Patent ID: 8863677

Claim:
A multi-needle sewing machine comprising: a plurality of needle bars, each of the plurality of needle bars being configured to receive a sewing needle at a lower end thereof; a needle-bar case that supports the needle bars so as to be movable up and down; a needle-bar case transfer mechanism that transfers the needle-bar case to place a predetermined needle bar selected from the plurality of needle bars to a needle drop position; a sewing machine frame; a support frame that supports the sewing machine frame; a thread guide member that is movable up and down and that is provided on an upper end of the support frame, the thread guide member being provided with a plurality of thread guide sections that are spaced by a predetermined distance and that is configured to guide a plurality of threads being drawn from a plurality of thread spools provided at the sewing machine frame; a plurality of thread inlets that are provided at the needle-bar case, each of the thread inlets being associated with corresponding each of the thread guide sections and that is configured to introduce the threads guided by the thread guide sections toward the needle bars; and a lifting/lowering mechanism that moves the thread guide member up and down during transfer of the needle-bar case and the thread inlets such that the thread guide sections and the associated thread inlets maintain a constant distance therebetween.