KR20130028005A - Embroidery machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An embroidery machine is provided to control the side surface deformation of a needle by using a needle guiding member as a needle deflector. CONSTITUTION: An embroidery machine includes a throat plate, more than one shuttle race, a needle channel, and a shuttle drive. The throat plate includes a needle hole. The shuttle race is installed on the rear side of the throat plate, and has a running surface for moving a shuttle forward and backward. The shuttle drive includes a driver member for moving the shuttle. A needle guiding member limits the side surface deformation of a needle(43).

Description

Embroidery Machine {EMBROIDERY MACHINE}

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an embroidery machine, and more particularly, a shuttle is operated back and forth over a plurality of shuttle races and running surfaces on which the shuttle is movable back and forth. A shuttle embroidery machine, a quilting machine or a multi-head embroidery machine, and a method of operating the same, including a driver device for making the device.

The shuttle embroidery machine operates using two thread systems, one needle thread and one shuttle thread, which thread wraps the shuttle thread during each stitching. A needle with an eye carries the needle thread through the material, and the thread forms a ring when the needle is provided back through the material. The shuttle, including the shuttle compartment, passes through the loop. In general, embroidery machines or quilting machines have a large number of sewing points and, therefore, many needles and shuttles. So-called driver rails and the like are used for the forward and backward movement of the shuttle. In modern embroidery machines, the driver lanes are formed by profiles. The profile has a bore for each sewing point, into which a lower driver pin and an upper driver pin are inserted. Due to these driver pins, the shuttle moves up and down on the inclined running surface of the shuttle race. In embroidery machines using gravity acting on the shuttle, it is known to stop the shuttle when necessary. To do so, all that is required is to pull the lower driver pin so that it no longer pulls the shuttle (EP 1 055 761). In the case of quilting machines, shuttle races are generally arranged horizontally. In embroidery machines and quilting machines, one side of the side guide of the shuttle is provided by the front throat plate and the other side is provided by the rear throat plate.

In recent years, the operating speed of shuttle embroidery machines has greatly increased. Machines operating at over 600 stitches per minute are already in use. However, various factors appear as the machine speed increases. For example, increased wear is seen on the shuttle. This is not surprising since it is known when the shuttle accelerates to 5G. At high speeds, increased noise generation from the shuttle area is also noted.

At high speeds, current embroidery machine operation deforms radially as the needle passes through the base fabric. This is caused by the underlying fabric itself, for example embroidery pieces, ie many stitches in one location, and / or vibrations due to high speed. If the needle deforms to a significant extent, the shuttle tip may move below the needle rather than over it. In this case, the needle will be further deformed and broken by the shuttle. Due to the high sewing speed, the needle will continue to sew until the embroidery machine detects that the needle is broken and brakes at a high speed. Due to broken needles, numerous stitches will not be performed correctly, adversely affecting the quality of embroidery. In addition, because the broken portion of the needle partially breaks the fabric at the sewing point, the underlying fabric is damaged by the broken needle.

It is an object of the present invention to propose an embroidery machine, in particular a shuttle embroidery machine, and a method of its operation, which can reduce the breakage of the needle compared to the prior art.

According to the invention, this can be done in a shuttle embroidery machine or quilting machine of the type mentioned above, provided with a needle guide member which limits the lateral deformation of the needle and returns the needle to the needle channel. The needle guide member has a needle deflector function that returns the needle substantially to the "normal" needle path as if no lateral deformation occurred. This has a significant advantage since needle breakage no longer occurs due to a collision with the shuttle. This reduces the downtimes of the embroidery machine and improves the quality of the embroidery pieces.

In one preferred embodiment, the driver member engages with one or more shuttles during operation of the embroidery machine and has one or more needle guide members according to the number of shuttles. In the present invention, the driver member will be understood to mean a part of the embroidery machine that drives the shuttle, such as driver pins and driver rails in the case of large embroidery machines. In addition to the driver member, it will be readily understood that there is also a transmission connected to the driver member and generally converting the rotational movement of the drive shaft driven by the motor to the forward and backward movement of the driver member. In the case of large embroidery machines, the needle guide member is preferably arranged on the driver rail. In the case of small embroidery machines, in particular in multi-head embroidery machines, the needle guide member is preferably arranged on the driver member or driver device, in which case it is possible for the retainer to move back and forth along the linear guide by means of a rocker lever. )to be.

If the needle guide member is arranged directly on the driver device, it is important that it is arranged in front of the shuttle when viewed in the forward movement direction of the shuttle. As a result, the needle guide member acts like a plow to remove any obstructions located in the shuttle's path of travel.

Preferably, the needle guide member or needle deflector has at least one sloped guide surface oriented at an angle to the running surface of the shuttle race. This acts as a deflecting surface for the needle protruding laterally from the needle channel. For convenience, the needle guide member is arranged in such a manner that the guide surface is adjacent to the plane of the running surface. That is, the guide surface, together with the shuttle race, forms an approximately V-shaped opening that, in cross section, can catch the needle leaving the needle channel. Thus, during the embroidery process, the needles protruding laterally from the needle channel are guided to return to the needle channel.

According to one preferred embodiment, one or preferably a plurality of needle guide members are arranged or formed on the profile, the profile being attached to the driver rail. This is advantageous in that all guide members can be aligned by adjusting the profile on the driver rail.

The invention also relates to a method of operating a shuttle embroidery machine, in which the shuttle moves back and forth on the running surface of the shuttle race, and simultaneously with the shuttle movement, the needle moves to the needle channel of the shuttle race. This method is characterized in that during the embroidery process, the needle leaving laterally from the needle channel is redirected back to the needle channel.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Figure 1 shows a shuttle holder of a conventional shuttle embroidery machine with a driver arranged on its right side in cross section.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the shuttle holder and the driver rail of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 shows a rear perspective view of the shuttle holder of FIG. 1, but for clarity, the front and rear throat plates and driver rails are not shown.
4A is a plan view of the shuttle holder and driver rail of a large embroidery machine, with four conventional sewing points shown on the right side of the drawing, and four sewing points with a needle guide member according to the invention shown on the left side.
4B is an enlarged view of portion B of FIG. 4A showing the needle, the needle guide member and the shuttle tip.
4C is an enlarged view of portion C of FIG. 4A showing a conventional stitching point.
FIG. 5 shows a side view of the stitching point according to the invention of FIG. 4A, partially in cross section.
6A shows a front view of the shuttle holder of FIG. 4A with the front stitching point omitted for clarity.
FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 6A.
FIG. 7 shows a top view of the arrangement of FIG. 4A.
8 shows the driver rail of FIG. 4A.
9A is a side view showing a conventional sewing point of a multi-head embroidery machine.
9B is a cross-sectional view through the needle channel, showing a conventional sewing point of a multi-head embroidery machine.
9C is a perspective view showing a conventional sewing point of a multi-head embroidery machine.
10A is a side view showing the sewing point of a multi-head embroidery machine with a needle guide member according to the present invention.
10B is a cross sectional view through a needle channel, showing the sewing point of a multi-head embroidery machine with a needle guide member according to the invention.
10C is a perspective view showing a sewing point of a multi-head embroidery machine with a needle guide member according to the present invention.

1 to 3, the plurality of shuttle holders 11 of the shuttle embroidery machine (not shown in detail) have a plurality of shuttle races 12 for the shuttles 15 in a known manner. The shuttle races 12 have running surfaces 13 and the shuttle 15 can move back and forth along and / or along the surface. A driver rail 21 is provided to drive the shuttle 15 and extends along the entire length of the embroidery machine in a large embroidery machine. The driver rail 21 is movable up and down or back and forth, and can be of any type, for example as shown in EP 1 055 761. It is preferably made of a profile 23 with bores, in which driver pins 25, 27 are inserted. During operation at the sewing point, in each case the shuttle is fixed and guided between the driver pins, and a small play between the driver pins 25, 27 and the shuttle 15 causes the needle thread to pass around the shuttle. Let's do it.

Shuttle races 13 are usually arranged between the front throat plate 17 and the rear neck plate 19, and embroidery machines that do not have a rear neck plate are already known. Here, the front neck plate 17 means a neck plate on which an embroidery piece is placed upon it during the embroidery process. At a certain distance from the needles, the needle holes 30 are provided in the front neck plate 17, through which the needles can penetrate during sewing. For each shuttle 15, the screw member (as proposed in EP-A-1 055 761 by the same applicant) so that the guide member 31 for guiding the shuttle laterally reduces wear on the shuttle. 29 may be attached to the driver rail 21. The contents of EP-A-1 055 761 and EP-A-1 881 098 are incorporated herein by reference.

Each shuttle races 12 are formed from an elongated profile piece 33 and are preferably made of plastic. The profile pieces 33 are arranged at an angle with respect to the shuttle holder rail 35 so that a vertically inclined guide path is formed, on which the shuttle 15 moves up and down. In order to reduce wear on the shuttle and running surface 13, running surfaces are provided with slide plates 37a, 37b.

In the middle of the running surface 13, a needle channel 39 is provided as a groove-shaped recess, preferably having a substantially hemisphere or an approximately U-shaped cross section, substantially extending the longitudinal direction of the running surface 13. Extend across. The needle channel 39 is disposed below or behind the plane of the running surface 13 so that the shuttle can slide over the needle 43 without generally colliding with the needle when sewing. However, as mentioned in the introduction and can be seen in FIG. 4C, the needle 43 can be deformed radially and deviate from the needle channel 39, ie from the plane of the running surface, as it passes through the underlying fabric. In this case, it inevitably collides with the shuttle and usually the needle is broken.

In order to avoid needle breakage, the present invention arranges the needle guide member 41 on the embroidery machine so that when the needle 43 deviates laterally from the needle channel 39, the shuttle 15 is on the needle channel 39. Return to the needle channel before slide (Figures 4-8). In the case of a large embroidery machine, the guide member 41 is preferably arranged on the driver rail 19 in front of the shuttle tip, when viewed in the direction of movement of the shuttle. By arranging the guide member 41 in front of the shuttle 15, the needle 43 which is laterally separated from the needle channel 39 can be redirected back to the needle channel by the guide member 41. The guide member 41 has inclined guide surfaces 45a and 45b for convenience and is suitable for guiding the needle back to the needle channel when the needle protrudes laterally from the needle channel. Preferably, the guide surfaces are inclined relative to the running surface in two directions perpendicular to each other, and the distance from the running surface increases in the forward movement direction of the shuttle and in the direction towards the needle. Thus, needles protruding from the needle channel can be caught and returned to the channel. The needle guide member, along with the shuttle tip at the top of the needle channel, is arranged and configured to ensure that it remains while forming a stitch behind the running surface of the shuttle race as the shuttle slides.

In one preferred embodiment, a plurality of needle guide members 41 are formed or attached on the profile 47 (FIG. 8). The needle guide members 41 are arranged at a distance from the sewing points, and when the profile 47 is fixed to the driver rail 19, the needle guide members 41 are connected to the needle channel 39 and the shuttle 15. Is already adjusted. Preferably, the profile 47 is attached to the driver rail by means of a screw 49 and the extent of play between the screw 49 and the hole 51 enables the adjustment of the profile with respect to the shuttle races.

In FIGS. 4A and 7, in the right half of each case, it is shown how the needle 43 turns sideways from the needle channel 39 past the base fabric. If the deviation of the needle from the normal position of the needle hole area is only a few millimeters of ten minutes, the distance at the needle tip already increases to several millimeters. It can be mentioned here that this problem can be solved by deeper needle channels. However, having a deep needle channel is not suitable for this case since the shuttle tip cannot stably meet the thread loop of the upper thread. In this case, stitching will be omitted and will produce lower quality embroidery pieces.

The needle guide member according to the invention can be used not only on a large embroidery machine but also on a small embroidery machine with a shuttle. Such small embroidery machines in the form of multi-head embroidery machines are disclosed, for example, in European patent application EP-A1-2 330 242 by the same applicant. The content of EP-A1-2 330 242 is incorporated herein by reference. This multi-head embroidery machine is characterized in that a plurality of needle positions exist for each embroidery head. Needle tappets and needle levers are usually mounted in a carrier, which is displaced during engagement of the needle to engage the seal levers associated with the desired needle tappet with a fixed drive. The lower thread unit of the disclosed embroidery machine includes a shuttle and a shuttle guide device. Unlike large embroidery machines, each shuttle is assigned a separate transmission and, by means of a clutch or cam gear mechanism, converts the rotational movement of the normal drive shaft into the forward and backward movement of each shuttle. Thus, unlike in large embroidery machines, there is no need for a continuous driver rail with driver pins, instead a rocker lever is provided which interacts directly or indirectly with the shuttle retainer 55 (FIGS. 9A-9C). . The aforementioned shuttle retainer 55 preferably has a C-shaped structure that engages around the rear of the shuttle. The shuttle retainer 55 is linearly movable on one or more guide bars 57 and guided perpendicular to the needle path.

In order to prevent needle breakage, in a manner similar to the solution for large embroidery machines, the needle guide member is provided to be arranged or formed as a lug directly on the shuttle retainer 55. Lug 59 protrudes beyond the shuttle tip to a specific range by guide surfaces, not shown in detail, to return any needle that has escaped from needle channel 39 again. In this way, collision of the shuttle and the needle is stably prevented.

During the process of the embroidery machine, the needle guide member 41 moves simultaneously with the drivers 25 and 27 and / or the shuttle retainer 55 which drag the shuttle 15. The front end of the needle guide member 41 or 59 is located at the front of the shuttle tip at least 2 mm, preferably at least 4 mm, particularly preferably 6 mm or more and 25 mm or less, preferably 20 mm or less, particularly preferably 15 mm or less, from the needle channel The laterally protruding needle is forced back into the needle channel. In order not to interfere with ring formation, it is important to ensure that the needle guide member overlaps the needle only a few millimeters at maximum needle movement.

In summary, the following may be mentioned.

The shuttle embroidery machine is a shuttle for a shuttle with a transmission (not shown in detail) that is connected to a driver device such as, for example, a driver rail 21 with drivers 25 and 27, to generate a forward and backward movement. Have a drive. The needle deflector or needle guide member, which moves together with the shuttle drive and is arranged in front of the shuttle, forces the needle toward the needle channel so that collision between the shuttle and the needle can be stably avoided. Since the needle guide member 41 moves with the shuttle 15 and is arranged in front of the shuttle, the needle can be pushed back into the needle channel before the shuttle reaches the needle channel. This improvement has proved useful in practice, as a result of which numerous needle breaks can be significantly reduced.

11: shuttle holder
12: shuttle races
13: running surfaces
15: Shuttle
17: front throat plate
19: rear neck plate
21: driver rail
23: Profile of driver rail
25, 27: driver pins
29: screw
30: needle holes
31: guide member
33: profile piece
35: shuttle holder rail
37a, 37b: slide plates
39: needle channel
41: needle guide member
43: needle
45a, 45b: inclined guide surface of the needle guide member
47: profile with needle guide member 41
49: screws for profile 47
51: holes in profile 47
55: shuttle retainer
57: guide bar
59: rug

Claims (9)

As embroidery machines, in particular shuttle embroidery machines or quilting machines or multi-head embroidery machines,
A throat plate 17 having a needle hole 30;
One or more shuttle races 12 provided behind the neck plate 17 and having a running surface 13 on which the shuttle 15 is movable back and forth;
A needle channel 39 provided in the running surface 13 of the shuttle race 12; And
A shuttle drive having driver members 21, 25, 27, 55 for generating forward and backward shuttle movements,
Embroidery machine characterized in that a needle guide member (41) is provided to limit lateral deflection of the needle (43). 2. Embroidery machine according to claim 1, characterized in that during the processing of the embroidery machine the driver member (21, 25, 27, 55) is engaged with at least one shuttle (15) and has at least one needle guide member (41). The driver rail (21) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the driver members (21, 25, 27, 55) have drivers (25, 27) fixed therein for driving the shuttle (15). Embroidery machine, characterized in that the needle guide member (41) is arranged on the driver rail (21). 4. Embroidery machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the needle guide member (41) is arranged in front of the shuttle as viewed in the forward movement direction of the shuttle (15). 5. The needle guide member 41 according to claim 1, wherein the needle guide member 41 has one or more inclined guide surfaces 45a, 45b oriented at an angle with respect to the running surface 13 of the shuttle race. Embroidery machine characterized in that. 6. Embroidery machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the needle guide member (41) is arranged in such a manner that the guide surfaces (45a, 45b) are adjacent to the plane of the running surface (13). 7. Embroidery machine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plurality of shuttle races (12) are provided having a corresponding number of running surfaces (13). The method according to claim 1, wherein one or preferably a plurality of needle guide members 41 are arranged or formed on the profile 47, the profile being attached on the driver rail 21. Embroidery machine characterized in that. The shuttle 15 moves back and forth on the running surface 13 of the shuttle race 12, and at the same time as the shuttle movement, the needle 43 moves to the needle channel 39 of the shuttle race 12,
During the embroidery process, the method of operating a shuttle embroidery machine characterized in that the needle (43) deviating laterally from the needle channel (39) returns to the needle channel.

Images