FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a multi-needled quilting machine, that as well as carrying out the sewing program is provided with needles which can be individually activated/de-activated according to the specific sewing needs.

The present invention also concerns the method to activate/de- activate a needle.

In particular, the present invention is applied in the field of sewing/quilting machines for clothing, completed pieces, quilts and mattresses, or generally manufactured articles made of an upper material, a possible lower material and possibly also an intermediate layer of stuffing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Multi-needled quilting machines are known, comprising one or more lines of needles, also called rows of needles, which, on the basis of one specific command and control program, make stitches of various shapes and characteristics, achieving the most varied of patterns.

One solution is known, on the basis of which the needles in one row can be individualized, that is, made active or inactive, so that only individual needles specifically chosen in said row are configured to carry out the sewing work.

For example, from document US-A-5.005.499 a machine is known in which each needle is associated to a support mean. Each support mean of the needle is provided with a pneumatic actuator selectively drivable to take the needle to an active or inactive condition according to the specific work program.

A quilting machine is also known, described in document WO-A-03/025273, provided with upper and lower sewing members and a plurality of support means for needles mounted at intervals longitudinally on a needle-support bar. The needle-support bar is equipped, during use, with an alternate motion to make the stitches. Each of the support means supports two or more needles, to each of which a different thread is associated, of a different color for example. A solution is also known, from document US-B-8.250.997, on the basis of which the individual needles are individualized and therefore made active or inactive during working. This solution provides a shaft associated to each row of needles. On each shaft, in its turn, a plurality of handles are mounted, as many handles as there are needles. The needles are mounted on an axially mobile support. A connecting rod cooperates with the axially mobile support and is selectively associable, by means of a pick-up and delivery unit, that is, an electric actuator, to a corresponding handle of the shaft in order to determine the selective drive of the needles used for the next working.

This solution achieves the purpose of individualizing, that is, making an individual needle which is part of a row of needles active or inactive, but it is particularly complex and articulated and has a limited number of needles. In this known machine, because of the lateral bulk of the pick-up and delivery members, it is not possible to reduce the reciprocal distance between adjacent needles.

Moreover, this mechanism does not allow to update existing machines, since updating requires modifying the structure of the machine in its substantive aspects.

Furthermore, this mechanism creates problems of maintenance, storage, spare parts, energy consumption, coordination between the components, timing and functioning, as well as being a considerable source of errors.

One purpose of the present invention is to make a multi-needled quilting machine in which the individual needles of each row of needles can be activated and de-activated swiftly in a desired way and controlled individually.

Another purpose is to make a mechanism on the basis of which it is possible to equip existing multi-needled quilting machines without needing to make substantial modifications or, even less, structural alterations.

It is also a purpose to make a simple mechanism, inexpensive, easy to manage and maintain, with limited bulk and which uses little energy compared with the state of the art.

It is also a purpose to make a system to activate/de-activate the individual needle which prevents the needle from losing its supply of cut thread when the needle is in the inactive position.

The Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art and to obtain these and other purposes and advantages. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is set forth and characterized in the independent claims, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the invention or variants to the main inventive idea.

According to the invention, each individual needle of a multi-needled quilting machine can be activated or de-activated individually.

Each individual needle is associated to a support mean cooperating stably with a needle-carrier bar of a multi-needled quilting machine.

According to one aspect of the present invention the support mean comprises a tubular body in which a rod is inserted through and in a sliding manner. The rod has the needle at the lower end.

Temporary reciprocal positioning means, or temporary retaining means, are provided between the tubular body and the rod in order to maintain the needle at least in one of the two conditions, active and inactive. The reciprocal positioning means consist of at least one positioning seating and at least one positioner element insertable in the positioning seating.

According to the invention, the needle is selectively activated/de-activated by means of at least an activation/de-activation device which is mobile along at least part of the row of needles, and in particular between at least two needles in a row.

The activation/de-activation device is controlled by a command and control unit and can be positioned in a desired way in correspondence to the specific needle to be activated or de-activated. The activation/de-activation device is equipped with a primary actuator that determines the active positioning of the specific needle.

According to the invention, the activation/de-activation device also comprises a secondary actuator configured to determine the de-activation of the specific needle.

According to a variant the secondary actuator is autonomous and separate with respect to the primary actuator.

According to the invention the primary actuator drives the rod axially until it is in cooperation with the temporary retaining means so that the needle is actuated.

According to a variant the primary actuator in itself has means which can also de-activate the actuated needle. A first variant of the invention provides that the secondary actuator acts on the rod, de-activating the needle associated thereto.

Another variant provides that the secondary actuator acts on the temporary retaining means, de-activating them and allowing the rod, by means of elastic means for example, to take the needle to the inactive condition.

According to another variant, temporary holding means are also provided for the de-activated needle position.

The activation/de-activation device, which selects the activation/de-activation of the needle, can be moved and positioned in a controlled manner along the row of needles, by means of different known systems such as a linear actuator, a linear motor, screw means, belt means, by means of an on-board motor that cooperates with a rack, by means of a toothed wheel, a worm screw or other.

The needle activation/de-activation device is therefore suitable to act on a plurality of needle support means, for example on all the support means of a row of needles, and to determine their selective activation/de-activation. This is particularly advantageous in that it does not require, as provided in the state of the art, to associate an activation/de-activation device to each needle. As a consequence of this, the support means have a limited bulk that allows to reduce the reciprocal distance between adjacent needles and obtain a more efficient machine.

Given the reduced number of activation/de-activation components, the machine is particularly simple, economical and requires little maintenance.

The present invention also concerns the machine that comprises needle support means cooperating with an activation/de-activation device as described above.

The present invention also concerns the support means comprising the whole tubular body and complete with the needle-carrier rod.

Moreover, the present invention also concerns a method to selectively activate/de-activate needles in a row of needles of a multi-needled quilting machine that comprises at least a specific activation and de-activation step of at least one specific needle to make the stitches.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of one form of embodiment, given as a non- restrictive example with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

- fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of a multi-needled quilting machine according to the invention;

- fig. 2 is a section view of a needle support mean according to the present invention in accordance with a first form of embodiment;

- fig. 3 is a lateral view of fig. 2;

- fig. 4 is another lateral view of fig. 2;

- fig. 5 is a section view of the support mean and of a needle activation/de- activation device in a their first operating condition;

- fig. 6 is a section view of the support mean and of a needle activation/de- activation device in a their second operating condition;

- fig. 7 is a view of fig. 6 in accordance with a variant embodiment;

- fig. 7a is a view of a detail of fig. 7 according to a first variant;

- fig. 7b is a view of a variant of fig. 7a;

- fig. 8 is a lateral view of fig. 7;

- fig. 9 is a view of fig. 5 according to another variant;

- fig. 10 is a view of fig. 5 according to another variant.

To facilitate comprehension, the same reference numbers have been used, where possible, to identify identical common elements in the drawings. It is understood that elements and characteristics of one form of embodiment can conveniently be incorporated into other forms of embodiment without further clarifications.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME FORMS OF EMBODIMENT

With reference to fig. 1 a needle activation/de- activation device is indicated in its entirety by the reference number 10 and is associated to a multi-needled quilting machine 11, only partly shown in the drawings, in order to activate/deactivate several needles 12 selectively and specifically.

The multi-needled quilting machine 11 is provided, in a known manner, with at least one need le-carrier bar 13 suitable to support at least one row of needles.

In the form of embodiment shown in fig. 1 , the multi-needled quilting machine 1 1 is provided with a single row of needles 12. It may be provided that the invention is also applied to machines provided with several rows of needles. The needle-carrier bar 13 is driven by known actuation means 14 that will not be described here. During the sewing operations, the needles 12 cooperate with a mating lower sewing element 20 (fig. 7), consisting of a shuttle or a rotating crochet hook (fig. 7a) or a mobile hook (fig. 7b), also equipped with an alternate motion mating with the movement of the needle-carrier bar 13.

In the case shown in fig. 1, each needle 12 is mounted on a support mean 15, or case, which, in its turn, is solidly fixed, in a replaceable manner, to the needle- carrier bar 13 by means of a connection bracket 32.

The connection bracket 32 in the case shown here is provided with thread guide means 55 for each thread that cooperates with the needle 12.

The activation/de-activation device 10 acts in cooperation with the individual support mean 15 to take the needle 12 into an active or inactive condition. More specifically, the activation/de-activation device 10 is mobile between at least two of the support means 15 and is selectively positioned on each occasion in cooperation with a specific one of the two support means 15 in order to activate or de-activate the needle 12 associated to the latter.

The active condition allows the needle 12 to carry out the sewing operations while in the inactive condition the needle 12 does not allow any sewing operation.

The support mean 15 (figs. 2-10) comprises a tubular body 16 in which a rod

17 is inserted through and sliding.

The rod 17 has a first lower end portion 18 where at least one needle 12 is attached and a second upper end portion 19 solidly attached to the first portion 18.

The tubular body 16 has a first lower end 21 from which the first portion 18 of the rod 17 exits.

There is a guide element, in this case a bushing 33, inside the tubular body 16 and in correspondence to its first end 21, which facilitates the sliding of the rod 17 and at the same time creates the circumferential space between the rod 17 and the tubular body 16 for the insertion of elastic means 22.

The elastic means, in this case a helical spring 22, cooperate with the tubular body 16 and the rod 17 in order to keep the needle 12 in the inactive position. Between the first 18 and the second portion 19, the rod 17 has a shoulder 23 on which the helical spring 22 presses.

In the example given here, the tubular body 16 is provided on its external perimeter surface with a through aperture 24 that has an axial development with a length L (fig. 4). The through aperture 24 acts as guide and end-of- travel means for the sliding of the rod 17.

In the case shown here, two abutment elements 25 are attached to the second portion 19 of the rod 17 and allow the rod 17 to be guided axially in the through aperture 24 and at the same time constitute elements that limit the travel.

The rod 17 is provided with temporary reciprocal positioning means or temporary retaining means 26, 126 (figs. 2-10) which have the function of positioning the needle 12 correctly in its active condition with respect to the tubular body 16.

The temporary retaining means 26, 126 comprise a positioner element 50, 150 and a positioning seating 53, 153 with which the positioner element 50, 150 cooperates, as shown respectively in figs. 2 and 9.

In figs. 2 to 6, the tubular body 16 is provided with a through eyelet 29 which defines the positioning seating 53.

In the example form of fig. 2, the positioner element 50 of the temporary retaining means 26 comprises a pin mounted sliding in a blind hole made in a threaded bushing 51. The threaded bushing 51 , in its turn, is screwed onto the rod

17 transversely to its axial development. The threaded bushing 51 slides in a guided manner in the through aperture 24.

A compression spring 52 is inserted into the blind hole of the threaded bushing 51 (fig. 2), and keeps the positioner element, that is, the pin 50, thrust toward the inside of the tubular body 16.

When the pin 50 goes into cooperation with the through eyelet 29 (fig. 5), the pin 50 is positioned, through the action of the compression spring 52, in the upper part of the through eyelet 29. The upper part of the through eyelet 29 defines the positioning seating 53 (fig. 3) for the pin 50.

The threaded bushing 51 (fig. 2) allows to adjust the action of the compression spring 52 by screwing, while a ring or shoulder 54 (figs. 2 and 5) on the pin 50 prevents the latter from exiting from the through eyelet 29.

In the example form of embodiment in fig. 9, the positioner element 150 of the temporary retaining means 126 comprises a terminal attached to one end of a flexible plate 152. The flexible plate 152 is attached to the external surface of the tubular body 16. The positioning seating 153 of the temporary retaining means 126 comprises, in this case, a notch made in the axial extension of the rod 17 and in a position coordinated with the active position of the needle 12. A through hole is made in the tubular body 16 and in a position coordinated with the active position of the needle to allow the cooperation between the positioner element, in this case the terminal 150, and the positioning seating 153, and to determine the active needle 12 condition.

Release means 45 (figs. 2-7, and 10) are also associated to the tubular body 16 and in cooperation with the through eyelet 29, and are provided to de-activate the action of the temporary retaining means 26 and thus free the rod 17, bringing the needle 12 into the de-activation position due to the effect of the helical spring 22. The release means 45, if activated toward the tubular body 16, thrust the pin 50 out of the positioning seating 53. The rod 17, through the action of the helical spring 22, rises bringing the needle 12 into the inactive condition (figs. 5-10).

In this case (figs. 2-7 and 10), the release means 45 comprise an elastic platelet 30 attached to the external wall of the tubular body 16 and in a detached position from the external wall.

The active condition of the needle 12 is determined on the command of a command and control unit, not shown in the drawings, given by the activation/de-activation device 10.

In order to selectively activate the specific needle 12, the activation/de- activation device 10 comprises a drive member 38 which operates on a primary actuator 49.

The primary actuator 49 acts directly on the rod 17, overcoming the force of the helical spring 22. The rod 17 is thrust downward so that the positioner element 50, 150 enters into direct cooperation with the positioning seating 53, 153. In this reciprocal position, the needle 12 is active.

In other forms of embodiment, for example those shown in figs. 7-9, instead of acting directly at the free end of the rod 17, the primary actuator 49 acts on a lateral appendix 34 attached to the end of the second portion 19 of the rod 17. This form of embodiment is advantageous to contain the overall bulk of the activation/de-activation device 10. In this case, the appendix 34 acts as release means for the needle 12 associated to the support mean 15.

In order to de-activate the needle 12, the invention provides a secondary actuator 44, 144 (figs. 5-10).

According to a first form of embodiment, for example see figs. 5-7, the secondary actuator 44 is solidly mobile with the primary actuator 49 and acts on the release means 45 which de-activate the positioner element 50 from the positioning seating 53, freeing the action of the helical spring 22.

Before the de-activation of the positioner element 50, it is provided to take the primary actuator 49 to its inactive or retracted condition in order to avoid a condition of interference during the sliding of the rod 17.

According to another solution, see for example fig. 10, it is provided that each tubular body 16 is provided with a secondary actuator 44. Each secondary actuator 44 is provided with an element which, on command, extends toward the outside in order to drive the release means 45 and de-activate the temporary retaining means 26.

Another form of embodiment, see for example fig. 9, provides that the activation/de-activation device 10 has both the primary actuator 49 and the secondary actuator 144. While the primary actuator 49 acts by thrusting on the appendix 34, the secondary actuator 144 acts by traction. The traction allows to release the positioner element 150 from the positioning seating 153. Through the action of the helical spring 22, the rod 17 is brought back to the inactive needle 12 condition.

The activation/de-activation device 10 also comprises linear movement means 39 (figs. 1 and 5-10), controllable by the command and control unit and configured to take the activation/de- activation device 10, on each occasion, in correspondence to the needle 12 to be activated/de-activated.

The movement means 39 can comprise sliding guides, sliding sliders, transmissions using belts, racks, cables, chains, electric or pneumatic motors, actuators, robotized arms, magnetic motors combinations thereof or similar and comparable mechanisms suitable to the purpose: it is only necessary to have a specific and precise control of the positioning.

In the form of embodiment in figs. 5-10, the movement means 39 comprise means for linear movement controlled and managed by a command and control unit, not shown in the drawings.

In particular, the linear movement means can comprise a motor 40 of the electric type for example and a fixed guide 41 both mounted on fixed parts of the multi-needled quilting machine 1 1. A mobile part 42 is mounted sliding on the fixed guide 41. The motor 40 provides to drive a belt 46 to which the mobile part 42 is attached. The drive of the belt 46 determines the sliding of the mobile part 42 along the fixed guide 41.

The movement means 39 are associable to position detection means such as, merely by way of example, encoders, magnetic tracks, laser rays, mounted for example on the mobile part 42 of the movement means 39.

The activation/de-activation device 10 is associable to a command and control unit, or processor, not shown in the drawings, which, depending on the patterns to be made and on the data detected by the position detection means, commands the specific and temporary positioning of the activation/de-activation device 10 in correspondence to the needle 12 which must be activated or de-activated according to the sewing program.

In the solution shown, on the mobile part 42 of the movement means 39 a slider 43 is attached, on which in its turn the primary actuator 49 is attached and possibly also the secondary actuator 44, 144. The movement and positioning of the slider 43 can be determined as a function of the program memorized in the command and control unit and suitably modifiable in relation to the number of needles 12 provided in the machine.

According to the present invention, the secondary actuator 44, 144 can also be associated to movement means that are different and independent from the movement means 39. In this case the two movement means are controlled in a coordinated but independent manner with respect to those of the primary actuator 49.

The primary actuator 49 and/or the secondary actuator 44, 144 can be linear, pneumatic, electric, magnetic actuators or similar means.

The connection bracket 32 of the support mean 15 is provided with a protruding appendix 56 (fig. 7) provided with a flat surface 57 that cooperates with the thread guide means 55 during use. According to the invention, when the needle 12 rises into the inactive position, the thread guide means 55 move into abutment against the flat surface 57 of the protruding appendix 56, clamping the thread and preventing it from coming out of the needle 12. During the activation of the needle-carrier bar 13, if it were not provided to clamp the thread, the alternate motion of the support mean 15 would make the thread come out of the eye of the needle 12, making manual intervention necessary in order to restore functioning conditions once the needle 12 is re-activated. The thread guide means 55 and/or the flat surface 57 can have elastic surfaces so as not to create damage to the thread.

It is clear that modifications and/or additions of parts may be made to the multi-needled quilting machine as described heretofore, without departing from the field and scope of the present invention.

It is in fact evident that even if the multi-needled quilting machine 1 1 described heretofore provides to use a single activation/de-activation device 10, in other forms of embodiment it can be provided that the multi-needled quilting machine 11 is provided with a higher number of activation/de-activation devices 10 which are mobile along the same fixed guide 41 so that each one cooperates with a group of needles 12 of a row of needles.

Given that, as opposed to what is provided in the state of the art, with the present invention it is no longer necessary to associate an activation/de-activation device 10 to each needle 12, it is possible to considerably reduce the pitch between adjacent needles 12 and thus dispose them in a position very close to each other, merely by way of example at a distance of even less than 25 mm and thus create very complex patterns.

It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to some specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of multi-needled quilting machine, having the characteristics as set forth in the claims and hence all coming within the field of protection defined thereby.