Patent Abstract:
A system, apparatus and method for stitching are described. One embodiment includes a sewing head including a needle; an arm assembly that is disposed relative to the sewing head so as to allow a garment to be placed between the sewing head and the arm assembly; and a non-planer needle plate coupled to the arm assembly that includes an aperture that is disposed so as to allow the needle to project through the aperture after the needle has moved through the garment.

Full Description:
PRIORITY 
   The present application claims priority from to commonly owned and assigned application No. 60/716,632, entitled Stitching System and Method, filed on Sep. 13, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to systems and methods for stitching. In particular, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to mechanized systems and methods for stitching. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The stitching of patterns on fabrics using computer controlled sewing machines has become a standard practice in the industry. Fabrics that can be embroidered assume a variety of shapes and sizes. Popular shapes frequently embroidered are curved shapes that are often in the form of a cap (e.g., a baseball cap), shirt sleeves, pockets and pant legs where the fabric for embroidering includes the tubular or cylindrical-shape. 
   It is common to embroider tubular shaped objects (e.g., caps) with emblems, logos, letters and the like. Present embroidery equipment, however, is not particularly well-suited for providing embroidery along substantial portions of tubular or curved shaped objects. Accordingly, a system and method are needed to address the shortfalls of present technology and to provide other new and innovative features. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Exemplary embodiments of the present invention that are shown in the drawings are summarized below. These and other embodiments are more fully described in the Detailed Description section. It is to be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the forms described in this Summary of the Invention or in the Detailed Description. One skilled in the art can recognize that there are numerous modifications, equivalents and alternative constructions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. 
   In some embodiments, the invention may be characterized as a stitching machine that includes a sewing head with a needle, an arm assembly disposed relative to the sewing head so as to allow a garment to be placed between the sewing head and the arm assembly and a non-planer needle plate coupled to the arm assembly. The non-planer needle plate in these embodiments includes an aperture that is disposed so as to allow the needle to project through the aperture after the needle has moved through the garment. 
   In several variations of these embodiments, a trimmer assembly is coupled to the arm assembly and the trimmer assembly includes a blade configured to trim thread while moving along an axis of the arm assembly. In many embodiments, the blade is configured to move along an axis of the arm assembly without substantial movement in a radial direction. 
   In another embodiment, the invention may be characterized as a trimmer assembly for a stitching machine comprising a trimmer housing adapted so as to couple with the stitching machine, a knife configured to slide within the trimmer housing along a single axis and a selector arm slideably coupled to the trimmer housing so as to be capable of sliding along a length of the trimmer housing. The selector arm in this embodiment includes one end with a hook portion that is configured to pull thread to the knife so as to trim the thread. 
   In yet another embodiment, the invention may be characterized as a knife for trimming thread comprising a planer portion including a slot that is configured to allow the planer portion to slide along a retainer pin and a blade portion coupled to the planer portion, wherein the blade portion is adapted so as to trim thread when the planer portion is moving along a single axis. In variations of this embodiment, the blade portion includes two tangs that are relatively disposed so as to allow thread to be trimmed when the thread is interposed between the two tangs. As previously stated, the above-described embodiments and implementations are for illustration purposes only. Numerous other embodiments, implementations, and details of the invention are easily recognized by those of skill in the art from the following descriptions and claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Various objects and advantages and a more complete understanding of the present invention are apparent and more readily appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description and to the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a stitching machine in accordance with the exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 2  a perspective front-view of the lower arm assembly depicted in  FIG. 1  in a disassembled form; 
       FIG. 3  a perspective rear-view of the lower arm assembly and a portion of the stitching machine depicted in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  are a front view of the lower arm assembly and a side view of the lower arm assembly respectively; 
       FIG. 5A  is a cut-away view of the lower arm assembly along line A-A of  FIG. 4A ; 
       FIG. 5B  depicts an exploded-detail view of a distal end of the lower arm assembly identified as area B in  FIG. 5A ; 
       FIG. 5C  shows an exploded and detailed view of a proximate end of the lower arm assembly identified as area C in  FIG. 5A ; 
       FIGS. 6A ,  6 B,  6 C and  6 D are respective, front, side and top views of the trimmer assembly depicted in  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIG. 7  is a detailed view of the trimmer assembly depicted in  FIGS. 2 and 6 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring now to the drawings, an exemplary embodiment is shown which depicts various aspects of the present invention. Shown in  FIG. 1 , is a perspective view of a stitching machine  100  in accordance with the exemplary embodiment. Shown is a head portion  102  positioned above a lower arm assembly  104 . As depicted in  FIG. 1 , the lower arm assembly  104  includes a non-planer needle plate  106 , which in this embodiment includes a curved (e.g., cylindrical-shaped) outer surface. 
   Advantageously, the curved surface of the needle plate accommodates garments with a tubular topology so as to allow a point of the garment that is being penetrated by a needle to rest against the needle plate  106 . This is in contrast with prior art stitching machines that either must deform a tubular garment to conform to a planer needle plate or leave a gap between the garment and the planer needle plate. 
   Referring next to  FIG. 2 , shown is a perspective front-view of the lower arm assembly  200  in a disassembled form. As depicted in this embodiment, the lower arm assembly  200  includes among other components, a non-planer needle plate  202 , a trimmer assembly  204  that couples to a push-pull cable  206  via a push rod  205  for a knife of the trimmer assembly  204  and a push cable  208  that couples to a selector of the trimmer assembly  204  via a push rod  207 . 
   Also shown are an axial reference  210  (depicting an axial direction) and a radial reference  212  (depicting a radial direction perpendicular to the axial direction) relative to the arm assembly  200 . As discussed further herein, a knife of the trimmer assembly  204  in several embodiments is capable of trimming a thread passing through the aperture  214  of the needle plate  202  while translating along the axial direction  210  (e.g., without substantial radial translation). In this way, the amount of space occupied by the trimmer assembly  204  is substantially reduced; thus allowing the needle plate  202  to be sized and configured to curve around the trimmer assembly  204  in a non-planer manner. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , shown is a perspective rear-view of the lower arm assembly  104  and a rear portion of the body  300  of the stitching machine  100 . As depicted, the lower arm assembly  104  in the exemplary embodiment protrudes from the body  300  of the stitching machine in a substantially perpendicular fashion. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , shown are a front view of the lower arm assembly  104  and a side view of the lower arm assembly  104  respectively. In  FIG. 5A , shown is a cut-away view of the lower arm assembly along line A-A of  FIG. 4A .  FIG. 5B  depicts an exploded and detailed view of a proximate end of the lower arm assembly  104  identified as area B in  FIG. 5A , and  FIG. 5C  shows an exploded detailed view of a distal end of the lower arm assembly  104  identified as area C in  FIG. 5A . 
   Referring next to  FIGS. 6A ,  6 B,  6 C and  6 D, shown are perspective, front, side and top views of the trimmer assembly  204  depicted in  FIG. 2 . Details of the trimmer assembly  204  are shown in  FIG. 7 , which shows a trimmer housing  700 , a spring presser  702 , a knife retainer pin  704 , a selector  706 , a knife  708 , a knife carrier  710  and a knife hold down  712 . 
   As depicted, the knife  708  in the exemplary embodiment includes a planer portion  714  that includes a slot  716  to accommodate the knife retainer pin  704 . In addition, the knife  708  includes a blade portion  718  that includes a first and second tangs  720 A,  720 B that are configured to trim thread when thread is interposed between the two tangs  720 A,  720 B. In particular, the knife  708  in the exemplary embodiment is capable of trimming thread while moving solely in the axial direction shown in  FIG. 7 . As shown, the knife carrier  710  includes an aperture  722  to accommodate the push rod  205  that couples with the push-pull cable  206  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) for the knife  708 . The push rod  205  in this embodiment enables actuation of the knife  708  along the axial direction. 
   Referring again to  FIG. 6C , the tangs  720 A,  720 B in one embodiment are relatively disposed so as to occupy a non-planer region (i.e., one tang is positioned lower than the other tang). In some embodiments, an inside edge of one or both tangs  720 A,  720 B is intentionally roughened so as to facilitate trimming of the thread. 
   As shown in  FIG. 7 , the selector  706  includes a hook  724  at a distal portion and a push rod coupling  726  and an aperture  727 , which accommodates the push rod  207  for the selector  706 , at a proximate portion. In addition, a slot  728  in a planer region  730  of the selector  706  is configured to accommodate the knife retainer pin  704 , and in addition, the slot  728  is shaped so that when the selector  706  is pushed by the push rod  207  in an axial direction opposite its proximate end, the selector  706  moves in a radial-outward direction so as to allow the hook end  724  of the selector  706  to move around the thread and then to move back in a radial-inward direction to capture the thread. Then the selector  706  is moved in an axial direction inward to place tension on the thread so that the knife  708  may efficiently trim the thread. 
   Referring again to  FIG. 5B , the trimmer assembly  204  is shown positioned within the distal end of the lower arm assembly  104 . As shown the trimmer assembly  204  is in close proximity to the non-planer needle plate  106  so that there is very little distance between the blade of the knife  708  when extended and the inner portion of the aperture  214  of the needle plate  106 . In this way, a tail of trimmed thread is short (which means less follow-up trimming by hand) and the thread length to the bobbin is relatively long allowing for easy handling. 
   As a consequence, the present invention provides several advantages over the prior art. Those skilled in the art, however, can readily recognize that numerous variations and substitutions may be made in the invention, its use and its configuration to achieve substantially the same results as achieved by the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, there is no intention to limit the invention to the disclosed exemplary forms. Many variations, modifications and alternative constructions fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 3