Patent ID: 7908027
Filing Date: 2011-03-15
Classification: D05B,D05D

Abstract:
1. A sewing machine, comprising: a needle bar that has a sewing needle attached in a lower end thereof; a needle-bar vertical drive mechanism that vertically moves the needle bar by a sewing machine motor via a sewing machine main shaft; an imaging unit that captures image data of at least the sewing needle and a moving object that is in close proximity of the sewing needle; a distance calculating portion that calculates a distance between the sewing needle and the moving object based on the image data captured by the imaging unit; a judging portion that makes a judgment whether the distance calculated by the distance calculating portion is equal to or less than a predetermined distance; and a control portion that controls execution of a predetermined safety operation based on the judgment of the judging portion; wherein the moving object is other than the needle, and wherein the control portion decelerates the sewing machine motor to a speed equal to or less than a predetermined speed or stops the sewing machine motor as the predetermined safety operation.