Sewing unit, sewing machine, and method for manufacturing zipper-equipped product

Abstract

The invention provides a sewing unit, a sewing machine equipped with the sewing unit, and a manufacturing method of a product with a zipper. A sewing unit (30, 30a) according to the present invention is attached to a sewing machine (10) that sews a fastener stringer (1) to a fastener-attached member (5), the sewing unit (30, 30a) comprising: a motion detection unit (40) that detects a lifting motion of a sewing machine needle (15); a fastener stringer conveying unit (50, 80) that performs a feeding operation on the fastener stringer (1); and a position adjustment unit (60) for adjusting the position of the stringer conveyance unit (50, 80), the stringer conveyance unit (50, 80) comprising: at least one conveyance gear (51, 81) having a plurality of teeth; and a rotation control unit (52, 82) that intermittently rotates the transfer gears (51, 81) on the basis of a signal output from the operation detection unit (40), and the sewing unit (30, 30a) has a structure that can be attached and detached relative to an existing sewing machine (10). As a result, it is possible to sew the fastener stringer (1) to the fastener-mounted member (5) by forming a sewed portion of the sewing thread at a position in contact with the fastener elements (3).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a sewing unit, a sewing machine equipped with the sewing unit and a method for manufacturing a product with a zipper. Background Art

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-72466 (Patent Document 1) discloses a sewing machine for sewing a fastener element component to a fabric component of clothing. In Patent Document 1, the fastener element component to be sewn is formed by placing a plurality of zipper elements at regular intervals on a rope-shaped fixing component by injection molding.

[0003] The sewing machine described in Patent Document 1 includes: a conveying gear, which is a conveying mechanism for conveying the above-mentioned chain element component, and meshes with the zipper chain element of the chain element component; a conveying motor (not shown) that drives the conveying gear; and a needle plate portion that guides the chain element component. The conveying mechanism is formed so that the chain element component is conveyed by rotating the conveying gear while meshing with the zipper chain element of the chain element component. In addition, the sewing machine of Patent Document 1 is provided with a feed dog (not shown) as a feeding mechanism for conveying the zipper mounted component, that is, the fabric component.

[0004] By using the sewing machine including the above-described feeding mechanism and feed dog of Patent Document 1, it is possible to directly sew the fastener element component obtained by providing a plurality of fastener elements on a string-like fixing member to a fabric component of a product such as clothing.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-72466 Summary of the invention

[0008] Generally, a zipper includes: a pair of left and right zipper tapes, in which a plurality of zipper teeth are mounted on a strip-shaped zipper tape; and a slider, which is mounted on the tooth rows of the left and right zipper tapes in a slidable manner. In order to sew such a zipper tape for a zipper to a fabric component of a garment using a sewing machine, a sewing machine dedicated to the zipper tape is required, and the sewing machine includes: a lower feed tooth for feeding the fabric component; and a conveying mechanism for feeding the zipper tape.

[0009] However, there is a problem that the installation of such a sewing machine dedicated to the zipper tape leads to an increase in equipment cost. In addition, when the zipper tape is sewn to the zipper mounted component using a conventional sewing machine, the zipper tape and the zipper mounted component are sometimes conveyed by the lower feed tooth of the sewing machine. However, in this case, there is a problem that the zipper tape and the zipper mounted component slip between the sewing machine presser foot and the lower feed tooth of the sewing machine, making it difficult to convey the zipper tape and the zipper mounted component at a desired spacing.

[0010] Furthermore, in the past, when zipper products were manufactured by sewing zipper tapes to zipper-mounted parts such as fabric parts of clothing, in order to improve the aesthetics and appearance quality of the zipper products, it was required to hide the zipper tape to a larger extent on the back side of the zipper-mounted parts, thereby reducing the exposure of the zipper tape.

[0011] However, when using a conventional sewing machine for sewing, the structure of the sewing machine causes the sewing portion of the stitching thread that sews the zipper tape and the zipper mounted component (sewing machine stitch) to be formed at a position away from the zipper teeth in the width direction of the zipper tape. In this case, the zipper tape is easily exposed in the manufactured zipper product, and the design or appearance quality of the zipper product is reduced. Therefore, when sewing the zipper tape to the zipper mounted component, it is desirable to form the sewing portion of the stitching thread at a position closer to the zipper teeth (preferably a position in contact with the zipper teeth) to reduce the exposure of the zipper tape.

[0012] As described above, the sewing machine described in Patent Document 1 is formed to be able to sew a fastener element component (i.e., a fastener element component without a fastener tape) obtained by attaching a plurality of fastener elements to a rope-shaped fixing component. However, the sewing machine of Patent Document 1 cannot sew a fastener element chain tape obtained by attaching fastener elements to a fastener tape. In addition, the sewing machine of Patent Document 1 has a complicated structure and is relatively expensive.

[0013] Therefore, in order to improve the sewing machine of patent document 1 to be applicable to the zipper stringer, it is necessary to spend a lot of money. In addition, when preparing the environment for mass production of zipper products, it is necessary to introduce a plurality of special sewing machines, so there is a problem of large cost burden.

[0014] The present invention has been completed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a sewing machine and a manufacturing method of a zipper product, which can form the sewing part of the stitching line at a position near the zipper teeth, preferably at a position in contact with the zipper teeth, when sewing a zipper chain tape obtained by installing a plurality of zipper teeth on a belt-shaped zipper tape to a zipper mounted component, thereby sewing the zipper chain tape to the zipper mounted component.

[0015] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, according to the present invention, there is provided a sewing unit, which is installed on a sewing machine to perform sewing processing of sewing a zipper chain tape to a zipper mounted component, in which a plurality of zipper teeth are installed on the zipper tape, and the sewing unit includes: a motion detection unit, which detects the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle in the sewing machine; a chain tape conveying unit, which feeds the zipper chain tape; and a position adjustment unit, which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit relative to the sewing machine, the chain tape conveying unit includes: at least one conveying gear having a plurality of teeth; and a rotation control unit, which intermittently rotates the conveying gear according to a signal output from the motion detection unit, and the sewing unit has a structure that can be installed and removed relative to an existing sewing machine.

[0016] In the sewing unit of the present invention, the position adjustment unit preferably includes: a first position adjustment unit, which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit in the front-to-back direction along the feeding direction of the zipper chain tape and the zipper installed component; a second position adjustment unit, which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit in the up-and-down direction along the lifting and lowering direction of the sewing machine needle; and a third position adjustment unit, which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit in the left-and-right direction orthogonal to the front-to-back direction and the up-and-down direction.

[0017] In this case, it is preferred that when performing the sewing process, at least one of the conveying gears is arranged at the following position: the teeth of the conveying gear engage with the zipper teeth of the zipper chain tape from one side in the left-right direction, and the rotation center of the conveying gear is along the left-right direction relative to the needle drop position of the sewing machine needle.

[0018] In the sewing unit of the present invention, it is preferable that a base plate is provided in which the fastener tape conveying section and the position adjusting section are integrally assembled, and the base plate is attached to a cover fixing portion for fixing a sewing machine cover in the sewing machine.

[0019] In addition, in the present invention, the motion detection unit preferably includes: a linkage rotating unit, which rotates in conjunction with the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle in the sewing machine; and a rotation detection sensor unit, which detects the rotation of the linkage rotating unit and outputs the signal to the chain belt conveying unit, and the linkage rotating unit is installed on the rotation holding unit of the sewing machine.

[0020] Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the transport gear is arranged so as to be separated from a needle plate portion of the sewing machine in a direction in which the sewing machine needle is raised or lowered during the sewing process.

[0021] In the sewing unit of the present invention, it is preferable that the fastener tape conveying section rotates the conveying gear when the sewing machine needle does not penetrate the fastener tape and the fastener mounted member based on the signal output from the operation detecting section.

[0022] In addition, in the present invention, it is preferred that the chain tape conveying unit has two conveying gears, and the two conveying gears are arranged at the following position: the rotation axes of the two conveying gears are along the feeding direction of the zipper chain tape and the zipper installed component, and the rotation control unit causes the two conveying gears to rotate synchronously.

[0023] Next, according to the present invention, there is provided a sewing machine in which the sewing unit having the above-mentioned form is detachably mounted.

[0024] The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a product with a zipper, which is used to manufacture the product with a zipper, and includes a sewing process of sewing a zipper chain tape to a zipper mounted component, wherein a plurality of zipper teeth are mounted on the zipper tape. In the manufacturing method, the sewing process includes the step of installing a sewing unit on an existing sewing machine for forming a flat seam stitch (straight line), and the sewing unit includes: a motion detection unit, which detects the lifting and lowering movement of a sewing machine needle in the sewing machine; a chain tape conveying unit, which conveys the zipper chain tape; and a position adjustment unit, which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit relative to the sewing machine, and the chain tape conveying unit includes: at least one conveying gear having a plurality of teeth; and a rotation control unit, which causes the conveying gear to rotate intermittently according to a signal output from the motion detection unit.

[0025] Effects of the Invention

[0026] By using the sewing unit, sewing machine and manufacturing method of a zipper product of the present invention, when the zipper chain tape obtained by installing a plurality of zipper teeth on a band-shaped zipper tape is sewn to the zipper mounted component, the sewing portion of the stitching line can be formed at a position near the zipper teeth, preferably at a position in contact with the zipper teeth, thereby sewing the zipper chain tape to the zipper mounted component. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a perspective view schematically showing a sewing machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic representation of Figure 1 Stereoscopic images of the sewing machine of Example 1 observed from different angles.

[0029] Figure 3 It is a front view schematically showing the sewing machine of Example 1.

[0030] Figure 4 It is a front view schematically showing a sewing unit installed in the sewing machine of Example 1.

[0031] Figure 5 This is a side view of the sewing unit of Example 1 as seen from the outside in the left-right direction.

[0032] Figure 6 This is a plan view of the sewing unit of Example 1 as seen from above.

[0033] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram showing the motion detection section of the sewing unit of Example 1.

[0034] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the feed gear of the sewing unit of Example 1 and the sewing machine presser foot of the sewing machine.

[0035] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the conveyance gear of the sewing unit of Example 1 and the fastener element of the fastener stringer are meshed.

[0036] Fig.10 It is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the main parts of the sewing machine during sewing processing.

[0037] Fig.11 It is a front view schematically showing a sewing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the conveying gear of the sewing unit of Example 2 and the sewing machine presser foot of the sewing machine.

[0039] Fig.13 It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the conveyance gear of the sewing unit of Example 2 and the fastener element of the fastener stringer are meshed.

[0040] Description of Reference Numerals

[0041] 1 zipper chain 2 zipper tape

[0042] 3 zipper elements 5 fabric parts (zipper attached parts)

[0043] 10 sewing machine 11 sewing machine support part

[0044] 11a needle plate part 11b lower feeding dog

[0045] 11c opening 12 foot column

[0046] 13 arm portion 13a arm main body portion

[0047] 13b Arm head 13c Cover fixing part

[0048] 13d Rotation holding portion 14 Needle bar

[0049] 15 sewing machine needle 15a needle drop position

[0050] 16 Sewing machine presser foot 17 Presser foot connecting part

[0051] 18 Presser foot body 18a Needle insertion hole

[0052] 18b Alignment mark 18c Guide groove

[0053] 18d Second alignment mark 30, 30a Sewing unit

[0054] 31 substrate 31a first through hole portion

[0055] 31b Second through hole 31c Sleeve

[0056] 40 motion detection unit 41 linkage rotation unit

[0057] 41a fixed plate part 41b blocking plate part

[0058] 42 Rotation detection sensor portion 43 Support plate portion

[0059] 44 fixing bolt 45 nut

[0060] 50 toothed chain belt conveying part 51 conveying gear

[0061] 51a first conveying gear 51b second conveying gear

[0062] 52 Rotation control unit 52a Output shaft unit

[0063] 52b linkage rotating plate 52c position detection sensor part

[0064] 53 Rotation transmission unit 53a Driving wheel

[0065] 53b driven wheel 53c transmission gear part

[0066] 54 gear holding portion 60 position adjustment portion

[0067] 61 Support plate 61a Position adjustment hole

[0068] 62 support column 62a bracket

[0069] 63 moving part 64 left and right position adjustment bolt

[0070] 65Fixing rod 65aRod holding portion

[0071] 65b Mounting bolt 66 Fixing frame part

[0072] 67 vertical position adjustment bolt 68 bolt retaining portion

[0073] 69 lifting rod 71 first position adjustment part (front and rear position adjustment part)

[0074] 72 second position adjustment unit (up and down position adjustment unit) 73 third position adjustment unit (left and right position adjustment unit)

[0075] 76 protruding pin 77 pin supporting portion

[0076] 78 fixing nut 80 tooth chain belt conveyor

[0077] 81 conveying gear 82 rotation control unit

[0078] 82a output shaft portion 83 rotation transmission portion

[0079] 83a driving wheel 83b first driven wheel

[0080] 83c Second driven wheel 84 gear holding portion

[0081] 84a First alignment mark DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0082] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications can be made as long as the structure is substantially the same as the present invention and the same effects are achieved.

[0083] (Example 1)

[0084] Figure 1 and Figure 2 They are three-dimensional views schematically showing a sewing machine of the first embodiment equipped with a sewing unit, Figure 3 It is a front view schematically showing the sewing machine of the first embodiment. Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 The diagrams are a front view, a side view, and a top view schematically showing the sewing unit of the first embodiment. Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram showing the motion detection section of the sewing unit of the first embodiment.

[0085] In the following description, the front-to-back direction refers to the direction in which the sewing machine feeds the sewn objects (zipper stringers and fabric components). Figure 3 The front and back directions of the paper correspond to the "feeding direction" and "front and rear directions" described in the claims. In this case, the feeding direction of the sewn article ( Figure 3 The direction of the depth side in the paper) is set to the front, and the direction of the opposite side ( Figure 3The direction near the front side in the paper) is set to the rear.

[0086] The up-down direction is the direction along which the sewing machine needle of the sewing machine moves up and down. Figure 3 The up-down direction of the paper corresponds to the "up-down direction" and "up-down direction" described in the claims. In this case, the direction in which the sewing machine needle penetrates the sewn object ( Figure 3 The lower side direction in the paper) is set to the downward direction, and the direction in which the sewing machine needle is pulled out from the sewn object ( Figure 3 The upper direction in the paper) is set to upward.

[0087] The left-right direction is a direction perpendicular to the front-back direction and the up-down direction, and can also be referred to as a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the sewing object and parallel to the placement surface of the needle plate of the sewing machine. Figure 3 The left-right direction of the paper in the figure corresponds to the "left-right direction" described in the claims. In this case, the unit main body of the sewing unit is installed in the direction of the sewing machine ( Figure 3 The left side direction on the paper) is set as the left direction, and the opposite side direction ( Figure 3 The right direction in the paper) is set to the right direction.

[0088] For example Fig.10 As shown, the sewing machine 10 of the first embodiment is used for sewing a fastener stringer 1 for a slide fastener to a slide fastener attached member 5 (a cloth member 5 of clothing). The sewing machine 10 is equipped with a sewing unit 30 .

[0089] Here, the zippered product manufactured by the sewing machine 10 of the first embodiment is clothing, and the zippered clothing is manufactured by, for example, attaching the zipper to the front opening of the front body of the clothing. In this case, the zippered component 5 to be attached to the zipper is the fabric component 5 of the clothing. In addition, the fabric component 5 is sometimes also referred to as clothing fabric. The left and right fabric components 5 forming the front body of the clothing each have a facing side edge portion arranged opposite to the fabric component 5 on the opposite side. The facing side edges of the left and right fabric components 5 serve as the fastener tape attachment edge portion to which the fastener fastener tape 1 is attached.

[0090] In the first embodiment, the left and right fabric members 5 as the zipper mounted member 5 have waterproof or water-stopping properties. In the present embodiment, the method and mode of imparting waterproof or water-stopping properties to the fabric members 5 are not particularly limited. In addition, the fabric members 5 may be formed without waterproof and water-stopping properties.

[0091] The slide fastener formed on the clothes includes a pair of left and right fastener stringers 1 having fastener element rows formed on the tape side edges of fastener tapes 2, and a slider (not shown) slidably attached to the left and right fastener element rows.

[0092] Each of the left and right fastener tapes 1 includes a fastener tape 2 formed in a tape shape and a plurality of fastener elements 3 made of synthetic resin attached to the tape side edge portion of the fastener tape 2. Each fastener element is an injection-molded element formed by injection-molding a synthetic resin to the fastener tape, and has an independent shape separated from the fastener elements adjacent in the front-rear direction.

[0093] In each of the left and right fastener stringers 1, a plurality of fastener elements 3 form a fastener element row. In addition, the fastener element row is formed along the length direction (front-back direction) of the fastener tape 2. Each fastener tape 2 is formed long in the front-back direction. In addition, in the present invention, the specific forms of the fastener stringer 1 and the fabric component 5 are not limited to this.

[0094] The sewing machine 10 used in the present embodiment 1 is a conventional lockstitch sewing machine 10 capable of forming a lockstitch stitch in a straight line. Here, the lockstitch sewing machine 10 refers to a sewing machine capable of performing lockstitch sewing 10. In addition, the lockstitch sewing machine 10 also includes a sewing machine capable of forming a lockstitch stitch and a stitch other than a lockstitch stitch.

[0095] like Figure 1 to Figure 3 As shown, the sewing machine 10 includes: a sewing machine support 11, which is provided with a needle plate 11a; a leg 12, which is erected at the right end of the sewing machine support 11; and an arm 13, which extends toward the left from the upper end of the leg 12. In addition, the sewing machine 10 is provided with a button (not shown) for automatically performing reverse stitching.

[0096] In the sewing machine 10 of the first embodiment, in order to install the sewing unit 30, the sewing machine cover (sometimes also referred to as the panel cover) forming the left top end of the arm 13 is removed. Therefore, in the sewing machine 10 prepared in the first embodiment, the cover fixing portion 13c that fixes the sewing machine cover by bolts and the pulley (hereinafter referred to as the rotation holding portion 13d) that rotates in conjunction with the movement of the sewing machine needle 15 and the lower feed dog 11b are arranged in a usable state. In addition, in the sewing machine 10 of the first embodiment, the pulley is a component arranged at the side end portion of the right side of the arm 13.

[0097] The arm portion 13 includes: an arm body portion 13a extending in the left-right direction; and an arm head portion 13b extending downward from the arm body portion 13a. In the arm head portion 13b, a needle bar 14 for mounting a sewing machine needle 15 and a presser foot 16 for mounting a sewing machine are provided in a manner protruding downward. The needle bar 14 is supported by a needle bar driving mechanism (not shown) in a manner capable of being raised and lowered in the vertical direction. In addition, the sewing machine needle 15, the needle bar 14, and the needle bar driving mechanism provided in the sewing machine 10 of the present embodiment 1 are substantially formed in the same manner as those of a conventional general lockstitch sewing machine.

[0098] The sewing machine presser foot 16 is provided so as to be movable between the following two positions: a pressing position for pressing the fastener stringer 1 and the fabric component 5 placed on the needle plate portion 11a of the sewing machine support portion 11, and a releasing position for lifting from the pressing position to release the pressing of the fastener stringer 1 and the fabric component 5. The sewing machine presser foot 16 includes: a presser foot connecting portion 17 connected to a presser bar (not shown); and a presser foot main body portion 18, which is attached to the lower end portion of the presser foot connecting portion 17 and has a shape that is long in the front-rear direction.

[0099] The presser foot body 18 of the sewing machine presser foot 16 is a component that presses the fastener stringer 1 and the fabric component 5 toward the needle plate portion 11a during sewing. Figure 8 As shown, the presser foot body 18 includes: a needle insertion hole 18 a for the sewing machine needle 15 to be inserted; and a positioning mark 18 b disposed on the upper surface of the presser foot body 18 .

[0100] The needle insertion hole 18a has a long oval or elliptical shape that is long in the front-to-back direction when the presser foot body 18 is viewed from the upper side, and is formed in a manner that penetrates the presser foot body 18 in the upper-lower direction. The alignment mark 18b is formed by a groove portion that extends straight from the needle insertion hole 18a toward the left side. The alignment mark 18b is used as a mark for aligning the position of the rotation center of the conveying gear 51 (first conveying gear 51a) when adjusting the position of the chain conveying portion 50 described later of the sewing unit 30 in the front-to-back direction.

[0101] For example Fig.10 As shown, a guide groove 18 c for inserting the fastener elements 3 of the fastener stringer 1 is provided along the front-rear direction on the lower surface portion of the presser foot body 18 disposed to face the sewing machine support portion 11 .

[0102] In this embodiment 1, for example Fig. 9 As shown, the presser foot body 18 of the sewing machine presser foot 16 is formed longer in the front-to-back direction so that when the sewing machine 10 performs sewing processing, the presser foot body 18 can press more than 5 zipper elements 3 (preferably more than 7 zipper elements 3) in the area on the rear side (upstream side) of the needle drop position 15a of the sewing machine needle 15. Alternatively, the presser foot body 18 is formed longer in the front-to-back direction so that when the sewing processing is performed, the presser foot body 18 can press more than 2 zipper elements 3 in the area on the rear side (upstream side) of the rotation center position of the second conveying gear 51b described later.

[0103] Thus, by forming the presser foot main body 18 longer in the front-back direction, the presser foot main body 18 can press the zipper tape 1 (particularly, the chain element row of the zipper tape 1) over a longer range when the zipper tape 1 is conveyed during sewing. Therefore, by introducing the zipper tape 1 under the sewing machine presser foot 16, the zipper tape 1 can be prevented from swinging in the left-right direction, thereby easily guiding the chain element row of the zipper tape 1 straightly toward the front. As a result, the zipper elements 3 forming the chain element row can be stably engaged with the conveying gear 51 of the sewing unit 30, so that the zipper tape 1 can be accurately fed by the conveying gear 51 according to the lifting and lowering action of the sewing machine needle 15.

[0104] The sewing machine support portion 11 of the sewing machine 10 is provided with a needle plate portion 11 a , a lower feed dog 11 b , and a shuttle portion (not shown) provided below the needle plate portion 11 a .

[0105] The needle plate portion 11a has a flat upper surface for placing the fabric member 5 and the fastener stringer 1. The needle plate portion 11a is provided with: a needle hole (not shown) for inserting the sewing machine needle 15; and an opening 11c (see Fig.10 ), which is used to make the lower feed dog 11b appear and disappear on the needle plate part 11a.

[0106] The lower feed dog 11b is provided so as to be moved in a constant motion in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction by a feed dog driving mechanism (not shown). The lower feed dog 11b contacts the cloth member 5 from the lower surface side while moving, thereby being able to intermittently feed the cloth member 5 forward (downstream side). The shuttle portion (shuttle mechanism) is arranged on the lower side of the needle plate portion 11a. In addition, the shuttle portion includes: a bobbin on which a bottom thread is wound; a bobbin box that houses the bobbin; and an outer shuttle that is arranged in a rotatable manner and has a tip.

[0107] In addition, the needle plate portion 11a, lower feed dog 11b and shuttle portion provided in the sewing machine support portion 11 of the present embodiment 1 are not particularly limited, and for example, they may be formed in substantially the same manner as the needle plate portion, lower feed dog and shuttle portion used in conventional general lockstitch sewing machines.

[0108] In addition, in the present invention, intermittently conveying the fabric component 5 and / or the zipper chain tape 1 means conveying them in a manner that alternately and repeatedly becomes the following two states: a conveying state in which the fabric component 5 and / or the zipper chain tape 1 moves a constant distance, and a stopping state in which the fabric component 5 and / or the zipper chain tape 1 does not move.

[0109] The sewing unit 30 of this embodiment 1 installed on the sewing machine 10 as described above includes: a motion detection unit 40, which detects the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle 15 in the sewing machine 10; a chain tape conveying unit 50, which performs the feeding action of the zipper chain tape 1; a position adjustment unit 60, which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit 50 relative to the sewing machine 10; and a base plate 31, which assembles the chain tape conveying unit 50 and the position adjustment unit 60 into one body.

[0110] The base plate 31 of the first embodiment is formed of a flat metal plate having a plate thickness that can ensure appropriate strength. In addition, the base plate 31 is provided with: a first through hole portion 31a, which is inserted with a bolt member (not shown) that is screwed with the cover fixing portion 13c of the sewing machine 10; and two second through holes 31b, which are inserted with a bolt member (not shown) for fixing a position adjustment plate described later of the position adjustment portion 60.

[0111] In the present invention, the bolt component is not only a bolt including a shaft portion and a head portion cut with external threads, but also refers to a component including threads and screws, etc. The base plate 31 is fixed to the cover fixing portion 13c of the sewing machine 10 by a bolt component (not shown) in a state where the chain conveying portion 50 and the position adjustment portion 60 are assembled.

[0112] A sleeve 31c is installed at the lower end of the base plate 31 of the present embodiment 1. By inserting the protruding pin 76 described later provided in the position adjustment portion 60 into the sleeve 31c of the base plate 31, it is possible to suppress the swaying (small swinging) of the tape conveying portion 50 when the tape conveying portion 50 conveys the tape 1 during the sewing process of sewing the tape 1 to the fabric component 5.

[0113] In addition, in the present invention, the position, size, number, etc. of the first through hole portion 31a provided on the base plate 31 can be changed according to the form of the sewing machine to which the sewing unit 30 is installed. In this way, the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment 1 can be stably installed on various types of sewing machines by changing the position, size, number, etc. of the first through hole portion 31a provided on the base plate 31. Therefore, the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment 1 has high versatility.

[0114] like Figure 1 to Figure 3 and Figure 7 As shown, the motion detection part 40 in the sewing unit 30 includes: a linkage rotating part 41, which rotates in conjunction with the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle 15 in the sewing machine 10; a rotation detection sensor part 42, which detects the rotation of the linkage rotating part 41 and outputs a signal to the chain belt conveying part 50; and a supporting plate part 43, which supports the rotation detection sensor part 42 and is installed on the sewing machine 10.

[0115] The interlocking rotating part 41 includes: a fixed plate part 41a, which is installed on the rotating holding part 13d of the sewing machine 10 via a fixing bolt 44 and a nut 45; and a blocking plate part 41b, which is formed integrally with the fixed plate part 41a and has a fan-shaped shape. The rotation detection sensor part 42 is formed by a photoelectric microsensor, including a light emitting part and a light receiving part arranged at positions facing each other in a separated manner. The rotation detection sensor part 42 is formed to detect whether the light of the light emitting part is blocked by the blocking plate part 41b of the interlocking rotating part 41, and output the rotation position of the interlocking rotating part 41 as an electrical signal. In addition, in the present embodiment 1, the central angle of the fan in the blocking plate part 41b is, for example, 180 degrees, but the size and central angle of the blocking plate part 41b are not particularly limited.

[0116] The support plate portion 43 fixes the rotation detection sensor portion 42 and is mounted on the leg portion 12 and the arm portion 13 of the sewing machine 10 by means of a bolt member (not shown). Thus, the rotation detection sensor portion 42 can be stably supported at a desired position. In addition, in the present invention, the motion detection portion can be any specific shape and structure as long as it can detect the lifting and lowering motion of the sewing machine needle and output an electrical signal.

[0117] The stringer conveying section 50 of the sewing unit 30 includes a conveying gear 51 that conveys the fastener stringer 1 , a rotation control section 52 that outputs a rotational motion, and a rotation transmitting section 53 that transmits the rotation output from the rotation control section 52 to the conveying gear 51 .

[0118] The conveying gear 51 of the first embodiment includes a first conveying gear 51a disposed on the left side of the needle drop position 15a of the sewing machine needle 15 and a second conveying gear 51b disposed behind (on the upstream side of) the first conveying gear 51a.

[0119] The first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b are respectively formed by spur gears having a plurality of teeth provided on the outer periphery, and are formed in the same shape and size as each other. The pitch of the teeth in the conveying gear 51 (the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b) is set to be the same size as the formation pitch of the zipper elements 3 in the zipper stringer 1 in the tape length direction or is set to be slightly smaller than the formation pitch. Here, the pitch of the teeth refers to the value obtained by dividing the pitch circle of the conveying gear 51 by the number of teeth. The height (tooth height) of the teeth in the conveying gear 51 is set so that the teeth of the conveying gear 51 can be properly meshed with the zipper elements 3.

[0120] The first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b are rotatably held by the gear holding portion 54 with their respective rotation axes along the up-down direction. During sewing, the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b are arranged at positions where they can mesh with the fastener elements 3 of the fastener stringer 1 from the left side and where their respective rotation axes are along the front-rear direction of the sewing machine 10.

[0121] In the first embodiment, when sewing is performed, the first conveying gear 51a on the front side is arranged on the left side of the needle drop position 15a of the sewing machine needle 15 in the sewing machine 10 by the position adjustment unit 60 of the sewing unit 30, and the rotation axis of the first conveying gear 51a is arranged along the left-right direction relative to the needle drop position 15a. In other words, the first conveying gear 51a is arranged at a position where, when an imaginary straight line is connected between the rotation axis of the first conveying gear 51a and the needle drop position 15a, the imaginary straight line is parallel to the left-right direction.

[0122] The rotation control unit 52 includes a motor, an input unit (not shown) to which the electrical signal output from the motion detection unit 40 is input, and an output shaft unit 52a protruding downward. The rotation control unit 52 drives the motor according to the electrical signal input from the rotation detection sensor unit 42, thereby rotating the output shaft unit 52a.

[0123] For example, the rotation control unit 52 of the first embodiment drives the motor to rotate the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b when the sewing machine needle 15 rises and is pulled out from the fabric component 5 and the fastener stringer 1 based on the electrical signal of the motion detection unit 40.

[0124] In addition, the rotation control unit 52 of the present embodiment 1 is provided with: a linkage rotation plate 52b, which rotates in linkage with the motor (not shown) of the rotation control unit 52 to perform origin return control; and a position detection sensor unit 52c, which detects the concave-convex shape or the gap shape provided on the outer peripheral edge of the linkage rotation plate 52b. In this case, the position detection sensor unit 52c is formed by a photoelectric micro sensor. In this way, the origin return control is performed by the rotation control unit 52, so that the conveying gear 51 can be stably engaged with the zipper chain element 3 of the zipper chain tape 1 at the start of the sewing process.

[0125] The rotation transmission part 53 of the chain belt conveying part 50 has a structure for transmitting the rotation of the output shaft part 52a of the rotation control part 52 to the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b. Specifically, the rotation transmission part 53 includes: a driving wheel 53a, which is connected to the output shaft part 52a of the rotation control part 52; two driven wheels 53b, which are connected to the driving wheel 53a through a transmission belt (not shown); and a transmission gear part 53c, which is connected to the rotation axis of each driven wheel 53b and meshes with the first conveying gear 51a or the second conveying gear 51b.

[0126] The rotation transmission unit 53 can rotate the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b synchronously when the output shaft 52a of the rotation control unit 52 rotates, and stop the rotation of the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b when the output shaft 52a stops. Here, rotating the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b synchronously means rotating the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b together in the same rotation direction and at the same speed.

[0127] In the first embodiment, the rotation transmission unit 53 only needs to be able to transmit the rotation of the output shaft 52a of the rotation control unit 52 to the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b. The specific structure is not particularly limited and can be formed using a conventionally known transmission mechanism.

[0128] The position adjustment portion 60 of the sewing unit 30 includes: a support plate 61, which is fixed to the base plate 31 along the front-to-back direction; a support column portion 62, which is fixed in a manner extending from the front end portion of the support plate 61 to the left side; a movable portion 63, which is held by the support column portion 62 and can move in the left-right direction along the support column portion 62; a left-right position adjustment bolt 64, which abuts against the right side surface of the movable portion 63 to adjust the position of the movable portion 63; and a fixing rod 65, which presses the left side surface of the movable portion 63.

[0129] In addition, the position adjustment portion 60 includes: a fixed frame portion 66, which is installed on the movable portion 63 in a manner that can be moved along the up and down directions and fixes the chain belt conveying portion 50; an up and down position adjustment bolt 67, which abuts against a part of the fixed frame portion 66 from the bottom to support it; and a bolt retaining portion 68, which extends rearward from the lower end portion of the movable portion 63 and is threadedly engaged with the up and down position adjustment bolt 67.

[0130] In addition, the position adjustment unit 60 is provided with: a first position adjustment unit (front-rear position adjustment unit) 71 that adjusts the position of the fastener tape conveying unit 50 in the front-rear direction; a second position adjustment unit (up-down position adjustment unit) 72 that adjusts the position of the fastener tape conveying unit 50 in the up-down direction; and a third position adjustment unit (left-right position adjustment unit) 73 that adjusts the position of the fastener tape conveying unit 50 in the left-right direction. By making the position adjustment unit 60 include such first position adjustment units 71 to third position adjustment units 73, even if the sewing unit 30 is installed in various existing sewing machines, the sewing process of sewing the fastener tape 1 to the fabric component 5 can be stably performed.

[0131] In the position adjustment part 60 of the first embodiment, the support plate 61 is formed of a metal plate that is long in the front-rear direction. The support plate 61 is provided with: two position adjustment holes 61a that penetrate the support plate 61 in the left-right direction; and a threaded hole that is screwed with the left-right position adjustment bolts 64.

[0132] The two position adjustment holes 61a of the support plate 61 are shown in the side view of the sewing unit 30 (see Figure 5 ) is formed into an oval shape that is long in the front-rear direction. Bolt members (not shown) are inserted into the two position adjustment holes 61a, and the bolt members are inserted into the two second through holes 31b of the base plate 31. Thus, the support plate 61 is fixed to the base plate 31.

[0133] The support plate 61 moves in the front-to-back direction within the range of the two position adjustment holes 61a to change the position of the bolt member inserted in each position adjustment hole 61a, thereby changing the position of the support plate 61 relative to the base plate 31 in the front-to-back direction. As a result, the position of the position adjustment unit 60 and the chain belt conveying unit 50 fixed to the fixed frame unit 66 of the position adjustment unit 60 relative to the base plate 31 fixed to the sewing machine 10 in the front-to-back direction can be adjusted. That is, in the present embodiment 1, the first position adjustment unit (front-to-back position adjustment unit) 71 provided in the position adjustment unit 60 is formed by the support plate 61 (particularly, the two position adjustment holes 61a in the support plate 61).

[0134] The support column portion 62 is formed of a metal plate that is long in the left-right direction. Figure 6 As shown, the support column 62 is fixed to the front end of the support plate 61 using a triangular bracket 62a. The support column 62 is provided with a moving portion 63 that can move in the left-right direction and a rod holding portion 65a that holds the fixed rod 65.

[0135] The moving part 63 is formed of a metal plate that is long in the vertical direction. The moving part 63 includes a right side surface that contacts the top of the left-right position adjustment bolt 64 and a left side surface that contacts the fixed rod 65. By making the right side surface of the moving part 63 contact the top of the left-right position adjustment bolt 64, the moving part 63 is restricted from moving in the right direction. In addition, by making the left side surface of the moving part 63 contact the fixed rod 65, the moving part 63 is restricted from moving in the left direction.

[0136] The fixing rod 65 is rotatably held by the rod holding portion 65a via the mounting bolt 65b. The fixing rod 65 can rotate in the vertical direction between a restricted position (lowered position) for restricting the movement of the moving portion 63 and a retreat position (raised position) for not contacting the moving portion 63, with the mounting bolt 65b as the center. In addition, by moving the rod holding portion 65a to the left and right, the left-right position of the fixing rod 65 can be adjusted.

[0137] The left-right position adjustment bolt 64 is supported by the support plate 61 by being screwed with the support plate 61. With respect to the left-right position adjustment bolt 64, by rotating the left-right position adjustment bolt 64, the position of the left-right position adjustment bolt 64 relative to the support plate 61 can be changed in the left-right direction, thereby adjusting the position of the movement restriction portion 63. Thus, the position of the moving portion 63 and the chain belt conveying portion 50 that moves in the left-right direction together with the moving portion 63 relative to the sewing machine 10 in the left-right direction can be adjusted. That is, the third position adjustment portion (left-right position adjustment portion) 73 provided in the position adjustment portion 60 is formed by the left-right position adjustment bolt 64 held by the support plate 61.

[0138] like Figure 5 As shown, the bolt holding portion 68 is fixed to the lower end portion of the moving portion 63 and extends rearward from the lower end portion of the moving portion 63. The bolt holding portion 68 is provided with a threaded hole portion into which the vertical position adjustment bolt 67 is threadedly engaged.

[0139] The vertical position adjustment bolt 67 is held by the bolt holding portion 68 by being screwed into the bolt holding portion 68. In addition, the vertical position adjustment bolt 67 can be rotated to change the position of the vertical position adjustment bolt 67 relative to the bolt holding portion 68 in the vertical direction, thereby adjusting the position of the top end of the vertical position adjustment bolt 67.

[0140] The fixed frame portion 66 that fixes the chain conveying portion 50 is held by the moving portion 63 in a manner that allows it to move in the up-down direction, and is supported from the bottom by the up-down position adjustment bolt 67. Therefore, by rotating the up-down position adjustment bolt 67 to adjust the position of the up-down position adjustment bolt 67, the position of the fixed frame portion 66 supported by the top end of the up-down position adjustment bolt 67 and the chain conveying portion 50 fixed to the fixed frame portion 66 in the up-down direction can be adjusted. That is, the second position adjustment portion (up-down position adjustment portion) 72 provided in the position adjustment portion 60 is formed by the up-down position adjustment bolt 67 held by the bolt holding portion 68.

[0141] In addition, a lifting rod 69 is provided in the position adjustment part 60 of the present embodiment 1. The lifting rod 69 can temporarily raise the fixed frame part 66 of the position adjustment part 60 and the chain tape conveying part 50 fixed to the fixed frame part 66 to the upper side when the sewing process of sewing the zipper chain tape 1 to the fabric part 5 starts and when the sewing process is completed, and can lower the raised fixed frame part 66 and the chain tape conveying part 50 to their original positions.

[0142] By providing the lifting rod 69, the following operations can be smoothly performed: the operation of placing the fabric component 5 and the fastener stringer 1 on the needle plate portion 11a of the sewing machine 10 at the beginning of the sewing process, and the operation of collecting the sewn fabric component 5 and fastener stringer 1 after the sewing process is completed.

[0143] The position adjustment unit 60 is provided with: a protruding pin 76 inserted into the sleeve 31c of the base plate 31 to suppress the chain conveying unit 50 from shaking; and a pin support unit 77 that supports the protruding pin 76 (see Figure 4 In this case, the protruding pin 76 is provided with an external thread and is mounted with a fixing nut 78. The protruding pin 76 is fixed to the pin supporting portion 77 by the fixing nut 78 while being inserted into a pin insertion hole formed in the pin supporting portion 77.

[0144] The pin support portion 77 is fixed to the fixed frame portion 66 by a bolt member (not shown), and is fixedly formed on the fixed frame portion 66 after changing its position in the front-rear direction. In the pin support portion 77, an insertion hole (not shown) for inserting the protruding pin 76 is formed long in the up-down direction. Thus, the fixing position of the protruding pin 76 can be adjusted in the up-down direction.

[0145] Next, a description will be given of a sewing process (sewing method) of sewing the fastener stringer 1 to the fabric member 5 of clothing using the sewing machine 10 equipped with the above-described sewing unit 30 according to the first embodiment.

[0146] In this sewing process, first, the existing lockstitch sewing machine 10 is prepared, and the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment is installed in the existing lockstitch sewing machine 10. Specifically, the sewing machine cover of the sewing machine 10 is removed so that the cover fixing portion 13c of the sewing machine 10 can be used.

[0147] Then, the base plate 31 is fixed to the cover fixing portion 13c of the sewing machine 10, and the chain tape conveying portion 50 and the position adjustment portion 60 of the sewing unit 30 are assembled on the base plate 31. In addition, the interlocking rotating portion 41 of the motion detection portion 40 is installed on the rotation holding portion 13d of the sewing machine 10, and the support plate portion 43 to which the rotation detection sensor portion 42 is fixed is installed on the front surface side of the sewing machine 10.

[0148] Thus, the formation Figure 1 to Figure 3 The sewing machine 10 with the sewing unit 30 shown. In addition, the sewing unit 30 installed in the sewing machine 10 can be easily removed from the sewing machine 10 by removing the bolt member fixing the base plate 31 in the sewing machine 10 and the bolt fixing the motion detection unit 40 in the sewing machine 10.

[0149] Next, in the sewing machine 10 equipped with the sewing unit 30, the position of the chain tape conveying unit 50 relative to the sewing machine 10 is adjusted by the position adjusting unit 60 of the sewing unit 30. At this time, regarding the position adjustment in the front-back direction, the position of the support plate 61 relative to the base plate 31 is adjusted by the first position adjusting unit 71 of the position adjusting unit 60 while visually confirming that the rotation center of the first conveying gear 51a is in the left-right direction relative to the needle drop position 15a of the sewing machine 10.

[0150] Furthermore, by using the second position adjustment portion 72 (up-down position adjustment bolt 67) and the third position adjustment portion 73 (left-right position adjustment bolt 64) of the position adjustment portion 60, the position of the stringer conveying portion 50 in the up-down direction and the left-right direction is adjusted while visually checking the position of the stringer conveying portion 50. In the process of adjusting the position in the up-down direction and the left-right direction, the position of the stringer conveying portion 50 is adjusted so that, for example, Fig.10 As shown, the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b mesh with the zipper element 3 inserted into the guide groove 18c of the sewing machine presser foot 16 of the sewing machine 10 from the left side, and a gap is formed between the conveying gear 51 and the fabric component 5 placed on the needle plate portion 11a of the sewing machine 10. By performing such position adjustment to provide a gap between the conveying gear 51 and the fabric component 5, it is possible to easily form a sewing portion (not shown) of a stitching thread at a position in contact with the zipper element 3 as described later.

[0151] After the position of the fastener tape conveying unit 50 is adjusted as described above, the fastener tape conveying unit 50 is raised by the lifting rod 69 provided in the sewing unit 30 and is temporarily held at the raised position. Fig.10 As shown, the fabric component 5 is placed on the needle plate portion 11a of the sewing machine 10, and the fastener stringer 1 is placed at a predetermined position on the fabric component 5. Then, the stringer conveying portion 50 is lowered by the lifting rod 69, so that at least the second conveying gear 51b of the stringer conveying portion 50 is engaged with the fastener elements 3 of the fastener stringer 1. In addition, the sewing machine presser foot 16 is lowered, and the fastener stringer 1 and the fabric component 5 are pressed toward the needle plate portion 11a by the sewing machine presser foot 16. Thus, the fabric component 5 and the fastener stringer 1 are placed on the sewing machine 10.

[0152] Next, the sewing machine 10 is operated to sew the fastener stringer 1 to the fabric member 5. During the sewing process, the sewing needle 15 is regularly raised and lowered, and the lower feed dog 11b of the sewing machine 10 is operated to intermittently feed the fabric member 5 forward.

[0153] At the same time, the chain tape conveying section 50 of the sewing unit 30 rotates the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b intermittently according to the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle 15. Specifically, the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle 15 is detected by the motion detection section 40 of the sewing unit 30, and when the sewing machine needle 15 rises and is pulled out from the fabric component 5 and the fastener chain tape 1, the chain tape conveying section 50 rotates the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b.

[0154] At this time, the fastener belt conveying unit 50 moves the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b along the Fig. 9 In addition, the chain belt conveying unit 50 stops the rotation of the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b when the sewing machine needle 15 descends. Thus, the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b can be intermittently rotated according to the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle 15.

[0155] As described above, the sewing machine needle 15 is raised and lowered, and the lower feed dog 11b of the sewing machine 10, the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b of the sewing unit 30 are operated according to the operation of the sewing machine needle 15, thereby stably and accurately conveying the fabric component 5 and the fastener stringer 1 at a desired pitch. As a result, a straight (or substantially straight) sewing portion (not shown) along the vertical direction can be stably formed by the upper thread (needle thread) and the lower thread (Bobbin thread) of the sewing machine 10, and the fastener stringer 1 can be sewn to the fabric component 5 through the sewing portion.

[0156] In addition, during the sewing process of the present embodiment 1, the sewing portion of the sewing thread forms a straight line along the front-back direction at the position in contact with the fastener element 3. Specifically, in the present embodiment 1, the sewing machine needle 15 is made to be relative to the fastener element tape 1 at Fig. 9 The needle drop position 15a shown pierces the fastener tape 2. In this case, the needle drop position 15a of the sewing machine needle 15 is set in the front-to-back direction at a position between the fastener elements 3 adjacent to each other in the front-to-back direction. It is also desirable that the needle drop position 15a is set in the left-to-right direction at a position closer to the meshing head of the fastener element 3 than the end edge of the tape inner side of the fastener element 3.

[0157] By causing the sewing machine needle 15 to penetrate the fastener tape 2 at the needle drop position 15a as described above, the sewn portion of the sewing thread (not shown) can be stably formed in the left-right direction at a position in contact with the fastener element 3. In addition, the fastener tape 1 can be stably sewn to the fabric member 5 by the sewn portion. In addition, in the present embodiment 1, the sewn portion of the sewing thread may not be located at a position in contact with the fastener element 3, but may be formed at a position slightly separated from the fastener element 3 but close to the fastener element 3.

[0158] And, in the sewing process of this embodiment 1, preferably when sewing process starts, and when sewing process ends, reverse stitching is performed.By performing such reverse stitching, it is possible to make the sewing start part and the sewing end part of the sewing portion difficult to produce open thread.

[0159] In this case, in the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment, when the sewing machine 10 performs reverse stitching, the reverse stitching of the sewing machine 10 is detected by the motion detection unit 40, and the first conveying gear 51a and the second conveying gear 51b are moved in opposite directions ( Fig. 9 Thus, the fastener stringer 1 and the fabric component 5 can be stably reverse-sewn.

[0160] After the sewing process as described above is completed, a bending step is performed to bend the fabric member 5 at the position of the sewing portion where the seam line is formed. Specifically, the fabric member 5 is bent along the sewing portion formed in a straight line (or a substantially straight line) so that the portion of the fabric member 5 formed on the left side of the sewing portion and the portion formed on the right side of the sewing portion are overlapped vertically. In addition, the overlapping portions of the fabric member 5 can be bonded together using an adhesive.

[0161] Thus, each fastener element 3 of the fastener stringer 1 can be arranged at a position protruding from the bent portion of the fabric member 5 in the tape width direction of the fastener tape 2. In addition, by bending the fabric member 5 in this way, a part of the sewn portion is wrapped by the fabric member 5 and cannot be seen.

[0162] By performing the sewing step as described above, the fabric member 5 to which the fastener stringer 1 is sewn can be stably manufactured.

[0163] Then, the fabric parts 5 to which the zipper stringers 1 are sewn are combined in groups of two, and a slider (not shown) is attached to the element rows of the group of zipper stringers 1, thereby producing fabric with a zipper. Furthermore, the fabric with a zipper is used to form clothes, thereby producing clothes with a zipper.

[0164] In the first embodiment, for example, after forming a garment using two fabric members 5 to which the fastener stringers 1 are sewn, a slider may be attached to two fastener element rows provided on the garment, thereby manufacturing a garment with a zipper.

[0165] As described above, by installing the sewing unit 30 of the present embodiment 1 on the existing general lockstitch sewing machine 10, it is possible to easily form a sewing machine 10 that can sew the fastener stringer 1 to the fabric member 5. Therefore, even if an expensive sewing machine having a dedicated conveying mechanism for the fastener stringer is not newly introduced as in Patent Document 1, the fastener stringer 1 can be stably sewn to the fabric member 5. Therefore, compared with Patent Document 1, the increase in the manufacturing cost of the zippered garment (particularly the increase in the equipment cost) can be suppressed, and the low-cost zippered garment can be provided.

[0166] Furthermore, by using the sewing machine 10 equipped with the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment, the sewing portion of the sewing thread can be formed at a position in contact with the fastener element 3, thereby sewing the fastener tape 1 to the fastener mounted component 5. As a result, when manufacturing clothes with a zipper, the fastener tape 2 is largely covered by the fabric component 5 on the outer surface side of the clothes and becomes invisible or difficult to see. In this case, in particular, it is possible to effectively prevent or suppress the fastener tape 2 from being exposed between the fastener element 3 and the fabric on the outer surface side of the clothes. Therefore, the design or appearance quality of the manufactured clothes with a zipper can be improved.

[0167] Moreover, in the zippered clothes manufactured in the present embodiment 1, since the zipper tape 2 is prevented or suppressed from being exposed on the outer surface side of the clothes, when the fabric part 5 of the clothes has waterproofness or water-stopping properties as described above, for example, even if the zipper tape 2 is not given waterproofness and water-stopping properties, the manufactured zippered clothes can be made waterproof and water-stopping. Therefore, it is possible to prevent or suppress liquids such as water from penetrating from the outer surface side (surface side) of the clothes to the inner surface side (back side) through the part of the clothes where the zipper is installed. In addition, in this case, since the zipper tape 2 is not given waterproofness or water-stopping properties, the advantages of reducing manufacturing costs and simplifying the manufacturing process can also be obtained. In addition, in the present invention, the zippered clothes can also be manufactured in a manner that does not have waterproofness or water-stopping properties.

[0168] In addition, in the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment, as described above, two conveying gears 51 are provided in the chain conveying portion 50 so as to rotate synchronously with each other. Therefore, by using the sewing machine 10 equipped with the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment, even in the case where the zipper chain is formed by attaching the zipper elements and the components forming the separation insert to the zipper chain, the zipper chain can be stably sewn to the fabric component in the same manner as in the case of the above-mentioned zipper chain. In addition, the components forming the separation insert include, for example, an insert rod, a seat rod, and a socket body.

[0169] (Example 2)

[0170] Below, refer to Figure 11 to Figure 13 The sewing unit of the second embodiment will be described. Fig.11 It is a front view schematically showing the sewing unit of the second embodiment. Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the feed gear of the sewing unit and the sewing machine presser foot of the sewing machine according to the second embodiment. Fig.13 It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the conveyance gear of the sewing unit of this Example 2 and the fastener element of a fastener stringer mesh with each other.

[0171] The sewing unit 30a of the present embodiment 2 includes: a motion detection unit 40, which detects the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle 15; a chain tape conveying unit 80, which performs the feeding action of the zipper chain tape 1; a position adjustment unit 60, which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit 80 relative to the sewing machine 10; and a base plate 31, which assembles the chain tape conveying unit 80 and the position adjustment unit 60 into one body.

[0172] In the sewing unit 30a of the present embodiment 2, although the structure of the fastener tape conveying part 80 is different from that of the sewing unit 30 of the aforementioned embodiment 1, the structure other than the fastener tape conveying part 80 is substantially formed in the same manner as that of the sewing unit 30 of the aforementioned embodiment 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment 2, the fastener tape conveying part 80 of the sewing unit 30a is mainly described, and the parts and portions substantially formed in the same manner as those of the sewing unit 30 of the aforementioned embodiment 1 are indicated by the same reference numerals as those of the embodiment 1, and their description is omitted.

[0173] The fastener tape conveying unit 80 of the second embodiment includes: a conveying gear 81 that conveys the fastener tape 1; a rotation control unit 82 that outputs rotation; and a rotation transmission unit 83 that transmits the rotation of the rotation control unit 82 to the conveying gear 81. In this case, the rotation control unit 82 is formed substantially the same as the rotation control unit 52 of the first embodiment described above.

[0174] The conveying gear 81 is formed by a spur gear having a plurality of teeth on the outer periphery. The conveying gear 81 is held by the gear holding portion 84 in a rotatable manner with the rotation axis along the vertical direction. Fig.13 As shown, during sewing, the conveying gear 81 is arranged at a position where it can mesh with the fastener elements 3 of the fastener stringer 1 from the left, and the rotation axis of the conveying gear 81 is along the left-right direction relative to the needle drop position 15 a of the sewing machine needle 15 .

[0175] In this embodiment 2, Fig.12 As shown, the gear holding portion 84 is provided with a first alignment mark 84a as a mark for indicating the rotation center position of the conveying gear 81. In addition, the sewing machine presser foot 16 of the sewing machine 10 is also provided with a second alignment mark 18d as a mark for indicating the needle drop position 15a of the sewing machine needle 15. The first alignment mark 84a and the second alignment mark 18d are respectively formed by groove portions. By providing such a first alignment mark 84a and a second alignment mark 18d, when the position of the conveying gear 81 in the front-rear direction is adjusted while visually checking using the position adjustment portion 60 of the sewing unit 30a, the position adjustment of the conveying gear 81 can be performed smoothly and stably.

[0176] The rotation transmission part 83 of the chain belt conveying part 80 has a structure for transmitting the rotation of the output shaft part 82a of the rotation control part 82 to the conveying gear 81. Specifically, the rotation transmission part 83 includes: a driving wheel 83a, which is connected to the output shaft part 82a of the rotation control part 82; a first driven wheel 83b, which is connected to the rotating shaft of the conveying gear 81; a second driven wheel 83c, which is used to adjust the tension; and a transmission belt (not shown) that connects the above components. In addition, in the present embodiment 2, the rotation transmission part 83 can be used as long as it can transmit the rotation of the output shaft part 82a of the rotation control part 82 to the conveying gear 81, and its specific structure is not particularly limited.

[0177] By installing the sewing unit 30a of the second embodiment in the conventional general flat-sewing machine 10, it is possible to form a sewing machine 10 that can sew the zipper stringer 1 to the fabric component 5 in the same manner as the sewing unit 30 of the first embodiment. Thus, when the zipper stringer 1 obtained by attaching a plurality of zipper elements 3 to a belt-shaped zipper tape 2 is sewn to the fabric component (zipper attached component) 5, the sewing portion of the stitching line can be formed at a position near the zipper elements 3, preferably at a position in contact with the zipper elements 3, so that the zipper stringer 1 can be sewn to the fabric component 5.

[0178] In addition, the sewing portion of the sewing thread can be formed at a position in contact with the zipper element 3 to sew the zipper tape 1 to the zipper mounted component 5, thereby also being able to obtain an effect of improving the design and appearance quality of the zippered clothing. Moreover, for example, even if the zipper tape 2 is not waterproof and water-stopping, the fabric component 5 of the clothing is waterproof or water-stopping, so that the manufactured zippered clothing can be made waterproof or water-stopping.

[0179] In addition, in the above-mentioned Embodiments 1 and 2, the case where the zippered product manufactured by the sewing machine 10 equipped with the sewing units 30 and 30a is a zippered garment is described. However, the present invention is not limited to the manufacture of only zippered garments, and can also be applied to the manufacture of various products such as daily groceries such as shoes and bags, industrial materials, and various seats for automobiles, trains, airplanes, etc.

Claims

1. A sewing unit installed in a sewing machine (10) to sew a zipper stringer (1) to a zipper mounted component (5), wherein a plurality of zipper elements (3) are mounted on a zipper tape (2) in the zipper stringer (1), wherein the sewing unit (30, 30a) is characterized in that it comprises: an action detection unit (40) for detecting the lifting and lowering movement of a sewing machine needle (15) in the sewing machine (10); A chain conveyor unit (50, 80) for conveying the zipper chain (1); as well as A position adjustment unit (60) is used to adjust the position of the chain belt conveying unit (50, 80) relative to the sewing machine (10). The chain belt conveying unit (50, 80) includes: at least one conveying gear (51, 81) having a plurality of teeth; and a rotation control unit (52, 82) which intermittently rotates the conveying gear (51, 81) according to a signal output from the motion detection unit (40). The sewing unit (30, 30a) has a structure that can be installed and removed relative to the existing sewing machine (10).

2. The sewing unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The position adjustment unit (60) includes: a first position adjustment unit (71), which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit (50, 80) in the front-to-back direction along the feeding direction of the zipper chain tape (1) and the zipper mounted component (5); a second position adjustment unit (72), which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit (50, 80) in the up-and-down direction along the lifting direction of the sewing machine needle (15); and a third position adjustment unit (73), which adjusts the position of the chain tape conveying unit (50, 80) in the left-to-right direction orthogonal to the front-to-back direction and the up-and-down direction.

3. The sewing unit according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the sewing process is performed, at least one of the conveying gears (51, 81) is arranged at the following position: the teeth of the conveying gear (51, 81) mesh with the zipper teeth (3) of the zipper chain tape (1) from one side of the left-right direction, and the rotation center of the conveying gear (51, 81) is along the left-right direction relative to the needle drop position (15a) of the sewing machine needle (15).

4. The sewing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A base plate (31) is provided for assembling the chain belt conveying part (50, 80) and the position adjustment part (60) into one body. The base plate (31) is mounted on a cover fixing portion (13c) for fixing a sewing machine cover in the sewing machine (10).

5. The sewing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The motion detection unit (40) comprises: a linkage rotation unit (41) which rotates in conjunction with the lifting and lowering movement of the sewing machine needle (15) in the sewing machine (10); and a rotation detection sensor unit (42) which detects the rotation of the linkage rotation unit (41) and outputs the signal to the chain belt conveying unit (50, 80). The interlocking rotating part (41) is mounted on the rotating holding part (13d) of the sewing machine (10).

6. The sewing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: When the sewing process is performed, the conveying gear (51, 81) is arranged in a manner away from the needle plate portion (11a) of the sewing machine (10) in the ascending and descending direction of the sewing machine needle (15).

7. The sewing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The fastener tape conveying unit (50, 80) rotates the conveying gear (51, 81) according to the signal output from the action detection unit (40) when the sewing machine needle (15) does not pierce the zipper tape (2) and the zipper mounted component (5).

8. The sewing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The toothed chain belt conveying part (50) has two conveying gears (51). The two conveying gears (51) are arranged at the following positions: the rotation axes of the two conveying gears (51) are along the feeding direction of the zipper stringer (1) and the zipper mounted component (5), The rotation control unit (52) causes the two conveying gears (51) to rotate synchronously.

9. A sewing machine, characterized in that: The sewing unit (30, 30a) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is detachably mounted.

10. A method for manufacturing a product with a zipper, the method comprising the step of sewing a zipper stringer (1) to a zipper mounted component (5), wherein a plurality of zipper elements (3) are mounted on a zipper stringer (2) in the zipper stringer (1), the method being characterized in that: The sewing process includes the steps of installing a sewing unit (30, 30a) on an existing sewing machine (10) for forming flat seam stitches. The sewing unit (30, 30a) comprises: A motion detection unit (40) for detecting the lifting and lowering movement of a sewing machine needle (15) in the sewing machine (10); a chain conveying unit (50, 80) for conveying the slide fastener chain (1); and a position adjustment unit (60) for adjusting the position of the chain conveying unit (50, 80) relative to the sewing machine (10). The chain belt conveying unit (50, 80) includes: at least one conveying gear (51, 81) having a plurality of teeth; and a rotation control unit (52, 82) which intermittently rotates the conveying gear (51, 81) according to a signal output from the motion detection unit (40).

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