Patent Publication Number: US-9834878-B2

Title: Embroidery machine able to sew cord material

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an embroidery sewing machine (embroidery machine) capable of sewing a cord material onto a sewing workpiece. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Examples of the conventionally-known method for sewing an ornamental chord material onto a sewing workpiece include loop sewing in which the cord material is sewn onto the sewing workpiece in a loop configuration and cord sewing in which the cord material is extended above and over the sewing workpiece and sewn onto the sewing workpiece as if adhered onto and along the upper surface of the sewing workpiece. In performing the loop sewing and the cord sewing, it was heretofore necessary to attach respective dedicated guide devices. Therefore, in order to change from one of the loop sewing and the cord sewing to the other, it was necessary to attach and detach the guide devices, which resulted in poor operating efficiency. To avoid such an inconvenience, a guide device has been proposed which can be used both for the loop sewing and the cord sewing as disclosed in Patent Literature 1. 
     The guide device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is constructed to be attached or mounted to an end portion of a machine head frame, and the sewing machine is constructed in such a manner that a cord material is sewn by use of one of a plurality of needle bars, provided on the machine head frame, which is located on the end portion having the guide device mounted thereto. More specifically, in the loop sewing, the guide device forms a loop of the cord material by a loop holder of the guide device moving downward or descending in response to descending of the needle bar and releases the cord material by the loop holder moving upward or ascending by a resilient force of a coil spring in response to ascending of the needle bar. A height of the loop in the loop sewing is adjustable by changing a height of an adjusting bolt screwed to the upper end of an ascending/descending shaft. Further, when the cord sewing is to be performed, the loop holder is replaced with a cord holder, and a cord presser, provided at the distal end of the cord holder, holds the cord on the sewing workpiece by the resilient force of the coil spring. 
     However, the guide device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 does itself have a complicated mechanical mechanism. Thus, the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 encounters the inconvenience that the guide device having such a complicated mechanical mechanism has to be attached to the sewing machine. Furthermore, because the guide device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is constructed to be attached to one end portion of the machine head frame, only one needle bar located at the end portion to which the guide device is mounted can be used for the sewing of the cord material. With such a conventionally-known structure, only up to two guide devices can be mounted to the machine head frame, one to each of the left and right ends of the machine head frame, as a result of which only two types of cord materials at most can be sewn. Furthermore, when the height of the loop sewing is to be adjusted, a mechanical adjusting operation of turning the adjusting bolt is required, and thus, the loop height adjustment tends to require time and labor. 
     PRIOR ART LITERATURE 
     Patent Literature 
     
         
         Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2004-308082 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing prior art problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an embroidery sewing machine which, with a simple construction, can selectively perform chord sewing and loop sewing of a cord material. 
     An embroidery sewing machine of the present invention comprises: a needle bar having a sewing needle attached thereto; a first drive source which drives the needle bar in an up-down direction; an ascending/descending member provided in corresponding relation to the needle bar; a second drive source which drives the ascending/descending member in the up-down direction; and a cord guide member mounted to the ascending/descending member for guiding a cord material onto a sewing workpiece. 
     According to the present invention, the cord guide member is mounted to the ascending/descending member that is driven to move in an up-down direction (i.e., move up and down) by the second drive source separate from the first drive source that drives the needle bar. By the ascending/descending member being driven to move in the up-down direction (i.e., move up and down) by the second drive source, the cord guide member can be driven independently of the up-down movement of the needle bar. Thus, the embroidery sewing machine of the present invention can selectively perform the loop sewing and the chord sewing of the cord material by merely controlling the second drive source so as to change the ascending/descending stroke of the cord guide member. More specifically, by setting the ascending/descending stroke length of the ascending/descending member at zero, the embroidery sewing machine of the present invention can perform the “cord sewing” to sew the cord material onto the sewing workpiece as if adhering the cord material onto and along the upper surface of the sewing workpiece. By moving the ascending/descending member up and down with the ascending/descending stroke length set greater than zero, the embroidery sewing machine of the present invention can perform the “loop sewing” to sew the cord material onto the sewing workpiece in a loop configuration. In the loop sewing, the height of the loop is substantially proportional to the ascending/descending stroke length of the ascending/descending member. Thus, by merely changing the ascending/descending stroke length of the ascending/descending member, it is possible to adjust the loop height of the cord material to be sewn, without performing any mechanical adjusting operation. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the embroidery sewing machine comprises a plurality of the needle bars and a plurality of the ascending/descending members corresponding to individual ones of the needle bars, and the cord guide member may be mounted to at least one of the plurality of the ascending/descending members. With the embroidery sewing machine of the invention, the cord guide members can be mounted to any desired ones of the ascending/descending members, and thus, it is possible to perform the cord sewing or the loop sewing of the cord material by use of the respective needle bars. Thus, chord materials of as many different types as the number of needle bars can be sewn. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the cord guide member is detachably mounted to the ascending/descending member, and the ascending/descending member is constructed to allow one of the cord guide member and a presser foot to be detachably mounted thereto in such a manner the one of the cord guide member and the presser foot is replaceable with the other of the cord guide member and the presser foot. Thus, the embroidery sewing machine, which includes the ascending/descending-member-driving second drive source separate from the needle-bar-driving first drive source, can selectively perform the cord sewing and the loop sewing of the cord member with a simple construction where merely the cord guide member is mounted in place of an existing or conventional presser foot. 
     Further, in one embodiment of the invention, the cord guide member includes: a pressing section disposed beneath the needle bar corresponding to the ascending/descending member having the cord guide member mounted thereto; a lead-out hole provided in a bottom portion of the pressing section for guiding the cord material onto the sewing workpiece, the sewing needle being passed through the lead-out hole; and a lead-in hole for guiding the cord material to the lead-out hole. The cord guide member thus constructed also has functionality as the presser foot that is used in ordinary embroidery sewing. 
     The present invention achieves the superior advantageous benefit that it can provide an improved embroidery sewing machine which, with a simple construction, can selectively perform the chord sewing and the loop sewing of a cord material. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       Certain preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view showing an embroidery head of a multi-head embroidery sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a right side view of the embroidery sewing machine shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a vertical sectional view of a part of the embroidery sewing machine shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of a needle bar and other elements around the needle bar shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a view taken in a direction of arrow A of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a part of a cord material feed path in the embroidery sewing machine shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a view explanatory of manners in which the cord material is sewn in the embroidery sewing machine shown in  FIG. 1 , of which (a) is explanatory of cord sewing and (b) is explanatory of loop sewing; 
         FIG. 8  is a view explanatory of the cord sewing; 
         FIG. 9  is a view explanatory of the loop sewing; and 
         FIG. 10  shows some sample patterns of the loop sewing in part (a) to (d). 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of one of embroidery heads  4  of a multi-head embroidery sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. A needle bar case  5  is supported on the front surface of a machine arm  2 , which is in turn mounted to the front surface of a body frame  1 , in such a manner that the needle bar case  5  is slidable in a left-right direction. A plurality of needle bars (six needle bars in the illustrated example)  3  are supported on the needle bar case  5  in such a manner that they are movable in an up-down direction. Each of the needle bars  3  is disposed in such a manner that its axis extends in a vertical or up-down direction, and a sewing needle  12  is mounted to the lower end of each of the needle bars  3  by means of a needle clamp  11 . 
     Further, a slide shaft  8  extends through the needle bar case  5 , so that the needle bar case  5  slides in the left-right direction by the slide shaft  8  being driven to slide by a motor. Any one of the needle bars  3  is positioned at an operating position in accordance with a sliding position of the needle bar case  5 . In this way, any one of the needle bars  3  to be caused to operate or work is selected. A rotary hook of the conventionally-known structure (i.e., conventional rotary hook) is disposed under the needle bar  3  positioned at the operating position. The rotary hook is provided under a machine table  10 , and a region located immediately above the rotary hook is covered with a needle plate  13 . The needle plate  13  has a needle hole through which the sewing needle  12  of the selected needle bar  3  can pass. 
     Further, a main shaft  6  extends through the machine arm  2 , so that, as the main shaft  6  is rotated by a main shaft motor (first drive source)  60  (see  FIG. 3 ), a needle bar drive member  7  (see  FIG. 3 ) is moved in the up-down direction by the rotation of the main shaft  6  via a not-shown cam mechanism etc. provided in the machine arm  2 . The needle bar  3  selectively positioned at the operating position is caught by the needle bar drive member  7  and axially moved in the up-down direction (i.e., moved up and down) by the up-and-down movement of the needle bar drive member  7 . A sewing operation of the embroidery sewing machine is performed in the well-known manner by the up-and-down movement of the needle bar  3  selectively positioned at the operating position (more specifically, the sewing needle  12  at the distal end of the needle bar  3 ). 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 4 , ascending/descending bars  15  (ascending/descending members) are provided in corresponding relation to the needle bars  3 , and each of ascending/descending bars  15  is supported on the needle bar case  5  behind the corresponding needle bar  3 . Like the needle bar  3 , the ascending/descending bar  15  is disposed in such a manner that its axis extends in the up-down (vertical) direction. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the ascending/descending bar  15  is driven by a motor  16  (second drive source) provided on the machine arm  2 . Namely, a not-shown link mechanism is connected to the motor  16 , so that, as the motor  16  is driven to reciprocatively rotate, a presser foot drive member  17  vertically movably supported on the machine arm  2  moves up and down. Further, of the ascending/descending bars  15  provided in the needle bar case  5 , the ascending/descending bar  15  corresponding to the needle bar  3  selectively positioned at the operating position is caught by the presser foot drive member  17  and driven to move in the up-down direction (i.e., move up and down) by the up-and-down movement of the presser foot drive member  17 . 
     Presser feet (or fabric pressing members)  18  of the conventionally-known structure (i.e., conventional presser feet) or cord guide members  20  characterizing the present invention may be mounted or attached to the lower ends of the ascending/descending bars  15 . Each of the presser feet  18  is used for performing ordinary embroidery sewing, while each of the cord guide members  20  is used for guiding a cord material  27  onto a sewing workpiece when the cord material  27  is to be sewn onto the sewing workpiece. 
     Further, as shown  FIG. 4 , each of the cord guide members  20  is detachably mounted, by means of a screw  22 , to a mounting member  21  that is in turn mounted to a lower end portion of the ascending/descending bar  15 . The cord guide member  20  includes a cup-shaped pressing section  20   a  disposed beneath the needle bar  3 . The pressing section  20   a  has a lead-out hole  20   b  formed through its bottom portion for guiding the cord material  27  onto the sewing workpiece. The pressing section  20   a  also has a lead-in hole  20   c  formed in its rear wall portion for guiding the cord material  27  into the lead-out hole  20   b . The lead-out hole  20   b  is also a hole through which the sewing needle passes during sewing of the cord material  27 . 
     On the other hand, the conventional presser foot  18  is, as shown in  FIG. 1 , is detachably mounted, by means of a screw  24 , to a mounting member (not shown) that is in turn mounted to a lower end portion of the ascending/descending  15 . The mounting member for mounting the presser foot  18  to the ascending/descending  15  is slightly different in shape from the above-mentioned mounting member  21  for mounting the cord guide member  20  to the ascending/descending  15 . 
     Namely, the embroidery sewing machine according to the instant embodiment is constructed in such a manner that the cord guide member  20  is mounted to any of the ascending/descending bars  15  that corresponds to a given needle bar  3  to be used for sewing of the chord material  27 , instead of the presser feet  18  being attached to all of the ascending/descending bars  15  provided in the needle bar case  5 . 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 1 , an adjusting table  14  for imparting a predetermined tension to a needle thread (upper thread) is disposed above the needle bar case  5 . Further, thread take-up levers  19 , identical in number to the needle bars  3  and constructed in the conventionally-known manner, are pivotably supported on the needle bar case  5 . 
     The following describe a feed path for feeding the cord material  27  in the embroidery sewing machine. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a support plate  26  for supporting thereon thread bobbins  25 , each having the cord material  27  wound thereon, extends between the rear surfaces of left and right legs of the body of the embroidery sewing machine. One or more thread bobbins  25  are supported on the support plate  26 . A deflecting bar  28  for deflecting the cord material  27  paid out and pulled upward from each of the thread bobbins  25  is supported by a stay  30  that is in turn fixed to the machine table  10 . 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 3 , an aligning member  32  for preventing overlapping contact among the cord materials  27  paid out from the thread bobbins  25  is mounted to the deflecting bar  28 . The aligning member  32  is formed by bending a wire rod of stainless steel or the like. Further, on each of the embroidery heads  4 , a plurality of thread tension disks  31  are supported, in front of the deflecting bar  28 , by a stay  33  mounted to a housing fixed to the rear surface of the body frame  1 . The thread tension disks  31  each serve to impart tension to the cord material  27 . A hanging member  35  is fixed to the stay  33  near each of the thread tension disks  31 . Each of the hanging members  35  has loop portions formed its distal end and its middle portion for passage therethrough of the cord material  27 . For each of the needle bars  3 , a guide hole  36  for passage therethrough of the cord material  27  is formed in a lower end portion of the needle bar  5  in corresponding relation to the rear of the needle bar  3 . 
     The following describe an operational sequence for feeding the cord material  27  to a sewing position at the time of sewing of the cord material  27 . A human operator passes from below the cord material  27 , paid out from the thread bobbin  25  on the support plate  26 , through the aligning member  32  located above the thread bobbin  25 , then engages the cord material  27  with an outer surface portion of the deflecting bar  28 , then passes the cord material  27  through the tension disk  31  located in front of the deflecting bar  28 , then passes the cord material  27  through the loop portions formed on the hanging member  35 , and then passes the cord material  27  through the guide hole  36  corresponding to the needle bar  3  to be used for sewing the cord material  27 . 
     After passing the cord material  27  through the guide hole  36  as above, the human operator passes from above the cord material  27  through a thread hole  11   a  formed in the needle clamper  11  of the needle bar  3  corresponding to the guide hole  36  and then passes the cord material  27  through a thread guide  21   a  provided on the mounting member  21  of the ascending/descending bar  15  corresponding to the needle bar  3 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . After that, the human operator directs the cord material  27 , passed through the thread guide  21   a , into the cup-shaped pressing section  20   a  through the lead-in hole  20   c  of the cord guide member  20  and then pulls the cord material  27  out of the pressing section  20   a  through the lead-out hole  20   b  formed in the bottom portion of the cup-shaped pressing section  20   a . In the aforementioned manner, the cord material  27  is guided to a position beneath the needle bar  3 . 
     The embroidery sewing machine according to the instant embodiment of the present invention is constructed in such a manner that, when the cord material  27  is to be sewn onto an embroidery sewing workpiece s (sewing workpiece), it can selectively perform the cord sewing and the loop sewing of the cord material  27  by merely changing an ascending/descending stroke of the corresponding ascending/descending bar  15 . A part (a) of  FIG. 7  shows a manner in which the “cord sewing” is performed to sew the cord material  27  onto the embroidery sewing workpiece as if adhering the cord material  27  onto and along the upper surface of the sewing workpiece s, and a part (b) of  FIG. 7  shows a manner in which the “loop sewing” is performed to sew the cord material onto the embroidery sewing workpiece s in a loop configuration. Note that illustration of sewing threads (needle and bobbin threads) is omitted in the parts (a) and (b) of  FIG. 7 . 
     In the cord sewing shown in the part (a) of  FIG. 7 , the cord guide member  20  is positioned at its bottom dead point, without being moved up and down (i.e., with the stroke length of the ascending/descending bar  15  kept zero), regardless of the sewing operation of the corresponding needle bar  3  (not shown in  FIG. 8 ). With the cord guide member  20  positioned at its bottom dead point, the cord material  27  is pressed by the bottom surface of the pressing section  20   a  of the cord guide member  20  against the embroidery sewing workpiece s. Then, with the cord material  27  kept pressed by the bottom surface of the pressing section  20   a  against the embroidery sewing workpiece s, the cord sewing of the cord material  27  is progressed. In this manner, the cord material  27  is sewn onto the embroidery sewing workpiece s as if adhered onto and along the upper surface of the embroidery sewing workpiece s. 
     In the loop sewing shown in the part (b) of  FIG. 7 , on the other hand, the loop sewing of the cord material  27  is progressed with the cord guide member  20  moved up and down in a stroke between the bottom dead point and a predetermined height position from the bottom dead point of the in synchronism with each sewing stroke of the corresponding needle bar  3  (not shown in  FIG. 9 ), as shown in  FIG. 9 . Namely, with the cord guide member  20  positioned at its bottom dead point, the cord material  27  is pressed by the bottom surface of the pressing section  20   a  of the cord guide member  20  against the embroidery sewing workpiece s, and the cord material  27  is sewn onto the embroidery sewing workpiece s in such a pressed state by the sewing operation of the needle bar  3 . After that, the cord guide member  20  ascends to the predetermined height position and then descends back to the bottom dead point, so that the cord material  27  is paid out by an extra length corresponding to the reciprocating (ascending/descending) stroke, through the predetermined height, of the cord guide member  20 . A “loop” is formed by the extra paid-out length of the cord material  27 .  FIG. 9  shows a state where the cord guide member  20  has ascended to the predetermined height position. The cord material  27  is sewn onto the embroidery sewing workpiece s with the cord guide member  20  moved down back to the bottom dead point. The loop sewing shown in the part (b) of  FIG. 7  is performed by repetition of such movement. Note that, whereas loops are shown in the part (b) of  FIG. 7  as standing up on the embroidery sewing workpiece s, the part (b) of  FIG. 7  is merely for the purpose of illustrating the concept of the loop sewing. As a matter of fact, the loops of the cord material  27  are pressed down (sewn down) by successive repetition of the loop sewing. Although the term “loop height” will be used in the specification to conceptually refer to a height of each loop standing on the embroidery sewing workpiece s as shown in the part (b) of  FIG. 7 , it actually corresponds to a length of one loop paid out onto the embroidery sewing workpiece s. 
     The height of the loop (loop height) corresponds to the stroke length of the cord guide member  20 . Namely, as the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  is increased, the loop height increases in substantial proportion to the increase of the stroke length of the cord guide member  20 . Thus, changing the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  can change the loop height. 
     Further,  FIG. 10  is a diagram explanatory of different sewing patterns corresponding to different loop heights. More specifically,  FIG. 10  shows sample sewing patterns formed by loop-sewing the cord material  27  with the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  set at 6 mm (part (d) of  FIG. 10 ), at 11 mm (part (c) of  FIG. 10 ), at 15 mm (part (b) of  FIG. 10 ) and at 21 mm (part (a) of  FIG. 10 ), respectively. These sewing patterns are each formed by causing a running stitch of a predetermined stitch length to run in a spiral shape. As clearly seen from  FIG. 10 , as the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  is increased, the length of the cord material  27  paid out per sewing of one loop of the cord material  27  increases, and thus, the loop height increases. As the loop height increases like this, the sewn pattern becomes bulky so that a three-dimensional feel can be imparted. 
     The human operator can change the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  (i.e., the ascending/descending stroke of the ascending/descending  15 ) by merely changing a related setting via a not-shown operation panel. In accordance with the setting made via the not-shown operation panel, a not-shown control device controls a reciprocating driving amount of the motor  16  to thereby control the stroke length of the cord guide member  20 . The stroke length of the cord guide member  20  can be set in appropriate units (e.g., 0.1 mm) within an appropriate stroke range (of, for example, 0 to 25 mm). The stroke length of the cord guide member  20  can be set in advance, for each of the needle bars  3  to be used for the sewing of the cord material  27 . Also, the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  corresponding to the currently used needle bar  3  can be changed on the spot after the embroidery sewing machine is deactivated temporarily in the middle of the sewing. 
     Thus, the human operator can readily change the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  without performing any mechanical adjusting operation and thereby not only select between the cord sewing and the loop sewing but also change the loop height for the loop sewing. Further, because the selection between the cord sewing and the loop sewing can be realized by only the stroke length of the cord guide member  20  being changed through control of the motor  16 , even the cord guide member  20  usable for both the cord sewing and the loop sewing can be simple in mechanical construction. In this way, it is possible to provide an improved embroider sewing machine which can selectively perform the cord sewing and the loop sewing of the cord material  27  with a simple construction. 
     With the embroider sewing machine according to the instant embodiment of the invention, where a separate cord guide member  20  is mounted to each of the ascending/descending bars  15  corresponding to the needle bars  3 , the cord material  27  can be sewn by a desired one of the cord sewing or the loop sewing for each of the plurality of needle bars  3  provided in the single needle bar case  5 . Assuming that the needle bars shown in  FIG. 1  are, from right to left, needle bars  3   a ,  3   b ,  3   c ,  3   d ,  3   e  and  3   f , the cord guide members  20  are mounted to three ascending/descending bars  15  corresponding to three needle bars  3   a ,  3   c  and  3   e , while the presser feet  18  are mounted to the ascending/descending bars  15  corresponding to the other three needle bars  3   b ,  3   d  and  3   f . In this case, three types of cord materials  27 , differing from one another in material, color, thickness, etc., can be set for the three needle bars  3   a ,  3   c  and  3   e  and sewn by either the cord sewing or the loop sewing. Particularly, in the case where the cord material  27  is sewn by the loop sewing, it can be sewn with the loop height set at a desired value. If the cord guide members  20  are mounted to all of the ascending/descending bars  15  provided in the needle bar case  5 , up to six types of cord materials  27 , differing from one another in material, color, thickness, etc., can be sewn. 
     Note that, even with the cord guide member  20  attached to a given one of the ascending/descending bars  15 , it is also possible to perform ordinary embroidery sewing by use of the needle bar  3  corresponding to the given ascending/descending bar  15 . In such a case, by the embroidery sewing workpiece s being pressed by the bottom surface of the pressing section  20   a , the cord guide member  20  can function similarly to the presser foot  18 . Thus, when only the cord sewing or the loop sewing of the cord material  27  is to be performed, the ordinary embroidery sewing can be performed with no problem even where the cord guide members  20  are attached in corresponding relation to all of the needle bars  3 . Note, however, that, with the construction where the cord guide members  20  are used also as the presser feet, some problem might be encountered depending on the thickness of the embroidery sewing workpiece or manner or style of the embroidery. In such a case, the cord guide member  20  corresponding to the needle bar  3  that is used for performing the ordinary embroidery sewing may be replaced with the ordinary presser foot  18 . 
     The present invention should not be construed as limited to the above-described embodiment alone and may be modified variously within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, description and drawings. For example, the construction for mounting the cord guide member  20  to the ascending/descending bar  15  is not limited to the one employed in the above-described embodiment. Further, the ascending/descending bar  15  is not limited to a bar shape as long as it is an ascending/descending member ascendable and descendable in its axial direction.