JPH0349477B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to sewing work of knitted fabrics,
In particular, the present invention relates to automation of linking work in which two knitted fabrics to be sewn are oversewn while aligning each stitch at a time. [Prior art] The sewing work of knitted items such as sweaters is difficult to automate because the knitted fabric that is the object of the work is flexible, and the degree of elongation and dimensions change depending on how force is applied. As a result, automation is significantly delayed, and the work is actually done manually using sewing machines, jigs, etc. In particular, the linking process, in which the stitches of two knitted fabrics to be sewn together and overlock sewing, requires stitches to be stitched together one by one, making it extremely difficult to automate. Normally, the work is done manually. In other words, a person picks up one stitch at a time through a single piece of knitted fabric using a fixed point needle, then needles the knitted fabric to be sewn over the stitches, then moves the needle-pierced part to the sewing machine. Linking is achieved by sewing with the point needle as a guide. [Problems to be solved by the invention] The above-mentioned linking work, especially the work of picking up the stitches of the knitted fabric one stitch at a time and inserting them into the point needle, is a difficult task that requires skill and eyesight. This affects the quality of the product, such as causing fraying, and is a time-consuming task even for experienced workers, which is one of the major factors that impede labor productivity in the sewing process of knitted fabrics. Therefore, some research and development for automation has been carried out in the past. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 125052/1983, an identifiable marking thread was knitted into the darning part in advance during the darning work in sock manufacturing. A method of detecting thread and performing needle pricking is disclosed. However, according to this method, in order to detect the marker thread at the darning part using reflected light, the detection part is a point, and the marker thread guided to the detection position, that is, the darning part, is supported one-dimensionally. There must be. Further, although the photoelectric detection device used can recognize the presence of the marker yarn, it is difficult to recognize the loops of two-dimensional stitches, and the accuracy is poor.
In other words, the photoelectric detection device detects whether the light receiver receives the reflected light beam or not, so-called on-off status.For example, when a loop of marker thread passes through the part where the light is projected, the reflected light beam is detected. Even if the light enters the receiver and turns on, it is not possible to determine which part of the loop was detected. That is, in order to accurately detect the stitches to be stitched, it is necessary to detect them two-dimensionally. Furthermore, it is easy to knit the marking yarn into the overlocking part if it is only in the course direction at the end of knitting, such as socks, but it is easy to knit the marking yarn into the overlocking part of a molded sweater, such as the shoulder part or sleeve part. It is difficult to knit the marker yarn in this curved part, and it is difficult to knit the marking yarn in this part.
It is complicated, and considering all of these factors, it must be said that it is difficult to apply this method to the automation of linking work. The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventionally known linking methods, can reliably pick up the stitches of a flexible knitted fabric, and can also sew most parts of the knitted fabric together. The purpose is to provide an automatic linking method with high productivity per machine. [Means for Solving the Problems] The object of the present invention is to supply two knitted fabrics to be sewn together to the stitch pick-up needlestick devices installed on the left and right facing each other, and to The stitch arrangement state of the supplied knitted fabric is detected two-dimensionally, the positional information of the stitches to be stitched is calculated, and the stitches to be stitched are guided to the needlepoint position by the knitting fabric guide means, and the stitches are picked up and needlepointed one stitch at a time. Then, the stitches of the knitted fabric punctured by the pick-up needle of the pick-up needle on one side are transferred to the needles of the opposing pick-up needle pick device, and the two knitted fabrics are overlapped, and the stitches defined by the needle are This is achieved by an automatic linking method characterized by sewing corresponding stitches of two knitted fabrics using a sewing device. The stitch guidance by the knitted fabric guide means detects an edge of the knitted fabric that is an indicator of a stitch line to be stitched,
Rough adjustment to guide the knitted fabric and near the needle insertion position,
It is more preferable to carry out the fine adjustment in two stages: detecting the stitch position and guiding the stitch to the needle insertion position. By guiding the stitches in two stages in this manner, it is possible to accurately pick up the desired stitches one by one and perform needle pricking. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of a device used to carry out the automatic linking method according to the invention. It goes without saying that the method according to the present invention is not limited to these illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall arrangement of an embodiment of a device (hereinafter referred to as automatic linking device) used to carry out the automatic linking method according to the present invention. In the automatic linking device shown in FIG. 1, a pair of eye pick-up and needle pricking devices are disposed facing each other. One piece of knitted fabric is supplied to each of the pair of stitch picking and needle pricking devices. That is, the knitted fabrics 2, 2' to be linked, which are supplied from the left and right on the operation tables 1, 1' of the left and right stitch pick-up and needle pricking devices, respectively, are first moved by the point needle 3, the first stitch to the first few stitches of the linking line.
3' by manual stabbing into the automatic linking device. The set knitted fabric,
knitting fabric guide means 4, 4' and needle moving means 5,
Using the function of 5', the edge of the knitted fabric is roughly adjusted and sent in the A and A' directions, and the cameras 6 and 6' detect the stitch information two-dimensionally, and based on this information. The stitch positions are calculated, and based on the calculated information, the knitting fabric guide means 4 and 4' make fine adjustments to guide the stitches to be inserted to the needle insertion positions B and B' of the point needle, and the needle movement means 5 , 5' is activated to pierce the point needle through the stitch, and after piercing,
Advance the point needles in the knitting fabric progress directions A and A'. By sequentially performing such movements, the knitted fabrics 2, 2' are fed in the directions A and A' while needle-pricking the linking lines of the left and right stitches.
At this time, one needle-pierced knitted fabric 2' is transferred to stitches from point needle 3' to 3 at point C-C', completely overlapped with knitted fabric 2 at point D, and then stitched by the sewing machine needle at point E. 7
suturing is performed by a suturing device 8 having a The sewn fabric is separated from the point needle 3 at point F and stored in the storage box 9. By simply setting the knitted fabrics 2, 2' in the above-mentioned directions, the knitted fabrics are automatically machine-stitched one stitch at a time to be linked, and then dropped into the storage box. Each means, structure, and operation of the automatic linking method will be explained in order below. The stitch picking and needle pricking device of the automatic linking device used to carry out the automatic linking method according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is comprised of a knitted fabric condition detecting means, a knitted fabric guiding means, and a needle pricking and moving means. Therefore, first of all, please refer to FIGS. 2 to 5 for an embodiment of the knitted fabric guiding means that guides the knitted fabric to a position where it can be appropriately needle-pricked based on the information from the knitted fabric state detecting means and the knitted fabric state detecting means. and explain. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the knitted fabric guide means corrects the knitted fabric two-dimensionally based on information from the knitted fabric condition detection means before the stitch to be needle-pricked reaches the needle-pricking position. a fine adjustment means for adjusting the curvature of the knitted fabric before the fine adjustment means processes the knitted fabric, and a coarse adjustment means for making the linking line almost parallel to the traveling direction of the knitted fabric before entering the fine adjustment means. Consists of. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the rough adjustment means includes a knitting end position correction roll 14 combined with a knitting end position detection sensor 16 (constituting a part of the knitted fabric condition detecting means). and knitting end direction correction devices 17, 18, 19, and 20. As the knitting end position detection sensor 16, for example, a reflective optical sensor is used. In response to a signal from the knitting end position detection sensor 16, the knitting end position correction roll 14 is driven by the motor 15, and the knitting end position is corrected to a substantially constant position. At this time, the knitting end direction correction device is designed in consideration of the case where the change in curvature of the linking line of the knitted fabric to be linked is large and the knitting end position cannot be corrected to a constant position only by the operation of the knitting end position correction roll 14. is used. The knitting end direction correction device, as better shown in FIG.
Knitting end direction correction jig 17, air cylinder 1
8. It consists of a rotatable arm 19 and a motor 20. That is, the knitting end direction correction jig 17 is attached to the shaft end of the air cylinder 18,
If it does not need to be activated, hold it without contacting the knitted fabric, and if you want to activate it, use the air cylinder 18.
is actuated to press it against the knitted fabric, and by rotation of the motor 20, a turning movement is performed via the arm 19 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, thereby correcting the knitted fabric. Next, fine adjustment of the knitted fabric performed using the camera of the knitted fabric state detection means and the image processing device will be explained. 1st
Reference numeral 6 in the figure denotes a camera as a knitted fabric state detection means, which is usually a CCD camera, which is placed perpendicular to the knitted fabric on a plane, and calculates stitch images as two-dimensional information. The range to be captured as image information is set to include one or more stitches of the linking line to be stitched. In order to obtain a clear image, it is important to devise lighting, and rather than direct lighting, it is preferable to apply uniformly scattered transmitted light to the CCD camera from the opposite side of the knitted fabric. . The fine adjustment means adjusts the rolls 10 and 12 that feed the knitted fabric in the direction of travel and the position of the stitches to be stitched in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel (third
It includes a hand 29 for correction in the Y direction (in the figure). The rolls 10 and 12 are each driven by a motor 1.
1 and 13. The motor may be any motor that can vary the number of rotations, and in the examples, a pulse motor was used. In order to obtain a clear image, it is preferable that the knitted fabric be expanded, and for this purpose, it is sufficient to give a difference in rotational speed to the rolls 10 and 12. Further, in order to expand the knitted fabric in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the knitted fabric, spiral grooves (not shown) may be provided on the surfaces of the rolls 10 and 12. A ball screw 30 is coupled to the hand 29, thereby allowing it to reciprocate in the Y direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, by coupling another ball screw 31 to the boss portion of the ball screw 30, movement in the X direction can be made possible. In this way, the hand 29 can move in the X direction and the Y direction, that is, can move in two dimensions. The knitted fabric condition detection means and the knitted fabric guide means are all attached to a support member 34, and this support member 34 is attached with a lifting function, so that the knitted fabric condition can be checked during the initial setting of the stitches. The detecting means and the knitted fabric guiding means can be moved to improve the operability of the initial setting. When link sewing a knitted fabric, for example, the front and back parts of a sweater, using the knitted fabric state detection means and knitted fabric guide means having the above-described configuration, the linking line of the knitted fabric may have curvature in some places. Feed the knitted fabric while adjusting it so that the knitting end is at the sensor position 16 using the coarse adjustment method described above. This is to make it approximately parallel to the X direction within the field of view of the camera 6). A CCD camera detects the needle pricking part and stitch information immediately before, and an image processing device calculates the positional information of the stitch to be pricked, and the hand 29 and feed rollers 10, 12
The position of the knitted fabric is corrected two-dimensionally using the , and the stitches are guided to the needlepoint position to pick up the stitches and perform stitching. When the end of the linking line is reached, the hand 29 moves to the left in the X direction, and the needle can be inserted all the way to the end of the linking line. Note that if the change in the curvature of the linking line is not very large, the rough adjustment means may not be used. Next, calculation of positional information of the stitches to be stitched and guidance of the knitted fabric will be explained in more detail. The detected stitch image is obtained in the state shown in Figure 5, and by performing binarization processing with an image processing device, the hole part of the stitch can be clearly recognized as shown in Figure 6. Furthermore, by calculating the center of gravity of the hole portion, two-dimensional positional information of the stitches within the image field of view can be accurately determined. Assuming that the needle insertion position is point a in Figure 6, the linking line of the knitted fabric in the image field of view has been corrected to within an angular error of θ ₀ degrees with respect to the reference line X ₀ -X ₀ ' by the rough adjustment means. , with an angular error of ±θ ₀ degrees from point a, is determined as the stitch to be stitched next to the stitch closest to point a, and its two-dimensional position information is sent to the control microcomputer as distance P from point a and angle error θ. The microcomputer converts the knitted fabric into an operation amount for the knitted fabric fine adjustment means, and guides the knitted fabric so that the knitted fabric fine adjustment means is operated to bring the stitch to be stitched to point a. In addition, in the case of a fine gauge knitted fabric with small stitch pitch, if it is necessary to improve the accuracy of aligning the stitch position with point a, after completing the above operation, further adjust the stitch position of the needle insertion point a as shown in Figure 7. detected,
The minute errors d _x and d _y between the needle insertion position and the stitch position are detected, and the stitch position is finely adjusted again before needle insertion. In addition, when sewing areas where the number of stitches of the knitted fabric to be sewn do not completely match and it is important to match the length, such as when attaching sleeves to a sweater that has been knitted,
For the knitted fabric on one side, it is necessary to pick up and needle all the stitches, and for the knitted fabric on one side, it is necessary to insert two stitches on the first stitch. This method can be applied by inputting the condition that two needles are inserted into the microcomputer at the start, and by partially changing the control logic during needle insertion in that area. Further, in order to increase the processing speed, it is desirable to use a dedicated image processing device, but it is also possible to use a commercially available general-purpose image processing device. In addition, as a means of two-dimensionally detecting the state of the knitted fabric, a method is used in which a stylus sensor is placed two-dimensionally and the stitch position is calculated from the unevenness of the knitted fabric, or a laser beam is applied and the transmitted light or reflected light information is obtained. It is also possible to use a direction in which the stitch positions are calculated by processing. Next, the needle moving means will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11. FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the needle moving means 5. FIG. The point needle 3 is fixed to a holder 3a, as shown in FIG.
1, and the rotating drum has a size that approximately corresponds to one pitch of the knitted fabric so that the point needle 3 moves in the direction of fabric progress by rotation of the rotating drum 22 using the fixed guide 21 as a guide. A slit 22a is cut in the needle, and the needle moves when pushed against the side of the slit. The fixed guide 21 starts immediately after the needle insertion position, and during 180 degrees from the needle insertion position,
The mounting position and dimensions of the fixed guide 21 are set so that the amount of needle protrusion from the rotating drum becomes the same and the amount of needle protrusion gradually decreases from a point past 180 degrees. Immediately before the needle insertion position, the amount of needle protrusion is made small so that it does not contact the knitted fabric, and at the needle insertion position, the needle is removed from the fixed guide 21, the tip of the ejection lever 23 is inserted into the groove 3b of the point needle, and the tip of the shaft 25 is removed. a connecting rod 26 eccentrically mounted on the
By rotating the shaft 25 through the action of the lever support 24 and the like, the point needle 3 is pushed out, guided again by the fixed guide 21, and performs a predetermined movement. The rotational movement of the rotary drum 22 and the ejection movement of the needles may be driven by the same motor, or may be driven by separate motors. In addition, the rotating drum
In order to reduce deformation when holding a curved knitted fabric, it is preferable that the diameter be as small as possible. Further, the needle pricking and needle moving means can be carried out by other means as long as it has a function of ejecting a point needle and has a function of making the left and right needles on the same straight line at the knitting fabric transfer point C. . To transfer the knitted fabric that has been needle-pricked by the above method to the opposing point needle, the positions of the left and right stitch picking and needle-pricking devices are aligned on a straight line at point C, and the cover 27 is moved in line with the transfer curve of the knitted fabric. This can be achieved by providing Further, in order to ensure the transfer of the knitted fabric, a means (not shown) for pushing the knitted fabric onto the point needle near point D may be provided. In this way, the stitches are picked up, the stitches are matched, and the knitted fabric transferred to point needle 3 is sent to point E.
The sewing machine is sewn by a normal sewing operation using the sewing machine needle 7. FIG. 12 shows one embodiment of the sewing operation. A sewing machine needle 7 having a tongue is guided by a concave groove 3C provided in a point needle 3 that holds two stitches in a superimposed state, and passes through the stitches. At this time, the collar is opened by the stitches, and the yarn feed guide 33 swings so as to catch the thread 32 on the hook part of the collar needle, and when the collar needle returns the hooked sewing thread 32, As a result, the bellows are closed and the sewing thread 32 is passed through the stitches. Then, due to the rotation of the rotating drum, the next stitch comes to the needle position and the same movement is performed.
Machine stitching is performed as shown in FIG. However, the operation timing of the sewing machine needs to be timed appropriately with the movement of the needle, so either the rotating drum and drive motor are the same and the sewing machine needle is moved using a cam and a link mechanism.
When driving with a separate motor, it is necessary to adjust the timing electrically. In addition, although the example of the sewing method is single chain stitch, double chain stitch may also be used, and there are no limitations on the mechanism or arrangement of the sewing machine, as long as it can perform appropriate chain stitch. . The machine-sewn knitted fabric is separated from the point needle by the action of the guide 28 and stored in a storage box 9. In the example, the operation table for setting the knitted fabric was explained as being installed horizontally, but even if the operation table is installed vertically, the knitting fabric guide means can be slightly modified so that it can be used on a vertical surface. Basically, it can be realized in the same way as long as the needle pricking and needle moving means are arranged horizontally. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the operation of an apparatus implementing the automatic linking method according to the invention described above. As shown in the figure, the control microcomputer is connected to each device, and the information from the knitted end detection sensor of the knitted fabric state detection means and the image processing device is transmitted to the control controller, and after being appropriately processed, the knitted fabric is guided. The information is transmitted to the needle moving means, the needle moving means, and the suturing device, and the above-mentioned linking operation is performed in sequence. FIG. 14 shows an overall flowchart of the linking work, and FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of the stitch picking work of the knitted fabric. Conventionally, the linking machines (rotary type, planar type) used have a limited usable range depending on the gauge of the knitted fabric, and if the gauge is different, the entire linking machine must be replaced. However, according to the present invention,
It is only necessary to replace the rotating drum 22, point needle 3, sewing machine needle 7, etc., and it has the advantage that a single machine can handle a wide range of gauges. [Example] An example of linking work performed using a linking device having the configuration shown in FIG. 13 is shown below, and the efficiency is also compared with conventional manual work. A CCD camera, an image processing device, and a reflective optical sensor for detecting knitted edges were used as means for detecting the state of the knitted fabric. As the knitting fabric guide means, multiple rolls are used, a stepping motor is used as the drive source, the needle insertion part uses a cam and a link mechanism, the rotation dial is φ136, the number of needles is 15mm long, 120, and the sewing machine part is a single ring. A sewing machine was used, and a 16-bit personal computer was used for overall control. Table 1 shows the time required for linking women's sweaters in comparison with a comparative example.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the linking method according to the present invention is configured as described above, by using the linking method according to the present invention, all that is required is to set the first knitted fabric, and the subsequent linking work is automatically performed, resulting in a large amount of savings. Humanization becomes possible. Furthermore, if the initial fabric setting is automated, it will be possible to operate the machine almost unmanned. In addition, since it is possible to reliably pick up the needle and insert the needle, quality problems are almost eliminated. In addition, since it is possible to simultaneously pick up and pierce the left and right stitches, if a dedicated image processing device is used, productivity can be expected to be at least twice as high as with manual labor using a conventional linking sewing machine.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of an embodiment of an automatic linking device used to carry out the linking method according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a knitted fabric state detection means in the device shown in FIG. and a side view showing the knitted fabric guiding means, FIG. 3 is a plan view along the line - in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a front view along the line - in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the obtained stitch image, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of one stitch, FIG. 8 is a front view of the needle moving means in the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
8 is a top view of the means of FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the means for engaging the point needle with the fixed guide used for the needle pricking and moving means;
Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a point needle, Fig. 12 is a front view illustrating a sewing machine sewing operation for linking two knitted fabrics, and Fig. 13 is an implementation of the automatic linking method according to the present invention. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the entire linking operation according to the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing details of the eye picking and needle pricking operation in the flowchart of FIG. 14. It is. 1, 1′: Operation table of eye picking needle pricking device,
2, 2': Knitted fabric, 3, 3': Point needle, 3a, 3
a': Point needle holder, 3b, 3b': Groove of holder, 3c: Concave groove of point needle, 4, 4': Knitted fabric guide means, 5, 5': Needle insertion, needle moving means, 6,
6': Camera, 7: Sewing machine needle, 8: Sewing machine part,
9: Storage box, 10: Feed roll, 11: Drive motor, 12: Feed roll, 13: Drive motor, 14: Knitting end position correction roll, 15: Motor, 16: Knitting end position detection sensor, 17: Knitting end direction Correction jig, 18: Air cylinder, 19:
Arm, 20: Motor, 21: Fixed guide, 2
2: Rotating drum, 22a: Rotating drum slit, 23: Ejecting lever, 24: Lever supporter, 25: Shaft, 26: Connecting rod, 27: Cover, 2
8: Guidance guide, 29: Hand, 30: Ball screw, 31: Ball screw, 32: Sewing thread, 33: Yarn feeding guide, 34: Support part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Two pieces of knitted fabric to be sewn are fed to the stitch pick-up needlestick devices installed on the left and right facing each other, and the stitch arrangement state of the supplied knitted fabrics in each stitch pick-up needle stick device is two-dimensionally measured. The positional information of the stitches to be stitched is detected, the stitches to be stitched are guided to the needlepoint position by the knitting fabric guide means, stitches are picked up one stitch at a time, and then stitches are picked up one stitch at a time. The stitches of the knitted fabric are
Automatic linking characterized in that the two knitted fabrics are stacked by transferring the stitches to the needles of the opposing stitch pick-up and needle-stitching devices, and the corresponding stitches of the two knitted fabrics defined by the needles are sewn by the suturing device. Method.