Electronically geared sewing machine

A method for forming a pattern of continuous stitches in a material in which the movements of a plurality of operating parts are coordinated to form the pattern of stitches, comprising the steps of:

• producing monitor signals corresponding to the positions of each of the operating parts;
• monitoring the monitor signals to determine the positions of each of the operating parts;
• directing the monitor signals to a controller having multiple control axes;
• generating motion commands in the controller in accordance with a stitch pattern for coordinated movement of said plurality of operating parts;
• and
• directing said motion commands to mechanisms associated with each of said operating parts so that said operating parts move in concert with each other to form the pattern of continuous stitches.

An apparatus for forming holes in a textile sewing material in which the movement of a plurality of operating parts is coordinated to form stitches adjacent each of the holes, said apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of operating parts, each part being movable through a range of positions to form holes in a textile sewing material and sew stitches adjacent each hole;
• a plurality of closed loop drive systems connected to said operating parts for driving said operating parts;
• monitors for producing monitor signals substantially continuously corresponding to the positions of said operating parts;
• a data acquisition and control system:
• connected to each of said closed loop drive systems;
• for receiving said monitor signals;
• and
• for electronically gearing movement of multiple ones of the operating parts so that the operating parts move in concert with each other;
• said data acquisition and control system for receiving monitor signals and for responding to said monitor signals to produce motion commands for multiple ones of said closed loop drive systems;
• and
• a user interface connected to said data acquisition and control system for inputting commands to control the operation of the apparatus.

A method of substantially simultaneously forming a plurality of bound holes in a material, comprising the steps of:

• creating relative movement in a controlled fashion between the material and a plurality of sewing heads, each of which includes two or more cooperative operating parts;
• monitoring the position of the operating parts in each head;
• substantially continuously producing monitor signals corresponding to the positions of each of the operating parts;
• directing the monitor signals to a controller;
• generating commands in the controller for coordinated movement of said plurality of operating parts;
• and
• directing said commands to mechanisms associated with each of said operating parts in each head to control the movement of the operating parts in concert with each other to form the bound holes.

A method for simultaneously forming a plurality of button holes and thereafter attaching a plurality of corresponding buttons on a sewing material, comprising the steps of:

• creating relative movement in a controlled fashion between the sewing material and a plurality of sewing heads, each of which includes two or more cooperative operating parts;
• monitoring the position of the operating parts in each head;
• substantially continuously producing monitor signals indicative of the positions of each of the operating parts in each head;
• directing the monitor signals to a controller for receiving monitor signals from a plurality of monitors;
• generating commands in the controller for coordinated movement of said plurality of operating parts;
• and
• directing said commands to mechanisms associated with each of said operating parts in each head to control the movement of the operating parts in concert with each other to allow substantially simultaneous cutting and sewing of a plurality of button holes, and thereafter the feeding and sewing of corresponding buttons for each button hole.

A method for detecting faults in a sewing operation, comprising the steps of:

• acquiring data corresponding to the positions of two or more sewing parts which are moving in concert to form continuous stitches;
• monitoring the acquired data to determine the position of said sewing parts relative to a reference position for each part;
• and
• identifying an alarm condition when the position of a sewing part is not within a predetermined tolerance of the reference position of the sewing part.

A method for detecting faults in a sewing operation, comprising the steps of:

• acquiring data corresponding to the positions of two or more sewing parts which are moving in concert to form continuous stitches;
• monitoring the acquired data to determine the position of said sewing parts relative to a predetermined position for each part;
• and
• identifying an alarm condition when a sewing part does not arrive at its predetermined position at a predetermined time.

A method for detecting a skipped stitch during operation of a sewing machine, comprising the steps of:

• monitoring the positions of two or more sewing parts which are moving in concert to form continuous stitches;
• comparing the monitored position of one sewing part to the monitored position of another sewing part to determine a positional difference between the parts;
• and
• detecting the presence of a skipped stitch when the positional difference meets a predetermined threshold.

An apparatus for forming a pattern of continuous stitches in a material in which the movements of a plurality of operating parts are coordinated to form the pattern of stitches, said apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of operating parts, each part being movable through a range of positions to form continuous stitches in a material;
• a plurality of closed loop drive systems connected to said operating parts for driving said operating parts through their ranges of positions;
• monitors for producing monitor signals substantially continuously corresponding to the positions of said operating parts;
• said operating parts, drive systems, and monitors comprising a first operating head;
• a data acquisition and control system;
• connected to each of said closed loop drive systems;
• for receiving said monitor signals;
• and
• for electronically gearing the movements of the operating parts so that the operating parts move in concert with each other to form the pattern of continuous stitches;
• and
• a user interface connected to said data acquisition and control system for inputting commands to control the operation of the apparatus;
• wherein the timing of the operating parts, one relative to the other, is electronically adjustable in response to commands received from the user interface.

A method for detecting a skipped stitch during operation of a sewing machine having a needle and a sewing part, the sewing part operating in a sewing cycle in concert with the needle to act upon a thread carried by the needle and form a stitch, comprising the steps of:

• monitoring the position of the sewing part during the sewing cycle;
• determining the position of the sewing part at a selected position in the sewing cycle which is defined as the sampled position;
• comparing the sampled position of the sewing part to a reference position to determine a positional difference between the sample position and the reference position;
• and
• detecting the presence of a skipped stitch when the positional difference meets a threshold.

A multi-head sewing apparatus for performing multiple sewing operations, the apparatus comprising:

• a first sewing head having
• a plurality of sewing parts, each part being movable through a range of positions to form continuous stitches in a material;
• closed loop drive systems connected to each of said sewing parts for driving said sewing parts through their ranges of positions;
• and
• monitors for producing monitor signals substantially continuously corresponding to the positions of said sewing parts;
• a second sewing head having
• a plurality of sewing parts, each part being movable through a range of positions to form continuous stitches in a material;
• closed loop drive systems connected to each of said sewing parts for driving said sewing parts through their ranges of positions;
• and
• monitors for producing monitor signals substantially continuously corresponding to the positions of said sewing parts;
• a data acquisition and control system:
• connected to each closed loop drive system of each of said first and second sewing heads;
• for receiving monitor signals from each of said first and second sewing heads;
• and
• for electronically gearing movements of multiple ones of the sewing parts for each sewing head so that said sewing parts move in concert with each other;
• and
• a user interface connected to said data acquisition and control system for inputting commands to control the operation of the apparatus.