Sewing machine

Abstract

A sewing machine (10) according to the present invention is used in a sewing process for an element member (50). The element member (50) has at least one forming member (61, 71) that forms a separable end stop. The sewing machine (10) has a needle plate part (11), a sewing machine needle (13), a conveyance gear (21) that conveys the element member (50), an element restraining part (31) that restrains the element member (50), a cylinder part (33) that moves the element restraining part (31) up and down, and an adjustment stopper (34) that adjusts a lower limit position of the element restraining part (31). Consequently, when the sewing process for the element member (50) comprising a forming member (61, 71) of a separable end stop is performed, the element member (50) is smoothly restrained by the element restraining part (31), and the sewing process can be started in a stable manner.

Description

Sewing machine

[0001] The present invention relates to a sewing machine.

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-72466 (Patent Document 1) discloses a zigzag sewing machine for sewing an element member (a fastener connecting body) to a fabric member of a garment which is a workpiece to be sewn. In Patent Document 1, a plurality of fastener elements are provided at regular intervals on a string-shaped fixing member as the element member to be sewn.

[0003] The sewing machine described in Patent Document 1 has a conveying mechanism for conveying the element member, which includes a conveying gear that meshes with the fastener element of the element member, a conveying motor that drives the conveying gear, and a needle plate portion that guides the element member. In this conveying mechanism, the element member is conveyed by rotating the conveying gear while meshing it with the fastener element of the element member.

[0004] The sewing machine of Patent Document 1 is provided with a cloth presser portion that presses the fabric member from above during sewing, and a fastener presser portion that suppresses the upward detachment of the element member conveyed by the conveying gear.

[0005] Patent Document 1 explains that since the teeth of the conveying gear provided in the sewing machine mesh with a plurality of fastener elements of the element member and convey it, the element member can be conveyed accurately, and thereby, good sewing of the element member to the workpiece to be sewn can be realized.

[0006] By the way, in a slide fastener, it is known to provide a separating insertion tool at one end of an element row so that when the left and right element rows are separated, the left and right fastener stringers can be separated and spaced apart from each other.

[0007] A snap-in / snap-out device generally comprises a butterfly pin provided on one fastener stringer and a box pin and box body provided on the other fastener stringer. The box body is provided with a butterfly pin housing section into which the butterfly pin can be inserted and accommodated. In addition, the butterfly pin and box pin may be provided with thin, plate-like fins to improve the operability of the snap-in / snap-out device.

[0008] In recent years, even when forming a slide fastener using an element member in which multiple fastener elements are fixed to a string-like fixing member as described above, it has been considered to provide an opening and closing mechanism to the slide fastener.

[0009] For example, a butterfly bar is injection-molded and fixed to one of a pair of left and right element members. A box bar is injection-molded and fixed to the other element member. A box body is integrally formed or assembled to the box bar. This makes it possible to form a slide fastener with an opening and closing mechanism having a butterfly bar, a box bar, and a box body using element members.

[0010] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-72466

[0011] As described above, conventional sewing machines used for sewing element components have separate presser feet for holding down fabric components and element components (zipper presser feet) for holding down element components. Furthermore, the element presser feet are installed to be movable parallel to the upper surface of the needle plate along the left-right direction of the sewing machine.

[0012] Therefore, in conventional sewing machines, after the element member and fabric member are placed on the needle plate, the element presser foot is moved parallel to the needle plate of the sewing machine from the side of the element member, so that the element member can be pressed down from above by the element presser foot.

[0013] However, when sewing an element member having a fin-shaped bar or box bar, for example, onto a zipper attachment member such as a fabric member using a conventional sewing machine as described above, the element presser foot would sometimes collide with and get caught on the fin-shaped bar or box bar of the element member when setting it on the needle plate of the sewing machine. As a result, the element presser foot could not properly hold the element member, causing a problem in which sewing could not be started.

[0014] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a sewing machine that can smoothly hold down an element member, which is equipped with a forming member such as a butterfly bar or box bar of a detachable fastener, with a pressing part when sewing the element member to a fastener attachment member, thereby enabling stable sewing.

[0015] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides a sewing machine used for sewing element members to a fastener attachment member, wherein the element member comprises a string-shaped fixing member, a plurality of fastener elements attached to the fixing member, and at least one forming member attached to the fixing member and forming an opening and closing insert for a slide fastener, and the sewing machine comprises a needle plate portion on which the element member and the fastener attachment member are placed, a sewing machine needle that moves up and down relative to the needle plate portion, at least one transport gear for transporting the element member, at least one element presser portion that presses the element member toward the needle plate portion, a cylinder portion that moves the element presser portion up and down, and an adjustment stopper for adjusting the lower limit position to which the element presser portion can descend.

[0016] In the sewing machine of the present invention, it is preferable that a guide portion for guiding the movement of the element presser foot portion and a biasing portion for biasing the element presser foot portion upward are provided.

[0017] In the present invention, it is preferable that the element presser foot comprises a first presser foot positioned close to one side of the element member in the transport direction relative to the sewing needle, and a second presser foot positioned close to the other side of the transport direction relative to the sewing needle.

[0018] According to the sewing machine of the present invention, when sewing an element member equipped with a release / insertion forming member to a zipper attachment member, the element member can be smoothly held down by the element presser foot, allowing for stable sewing.

[0019] This is a schematic perspective view showing the main parts of a sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a schematic plan view showing the first element member and the second element member sewn to a zipper attachment member by the sewing machine shown in Figure 1. This is a schematic diagram showing the sewing machine shown in Figure 1 with the element presser foot held in the standby position and the first element member and the fabric member placed on the needle plate. This is a schematic diagram showing the element presser foot moved above the first element member. This is a schematic diagram showing the element presser foot pressing down on the first element member. This is a schematic diagram showing the element presser foot held in the standby position and the second element member and the fabric member placed on the needle plate.

[0020] The inventors investigated the cause of the element presser foot getting caught on the element member when the element presser foot is moved parallel to the needle plate during conventional sewing machine sewing, and the following was revealed.

[0021] For example, when using a single sewing machine to sew an element member equipped with a butterfly bar and an element member equipped with a box bar onto a fabric member, the orientation of the element members in the longitudinal direction when set in the sewing machine will be opposite to that of the element member equipped with a butterfly bar and the element member equipped with a box bar.

[0022] To explain in more detail, when sewing a first element member equipped with a butterfly bar to a fabric member, for example, if the sewing process starts from the front end of the element member (the end on the fastener element side of the element member), then when sewing a second element member equipped with a box bar to a fabric member, the sewing process starts from the rear end of the element member (the end on the box bar side of the element member).

[0023] Furthermore, when an element member having a fin-shaped bar or box bar is placed on the needle plate of a sewing machine together with a fabric member, the multiple fastener elements provided on the element member are positioned to the side of the fabric member. On the other hand, the fin-shaped bar or box bar is positioned either resting on the fabric member or being sandwiched between the fabric member from above and below. In this case, for the element member placed on the needle plate, the height of the upper surface of the fin-shaped bar or box bar is higher than the height of the upper surface of the fastener elements.

[0024] Therefore, if the element retainer is installed, for example, at a height corresponding to the upper surface of the fastener element, the element retainer can be easily used to hold the fastener element of the element member by moving the element retainer along the left-right direction from the side of the element member.

[0025] However, in the case of the element component's butterfly bar or box bar, when it is set on the needle plate of the sewing machine and pressed down by the element presser foot, the upper surface of the butterfly bar or box bar that is pressed down by the element presser foot is positioned higher than the upper surface of the fastener element.

[0026] Therefore, when the element retainer is moved from the side of the element member along the left-right direction, the element retainer catches on the butterfly bar or box bar, which is positioned higher on the top surface, from the side. As a result, the element retainer cannot move directly above the butterfly bar or box bar, which causes a problem in that the element retainer cannot hold down the butterfly bar or box bar of the element member when sewing is started.

[0027] The inventors conducted extensive experiments and studies to resolve the above-mentioned problems and enable stable initiation of sewing processes. As a result, they discovered that moving the element presser foot up and down would solve the problem, thus completing the present invention.

[0028] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case in which a garment with a slide fastener is manufactured by sewing the element member 50 to the fabric member 40 using the sewing machine 10 shown in Figure 1 will be described.

[0029] Furthermore, in the slide fastener release / insertion device (also called an opening device) described in this embodiment, when the garment is viewed from the front, the butterfly pin 61 is positioned on the left side of the slide fastener, and the box pin 71 and box body (not shown) are positioned on the right side. For this reason, the release / insertion device of this embodiment is formed as a so-called right-hand release / insertion device, where the person wearing the garment operates the butterfly pin 61 with their right hand. In addition, in this invention, it is also possible to form a so-called left-hand release / insertion device by, for example, reversing the positions of the butterfly pin 61 and the box pin 71 and box body in the left-right direction.

[0030] In this embodiment, the sewing machine 10 shown in Figure 1 is used for sewing the left and right element members 50 shown in Figure 2 to the fabric member 40 of the garment (see Figure 3, etc.). In this sewing process using the sewing machine 10, the fabric member 40 of the garment is the zipper attachment member to which the element members 50 are sewn. The garment manufactured using the fabric member 40 to which the element members 50 are sewn is a product with a slide fastener.

[0031] First, the element member 50 will be described. The element member 50 of this embodiment has a pair of left and right first element members 60 and second element members 70. The left first element member 60 and the right second element member 70 are formed to be able to interlock and separate from each other.

[0032] The left-side first element member 60 has a single string-like fixing member 51, a plurality of independent fastener elements 52 fixed to the fixing member 51, and a butterfly bar 61 which is a forming member that forms the opening and closing insert. The butterfly bar 61 is fixed to the fixing member 51 at a position corresponding to the installation position of the opening and closing insert. The fixing member 51 also has a butterfly bar guide portion 62, a first stopper portion 63, and a first temporary element 64 attached to it.

[0033] The second element member 70 on the right side has a single string-like fixing member 51, a plurality of independent fastener elements 52 fixed to the fixing member 51, and a box bar 71 which is a forming member that forms the opening and closing insert. The box bar 71 is fixed to the fixing member 51 at a position corresponding to the installation position of the opening and closing insert, and is formed so that a box body (not shown) provided with a butterfly rod housing can be attached to it. In addition, a box bar guide portion 72, a second stopper portion 73, and a second temporary element 74 are attached to the fixing member 51.

[0034] In this invention, the shape and structure of each element member 50 are not particularly limited, as long as each element member 50 has at least a string-like fixing member 51, a plurality of fastener elements 52, and forming members such as a butterfly rod 61 and a box rod 71 that form the opening and closing insert. The shape and size of the butterfly rod 61, box rod 71, and box body that form the opening and closing insert are also not particularly limited.

[0035] In each of the left and right element members 50, the fixing member 51 is formed to be elongated in the front-to-back direction and is flexible. As the fixing member 51, for example, a monofilament, twisted yarn (twisted cord), or a cord called a knitted cord can be used.

[0036] Multiple fastener elements 52 are attached to a fixing member 51 at regular intervals. Gaps are formed between adjacent fastener elements 52 in the longitudinal direction, and the fixing member 51 is exposed to the outside in each gap. In addition, spaces are formed between the interlocking heads of adjacent fastener elements 52 in the longitudinal direction, into which the teeth of a conveying gear 21 provided on the sewing machine 10 can be inserted when sewing the element member 50 to the fabric member 40. Figure 2 illustrates how the teeth of the conveying gear 21 are inserted between some of the interlocking heads of adjacent fastener elements 52.

[0037] Each fastener element 52 is integrally formed with the fixing member 51, for example, by injection molding a thermoplastic resin onto a single fixing member 51. Each fastener element 52 is formed in a manner independent of adjacent fastener elements 52 in the longitudinal direction.

[0038] Each fastener element 52 is formed by enclosing the fixing member 51 so as to cover the entire outer surface of a portion of the fixing member 51. In the element member 50, a row of elements to which the slider is attached is formed by a plurality of fastener elements 52. In this invention, the shape and size of each fastener element 52 are not particularly limited.

[0039] The butterfly rod 61, butterfly rod guide portion 62, first stopper portion 63, and first temporary element 64 provided on the first element member 60, and the box rod 71, box rod guide portion 72, second stopper portion 73, and second temporary element 74 provided on the second element member 70 are each made of synthetic resin, and it is preferable that they are made of the same synthetic resin as the fastener element 52.

[0040] The butterfly bar 61 of the first element member 60 is positioned adjacent to the rear end of the element row of the first element member 60. The butterfly bar 61 has a butterfly bar body portion 61a fixed to the fixing member 51 and a butterfly bar fin portion 61b extending outward in the width direction from the butterfly bar body portion 61a.

[0041] The inside of the shuttle bar case 62 has four shuttle bar guide elements 62a provided at intervals from each other. A space into which the teeth of the conveying gear 21 provided on the sewing machine 10 can be inserted is formed between the shuttle bar guide elements 62a adjacent in the front-rear direction. A state where the teeth of the conveying gear 21 are inserted is illustrated in a part between the adjacent shuttle bar guide elements 62a shown in FIG. 2.

[0042] The box bar 71 of the second element member 70 is arranged adjacent to the rear end portion of the element row of the second element member 70. The box bar 71 has a box bar main body portion 71a fixed to the fixing member 51 and a box bar fin portion 71b extending outward in the width direction from the box bar main body portion 71a.

[0043] The box bar guide portion 72 of the second element member 70 has three box bar guide elements 72a formed at intervals from each other. A space into which the teeth of the conveying gear 21 provided on the sewing machine 10 can be inserted is formed between the box bar guide elements 72a adjacent in the front-rear direction. A recess into which the teeth of the conveying gear 21 can be inserted is provided at the side edge portion of the large box bar guide element 72a arranged adjacent to the box bar 71. A state where the teeth of the conveying gear 21 are inserted is illustrated in a part between the adjacent box bar guide elements 72a shown in FIG. 2.

[0044] In the present embodiment, each of the fastener elements 52 of the first element member 60 and the second element member 70, the shuttle bar main body portion 61a of the shuttle bar 61, and the box bar main body portion 71a of the box bar 71 have the same thickness dimension (dimension in the vertical direction) as each other.

[0045] The left and right element members 50 described above are held in a straight-extended state by, for example, a dedicated template member (holding member) not shown. The fabric member 40 is also held by this template member. Further, the element member 50 held straight by the template member is sewn to the fabric member 40 by the sewing machine 10 shown in FIG. 1.

[0046] The following describes a sewing machine 10 and a sewing method for sewing an element member 50 to a fabric member 40 using the sewing machine 10. In the description of the sewing machine 10 and the sewing method, the front-back direction is the direction along the conveyance direction in which the element member 50 and the fabric member 40, which are the objects to be sewn, are conveyed by the sewing machine 10. In this case, the direction in which the element member 50 and the fabric member 40 are conveyed is taken as the front, and the opposite direction is taken as the back.

[0047] The up-down direction is the direction along the direction in which the sewing machine needle 13 reciprocates. In this case, the direction in which the sewing machine needle 13 penetrates the object to be sewn is taken as the down direction, and the direction in which the sewing machine needle 13 is pulled out from the object to be sewn is taken as the up direction. The left-right direction is the direction orthogonal to the front-back direction and the up-down direction, and can also be referred to as the width direction of the sewing machine 10. In this case, the inside in the width direction of the sewing machine 10 is the direction approaching the conveyance gear 21 of the sewing machine 10 when based on the sewing machine needle 13 or the needle hole 11b of the sewing machine 10, and the outside in the width direction of the sewing machine 10 is the direction away from the conveyance gear 21.

[0048] Although not shown in the drawings, the sewing machine 10 of the present embodiment has a base portion, a column portion (not shown) standing from the base portion, and an arm portion extending in the left-right direction from the upper end portion of the column portion. In the present invention, the shapes, sizes, structures, etc. of the base portion, the column portion, and the arm portion are not particularly limited.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 1, the sewing machine 10 has a needle plate portion 11 provided on the base portion, a needle bar 12 supported by the arm portion, a sewing machine needle 13 held by the needle bar 12, a sewing machine moving portion 20 movable in the width direction of the sewing machine 10 with respect to the base portion, and a fabric pressing portion (not shown) that presses the fabric member 40 (fastener-attaching member) from above. Note that the fabric pressing portion may also be called a sewing machine foot.

[0050] The needle plate portion 11 has a flat needle plate upper surface, a guide groove portion 11a having a shape recessed with respect to the needle plate upper surface, and a needle hole 11b through which the sewing machine needle 13 is inserted. The guide groove portion 11a is formed straight along the front-back direction so that the element member 50 can be inserted and guided.

[0051] The guide groove 11a is formed continuously from a position in front of the needle hole 11b to a position behind the needle hole 11b. The guide groove 11a is formed with a groove depth that can accommodate a part of the fastener element 52 of the element member 50 and a part of the butterfly bar 61 or a part of the box bar 71.

[0052] By inserting the element member 50 into this guide groove 11a, the movement of the element member 50 in the left-right direction during sewing is restricted, and the element member 50 conveyed by the conveying gear 21 can be guided along the front-rear direction. The needle hole 11b is provided on the bottom surface of the guide groove 11a. Below the needle plate 11, a bobbin mechanism (not shown) for storing the bobbin is provided.

[0053] The needle bar 12 is supported by a needle drive mechanism (not shown) so as to be able to reciprocate vertically. The needle bar 12 is also provided with a needle swing mechanism (not shown) so as to be able to move the position of the sewing machine needle 13 in the width direction of the sewing machine 10. The sewing machine needle 13 is held at the lower end of the needle bar 12 and reciprocates vertically together with the needle bar 12 relative to the needle plate 11. The needle bar 12, sewing machine needle 13, needle drive mechanism, and needle swing mechanism in this embodiment are substantially the same as those provided in, for example, a conventional zigzag sewing machine.

[0054] The sewing machine moving part 20 is supported by the base and / or arm of the sewing machine 10, and is installed to be movable in the left-right direction relative to the base by a left-right movement mechanism (not shown). In this invention, the left-right movement mechanism for moving the sewing machine moving part 20 in the left-right direction is not particularly limited, but can be formed using, for example, an air cylinder or an operating lever.

[0055] As shown in Figure 1, the sewing machine moving unit 20 of this embodiment includes a transport gear 21, a gear support unit 22 that supports the transport gear 21, a rotary drive unit (not shown) that rotates the transport gear 21, and a gearbox 23 that houses the rotary drive unit. The sewing machine moving unit 20 also includes an element presser foot 31 and a lifting structure that moves the element presser foot 31 up and down.

[0056] The lifting and lowering structure of the sewing machine movement unit 20 includes a presser foot support unit 32 that supports the element presser foot unit 31, a pair of front and rear upper and lower cylinder units 33 that move the element presser foot unit 31 and the presser foot support unit 32 up and down, an adjustment stopper 34 that adjusts the lower limit position to which the element presser foot unit 31 can descend, a pair of front and rear guide units 35 that guide the movement of the element presser foot unit 31, and a biasing unit 36 ​​that biases the element presser foot unit 31 upward. The lifting and lowering structure of this embodiment is compactly arranged and installed in the narrow area between the sewing machine needle 13 and the gearbox 23 in the left and right directions.

[0057] In the sewing machine 10, the conveyor gear 21 is positioned below the gear support portion 22 and inward in the width direction from the position of the needle hole 11b. The conveyor gear 21 is rotatably held by the gear support portion 22. The conveyor gear 21 has a first conveyor gear 21a and a second conveyor gear 21b positioned in front of (downstream of) the first conveyor gear 21a. The first conveyor gear 21a and the second conveyor gear 21b are formed by spur gears with multiple teeth provided on their outer circumference.

[0058] The first conveying gear 21a and the second conveying gear 21b are positioned such that, in the front-rear direction, the pin hole 11b is located between the rotation center of the first conveying gear 21a and the rotation center of the second conveying gear 21b. The first conveying gear 21a and the second conveying gear 21b are able to rotate at the same rotational speed relative to each other by a rotational drive unit installed in the gearbox 23.

[0059] The first conveying gear 21a and the second conveying gear 21b rotate while engaging with the fastener element 52, butterfly bar 61 or box bar 71 of the element member 50, and the butterfly bar guide portion 62 or box bar guide portion 72, etc., thereby conveying the element member 50 and the fabric member 40 to which the element member 50 is sewn forward. In this invention, the conveying gear 21 may be formed having only one of the first conveying gear 21a and the second conveying gear 21b.

[0060] The gear support portion 22 has a plate-shaped support base portion 22a and front and rear guide insertion holes 22b provided in the support base portion 22a. The support base portion 22a is fixed to the gearbox 23. A guide portion 35 is inserted through the guide insertion holes 22b. A biasing portion 36, which is attached along the guide portion 35, is supported on the periphery of the guide insertion holes 22b in the support base portion 22a.

[0061] The element presser foot section 31 has a first presser foot section 31a positioned on the rear side (one side) of the sewing machine needle 13, and a second presser foot section 31b positioned on the front side (the other side) of the sewing machine needle 13. The first presser foot section 31a and the second presser foot section 31b are each positioned close to the sewing machine needle 13. When the element presser foot section 31 is viewed from the left and right sides, the first presser foot section 31a and the second presser foot section 31b have a substantially L-shape that is symmetrical to each other in the front-to-back direction. The lower end surfaces of the first presser foot section 31a and the second presser foot section 31b each become flat pressing surfaces that press down on the fastener element 52, etc., from above when sewing the element member 50.

[0062] The upper ends of the first pressing portion 31a and the second pressing portion 31b are connected to and fixed to the pressing support portion 32 by fasteners such as screws. As a result, the first pressing portion 31a and the second pressing portion 31b can move vertically together with the pressing support portion 32 by the upper and lower cylinder portions 33.

[0063] In particular, in this embodiment, the first pressing portion 31a and the second pressing portion 31b are movable between a sewing position (see Figure 5) in which the fastener element 52 etc. can be pressed during sewing and a standby position (see Figure 3) in which they are held away from the element member 50 when sewing is not being performed.

[0064] The retaining support portion 32 has a support body portion 32a that is formed to be long in the front-rear direction, and the first retaining portion 31a and the second retaining portion 31b are fixed to the side portion of the support body portion 32a, respectively. The support body portion 32a is provided with a cylinder fixing portion 32b that is fixed to the lower end of the upper and lower cylinder portions 33, a stopper fixing portion that is fixed to the adjustment stopper 34, and front and rear guide fixing portions that fix the upper end of the guide portion 35. The front and rear cylinder fixing portions 32b are fixed to the cylinder rods 33b of the upper and lower cylinder portions 33 using nuts.

[0065] Each of the front and rear upper and lower cylinder sections 33 is formed by an air cylinder whose drive is controlled by a control unit (not shown) of the sewing machine 10, and is fixed to a fixing plate 24 extending from the gearbox 23. Each upper and lower cylinder section 33 has a cylinder body section 33a to which air pressure is supplied, a cylinder rod (operating shaft section) 33b that is movable in the vertical direction, and a spring (not shown) that applies an upward biasing force to the cylinder rod 33b. The spring is installed inside the cylinder body section 33a.

[0066] The upper and lower cylinder sections 33 can move the cylinder rod 33b up and down relative to the cylinder body section 33a by the action of the air pressure supplied into the cylinder body section 33a and the biasing force of the spring. This allows the pressing support section 32 and the first pressing section 31a and the second pressing section 31b, which are fixed to the pressing support section 32, to be raised and lowered along the vertical direction.

[0067] The adjustment stopper 34 has a stopper shaft portion 34a, a stopper head portion 34b provided at the upper end of the stopper shaft portion 34a, and a pair of upper and lower fixing nuts 34c that fix the stopper shaft portion 34a to the press support portion 32. A male thread is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the stopper shaft portion 34a for screwing in the fixing nuts 34c. The stopper shaft portion 34a is movably inserted into a through hole provided in the fixing plate 24.

[0068] The stopper head portion 34b has a substantially cylindrical shape and is formed to a size that prevents it from entering the through hole of the fixing plate 24. The adjustment stopper 34 restricts the downward movement of the retaining support portion 32 and the element retaining portion 31 by the stopper head portion 34b catching on the fixing plate 24 (by the bottom surface of the stopper head portion 34b contacting the top surface of the fixing plate 24). Therefore, the position of the retaining support portion 32 and the element retaining portion 31 when the stopper head portion 34b is catching on the fixing plate 24 becomes the lower limit position from which the retaining support portion 32 and the element retaining portion 31 can descend.

[0069] The stopper shaft portion 34a is fitted into the upper and lower fixing nuts 34c of the adjustment stopper 34. The upper and lower fixing nuts 34c also tighten so as to sandwich the retaining support portion 32 from above, thereby fixing the adjustment stopper 34 to the retaining support portion 32. This fixing maintains the distance between the retaining support portion 32 and the stopper head portion 34b.

[0070] In the adjustment stopper 34, the stopper head portion 34b and the stopper shaft portion 34a can be moved up and down by rotating the fixing nut 34c. This allows the distance between the retaining support portion 32 and the stopper head portion 34b to be changed, making it possible to adjust the lower limit position of the retaining support portion 32 and the element retaining portion 31, which are set by the adjustment stopper 34, in the vertical direction.

[0071] In this invention, the adjustment stopper 34 is not limited to the structure of the embodiment described above, and may have a different structure from this embodiment as long as it is formed to be able to set the lower limit position of the element retaining portion 31 and to be able to adjust that lower limit position.

[0072] Each of the front and rear guide sections 35 has a cylindrical shape. The upper end of each guide section 35 is fixed to the retaining support section 32. The guide section 35 extends downward in the vertical direction from the position where it is fixed to the retaining support section 32. The guide section 35 is inserted through the guide insertion hole 22b of the gear support section 22.

[0073] The presence of these front and rear guide sections 35 prevents or suppresses the pressing support section 32 from tilting diagonally with respect to the front-rear direction when the pressing support section 32 is moved up and down by the upper and lower cylinder section 33, making it easier for the pressing support section 32 to maintain a position parallel or nearly parallel to the front-rear direction.

[0074] The biasing portion 36 in this embodiment is formed by a compression spring. The biasing portion 36 is provided on the outside of the guide portion 35, along the guide portion 35, so as to surround the guide portion 35. The biasing portion 36 is positioned between the gear support portion 22 and the retaining support portion 32, and biases the retaining support portion 32 upward.

[0075] The presence of such a biasing portion 36 allows the front and rear ends of the press support portion 32 to be biased upward when the press support portion 32 and the element press portion 31 are raised by the upper and lower cylinder portion 33, thereby assisting in the raising of the press support portion 32. This makes it possible to more effectively prevent or suppress the posture of the press support portion 32 from tilting diagonally with respect to the front-rear direction. In this invention, the biasing portion 36 that biases the press support portion 32 may be formed of an elastic member other than a compression spring.

[0076] Next, a sewing method will be described for sequentially sewing the first element member 60 and the second element member 70 shown in Figure 2 onto the fabric member 40 using the sewing machine 10 described above. In this embodiment, the sewing process of sewing the first element member 60 onto the fabric member 40 is performed first, and then the sewing process of sewing the second element member 70 onto the fabric member 40 is described. In this invention, however, the sewing process of the second element member 70 may be performed first, and then the sewing process of the first element member 60 may be performed.

[0077] First, a preparation step is performed to prepare the first element member 60, the second element member 70, and the garment fabric member 40. In this invention, the shape, size, material, properties, etc., of the fabric member 40 to which the first element member 60 and the second element member 70 are sewn are not particularly limited.

[0078] In this embodiment, a template member (not shown) is further prepared that can hold and fix the element member 50 (first element member 60 or second element member 70) and the fabric member 40 in a fixed positional relationship. The template member has, for example, a support member formed to be long in the front-rear direction, and a first holding block portion and a second holding block portion that are movably attached to the support member. The first holding block portion and the second holding block portion each have a fabric holding structure for holding the fabric member 40 and an element holding structure for holding one end or the other end of the element member 50.

[0079] By using such a template member, the first holding block portion and the second holding block portion of the template member can hold the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 in a straight position along the support member. In addition, the fabric member 40 is held by the template member in contact with all the fastener elements 52 of the first element member 60 and is also held in a position where it is overlapped vertically with the butterfly fin portion 61b of the butterfly bar 61.

[0080] In this invention, the shape and structure of the template member are not particularly limited. Furthermore, in this invention, the element member 50 may be sewn onto the fabric member 40 without using a template member.

[0081] Next, the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40, which are fixed to the template member, are set into the sewing machine 10. Specifically, the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 attached to the template member are placed on the needle plate 11 of the sewing machine 10. The position of the template member is also adjusted relative to the sewing machine 10 so that the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 are aligned with the position where the sewing process of the sewing machine 10 will begin.

[0082] For example, in this embodiment, when sewing the first element member 60 to the fabric member 40, the sewing process starts from the front end of the first element member 60 (the end on the side of the first fastening portion 63). Therefore, when setting the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 on the needle plate portion 11 of the sewing machine 10, the first temporary element 64, the first fastening portion 63, and the fastener element 52 of the first element member 60 are inserted into the guide groove portion 11a of the needle plate portion 11 of the sewing machine 10. In addition, the position of the first element member 60 in the front-rear direction is adjusted so that the needle drop position of the sewing machine needle 13 is near the first fastening portion 63 of the first element member 60.

[0083] At this time, the element presser foot 31 of the sewing machine 10 is held in a standby position, as shown in Figure 3, located inward in the left-right direction from the first element member 60. This standby position is the upper limit position in the vertical direction, where the element presser foot 31 is raised to its highest point. The lower limit position of the element presser foot 31 is pre-set by the adjustment stopper 34 of the sewing machine 10 to a position where the element presser foot 31 can properly press the fastener element 52 of the first element member 60.

[0084] As described above, after aligning the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 with respect to the sewing machine 10, the fabric presser foot (not shown) of the sewing machine 10 is lowered, thereby pressing the fabric member 40 from above toward the needle plate 11 with the fabric presser foot.

[0085] Furthermore, in order to engage the transport gear 21 of the sewing machine 10 with the first element member 60, the sewing machine movement unit 20 of the sewing machine 10 is moved by a left-right movement mechanism (not shown) from the standby position shown in Figure 3 to the outside in the width direction of the sewing machine 10, as shown in Figure 4. At this time, the distance to which the sewing machine movement unit 20 is moved is predetermined in the left-right movement mechanism.

[0086] Subsequently, from the state shown in Figure 4, where the transport gear 21 is engaged with the first element member 60, the presser foot support portion 32 and element presser foot portion 31 of the sewing machine 10 are lowered by the upper and lower cylinder portion 33 to the lower limit position set by the adjustment stopper 34. As a result, as shown in Figure 5, the element presser foot portion 31 (first presser foot portion 31a and second presser foot portion 31b) comes into contact with the first element member 60, and the first stopper portion 63 and fastener element 52 of the first element member 60 can be pressed down from above by the element presser foot portion 31.

[0087] In particular, in the sewing machine 10 of this embodiment, the first presser foot 31a is positioned near the rear side of the sewing machine needle 13, and the second presser foot 31b is positioned near the front side of the sewing machine needle 13. As a result, the first element member 60 can be stably held in the vicinity of the sewing machine needle 13 by the first presser foot 31a and the second presser foot 31b, and for example, during sewing, the first element member 60 can be prevented from coming out of the guide groove 11a of the needle plate 11 due to the up and down movement of the sewing machine needle 13.

[0088] Furthermore, in this embodiment, after the element retaining portion 31 is lowered to its lower limit position by the upper and lower cylinder portion 33, the operator can adjust the lower limit position of the element retaining portion 31 vertically using the adjustment stopper 34. This allows the element retaining portion 31 to hold the first element member 60 more appropriately.

[0089] In this embodiment, as described above, the element retaining portion 31, which is held in the standby position shown in Figure 3, is first moved in the left-right direction by a left-right movement mechanism (not shown), and then lowered to the lower limit position by an up-down cylinder portion 33, thereby enabling the element retaining portion 31 to hold the first element member 60.

[0090] As a result, even if the lower limit position of the element retaining portion 31, which is adjusted by the adjustment stopper 34, is set lower than, for example, the position of the first stopper 63 of the first element member 60 and the upper surface of the fastener element 52, the element retaining portion 31 can be prevented from colliding with and getting caught on the first stopper 63 and the fastener element 52 from the left or right direction, and the first stopper 63 and the fastener element 52 can be held down by the element retaining portion 31. Furthermore, by subsequently adjusting the position of the element retaining portion 31 with the adjustment stopper 34, for example, the element retaining portion 31 can be used to properly hold down the first stopper 63 and the fastener element 52.

[0091] At this time, by lowering the element retaining portion 31 with the upper and lower cylinder portion 33, the biasing portion 36 located between the gear support portion 22 and the retaining support portion 32 can be compressed. Also, when the element retaining portion 31 presses the first stop portion 63 and the fastener element 52, a small gap of, for example, about 0.3 mm may be provided between the element retaining portion 31 and the first stop portion 63 and the fastener element 52.

[0092] As described above, the fabric member 40 is pressed down with the fabric presser foot of the sewing machine 10, and the first element member 60 is pressed down with the element presser foot 31, and then the sewing machine 10 performs a sewing process to sew the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 together.

[0093] In this sewing process, the first conveying gear 21a and the second conveying gear 21b are rotated by a rotary drive unit (not shown) at a preset speed and timing, thereby automatically and intermittently or continuously conveying the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 toward the downstream side (forward side in the front-to-back direction) of the sewing machine 10.

[0094] Furthermore, the sewing machine 10 transports the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40, and performs a lockstitch sewing on the first element member 60 and the fabric member 40 by repeatedly performing a reciprocating motion in the up-and-down direction while swinging the sewing machine needle 13 from side to side. In this way, the sewing thread, consisting of an upper thread (needle thread) and a lower thread (bobbin thread), forms a zigzag sewing section (sewing line) on the front and back surfaces of the fabric member 40, and the first element member 60 is sewn to the fabric member 40 by this sewing section.

[0095] In this embodiment, the sewing machine 10 has pre-set coordinate data for the needle drop position where the sewing machine needle 13 descends, and by using a program pre-installed in the sewing machine 10, sewing can be performed automatically. In this invention, the needle drop position of the sewing machine 10 and the stitch pattern formed by the sewing process are not particularly limited.

[0096] By performing the sewing process described above, a fabric part (a component of a garment) can be created in which the first element member 60 is sewn onto the fabric member 40. After the sewing of the first element member 60 is completed, the presser foot of the sewing machine 10 is raised. The element presser foot 31 and the presser foot support 32 are then raised by the upper and lower cylinder section 33 and moved to the standby position shown in Figure 3 by the left and right movement mechanism. This allows the fabric part to be removed from the sewing machine 10 and collected.

[0097] Furthermore, in the sewing machine 10 of this embodiment, the presser foot support 32 that supports the element presser foot 31 is biased upward by a biasing unit 36 ​​(compression spring). This allows the biasing unit 36 ​​to assist in the upward movement of the element presser foot 31 and the presser foot support 32 when they are raised by the upper and lower cylinder units 33.

[0098] Therefore, when the pressing support portion 32 is raised, the posture of the pressing support portion 32 is prevented from tilting in the front-rear direction, and the first pressing portion 31a and the second pressing portion 31b supported by the pressing support portion 32 can be raised together at the same time.

[0099] Furthermore, since the posture of the rising presser support 32 can be easily maintained parallel to the front-rear direction, problems such as the presser support 32 getting caught on the guide 35 are less likely to occur, and the element presser 31 and presser support 32 can be stably raised to a predetermined upper limit position. In this invention, after the sewing process of the first element member 60 is completed, the element presser 31 may be held in the raised state shown in Figure 4 without being moved to the standby position shown in Figure 3.

[0100] Next, using the sewing machine 10 that has been used to sew the first element member 60, the second element member 70 on the right side shown in Figure 2 is sewn onto another fabric member 40. At this time, in the sewing machine 10, the lower limit position of the element presser foot 31 is set by the adjustment stopper 34 to a position where the fastener element 52 can be properly held down during the sewing process of the first element member 60 described above.

[0101] In sewing the second element member 70, first, as with the first element member 60, the prepared second element member 70 and fabric member 40 are attached to a template member (not shown) in a straightened state. Next, the second element member 70 and fabric member 40 attached to the template member are placed on the needle plate 11 of the sewing machine 10 and set.

[0102] In this embodiment, when sewing the second element member 70 to the fabric member 40 with the sewing machine 10, the sewing process is started from the rear end of the second element member 70 (the end on the box bar 71 side). Therefore, the positions of the second element member 70 and the fabric member 40 are adjusted so that the needle drop position of the sewing machine needle 13 is near the box bar 71 of the second element member 70.

[0103] At this time, as shown in Figure 6, the dough member 40 is attached to the template member in a state where it overlaps the box bar fin portion 71b of the box bar 71, sandwiching it from above and below. Therefore, when the second element member 70 and the dough member 40 are set on the needle plate portion 11, the box bar 71 is lifted up from the bottom surface of the guide groove portion 11a due to the thickness of the dough member 40.

[0104] Therefore, the upper surface of the box bar 71 is positioned further away from the needle plate portion 11 (i.e., higher) than the upper surface of the fastener element 52 of the first element member 60 that is set on the needle plate portion 11 during the sewing process of the first element member 60, as shown in Figure 3.

[0105] Subsequently, the presser foot of the sewing machine 10 is lowered to press down on the fabric member 40. Also, since the element presser foot 31 of the sewing machine 10 is held in the standby position shown in Figure 3, the sewing machine movement unit 20 is moved outward in the width direction of the sewing machine 10 by a left-right movement mechanism (not shown) to engage the transport gear 21 of the sewing machine 10 with the second element member 70 (see Figure 4). Furthermore, by lowering the presser foot support unit 32 and the element presser foot 31 of the sewing machine movement unit 20 by the upper and lower cylinder unit 33, the element presser foot 31 presses down on the second element member 70.

[0106] In the case of conventional sewing machines, for example, the zipper foot has a structure that slides from the side of the element member in the left-right direction to hold the element member in place. Therefore, when the second element member is set on the needle plate, if the position of the top surface of the box bar is high, the zipper foot gets caught on the box bar, as described above.

[0107] In contrast, in the sewing machine 10 of this embodiment, as described above, the element presser foot 31, which is held in the standby position shown in Figure 3, is first slid in the left-right direction by a left-right movement mechanism (not shown), and then lowered to the lower limit position by an upper-lower cylinder section 33. The element presser foot 31 is moved in this manner.

[0108] This allows the element retaining portion 31 to approach the box rod 71 from above, rather than from the left or right. Therefore, even if the upper surface of the box rod 71 is at a high position, the element retaining portion 31 can stably hold the box rod 71 without causing the element retaining portion 31 to catch on the box rod 71.

[0109] As described above, after the fabric member 40 and the second element member 70 are pressed down by the fabric presser foot and element presser foot 31 of the sewing machine 10, the sewing machine 10 performs a sewing process to sew the second element member 70 and the fabric member 40 together. In this embodiment, the sewing process of the second element member 70 is performed substantially in the same manner as the sewing process of the first element member 60 described above.

[0110] This makes it possible to create a fabric part in which the second element member 70 is sewn onto the fabric member 40. Subsequently, by using the fabric part to which the first element member 60 is sewn and the fabric part to which the second element member 70 is sewn, it is possible to manufacture a garment with a slide fastener.

[0111] As described above, with the sewing machine 10 of this embodiment, when starting the sewing process to sew the first element member 60 to the fabric member 40, and when starting the sewing process to sew the second element member 70 to the fabric member 40, the element presser foot 31 of the sewing machine 10 can stably hold down the first element member 60 or the second element member 70 without getting caught on the fastener element 52 or the box bar 71 that forms the release insert. Therefore, the sewing process of the element member 50 can be started smoothly. Furthermore, even during the sewing process, the element presser foot 31 can stably hold down the element member 50, so the sewing process can be carried out stably and smoothly.

[0112] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited in any way to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible as long as they have substantially the same configuration as the present invention and produce similar effects.

[0113] For example, the above-described embodiment describes a case where the product with a slide fastener manufactured using the sewing machine 10 is a garment with a slide fastener. However, the products manufactured using the sewing machine 10 of the present invention are not limited to clothing, but include a variety of products such as everyday goods like shoes and bags, industrial materials, and various types of seats for automobiles, trains, aircraft, etc.

[0114] Furthermore, the material and shape of the fabric material to which the element members are sewn are not particularly limited. The use of the fabric material is not limited to fabric material used in clothing. By using the sewing machine of the present invention, element members can be stably sewn to fabric material used in products other than clothing, and to fabric material such as zipper tape used in slide fasteners.

[0115] 10 Sewing machine 11 Needle plate section 11a Guide groove section 11b Needle hole 12 Needle bar 13 Sewing machine needle 20 Sewing machine movement section 21 Conveyor gear 21a First conveyor gear 21b Second conveyor gear 22 Gear support section 22a Support base section 22b Guide insertion hole 23 Gearbox 24 Fixing plate 31 Element presser foot section 31a First presser foot section 31b Second presser foot section 32 Presser foot support section 32a Support body section 32b Cylinder fixing section 33 Upper and lower cylinder section 33a Cylinder body section 33b Cylinder rod (operating shaft section) 34 Adjustment stopper 34a Stopper shaft section 34b Stopper head section 34c Fixing nut 35 Guide section 36 Biasing section 40 Fabric member 50 Element member 51 Fixing member 52 Fastener element 60 First element member 61 Butterfly bar 61a Butterfly bar body 61b Butterfly bar fin 62 Butterfly bar guide part 62a Butterfly bar guide element 63 First stopper part 64 First temporary element 70 Second element member 71 Box bar 71a Box bar body 71b Box bar fin 72 Box bar guide part 72a Box bar guide element 73 Second stopper part 74 Second temporary element

Claims

1. A sewing machine (10) used for sewing element members (50) to a fastener attachment member (40), wherein the element member (50) comprises a string-shaped fixing member (51), a plurality of fastener elements (52) attached to the fixing member (51), and at least one forming member (61, 71) attached to the fixing member (51) and forming an opening and closing insert for a slide fastener, The sewing machine (10) is characterized by having a needle plate portion (11) on which the element member (50) and the fastener attachment member (40) are placed, a sewing machine needle (13) that moves up and down relative to the needle plate portion (11), at least one transport gear (21) for transporting the element member (50), at least one element presser portion (31) that presses the element member (50) toward the needle plate portion (11), a cylinder portion (33) that moves the element presser portion (31) up and down, and an adjustment stopper (34) that adjusts the lower limit position to which the element presser portion (31) can descend.

2. The sewing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a guide portion (35) for guiding the movement of the element presser portion (31) and a biasing portion (36) for biasing the element presser portion (31) upward.

3. The sewing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the element presser foot (31) comprises a first presser foot (31a) positioned close to one side of the transport direction of the element member (50) relative to the sewing needle (13), and a second presser foot (31b) positioned close to the other side of the transport direction of the sewing needle (13).

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