JPH0910451A - Embroidery data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily originate embroidery data of a beautiful cross shape by providing a means for setting stitches in the crossing part in a specific stitching direction and a means for setting a boundary line between the stitch forming part in the crossing part and another stitch forming part which perpendicularly crosses the above stitch forming part. CONSTITUTION: When a program in an ROM 12 is started, an outline expressing an embroidery region shape is first inputted. A user inputs the outline of a predetermined shape by using a mouse 17 while displaying it on a CRT display 19. Regarding a crossing part in which the stitching directions of stitches are crossed, the user sets the stitching directions in specific directions and data regarding the boundary line is stored into a RAM 13. The boundary line of stitches is automatically set on the basis of the stitching directions and the boundary line data of stitches is stored into the RAM 13. Embroidery block data and stitch data is automatically formed on the basis of the boundary line and is stored into the RAM 13. After that, the stitch data is sent to an embroidery sewing machine 25 via a communication line 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an embroidery data processing apparatus for creating embroidery data for filling the inside of a closed area surrounded by a contour line which defines the shape of an embroidery area with embroidery stitches. The present invention relates to an embroidery data processing device that creates embroidery data for forming an embroidery stitch at an intersecting portion where stitching directions intersect within a closed region.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sewing machine has created sewing data for sewing an embroidery pattern by determining the position coordinates of needle drop points for each stitch. However, since it has come to be used not only for industrial use but also for household use, and the demand for embroidery patterns has increased accordingly, so sewing data for embroidery patterns is processed using an embroidery data processing device. Is being created automatically to some extent.

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

However, when a stitch in a fixed direction such as a character or a contour line portion of an area is used, there are embroidery figures for which a beautiful finish cannot be obtained. Therefore, in the conventional embroidery data processing device, those embroidery figures are not processed. 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 processing device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 84 has been proposed. This embroidery data processing device divides a closed region at a point where the contour line bends outside the closed region in 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 processing device, it is possible to create embroidery data that forms a seam suitable for the shape of each partial closed region.

In the proposed embroidery data processing device, however, the closed area portion defining the embroidery shape is automatically divided into partial closed area groups without reflecting the intention of the data creator. Regarding the method of intersecting the stitches between the adjacent partially closed areas, there is a case where sewing data is generated that generates an embroidery stitch different from the intention of the data creator. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when considering the generation of a seam in which the directions of the seams intersect each other, the user may sew the sewing data for the embroidery seams that make the seam crossing method as shown in FIG. However, there is a case where the sewing data for the embroidery stitch having the method of intersecting the stitches as shown in FIG. Then, in order to create sewing data exhibiting a desired embroidery seam crossing method, it is necessary to input the needle drop positions of the entire embroidery shape one by one or create the partial closed areas one by one according to the sewing order. However, it took a lot of time and effort.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has further filed Japanese Patent Application No. 7-
An embroidery data processing device No. 82211 was proposed. This embroidery data processing device enables a data creator to specify a method of intersecting stitches between adjacent partial closed areas inside the embroidery closed area. According to this embroidery data processing device, it is possible to create embroidery data that forms a stitch in the intended sewing direction by a simple operation.

[0008]

However, in the previously proposed embroidery data processing device, the boundary line between the partially closed regions at the portion where the stitch directions intersect, that is,
Since the boundary line of the seam is set as a straight line, it may not be possible to create embroidery data having a beautiful intersecting shape. For example, when creating the embroidery data of the stitches as shown in FIG. 4 for the embroidery area shape formed by the points P1 to P10 shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG.
Since the points P10 and P3 and the points P8 and P6 are connected by straight lines, respectively, the point P originally shown in FIG.
The smooth curved shape from 9 to the point P4 via the points P10 and P3 and the smooth curved shape from the point P9 to the point P8 and the point P6 to the point P5 are not formed, and thus the beautiful shape is obtained. It was not possible to create embroidery data having a different cross shape.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is sewing data having a beautiful intersecting shape at an intersecting portion which intersects a stitching direction of a seam inside a closed region representing an embroidering region shape. An embroidery data processing device that can easily create

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, an embroidery data processing device according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
For the purpose of creating embroidery data for filling the inside of the closed area surrounded by the outline that defines the shape of the embroidery area with seams, at the intersection where the stitching direction of the seam intersects inside the closed area, inside the intersection A stitching direction setting means for setting the seam of a particular stitching direction, a stitch forming portion inside the intersecting portion set in the particular stitching direction by the stitching direction setting means, and another stitch forming portion intersecting this portion. Boundary line shape setting means for setting the boundary line between the lines to a shape that is substantially the same as the shape of the outline that continues from the boundary line to the outside of the intersecting portion.

In the embroidery data processing device according to the second aspect, the shape of the boundary line set by the boundary line shape setting means may be a curve.

Further, in the embroidery data processing device according to the third aspect, the shape of the boundary line set by the boundary line shape setting means may be a polygonal line approximate to a curve.

[0013]

According to the embroidery data processing apparatus having the above-mentioned structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, first, by the sewing direction setting means, the inside of the intersecting portion which intersects the stitching direction of the seam within the closed region is closed. Set the seam to a specific sewing direction. The boundary line shape setting means forms a boundary line between the stitch forming portion inside the intersecting portion set in the specific sewing direction by the stitching direction setting means and another stitch forming portion intersecting this portion. The shape is set to be substantially the same as the shape of the outline extending from the boundary line to the outside of the intersection.

According to the embroidery data processing device of the second aspect, the boundary line shape setting means sets the boundary line to a curve. Therefore, if the shape of the contour line continuing from the boundary line to the outside of the intersection is a curve, for example,
By using a mathematical method such as an interpolation method using a spline curve,
The boundary line can be easily set to a similar curve.

Further, according to the embroidery data processing device of the third aspect, the boundary line shape setting means sets the shape of the boundary line as a polygonal line approximate to a curved line. Therefore,
If the shape of the contour line continuing from the boundary line to the outside of the intersecting portion is a curve, for example, a mathematical method such as a least-squares approximation method can be used to easily form the boundary line into a polygonal line that approximates the curve. Can be set.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the embroidery data processing 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. The embroidery sewing machine moves the embroidery frame, which is arranged on the sewing machine bed and holds the work cloth, to a predetermined position indicated by the X and Y coordinate system peculiar to the apparatus by the horizontal movement mechanism, while performing the sewing operation by the sewing needle and the hook mechanism. By doing so, the work cloth is embroidered with a predetermined pattern.

In this case, the horizontal moving mechanism, the needle bar, etc.
The embroidery sewing data (stitch data) for instructing the movement amount (needle drop position) of the work cloth in the X and Y directions for each stitch is controlled by a control device including a microcomputer. By being given, the controller
The embroidery operation can be automatically executed. Further, in this embodiment, the embroidery sewing machine is provided with a communication device so that embroidery sewing data can be given from the outside. The embroidery data processing device described later has a function of creating such embroidery sewing data.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of an embroidery sewing machine and an embroidery data processing device according to this embodiment. Here, the embroidery sewing machine 25 is configured to be supplied with embroidery data from the personal computer 1 via the communication line 20. The embroidery sewing machine 25 is provided with a display unit 23 for displaying various messages, and the user is instructed to change the color of the embroidery thread.

FIG. 2 shows the electrical construction of the embroidery data processing apparatus of this embodiment. The CPU 11 is the main component of the CPU 11, and a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an input interface 15 and an output interface 18 are respectively provided via a bus 14. Connected.

Then, a CRT connected to the embroidery data processing device through the output interface 18 is used.
A display 19 is provided. The CRT display 19 displays graphics representing the shape of the embroidery area, various messages, and the like.

Further, the embroidery data processing device has a keyboard 16 on which operation keys for the user to instruct processing selection and execution, and to create and select a contour line representing an embroidery area shape. A mouse 17 as a pointing device for performing the above is provided, and is connected to the CPU 11 via the input interface 15.

A communication line 20 is connected to the embroidery data processing device via the output interface 18, and the created embroidery data is sent to the embroidery sewing machine 25 via the communication line 20. There is.

Next, the operation of the embroidery data processing device in this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

When the program for creating embroidery data stored in the ROM 12 is started, first, in step S1, a process of inputting an outline representing the shape of the embroidery area is performed. Here, it is assumed that the user uses the mouse 17 to input an outline of a shape representing the katakana character “M” as shown in FIG. 3 while displaying the input result of the user on the CRT display 19. To do. At this time,
The user selects the shape feature point P that represents “M” as shown in FIG.
The contour lines are input by sequentially inputting 1 to P10 and designating the curvature of the line connecting the respective shape feature points. The outline data entered here is stored in the RAM.
13 is stored.

Next, in step S2, the user
For an intersecting portion where the stitching directions inside the embroidery region shape intersect, the stitching direction inside the intersecting portion is set to a specific direction. Regarding the method of setting the stitching direction of the stitches, the user may set the stitching direction of the stitches by specifying a plurality of coordinate points on the outline, or the stitching direction of the stitches inside the closed region may be changed. The stitching direction of the seam may be set by designating the same portion.

That is, here, the user decides to create the embroidery data having the stitches as shown in FIG.
For example, a case of setting the stitching direction of the seam by designating a plurality of coordinate points on the outline will be described. Of the embroidery area shape and shape feature points displayed on the CRT display 19, first, the shape feature point is selected. The mouse 17 selects P3 and the point P10 in order. As a result, the boundary line of the seam connecting the point P3 and the point P10 is set and displayed on the CRT display 19. Next, when the shape feature point P8 and the point P6 are sequentially selected by the mouse 17, the boundary line of the seam connecting the point P8 and the point P6 is set and displayed on the CRT display 19. In this way, the stitching direction of the seam at the intersection is set as shown in FIG. 4, and the data regarding this boundary line is stored in the RAM 13.

Subsequently, in step S3, the boundary line of the seam is automatically set based on the sewing direction of the seam determined in step S2. Specifically, first, in step S2, a smooth curve from point P9 to point P4 via point P10 and point P3 is set based on the fact that point P10 and point P3 are set to be connected. The curve is newly set between the points P10 and P3 by calculation. The calculation of the smooth curve here is based on a part of the outline, that is, the shape of the curve from the point P9 to the point P10 which is the partial outline and the shape of the curve from the point P3 to the point P4. It can be performed using various mathematical methods such as a known interpolation method using a spline curve. Then, similarly, in step S2, the point P8
And the point P6 are set to be connected, a smooth curve from the point P9 to the point P8 and the point P6 to the point P5 is calculated, and the smooth curve is calculated between the points P8 and P6. The curve is newly set. The boundary line of the seam set here is shown in FIG.

Further, the boundary line of the seam that is automatically set in step S3 may be a polygonal line that approximates this smooth curve instead of the smooth curve described above. The calculation of the polygonal line here can be performed using various mathematical methods such as a known least-squares approximation method. Then, the data of the boundary line of the stitch set here is stored in the RAM 13.

Next, in step S4, stitch data is created. Specifically, based on the contour line input in step S1 and the boundary line of the stitch set in step S3, by the method disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-128084 related to the applicant's application, Embroidery block data or stitch data is automatically created. The stitch data created here is RAM1
3 is stored.

Then, in step S5, the created stitch data is transferred to the embroidery sewing machine 25 via the communication line 20.
Sent to Then, sewing is performed by the embroidery sewing machine 25, whereby an embroidery pattern having a seam as shown in FIG. 4 can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, step S2
The processing in (2) functions as the sewing direction setting means of the present invention. Further, the processing in step S3 functions as the boundary line shape setting means of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the katakana character "M" is taken as an example of the pattern in which the stitching directions of the seams intersect. However, the embroidery data processing device of the present invention also uses the Katakana character "TO" or the alphabet. It can also be applied to the case of an embroidery figure such as the letter "T".

In the above embodiment, the user inputs the outline representing the shape of the embroidery area with the mouse 17. However, the original image representing the shape of the embroidery area is read using an image reading device such as an image scanner. The contour line may be obtained by image processing such as contour line extraction.

In the above-described embodiment, the mouse 17 is used for inputting the outline and designating the embroidery shape feature points, but other pointing devices such as a light pen may be used. Obviously good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the stitch data is created in the embroidery data processing device and sent to the embroidery sewing machine. However, the data such as the outline and the stitch boundary line are sent to the embroidery sewing machine. For example, the stitch data may be created inside the embroidery sewing machine, and the present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0037]

As is clear from the above description,
According to the embroidery data processing device of the present invention, after the stitching direction setting means sets the stitch inside the intersecting portion where the stitching direction intersects in the closed region to a specific stitching direction, the boundary line shape setting means The boundary line between the seam forming part set in a specific sewing direction inside the intersecting part and the other seam forming part intersecting this part has a shape substantially similar to the shape of the contour line continuous to the outside. Since it is set to, the embroidery data which can present the beautiful stitch shape desired by the user can be easily created, which is an excellent practical effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an embroidery data processing device and an embroidery sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an embroidery data processing device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a contour line defining an embroidery area shape.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a stitching direction of stitches is set.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example in which a stitching direction of a stitch is set.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a seam boundary line set by the embroidery data processing device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an embroidery data creation process performed by the embroidery data processing device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a seam boundary line set by a conventional embroidery data processing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 17 mouse P1 to P10 shape feature points

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An embroidery data processing device for creating embroidery data for filling the inside of a closed region surrounded by a contour line that defines the shape of an embroidery region with a seam, wherein an intersecting portion that intersects the stitching direction of the seam inside the closed region. , A stitching direction setting means for setting a stitch inside the intersecting portion in a specific stitching direction, and a stitch forming portion inside the intersecting portion set in the specific stitching direction by the stitching direction setting means and intersect this portion. Boundary line shape setting means for setting a boundary line between the other seam forming portion and a shape substantially the same as the shape of the contour line continuous from the boundary line to the outside of the intersecting portion, Embroidery data processing device. 2. The embroidery data processing device according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the boundary line set by the boundary line shape setting means is a curved line. 3. The embroidery data processing device according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the boundary line set by the boundary line shape setting means is a polygonal line approximate to a curved line.