EMBROIDERY MACHINE THREAD TENSION ADJUSTING DEVICE

Abstract

The present invention relates to an embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device. An embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided for an embroidery machine comprising a needle bar, a thread take-up unit, a hook, and an embroidery frame, and is configured to adjust the tension of an upper thread withdrawn from a spool and supplied to a needle of the needle bar through the thread take-up unit. The embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device comprises: a thread pulling adjusting unit comprising a thread take-up lever disposed along a path of movement of the upper thread withdrawn from the spool and supplied to the needle so as to control the amount of pulling of the upper thread when rotating while maintaining contact with the upper thread, and a first actuator for providing the thread take-up lever with rotational driving power; at least one thread guide adjusting unit comprising a pair of thread guide units disposed on at least one of the front and rear ends of the thread pulling adjusting unit along the path of movement of the upper thread such that, when the upper thread passes, same are forced against each other while maintaining contact with the upper thread, thereby controlling frictional force of the upper thread, and a second actuator for providing the pair of thread guide units with driving power; and a controller for determining the status of driving of at least one of the needle bar, the needle take-up unit, the hook, and the embroidery frame according to each of multiple pieces of stitch information included in embroidery data, and controlling the driving of at least one of the first actuator and the second actuator provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting unit according to the result of determination, thereby adjusting at least one of the amount of pulling of the thread take-up lever and the frictional force of the upper thread supplied between the pair of thread guide units provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting unit.

Claims

1. An embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device, which is provided for an embroidery machine including a needle bar, a thread take-up unit, a hook, and an embroidery frame and is configured to adjust tension of an upper thread withdrawn from a spool and supplied to a needle of the needle bar through the thread take-up unit, the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device comprising: a thread pulling adjusting unit comprising a thread take-up lever disposed along a path of movement of the upper thread withdrawn from the spool and supplied to the needle so as to control an amount of pulling of the upper thread when rotating while maintaining contact with the upper thread, and a first actuator for providing the thread take-up lever with rotational driving power; at least one thread guide adjusting unit comprising a pair of thread guide units disposed on at least one of front and rear ends of the thread pulling adjusting unit along the path of movement of the upper thread such that, when the upper thread passes, same are forced against each other while maintaining contact with the upper thread, thereby controlling frictional force of the upper thread, and a second actuator for providing the pair of thread guide units with driving power; a controller for determining a status of driving of at least one of the needle bar, the needle take-up unit, the hook, and the embroidery frame according to each of multiple pieces of stitch information included in embroidery data, and controlling the driving of at least one of the first actuator and the second actuator provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting unit according to a result of determination, thereby adjusting at least one of the amount of pulling of the thread take-up lever and the frictional force of the upper thread supplied between the pair of thread guide units provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting unit.

2. The embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device of claim 1, wherein the controller sets an initial angular position of the thread take-up lever for each of the multiple pieces of stitch information, and then controls the driving of the first actuator such that the thread take-up lever maintains the initial angular position during one cycle where the needle bar is reciprocally driven.

3. The embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device of claim 2, wherein the at least one thread guide adjusting unit comprises: a first thread guide adjusting unit disposed on the front end of the thread pulling adjusting unit along the path of movement of the upper thread and guiding the upper thread drawn from the spool and supplied to the thread pulling adjusting unit; and a second thread guide adjusting unit disposed on the rear end of the thread pulling adjusting unit along the path of movement of the upper thread and guiding the upper thread supplied from the thread pulling adjusting unit to the thread take-up unit.

4. The embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device of claim 3, wherein, for each of the multiple pieces of stitch information, the controller controls the driving of the second actuator provided in each of the first thread guide adjusting unit and the second thread guide adjusting unit such that frictional force between the pair of thread guide units provided in the first thread guide adjusting unit is greater than frictional force between the pair of thread guide units provided in the second thread guide adjusting unit in a first section in which the thread take-up unit moves from a bottom dead center to a top dead center during one cycle where the needle bar is reciprocally driven, and the controller controls the driving of the second actuator provided in each of the first thread guide adjusting unit and the second thread guide adjusting unit such that the frictional force between the pair of thread guide units provided in the second thread guide adjusting unit is greater than the frictional force between the pair of thread guide units provided in the first thread guide adjusting unit in a second section other than the first section during one cycle where the needle bar is reciprocally driven.

5. The embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device of claim 1, wherein the first actuator uses a driving motor provided with a position detecting means, and the second actuator uses one of a solenoid and a magnetic valve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional thread tension adjusting device provided in an embroidery machine.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a structure of an embroidery machine to which an embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing displacement curves of a needle bar and a thread take-up unit according to a rotational angle of a driving shaft for driving the needle bar during one cycle where the needle bar constituting the embroidery machine is reciprocally driven.

[0027] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a controller of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention controls a thread pulling adjusting unit.

[0028] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the controller of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention controls a thread guide adjusting unit.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily carry out the present invention.

[0030] In describing the embodiments, descriptions of technical contents that are well known in the technical field to which the present invention pertains and are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted. By omitting unnecessary description, the disclosure may be described more clearly without obscuring the gist of the disclosure.

[0031] For the same reason, some elements in the accompanying drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated. Also, the size of each element does not entirely reflect the actual size. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same or corresponding elements in the drawings.

[0032] In addition, the expressions and predicates used herein with respect to the terms such as device or element directions (for example, front, back, up, down, top, bottom, left, right, lateral, and the like) are only used to simplify the description of the present invention, and do not simply indicate or imply that the related device or element should have a particular direction.

[0033] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings for explaining an embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a structure of an embroidery machine to which an embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 2, an embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided for an embroidery machine 10 including a needle bar (not shown), a thread take-up unit (not shown), a hook (not shown), and an embroidery frame (not shown) and may be configured to adjust tension of an upper thread T withdrawn from a spool and supplied to a needle of the needle bar through the thread take-up unit. The embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 may be installed inside a thread tension adjusting plate 13 provided on an upper end of a needle bar case 12 disposed in front of a sewing machine arm 11.

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a thread pulling adjusting unit 100, at least one thread guide adjusting unit 200 and 300, and a controller 400. (a) of FIG. 4 is a front view showing the structure of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1, and (b) of FIG. 4 is a side view showing the structure of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1.

[0037] The thread pulling adjusting unit 100 may be disposed along a path of movement of the upper thread T withdrawn from the spool and supplied to the needle and may be configured to include a thread take-up lever 110 and a first actuator 120.

[0038] The thread take-up lever 110 may control the amount of pulling of the upper thread T when rotating while maintaining contact with the upper thread T perpendicularly on the path of movement of the upper thread T, and the first actuator 120 may provide the thread take-up lever 110 with rotational driving power. Preferably, the first actuator 120 may use a driving motor. In this case, when the first actuator 120 is a driving motor, the driving motor may include a position detecting means for detecting the position (rotational angle) of the thread take-up lever 110.

[0039] The thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 may be disposed on at least one of front and rear ends of the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 along the path of movement of the upper thread T and may be configured to include a pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 and second actuators 220 and 320.

[0040] The pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 may control the frictional force of the upper thread T when the upper thread T passes through spaces spaced apart from each other and the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 are forced against each other while maintaining contact with the upper thread T, and the second actuators 220 and 320 may provide the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 with driving power. Preferably, the second actuators 220 and 320 may use linear actuators such as solenoids and magnetic valves.

[0041] Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 may be respectively provided on the front end and the rear end of the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 along the path of movement of the upper thread T with respect to the thread pulling adjusting unit 100.

[0042] That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 may include a first thread guide adjusting unit 200 disposed on the front end of the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 (in the example of FIG. 4, the upper end of the thread pulling adjusting unit 100) along the path of movement of the upper thread T, and a second thread guide adjusting unit 300 disposed on the rear end of the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 (in the example of FIG. 4, the lower end of the thread pulling adjusting unit 100) along the path of movement of the upper thread T.

[0043] Accordingly, the first thread guide adjusting unit 200 may guide the upper thread T withdrawn from the spool and supplied to the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 and may allow the pair of thread guiding unit 210 to provide the upper thread T with frictional force. In addition, the second thread guide adjusting unit 300 may guide the upper thread T supplied from the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 to the thread take-up unit and may allow the pair of thread guiding unit 310 to provide the upper thread T with frictional force.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first thread guide adjusting unit 200 and the second thread guide adjusting unit 300 may be implemented with substantially the same structure, but may be independently controlled by the controller 400 according to the driving status of the needle bar, the thread take-up unit, the hook, and the embroidery frame. A method by which the controller controls the first thread guide adjusting unit 200 and the second thread guide adjusting unit 300 is described below with reference to FIG. 7.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 400 may be connected to a needle bar driver (not shown), a thread take-up unit driver (not shown), a hook driver (not shown), an embroidery frame driver (not shown), the thread pulling adjusting unit 100, and the at least one thread guide adjusting unit 200 and 300, and may receive driving information from the needle bar driver, the thread take-up unit driver, the hook driver, and the embroidery frame driver and control the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 and the at least one thread guide adjusting unit 200 and 300.

[0046] That is, the controller 400 may determine a status of driving of at least one of the needle bar, the needle take-up unit, the hook, and the embroidery frame according to each of multiple pieces of stitch information included in embroidery data, and then, may control the driving of at least one of the first actuator 120 and the second actuators 220 and 320 provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting unit 200 and 300 according to a result of determination.

[0047] The embroidery data refers to data, in which the X-axis and Y-axis movement distances of the embroidery frame are preset and stored, according to a type of upper thread, a stitch start position, a stitch shape (a straight shape, a zigzag shape, a cross progress shape, etc.), a stitch length/width/direction, a color of the upper thread, a work end position, a rotational angle of a driving shaft. In addition, the status of driving of the needle bar, etc. refers to the position of the needle bar, etc. according to the rotational angle of the driving shaft, the position of the needle bar, etc. according to the rotational speed of the driving shaft, and the like.

[0048] Therefore, the controller 400 may adjust at least one of the amount of pulling of the thread take-up lever 110 and the frictional force of the upper thread T supplied between the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 by adjusting the rotational angle of the thread take-up lever 110 provided in the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 and the degree of pressure between the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting unit 200 and 300.

[0049] Preferably, the controller 400 may control the driving of the first actuator 120 such that the thread take-up lever 110 maintains an initial angular position during one cycle where the needle bar is reciprocally driven. That is, when the thread take-up lever 110 rotates according to the status of supply of the upper thread T according to the movement of the needle bar and the thread take-up unit and attempts to deviate from the initial angular position, the controller 400 may control the driving of the first actuator 120 such that the thread take-up lever 110 can return to the initial angular position.

[0050] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing displacement curves of the needle bar and the thread take-up unit according to the rotational angle of the driving shaft for driving the needle bar during one cycle where the needle bar constituting the embroidery machine is reciprocally driven, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the controller of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention controls the thread pulling adjusting unit.

[0051] (a) of FIG. 6 shows the status of the thread take-up lever 110 according to the movement of the needle bar and the thread take-up unit in a first section (I) of the graph shown in FIG. 5, and (b) of FIG. 6 shows the status of the thread take-up lever 110 according to the movement of the needle bar and the thread take-up unit in a second section (II) of the graph shown in FIG. 5.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 5, the first section I and the second section II may be set based on the top dead center of the thread take-up unit (in the example of FIG. 5, the rotational angle of the driving shaft is 68 degrees) and the bottom dead center (in the example of FIG. 5, the rotational angle of the driving shaft is 292 degrees).

[0053] Preferably, the first section I may be set as one cycle where the needle bar is reciprocally driven, that is, a section where the thread take-up unit moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center among the 360-degree rotation sections of the driving shaft for driving the needle bar. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5, the first section I refers to a section where the rotational angle of the driving shaft is 0 degrees to 68 degrees and 292 degrees to 360 degrees (0 degrees), and the second section (II) refers to a section where the rotational angle of the driving shaft is 68 degrees to 292 degrees.

[0054] Meanwhile, the controller 400 may set the initial angular position A of the thread take-up lever 110 for each of multiple pieces of stitch information by using each of the multiple pieces of stitch information included in the embroidery data, and then, may control the driving of the first actuator 120 such that the thread take-up lever 110 maintains the initial angular position A during one cycle where the needle bar is reciprocally driven.

[0055] First, as shown in (a) of FIG. 6, when the thread take-up lever 110 rotates downward (clockwise in (a) of FIG. 6) by the upper thread T pulled by the thread take-up unit in the first section (I) and attempts to deviate from the initial angular position A (position B), the controller 400 may control the driving of the first actuator 120 such that the thread take-up lever 110 rotates counterclockwise and returns to the initial angular position A.

[0056] On the contrary, as shown in (b) of FIG. 6, when the thread take-up lever 110 rotates upward (clockwise in (b) of FIG. 6) by the upper thread T supplied to the thread take-up unit in the second section (II) and attempts to deviate from the initial angular position A (position C), the controller 400 may control the driving of the first actuator 120 such that the thread take-up lever 110 rotates clockwise and returns to the initial angular position A.

[0057] Therefore, even when the thread breaks during embroidery work, the thread take-up lever 110 can maintain the initial angular position A, and thus, the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention has an advantage of not only controlling the tension of the upper thread T more precisely, but also preventing damage to the thread take-up lever 110, etc.

[0058] Meanwhile, FIG. 5 shows an example in which the rotational angle of the driving shaft at the top dead center of the thread take-up unit is 68 degrees, and the rotational angle of the driving shaft at the bottom dead center is 292 degrees, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the top dead center and the bottom dead center of the thread take-up unit may change according to the driving conditions of the embroidery machine 10. In addition, for convenience of explanation, (a) and (b) of FIG. 6 show an example in which the initial angular position A of the thread take-up lever 110 is horizontal, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0059] Meanwhile, the controller 400 constituting the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may adjust the frictional force of the upper thread T supplied between the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 provided in each of the at least one thread guide adjusting unit 200 and 300 according to the status of supply of the upper thread T based on the movement of the needle bar and the thread take-up unit.

[0060] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the controller of the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device according to an embodiment of the present invention controls the thread guide adjusting unit.

[0061] (a) of FIG. 7 shows a state in which the frictional force between the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 provided in each of the thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 is adjusted according to the movement of the needle bar and the thread take-up unit in the first section (I) of the graph shown in FIG. 5, and (b) of FIG. 7 shows a state in which the frictional force between the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 provided in each of the thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 is adjusted according to the movement of the needle bar and the thread take-up unit in the second section (II) of the graph shown in FIG. 5.

[0062] First, as shown in (a) of FIG. 7, when the thread take-up unit moves from the bottom dead center to the top dead center in the first section I, the controller 400 may control the driving of the second actuators 220 and 320 provided in each of the first thread guide adjusting unit 200 and the second thread guide adjusting unit 300 such that the frictional force F1 between the pair of thread guide units 210 provided in the first thread guide adjusting unit 200 is greater than the frictional force F2 between the pair of thread guide units 310 provided in the second thread guide adjusting unit 300.

[0063] Preferably, the driving of the second actuator 320 provided in the second thread guide adjusting unit 300 may be controlled such that no frictional force F2 exists between the pair of thread guide units 310 provided in the second thread guide adjusting unit 300, that is, the pair of thread guide units 310 are completely spaced apart from each other.

[0064] On the contrary, as shown in (b) of FIG. 7, when the thread take-up unit moves from the top dead center to the bottom dead center in the second section II, the controller 400 may control the driving of the second actuators 220 and 320 provided in each of the first thread guide adjusting unit 200 and the second thread guide adjusting unit 300 such that the frictional force F2 between the pair of thread guide units 310 provided in the second thread guide adjusting unit 300 is greater than the frictional force F1 between the pair of thread guide units 210 provided in the first thread guide adjusting unit 200.

[0065] Preferably, the driving of the second actuator 220 provided in the first thread guide adjusting unit 200 may be controlled such that no frictional force F1 exists between the pair of thread guide units 210 provided in the first thread guide adjusting unit 200, that is, the pair of thread guide units 210 are completely spaced apart from each other.

[0066] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a structure that adjusts the tension of the upper thread T supplied from the spool to the needle by being disposed in the path of movement of the upper thread T, adjusting the amount of pulling of the upper thread T, and adjusting the frictional force of the upper thread T passing between the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310.

[0067] As such, the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may separately include the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 for adjusting the amount of pulling of the upper thread T by the actuator, and the thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 for providing the pair of thread guide units 210 and 310 with pressing force by the actuator. By automatically controlling the driving of the thread pulling adjusting unit 100 and the thread guide adjusting units 200 and 300 according to the status of driving of the needle bar, the thread take-up unit, the hook, and the embroidery frame, the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may adjust the tension of the upper thread T more easily and precisely by considering the speed of supply of the upper thread T and the amount of consumption of the upper thread T for various types of the upper thread T, thereby preventing the upper thread T from breaking, supplying the upper thread T smoothly, and improving embroidery quality.

[0068] Meanwhile, in the present invention, the embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device has been described as an example, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention is applicable to various types of machines and facilities that require the thread tension adjusting device, such as general sewing machines.

[0069] On the other hand, in the present specification and the drawings, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed. Although certain terms are used, these terms are only used in a general sense to easily explain the technical content of the present disclosure and to help the understanding of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. It will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention may be made thereto.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0070] The present invention relates to an embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device, and more particularly, to an embroidery machine thread tension adjusting device that adjusts tension of an upper thread more easily and precisely by considering the supply speed of the upper thread and the amount of consumption of the upper thread for various types of upper threads, thereby preventing the upper thread from breaking, smoothly performing the supply of the upper thread, and improving embroidery quality.