JP7454916B2 - sewing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sewing machine that sews together an upper fabric and a lower fabric.

As shown in FIG. 28, in order to sew the upper and lower fabrics so that their respective seam allowances match, the conventional sewing machine 2000 feeds the upper and lower fabrics along the seam forming direction. teeth (not shown), upper and lower cross-feed mechanisms (not shown) that individually feed the upper and lower fabrics in a direction perpendicular to the cloth feed direction on the upstream side of the sewing needle 2001, and each cross-feed mechanism and feed. The device includes cloth edge detection devices 2100 and 2200 that detect the positions of the sewing edges of the upper and lower cloths in a direction perpendicular to the cloth feeding direction between the teeth (for example, Patent Document 1 reference).

FIG. 29 is an enlarged front view of the cloth edge detection device 2100 for the upper cloth CU of the sewing machine 2000. As shown in the figure, this fabric edge detection device 2100 includes a light source 2101 that radiates slit-shaped irradiation light along a direction perpendicular to the fabric feeding direction (left and right direction in the paper) by a feed dog, and a line that receives the irradiation light. The upper cloth CU passes between the light source 2101 and the line sensor 2102, and the position where the light intensity is lowered due to the irradiation light being blocked by the upper cloth CU is identified from the output of the line sensor 2102. Based on this, the position of the side edge of the upper cloth CU is detected. Note that the lower cloth edge detection device 2200 also has a similar configuration.
Then, the upper fabric and the lower fabric are adjusted to appropriate positions by the cross-feeding mechanism based on the positions of the sewn edges of the upper fabric and the lower fabric detected by the fabric edge detection devices 2100 and 2200, respectively. Sewing was done so that the seam allowances for the upper and lower fabrics were the same width.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-248390

However, in the conventional sewing machine described above, although it is possible to determine the position of the stitched edge near the needle drop position of the sewing needle 2001 using the fabric edge detection devices 2100 and 2200, it is possible to determine the position of the stitched edge near the needle drop position of the sewing needle 2001, but It was not possible to optimize the starting position.
Therefore, at the start of sewing, the operator had to place the upper fabric and the lower fabric at appropriate positions.

An object of the present invention is to arrange upper and lower fabrics at appropriate positions at the time of starting sewing.

The invention according to claim 1 provides a sewing machine that includes:
a main feeding mechanism that forwards a first workpiece on the upper side and a second workpiece on the lower side;
an upper cross-feeding mechanism that moves the first workpiece in the left-right direction;
an upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism that moves the first workpiece in the back-and-forth direction;
a lower cross-feeding mechanism that moves the second workpiece in the left-right direction;
a lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism that moves the second workpiece in the back-and-forth direction;
an upper detection unit that detects a position in the front-back direction of a sewing start end of the first workpiece and a position and orientation in the left-right direction of a sewing end of the first workpiece;
a lower detection unit that detects a position in the front-rear direction of a sewing start end of the second workpiece and a position and orientation in the left-right direction of a sewing end of the second workpiece;
a first supply unit that picks up one of the first objects to be sewn from a holding mechanism that holds the plurality of first objects to be sewn and supplies it to a position where the upper detection unit performs detection;
a second supply section that picks up one of the second objects to be sewn from a holding mechanism that holds the plurality of second objects to be sewn, and supplies the second object to a position where the lower detection section performs detection;
Equipped with
At the start of sewing and during sewing ,
Based on the detection by the upper detection section, controlling the upper cross-feeding mechanism and the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism to adjust the position and orientation of the first sewing object;
The sewing machine further includes a control device that controls the lower horizontal feed mechanism and the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism to adjust the position and orientation of the second sewing object based on the detection by the lower detection section. It is characterized by

Furthermore, the invention according to claim 1,
The upper detection section detects the positions of three points on the outer edge of the first workpiece, and detects the position of the sewing start end of the first workpiece in the front-rear direction and the first workpiece. It is characterized by detecting the position and orientation of the stitched ends in the left and right direction.

Furthermore, the invention described in claim 1 is
The lower detection unit is characterized in that it detects the front-to-rear position of the sewing start end of the second sewn workpiece and the left-to-right position and orientation of the sewn end of the second sewn workpiece by detecting the positions of three points on the outer edge of the second sewn workpiece.

Furthermore, the invention according to claim 1,
The upper detection section is characterized in that it captures an image of the stitched end of the first sewing object and detects the position and orientation of the stitched end in the left-right direction.

Furthermore, the invention according to claim 1,
The lower detection section is characterized in that it captures an image of the stitched end of the second sewing object and detects the position and orientation of the stitched end in the left-right direction.
Furthermore, the invention according to claim 1,
The first supply unit maintains the orientation of the first workpiece held by the holding mechanism and supplies the first workpiece to a position where the upper detection unit detects it;
The second supply unit maintains the orientation of the second workpiece held by the holding mechanism and supplies the second workpiece to a position where the lower detection unit performs detection;
The control device includes:
When starting sewing,
The position of the sewing start end of the first workpiece in the front-rear direction and the first workpiece are detected by the upper detection unit detecting the positions of three points on the outer edge of the first workpiece. Detecting the horizontal position and orientation of the seamed edges,
The position of the sewing start end of the second workpiece in the front-rear direction and the second workpiece by position detection of three points on the outer edge of the second workpiece by the lower detection unit By detecting the horizontal position and orientation of the seamed edges,
adjusting the position and orientation of the first sewing object and the second sewing object;
During sewing,
Detecting the position and orientation of the stitched end in the left-right direction by the upper detection unit capturing an image of the stitched end of the first sewing object;
Detecting the position and orientation of the stitched end in the left-right direction by the lower detection unit capturing an image of the stitched end of the second workpiece,
The present invention is characterized in that the position and orientation of the first object to be sewn and the position and orientation of the second object to be sewn are adjusted.

The invention according to claim 2 is the sewing machine according to claim 1 , which comprises:
The upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism is in contact with the first workpiece on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the needle drop position, and feeds in the back-and-forth direction;
It is characterized by comprising a first moving mechanism that moves the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism between at least two positions along the front-back direction.

The invention according to claim 3 is the sewing machine according to claim 1 or claim 2 ,
The lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism is in contact with the second workpiece on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the needle drop position, and feeds in the back-and-forth direction;
It is characterized by comprising a second moving mechanism that moves the lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism between at least two positions along the front-back direction.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to arrange the upper fabric and the lower fabric at appropriate positions at the time of starting sewing.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a vertical feed sewing machine according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vertical feed sewing machine. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper cloth holding mechanism. It is a perspective view of an upper cloth supply device and a lower cloth supply device. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which the angle of the support member supported by the adjustment plate is adjusted. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism showing an example in which the length of the pair of gripping members is extended. FIG. 8(A) is a plan view of the upper cloth, and FIG. 8(B) is a bottom view of the lower cloth. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a sewing machine main body according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view of the sewing machine main body viewed from the left. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the main part of the sewing machine main body as seen from the left. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a part of the control system of the vertical feed sewing machine. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the remaining part of the control system of the vertical feed sewing machine. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a common configuration of an upper cross-feeding mechanism, a lower cross-feeding mechanism, an upper back-and-forth feed mechanism, and a lower back-and-forth feed mechanism. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of components around a needle drop position. FIG. 3 is a diagram of a guide and a first pressure-sensitive sensor and a second pressure-sensitive sensor arranged inside the guide, viewed from the rear. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing detection positions of a first sewing start position sensor and a first end detection sensor. 3 is a flowchart of overall sewing control executed by the control device. It is a flowchart of standard sewing start position positioning control. 3 is a flowchart of highly accurate sewing start position positioning control. 3 is a flowchart of simple sewing start position positioning control. It is an explanatory view showing the positional relationship of the notch of the upper cloth and the notch of the lower cloth. 5 is a flowchart of sewing control. Figure 24(A) is a plan view showing an example of a shape in which the roller of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism properly contacts the sewing end of the upper fabric, and Figure 24(B) is a plan view showing an example of the shape in which the roller of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism properly contacts the sewing end of the upper fabric. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of a shape in which the rollers of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism do not come into contact with each other. Fig. 25(A) is a plan view showing an example of a shape in which the roller of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism properly contacts the sewing start end of the upper fabric, and Fig. 25(B) shows an example of the shape in which the roller of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism properly contacts the sewing start end of the upper fabric. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of a shape in which the rollers of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism do not come into contact with each other. It is a top view which showed the example of operation which moves the roller of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism forward. It is a top view which showed the example of operation which moves the roller of a lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism forward. FIG. 2 is a front view of a conventional sewing machine. FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of a cloth edge detection device for upper cloth of a conventional sewing machine.

[Embodiment of the invention]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a vertical feed sewing machine 1000 as a sewing machine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vertical feed sewing machine 1000.
In the following description, the horizontal cloth feeding direction will be referred to as the X-axis direction, the horizontal direction perpendicular to the cloth feeding direction will be referred to as the Y-axis direction, and the vertical vertical direction will be referred to as the Z-axis direction.
In addition, with the vertical feed sewing machine 1000 (hereinafter simply referred to as the sewing machine 1000) placed on a horizontal surface, the upper fabric U (first object to be sewn) and the lower fabric D (second object to be sewn), which will be described later, are The feeding direction by the feeding mechanism 20 is parallel to the X-axis direction, and the downstream side in the feeding direction in normal sewing is referred to as "front" and the upstream side is "rear", and the forward direction is the Y-axis direction. The left hand side is defined as "left", the right hand side is defined as "right", and one side in the Z-axis direction is defined as "top" and the other as "bottom".
Further, the laterally-described transverse feed mechanisms 30 and 40 are capable of moving the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D in both directions in the Y-axis direction, that is, both to the left and to the right.

The sewing machine 1000 uses a sewing machine main body 100, which will be described later, to feed forward an upper cloth U and a lower cloth D disposed above and below the throat plate 13, while feeding the right side end of the upper cloth U and the right side edge of the lower cloth D. The seams are sewn together so that the side edges of the seam line up with each other without any misalignment, and the seam allowance reaches a predetermined target value.
Note that although the upper workpiece is exemplified as upper cloth U and the lower workpiece is exemplified as lower cloth D, it is possible to pass a sewing needle through the upper workpiece and the lower workpiece. If available, it may be a surface, sheet, or plate other than cloth.

The sewing machine 1000 includes a sewing machine body 100 that performs sewing, an upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 that can hold a plurality of upper cloths U in a layered manner, and a layered upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 that can hold a plurality of lower cloths D in a layered manner. a lower fabric holding mechanism 1200, an upper fabric supply device 1300 as a first supply unit that supplies the upper fabric U from the upper fabric holding mechanism 1100 to the sewing machine main body 100, and an upper fabric supply device 1300 that supplies the lower fabric D from the lower fabric holding mechanism 1200 to the sewing machine main body. 100 is provided.
Each configuration will be explained in detail below.

[Top cloth holding mechanism and bottom cloth holding mechanism]
Since the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 and the lower cloth holding mechanism 1200 have the same structure, the explanation will mainly focus on the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100, and the same reference numerals will be used for each part that constitutes the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 and the lower cloth holding mechanism 1200. Duplicate explanations will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 includes a horizontally installed substrate 1110, a frame 1120 that supports the substrate 1110, and a lifting mechanism 1130 that lifts and lowers a plurality of laminated upper cloths U. and a guide portion 1140 that maintains the orientation of the upper cloth U according to the outer shape of the upper cloth U.

The substrate 1110 is rectangular in plan view, and a rectangular opening 1111 is formed at a position slightly to one side from the center. Note that the shapes of the substrate 1110 and the opening 1111 may be changed to other shapes.
The underframe 1120 is disposed below the substrate 1110 and houses a lifting mechanism 1130.

The elevating mechanism 1130 includes a placing plate 1131 on which a plurality of stacked upper fabrics U are placed, an elevating motor 1132 that serves as a source of driving force for elevating the placing plate 1131, and a ball screw mechanism that provides an elevating motion to the placing plate 1131. 1133.
Note that the elevating mechanism 1130 may use other actuators and other power transmission mechanisms as long as the height of the mounting plate 1131 can be arbitrarily controlled.

The mounting plate 1131 has a rectangular shape that can pass through the opening 1111 of the substrate 1110, and supports the laminated upper cloth U placed on the substrate 1110 from below.
The mounting plate 1131 starts from a state flush with the substrate 1110, and each time the stacked upper fabrics U are supplied to the sewing machine main body 100 from the top and decreases, the mounting plate 1131 rises and lifts up the uppermost fabric. Keep the height of U constant.
The lifting motor 1132 is controlled by a control device 90, which will be described later, in order to maintain the height of the uppermost upper cloth U constant. Regarding the control of this lifting motor 1132, for example, every time the upper cloth supply device 1300 feeds a piece of upper cloth U to the sewing machine main body 100, the placing plate 1131 is moved at a specified height according to the thickness of the upper cloth U. Alternatively, a sensor may be provided to detect the upper surface height of the uppermost upper cloth U, and the uppermost cloth U may be controlled so that the upper surface height of the uppermost upper cloth U is constant based on the sensor output. Also good.

A plurality of guide parts 1140 are used so as to surround the upper cloth U, depending on the shape of the upper cloth U.
The guide portion 1140 includes a base 1141 that can be attracted to the upper surface of the substrate 1110, and a round guide bar 1142 that stands vertically upward from one end of the base 1141.
The base 1141 has a built-in magnet (not shown) in its lower part, and the magnet can be switched between an adsorption state where an adsorption force is generated and a non-adsorption state where no adsorption force is generated by operating an operation unit (not shown).
The substrate 1110 is made of a magnetic material, for example iron, and can attract the base 1141 to an arbitrary position.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, no matter what shape the upper cloth U has, a guide bar is attached to each part of the outer edge of the upper cloth U in which a plurality of guide parts 1140 are stacked around the mounting plate 1131. 1142 can be placed in contact or in close proximity.
Thereby, the plurality of stacked upper fabrics U can be guided to move upward in the same direction.

A plurality of wheels 1121 are attached to the lower part of the underframe 1120 so that the traveling direction of the wheels 1121 can be changed. In addition, part or all of the wheels 1121 are provided with a rotation stopper that cannot be rotated by applying an external operation.
Thereby, the elevating mechanism 1130 can be placed at any position and in any direction around the sewing machine main body 100.

The upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 is arranged at the rear of the sewing machine body 100 with the longitudinal direction of the substrate 1110 oriented parallel to the X-axis direction, and the lower cloth holding mechanism 1200 is arranged with the longitudinal direction of the substrate 1110 oriented parallel to the X-axis direction. It is arranged on the left side of the sewing machine main body 100 in a state parallel to the Y-axis direction.

[Top fabric supply device]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper cloth supply device 1300 and the lower cloth supply device 1400.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the upper fabric supply device 1300 includes an upper guide plate 1310 that guides the upper fabric U picked up from the upper fabric holding mechanism 1100 to the sewing machine main body 100, and an upper fabric holding mechanism 1100. The apparatus includes a pick-up device 1320 that picks up the uppermost layer U of the uppermost layer, and a transfer mechanism 1330 that transfers the upper fabric U picked up by the pick-up device 1320.

The upper guide plate 1310 is connected to the rear end of the partition plate 11 of the sewing machine main body 100 on which the upper cloth U is placed during sewing, and the partition plate 11 and the upper guide plate 1310 are connected flush.
Further, the rear end of the upper guide plate 1310 is formed with a slope that descends toward the rear, so that even when the upper cloth U conveyed from the rear than the upper guide plate 1310 hangs down, the upper guide plate 1310 It is designed so that it can be guided smoothly to the top surface.

The pickup device 1320 includes a pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322 that pick up the uppermost upper cloth U stacked in the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100, a support member 1323 that supports the pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322, and a support member 1323 that supports the pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322. It is provided with an adjustment plate 1324 for adjusting the direction of the pair of pickup heads 1321, 1322 via the adjustment plate 1324, and an air cylinder 1325 for raising and lowering the pair of pickup heads 1321, 1322 through the adjustment plate 1324.

The pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322 are both of a type that holds the upper cloth U by piercing the tips of a plurality of holding needles thereinto. The pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322 respectively incorporate pickup air cylinders 1326 and 1327 that move the holding needle forward and backward.
The holding needles of the pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322 are both arranged in directions that are inclined in opposite directions with respect to the vertically downward direction. This makes it possible to hold the holding needle so that it does not fall off when the tip of the holding needle is pierced.

The support member 1323 is a horizontally oriented columnar member, and suspends and supports the pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322 while being arranged along its longitudinal direction.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the angle of the support member 1323 supported by the adjustment plate 1324 is adjusted.
The adjustment plate 1324 rotatably supports the support member 1323 by a support shaft 1324a extending in the Z-axis direction. The adjustment plate 1324 has an arc-shaped elongated hole 1324b centered around the support shaft 1324a, and when the adjustment screw 1324c is loosened, the support member 1323 can rotate around the support shaft 1324a, and when the adjustment screw 1324c is tightened, the support member 1323 can rotate around the support shaft 1324a. , the support member 1323 can be fixed.
In other words, the direction in which the pair of pickup heads 1321, 1322 are arranged can be adjusted to any direction along the XY plane, and the pair of pickup heads 1321, 1322 can be arranged along the longitudinal direction of the upper cloth U. , can perform good pickup operation.

The lifting air cylinder 1325 is supported by a support frame 1326 with the plunger facing downward. The plunger of the lifting air cylinder 1325 supports the adjustment plate 1324 from above, and raises and lowers the pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322 via the adjustment plate 1324.
When the pair of pickup heads 1321 and 1322 descend, the uppermost cloth U stacked and held on the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 reaches a height that can be held by the holding needle, and when they rise, the upper cloth holding mechanism The picked up upper cloth U can be pulled upward from the upper end of each guide bar 1142 of 1100.

As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4, and FIG. A pair of gripping air cylinders 1333, 1334 that raise and lower the gripping air cylinders 1333, 1334, an auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 that moves these pair of gripping air cylinders 1333, 1334 forward and backward along the X-axis direction, and a transport mechanism 1336 that transports the pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 along the X-axis direction.

The pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 are both rectangular flat plates along the XY plane, and are arranged close to each other so that one gripping member 1331 is on the lower side and the other gripping member 1332 is on the upper side. The upper cloth U can be gripped between them.

One gripping air cylinder 1333 supports a lower gripping member 1331, and can switch the gripping member 1331 between an upper position and a lower position.
The other gripping air cylinder 1334 supports the upper gripping member 1332, and can switch the gripping member 1332 between an upper position and a lower position.

When the lower gripping member 1331 is in the lower position, the lower surface of the gripping member 1331 is higher than the upper surface of the upper guide plate 1310, and the upper surface of the gripping member 1331 holds the upper cloth U picked up by the pickup device 1320. It is set to be lower than the bottom surface.
Further, the lower gripping member 1331 is set so that when it is in the upper position, the lower surface of the gripping member 1331 is higher than the upper surface of the upper cloth U placed on the upper surface of the partition plate 11 of the sewing machine main body 100. has been done.

The upper gripping member 1332 is set at a height such that it can grip the upper cloth U in cooperation with the lower gripping member 1331 in the lower position when it is in the lower position.
Further, the upper gripping member 1332 is set at a height such that when it is in the upper position, it closely opposes the lower gripping member 1331 in the upper position.

The auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 supports a pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 via a pair of gripping air cylinders 1333 and 1334.
A conveyance mechanism 1336, which will be described later, moves a pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 along the X-axis direction to a receiving position for the upper fabric U picked up by the pickup device 1320 and a supplying position for supplying it to the needle drop position in the sewing machine body 100. It can be transported by
The auxiliary moving air cylinder 1335 moves the pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 backward at the receiving position in the transport mechanism 1336, and transfers the upper cloth U picked up by the pickup device 1320 between the pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332. to be interposed.

The transport mechanism 1336 includes a ball screw mechanism using a transport motor 1337 as a driving source.
As described above, the transport mechanism 1336 supports the pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 via the auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 (more specifically, via the pair of gripping air cylinders 1333 and 1334). ing.
The transport mechanism 1336 can transport the pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 along the X-axis direction between the receiving position and the supplying position described above.

[Lower fabric supply device]
Since many of the configurations of the lower cloth supply device 1400 are the same as those of the upper cloth supply device 1300, the same configurations will be given the same reference numerals as those of the upper cloth supply device 1300, and redundant explanation will be omitted. do. Further, regarding the lower cloth supply device 1400, only the points different from the upper cloth supply device 1300 will be described.

The lower fabric supplying device 1400 includes two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412 that guide the lower fabric D taken up from the lower fabric holding mechanism 1200 to the sewing machine main body 100, and two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412 that guide the lower fabric D picked up from the lower fabric holding mechanism 1200, and the uppermost fabric U of the lower fabric holding mechanism 1200. It is provided with a pickup device 1320 that picks up the lower cloth D, and a transfer mechanism 1430 that transfers the lower cloth D picked up by the pickup device 1320.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the transfer mechanism 1430. The lower fabric supply device 1400 will be explained based on FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 to 6.

The two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412 are connected to the throat plate 13 of the sewing machine main body 100 on which the lower cloth D is placed during sewing, and the throat plate 13 and the two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412 are flush with each other. are connected with.
Further, the left end portions of the two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412 are formed with a slope that descends toward the left, and the lower cloth is conveyed from the left side by the two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412. Even if D is hanging down, it can be smoothly guided to the upper surfaces of the two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412.

Furthermore, the two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412 are spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction, and the pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 of the transfer mechanism 1430 can pass between them.

The pickup device 1320 of the lower cloth supply device 1400 has the same configuration as the pickup device 1320 of the upper cloth supply device 1300.
However, the pickup device 1320 of the lower fabric supply device 1400 has a pair of pickup heads using an air cylinder 1325 for raising and lowering, in response to the fact that the height of the lower fabric D when feeding it to the sewing machine body 100 is lower than that of the upper fabric U. The height of the upper cloth supply device 1321 and 1322 when raised is slightly lower than that of the upper cloth supply device 1300.

The transfer mechanism 1430 includes a pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 that grip the lower cloth D picked up by the pickup device 1320 from above and below, and a pair of gripping air cylinders 1333 and 1334 that individually raise and lower the gripping members 1431 and 1432. , an auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 that moves these pair of gripping air cylinders 1333, 1334 forward and backward along the X-axis direction, and a pair of gripping members 1331, 1332 moved in the X-axis direction via the auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335. and a conveyance mechanism 1336 for conveying along the line.

The pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 are both rectangular flat plates along the XY plane, and are arranged close to each other so that one gripping member 1431 is on the lower side and the other gripping member 1432 is on the upper side. The upper cloth U can be gripped between them.

One gripping air cylinder 1333 supports a lower gripping member 1431, and can switch the gripping member 1431 between an upper position and a lower position.
The other gripping air cylinder 1334 supports the upper gripping member 1432, and can switch the gripping member 1432 between an upper position and a lower position.

When the lower gripping member 1431 is in the lower position, the upper surface of the gripping member 1431 is higher than the upper surfaces of the lower guide plates 1411 and 1412, and the upper surface of the gripping member 1431 is lower than the lower surface picked up by the pickup device 1320. It is set to be lower than the lower surface of cloth D.
Further, the lower gripping member 1431 is set such that when it is in the upper position, the lower surface of the gripping member 1431 is higher than the upper surface of the lower cloth D placed on the upper surface of the throat plate 13 of the sewing machine main body 100. has been done.

The upper gripping member 1432 is set at a height such that it can grip the lower cloth D in cooperation with the lower gripping member 1431 in the lower position when it is in the lower position.
Further, the upper gripping member 1432 is set at a height such that when it is in the upper position, it closely opposes the lower gripping member 1431 in the upper position.

The auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 can move the pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 along the Y-axis direction via the pair of gripping air cylinders 1333 and 1334.
The auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 moves the pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 to the left at the receiving position in the transport mechanism 1336, and transfers the lower fabric D picked up by the pickup device 1320 to the pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432. be inserted in between.

The transport mechanism 1336 transports the pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 along the Y-axis direction to a receiving position for the lower cloth D picked up by the pickup device 1320 and a supplying position for supplying the lower cloth D to the needle drop position in the sewing machine body 100. can do.
As described above, the transport mechanism 1336 transports the pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 so as to pass between the two lower guide plates 1411 and 1412.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 7, the length of the pair of gripping members 1431 and 1432 in the Y-axis direction may be extended to ensure a more reliable gripping operation when receiving the lower cloth D from the pickup device 1320. good.
Similarly, in the case of the upper cloth supply device 1300, the length of the pair of gripping members 1331 and 1332 in the X-axis direction may be extended.

[About the object to be sewn]
FIG. 8(A) is a plan view of the upper cloth U, and FIG. 8(B) is a plan view of the lower cloth D. Both the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D are long, and the side edges of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D on one side along the longitudinal direction are sewn together. Note that the upper fabric U is sewn with the side shown in Figure 8(A) facing up, and the lower fabric D is sewn with the side shown in Figure 8(B) facing down. will be held.

Further, in both the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D, a plurality of notches N are formed as positioning indications along the side edges where sewing is performed. The plurality of notches N on the upper cloth U and the plurality of notches N on the lower cloth D are indicators for performing sewing so that the positions of the notches N match sequentially from the end.
Note that the notches N of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D are not formed at uniform intervals, and the formation intervals of the corresponding notches N of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D may also be inconsistent. There is also. For example, the distance from one notch N to the next notch N in the upper cloth U may be wider than the distance from the corresponding notch N to the next notch N in the lower cloth D. In such a case, the sewing machine 1000 sews while transporting the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D so that the feed of the upper fabric U is larger than the feed of the lower fabric D when sewing up to the next notch N. Perform so-called shirring stitching. Hereinafter, the control for performing the above-mentioned shirring stitching will be referred to as "shirring control." The "shirring control" will be described later.

Note that the positioning markings formed on the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D are not limited to cutouts such as the notch N, but may also be visual or It is possible to use any optically perceptible indication.

[Sewing machine body]
9 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the sewing machine main body 100, FIG. 10 is a side view of the sewing machine main body 100 seen from the left, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram simply showing the configuration of the main parts seen from the left. 12 and 13 are block diagrams showing the control system of the vertical feed sewing machine 1000. The control system of sewing machine 1000 cannot be shown in one diagram, so it is shown separately in FIGS. 12 and 13.
As shown in FIGS. 9 to 13, the sewing machine main body 100 includes a needle up and down movement mechanism (not shown) that moves up and down a needle bar that holds sewing needles, and a needle up and down movement mechanism (not shown) that moves the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D in the X-axis direction during sewing. The main feed mechanism 20, the upper side feed mechanism 30 which is located behind the needle drop position and moves the upper fabric U in the left and right direction, and the upper cross feed mechanism 30 which is located behind the needle drop position and moves the lower fabric D left and right. a lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 that moves the upper fabric U in the front-rear direction; , a lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 for moving the lower fabric D in the front-rear direction, an upper partition plate 11 on which the upper fabric U is placed during sewing, and a lower side partition plate 11 on which the lower fabric D is placed during sewing. Throat plate 13, a first camera 71 that photographs the upper fabric U behind the needle drop position, a second camera 72 that photographs the lower fabric D behind the needle drop position, and a camera 72 that photographs the lower fabric D behind the needle drop position. A first pressure-sensitive sensor 74 that contacts the side edge of the upper fabric U at the rear where the stitching is performed (referred to as the stitched edge), and the side edge where the lower fabric D is sewn at the rear of the needle drop position. A second pressure-sensitive sensor 75 that contacts the seam portion (sewn end), a first sewing start position sensor 771 that detects the sewing start position of the upper fabric U near the needle drop position, and a first sewing start position sensor 771 that detects the sewing start position of the upper fabric U near the needle drop position. a second sewing start position sensor 772 that detects the sewing start position of the lower fabric D at the needle drop point; a first edge detection sensor 773 that detects the sewing end of the upper fabric U behind the needle drop position; A second end detection sensor 774 that detects the sewing end of the lower cloth D at a position rearward from the sewing position, and a hook mechanism (not shown) that captures the upper thread from the sewing needle and entangles it with the lower thread below the throat plate 13. , a thread cutting device 14, a sewing machine frame 16, and a control device 90 that controls each of the above components.
Note that the needle vertical movement mechanism, hook mechanism, and thread cutting device 14 are the same as those conventionally known, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the sewing machine 1000 includes configurations that are commonly found in sewing machines, such as a thread take-up lever and thread tension, but since these are the same as those conventionally known, their explanations will be omitted.

[Sewing machine frame]
The sewing machine frame 16 includes a sewing machine bed section that extends along the Y-axis direction, a vertical body section that stands up from the right end of the sewing machine bed section, and a sewing machine that extends leftward from the upper end of the vertical body section. It consists of an arm part.
The sewing machine bed section is embedded in a table 161, and a needle plate 13 is provided along the XY plane on the upper surface of the sewing machine bed section and around the needle drop position.

The lower cloth D is placed on the throat plate 13 during sewing.
A lower horizontal feed mechanism 40 and a lower longitudinal feed mechanism 60, which will be described later, are arranged below the throat plate 13, and the lower cloth D placed on the throat plate 13 is The lower cloth D is fed through an opening or notch (not shown) formed in the.
Further, the second camera 72 that photographs the lower cloth D from below also photographs the lower cloth D through an opening or notch (not shown) formed in the throat plate 13. Note that the needle plate 13 may be made of a transparent plate, a porous plate, a mesh plate, etc. so as not to interfere with photographing.

The partition plate 11 is a flat plate provided horizontally above the throat plate 13, on which the upper fabric U is placed during sewing.
An upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 and an upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50, which will be described later, are arranged above the partition plate 11, and feed the upper cloth U placed on the partition plate 11 while coming into contact with it from above.
Further, the first camera 71 photographs the upper cloth U placed on the partition plate 11 from above.

[Main feed mechanism]
As shown in FIG. 11, the main feed mechanism 20 includes a cloth presser 23 that moves up and down on the throat plate 13 to hold down the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D, and a cloth presser 23 provided below the throat plate 13 in the Y-axis direction. A feed dog 21 that moves in an ellipse along the Y-axis direction and retracts from the opening of the throat plate 13, a feed foot 22 that is provided above the throat plate 13 and moves in an ellipse along the Y-axis direction, and a cloth presser 23. and a motion transmission mechanism (not shown) that imparts vertical motion or elliptical motion to the feed dog 21 and the feed foot 22.
The feed dog 21 performs a circular motion so that the upper section of the elliptical motion faces forward, and the feed foot 22 performs a circular motion such that the lower section of the elliptical motion faces forward. As a result, the upper cloth U and lower cloth D, which have passed through the partition plate 11 and overlapped on the throat plate 13, are sandwiched between the feed dog 21 and the feed foot 22 and are intermittently moved forward at a constant feed pitch. Performs feeding operation.

Further, the cloth presser 23 moves up and down in synchronization with the rotation of the feed dog 21 and the feed foot 22, and descends at the timing when the feed dog 21 is retracted downward and the feed foot 22 is retracted upward, and the upper cloth U and The lower cloth D is held down and raised at the timing when the feed dog 21 and the feed foot 22 engage with each other to feed the cloth.
The feed dog 21, feed foot 22, and cloth presser foot 23 all receive power from a sewing machine motor 15 (see FIGS. 12 and 13) that serves as a driving source for the needle vertical movement mechanism and hook mechanism.
That is, the feed dog 21 has a transmission mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the sewing machine motor 15 into an up-and-down reciprocating motion, and a transmission mechanism that converts it into a back-and-forth reciprocating motion. This allows for circular motion.
The same applies to the feed foot 22, which converts the rotational movement of the sewing machine motor 15 into a back-and-forth motion and attaches it to the rod that supports the feed foot 22, thereby causing the feed foot 22 to move back and forth, and the rotational movement of the sewing machine motor 15. is converted into a vertical movement and applied to the rod supporting the feed foot 22, thereby causing the vertical movement. This allows the feed foot 22 to perform an elliptical motion.
Further, the rotational motion of the sewing machine motor is converted into vertical motion and transmitted to the rod supporting the cloth presser 23, thereby realizing the vertical motion.

In addition, the sewing machine motor 15 provides power to the needle vertical movement mechanism and the main feed mechanism 20 through a main shaft (not shown), and one rotation of the main shaft causes the needle vertical movement mechanism to move the needle up and down by one stitch, The feed mechanism 20 performs a feed operation for one pitch.
Further, the needle vertical movement mechanism includes a well-known needle swinging mechanism, and swings a needle bar holding the sewing needle along the Y-axis direction in synchronization with the vertical movement of the sewing needle. The needle swing mechanism swings the needle bar forward in a section where the lower end of the sewing needle is below the upper surface of the throat plate 13.
Therefore, assuming that the main shaft angle when the needle bar is at the top dead center is 0°, the sewing needle swings forward while being stuck in the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D within the main axis angle range of 90° to 270°. The above-mentioned feed dog 21 and feed foot 22 perform a feed operation by moving forward within the main shaft angle range of 90 to 270 degrees.
For this reason, the feed foot 22 is formed with a needle hole through which the sewing needle is inserted, and the needle bar, the feed foot 22 and the feed dog 21 are moved forward with the sewing needle stuck into the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D. Move to and perform the feed.

[Configuration common to the horizontal feed mechanism and front-rear feed mechanism]
FIG. 14 is a sectional view illustrating a common configuration of the upper transverse feed mechanism 30, the lower transverse feed mechanism 40, the upper longitudinal feed mechanism 50, and the lower longitudinal feed mechanism 60. It should be noted that components common to each of these mechanisms 30 to 60 are given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations will be omitted.

Each mechanism 30 to 60 is fixedly equipped with a roller 31 that feeds the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D in a tangential direction of the outer periphery, a plurality of wheels 32 arranged at uniform intervals along the outer periphery of the roller 31, and the roller 31. a rotating shaft 33, a support frame 34 that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 33, a pair of sprockets 35, 36 and a timing belt 37 that transmit torque from a drive source to the rotating shaft 33, and a motor as a drive source. It is equipped with
The upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 uses a cross-feed motor 38, the lower cross-feed mechanism 40 uses a cross-feed motor 48, the upper longitudinal feed mechanism 50 uses a longitudinal feed motor 58, and the lower longitudinal feed mechanism 60 uses a longitudinal feed motor 68. A motor is used as the driving source.

Each wheel 32 is provided on the outer periphery of the roller 31 at uniform intervals, and is rotatable around an axis along the tangential direction at each attachment position, and the upper cloth U or The lower cloth D is allowed to move relative to the roller 31 in a direction along the rotating shaft 33 or in a direction somewhat inclined with respect to the rotating shaft 33.
Strictly speaking, the roller 31 comes into contact with the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D through each wheel 32, but in this specification, for the sake of simplicity, the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D is It is described as "contacting the outer periphery of the roller 31" or "contacting the roller 31."

[Upper side feed mechanism]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the support frame 34 of the upper lateral feed mechanism 30 is supported so as to be movable up and down relative to the sewing machine frame 16. The upper lateral feed mechanism 30 includes an air cylinder 391 for lifting and lowering the support frame 34 .

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the arrangement of components around the needle drop position S. Although the sewing needle swings back and forth, the needle drop position S in FIG. 15 indicates the needle drop position of the sewing needle at the bottom dead center.
The rotation shaft 33 of the upper transverse feed mechanism 30 has a front end oriented in a direction slightly inclined downward with respect to the X-axis direction, and has a roller 31 at the front end.
The upper transverse feed mechanism 30 can raise and lower the roller 31 by operating the lifting air cylinder 391.
When the roller 31 of the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 descends, its outer periphery can be brought into contact with the upper fabric U on the partition plate 11, and when it ascends, the roller 31 can be retracted from the upper fabric U.
Further, the roller 31 of the upper side feed mechanism 30 is arranged to come into contact with the upper fabric U behind the needle drop position S.

As shown in FIG. 15, since the rotating shaft 33 of the roller 31 of the upper lateral feed mechanism 30 is along the X-axis direction in plan view, the tangential direction of the outer periphery of the roller 31 to the upper cloth U when lowering is the Y-axis. parallel to the direction. Therefore, by rotationally driving the roller 31 of the upper transverse feed mechanism 30, the upper cloth U can be moved in the left-right direction.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the lifting air cylinder 391 of the upper lateral feed mechanism 30 is provided with a solenoid valve 393 and an electropneumatic regulator 394.
The electromagnetic valve 393 supplies air pressure for the lifting and lowering operations by the lifting air cylinder 391.
Further, the electropneumatic regulator 394 is a pneumatic device for making the air pressure higher than usual when the roller 31 is lowered toward the upper cloth U by the lifting air cylinder 391. When the roller 31 is in contact with the upper fabric U under normal pressure, there is no effect on the forward feeding of the upper fabric U by the main feeding mechanism 20, but when the pressure is increased by the electropneumatic regulator 394 In this case, the pressing pressure of the roller 31 slows down the forward feeding speed of the upper fabric U by the main feeding mechanism 20.
In other words, this electro-pneumatic regulator 394 functions as a "first speed changing unit that adjusts the forward feeding speed of the first sewing object."

[Lower side feed mechanism]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the support frame 34 of the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 is supported so as to be movable up and down relative to the sewing machine frame 16. It is equipped with an air cylinder 491.

The rotation shaft 33 of the lower lateral feed mechanism 40 has a front end oriented in a direction slightly inclined upward with respect to the X-axis direction, and has a roller 31 at the front end.

Thereby, the lower lateral feed mechanism 40 can raise and lower the roller 31 by operating the lifting air cylinder 491.
When the roller 31 of the lower lateral feed mechanism 40 is raised, its outer periphery can be brought into contact with the lower cloth D on the throat plate 13, and when it is lowered, the roller 31 can be retracted from the lower cloth D.
Further, the roller 31 of the lower side feed mechanism 40 is arranged to come into contact with the lower cloth D behind the needle drop position S.

The rotation axis 33 of the roller 31 of the lower lateral feed mechanism 40 is along the X-axis direction in the same way as the rotation axis 33 of the roller 31 of the upper lateral feed mechanism 30 in plan view, so the roller 31 when rising The tangent direction of the outer periphery of the lower cloth D to the lower cloth D is parallel to the Y-axis direction. Therefore, the lower cloth D can be moved in the left-right direction by rotationally driving the roller 31 of the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the lifting air cylinder 491 of the lower lateral feed mechanism 40 is provided with a solenoid valve 493 and an electropneumatic regulator 494.
The electromagnetic valve 493 supplies air pressure for the lifting and lowering operations by the lifting air cylinder 491.
Further, the electropneumatic regulator 494 is a pneumatic device for making the air pressure higher than usual when the roller 31 is raised toward the lower cloth D by the lifting air cylinder 491. When the roller 31 is in contact with the lower fabric D under normal pressure, there is no effect on the forward feeding of the lower fabric D by the main feeding mechanism 20, but when the pressure is increased by the electropneumatic regulator 494 In this case, the pressing pressure of the roller 31 slows down the forward feeding speed of the lower cloth D by the main feeding mechanism 20.
In other words, this electro-pneumatic regulator 494 functions as a "second speed changing unit that adjusts the forward feeding speed of the second sewing object."

[Upper forward/backward feeding mechanism]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the support frame 34 of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50 is supported so as to be movable up and down relative to the sewing machine frame 16. It is equipped with a cylinder 591.

The rotation shaft 33 of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism 50 has its right end oriented in a direction that is slightly inclined downward with respect to the Y-axis direction, and has a roller 31 at its right end.
When the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism 50 is lowered by the operation of the lifting air cylinder 591, its outer periphery can be brought into contact with the upper cloth U on the partition plate 11, and when it is raised, the roller 31 can be moved away from the upper cloth U. It can be evacuated.
Further, the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism 50 is arranged to come into contact with the upper fabric U on the left side of the needle drop position S.

As shown in FIG. 15, since the rotating shaft 33 of the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism 50 is along the Y-axis direction in plan view, the tangential direction of the outer periphery of the roller 31 to the upper cloth U when descending is the X-axis. parallel to the direction. Therefore, by rotationally driving the roller 31 of the upper front-rear feed mechanism 50, the contact position of the roller 31 on the upper fabric U can be moved in the front-back direction, and at the time of needle drop, the upper fabric U is rotated around the needle drop position S. can be done. Further, when the needle drop is not performed, the upper cloth U can be moved back and forth.

In addition, the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50 is supported so that its entire structure is movable in the back-and-forth direction with respect to the sewing machine frame 16, and the position where the roller 31 abuts the upper fabric U on the left side of the needle drop position S is set. As the reference position, the roller 31 can be moved so as to come into contact with the upper cloth U in front or behind the reference position.
A first position switching air cylinder 592 serving as a first moving mechanism for imparting the forward movement is provided to the upper front-rear moving mechanism 50. Note that an actuator that provides rearward movement may also be provided.
The significance of the first position switching air cylinder 592 will be described later.

[Lower back and forth feed mechanism]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the support frame 34 of the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 is supported so as to be movable up and down relative to the sewing machine frame 16. It is equipped with an air cylinder 691.

The rotation shaft 33 of the lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism 60 has its right end oriented in a direction that is slightly inclined upward with respect to the Y-axis direction, and has a roller 31 at its right end.
When the roller 31 of the lower longitudinal feed mechanism 60 is raised by the operation of the lifting air cylinder 691, its outer periphery can be brought into contact with the lower cloth D on the throat plate 13, and when it is lowered, the roller 31 can be brought into contact with the lower cloth D. can be evacuated from.
Further, the roller 31 of the lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism 60 is arranged to come into contact with the lower cloth D on the left side of the needle drop position S.

The rotating shaft 33 of the roller 31 of the lower longitudinal feeding mechanism 60 is along the Y-axis direction in the same way as the rotating shaft 33 of the roller 31 of the upper longitudinal feeding mechanism 50 in plan view, so the roller 31 when rising The tangent direction of the outer periphery to the lower cloth D is parallel to the X-axis direction. Therefore, by rotationally driving the roller 31 of the lower front-rear feed mechanism 60, the contact position of the roller 31 on the lower fabric D can be moved in the front-back direction, and when the needle drops, the lower fabric D is moved around the needle drop position S. It can be rotated. Further, when the needle drop is not performed, the lower cloth D can be moved back and forth.

The lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 is supported by the sewing machine frame 16 so that its entire structure can be moved back and forth, and the roller 31 is at a position where it abuts the lower fabric D on the left side of the needle drop position S. The roller 31 can be moved forward or backward from the reference position to contact the lower cloth D.
A second position switching air cylinder 692 serving as a second moving mechanism for imparting the forward movement is also provided to the lower front-rear moving mechanism 60. Note that an actuator that provides rearward movement may also be provided.
The significance of the second position switching air cylinder 692 will be described later.

[First and second camera]
As shown in FIG. 11, the first camera 71 is supported by the sewing machine frame above the partition plate 11 with its line of sight directed vertically downward, and the first camera 71 scans the upper surface of the upper fabric U on the partition plate 11 from above. Take a photo. This first camera 71 is equipped with an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and can convert a captured image into image data. 12 and FIG. 13).

As shown in FIG. 15, the first camera 71 has a shooting range F set in an area several stitches behind the needle drop position S (upstream in the feeding direction by the main feed mechanism 20), and The state of the upper surface of the upper cloth U is photographed several stitches before S.
Note that the photographing range F of the first camera 71 is preferably a range that includes a position 1 to 10 stitches behind the needle drop position S (it may also include the needle drop position S). One stitch here refers to one average pitch of 1000 sewing machines or one most commonly used pitch.

As shown in FIG. 11, the second camera 72 is supported by the sewing machine frame 16 with its line of sight directed vertically upward, and photographs the lower surface of the lower cloth D on the throat plate 13 from below. This second camera 72 is also equipped with an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS, and converts a photographed image into image data and inputs it to the image processing device 73.

The photographing range of the second camera 72 is set to the same position as the first camera 71 in plan view, and photographs the state of the lower surface of the lower cloth D several stitches before the needle drop position S. do.

[First and second pressure-sensitive sensors]
Both the first pressure-sensitive sensor 74 and the second pressure-sensitive sensor 75 are arranged inside the guide 76 shown in FIGS. 11 and 16. FIG. 16 is a front view of the guide 76 and the first pressure-sensitive sensor 74 and second pressure-sensitive sensor 75 disposed inside the guide, viewed from the rear.
This guide 76 is inserted into the front and back and left side individually from the needle drop position S at the right side end (sewn end) of the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D to be conveyed to slightly in front (backward) of the needle drop position S. It is provided with slits 761 and 762 that are open to each other.
A contact body 741 that abuts the right end of the upper cloth U and a first pressure sensor 74 are arranged at the far right side of the slit 761, and a first pressure sensor 74 is disposed at the far right side of the slit 762. A contact body 751 and a second pressure-sensitive sensor 75 are arranged to contact the right end.

Each contact body 741, 751 is supported within each slit 761, 762 so that it can be pushed rightward. When the first pressure-sensitive sensor 74 and the second pressure-sensitive sensor 75 are pressurized via the contact bodies 741 and 751, respectively, they input detection signals corresponding to the applied pressure to the control device 90. .

Reference numeral M in FIG. 16 indicates appropriate target positions of the right end portions of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D.
The control device 90 stores the standard detected pressure from each pressure sensor 74, 75 when the right side ends of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D are located at the appropriate target position M, and If the detected pressure is higher than the detected pressure, move the upper cloth U or lower cloth D to the left, and if the detected pressure is lower than the standard detected pressure, move the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D to the right. Control the movement.

[First and second sewing start position sensors]
FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the detection positions of the first sewing start position sensor 771 and the first end detection sensor 773.
The first sewing start position sensor 771 is a light receiving element, such as a photointerrupter, that detects the sewing start end of the upper cloth U at a position near the needle drop position S and to the left thereof.

The first sewing start position sensor 771 is supported by the sewing machine frame 16 in the vicinity of the needle drop position S and above a position to the left of the needle drop position S in a state facing downward.
The first sewing start position sensor 771 emits detection light from above toward the top surface of the partition plate 11, detects the intensity of the reflected light, and inputs the detected light to the control device 90.
The control device 90 detects the presence or absence of the sewing start end of the upper fabric U from the change in light intensity.

Note that the first sewing start position sensor 771 has a detection position to the left of the needle drop position S and somewhat in front of it. The detection position is preferably on a line along the outer edge of the front end of the upper fabric U when the upper fabric U is placed at a proper sewing start position and in a proper orientation.
In this case, since the proper detection position of the first sewing start position sensor 771 varies depending on the shape of the upper fabric U, the mounting position with respect to the sewing machine frame 16 can be adjusted in the X-axis direction and further in the Y-axis direction. It is preferable to attach it via a suitable adjustment mechanism.

The second sewing start position sensor 772 is a light receiving element, such as a photointerrupter, that detects the sewing start end of the lower cloth D at the same position as the first sewing start position sensor 771.
The second sewing start position sensor 772 is similar to the first sewing start position sensor 771 except that it emits light from below.
Thereby, the control device 90 detects the presence or absence of the sewing start end of the lower cloth D from the change in light intensity.
Further, as with the first sewing start position sensor 771, it is desirable to provide a mechanism for adjusting the attachment position of the second sewing start position sensor 772.

[First and second edge detection sensors]
The first edge detection sensor 773 is a light-receiving element, such as a photointerrupter, which detects the stitched edge of the upper fabric U at a position that is spaced backward from the needle drop position S and further to the left of the needle drop position S. be.
The first end detection sensor 773 is supported by the sewing machine frame 16 above the detection position and facing downward.
The first edge detection sensor 773 emits detection light from above toward the top surface of the partition plate 11, detects the intensity of the reflected light, and inputs the detected light to the control device 90.
The control device 90 detects the presence or absence of a seamed end of the upper fabric U from a change in light intensity.

Note that the detection position of the first edge detection sensor 773 is on a line along the outer edge of the sewn end of the upper fabric U when the upper fabric U is placed at an appropriate sewing start position and in an appropriate orientation. is desirable.
In this case, since the proper detection position of the first edge detection sensor 773 varies depending on the shape of the upper fabric U, the attachment position to the sewing machine frame 16 can be adjusted in the X-axis direction and further in the Y-axis direction. It is preferable to attach it via a suitable adjustment mechanism.

The second edge detection sensor 774 is a light-receiving element, such as a photointerrupter, that detects the sewn edge of the lower cloth D at the same position as the first edge detection sensor 773.
The second edge detection sensor 774 is similar to the first edge detection sensor 773 except that it emits light from below.
Thereby, the control device 90 detects the presence or absence of the sewn end of the lower cloth D from the change in light intensity.
Further, as with the first sewing start position sensor 771, it is desirable to provide a mechanism for adjusting the attachment position of the second end detection sensor 774.

The first pressure-sensitive sensor 74, the first sewing start position sensor 771, and the first end detection sensor 773 described above determine the position of the sewing start end of the upper fabric U in the front-rear direction and the position of the upper fabric U. An upper detection section is configured to detect the position and orientation of the stitched end in the left-right direction.
In addition, a first camera 71 is added to each of the above-mentioned sensors to constitute an upper detection section, and the position of the sewing start end of the upper fabric U in the front-rear direction and the left-right position and orientation of the sewing end of the upper fabric U are detected. It may be detected. Alternatively, the first sewing start position sensor 771 and the first camera 71 may constitute the upper detection section.

Similarly, the second pressure sensor 75, the second sewing start position sensor 772, and the second end detection sensor 774 detect the position of the sewing start end of the lower cloth D in the front-rear direction and the lower cloth D. A lower detection section is configured to detect the position and orientation of the stitched ends in the left-right direction.
In addition, a second camera 72 is added to each of the above-mentioned sensors to constitute a lower side detection section, and the position of the sewing start end of the lower cloth D in the front-rear direction and the left-right position and orientation of the seam end of the lower cloth D are determined. may be detected. Alternatively, the second sewing start position sensor 772 and the second camera 72 may constitute the lower detection section.

[Control device]
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, sewing machine 1000 includes a control device 90 that controls the entire sewing machine during sewing.
A sewing machine motor 15 for moving the sewing needle up and down is connected to the control device 90 via a drive circuit 15a. Further, an encoder 151 for detecting the shaft angle of the sewing machine main shaft (not shown) that is rotationally driven by the sewing machine motor 15 is provided, and the detected shaft angle is output to the control device 90 via the interface 151a. . From the output of this encoder 151, the rotation speed and rotation angle of the main shaft can be detected.
Further, the thread cutting device 14 is connected to the control device 90 via a drive circuit 14a.
Furthermore, the sewing machine 1000 includes an operation panel 95 for inputting various settings and displaying various information, and the operation panel 95 is also connected to the control device 90 via an interface 95a.

Furthermore, the control device 90 includes electromagnetic valves 393, 493 that actuate the lateral feed motors 38, 48 of the upper lateral feed mechanism 30 and the lower lateral feed mechanism 40, and the lifting air cylinders 391, 491 that move the rollers 31 up and down. , electropneumatic regulators 394, 494 that adjust the air pressure supplied to the lifting air cylinders 391, 491 are connected via drive circuits 38a, 48a, 393a, 493a, 394a, 494a, respectively.
The electromagnetic valves 393, 493 switch the supply of operating air pressure to the lifting air cylinders 391, 491, and cause the lifting air cylinders 391, 491 to move the roller 31 up and down.

The electro-pneumatic regulators 394, 494 can increase the air pressure supplied to the lifting air cylinders 391, 491 when the respective rollers 31 are in contact with the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D, and thereby each roller 31 can be increased in contact pressure with respect to the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D.
With normal contact pressure, each roller 31 does not prevent forward feeding of the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D due to the rotation of the outer peripheral wheel 32, but when the supply air pressure is increased by the electropneumatic regulators 394, 494, The contact pressure exerted by each roller 31 on the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D increases, which becomes a resistance to the feeding of the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D by the main feeding mechanism 20.
For example, if the air pressure supplied to either the lifting air cylinder 391 or 491 is increased by the electro-pneumatic regulator 394, 494 for only either the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D, the upper cloth U or the lower cloth It is possible to perform so-called shirring stitches by reducing the feed speed of the one with the higher supply air pressure D.

The control device 90 also includes electromagnetic valves 593, 693 that operate the longitudinal feed motors 58, 68 of the upper longitudinal feeding mechanism 50 and the lower longitudinal feeding mechanism 60, and the lifting air cylinders 591, 691 that raise and lower the rollers 31. are connected via drive circuits 58a, 68a, 593a, and 693a, respectively.
The solenoid valves 593, 693 switch the supply of operating air pressure to the lifting air cylinders 591, 691, and cause the lifting air cylinders 591, 691 to move the roller 31 up and down.

The control device 90 also includes first and second cameras 71, 72, an image processing device 73, and first and second pressure-sensitive sensors 74, 75 via interfaces 71a, 72a, 73a, 74a, 75a. It is connected.

Further, electromagnetic valves 594 and 694 for operating the first and second position switching air cylinders 592 and 692 described above are connected to the control device 90 via drive circuits 594a and 694a, respectively.
Further, first and second sewing start position sensors 771, 772 and first and second edge detection sensors 773, 774 are connected to the control device 90 via interfaces 771a, 772a, 773a, 774a. There is.

Further, the lifting motors 1132 of the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100 and the lower cloth holding mechanism 1200 are connected to the control device 90 via respective drive circuits 1132a.
The control device 90 also includes electromagnetic valves 1325b and 1326b that operate the lifting air cylinder 1325, the pickup air cylinders 1326 and 1327, the gripping air cylinders 1333 and 1334, and the auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 of the upper fabric supply device 1300. , 1327b, 1333b, 1334b, and 1335b are connected via drive circuits 1325a, 1326a, 1327a, 1333a, 1334a, and 1335a, respectively.
Furthermore, the control device 90 includes electromagnetic valves 1325b, 1326b that operate the lifting air cylinder 1325, the pickup air cylinders 1326, 1327, the gripping air cylinders 1333, 1334, and the auxiliary movement air cylinder 1335 of the lower fabric supply device 1400. , 1327b, 1333b, 1334b, and 1335b are connected via drive circuits 1325a, 1326a, 1327a, 1333a, 1334a, and 1335a, respectively.

The control device 90 includes a CPU 91 that performs various calculation processes, a ROM 92 that stores programs related to the operation control of each of the components described above, a RAM 93 that stores various data related to the processing of the CPU 91 in a work area, and various settings. It is equipped with an EEPROM 94 as a storage section for recording data, sewing data, etc.

[Overall operation control: Cloth feeding]
The overall sewing control executed by control device 90 in sewing machine 1000 having the above configuration will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 18.

First, the CPU 91 of the control device 90 controls the upper cloth supply device 1300 and the lower cloth supply device 1400 according to the control program stored in the ROM 92 to supply the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D to the sewing machine main body 100 ( Step B1 in FIG. 18).
That is, the pick-up heads 1321 and 1322 of the upper cloth supply device 1300 pick up the uppermost upper cloth U held in a stack by the upper cloth holding mechanism 1100, grip it with the gripping members 1331 and 1332, and transfer it to the upper guide by the transfer mechanism 1330. It passes through the upper surface of the plate 1310 and is conveyed to the vicinity of the needle drop position S on the upper surface of the partition plate 11.
Further, the uppermost lower cloth D held by the lower cloth holding mechanism 1200 is picked up by the pickup heads 1321 and 1322 of the lower cloth supplying device 1400, gripped by the gripping members 1431 and 1432, and transferred to the lower side guide by the transfer mechanism 1430. The needle is conveyed through the upper surfaces of the plates 1411 and 1412 to the vicinity of the needle drop position S on the upper surface of the throat plate 13.

[Overall operation control: Sewing start position positioning control (standard)]
Next, the CPU 91 executes sewing start position positioning control for the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D according to the control program stored in the ROM 92 (step B3 in FIG. 18).
That is, the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D are fed to the sewing start position by the upper fabric supply device 1300 and the lower fabric feed device 1400, but depending on the material, the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D may shift in direction during conveyance. There is a risk that the sewing position of the first stitch of the supplied upper fabric U and the lower fabric D and the needle drop position S of the sewing machine body 100 may be incorrect. There is.

Therefore, the CPU 91 determines the position in the front-rear direction of the sewing start end of the upper fabric U detected by the first pressure sensor 74, the first sewing start position sensor 771, and the first end detection sensor 773. The position and orientation of the upper fabric U fed by the rollers 31 of the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 and the rollers 31 of the upper front-rear feed mechanism 50 are determined based on the position and orientation of the sewn ends of the upper fabric U in the left-right direction. Execute the control to adjust.
The CPU 91 also determines the position in the front-rear direction of the sewing start end of the lower cloth D detected by the second pressure-sensitive sensor 75, the second sewing start position sensor 772, and the second end detection sensor 774, and the lower The position and orientation of the lower fabric D supplied by the roller 31 of the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 and the roller 31 of the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 based on the position and orientation of the stitched end of the fabric D in the left-right direction Execute control to adjust.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of standard sewing start position positioning control.
As shown in FIG. 17 described above, the first sewing start position sensor 771 detects the position of the sewing start end of the upper fabric U in the X-axis direction (back and forth direction), and detects the position of the sewing start end of the upper fabric U (right end). ) in the Y-axis direction (horizontal direction) of the front edge of (in the left-right direction) (hereinafter referred to as the rear position), the first edge detection sensor 773 detects the sewing position of the scheduled first stitch of the upper fabric U and the needle drop position of the sewing machine body 100. S can be matched.

Therefore, the CPU 91 first positions the upper cloth U in the Y-axis direction (step C1). That is, when the upper cloth U supplied onto the partition plate 11 is sent to the right by the roller 31 of the upper side feed mechanism 30 and the above-mentioned standard detection pressure is detected by the first pressure sensor 74, Stop feeding.

Next, the CPU 91 positions the upper cloth U in the X-axis direction (step C3). That is, the upper cloth U is fed forward or backward by the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50, and when the outer edge of the front end of the upper cloth U is detected by the first sewing start position sensor 771, the feeding is stopped. More specifically, if the first sewing start position sensor 771 detects that the front end of the upper cloth U is present, the upper cloth U has moved too far forward, so it is moved backward and the first sewing start position sensor 771 detects that the front end of the upper cloth U is present. If the sewing start position sensor 771 detects that there is no front end of the upper cloth U, the upper cloth U has moved too far backward and is moved forward. Then, the feeding is stopped at the position where the first sewing start position sensor 771 detects switching between the presence and absence of the upper cloth U.

Next, the CPU 91 performs angular positioning of the upper cloth U (step C5). That is, the upper fabric U is rotated by the roller 31 of the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 and the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism 50, and the rear position of the sewn edge of the upper fabric U is determined by the first edge detection sensor 773. When the outer edge of is detected, feeding is stopped. More specifically, if the first edge detection sensor 773 detects that the upper cloth U is present, the upper cloth U has rotated too much counterclockwise in plan view, so it should not be rotated clockwise. If the first end detection sensor 773 detects that there is no upper cloth U, then the upper cloth U is rotated too much clockwise, so it is rotated counterclockwise. Then, the rotation is stopped at the position where the first end detection sensor 773 detects switching between the presence and absence of the upper cloth U.

After that, since positional deviations may occur in the X-axis direction and Y-axis direction due to the rotation of the upper cloth U, the CPU 91 again positions the upper cloth U in the X-axis direction using the same method as in step C3 (step C7), the upper fabric U is positioned in the Y-axis direction using the same method as step C1 (step C9), and the standard sewing start position positioning control is completed.

[Overall operation control: Sewing start position positioning control (high accuracy)]
Further, the sewing start position positioning control may perform positioning with higher precision.
FIG. 20 is a flowchart of sewing start position positioning control for positioning with higher precision.
In this case, the CPU 91 positions the upper cloth U in the Y-axis direction (step D1) as in step C1 described above, and positions the upper cloth U in the X-axis direction as in step C3 described above (step D1). In step D3), the angle of the upper cloth U is determined in the same way as in step C5 described above (step D5).

Then, the CPU 91 determines whether or not the amount of movement performed in the angular positioning of the upper cloth U performed in step D5 exceeds a predetermined threshold (step D7), and if it exceeds it, the CPU 91 performs step D1. If the distance is not exceeded, positioning in the X-axis direction is performed using the same method as in step D3 (step D9).

Then, the CPU 91 determines whether or not the amount of movement of the upper cloth U in the X-axis direction performed in step D9 exceeds a predetermined threshold (step D11), and if it exceeds it, the process proceeds to step D1. If the distance is not exceeded, positioning in the Y-axis direction is performed using the same method as in step D1 (step D13).

Then, the CPU 91 determines whether or not the amount of movement of the upper cloth U in the Y-axis direction performed in step D13 exceeds a predetermined threshold (step D15), and if it does, the process proceeds to step D3. If the position is not exceeded, the sewing start position positioning control is ended.
As a result, the positioning operation in each direction is repeated in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and rotational direction until the amount of correction during positioning operation becomes small. The influence of fluctuations can be sufficiently suppressed, making it possible to perform positioning with higher precision.

[Overall operation control: Sewing start position positioning control (simple)]
Further, when the upper cloth supply device 1300 and the lower cloth supply device 1400 supply the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D with relatively high accuracy, the sewing start position positioning control may be performed more simply.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart of sewing start position positioning control for simple positioning.
In this case, the CPU 91 positions the upper cloth U in the Y-axis direction (step E1) as in step C1 described above, and positions the upper cloth U in the X-axis direction as in step C3 described above (step E1). In step E3), the angular position of the upper cloth U is determined in the same manner as in step C5 described above (step E5), and the sewing start position positioning control is ended.
As a result, it is possible to quickly finish the sewing start position positioning control and start sewing.

Note that in the above-mentioned standard sewing start position positioning control, sewing start position positioning control that performs high-precision positioning, and sewing start position positioning control that performs simple positioning, the positioning of the upper fabric U is exemplified; Similar control is performed for D as well.
That is, instead of the first pressure sensor 74, the first sewing start position sensor 771, and the first end detection sensor 773, the second pressure sensor 75, the second sewing start position sensor 772, and the second The end detection sensor 774 detects each position of the lower cloth D in the same manner as described above, and instead of using the roller 31 of the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 and the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50, The position and direction of the lower cloth D are adjusted in the same manner as described above by the rollers 31 of the lateral feed mechanism 40 and the rollers 31 of the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60.

[Overall operation control: Sewing control]
Next, the CPU 91 executes sewing control of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D according to the control program stored in the ROM 92 (step B5 in FIG. 18).
FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the notch of the upper cloth and the notch of the lower cloth, and FIG. 23 is a flowchart of sewing control. Sewing control will be explained based on these.
In the following description, the upper cross-feed mechanism 30, the lower cross-feed mechanism 40, the upper longitudinal feed mechanism 50, and the lower longitudinal feed mechanism 60 may be collectively referred to as a "sub-feed mechanism."

At the start of sewing, the CPU 91 of the control device 90 sends the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D backward and performs several stitches of reverse stitches (step S1).
Then, the CPU 91 sets the sub-feeding mechanism to the initial state (step S3). That is, the roller 31 of the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 is in contact with the upper fabric U, the roller 31 of the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 is in contact with the lower fabric D, and the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50 is retracted. state, and the roller 31 of the lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism 60 is brought into the retracted state.
Then, driving of the sewing machine motor 15 is started (step S5).

When the sewing machine motor 15 starts sewing, the CPU 91 uses the first and second cameras 71 and 72 to photograph a position several stitches before the needle drop position S on the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D ( Step S7). Note that the photographing of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D and the processing using the photographed images are performed once every two rotations of the main shaft.
The image data of the images captured by the first and second cameras 71 and 72 are processed by the image processing device 73, and the right edge U1 of the upper fabric U and the right edge D1 of the lower fabric D are extracted. (Step S9: see FIG. 8).

Next, the CPU 91 determines whether the shapes of the right end U1 of the upper cloth U and the right end D1 of the lower cloth D are end shapes (step S11). The end shape is determined based on, for example, whether the continuous straight line or continuous curved line indicating the right end portions U1 and D1 is interrupted.
If at least one of the right side edge U1 of the upper fabric U or the right side edge D1 of the lower fabric D has an end shape (step S11: YES), sewing continues to the end position (step S29). Reverse stitching is performed at the terminal position (step S31), and in parallel with stopping the driving of the sewing machine motor 15, the thread cutting device 14 cuts the upper thread and lower thread (step S33), and the sewing control ends.

In addition, in step S11, if the shapes of the right side end U1 of the upper cloth U and the right side end D1 of the lower cloth D are not terminal shapes (step S11: NO), the CPU 91 controls the right side end U1 of the upper cloth U. The degree of bending of the end U1 and the right end D1 of the lower cloth D is determined. That is, the degree of bending of the right side edge U1 of the upper fabric U and the right side edge D1 of the lower fabric D means whether the right side edge U1 of the upper fabric U and the right side edge D1 of the lower fabric D are curved sharply. More specifically, it is determined whether the shapes of the right end U1 of the upper cloth U and the right end D1 of the lower cloth D are curved shapes (arc shapes) each having a radius of R or less (step S13). .
For example, since the curve is abrupt, this radius R may be different from the horizontal movement of the upper cloth U by the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 or the horizontal movement of the lower cloth D by the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40. The size is selected such that it cannot be followed well in the feeding operation.
For example, the numerical value of this radius R may be arbitrarily settable via the operation panel 95.

Then, if the shape of the right side end U1 of the upper cloth U or the right side end D1 of the lower cloth D is not a curved shape with radius R or less (step S13: NO), the right side end U1 or D1 after this is For position adjustment control (control in steps S25 to S27 described later) for positioning at the target position M (see FIG. 16), the upper transverse feed mechanism 30 or the lower transverse feed mechanism 40 is selected (step S15).

On the other hand, if the shape of the right end U1 of the upper cloth U or the right end D1 of the lower cloth D is a curved shape with a radius of less than R (step S13: YES), the rotational speed of the sewing machine motor 15 is set to the normal sewing speed. The speed is changed to a low speed that is slower than the above speed, and the position adjustment control for positioning the right end U1 or D1 at the target position M (see FIG. 16) is performed using the upper front-rear feed mechanism 50 or the lower front-back The feeding mechanism 60 is selected (step S17).
The upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50 and the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 execute the feeding operation when the sewing needle is descending, and as a result, the upper fabric U or By feeding the lower cloth D back and forth, the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D is rotated around the needle drop position S.
On the other hand, the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 or the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 executes the feed operation when the sewing needle is descending near the needle drop position S, and mainly feeds the upper fabric U or the lower fabric. Send D overall in the left and right direction.
Therefore, in the case of the upper longitudinal feeding mechanism 50 and the lower longitudinal feeding mechanism 60, even if the right edge U1 of the upper fabric U or the right edge D1 of the lower fabric D is curved more sharply, It can be fed along the curve of the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D so as to correspond to the above.

Note that the selection of the sub-feeding mechanism in steps S15 and S17 is determined individually depending on the shapes of the right end U1 of the upper cloth U and the right end D1 of the lower cloth D.
For example, for the upper cloth U, the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 (or the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50) is selected, and for the lower cloth D, the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 (or the lower cross-feed mechanism 40) is selected. There may be cases where it is done.

Next, the CPU 91 detects the notches N from the shapes of the right end U1 of the upper cloth U and the right end D1 of the lower cloth D, determines the position of each notch N, and as shown in FIG. The amount of deviation G between the position of the notch N of U and the position of the notch N of the lower cloth D in the X-axis direction is calculated. Then, the CPU 91 determines whether or not the calculated deviation amount G of the notch N is greater than or equal to a predetermined execution width of the shirring control (step S19).
Note that the value of the execution width of the shirring control, which is the threshold value of the deviation amount G of the notch N, may also be arbitrarily settable by the operation panel 95.

Then, if the deviation amount G of the notch N is not greater than the predetermined shirring control execution width (step S19: NO), each of the sub-feeding mechanisms maintains the previously set state and shirring Control is not executed (step S21).
In addition, if the deviation amount G of the notch N is equal to or greater than the predetermined execution width of the shirring control (step S19: YES), the notch N is moved to either the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D located at the front. The electro-pneumatic regulators 394, 494 of the corresponding upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 or lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 are operated to move the roller 31 upward in a state where the contact pressure against the upper fabric U or lower fabric D is higher than normal. It is brought into pressure contact with cloth U or lower cloth D (step S23). This makes it possible to perform shirring control.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 22, since the notch N of the lower cloth D is located at the front, the electropneumatic regulator 494 is activated, and the roller 31 of the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 comes into pressure contact with the lower cloth D.
Note that even if the upper longitudinal feeding mechanism 50 or the lower longitudinal feeding mechanism 60 is selected as a result of the determination in step S13, the electropneumatic regulator 394 or 494 may be operated in step S23.
For example, even if the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism 50 is selected for the upper cloth U by the determination in step S13 and its roller 31 is in contact with the upper cloth U, the rollers of the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 are determined in step S23. 31 is determined, the roller 31 of the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50 is in contact with the upper fabric U, and the roller 31 of the upper lateral feed mechanism 30 is in pressure contact with the upper cloth U. The same applies to the lower cloth D.

The control from step S7 to step S23 described above is repeatedly executed every time the main shaft rotates twice, unless the terminal end of the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D is detected in step S11.

On the other hand, while the control from step S7 to step S23 described above is repeatedly executed, the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 or the upper longitudinal feed mechanism 50 selected in step S13 and the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 or the lower side With respect to the forward and backward feeding mechanism 60, position adjustment control is performed to position the right side end U1 of the upper cloth U and the right side end D1 of the lower cloth D at the target position M based on the first and second pressure sensitive sensors 74 and 75. , is repeatedly executed in a minute time period (for example, 1 [ms] period).

That is, the CPU 91 detects the contact pressure received from the right side edges U1 and D1 of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D using the first and second pressure-sensitive sensors 74 and 75 (step S25), and detects the contact pressure received from the right side edges U1 and D1 of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D (step S25). The right end U1 of the upper cloth U and the right end of the lower cloth D are Position adjustment control for positioning D1 at target position M is executed (step S27).

Specifically, when the right side end U1 of the upper cloth U is shifted to the right or left with respect to the target position M, the cross-feed motor 38 of the upper cross-feed mechanism 30 or the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism 50 For the forward/backward feed motor 58, a rotational direction for eliminating the misalignment and a rotational speed corresponding to the magnitude of the misalignment are determined, and position adjustment control is executed in accordance with the determination.
Similarly, when the right side end D1 of the lower cloth D is shifted to the right or left with respect to the target position M, the cross feed motor 48 of the lower cross feed mechanism 40 or the lower back and forth feed mechanism 60 For the forward/backward feed motor 68, a rotational direction for eliminating the misalignment and a rotational speed corresponding to the magnitude of the misalignment are determined, and position adjustment control is executed in accordance with the determination.

The control in steps S25 and S27 is also repeatedly executed at a predetermined minute time period unless the terminal end of the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D is detected in step S11.
Then, when the terminal end of the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D is detected, the sewing ends.

[Feed control according to end shape in reverse stitching]
As described above, when sewing the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D together, reverse stitching is performed on the sewing start end and the sewing end end.
When performing reverse stitching, the upper front-back feed mechanism 50 and the lower front-back feed mechanism 60 are selected and fed in synchronization with the main feed mechanism 20 so that the feed direction does not fluctuate from side to side. , operation control may be performed to stabilize the feeding direction.
When the feed direction is stabilized in the reverse stitching of the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D, the normal sewing stitches and the reverse sewing stitches overlap in parallel, making it possible to maintain high stitching quality.

By the way, in the above-mentioned reverse stitching on the end of the sewing end of the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D, the roller 31 of the upper front-back feed mechanism 50 or the lower front-back feed mechanism 60 moves the upper fabric U or the lower back stitch to the left of the needle drop position S. In the case of the arrangement in contact with the lower cloth D, the following problem occurs.
That is, if the angle θ of the corner of the end of the sewing end of the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D is sufficiently large, the roller 31 will move the upper fabric U or the lower fabric during reverse stitching, as shown in FIG. 24(A). It is possible to feed without coming off the fabric D, and it is possible to stably feed with reverse stitching.
However, when the angle θ of the corner of the end of the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D becomes smaller, as shown in FIG. The sewing machine could not be fed when the sewing machine came off the line, and it would be fed in an unstable direction during reverse stitching, causing a misalignment between the normal sewing seam and the reverse sewing seam, leading to a risk of degrading the quality of the sewing. .

For this reason, the upper longitudinal feeding mechanism 50 and the lower longitudinal feeding mechanism 60 are provided with a first position switching air cylinder 592 and a second position switching air cylinder 692, respectively. As shown in 27, the roller 31 can be moved forward from the reference position (the position in contact with the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D on the left side of the needle drop position S).

For example, when the angle θ of the end of sewing of the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D is input in advance from the operation panel 95, the CPU 91 of the control device 90 controls the upper longitudinal feeding mechanism 50 and the lower longitudinal feeding mechanism 60. Based on the arrangement of the reference position of the roller 31, it is determined whether the roller 31 can maintain the contact state during reverse stitching, and if it is not possible, when performing reverse stitching, the first position switching air cylinder is 592 or the second position switching air cylinder 692, the roller 31 is moved forward and controlled so that the roller 31 can maintain contact with the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D during reverse stitching. Also good.
Also, during sewing, the first camera 71 or the second camera 72 images the end of the sewing end of the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D, the image processing device 73 extracts the outline, and the CPU 91 performs sewing. It may be determined whether or not to move the roller 31 forward by determining the angle θ at the end and making the above determination.

Also, in the case of reverse stitching at the end of the upper fabric U or lower fabric D where the sewing starts, if the angle θ of the corner of the edge of the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D where the sewing starts is sufficiently large, then ), the roller 31 does not come off the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D during reverse stitching, and if the angle θ is small, the roller 31 does not come off the upper fabric U or the lower fabric D, as shown in FIG. 25(B). It deviates from D.
Therefore, a new position switching air cylinder may be provided to move the roller 31 of the upper longitudinal feeding mechanism 50 and the roller 31 of the lower longitudinal feeding mechanism 60 backward from the reference position.
In that case as well, the CPU 91 of the control device 90 determines whether or not to move the roller 31 backward based on the set value of the angle θ of the sewing start ends of the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D input from the operation panel 95. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not to move the roller 31 backward based on captured images of the sewing start ends of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D.

[Technical effects of embodiments of the invention]
As described above, in the sewing machine 1000, the sewing machine main body 100 detects the sewing start end of the upper fabric U using the first pressure sensor 74, the first sewing start position sensor 771, and the first end detection sensor 773. The CPU 91 detects the front-rear position and the left-right position and orientation of the sewing end of the upper fabric U, and at the start of sewing, the CPU 91 controls the upper cross-feeding mechanism 30 and the upper front-back feed mechanism 50 based on the above detection. The sewing start position positioning control is executed to adjust the position and orientation of the upper cloth U by controlling the above.
Further, the second pressure sensor 75, the second sewing start position sensor 772, and the second end detection sensor 774 detect the position of the sewing start end of the lower cloth D in the front-rear direction and the sewing end of the lower cloth D. The CPU 91 detects the position and orientation of the lower fabric D in the left-right direction, and controls the lower cross-feeding mechanism 40 and the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 based on the above detection at the time of starting sewing to adjust the position of the lower fabric D. and executes sewing start position positioning control to adjust the direction.
Therefore, it is possible to adjust the longitudinal position of the sewing start end of the upper fabric U and the horizontal position and orientation of the sewing end of the upper fabric U so that they are properly arranged. It becomes possible to arrange U at an appropriate position.
In addition, it is possible to adjust the longitudinal position of the sewing start end of the lower cloth D and the horizontal position and orientation of the sewing end of the lower cloth D so that they are properly arranged. It becomes possible to arrange D at an appropriate position.

Further, the upper detection section of the sewing machine main body 100, which includes a first pressure sensor 74, a first sewing start position sensor 771, and a first end detection sensor 773, detects at least three points on the outer edge of the upper cloth U. By position detection, the position of the sewing start end of the upper cloth U in the front-rear direction and the position and orientation of the sewing end of the upper cloth U in the left-right direction are detected.
Furthermore, the lower detection section consisting of the second pressure sensor 75, the second sewing start position sensor 772, and the second end detection sensor 774 detects the positions of at least three points on the outer edge of the lower cloth D. , the position of the sewing start end of the lower cloth D in the front-rear direction and the position and orientation of the sewing end of the lower cloth D in the left-right direction are detected.
As a result, while keeping the processing load on the control device 90 small, the positions and orientations of the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D can be detected with higher accuracy, and sewing can be started from a more accurate sewing start position. It becomes possible.

The sewing machine 1000 also includes an upper cloth supply device 1300 that supplies the upper cloth U to a position where the upper detection section detects the fabric, and a lower fabric supply device 1400 that supplies the lower fabric D to the position where the lower detection section detects the upper fabric U. With these, when the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D are supplied to the sewing machine main body 100, the sewing machine main body 100 side can place the upper fabric U and the lower fabric D at the appropriate sewing start position. can.
Therefore, the supply and arrangement of the upper cloth U and the lower cloth D can be performed automatically, and sewing can be performed continuously and with high efficiency while maintaining high sewing quality.

Further, the upper front-rear feed mechanism 50 of the sewing machine main body 100 is in contact with the upper fabric U on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the needle drop position S, and feeds in the front-rear direction. Since it is equipped with a first position switching air cylinder 592 that moves between two positions along the line, the roller 31 can maintain a state in contact with the upper fabric U during backstitching, resulting in high quality backstitching. It becomes possible to do this.

Further, the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism 60 of the sewing machine body 100 is in contact with the lower cloth D on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the needle drop position S, and feeds in the back-and-forth direction. Since it is equipped with a second position switching air cylinder 692 that moves between two positions along the direction, it is possible to maintain the state in which the roller 31 is in contact with the lower fabric D during reverse stitching, thereby improving quality. It becomes possible to perform high backstitching.

[others]
The first object to be sewn and the second object to be sewn are not limited to cloth, but may also be sheet-like materials made of other materials.
Furthermore, although the sewing machine 1000 described above is an example of a general feed sewing machine, the sewing machine is not limited to this, and may be a sewing machine having a general feed for feeding the workpiece to be sewn only by a feed dog.

Further, the pickup heads 1321 and 1322 of the upper cloth supply device 1300 and the lower cloth supply device 1400 have a structure in which the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D is picked up by a holding needle, but the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D is An air suction type pickup head may be installed in case the material is not suitable for needle pricking, such as leather material or resin material.

Further, the upper detection section may include the first camera 71, or the lower detection section may include the second camera 72. In those cases, it is desirable to image the sewn end of the upper cloth U or the lower cloth D and detect the position and orientation of the sewn end in the left-right direction. This makes it possible to reduce the number of required sensors.

In addition, the first sewing start position sensor 771, the second sewing start position sensor 772, the first edge detection sensor 773, and the second edge detection sensor 774 use line sensors, and The detection may be performed so as to straddle the outer edge of the cloth D, and the position of the outer edge may be detected.

Further, the sewing machine 1000 may be provided with a carry-out device that carries out the upper cloth U and the bobbin thread D sewn together in the sewing control (step B5) from the sewing machine main body 100 after the sewing control is finished. In this case, in the overall sewing control shown in FIG. 18, after the sewing control, it is preferable to perform discharge control in which the sewn upper fabric U and bobbin thread D are discharged from the sewing machine main body 100 by a discharge device.

20 Main feed mechanism 30 Upper transverse feed mechanism 31 Roller 40 Lower transverse feed mechanism 50 Upper longitudinal feed mechanism 592 First position switching air cylinder 60 Lower longitudinal feed mechanism 692 Second position switching air cylinder 71 First camera 72 Second camera 74 First pressure-sensitive sensor 75 Second pressure-sensitive sensor 90 Control device 91 CPU
100 Sewing machine main body 771 First sewing start position sensor 772 Second sewing start position sensor 773 First end detection sensor 774 Second end detection sensor 1000 Vertical feed sewing machine 1100 Upper cloth holding mechanism 1200 Lower cloth holding mechanism 1300 Cloth supply device (first supply section)
1320 Pick-up device 1330 Transfer mechanism 1400 Lower fabric supply device (second supply section)
D Lower fabric (second sewing object)
S Needle drop position U Upper fabric (first workpiece)

Claims (3)

a main feeding mechanism that forwards a first workpiece on the upper side and a second workpiece on the lower side;
an upper cross-feeding mechanism that moves the first workpiece in the left-right direction;
an upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism that moves the first workpiece in the back-and-forth direction;
a lower cross-feeding mechanism that moves the second workpiece in the left-right direction;
a lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism that moves the second workpiece in the back-and-forth direction;
an upper detection unit that detects a position in the front-back direction of a sewing start end of the first workpiece and a position and orientation in the left-right direction of a sewing end of the first workpiece;
a lower detection unit that detects a position in the front-rear direction of a sewing start end of the second workpiece and a position and orientation in the left-right direction of a sewing end of the second workpiece;
a first supply unit that picks up one of the first objects to be sewn from a holding mechanism that holds the plurality of first objects to be sewn and supplies it to a position where the upper detection unit performs detection;
a second supply section that picks up one of the second objects to be sewn from a holding mechanism that holds the plurality of second objects to be sewn, and supplies the second object to a position where the lower detection section performs detection;
Equipped with
At the start of sewing and during sewing,
Based on the detection by the upper detection section, controlling the upper cross-feeding mechanism and the upper back-and-forth feed mechanism to adjust the position and orientation of the first sewing object;
a control device that controls the lower lateral feed mechanism and the lower back-and-forth feed mechanism to adjust the position and orientation of the second sewing object based on detection by the lower detection section ;
The first supply unit maintains the orientation of the first workpiece held by the holding mechanism and supplies the first workpiece to a position where the upper detection unit detects it;
The second supply unit maintains the orientation of the second workpiece held by the holding mechanism and supplies the second workpiece to a position where the lower detection unit performs detection;
The control device includes:
When starting sewing,
The position of the sewing start end of the first workpiece in the front-rear direction and the first workpiece are detected by the upper detection unit detecting the positions of three points on the outer edge of the first workpiece. Detecting the horizontal position and orientation of the seamed edges,
The position of the sewing start end of the second workpiece in the front-rear direction and the second workpiece by position detection of three points on the outer edge of the second workpiece by the lower detection unit By detecting the horizontal position and orientation of the seamed edges,
adjusting the position and orientation of the first sewing object and the second sewing object;
During sewing,
Detecting the position and orientation of the stitched end in the left-right direction by the upper detection unit capturing an image of the stitched end of the first sewing object;
Detecting the position and orientation of the stitched end in the left-right direction by the lower detection unit capturing an image of the stitched end of the second workpiece,
A sewing machine characterized in that the position and orientation of the first sewing object and the position and orientation of the second sewing object are adjusted . The upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism is in contact with the first workpiece on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the needle drop position, and feeds in the back-and-forth direction;
The sewing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a first moving mechanism that moves the upper back-and-forth feeding mechanism between at least two positions along the front-back direction. The lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism is in contact with the second workpiece on one side in the left-right direction with respect to the needle drop position, and feeds in the back-and-forth direction;
3. The sewing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a second moving mechanism that moves the lower back-and-forth feeding mechanism between at least two positions along the front-back direction.

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