JP2002011272A - Bobbin replacement device and bobbin thread automatic feeder equipped with the device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust and fix the origin detecting position of a grasping part even if a sewing machine is not present, facilitate the attachment and detachment of a bobbin case to and from a shuttle with a hand even if the grasping part is waiting in the origin position, and allow to safely place the hand on the shuttle even in carrying in addition to bobbin replacement. SOLUTION: This bobbin thread automatic feeder 1 is equipped with a bobbin replacement device 10 comprising the grasping part 40 for grasping the bobbin case 14 storing a bobbin and a carrying means for carrying the bobbin case grasped by the grasping part to a prescribed position on the basis of a preset origin point. The origin point is set in the opposed position of a winding shaft 52 farthest from a shuttle part having the shuttle 12 located therein on the preset rotating locus of the grasping part 40 except the opposed position of the shuttle part when the device is incorporated into a sewing machine.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bobbin changing device and a bobbin thread automatic feeding device provided with the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a bobbin automatic supply device for automatically winding and supplying a bobbin around a bobbin. The automatic bobbin thread supplying device includes a bobbin thread removing device that removes a bobbin thread that has not been used during sewing and a bobbin bobbin that newly winds a bobbin thread around a bobbin from which the bobbin thread has been removed by the bobbin thread. A turning device is provided. Further, such a bobbin thread automatic supply device is provided with a bobbin exchanging device for removing a bobbin with a low remaining amount of bobbin thread from the shuttle of the sewing machine, or attaching a bobbin around which the bobbin thread is wound to the shuttle. Have been.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of an automatic lower thread supply device provided with such a bobbin changing device, FIG. 7 is a right side view thereof, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. is there.

The bobbin thread automatic supply device 1 includes a bobbin changing device 10 described later, and is provided below (back side) a sewing machine bed (not shown). In this sewing machine bed, a shuttle 12 is provided below a sewing needle (not shown), and a bobbin case 14 is provided in a middle shuttle (not shown) of the shuttle 12.
Is provided with a hook shaft 16 for holding the hook. In addition, the lower thread automatic supply device 1 is also provided with a lower thread winding device and a residual yarn removing device as described above, but since it is general, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0005] The bobbin exchanging device 10 includes a rotating means 18.
The rotary arm 24 is configured to be rotatable together with the support shaft 20 and to be able to linearly move in the axial direction of the support shaft 20 composed of a spline shaft by the linear motion means 22.

The rotating means 18 includes a rotating motor 26.
A belt 28 rotated by the motor 26;
A pulley 30 on which the belt 28 is hung and fixed to the support shaft 20, wherein the support shaft 20 is rotated by an operation of a rotation motor 26.

The rotating arm 24 is fixed to a spline nut 32. The spline nut 32
It is slidable in the axial direction with respect to the support shaft 20 and rotates together with the support shaft 20. Therefore,
The rotation arm 24 also rotates in the same direction (A direction or B direction in FIG. 6) together with the support shaft 20.

[0008] The linear motion means 22 includes a linear motion motor 3.
4 and the belt 3 rotated and driven by the motor 34
6 is provided. The belt 36 is fixed to a transport ring 38 by a fixing member (not shown). The transport ring 38 can move directly along the support shaft 20 and does not follow the rotation of the support shaft 20. Further, the spline nut 32 is connected to the transfer ring 38 so as to be rotatable about the support shaft 20. Therefore, the rotation arm 24 moves (directly moves) in the axial direction (C direction or D direction in FIG. 7) of the support shaft 20 via the transport ring 38 when the motor 34 drives the belt 36 to rotate. Has become.

A grip 40 is connected to the rotating arm 24, and the bobbin case 14 is gripped by a gripping mechanism (not shown) at the distal end thereof. It moves or moves directly.

A bobbin case 14 accommodating a bobbin around which a bobbin thread is wound is placed on standby on the rotation locus of the gripping portion 40 indicated by a chain line in FIG. There are provided a dummy position 42, a residual yarn removing position 44 for removing the remainder of the lower thread of the bobbin by the residual thread removing device, and a lower thread winding position 46 for winding the lower thread around the bobbin by the lower thread winding device. At the dummy position 42 and the remaining yarn removing position 44, holding shafts 48 and 50 having the same shape as the shuttle shaft 16 are provided, and the lower yarn winding position 46 has a function (not shown) for engaging with the bobbin. A winding shaft 52 is provided.

Conventionally, in the bobbin thread automatic supply device 1 provided with the bobbin exchanging device 10 having the above configuration, the bobbin exchanging operation is performed as follows.

During the sewing, when the bobbin thread wound on the bobbin in the bobbin case 14 mounted on the shuttle 12 of the sewing machine is consumed and reaches a predetermined amount or less, the sewing machine stops, and the gripper 40 stops the sewing machine. Take out the bobbin case 14 from inside,
This is mounted on the holding shaft 50 at the residual yarn removing position 44.

[0013] Next, the bobbin case 1 in which the bobbin around which the bobbin thread has been wound is accommodated and which is kept on standby is held.
4 '(not shown) is taken out from the holding shaft 48 at the dummy position 42 and mounted on the shuttle shaft 16, and the sewing machine is ready for sewing.

When sewing is resumed by the sewing machine, the bobbin thread remaining on the bobbin in the bobbin case 14 removed from the shuttle 12 at the remaining thread removing position 44 is removed during the operation. Next, the gripper 40 transports the bobbin case 14 from which the bobbin thread has been removed to the bobbin winding position 46, and when a predetermined amount of bobbin thread is wound by the bobbin winding device, moves the bobbin case 14 to the dummy position 42. To the holding shaft 48 and wait for the next sewing. When the bobbin's lower thread during sewing work is consumed,
Repeat the above replacement work.

When starting a series of bobbin replacement operations as described above, a preset origin position of the grip portion 40 is detected in order to accurately mount the bobbin case 14 on each holding shaft or the like. ing. There are a rotation origin and a linear movement origin at the origin of the grip, and the origin is defined by the two origins. By using each origin, the positioning of the rotation of the grip 40 and The linear positioning is performed respectively.

Since the origin of such a gripping portion is a base point for the conveyance (rotation and linear movement) of the bobbin case, if it is changed, the remaining yarn removal position 44, the lower yarn winding position 46, the dummy position ( This is very important because all of the bobbin case standby position) 42 will be changed.

Conventionally, a rotation origin sensor 60A for detecting the rotation origin of the grip portion 40 is attached to a support member 62 fixed to a support base (frame) 1A of the bobbin thread automatic supply device 1. A linear motion origin sensor 64A for detecting the linear motion origin is attached to a similar support member 66. Each of the rotation origin sensor 60A and the linear movement origin sensor 64A is formed of a Hall element, and when the corresponding rotation origin magnet 60B and the linear movement origin magnet 64B attached to the movable portion are close to each other and coincide with each other,
The grip 40 is positioned at the origin in the rotation direction and the translation direction.

Conventionally, the origin of the gripper 40 is
At the front (opening side) of the front side. In other words, the center position of the bobbin case 14 gripped by the gripper 40 is a rotation position coinciding with the shuttle shaft 16, and the linear movement position where the gripper 40 is separated from the shuttle 12 by a predetermined distance is set as the origin position. When the translational origin magnet 64B is detected by the translational origin sensor 64A and at the same time the pivoting origin magnet 60B is detected by the pivoting origin sensor 60A, the grip portion 40 is positioned at the origin. I was

As described above, in the conventional bobbin thread automatic supply device, the origin of the gripping portion 40 is set at the position facing the front of the shuttle 12, and the gripping portion standby for holding the gripping portion 40 during sewing is performed. The position was also set to the origin position to simplify the bobbin exchange sequence. The reason is that there is a possibility that the grip portion 40 may be misaligned due to a motor step-out or a forced motor step-out. However, it is necessary to always detect the origin, but if the standby position is not the origin, extra time is required for moving to the origin.

[0020]

However, conventionally, as described above, the origin of the gripping portion 40 is set at the position facing the front of the shuttle 12 of the sewing machine.
That is, adjust the positional relationship between the origin sensor and the origin magnet,
A sewing machine was always required to confirm.

In order to simplify the bobbin exchange sequence as described above, when the standby position of the gripper 40 is at the origin position, the gripper 40 is moved to the shuttle 12 during sewing.
, The thread is cut, and it is difficult for the operator to put his hand in the shuttle 12 to take out or attach the bobbin case.

Further, even in the operation of transporting the bobbin case other than the bobbin exchange, the gripper 40 moves to the vicinity of the shuttle 12 such as, for example, the remaining yarn removing position → the lower yarn winding position → the standby (dummy) position → the origin. , The operator could not reach the pot 12.

Further, when executing the bobbin exchange, it was not possible to confirm whether or not the execution was possible. For example, in a double-head sewing system using two sewing machines in combination, etc. There was a problem with safety.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and can adjust and determine the origin detection position of a gripping portion without a sewing machine, and can hold the gripping portion at the origin position. A bobbin exchange device that allows the bobbin case to be easily attached to and detached from the shuttle by hand while the bobbin case is being transported other than when the bobbin is replaced, and a bobbin automatic feeder equipped with the bobbin exchange device. Is to be provided as a first subject.

According to the present invention, it is also possible to confirm that the bobbin replacement can be executed, and to improve the safety of the bobbin replacement execution even when applied to a double-head sewing system or the like. A second object is to provide a lower thread automatic feeding device provided with the same.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gripping portion for gripping a bobbin case accommodating a bobbin,
In a bobbin exchange device provided with a transport unit that transports a bobbin case gripped by the gripping portion to a predetermined position based on a preset origin position,
The first problem is solved by setting the position other than the position opposite to the shuttle shaft of the sewing machine.

That is, in the present invention, since the origin of the grip is set to a position shifted from the front front position of the shuttle shaft, the center of the bobbin case gripped by the grip is adjusted to determine the rotation origin. Since there is no need to match the axis,
A shuttle, that is, a sewing machine is not required for adjusting and determining the origin detection position of the grip portion.

Therefore, even when the standby position of the gripper is set to the origin position, the bobbin case can be easily removed from the shuttle by hand because the gripper does not block the front of the shuttle and can be mounted. Can be. Furthermore, since it is possible to carry out the bobbin case transfer operation other than the bobbin exchange without using the space in front of the shuttle, it is possible to reach the shuttle even during the operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the bobbin exchanging apparatus of the first aspect, when the gripper is transported on a predetermined rotation locus, the origin position is set on the rotation locus.
The position is set at a position farthest from the hook shaft.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gripping portion for gripping a bobbin case accommodating a bobbin, and the bobbin case gripped by the gripping portion is transported to a predetermined position based on a preset origin position. Output means for outputting an execution request signal when performing bobbin exchange, and receiving means for receiving a permission signal for permitting execution of bobbin exchange in response to the execution request signal. With the provision of the above, the second problem is solved. That is, since the bobbin replacement operation does not start suddenly, safety can be improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic bobbin thread supplying apparatus including the bobbin exchanging device according to the first, second or third aspect, wherein the origin position is used when the bobbin thread is wound around the bobbin. The first problem is likewise solved by making the winding shaft face the opposite position.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bobbin case accommodating a bobbin, the function of removing a residual yarn from the bobbin, the function of winding a bobbin around the bobbin, and a bobbin winding function. In the bobbin thread automatic supply device having a bobbin case standby function for holding the case together with the case and a bobbin replacing function for replacing the bobbin mounted on the sewing machine hook together with the bobbin case, after the execution of the bobbin replacing function is completed. Until the execution of the bobbin exchange function is newly started, the series of functions other than the bobbin exchange function are executed on either side with respect to the vertical section of the hook portion. It is a solution to the problem.

[0033]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are a front view, a side view and a plan view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of the lower thread automatic supply device according to the present embodiment. The basic configuration of the apparatus of the present embodiment is substantially the same as the conventional lower bobbin automatic feeding apparatus shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 except for the origin of the gripper described in detail below. , Common portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

In this embodiment, the origin of the grip 40 is set to a position facing the front of the winding shaft 52 installed at the lower thread winding position 46. That is, the position where the center of the bobbin case 14 gripped by the gripper 40 coincides with the center of the winding shaft 52 is defined as the rotation origin, and in this state, the gripper 40 is moved to the winding shaft 52.
A position separated by a predetermined distance from is set as the direct-moving origin. The grip portion 40 is located at a position where the rotation origin magnet 60B is detected by the rotation origin sensor 60A indicated by the same reference numeral as the conventional one and at the same time the linear movement origin magnet 64B is detected by the linear movement origin sensor 64A. By moving, the gripper can be positioned at the origin.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an outline of a control circuit of the automatic lower thread supply device according to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the control circuit 70 includes the CP
U (Central Processing Unit) 72 and the CPU 7
ROM (Read Only Memory) 74 connected to 2,
RAM (Random Access Memory) 76, I / O port 78, lower thread detecting means 80 connected through the I / O port, lower thread winding device 82, lower thread removing device 84, external interface signal input / output unit 86 And the bobbin exchange device 10.

The above-mentioned ROM 74 has an automatic lower thread feeding device 1
Is stored in the RAM 76
Stores data and calculation results.
The operation of the lower thread automatic supply device 1 is controlled using the RAM 76 as a work area based on the programs and data in the CPU.

The lower thread detecting means 80 detects that the remaining amount of the lower thread of the bobbin in the bobbin case 14 mounted on the shuttle 12 has reached a predetermined amount while counting the number of stitches of the sewing machine.

The bobbin changing device 10, the lower thread winding device 82,
The residual yarn removing device 84 is connected to the C through an I / O port 78.
Controlled and driven by the PU 72. In the bobbin changing device 10, the motor 26 described above via a driver (not shown),
34 is driven, and the bobbin case 14 is gripped by the gripping portion 40 and the rotation and linear motion of the rotating arm 24 are performed. The remaining yarn removing device 84 and the lower yarn winding device 82 are also controlled via a driver (not shown).

The external interface signal input / output unit (output means, receiving means) 86 outputs a bobbin replacement execution request signal to be described later to the CPU 72,
From 72, input / output of a signal such as input of a bobbin exchange permission signal indicating completion of preparation is executed.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

After the thread trimming of the sewing machine during the sewing operation (step 2) by the operator, if the remaining amount of the bobbin thread detected by the bobbin thread detecting means 80 falls below the standard, the bobbin needs to be replaced (step 2). 4) The movement of the sewing machine is prohibited so that the pedal switch does not operate (step 6).
Thereafter, the external interface signal input / output unit 86 outputs a bobbin replacement execution request signal to the CPU 72 (step 8), and waits until the bobbin replacement preparation is completed and the replacement is permitted (step 10). .

When the bobbin exchange is permitted, the gripper 40 is moved to a position facing the front of the shuttle 12, the bobbin case 14 is removed from the shuttle 12 (step 12), and the bobbin case removed from the shuttle is moved to the dummy position 42. It is conveyed and set (mounted) on the holding shaft 48 (step 14). Next, the bobbin case with the replenished bobbin thread waiting on the residual yarn removing shaft (holding shaft at the residual yarn removing position 44) 50 is conveyed to the shuttle 12 and set on the shuttle shaft 16 (step 16). on the other hand,
The used bobbin case temporarily stored in the dummy shaft 48 is conveyed to the remaining yarn removing shaft 50, set on the shaft 50 (step 18), and then the bobbin replacement execution request signal which has been output so far is output. To OFF (Step 2
0).

Thereafter, the CPU 72 permits the sewing machine to move (step 22), and returns to step 2 to enable the sewing operation to be resumed. On the other hand, the bobbin case set on the residual yarn removing shaft 50 is subjected to residual yarn removing processing (step 24), and the bobbin case of the residual yarn removing shaft 50 is transported to the lower yarn winding position 46 (step 2).
6), a lower thread winding process is performed (step 28). afterwards,
The bobbin case at the bobbin winding position 46 is conveyed to the residual yarn removing shaft 50 and made to stand by (Step 30), and the gripper 40 is moved to the origin and made to stand by at the origin position (Step 32).
Then, the process returns to step 2.

According to the present embodiment described in detail above, since the origin of the grip portion 40 is set at a position shifted from the front front position of the shuttle portion, the grip portion 40 is gripped by the grip portion 40 to determine the rotation origin. Since it is not necessary to align the center of the bobbin case with the shuttle shaft 16, the shuttle 12, ie, the sewing machine, is not required for adjusting and determining the origin detection position of the gripping portion. Therefore, even when the standby position of the gripper 40 is set to the origin position, the front of the shuttle 12 is not blocked by the gripper 40, so that the bobbin case 14 can be easily removed from the shuttle 12 by hand, can do.

Before the start of a series of operations from bobbin replacement execution to residual thread removal, bobbin thread winding, thread trimming, thread hooking, and standby, a notification of the execution of the bobbin replacement in step 8 is provided.
Since the permission of the bobbin exchange is taken in at step 10, the operation can be prevented from being performed suddenly, so that the safety can be greatly improved.

Step 24 performed after the bobbin exchange
A series of operations after the residual yarn removal processing is performed by one of the devices (the left side in FIG. 1) on a vertical region sandwiched between two vertical planes V1 and V2 indicated by two-dot chain lines contacting the left and right sides of the shuttle 12, respectively.
Since it is possible to use only the space, it is not necessary to use the space in front of the shuttle 12, so that the access around the shuttle can be safely performed during this series of operations.

In setting the origin position of the grip portion 40 (adjustment and determination of the origin detection position), the sewing machine is not required as described above, so that the setting can be easily performed. Further, for the same reason, the automatic lower thread feeding device can be operated alone.

Further, by setting the origin of the gripping portion 40 in front of the winding shaft 52 installed at the rotating end opposite to the shuttle 12, the movement after the detection of the origin is performed in one direction (counterclockwise). Direction), there is an advantage that control is easy.

Further, in the case of simultaneously sewing opposite edges of a towel or the like by a double-headed sewing system in which the heads of two sewing machines are faced to face each other, an automatic lower thread feeding device is attached below the shuttle. In the sewing according to the above, there is a portion below the table of the opposing sewing machine, which overlaps the gripping part operation trajectory of the two devices. Therefore, conventionally, in the specification using the automatic lower thread feeding device, sewing of a small size by the double head sewing system could not be performed. Therefore, the two sewing machines whose bobbin needs to be replaced in step 4 are prohibited from operating in step 6 and then separated to keep a distance from each other. Subsequently, the execution of the bobbin exchange is permitted in step 10, and after the bobbin exchange is completed, since the operation is performed only in one of the vertical sections of the shuttle, the space in front of the shuttle is empty. Since the sewing can be performed by overlapping the front portion of the hook portion, it is possible to safely cope with simultaneous sewing up to a small size such as a towel.

Although the present invention has been described in detail,
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the origin of the gripper 40 is set to the winding shaft 52 located at the rotation end opposite to the shuttle 12.
Is set as a reference, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is difficult to control. However, another reference may be set based on another holding axis or another reference.

The specific structure of the bobbin changing device and the automatic lower thread supplying device provided with the bobbin changing device are not limited to those described in the above embodiment.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even without a sewing machine, the origin detection position of the gripper can be adjusted and confirmed, and the bobbin case can be easily attached to and detached from the shuttle by hand while the gripper is standing by at the origin position. Even when the bobbin case is transported, it is possible to safely reach the hook.

Further, since it is possible to confirm that the bobbin replacement can be executed, it is possible to improve the safety of the bobbin replacement execution even when the present invention is applied to a double-headed sewing system or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an automatic lower thread feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the automatic lower thread supply device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of an automatic lower thread supply device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the lower thread automatic supply device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing a conventional automatic lower thread supply device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of a conventional automatic lower thread feeding device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of a conventional automatic lower thread supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bobbin automatic supply device 10 ... Bobbin exchange device 12 ... Hook 14 ... Bobbin case 16 ... Hook shaft 18 ... Rotating means 20 ... Supporting shaft 22 ... Linear motion means 24 ... Rotating arm 26 ... Motor 28 ... Belt 30 ... Pulley 32 ... Spline nut 34 ... Motor 36 ... Belt 38 ... Conveying ring 40 ... Grip part 42 ... Dummy position 44 ... Remaining thread removing position 46 ... Bottom thread winding position 48, 50 ... Holding shaft 52 ... Winding shaft 60A ... Rotation Origin sensor 60B: Rotating origin magnet 62, 66: Support member 64A: Linear origin sensor 64B: Linear origin magnet

Claims (5)

[Claims] A gripping portion for gripping a bobbin case accommodating a bobbin, and transport means for transporting the bobbin case gripped by the gripping portion to a predetermined position based on a preset origin position. The bobbin exchanging device according to claim 1, wherein the origin position is set to a position other than a position facing the shuttle shaft of the sewing machine. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the gripper is conveyed on a predetermined rotation locus, the origin position is set to a position furthest from the shuttle shaft on the rotation locus. The bobbin changing device according to claim 1. A gripper for gripping a bobbin case accommodating the bobbin, and transport means for transporting the bobbin case gripped by the gripper to a predetermined position based on a preset origin position. The bobbin exchange apparatus includes an output unit that outputs an execution request signal when the bobbin exchange is performed, and a reception unit that receives a permission signal that permits the execution of the bobbin exchange in response to the execution request signal. A bobbin changing device characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. A bobbin exchanging device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said origin position is a position facing a winding shaft used when winding a bobbin thread on a bobbin. And a lower thread automatic feeder. 5. A bobbin case accommodating a bobbin case, a residual yarn removing function of removing residual yarn from the bobbin, a bobbin winding function of winding a bobbin thread on the bobbin, A bobbin case standby function, and a bobbin replacement function that replaces the bobbin mounted on the sewing machine hook together with the bobbin case. The bobbin replacement function is completed after the bobbin replacement function is completed. The automatic bobbin thread supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the series of functions other than the bobbin exchange function is performed on either side of the hook vertical area until the function is started.