JPH0966181A - Bobbin changer for sewing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [PROBLEMS] To provide a bobbin replacing device for a sewing machine that facilitates replacement of a bobbin cassette and does not affect maintenance of the sewing machine. SOLUTION: The bobbin delivery device 18 is attached to a sewing machine hook 4
The bobbin case 8 and the bobbin cassette device 24, and a second position where the bobbin case 8 can be delivered and received. The device is arranged so as to be movable from the second position to a retracted position further separated in the left-right direction. At the retracted position, the bobbin case 8 cannot be delivered to either the shuttle 4 of the sewing machine or the bobbin cassette device 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bobbin replacing device for a sewing machine, which replaces a bobbin case containing a lower thread between a shuttle device of a sewing machine and a bobbin cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a sewing machine that uses an upper thread and a lower thread for sewing, particularly in an industrial sewing machine that performs high-speed sewing work, it is necessary to frequently replace a bobbin case containing a lower thread. Generally, during this replacement, the operation of the sewing machine is temporarily stopped, the bobbin case is removed from the hook, and then a new bobbin case is mounted in the hook by hand, which is inefficient and productive. Was the cause of the decrease.

Therefore, as a device configured to automatically and mechanically replace the bobbin case, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-49828 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-28928.
No. 8866 publication has been proposed. The special public Sho 59
JP-A-49828 provides a bobbin cassette supporting a plurality of bobbin cases in the vicinity of a hook device of a sewing machine, operates a chuck piece from the front side of the bobbin cassette, and passes the bobbin case through a bobbin storage chamber of the bobbin cassette. There is shown a bobbin exchanging device for exchanging and attaching between the shuttle device and the bobbin cassette. Further, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-8666, below the hook device of the sewing machine,
Providing a bobbin cassette that supports multiple bobbin cases,
A bobbin exchanging device is shown in which a bobbin removing device is moved up and down between respective positions corresponding to the shuttle device and the bobbin cassette, and a bobbin case is exchanged and attached between the shuttle device and the bobbin cassette. ing.

[0004]

However, according to the bobbin exchanging device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-49828, since the bobbin cassette is installed in the vicinity of the shuttle device, the bobbin cassette exchanging work efficiency is improved. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to perform maintenance of the hook device and maintenance of the sewing machine such as inspection. Further, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-8666.
According to the bobbin exchanging device disclosed in the publication, since the bobbin removing device and its driving device are installed in the vicinity of the bobbin cassette, there is a problem that the bobbin cassette exchanging work is difficult to perform.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a bobbin changing device for a sewing machine, which facilitates the replacement of a bobbin cassette and does not affect the maintenance of the sewing machine. Has an aim.

[0006]

In order to achieve this object, a bobbin exchanging device for a sewing machine according to a first aspect of the present invention has a plurality of bobbin cases which are detachably attached to a hook device of the sewing machine. A bobbin cassette that supports the bobbin cassette and a bobbin delivery means that replaces and attaches the bobbin case between the bobbin cassette and the shuttle device. The bobbin case can be arranged at a retracted position where the bobbin case cannot be delivered to either of the bobbin cassettes. Therefore, when the bobbin case is not replaced with respect to the shuttle device, by arranging the bobbin delivery means at the retracted position, the bobbin cassette replacement work can be easily performed without being affected by the bobbin delivery means. In addition, it does not affect the maintenance of the sewing machine such as the maintenance and inspection of the shuttle device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bobbin exchanging device for a sewing machine, wherein the bobbin delivering means includes a first position at which the bobbin case can be delivered to and from the shuttle device, and the bobbin cassette. A device that is movable between a second position where the bobbin case can be delivered between
A device that can move in a direction substantially orthogonal to the moving direction,
The retracted position is set at a position separated from the second position in the moving direction substantially orthogonal to the second position. Therefore, by arranging the bobbin delivery means at the retracted position, the bobbin delivery means can be sufficiently separated from the bobbin cassette, so that the bobbin cassette replacement work and the like can be performed more easily.

Furthermore, the bobbin exchanging device for a sewing machine according to a third aspect of the present invention supports the bobbin delivering means and guides the bobbin delivering means so as to be movable between the first position and the second position. A second movement guide means, a first movement guide means, and a second bobbin delivery means for supporting the bobbin delivery means, and a second guide for movably guiding the bobbin delivery means between the second position and the retracted position. And a movement guide means. Therefore, the structure for moving the bobbin delivery means in the X and Y directions can be compactly integrated.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the bobbin changing device for a sewing machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a lower shaft 6 is connected to a shuttle 4 arranged in a bed portion 3 directly below a needle 2 of a sewing machine, and an inner shuttle (not shown) and a bobbin case 8 are provided. Is housed. The bobbin case 8 accommodates a bobbin 14 in which a lower thread is wound. These kettles 4, middle kettles,
The bobbin case 8 has a conventional structure and is used as it is. Therefore, although a detailed description of these structures will be omitted, a schematic structure of the bobbin case 8 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bobbin case 8 is provided on the front surface thereof with a lock plate 10 that engages with the neck portion 5a at the tip of the support shaft 5 of the shuttle 4, and a spring (not shown). Is always urged in the direction of arrow A. Therefore, the hole edge of the through hole 10 a of the lock plate 10 is the neck portion 5 of the support shaft 5.
The bobbin case 8 is moved to the hook 4 by the action of engaging with a.
It is held so as not to escape from the outside.

On the other hand, on the surface of the lock plate 10, a lock lever 12 is superposed and connected so as to be openable and closable around a pivot on one end side thereof. As shown in FIG. 3, the lock plate 10 is slid in the direction opposite to the arrow A in FIG. 2 by raising the other end of the lock lever 12 about the pivot on the one end side.
The bobbin case 8 can be axially pulled out from the support shaft 5 of the shuttle 4. In addition, at this time, the curved end portion 10 formed in the other end portion of the lock plate 10 is curved.
b is engaged with the collar portion of the bobbin 14 and is held so that the bobbin 14 is not separated from the bobbin case 8.

In FIG. 1, a bobbin exchanging device 16 includes a bobbin delivering device 18 for exchanging and delivering the bobbin case 8 between the shuttle 4 and a bobbin cassette described later, and a bobbin delivering device 18 for the bobbin 4 and the bobbin described later. A front-rear moving device (first movement guide means of the present invention) 20 for guiding the front-rear direction between the cassette and the front-rear moving device 2
A horizontal movement device (second movement guide means of the present invention) 22 for supporting the bobbin delivery device 18 and moving them in the left-right direction, and a plurality (in this embodiment, 5).
And a bobbin cassette device 24 for supporting the individual bobbin cases 8 in an arc shape at equal intervals.

Therefore, first, the details of the bobbin transfer device 18 will be described below with reference to FIGS. The bobbin case guide 26 fixed to one side of the holding base plate 36 by a screw contacts the outer peripheral surface of the bobbin case 8.
An outer peripheral contact portion 26a and a pair of upper and lower front surface contact portions 26b that contact a part of the front surface of the bobbin case 8 are formed. Magnets 28 for attracting and holding the front portion of the bobbin case 8 are incorporated in the front guide portions 26b of the bobbin case guide 26, respectively. Therefore, with the above structure, the bobbin case 8 can be held in a substantially fitted state with respect to the bobbin case guide 26.

In the vicinity of the bobbin case guide 26, there is provided a claw 30 whose base end is rotatably supported on a claw shaft 32 erected on the holding base plate 36 via a claw support member 34. To be As shown in FIG. 3, the claw 30 is rotated clockwise to release the lock lever 12 of the bobbin case 8 so that the bobbin case 8 can be detached to the outside. The bobbin case guide 26 and the claw support member 34 are integrally screwed to the holding base plate 36. Between the claw 30 and the claw support member 34, a return spring 4 that constantly urges the claw 30 in a counterclockwise direction to hold the lock lever 12 in a position where it does not operate.
0 is provided. Further, on the opposite side of the return spring 40 with the pawl 30 interposed, a pawl driving cylinder 3 for rotating the pawl 30 in the clockwise direction against the action of the return spring 40.
8 is provided on the holding base plate 36.

The holding base 36 is fixed by a pair of screws 44 to a mounting plate 45 fixed to the tips of a pair of rod portions 43 protruding from the side surface of the bobbin take-out cylinder 42, as shown in the figure. Has been done. The bobbin take-out cylinder 42 is fixed to an upper slide plate 58 described later by a pair of screws 64.

Next, the forward / backward moving device 20 will be described. In FIG. 5, a block-shaped lower guide body 52 is fixed to the upper surface of a connecting plate 54 connected to the later-described left-right moving device 22. Bent portions 46a and 46b formed by bending downward are provided on both front and rear sides of a lower slide plate 46 slidably supported forward and backward with respect to the lower guide body 52. A pair of left and right guide bars 48 supported between 46b are fitted and supported by the lower guide body 52 so as to be movable back and forth.

A lower front-rear drive cylinder 50 is supported by the lower guide body 52, and a tip portion of a rod portion 50a connected to a piston therein is connected to a rear bent portion 46b of the lower slide plate 46. Has been done. The lower front-rear driving cylinder 50 has a general structure that operates by using air, and an air hose (not shown) is connected to the front side and the rear side of the cylinder with the piston interposed therebetween. Therefore, by sucking air into the front side portion of the cylinder, the rod portion 50a moves rearward through the piston, so that the lower slide plate 46 moves rearward. On the other hand, when air is sucked into the rear side of the cylinder, the rod portion 50a moves forward through the piston, so that the lower slide plate 46 moves forward.

An upper guide member 56 for supporting the upper slide plate 58 so as to be movable back and forth is fixed to the upper surface of the rear side portion of the lower slide plate 46 by screws. Bent parts 58a, 58b are formed at the front and rear sides of the upper slide plate 58 and are bent downward, and a pair of left and right guide rods 60 supported between the bent parts 58a, 58b are provided. The upper guide body 56 is fitted and supported so as to be movable back and forth. An upper front-rear drive cylinder 62 is supported by the upper guide body 56, and a tip end portion of a rod portion 62a connected to a piston therein is connected to a rear bent portion 58b of the upper slide plate 58. The upper front-rear drive cylinder 62 has exactly the same configuration and function as the lower front-rear drive cylinder 50,
An air hose (not shown) is connected to the front side and the rear side of the cylinder with the piston in between.

Therefore, by sucking air into the front portion of the cylinder, the rod portion 62 is passed through the piston.
Since "a" moves backward, the upper slide plate 58 moves backward. On the other hand, when air is sucked into the rear portion of the cylinder, the rod portion 62a moves forward via the piston, so that the upper slide plate 58 moves forward.

Then, by sucking air into the front side portions of the lower and upper front and rear drive cylinders 50 and 62, respectively, as shown in FIG.
The bobbin case guide 26 is arranged at a first position where the bobbin case 8 can be delivered and received, corresponding to the shuttle 4 of the sewing machine, and the lower and upper front-rear drive cylinders 50, 62.
By inhaling air to the rear side of each of the
As shown in FIG. 4, the bobbin delivery device 18 is arranged such that the bobbin case guide 26 is arranged at a second position where the bobbin case 8 can be delivered corresponding to the bobbin case 8 at a predetermined position of the bobbin cassette device 24. It has become.

Next, the left and right moving device 22 will be described. In FIG. 6, a support plate 68 fixed to the lower side of the cassette base plate 66, a pair of upper and lower guide bodies 72,
A left-right drive cylinder 74 arranged between the two guide bodies 72 is fixedly supported. Each guide body 7
A guide rod 70, one end of which is fixedly connected to the connecting plate 54, is fitted and supported on the second member 2 so as to be reciprocally movable in the left-right direction. The other end of each guide rod 70 is a connecting piece 76.
Are connected integrally. Further, the tip end portion of the rod 74a of the left-right drive cylinder 74 is connected to the connecting plate 54.
It is fixedly connected to the vertical part of the. The left and right drive cylinders 74 have exactly the same structure and function as the lower and upper front and rear drive cylinders 50 and 62.

Therefore, by sucking air into the right side portion of the left-right drive cylinder 74, the connecting plate 54 is moved leftward, and the bobbin transfer device 18 is moved to the first position as shown in FIG. 1 or 5. It can be placed in one position or a second position. In addition, in the state of FIG. 1, the connecting plate 54 is moved to the right by sucking air into the left side portion of the left and right driving cylinder 74, and the bobbin transfer device 18 is hooked as shown in FIG. It is possible to arrange the bobbin case 8 at a retracted position where the bobbin case 8 cannot be delivered to either the 4 or the bobbin cassette device 24.

Next, the bobbin cassette device 24 will be described with reference to FIG. The cassette mounting plate 78 is fixed to a fixed base frame 80 of the sewing machine substantially horizontally by screws. An adjusting plate 82 is fixedly supported on the upper surface of the cassette mounting plate 78 by a pair of adjusting screws 86 so that the position can be adjusted in the left-right direction. The cassette base plate 66 is integrally fixed to the adjusting plate 82 by a pair of screws 84. A cassette mounting shaft 90 is supported on the cassette base plate 66 via a bearing 88 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis, and the cassette mounting shaft 90 is connected to a pulse motor 92 by a coupling 94. Has been done.

A bobbin cassette 102 is mounted on the cassette mounting shaft 90. The bobbin cassette 1
Reference numeral 02 denotes a disc-shaped cassette body 106 in which a plurality of bobbin mounting pins 104 (five in this embodiment) formed in the same shape and size as the support shaft of the shuttle 4 are arranged in an arc shape at equal intervals. , A plurality of (five) positioning plates 108 that receive the end 10b of the lock plate 10 of the bobbin case 8 and position the bobbin case 8 in a predetermined posture. Further, a ball plunger 110 that engages with a positioning hole 90a of the cassette mounting shaft 90 is attached to a boss portion 106a of the cassette body 106 fitted to the cassette mounting shaft 90, and the cassette is attached to the cassette mounting shaft 90 with respect to the cassette mounting shaft 90. The main body 106 is positioned and fixed so as to have a predetermined positional relationship.

Further, the cassette main body 106 near each bobbin mounting pin 104 has a cassette main body 10
6 are provided with through holes 111, and thread guide rods 112 protruding rightward from the respective through holes 111 substantially parallel to the bobbin mounting pins 104. The thread guide rod 112
Is a bobbin case 8 as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
It is located immediately outside the yarn path 8a, and plays a role of restricting the yarn end coming out of the yarn path 8a from coming off from the opening of the yarn path 8a.

On the right side surface of the cassette base plate 66 above the cassette mounting shaft 90, air is blown toward one through hole 111 at a predetermined position, and the air blown through the through hole 111 causes the bobbin case 8 to move. An air nozzle 96 for controlling the yarn end coming out of the yarn path 8a (see FIGS. 4 and 5) so as to always flutter in a substantially horizontal right direction at a fixed position substantially along the yarn guide rod 112, and a bobbin at the predetermined position. A bobbin case detection sensor 98 located outside the outer peripheral surface of the case 8 for detecting the presence or absence of the bobbin case 8, an outer peripheral surface of the cassette body 106 and the bobbin case detection sensor 98.
And the tip end portion thereof protrudes rightward a little further than the right end portion of the bobbin case detection sensor 98, and when mounting the cassette body 106, the outer periphery of the cassette body 106 is mounted. A pair of protection rods 100 are provided to prevent the surface from interfering with the bobbin case detection sensor 98 and protect the bobbin case detection sensor 98.

Next, a control circuit configuration for electrically controlling the bobbin exchanging device of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

A CPU 120 that controls the entire apparatus has a ROM 12 that stores a program that controls the entire apparatus.
2 and a RAM 124 for erasably storing various data
, Bobbin case detection sensor 98, and pulse motor 92
A driver 126 for driving the air nozzle 96, a solenoid valve 128 for driving the air nozzle 96, a solenoid valve 130 for driving the lower and upper front and rear drive cylinders 50 and 62, and the left and right drive cylinder 74. A solenoid valve 132 for driving, a solenoid valve 134 for driving the bobbin take-out cylinder 42, and a solenoid valve 136 for driving the claw driving cylinder 38 are connected.

Next, the operation of the present apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The bobbin delivery device 18 is assumed to be located at the retracted position as shown in FIG.

During sewing, the remaining amount of the bobbin thread wound around the bobbin 14 becomes less than a predetermined amount by a well-known bobbin thread remaining amount detection sensor, a counter for detecting the rotation amount of the shuttle 4, or the like. Whether or not it is checked (S1). If the remaining amount of the bobbin thread is greater than or equal to the predetermined amount, sewing is continued, but if the remaining amount of the lower thread is less than or equal to the predetermined amount (S1, NO), the detection signal is input to the CPU 120, The CPU 120 immediately moves the bobbin passing device 18 from the retracting device to the second position (S2). That is, the CPU 120 controls the solenoid valve 132 to suck air into the right side portion of the cylinder of the left-right drive cylinder 74 and drive the rod 74a to the left, thereby causing the connecting plate 54 and the lower and upper slide plates. 46 and 58 are integrally moved to the left to move the bobbin transfer device 18 from the retracting device to the second position.

When the bobbin delivery device 18 is moved to the second position, the CPU 120 next moves the bobbin delivery device 18 backward from the second position to the first position (S3). That is, the CPU 120 controls the solenoid valve 130 so that air is simultaneously sucked into the front side portions of the lower and upper front / rear drive cylinders 50 and 62, respectively, and the rods 50a and 62a are driven rearward. The lower and upper slide plates 46,
58 are simultaneously moved rearward to move the bobbin transfer device 18 from the second position to the first position. In this case, since the lower and upper slide plates 46 and 58 are simultaneously moved rearward, the bobbin delivery device 18 can be instantaneously and rapidly moved backward from the second position to the first position.

Next, at the first position, the CPU 120
Controls the solenoid valves 134 and 136 for driving the bobbin take-out cylinder 42 and the claw driving cylinder 38 to take out the bobbin case 8 from the shuttle 4 of the sewing machine and transfer it to the bobbin delivery device 18 (S4). That is, first, the rod portion 43 of the bobbin take-out cylinder 42 is projected to move the holding base plate 36 and the bobbin case guide 26 to the left, and the outer peripheral contact portion 26 of the bobbin case guide 26 is moved.
A is fitted into the bobbin case 8 set in the shuttle 4, and the front part of the bobbin case 8 is attracted to the magnet 28.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the claw 30 is rotated clockwise by the action of the claw driving cylinder 38 against the action of the return spring 40, and is locked by the claw 30. The lever 12 is raised and the lock plate 1
The lock action by 0 is released, and the bobbin case 8 can be pulled out from the support shaft 5 of the shuttle 4. At this time, the curved end portion 10b of the lock plate 10 is engaged with the flange portion of the bobbin 14 to hold the bobbin 14 in the bobbin case 8. Then, while maintaining this state, the holding base plate 36 and the bobbin case guide 26 are moved backward to the first position shown in FIG. 5 by the action of the bobbin take-out cylinder 42. As a result, the bobbin case 8
The bobbin case guide 26 is pulled out from the spindle 5 of the shuttle 4.
It is handed over and held.

Next, the CPU 120 advances the bobbin delivery device 18 from the first position to the second position (S).
5). That is, the CPU 120 controls the solenoid valve 130.
To control the lower and upper front and rear drive cylinders 50,
Air is sucked into the rear side portions of the cylinders 62 at the same time, and the rods 50a and 62a are simultaneously driven forward so that the lower and upper slide plates 4
6 and 58 are simultaneously moved forward so that the bobbin passing device 1
8 is moved from the first position to the second position shown in FIG.

Next, at the second position, the CPU 120
Controls the solenoid valves 134 and 136 that drive the bobbin take-out cylinder 42 and the claw driving cylinder 38 to transfer the bobbin case 8 from the bobbin transfer device 18 to the bobbin cassette device 24 (S6). That is, first, the rod portion 43 of the bobbin take-out cylinder 42
To move the holding base plate 36 and the bobbin case guide 26 to the left, and fit the bobbin case 8 held by the bobbin case guide 26 to the bobbin mounting pin 104 at a predetermined position of the cassette body 106. . After this fitting, the CPU 120 releases the control of the claw driving cylinder 38, returns the claw 30 to the original position by the action of the return spring 40, and causes the lock lever 12 to fall to the original position.
The bobbin case 8 is accommodated and held in the bobbin mounting pin 104 by enabling the locking action of the lock plate 10.

Next, the new bobbin case 8 of the cassette body 106 is transferred from the bobbin cassette 102 to the bobbin transfer device 18 (S7). That is, first, the CPU 120 controls the driver 126 to rotate the pulse motor 92 by a predetermined amount to rotate the cassette body 106 by a predetermined rotation angle, in the case of the present embodiment, about 72 degrees, and then the cassette body 10 is rotated.
The next adjacent bobbin case 8 supported by the bobbin 6 is placed at a replaceable predetermined position. In this state, the CPU 120 controls the solenoid valves 134 and 136 for driving the bobbin take-out cylinder 42 and the claw driving cylinder 38, just as in the processing step of S1.
The new bobbin case 8 is pulled out from the bobbin mounting pin 104 of the cassette body 106 and delivered to the bobbin case guide 26 of the bobbin delivery device 18. In this case, the thread end of the bobbin thread emerging from the thread path 8a of the new bobbin case 8 has the through hole 1
The air blown from the air nozzle 96 through 11 flutters to the right above the bobbin case guide 26 in a substantially horizontal direction, so that the yarn end may be entangled with the bobbin case guide 26 or the like. Absent.

Next, in exactly the same manner as the processing step of S3,
The bobbin delivery device 18 is moved backward from the second position to the first position (S8).

Next, at the first position, the CPU 120 controls the solenoid valves 134 and 136 for driving the bobbin take-out cylinder 42 and the claw driving cylinder 38 in the same manner as in the processing step of S6, and a new operation is performed. The bobbin case 8 is transferred from the bobbin transfer device 18 to the spindle 5 of the shuttle 4 and held (S9). After that, the bobbin delivery device 18 is once returned to the first position by the bobbin take-out cylinder 42.

Next, just as in the processing step of S5,
The bobbin delivery device 18 is moved forward from the first position to the second position (S10).

Next, the CPU 120 controls the solenoid valve 132 that drives the left and right driving cylinders 74,
The bobbin transfer device 18 is moved from the second position to the right retracted position (S11). That is, by sucking air into the left side portion of the left and right driving cylinder 74 and operating the rod portion 74a to the right, the connecting plate 54 and the lower and upper slide plates 46 and 58 are integrally moved to the right. Then, the bobbin transfer device 18 is moved from the second position to the retracting device.

The exchange operation of the bobbin case 8 is completed by the above series of steps.

As described above in detail, according to the bobbin exchanging device of the present embodiment, when the bobbin exchanging operation is completed, the bobbin delivery device 18 is connected to either the sewing machine hook 4 or the bobbin cassette device 24. Bobbin case 8
Since it is configured so that it can be moved to a retracted position where it cannot be delivered, a wide space can be created around the sewing part and the part of the bobbin cassette device. The operation of exchanging the bobbin cassette 102 for another bobbin cassette 102 and attaching and detaching the bobbin cassette 102 without replacing the bobbin cassette 102 of the bobbin cassette 102 with a new bobbin case 8 with a fully wound bobbin is completely prevented. It can be carried out easily and quickly, and has no effect on the maintenance of the sewing machine such as the maintenance and inspection of the shuttle 4.

When the bobbin case 8 delivered from the shuttle 4 to the bobbin delivery device 18 due to the lower remaining amount of the bobbin thread is stored in the bobbin cassette 102, another bobbin case is attached to the bobbin mounting pin 104 to be stored. 8 is inserted, or when a new bobbin case 8 in which the bobbin thread is fully wound is delivered from the bobbin cassette 102 to the bobbin delivery device 18, the bobbin case is attached to the bobbin mounting pin 104 at a predetermined position of the bobbin cassette 102. 8 does not exist, the bobbin case detection sensor 98 detects the presence or absence of the bobbin case 8 and inputs a signal indicating an error to the CPU 120 in either case. Then, the CPU 120
Immediately stops the bobbin exchange operation and notifies the operator of the error. This allows the operator to easily correct the trouble and prevent damage to the bobbin changing device.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without changing the gist of the invention. For example, in this embodiment, an air cylinder is used as the front-rear and left-right moving means of the bobbin delivery device, but a liquid cylinder, or a driving means such as a motor or an electromagnetic solenoid may be used.

Further, the detection by the bobbin thread remaining amount detecting sensor or the like is divided into a plurality of sections, and at the time of the initial detection, the bobbin delivery device is moved from the retracted position to the second position or further before the bobbin case replacement operation. Alternatively, the bobbin case may be moved to the first position and the bobbin case exchange operation described above may be performed at the time of subsequent detection. If you do this,
The bobbin case replacement operation time can be further shortened.

[0047]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the bobbin exchanging device for a sewing machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, the bobbin delivering means is provided for both the shuttle device of the sewing machine and the bobbin cassette. Since the bobbin case can be arranged in the retracted position where it cannot be delivered, a wide space can be created around the sewing portion and the bobbin cassette portion, which completely obstructs the bobbin delivery means in the retracted position. It is possible to replace and replace the bobbin cassette with another bobbin cassette without changing the bobbin cassette, or to replace the bobbin case with a new bobbin case in which the bobbin cassette is fully wound, very easily and quickly. It does not affect the maintenance of the hook device and the maintenance of the sewing machine such as inspection.

According to the bobbin exchanging device for a sewing machine of the second aspect, the bobbin delivering means is provided with a first position where the bobbin case can be delivered to and from the shuttle device, and the bobbin cassette. And a second position capable of delivering the bobbin case between the device and the bobbin case so that the bobbin case can be transferred between the second position and the second position. Since the retracted position is set at a position separated from the second position, if the bobbin delivery means is arranged at the retracted position,
Since the bobbin delivery means can be sufficiently separated from the bobbin cassette, the bobbin cassette replacement work can be performed more easily.

Further, according to the bobbin exchanging device of the sewing machine of the third aspect, the bobbin delivering means is supported so that the bobbin delivering means can be moved between the first position and the second position. A first movement guiding means for guiding, and a bobbin delivering means for supporting the bobbin delivering means together with the first movement guiding means for movably guiding the bobbin delivering means between the second position and the retracted position. Since the second movement guide means is provided, the structure for moving the bobbin delivery means in the X direction and the Y direction can be made compact.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a sewing machine and a bobbin changing device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a bobbin case and a bobbin holding device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the bobbin holding device with a lock lever released.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a bobbin case and a bobbin holding device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the shuttle device and the bobbin changing device of the sewing machine.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view in which the bobbin changing device is arranged at a retracted position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a bobbin cassette device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electrical control circuit of the bobbin exchange device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of the bobbin changing device.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the cassette body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 shuttle 8 bobbin case 14 bobbin 16 bobbin exchange device 18 bobbin transfer device 20 forward / backward moving device 22 left / right moving device 24 bobbin cassette device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Minoru Yamaguchi, 15-1 Naesehiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi Brother Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Takashi Kondo, 15-1 Naedai-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi Brother Industrial Within the corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bobbin cassette that detachably supports a plurality of bobbin cases detachably mounted on a hook device of a sewing machine, and a bobbin for exchanging and attaching the bobbin case between the bobbin cassette and the hook device. In a bobbin exchanging device for a sewing machine including a delivery means, the bobbin delivery means can be arranged at a retracted position where the bobbin case cannot be delivered to either the shuttle device or the bobbin cassette. Characteristic sewing machine bobbin changer. 2. A bobbin transfer means is provided at a first position where the bobbin case can be transferred to and from the shuttle device, and a second position where the bobbin case can be transferred to and from the bobbin cassette. The device is movably arranged between the position and the device, and is also movable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the moving direction, and the retreat position is set at a position separated from the second position in the substantially orthogonal moving direction. The bobbin changing device for a sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein 3. A first movement guide means for supporting the bobbin delivery means and movably guiding the bobbin delivery means between the first position and the second position, and a first movement thereof. A guide means and a second movement guide means for supporting the bobbin delivery means and movably guiding the bobbin delivery means between the second position and the retracted position. Item 3. A bobbin changing device for a sewing machine according to item 2.