Holding frame

Abstract

This holding frame is constituted by one or more frame members (10) and holds a to-be-held object (W) in a stretched state in an inner region surrounded by the one or more frame members. One frame member (10) includes a base member (11), a pressing member (12) that is disposed above or below the base member, and a fixing member (13) that fixes the base member and the pressing member so that a gap therebetween can be adjusted. The to-be-held object (W) is gripped between the base member and the pressing member for which the gap therebetween has been adjusted. As an example, there is further provided a rod-like intermediate member (15) detachably disposed between the base member (11) and the pressing member (12), and the to-be-held object W is gripped in a state in which the intermediate member (15) is interposed between the base member 11 and the pressing member 12. The gap between the base member (11) and the pressing member (12) is variably adjusted whereby changes in the thickness of the to-be-held object (W) can be easily accommodated.

Description

Holding frame

[0001] The present invention relates to a holding frame for holding a sewing object (such as fabric) to be sewn in an embroidery sewing machine or other sewing machine.

[0002] The holding frame is composed of a frame body of a predetermined shape (generally rectangular). Conventionally, in order to hold the sewing object (such as fabric) in a stretched state around the frame body, a special clip means has been used as a separate component from the frame body. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 listed below disclose a configuration in which a spring-loaded clip is used as the clip means. In such a case, to ensure that the clip securely grips the fabric, a protrusion is formed on the inside of the frame body, and the fabric is wrapped around the protrusion and then gripped by the clip from above. The base of the protrusion forms a recessed groove (depression) that allows a certain degree of engagement, and the tip edge of the clip engages into the recessed groove (depression) from above the fabric, thereby ensuring that the fabric is securely gripped.

[0003] The depth of the recessed grooves (depressions) formed at the base of the protrusions must be designed to provide an appropriate gripping force, taking into account the thickness of the fabric to be held. For example, because typical fabrics are relatively thin, the recessed grooves (depressions) are relatively deep to ensure the fabric is securely gripped. Therefore, when attempting to hold thick fabrics (e.g., urethane fabric) using a holding frame equipped with protrusions formed with recessed grooves (depressions) suitable for gripping such relatively thin fabrics, the thick fabric will not be sufficiently gripped into the recessed grooves (depressions), making it difficult to securely grip the thick fabric. Therefore, holding frames with protrusions formed with different types of recessed grooves (depressions) must be prepared depending on the thickness of the fabric to be used. In other words, it has been difficult to share the same holding frame between multiple types of fabrics with relatively significantly different thicknesses. Furthermore, for example, when attempting to hold thick fabrics using a holding frame designed for holding thin fabrics, there is a risk of clip edge scratches or press marks remaining on the fabric.

[0004] Patent Document 3 below discloses a holder that utilizes the attractive force of a permanent magnet as a clipping means. A permanent magnet is disposed on one side of a frame or holder, and a magnetic material such as iron is disposed on the other. Both the frame and holder are formed to have an asymmetrical angled (or sawtooth) cross-section. The asymmetrical angled (or sawtooth) cross-section covers a fabric placed on the frame, sandwiching it from above with the holder. The fabric is stretched and gripped by the attractive force of the permanent magnet and the locking force provided by the apex (ridge) of the asymmetrical angled (or sawtooth) cross-section. In this case, the gently sloping portion of the asymmetrical angled (or sawtooth) cross-section is positioned inside the holder frame, and the steeply sloping (or vertical) portion is positioned outside the holder frame, so that the steeply sloping (or vertical) outer portion exerts an inward locking force. The gripping force for the stretched fabric is provided by the wide area of ​​the fabric sandwiched between the holder and the frame at the gently sloping inner portion. This allows for adaptability to variations in the thickness of the fabric being sandwiched (i.e., the fabric to be held). However, the attraction force of a permanent magnet is not sufficient to provide the necessary gripping force. Furthermore, the frame must have an asymmetrical mountain-shaped (or sawtooth) cross section, which increases the height and width of the frame in both the vertical and horizontal directions, resulting in a bulky structure and relatively limiting the sewable area inside.

[0005] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-59492, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-337575, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-45453

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a holding frame that can easily accommodate changes in the thickness of the object to be held (fabric, etc.) and can exert a reliable holding force.

[0007] The holding frame of the present invention is a holding frame that is composed of one or more frame members and is used to hold an object to be held in a stretched state in an inner area surrounded by the one or more frame members, and one of the frame members includes a base member, a pressing member arranged above or below the base member, and a fixing member that adjustably fixes the distance between the base member and the pressing member, and is configured to grip the object to be held between the base member and the pressing member whose distance has been adjusted.

[0008] According to the present invention, a single frame member is composed of a base member and a presser member spaced apart vertically, the vertical spacing between the two being adjustable, and the two are fixed together as a single frame member by a fixing member when the desired spacing is adjusted. Therefore, by variably adjusting the vertical spacing between the base member and the presser member, it is possible to easily accommodate changes in the thickness of the object to be held (e.g., fabric) and, by fixing the object to be held between the two via the fixing member, it is possible to exert a reliable holding force on the object to be held (e.g., fabric) held between the two. Furthermore, because of the simple structure of vertically clamping the object to be held (e.g., fabric), it is not necessary to increase the horizontal frame width as in conventional technologies that utilize the attraction force of permanent magnets, and a holding frame with a simplified configuration can be provided that is not bulky.

[0009] 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a holding frame according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is an exploded perspective view of one frame member constituting the holding frame; 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a flexible, web-like object to be held (e.g., fabric) is being attached to the holding frame; 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a rod-shaped intermediate member is manually inserted between each base member and presser member in a pair of frame members on the short sides; 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a rod-shaped intermediate member is manually inserted between each base member and presser member in a pair of frame members on the long sides; 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a corner portion showing a state in which a rod-shaped intermediate member has been fitted between the base member and presser member (i.e., into a horizontal groove); 7 is an end view of one frame member with the intermediate member fitted in the axial direction of the intermediate member; 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a corner portion showing a state in which a stopper is attached to prevent the intermediate member from moving inward of the holding frame; 9 is an end view of one frame member with the stopper attached in the axial direction of the intermediate member.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a holding frame 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The holding frame 1 shown in this embodiment is generally referred to as a square frame and is used in association with each of the sewing heads of a multi-head embroidery sewing machine equipped with multiple sewing heads (not shown). As is well known, square frames corresponding to each sewing head are arranged side by side on a large base frame (not shown). By driving the base frame in the XY direction according to the desired sewing pattern, the square frames corresponding to each sewing head are moved together in the XY direction, thereby embroidering the same sewing pattern on the object (fabric) stretched on the square frame corresponding to each sewing head. Note that the fact that the holding frame 1 is a square frame is not the gist of the present invention, and therefore a description related to the square frame will be omitted.

[0011] The holding frame 1 is rectangular and composed of four frame members 10. Each frame member 10 includes a base member 11, a presser member 12 disposed above the base member 11, and a fixing member 13 that adjustably fixes the distance between the base member and the presser member. Corner joints 14 are disposed at the corners formed by two adjacent frame members 10, and the base members 11 of the two adjacent frame members 10 are joined together via the corner joints 14 with screws or the like, thereby joining the base members 11 of the four frame members 10 into a rectangular shape and forming the basic structure of the holding frame 1. The base members 11 and the presser members 12 are made of a rigid material, for example, a metal material such as aluminum. The fixing member 13 includes, for example, a screw-type joining structure.

[0012] 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the base member 11, pressing member 12, and fixing member 13 of one frame member 10 that constitutes one side of the rectangular holding frame 1. The base member 11 has a long, angled shape, and the rising portion 11a of the angled shape has a plurality of vertically extending elongated holes 13b spaced laterally apart. The pressing member 12 also has a long, angled shape, and the falling portion 12a of the angled shape has through holes 13c formed in positions corresponding to the elongated holes 13b. The fixing member 13 has a threaded connection structure consisting of a screw (or bolt) 13a, the elongated holes 13b, the through hole 13c, and a nut 13d (see FIG. 7) that threads onto the screw (or bolt) 13a inside the falling portion 12a. During assembly, the presser member 12 is placed inside the base member 11, and with the rising portion 11a of the base member 11 in contact with the falling portion 12a of the presser member 12, a screw (or bolt) 13a is inserted from the outside into the elongated hole 13b and through hole 13c and threaded into the nut 13d inside the falling portion 12a. With the screw 13a loosely threaded into the nut 13d, the height of the presser member 12 can be manually adjusted to arbitrarily adjust the vertical distance between the base member 11 and the presser member 12. With the vertical distance between the base member 11 and the presser member 12 adjusted to the desired distance, the screw 13a can be appropriately tightened to loosely secure the presser member 12 to the base member 11. By attaching the presser edge members 12 to all of the base members 11 of the four frame members 10 in this manner, the holding frame 1 shown in FIG. 1 is formed.

[0013] 2, the lower side of the upper horizontal portion 12b of the presser member 12 forms a flat surface, and the upper side of the lower horizontal portion 11b of the base member 11 also forms a flat surface. Therefore, the frame member 10 formed by joining and fixing the base member 11 and the presser member 12 as described above forms a horizontal groove that opens to the inside of the holding frame 1. This horizontal groove functions as a space that allows the edge of the object to be held (fabric) to be inserted.

[0014] 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a flexible, web-like object to be held (e.g., fabric) W is being (in the middle of) being manually attached to the holding frame 1 by an operator. For example, first, one edge of the object to be held W is inserted into the horizontal groove of the frame member 10 on one side, then the other edge of the object to be held W is inserted into the horizontal groove of the frame member 10 on the opposite side (the arrow in the figure indicates the insertion direction), then the other edge of the object to be held W is inserted into the horizontal groove of the frame member 10 on the adjacent side, and finally the remaining edge of the object to be held W is inserted into the horizontal groove of the frame member 10 on the remaining side. In this way, the rectangular object to be held W is placed within the inner region of the holding frame 1, and the operator manually evenly smooths the placed object to be held W outward from the center, so that the object to be held W is spread flat within the inner region of the holding frame 1.

[0015] In the embodiment described herein, a rod-shaped intermediate member 15 is detachably disposed between the base member 11 and the presser member 12. As an example, a hollow aluminum pipe with a circular cross section may be used as the rod-shaped intermediate member 15. FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of how the rod-shaped intermediate member 15 is manually inserted between each base member 11 and presser member 12 (i.e., into the horizontal groove) of a pair of frame members 10 on the short sides. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of how the rod-shaped intermediate member 15 is manually inserted between each base member 11 and presser member 12 (i.e., into the horizontal groove) of a pair of frame members 10 on the long sides. In each figure, the arrow conceptually indicates the direction in which the intermediate member 15 is inserted. Here, the intermediate member 15 is inserted so as to be positioned above the object to be held W, i.e., between the object to be held W on the base member 11 and the presser member 12.

[0016] Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a corner portion of the holding frame 1, showing a rod-shaped intermediate member 15 inserted into the horizontal groove. For clarity, a portion of the corner joint 14 provided in the corner portion is omitted. Figure 7 is an end view of one frame member 10 with the intermediate member 15 inserted, viewed in the axial direction of the intermediate member 15. (a) illustrates an example in which the object W to be held is a thick fabric, and (b) illustrates an example in which the object W is a thin fabric. As can be seen from Figure 7, a rubber bushing 12c is inserted into the upper horizontal portion 12b of the presser member 12, and an anti-slip sheet 11c is attached to the upper side of the lower horizontal portion 11b of the base member 11. These rubber bushings 12c and anti-slip sheet 11c provide cushioning and / or anti-slip effects for the intermediate member 15 inserted between the base member 11 and the presser member 12 (i.e., in the horizontal groove). A felt pad 11d is attached to the underside of the lower horizontal portion 11b of the base member 11, which serves to protect the table surface and the like underneath when the holding frame 1 is installed on a sewing machine.

[0017] 6 and 7 , intermediate member 15 is placed on top of object W to be held on base member 11, and a pressing force from presser member 12 acts from above intermediate member 15 to grip object W between base member 11 and intermediate member 15. By tightening screws 13a with object W tightly held between base member 11 and intermediate member 15, the vertical distance between base member 11 and presser member 12 is fixed, and object W can be firmly held. In this way, object W is gripped with intermediate member 15 interposed between base member 11 and presser member 12.

[0018] 7(a), when a thick object W to be held, such as a urethane fabric, is held in the holding frame 1, the edge of the object W (fabric) is not wrapped around the pipe-shaped intermediate member 15, but is inserted flat into the horizontal groove to the back. In other words, in this case, the extent (size or area) of the object W to be held is assumed to be pre-formed (cut) to a size that will fit appropriately within the inner area of ​​the holding frame 1. With the intermediate member 15 fitted between the base member 11 and the presser member 12 (i.e., within the horizontal groove), the presser member 12 is pressed firmly downward by hand (the screw 13a may be loosened somewhat if necessary) and tightly tightened, thereby fixing the vertical distance between the base member 11 and the presser member 12 and firmly holding the object W.

[0019] 7(b), when a thin object W to be held is held by the holding frame 1, the edge of the object W (fabric) is wrapped around a pipe-shaped intermediate member 15, and the periphery of the edge of the object W is sandwiched between the intermediate member 15 and the presser member 12. In other words, in this case, the extent (size or area) of the object W is pre-formed (cut) to a size appropriately wider than the inner area of ​​the holding frame 1. Since a thin object W has a weak stiffness, the edge of the object W (fabric) can be wrapped around the pipe-shaped intermediate member 15 in this way, and the object W can be sandwiched at two points, between the base member 11 and the intermediate member 15 and between the intermediate member 15 and the presser member 12, thereby enabling the object W to be tightly gripped. In this case, with the intermediate member 15 fitted between the base member 11 and the press member 12 (i.e., in the horizontal groove) as shown in the figure, the held object W can be satisfactorily stretched by manually pulling strongly on the edge of the held object W that protrudes inward from between the intermediate member 15 and the press member 12. In this state, by manually pressing the press member 12 strongly downward (at this time, the screw 13a may be loosened somewhat if necessary) and tightly tightening the screw 13a, the vertical distance between the base member 11 and the press member 12 is fixed, and the held object W is firmly held.

[0020] As one example, stoppers 16 may be provided at each corner as shown in Figure 8 to prevent the intermediate member 15 from moving toward the inside of the holding frame 1 when it is fitted between the base member 11 and the presser member 12. The stoppers 16 have stopper pieces 16a, 16b extending downward at the left and right ends, at an angle of approximately 90 degrees, and are attached to the corner joints 14 after the intermediate member 15 is fitted between the base member 11 and the presser member 12. Figure 9 is an end view of one frame member 10 with the stoppers 16 attached, viewed in the axial direction of the intermediate member 15; for clarity, part of the corner joints 14 is omitted.

[0021] A cutout groove 14a (see Figures 1, 6, etc.) for attaching the stopper 16 is formed in the corner joint 14, and a bolt 16c that passes vertically through the horizontal surface of the stopper 16 is fitted into the cutout groove 14a, thereby assembling the stopper 16 to the corner joint 14. A hand-turnable nut 16d is threaded onto the bolt 16c that protrudes above the horizontal surface of the stopper 16, and by tightening the nut 16d, the stopper 16 is fixed to the corner joint 14. With the stopper 16 fixed to the corner joint 14 in this manner, the left and right stopper pieces 16a, 16b, which form an approximately 90-degree angle, appropriately abut against the two adjacent intermediate members 15 at the corner, preventing the intermediate members 15 from moving inward of the holding frame 1.

[0022] In the above embodiment, one intermediate member 15 is used for one frame member 10. Furthermore, due to the structure of the corner joints 14, the length of the presser member 12 of each frame member 10 is shorter than the length of the corresponding base member 11. However, because the horizontal grooves are formed so as to extend below the corner joints 14, the length of one intermediate member 15 can be longer than the presser member 12 and approximately equal to the length of the base member 11. This means that when the workpiece W is gripped between the base member 11 and the intermediate member 15, the area over which the gripping force is applied is expanded. However, the number of intermediate members 15 is not limited to one; multiple divided intermediate members 15 may be used for one frame member 10.

[0023] An intermediate member 15 having a circular cross section (or a shape close to it) is advantageous because it can be easily rolled and pressed into the space between the base member 11 and the holding sap member 12 (i.e., into the horizontal groove) as shown in Figure 4 or Figure 5. However, the cross section of the intermediate member 15 is not limited to a circular shape, and it may also be, for example, an elliptical or polygonal shape such as a square.

[0024] As a modified example, it is also within the scope of the present invention to omit the intermediate member 15 and configure the base member 11 and the holding side member 12 to directly sandwich the object W to be held. In this case, the underside of the holding member 12 may have an appropriate protruding shape such as a semicircular, semielliptical, trapezoidal, or triangular cross section to facilitate insertion of the object W to be held and increase the clamping pressure. However, the inclusion of the intermediate member 15 as in the above embodiment makes it possible to relatively widen the opening width of the horizontal groove formed by the base member 11 and the holding member 12, thereby making it easier to manually insert one edge of the object W into the horizontal groove. In addition, by forcing the intermediate member 15 between the base side member 11 and the holding side member 12, which are set closely spaced apart (in the horizontal groove), it is easier to apply a strong holding force to the object W to be held.

[0025] The configuration of the fixing member 13 that adjustably fixes the gap between the base member 11 and the pressing member 12 is not limited to that shown in the above embodiment, and other configurations may be used. For example, the fixing member 13 is not limited to one that includes a threaded connection structure consisting of the screw (or bolt) 13a, the elongated hole 13b, the through hole 13c, and the nut 13d as described above, but may also include a threaded connection structure like a jack mechanism (for example, a structure in which the gap becomes narrower as the screw is turned in the tightening direction).

[0026] In the above embodiment, the pressing member 12 is disposed above the base member 11, but this relationship may be reversed. That is, the scope of the present invention also includes a modification to a structure in which the pressing member 12 is disposed below the base member 11, with the top and bottom reversed.

[0027] In the above embodiment, the holding frame 1 is configured to function as a square frame, and for example, the accessories 20 and 21 shown in Fig. 1 are used to attach the holding frame 1 as a square frame to a base frame (raw fabric frame). However, this is not limited to this, and the structure related to the holding frame of the present invention can also be implemented in a structure in which the object to be held (such as fabric) W is directly stretched on the base frame (raw fabric frame) without using a square frame.

[0028] In the above embodiment, one frame member 10 is linear, but this is not limiting, and the present invention can also be applied to a single bent frame member (such as an L-shaped or U-shaped frame member). For example, a rectangular holding frame 1 can be constructed by combining two L-shaped frame members, or by combining one L-shaped frame member with two linear frame members, or by combining one U-shaped frame member with one linear frame member, and the structure according to the present invention can be employed with any of these frame members.

[0029] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment in which the structure of the present invention is applied to all frame members constituting the holding frame 1, and application of the structure of the present invention to a frame member 10 having only one side is also within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the holding frame is not limited to a rectangular shape, and may have any other shape. For example, even if one frame member of a holding frame having any shape is bent or curved, it is within the scope of the present invention as long as it is a structure that applies the technical concept of the present invention. Furthermore, even if the holding frame is composed of only one frame member that is bent or curved according to any shape (e.g., rectangular or circular), the bent or curved frame member can be configured according to the present invention, and such an embodiment is also within the scope of the present invention.

[0030] Furthermore, in a single frame member having a linear, bent, or curved shape, the base member may have a linear, bent, or curved shape of a size corresponding to the single frame member, while the corresponding pressing member may be divided into a plurality of portions in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the intermediate member may have a linear, bent, or curved shape of a size corresponding to the single frame member, similar to the base member, or may be divided into a plurality of portions in the longitudinal direction as appropriate.

[0031] As described above, according to this embodiment, a single frame member 10 is composed of a base member 11 and a presser member 12 spaced apart in the vertical direction, the vertical spacing between the two is adjustable, and the two are fixed together as a single frame member 10 by the fixing member 13 when the desired spacing is adjusted. Therefore, by variably adjusting the spacing (vertical spacing) between the base member 11 and the presser member 12, it is possible to easily accommodate changes in the thickness of the object to be held (e.g., fabric) W, and the fixation via the fixing member 13 provides an excellent effect of ensuring a reliable holding force for the object to be held (e.g., fabric) W held between the two. Furthermore, because of the simple structure of vertically sandwiching the object to be held (e.g., fabric) W, there is no need to increase the horizontal frame width as in conventional technology that utilizes the attraction force of permanent magnets, and a holding frame with a simplified configuration can be provided that is not bulky.

[0032] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Holding frame 10 Frame member 11 Base member 12 Pressing member 13 Fixing member 13a Screw (bolt) 13b Elongated hole 13c Through hole 13d Nut 14 Corner joint 15 Intermediate member 16 Stopper W Helded object (fabric)

Claims

1. A holding frame made up of one or more frame members for holding an object to be held in a stretched state in an inner area surrounded by said one or more frame members, wherein one of said frame members includes a base member, a pressing member arranged above or below said base member, and a fixing member that adjustably fixes the distance between said base member and pressing member, and is configured to grip said object to be held between said base member and pressing member whose distance has been adjusted.

2. The holding frame of claim 1, further comprising a rod-shaped intermediate member that is detachably arranged between the base member and the pressing member, and the object to be held is gripped with the intermediate member interposed between the base member and the pressing member.

3. The holding frame according to claim 2, further comprising a stopper for preventing said intermediate member from moving inward of said holding frame when said intermediate member is disposed between said base member and said pressing member.

4. The retaining frame of claim 2, wherein said intermediate member has a circular cross section.

5. A holding frame according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fixing member has a structure that connects the base member and the pressing member, and the distance between the base member and the pressing member can be adjusted by variably adjusting the connecting point.

6. The holding frame of claim 5, wherein the fixing member includes a screw-fitting structure.

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