CN113039317A

CN113039317A - System and method for online processing of wire

Info

Publication number: CN113039317A
Application number: CN201980060186.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: M·伊克林德; J·斯泰伯格
Original assignee: Coloreel Group AB
Current assignee: Coloreel Group AB
Priority date: 2018-09-15
Filing date: 2019-08-27
Publication date: 2021-06-25
Also published as: CA3112822A1; WO2020055298A1; IL281381A; EP3850138A1; AU2019340293A1; ZA202102272B; SE1851093A1; EP3850138A4; JP2021535969A; SE543519C2; KR20210048562A; US20220056625A1

Abstract

A system (10) for online processing of wire (20) for use with a wire consuming unit (15) is disclosed. The system includes a processing unit (100) including at least one discharge device (150) configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto at least one wire (20) when activated. The system further comprises a control unit (190), the control unit (190) being configured to evaluate the wire consumption of the wire consuming device (15) based on the operational data and at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters (40), and to control the dispensing of the discharge device (150) and/or to adjust the wire consumption of the wire consuming device (15) based on the evaluated wire consumption.

Description

System and method for online processing of wire

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of wire consumption devices. In particular, the invention relates to a system comprising a processing unit for use in conjunction with such a wire consuming device.

Background

It has been proposed to provide a wire consuming device, such as an embroidery machine or the like, with an in-line apparatus designed to provide some treatment to the wire. Such an in-line apparatus may for example be used for coloring thread so that a plurality of coloring nozzles may replace a plurality of pre-colored threads currently used when producing multi-color patterns using an embroidery machine. In prior art systems using wires of different colors, one wire having a first designated color is used for some stitches and another wire having a second designated color is used for other stitches.

In order to obviate the obvious drawbacks of requiring a plurality of wires of different colours, the applicant has already filed several patent applications for the on-line colouring technology of wires, such as WO2016204687 and WO 2016204686. The proposed solution provides an improvement in color quality and also reduces the complexity of the wire consuming device.

However, in order to further improve the quality of the on-line coloring of the wire, it would be advantageous if the on-line coloring apparatus could be modified to improve the dispensing accuracy of the coating substance.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a solution that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art. More specifically, the invention provides a solution wherein the system for online processing of wire is configured to control the dispensing from the discharge device based on the evaluated wire consumption of the wire consuming device.

In a first aspect, a system for online processing of wire for use with a wire consuming device is provided. The system includes a processing unit including at least one discharge device configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto at least one wire upon activation. The system further comprises a control unit configured to evaluate the wire consumption of the wire consuming device based on the operational data and at least one parameter related to the one or more wire consumption parameters. The control unit is further configured to control the dispensing of the discharge device based on the estimated consumption of the wire.

As the wire consumption is evaluated, the wire to be treated with one or more coating substances will be treated with the intended coating substance.

In a second aspect, a system for online processing of wire for use with a wire consuming device is provided. The system includes a processing unit including at least one discharge device configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto at least one wire upon activation. The system further comprises a control unit configured to evaluate the wire consumption of the wire consuming device based on the operational data and at least one parameter related to the one or more wire consumption parameters. The control unit is further configured to change the wire consumption of the wire consumption device based on the evaluated wire consumption.

In the control unit of the first or second aspect, the control unit may be further configured to evaluate the wire consumption and/or to update operational data and/or at least one wire consumption parameter based on a simulation of wire consumption.

The simulation of the wire consumption may be performed continuously during operation of the wire consumption device and/or during operation of the processing unit.

In one embodiment, the simulation is based at least on stored consumption data, the consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device.

The control unit is further configured to evaluate wire consumption based on stored consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device and/or to update the operational data and/or at least one wire consumption parameter based on stored consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device.

The operation data of the wire rod consuming device may include information of position coordinates of a driving mode of the wire rod consuming device. The wire consuming device is configured to make stitches in a substrate, and wherein the operational data further comprises a number related to a current number of stitches of the wire consuming device.

The wire consuming device is configured to make stitches in a substrate, and wherein the wire consuming parameter is related to one or more substrate parameters and/or one or more stitch parameters of the wire consuming device.

The one or more substrate parameters may relate to one or more of: the thickness of the substrate; the elasticity of the substrate; an arrangement of the substrate in the wire consuming device or any combination thereof.

The one or more stitch parameters may relate to one or more of: a tension of the at least one wire; the angle at which the at least one wire is applied to the substrate; the angle of at least the last stitch; features associated with the underlying stitches, or any combination thereof.

The substrate may be a fabric. The nozzles may be inkjet nozzles. The coating substance may be a coloring substance.

The system in the first or second aspect may further comprise at least one wire consuming device being an embroidery machine, a sewing machine, a braiding machine, a loom, a tufting machine, a winding machine and/or any combination thereof.

In a third aspect, a system for online processing of at least one wire for use with a wire consuming device is provided. The method comprises the following steps: providing a processing unit comprising at least one expelling device configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one wire upon activation, and providing a control unit. The method further comprises the following steps: evaluating wire consumption of the wire consuming device based on the operational data and at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters; and controlling the dispensing of one or more coating substances based on the estimated consumption of the wire.

In a fourth aspect, a method for in-line processing of at least one wire for use with a wire consuming device is provided. The method comprises the following steps: providing a processing unit comprising at least one expelling device configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one wire upon activation, and providing a control unit. The method further comprises the following steps: evaluating wire consumption of the wire consuming device based on the operational data and at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters; and changing the wire consumption of the wire consumption device based on the estimated wire consumption.

The method according to the third or fourth aspect may further comprise the steps of: based on the simulation of the wire consumption, the wire consumption is evaluated and/or operational data and/or at least one wire consumption parameter is updated.

The method may further comprise the steps of: evaluating the wire consumption based on stored consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device and/or updating the operational data and/or at least one wire consumption parameter based on stored consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device.

Definition of

Herein, a "wire consuming device" is any apparatus that consumes a wire in use. It may for example be an embroidery machine, a loom, a sewing machine, a knitting machine, a tufting machine, a winding machine or any other thread consuming device that may benefit from a surface treatment or coating or any other process involving the exposure of the thread to a substance (e.g. dyeing).

Herein, "treatment" refers to any process intended to cause a change in the properties of the wire. Such processes include, but are not limited to, coloring, wetting, lubricating, cleaning, fixing, heating, curing, dyeing, and the like.

As used herein, a "wire" is a flexible, elongated member or substrate that is thin in both width and height directions and has a longitudinal extension that is significantly greater than the longitudinal extension of any portion of the systems described herein, as well as significantly greater than its width and height dimensions. Typically, the wire may be composed of a plurality of strands bundled or twisted together. Thus, the term "wire" includes yarns, wires, strands, filaments, etc., made from a variety of different materials, such as fiberglass, wool, cotton, synthetic materials such as polymers, metals, polyesters, viscose, or mixtures such as wool, cotton, polymers or metals, or any combination thereof.

In the present specification all references to upstream and/or downstream shall be interpreted as relative positions during normal operation of the wire consuming device, i.e. when the device is operated to process an elongated substrate, e.g. a wire, continuously moving through the device in a normal operating direction. Thus, the upstream member is arranged such that a certain portion of the wire passes through the upstream member before it passes through the downstream member.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following description of the present invention; reference is made to the accompanying drawings that illustrate non-limiting examples of how the inventive concept may be put into practice.

Fig. 1a is a schematic view of a system for in-line processing of wire according to one embodiment;

FIG. 1b is a perspective view of a system having a wire consuming device and a processing unit according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a processing unit for use with the system, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a discharge device forming part of the processing unit;

FIG. 4a is a schematic top view of a portion of an evacuation device according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4b is a schematic top view of a portion of an evacuation device according to one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a substrate used with the system according to FIG. 1 a;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of portions of a processing unit, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram of a system according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 8b is a schematic diagram of a system according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

The concept of the present invention is to provide a system and method for use with a wire consuming device for dispensing a coating substance onto a wire in a controlled manner. Beginning with FIG. 1a, a schematic diagram of a system 10 for the on-line processing of wire is shown. The system 10 includes a processing unit 100 for dispensing one or more coating substances onto at least one wire. The system 10 further comprises at least one wire consuming device 15, which may be, for example: one or more embroidery machines, looms, sewing machines, knitting machines, tufting machines, winding machines, etc. The system thus forms a wire consuming unit comprising at least one wire consuming device 15 and a processing unit 100. It should be noted that more than one wire may be used in the wire consuming device.

It should be noted that several aspects of the system are described in this specification, and they need not include the wire consuming device 15. As will be further understood from the following, for all embodiments, the system for the on-line treatment of wire requires a treatment unit 100, which treatment unit 100 is used together with the wire consuming device 15.

Turning now to fig. 1b, said thread consuming device 15 is exemplified by an embroidery machine, here a single head embroidery machine, equipped with a processing unit 100. The embroidery machine 15 comprises a movable platform 2b, which movable platform 2b carries the fabric to be embroidered. During operation, the movable platform 2b is controlled to rapidly change its position in the X and Y directions (i.e. in this case a horizontal plane, but also in a vertical plane, for example).

The processing unit 100 allows the embroidery machine 15 to operate without providing the unique pre-colored thread required by conventional embroidery machines. On the contrary, the processing unit 100 provides on-line coloring of the thread 20 according to a predetermined coloring pattern, so that colored embroidery can be produced. Thus, the processing unit replaces the individual coils present in prior art systems.

As shown in fig. 1b, the only connections between the processing unit 100 and the embroidery machine 15 are the thread 20, and electrical connections (not shown). Therefore, the processing unit 100 is provided as a separate unit that is not mechanically connected to the movable platform 2 b.

In an alternative embodiment, a separate processing unit 100 is mounted to the wire consuming device 15 by means of a suspension device to reduce the transmission of vibrations to the processing unit 100. During operation, severe vibrations of the embroidery machine 15, in particular due to the movement of the platform 2b, will not be transmitted to the processing unit 100, since it is provided as a separate unit. It is thus possible to color the wire accurately during operation.

The various components of the processing unit 100 are shown in fig. 2. As can be seen in fig. 2, most of the components are arranged inside the housing 105. Immediately downstream of the coil 120, a wire feeder 130 may be provided, the wire feeder 130 being configured to pull the wire forward by the processing unit 100. The wire feeder 130 is not further described herein, but for general understanding, the wire feeder 130 receives and transfers the wire 20. For this purpose, said wire feeder 130 is controlled by a control unit 190, which is further described below. Preferably, said wire feeder 130 is also configured to control the wire tension, for example by means of driven rollers, encoder wheels and one or more wire guides. After passing through the wire feeder 130, the wire 20 is engaged with a wire guide 140. The wire guide 140, which may be in the form of one or

more guide rollers

142, 144 or other suitable means, for example, ensures that the wire 20 is aligned with one or more treatment nozzles forming part of at least one discharge device 150.

The discharge device 150 is configured to discharge a treatment substance, such as a coloring substance, onto the wire 20 as the wire 20 passes through the discharge device 150. For this purpose, the nozzles are preferably arranged in the longitudinal direction of the wire 20, as will be explained further below in connection with fig. 3 and 4.

The discharge device 150 may be moved by means of a drive unit (not shown). Having a drive unit will make it possible to arrange the discharge device 150 in different operating states to perform different tasks, such as a first state in which a coating substance is dispensed onto the wire, and a second state in which cleaning, or other maintenance, or idling, is performed. To this end, a driving unit may be connected to the discharging device 150. The drive unit may be configured to move the displacement device 150 between the idle or maintenance position and the working position during the movement from the idle position to the working position by means of a transmission having different gear ratios.

A further wire guide 160 is arranged downstream of the discharge device 150. The second wire guide 160 cooperates with the first wire guide 140 such that the position of the wire 20 during its travel along the discharge device 150 is correct. The second wire guide 160 may be in the form of one or more guide rollers 162, 164, for example, although it may also be designed to induce rotation of the wire 20 along its longitudinal axis. This additional functionality may provide advantages for the coloring, as will also be described below.

The system 10 may further include a wire speed sensor (not shown) configured to measure the speed of the wire 20 passing through the system 10.

Further, a light detection system (not shown) may be arranged downstream of the discharge device 150 in the direction of travel of the at least one wire 20. The light detection system is used to illuminate the wire 20 so as to receive light reflected from the wire 20 when the wire 20 is illuminated. The information gathered from the light detection signals may be used, for example, to determine the position of the wire relative to the nozzles 152a-f, the width of the wire, and/or properties of the wire. This information may in turn be used, for example, to detect nozzles that require maintenance, the position of nozzles that require changes, and/or to detect changes in the coating substance. Additionally or alternatively, the light detection system may be used to determine different properties of a wire to which one or several coating substances have been applied.

The wire 20 is then advanced through one or more fixing units 170, the fixing units 170 being provided for fixing the treatment substance to the wire 20. The fixing unit 170 preferably includes a heating member, such as a hot air supplier or a heating element, or a UV light source that cures or fixes the treatment substance, such as a coloring substance, on the wire 20. As shown in fig. 2, the fixing units 170 may be arranged horizontally, vertically, or at an angle between horizontal and vertical.

Before exiting the housing 105, the wire 20 passes through a cleaning unit 180, such as an ultrasonic bath, where unwanted particles are removed from the wire 20. Since the treatment substance is fixed on the wire 20, the cleaning unit 180 will not affect the treatment substance.

The process unit 100 may further include a lubrication unit 185 disposed within the housing 105. Additional wire buffers and feeders (not shown) may also be included in the processing unit 100, which are arranged at various locations in the wire path.

The thread 20 preferably leaves the processing unit 100 through a hole or the like, whereby the thread 20 is transported to an associated thread consuming device, e.g. an embroidery machine 15 as shown in fig. 1 a-b.

The wire feeder 130 and other components associated with the wire 20 during operation are preferably configured such that the force required to pull the wire 20 out of the processing unit 100, i.e. the pulling force exerted by the downstream embroidery machine 15, is substantially the same as when the processing unit 100 is replaced by a prior art coil of wire.

A control unit 190 is also provided, the control unit 190 having associated electronics, such as power electronics, a communication module, memory, etc. The control unit 190 is connected to the wire feeder 130, the discharge device 150, and the fixing unit 170 to allow control of operations of these components. Further, the control unit 190 is configured to control: the operation of the entire process unit 100 including the cleaning unit 180, the lubricating unit 185, the interruption of the wire 20, the wire speed at various locations along the process unit 100, the wire buffer, etc. The control unit 190 may also be configured to receive control signals from one or more components of the processing unit 100, such as control signals for triggering specific controls, or other information related to e.g. the thread consumption of the embroidery machine 15.

The control unit 190 may be implemented by any commercially available CPU ("central processing unit"), DSP ("digital signal processor") or any other electronic programmable logic device, or a combination of these processors or other electronic programmable logic devices. The control unit 190 may be implemented using instructions capable of initiating hardware functions, for example, by using executable computer program instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor that are executed by such a processor, which instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium 192 (disk, memory, etc.). The storage medium 192 is preferably in operable communication with the control unit 190.

In one embodiment, a user interface is also provided, preferably through a display 195 disposed at the front end of the housing 105. The display 195 allows a user to interact with and thus connect with the control unit 190 so that control parameters of the wire feeder 130, the discharge device 150, the fixing unit 170, etc. can be set according to process specifications. Preferably, the display 195 may also be used to alert a user of an emergency, whereby the display 195 may be used by the control unit 190 to issue an alarm or the like.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned components may not necessarily be comprised in a separate processing unit 100, but that the components of the processing unit 100 may be divided into several units, at least one of which is a separate unit. Preferably, said independent unit comprises at least said at least one evacuation device 150.

In fig. 3, an exhaust 150 is shown, which forms part of the processing unit 100 as described above. The direction of movement of the wire 20 in use is indicated by the solid arrow in figure 3. As will be described in more detail, the discharge device 150 comprises a plurality of nozzles 152a-f arranged at different longitudinal positions (e.g. spaced apart by a distance d 1) along the wire 20, which wire 20 passes through the treatment unit 100 during use.

Each nozzle 152a-f is arranged to dispense a coating substance (e.g., ink) onto the wire 20 when the nozzle is activated. The coating substance is absorbed by the wire 20 at different circumferential positions of the wire 20, for example when the wire 20 is twisted about its longitudinal axis. The relative positions of two adjacently dispensed droplets of coating substance may be selected such that the droplets will overlap.

The process unit 100 includes one or more evacuation devices 150. Each discharge device 150 is preferably formed by a series of inkjet print heads 151a-d, each print head 151a-d having one or more nozzle arrays. Each nozzle array typically includes hundreds or thousands of nozzles. For illustrative purposes, only six nozzles 152a-f are shown for one printhead 151 a-d. However, it should be appreciated that each nozzle array may be provided with hundreds or thousands of nozzles 152, respectively. As an example, each printhead 151a-d may be associated with a single color; in the example shown, the discharge device 150 has four print heads 151a-d, each print head 151a-d being associated with a particular color according to the CMYK standard. However, other coloring models may be used.

The exact configuration of the processing unit 100 may vary. For example, the process unit 100 is provided with a single discharge device 150 having a plurality of print heads 151 a-d. Each print head 151a-d is in turn provided with a plurality of nozzles 152 a-f.

In another embodiment, the processing unit 100 is provided with several ejectors 150 arranged in series or in parallel. Each discharge device 150 is then provided with a plurality of print heads 151 a-d. If arranged in series, the upstream discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-d associated with one or more colors of a particular color standard, while the downstream discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-d associated with other colors of the same color standard. If arranged in parallel, each discharge device 150 may have print heads 151a-d associated with all colors of a particular color standard, but associated with different wires 20. For such embodiments, two separate wires 20 may be processed simultaneously and in parallel. Of course, a combination of parallel/serial configurations is also possible.

In yet another embodiment, the discharge device 150 has only a single printhead 151 a-d; dynamic coloring of the wire 20 would then require multiple ejectors 150 of the processing unit 100.

Each nozzle 152a-f may dispense a coating substance having a color according to the CMYK color model, where the primary colors are cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Thus, multiple colors may be dispensed onto the strand by activating the nozzles 152a-f such that the total coloring matter of a particular length of the strand 20 will be a mixture of the coloring matter dispensed by the nozzles 152 a-f. As previously mentioned, this is preferably accomplished by having a plurality of print heads 151a-d arranged in series, whereby the nozzles 152a-f of a particular print head 151a-d are dedicated to a single color.

In another embodiment, each nozzle 152a-f dispenses a coating substance having a color that comprises a mixture of two or more primary colors of a CMYK color model.

The control unit 190 is configured to control the activation of the nozzles 152a-f, such as to emit a coating substance onto the wire 20 as the wire 20 passes through the processing unit 100, in particular through the discharge device 150. By this configuration, a very precise coloring of said thread 20 is possible, for example, by the coloring provided by the processing unit 100, to provide a high-level embroidered pattern that is extremely visually complex.

For shading operations, the control unit 190 receives one or more input signals specifying a desired color and/or shading effect. The color input preferably includes information about the exact color, as well as the longitudinal start and stop positions of the wire 20 for that particular color. The longitudinal start and stop positions may be represented by specific time values if the wire speed is determined.

Fig. 4a-b show respective top views of the print head 151 a. The print head 151a has a plane on which the nozzles 152 are arranged. As described above, the total number of nozzles 152 of a single print head, which may be up to several thousands, is provided on the print head 151a having a size of several centimeters. In the illustrated example, a much smaller number of nozzles 152 are shown. The nozzles 152 may be distributed in one or more nozzle arrays 153. In fig. 4a, the nozzles 152 are distributed in two parallel arrays 153. The arrays 153 are aligned with each other such that the nozzles 152 of one array 153 are arranged adjacent to the nozzles 152 of the other array 153.

Fig. 4b shows a similar example, but with a longitudinal offset between the two arrays 153.

As previously mentioned, the wire consuming device 15 is arranged to make stitches 24 in the substrate 30. This is schematically illustrated in fig. 5, where the wire is applied to a substrate 30 by stitching 24. In this case, the stitch may be, for example, a single hemmed thread, a single loop thread, a single hemmed yarn, or a single loop yarn. For example, stitching may be made using sewing, knitting, embroidery, crochet knitting, and/or needlepunching of lace.

In embroidery, stitches may be considered as, for example, plain needles that pass through the fabric in a simple up-and-down motion, barbed needles that pass through the fabric in a circular motion, chain needles that catch loops of thread on the surface of the fabric, knotted stitches formed by winding the thread around the needles. Stitches may be formed by creating two insertion points in the substrate 30.

In knitting, a stitch may be considered a single loop of yarn, secured to the loops beside it to form a row or column of stitches, and secured to the loops above and below it to form a rib. The next stitch may pass through the previous ring from below or above when the previous ring is secured in the relief. In crochet knitting, stitches may be considered as being made by pulling loops of thread over previous stitches. Although specific types of stitches have been mentioned, it should be noted that all types of stitches may be used with the system disclosed herein.

The plurality of stitches 24 form an object 26 or design on a substrate 30. The object 26 may be a pattern, graphic, shape, text, logo, symbol, color gradient, or the like. The object 26 may be, for example, an identification in the form of an embroidery or a company name. An operator of the system 10 selects an object or design to be applied to the substrate and thus selects a predetermined stitch pattern. The selected stitch pattern may also be referred to as the drive pattern of the wire consuming device 15.

The substrate 30 is preferably a textile, fabric or cloth. In one embodiment, the substrate 30 has a fixed set of properties, such as a particular thickness and elastic constant. In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the substrate is divided into

different portions

30a, 30 b. Each

portion

30a, 30b may have different properties related to, for example, the thickness and/or elasticity of the substrate 30.

After profound reasoning, the inventors of the present invention have realized that there are a number of factors that determine the wire consumption of the wire consuming device 15. These factors may be related to estimated wire consumption parameters, operational data, simulation data, and/or data received from previous runs. Furthermore, it is advantageous that the assessment of the wire consumption is continuously updated to be able to take into account dynamic changes. The combination of several factors provides a more reliable wire consumption calculation.

For on-line processing systems, it is particularly important to calculate the wire consumption more reliably, since one or more coating substances are dispensed to the wire during operation. More specifically, it would be advantageous to determine the consumption of the wire for those stitches that are to be created between the location where the wire is dispensed with the coating substance and the location where the wire is attached to the substrate by forming the stitches.

Thus, the control unit 190 is configured to evaluate the wire consumption and to control the dispensing from the discharge device 150 based on the evaluated wire consumption. As shown in fig. 6, wire consumption can be evaluated in several ways.

The control unit 190 is configured to evaluate the wire consumption of the wire consuming device 15 based on the operational data 50, the simulation data 60, the stored data 70 and/or based on the wire consumption parameters 40. The estimated wire consumption may be based on one of the above, or a combination of two or more.

The wire consumption may be estimated using operational data 50. The operating data comprises information about the position coordinates of each stitch and/or the position coordinates of the drive pattern of the wire consuming device 15. The position coordinates are based on the selected stitch pattern and describe where to apply the stitch 24 to the substrate 30. The position coordinates may be stored as XY coordinates. The XY coordinates may be stored in vector or matrix form. The position coordinates can be used to determine wire consumption by calculating the hypotenuse between the two insertion points used to generate the stitch. In this way, the thread consumption of the stitch can be roughly estimated.

The operational data may additionally or alternatively include information relating to the length of the stitch. Also, the operation data may include data related to the current stitch number.

The simulation data 60 is generated from a simulation operation of the wire consuming device 15. The simulation may be based on various factors, such as operational data 50, wire consumption parameters 40, stored data 70, information of the substrate, and/or information of the stitch pattern. The simulation may be performed by the control unit 190 and/or by an external processing unit. The simulation of the wire consumption may be performed continuously during operation of the wire consumption device 15 and/or during operation of the processing unit 100. This allows the system 10 to account for dynamic changes in wire consumption once the system 10 is in operation.

The simulation data 60 may be used to determine an assessment of wire consumption and/or improve other factors, such as wire consumption parameters and/or the operational data 50. The simulation data is particularly advantageous when determining the newly running first stitch of the wire consuming device 15, as it increases the likelihood that the correct coating (e.g. colour) will be applied to the correct portion of the wire to receive the correct first stitch.

The stored data 70 from previous operational runs of the system 10 may be used to determine an estimated wire consumption. The data stored from the previous run preferably includes information relating to consumption data. This information 70 may be used to assess the wire consumption in the next run, and/or to improve other factors, such as improving the accuracy of the wire consumption parameters 40 and/or improving the accuracy of the simulation data 60.

The control unit 190 is configured to evaluate the wire consumption by processing different kinds of data related to the operation of the wire consuming device 15 and/or the operation of the discharge device 150. The control unit 190 may be configured to control the operation of the discharge device 150 as a whole, or to control one or more print heads 151a-d and/or one or more nozzles 152 a-f.

In one embodiment, the control unit 190 is configured to evaluate wire consumption using at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters 40. The wire consumption parameters 40 include substrate related parameters 44 or stitch related parameters 42.

The substrate parameters 44 may, for example, relate to different parameters of the substrate 30. For example, the substrate parameter 44 may be related to the thickness of the substrate 30, the elasticity of the substrate 30, and/or the arrangement of the substrate in the wire consuming device 15, or any combination thereof. Additionally or alternatively, the substrate parameters may be related to an angle between stitches, properties of a previous stitch, stitches disposed below or below an upcoming stitch, or any combination thereof.

The different thicknesses of the substrate 30 will affect the wire consumption. A thicker substrate 30 will require more wire 20 and thus the wire consumption will increase for a thicker (part of) substrate 30.

The elasticity of the substrate 30 will also affect the wire consumption.

The arrangement of the substrate in the wire consuming device 15 will also affect the wire consumption. The substrate is typically secured in a frame to facilitate placement of the substrate in the apparatus 15. Depending on the position of the substrate 30 relative to the frame, different areas of the substrate 30 will be tensioned differently. Substrates with different tensions will thus affect the wire consumption.

Stitch parameters 42 may relate to the tension of the wire 20, the angle at which the wire 20 is applied to the substrate 30, the angle of at least the last stitch 24, a characteristic related to the underlying stitch 24, or any combination thereof.

The angle at which the wire 20 is applied to the substrate 30 and/or the angle of the stitch can be used to assess wire consumption. In one embodiment, the angle of the previous stitch is used to evaluate wire consumption. In one embodiment, the angle between the last two stitches is evaluated. In a further embodiment, the average of the angles of the predetermined number of stitches is evaluated.

The tension of the wire 20 also affects wire consumption. More specifically, the balance between the upper and lower wires of the wire consuming device 15 affects the wire consumption. Also, the tension between the upper and lower wires and the base material affects the wire consumption.

The underlying stitching of the substrate (i.e., the stitching that has been sewn and placed on the back side of the substrate) also affects the consumption of the wire. The underlying stitches arranged in an overlapping manner will require more wire and therefore more wire consumption.

In addition, the length of the stitch is a parameter that may affect the consumption of the wire. The length of the stitch may be considered by the operational data 60 and/or the wire consumption parameter 40.

One method of assessing the consumption of wire is shown in fig. 7. The control unit 190 is configured to receive or generate 310 operational data and to receive or generate 320 at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters 40. Based on the operational data and at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters 40, the control unit 190 is configured to evaluate 330 the wire consumption of the wire consuming device 15.

The control unit 190 may further be configured to perform 340 a simulation of the wire consumption and to evaluate the wire consumption using the simulation data 60, to improve the accuracy of the operation data and/or the one or more wire consumption parameters 40 by using the simulation data 60, and/or to improve the accuracy of the wire consumption evaluation.

In one embodiment, the control unit 190 is further configured to use 350 the stored data 70 in order to further improve the accuracy of the simulation data and/or to further improve the accuracy of the operating data and/or the one or more wire consumption parameters 40.

Once the system 10 has evaluated the wire consumption of the wire consuming device 15, this data is used to control 360 the operation of the system 10. More specifically, wire consumption is used to control dispensing from the discharge device 150. Thus, knowing the wire consumption estimated with high precision reduces the risk of applying the wrong coating substance to the wrong part of the wire 20. In embodiments where the coating substance is a colored substance, the wire consumption assessment may reduce the risk of dispensing the wrong color onto the wrong portion of the wire 20, and the pattern (or object) produced on the substrate 30 will have the intended appearance.

In one embodiment, additionally or alternatively, the evaluated wire consumption data is used to control or change the wire consumption of the wire consuming device 15.

Knowing what the factors that influence the wire consumption are allows the control unit 190 to actively control some of these parameters in order to directly change the wire consumption. Thus, the system 10 may be further configured to not only change the color distribution as described above, but also, or alternatively, change the wire consumption of the wire consuming device.

The wire consumption can be controlled or varied by controlling the tension of the wire entering the wire consuming device 15. For example by increasing the wire tension, less wire will be consumed by the stitch. By reducing the wire tension, the stitch will consume more wire. One way of allowing this will now be described in more detail.

A buffer system includes at least one wire buffer unit. The wire damping unit may be in the form of a damping arm at one end of which the wire is guided. The other end may be pivotably attached to the support so that the position of the wire leading end may be adjusted. Thus, the force applied to the buffer arm will determine the tension of the wire.

The wire buffer will accumulate or store the coated wire under tension. The force applied to the wire by the wire buffer unit determines the wire tension, which in most cases varies depending on the position of the wire buffer unit. Thus, the precise configuration of the wire buffer may provide different tensions at different locations along the wire. In alternative embodiments, the wire buffer unit is configured such that the force applied to the wire is determined by gravity, a spring, a combination of gravity and a spring, or any other device capable of controlling the wire tension. The wire tension is controlled by adjusting a wire buffer unit which pulls the wire through the processing unit as described above. Accordingly, controlling the wire buffering unit may control the wire consumption of the wire consuming device.

The wire buffer unit is preferably arranged downstream of the at least one discharge device 150. In one embodiment, the buffer is filled before the cleaning or maintenance process begins, after which the wire is stopped by wire feeder 130. In another embodiment, the wire buffer will always be fully filled. The wire feeder 130 is preferably arranged upstream of the discharge device 150. The amount of wire in the buffer may be adjusted based on the expected wire consumption. The anticipated wire consumption may preferably account for any increase in the speed of the system 10.

Preferably, the damper comprises a spring arm that can be configured to require different wire forces in the peak mode of the damper (wire damper full position) and the bottom of the damper (empty damper mode). The control of the wire feeder motor arranged upstream can be used to provide a desired cushioning stroke value, thereby changing the wire consumption of the wire consuming device 15, since the degree of cushioning will control the wire tension, which in turn affects the wire consumption.

In one embodiment, active steering of the wire may be applied to the system 10. This solves the problem that the coloured section of the wire may end up in the wrong position on the substrate 30. The information about the wire length of the stitch is configured to be used by the wire feeder instead of increasing and decreasing the force of the wire fed into the wire consuming device 15. The wire feeder feeds such a length to the wire consuming device 15; the exact length may be estimated or calculated based on previous estimations/calculations or by other means related to the above. The information about the length of the thread of the stitch is preferably realized by means of analog data. Thus, the wire consuming device 15 is forced to use only a predetermined amount of wire for stitches. This has the advantage that the prediction of the color is correctly applied to the substrate.

The wire is at risk of interruption during use. Therefore, it is best to determine whether there is a risk of wire breakage. This risk assessment can be determined by measuring where in the wire consuming device 15 and in which cycle the supplied wire is consumed in said wire consuming device 15. This can be detected by using a suitable sensor, preferably the same sensor as in the output wire buffer. If the control unit 190 detects that the wire consuming device 14 consumes wire faster than expected, i.e. too fast in its cycle, it indicates that more wire is needed. The opposite also applies if the control unit 190 detects that the wire consuming device 14 consumes wire slower than expected, i.e. too slow in its cycle, this indicates that less wire is needed. Preferably, suitable threshold limits are defined and an average value may be calculated to avoid transient fluctuations. In the case of early detection or late detection, further compensation can be made by adjusting the color queue of the processing unit 100 so that the accuracy of the deviation of the color change position on the substrate 30 is within a preset tolerance. This will allow the system to slowly allow the system 10 to change the wire consumption rate to the appropriate consumption rate according to the predefined visual effect pattern that is required to occur on the substrate 30.

Although the invention has been generally described with reference to a system comprising one treatment unit 100 and one wire consuming device 15, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the features of the invention may also be applied to other systems. Fig. 8a-b show two examples of such alternative systems.

In fig. 8a, the system 10 comprises a first processing unit 100a and a second processing unit 100b, and first and second wire consuming devices 15 a-b. Each

processing unit

100a, 100b controls and performs operations on each wire consuming device 15 a-b. It should be noted that although the first processing unit 100a and the second processing unit are separate, one or more components may be shared. In one embodiment, the control unit 190 is arranged as a separate unit from the first and

second treatment units

100a, 100b, whereby one control unit 190 is configured to control the operation of both

treatment units

100a, 100b and correspondingly of both wire consuming devices 15 a-b.

In fig. 8b, the system 10 includes a processing unit 100a and first and second wire consuming devices 15 a-b. In this embodiment, one processing unit 100a is configured to control and perform the operation of two wire consuming devices 15 a-b.

It should be noted that although only two processing units and two wire consuming devices are shown in fig. 8a, and only one processing unit and two wire consuming devices are shown in fig. 8b, it should be understood that any reasonable number of processing units and/or wire consuming devices may be present in the system 10.

Embodiments of a system configured to vary or control the wire consumption of the wire consuming device will now be described. The system 10 includes a processing unit 100, two wire consuming devices 10 and two wire consuming regulators (not shown). The wire consumption regulator is used to compensate for differences in wire consumption that may occur between two (or several) wire consumption devices 15. This provides the advantage that the whole processing unit 100 can share almost all components between each other, thereby reducing the cost of implementing the solution.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Rather, the invention is limited only by the following claims.

In the claims, the term "comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps. Furthermore, although individual features may be included in different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not possible and/or advantageous. Furthermore, singular references do not exclude a plurality. The terms "first", "second", etc. do not exclude a plurality. Reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way.

Claims

1. A system (10) for online processing of wire (20) for use with a wire consuming unit (15), comprising:

a processing unit (100) comprising at least one discharge device (150) configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto at least one wire (20) upon activation; and

a control unit (190) configured to:

evaluating the wire consumption of the wire consumption device (15) based on the operational data (50) and at least one parameter related to the one or more wire consumption parameters (40); and

controlling the dispensing of the discharge device (150) based on the estimated consumption of the wire, and/or

Changing the wire consumption of the wire consumption device (15) based on the evaluated wire consumption.

2. The system (10) according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (190) is further configured to:

based on the simulation of the wire consumption, the wire consumption is evaluated and/or the operational data (50) and/or at least one wire consumption parameter (40) is updated.

3. The system (10) according to claim 2, wherein the simulation of the wire consumption is performed continuously during operation of the wire consumption device (15) and/or during operation of the processing unit (100).

4. System (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the simulation is based at least on stored consumption data (70), the consumption data (70) comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device (15).

5. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (190) is further configured to:

evaluating the wire consumption based on stored consumption data (70) comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device (15), and/or

-updating the operational data (50) and/or at least one wire consumption parameter (40) based on stored consumption data (70) comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device (15).

6. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the operating data (50) of the wire consuming device (15) comprises information of position coordinates of a driving mode of the wire consuming device (15).

7. The system (10) according to claim 6, wherein the wire consuming device (15) is configured to make stitches (24) in a substrate (30), and wherein the operational data further comprises a number related to a current number of stitches of the wire consuming device (15).

8. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wire consuming device (15) is configured to make stitches (24) in a substrate (30), and wherein the wire consuming parameter is related to one or more substrate parameters (44) and/or one or more stitch parameters (42) of the wire consuming device (15).

9. The system (10) according to claim 8, wherein the one or more substrate parameters (44a, 44b, 44c) relate to one or more of:

a thickness of the substrate (30);

elasticity of the substrate (30);

an arrangement of the substrate in the wire consuming device (15), or any combination thereof.

10. The system (10) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the one or more stitch parameters (42a, 42b, 42c) relate to one or more of:

a tension of the at least one wire (20);

the angle at which the at least one wire (20) is applied to the substrate (30);

the angle of at least the last stitch (24);

features associated with the underlying stitches (24), or any combination thereof.

11. The system (10) according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the substrate (30) is a fabric.

12. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the nozzles (40a-g) are inkjet nozzles.

13. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coating substance is a coloring substance.

14. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system further comprises a wire consuming device (15).

15. The system (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wire consuming device (15) is an embroidery machine, a sewing machine, a knitting machine, a loom, a tufting machine, a winding machine and/or any combination thereof.

16. A method for the in-line treatment of at least one wire (20), comprising:

providing a processing unit (100), the processing unit (100) comprising at least one expelling device (150) configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one wire (20) when activated;

a control unit (190) is provided,

wherein, the method also comprises:

-evaluating the wire consumption of the wire consumption device (15) as a function of the operating data and at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters; and

controlling the dispensing of one or more coating substances based on the assessed consumption of the wire.

17. A method for the in-line treatment of at least one wire (20), comprising:

providing a processing unit (100), the processing unit (100) comprising at least one expelling device (150) configured to dispense one or more coating substances onto the at least one wire (20) upon activation;

a control unit (190) is provided,

wherein, the method also comprises:

evaluating the wire consumption of the wire consumption device (15) based on the operational data and at least one parameter related to one or more wire consumption parameters; and

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, further comprising: based on the simulation of the wire consumption, the wire consumption is evaluated and/or operational data (50) and/or at least one wire consumption parameter (40) is updated.

19. The method of any of claims 16 to 18, further comprising:

Updating the operating data (50) and/or at least one wire consumption parameter (40) based on stored consumption data (70), the consumption data comprising information from previous runs of the wire consuming device (15).