US-20260125837-A1 - SEWING HEAD

US20260125837A1US 20260125837 A1US20260125837 A1US 20260125837A1US-20260125837-A1

Abstract

A composite sewing head, including; a feed needle bar configured to drive a feed needle; and a catcher needle bar configured to drive a catcher needle, wherein the feed needle bar and the catcher needle bar are configured to have linear and rotary motion when a stitch is created by the composite sewing head.

Inventors

Edward J. Wenzel

Assignees

INTEVA PRODUCTS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251031

Claims (14)

1 . A composite sewing head, comprising; a feed needle bar configured to drive a feed needle; and a catcher needle bar configured to drive a catcher needle, wherein the feed needle bar and the catcher needle bar are configured to have linear and rotary motion when a stitch is created by the composite sewing head.
2 . The composite sewing head as in claim 1 , further comprising a catcher needle bar drive assembly and a feed needle bar drive assembly, wherein the catcher needle bar drive assembly and the feed needle bar drive assembly are located on one side of an article being stitched by the composite sewing head.
3 . The composite sewing head as in claim 1 , wherein the linear motion of the catcher needle bar and the feed needle bar is accomplished by motion of a crank arm connected to a crankshaft counterweight, the crankshaft counterweight is rotated by a needle bar drive shaft and the needle bar drive shaft is rotated by a drive motor through a series of pulleys and belts.
4 . The composite sewing head as in claim 1 , wherein the rotary motion of the catcher needle bar and the feed needle bar is relative to an article being stitched is accomplished via rotation of a needle bar rock frame and rotation of the needle bar rock frame is accomplished via rotation of a rock frame drive shaft and rotation of the rock frame drive shaft is accomplished via linkage connected to an eccentric mounted to a needle bar drive shaft.
5 . The composite sewing head of claim 1 , wherein the feed needle bar and the catcher needle bar are each driven by a separate needle bar drive shaft that is rotated via either a single motor that rotates the needle bar drive shaft of the feed needle bar and the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar or dual motors are used to simultaneously rotate the needle bar drive shaft of the feed needle bar and the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar.
6 . The composite sewing head of claim 5 , wherein the single motor is coupled to a second pulley on one of the needle bar drive shafts of the feed needle bar and the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar.
7 . The composite sewing head of claim 5 , further comprising a pair of pulleys, one of the pair of pulleys being mounted on the needle bar drive shaft of the feed needle bar and the other one of the pair of pulleys is mounted on the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar, and the pair of pulley are connected with a single belt.
8 . The composite sewing head of claim 5 , wherein timing between the feed needle bar and the catcher needle bar is accomplished via mechanical adjustment.
9 . The composite sewing head of claim 5 , wherein each motor of the dual motors is directly coupled to a single upper needle bar drive shaft.
10 . The composite sewing head of claim 5 , wherein a timing of the dual motors is accomplished mechanically, electrically, or a combination thereof.
11 . The composite sewing head of claim 1 , further comprising a catcher needle sleeve slidably received upon the catcher needle, the catcher needle sleeve being configured to cover an opening of a hook of the catcher needle during travel of the catcher needle upward through an article being sewn by the catcher needle sleeve.
12 . The composite sewing head of claim 1 , further comprising a camera utilized for detection and documentation of defects in a completed stitch of the composite sewing head.
13 . The composite sewing head of claim 1 , wherein an angle between the feed needle and the catcher needle can be manually adjusted between 35 and 50 degrees.
14 . The composite sewing head of claim 1 , wherein an angle between the feed needle and the catcher needle perpendicular to a needle plane can be adjusted to increase a distance between two stitch paths created on a top surface an article being sewn by the composite sewing head.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/715,159 filed on Nov. 1, 2024 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/805,068 filed on May 13, 2025 the entire contents each of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. TECHNICAL FIELD Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure pertains to the art of sewing heads and/or robotic sewing heads for use in sewing processes. BACKGROUND Sewing production may involve a robotic sewing cell. Robotic sewing technology may use a sewing head. As the types of materials being sewn together changes improvements are needed to existing sewing heads in order to perform the desired stitching process. Composite materials may be sewn together prior to the sewn composite material being resin infused to create a final, cured composite part. The composite materials are flexible prior to the curing step. Thus, it is desirable to provide support to the composite materials during the stitching process which occurs prior to the curing process. As such, it is desirable to provide an improved robotic sewing head. BRIEF DESCRIPTION Disclosed is a composite sewing head. Also disclosed is a composite sewing head with a needle and sleeve. Disclosed is a composite sewing head, including; a feed needle bar configured to drive a feed needle; and a catcher needle bar configured to drive a catcher needle, wherein the feed needle bar and the catcher needle bar are configured to have linear and rotary motion when a stitch is created by the composite sewing head. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the composite sewing head further includes a catcher needle bar drive assembly and a feed needle bar drive assembly, wherein the catcher needle bar drive assembly and the feed needle bar drive assembly are located on one side of an article being stitched by the composite sewing head. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the linear motion of the catcher needle bar and the feed needle bar is accomplished by motion of a crank arm connected to a crankshaft counterweight, the crankshaft counterweight is rotated by a needle bar drive shaft and the needle bar drive shaft is rotated by a drive motor through a series of pulleys and belts. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the rotary motion of the catcher needle bar and the feed needle bar is relative to an article being stitched is accomplished via rotation of a needle bar rock frame and rotation of the needle bar rock frame is accomplished via rotation of a rock frame drive shaft and rotation of the rock frame drive shaft is accomplished via linkage connected to an eccentric mounted to a needle bar drive shaft. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the feed needle bar and the catcher needle bar are each driven by a separate needle bar drive shaft that is rotated via either a single motor that rotates the needle bar drive shaft of the feed needle bar and the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar or dual motors are used to simultaneously rotate the needle bar drive shaft of the feed needle bar and the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the single motor is coupled to a second pulley on one of the needle bar drive shaft of the feed needle bar and the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the composite sewing head further includes a pair of pulleys, one of the pair of pulleys being mounted on the needle bar drive shaft of the feed needle bar and the other one of the pair of pulleys is mounted on the needle bar drive shaft of the catcher needle bar, and the pair of pulley are connected with a single belt. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, timing between the feed needle bar and the catcher needle bar is accomplished via mechanical adjustment. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, each motor of the dual motors is directly coupled to a single upper needle bar drive shaft. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, a timing of the dual motors is accomplished mechanically, electrically, or a combination thereof. In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative to any of the foregoing embodiments, the composite sewing head further includes a