Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting the sensitivity of edge sensors in a semi-automatic sewing machine

Abstract

An adaptive semi-automatic sewing system (10) comprises a sewing machine (12), a drive unit (42) including a variable speed motor and encoder for counting stitches sewn and for sensing the rotation of the motor, at least one material edge sensor (40a) mounted ahead of the needle (22) of the sewing machine, and a microprocessor controller (51) coupled to the sewing machine controls. Accurate control of seam lengths and end points is achieved by initiating countdown of a variable number of final stitches responsive to detection of the material edge by the sensors (40a). The system includes controls (98) coupled to microprocessor controller (51) for dynamically adjusting the sensitivity of the sensors (40a) for variances in the materials being sewn.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.