JP4919714B2 - Multi-head embroidery machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a multi-head embroidery machine having a function of adjusting a height of a presser foot at a bottom dead center position (a presser foot height).

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a multi-head embroidery machine is known in which a plurality of sewing heads are provided with an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height of a presser foot according to the thickness of a work cloth (cloth thickness). For example, in Patent Document 1, a cam for adjusting the presser foot height is provided in each sewing head, the cam is connected by a connecting shaft, a handle is provided at one end of the connecting shaft, and an operator turns the handle by hand, A technique for adjusting the presser foot height of each head according to the thickness is described. It also describes that instead of the handle, the connecting shaft is driven by a pulse motor, and the presser foot height is automatically adjusted during embroidery processing or color change based on embroidery data.
JP 2004-24843 A

  According to this prior art, there is an advantage that the presser foot heights of a plurality of sewing machine heads can be adjusted simultaneously at one place of the embroidery machine. However, in the case of manual adjustment, there is a problem that when the processing conditions of the embroidery pattern change, it takes time to adjust the presser foot height and the adjustment is delayed. Even in the case of automatic adjustment, the timing to adjust the presser foot height programmed in the embroidery data is based only on the fabric thickness. When excess or deficiency occurs, there is a problem that the work cloth flutters or a work mark remains on the work cloth. According to the inventor's study, when the presser foot height adjusted in accordance with the cloth thickness is appropriate when the operation speed is low, the work cloth becomes dull when the operation speed is high. May be affected, and presser foot marks may remain on the work cloth. On the contrary, if the presser foot height adjusted according to the cloth thickness is appropriate when the operation speed is high, the work cloth may flutter when the operation speed is low, and the work cloth may flutter.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a multi-head embroidery machine that can solve the above-mentioned problems and can automatically correct and optimize the height of the presser foot according to the operating speed of the embroidery machine.

In order to solve the above problems, the multi-head embroidery machine of the present invention is provided with an adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height of the presser foot at the bottom dead center according to the thickness of the work cloth on a plurality of sewing heads. and the multi-head embroidery machine, and a connecting shaft connecting the adjustment mechanism of the sewing machine head, an actuator for driving the connecting shaft, by controlling the actuator in accordance with the rotational speed of the main shaft, the presser foot And a control means for correcting the height to be relatively low when the rotation speed of the sewing machine main shaft is low and to be relatively high when the rotation speed of the sewing machine main shaft is high .

  Here, the adjustment mechanism is not limited to a specific mechanism, but a mechanism separated from the power transmission system of the sewing machine main shaft is employed so that the presser foot height can be adjusted at any time during operation of the multi-head embroidery machine. Is preferred. As the actuator for operating the adjustment mechanism, for example, an electric motor such as a pulse motor or a stepping motor, or a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder can be used. As the rotational speed of the main spindle (spindle rotational speed), the rotational speed detection value of the sewing machine main spindle or the spindle driving motor or spindle rotational speed information set in advance in the embroidery pattern data can be used.

How the change in the presser foot height to spindle speed of compensation when that by the control means is not particularly limited, for example, a linear decrease may be either curved decrease or gradually increase or decrease.

  In the multi-head embroidery machine of the present invention, the control means displays a needle number information in the embroidery pattern data on the screen, and an input by which an operator inputs the thickness of the work cloth in association with the needle number information. And a controller that controls the actuator in accordance with the inputted thickness of the work cloth and the rotation speed of the main spindle of the sewing machine.

  Here, the number of stitches displayed on the display unit on the screen includes, for example, the number of stitches from the start of sewing, the number of stitches at the start and end of the range where the thickness of the work cloth changes, the number of stitches when color change is stopped, and the like. be able to. The thickness of the work cloth input by the operator is the total thickness of the part to be processed, and is the thickness of one work cloth at the place of one work cloth, but the place where two or more work cloths overlap Then, let it be the overlap thickness.

  The control unit controls the actuator according to the input cloth thickness and adjusts the presser foot height, and also controls the actuator according to the spindle rotation speed to correct the presser foot height. In the latter correction, the presser foot height may be continuously increased / decreased as the spindle rotational speed increases / decreases, or the presser foot height increases / decreases each time the main spindle rotational speed increases / decreases by a predetermined rotational speed width (for example, 100 revolutions / minute). The thickness may be increased or decreased stepwise (for example, 0.03 to 0.15 mm / 100 rotations).

  The specific method of correction by the control unit is not particularly limited, and can be performed, for example, by adding a correction value corresponding to increase / decrease of the spindle rotation speed to the cloth thickness input value. The setting of the correction value may be input by the operator in association with the spindle speed on the screen of the display unit, or a correlation table between the spindle speed and the correction value may be registered in the memory. In this way, the presser foot height adjusted according to the cloth thickness is corrected relatively low during low-speed operation of the embroidery machine to suppress fluttering of the work cloth and corrected relatively high during high-speed operation of the embroidery machine. Thus, it is possible to prevent the work cloth from being pressed.

  Furthermore, the multi-head embroidery machine of the present invention is characterized in that a display device for displaying the current height of the presser foot is attached to the actuator. As the indicator, a mechanical indicator that interlocks with the output of the actuator can be preferably used. For example, the display plate can be fixed to the casing of the actuator, a scale indicating the current value of the presser foot height can be provided on the display plate, and a pointer for instructing the scale can be attached to the output shaft of the actuator.

  According to the multi-head embroidery machine of the present invention, the adjustment mechanisms provided on the plurality of sewing machine heads are simultaneously driven by the actuator, and the actuator is controlled in accordance with the rotational speed of the sewing machine main spindle. Accordingly, the height of the presser foot can be automatically corrected quickly and optimized.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-head embroidery machine 1 of this embodiment includes an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the height of the presser foot 14 at the bottom dead center position in a plurality of sewing heads 3, and adjustment of each sewing head 3. The height of the presser foot at the bottom dead center position is corrected by controlling the actuator 45 according to the number of rotations of the connecting shaft 40 for connecting the mechanism, the actuator 45 for driving the connecting shaft 40, and the sewing machine main shaft 25. Control means and a display 46 that mechanically displays the current presser foot height in conjunction with the actuator 45 are provided. The control means includes a display unit 61 for displaying the needle number information in the embroidery pattern data on the screen, an input unit 60 for the operator to input the fabric thickness in association with the needle number information, the input fabric thickness and the spindle speed. And a control panel 8 as a control unit for controlling the actuator 45 based on the above. The control panel 8 is constituted by, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, connection bus, input / output interface, and the like.

  Next, the configuration of each part of the multi-head embroidery machine 1 will be described in detail based on an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of sewing heads 3 are juxtaposed on the machine frame 2 of the multi-head embroidery machine 1, and beds 4 are installed below the heads 3. 5 is provided. A sewing frame 6 that feeds the work cloth W forward, backward, left and right is placed on the table 5, and an operation panel 7 having an editing function for embroidery pattern data is disposed on the right end of the table 5. A control panel 8 for controlling the electric devices of the entire embroidery machine 1 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a revolving body 10 is provided at the lower part of the sewing machine head 3 and is revolved in a horizontal plane by a color changing mechanism (not shown). A plurality of needle bars 11 and a presser bar 12 are supported on the revolving body 10 so as to be movable up and down, a needle 13 is fixed to the lower end of the needle bar 11, and a presser foot 14 is attached to the lower end of the presser bar 12. It is attached. A needle plate 15 is provided on the upper surface of the bed 4. When the needle bar 11 is lowered, the needle 13 penetrates the needle hole 16 of the needle plate 15, and when the presser bar 12 is lowered, the presser foot 14 is placed on the needle plate 15. Prevents lift of the work cloth.

  The needle bar 11 and the presser bar 12 are combined so as to be movable relative to each other by a needle bar holder 18 fixed to the side of the presser bar 12, and the needle bar 11 is provided by a strong spring 19 and the presser bar 12 is provided by a weak spring 20. Are biased upward. A guide shaft 21 is provided behind the needle bar 11, and a needle bar hitting 24 is attached to an elevating body 22 on the guide shaft 21 via a bracket 23. A main shaft 25 common to each sewing machine head 3 is disposed behind the guide shaft 21, and as the main shaft 25 rotates, the elevating body 22 moves up and down, and the needle bar tapping 24 drives the needle bar 11. Yes. 1 is a main shaft drive motor, and 26 shown in FIG. 2 is a top dead end stopper of the needle bar 11.

  On the lower side of the elevating body 22, a sliding body 27 is inserted on the guide shaft 21, and an arm 28 is fixed to a front surface of the sliding body 27 so as to engage with the needle bar holder 18 from below. The sliding body 27 is connected to the elevating body 22 via two links 29, and the arm 28 moves up and down following the needle bar hitting 24. A roller 30 is provided at the joint portion of the link 29, and a groove 31 for guiding the roller 30 is formed in the guide member 32 in an oblique shape. When the lifting body 22 is lowered, the link 29 bends backward, the distance between the needle bar hitting 24 and the needle bar holder 18 is reduced, and the presser foot 14 is moved from the needle 13 at the lower end position of the stroke of the sliding body 27. Reaches a high bottom dead center position (see FIG. 7).

  The guide member 32 is supported by the sewing machine head 3 by a pair of rotating bodies 35 fitted in the longitudinal groove 34 so as to be movable up and down, and a lever 36 is provided behind the guide member 32 so as to be swingable up and down by a shaft 37. A notch 39 that fits into the piece 38 on the guide member 32 is formed at the front end of the lever 36, and a recess 42 that fits the cam 41 on the connecting shaft 40 is formed at the rear end of the lever 36. The cam 41, the lever 36, and the guide member 32 constitute an adjusting mechanism 43, and the cam 41 changes the height of the guide member 32 via the lever 36, so that the bottom dead center position is changed from the upper surface of the needle plate 15. The presser foot heights H1 and H2 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) up to the presser foot 14 can be adjusted according to the fabric thickness.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connecting shaft 40 is formed so as to extend to the left and right along the machine frame 2, and the adjusting mechanism 43 of each sewing head 3 is connected by the connecting shaft 40 so as to be able to operate simultaneously. In the vicinity of the operation panel 7, an actuator 45 that drives the connecting shaft 40 is installed at the right end of the machine casing 2, and a display 46 that mechanically displays the current value of the presser foot height is attached to the actuator 45. Yes. The actuator 45 is connected to the control panel 8 by a cable 47, the control panel 8 is connected to the operation panel 7 by a cable 48, and the control panel 8 is configured to control the actuator 45 based on the output of the operation panel 7. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the actuator 45 includes a casing 49 attached to the machine frame 2, a stepping motor 50 is mounted on the end surface of the casing 49, and reduction gears 51 and 52 are provided inside the casing 49. It has been. The small diameter gear 51 is inserted on the motor shaft 53 of the stepping motor 50, the large diameter gear 52 is inserted on the output shaft 54 of the actuator 45, and the output shaft 54 is coupled to the connecting shaft 40 via the coupling 55. ing. The display 46 includes a display plate 56 fixed to the casing 49 and a pointer 57 fixed to the output shaft 54. The display plate 56 is provided with a scale 58 indicating the height of the presser foot at intervals of 0.5 mm. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the operation panel 7 is provided with an input unit 60, a display unit 61, a storage unit 62, and an FD drive 63 so that the operator can edit the embroidery pattern data on the embroidery machine 1. . The input unit 60 is provided with a plurality of mode switching keys 64, a cursor movement key 65, an input key 66, a confirmation key 67, and the like. When the predetermined mode switching key 64 is pressed, the cloth thickness is set on the display unit 61. A screen 68 is displayed. The setting screen 68 includes an area indicating the registration number (# 01) of the embroidery pattern data, an area displaying a list of the needle number information in the embroidery pattern data, and an area displaying the cloth thickness corresponding to the needle number information. It is configured.

  Then, the operator presses the cursor movement key 65, moves the cursor 69 on the setting screen 68, presses the up or down input key 66, inputs the cloth thickness in association with the stitch number information, presses the enter key 67, It is set in the storage unit 62 as correlation information between the number of stitches and the cloth thickness. As shown in FIG. 6, when another mode switching key 64 is pressed, the cloth thickness correction screen 70 is displayed on the display unit 61. This screen 70 is provided with an area for displaying the spindle rotational speed stepwise and an area for displaying the cloth thickness correction value corresponding to the spindle rotational speed. The operator can operate the same key operation as when inputting the cloth thickness. The cloth thickness correction value is input in association with the spindle rotation speed, and is set in the storage unit 62 as the correlation information. In the example shown in the figure, the cloth thickness correction value is set to 0 mm when the spindle speed is 0 to 300 rotations / minute, and the cloth thickness correction value is gradually increased by 0.1 mm each time the rotation speed is increased by 100 rotations / minute. Is shown.

  During operation of the embroidery machine 1, the control panel 8 reads the cloth thickness input value set in the storage unit 62 of the operation panel 7, and also detects the rotational speed detection value of the sewing machine spindle and spindle drive motor, or embroidery pattern data. The cloth thickness correction value set in the storage unit 62 of the operation panel 7 is read based on the spindle rotational speed information previously set in association with the needle number information, and the cloth thickness correction value is added to the cloth thickness input value. By controlling the actuator 45, the height of the presser foot at the bottom dead center position is adjusted and corrected.

  Next, the operation of the multi-head embroidery machine 1 configured as described above will be described. In embroidery processing on various sewing products, the operator first sets the cloth thickness in association with the number of stitches on the cloth thickness setting screen 68 as described above, and sets the correction value on the cloth thickness correction screen 70 as the spindle rotation speed. Set in association with. Then, the updated embroidery pattern data including the setting information is registered in the storage unit 62, and the embroidery machine 1 is activated to start embroidery processing. During operation of the embroidery machine 1, the control panel 8 controls the actuator 45 based on the setting information as described above, and the adjustment mechanism 43 operates as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 in each sewing head 3.

  7 and 8 show the operation of the adjusting mechanism 43 when the applique is processed on the work cloth. In this working example, a small cloth thickness (1.0 mm) of only the work cloth W is set in the stitch number section (FIG. 5: 0 to 199 needles) at the start of sewing where the applique piece Wa does not exist on the work cloth W. A large cloth thickness (3.0 mm), which is the overlapping thickness of the work cloth W and the applique piece Wa, is set in the number of stitches (200 to 299 stitches) in the middle of sewing where the applique piece Wa exists on the work cloth W. Has been. When the embroidery machine 1 is activated in this setting state, as shown in FIG. 7, in the sewing start section of the work cloth W, the actuator 45 rotates the connecting shaft 40 at a small angle from the origin position, and the cam 41 moves the lever 36. The guide member 32 is held in a low position via

  When the elevating body 22 is lowered in this state, the link 29 bends at an angle corresponding to the height of the guide groove 31, and the arm 28 is the needle bar holder 18 on the presser bar 12 at the stroke lower end position of the sliding body 27. The cloth presser foot 14 is lowered to a height corresponding to the thickness of the work cloth W at the bottom dead center position. Then, the present value of the presser foot height H1 at the bottom dead center position is instructed by the pointer 57 on the display board 56 of the display 46. Here, when the sewing start section is a low speed operation section (for example, a section in which the spindle speed is 0 to 300 revolutions / minute), the cloth thickness correction value is set to “0 mm” (FIG. 6), the presser foot height H1 is 1 mm which is the cloth thickness input value. As described above, since the presser foot height H1 becomes appropriate by the correction according to the main shaft rotation speed, flapping of the work cloth W (which occurs when the presser foot height is excessive) does not occur. If the presser foot height is inappropriate, the instruction value on the display 46 can be confirmed, and the proper presser foot height can be easily reset on the operation panel 7.

  On the other hand, in the number of stitches section where the applique piece Wa is sewn, as shown in FIG. 8, the actuator 45 rotates the connecting shaft 40 at a large angle, and the cam 41 holds the guide member 32 at a high position via the lever 36. To do. As the elevating body 22 is lowered, the link 29 bends at a large angle, the stroke of the sliding body 27 is reduced, and the cloth presser foot 14 overlaps the work cloth W and the applique piece Wa at the bottom dead center position. The height is lowered to a height corresponding to the thickness, and the presser foot height H2 at the bottom dead center position is displayed on the display 46. Here, when the section in which the applique piece Wa is sewn is a high-speed operation section (for example, a section in which the spindle rotational speed is 701 to 800 revolutions / minute), the cloth thickness correction value is “0.5 mm. (See FIG. 6), the presser foot height H1 is 3.5 mm obtained by adding the cloth thickness correction value 0.5 mm to the cloth thickness input value 3 mm. As described above, since the presser foot height H1 becomes appropriate by the correction according to the spindle rotation speed, the movement of the work cloth W (which occurs when the presser foot height is insufficient) is affected even during high-speed operation. No press marks remain on the work cloth. As described above, the presser foot height can be automatically and quickly corrected to an optimum height without excess or deficiency in accordance with each operation speed in all operation speed sections from low speed to high speed.

  Note that it is arbitrary which section of the total number of stitches range is set to which spindle rotational speed, and for example, the section in which the applique piece Wa is sewn in the above example may be set as the low speed operation section.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, as described below, the present invention can be appropriately modified and embodied without departing from the spirit of the invention.
(1) The needle section information in the embroidery pattern data and the spindle rotational speed information are displayed in association with each other on the display unit 61 of the operation panel 7 so that the cloth thickness input value and the correction value can be set on one screen. Make up.
(2) The display plate 56 of the display 46 is attached to the machine frame 2 and the pointer 57 is attached on the connecting shaft 40.

It is a partial front view of a multi-head embroidery machine showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the sewing machine head showing the presser foot height adjusting mechanism of the embroidery machine. It is sectional drawing of the actuator which drives an adjustment mechanism. It is a perspective view of the indicator which displays the present value of the work clamp height. It is a front view of the operation panel showing a screen for setting the cloth thickness in association with the number of stitches. It is a front view of the operation panel showing a screen for setting a cloth thickness correction value in association with the spindle rotation speed. FIG. 3 is a side view of the sewing head showing the operation of the adjustment mechanism of FIG. 2. It is a side view of a sewing machine head which shows another operation of an adjustment mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Multi-head embroidery machine 2 Machine frame 3 Sewing head 7 Operation panel 8 Control panel 14 Work clamp foot 25 Sewing machine spindle 43 Adjustment mechanism 45 Actuator 46 Display 56 Display board 57 Pointer 60 Input part 61 Display part W Work cloth H1 H2 Work clamp height

Claims (3)

In a multi-head embroidery machine having a plurality of sewing heads (3) provided with an adjustment mechanism (43) for adjusting the height of the presser foot (14) at the bottom dead center according to the thickness of the work cloth (W) ,
A connecting shaft (40) for connecting the adjusting mechanism (43) of each sewing head (3);
An actuator (45) for driving the connecting shaft;
By controlling the actuator (45) according to the rotation speed of the main shaft (25), the height of the bottom dead center position of the presser foot (14), a low rotational speed of the main shaft (25) A multi-head embroidery machine characterized in that it is provided with a control means for making it relatively low and making it relatively high when the rotational speed of the sewing machine spindle (25) is high .   A display unit (61) for displaying the needle number information in the embroidery pattern data on the screen; and an input unit (60) for the operator to input the thickness of the work cloth (W) in association with the needle number information. The multi-head embroidery machine according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit (8) for controlling the actuator (45) according to the inputted thickness of the work cloth (W) and the rotational speed of the sewing machine main shaft (25). .   The multi-head embroidery machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a display (46) for displaying the current height of the presser foot (14) is attached to the actuator (45).

Images