Abstract: An electronic component mounting apparatus includes an electronic component supply device for supplying an electronic component, a head including a head main body and a head camera unit, and a control device. The head main body includes nozzles, a nozzle drive unit for driving the nozzles and a head support body for supporting the nozzles and the nozzle drive unit. The head camera unit is fixed to the head support body and has head cameras corresponding to the nozzles respectively for photographing electronic components. The head drives the nozzles to hold the electronic components, transfers the electronic components from the electronic component supply device to the substrate and mounts the electronic components onto the substrate. The control device synthesizes images photographed by the head cameras to generate an image with fields of the head cameras connected together, and determines a process based on the synthesized image synthesized.

Abstract: A sewing machine includes a feed mechanism which feeds a workpiece by a feed dog partially protruding out upward from an upper surface of a throat plate and moving along a predetermined feeding direction; a presser foot which presses the workpiece on the upper surface of the throat plate from above; a feed guide which has an abutting surface along the feeding direction and guides feeding of the workpiece; and a control device. The feed mechanism includes a lateral feed mechanism which adds a moving component in a direction along the upper surface of the throat plate and orthogonal to the predetermined feeding direction, to the feed dog. The control device controls the feed mechanism to feed the workpiece by adding a moving component to a side of the abutting surface of the feed guide by the lateral feed mechanism, in addition to the feeding along the regulated feeding direction.

Abstract: A sewing system comprises a sewing machine, a camera that captures an image of a reference position for sewing, a robot arm that holds the sewing machine and the camera, and a controller. The controller controls operations of forming a first stitch position that results from stitching of the sewing machine, and forming a second stitch position that results from stitching of the sewing machine after rotating the sewing machine at a prescribed angle about a rotation axis that passes through a needle center position stored by the controller. The controller further performs calibration processing that calibrates the needle center position stored by the controller, based on each position of the first stitch position and the second stitch position within image capture ranges of capture images that are obtained by capturing images of the first stitch position and the second stitch position using the camera.

Abstract: A sewing machine in which a base configured to support a throat plate, a shuttle or a looper, and an input shaft for a stitching operation to the shuttle or the looper with respect to a bed portion of a frame is supported to be movable along a direction of approaching or separating from a sewing needle is provided. The sewing machine includes a connecting member which changes to any one of a state in which the input shaft and a transmission shaft are aligned in the same straight line to be in a torque transmission state and a state in which the input shaft moves together with the base with respect to the transmission shaft, between the input shaft on the base side and the transmission shaft which transmits power to the input shaft.

Abstract: The loop material sewing method includes: sewing one end of a loop material on a fabric in a state where a front side of the loop material faces the fabric; arranging a fork member including a pair of fork pins so as to arrange the loop material between the pair of fork pins; folding an opposite end of the loop material to a back side of the loop material by rotating the fork member around an axial line parallel to an extending direction of the pair of fork pins; relatively moving the fabric and the fork member in a length direction of the loop material; arranging the folded opposite end on the fabric, pulling out the fork pins from a folded portion at the opposite end by moving the fork member in a width direction of the loop material and sewing the folded opposite end on the fabric.

Abstract: According to the sewing system of the present embodiment, the sewing machine and the robot arm are fixedly supported at the fixed positions by the base. Therefore, when a target position of the robot arm for the sewing operation is set once, a relative positional relation between the robot arm and the sewing machine is kept by the base even though the sewing system is entirely moved. Therefore, it is not necessary to again perform a setting operation of the target position for the sewing operation, so that the burdens on the teaching operation and the other setting operations are reduced.

Abstract: A throat plate switching mechanism includes a first throat plate and a second throat plate. The first throat plate is formed with a first needle hole having an elongated hole shape at a stitch point. The second throat plate is formed with a second needle hole. A width of the second needle hole is narrower than a width of the first needle hole. The second throat plate is equipped in the first throat plate such that the second throat plate is switched into a use position at which the second needle hole overlaps the first needle hole, and a retreated position at which the second throat plate does not cover the first needle hole.

Abstract: A sewing machine includes a sewing machine motor, a control device and a wearable sensor. The sewing machine motor is a vertical movement driving source of a needle bar. The control device controls the sewing machine motor such that a sewing pitch is set to be a predetermined value. The wearable sensor is attached on a body of an operator of the sewing machine to detect a moving amount of an attached portion of the wearable sensor. The control device controls the sewing machine motor based on the moving amount of the attached portion detected by the wearable sensor such that the sewing pitch is set to be the predetermined value.

Abstract: A sewing machine includes a vertical shuttle and a middle shuttle presser disposed at a front side of the vertical shuttle. The sewing machine includes a presser frame, an optical upper thread detector and a stitch skipping detection processor. The presser frame is movably supported between a pressing position at which the middle shuttle presser is pressed and a retract position separated from the pressing position. The optical upper thread detector is provided at the presser frame and is configured to detect passage of an upper thread using detecting light which passes through passage portions formed in the middle shuttle presser and which crosses a front side of a bobbin case of the vertical shuttle. The stitch skipping detection processor is configured to determine whether the passage of the upper thread is present based on an amount of received light of the detecting light from the upper thread detector.

Abstract: A sewing machine includes a sewing machine motor serving as a drive source for driving the vertical movement of a needle bar, a control part for controlling the sewing machine motor such that a sewing pitch coincides with a set value, and imaging part for imaging a seam formed in a workpiece at a needle drop position. The control part obtains the length of the most recent seam from an image of the most recent seam imaged by the imaging part and also compares the length of the most recent seam with the set value of the sewing pitch to thereby correct the number of rotations of the sewing machine motor.

Abstract: An overlock sewing machine includes a first switching part for switching an interlocked state where an upper knife drive part and an upper knife are interlocked and a released state where the upper knife drive part and the upper knife are not interlocked; a second switching part for switching the upper knife between a projection position and a retreat position; and an operation part for switching the first switching part and the second switching part between a first mode, a second mode, and a third mode.

Abstract: An overlock sewing machine includes an upper knife which is movable to a withdrawn position or a driving position, an upper knife driving unit which moves the upper knife, an interlocking switching unit which switches between an interlocking state in which the upper knife driving unit and the upper knife are interlock and a release state in which the upper knife driving unit and the upper knife are released, an upper knife position switching unit which switches the upper knife to the driving position or the withdrawn position, and an operating unit which drives the interlocking switching unit and the upper knife position switching unit such that the interlocking switching unit is brought into the interlocking state when the upper knife is switched to the driving position, and the interlocking switching unit is brought into the release state when the upper knife is switched to the withdrawn position.

Abstract: An electronic component mounting apparatus includes a head unit, component supply device, camera unit, and controller controlling the head unit and component supply device. The component supply device has a holder holding electronic component accommodating tapes, each having storage cells arranged in a row, the storage cells storing electronic components, and a feeder forwarding the electronic component accommodating tapes and moving the storage cells to a suction area where the electronic component can be suctioned by the nozzle. The camera unit is fixed to a head support, and captures an image of the suction area. The controller analyzes the image of the suction area obtained by the camera unit. When the controller determines that a portion of the electronic component accommodating tape in the suction area is a spliced portion based on a result of the analysis, the controller determines that the electronic component accommodating tape is changed.

Abstract: A surface mounting apparatus includes a mounting head which is movable in X and Y directions and which mounts an electronic component on a positioned board, and a board recognizing camera is fixed to a base and which moves integrally with the mounting head. A correction jig includes a correction mark which is imaged by the board recognizing camera, and an imaging result is used to correct temporal change in an interior portion of the camera including an optical system, and is fixed to the base.

Abstract: A production system which is centralizedly managed by a server so that electronic components fed from feeders are mounted on a board by each mounting apparatus, is configured so that the feeders are placed in predetermined placement regions of a feeder bank provided in the mounting apparatus, the server detects the placement regions where the feeders are placed, and manages the feeders and the placement regions in association with each other, and the mounting apparatus acquires management information from the server and automatically generates layout data indicating correspondence between the feeders and the placement regions.

Abstract: An electronic component mounting apparatus includes a head unit, component supply device, camera unit, and controller controlling the head unit and component supply device. The component supply device has a holder holding electronic component accommodating tapes, each having storage cells arranged in a row, the storage cells storing electronic components, and a feeder forwarding the electronic component accommodating tapes and moving the storage cells to a suction area where the electronic component can be suctioned by the nozzle. The camera unit is fixed to a head support, and captures an image of the suction area. The controller analyzes the image of the suction area obtained by the camera unit. When the controller determines that a portion of the electronic component accommodating tape in the suction area is a spliced portion based on a result of the analysis, the controller determines that the electronic component accommodating tape is changed.

Abstract: An electronic component mounting apparatus in which an electronic component may be checked to provide highly accurate and efficient electronic component mounting. The apparatus includes a camera unit fixed on a head support and images an electronic component absorbed or to be absorbed onto a nozzle. The camera unit contains a camera module including a camera obtaining an image, a first lighting section disposed adjacently on a side of the camera closer to the nozzle and emitting light toward an imaging region of the camera, a second lighting section disposed adjacently on a side of the camera farther from the nozzle and emitting light toward the imaging region of the camera, and a baffle; and a bracket fixed on the head support and supporting the camera, the first lighting section, the second lighting section and the baffle.