Abstract: A sewing machine moves a presser foot up and down through a presser-bar lifting lever to depress a cloth. The lever is moved down by a stepping motor at a constant move-down amount. A compression spring is present between the stepping motor and the presser foot. The compression spring is compressed by some of the constant move-down amount of the lever, and applies, to the presser foot, pushing force canceling repulsive force from the depressed cloth. The move-down amount of the presser foot is detected by an encoder, and a thickness of the cloth is calculated by a cloth-thickness calculator. The cloth-thickness calculator performs calculation based on the move-down amounts at two timings in a time period at which the presser foot depresses the cloth and attempts to further move down.

Abstract: A detection unit for detecting a data row of a press position and a load at the press position; an input/storage unit for inputting and storing a value serving as a reference for determining a bend point in a relation between the press position and the load at the press position; a data-row calculation unit for calculating a data row of a press position and a load at a constant distance interval based on the data row of the press position and the load detected; a slope calculation unit for calculating a slope of the load based on the press position and the load at the press position detected; and a bend-point determination unit for determining a point, at which the calculated slope of the load exceeds the value serving as the reference for determining the bend point, as the bend point are provided.

Abstract: The present invention provides a sewing machine that can actuary detect a physical amount of a movement of a fabric without depending on an estimated value. Thus, thread tension can be precisely adjusted. A sewing machine 1 includes a spherical body 22a exposed partly from a needle plate 2. The spherical body 22a is rotated following a feed of a fabric 100. The rotation of the spherical body 22a is detected by rotary encoders 22c, 22d. A physical amount of the movement of the fabric 100 is calculated based on a detection result of the rotary encoders 22c, 22d. The physical amount of the movement of the fabric 100 is, for example, a moving amount and a moving speed.

Abstract: Provided is an embroidery conversion device for an embroidery sewing machine including: a base-color setting unit configured to set a base color; a gradation-data generating unit configured to generate gradation data expressing shading for monotone embroidery, based on an embroidery color specified for each of the embroidery areas; a gradation shade-number setting unit configured to set a number of shades in gradation for monotone embroidery used in execution of monotone embroidery; a gradation-data converting unit configured to convert the gradation data generated by the gradation-data generating unit into working gradation data of the number of shades in gradation set by the gradation shade-number setting unit, and to set the working gradation data as the embroidery color display data; and a recording unit configured to collectively record the embroidery color display data specified for each of the embroidery areas and embroidery stitch data.

Abstract: Provided is a horizontal rotary hook including: an inner rotary hook including an attracted member made of metal in an outer lower surface portion; a permanent magnet that attracts the inner rotary hook; a magnet plate accommodating the permanent magnet and provided with a mounting hole at a center of a diameter thereof; a non-metallic outer rotary hook accommodating the magnet plate and having a shaft hole at a center of a diameter of an inner bottom portion thereof; and a hook supporting shaft that is inserted through the hole of the magnet plate and the shaft hole of the outer rotary hook and includes, at an upper end thereof, a flange for rotatably supporting the outer rotary hook and the magnet plate. A friction coefficient of a contact surface of the magnet plate that comes into contact with the outer rotary hook is set to be larger than a friction coefficient of the flange of the hook supporting shaft.

Abstract: Highly accurate press working is performed while responding to mechanical alteration due to thermal expansion. Prior to a series of processing to a workpiece, a servomotor control unit moves a slide to a stop position, and a sensing value detecting unit detects a sensing value of a sensing element at the stop position of the slide, and stores the detected sensing value. Then, in the series of processing, the sensing value detecting unit detects a sensing value of the sensing element at the stop position of the slide, and stores the detected sensing value in the processing sensing value storing unit. A correction value calculating unit calculates a correction value based on the two store values, and a servomotor control unit controls the servomotor based on the detected slide position, the slide position that has been set, and the correction value calculated by the correction value calculating unit.

Abstract: A controller of a robot includes a storage that stores a main program, a point sequence containing statements arranged in sequence and containing kind information identifying control details to a work tool and coordinate information on a point on a work-piece, a point kind definition describing the control details identified by the kind information, and containing reference information to refer adjustment information for each work tool, and the adjustment information for each work tool prepared so as to correspond to the reference information, an executing unit executing the main program, and a referring unit referring the adjustment information based on the reference information when the point kind definition in the point sequence is inherited during the execution by the executing unit, and applying the adjustment information to the control details.

Abstract: A sewing machine presser foot includes: a presser foot body including an attachment portion attached to a presser bar of a sewing machine, a supporting portion extending downward from the attachment portion , and a pressing portion in which, at a lower end of the supporting portion, a needle guiding hole having a string guiding groove for guiding a string is formed; and a cover member including a groove covering portion that crosses and covers the string guiding groove of the pressing portion, a supporting plate portion formed along the supporting portion continuously from the groove covering portion, and an attachment portion formed at an end of the supporting plate portion so as to be attached to the presser foot body. A right-side portion of the supporting plate portion of the cover member is fixed to the presser foot body A by the attachment portion.

Abstract: A sewing machine includes a thread take-up lever that supplies an upper thread to a needle from a thread supply source, a hook which catches the upper thread inserted in the needle, and which intertwine the upper thread with a lower thread, and a control unit that controlling a hook release phase at which the hook releases the upper thread in such a way that a hook/upper-thread necessary amount that is necessary when the upper thread is intertwined with the lower thread becomes smaller than a thread-take-up-lever/upper-thread supply amount that is supplied by an operation of the thread take-up lever. The control unit controls the hook release phase at a plurality of timings.

Abstract: With an embroidery design connecting data generating apparatus, an image acquisition unit acquires an image of an embroidery frame mounting a cloth having a portion where an embroidery design has been sewn. A display unit displays the image of the cloth having such an embroidery-sewn portion acquired by the image acquisition unit and an image of an embroidery design to be sewn to the cloth. An embroidery design data editing unit edits the embroidery design image such that it is connected with the already-sewn embroidery design in a state in which the image of the cloth having the embroidery-sewn portion is displayed on the display unit. Such an arrangement prevents the occurrence of overlapping or gaps after embroidery designs are sewn even if accumulated shrinkage occurs in the sewing operation, or slight alignment errors occur in position or rotation when the cloth is mounted on the embroidery frame.

Abstract: A sewing data generating apparatus acquires information with respect to an embroidery frame. The sewing data generating apparatus acquires an image including a base cloth mounting a sewing target and mounted on the embroidery frame, and analyzes a correspondence between acquired information with respect to the embroidery frame and the image of the embroidery frame thus acquired. The sewing data generating apparatus generates outline data for the sewing target based on the analysis result, and generates sewing data based on the outline data thus generated. The sewing data generating apparatus transmits the sewing data thus generated to a sewing machine. The sewing machine receives the sewing data from the sewing data generating apparatus. The sewing machine executes sewing for the outline of the sewing target according to the sewing data thus received. This allows an applique to be sewn at an accurate position without a need to prepare dedicated data.

Abstract: Information with respect to an embroidery frame and information with respect to a mark alignment region are acquired. The mark alignment region is displayed for guiding multiple marks that are provided to an embroidery frame in order to define an embroidery region in the embroidery frame. When the multiple marks thus displayed are all positioned within the mark alignment region, an image of the embroidery region is acquired. Image analysis is performed based on the information with respect to the embroidery frame thus acquired and the information with respect to the multiple corresponding marks within the acquired image. Subsequently, the embroidery region within the embroidery frame is determined based on the analysis result. This allows the embroidery region to be detected with high precision in a simple manner.

Abstract: A bobbin holder that grasps a holder body and a flange of a bobbin that winds a thread n around the holder body, the holder including: an opening formed in an upper surface of the holder body; a thread holding portion that holds a thread n and is arranged in the opening so as to protrude from a center of the holder body toward an outer circumference of the holder body; and a cutting blade that cuts the thread held by the thread holding portion, the blade being disposed in one of regions inside the opening that is partitioned by the thread holding portion, wherein the cutting blade is disposed on a thread path of the thread n being pulled after the thread n, which is wound around the bobbin grasped by a grasping portion and is pulled from the other region inside the partitioned opening, is held by the thread holding portion.

Abstract: A sewing machine moves a needle up and down relative to a cloth based on drive force from a rotating upper shaft to form a stitch. A first output generating unit reciprocates a first output point along an output axis so as to convert the rotational motion of the upper shaft into a linear motion. An assist rod that serves as a connection portion links the first output point with a needle bar. A needle-bar swing unit swings the needle bar. An output shaft moving unit moves a guide that is the output axis in a cloth feeding direction in accordance with the motion of the needle-bar swing unit. The assist rod changes the inclination in accordance with the movement of the output axis, and reciprocates the needle bar in substantially parallel with the output axis while maintaining the inclination.

Abstract: An embroidery sewing machine includes a storage device storing coordinate data of an embroidery pattern; an X-Y moving mechanism that moves an embroidery frame in X- and Y-directions based on the coordinate data; a display device that displays the embroidery pattern; a transparent touchscreen; a touch point detector that detects a position of touch on the touchscreen; a coordinate data extracting unit that extracts coordinate data within a certain distance from the detected position of touch; a coordinate data selecting unit that selects a coordinate data candidate from the extracted coordinate data; a candidate list display unit that displays a list of a needle position candidate based on the selected coordinate data; and a coordinate data supplying unit that supplies, when any needle position is specified, the X-Y moving mechanism with coordinate data of the specified needle position and moves the embroidery frame to the needle position.

Abstract: A sewing data generating unit acquires embroidery frame information and a mark alignment region displayed on a display unit for guiding multiple marks that define an embroidery region of the embroidery frame. When the marks are all positioned within the mark alignment region displayed on the display unit, the sewing data generating apparatus acquires an image of the embroidery frame and a sewing target mounted on a base cloth mounted on the embroidery frame. The sewing data generating apparatus performs image analysis based on a correspondence between the acquired information with respect to the embroidery frame and the marks in the acquired image, so as to determine the embroidery region of the embroidery frame. The sewing data generating apparatus generates outline data for the sewing target based on the determined embroidery region. This allows an applique to be sewn at an accurate position without a need to prepare dedicated data.

Abstract: The robot of this embodiment moves a work tool to points where multiple work-pieces are placed, and executes a process specified at each point where the work-piece is placed. A point sequence memory stores the point where the work-piece is placed. A work-instruction-sequence memory stores a work instruction executed at the point where the work-piece is placed. A work-piece-correction-level memory stores, in association with each other, a work-piece correction level at each point and a parameter of each point where the work-piece is placed. A work-piece-correction counter memory stores a counter indicating to which point the work-piece correction level at the point is reflected.

Abstract: When marks all align with a mark alignment region in an image, an image is acquired for an embroidery frame and embroidery design sewn to a portion of a cloth mounted on the frame. Image analysis is performed based on correspondence between acquired information for the embroidery frame and for the marks. The embroidery region of the embroidery frame is determined based on analysis results. Acquired images of the cloth having the embroidery design portion and an embroidery design to be sewn to it are displayed. The embroidery design image to be sewn is edited to connect it to the image of the embroidery design already sewn to the portion in the displayed image. This prevents the occurrence of overlapping or gaps between embroidery design units even if accumulated shrinkage occurs in sewing, or slight alignment errors occur in position or rotation when cloth is mounted on the embroidery frame.