Pattern stitch sewing machine having image projection means
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorAkifumi Nakashima
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
To aid in the proper placement of patterns to be sewn on work fabric, a sewing machine includes a pattern projection system for forming pattern images on the fabric. The pattern images are of the same size and orientation as the pattern sewn by the machine. The image projection system includes a light source and a light transmission imaging element for forming images on the fabric. The imaging element can be liquid crystal. The image forming system displays a marker to indicate that portions of the pattern to be sewn are outside a predetermined image area. A memory is provided to store pattern completion data, so that after an interruption in the sewing of a pattern, the unfinished part of the pattern can be imaged on the fabric and the machine can complete the pattern.
Claims27
In a sewing machine including a frame, a needle bar having a needle at the lower end thereof and vertically movably supported by the frame, and a memory storing data relating to various patterns, wherein said needle bar and a work fabric are relatively moved in directions crossing an axis of vertical movement of the needle according to said data read from the memory to sew a pattern on the work fabric;
- the improvement comprising:
- means for providing image data relative to a pattern selectively read from the memory;
- and
- means responsive to said image data for projecting a pattern onto a surface of a bed of said sewing machine or the work fabric on the bed, said projecting means disposed on the frame near the needle bar, a pattern to be projected by said projecting means having the same size, direction and position as a stitch pattern to be obtained after sewing.
A sewing machine comprising:
- a needle;
- means for reciprocating said needle;
- means for feeding a fabric in a path transverse to the axis of reciprocation of said needle;
- means for coordinating movement of said needle and said feeding means to produce a stitch pattern on the fabric;
- means for forming an image, in an image area, of a stitch pattern to be produced, on the fabric;
- means for determining if said needle is reciprocating;
- and
- means for enabling operation of said image forming means upon the occurrence of a negative determination by said determining means.
Apparatus as in claim comprising means for providing information from the storing means to the coordinating means for effecting completion of a previously partially completed pattern.
A sewing machine comprising:
- a reciprocable needle bar having a needle at the lower end thereof;
- means for reciprocating the needle bar;
- means for feeding fabric in a path transverse to the axis of reciprocation of the needle bar;
- means for moving the needle bar laterally with respect to the feed path of the fabric as the needle bar reciprocates;
- pattern storing means for storing pattern data for a plurality of patterns to be sewn;
- control means for controlling the needle bar reciprocating means, the needle bar moving means and the fabric feeding means to sew a pattern on the fabric in accordance with pattern data stored in the pattern storing means;
- image storing means for storing image data corresponding to the patterns stored in the pattern storing means;
- and
- means for forming an image of a pattern on the fabric based on image data stored in the image storing means, the image forming means disposed adjacent to the needle bar.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.