JPS6360144B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field The present invention relates to a multi-head embroidery sewing machine equipped with a plurality of hooks and a plurality of sewing machine heads corresponding to each hook.
In particular, the invention relates to such a sewing machine in which operation or suspension of each head (driving or stopping of the needle bar of each head) can be automatically selected in any combination.

Prior Art Conventionally, in multi-head embroidery sewing machines, all the heads are operated together so that the same sewing pattern is produced by each head. As a result, the entire pattern obtained within one embroidery frame becomes monotonous and lacks interest. In other words, individual sewing patterns corresponding to each head (sewing machine head) can be created in a variety of patterns by X-Y driving of the embroidery frame, but all heads create the same pattern, leading to monotony. .

Purpose of the invention This invention has been made in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to expand the variety of pattern creation by selectively controlling the operation or stoppage of each sewing machine head, thereby making it possible to embroider a variety of patterns that are free from monotony.

Summary of the Invention The multi-head embroidery sewing machine according to the present invention includes a setting means for setting a combination of heads to be operated and heads to be stopped in accordance with the operation steps, and a setting means for setting the combination of heads to be operated and heads to be stopped in accordance with the progress of the operation steps. The present invention is characterized by comprising means for reading out the combinations read out, and needle bar drive control means for independently enabling or disabling the needle bar drive mechanisms in each head in accordance with the read combinations.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing the main part of the present invention, and the setting means 1 selects the combination of the head to be operated and the head to be stopped among the heads H ₁ to _{H o} corresponding to the operation step. The combination is stored in RAM or memory in advance for each step.
It consists of a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, an external recording medium such as a paper tape, an electromagnetic tape, a paper card, an electromagnetic card, or a combination thereof, or a setting switch for manually setting each step. The readout means 2 is for reading out the combinations set by the setting means 1 as the operating steps progress, and is comprised of a step counter or appropriate signal generating means such as a paper tape linked to the main shaft of the sewing machine. The operating steps basically proceed in conjunction with the rotation of the sewing machine main shaft. Note that the operating step here does not necessarily mean a step for each stitch, but rather a certain switching point in the embroidery sewing operation that is programmed in advance.

Each sewing machine head H ₁ -H _o is equipped with a needle bar drive mechanism of known construction. That is, the operation of the needle bar drive power sources 3-1 to 3-n is transmitted to the needle bars 5-1 to 5-n via the clutches 4-1 to 4-n. Usually, power source 3-1 to 3-
n consists of a well-known motion conversion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the main shaft of the sewing machine into reciprocating linear motion of the needle bar. The connection or disconnection of each clutch 4-1 to 4-n is controlled by a corresponding solenoid SOL1 to SOLn, respectively. The electromagnetic clutch means comprising such a clutch and a solenoid corresponds to the needle bar drive control means in this invention. That is, the combination data read out from the setting means 1 is assigned to each head H ₁ to H _o
The solenoid is supplied to the corresponding solenoids SOL1 to SOLn, respectively, and the solenoid is kept deenergized and the clutch is connected in the head that should be operated, and the solenoid is energized and the clutch is disengaged in the head that should be stopped. . In this way, according to the combination read out from the setting means 1, the needle bar drive mechanisms in each of the heads H ₁ to _Ho are independently enabled or disabled. In other words, in the head where the clutch is disengaged, the motion of the power source is not transmitted to the needle bar, and the movement of the needle bar stops at top dead center, but in the head where the clutch is engaged, the needle bar is driven.

By the way, it is well known that there is a control called "jump" that expands the sewing width for one stitch by keeping the needle bar at the top dead center for one stitch and moving only the embroidery frame (not shown) by a predetermined amount. It is. For this purpose, the needle drive mechanism of each head is conventionally provided with a jump clutch and a jump solenoid. Therefore, conventional jump clutches and solenoids can be used as the clutches 4-1 to 4-n and solenoids SOL1 to SOLn for controlling the needle bar drive in the present invention. However, the form of control is completely different from the conventionally known jump. In other words, in jump control, the needle bars of all heads are stopped at the top for one stitch time during pattern sewing, thereby realizing a wide sewing width for each head, whereas in this invention, the sewing operation of a specific sewing machine head is It puts that thing to rest. Therefore, for example, when head H ₁ is stopped (solenoid SOL 1 energized) and head H ₂ is operated (solenoid SOL 2 deactivated) according to the present invention, the pattern data being created at that time may jump due to a request. If necessary, the needle bar 5-2 can be jumped by temporarily energizing the solenoid SOL2 of the head _H2 .
That is, even if a common clutch and solenoid are used, the control of the present invention and the conventionally known jump control can coexist.

The operation step in which the selection combination of heads is to be changed can be instructed by a needle bar color change command or a pattern end command. As is well known, in automatic embroidery machines, a needle bar color change command or pattern end command can be incorporated into the program, and at the step where the color change command is issued, the needle bar is moved up and down in order to change the color of the needle bar. Drive temporarily stops. Similarly, when a command to end a series of patterns is issued, the vertical movement of the needle bar is stopped. The time of color change or termination is a break in a series of sewing operations, and it is conceivable to switch the selected combination of heads in response to such breaks in the sewing operation. In that case, the reading means 2 is configured to advance the reading step by one step when the color change command code or the termination command code is given. However, it is of course possible to program a unique combination switching command signal other than the color change command code or end command code, and use this to switch the head selection combination switching step. Furthermore, as is well known, each head
Not one but a plurality of needle bars 5-1 to 5-n of H ₁ to _{H o} are prepared, and one of them is selected in response to a color change signal. Of course, if the head selection combination step is advanced by the color change command signal, there may be cases where you want to change the head selection combination but not the thread color.
In such a case, the color change information corresponding to the color change command signal may be set to the same content as the previous step, or may be set to information indicating no color change.

FIG. 2 is an overall control block diagram of a multi-head embroidery sewing machine embodying the present invention, and a control section 10 is a part that controls the basic operations of the embroidery sewing machine.
For example, it consists of an electronic control circuit configured with a microcomputer. The operation panel 11 includes various operation switches for the sewing machine, setting switches for setting various data, and the like. The tape reader 12 is for reading the operating program and data for sewing a desired embroidery pattern recorded on a paper tape. The main shaft sensor 13 detects the rotation angle of the main shaft of the sewing machine. The frame drive device 14 is for driving the embroidery frame in the XY direction. The needle bar position moving device 15 is for moving the needle bar position of each head in accordance with color change information.

The pattern data read by the tape reader 12 is stored in the internal RAM of the control section 10. This data includes X-Y movement data of the embroidery frame for each stitch,
jump command, color change command and color change information, end command, operation or stop combination data of each head,
etc. are included. When the sewing machine starts, the control unit 10 detects the progress of the sewing operation based on the output of the main shaft sensor 13, and controls the sewing operation according to the progress of the sewing step.
Read pattern data from RAM sequentially. The read data is output from the control unit 10 at a predetermined timing according to the rotation angle of the main shaft. X on the embroidery frame
The Y movement data is read out for each stitch and output to the frame drive device 14 at a predetermined spindle rotation angle. Color change information is read out at the command step,
It is output to the needle bar position moving device 15. The head combination data is read out at the step of the color change command or termination command, and is output to the head selection section 16 via an appropriate buffer memory or the like. The head selection section 16 forms an operation/pause selection signal corresponding to each head in accordance with the supplied head combination data. When the jump command is read out, a jump timing signal is output from the control section 10 at a predetermined spindle rotation angle, and is given to the jump timing signal output section 17. Jump timing output section 17
corresponds to the required jump angle and forms a signal to enable the solenoid to rapidly aspirate. Further, the chopper shaping section 18 forms a chopper waveform based on the signal from the control section 10 and supplies it to the jump signal output section 19 . The jump signal output section 19 forms a signal necessary to energize the solenoid at high speed based on the signals from the jump timing output section 17 and the chopper shaping section 18, and supplies this signal to the signal selection section 22.

The control section 10 outputs a yarn breakage timing signal at a predetermined rotation angle and a reset signal unrelated to the rotation angle every rotation of the main shaft. This signal is applied to the thread breakage timing signal and reset signal output section 20. Further, the operation/pause selection signal for each head outputted from the head selection section 16 is given to the head selection output section 21 and converted to a level that can be treated as an external signal.

The jump signal, yarn breakage timing signal, and reset signal outputted from the output sections 19 and 20 are respectively supplied to the signal selection section 22 corresponding to each head H ₁ to _Ho . The head selection output section 21 outputs signals for instructing operation or suspension of each head in parallel, and also provides a signal for selecting a reset signal to the signal selection section 22 in response to the suspension of the heads. Depending on the set combination, the pause or operation signal is
The O level corresponds to the head to be operated, and the predetermined level corresponds to the head to be stopped. A selection signal for each head is supplied to a signal selection section 22 corresponding to each head, and a pause or operation signal is supplied to a jump output amplifier section 23 corresponding to each head. In Figure 2, head H ₁
Although only the signal selecting section 22, the manipulating section 23, and the solenoid SOL1 corresponding to the head are shown in the figure, similar components are provided for the other heads.

The signal selection unit 22 selects either the thread breakage timing signal or the reset signal, and
A circuit is provided that forcibly selects a reset signal when a head pause signal is applied.
When the operation is selected corresponding to that head, it is possible to supply a thread breakage timing signal, so that it is possible to check whether thread breakage has occurred at this timing, and if thread breakage has occurred, it is possible to supply a thread breakage timing signal. The lamp can be lit (the circuit for this purpose is not shown). On the other hand, when the pause is selected for that head, the thread breakage timing signal is not supplied, and the thread breakage lamp of the pause head is prevented from lighting up. Further, the jump signal is given to the jump output amplifier section 23 via the signal selection section 22.

The jump output amplifier section 23 converts the jump signal or the pause signal into a signal level that can drive a solenoid, and supplies the signal level to the jump solenoid SOL1.
As mentioned above, the jump signal causes the solenoid to
When SOL1 is energized, the needle bar stops above one stitch, but the solenoid stops due to the stop signal.
When SOL1 is energized, the needle bar is permanently stopped.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, combinations of heads to be operated and heads to be stopped are programmed, and these are read out as the operation steps progress, and each head is operated according to the read combinations. Since automatic embroidery is automatically selected, the types and variations of embroidery patterns that can be created in automatic embroidery stitching can be richly diversified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing essential parts of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the overall control block of a multihead embroidery sewing machine embodying the invention. 1...Setting means, 2...Reading means, 3-1
to 3-n... power source, 4-1 to 4-n... clutch, 5-1 to 5-n... needle bar, H ₁ to _{H o} ...
...Head, SOL1~SOLn...Solenoid, 10
...control section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a multi-head embroidery sewing machine equipped with a plurality of hooks and a plurality of sewing machine heads corresponding to each hook, a setting means for setting a combination of heads to be operated and heads to be stopped in accordance with the operation steps. a means for reading out the combinations set by the setting means as the operating steps progress, and a needle bar drive for enabling or disabling the needle bar drive mechanisms in each head independently according to the read combinations. A multi-head embroidery sewing machine characterized by comprising a control means. 2. The multi-head embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein the reading means switches the step at which the combination is to be read out in accordance with the step for instructing a color change of the needle bar or the step for instructing the end of a pattern. . 3. The needle bar drive control means is comprised of an electromagnetic clutch means provided at a location where the movement of the needle bar drive power source is transmitted to the needle bar, and connects the clutch corresponding to the head that should be made operable, and the clutch that corresponds to the head that should be made inoperable. A multi-head embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein a clutch corresponding to a head is released. 4. The electromagnetic clutch means includes a jump clutch mechanism for jumping the needle bar and a jump solenoid for controlling this clutch mechanism, and independently energizes or deactivates the solenoid of each head depending on the combination. 3. A multi-head embroidery sewing machine according to claim 3, wherein