BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For better understanding of the objects and other features of the present invention, its preferred embodiments will be described hereinbelow in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an outer appearance view showing a multi-head, multi-color embroidery sewing machine, equipped with four machine heads, as an example of a sewing machine to which is applied a thread stand according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the embodiment of the thread stand mounted on a thread stand plate of the sewing machine of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3A is an upper perspective view of a connection member employed in the embodiment of the thread stand;
FIG. 3B is a lower perspective view of the connection member;
FIG. 3C is a side view of the connection member;
FIGS. 4A-4D are sectional views showing an operational sequence for attaching the embodiment of the thread stand to the thread stand plate;
FIGS. 5A-5C are side views showing thread spools of three different types applicable to the embodiment of the thread stand;
FIGS. 6A-6C are sectional views showing the various thread spools set on the embodiment of the thread stand;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventionally-known thread stand mounted on a thread stand plate; and
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a thread spool set on the conventionally-known thread stand of FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 is an outer appearance view of a multi-head, multi-color embroidery sewing machine 1, equipped with four machine heads, to which is applied a thread stand according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thread stand plate (thread stand section) 5 is provided on the upper surface of a machine frame 3 supporting thereon the four machine heads 2. The thread stand plate 5 is an elongated plate formed by drawing of aluminum and extending across all of the machine heads 2. As shown in enlarged scale in FIG. 2, a plurality of the thread stands 6 of the present invention are provided on the thread stand plate 5, per machine head.
Each of the thread stands 6 includes a connection member 7, and a spool pin (or rod member) 8. FIG. 3A is an upper perspective view of the connection member 7, FIG. 3B is a lower perspective view of the connection member 7, and FIG. 3C is a side view of the spool pin 8. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the connection member 7 is an integrally-formed, one-piece member which integrally includes: a cylindrical portion 12 formed, in a central area of the upper surface thereof, for fixing the spool pin 8 by allowing one end portion of the spool pin 8 to be inserted into the cylindrical portion 12; supporting portions 10, 11 and 13 (these supporting portions 10, 11 and 13 together constitute a supporting section of the connection member 7) formed around the cylindrical portion 12 and having shapes adapted to support predetermined portions of a thread spools of predetermined types; and a fitting portion 16 formed, on a central area of the lower surface thereof, adapted to fit in a predetermined mounting hole 6a (see FIG. 4) of the thread stand plate 5. Preferably, the supporting portions 10, 11 and 13 of the connection member 7 in the instant embodiment have shapes adapted to support predetermined portions of thread spools of at least two predetermined types. Namely, the above-mentioned supporting section includes a first annular supporting concave portion 13 formed around the cylindrical portion 12, an annular convex portion 11 formed around the first annular supporting concave portion 13, and a second annular (or flange-shaped) supporting concave portion 10 formed around the annular convex portion 11.
The thread stand 6 according to the instant embodiment are constructed to appropriately handle (i.e., to be capable of vertically fixing in a stable condition) any one of three different types of thread spools A, B and C as illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C. In the thread spool A of the type shown in FIG. 5A, the winding core having an upper thread wound thereon is in the form of a tapered cone A1. In the thread spool B of the type of FIG. 5B, a principal section of the winding core having an upper thread wound thereon is in the form of a cylinder of a relatively great diameter. Lower portion (supporting flange) B1 of the winding core has a tapered shape flaring like a skirt. With the skirt-like lower portion (supporting flange) B1, there can be achieved the advantage that a thread portion slacking and sagging is prevented from getting caught by the lower end of the thread spool. In the thread spool C of the type shown in FIG. 5C, the winding core having an upper thread wound thereon is in the form of a cylinder of a relatively small cylinder. Here, the lower end or bottom of the winding core A1 of the thread spool A has a diameter greater than the lower end of the winding core C1 of the thread spool C, but smaller than the bottom of the winding core (support flange B1) of the thread spool B.
Referring back to FIG. 3A, the first supporting concave portion 13 has a size adapted to receive and support the lower end of the winding core C1 of the thread spool C having the smallest diameter, and the second supporting concave portion 10 has a size adapted to receive and support the lower end of the winding core A1 of the thread spool A greater in diameter than the thread spool C. As will be later described, if the thread spool C is set on the thread stand 6, the lower end C2 (see FIG. 5C) of the thread wound on the spool C can be received and supported by the convex portion 11 formed around the first supporting concave portion 13.
The cylindrical portion 12 formed on the central area of the upper surface of the connection member 7 has an upwardly-opening hole 12a in which one end portion (base portion) of the spool pin 8 can be inserted. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the fitting portion 16 is formed on the connection member 7 in coaxial positional relation to the cylindrical portion 12 and projects downwardly from the central region of the lower surface of the connection member 7. The fitting portion 16, which is constructed so as to close the lower side of the hole 12a of the cylindrical portion 12, has four radial slits to function as four resilient flexing pieces 16a as will be later described.
As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the lower end of the spool pin 8 is formed as a rounded portion 8a, and the spool pin 8 also has an annular groove 8b formed immediately above the rounded portion 8a. The spool pin 8 is formed, for example, of synthetic resin and has a lower tapered portion 8c tapered downwardly from a position indicated by arrow X, displaced from the longitudinal middle of the spool pin 8 toward the pin's lower end or rounded portion 8a; the purpose of such downward tapering is to allow the spool pin 8 to be fitted in the cylindrical portion 12 with sufficient tightness. Further, the spool pin 8 has an upper tapered portion 8d tapered upwardly from a position indicated by arrow Y, displaced from the longitudinal middle of the spool pin 8 toward the pin's upper end; the purpose of such upward tapering is to allow an umbrella member 20 (see FIGS. 6A-6C) to be fitted on the spool pin 8 with sufficient tightness.
As shown in sectional views of FIGS. 4A-4D, each of the above-mentioned resilient flexing pieces 16a has a curved lower-end inner surface to function as a curved engaging surface 17a that is deformed outwardly by abutting engagement with the lower-end rounded portion 8a of the spool pin 8, and it also has a lower-end locking portion 17b that engages with the annular groove 8b formed in the spool pin 8.
FIGS. 4A-4D are sectional views showing an operational sequence for attaching the thread stand 6 to the thread stand plate 5 of the sewing machine. First, the fitting portion 16 of the connection member 7 is fitted into the mounting hole 5a of the thread stand plate 5, to thereby attach the connection member 7 to thread stand plate 5, as shown in FIG. 4A. Then, a lower end portion of the spool pin 8 is inserted from above into the cylindrical portion 12 of the connection member 7, as shown in FIG. 4B. Then, the spool pin 8 is pushed downward until the lower-end rounded portion 8a abuts against the lower-end inner surfaces 17a of the individual resilient flexing pieces 16a as shown in FIG. 4C. Then, as the spool pin 8 is pushed further downward, the four resilient flexing pieces 16a are pushed or bulged outwardly away from one another by the lower-end rounded portion 8a, after which the lower-end locking portion 17b engages with the annular groove 8b of the spool pin 8, as shown in FIG. 4D, to thereby prevent further downward movement of the spool pin 8. In this manner, the spool pin 8 can be integrally coupled with the connection member 7, and the connection member 7 can be firmly fixed to the thread stamp plate 5 by the outward bulging of the resilient flexing pieces 16a. Thus, both the spool pin 8 and the connection member 7 can be firmly fixed together to the thread stamp plate 5 with only a simple operation of inserting the spool pin 8 into the connection member 7.
Next, with reference to FIGS. 6A-6C, a description will be given about how a desired one of the different types of thread spools A-C is set on the thread stand 6 attached to the thread stand plate 5 in the aforementioned manner.
FIG. 6A is a sectional view showing the thread spool A, which is of the type shown in FIG. 5A, set on the thread stand 6. In this case, the lower end of the winding core A1 of the thread spool A is received and supported in the second supporting concave portion 10 that is capable of supporting a winding core of a great diameter on the connection member 7, so that undesired shaking movement of the thread spool A set on the thread stand 6 can be prevented. In FIG. 6A, the umbrella member 20 of the conventionally-known construction is mounted on the spool pin 8, as a preferred example. Namely, the umbrella member 20 has an axial mounting hole (not shown) formed centrally therein, and four vanes capable of being resiliently spread out into a predetermined imaginary diameter. The umbrella member 20 is inserted, at its axial mounting hole, onto the spool pin 8 from the upper end of the pin 8, and it is locked at a suitable height by means of the upper tapered portion 8d (FIG. 3C). With the vanes of the umbrella member 20 resiliently abuttingly supporting the winding core A1 of the thread spool A from the interior of the core A1, the thread spool A set on the thread stand 6 can be fixed even more stably. FIG. 6A also shows a supporting ring 21 detachably attached to the connection member 7 along the outer periphery of the connection member 7. The lower end of the thread wound on the spool A can be supported on the supporting ring 21, so that undesired sagging of the thread can be prevented as conventionally known. Note that either or both of the umbrella member 20 and supporting ring 21 may be dispensed with if desired.
FIG. 6C is a sectional view showing the thread spool C, which is of the type shown FIG. 5C, set on the thread stand 6. In this case, the lower end of the winding core C1 of the thread spool C is received and supported in the first supporting concave portion 13 that is capable of supporting a winding core of a small diameter on the connection member 7, so that undesired shaking movement of the thread spool C set on the thread stand 6 can be prevented. The lower end of the thread wound on the thread spool C can be received and supported on the convex portion 11 surrounding the first supporting concave portion 13 of the connection member 7, so that undesired sagging of the thread can be prevented.
FIG. 6B is a sectional view showing the thread spool B, which is of the type shown in FIG. 5B, set on the thread stand 6. The thread spool B of this type, where the bottom of the winding core B1 has a diameter than the outer diameter of the connection member 7, has no portion capable of being supported by the supporting portions 10. 11 and 13 of the connection member 7. Thus, the umbrella member 20 is mounted on the spool pin 8 so that the vanes of the umbrella member 20 abuttingly support a small-diameter portion of the winding core B1 of the thread spool B from the interior of the core B1, with the result that the thread spool B set on the thread stand 6 can be fixed even more stably. Although the arrangements shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C can both prevent undesired sagging of the thread even if there is not provided the supporting ring 21 of FIG. 6A, the thread spools B and C may each be set on the thread stand 6 with the supporting ring 21 interposed between the spool and the stand 6.
Whereas, in the above-described embodiment, the cylindrical portion 12 and the fitting portion 16 are formed on the connection member 7 in coaxial positional relation to each other, the present invention is not so limited, and fitting of the spool pin 8 into the connection member 7 and fitting of the fitting portion 16 into the thread stand plate 5 may be carried out through separate mechanisms instead of being carried out in interlocked relation to each other as in the above-described embodiment.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mounting portion of the thread stand plate 5, via which the thread stand 6 is attached to the thread stand plate 5, is formed as the mounting hole 5a. However, the present invention is not so limited, and the mounting portion of the thread stand plate 5 may be formed as a projection or the like, in which case the fitting portion 16 of the connection member 7 is fitted on the projection. Further, the spool pin 8 may be fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 12 instead of being fitted in the cylindrical portion 12.
It should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiment and various modifications of the invention are possible without departing from the basic principles of the invention.
This application is based on, and claims priority to, JP PA 2006-218842 filed on 10 Aug. 2006. The disclosure of the priority application, in its entirety, including the drawings, claims, and the specification thereof, is incorporated herein by reference.
Patent Application
20080035782
