JPH0154071B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Object of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an embroidery pattern creation device that creates embroidery data for an embroidery sewing machine that forms a desired pattern on fabric using stitches. In particular, the present invention relates to an embroidery pattern creation device that can easily and quickly create embroidery patterns.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, embroidery sewing machines use data that is recorded in advance on perforated tape, magnetic tape, etc., and represents the coordinate position where a sewing needle will fall, which is necessary to sew a certain pattern, so-called single-stitch data. Therefore it works. However, this makes it impossible to embroider patterns other than the combinations of patterns recorded on the various tapes mentioned above, so in recent years, new designs have been created by processing the single stitch data read from various tapes to some extent. An embroidery pattern creation device that creates one-stitch data for embroidering an embroidery pattern is provided. For example, after reading the one-stitch data, the one-stitch data is processed to enlarge the pattern or the like in accordance with the numerical value input by the operator, thereby making it possible to create a desired embroidery pattern. Although this type of embroidery pattern creation device allows you to create patterns freely, it is difficult to judge what kind of embroidery will be created based on the processed embroidery data. Many of them have newly added simulation functions.

That is, pattern data that is the basis of an embroidery pattern that has been stored in advance is extracted in response to the operator's operations and displayed on a display screen such as a CRT.
Then, the operator enlarges the pattern to display the pattern formed by the combination of patterns displayed on the screen.
You can move and edit freely, and CRT
This allows the operator to create any desired pattern on the screen. According to such an embroidery pattern creation device, by simulating the embroidery pattern on the CRT screen, the embroidery pattern can be confirmed in advance, and the embroidery work can be simplified.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned embroidery pattern creation device also has the following problems.

In a conventional embroidery pattern creation device, the format of the pattern data stored in advance is a piece of completed information so that the pattern can be immediately embroidered using the data. That is, the pattern data is stored as position information from a pattern reference position determined for each pattern. Therefore, if you specify the pattern reference position of the pattern you want to draw on the CRT screen, the stored position information centered on that pattern reference position will be displayed, allowing you to display the desired pattern.

However, as described above, independent position information is stored for each pattern, and each pattern displayed on the display screen is also independent. Because all of the pattern data is independent, the following problems occur when creating embroidery patterns.

When displaying a desired pattern by placing many patterns at arbitrary positions on a CRT screen, the pattern consisting of several patterns is considered to be one completed small pattern, and the entire small pattern is moved, reversed, and rotated. There may be cases where you want to make changes, corrections, etc.
For example, this is the case when moving a word mark, a word mark and a figure mark, etc. to another position. In such a case,
Conventionally, the only way to do this was to move the multiple patterns that made up that small pattern one by one.
As a small pattern, I had to destroy the already completed pattern again. Therefore, it takes an extremely long time to create a complex embroidery pattern using many patterns, and the efficiency of pattern creation is low.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems. By treating a small pattern consisting of multiple patterns as one completed pattern, the present invention facilitates the creation of embroidery patterns, improves its effectiveness, and increases the number of embroidery patterns. To provide an excellent embroidery pattern creation device capable of creating an embroidery pattern in a short time even if it is a complex one consisting of a combination of patterns.

Structure of the Invention [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following structure. That is, the embroidery pattern creation device of the present invention, as illustrated as a block diagram in FIG. Pattern storage means C1 that stores a set of positional information with reference position PA0 as the origin
and a pattern selection means C2 for selecting a desired pattern p from among the plurality of patterns pi stored in the pattern storage means C1, each of the selected patterns pi being placed at the pattern reference position for each pattern. A display memory C3 stores display information such as the arrangement position and display format of PA0 in a predetermined area, and at least two or more patterns pi from among the plurality of patterns pi stored in the display memory C3 are stored as elements. Define a primary set G1, a secondary set G2 whose element is the primary set G1, and sequentially higher-order sets G,
a set reference position setting means C4 that sets a set reference position GA0 as one of the display information for each defined set G; The pattern pi is set at the pattern reference position PA0 and the set reference position GA0.
Display control means C5 displays the arbitrary gathering reference position GA0 set by the gathering reference position setting means C4 at a predetermined position on the two-dimensional display screen D.
A moving means C6 that moves to another position above, and when the set reference position GA0 is moved, all sets G and patterns pi that are elements of the set G having the set reference position GA0 are set. a movement amount calculation means C7 for calculating the movement amount of the assembly reference position GA0 and the pattern reference position PA0 according to the movement amount of the moved assembly reference position GA0; Information correction means C8 for correcting the pattern reference position PA0 and assembly reference position GA0 stored in the memory C3; and the storage contents of the display memory C3 for realizing the embroidery pattern formed on the two-dimensional display screen D. The gist of the present invention is to include a one-stitch data creation means C9 for creating one-stitch data to be executed by the embroidery sewing machine.

[Function] To explain the overall function of the embroidery pattern creation device of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, this device adjusts a plurality of selected patterns pi (characters, symbols, etc.) to the placement position of the pattern reference position PA0, display form, etc. is stored in a predetermined area of the display memory C3 together with the display information of
Each time, the set reference position GA0 is set as one of the display information. The plurality of patterns pi stored in this way are displayed at pattern reference positions according to the display information.
It is displayed at a predetermined position on the two-dimensional display screen D together with PA0 and the assembly reference position GA0, but if any assembly reference position GA0 is moved to another position on the two-dimensional display screen D in this state, The following processing is performed.

When the set reference position GA0 of any set G is moved, the amount of movement of the set reference position GA0 and pattern reference position PA0 set in all sets G and patterns pi included in that set G is changed to Calculated according to the movement amount of the set reference position GA0,
According to this calculated movement amount, display memory C
3, those reference positions stored as display information are corrected. As a result, the display position on the two-dimensional display screen D is also changed.

The embroidery pattern creation device of the present invention creates one-stitch data based on the stored contents of the display memory C3 that realizes the embroidery pattern on the two-dimensional display screen D edited in this way.

Here, the pattern storage means C1 is for storing minimum unit patterns, such as alphanumeric characters and symbols, when creating an embroidery pattern. Furthermore, the pattern storage format is unique in that a reference position defined for each pattern is set as the origin, and a set of displacement points from this origin is stored as a set of so-called positional information representing points for embroidery.

The pattern storage means C2 is the pattern storage means C2.
A desired pattern is selected from among a plurality of patterns pi stored in the embroidery pattern p, and a pattern p is selected as an element for creating an embroidery pattern.

The display memory C3 is the selected pattern pi.
Each of them is stored in a predetermined area (address, etc.) together with display information, and is constructed of a semiconductor memory, magnetic or optical storage medium. Here, the display information refers to the display form of the pattern pi (font, size, pattern spacing, etc.), the arrangement position (coordinates) of the pattern reference position PA0, and the like.

The set reference position setting means C4 defines at least two or more patterns pi among the plurality of patterns pi stored in the display memory C4 as one set (primary set), and further defines in this way. We define a large set (quadratic set) that is a collection of several primary sets, and sequentially higher-order sets. Then, for each set defined in this way, set reference position
Set GA0 as one of the display information. Therefore, reference positions are set for each set, and these reference positions GA0 are displayed on the two-dimensional display screen D together with the pattern reference position PA0 by the display control means C5.

The display control means C5 displays the pattern pi on the two-dimensional display screen D together with these reference positions. Therefore, it becomes easy to visually confirm the pattern pi, which is a constituent element of the embroidery pattern.

The moving means C6 moves any one of the many collection reference positions GA0 scattered on the two-dimensional display screen D to another position on the two-dimensional display screen D. Therefore, only one set reference position GA0 can be compared to many other set reference positions GA0.
change position relative to

When the superposition reference position GA0 is moved, the movement amount calculation means C7 calculates the set reference positions GA0 and This is to calculate the amount of movement of the pattern reference position PA0.

According to the movement amount thus calculated, the information correction means C8 corrects the pattern reference position PA0 and the set reference position GA0 stored in the display memory C3. Since the display control means C5 displays according to the contents stored in the display memory C3, the display on the two-dimensional display screen D is also corrected. In other words, even the display position of pattern pi, which is a low-order component, is finally changed.

As described above, the pattern is displayed on the two-dimensional display screen D.
pi is freely moved and the desired embroidery pattern is finally displayed on the two-dimensional display screen D. The needle drop point coordinate data, thread color data, etc. necessary for embroidering are created by the one-stitch data creation means C9. In other words, the information that realizes the displayed embroidery pattern is
Since it is stored in the display memory C3, one-stitch data is created according to this.

Hereinafter, in order to further clarify the structure and operation of the embroidery pattern creating device of the present invention, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[Embodiment] Configuration of the Embodiment FIGS. 2 to 6 are explanatory diagrams of the system configuration of a multi-needle embroidery sewing machine centering on an embroidery pattern creating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the configuration will be described in detail with reference to each of the above drawings.

As shown in the external perspective view of FIG. 2, the entire system includes a two-head type multi-needle embroidery machine 10 having a plurality of sewing needles for each head, and transmits embroidery data to the multi-needle embroidery machine 10. and an embroidery pattern creation device 60 for forming a desired embroidery pattern.

The multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 has been completed as a well-known automatic embroidery machine, and uses, for example, single-stitch data representing position data of sewing points of an embroidery pattern and multi-needle sewing needles from a tape reader (not shown) or the like. When embroidery data consisting of selection data indicating whether to perform embroidery is input, embroidery faithful to the data is performed. In the figure, multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 1
A driver unit 20 installed at the bottom of the embroidery machine 20 decodes the above embroidery data, and operates a needle change motor 58 that changes the sewing needle, and a motor that moves the frame body 32 holding the embroidery frame 30 in the X and Y directions. It controls a pair of pulse motors 36, 38, a sewing motor 57 that moves the sewing needle up and down to form stitches, and the like. Note that the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 includes an encoder 34 that detects the number of rotations of the main shaft that moves the sewing needle up and down, as well as an upper thread sensor (not shown) that detects cutting of the upper thread, and the position of the sewing needle. It is equipped with sensors necessary for drive control of the various motors mentioned above, such as a needle bar sensor 54, and provides detection signals to the driver unit 20.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the mechanism of the frame 32 and a set of pulse motors (X-Y motors) that drive in the X and Y directions. As shown in the figure,
If the belts 40 and 42 that are spanned in a V-shape are to be rotationally driven by a gear fitted to the output shaft of the motor 38, a roller 44 that is fitted to the belts 40 and 42 and fitted to the frame 32 is used. , 46 are moved, and the frame body 32 can be moved in the X direction and the Y direction.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the above system more simply, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 centering on the driver unit 20.

As illustrated, an embroidery pattern creating device 60 according to the embodiment
Communication is performed using the driver unit interface RS422 of the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10.
Responsible for creating embroidery data. Then, while decoding the transmitted embroidery data, the driver unit 20 receives detection outputs from the encoder 34 described above, the needle thread detection device 52 having the needle thread sensor 50, and the color change device 56 having the needle bar sensor 54. is determined, X motor 36, Y motor 3
8. Execute control of the sewing motor 57 and needle change motor 58. Configuring the driver unit 20
The CPU 20A executes information processing according to the contents of the ROM 20B which stores the above-mentioned control procedures. Interface (I/F) 20D~2
0F converts the detection signal from each sensor to digital, temporarily stores it, and responds to the readout signal from the CPU 20A, and controls each motor controller 20G to 2.
7I performs D/A conversion and amplification of the control signal from the CPU 20A to generate drive signals for each motor.

Note that the controller 59 is a device that can make slight changes to the embroidery data etc. input to the driver unit 20 to vary the embroidery pattern.

As mentioned above, the driver unit 20 is configured as a logic operation circuit and processes digital signals. Therefore, the embroidery pattern creating device 60 of this embodiment is also configured as a logical operation circuit as shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 60A, which executes logical operations, reads and processes the contents of the ROM 60B, which stores various control programs to be described later, in accordance with inputs from the mouse 60C and the keyboard 60D. In addition, the information necessary for the above processing is stored on the hard disk drive (HD6).
0F, flexible disk drive (FDD)
The information is read out as appropriate from the magnetic disk attached to the 60E, and the processed information is stored on the same disk. What kind of processing is the CPU 60A currently executing?
In addition, in order to easily understand the processing results and commands that can be input, a CRT 60G is provided that displays images on a two-dimensional display screen, and as is well known, the CRT controller 60H is equipped with a video RAM 60J.
controls the display contents of the screen while reading the contents of the
The CPU 60A controls the operation of the CRT controller 60H, and changes the storage contents of the video RAM 60J as appropriate. Note that the RAM 60K is a volatile memory element that temporarily stores information to assist the logical operations of the CPU 60A, and the I/Fs 60L and 60M are interfaces for the mouse 60C and keyboard 60D, which are input means. Further, another interface I/F 60N is an RS422 interface that enables communication with the driver unit 20 described above.
The embroidery data is transmitted.

Embroidery pattern creation device 60 configured as described above
The minimum unit embroidery pattern (hereinafter referred to as a pattern), which is the basis for embroidery, is stored in advance in the hard disk attached to the HD60F. The structure of this information will be explained next.

FIGS. 7 to 10 are explanatory diagrams of pattern information stored on the hard disk. The pattern information stored on the hard disk is stored as a style master file as shown in FIG. In other words, it is obvious that preparing a variety of patterns is most convenient for creating embroidery patterns. Furthermore, even within the same alphabet, there are patterns in various styles such as block fonts, printed fonts, and floral fonts. Therefore,
These patterns have the same relevance (same style)
It is managed and stored as a file for each style as a collection of patterns.
Files for each style are read by specifying the name of the style from the style master file, and there are three files: index search file, index file, and data file.
Seed files are available. This is because the pattern data that ultimately specifies the shape of each pattern is stored in the data file.
This is to facilitate data management and to shorten data search time since pattern data of one style contains too much information.

First, I will explain the data file.
Figures 8 to 10 are explanations of column data stored in the data file, with Figure 8 being an explanatory diagram of column data expressing the same alphabet letter "A" in various styles; 9
The figure is a column explanatory diagram of the style shown in FIG. 8A, and FIG. 10 represents the data representation of the column of FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 8, each pattern is expressed as a set of columns of rectangles and arcs. for example,
Since there are various styles for the same alphabet "A", the patterns are classified according to each style, and the A, B, and C diagrams are stored in files with different style names.

Here, as an example, column data of the character "A" in the style shown in FIG. 8A will be explained. Figure 9A
As shown in Figure 9A, there are four types of columns: thick rectangles and circular arcs, and thinner straight lines and circular arcs. The pattern consists of five columns numbered 1 to 5. This order indicates the order in which each column is sewn, and embroidery is done in ascending order of numbers. The numbers up to ~ in the figure represent position data to express each column, and the coordinates of ~ are set at the vertices of the rectangular columns, and the coordinates of ~ are set at the vertices of the rectangular columns, and the vertices of the rectangular columns and the This is a special type where and have the same coordinates. The position data ~ representing each column are positioned according to a rectangular coordinate system determined for each pattern. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing each position data ~ of the five columns shown in FIG. 9A together with actual numerical values. As is clear from the figure, in this example, the point in column No. 1 and the point in column No. 4 are defined as the origin of the rectangular coordinate system (hereinafter referred to as character origin). These columns form a pattern by using the character origin as the starting point for embroidery and sewing the area surrounded by the straight line ``Boint'', which is the width of the character, as shown in Figure 9B.

Next, it will be explained that even if each pattern is stored as a set of columns as described above, it is possible to accurately perform embroidery as shown in FIG. 9B.

As mentioned above, there are two types of columns: rectangular columns (straight lines are a special case of this, and they are essentially the same) and circular arc columns (similarly, thick circular arcs are a special case). It is broadly divided into Therefore, it will be shown that for these two types of columns, data on needle drop points to be embroidered can be created from data on a few points representing the vertices, etc.

In Figure 11, the distance from the character origin CO is (x ₁ , y ₁ ), (x ₂ , y ₂ ), (x ₃ , y ₃ ),
The column defined by points 1S, 2S, 3S, and 4S, represented by (x ₄ , y ₄ ). It can be seen that in order to sew this column as shown, it is sufficient to calculate the sewing point movement distances Δx ₁ , Δy ₁ and Δx ₂ , Δy ₂ . The procedure for calculating the sewing point movement distances Δx ₁ , Δy ₁ and Δx ₂ , Δy ₂ is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12. This is a procedure that is always executed when sewing this type of column in the CPU 60A when embroidery data is created by the embroidery pattern creation device 60. First, in CPU60A, four points (x ₁ ,
When it is determined that the column consists of y ₁ ), (x ₂ , y ₂ ), ..., (x ₄ , y ₄ ), step 101 is executed.
The sides (x ₁ , y ₁ ), (x ₂ , y ₂ ), (x ₃ , y ₃ ) and (x ₄ ,
(xm _{1 ,} ym ₁ ), (xm ₂ ,
ym ₂ ) is calculated.

Next, in step 102, the result (xm ₁ , ym ₁ )
The column average length L is calculated using (xm ₂ , ym ₂ ). Then, in the following step 103, the stitch density P (number of times/cm) for sewing the column, which has been input in advance before executing this type of processing, as described later.
Four types of values, ie, the desired sewing point movement distances Δx ₁ , Δy ₁ and Δx ₂ , Δy ₂ , are calculated from the average length L of the column. As a result of the above operations, uniform stitch position data and single stitch data can be obtained with a desired number of pitches.

Next, the case of the curved column shown in FIG. 13 will be explained in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 14 and 16. This type of column is different from the rectangular column shown in FIG. 11, and as shown in FIG. 13, from the character origin CO, (x ₁ , y ₁ ), (x ₂ , y ₂ ),
..., points 1S to 5S up to (x ₅ , y ₅ ) are displayed. Therefore, as mentioned above, the CPU
When 60A determines that the column to be processed is a column consisting of five points, it executes step 201 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step 201, first, point (x ₁ , y ₁ ),
2 consisting of (x ₂ , y ₂ ), (x ₃ , y ₃ ), (x ₄ , y ₄ )
Find the midpoints (xm ₁ , ym ₁ ) and (xm ₂ , ym ₂ ) of the line segment. Next, in step 202, calculate the equation of one circle passing through the three points, the two midpoints found earlier and the sewing point (x ₅ , y ₅ ), and calculate the center point (x0, y0) of the circle. and its radius R is calculated.

In the following step 203, a circle with radius R centered at (x0, y0) and points (xm ₁ , ym ₁ ), (xm ₂ , ym ₂ )
Calculate the following two quantities based on and. First, line segment (x0, y0, (xm ₁ , ym ₁ ) and line segment (x0, y0),
The average angle α of the inclinations α1 and α2 of (xm ₂ , ym ₂ ) from the horizontal line, and then the intersection point P ₅₁ (x ₅₁ , y ₅₁ ) between the straight line of the angle α and the circle centered on the point O are determined.

Then, in the next step 204, the line segment (x ₁ ,
The average β of the angles β ₁ and β 2 formed by y ₁ ), (x ₂ , y ₂ ), (x ₃ , y ₃ ) (x ₄ , _{y 4} ) with the horizontal axis is calculated, and the following step
At 205, an equation of a straight line passing through the point P ₅₁ and having an inclination of β with respect to the horizontal axis is calculated.

In step 206, the lengths l ₁₃ and l ₂₃ of straight lines passing through the point P ₅₁ obtained in step 205 described above are determined using the equations in the figure. That is, the width at the midpoint is determined so that the width of the arc changes evenly. Then, in the next step 207, the coordinates Pm ₃ and Pm ₄ at the positions of lengths l ₁₃ and l ₂₃ on the straight line are calculated, and in the following step 208, the equation of a circle passing through the coordinates Pm ₃ and points 1S and 3S is calculated. In 209 the coordinates Pm ₄ and the point
The equation of the circle passing through 2S and 4S is calculated, and the outer shape of the arc column is determined.

Once the outer shape of the arcuate column is determined as explained in FIGS. 13 and 14 above, the calculation of the actual sewing point on the outer shape as shown in FIG. /cm)
The process is executed according to the flowchart of FIG. 16 using .

In the arc routine shown in Fig. 16, first the length of the circle (Pm ₁ , P ₅₁ , Pm ₂ ) passing through the center of the arc and the average column length L are calculated from the center angle θ (=α1 - α2) and radius R. (step 210), next step
211, the average column length L is divided by the stitch density P, which is the total number of stitches.

In this way, when the number of sewing points on the circular arc is determined, the movement angles S1θ and S2θ per stitch are adjusted according to the circular arc 1S, Pm ₃ ,
It is found as one angle when 3S and arcs 2S, Pm ₄ and 4S are equally divided by the total number of stitches.

Then, in the process of step 213, the number of stitches n is set to 0, and in step 214 it is determined whether the variable n is equal to the total number of stitches calculated in step 211, and if it is, this routine otherwise, proceed to the following processing.

In step 215, the variable n is incremented by "1", and in the following step 216, the moving angle S1θ is multiplied by the variable n, and the position data on the arcs 1S, Pm ₃ , and 3S, which have advanced one step, are obtained in step 217. Calculated.

And this column is a column with no width (1S=
2S, 3S = 4S) is determined in step 218.
If it is a column with no width, return to step 214 again to reduce calculation time and create an arc.
The next sewing position on the arc of 1S, Pm ₃ and 3S is calculated.

If the judgment in step 218 is that the column is not a widthless column, the subsequent steps 219 and 220 are executed, and an arc advanced by the variable n times at the movement angle S2θ is created.
The positional data of the sewing points on 2S, Pm ₄ and 4S are calculated, and the process returns to step 214.

As described above, the embroidery pattern creation device 6 of this embodiment
0 stores a pattern in a data file as a set of columns expressed by multiple points, such as a 4-point column, a 5-point column, and a 6-point column. Therefore, it becomes possible to significantly compress information.

Also, the data structure is as shown in Figure 7.
Before the coordinates indicating each column data, the number of parts indicating how many columns the pattern consists of and the width of the pattern are stored together.

Data representing each pattern is thus created and stored in the HD 60F as a data file. As shown in FIG. 7, in order to quickly search the huge amount of data created in this way, the first addresses b ₁₁ , b ₁₂ , etc. where the data of each pattern in the data file is stored are stored. An index file is created by collecting them.

This index file is a pattern that you want to search using, for example, ASCII key code or JIS code.
The structure is such that when specifying a ₁₁ or a ₁₂ , there is a one-to-one correspondence between the pattern and the address so that the address where the column data for that pattern is stored can be immediately retrieved.

Furthermore, the embroidery pattern creating device 60 of this embodiment has a seventh
As shown in the figure, an index search file is prepared so that even if the index file has a large capacity, the search time is shortened. In this method, a predetermined number of pairs of patterns and addresses in an index file are defined as one record, and only the code of the pattern at the beginning of each record is filed. According to this index search file, it is possible to instantly find out which record has the code of the pattern you want to search, and therefore, you can search for the desired data simply by searching the corresponding record in the index file. This is extremely useful for saving time, such as knowing the address of a file.

Operation of the Embodiment Next, how the embroidery pattern creation device 60 of this embodiment operates in the system configured as described above will be described.

When the CPU 60A of the embroidery pattern creation device 60 is started, it runs as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
Starts processing of the main program stored in the ROM 60B. This main program is a program that controls the overall operation of the embroidery pattern creation device 60. One process shown in each step is a complex one that is further divided into multiple processing routines, but to show the overall flow, we will briefly explain the process in each step in Figure 17 first, and then explain the process in more detail later. The processing routine will be explained.

First, when the embroidery pattern creation device 60 is started, menu screen 1 is displayed on the CRT 60G through the processing in step 300, and the operator can perform input operations such as selecting data and specifying constants while looking at the screen. . The data input in the process of menu screen 1 is used for processes such as auto scale set and group origin set, which are executed in the next step 301, and the calculations necessary to execute the pattern display process, which will be described later, are performed. It will be done. The process of step 302 is executed when preparations for pattern display processing are completed in this way, clearing menu screen 1 currently displayed on the CRT60G, changing menu screen 2 that can display the next pattern, This is the display process. Then, the embroidery pattern corresponding to the input work is displayed on the menu screen 2 (step 303).
The operator can visually check the pattern.
Editing step 304, which is executed after the above processing, is for visually checking the embroidery pattern on the menu screen 2 and making desired changes and corrections to finally create the desired embroidery pattern. In this way, embroidery data is created according to the pattern displayed on the CRT 60G.

The above series of main program processing is as follows.
When the ``BACK'' key is pressed, the system enters a reset state and returns to step 300, where it is possible to create a new embroidery pattern.

In this way, the embroidery pattern is created on the CRT 60G while following the main processing procedure. Below, the processing of each step described above will be explained in more detail.

FIG. 18 shows that the processing in step 300 described above
This is a display example of menu screen 1 displayed on CRT60G. The screen has four large blocks B1 to B.
It is divided into 4 parts. Block B1 is a style designation block for designating which style (font) the currently desired pattern is from among the many pattern data stored in the hard disk 60F mentioned above. The file with the style specified in this block (see Figure 7) is opened, and the lower index search files, index files, and data files are searched to find the desired pattern of data, that is, column data. It is read out.

Block B2 is an area with freely selectable pattern editing items, each pattern is displayed here as "Letter", its size, display interval between each pattern, height, sewing density, and inclination angle. , expanding/reducing the column width, expanding/reducing the pattern width,
Furthermore, all the items that can be changed or corrected when embroidering the pattern, such as the selection of sewing methods such as satin stitch or fill stitch, and the color of the embroidery thread, are displayed.

Block B3 is an area for setting the format of the embroidery pattern for the entire group when a plurality of patterns form one set (hereinafter referred to as a group). As shown in FIGS. 19 to 23, one group consisting of a plurality of patterns can be expressed in various ways, including vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and arc arrangement. Therefore, determine how this group will be arranged using numbers 1 to 6 set in Disposition. Here the number "1" is the 19th
2, horizontal arrangement as shown in Fig. 20, and vertical arrangement as shown in Fig. 21. "3" is a diagonal array going upward to the right as shown in Figure 22, "4" is a diagonal array descending to the right as shown in Figure 23, and numbers "5" and "6" are upper arc arrays (not shown), respectively. Represents the lower arc array. Center or Left means Disposition is "1"
When set to , the origin of the group is set to the midpoint of all groups as shown in Figures 19 and 20, and displayed in a so-called center distribution, or the left end of the group is set as the origin of the group and displayed left-justified. The number "0" is used to select whether
represents center distribution, and the number "1" represents left-justification. For Height Interval, Disposition is "3",
This has meaning when set to "4", and the second
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 23, it is used to determine how much adjacent patterns are to be displaced in the vertical direction (Y direction) to form a diagonal arrangement. Also, Radius
LF Interval is a variable that sets the Y-direction displacement between groups.

Block B4 is the area where the selected pattern is displayed, and the figure shows alphanumeric characters "ABC", "abc",
It illustrates three groups consisting of the three letters "123". These patterns are specified by pressing the corresponding keys on the keyboard 60D after determining what kind of embroidery pattern is desired for each of the blocks described above.

The above are the work items for menu screen 1,
In this embodiment, the settings on the menu screen 1 can be changed as follows. Multi-needle embroidery machine 10
Each head has many sewing needles, and each of these sewing needles can be equipped with a desired embroidery thread. Therefore, when executing the embroidery thread color setting (Color Code) in block B2 described above, the number of sewing needles and the color of the embroidery thread attached differs depending on each system. , it is desirable to be able to set them individually. Therefore, in this embodiment, the relationship between the sewing needle number and the embroidery thread color can be changed freely, and the relationship can be displayed on the CRT 60G in order to understand the status at a glance.

To the right of the "Color Code" line displayed at the bottom of block B2 in FIG. 18, seven rectangular columns are set, each displaying a different hue. This column corresponds to the color of the embroidery thread attached to each needle of sewing needles 1 to 7 (the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 of this embodiment uses up to 5 needles), and the left end is the color of the embroidery thread attached to each needle. It is possible to visually confirm the color of the embroidery thread set on needle "2", then the color of the embroidery thread set on needle "2", etc. For this reason,
When setting the color of each pattern mentioned above, select the desired color from the seven columns while visually checking it, and input from the keyboard the color in which column from the left the selected color is (the figure shows "1"). ” is entered from the keyboard), the sewing needle number can be set.

The above color settings are made using the flowchart shown in FIG. 24 stored in the ROM 60B and the color code table shown in FIG. 25 stored in the hard disk 60F. Here, the color code table is one in which seven color codes corresponding to hues are set in seven tables corresponding to sewing needle numbers 1 to 7. FIG. 26 is a correspondence table between the color code of this embodiment and the colors displayed on the CRT60G. That is, for example, if the color code is "1", the CRT controller 60H displays the predetermined display information of the video RAM 60J only in blue among the three primary colors (red, blue, green).

When the color displayed on the menu screen 1 is different from the color of the embroidery thread attached to the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 to be controlled, the operator operates the keyboard 60D to execute the process of the flowchart in FIG.
Have 0A execute it. The CPU 60A first sets the counter C to "1" (step 310), and receives a color code input from the operator using the keyboard 60D (step 311). Once the color code has been input, the C-th rectangular field from the left on the CRT60G is repainted with the color represented by that value (see Figure 26) (step 312), and the color code table shown in Figure 25 is repainted (step 312). Table No. "C"
The color code of is also rewritten in the same way (step 313). Each time the color display and color table are changed, the contents of counter C are incremented by 1 (step 314), and steps 311 to 314 are repeated again until the contents become 7 or more. Then, the changed color code table is stored in the hard disk 60F (step 316), and this routine ends.

As explained above, when the necessary input work based on menu screen 1 is completed (step 17 in Figure 17),
300), then auto scale set and group origin set (step 301 in the figure) are executed.

Figures 27, 28 and 29 are the steps.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the process of step 301 in detail and an explanatory diagram thereof. Each pattern appearing in block B4 on menu screen 1 is organized into groups and displayed on different lines by pressing a predetermined group division, for example, a carriage return key (see FIG. 18). The number of groups can be easily determined by remembering how many times the group separation operation has been performed at this time, but in the auto scale set and group origin set processes, this number of groups must be confirmed first (step 320). Next, the occupied area as a group and the origin for each group are calculated for all groups (step 321). In this calculation, the width and height of each pattern input in block B2 of the menu screen 1 are added together with the character spacing, and the arrangement method and display position of those patterns input in block B3 are also taken into account. It can be calculated by FIG. 28 shows an example of the calculation. The figure shows an example of displaying three groups, "AB", "1234", and "ab", arranged horizontally and distributed to the center. Group "AB" requires an area in the X direction of the pattern width ±W and an area in the Y direction of the pattern height H from the group origin (O, O) set at the center of center distribution. . In addition, the origin of the group "1234" is set at the point (O, -L), which is moved in the Y direction by the IF Interval value L from the group origin of the group "AB" above, and from there two patterns are moved in the X direction. width of
2W, an area of pattern height H in the Y direction is required. Similarly, for the pattern "ab", the group origin (O, -2L), two directions ±W, and the Y direction H are required.

Once the group origin and occupied area are determined for each group in this way, the maximum and minimum values of the occupied areas (X, Y) for all groups are then calculated (step 322). This is to extract the maximum and minimum values of the X coordinate value and Y coordinate value for each group as shown in Figure 28. If we follow the previous example, the minimum value min of all groups as shown in Figure 28 is extracted.
is (-2W, -2L), and the maximum value max is (2W, H).

Subsequently, in step 323, the embroidery origin is calculated. The embroidery origin is the only origin that is set in a single embroidery pattern when all groups are combined into one embroidery pattern. In this embodiment, the first group origin and the embroidery origin are defined to be the same.

Finally, a scale value is calculated (step 324). This is an actual size CRT6 embroidery pattern.
When it is too large to display at 0G,
This is a process to automatically reduce the size so that the entire pattern fits on the display screen. In this example, the 29th
X coordinate value that can be displayed on CRT screen as shown in the figure
Sequentially multiply the width (X coordinate) and height (Y coordinate) of the embroidery pattern by 1/2 so that the embroidery pattern falls within the range of CRT-X, Y coordinate values CRT-Y, and set it to (1/2) ⁿ . The whole pattern
When it fits within the CRT screen, its length in the X direction is
When LEN-X is set as {(CRT-X)-(LEN-
X)}/2=IN-X, when the length in the Y direction is LEN-Y, {(CRT-Y)-(LEN-Y)}/2=IN
-Y, values IN-X, IN-Y to the left and right of the CRT screen,
The embroidery pattern is displayed with blank space above and below. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 29, the embroidery pattern is aesthetically displayed in the center of the CRT screen. In addition, in order to teach the operator the magnification (1/2) ⁿ automatically calculated as described above, a straight line of the reference length is displayed at the corner of the CRT screen at the same scale, or A configuration such as displaying numerical values has been adopted.

Each time various settings for each pattern and each group are executed as described above, the CPU 60
A creates a parameter table for each word and group shown in Figure 30 A and B, and uses RAM 60K.
to be memorized. The word parameter table A in FIG. 30 is created for each pattern forming an embroidery pattern, and stores information necessary for embroidering a pattern including all the items determined on the menu screen 1 described above. The segment and offset represent address information that provides the column data storage location of the data file described above in FIG. The character origin X and Y coordinates are areas for storing the displacement from the group origin determined as described above, and the character size is a value input as a letter size from the menu screen. The character rotation angle and mirror image number can be found on Menu Screen 2, which will be described later.
This is the storage destination for parameters specified by subsequent input operations. Character width 1 is an area that stores the character width value as a preset value stored in the data file (see Figure 7), and character width 2 is the input value such as character size and character width % value from menu screen 1. The value determined by is stored. The character spacing, italic angle, color number, stem, fill stitch spacing, etc. are all stored in the input values from the menu screen 1 described above. The center of rotation X and Y coordinates are the storage locations for values determined by operations after menu screen 2, which will be described later. )
Information indicating how much is displaced from the origin of the pattern (character origin) is stored. Also,
The character width % value is the change percentage value of the character width 1 described above, the stitch interval is the stitch density explained in the column sewing point calculation, and the jump interval is 1.
The maximum value of the sewing point distance that can be moved per needle is stored, and the character height percentage value stores the preset character height change percentage value. Coordinates of play point (Xn,
Yn) is an arbitrary coordinate point set on the menu screen 2 to be described later, and an offset value from the pattern origin (character origin) is input respectively.

Group parameter table (Figure 30B)
is an area for storing parameters specific to a group defined as a set of multiple patterns.
For array, use the setting number of Disposition, for center distribution or left-justification, use the above Center or
Set the Lert setting number, Hight Interval to the setting value from Menu Screen 1, radius to the Redius setting value, and arc array center angle to set the center of the group to either 90° or 270° when in circular arrangement. LE INTERVAL stores the setting value of the menu screen 1, that is, whether to arrange the upper circular arc or the lower circular arc. Group first character
COUNT and group character COUNT store the address where the first data of a plurality of patterns constituting this group exist and the number of characters of the group, and represent the range of pattern information of the group. GROUP-GENTEN-X, Y stores information indicating how much the group origin of this group is displaced from the embroidery origin. Note that since the embroidery origin is automatically set to the group origin of the first group as described above, the values of this table for the first group are (O, O). Also,
The MIN-X, Y coordinates and the MAX-X, Y coordinates are areas for storing information giving the occupied area of the group as a whole.

In this way, the group parameter table and the pattern parameter table have an amount of information including all the contents set on the menu screen 1. Therefore, once the contents of each table are determined, the setting screen of menu screen 1 can be easily reproduced.

When the operator inputs using menu screen 1 and the information processing such as the explanation is completed, the CPU
60A is the display process of the menu screen 2 (step 302) and the pattern display process (step 302) in FIG.
303) and moves on to editing processing (step 304). FIGS. 31 to 34 are explanatory diagrams for explaining these processes in detail.

As shown in FIG. 31, the CPU 60A acts on the CRT controller 60H to clear menu screen 1 shown in FIG. 18, and displays menu screen 2 as shown. Block B in the figure
2, B3, and B4 are the parts of menu screen 2 that are required to be displayed in the process of step 302,
Block B2 is a display section where a so-called microcomputer is displayed in a cyclical manner to display each command as shown in Fig. 32 A, B, and C as pictograms, and block B3 is a display section that displays commands that are subordinate to the commands specified by the microcomputer. The command display area shown in FIG. 1 and the block B4 are check display areas that display which pattern or group is the target of processing based on each command specified as described above.

Block B1, which occupies the largest area on menu screen 2 shown in FIG.
This is a pattern display section in which the result of executing the pattern display process 303 is displayed. In other words, the settings on Menu Screen 1 determine the style of characters to be embroidered, their size and inclination, the arrangement of groups of multiple characters, etc., and the embroidery pattern obtained when embroidery is executed based on these data. will be fully specified. Therefore, we created a simulation of the embroidery pattern obtained from these data using CRT60G.
It is executed on the display screen.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the pattern display processing in step 303 in more detail. After reading the group parameters that store information about all the groups entered on menu screen 1 (step 330), the value of the array (Disposition) of that group is determined (step 330).
331). Depending on this value, if it is "1", horizontal array "2"
If so, the patterns constituting each group are arranged vertically (steps 332 to 339).
At this time, only in the case of horizontal arrangement (value "1"), it is determined whether the display should be centered or left-justified (step 332). In this way, when the arrangement of one group is completed, it is determined whether the processing of all groups has been completed (step
340), repeat the above steps until processing of all groups is completed.
After repeatedly executing the processes from step 330 to step 339, the process moves to step 304 described above. In addition, when displaying all the groups, each pattern is displayed as a set of columns as shown in FIG. 31. That is, it is stored in the data file of each pattern. Only the outline of the column connecting each point of the 4-point or 5-point column is displayed, and the detailed data display for each stitch described above in FIGS. 11 to 16 is not performed. As is clear from Fig. 31, it is easy to understand the embroidery pattern even when it is displayed as a collection of columns, and an increase in the load on the CPU 60A caused by displaying more detailed information can be avoided. The system has been simplified and processing speed has been improved. In the figure, the upper right apex and lower left apex of the rectangle indicated by thin lines surrounding each group are the MAX and MIN coordinate positions of each group, and the + mark at the lower left of each pattern indicates the multiple columns representing that pattern. The character origin, which is the origin, is indicated by the ● mark marked at the center bottom of each group. The embroidery origin is defined at a position that overlaps with the group origin of the top group.

In this way, the embroidery pattern set on the menu screen 1 can be visually confirmed on the menu screen 2, but the embroidery pattern data is simply entered as numerical values as on the menu screen 1 mentioned above. Therefore, it is conceivable that the user would like to change or modify the embroidery pattern displayed on the menu screen 2 as shown in FIG. 31. Editing processing (step 304) is utilized in such cases, and a detailed flowchart of this processing will be described below.

34A and 34B are flowcharts showing the editing process in step 304 in detail. As shown in the figure, this flowchart performs branch processing in which a large number of processes can be arbitrarily selected. It is inefficient for an operator to memorize commands for so many processes, and this results in a decrease in operability. Therefore, in this embodiment, a command is input by visually pointing to the icon shown in FIG. 32 with the mouse 0C. When the editing process in step 304 is started, the mouse 60 is first pressed.
Input which display on the CRT60G screen was instructed by C (step 350), and select it as the third
Determine whether the icon shown in Figure 2 is within the displayed icon area (step
351). In addition to the editing process using icons, there are main commands such as changing the icon display from the state shown in Figure 32 A to Figure B or C, and terminating this editing process. It is to judge whether it has been done. If it is outside the icon area, the process moves to steps 380 and below in Figure 34B, and if it is inside the icon area, the process moves to the icon page (Figure 32A, B,
The processing (steps 352 to 372) of the designated icons (where C corresponds to pages 1, 2, and 3) is executed. The processing of each icon will be further explained in detail using a flowchart to be described later, and here the processing when a main command is specified will be described. . First, when it is determined in step 351 that the command is outside the icon area, it is determined in the following step 380 whether or not it is a main command. If it is not the main command, the position indicated by the mouse 60C is invalid and the process returns to step 350 to prompt re-input. Furthermore, when the command is a main command, processing proceeds depending on which area of the main command is specified.
In other words, if the next page of icons is specified, the display of the icon area changes from A to B to B in Figure 32.
The icon is changed cyclically from C to A, and from C to A (step 381), and if the previous icon page has been designated, a process for returning the icon display to the previous display content is executed (step 382). If "EXIT" has been instructed, it is determined that an instruction has been given to end the editing process, and the end flag EXIT-FLG is reset (step 383). After processing according to the position indicated by the mouse, step 384 is executed, and if the end flag is reset to "0", the main editing process is ended and step 305 of the main program shown in FIG. 17 is executed. Otherwise, the process returns to step 350 and waits for input from the mouse 60C.

Next, details of each editing process in steps 353 to 372 will be explained.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart detailing the LETTER WIDTH process in step 353 specified when "A" in the icon area is designated with the mouse 60C. This process can be roughly divided into four parts. The first is the introduction process from step 401 to step 404, and the second is from step 406 to step 404.
411 target identification process, third step is step 412 ~ step
418 is a group editing process, and step 4 is a character editing process from step 419 to step 424.

For the installation process, first click on the menu screen 2.
In the command display section, block B3, each command "GRP.INC" necessary for target identification processing is displayed.
Processing to display "GRP.DEC", "CAR.INC", and "CAR.DEC" is performed (step 401). As will be clear from the explanation below, the commands displayed on each command display section switch all at once, and three types of display are possible. These three types of command displays are associated with numbers, and are hereinafter referred to as command page "0," command page "1," and command page "2." Next, input from the mouse 60C is accepted (step 402), and if the input is "EXIT", the process returns to step 350 to enable other editing processing; otherwise, the process proceeds to the command page ( Step 404). At the first time of this process, the command page "0" is set in step 401, so the process moves to the target specifying process in steps 405 to 411. Here, a pattern to be edited is specified. Identification may be done on a group-by-character basis, and the cursor that was displaying the character origin of the first character of the first group displayed on the menu screen 2 in the initial state is moved to the mouse 60C.
If you specify the command area of "GRP.INC" with , the group advances so that the character origin of the first character of the next second group is displayed (
406). Conversely, when the command area of "GRP.DEC" is specified, the group retreats (step
407). "CAR.INC" is a command area used when you want to further specify characters within a specific group. When this area is specified with the mouse 60C, the cursor that was displaying the origin of characters within the group will move to the first position. The process moves forward from the second character to the next character (step 408). Then, in step 409, a process opposite to this process is executed. After repeating steps 402 to 409 until the desired group or character is specified, if the "SCROLL" command is issued, the corresponding character will be displayed in the check display area, which is block B4 on the menu screen 2. (Step 410), and then command page "1" is set (Step 411). Therefore, the process that returns to step 402 is branched by the command page determination process in step 404 and proceeds to the next group editing process (steps 412 to 418).
When this process starts, the command display area of menu screen 2 will display "G.WIDTH+", "G.WIDTH-",
The characters "WIDTH.ST", "RATIO.ST", and "SCROLL" are displayed. When the "G.WIDTH+" command is specified, the width of all characters in the specified group is recalculated so that it increases by the value displayed in the "RATIO" display area on menu screen 2 ( Step 413). "G.WIDTH-"
conversely, calculates to reduce the character width by the displayed value of "RATIO" (step 414), and "WIDTH.ST" uses the value directly input from the keyboard 60D as the value of "RATIO" when recalculating the above. This is a command that instructs the process to be used (step 415). Utilizing the results of such recalculation, after any one of steps 413 to 415 is performed, the corresponding group is redisplayed (step 416), and the character width can be increased or decreased by a desired value. Further, when "RATIO.ST" is specified, a process is executed in which the numerical value displayed in the above "RATIO" is inputted from the keyboard 60D (step 417), and the above-mentioned "G.WIDTH+",
A single operation of "G.WIDTH-" changes the character width RATIO. These steps
402~Step 404 and Step 412~Step
When the corresponding group has been redisplayed through the process of step 417, or when the above-mentioned process of this command page "1" is not necessary, specify "SCROLL" with the mouse 60C to execute step 418 and display the following command page "2". " is set and the process moves to character editing processing (steps 419 to 424). In this character editing processing, width change editing similar to the group editing processing described above is performed for each character. At this time, If you specify "L.WIDTH+" displayed in the command display area with the mouse 60C, the width increase will be recalculated based on the change in the corresponding character displayed in "RATIO" (step 420), and "L.
WIDTH-", the width reduction is recalculated by the same change (step 421), and
If you specify "WIDTH.ST", the width increase/decrease will be recalculated according to the keyboard input value (step
422). Then, the result of recalculation in any one of steps 420 to 422 is determined in step 423.
The image will be redisplayed on the CRT60G and the editing work will be completed. When processing of this command page is no longer necessary, the command page can be set to "0" again by instructing "SCROLL".

The above is the WIDTH editing process, and as is clear from the above explanation, by selecting this process, you can freely make the pattern group displayed on menu screen 2 or the characters within it wider. , on the other hand, you can make changes such as making it thinner.

Figure 36 is executed when the icon in Figure 32 indicates the area where the concave-convex lens is displayed.
This is a detailed flowchart of SIZE processing. As is clear from the figure, this flowchart is based on the 35th
The configuration is similar to that shown in the figure, and the processing of steps 431 to 441 is the same as that of steps 401 to 411 described above. Also, changes to the command page,
The configuration is the same, such as making changes based on the numbers displayed in RATIO or making changes based on the values input from the keyboard. In other words, this time the only difference is that the size of the pattern is changed when recalculating the specified group or character using the RATIO display value or keyboard input value (steps 433 to 445, step 450). ~Step 452).
By executing this editing process, the corresponding group and the characters within it can be freely enlarged or reduced.

Below, in the same way, when you specify a pictogram representing the interval between icons, when you specify a pictogram with the letter A slanted, and when you specify a pictogram STM, "INTERVAL", "ITALIC",
Figure 37 shows a detailed flowchart of “STEM”.
It is shown in FIGS. 38 and 39. As can be easily understood from the figures, these have the same configuration as the above-mentioned Figs. 35 and 36, and are simply recalculated to determine the spacing between letters, the inclination angle of the letters, and the embroidery angle of the letters. The thickness (column width) is subject to change.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of a rotation process executed in response to an instruction using an icon as described above. This process is similar to the above, identifying groups and characters, and then executing editing processing based on the RATIO display value or keyboard input value, and the overall flow is the same. However, for the purpose of increasing the degree of freedom in rotation editing, the following unique processing is executed when instructing ``CENTER'' when command page ``1'' is selected. As shown in FIG. 41, each character is expressed as position data centered on the character origin. Therefore, the result obtained by recalculating these numerical values using the rotation angle θ can only execute the process of rotating the character around this character origin. Therefore, this "CENTER" command is executed to set the "rotation center" that is the center when rotating characters using the mouse 60C. This command sets the "center of rotation"
If you specify (coordinates a, b from the character origin),
Inside the CPU 60A, the coordinates of the column data of the corresponding characters described above are converted in accordance with the program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 42, and the subsequent rotation processing is executed. That is, the column data is first converted into coordinate data with the origin of the "center of rotation" (step 500). This converted column data is rotated using the rotation angle θ, which is the RATIO display value or keyboard input value (step
501). Finally, the rotation result is converted back to the original coordinate system, that is, the coordinate system of the character origin (step 502).

By reading and executing the character rotation routine shown in FIG. 42 using the "CENTER" command shown in FIG. 40, various forms of rotation are possible, which helps in creating a desired embroidery pattern.

FIG. 43 shows the COLOR process that is performed when a pictogram consisting of the three primary colors R, G, and B characters and an arrow from FIG. 32A is specified. Similarly to the above, a command page "1" for actually executing editing (color change) is prepared next to command page "0" for determining the object to be edited. If you specify the "COLOR" area on command page "1", the color of the characters displayed in block B4 of menu screen 2 will be changed to confirm the group or character specified on the previous command page "1". Changes cyclically. You can decide which color to change while visually checking the hue. After the hue is determined, if you specify "G.COL.ST" or "1.COL.ST" on the same command page "1", the hue of all characters in the specified group or the hue of one character can be changed. is displayed in the same color as the characters in the confirmation display section (block B4).

FIG. 44 shows what is processed when the hand-mirror pictogram in FIG. 32A is designated with the mouse 60C.
This is a flowchart of MIRROR IMAGE. It is clear from the figure that this flowchart has the same structure as the COLOR flowchart shown in FIG. 43 above. In other words, in processing this program, after specifying the character to be edited, if you specify "MIRROR" on command page "1", "F" will be displayed as a confirmation character in block B4. The mirror image of ``G.MIR.ST'' or ``1.MIR.ST'' has been changed, and the mirror image of all characters or one character in the specified group will be changed in the same way as the mirror image of the confirmation character. Be changed. Here, the mirror image was created with the aim of increasing the efficiency of pattern creation, and as shown in Figure 45, the characters whose mirror image number is changed are rotated by 90 degrees, reversed, etc. It is possible to change the image to look like it is reflected in a mirror.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart detailing the character movement process executed when the area drawn by the letter "A" and an arrow is designated during the icon display of FIG. 32B. This flowchart's introduction part and command page "0" part are the same as each flowchart explained previously, and since the editing process of command page "1" is specific to character movement, this command page will be described below. The processing of "1" will be explained. The processing when the command "CAR.MOVE" is instructed on command page "1" is related to the execution of character movement, and first input from the mouse 60C is accepted. mouse 6
By operating 0C, the cursor moves vertically and horizontally on the CRT 60G screen, and any desired position is input by clicking the mouse 60C. Next, it is determined whether the input position is a position that allows character movement, and if it is not within the permissible range, the mouse input is prompted again. When it is within the permissible range, the corresponding character specified on the command page "0" is deleted, and the movement amounts Δx and Δy of the character origin of the corresponding character are calculated using the following equations.

Δx＝x1−(x0＋xg0) Δy＝y1−(y0＋yg0) where (x0, y0) are the coordinates of the embroidery origin on the screen.
(xg0, yg0) are the coordinates of the group origin of the group to which the corresponding character belongs, with (x0, y0) as the origin. (x1,
y1) is the on-screen coordinate of the mouse input.

Once the amount of movement Δx, Δy of the character origin is calculated in this way, the corresponding character is redisplayed with the arbitrary position specified with the mouse 60C as the character origin position by adding the amount of movement to the conventional coordinates of the character origin. be.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart of a group origin movement process executed when the area drawn by the letter "G" and an arrow is designated during the icon display of FIG. 32B. With almost the same configuration as the character movement described above,
"GRP.MOVE" on command page "1"
The behavior when specifying an area is unique to the group origin. Here, first, as above, use the mouse 60C.
Enter the movement position within the allowable range as the input value. Thereafter, it is determined whether the group specified by command page "0" has group number "1". This is because, as mentioned above, in this example, the group origin of group number "1" and the embroidery origin are made to match, so when the group origin of group number "1" is moved, the embroidery origin must be similarly set to the movement position. This is because it is necessary. Therefore, when moving the group origin of group number "1", the embroidery origin is first set to the movement position (x1, y1), and then the LF of group number "1" is set.
Setting INTERVAL (LF1) is executed by the following formula.

LF1=b1+y1 where b1 is the group origin y-coordinate value of group number "2".

Then, the group origins of other groups are successively determined as (an-x1, bn-y1). Here, (an, bn) are the original coordinates of the n-th group origin, and (x1, y1) are the coordinates of the new group origin of group number "1". When the calculation of the new origin coordinates and the calculation of LF INTFRVAL are completed in this way, the corresponding group is redisplayed using the values, and the group movement process is completed.

On the other hand, when the relevant group has a group number other than "1", no change occurs in the group origin coordinates of other groups as described above, so first the relevant group origin is set to the specified position of the mouse, and The LF INTERVAL of the corresponding group is recalculated. Then, the LF INTERVAL of the group 1 before the relevant group is LFn = bn + 1 - bn
is calculated, the recalculation of all parameters is completed, and the corresponding group is redisplayed.

FIG. 48 is a flowchart showing the process of moving the embroidery origin where the icon is displayed as a circle and an arrow. Here, when a movement position within an allowable range is input with the mouse, all displayed characters are erased and redisplayed based on the new embroidery origin set position. In this case, the group origin and LF INTERVAL values of each group, which are set with the embroidery origin as the coordinate origin, remain unchanged.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart for setting the idle stitching point position expressed by the icon display x mark. This process prevents the crossover thread that is routed between each character from being sewn in when embroidering the characters when the embroidery machine actually embroiders the embroidery pattern. be. When this program starts processing, characters are specified using command page "0" in the same manner as described above, and then the program moves to command page "1". When you specify "SET" on this command page "1", the mouse 6
A position input from 0C is accepted, and the coordinates of the input position are calculated from the character origin of the identified character, stored as a parameter play point, and displayed on the CRT 60G. Also,
When "CLEAR" is instructed, the mouse 60
The stored value corresponding to the position input from C is erased, and the corresponding display on the CRT 60G is cleared. When there is a play point input as a character parameter in this way, when creating one-stitch data, the CPU 60A sews the position specified by the play point after completing the embroidery of the corresponding character, and then sews the position specified by the play point, and then starts the next embroidery character. Process to start embroidery. By doing this, the crossing threads can be freely manipulated on the CRT screen, making the embroidery work more efficient.

If the embroidery pattern is edited on the screen by specifying each icon as described above, recalculations will be performed in accordance with the editing work. This recalculated value is stored as a new value at a predetermined location in the parameter table shown in FIGS. 30A and 30B, and the data representing the edited embroidery pattern is completed.

In addition, an editing process for changing the value of "array" in the group parameter table is also provided, similar to the process for each icon described above. This is the third
Vertical and horizontal lines and ● marks, horizontal lines and ● marks, and arcs and ● marks shown in Figure 2 B.
It is assumed that the arrangement is an easy-to-understand display such as a mark, etc. If you specify these icons to change the values in the group parameter table array,
After the CRT display of the corresponding group is erased, it is redisplayed using the changed array values. These arrangement processes are almost the same as those for displaying block B1 on menu screen 2 from the information on menu screen 1, and therefore will not be described in detail here.

As shown in FIG. 32, the icon also has a third screen as shown in FIG. These C
The process started by the icon shown in the figure is used when a desired embroidery pattern is completed in block B1 of the menu screen 2 by the editing process of the icons A and B described above.

First, what is displayed with the letter "R" is an icon command for performing a reset process. When this icon is designated, all the data in the parameter table that has been affected as described above is reset, and it becomes possible to create the next new embroidery pattern.

Furthermore, a pictogram displayed as a double rectangle represents a command to start the process of creating embroidery data. When this icon is designated, one-stitch data (see FIGS. 11 and 15) for sewing each column described above at the specified sewing density and needle change data based on the color number are created. At this time, by simultaneously displaying the line segments connecting each needle drop point on the CRT screen with the hue corresponding to the color number, the CRT
You can simulate the completion of an embroidery pattern on the screen. FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram showing the display of the simulation results.

The pictogram simulating the paper tape is a command that is output to the perforated tape as a control code for causing various embroidery machines to execute the above-mentioned embroidery data.

Furthermore, the embroidery pattern creation device 60 of this embodiment has the following features:
Since it has a built-in FDD60E, we have prepared an icon that simulates a flexible disk. When this icon is designated, all embroidery pattern data is recorded from the FDD 60E to the flexible disk, and can be stored in a non-volatile manner. Note that when storing data on this flexible disk, if the data format is stored as table information of character parameters and group parameters as shown in FIGS. 30A and B, the embroidery pattern can be stored in an extremely small storage area. Can be done.

According to the embroidery pattern creation device of this embodiment configured and operated as described above, the following effects are obvious.

Each pattern is stored as positional information (column information) based on the character origin determined for each pattern, a new group is defined by collecting several such patterns, and then a new group is defined as a set of such patterns. The final goal, the embroidery pattern, is constructed.

Therefore, if you specify an arbitrary group and execute a move operation, the several patterns that make up that group will be moved uniformly, that is, while maintaining the mutual spacing between each pattern, and the group will be completed. The embroidery pattern can be easily moved with a single movement operation without destroying a part of the embroidery pattern, and the embroidery pattern can be easily changed.

Therefore, when creating complex embroidery patterns using a large number of patterns on a CRT screen, the efficiency of creating embroidery patterns can be improved by specifying several coherent patterns and defining groups. death,
A desired embroidery pattern can be created in a short time.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, secondary and higher groups are defined and the reference position is displayed on the CRT screen for each of these groups, so it is also possible to move the entire secondary group. It is also easy to move only one of the primary groups. In other words, if the grouping is simply performed, lower-order groups cannot be moved unless they are ungrouped, but according to the device of this embodiment, the reference positions of the lower-order groups can also be moved on the CRT. By moving this, you can move only that group.

In addition, since information is organized as one group and one embroidery pattern, a collection of these patterns can be considered as a new pattern and reused when creating various other embroidery patterns. It can also be used as a source of information on new patterns that have never existed before.

In the above embodiment, the embroidery pattern is defined as a 3-order set of the smallest pattern, then a group, and then the final embroidery pattern, but the gist of the present invention can be understood by defining it as a set of larger orders. Of course, the present invention may be implemented in various ways without departing from the scope.

Effects of the Invention As described above in detail with reference to embodiments, the embroidery pattern creation device of the present invention can combine a set of multiple patterns into one.
This allows the embroidery pattern to be treated as one completed small embroidery pattern, and multiple patterns can be moved uniformly. That is, embroidery patterns are not simply created as a collection of many patterns, but are created hierarchically as a collection of small embroidery patterns made up of several patterns. Therefore, it is possible to freely create embroidery patterns by converting a small pattern consisting of multiple patterns into a newly defined pattern, making it easier to create embroidery patterns, improving its efficiency, and making it possible to combine many patterns. This makes it an excellent embroidery pattern creation device that can create complex embroidery patterns in a short time.

Further, according to the embroidery pattern creation device of the present invention, since high-order sets are defined and the set reference position is displayed for each of these sets on the two-dimensional display screen,
It is easy to move the entire higher-order set, or to move only one of the lower-order sets included in the higher-order set, or only one of the patterns.
That is, since the reference position of a low-order set or pattern is also displayed, by moving this, it is possible to move only the set or only the pattern without solving the set.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of an embodiment, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of its frame drive mechanism, Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the system configuration, and Fig. 5
Figure 6 is a block diagram of the driver unit, Figure 6 is a block diagram of the embroidery pattern creation device, Figure 7 is an illustration of the file structure of the embodiment, Figures 8A, B, and C are style illustrations, and Figures 9A, B and FIG. 10 are explanatory diagrams of column data, FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a 4-point column, FIG. 12 is a flowchart thereof, FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a 5-point column, and FIG. 14 is a flowchart thereof. Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram of five column sewing points, Fig. 16 is a flowchart thereof, Fig. 17 is a flowchart of the main program of the embodiment, Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram of menu screen 1, and Figs. 2
Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of group arrangement, Figure 24 is a flowchart of color table setting, Figure 25, Figure 2
Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the correspondence between color codes, color tables, and colors, Figure 27 is a detailed flowchart of a part of the main program, Figures 28 and 29 are explanatory diagrams, and Figures 30A and B are An explanatory diagram of the pattern parameter table and group parameter table, FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram of the display of the menu screen 2,
Figures 32A, B, and C are explanatory diagrams of the microcomputer display, Figure 33 is a detailed flowchart of a part of the main program, and Figures 34A and B are detailed flowcharts of a part of the main program. 35 to 40 are a more detailed flowchart of a part of FIGS. 34A and B, FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of FIG. 40, and FIG. 42 is a more detailed flow of a part of FIG. 40. Chart, Figures 43 and 44 are 3rd
4 A more detailed flowchart of part of Figures A and B,
FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram of the operation in FIG. 44, FIGS. 46 to 49 are more detailed flowcharts of parts of FIGS. 34A and B, and FIG. 50 is a display explanatory diagram showing the simulation effect of embroidery data. , is. 10...multi-needle embroidery sewing machine, 60...embroidery pattern creation device, 60A...CPU, 60C...mouse,
60D...Keyboard, 60G...CRT.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pattern in which each pattern of characters, symbols, etc., which is the minimum unit in composing an embroidery pattern, is stored as a set of positional information with a pattern reference position determined for each pattern as the origin. storage means; pattern selection means for selecting a desired pattern from among the plurality of patterns stored in the pattern storage means; , a display memory that is stored in a predetermined area together with display information such as a display format, and a primary set whose elements are at least two or more patterns among the plurality of patterns stored in the display memory; a set reference position setting means for defining a quadratic set having elements of display control means for displaying the plurality of stored patterns at a predetermined position on a two-dimensional display screen together with the pattern reference position and the collection reference position according to the display information set; and the collection reference position setting means. moving means for moving an arbitrary set reference position to another position on the two-dimensional display screen; and when the set reference position is moved, all the members of the set having the set reference position a movement amount calculating means for calculating the movement amount of the set reference position and the pattern reference position set in the set and the pattern according to the movement amount of the moved set reference position; and according to the calculated movement amount. , information correction means for correcting the pattern reference position and the set reference position stored in the display memory, and realizing the embroidery pattern created on the two-dimensional display screen based on the storage contents of the display memory. 1. An embroidery pattern creating device comprising: a single stitch data creating means for creating single stitch data to be executed by an embroidery sewing machine.