JP2005329155A - Sewing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively generate a linear light beams suitable for the needle illumination of a plurality of needles arranged in the form of a line and to appropriately control needle illumination relative to a plurality of sewing machine heads. <P>SOLUTION: The lighting fixture 10 comprises a plurality of LEDs 11 which are arranged substantially in the form of a line at interval along the arrayal line of the plurality of linearly arranged sewing needles 9; and a cylindrical lens 14 for collecting the light of each LED and discharging a linear light flux which follows the arrayal line of the needle bars. The lighting fixture 10 arranged at every sewing machine head 3 performs control at each sewing machine head by linking with the operation state of the corresponding sewing machine head. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a sewing machine provided with an illuminating tool for illuminating the vicinity of a needle tip directly under the sewing machine head.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a sewing machine provided with an illuminator that illuminates the vicinity of a needle tip of a sewing needle and the surface of a sewing cloth so that threading through the sewing needle and confirmation of a pattern on the sewing cloth can be easily performed. In the following Patent Document 1, a multi-needle sewing machine having a plurality of needle bars on a sewing head and provided with an illuminator that illuminates the periphery of the needle tip of the sewing needle fixed to the lower end of each needle bar and the surface of the cloth to be sewn. Is disclosed. This illuminator is capable of emitting light in a line substantially following the arrangement line of each needle bar, and includes a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, a surface light emitter formed in a line, and a number of high-luminance point light emitters (LEDs). ) Are arranged in a linear shape. By this illumination device capable of emitting light in a linear manner, the vicinity of the needle tip of each sewing needle and the surface of the cloth to be sewn can be sufficiently illuminated, and threading through the sewing needle and other operations can be easily performed.
JP 11-253685 A

On the other hand, there has been known a sewing machine in which this lighting device is controlled in conjunction with the operating state of the sewing machine. In Patent Document 2 below, when an abnormality is detected by an abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality such as an erroneous operation or an accident (thread breakage), the abnormality is notified by changing the color of light emitted from the illuminator. A sewing machine is disclosed. Separately, in Patent Document 3 below, in a sewing machine capable of automatic sewing, the start and end of automatic sewing are detected, and when the start of automatic sewing is detected, the lighting device is turned off and the end of automatic sewing is detected. In such a sewing machine, the lighting device is turned on when the operation is performed, and the labor for the operator to operate the switch of the lighting device is saved in order to save power consumption.
Patent No.2900549 JP-A-6-91085

  In recent years, LED lamps that are excellent in miniaturization, long life, and prevention of heat generation tend to be used as illuminators that illuminate the periphery of the needle tip and the surface of the cloth to be sewn. However, since the LED lamp as a single light source has a light emission (irradiation) range limited to a spot-like narrow range, in order to illuminate the periphery of each needle of a multi-needle sewing machine with this LED lamp, It is necessary to arrange the LED lamps in a line without any gaps, which increases costs. Further, in a multi-head multi-needle type sewing machine having a plurality of multi-needle type sewing heads, the cost increases in proportion to the number of sewing heads.

  On the other hand, in a sewing machine in which a lighting device is controlled in conjunction with the operating state of the sewing machine as shown in Patent Document 2 or 3, one lighting device is controlled in conjunction with the operating state of the sewing machine. Only. For this reason, in a multi-head sewing machine equipped with a plurality of sewing heads, the lighting fixtures provided on each sewing head are individually controlled, and each lighting fixture is controlled individually in conjunction with the operating state of each sewing head. It was something that could not be done.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an illuminator so that linear light suitable for illuminating the vicinity of the needle tips of a plurality of sewing needles arranged in a line can be generated at low cost. It is intended to provide a sewing machine equipped with. Further, the present invention is intended to provide a sewing machine that can appropriately control needle tip illumination for a plurality of sewing heads.

  The present invention according to claim 1 illuminates the periphery of the needle tip of the sewing needle fixed to the lower end of each needle bar in a multi-needle sewing machine in which a plurality of needle bars are arranged in a straight line or a curved line in the sewing head. A plurality of single light sources arranged at intervals so as to form a line that substantially follows the arrangement line of the needle bars, and the plurality of single light sources covered with the single light sources. And a lens that condenses the light of each single light source and emits a linear light beam that follows the arrangement line of the needle bar.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a multi-head sewing machine having a plurality of sewing heads, an illuminator provided for each sewing head to illuminate the periphery of the sewing needle of each sewing head, and each sewing head And a control unit that controls each of the sewing heads in conjunction with the operating state of the corresponding sewing head.

  By providing the illuminating tool having the above-described configuration, light from a plurality of single light sources arranged at intervals can be collected by a lens and emitted as a linear light beam. By this, the periphery of the needle tip of each sewing needle can be illuminated evenly. Accordingly, the cost of manufacturing the lighting device can be reduced by uniformly illuminating the vicinity of the needle tips of the sewing needles with a small number of single light sources. Furthermore, when the present invention is applied to a multi-head sewing machine having a plurality of sewing heads, the cost suppressing effect is synergistic. In addition, by using a chip LED (light emitting diode) as a single light source, it is excellent in miniaturization, long life, prevention of heat generation, and the like.

  In addition, by controlling the illuminator for each sewing head for each sewing head in conjunction with the operating state of the corresponding sewing head, the optimum needle tip illumination control according to the operating state for each sewing head in a multi-head sewing machine Can be performed independently for each head. For example, when only a part of the plurality of sewing heads is operated and the operation of the remaining sewing heads is stopped, only the illuminator of the sewing head to be operated can be turned on. Alternatively, when the sewing machine stops due to yarn breakage, it is possible to turn on only the illumination tool of the machine head where the yarn breakage occurs. In this way, lighting control that is easy to understand, easy to operate, and lean can be performed with a multi-head sewing machine.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a multi-head / multi-needle type embroidery sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein 1 is a sewing machine frame and 2 is a table. A plurality of (four in the illustrated example) sewing heads 3 are arranged on the sewing machine frame 1 at regular intervals along the left-right direction of the sewing machine. A needle plate 4 is a table directly below each sewing machine head 3. 2 and approximately the same height. An embroidery frame 5 is placed on the table 2, and the embroidery frame 5 is driven in the front-rear and left-right directions by an X drive mechanism and a Y drive mechanism (not shown).

  FIG. 2 shows a front view of the sewing head 3, and FIG. 3 shows a side view (partial cross section) of the sewing head 3. As is apparent from these drawings, the sewing head 3 is composed of an arm 6 fixed to the sewing machine frame 1 and a needle bar case 7 slidably supported on the front surface of the arm 6. A plurality (9 in the illustrated example) of needle bars 8 are provided in the needle bar case 7 so as to be movable up and down, and a sewing needle 9 is fixed to the lower end of each needle bar 8. The needle bar case 7 is slid by a color changing mechanism (not shown) so that an arbitrary needle bar 8 is positioned at a selected position. The selected needle bar 8 is moved up and down by a needle bar driving mechanism (not shown) of the arm 6. Driven by. Well-known sewing is performed by the cooperation of the needle bar 8 (sewing needle 9) that is driven up and down and a hook (not shown) provided below the needle plate 4, and the embroidery frame 5 is driven back and forth and left and right together. Thus, embroidery sewing based on the embroidery data is performed.

  A luminaire 10 is provided below the front surface of the needle bar case 7. As shown in the solid view of FIG. 4 and the side cross-sectional view of FIG. The illuminating device 10 includes a substrate 12 on which a plurality of (four) chip LEDs 11 are arranged at equal intervals, a base member 13 that fixes the substrate 12, and a lens 14 that is provided so as to cover the substrate 12. The number of chip LEDs 11 arranged on the substrate 12 is smaller than the number of needle bars 8 arranged in the needle bar case 7, and each chip LED 11 has a linear shape (in the illustrated example) substantially following the arrangement line of the needle bars 8. It is arranged on the substrate 12 at intervals so as to form a straight line). The lens 14 is formed of a saddle-shaped lens (cylindrical lens) that can collect incident light from a flat surface portion and emit linear light from a cylindrical surface portion, and is formed of, for example, a transparent acrylic material. The total length of the saddle-shaped lens 14 is commensurate with the total length of the arrangement line of the needle bar 8 arranged in the needle bar case 7 and is in the shape of the arrangement line of the needle bar 8 (in the illustrated example, linear). It is a copied shape. The lens 14 emits a linear light beam that collects the light from the plurality of chip LEDs 11 and uniformly illuminates the vicinity of the needle tips of the sewing needles 9. Therefore, by turning on a small number (four) of the chip LEDs 11 of the lighting device 10, the vicinity of the needle tips of a larger number (9) of the sewing needles 9 is illuminated uniformly. In the illustrated example, the needle bars 8 in the needle bar case 7 are arranged in a straight line. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and there is a curved line such as an arc shape. It is assumed that the shape in the vertical direction has a curved shape commensurate with it, and accordingly, the arrangement line of the plurality of chip LEDs 11 and the shape in the length direction of the saddle-shaped lens 14 are also curved.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lighting device 10 is individually turned on for each sewing head 3 (four heads 3 are distinguished by # 1 to # 4) from a sewing machine controller 20 via a driver 21. A control signal is supplied. The lighting device 10 is controlled to be turned on and off according to the operation state of the sewing machine and the operation state of each sewing head 3 under the control of the control device 20. For example, each luminaire 10 is controlled to be turned off when the sewing machine is in operation, since it is not necessary to illuminate the vicinity of the needle tip, and to be turned on when the sewing machine is stopped. In the multi-head sewing machine, there is a case where only some of the sewing heads 3 are operated and the remaining sewing heads 3 are stopped. In such a case, when the sewing machine stops, only the illuminating device 10 of the sewing head 3 that is in operation is turned on, and the illuminating device 10 of the sewing head 3 that is set to be inactive is not turned on for each head. To control. This has the advantage that the operator can determine at a glance which sewing head 3 is in operation, and the lighting tool 10 of the sewing machine head 3 that is not required to be turned on is turned on. There is no waste. In addition, since the lighting control is performed independently for each head, for example, when the sewing machine stops due to the thread breakage, it is possible to control so that only the illumination tool 10 of the sewing machine head 3 where the thread breakage is lit. As a result, when the sewing machine stops due to yarn breakage, the machine head that has broken the yarn can be easily identified, and there is no waste of lighting the illumination tool 10 of the sewing machine head 3 that does not need to be lit and is not broken. . In order to perform such illumination control, a necessary computer program is assembled, and the program is executed by the CPU included in the control device 20 of the sewing machine. In this case, operation setting information for operation / pause for each sewing head 3, thread breakage detection signal for each sewing head 3, information indicating the current operation state of the sewing machine, and the like are input to the control device of the sewing machine, By referring to these input signals / information during the execution of the program, the individual illumination control described above for each sewing head 3 is performed. Alternatively, not only program control but also hardware circuits necessary for performing such illumination control may be created and incorporated in the control device 20 of the sewing machine.

  FIG. 5B shows a lighting fixture 15 as another embodiment of the lighting fixture 10. This illuminator 15 performs the same function as the illuminator 10 described above, but the shape of the flat portion of the saddle-shaped lens is somewhat different. That is, a groove for positioning the chip LED 11 is formed in the flat surface portion of the bowl-shaped lens 14 of the lighting tool 10 shown in FIG. 5A, whereas the lighting tool 15 shown in FIG. The flat surface portion of the bowl-shaped lens 16 is flat on the entire surface. A spacer 17 is interposed between the flat member 16 and the base member 13, and a small amount for positioning the chip LED 11 due to the presence of the spacer 17. The structure is such that a space is formed. The saddle-shaped lens 14 as shown in FIG. 5A needs to form a groove on the flat surface portion, but the saddle-shaped lens 16 as shown in FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the illuminator 10 (or 15) corresponding to one sewing head 3 is composed of one unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, depending on the number of needle bars in one sewing head 3. The lighting unit may be configured by combining a plurality of units of lighting fixtures 10 (or 15) side by side. For example, when a lighting unit that is about half the length of the lighting unit 10 shown in FIG. 4 is configured using two chip LEDs 11 and the number of needle bars in one sewing head 3 is about 4 to 5, Only one such short illuminator unit is installed. When the number of needle bars in one sewing head 3 is nine, two such illuminator units are installed side by side in combination. can do. Or you may make it comprise the lighting fixture unit of about 1/4 length of the lighting fixture 10 shown in FIG. In that case, one chip LED 11 is arranged at the center in the length direction of the lens 14 (or 16). Then, a short illuminator unit composed of such a single chip LED 11 and a corresponding cylindrical lens 14 (or 16) is combined side by side in accordance with the number of needle bars in the sewing head 3 to be applied. Can be installed. Of course, you may make it install the lighting fixture unit of various different length side by side in combination.

  Various control functions can be provided by setting various lighting modes (lighting time length, blinking mode, emission color switching, and the like) of the lighting device 10 by the control device 20. For example, when the lighting device 10 of the sewing machine head 3 in which the yarn is broken is turned on, the operator can be warned to the operator that the yarn has been broken by blinking for several seconds and then turning on. Alternatively, for example, when the sewing machine stops due to an error, all the lighting fixtures 10 may blink to notify the operator. In this case, when the operator clears the error on the operation panel or the like, the normal state is restored. Alternatively, it is possible to provide various notification functions by installing chip LEDs of a plurality of colors and switching their emission colors. The single light source is not limited to the chip LED, and any other light source may be used. The present invention is not limited to an embroidery sewing machine but can be applied to other types of sewing machines.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the light of the plurality of chip LEDs 11 arranged at intervals is condensed by the lens 14 and converted into linear light, and the linear light is linearized by this linear light. Since the periphery of the needle tips of the plurality of sewing needles 9 arranged side by side is illuminated, the vicinity of the needle tips of the sewing needles 9 can be illuminated with a small number of chip LEDs 11, and the manufacturing cost of the lighting device can be kept low. . In addition, an increase in cost can be suppressed synergistically in a multi-head multi-needle type sewing machine. In addition, since the lighting fixture 10 for each sewing head 3 is controlled to be turned on or off according to the operating state of each sewing head 3, only the lighting fixture 10 of the operating sewing head 3 can be turned on. It is possible to turn on only the illuminating device 10 of the sewing machine head 3 that is broken or broken, so that the operator can easily identify the sewing machine head 3 intended and the illuminating device 10 of the sewing machine head 3 that is unnecessary. Will not be lit unnecessarily.

1 is an external view of a multi-head multi-needle type embroidery sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front view of the sewing machine head in the Example. The partial cross section side view of the sewing machine head. The three-dimensional view which shows an example of the lighting fixture in the Example. (A) is a sectional side view of the lighting fixture, (B) is a sectional side view of a modification of the lighting fixture. The block diagram which shows the control system of the control apparatus in the embroidery sewing machine of the Example, and a lighting fixture.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sewing machine frame 2 Table 3 Sewing machine head 4 Needle plate 5 Embroidery frame 7 Needle bar case 8 Needle bar 9 Sewing needles 10 and 15 Illuminator 11 Chip LED
14, 16 lens (cylindrical lens)

Claims (2)

In the multi-needle sewing machine in which a plurality of needle bars are arranged in a straight line or a curved line in the sewing head, the sewing machine head includes an illumination tool for illuminating the periphery of the needle tip of the sewing needle fixed to the lower end of each needle bar,
The illuminator is provided so as to cover the plurality of single light sources arranged at intervals so as to form a line substantially following the arrangement line of the needle bars, A multi-needle sewing machine comprising a lens that collects light from a single light source and emits a linear light beam following the needle bar array line. In a multi-head sewing machine having a plurality of sewing heads,
An illuminator provided for each sewing head to illuminate the vicinity of the needle tip of the sewing needle of each sewing head;
A multi-head sewing machine comprising: a control unit configured to control the illuminator for each sewing head for each sewing head in conjunction with the operation state of the corresponding sewing head.

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