Embroidery sewing machine and method

Abstract

An embroidery sewing machine includes a machine body carrying a needle, a shuttle and a bobbin. A cutter is disposed in proximity to the needle to cut a thread end portion of an upper thread that extends out of an eye of the needle so that the thread end portion has an adjusted length after being cut by the cutter. The needle, shuttle and bobbin are controlled to perform an initial stitching operation that pulls the thread end portion from an upper side of a fabric to an under side thereof and that produces a fixing stitch beneath the fabric to prevent the upper thread from being loosened. An embroidering method is also disclosed.

1 . An embroidering method using an embroidery sewing machine, which includes a needle, a shuttle and a bobbin to operate upper and lower threads, the embroidering method comprising:
 (a) providing a cutter that is located at a predetermined distance from the needle to cut a thread end portion of an upper thread, which extends out from an eye of the needle, so that the thread end portion has an adjusted length;   (b) controlling the needle, the shuttle and the bobbin to operate the upper and lower threads to perform an initial stitching operation on a fabric for pulling the thread end portion from an upper side of the fabric to an under side of the fabric, the initial stitching operation including the following sub-steps:
 (i) moving downward the needle from an uppermost point to a lowermost point wherein the thread end portion is pulled downward to the underside of the fabric, but a terminating end of the thread end portion is kept to remain on the upper side of the fabric; and 
 (ii) moving upward the needle from the lowermost point to the uppermost point while operating the shuttle to pull and form the upper thread that passes through the fabric into a loop and to interlace the loop with the lower thread, wherein the terminating end of the thread end portion is pulled downward to the underside of the fabric. 
   
     
     
         2 . The embroidering method of  claim 1 , wherein the upper and lower threads are interlaced by causing the loop of the upper thread to loop around the lower thread and by tightening the loop during the upward movement of the needle to reach the uppermost point. 
     
     
         3 . The embroidering method of  claim 2 , wherein the sub-steps (i) and (ii) is repeated at least twice to interlace the upper and lower threads to form a fixing stitch that fixes the upper thread to the fabric. 
     
     
         4 . The embroidering method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance of the cutter from the needle is 4-5 cm. 
     
     
         5 . An embroidery sewing machine comprising:
 a machine body having a base, a support extending upward from said base, a sewing head suspended from said support, and a needle plate disposed on said base below said sewing head;   a needle movably mounted to said sewing head and having an eye through which an upper thread passes;   a shuttle unit mounted in said base;   a bobbin disposed in said shuttle and holding a lower thread; and   a cutter disposed in proximity to said needle to cut a thread end portion of said upper thread that extends out of said eye of said needle so that said thread end portion has an adjusted length after being cut by said cutter.   
     
     
         6 . The embroidery sewing machine as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein said cutter includes a cutter seat mounted to said sewing head, and a cutting blade mounted to said cutter seat. 
     
     
         7 . The embroidery sewing machine as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein a distance of said cutter from said needle is about 4-5 cm so that said thread end portion has a length of about 4-5 cm after being cut by said cutter. 
     
     
         8 . The embroidery sewing machine as claimed in  claim 5 , further comprising an electrical control unit, and a drive unit controlled by said electrical control unit to operate said shuttle and said bobbin. 
     
     
         9 . The embroidery sewing machine as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein said needle, said shuttle and said bobbin are operated by said drive unit to perform an initial stitching operation, during which: said needle is moved downward from an uppermost point to a lowermost point; said thread end portion is pulled downward to the underside of the fabric while a terminating end of said thread end portion is being kept to remain on the upper side of the fabric; and when said needle moves upward from the lowermost point to the uppermost point, said shuttle is operated to pull and form said upper thread that passes through the fabric into a loop around said lower thread, and the terminating end of said thread end portion is pulled downward to the underside of the fabric.