JPH08276087A - Embroidery data producing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an embroidery data producing unit capable of easily producing sewing data for attractive prescribed embroidery seams, by setting the seam directions by a user on a crossing point of embroidery seams inside a closed area expressing an embroidery shape. CONSTITUTION: When a program for producing embroidery data production stored in a ROM, the process shown in the flow chart is executed. At first, a process to input the outline of a closed area expressing an embroidery area shape is executed (S1), then seams in the closed area at a crossing part to cross the directions of seams in the closed area are set in specified directions (S2). Next, the inside of the closed area is divided into plural areas based on set seam directions of seams.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an embroidery data creating apparatus for creating sewing data for filling the inside of a closed area surrounded by an outline defining an embroidery area shape with embroidery stitches, and more particularly, The present invention relates to an embroidery data creation device that creates sewing data for forming an embroidery stitch at an intersecting portion where a stitching direction intersects a certain portion inside a closed region.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a needle drop point position data for sewing an embroidery pattern has been created by an expert who determines the position coordinates of the needle drop point for each needle. Since sewing machines that can be used have been used not only for industrial use but also for household use, and the demand for embroidery patterns has increased accordingly, the sewing data for embroidery patterns can be created as embroidery data creation data. In many cases, it is automatically created by using a device.

Among the sewing data creating methods for embroidery patterns, a method for creating sewing data in which the inside of an embroidery area surrounded by a contour line is filled with a seam in a certain direction has been conventionally devised. It is also used in the embroidery data creation device.

However, when the stitches in a certain direction such as characters and contours of areas are expressed, there are embroidery figures for which a beautiful finish cannot be obtained. It was difficult to create sewing data for.

Therefore, the present applicant has filed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-1280.
An embroidery data creation device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 84 has been proposed. This embroidery data creation device divides a closed region at a point where the contour line bends outward of the closed region within a sequence of points on the contour line that defines the shape of the closed embroidery region, and divides each divided partial closed region. In addition, the position of the needle drop point is determined by the method of determining the forming direction of the seam. According to this embroidery data creation device, it is possible to create embroidery data that forms a seam suitable for the shape of each partial closed region.

[0006]

However, in the embroidery data creation device disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-128084, the closed area portion defining the shape of the embroidery area reflects the intention of the data creator. Since it is automatically divided into the partial closed area groups, the method of intersecting the seams of the adjacent closed areas should be the same as the sewing data that creates an embroidery seam different from the intention of the data creator. Was sometimes created. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, when considering the generation of a seam in which the directions of the seams intersect with each other, the user may sew the sewing data for the embroidery seams in which the seams intersect as shown in FIG. However, there is a case where the sewing data for the embroidery stitch having the crossing pattern of the stitches as shown in FIG. 3 is created. Then, in order to create sewing data exhibiting a desired embroidery seam crossing pattern, the needle drop positions of the entire embroidery shape must be input point by point, or the partial closed areas must be created one by one according to the sewing order. However, it took a lot of time and effort.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to allow the user to set the stitching direction of the stitches at the intersection where the stitching directions of the stitches in the closed region representing the embroidery shape intersect. An object is to provide an embroidery data creation device that can easily create sewing data that presents a predetermined embroidery seam that looks good by setting.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an embroidery data creating apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention has a plurality of partially closed insides of a closed area surrounded by a contour line defining an embroidery area shape. For the purpose of creating sewing data for dividing the inside of each of the partial closed areas with the embroidery stitches, an intersection inside the closed area that intersects the stitching direction of the stitch Based on the stitching direction setting means for setting the stitch in a specific stitching direction and the stitching direction of the stitch set by the stitching direction setting means, the inside of the closed region is divided into a plurality of the partially closed regions. And area creating means.

Further, in the embroidery data creation device according to the present invention, the sewing direction setting means sets the sewing direction of the seam by designating a plurality of coordinate points on the outline forming the intersection. Is configured.

Further, in the embroidery data creation device according to the present invention, the stitching direction setting means designates the intersecting portion as a part of a portion in which the stitching direction of the stitches is the same in the closed region, whereby the stitches are stitched. The sewing direction can be set.

Further, in the embroidery data generating apparatus according to the present invention, the inside of the closed area surrounded by the outline defining the shape of the embroidery area is divided into a plurality of partial closed areas, and the inside of each of the partial closed areas is embroidered with stitches. Targeting to create sewing data for filling in, the inside of the closed region is divided into a plurality of partial closed regions including intersecting portions where the stitching directions of the respective seams intersect, and partial closed region creating means, Sewing order setting for setting the sewing order of the partially closed area at the intersection of the partially closed areas divided by the partially closed area creating means in consideration of the sewing direction of the seams of the partially closed area in the vicinity thereof. And means.

[0012]

According to the embroidery data creation device of the first aspect of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the sewing direction setting means includes:
At an intersecting portion where the stitching directions of the stitches intersect within the closed region, the stitches inside the intersecting portion are set to a specific stitching direction. Then, the partial closed region creating means divides the inside of the closed region into a plurality of the partial closed regions based on the sewing direction of the stitch set by the sewing direction setting device. Then, for each of the divided partial closed areas, sewing data for filling with embroidery seams is created.

Further, according to the embroidery data creation apparatus of the second aspect, when setting the stitching direction of the stitches at the intersection, the stitching direction setting means sets a plurality of contours on the outline forming the intersection. Specify the coordinate point. In this case, the stitching direction of the seam at the intersection can be set easily and reliably based on the designated coordinate points.

Further, according to the embroidery data creation apparatus of the third aspect, when setting the stitching direction of the stitches at the intersection, the stitching direction setting means sets the stitching directions of the stitches to be the same within the closed region. The stitching direction of the seam is set by designating the intersecting portion as a part of the portion. In this case, the stitching direction of the seam at the intersecting portion can be set easily and surely by, for example, pointing the intersecting portion with an arrow indicating the sewing direction.

Further, according to the embroidery data creation device of the fourth aspect, the partial closed region creating means includes a plurality of the partial closed regions inside the closed region, including a plurality of intersecting portions where the stitching directions of the respective seams intersect. Divide into areas. Then, the sewing order setting means sets the sewing order of the partially closed areas at the intersections of the partially closed areas divided by the partially closed area creating means, in the stitching direction of the seams of the respective partially closed areas in the vicinity thereof. Set in consideration. In this case, since the sewing order can be set in so-called block units in the intersecting portion as in the other partial sewing areas, it is possible to set the stitching direction of the stitch at the intersecting portion extremely easily and reliably.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment embodying the embroidery data creation device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
First, although not shown, the embroidery sewing machine will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 12, the embroidery sewing machine 20 includes an embroidery frame 21 for holding a work cloth arranged on the sewing machine bed.
The horizontal movement mechanism 22 moves to a predetermined position indicated by the x and y coordinate system peculiar to the apparatus, and the sewing operation by the sewing needle and the hook mechanism is performed to embroider a predetermined pattern on the work cloth. ing.

In this case, the horizontal moving mechanism 22, the needle bar and the like are controlled by a control device composed of a microcomputer or the like. Therefore, the needles in the x and y directions of the work cloth are stitched for each needle. When the embroidery sewing data (stitch data) indicating the movement amount (needle drop position) is given, the control device can automatically execute the embroidery operation. Further, in this embodiment, the embroidery sewing machine 2
0 is provided with embroidery sewing data from the communication circuit 25 of the personal computer 15 through the communication line 24. The embroidery data creation device described later has a function of creating such embroidery sewing data. The embroidery sewing machine is provided with a display unit 23 for displaying various messages, and the user is instructed to change the color of the embroidery thread.

Next, the overall structure of the embroidery data creation apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. The embroidery data creation apparatus according to the present embodiment is mainly composed of the personal computer 15. FIG. 13 shows the electrical configuration thereof, in which the CPU 3, ROM 4, RAM 5, input interface 6, and output interface 14 are connected to each other via a bus 13.

The embroidery data creating device is provided with a CRT 12 through the output interface 14. On the CRT 12, a graphic representing an embroidery pattern shape, various messages and the like are displayed.

Further, the embroidery data creation device is provided with a keyboard 10 on which operation keys for the user to instruct selection and execution of processing, and to create and select outlines representing embroidery shapes. A mouse 11 is provided as a pointing device for performing input, and an input interface 6
It is connected to the CPU 3 via.

Next, the operation of the embroidery data creation device of the present invention thus constructed will be described with reference to the drawings. Then, first, a sewing data creating process for creating an embroidery stitch by the embroidery data creating device will be described.

When the program for creating embroidery data stored in the ROM 4 is activated, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 14 is executed. First, in step S1, a process of inputting an outline of a closed region that represents the shape of an embroidery region is performed. Here, it is assumed that the user uses the mouse 11 to input an outline of a shape representing the katakana character “M” as shown in FIG. 5 while displaying his / her own input result on the CRT 12. At this time, the user sequentially inputs the shape feature points P1 to P14 representing “M” as shown in FIG. 6 and specifies the curvature of the line connecting the shape feature points to input the outline. Of. Then, the outline data input here is stored in the RAM 5.

Next, in step S2, the user
For an intersecting portion where the directions of the stitches intersect in the embroidery shape, the stitching direction of the stitch at the intersecting portion is designated. Here, a specific method for setting the stitching direction of the stitches will be described below. Note that the user wants to create sewing data that presents the seams as shown in FIG.

At this time, the user, as shown in FIG.
Of the embroidery shape and shape feature points displayed on the RT 12, first, the shape feature points P4 and P13 are sequentially moved to the mouse 11
Select with. Then, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 7 (a partially enlarged view of FIG. 6), the boundary line of the seam connecting P4 and P13 is set and displayed on the CRT 12. The boundary line of the seam here refers to one in which the seam directions of the seams of the regions adjacent to each other across the line are different.

Then, the user determines the shape feature point P7.
And P10 are sequentially selected with the mouse 11. Then, similarly, the boundary line of the seam connecting P7 and P10 is set.

As described above, it is possible to specify the stitching direction of the seam at the intersection where the stitching directions of the seams intersect. The data of the boundary line of the stitch set here is stored in the RAM 5.

Further, at this time, the user, as shown in FIG. 8 (a partially enlarged view of FIG. 6), has a region (area1) surrounding the shape feature points P4 and P13 and a region (area 1) surrounding P7 and P10. It is also possible to select the stitching direction of the stitch by designating the area 2) with the mouse 11 and designating the boundary line of the stitch.

Next, in step S3, the operation of dividing the inside of the closed area defining the embroidery area shape into the partial closed area groups is automatically performed according to the stitching direction of the stitch selected in step S2. That is, first, the embroidery shape shown in FIG. 6 is divided by the boundary line of the seam set in step S2, and the partial closed areas G1 to G3 as shown in FIG. 16 are created. Then, for each of the partial closed regions G1 to G3, an embroidery block is automatically created by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-128084. Finally, in this step S3, B1 through B as shown in FIG.
Twelve 12 partially closed areas (embroidery blocks) are created. Here, each embroidery block is created independently of each of the partial closed regions G1 to G3.
2, then G3, that is, B1, B2, B3, B4, B
6, B7, B8, B9, B5, B10, B11, B12
Are stored in the RAM 5 in this order.

The sewing data thus created for generating embroidery stitches is sent to the embroidery sewing machine through the communication line 24 and sewing is performed to obtain an embroidery pattern having the stitches as shown in FIG. Can be done.

Here, in step S2, the user specifies a portion in which the stitching direction of the seam is the same in the embroidery area surrounded by the outline,
It is also possible to indirectly specify the stitching direction of the seam. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the mouse 11 is used to specify the line segments whose end points are the points A and B so as to cross the intersecting portion inside the embroidery area.
Then, in the next step S3, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-1
According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 28084, partial closed area (embroidery block) groups B1 to B as shown in FIG.
12 is created. When this embroidery block data is stored in the RAM 5, the embroidery block B including the line segment connecting the points A and B designated in step S2.
9, B5, B10 have the same stitch direction,
In addition, it is determined as a group of embroidery blocks having consecutive sewing orders. Therefore, the created embroidery blocks B1 to B12
Is B1, B2, B3, B4, B6, B7, B8, B
The data is stored in the RAM 5 in the order of 9, B5, B10, B11, B12.

The sewing data thus created for generating embroidery stitches is sent to the embroidery sewing machine through the communication line 24 and sewing is performed to obtain an embroidery pattern exhibiting the stitches as shown in FIG. Can be done.

The processing step of step S2, which involves the operation of the mouse 11, is performed by the sewing direction setting means 3 of the present invention.
It functions as 1. Further, the processing step of the step S3 functions as the partial closed region creating means 32 of the present invention.

Next, a sewing data creating process for creating an embroidery stitch will be described with respect to a second embodiment in which the embroidery data creating device of the present invention is embodied.

When the program for creating embroidery data stored in the ROM 4 is activated, the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 is executed. First, in step S6, the user inputs the contour line of the embroidery shape, and the contour line data is stored in the RAM 5. Then, in step S7, the partial closed region (embroidery block) groups B1 to B12 as shown in FIG. 11 are created by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-128084. And
These embroidery block data are stored in the RAM 5.

In the next step S8, the user designates the embroidery block created in step S7 with the mouse 11 according to the sewing order, thereby indirectly setting the stitching direction of the stitches at the intersection where the stitching directions of the stitches intersect. Can be selected as desired. That is, the embroidery block is B1, B
2, B3, B4, B6, B7, B8, B9, B5, B1
The order is 0, B11, and B12. In this case, in particular, the partially closed region B5 at the intersection is set to be the same as the stitching direction of the seams of the adjacent partially closed regions B9 and B10. Then, these embroidery block data are stored in the RAM 5 in the designated order. The sewing data thus created for generating embroidery stitches is sent to the embroidery sewing machine through the communication line 24 and sewing is performed, so that an embroidery pattern having the stitches as shown in FIG. 9 can be obtained. is there.

The processing step of the step S7 functions as the partial closed area creating means 33 of the present invention. Also,
The processing step of step S8 that involves the operation of the mouse 11 functions as the sewing order setting means 34 of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the katakana character "me" is taken as an example of a pattern in which the directions of the seams intersect, but the embroidery data creation device of the present invention thus completely intersects the seams. In addition to characters (outside "ya", "na", "X", etc.), katakana characters "to", "i" and "ke", or alphabetical characters "T" and "K"
It is also applicable to the case of an embroidery pattern such that the seams do not completely intersect.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the user inputs the contour line representing the embroidery shape with the mouse 11, but the original image representing the embroidery shape is read using the image reading device such as an image scanner and the contour line is drawn. The outline may be obtained by image processing such as extraction.

In the above embodiment, the mouse 11 is used for selecting embroidery shape feature points and designating the advancing direction of sewing, but other pointing devices such as a light pen are used. Obviously, it is okay.

Further, in the above embodiment, the needle drop point position data forming the embroidery stitch is created in the embroidery sewing machine based on the embroidery block data created by the partial closed area creating means 32 in the embroidery data creating device. Although the embroidery data creating device may create needle drop point position data and send it to the embroidery sewing machine, the present invention is appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention. It is possible.

[0041]

As is apparent from the foregoing, according to the embroidery data creation apparatus of the present invention, the stitching direction setting means is used to specify the stitches inside the intersecting portion where the stitching directions of the stitches intersect within the closed region. It is configured such that the inside of the closed region is divided into a plurality of the partial closed regions based on the sewing direction of the seam set by the sewing direction setting device, by setting the sewing direction to the sewing direction. Therefore, it is possible to easily create sewing data that presents a predetermined embroidery seam that looks good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a claim correspondence diagram showing a configuration of an embroidery data creation device according to claim 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a claim correspondence diagram showing a configuration of an embroidery data creation device according to claim 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a seam intersecting method.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a method of intersecting a seam.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an embroidery area shape.

FIG. 6 is a diagram in which shape feature points are added to an embroidery area shape.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a method for setting a stitching direction of stitches.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another method for setting the stitching direction of stitches.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a state of seams when sewing is performed on a work cloth with an embroidery sewing machine.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another method for setting the stitching direction of stitches.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which the inside of a closed region that defines the shape of an embroidery region is divided into partial closed regions.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the entire embroidery data creation device and the embroidery sewing machine.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the embroidery data creation device.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process for creating embroidery data in the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a process for creating embroidery data in the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a partial closed region obtained by dividing a closed region defining an embroidery region shape.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 CPU 4 ROM 5 RAM 10 Keyboard 11 Mouse 12 CRT 31 Sewing Direction Setting Means 32 Partially Closed Area Creating Means 33 Partially Closed Area Creating Means 34 Sewing Order Setting Means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An embroidery data for creating sewing data for dividing an inside of a closed area surrounded by a contour line defining an embroidery area shape into a plurality of partial closed areas and filling the inside of each of the partial closed areas with embroidery stitches. In the creation device, at an intersecting portion where the stitching directions of the stitches intersect within the closed region, a stitching direction setting means for setting the stitch inside the intersecting portion to a specific stitching direction, and the stitching direction setting means An embroidery data creation device comprising: a partial closed area creating unit that divides the inside of the closed area into a plurality of the partial closed areas based on the stitching direction of the seam. 2. The embroidery according to claim 1, wherein the sewing direction setting means sets the sewing direction of the seam by designating a plurality of coordinate points on the outline forming the intersecting portion. Data creation device. 3. The stitching direction setting means sets the stitching direction of the stitch by designating the intersecting portion as a part of a portion where the stitching direction of the stitch is the same in the closed region. The embroidery data creation device according to Item 1. 4. An embroidery data for creating sewing data for dividing an inside of a closed area surrounded by a contour line defining an embroidery area shape into a plurality of partial closed areas, and filling the inside of each of the partial closed areas with embroidery stitches. In the creating device, the inside of the closed area is divided into a plurality of partial closed areas including intersecting portions where the stitching directions of the respective seams intersect, and the partial closed area creating means divides the inside. And a sewing order setting means for setting the sewing order of the partially closed area at the intersecting portion in the partially closed area in consideration of the sewing direction of the seams of the partially closed area in the vicinity thereof. Embroidery data creation device.