U.S. patent application number 13/456041 was filed with the patent office on 2012-11-01 for heat cutting device for embroidery sewing machine.
This patent application is currently assigned to TOKAI KOGYO MISHIN KABUSHIKI KAISHA. Invention is credited to Taichi Fukushima, Masayoshi Hirate.
Application Number | 20120272883 13/456041 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47066898 |
Filed Date | 2012-11-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120272883 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hirate; Masayoshi ; et
al. |
November 1, 2012 |
Heat Cutting Device For Embroidery Sewing Machine
Abstract
Distal end section of a heat cutter is movable among a
processing position where the heating distal end section is kept
pressed against a workpiece, a standby position located away from
the workpiece, and a refracted position located farther away from
the workpiece than the standby position. Pressing member is movable
between an operating position where the pressing member presses
down the workpiece and a non-operating position where the pressing
member does not press down the workpiece. The distal end section is
moved between the standby position and the retracted position in
interlocked relation to the movement of the pressing member, and,
while the pressing member is in the operating position, the distal
end section is moved between the standby position and the
processing position. Thus, appropriate processing can be performed
even at start and end points of the processing.
Inventors: |
Hirate; Masayoshi;
(Ichinomiya-shi, JP) ; Fukushima; Taichi;
(Kasugai-shi, JP) |
Assignee: |
TOKAI KOGYO MISHIN KABUSHIKI
KAISHA
Kasugai-shi
JP
|
Family ID: |
47066898 |
Appl. No.: |
13/456041 |
Filed: |
April 25, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
112/290 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D05C 7/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
112/290 |
International
Class: |
D05B 65/00 20060101
D05B065/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 26, 2011 |
JP |
2011098581 |
Claims
1. A heat cutting device for an embroidery sewing machine which
performs desired processing on a workpiece, held on an embroidery
frame, by partly heating the workpiece, said heat cutting device
comprising: a heat cutter having a heatable heating distal end
section, said distal end section being movable among a processing
position where said heating distal end section is kept pressed
against the workpiece, a standby position located away from the
workpiece and a retracted position located farther away from the
workpiece than the standby position; a pressing member for pressing
down the workpiece on the embroidery frame, said pressing member
being movable between an operating position where said pressing
member presses down the workpiece and a non-operating position
where said pressing member does not press down the workpiece; an
interlocking drive device for effecting movement of said pressing
member between the operating position and the non-operating
position and movement of said heating distal end section between
the standby position and the retracted position in interlocked
relation to each other; and a heating-distal-end-section driving
device for, while said pressing member is in the operating
position, driving said heating distal end section to move between
the standby position and the processing position.
2. The heat cutting device as claimed in claim 1, which further
comprises a support mechanism for not only movably supporting said
heat cutter in such a manner that said heating distal end section
can move between the standby position and the processing position
but also fixedly supporting said pressing member, and wherein said
interlocking drive device effects the movement of said pressing
member between the operating position and the non-operating
position and the movement of said heating distal end section
between the standby position and the retracted position in
interlocked relation to each other by moving said support mechanism
toward and away from the workpiece.
3. The heat cutting device as claimed in claim 2, which further
comprises a limiting member for limiting movement of said heat
cutter, and an amount of projection, beyond a lower surface of said
pressing member, of said heating distal end section is variably
adjustable by said limiting member.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based on, and claims priority to, JP PA
2011-098581 filed on 26 Apr. 2011. The disclosure of the priority
application, in its entirety, including the drawings, claims, and
the specification thereof, is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Disclosed herein is a heat cutting device for an embroidery
sewing machine which performs thermal or heat processing, such as
thermal or heat cutting, marking or the like, on a fabric or other
type of workpiece held on an embroidery frame. More particularly, a
technique for pressing down the workpiece in a stabilized manner is
disclosed.
[0003] There have heretofore been known embroidery sewing machines
provided with a heat cutting device capable of performing heat
processing, such as heat cutting, marking or the like, on a fabric
or other type of workpiece held on an embroidery frame controlled
to horizontally move in front-rear and left-right directions on the
basis of predetermined movement data. The conventionally-known heat
cutting device is movable between a processing position where a
heating distal end position is kept pressed against the workpiece
to process the workpiece and a refracted position located away from
the workpiece. Namely, when the workpiece is to be processed by the
heat cutting device, the heat cutting device is moved from the
retracted position to the processing position so that the heating
distal end section heated to a predetermined temperature is placed
in pressing contact against the workpiece, and then, with the
distal end section held pressed against the workpiece, the
embroidery frame is moved so that user-desired processing, such as
heat cutting, marking or the like, is performed on the
workpiece.
[0004] The workpiece held on the embroidery frame may have an
uneven, concave-convex surface because of its material, nature,
etc. of the workpiece, or an uneven, concave-convex surface may
sometimes be produced on the workpiece by the workpiece being
pulled by sewing threads during sewing of an embroidery or the
like. Further, among examples of a method for setting the workpiece
on the embroidery frame is one in accordance with which the
workpiece is attached via an adhesive tape or a removable adhesive
agent to a holding sheet that is held stretched taut on the
embroidery frame. In this case, however, the workpiece may
sometimes undesirably partly lift up from the holding sheet. In the
case where the workpiece has an uneven, concave-convex surface or
is lifting up partly from the holding sheet, it has been customary
for the conventionally-known heat cutting device to perform the
desired processing with a portion of the workpiece around the
heating distal end section left unconstrained, and thus, the
processing cannot be performed appropriately because, for example,
the cutting might become incomplete or part the marking might be
cut off.
[0005] European Patent Publication No. EP1983083 (hereinafter
referred to as "the relevant patent literature") discloses a heat
cutting device provided with a pressing member for pressing down a
workpiece during processing in order to avoid the above-mentioned
inconvenience. In the heat cutting device disclosed in the relevant
patent literature, the pressing member in the form of a spacer is
provided on the heating distal end section, and the spacer has an
opening for insertion therethrough of the heating distal end
section. A length of a portion of the heating distal end section
that projects beyond the lower surface of the spacer is adjustable
in accordance with a thickness of the workpiece and a type of the
processing to be performed. Once the spacer and the heating distal
end section is adjusted into relative positional relationship, the
relative positional relationship is fixed such that the spacer and
the heating distal end section do not move relative to each other.
When desired processing is to be performed on the workpiece by the
heating distal end section being pressed against the workpiece, the
workpiece is pressed down by the heating distal end section
projecting from the spacer into the workpiece pressed by the
spacer. Because the spacer is provided for pressing the workpiece
and the length of the portion of the heating distal end section
projecting beyond the lower surface of the spacer is adjustable in
accordance with the thickness of the workpiece and the type of the
processing to be performed as noted above, the heat cutting device
disclosed in the relevant patent literature can perform desired
processing, such as heat cutting, marking or the like, in a
stabilized manner even where the workpiece has an uneven,
concave-convex surface or is lifting up partly from the holding
sheet.
[0006] Further, in the heat cutting device disclosed in the
relevant patent literature, where the spacer (pressing member) is
provided on the heating distal end section, the spacer is movable
together with the heating distal end section between the processing
position and the retracted position. Further, because the heating
distal end section partly projects out of the opening, the heating
distal end section would abut against the workpiece before the
workpiece is pressed down by the spacer during movement toward the
processing position, if the workpiece has an uneven, concave-convex
surface or is lifting up partly from the holding sheet. Further,
during movement toward the retracted position, the workpiece would
lift up as the spacer moves away from the workpiece, and thus, the
heating distal end section would be delayed in moving away from the
workpiece. As a consequence, a time length over which the heating
distal end section and the workpiece contact each other would
become relatively long, so that the user-desired processing cannot
be performed appropriately because, for example, the workpiece may
undesirably be cut although the user desired to perform marking on
the workpiece.
[0007] Further, when processing by the heat cutting device is to be
performed intermittently, the spacer has to repeat movement between
the processing and the retracted position together with the heating
distal end section, during which the aforementioned inconvenience
would be encountered at the start and end points of each of the
intermittent processing portions. Furthermore, because the
workpiece is not pressed down by the spacer while the heating
distal end section is in the retracted position, portions of the
workpiece to be processed intermittently may be undesirably
deviated in position if the workpiece has an uneven, concave-convex
surface or is lifting up partly from the holding sheet.
SUMMARY
[0008] In view of the foregoing prior art problems, it may be
desirable to provide an improved heat cutting device for an
embroidery sewing machine which, when processing such as heat
cutting, marking or the like is to be performed on a workpiece such
as a fabric held on an embroidery frame of the machine, can keep
the work piece pressed down in a stabilized manner and thereby
appropriately perform the processing.
[0009] Disclosed herein is an improved heat cutting device for an
embroidery sewing machine that performs desired processing on a
workpiece, held on an embroidery frame, by partly heating the
workpiece, which can include: a heat cutter having a heatable
heating distal end section, the distal end section being movable
among a processing position where the heating distal end section is
kept pressed against the workpiece, a standby position located away
from the workpiece and a retracted position located farther away
from the workpiece than the standby position; a pressing member for
pressing down the workpiece on the embroidery frame, the pressing
member being movable between an operating position where the
pressing member presses down the workpiece and a non-operating
position where the pressing member does not press down the
workpiece; an interlocking drive device for effecting movement of
the pressing member between the operating position and the
non-operating position and movement of the heating distal end
section between the standby position and the retracted position in
interlocked relation to each other; and a
heating-distal-end-section driving device for, while the pressing
member is in the operating position, driving the heating distal end
section to move between the standby position and the processing
position.
[0010] The distal end section of the heat cutter can be movable
among the processing position where the heating distal end section
can be kept pressed against the workpiece, the standby position
located away from the workpiece and the retracted position located
farther away from the workpiece than the standby position. The
pressing member for pressing down the workpiece on the embroidery
frame can be movable between the operating position where the
pressing member presses down the workpiece and the non-operating
position where the pressing member does not press down the
workpiece. The movement of the pressing member between the
operating position and the non-operating position and the movement
of the heating distal end section between the standby position and
the retracted position can be effected in interlocked relation to
each other, and, while the pressing member is in the operating
position, the heating distal end section is driven to move between
the standby position and the processing position. Thus, the heating
distal end section can be moved from the retracted position to the
standby position as the pressing member moves from the
non-operating position to the operating position, so that the
heating distal end section can be moved to the processing position
after the pressing member has pressed down the workpiece. Further,
when the heating distal end section is moved away from the
workpiece, the heating distal end section can be moved alone, or
independently, from the processing position to the standby position
with the workpiece kept pressed down by the pressing member.
Furthermore, the heating distal end section can be moved from the
processing section to the retracted position as the pressing member
moves from the operating position to the non-operating position.
Thus, the heating distal end section and the workpiece can be
allowed to contact each other in an appropriate manner, and thereby
can avoid the inconveniences encountered by the
conventionally-known counterpart, such as the inconvenience that
the workpiece is undesirably cut during heat marking due to an
increased time of the contact between the heating distal end
section and the workpiece. As a result, the heat cutting device can
perform appropriate processing even at the start and end points of
the processing.
[0011] Further, the heating distal end section can be moved alone,
or independently, repetitively between the processing position and
the standby position with the pressing member maintained in the
operating position. Thus, when the processing by the heat cutting
device is to be performed intermittently, appropriate processing
can be performed even at the start and end points of each the
intermittent processing portions because the workpiece can be held
pressed down by the pressing member irrespective of the movement of
the heating distal end section. Furthermore, even in a case where
there is an uneven, concave-convex surface or lifted-up surface on
a portion of the workpiece to be subjected to the intermittent
processing, such an uneven, concave-convex surface or lifted-up
surface can be eliminated by the pressed-down state of the
workpiece being secured by the pressing member and desired
processing can thereby be performed in an appropriate, stabilized
manner without the to-be-processed portion of the workpiece being
undesirably deviated in position.
[0012] Because the heating distal end section can be pressed
against the workpiece after the workpiece has been pressed down by
the pressing member and then the heating distal end section can be
moved away from the workpiece with the workpiece held pressed down
by the pressing member as noted above, appropriate processing can
be performed by means of the heating distal end section at the
start and end points of the processing with the workpiece held
pressed down by the pressing member in a stabilized manner.
[0013] Further, even when processing is to be performed
intermittently, appropriate processing can be performed because the
heating distal end section can be moved alone, or independently,
from the processing position to the standby position with the
workpiece held pressed down by the pressing member.
[0014] The following will describe various embodiments, but it
should be appreciated that the inventive concept is not limited to
the described embodiments and various modifications or alternative
embodiments are possible without departing from the basic
principles. The scope of the present invention is therefore to be
determined solely by the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Certain preferred embodiments of the present invention will
hereinafter be described in detail, by way of example only, with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of
an embodiment of a multi-head embroidery sewing machine of the
present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is an enlarged right side view of one of machine
heads M of the embroidery sewing machine;
[0018] FIG. 3 is an enlarged left side view of a heat cutting
device of the embroidery sewing machine;
[0019] FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of relevant sections of the
heat cutting device in an operating position in which a pressing
member is abutting against a workpiece to press the workpiece;
[0020] FIG. 5 is a view of the heat cutting device as viewed in a
direction of arrow A of FIG. 4; and
[0021] FIG. 6 is a side view showing the relevant sections of the
heat cutting device when a heating distal end section of the heat
cutting device has moved to a processing position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outer appearance of
one example of a multi-head embroidery sewing machine. The
multi-head embroidery sewing machine includes a machine frame 1
having six machine heads M provided thereon, and a table 2. A
rotary hook base (not shown) is disposed under each of the machine
heads M in such a manner that a needle plate 3 fixed to the upper
surface of the rotary hook base is located at generally the same
height as the table 2. Further, in the multi-head embroidery sewing
machine, an embroidery frame 4 for holding a workpiece, such as a
fabric, in a stretched-taut state is mounted on the upper surface
of the table 2, and this embroidery frame 4 is drivable, via an X
drive mechanism 5 and Y drive mechanism 6, horizontally over the
table 2 in a front-rear direction (i.e., in a direction
perpendicularly to the sheet of FIG. 1) and in a left-right
direction.
[0023] FIG. 2 is an enlarged right side view of one of the machine
heads M. As shown in FIG. 2, the machine head M includes an arm 7
fixed to the machine frame 1 in such a manner as to project
forward, and a needle bar case 8 located in front of the arm 7 and
slidable in the left-right direction (in a direction perpendicular
to the sheet of FIG. 2). A main machine shaft 9 rotationally
drivable via a not-shown machine driving motor extends through the
arm 7 in the left-right direction (in the direction perpendicular
to the sheet of FIG. 2).
[0024] A plurality of sewing needles 10 are vertically movably
provided in the needle bar case 8, and any desired one of the
sewing needles 10 is placed at a selected position (more
specifically, a position corresponding to the rotary hook base) by
the needle bar case 8 being sequentially slid via not-shown color
change mechanism. Then, as the main machine shaft 9 rotates, the
sewing needle 10 placed at the selected position (i.e., selected
sewing needle 10) vertically moves toward and away from the rotary
hook base. A sewing operation is performed in the well-known manner
through cooperation between the vertical movement of the selected
sewing needle 10 and a rotary hook (not shown) rotationally driven
within the rotary hook base, during which time the embroidery frame
4 is driven as needed by the X drive mechanism 5 and Y drive
mechanism 6 in the front-rear and left-right directions so that an
embroidery sewing operation is performed on the workpiece S on the
basis of desired embroidery data.
[0025] As seen in FIG. 2, a heat cutting device H is provided
beneath each of the machine head M, and the following describe in
detail an example construction of the heat cutting device H. FIG. 3
is an enlarged left side view of the heat cutting device H, which
particularly shows a state where a pressing member 33 is not
pressing down the workpiece S (i.e., the pressing member 33 is in a
non-operating position). FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of
relevant sections of the heat cutting device H showing the pressing
member 33 in an operating position where it abuts against the
workpiece S to press down the workpiece S on the embroidery frame
4. FIG. 5 is a view of the heat cutting device H as viewed in a
direction of arrow A of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the
relevant sections of the heat cutting device H when a heating
distal end section 11a of the heat cutting device H has moved to a
processing position.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, the heat cutting device H includes a
support mechanism 12 for supporting a heat cutter (heating means)
11, and an elevator mechanism 13 for moving the support mechanism
12 toward and from the workpiece S. By the elevator mechanism 13,
the support mechanism 12 is reciprocatively moved between a raised
position shown in FIG. 3 or 2 and a lowered position shown in FIG.
4. Such ascending/descending movement, by the elevator mechanism
12, of the support mechanism 12 simultaneously permits movement of
the pressing member 33 to either the operating position where the
pressing member 33 presses down the workpiece S or the
non-operating position where the pressing member 33 does not press
down the workpiece S and movement of the heating distal end section
11a of the heat cutter 11 to either a standby position located away
from the workpiece S or a refracted position located farther away
from the workpiece S than the standby position, as will be later
described in detail.
[0027] The elevator mechanism 13 includes a bracket 14 fixed to a
lower rear surface of the arm 7, and a guide base 15 fixed to the
bracket 14. As apparent from FIG. 5, a guide rail 16 is fixed to
the guide base 15. A slider member 17 is provided on the guide rail
16 in such a manner that it can slide along the guide rail 16 in a
vertical (i.e., up-down) direction of FIG. 5. Further, a base
member 18 is fixed to the slider member 17.
[0028] The guide base 15 has two arms 15a and 15b on its upper
region, and an air cylinder (interlocking drive device) 20 fixed to
one of the arms 15a via a bracket 19 while a support member 21
supporting a rear portion of the air cylinder 20 is fixed to the
other arm 15b. A distal end portion of a rod of the air cylinder 20
is fixed to a plate 22 that is fixed to the base member 18. Thus,
as the rod expands or contracts through activation of the air
cylinder 20, the base member 18 descends or ascends via the plate
22, at which time the base member 18 descends or ascends along the
guide rail 16 via the slider member 17. Stoppers 23 are provided on
longitudinally opposite end portions of the guide rail 16 for
limiting or restricting a sliding range of the slider member 17.
Further, the slider member 17 has an engaging pin 24 fixed thereto,
and the guide base 15 has an engaging member 25 pivotably provided
thereon for stopping descending movement of the slider member 17.
Namely, the descending movement of the slider member 17 can be
stopped by the engaging member 25 being pivoted into engagement
with the engaging pin 24 of the slider member 17 moving downward
from the position shown in FIG. 3.
[0029] The base member 18 that slides along the guide rail 16 via
the slider member 17 has opposite side walls 18a and 18b projecting
toward a reader of FIG. 5, of which the right side wall 18a is
fixed to the slider member 17. The right side wall 18a is formed
longer than the slider member 17 in such a manner that a distal end
portion (lower end portion in FIG. 5) of the side wall 18a greatly
projects beyond the slider member 17. The guide base 15 has a
distal end portion (lower end portion in FIG. 5) 15c formed in a
perpendicularly bent shape (generally L shape), and a positioning
member 26 having a recess 26a is fixed to the distal end portion
15c. As the support mechanism 12 descends to the lowered position
(corresponding to the operating position of the pressing member 33
where the pressing member 33 presses down the workpiece S as shown
in FIG. 4), the distal end portion of the right side wall 18a of
the base member 18 fits into the recess 26a of the positioning
member 26. In this way, in the lowered position (corresponding to
the operating position of the pressing member 33), the support
mechanism 12 can be appropriately positioned in the left-right
direction, and undesired vibration of the support mechanism 12 can
be minimized.
[0030] The heat cutter 11, which may be of the conventionally-known
type, is supported on the base member 18 and can be heated at the
distal end section (heating distal end section) 11a. After
descending movement of the base member 18, the heated distal end
section 11a is pressed against the workpiece S, so that thermal or
heat processing is performed on the workpiece S. The left side wall
18b of the base member 18 and a support bracket 27 fixed to a
portion of the base member 18 opposed to the left side wall 18b are
pivotally connected to pins 28 projecting horizontally from the
left and right side surfaces of the heat cutter 11, so that the
heat cutter 11 is pivotably supported on the base member 18.
Namely, the left side wall 18b and the support bracket 27 are
opposed to each other with an interval at least greater than the
width (or diameter) of the heat cutter 11.
[0031] On the left side wall 18b of the base member 18 is provided
a torsion spring 29 for normally biasing the heat cutter 11 in a
counterclockwise direction of FIGS. 3 and 4 about the pin 28, i.e.
in a direction where the distal end section 11a is pivotally urged
upwardly. An air cylinder (heating-distal-end-section driving means
or device) 30 is fixed to the support bracket 27 above the heat
cutter 11, and an actuating plate 31 normally abutting against the
distal end of a rod of the air cylinder 30 by the biasing force of
the torsion spring 29 is fixed to the heat cutter 11.
[0032] The distal end section 11a of the heat cutter 11 is normally
located in any one of positions where the distal end section 11a is
not inserted in a hole 33b of the pressing member 33 as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4, i.e. in any one of the standby position (FIG. 4)
where the distal end section 11a is located away from the workpiece
S and the retracted position (FIG. 3) located farther away from the
workpiece S than the standby position. After the heat cutter 11 is
caused to descend through activation of the air cylinder 20 (i.e.,
while the pressing member 33 is in the operating position as shown
in FIG. 4), the air cylinder 30 is activated to advance its rod, in
response to which the actuating plate 31 is pressed by the rod so
that the heat cutter 11 is driven to pivot in the clockwise
direction of FIG. 4 against the biasing force of the torsion spring
29, and, thus, the distal end section 11a pivots downward toward
the workpiece S as shown in FIG. 6.
[0033] Downward pivoting movement of the heat cutter 11 is
restricted or limited by a stopper (limiting member) 32 provided on
the base member 18 of the heat cutter 11, so that the heat cutter
11, pivotally driven by the air cylinder 30, can be stopped by
abutting engagement with the stopper (limiting member) 32. At that
time, the distal end section 11a is in the processing position
where it is kept pressed against the workpiece S, as shown in FIG.
6. The limiting member 32 for limiting the downward pivoting
movement of the heat cutter 11 is, for example, in the form of a
screw bar screwed to the base member 18, and the heat cutter 11
stops its downward pivoting movement by abutting against the upper
end of the limiting member 32. The upper end of the limiting member
32 is adjustable in position by adjusting an amount of screwing of
the screw bar, and the stopper 32 is locked by tightening of a nut.
By thus adjusting the upper end position of the limiting member
(screw bar) 32, an amount of projection, beyond the lower surface
of the pressing member 33, of the distal end section 11a in the
processing position, where the distal end section 11a is kept
pressed against the workpiece S, can be adjusted in accordance with
the thickness of the workpiece and the type of the processing to be
performed. Alternatively, the limiting member 32 may be adjusted by
an actuator.
[0034] Further, the base member 18 has an arm 18c extending toward
the distal end section 11a of the heat cutter 11 (downward in FIG.
5), and the pressing member 33 for pressing down the workpiece S
held on the embroidery frame 4 is mounted on the arm 18c. The
pressing member 33 has a pressing portion 33a provided at its lower
end, and this pressing portion 33a is constructed to press down the
embroidery frame 4 as the support mechanism 12 descends to the
lowered position. The pressing member 33 is fixed to the arm 18c in
such a manner that it is positionally adjustable in the front-rear
direction. The pressing portion 33a of the pressing member 33 has
the hole 33b formed therein for passage therethrough of a tip end
portion of the distal end section 11a. As the distal end section
11a of the heat cutter 11 pivots downward to the processing
position, a tip end portion of the distal end section 11a is
inserted through the hole 33b of the pressing member 33 to be
pressed against the workpiece S.
[0035] Now, a description will be given about heat processing to be
performed on the workpiece S by the heat cutting device H. When the
heat processing is to be performed on the workpiece S by the heat
cutting device H, first, the air cylinder 20 is activated to cause
the support mechanism 12 to descend from the position of FIG. 3 to
the position of FIG. 4. Thus, the pressing member 33 is moved from
the non-operating position where it does not press the workpiece S
to the operating position where it presses the workpiece S, so that
the workpiece S is pressed down by the pressing member 33 with the
pressing portion 33a abutting against the workpiece S. In
interlocked relation to such movement of the pressing member 33,
the distal end section 11a of the heat cutter 11 moves from the
retracted position shown in FIG. 3 to the standby position shown in
FIG. 4.
[0036] Then, the air cylinder 30 is activated to pivot the heat
cutter 11, so that the distal end section 11a moves from the
standby position of FIG. 4, located away from the workpiece S, to
the processing position of FIG. 6 where the distal end section 11a
is pressed against the workpiece S. With the distal end section 11a
of the heat cutter 11 thus pressed against the workpiece S, the
embroidery frame 4, having the workpiece S held thereon, is driven
in X- and Y-axis directions by the X drive mechanism 5 and Y drive
mechanism 6 so that the processing is performed on the workpiece
S.
[0037] After completion of the heat processing, such as heat
cutting, marking or the like, on the workpiece S, the air cylinder
30 is activated again, in response to which the heat cutter 11 is
pivotally driven in the counterclockwise direction by the biasing
force of the torsion spring 29 in such a manner that the distal end
section 11a pivots upwardly away from the workpiece S, i.e. from
the processing position shown in FIG. 6 to the standby position
shown in FIG. 4. After the distal end section 11a of the heat
cutter 11 has been pivoted upwardly from the processing position to
the standby position to be located away from the workpiece S in the
aforementioned manner, the air cylinder 20 is activated again.
Thus, the support mechanism 12 moves from the position of FIG. 4
(where the pressing member 33 is in the operating position) to the
position of FIG. 3 (where the pressing member 33 is in the
non-operating position), in response to which the distal end
section 11a moves from the standby position to the retracted
position.
[0038] Further, in a case where the heat processing is to be
performed on the workpiece S intermittently, the air cylinder 30 is
activated with the support mechanism 12 maintained in the position
shown in FIG. 4, i.e. with the pressing member 33 maintained in the
operating position, so that the distal end section 11a of the heat
cutter 11 is moved to the processing position when the processing
is to be performed, but to the standby position when the processing
is to be not performed. Thus, in the case where the heat processing
is to be performed on the workpiece S intermittently, steps of
pressing the distal end section 11a of the heat cutter 11 against
the workpiece S and then moving away from the workpiece S are
repeated with the workpiece S constantly kept pressed down by the
pressing portion 33a of the pressing member 33, so that the
intermittent processing can be performed with the workpiece S kept
pressed down in a stabilized manner.
[0039] Among examples of the heat processing to be performed by the
heat cutter 11 are heat cutting, marking, etc., and a change in the
type of the heat processing to be performed may be effected by
changing a heating temperature of the distal end section 11a of the
heat cutter 11, the amount of projection, beyond the lower surface
of the pressing member 33, of the distal end section 11a and the
moving speed of the embroidery frame 4. Further, in a case where
embroidery too is to be performed on the workpiece S, such
embroidery may be performed by activation of the machine head M
before or after the processing by the heat cutting device H.
[0040] As described above, the movement of the pressing member 33
between the operating position and the non-operating position and
the movement of the distal end section 11a of the heat cutter 11
between the standby position and the refracted position are
effected in interlocked relation to each other. In addition, while
the pressing member 33 is in the operating position, the distal end
section 11a is driven to move alone, or independently, between the
standby position and the processing position, so that the distal
end section 11a of the heat cutter 11 moves relative to the
pressing member 33. In this way, the distal end section 11a can be
pressed against the workpiece S after the workpiece S has been
pressed down by the pressing member 33, but also the distal end
section 11a can be moved away from the workpiece S with the
workpiece S kept pressed down by the pressing member 33. Thus, the
present invention allows the distal end section 11a and the
workpiece S to contact each other in an appropriate manner, and
allows the heat cutter H to perform appropriate processing even at
the start and end points of the processing without involving the
inconveniences encountered by the conventionally-known counterpart,
such as the inconvenience that the workpiece is undesirably cut
during the heat marking due to an increased time of contact between
the distal end section of the heat cutting device H and the
workpiece.
[0041] Further, in the case where the processing by the heat
cutting device H is to be performed intermittently, the distal end
section 11a is moved alone, or independently, repetitively between
the processing position and the standby position with the pressing
member 33 maintained in the operating position. Because the
workpiece S can be held pressed down by the pressing member 33
irrespective of the movement of the distal end section 11a,
appropriate processing can be performed even at the start and end
points of each of the intermittent processing portions. Further,
even in a case where there is an uneven, concave-convex surface or
lifted-up surface on a portion of the workpiece S to be subjected
to intermittent processing, the disclosed arrangement can eliminate
such an uneven, concave-convex surface or lifted-up surface by the
workpiece S being held pressed down by the pressing member 33 and
thereby perform desired processing in an appropriate, stabilized
manner without a to-be-processed portion of the workpiece being
undesirably deviated in position.
[0042] Although a preferred embodiment has been described above
with reference to the accompanying drawings, the inventive concept
is not so limited and may be modified variously. For example,
whereas the heat cutter 11 has been described as pivotably
supported and having the distal end section 11a pivotally movable
between the standby position and the processing position, the
distal end section 11a may be constructed to be linearly
reciprocally movable between the standby position and the
processing position.
[0043] Furthermore, the pressing member 33 may be constructed to be
adjustable in height in accordance with the thickness of the
workpiece S, etc.
* * * * *