the function for adjusting the transport speed to the function for adjusting the swing width or the stitch length. When the key 109 is pressed again, the speed volume 1
The function of No. 3 may be switched again for adjusting the transport speed.

In the embodiment described above, the mechanism from the sewing machine motor 61 and the needle swing pulse motor 65 to the needle bar 5 and the feed dog 50 is stored in the sewing means, the speed volume 13 is stored in the speed adjusting means, and stored in the RAM 24. The above-mentioned flag FLG held (S59, S7 in the processing)
5, S93, and S94) correspond to the function switching means, and the swing volume key 107 and the length volume key 109 correspond to the instruction means and the switching state display means, respectively.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the speed volume 13 that moves the operation unit 13a in the horizontal direction is used as the speed adjustment unit, but the speed volume that moves the operation unit in the vertical direction and the speed volume that rotates the operation unit are also used. It can be used as well. In addition, the function of the speed volume 13 may be configured to be switchable for adjusting other parameters related to sewing, such as for adjusting thread tension.

Further, in addition to the swing volume key 107 and the length volume key 109 as instructing means for instructing the switching of the function of the speed volume 13, a display unit (switching state displaying means) for displaying a switching state of the function is provided. It may be provided. However, in the above embodiment, the swing volume key 107 and the length volume key 109
Also has the function of the switching state display means, so that the configuration of the apparatus can be further simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an appearance of a sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the sewing machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main routine of a process of the control system.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a pattern selection screen by the above processing.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the pattern selection screen when a swing volume key is pressed.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a sewing process as a subroutine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a motor speed determination process as a subroutine.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 needle bar 6 sewing needle 10 liquid crystal display
11: Touch keys 13: Speed volume 13a: Operation unit 29
... Foot controller 50 ... Feed dog 51 ... Feed dog vertical movement mechanism
52: feed dog longitudinal movement mechanism 53: needle bar vertical movement mechanism 54: needle swing mechanism
55: Needle thread feeding mechanism 56: Feed amount adjusting mechanism 61: Sewing machine motor
62: Spindle 63: Pulse motor for feed dog 65: Pulse motor for needle swing 67: Pulse motor for needle thread feeding 102: Swing increase / decrease key 103: Length increase / decrease key 105: Thread tension setting key 107: Swing volume key 109: Length Volume key 113: Speed increase / decrease key C: Control device M
…sewing machine

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3B150 AA07 AA15 CB04 CE07 CE09 CE23 GF02 GF03 GF09 GG04 LA05 LA07 LA15 LA51 LA59 LA82 LA84 LA85 NA05 NA07 NA28 NA47 NA55 NA67 NA71 NA80 NB15 NB18 NC06 QA06 QA07 QA08

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sewing means for forming a seam on a work cloth while conveying the work cloth, and a movable operation unit, wherein a transfer speed of the work cloth by the sewing means is adjusted in accordance with a position of the operation unit. And a function switching means for switching the function of the speed adjusting means for adjusting another parameter relating to the operation of the sewing means. The sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein when the switching is performed, the speed adjustment unit adjusts the other parameters according to a position of the operation unit. 2. The sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein the transfer speed of the work cloth by the sewing means is fixed when the function switching means executes the switching. 3. The function switching means according to claim 1, wherein the function of the speed adjusting means is selectively switched to adjust a desired parameter including at least a stitch length and a swing width. The described sewing machine. 4. The sewing machine according to claim 1, further comprising instruction means for instructing said switching by said function switching means in response to a user operation. 5. The sewing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a switching state display unit for displaying a switching state of the function of the speed adjusting unit by the function switching unit. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising instruction means for instructing said switching by said function switching means in response to a user operation, wherein said switching state display means also functions as said instruction means. sewing machine.