JP2001178975A - Sewing data forming device, memory medium and embroidery sewing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable garment manufacture in such a manner that patterns are exactly arranged within an arbitrary range smaller than the garment manufacturable range within an embroidery frame. SOLUTION: A display limitation region corresponding to a garment manufacture limitation range to be set on the inner side of the garment manufacturable range is set on the inner side of a displayable region on a screen corresponding to the garment manufacturable region within the embroidery frame of an embroidery machine. The sewing data arranged with the patterns 'COUNTRY GIFT' on the inner side of the display limitation region is formed. Embroidery sewing is executed according to this sewing data, by which the garment manufacture of the patterns is executed in the state that the patterns are surely arranged within the garment manufacture limitation range.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sewing machine in which a sewing limited area is set within a sewable area of an embroidery pattern determined by the size of an embroidery frame and the pattern is arranged only within the area. The present invention relates to a sewing data creation device, a sewing data storage medium, and an embroidery sewing machine, which are preferably applied when performing sewing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a home embroidery sewing machine, a desired pattern is selected from embroidery pattern data stored in an internal storage device of the sewing machine itself and embroidery pattern data stored in a ROM card or the like which is one of external storage devices. Is selected, and a pattern corresponding to the cloth set in the embroidery frame can be embroidered. The embroidery frame used at that time is not limited to one type, and various embroidery frames are prepared so that they can be properly used from small to large embroidery ranges according to the application.

Further, the pattern selected as described above can be sewn by freely changing the layout in a sewable area corresponding to the inside of the set embroidery frame. Such a layout change can be usually performed by moving a pattern displayed in a displayable area corresponding to the sewing area on a liquid crystal display screen (LCD) attached to the sewing machine. ing.

There is no problem if the embroidery is performed at an arbitrary position on the cloth set in the embroidery frame.
If you want to sew the embroidery pattern as if it were placed within a predetermined range at a specific position in the entire cloth, such as a square of mx 10 cm, or the shape of the cloth pocket used for the pocket If there is a constraint on the sewing range, such as when you want to sew a pattern as if it were placed within the area corresponding to the part, the pattern placed in the displayable area on the screen by the operator is inside the embroidery frame. It is necessary to sew the embroidery pattern after confirming whether or not the embroidery pattern is within the constraint condition in the possible area. The confirmation can be made by using the “sew area” confirmation function of the arranged pattern.

[0005]

However, the "sewing range" confirmation function confirms the range by relatively moving the embroidery frame so that the needle (position) traces the sewing range on the embroidery frame. However, the confirmation method employed here is not accurate because it does not correctly trace the outer shape of the pattern, but only traces a square representing the size of the pattern.

Further, as described above, when a pattern is sewn in, for example, a pocket-shaped portion, in the conventional embroidery sewing machine, only a sewable area corresponding to the size inside the frame is limited. Embroidered on the pocket cloth
In some cases, the pattern was sewn at a position protruding from the pocket-shaped portion. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to sew in a state in which the pattern is correctly arranged within the range of the pocket shape, though the embroidery must not protrude in this manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and can sew a pattern so that the pattern is accurately arranged within an arbitrary area smaller than a sewable area corresponding to the inside of the embroidery frame. The task is to provide technology.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sewing data creating apparatus, comprising: display means for reading embroidery pattern data and displaying a corresponding pattern in a displayable area on a screen; Setting means for setting a display restricted area for limiting a range in which a pattern can be displayed; designating means for designating an arrangement position of the pattern at a desired position in the display restricted area; and designation in the area together with the display restricted area. This problem has been solved by providing a storage means for storing a pattern arranged at a position as embroidery sewing data.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a process for reading embroidery pattern data in a storage medium and setting a display restricted area for limiting a displayable area of the pattern inside a displayable area of a display means for displaying the corresponding pattern. And a process of designating a pattern arrangement position at a desired position in the display restricted area, and a process of storing the pattern arranged at the designated position in the area together with the display restricted area as embroidery sewing data. The above-mentioned problem is also solved by recording a program to be executed by a computer.

According to the present invention, in an embroidery sewing system, a display means for reading embroidery pattern data and displaying the corresponding pattern in a displayable area on a screen, and a range in which the pattern can be displayed inside the displayable area. Setting means for setting a display-restricted area for restricting the display, designating means for specifying a pattern arrangement position at a desired position in the display-restricted area, and A sewing data generating device having a storage means for storing a pattern as embroidery sewing data; a needle which moves up and down by rotation of a main shaft; and an embroidery frame for holding a cloth, the embroidery sewing data. The above-mentioned problem is likewise solved by having a sewing machine which forms a seam by relatively moving according to the above.

That is, in the present invention, a display restricted area for limiting a display range of a pattern is set inside a displayable area on an image on which the pattern can be displayed, and the pattern is set at a desired position in the area. Is arranged to create embroidery sewing data including the display restricted area and a pattern arranged at a predetermined position in the area. For example, the displayable area on the screen is replaced with the embroidery frame. In this case, the pattern can be sewn accurately and reliably within an arbitrary range limited to the inside of the embroidery frame by making the display restricted area correspond to the sewing restricted area in correspondence with the sewable area inside.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an embroidery sewing machine (system) according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a sewing machine main body 10 includes a sewing machine bed 12,
A sewing head 14 is provided on the sewing machine bed 12. The sewing head 14 is provided with a liquid crystal display (LCD) 16 as display means.

The embroidery machine main body 1 is mounted on the sewing machine bed 12.
8 is detachably mounted via a connector. The embroidery machine main body 18 is provided with an X drive pulse motor and an X moving member (both not shown) which is moved in the X direction by the pulse motor. The upper part of the X moving member is exposed on the embroidery machine main body 18, and the carriage cover 20 is fixed to the exposed upper part. Inside the carriage cover 20, a Y driving pulse motor mounted on the X moving member and a Y moving member moved in the Y direction (a direction orthogonal to the X direction) by the Y driving pulse motor are shown. An embroidery frame holding member 22 is fixed to the Y moving member, and an embroidery frame 24 is mounted on the embroidery frame holding member 22.

That is, the embroidery frame 24 is driven by the XY driving pulse motor in accordance with an input (selected embroidery pattern data) on the liquid crystal display section 16 to generate an X.
The sewing machine 26 is moved in the direction and the Y direction. At this time, a desired embroidery pattern can be formed in cooperation with the vertical movement of the sewing needle 26 driven by the sewing machine motor 48 described later.

The embroidery frame 24 is, as shown in FIG.
Outer frame 28 detachably attached to embroidery frame holding member 22
And an inner frame 30 fitted into the outer frame 28,
By setting, for example, a cloth as an object to be sewn on the outer frame 28 and fitting the inner frame 30 to the outer frame 28 in this state,
The cloth can be set on the embroidery frame 24.

In the embroidery sewing machine according to the present embodiment, as shown in a control block diagram in FIG. 2, the entire operation including the sewing operation is controlled by a sewing control device 32. A ROM 34 in which various programs and the like are stored; a CPU (central processing unit) 36 for executing various calculations using the various programs and the like read from the ROM 34; data read from the ROM 34; RA that stores the calculation results and the like by
M38.

A (start / stop) switch 4 for starting and stopping the sewing operation is provided to the CPU 36 via the input interface 32A.
0, an embroidery device mounting sensor 42 for detecting that the embroidery machine 18 is mounted, a speed setting means 44 for setting a sewing speed, and various information input operation units (function keys) provided in the liquid crystal display unit 16. ) Various information described later is input from 16A.

A control signal is output from the CPU 36 to the sewing machine motor 48 and the above-described XY driving pulse motor 50 via the output interface 32B, and a calculation result and the like are output to the liquid crystal display unit 16. It has become so.

In the above-described embroidery sewing machine of the present embodiment, the sewing data (pattern data) relating to a plurality of patterns is stored in the ROM 34, and the plurality of patterns (selected) sequentially read out from the ROM 34 are stored in the ROM 34. Edit items such as type and size, arrangement position, arrangement angle, and character (pattern) interval are stored in the RAM 38 as coordinate data.

The embroidery sewing machine of this embodiment has a sewing data creation device. This sewing data creation device
The liquid crystal display unit 16 reads embroidery pattern data from the ROM 34 or an external storage device (not shown) and displays the corresponding pattern in a displayable area on the screen, and a pattern can be displayed inside the displayable area. Setting means for setting a display restriction area for restricting a range; designation means for designating an arrangement position of a pattern at a desired position in the display restriction area; RAM (storage means) 38 for storing the pattern as embroidery sewing data. In addition, according to the embroidery sewing data created by the sewing data creation device, the needle 26 that moves up and down by the rotation of the main shaft and the embroidery frame 24 that holds the cloth C are relatively moved to form a stitch. The pattern is sewn on the cloth C.

The sewing data creating apparatus reads the embroidery pattern data and sets a display restricted area for limiting a displayable area of the pattern inside a displayable area of the display means for displaying the corresponding pattern. A process of designating a pattern arrangement position at a desired position in the display restricted area, and a process of storing the pattern arranged at the designated position in the area together with the display restricted area as embroidery sewing data. The program can be easily realized by reading the program from a recording medium storing the program to be executed by the computer into the computer of the system.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal display (screen)
The displayable area on 16 corresponds to the sewable area inside the embroidery frame 24, and the display restricted area is set so as not to exceed a predetermined range when embroidering a pattern inside the sewable area. Corresponding to the limited sewing area. When the display restriction area is set on the liquid crystal display unit 16, the embroidery frame 24 has a function of relatively moving the embroidery frame 24 so that the needle 26 moves along the boundary of the corresponding sewing restriction area during the setting operation. ing. In addition, the embroidery frame 24 is
It has a function of setting the sewing restriction area according to the position of the needle when the needle is moved relative to 6, so that the display restriction area on the screen can be set in reverse.

In the present embodiment, the display restricted area is set in an arbitrary closed area, and has a function of arranging the pattern in parallel or at right angles to a reference axis set in the closed area. In addition, it has a function of issuing a warning when a pattern is placed on the screen beyond the display restricted area by the specifying means. For this purpose, an area check function is provided for checking whether or not the pattern arranged on the screen by the designating means is within the display restricted area.

In this embodiment, the display restriction area setting means and the pattern arrangement position designating means operate according to a program based on a control signal input by the function key 16A or an eight-direction key of a touch panel to be described later. The sewing control device 32 and the like are configured. The other functions described above are also realized by the sewing control device 32 in a software manner.

First, the function of the display restriction area setting means is to set the sewing restriction area (range) on the embroidery frame 24 through the setting of the liquid crystal display unit 16, ie, the display restriction area of the pattern on the screen. The operation will be described with reference to the range setting flowcharts shown in FIGS.

When the embroidery machine is set in the sewing machine body and the power is turned on, the operation of detecting the origin of the embroidery frame 24 is completed, and a menu screen for selecting a pattern type as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed (step 1). This screen is also used when deciding which type of pattern is to be selected from a pattern group such as a character type, a built-in pattern, and a ROM card pattern. Here, a process of entering a range setting mode by pressing a “range setting” key additionally set on this screen is performed.

When this "range setting" key is pressed (step 2), the buffer for setting the range on the memory, which is the embroidery range restriction area, is cleared (step 3), and if there is a range already set, it is deleted. Then, an embroidery range setting screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed (step 4).

A message is displayed in the upper area of the screen 16, an eight-directional key is displayed on the touch panel in the right area, and a rectangular displayable area 16B for displaying a pattern is displayed in the left area. It has become.
The displayable area 16B is the maximum range in which a pattern can be displayed, and this rectangle corresponds to a sewing area that is inside the embroidery frame 24. Therefore, the coordinates of the coverable area on the screen and the coordinates on the embroidery frame 24 are mutually converted, and when an arbitrary point is designated on the screen, the position on the sewable area corresponding to the point is set. Embroidery frame 2 so that the needles match
4 is to be moved.

Conversely, the embroidery frame 2 is
By moving the needle 4 relatively to the needle 26, a point on the frame 24 corresponding to the current position of the needle can be displayed on the screen. In FIG. 6,
As other touch keys, a “return” key, a “position confirmation” key, a “position addition” key, a “position change” key, and a “setting end” key are arranged (displayed).

FIG. 6 shows the initial screen immediately after entering this mode. At this time, the embroidery frame 24 moves so that the needle point coincides with the center of the embroidery frame 24, and the displayable area 16B is displayed.
Indicates the current position, which is the relative position of the needle 26 in the embroidery frame 24, as a point, and the coordinate value of the position of the frame 24 in the sewable area. Incidentally, here, the current position is displayed as 60 mm long and 41 mm wide.

If the "return" key is pressed on this screen (Yes in step 6), the buffer is cleared and the mode is exited (step 5). On the other hand, if this key has not been pressed (No in step 6), it is determined whether or not the switch of the eight-direction key for moving the frame has been pressed (step 7). If any switch is pressed (Yes in step 7), the predetermined number of pulses required to drive the pulse motor to move the frame 24 by one step, for example, 1 mm, in the corresponding direction is equal to the frame number. It is set as a movement command value (step 11), and when the command value is output to the motor (step 12), the frame 24 is actually moved by one step and waits until the movement is completed (step 13). ). At this time, a command value in a direction beyond the sewing range of the frame 24 cannot be set.

Thereafter, a point corresponding to the current position, which is the relative position of the needle 26 to the frame 24 when the frame 24 is moved by one step, is displayed in the displayable area (step 14), and the current position is displayed. Is displayed in the coordinate system of the frame 24 (step 15). Thereafter, returning to the step 7, if the eight-direction key is pressed even after the frame has been moved by the one step, the steps 11 to 7 are repeated, so that the embroidery frame is moved one step at a time in a desired direction. 24 can be moved.

By the above-mentioned operation, the embroidery frame 24 can be moved to a desired needle position on the screen as shown in FIG. 7, and its current position is used to set a sewing limited area (range) on the frame 24. If it is desired to determine one point, the "position determination" key is pressed (step 8). When this key is pressed, a point number indicating the number of the set position,
The coordinate value of the current position is stored in the buffer. By the way,
The first set position is set so that the point number is 1, and the second position is set so that the point number is 2. FIG.
8 is an example of a screen display corresponding to FIG. 7 when a “position determination” key is pressed. Further, when the "position determination" key is pressed, a straight line connecting the current position and the point (position) of the immediately preceding point number is displayed on the screen in order to define the boundary of the area based on the determined point. (Step 10). Therefore, in the case of the point number 1, this operation is not performed.

After one position has been determined as described above and predetermined processing has been performed, an operation of pressing the "add position" key is performed to set a new point continuously. When this key is pressed, the process returns to step 6, moves the frame 24 in the above-described steps, sets another position for defining the range, and does not press the "position change" key. In this case (No in Step 17), it is determined whether or not the “setting end” key has been pressed (Step 19). When this key is pressed (Yes in step 19), a plane for forming a closed area cannot be formed unless the number of points is three or more.
It is determined whether or not the number of points is 3 or more (step 20).
If es, it is further confirmed whether the last point is the same as the start point of the point number 1 and it is determined whether or not the point constitutes a closed plane (closed area) (step 21).

The position change performed in step 18 in the case of Yes in step 17 will be described later in detail.
If the determination in each of Steps 19, 20, and 21 is No, the process is not completed, and the process returns to Step 16 to continue the operation.

Here, the operation until the closed plane is formed in the step 21 will be described following the screen of FIG. 8 in which the position of the point number 1 is determined. Pressing the “Add position” key on this screen changes to the screen shown in FIG.
By pressing the direction key, the embroidery frame 24 is moved, and the needle is moved to a position corresponding to the right side on the screen, and the display screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. When the "position decision" key is pressed in the state of FIG. 10, the first point and the second point are connected by a straight line as shown in FIG. 11, and the current position is also changed and displayed to the coordinate value of the second point.

When a similar operation is performed to determine the third point in the state of the screen shown in FIG. 11, the operations shown in FIGS.
When the embroidery frame 24 is moved to the fourth and fifth points, the screens displayed in the display states of the screens 4 and 15 are displayed.
FIGS. 16 and 17 show a state in which the middle is omitted. Further, the position of the set fifth point is determined in FIG.
Next, press the "Start" key at the center of the 8 direction key,
When the position is determined, a pentagonal display restricted area (range) 16C is set on the screen as shown in FIG. This area is used to limit the editing of the pattern on the screen so as not to cross the boundary.

When the pentagonal closed plane (closed area) is formed as described above and the display restricted area 16C is formed,
That is, in the case of Yes in the step 21, in order to indicate that the range setting is performed, as shown in FIG.
A pattern type selection screen (a menu screen in which range setting is performed) in which the “range setting” switch is highlighted is displayed, and the range setting operation ends. After that, pattern editing using the set display restricted area can be performed by the same operation as in the normal case.

Next, the position change processing in step 18 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

When the "position change" key is depressed (Yes in step 17), a position change screen displaying the current point number and the current position of the target position at that time is displayed (step 17). 31).

For the sake of convenience, if the "position change" key is pressed while the screen shown in FIG. 16 is being displayed,
As shown in FIG. 23, a position change screen in which the fourth point is the current position is displayed (step 31). On this screen, keys such as "return", "8 directions", "position determination", "position selection", and "change end" are displayed.

In step 32, it is checked whether the "return" key has been pressed, and if it has been pressed, the contents processed on this position change screen are canceled and the process ends. Step 33
Then, it is determined whether the "position selection" key has been pressed to change a position different from the current position displayed in FIG. If this key is pressed, the number of points at the current position at that time is increased by one (step 3).
4) Each time, the number of points at the new current position and its coordinate value are displayed on the screen, and if necessary, connected to the preceding and succeeding points by a straight line and displayed (steps 38 to 40). This process is repeated while the "position selection" key is pressed, and the position to be selected is sequentially updated and displayed. When the key is pressed for the last point set on the screen, if the number of points is increased by one in step 34, the first point is selected.

When the selection of the needle position (point on the screen) on the embroidery frame 24 to be changed is completed or not performed (No in Step 33), the 8 direction key is pressed in Step 41 to move the frame 24 Move to the target change position. This movement processing is performed by the same processing as in steps 11 to 15 described above.
This is performed while driving the pulse motor step by step (steps 35 to 39), and each time the front and rear points are connected by a straight line and displayed. Therefore, on the screen, the target point and the straight line are changed and displayed while moving one step at a time. FIG. 24 is a display screen when the position of the point number 3 is selected from the state of FIG. 23 and the position is lowered by 2 mm downward by the above change processing.

When the position change operation is completed and the position is determined, the "position determination" key is depressed in step 42 to store the changed point number and its coordinate value as shown in FIG. At the same time as (Step 43), the front and rear points are connected by a straight line as necessary and displayed (Step 44).

After the process of step 44 is completed, or in the case of No in step 42, the process returns to step 32. If the start key is pressed in step 45, the start point and the last position A closed area (display restriction area on the image, sewing restriction area on the frame) corresponding to FIG. 19 and connecting the (final point) is set (step 46).

As described above, when the setting of the closed area is completed, a "rotation correction" screen is displayed (step 47).
FIG. 26 shows an example of this screen. For convenience, a pentagon forming a closed area will be described as a case where the pentagon is set to an area smaller than that described above.

With this screen displayed, "Rotation correction"
When the key is pressed and rotation correction is performed, a closed area is defined as a reference line for arranging a pattern in the closed area. For example, a straight line in the X direction is selected and set. In this case, although not shown, the corresponding side is displayed in full tone, and the other sides are displayed in half tone.

The rotation correction is a process of rotating the reference line set here at an arbitrary angle with respect to the X axis. Although not shown in the figure, an edit screen after the rotation correction shown in FIG. The reference line can be rotated by a predetermined angle by using a rotation key as displayed. FIG. 27 shows a correction screen after the 1-2 side (upper side), which is a straight line in the X direction of the pentagon shown in FIG. 26, is rotated by 15 ° with respect to the X axis. When a pattern is selected and displayed on the rotation correction screen, the pattern is displayed in a state corrected by the angle displayed here.

Now, when the "rotation correction" key is pressed again on the display screen of FIG. 27, the designated sides are changed, and each time the key is pressed once, the designated sides are sequentially changed. , The angle of the side with respect to the X axis is displayed. By the way,
FIG. 28 is a display screen in which 2-3 sides, which are straight lines in the Y direction in FIG. 26, are specified, and is 285 ° with respect to the X axis.

When the rotation correction is completed in step 49,
Alternatively, if the XY axis of the embroidery frame 24 is the same as the XY axis, which is the reference line for arranging the pattern in the closed area, and if the rotation correction is not selected in step 48, if there is no further processing, the "setting" Press the "End" key to exit the range setting mode, and return to step 2 if there is another process.

As described above, when the range setting including the rotation correction is completed as necessary, the display returns to the pattern type selection display screen of FIG. 20 so that the pattern can be selected and the selected pattern can be selected. It is determined whether or not the pattern is correctly arranged within the display restricted area on the screen so that the pattern is sewn in a state where the pattern is arranged at a desired position in the sewing restricted area in the embroidery frame 24. "Intra-region determination processing" can be performed.

This determination process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. Here, it is assumed that the sewing restricted area on the embroidery frame 24 is a pentagon after rotation correction defined by vertices (1) to (5) and corresponding straight lines a to e as shown in FIG. explain. This coordinate system is set with the same XY coordinates as the needle drop position. The data used when displaying a pattern or the like on the screen is created based on the XY coordinate value (mm) of the needle drop position (data). Are identical.

Therefore, the calculation here will be described by taking as an example the case of the sewing limited area represented by the coordinate system on the embroidery frame 24. First, the coordinate values of all the points (1) to (5) specified for setting the restricted area are read out, and based on these points, the straight lines a to e defining the boundaries of the area are read out. An equation is obtained (step 61). In this example, the coordinate values of each position are listed in order from the start point (1). (1) (20,168) (2) (128,208) (3) (168,116) (4) (134,40) (5) (54, 74) When the equations representing the straight lines a to e are obtained based on the coordinate values of these points, the following is obtained. Straight line a Fa (X, Y) = 10X-27Y + 4336 Straight line b Fb (X, Y) = 23X + 10Y-5024 Straight line c Fc (X, Y) = 38X-17Y-4412 Straight line Fd (X, Y) = 17X + 40Y-3778 Straight line e Fe (X, Y) = 47X + 17Y-3796

Next, in order to create an expression for determining whether or not an arbitrary point is within the range of the above-described restricted area in which the boundary is defined by each straight line, an arbitrary point in the restricted area is obtained (step 62). ). Here, assuming that the restriction area is not concave, the middle point of the first point (1) and the third point (3) is set as a reference point JP for determination. Therefore, here, JP = (94, 142).
By substituting the coordinates of the reference point into the equations of the straight lines a to e obtained as described above, a relational expression within and outside the restricted area with respect to the straight line is obtained (step 63). Specifically, each straight line a to
By substituting the coordinate values of JP into e and finding the positive / negative relationship, the following is obtained. Fa (94, 142)> 0 Fb (94, 142) <0 Fc (94, 142) <0 Fd (94, 142)> 0 Fe (94, 142)> 0

From the above results, it can be seen that an arbitrary point O (nX, n
It is determined whether or not Y) is within the restricted area by using the coordinate values of the straight lines a to e.
In the case of substituting into the following expression, if it is in the relationship of the following determination expression, it can be determined that it is within the area. Fa (nX, nY)> 0 holds. Fb (nX, nY) <0 holds. Fc (nX, nY) <0 holds. Fd (nX, nY)> 0 holds. Fe (nX, nY)> 0 holds.

When the determination formula is obtained as described above, the preparation for the determination is completed. Thereafter, the needle drop data (coordinate values) of the actually selected and arranged pattern is called and each stitch is retrieved. Next, a determination is made using the above-described determination formula.

That is, the needle drop data (X,
The head address of the memory in which the (Y coordinate value) is stored is read and stored (step 64), a stitch number counter n is set, and 1 of the first stitch is set in the counter (step 6).
5).

Next, when there is out-of-area data, the "out-of-area" flag, which is a flag for storing the out-of-area data, is cleared (step 66), and the needle drop data is converted into coordinate values sequentially from the first stitch (step 66). 67). That is, since the needle drop data is expressed by the displacement amounts in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, when the arrangement position of the pattern is changed, it is necessary to replace the changed position with the coordinates of the embroidery frame 24. is there. In that case, conversion is performed with the lower left of the sewable area as the origin.

Next, an operation for determining whether or not the position of the coordinates of the n-th needle is within the range is performed using the determination formula obtained in step 63 (step 68). It is determined whether or not is within the area (step 6)
9). If it is within the range, the process proceeds to step 70 and the counter is set to n
= N + 1, and if out of range, the "out of range" flag is set in step 71, and the process also proceeds to step 70.

Next, it is confirmed whether or not all the needle drop data has been checked (step 72). If No, the process returns to the step 67. If Yes, it is determined whether or not all the needle drop data are within the area. Is determined (step 73). This can be determined by whether or not the "out of range" flag is set. If the flag is not set, the pattern on the screen is displayed in full tone (step 74). A message to that effect is displayed (step 75), and the pattern is displayed in halftone (step 76), and the determination process ends.

Next, a specific example of a display screen when the above-described determination processing is applied will be described. FIG. 32 is a sewing screen in which the pentagonal restricted area (range) 16C shown in FIG. 19 is set, and a character string pattern of “COUNTRY GIFT” is selected and arranged in the area. Since this is the first screen at the time of selection, the pattern is arranged at the center of the sewable area of the embroidery frame 24 and is displayed on the screen 16 at the center of the displayable area 16B.

To change the pattern arrangement from the state shown in FIG. 32, an "edit" key is pressed to select an edit screen. FIG. 33 shows an example of the editing screen, which corresponds to a state in which the pattern has been moved downward using the eight-direction key from the state of FIG. In addition, a rotation key is displayed on this screen,
With this key, the pattern can be rotated in units of 5 ° and 90 °.

When such a pattern is moved, processing is performed in units of rectangles indicating the size of the pattern. The rectangle surrounding the “CONTROL GIFT” pattern in FIG. 33 corresponds to this. However, this rectangle is shown for explanation, and is not displayed on the actual editing screen. The movement of the pattern here is such that, for example, when the pattern is moved to the left and reaches the sewing restricted area, that is, the left end of the display restricted area on the screen, further movement in the left direction is prohibited. ing. This prohibition process is performed by comparing the positional relationship between the left end of the sewing restriction area and the left end of the rectangle corresponding to the size of the pattern to determine whether or not the pattern is at the leftmost position.

In FIG. 33, the lower right corner of the rectangle protrudes from the restricted area, but the pattern of “CONTROL GIFT” itself is located at a position not protruding from the area. However, in such a delicate case, by operating an “in-confirmation” key displayed at the lower left of the drawing, it can be determined whether or not the arranged pattern is within the restricted area. If the pattern itself is within the range (area), the pattern is displayed in full tone as shown in FIG. 34, and if the pattern is partially protruded as shown in FIG. 35, a message to that effect is displayed and Although it is not clear in this figure, the pattern is displayed in halftone, so that the user can visually recognize that the pattern is out of range.

FIGS. 36 and 37 show examples in which different patterns are similarly arranged in the pentagonal area in different numbers, and both cases are within the area and are displayed in full tone. FIG. 38 shows the first edit screen when the closed area is set by performing the rotation correction shown in FIG. 27 and the like.
If a pattern "Life" is selected in this state, the pattern is displayed at the center of the screen and rotated so as to be parallel to the correction angle of the pentagon. At this stage,
Pressing the “confirmation in area” key deviates from the restricted area, so the pattern is displayed in halftone as shown in the figure. However, using the eight direction keys, as shown in FIG. When you move it, it will be displayed in full tone.

According to the present embodiment described in detail above, the display corresponding to the sewing limited area set inside the sewable area inside the displayable area on the screen corresponding to the sewable area in the embroidery frame 24. Since the restricted area is set and the sewing data in which the pattern is arranged inside the display restricted area is created, the sewing is performed according to the sewing data, so that the pattern is securely arranged in the sewing restricted area. Can be sewn. That is, as a result, a new sewing limited area is set in the sewable area corresponding to the inside of the embroidery frame 24, and the pattern can be reliably sewn in the limited area. ) Is set as the restricted area,
The pattern can be sewn in a state where it is arranged so as not to protrude from its shape.

After the sewing restriction area is set, "rotation correction" is performed on the area, so that the selected pattern is parallel to the rotated work such as the shape of the pocket. Can be arranged. In addition, by using the "confirmation in area" key, it is possible to confirm whether or not actual needle drop data is within the restriction area, so that the pattern can be arranged in the entire restriction area.

Although the present invention has been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, in order to set a sewing restricted area, that is, a display restricted area on the screen, a predetermined position (point) is designated, and a plane (closed area) is formed by a straight line created based on the point.
Is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a plane may be formed using a quadratic function (arc, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola) or the like.

Also, the case where the point for setting the display restriction area corresponding to the sewing restriction area is designated as the position of the frame in which the embroidery frame is relatively moved with respect to the needle has been described. Or a method of touching and specifying a corresponding point in the displayable area formed on the LCD 16 with the touch panel, and further sewing the sewing data obtained by combining the display limited area and the pattern data in advance with the sewing data of the present invention. Any method such as a method of creating data by an apparatus and reading data from an external storage device such as a storage medium storing the data may be used.

Such sewing data is not limited to being created by the sewing data creation device provided in the sewing machine as in the above-described embodiment, but can be created on the screen using a dedicated device such as a computer. Alternatively, the created sewing data may be stored in a storage medium.

Also, the case has been shown in which, when the "rotation correction" is performed after setting the display restriction area, the rotation is expressed by an angle rotated with respect to the horizontal X axis. You may make it express in a reference | standard. In addition, the method of “rotation correction” is not limited to rotation in units of a predetermined angle,
The numerical value may be input simply by inputting the rotation angle.

After setting the display restriction area, in order to confirm the sewing restriction area on the embroidery frame corresponding to the display restriction area, the embroidery frame 24 is moved so that the needle relatively moves along the area.
May be moved. In the above-described embodiment, when setting a point (position) that defines the restricted area, when one point is determined, the embroidery frame is moved from that point to set the next point. When the point is determined, the frame may always return to the center, and the frame may always be moved from the center similarly to the first point. Similarly, when the restricted area is set only on the screen without moving the embroidery frame, the point to be set next may always be generated at the center of the screen. In particular, when setting on a screen, there is an advantage that the moving distance of a point can be shortened depending on the positional relationship.

[0075]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The sewing can be performed so that the pattern is accurately arranged within an arbitrary range smaller than the sewable area corresponding to the inside of the embroidery frame.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of an embroidery sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of a control system of the embroidery sewing machine according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure for setting a restricted area according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a next operation procedure for setting a restricted area according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a menu screen for selecting a pattern type;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial screen for setting a restricted area.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a screen on which a first point defining a restricted area is set.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen on which a first point defining a restricted area is determined.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen before setting a second point that defines a restricted area.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen on which a second point defining a restricted area is set.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a screen on which a second point defining a restricted area has been determined;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen before setting a third point that defines a restricted area.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a screen on which a third point defining a restricted area is set.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a screen on which a third point defining a restricted area is determined.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen before setting a fourth point defining a restricted area.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen on which a fourth point defining a restricted area has been determined;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen before setting a fifth point that defines a restricted area.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen before a start key for defining a restricted area is pressed.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen on which a fifth point defining a restricted area is determined.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a menu screen on which a restricted area has been set.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure for changing a position for setting a restricted area.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the next operation procedure for changing the position for setting the restricted area.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen before a change position is selected.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen changed by selecting a change position.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen after a position change.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen before rotation correction.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory view showing a screen after rotation correction.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory view showing a screen having different display contents after rotation correction.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an in-area determination process;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing the next procedure of the area determination processing;

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a restricted area in a frame coordinate system.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen immediately after a pattern is selected on the restricted area setting screen.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen in which a pattern is moved downward;

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen on which a pattern after movement is within a restricted area.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen on which a pattern after movement is outside a restricted area;

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen in which another pattern is arranged in a restricted area.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen in which a plurality of other patterns are arranged in a restricted area.

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing an edit screen when there is rotation correction;

FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen immediately after a pattern is selected when there is rotation correction;

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen after moving a pattern when there is rotation correction;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Sewing machine main body 12 ... Sewing machine bed 14 ... Sewing machine head 16 ... Liquid crystal display part (LCD) 16A ... Various information input operation part 16B ... Displayable area 16C ... Display restriction area 24 ... Embroidery frame 32 ... Sewing control device 34 ... ROM 36 ... CPU 38 ... RAM

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3B150 AA07 AA15 CB04 CE03 CE09 CE27 GE28 GF02 GF03 GG04 JA07 LA66 LA67 LA73 LA74 LA78 LA80 NA28 NA61 NA62 NA79 NA80 NB09 NB18 NC06 QA06 QA07 QA08

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A display means for reading embroidery pattern data and displaying the corresponding pattern in a displayable area on a screen, and setting a display restricted area for limiting a displayable area of the pattern inside the displayable area. Setting means; designating means for designating an arrangement position of a pattern at a desired position in the display restricted area; and storing the pattern arranged at the designated position in the area together with the display restricted area as embroidery sewing data. A sewing data creation device, comprising: storage means. 2. The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the display restriction region is set in an arbitrary closed region, and has a function of arranging the pattern parallel or perpendicular to a reference axis set in the closed region. A sewing data creation device characterized by the following. 3. The sewing data creating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a function of issuing a warning when a pattern is arranged on the screen beyond the display restricted area by the specifying means. 4. The sewing device according to claim 1, further comprising an in-area confirmation function for confirming whether or not the pattern arranged on the screen by the designation means is in the area of the display restriction area. Data creation device. 5. The sewing data creating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the in-area confirmation function is executed for each step when the design position is moved and changed by the designating means. 6. A process for reading embroidery pattern data and setting a display restriction area for limiting a displayable area of the pattern inside a displayable area of a display means for displaying the corresponding pattern; A program for causing a computer to execute a process of designating an arrangement position of a pattern at a desired position, and a process of storing, as embroidery sewing data, a pattern arranged at a designated position in the display restriction area together with the display restriction area. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon. 7. A display means for reading embroidery pattern data and displaying a corresponding pattern in a displayable area on a screen, and setting a display restriction area for limiting a displayable area of the pattern inside the displayable area. Setting means; designating means for designating an arrangement position of a pattern at a desired position in the display restricted area; and storing the pattern arranged at the designated position in the area together with the display restricted area as embroidery sewing data. A stitch forming device having a storage means, and a stitch is formed by relatively moving a needle that moves up and down by rotation of a main shaft and an embroidery frame holding a cloth according to the embroidery sewing data. An embroidery sewing system comprising a sewing machine. 8. The sewable area according to claim 7, wherein the displayable area on the screen corresponds to a sewable area inside the embroidery frame, and the display restricted area is set inside the sewable area. An embroidery sewing system corresponding to a sewing restriction area for limiting an embroidery sewing range. 9. The embroidery sewing system according to claim 8, further comprising a function of setting the sewing limited area by a position of a needle which moves relatively by moving the embroidery frame. 10. The embroidery frame according to claim 8, wherein when the display restriction area is set on the screen, the embroidery frame is relatively moved so that the needle moves along the boundary of the corresponding sewing restriction area. An embroidery stitching system characterized in that: 11. The embroidery sewing system according to claim 10, wherein the relative movement of the embroidery frame with respect to the needle is executable during or after the setting operation on the screen.