阅读说明：本技术 穿孔装置 (Punching device ) 是由 吉川胜治 于 2018-04-18 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种穿孔装置,具有穿孔机头、真空装置(50)、吸引流路以及吸引切换装置(V)。穿孔机头包括穿孔工具和进行上下运动的多个中空棒,穿孔工具分别设置在中空棒的前端并具有在轴向上贯通的通孔。真空装置(50)对由穿孔机头的穿孔处理所产生的冲裁废料进行吸引。吸引流路通过穿孔工具的通孔与真空装置(50)之间。吸引切换装置(V)以使吸引流路仅与多个中空棒中的进行穿孔处理的中空棒连通的方式来变更吸引流路的路径。(A piercing device has a piercing head, a vacuum device (50), a suction flow path, and a suction switching device (V). The piercing head includes a piercing tool and a plurality of hollow rods that move up and down, the piercing tool being provided at the front ends of the hollow rods and having through holes that penetrate in the axial direction. A vacuum device (50) sucks blanking scraps generated by a punching process of a puncher. The suction flow path passes between the through hole of the piercing tool and the vacuum device (50). The suction switching device (V) changes the path of the suction flow path so that the suction flow path communicates only with the hollow rod to be perforated among the plurality of hollow rods.)

1. A perforation device, comprising:

a piercing head including a piercing tool and a plurality of hollow rods that move up and down, the piercing tool being provided at the front ends of the hollow rods and having through holes that penetrate in the axial direction;

a suction device that sucks blanking scraps generated by the piercing process of the piercing head;

a suction flow path passing between a through hole provided in the piercing tool and the suction device; and

and a suction switching device that changes the suction flow path so as to suck only a hollow rod to be perforated among the plurality of hollow rods.

2. The perforating device as recited in claim 1,

the suction switching device includes a flow path switching mechanism that switches a suction flow path in accordance with a selected hollow rod among the plurality of hollow rods.

3. The perforating device as recited in claim 2,

the suction switching device includes a contact/separation switching mechanism that switches between a state in which the suction channel is connected to the selected hollow rod and a state in which the suction channel is separated from the selected hollow rod by reciprocating the contact/separation switching mechanism in a channel extending direction of the suction channel at an intermediate portion of the suction channel switched by the channel switching mechanism.

4. The perforating device as claimed in claim 3,

the flow path switching mechanism switches to a suction flow path corresponding to a selected hollow rod among the plurality of hollow rods in a state where the suction flow path is separated by the contact and separation switching mechanism.

5. The perforating device as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4,

the flow path switching mechanism includes:

a connecting member provided with a plurality of connecting ports arranged on an arc; and

and a rotating member having a suction port, the suction port being communicated with one of the plurality of connection ports by rotating about a center of the arc as a rotation center.

6. A perforating device as claimed in any of the claims 2-5,

the flow path switching mechanism includes:

a connecting member provided with a plurality of connecting ports arranged on an arc; and

a rotating member having a suction port, the suction port being communicated with one of the connection ports by rotating about a center of the arc as a rotation center;

the suction switching device includes a contact/separation switching mechanism that switches between connection and separation of the connection ports and the suction ports by reciprocating the rotary member along the same axis as the rotation center of the rotary member.

7. The perforating device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6,

the suction switching device is provided for each of the piercing heads.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a punching device.

Background

An embroidery sewing machine for performing embroidery or punching on a workpiece is known. For example, an embroidery sewing machine disclosed in international publication No. 2015/076389 includes: an embroidery head having a plurality of needles; a piercing head having a plurality of punches; and a frame body. The embroidery head and the perforating head are arranged side by side in a spaced manner. The frame body holds a work piece such as a leather piece on a sewing machine table. The frame is moved forward, backward, leftward and rightward during embroidery and perforation.

Fig. 11 to 14 show an embroidery sewing machine having such a piercing head. As shown in fig. 11, the embroidery sewing machine has 2 combinations of an embroidery head S and a punching head P for performing a punching process. The embroidery head S is adjacent to the punching head P and is disposed on the front surface of the upper frame 2 of the embroidery sewing machine body 1. The embroidery head S can perform sewing by selecting any one of a plurality of color threads, thereby realizing multi-color embroidery. A shuttle bed 3 is disposed on the lower frame 4 below each embroidery head S, and the shuttle bed 3 has a known shuttle that performs sewing in cooperation with a needle. Further, below each piercing head P, a receiving seat 5 for receiving a punch (piercing tool) 8 (see fig. 12 and 13) is similarly disposed on the lower frame 4.

As shown in fig. 12, the piercing head has a structure in which a balance, a thread path, and the like in a needle bar box of a known embroidery head S are removed. The puncher head P has a plurality of needle bars 6 which can be raised and lowered, as in the embroidery head S. The needle bar 6 selected by the changing device 7 (refer to fig. 11) provided on the front surface of the upper frame 2 is switched to the use position. The needle bars 6 are hollow, and punches (punching tools) 8 are attached to the lower ends of the needle bars 6, respectively, instead of sewing needles. Since the needle bar 6 of the punch head P is not provided with a sewing needle, it is hereinafter referred to as a lift lever.

As shown in fig. 13, the punch (punching tool) 8 has a through hole 8a penetrating vertically. A punching blade 8b is formed on the inner peripheral edge of the lower end of the through hole 8 a. An attachment portion 8c is formed at the upper end of the punch (piercing tool) 8. The mounting portion 8c is fitted into the lower end of the lifter 6, and the punch (punching tool) 8 is fixed to the lifter 6 by fastening the screw 10 of the needle holder 9. Various punches (punching tools) 8 having different hole shapes or sizes can be replaced.

As shown in fig. 12, a pipe 11 for discharging the punching scrap from the through hole 8a of the punch (punching tool) 8 is attached to the upper end of each lifter 6. Referring to fig. 11, each tube 11 is supported by a wire frame 12 provided on the upper surface of the upper frame 2. Each pipe 11 extends upward from the piercer head P, extends to the rear side beyond the upper surface of the bobbin 12, and extends downward. As shown in fig. 14, a manifold block (manifold block)14 is provided at a position behind the upper surface of the rack tray 13 so as to correspond to each piercing head P. On the rear side of the header block 14, the same number of connection ports (not shown) as the lifter 6 of the piercer head P are formed. The pipes 11 are connected to the connection ports. A branch hose 15 is connected to the front side portion on the opposite side of the pipe connection port. The branch hoses 15 are connected to a hose main pipe 16, and the hose main pipe 16 is connected to a vacuum apparatus 50. Therefore, the punching scrap generated by the punching process of each punch head P is sucked by the vacuum apparatus 50, passes through the suction flow path formed by the through hole 8a of the punch (punching tool) 8, the hollow portion of the lifter 6, the inside of the tube 11, the inside of the branch hose 15, and the inside of the hose main pipe 16, and is discharged to the outside.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the above-described punch scrap discharge method, punches other than the punch to be subjected to the punching process (i.e., the punch in the stopped state) are also sucked. This causes problems of low airtightness of the suction flow path and poor suction efficiency in the vacuum apparatus 50. Further, there is a problem that the suction force is greatly reduced with the increase of the piercing head.

Therefore, there has been a need for a punching apparatus that has high suction efficiency of a vacuum apparatus by improving airtightness of a suction flow path when punching waste is discharged by a punching tool.

Means for solving the problems

According to one feature of the present disclosure, a piercing device has a piercing head, a suction device, a suction flow path, and a suction switching device. The piercing head includes a plurality of hollow rods that move up and down and piercing tools that are respectively provided at the front ends of the hollow rods and have through holes that penetrate in the axial direction. The suction device sucks blanking scraps generated by the punching process of the puncher. The suction flow path passes through a space between the through hole provided in the piercing tool and the suction device. The suction switching device changes the suction flow path so as to suck only the hollow rod to be subjected to the piercing process among the plurality of hollow rods.

Therefore, the hollow rod not subjected to the punching process among the plurality of hollow rods is not sucked. Therefore, the suction force of the suction device can be concentrated on the hollow rod to be subjected to the piercing process. As a result, the airtightness of the suction flow path when punching waste generated by the punching tool is discharged can be improved, and the suction efficiency of the suction device can be improved.

According to another feature of the present disclosure, the suction switching device may have a flow path switching mechanism that switches the suction flow path according to a selected hollow rod of the plurality of hollow rods. This makes it possible to suck only the hollow rod to be subjected to the piercing process out of the plurality of hollow rods.

According to other features of the present disclosure, the attraction switching device may further have a contact-and-separation switching mechanism. The contact/separation switching mechanism is located at the middle of the suction flow path switched by the flow path switching mechanism. The contact/separation switching mechanism switches between a state in which the suction channel is connected to the selected hollow rod and a state in which the suction channel is separated by reciprocating in a channel extending direction of the suction channel. Therefore, the suction flow path can be switched between being physically connected to and separated from the selected hollow rod.

According to another feature of the present disclosure, the flow path switching mechanism is switched to the suction flow path corresponding to the selected hollow rod among the plurality of hollow rods in a state where the suction flow path is separated by the contact and separation switching mechanism. Therefore, compared to a structure in which switching is performed in a non-separated manner, this structure can prevent wear of the contact member and can reduce a load applied to the drive source and the like.

According to other features of the present disclosure, the flow path switching mechanism may have a connection member and a rotation member. The connecting member has a plurality of connecting ports arranged on an arc. The rotating member has a suction port, and the suction port communicates with one of the plurality of connection ports by rotating about the center of the arc as a rotation center. Therefore, this structure can be made more compact than a structure in which a plurality of connection ports are linearly arranged. Further, the flow path switching mechanism switches the suction port to the plurality of connection ports by using the rotation shaft of the drive source. Therefore, the flow path switching mechanism can be made compact without adopting a complicated structure.

According to other features of the present disclosure, the attraction switching device may further have a contact-and-separation switching mechanism. The contact/separation switching mechanism switches between connection and separation of the connection ports and the suction ports by reciprocating a rotary member along the same axis as the rotation center of the rotary member. Therefore, the abutment member provided on the suction port is pressed vertically against the connection port. This allows the suction port and the connection port to be connected without a gap, thereby maintaining airtightness. Further, this structure can prevent the contact member from being worn and reduce the load applied to the drive source and the like, as compared with a structure in which the suction port and the connection port are switched so as not to be separated from each other.

According to other features of the present disclosure, the suction switching device may be provided for each of the piercing heads. Therefore, this configuration can flexibly cope with a change in the number of piercing heads and can maintain the suction processing capability.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a suction switching device in the piercing device according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the attraction switching device.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the suction switching device.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the attraction switching device in a state where the contact-separation switching unit is operated.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the suction switching device.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the suction switching device in a state where the rotating arm of the flow path switching unit is positioned at the connection port on the rightmost side.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the suction switching device in a state where the rotating arm of the flow path switching unit is positioned at the leftmost connection port.

Fig. 8 is a side view of a suction switching device in the piercing device of the second embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a side sectional view of the attraction switching device.

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the suction switching device.

Fig. 11 is a front view of a conventional embroidery sewing machine having a piercing head.

Fig. 12 is a front view of a conventional piercing head.

Fig. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of a lifter and a punch (piercing tool) of a conventional piercing head.

Fig. 14 is a partial plan view of a conventional suction channel.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 10. In addition, as an embodiment of the punching device of the present invention, a punching device provided in an embroidery sewing machine will be described. In the description of the present embodiment with reference to fig. 1 to 10, the same reference numerals as those shown in fig. 11 to 14 are given to the same components as those of the conventional structure, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

< first embodiment >

As shown in fig. 1, in the suction switching device V in the piercing machine of the first embodiment, the vacuum device 50 (suction device), the main hose pipe 16 connected to the vacuum device 50, and the branch hose 15 are configured in the same manner as in fig. 11 to 14, which are conventional configurations. The branch hoses 15 branched from the hose main pipe 16 are connected to a connection block 17, and the connection block 17 corresponds to each piercing head P (see fig. 12). A connection port connected to the branch hose 15 is provided on one surface (front surface) of the connection block 17. A small-diameter connection port is provided on the opposite face (rear face) of the connection block 17. A tube 18 connected to the suction switching device V is connected to a small-diameter connection port (not shown). The bobbins 19 are placed on a front region of the bobbin tray 13, and the upper thread supplied to the sewing needle of the embroidery head S is wound around the bobbins 19. The suction switching device V is disposed at the rear of each connection block 17 with a predetermined interval. The suction switching device V includes a flow path switching unit (flow path switching mechanism) and a contact/separation switching unit (contact/separation switching mechanism).

[ flow path switching means (flow path switching mechanism) ]

As shown in fig. 2, a plate-shaped support plate 20 (connecting member) is provided upright on the bobbin tray 13. The support plate 20 is fixed to the bobbin 13 by bolts 21 inserted into the bobbin 13 from below the bobbin 13. As shown in fig. 5, on the support plate 20 (connecting member), the number of connecting ports 20a penetrating in the thickness direction is set to be the same as the number of punches 8 (lifter bars 6) shown in fig. 12. The connection ports 20a are arranged in an arc shape with a predetermined interval. The pipe 11 connected to the upper end of each of the lift pins 6 of the piercing head P shown in fig. 12 is connected to the rear surface of each of the connection ports 20a of the support plate 20 shown in fig. 5. The connection position of the tube 11 with respect to the support plate 20 is the same as the arrangement sequence of the punches 8 (lift pins 6) of the piercing head P shown in fig. 11. That is, the pipe 11 connected to the rightmost elevating rod 6 of the piercing head P is connected to a connection port 20a (see fig. 5) located on the rightmost side of the support plate 20 (see fig. 5) in the front view. The pipe 11 connected to the leftmost elevating rod 6 of the piercing head P is connected to a connection port 20a located at the leftmost side of the support plate 20.

As shown in fig. 2 to 5, a stud 22 is provided upright on the front surface side of the support plate 20, and an attachment plate 23 is attached to the front end of the stud 22. The mounting plate 23 is provided with a shaft hole (not shown) through which a motor shaft is inserted. The motor shaft penetrates the mounting plate 23 and protrudes from the mounting plate 23 toward the support plate 20. A rotor 25 is fixed to the outer periphery of the motor shaft. The rotating body 25 integrally has a cylindrical base portion 25a and a guide portion 25b having a smaller diameter than the base portion 25 a. A pin 26 is provided to penetrate the leading end side of the guide portion 25 b. A moving body 27 is fitted to the outer periphery of the guide portion 25 b. The moving body 27 is cylindrical and configured to slide in the axial direction along the outer peripheral surface of the guide portion 25b of the rotating body 25. The moving body 27 has a guide groove 28 that engages with the pin 26 of the guide portion 25 b. The guide groove 28 extends parallel to the motor shaft. The pin 26 protrudes from the guide groove 28 in the radial direction. Therefore, the movable body 27 is restricted from rotating by the pin 26 engaged with the guide groove 28, and moves linearly (advances and retreats) in the axial direction, and is pressed by the pin 26 to rotate integrally with the rotary body 25.

As shown in fig. 2 to 5, a rotating arm 30 (rotating member) is fixed to the moving body 27 via a coupling 29. The base of the rotating arm 30 is pivotally supported at the center of the moving body 27. A suction port 30a is provided at an end portion side of the rotating arm 30. The suction port 30a is moved so as to face the connection ports 20a arranged on the support plate 20 in sequence by the rotation of the rotary arm 30. The tube 18 from the connection block 17 is connected to the suction port 30a, and an annular abutment member 31 made of sponge rubber is provided on the surface opposite to the suction port 30 a. A detector 33 is provided on the other surface side of the motor 24 via a mounting plate 32, and the detector 33 detects a reference position (origin) of the rotating arm 30.

[ contact separation switching unit (contact separation switching mechanism) ]

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, a cylinder 34 is attached to the back surface side of the support plate 20. The rod 35 of the cylinder 34 penetrates the support plate 20 and protrudes forward toward the motor 24. The axis of the rod 35 is collinear with the axis of the motor shaft. The front end of the lever 35 is coupled to a link 29 that fixes the pivot arm 30 to the moving body 27. Therefore, when the cylinder 34 is driven to move the rod 35 forward and backward, the moving body 27 slides along the guide 25b of the rotating body 25. Thereby, the position of the rotating arm 30 is switched between the connection position 30X and the retreat position 30Y. Specifically, as shown in fig. 3, when the rod 35 of the air cylinder 34 retreats, the pivot arm 30 moves in the direction (rearward) of the support plate 20. Thereby, the abutment member 31 of the rotating arm 30 is pressed against the connection port 20a (connection position 30X) provided on the support plate 20. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 4, when the rod 35 of the air cylinder 34 moves forward, the rotating arm 30 moves in the direction of the motor 24 (forward). Thereby, the contact member 31 of the rotating arm 30 is separated from the connection port 20a (the retracted position 30Y).

[ operation of the suction switching device V ]

When a leather piece to be processed is perforated, the vacuum apparatus 50 is operated in advance to collect waste material generated by the perforation. Then, as is well known, a holding frame holding the leather sheet is moved in the direction X, Y on the upper surface of the table based on the perforation pattern data, and perforation processing is performed on the leather sheet by the perforating head P. During the piercing process, the suction switching device operates in the following manner.

Fig. 6 shows the position of the rotating arm 30 in the case of performing the piercing process using the punch 8 located at the rightmost side of the piercing head P. The rotating arm 30 is moved relative to the support plate 20 by the operation of the motor 24, which is one constituent member of the flow path switching unit. The rotating arm 30 is aligned with the connection port 20a to which the tube 11 of the punch 8 (the lifter 6) located at the rightmost side of the piercing machine head P is connected. Further, as shown in fig. 3, by the operation of the air cylinder 34 as one component of the contact-separation switching unit, the abutment member 31 of the rotating arm 30 is pressed vertically against the connection port 20a (connection position 30X). Therefore, the tube 18 from the connection block 17 connected to the branch hose 15 is connected to the tube 11 connected to the punch 8 (lifter 6) without a gap. Thereby, while maintaining the airtightness of the flow path, only the punch 8 (lift lever 6) located on the rightmost side of the punch head P is sucked by the vacuum device 50.

Fig. 7 shows the position of the rotating arm 30 in the case where the punch 8 to be subjected to the punching process is switched to the punch 8 located on the leftmost side of the puncher pin P. The air cylinder 34 is operated, and the position of the rotating arm 30 is moved from the connection position 30X (see fig. 3) to the retracted position 30Y (see fig. 4), whereby the contact member 31 of the rotating arm 30 is separated from the connection port 20 a. Subsequently, the motor 24 is operated, and the rotating arm 30 is rotated in the left direction. The abutment member 31 of the rotating arm 30 is opposed to the connection port 20a of the support plate 20 to which the pipe 11 of the punch 8 (lifter 6) located at the leftmost side of the punch head P is connected. The air cylinder 34 is operated, and the position of the rotating arm 30 is moved from the retreat position 30Y to the connection position 30X. Thereby, the abutment member 31 of the rotating arm 30 is pressed against the connection port 20 a. Thus, the tube 18 from the connection block 17 connected to the branch hose 15 is connected to the tube 11 connected to the punch 8 (lifter 6). Then, the suction flow path is switched to be connected to the punch 8 (lift lever 6) positioned on the leftmost side of the punch head P. The operation of the suction switching device V (switching of the suction flow path) is synchronized with the switching of the punch 8 (lift lever 6) used. When the punch 8 (lift lever 6) to be used is switched based on the punching pattern data, the suction flow path is also automatically switched to be connected to the punch 8 (lift lever 6).

As described above, the suction path connected to the vacuum apparatus 50 is connected to only the punch 8 (lift lever 6) for performing the punching process by the suction switching device V, and suction is performed. With this configuration, the passage can be made more airtight than in the prior art, and the scrap can be efficiently sucked by the vacuum apparatus 50.

< second embodiment >

As shown in fig. 8 to 10, the suction switching device V' according to the second embodiment includes a cylindrical header 36 (connecting member), and a hollow portion 36a is provided inside the header 36. A branch hose 15 connected to a hose main pipe 16 of the vacuum apparatus 50 shown in fig. 1 is connected to one side surface of the header 36. On the opposite surface of the header 36, a connection port 36b penetrating the inside of the header 36 is provided. The number of the connection ports 36b is the same as the number of the punches 8 (lift pins 6) of the piercing head P. The connection ports 36b are arranged in a ring shape with a predetermined interval. Then, the pipes 11 connected to the upper ends of the respective lift pins 6 of the piercing machine head P (see fig. 12) are connected to the connection ports 36b, respectively. A flow path switching means and a contact/separation switching means are provided on the annular central axis on which the connection port 36b is disposed. Further, as a member corresponding to the rotating arm 30 in the first embodiment, a rotating plate 37 (rotating member) is provided. The rotating plate 37 (rotating member) is housed in the hollow portion 36a of the header 36, and is coupled to the tip end of the rod 35 of the air cylinder 34, which is one component of the contact/separation switching means.

As shown in fig. 10, the rotating plate 37 includes one abutting member 38 and a plurality of sealing members 39, and the abutting member 38 and the plurality of sealing members 39 are provided on a circle having the same center and the same diameter as the circle on which the connection ports 36b are arranged, and the interval is also the same as the interval between the connection ports 36 b. The abutment member 38 is an annular member made of sponge rubber, as in the first embodiment. Further, the rotating plate 37 is provided with a suction port 40 penetrating in the thickness direction only at a position where the contact member 38 is attached. The seal member 39 has a shape of an absorption portion at a front end made of rubber, and is screwed and fixed to the rotating plate 37. The punch 8 (the lifter 6) other than the punch 8 (the lifter 6) to be subjected to the punching process functions as a cap for closing the connection ports 36 b.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the suction switching device V' of the second embodiment rotates the rotating plate 37 by the motor 24, which is one component of the flow path switching means, as in the first embodiment. The position of the rotating plate 37 is switched so that the abutment member 38 having a suction port corresponds to the connection port 36b of the punch 8 (the elevating rod 6) to be subjected to the punching process. Then, as in the first embodiment, the air cylinder 34, which is one component of the contact/separation switching means, is operated to move the position of the rotating plate 37 from the retracted position 37Y to the connection position (not shown). Thus, the contact members 38 of the rotating plate 37 are pressed against the connection ports 36b, and the sealing members 39 are pressed against the connection ports 36b of the punches 8 (the elevating rods 6) other than the punch 8 (the elevating rod 6) to be subjected to the punching process. Since the connection ports 36b of the punches 8 (the lift pins 6) other than the punches 8 (the lift pins 6) are closed by the sealing members 39, only the punches 8 (the lift pins 6) that have been subjected to the punching process are sucked.

The piercing device according to the first and second embodiments has the following effects.

The punching device includes a suction switching device V, V' for sucking only the lifter 6 to be punched out of the plurality of lifters 6 (hollow rods). This prevents the lifting rod 6, which is not subjected to the punching process, from being sucked. Therefore, the suction force of the vacuum device 50 (suction device) can be concentrated on the lift lever 6 for performing the punching process. As a result, the airtightness of the flow path for discharging the slug is improved, and the suction efficiency for sucking the slug of the vacuum apparatus 50 is improved.

The suction switching device V, V' has a flow path switching means for switching the flow path in accordance with the lifter 6 selected from the plurality of lifters 6. This allows only the flow path corresponding to the lifter 6 to be perforated among the plurality of lifters 6 to be suctioned.

In addition, the suction switching device V, V' has a contact-separation switching unit that switches connection and separation at an intermediate portion of the suction flow path switched by the flow path switching unit. Therefore, the connection and disconnection of the suction flow path to and from the selected lifter 6 are physically switched by the flow path switching unit.

After the suction flow path is separated by the contact/separation switching means, the flow path is switched by the flow path switching means so as to select the suction flow path corresponding to the selected lift lever 6 among the plurality of lift levers 6 (hollow rods). With this configuration, compared to a configuration in which switching is performed without separation, abrasion of the contact member can be prevented, and the load applied to the motor 24 (drive source) and the like can be reduced.

The flow path switching means has a plurality of connection ports 20a and 36b arranged on an arc. This configuration can be made more compact than a configuration in which the plurality of connection ports 20a, 36b are linearly arranged. Further, the flow path switching means switches the suction ports 30a and 40 to the plurality of connection ports 20a and 36b by the rotation shaft of the motor 24 (driving source). With this configuration, the flow path switching unit can be made compact without adopting a complicated configuration.

The connection and disconnection between the connection ports 20a and 36b and the suction ports 30a and 40 are switched by reciprocating the rotating arm 30 and the rotating plate 37 of the contact/disconnection switching means along the same axis as the rotation center thereof. Thereby, the abutment members provided on the suction ports 30a, 40 are pressed vertically against the connection ports 20a, 36 b. Therefore, the suction port and the connection port are connected without a gap, and airtightness can be maintained.

In addition, a suction switching device V, V' is provided for each puncher pin P. Therefore, even if the piercer heads P are added, the suction switching device V, V' can be provided for each piercer head P. This configuration can flexibly cope with a change in the number of the piercers P, and can maintain the suction processing capability.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the piercing device of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and can be implemented in various other embodiments.

Further, the embodiment has 2 combinations of the embroidery head S and the puncher P2, but is not limited thereto, and may be an embroidery machine having 2 or more combinations of the embroidery head S and the puncher P2, a puncher having only a plurality of puncher ps, or a puncher having only 1 puncher P.