Sewing Machine Projection Interface for Cloth Position Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of sewing machines must temporarily hold a work cloth with one hand to operate buttons on the machine, risking the cloth shifting and losing position during sewing operations.
Innovation Solution
A sewing machine with a projection system that displays operation items on the work cloth, allowing users to control the machine with their finger, enabling operations like starting, stopping, or reversing without removing their hand from the cloth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If buttons are provided on the arm for controlling sewing operations, then the user can perform operations related to sewing, but the user must take one hand off the work cloth to operate the buttons, causing the work cloth to potentially shift away from the sewing position
Solution Approach 1:
The patent projects operation item images (copies of button functions) onto the work cloth surface, allowing users to operate the sewing machine by touching the projected images instead of physical buttons. This copying approach enables handless operation while maintaining work cloth position stability, as both hands can remain on the fabric during sewing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical button-pressing system with an optical projection and touch detection system. Instead of mechanically pressing buttons on the arm, users touch the projected operation items on the work cloth, and the touch position is detected by sensors to trigger corresponding sewing operations. This substitution eliminates the need to remove hands from the work cloth
2Reliability
If the user holds the work cloth with both hands to prevent shifting, then the work cloth position remains stable, but the user cannot operate the buttons on the arm simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
By projecting operation item images onto the work cloth, the system creates accessible control interfaces directly on the fabric surface. Users can touch these projected images with either hand while maintaining bilateral hand contact with the work cloth, thus preserving position stability while enabling operation control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves the control interface from the vertical dimension (buttons on the arm) to the horizontal dimension (projected images on the work cloth surface). This spatial relocation allows users to interact with controls while keeping hands on the fabric, resolving the conflict between operation accessibility and position stability
Data Source
AI summary
A sewing machine includes a bed, a sewing device, a projection portion, an item detection portion, and a control portion. The sewing device includes a needle bar and a feed portion that moves a work cloth. The projection portion projects, onto at least one of the bed and the work cloth, a projected image that includes at least one operation item that indicates an operation of the sewing device. The item detection portion detects whether a user's finger has touched a location, on the at least one of the bed and the work cloth onto which the at least one operation item is being projected by the projection portion, where one of the at least one operation item is being projected. The control portion operates the sewing device in accordance with the operation item that has been detected by the item detection portion.