JPH0349478B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is a method for picking up stitches in a knitted fabric, which automatically performs the work of piercing a point needle that holds the stitches in the knitted fabric when overstitching the fabric. The present invention relates to a needle stick device.

[Conventional technology]

Sewing work on knitted items such as sweaters is difficult to automate because the knitted fabric is flexible, and the degree of elongation and dimensions change depending on how force is applied. Automation has lagged significantly in recent years, and the reality is that the work is 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 punctures a piece of knitted fabric with a fixed point needle, discarding one stitch at a time, then needles the knitted fabric to be sewn while aligning the stitches from above, and places the finished part of the needle in the sewing machine section. Linking is achieved by moving and sewing with a sewing machine using the point needle as a guide.

[Problem that the invention is trying to solve]

During the above-mentioned linking process, picking up 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 vision, and if even one stitch is missed, the quality of the product may be affected, such as fraying from that part. However, this work takes a considerable amount of time even for experienced workers, and is one of the major factors that impede labor productivity in the sewing process of knitted fabrics. Therefore, research and development for automation has been carried out in some areas,
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 52-125052 discloses a device for expanding the stitches in which a marking thread is knitted, which can be detected by reflected light, and a device for holding the marking thread in a fixed position and transferring it to the needle insertion part of a rotating dial. A darning device is disclosed which includes a detection device for detecting a marker thread in a needle insertion portion. However, according to this device, 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
Must be supported in one dimension. 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, a photoelectric detection device detects whether a light receiver receives reflected light or not, which is called on/off.For example,
When the loop of marker thread passes through the illuminated part, the reflected light beam enters the receiver, and even if it is turned on, it is not possible to determine which part of the loop has been detected. That is, in order to accurately detect the stitches to be stitched, it is necessary to detect them two-dimensionally, but this device can only detect them one-dimensionally.

Furthermore, with this device, it is necessary to knit a marker yarn into the overlocking part, but considering the structure of the knitted fabric, such marker yarn can only be easily knitted in the course direction at the end of knitting.For example, in a formed knitted sweater, In the overlocking part, there are curved parts where the stitches are reduced, such as the shoulder part and the sleeve part, and it is difficult to knit marker threads into these parts, so the applicability is very limited.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of conventionally known devices, eliminates the need to knit marking yarns, etc. into knitted fabrics in advance, and securely creates darning stitches even for knitted fabrics that are flexible and have non-straight edges. An object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of picking up and pricking one eye at a time.

[Means for solving problems]

The objects of the present invention are to provide a detection sensor that detects the edge of a knitted fabric supplied to be sewn with another knitted fabric, a camera that detects the state of the knitted fabric in the portion to be sewn together, and two-dimensional information obtained by the camera. a knitted fabric condition detection means comprising an image processing device that calculates positional information of the stitches to be inserted based on; a coarse adjustment means that corrects the position of the stitch end in a timely manner; and a fine adjustment means that corrects the position of the stitches in the vicinity of the needle insertion position; a knitted fabric guide means for guiding the stitch to be pricked to the needle pricking position; a needle moving means for moving while piercing and holding the stitch; and a knitted fabric guide means based on the information from the knitted fabric state detecting means. This is achieved by a knitted fabric pick-up needle-stick device comprising a control device for controlling the operation of the needle moving means.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show an embodiment of the knitted fabric stitch pick-up and needle pricking device according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall arrangement of an embodiment of the knitted fabric stitch picking and needle pricking device according to the present invention. Therefore, in order to better understand the structure of the knitted fabric stitch picking and needle pricking device according to the present invention, the operation of the device will first be explained with reference to FIG. 1 before explaining the structure.

In other words, the operation table 1 of the needle pick-up device
A knitted fabric 2 to be linked with another knitted fabric is set on top of the knitted fabric with the first stitch or several stitches of the linking line passed through the point needle 3. The knitted fabric 2 has a knitted end position correction roll 14 that operates based on information from a knitted end position detection sensor 16.
The knitted fabric is fed in the direction of arrow A while rough adjustment of the edge of the knitted fabric is performed using the jig 17 for correcting the knitted edge direction. Next, the image processing device 7 processes the two-dimensional information from the camera 6 that detects the knitted fabric condition of the part of the knitted fabric 2 to be linked, calculates the position of the stitch to be stitched, and uses the calculated information. Base feed roll 1
0, 12 and point needle 3 to stitch the stitch to be stitched.
Then, the needle moving means 5 is operated to pierce the point needle 3 into the stitch and move the point needle 3 in the traveling direction A of the knitted fabric. Thereafter, coarse adjustment, fine adjustment, needle pricking, and point needle movement are performed in sequence, and the stitch picking and needle pricking operations for the required length of knitted fabric are completed. Note that 8 is a control device, which is used to control each of the above-mentioned operations.

Each configuration of the apparatus of the present invention used to carry out the above operations will be explained in order below.

The means for making rough adjustments are shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4.
As shown in the figure, the knitting end position detection sensor 16
It consists of a knitting end position correction roll 14 and knitting end direction correcting devices 17, 18, 19, and 20, which are combined with a knitting end position correction roll 14 (which constitutes a part of the knitted fabric state detection means). As the knitting end position detection sensor 16, for example, a reflective optical sensor is used. Knitting end position detection sensor 16
The knitting end position correction roll 14 is driven by the motor 15 in response to a signal from the knitting end position correcting roll 14, 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. As shown in FIG. 2, the knitting end direction correction device includes a knitting end direction correction jig 17 and an air cylinder 1.
8, consisting 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, and if it does not need to be activated, it is held in a state where it does not touch the knitted fabric, and if it is to be activated, the air cylinder 18 is activated to knit. It is pressed against the ground, and by the rotation of the motor 20, the third rotational movement is made via the arm 19.
Correct the stitch ends as shown by the arrows in the figure.

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 arranged perpendicular to the knitted fabric on a plane and detects stitch images as two-dimensional information. The range to be captured as image information is set to include at least one stitch 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. Furthermore, 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. Thus hand 29 is X
Movement in the direction and Y direction, that is, two-dimensional movement is possible.

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 linking sewing the front and back parts of a knitted fabric, such as a sweater, using the knitted fabric state detection means and knitted fabric guide means having the above-mentioned 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 means (this operation is done by image processing so that the linking line is aligned with the camera to make it easier to detect the stitches to be inserted on the linking line). 6) The CCD camera detects the needle insertion part and the stitch information immediately before, and the image processing device calculates the position information of the stitch to be inserted. rollers 10, 12
The position of the knitted fabric is corrected two-dimensionally using , and the stitches are guided to the needlepoint position to perform stitch picking.

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 position information of the stitches within the image field of view can be accurately determined.

Assuming that the needle insertion position is point a in Fig. 6, the linking line of the knitted fabric in the image field of view has been corrected within the angular error θ ₀ degrees with respect to the reference line X ₀ -X ₀ ' by the rough adjustment means, so The stitch closest to point a with an angular error of ±θ ₀ degrees from point a is determined as the next stitch to be stitched, 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 dx and dy between the needle insertion position and 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. Alternatively, a method may be used 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. 10 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the needle moving means 5. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the point needle 3 is fixed to a holder 3a, and the groove 3b of the holder 3a fits into a fixed guide 21. The rotary drum has a slit 22a cut therein with a size approximately corresponding to one pitch of the knitted fabric so that the point needle 3 moves in the direction of progress of the knitted fabric by rotation (FIG. 9). The needle moves. The fixed guide 21 starts immediately after the needle insertion position and starts 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 remains the same during 180 degrees, and the amount of needle protrusion gradually decreases from a point past 180 degrees. In order to prevent the needle from touching the knitted fabric immediately before the needle insertion position, the needle is removed from the fixed guide 21 at the needle insertion position by reducing the amount of projection and inserting the tip of the ejection lever 23 into the groove 3b of the point needle. Due to the functions of the eccentrically attached connecting rod 26, lever support 24, etc., the shaft 2
By rotating the point needle 5, the point needle 3 is pushed out and guided by the fixed guide 21 again to perform a predetermined movement. The rotational movement of the rotating drum 22 and the ejection movement of the needle may be driven by the same motor,
They may be driven by separate motors.

The above has shown one embodiment in which the point needles are arranged on the rotating drum, but as another embodiment, the point needle is arranged on the rotating drum.
Figures 1 to 15 show a needle moving means in which point needles are arranged on a flat plate. Guide grooves 36 having a T-shaped cross section are provided in the flat plate 35 at a constant pitch so as to support the point needle 43 so as to be able to move forward and backward. Further, in order to horizontally move the point needle 43, a guide rail 37 is attached to the flat plate 35, guided by rollers 38, and the flat plate 35 is supported.
Further, as a device for pitch-feeding the point needle 43, a rack 39 is provided on the flat plate 35, and a rack 39 is provided on the flat plate 35, and the pinion 4
It is moved intermittently or continuously by a drive motor 41 to which a motor 0 is attached. The point needle ejecting operation is performed one by one by an ejecting device 42 using an air cylinder or the like. That is, the rod 42 passes through a hole 44 provided in one of the T-shaped guide grooves of the flat plate and pushes against the end of the point needle holder.
During operation of the ejecting device, the plane plate 35 is not fed in pitches, but is fed in pitches after the rod 42a passes through the hole 44. This timing is determined electrically or mechanically, and is not particularly limited to that shown in the drawings, as long as the point needle can be ejected and fed.

FIG. 16 shows the flow of stitch picking and needle pricking of a knitted fabric performed using the above method, and FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of its control system.

Finally, the operation of the above-described knitted fabric pick-up and needle stabbing device is shown in a flow diagram in FIG. 16, and its control system block diagram is shown in FIG. 17. As shown in FIG. 16, after the initial setting, fine adjustment of the knitted fabric is performed.
This is because the initial setting is done manually, and the direction of the knitted fabric is already determined to the extent that rough adjustments have been made before it is set in the machine. Thereafter, the operation is repeated as shown in FIG. 16, and the stitch picking and needle pricking operation for the required length of knitted fabric is completed.

〔effect〕

As described above, according to the knitted fabric stitch picking and needle pricking device according to the present invention, by simply setting the knitted fabric to be overstitched first, it is possible to automatically needle each stitch to be stitched one by one. It becomes possible. Further, highly trained skilled workers are not required, and the visual burden on the workers is reduced. Furthermore, by automating the initial set, complete automation is possible, resulting in even greater effectiveness.

The knitted fabric pierced by the point needles of the present invention can be machine-stitched by transferring each needle to a conventional linking machine and overlapping the two sheets.Also, by using two sets of this device, the sewing machine part is placed on one side. Then 2
It is possible to stitch several sheets of knitted fabric at the same time, thereby at least doubling productivity.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of an embodiment of the knitted fabric stitch picking and needle pricking device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a knitted fabric condition detecting means and knitted fabric guiding means in the device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the second
Fig. 4 is a plan view taken along the line - in the figure;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a stitch image obtained by a camera, and FIG.
The figure is an exploded explanatory view of the schematic diagram in Figure 5, Figure 7 is an enlarged view of one stitch, and Figure 8 is a front view of the needle moving means in the device shown in Figure 1. 9 is a top view of the means shown in FIG.
FIG. 0 is a cross-sectional view showing a means for engaging a point needle with a fixed guide used for the needle pricking moving means, FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of the point needle, and FIGS. 12 to 15 shows a needle moving means different from the needle moving means explained based on FIGS. 8 to 11, FIG. 12 is a front view, FIG. 13 is a top view, and FIG. 14 is a sectional view. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a point needle used in the needle moving means of FIGS. 12 to 14;
FIG. 16 is a flow diagram showing the operation of the eye pick-up and needle stick device according to the present invention, and FIG. 17 is a control system block diagram of the eye pick and needle stick device according to the present invention. 1...Operation table, 2...Knitted fabric, 3,43...
...Point needle, 3a, 43a... Point needle holder, 3b... Groove of holder, 3c... Concave groove of point needle, 4... Knitted fabric guide means, 5... Needle needle moving means, 6... Camera, 7... Image processing device, 8...
...Control device, 10, 12...Feed roll, 11,
13... Drive motor, 14... Roll for correcting knitting end position, 15... Motor, 16... Knitting end position detection sensor, 17... Jig for correcting knitting end direction, 18
...Air cylinder, 19...Arm, 20...
... Motor, 21 ... Fixed guide, 22 ... Rotating drum, 22a ... Rotating drum slit, 23
...Extrusion lever, 24...Lever support, 2
5...Shaft, 26...Connecting rod, 29...Hand, 3
0, 31...Ball screw, 34...Support part, 35
...plane plate, 36 ... guide groove, 37 ... guide rail, 38 ... roller, 39 ... rack, 40 ...
Pinion, 41...drive motor, 42...extrusion device, 42a...rod, 44...hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Based on a detection sensor that detects the edge of a knitted fabric supplied to be sewn with another knitted fabric, a camera that detects the knitted fabric condition of the part to be sewn together, and two-dimensional information obtained by the camera. A knitted fabric condition detection means consisting of an image processing device that calculates the positional information of the stitches to be stitched; a coarse adjustment means that corrects the stitch end position in a timely manner and a fine adjustment means that corrects the stitch position near the needlepoint position; A knitting guide means for guiding the stitches to be inserted to the needlepoint position; a needle moving means for moving the stitches while piercing and holding the stitches; A knitted fabric pick-up and needlestick device comprising a control device for controlling the operation of the means.