SE543519C2

SE543519C2 - A system and a method for in-line treatment of thread

Info

Publication number: SE543519C2
Application number: SE1851093A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Joakim Staberg; Martin Eklind
Original assignee: Coloreel Group AB
Priority date: 2018-09-15
Filing date: 2018-09-15
Publication date: 2021-03-16
Also published as: WO2020055298A1; ZA202102272B; CN113039317A; AU2019340293A1; US20220056625A1; EP3850138A4; EP3850138A1; KR20210048562A; SE1851093A1; JP2021535969A; CA3112822A1; IL281381A

Abstract

A system (10) for in-line treatment of thread (20) for use with a thread consuming unit (15) is provided. The system comprises a treatment unit (100) comprising at least one discharge device (150) being configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one thread (20) when activated. The system further comprises a control unit (190) configured to evaluate the thread consumption of a thread consuming device (15) based on operation data and at least one parameter being related to one or more thread consumption parameter (40), and control the dispensing from the discharge device (150) based on said evaluated thread consumption and/or adjust the thread consumption of the thread consuming device (15). A method is also provided.

Description

A SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR IN-LINE TREATMENT OF THREAD TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the technical field of thread consumingdevices. In particular, the present invention relates to a system comprising a treatmentunit to be used in association With such thread consuming device, as Well as an associated method.

BACKGROUND It has been suggested to provide thread consuming devices, such as embroiderymachines or the like, With in-line apparatuses designed to provide the thread With acertain treatment. Such in-line apparatuses could e. g. be used to colour the thread,Whereby multiple colour nozzles could replace the current use of multiple pre-colouredthreads When producing multi-coloured pattems using embroidery machines. In prior artsystems Where threads of different colours are used, one thread, having a first specifiedcolour, is used for some stitches While another thread, having a second specified colour,is used for other stitches.

In order to eliminate the obvious drawbacks of the requirement of multiplethreads of different colours, the present applicant has filed several patent applications onthe technique of in-line colouring of thread, such as WO20l6204687 andWO20l6204686. The proposed solutions provide improvements in terms of colourquality and also reduces the complexity of the thread consuming device.

HoWever, in order to further improve the quality of the in-line colouring ofthreads it Would be advantageous if the in-line colouring apparatus Would be modified to increase the accuracy of the dispensing of the coating substance.

SUMMARY An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a solutionovercoming the disadvantages of prior art. More specifically, the present inventionprovides a solution Where the system for in-line treatment of a thread is configured tocontrol the dispensing from the discharge devices based on an evaluated thread consumption of a thread consuming device.

In a first aspect, a system for in-line treatment of thread for use With a threadconsuming device is provided. The system comprises a treatment unit comprising atleast one discharge device being configured to dispense one or more coating substancesonto the at least one thread When activated. The system further comprises a control unitconfigured to evaluate the thread consumption of a thread consuming device based onoperation data and at least one parameter being related to one or more threadconsumption parameter. The control unit is further configured to control the dispensingfrom the discharge device based on said evaluated thread consumption.

Since the thread consumption is evaluated, the thread to be treated With one ormore coating substances Will be treated With the intended coating substance.

In a second aspect, a system for in-line treatment of thread for use With a threadconsuming device is provided. The system comprises a treatment unit comprising atleast one discharge device being configured to dispense one or more coating substancesonto the at least one thread When activated. The system further comprises a control unitconfigured to evaluate the thread consumption of a thread consuming device based onoperation data and at least one parameter being related to one or more threadconsumption parameter. The control unit is further configured to alter the threadconsumption of the thread consuming device based on said evaluated threadconsumption.

In the control unit of the first or second aspect, the control unit may further beconfigured to evaluate the thread consumption and/or updating the operation data and/orat least one thread consumption parameter based on a simulation of the threadconsumption.

The simulation of the thread consumption may be performed continuouslyduring the operation of the thread consuming device and/or during the operation of thetreatment unit.

In one embodiment, the simulations at least are based on stored consumptiondata comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device.

The control unit may further be configured to evaluate the thread consumptionbased on stored consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device, and/or update the the operation data and/or at least one thread consumption parameter based on stored consumption data comprising information fromprevious runs of the thread consuming device.

The operation data of the thread consuming device may comprise informationof positional coordinates of a driving pattem of the thread consuming device. Thethread consuming device is configured to make stitches into a substrate, and Wherein theoperation data further comprises a number that is related to the current stitch number ofthe thread consuming device.

The thread consuming device may be configured to make stitches into asubstrate, and Wherein the thread consumption parameter is related to one or moresubstrate parameters and/or to one or more stitches parameters of the thread consumingdevice.

The one or more substrate parameters may be related to one or more of thethickness of the substrate, the elasticity of the substrate, the placement of the substratein the thread consuming device, or any combination thereof The one or more stitches parameters may be related to one or more of thetension of the at least one thread, the angle to Which the at least one thread is applied tothe substrate, the angle of at least the last stitch, features related to underlying stitches,or in any combination thereof.

The substrate may be a fabric. The nozzles may be inkj et nozzles. The coatingsubstance may be a colouring substance.

The systems of the first and second aspect may further comprise at least onethread consuming device. The thread consuming device may be an embroidery machine,a seWing machine, a knitting machine, a Weaving machine, a tufting machine, a threadWinding machine, and or any combination thereof In a third aspect, a method for in-line treatment of at least one thread for useWith a thread consuming device is provided. The method comprises the steps ofproviding a treatment unit comprising at least one discharge device being configured todispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one thread When activated andproviding a control unit. The method further comprises evaluating the threadconsumption of the thread consuming device based on operation data and at least one parameter being related to one or more thread consumption parameter, and controlling the dispensing of one or more coating substances based on said evaluated threadconsumption.

In a fourth aspect, a method for in-line treatment of at least one thread for useWith a thread consuming device is provided. The method comprises the steps ofproviding a treatment unit comprising at least one discharge device being configured todispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one thread When activated andproviding a control unit. The method further comprises evaluating the threadconsumption of the thread consuming device based on operation data and at least oneparameter being related to one or more thread consumption parameter, and altering thethread consumption of the thread consuming device based on said evaluated threadconsumption.

The method according to the third or fourth aspect, may further comprise thestep of evaluating the thread consumption and/or updating the operation data and/or atleast one thread consumption parameter based on a simulation of the threadconsumption.

The method may further comprise the step of evaluating the threadconsumption based on stored consumption data comprising information from previousruns of the thread consuming device, and/or updating the the operation data and/or atleast one thread consumption parameter based on stored consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device.

Definitions Thread consuming device is in this context any apparatus Which in useconsumes thread. It may e. g. be an embroidery machine, Weaving machine, seWingmachine, knitting machine, Weaving machine, a tufting machine, a thread Windingmachine or any other thread consuming apparatus Which may benefit from a surfacetreatment or coating or any other process involving subj ecting the thread to a substance,such as dying.

Treatment is in this context any process designed to cause a change of theproperties of a thread. Such processes include, but are not limited to, colouring, Wetting, lubrication, cleaning, fixing, heating, curing, dying, etc.

Thread is in this context a ﬂexible elongate member or substrate, being thin inwidth and height direction, and having a longitudinal extension being significantlygreater than the longitudinal extension of any parts of the system described herein, aswell as than its width and height dimensions. Typically, a thread may consist of aplurality of plies being bundled or twisted together. The term thread thus includes ayam, wire, strand, filament, etc. made of various materials such as glass fibre, wool,cotton, synthetic materials such as polymers, metals, polyester, viscos, or e. g. a mixtureof wool, cotton, polymer, or metal or any combination thereof Within this specification, all references to upstream and/or downstream shouldbe interpreted as relative positions during normal operation of the thread consumingdevice, i.e. when the device is operating to treat an elongated substrate, such as a thread,continuously moving through the device in a normal operating direction. Hence, anupstream component is arranged such that a specific part of the thread passes it before it passes a downstream component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will be described in the following description ofthe present invention; reference being made to the appended drawings which illustratenon-limiting examples of how the inventive concept can be reduced into practice.

Fig. la is a schematic view of a system for in-line treatment of threadaccording to an embodiment; Fig. lb is a perspective view of a system having a thread consuming device anda treatment unit according to an embodiment; Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a treatment unit for use with a system accordingto an embodiment; Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a discharge device forrning part of a treatmentunit; Fig. 4a is a schematic top view of a part of a discharge device according to anembodiment; Fig. 4b is a schematic top view of a part of a discharge device according to an embodiment; Fig. 5 is a schematic view of a substrate to be used with the system accordingto Fig. la.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of parts of a treatment unit according to anembodiment; Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a method according to an embodiment; Fig. 8a is a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment, and Fig. 8b is a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An idea of the present invention is to provide a system and method fordistributing a coating substance onto a thread in a controlled manner, for use inassociation with a thread consumption device. Starting in Fig. la a schematic view ofsystem 10 for in-line treatment of thread is shown. The system 10 comprises a treatmentunit 100 for dispensing one or more coating substances onto at least one thread. Thesystem 10 further comprises at least one thread consuming device 15, which may e.g. bein the form of one or several embroidery machine(s), a weaving machine(s), a sewingmachine(s), knitting machine(s), a tufting machine(s), a thread winding machine(s) etc.The system thereby forms a thread consuming unit, including the at least one threadconsuming device 15 and the treatment unit 100. It should be noted that more than onethread can be used in the thread consuming device(s).

It should be noted that several aspects of a system are described within thisspecif1cation, and they do not require the inclusion of the thread consuming device 15.As will be further understood from the following, for all embodiments the system for in-line treatment of thread requires a treatment unit 100, to be used with a threadconsuming device 15.

Now tuming to Fig. lb the thread consuming device 15 is exemplified as anembroidery machine, here illustrated as a single-head embroidery machine, beingequipped with a treatment unit 100. The embroidery machine 15 comprises a moveablestage 2b carrying the fabric to be embroidered. During operation the moveable stage 2bis controlled to rapidly change its position in the X and Y direction (i.e. in this case the horizontal plane, but it could also be in e. g. the vertical plane).

The treatment unit 100 allows the embroidery machine 15 to operate withoutthe provision of uniquely pre-coloured threads, as is required for conventionalembroidery machines. Instead, the treatment unit 100 provides in-line colouring of athread 20 in accordance with predeterrnined colouring patterns, such that a colouredembroidery can be produced. The treatment unit thus replaces individual thread reels asis present in prior art systems.

As is shown in Fig. lb the only connection between the treatment unit 100 andthe embroidery machine 15 is the thread 20, as well as electrical connections (notshown). The treatment unit 100 is thus provided as a stand-alone unit having nomechanical connection with the moveable stage 2b.

In an optional embodiment, the stand-alone treatment unit 100 is mounted tothe thread consuming device 15 via a suspension arrangement for reducing thetransmission of vibrations to the treatment unit 100. During operation, the heavyvibrations of the embroidery machine 15 caused especially by the movement of thestage 2b will not be transmitted to the treatment unit 100 as this is provided as a stand-alone unit. Accurate colouring of the thread during operation is therefore possible.

The various components of the treatment unit 100 are shown in Fig. 2. As canbe seen in Fig. 2 a majority of the components are arranged inside a housing 105.Immediately downstream the thread reel 120 a thread feeder 130 may be arranged,which is configured to pull the thread forward through the treatment unit 100. Thethread feeder 130 is not described further herein, but for a more general understandingthe thread feeder 130 receives and forwards the thread 20. For this, the thread feeder130 is controlled by a control unit 190 described further below. The thread feeder 130 ispreferably also conf1gured to control the thread tension, e. g. by means of a driven roller,an encoder wheel, and one or more thread guides. After passing the thread feeder 130the thread 20 engages with a thread guiding device 140. The thread guiding device 140,which may e.g. be in the form of one or more guiding rollers 142, 144 or other suitablemeans, is ensuring that the thread 20 is aligned with one or more treatment nozzlesforrning part of at least one discharge device 150.

The discharge device 150 is configured to discharge treatment substance, such as a colouring substance, onto the thread 20 as it passes the discharge device 150. For this the nozzles are arranged preferably in the longitudinal direction of the thread 20 aswill be further explained in relation to Figs. 3 and 4.

The discharge device 150 may be moveable by means of a drive unit (notshown). Having a drive unit will make it possible to arrange the discharge device 150 indifferent operating states in order to perforrn different tasks, such as for example a firststate of dispensing a coating substance to a thread and a second state of performing acleaning session, or other maintenance or idling. For this a drive unit may be connectedto the discharge device 150. The drive unit may be configured to move the dischargedevice 150 between an idle position and an operational position by means of atransmission having different transmission ratios during the motion from the idleposition towards the operational position.

Downstream the discharge device 150 another thread guiding device 160 isprovided. The second thread guiding device 160 is cooperating with the first threadguiding device 140 such that the position of the thread 20 is correct during its travelalong the discharge device 150. The second thread guiding device 160 may e. g. be inthe form of one or more guiding rollers 162, 164, although it may also be designed toinduce a rotation of the thread 20 along its longitudinal axis. This extra functionality canprovide advantages to the colouring as also will be described below.

The system 10 may further comprise a thread speed sensor (not shown)configured to measure the speed of the thread 20 passing through the system 10.

Moreover, a light detection system (not shown) may be arranged downstreamthe discharge device 150 along the travel direction of the at least one thread 20. Thelight detection system is arranged to illuminate the thread 20 in order to receive lightwhich is reﬂected from the thread 20 when the thread 20 is illuminated. The informationgathered from the light detection signal may for example be used to determine theposition of the thread in relation to the nozzles 152a-f, the width of the thread and/orproperties of the thread. This information can in tum for example be used to detectnozzle(s) that are in need of maintenance, that the position of the nozzle(s) needs to bealtered and/or detect variations in the coating substance. Additionally or altematively,the light detection system may be used to determine different properties of the thread that has been applied with one or several coating substances.

The thread 20 is then fed forward to pass one or more fixation units 170 whichare provided in order to fixate the treatment substance to the thread 20. The fixation unit170 preferably comprises heating means, such as a hot air supply or heated elements, oran UV light source such that the treatment substance, e.g. a colouring substance, iscured or fixated onto the thread 20. As is shown in Fig. 2 the fixation unit 170 mayeither be arranged horizontally, vertically, or at an angle between horizontally andvertically.

Before exiting the housing 105 the thread 20 can pass a cleaning unit 180, suchas an ultrasonic bath, where unwanted particles are removed from the thread 20. As thetreatment substance is fixated onto the thread 20, the cleaning unit 180 will leave thetreatment substance unaffected.

The treatment unit 100 may further comprise a lubrication unit 185 arrangedinside the housing 105. Additional thread buffers and feeders (not shown) may also beincluded in the treatment unit 100, arranged at various positions in the thread path.

The thread 20 preferably exits the treatment unit 100 through an aperture orsimilar, whereby the thread 20 is forwarded to an associated thread consuming device,such as an embroidery machine 15 as is shown in Figs. 1a-b.

The thread feeder 130 and the other components engaging with the thread 20during operation are preferably configured such that the force required to pull the thread20 from the treatment unit 100, i.e. the pulling force applied by the downstreamembroidery machine 15, is approximately the same as if the treatment unit 100 wasreplaced by prior art thread reels.

A control unit 190 with associated electronics, such as power electronics,communication modules, memories, etc. is also provided. The control unit 190 isconnected to the thread feeder 130, the discharge device 150, and the fixation unit 170for allowing control of the operation of these components. Further, the control unit 190is configured to controlling operation of the entire treatment unit 100 including thecleaning unit 180, the lubrication unit 185, a disruption of the thread 20, the threadspeed at various position along the treatment unit 100, the thread buffers, etc. Thecontrol unit 190 may also be configured to receive control signals from one or morecomponents of the treatment unit 100, e. g. control signals for triggering specific control, or other information relating to e. g. thread consumption by the embroidery machine 15.

The control unit 190 may be implemented by any commercially available CPU("Central Processing Unit"), DSP ("digital signal processor") or any other electronicprogrammable logic device, or a combination of such processors or other electronicprogrammable logic device. The control unit 190 may be implemented usinginstructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executablecomputer program instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor thatmay be stored on a computer readable storage medium 192 (disk, memory etc) to beexecuted by such a processor. The storage medium 192 is preferably in operativecommunication with the control unit 190.

In one embodiment, a user interface is also provided, preferably via a display195 arranged at the front end of the housing 105. The display 195 allows a user tointeract with the control unit 190 and is thus connected thereto, so that the controlparameters of the thread feeder 130, the discharge device 150, the fixation unit 170, etc.may be set depending on process specifications. The display 195 may also preferably beused for alerting the user of critical situations, whereby the display 195 may be used forthe control unit 190 to issue alarrns or the like.

It should be noted that the components described above may not necessarily beincluded in the stand-alone treatment unit 100, but instead the components of thetreatment unit 100 may be separated into several units, of which at least one unit is astand-alone unit. Preferably, the stand-alone unit includes at least the at least onedischarge device 150.

In Fig. 3 a discharge device 150 is shown, forrning part of the treatment unit100 as described above. The direction of movement of the thread 20 in use is indicatedby the solid arrow in Fig 3. As will soon be described in more detail, the dischargedevice 150 comprises a plurality of nozzles 152a-f arranged at different longitudinalpositions (for example spaced by a distance d1) along the thread 20 which passes by thetreatment unit 100 during use.

Each nozzle 152a-f is arranged to dispense a coating substance, such as ink,onto the thread 20 when the nozzle is activated. The coating substance is absorbed bythe thread 20, e. g. at different circumferential positions of the thread 20 when the thread20 twists about its longitudinal axis. The relative position of two adj acently dispensed droplets of coating substance may be selected such that the droplets will overlap. 11 The treatment unit 100 comprises one or more discharge devices 150. Eachdischarge device 150 is preferably formed as a series of ink-j et print heads 151a-d, eachprint head 151a-d having one or more nozzle arrays. Each nozzle array typicallycomprises hundreds or thousands of nozzles. For illustrative purpose only six nozzles152a-f are shown for one print head 151a-d; it should however be realized that eachnozzle array may be provided with hundreds or thousands of nozzles 152 each. As anexample, each print head 151a-d may be associated with a single colour; in the shownexample, the discharge device 150 has four print heads 151a-d, each print head 151a-dbeing associated with a specific colour according to the CMYK standard. However,other colouring models may be used as well.

The exact configuration of the treatment unit 100 may vary. For example, thetreatment unit 100 is provided with a single discharge device 150 having a plurality ofprint heads 151a-d. Each print head 151a-d is in tum provided with a plurality ofnozzles 152a-f In another embodiment the treatment unit 100 is provided with severaldischarge devices 150, arranged either in series or in parallel. Each discharge device150 is then provided with a plurality of print heads 151a-d. If serially arranged, theupstream discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-d being associated with oneor more colours of a specific colour standard, while the downstream discharge device150 has print heads 151a-d being associated with other colours of the same colourstandard. If arranged in parallel, each discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-dbeing associated with all colours of a specific colour standard, but with different threads20. For such embodiment, two separate threads 20 can be treated simultaneously and inparallel. Combinations of parallel/serial configurations are of course also possible.

In a yet further embodiment, the discharge device 150 is only having a singleprint head 151a-d; dynamic colouring of the thread 20 would then require severaldischarge devices 150 of the treatment unit 100.

Each nozzle 152a-f may dispense a coating substance having a colouraccording to the CMYK colour model, where the primary colours are Cyan, Magenta,Yellow, and Black. It may thus be possible to dispense a wide variety of colours ontothe thread by activating nozzles 152a-f such that the total colouring substance of a specific length of the thread 20 will be a mix of the colouring substances dispensed by 12 the nozzles 152a-f As explained earlier, this is preferably achieved by having severalprint heads 151a-d arranged in series, whereby the nozzles 152a-f of a specific printhead 151a-d are dedicated to a single colour.

In another embodiment, each nozzle 152a-f dispenses a coating substancehaving a colour comprising a mix of two or more primary colours of the CMYK colourmodel.

The control unit 190 is conf1gured to control the activation of the nozzles 152a-f such as the coating substance is emitted onto the thread 20 as it passes through thetreatment unit 100, and especially pass the discharge device 150. By such configurationvery precise colouring of the thread 20 is possible e. g. in order to provide advancedembroidery pattems, visually extremely sophisticated by means of the colouringprovided by the treatment unit 100.

For a colouring operation the control unit 190 receives one or more inputsignals specifying the desired colour and/or colouring effect. The colour inputpreferably includes information regarding the exact colour, as well as the longitudinalstart and stop positions of the thread 20 for that particular colour. The longitudinal startand stop position could be represented by specific time values if the thread speed isdeterrnined.

Fig. 4a-b illustrates a respective top view of a print head 151a. The print head151a has a planar surface on which the nozzles 152 are arranged. As mentioned earlier,the total number of nozzles 152 of a single print head can be up to several thousands,provided on a print head 151a in the size of a couple of centimeters. In the shownexample, a far less number of nozzles 152 are shown. The nozzles 152 can bedistributed in one or more nozzle arrays 153. In Fig. 4a, the nozzles 152 are distributedin two parallel arrays 153. The arrays 153 are aligned with each other, such that nozzles152 of one array 153 are arranged adjacent a nozzle 152 of the other array 153.

Fig 4b shows a similar example, however there is a longitudinal offset betweenthe two arrays 153.

As previously described, the thread consuming device 15 is arranged to makestitches 24 into a substrate 30. This is schematically shown in Fig. 5, where the thread isapplied to the substrate 30 by stitches 24. In this context, a stitch may for example be a single tum of thread, a single loop of thread, a single tum of yam or a single loop of 13 yam. Stitches may for example be applied using sewing, knitting, embroidery, crochetand/or needle lace-making.

In embroidery, a stitch can for example be seen as a running stitch that passthrough the fabric in a simple up and down motion, a back stitch that pass through thefabric in an encircling motion, a chain stitch that catch a loop of the thread on thesurface of the fabric, a knotted stitch that is formed by wrapping the thread around theneedle. A stitch may be formed by generating two insertion points into the substrate 30.

In knitting, a stitch can be seen as single loop of yam, secured to the loopsbeside it to form a row or course of stitches and to the loops above and below it to forma wale. In securing the previous stitch in a wale, the next stitch can pass through theprevious loop either from below or above. In crochet, a stitch can be seen as being madeby pulling a loop of thread through the previous stitches. Although specific types ofstitches have been mentioned, it should be noted that all kinds of stitches can be usedfor the system disclosed herein.

A plurality of stitches 24 forms an object 26 or a design onto the substrate 30.The object 26 may be a pattem, figure, shape, text, emblem, symbol, colour gradient orthe like. The object 26 may be a logotype or a company name, for example in the formof an embroidery. The operator of the system 10 chooses an object or design to beapplied to the substrate, and thus chooses a predeterrnined stitch pattem. The stitchpattem selected can also be referred to as the driving pattem of the thread consumingdevice 15.

The substrate 30 is preferably a textile, fabric or cloth. In one embodiment, thesubstrate 30 has a fixed set of properties, for example a specific thickness and elasticityconstant. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the substrate is divided into differentsections 30a, 30b. Each section 30a,30b may have different properties relating to forexample the thickness and/or elasticity of the substrate 30.

The inventors of the present invention have after insightful reasoning realizedthat there are several factors that determine the thread consumption of a threadconsuming device 15. The factors may relate to evaluated thread consumptionparameters, operation data, simulation data, and/or data received from previous runs.

Moreover, it is beneficial if the evaluation of the thread consumption is updated 14 continually to be able to take into account dynamical changes. The combination ofseveral factors provides a more reliable calculation of the thread consumption.

A more reliable calculation of the thread consumption is extra important for anin-line treatment system since the thread is dispensed with one or more coatingsubstances during operation. More specifically, it is beneficial to determine the threadconsumption for those stitches that are to be generated between the position where thethread is dispensed with a coating substance and the position where the thread isattached to the substrate by forrning a stitch.

The control unit 190 is thus configured to evaluate the thread consumption andbased on the evaluated thread consumption control the dispensing from the dischargedevice 150. The thread consumption may be evaluated in several ways, as is illustratedin Fig. 6.

The control unit 190 is configured to evaluate the thread consumption of athread consuming device 15 based on operation data 50, simulation data 60, stored data70, and/or based on thread consumption parameters 40. The estimated threadconsumption may be based on one of the above or of a combination of two or more.

The thread consumption may be estimated using operation data 50. Theoperation data comprises information relating to positional coordinates for each stitchand/or positional coordinates for the driving pattem of the thread consuming device15. The positional coordinates are based on the selected stitch pattem and describeswhere the stitches 24 are to be applied to the substrate 30. The positional coordinatesmay be stored as XY-coordinates. The XY-coordinates may be stored in the form of avector or matrix. The positional coordinates can be used to determine the threadconsumption by calculating the hypotenuse between two insertion points that is used togenerate the stitch. In this way, it is possible to get a rough estimate of the threadconsumption for that stitch.

The operation data may additionally or altematively comprise informationrelating to the length of the stitches. Moreover, the operation data may comprise datarelating to the current stitch number.

Simulation data 60 is generated from a simulated operation of the threadconsuming device 15. The simulation may be based on different factors, such as operation data 50, thread consumption parameters 40, stored data 70, information of the substrate and/or information of the stitch pattern. The simulation may be performed bythe control unit 190 and/or by an external processing unit. The simulation of the threadconsumption may be performed continuously during the operation of the threadconsuming device 15 and/or during the operation of the treatment unit 100. This allowsthe system 10 to take into account dynamical changes of the thread consumption oncethe system 10 is running.

The simulation data 60 may be used to determine an evaluation of the threadconsumption and/or to improve other factors such as thread consumption parametersand/or operation data 50. Simulation data is especially benef1cial when deterrnining thefirst stitches of an new run of the thread consuming device 15, since it increases thepossibility that the right coating (such as colour) is applied to the right section of thethread in order to receive the right first stitch.

Stored data 70 from previous operational runs of the system 10 may be used todetermine an evaluated thread consumption. The data stored from previous runspreferably comprises information relating to consumption data. This information 70may be used to evaluate the thread consumption in the next run, and/or to improve otherfactors such as improving the accuracy of the thread consumption parameters 40 and/orimproving the accuracy of the simulation data 60.

The control unit 190 is conf1gured to evaluate the thread consumption byprocessing different kinds of data being related to the operation of the thread consumingdevice 15 and/or the operation of the discharge device 150. The control unit 190 may beconfigured to control the operation of the discharge device 150 as a whole, or controlone or more of print head(s) 151a-d and/or one or more nozzles 152a-f.

In one embodiment the control unit 190 is configured to use at least oneparameter being related to one or more thread consumption parameters 40 to evaluatethe thread consumption. The thread consumption parameters 40 comprise parameters 44related to the substrate or parameters 42 related to the stitches.

The substrate parameters 44 may for example be related to different parametersof the substrate 30. For example, the substrate parameters 44 may relate to the thicknessof the substrate 30, the elasticity of the substrate 30, and/or the placement of thesubstrate in the thread consuming device 15, or any combination thereof. Additionally or altematively, the substrate parameters may relate to the angle between the stitches, 16 the properties of previous stitches, the stitches arranged beneath or under the upcomingstitches, or any combination thereof Different thickness of the substrate 30 will affect the thread consumption. Athicker substrate 30 will require more thread 20, and the thread consumption will thusincrease for a thicker (part of a) substrate 30.

The elasticity of the substrate 30 will also affect the thread consumption.

The placement of the substrate in the thread consuming device 15 will alsoaffect the thread consumption. The substrate is often fastened in a frame in order tofacilitate the placement of the substrate in the device 15. Different areas of the substrate30 will be differently tensed depending on where it is located in relation to the frame.Having a differently tensed substrate will thus affect the thread consumption.

The stitches parameters 42 may be related to the tension of the thread 20, theangle to which the thread 20 is applied to the substrate 30, the angle of at least the laststitch 24, features related to underlying stitches 24, or any combination thereof.

The angle to which the thread 20 is applied to the substrate 30 and/or the angleof the stitches may be used to evaluate the thread consumption. In one embodiment, theangle of the previous stitch is used to evaluate the thread consumption. In oneembodiment, the angle between the last two stitches is evaluated. In yet oneembodiment, the mean value of the angle of a predeterrnined number of stitches isevaluated.

The tension of the thread 20 also affects the thread consumption. Morespecif1cally, the balance between the upper thread and the lower thread of the threadconsuming device 15 affects the thread consumption. Moreover, the tension between theupper thread and the lower thread and the substrate affects the thread consumption.

The underlying stitches of the substrate (i.e. stitches that already have beensewed and that are arranged on the backside of the substrate) also affect the threadconsumption. Underlying stitches arranged with an overlap will require more thread,and thus a higher thread consumption.

Additionally, the length of the stitches is a parameter that may affect the threadconsumption. The length of the stitches may be accounted for by the operation data 60 and/or by the thread consumption parameters 40. 17 A method of evaluating the thread consumption is shown in Fig. 7. The controlunit 190 is configured to receive or generate 310 operation data and receive or generate320 at least one parameter being related to one or more thread consumption parameters40. Based on the operation data and the at least one parameter being related to one ormore thread consumption parameters 40, the control unit 190 is conf1gured to evaluate330 the thread consumption of the thread consuming device 15.

The control unit 190 may further be conf1gured to perform 340 a simulation ofthe thread consumption and use this simulation data 60 to evaluate the threadconsumption, either by using the simulation data 60 to increase the accuracy of theoperation data and/or one or more thread consumption parameters 40 and/or to increasethe accuracy in the evaluation of the thread consumption.

In one embodiment, the control unit 190 is further configured to use 350 storeddata 70 in order to further increase the accuracy of the simulation data and/or to furtherincrease the accuracy of the operation data and/or one or more thread consumptionparameters 40.

Once the system 10 has evaluated the thread consumption of the threadconsuming device 15, the data is used to control 360 the operation of the system 10.More specifically, the thread consumption is used to control the dispensing from thedischarge device 150. Knowing an estimated thread consumption with high accuracythus reduces the risk of having the wrong coating substance onto the wrong section ofthe thread 20. In the embodiment where the coating substance is a colouring substance,the thread consumption evaluation reduces the risk of dispensing the wrong colour ontothe wrong section of the thread 20, and the generated pattem (or object) onto thesubstrate 30 will have the desirable appearance.

In one embodiment, the evaluated thread consumption data is, additionally oraltematively, used to control or alter the thread consumption of the thread consumingdevice 15.

Knowing what factor that affect the thread consumption, allows the control unit190 to actively control some of these parameters in order to directly change threadconsumption. Hence, the system 10 may further be configured to not only change thecolour dispensing as been described above, but also, or instead, changing the thread consumption of the thread consuming device. 18 The controlling or altering of the thread consumption may be achieved bycontrolling the tension of the thread passing into the thread consuming device 15. Bye. g. increasing the thread tension, the stitches Will consume less thread. By decreasingthe thread tension, the stitches Will consume more thread. One Way of allowing for thisWill now be described more in detail.

A buffer system comprises at least one thread buffer unit. The thread buffer unitmay be in the form of a buffer arm having one end at Which the thread is guided. Theopposite end may be pivotally attached to a support, such that the position of the threadguiding end may be adjusted. The force applied to the buffer arm Will consequentlydetermine the tension of the thread.

The thread buffer unit Will allow coated thread to be accumulated, or stored,under tension. The force applied to the thread by the thread buffer unit deterrnines thethread tension, Which in most cases Will vary depending on the position of the threadbuffer unit. Hence, the exact construction of the thread buffer may provide differenttensions at different positions along the thread. In an altemative embodiment, the threadbuffer unit is constructed so that the force applied to the thread is deterrnined by gravity,by spring(s), combination of gravity and spring(s) or any other device capable ofcontrolling the thread tension. The thread tension is controlled by adjusting the threadbuffer unit Which pulls the thread through the treatment unit as described above.Controlling the thread buffer unit can thereby control the thread consumption of the threadconsuming device.

The thread buffer unit is preferably arranged doWnstream the at least onedischarge device 150. In one embodiment, the buffer is filled up just before a cleaningor maintenance process starts, after Which the thread is stopped by the thread feeder130. In yet one embodiment, the thread buffer is always suff1ciently filled. The threadfeeder 130 is preferably arranged upstream of the discharge device 150. The amount ofthread in the buffer may be adjusted based on the expected thread consumption. Theexpected thread consumption may preferably take into account any increase in speed ofthe system 10.

Preferably, the buffer comprises a spring arm that can be conf1gured to requiredifferent thread force in the buffer's peak mode (the position Where the thread buffer isfull) and the bottom of the buffer (empty buffer mode). The control of the thread 19 feeding motor arranged upstream can be used to provide the desired value of the bufferlevel and thereby changing the thread consumption of the thread consuming device 15,as the buffer level Will control the thread tension Which in turn affects the threadconsumption.

In one embodiment, the active steering of the thread can be applied to thesystem 10. This solves the problem that a coloured segment of the thread may end up inthe Wrong location on the substrate 30. Instead of increasing and decreasing the force ofthe thread being fed into the thread consuming device 15, the information relating to thethread length of a stitch is configured to be used by a thread feeder. The thread feederWill thus feed such length to the thread consuming device 15; the exact length may beestimated or calculated, based on previous estimations/calculations, or by other meansrelated to the above. The information relating to the thread length for a stitch ispreferably achieved by simulation data. The thread consuming device 15 is thus forcedto use just the intended amount of thread for the stitch. This gives the advantage that theprediction of colours is correctly applied to the substrate.

There might be a risk that the thread Will break during usage. It is thuspreferred to determine if there is a risk that the thread Will break. This risk evaluationcan be deterrnined by measuring Where, and in What cycle, in the thread consumingdevice 15 that the fed thread is consumed in the thread consuming device 15. This maybe detected by using a suitable sensor, preferably by using the same sensor as in theoutput thread buffer. If the control unit 190 detects that the thread consuming device 14consumes the thread earlier than expected, i.e. too early in its cycle, this is indicativethat more thread is needed. The opposite also applies, if the control unit 190 detects thatthe thread consuming device 14 consumes the thread later than expected, i.e. too late inits cycle, this is indicative that less thread is needed. Preferably, suitable threshold limitsare defined and average values can be calculated to avoid momentary ﬂuctuations. Incase of early detection or late detection, further compensations can be made byadjusting the colour queue of the treatment unit 100 such that the deviant precision incolour change position on the substrate 30 is Within preset tolerances. This Will allowthe system to sloWly allowing the system 10 to alter the thread consumption rate into asuitable consumption rate according to the pre-defined visual effect pattem being requested to occur on the substrate 30.

Although the present invention has been mainly described with reference to asystem comprising one treatment unit 100 and one thread consuming device 15, itshould be understood by a person skilled in the art that the inventive features could beapplied to other systems as well. Figs. 8a-b illustrates two example of such altemativesystems.

In Fig. 8a, the system 10 comprises a first and a second treatment unit 100a,100b as well as a first and a second thread consuming device 15a-b. Each treatment unit100a, 100b is controlling and performing the operations on each thread consumingdevice 15a-b. It should be noted that the first and second treatment unit 100a, althoughbeing separated may share one or more components. In one embodiment, the controlunit 190 is arranged as a separate unit from the first and second treatment unit 100a,100b and one control unit 190 is thus configured to control the operation of bothtreatment units 100a, 100b and correspondingly the operation of both thread consumingdevices 15a-b.

In Fig. 8b, the system 10 comprises one treatment unit 100a and a first and asecond thread consuming device 15a-b. In this embodiment, one treatment unit 100a isconfigured to control and perform the operation of the two thread consuming devices15a-b.

It should be noted that although only two treatment units and two threadconsuming devices are shown in Fig. 8a, and only one treatment unit and two threadconsuming devices are shown in Fig. 8b, it should be understood that any reasonablenumber of treatment units and/or thread consuming devices could be present in thesystem 10.

An embodiment of a system being configured to alter or control the threadconsumption of the thread consuming device will now be described. This system 10comprises one treatment unit 100, two thread consuming devices 10 and two threadconsuming regulators (not shown). The thread consuming regulators are arranged tocompensate for the difference in thread consumption that can arise between the two (orseveral) thread consuming devices 15. This provides the advantage that the entiretreatment unit 100 can share virtually all components between each other, thus reducing the cost of realizing the solution. 21 Although the present invention has been described above With reference tospecific embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific forrn set forthherein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the accompanying claims.

In the claims, the terrn “comprises/comprising” does not exclude the presenceof other elements or steps. Additionally, although individual features may be includedin different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the inclusionin different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/oradvantageous. In addition, singular references do not exclude a plurality. The terms “a”,“an”, “f1rst”, “second” etc do not preclude a plurality. Reference signs in the claims areprovided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any Way.

Claims

1. A system (10) for in-line treatment of attleast;_§gpe__thread (20) for use With athread consuming device (15) configured to make stitches (24) into a substrate (30),comprising: a treatment unit (100) comprising at least one discharge device (150) beingconfigured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one thread (20)When activated, Wherein the treatment unit (100) is provided as a stand-alone unit; and a control unit (190) configured to: evaluate the thread consumption of a thread consuming device (15) basedon operation data (5 0) and at least one parameter being related to one or more threadconsumption parameters (40), Wherein the__o,n_ç__ç¿gj__r;go_çç thread consumption parametersrelated to one or more substrate parameters (44a, 44b, 44c) and to one or morestitches parameters (42a, 42b, 42c) of the thread consuming device (15), and Whereinthe one or more stitches parameters (42a, 42b, 42c) are related to one or more of thetension of the at least one thread (20), the angle to Which the at least one thread (20) isapplied to the substrate (30), the angle of at least the last stitch (24), features related tounderlying stitches (24), or ânﬁg any combination thereof; and control the dispensing from the discharge device (150) based on said evaluated thread consumption, and/oralter the thread consumption of the thread consuming device (15) based on said evaluated thread consumption.

2. The system (10) according to claim 1, Wherein the control unit (190) isfurther configured to: evaluate the thread consumption and/or updating the operation data (5 0) and/orat least one thread consumption parameter (40) based on a simulation of the thread consumption.

3. The system (10) according to claim 2, Wherein the simulation of the threadconsumption is performed continuously during the operation of the thread consuming device (15) and/or during the operation of the treatment unit (100).

4. The system (10) according to arg \=.as=.a+s\šï~claims 3, Wherein the simulations at least are based on stored consumption data (70) comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device (15).

5. The system (10) according to any preceding claims, Wherein the control unit(190) is further configured to: evaluate the thread consumption based on stored consumption data (70)comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device (15), and/or update the operation data (5 0) and/or at least one thread consumptionparameter (40) based on stored consumption data (70) comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device (15).

6. The system (10) according to any preceding claims, Wherein the operationdata (5 0) of the thread consuming device (15) comprises information of positional coordinates of a driving pattem of the thread consuming device (15).

7. The system (10) according to claim 6, Wherein the thread consuming device(15) is configured to make stitches (24) into a substrate (30), and Wherein the operationdata further comprises a number that is related to the current stitch number of the thread consuming device (15).

8. The system (10) according to any one of claims 1-7, Wherein the one ormore substrate parameters (44a, 44b, 44c) are related to one or more of: the thickness of the substrate (30); the elasticity of the substrate (30); the placement of the substrate in the thread consuming device (15), or any combination thereof

9. The system (10) according to any of claims 7 to 8, Wherein the substrate (30) is a fabric.

10. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, Wherein the nozzles (40a-g) are inkj et nozzles.

11. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, Wherein the coating Substance is a colouring Substance.

12. The system (10) according to any one of the previous claims, Wherein the system further comprises a thread consuming device (15).

13. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, Wherein thethread consuming device (15) is an embroidery machine, a seWing machine, a knittingmachine, a Weaving machine, a tufting machine, a thread Winding machine, andgf-or any combination thereof.

14. A method for in-line treatment of at least one thread (20), comprising: providing a treatment unit (100) comprising at least one discharge device (150)being configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one thread(20) When activated, Wherein the treatment unit (100) is provided as a stand-alone unit, providing a control unit (190), Wherein the method further comprises: evaluating the thread consumption of a thread consuming device (15),configured to make stitches (24) into a substrate (3 0), based on operation data fﬁjílandat least one parameter being related to one or more thread consumption parametersßåílj,Wherein the one or more thread consumption parameters related to one or moresubstrate parameters (44a, 44b, 44c) and to one or more stitches parameters (42a, 42b,42c) of the thread consuming device (15), and Wherein the one or more stitchesparameters (42a, 42b, 42c) are related to one or more of the tension of the at least onethread (20), the angle to Which the at least one thread (20) is applied to the substrate(30), the angle of at least the last stitch (24), features related to underlying stitches (24),or any combination thereof; and controlling the dispensing of one or more coating substances based on said evaluated thread consumption.

15. A method for in-line treatment of at least one thread (20), comprising: providing a treatment unit (100) comprising at least one discharge device (150)being configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one thread(20) When activated, Wherein the treatment unit (100) is provided as a stand-alone unit, providing a control unit (190), Wherein the method further comprises: evaluating the thread consumption of a thread consuming device (15),configured to make stitches (24) into a substrate (3 0), based on operation data jﬁg andat least one parameter being related to one or more thread consumption parametersmiﬂíßj,Wherein the one or niore thread consumption parameters related to one or moresubstrate parameters (44a, 44b, 44c) and to one or more stitches parameters (42a, 42b,42c) of the thread consuming device (15), and Wherein the one or more stitchesparameters (42a, 42b, 42c) are related to one or more of the tension of the at least onethread (20), the angle to Which the at least one thread (20) is applied to the substrate(30), the angle of at least the last stitch (24), features related to underlying stitches (24),or å-ëæftmg any combination thereof; and altering the thread consumption of the thread consuming device (15) based on said evaluated thread consumption.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, further comprising:evaluating the thread consumption and/or updating the operation data (5 0)and/or at least one thread consumption parameter (40) based on a simulation of the thread consumption.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, further comprising: evaluating the thread consumption based on stored consumption data (70)comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device (15), and/or updating the operation data (5 0) and/or at least one thread consumptionparameter (40) based on stored consumption data (70) comprising information from previous runs of the thread consuming device (15).