JPH10328449A - Automatic sewing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more efficiently prepare sewing data by displaying a moving quantity between two points at an automatic sewing machine which can form the stitches of a desired pattern to be a sewed matter according to sewing data and can prepare this sewing data in addition. SOLUTION: At the time of preparing sewing data and at the time of confirming sewing data, the automatic sewing machine displays a relative coordinate 73 with respect to a point A inputted as a reference point in advance. For example, the coordinate 73 of a point B with respect to the point A is memorized and a point E is newly inputted as a reference point. Then, a point where a relative coordinate with respect to this point E is the same as the memorized relative coordinate makes the finish point D of a line segment ED parallel with a line segment AB and provided with the same length with it. Thereby, new sewing data is easily prepared based on conventional sewing data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention can form a desired pattern of stitches on a workpiece according to sewing data.
The present invention relates to an automatic sewing machine capable of creating sewing data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an automatic sewing machine which performs a sewing operation in accordance with sewing data in which sewing operations are sequentially set. In such an automatic sewing machine, a table is provided that can be moved in the XY directions along a horizontal plane under a needle, a work to be sewn is fixed to the table, and a motor that moves the table by a predetermined amount according to sewing data is driven. Then, a stitch is formed by performing a sewing operation. Some automatic sewing machines have a function of creating sewing data. In such an automatic sewing machine, the sewing data is created under the condition that the horizontality of the table, the verticality of the needle bar (portion for supporting the needle) with respect to the table, and the error of the movement amount of the table are exactly the same as those at the time of sewing. Can be.

When creating sewing data, it is common to sequentially input positional information of needle entry points. The needle drop point is a point at which the needle of the automatic sewing machine is inserted into the workpiece when the automatic sewing machine actually performs sewing.
This example is shown in FIG. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a state in which a stitch is formed on a workpiece, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an outline of sewing data. As shown in FIG.
In the sewing object, the sewing data is represented as data (also referred to as position information) indicating the position of the needle drop point. That is, the position of the start point B, the position of the point S _1, the position of the point S _2, the position of the point S _3, it is expressed by the position of the ...... point S _n (In practice the sewing data, these position information In addition, attribute information indicating the sewing speed, whether or not to cut the thread, and the like are added, but are omitted here.)

[0004] The position information of each point is usually represented by the amount of movement of the table from the immediately preceding needle drop point. For example, 3
As shown in FIG. 6B, the data of the stitches is represented by the movement amount of the table from the previous point, that is, the X coordinate of the data of the second stitch, and the Y coordinate of the data of the data of the second stitches is also shown.
Expressed from the coordinates by the amount of movement of the table Thus, the data of the points S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ ,..., S _n is stored in the memory, and further stored on a floppy disk or the like.

Since the distance between consecutive needle drop points has an upper limit and a lower limit, if the position information of the needle drop point is expressed by the amount of movement of the table from the previous point, the distance does not exceed the upper limit or the lower limit. It is easy to manage whether it is less than. Further, if a display device such as a liquid crystal display is provided on the automatic sewing machine and the amount of movement is displayed on the automatic sewing machine, the positional relationship between the position of the stitch to be input from now and the position of the previously input stitch can be understood very well. .

The automatic sewing machine usually has a function of automatically generating other stitches based on input position information. For example, when forming a stitch pattern in a straight line, it is also possible to input position information of both ends of the line segment, input a pitch, and divide the both ends at this pitch to form a stitch. (Here, an input method for forming a stitch in this manner is referred to as line input.)

[0007] In the sewing operation, a previously performed sewing pattern may be formed again in a different place. For example, it is often the case that one line segment is formed by using the above-described function of forming a sewing pattern in a straight line, and further a line segment parallel to this is formed. In addition, there are many cases where a line segment has already been formed on a sewing object and it is desired to draw several more line segments parallel to the line segment.

[0008]

However, according to the above-mentioned prior art, the positional relationship with the previously input stitch is
Although it is well understood, there is a disadvantage that the positional relationship with other stitches is difficult to understand. If the above-mentioned parallel line stitch is formed, if the first line segment is also formed by line input, when forming the first line segment, the end point with respect to the start point is determined. Make a note of the amount of movement, and the second and subsequent line segments are separated by a desired distance from the first line segment,
It is possible to make an input so that the movement amount of the end point with respect to the start point is the same as the movement amount noted.

However, if the first line segment has already been completed, the amount of movement of the end point with respect to the start point of the line segment is unknown. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to draw the second line segment exactly in parallel. Further, even if the first line segment has been line-inputted, the same applies if the player forgets to make a note and inputs a pitch. That is, when the pitch is input, the point immediately before the end point is
This is because, not by the start point but by dividing the start point and the end point by the pitch, the seam automatically generated becomes the point closest to the end point. In this case, the movement amount of the end point with respect to the closest point is displayed, but the movement amount of the end point with respect to the start point is not displayed.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an automatic sewing machine according to the present invention makes it possible to display a movement amount between any two points, thereby making sewing data more efficient. It is intended to be. An automatic sewing machine according to a second aspect is intended to make it easy to grasp the outline of the arrangement of the position information in the sewable area.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the automatic sewing machine according to the first aspect of the present invention has at least a position indicating a position where a stitch is formed on a workpiece. An automatic sewing machine that performs a sewing operation by relatively moving a table and a needle on which a workpiece is fixed in accordance with sewing data including information, and inputting the position information for each stitch. Means, simulation operation means for relatively moving the table and the needle relative to each other according to the input of position information by the position information input means,
In the automatic sewing machine that is capable of creating the sewing data, within the range where the sewing of the automatic sewing machine is possible,
A reference point input means for designating a reference point; and, in response to the input of the position information by the position information input means, calculating the coordinates of the input position information with the reference point as the origin, and Relative coordinate display means for displaying on the image display device,
It is characterized by having.

In this automatic sewing machine, if a reference point is set in advance in a range where the automatic sewing machine can be sewn (hereinafter referred to as a sewing area) by a reference point input means, when the position information is input, the reference point is set. Coordinates (corresponding to the above-described moving amount) from the reference point to the position where the user is about to input are displayed on the image display device.

For example, when the parallel line is to be drawn, the start point of the already formed line segment is input as a reference point, and the position information of the end point of the line segment is input. Then, the coordinates of the reference point, ie, the end point with respect to the start point, are displayed on the image display device. In addition to the case where the existing sewing pattern is to be moved in addition to the case where the parallel lines are formed, the amount of movement can be easily known. For example, if you want to move the star-shaped sewing pattern to the right as much as possible, enter the point at the right end of the star as a reference point, and go right from there to hit the right end of the sewing area. Try to enter a point. The coordinates displayed at this time are the maximum moving amount of the star to the right.

As described above, since the coordinates of an arbitrary point with respect to an arbitrary reference point can be known, sewing data can be created more efficiently. It is to be noted that such a strict parallel line and an accurate maximum movement amount are important, but there are cases where it is desired to know the arrangement in the sewing area. This can be done as in claim 2.

That is, in the automatic sewing machine according to the second aspect,
According to the input of the position information by the position information input means,
Absolute coordinate display means for calculating coordinates of the input position information with a fixed point preset in the range as an origin and displaying the coordinates on the predetermined image display device.

In this way, it is possible to know where in the sewing area the position information to be input is located. For example,
When the sewing area is rectangular and the X coordinate is set to -130 to +130 and the Y coordinate is set to -65 to +65 with the position of the center of gravity as the origin, the coordinates are (+125, -10) by the absolute coordinate display means. When displayed, it can be understood that the position information is slightly below the center in the vertical direction on the right side of the sewing area. Therefore, it is easy to grasp the outline of the arrangement in the sewing area.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an automatic sewing machine 1 to which the present invention is applied. The automatic sewing machine 1 includes a sewing machine body that moves the needle 3 up and down, and a table 5 that is located below the needle 3 and that is moved back and forth and right and left. Perform sewing.

This sewing operation is performed in accordance with the sewing data created by the automatic sewing machine 1 (or another sewing data creating device). Automatic sewing machine 1
The operation panel 9 (to be referred to as a programmer 9 hereinafter) is used to create the operation panel. FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the programmer 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, the programmer 9 has a plurality of keys (hereinafter referred to as a key group 11) and a liquid crystal display 13. The key group 11 includes a cursor key 15,
It comprises a + key 17, a-key 19, a numeric key 21, a return key 23 and the like. Reference numeral 25 denotes an LED that is turned on or blinked to indicate that the key can be pressed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the automatic sewing machine 1. Note that FIG. 3 shows the programmer 9 and other parts (hereinafter, also referred to as the sewing machine main body 1) separately. First, the sewing machine body 1 has an X for moving the table 5.
A shaft motor 31, a Y-axis motor 33, a sewing machine motor 35 for moving the needle 3 up and down, a switch group 37 for operating the sewing machine main body 1, and a floppy disk for reading and writing sewing data on a floppy disk. A device 39, a buzzer 41 that sounds to alert the user of the sewing machine main body 1, an LED 43 that is lit to notify the user of an operation state and the like, and an operation of the sewing machine main body 1 and creation of sewing data. A ROM 45 in which necessary programs are stored, a RAM 47 for temporarily storing data used for executing the programs, and a CPU 49 for executing the programs stored in the ROM 45 are provided.

Actually, the CPU 49 and the sewing machine motor 35 are connected via a motor driver for generating a current according to a command signal from the CPU 49, and the floppy device 39 is connected to the CPU 49 via a disk device controller. Connected to each device, etc.
A necessary interface circuit is inserted between the PU 49 and the PU 49, but is omitted in the drawing. The sewing machine main body 1 and the programmer 9 are connected via an external communication unit 51.

On the other hand, the programmer 9 operates the key group 11 described above.
A liquid crystal display 13 (denoted as LCD in FIG. 3), an external communication unit 53 for directly transmitting / receiving a signal to / from the external communication unit 51 of the sewing machine body 1, a backlight 55 for illuminating the liquid crystal display 13 from behind, and a buzzer 41. A buzzer 57 that is appropriately sounded for substantially the same purpose and a programmer 9
ROM5 in which programs to be executed by
9, a RAM 61 for temporarily storing data used for executing the program, and a CPU 63 for executing a program built in the ROM 59. CPU63
Converts the instruction given via the key group 11 into a predetermined signal and outputs the signal to the sewing machine main body 1 side, or performs a predetermined display (described later) on the liquid crystal display 13 based on the signal received from the sewing machine main body 1 side. Or

The liquid crystal display 13 is controlled by the CPU 63.
FIG. 4A shows an example of the display shown in FIG. FIG. 4 (a)
Shows an example output to the liquid crystal display 13 in the trace mode. Here, the trace mode is a mode for checking sewing data that has been prepared in advance, and the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 3
3 is driven to move the table 5, and the absolute coordinates 71 and the relative coordinates 73 indicated by the position information are displayed on the liquid crystal display 13.

The absolute coordinates 71 are coordinates with respect to an origin set in advance in the sewing area of the automatic sewing machine 1. In the automatic sewing machine 1, the origin is located at the center of gravity of the rectangular sewing area 130 mm long and 260 mm wide. Is stipulated. The absolute coordinates 71 (100.
00, 60.00) indicates a position slightly to the left of the upper right corner in the sewing area. Here, it is assumed that the coordinates indicate the point B which is the end point of the line segment AB shown in FIG.

One relative coordinate 73 indicates a position relative to a preset reference point. Here, it is assumed that point A is input in advance as a reference point, and that point B is located 10 mm to the right and 3 mm upward with respect to this point A. The relative coordinates are different from the movement amount display conventionally performed in the following points. That is, conventionally, the relative coordinates with respect to the stitch (here, the point C) immediately before the point B where the absolute coordinates 71 are displayed are shown. On the other hand, the relative coordinates 73 indicate a relative position with respect to an arbitrary point set in advance.

Note that, in addition to the absolute coordinates 71 and the relative coordinates 73, an icon 75 indicating the input method used at the time of creation is input to the liquid crystal display 13 (in this figure, stitches are input one by one stitches (stitch input). ), The number of stitches 77 indicating the position information of the stitch currently indicated by the absolute coordinates 71, and the total number of stitches 7 forming the sewing data 7
9, an icon 81 indicating whether or not a signal is output to the outside with respect to the current position information, a sewing speed 83, and an end code 85 indicating whether or not the sewing data is completed.

The trace mode is advanced by pressing the + key 17 (see FIG. 2). This process is shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows a process performed when the + key 17 is pressed in the trace mode. In this process, the CPU 63 of the programmer 9 converts the input to the + key 17 into a predetermined signal and transmits the signal to the sewing machine main body 1 or transmits the absolute coordinates 71 and the relative coordinates 73 received from the sewing machine main body 1 to the liquid crystal display 13. On the other hand, the CPU 49 of the sewing machine main body 1 performs the processing of outputting the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 3 according to the signal from the programmer 9 and the sewing data.
3 is performed.

The process shown in FIG. 6 is started when the automatic sewing machine 1 is set to the trace mode and the target sewing data is read from the floppy device 39 to the RAM 47 by the CPU 49. It should be noted that the sewing data is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 6B, in which the driving amount of the X-axis motor 31 and the driving amount of the Y-axis motor 31 from the position information of the preceding point are sequentially stored. . When this process is started, first, in step S10, the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 33 are driven to move the table 5, and the origin is located immediately below the needle 3. Then, it waits until the + key 17 is pressed (S20).
When the + key 17 is pressed, the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 33 are driven to move the table 5 to the sewing start point (S
30). At this time, the absolute coordinates 71 and the relative coordinates 73 of the moved position are displayed on the liquid crystal display 13, but if no reference point is input, the coordinates with the origin set as a temporary reference point are displayed. That is, the absolute coordinates 71 and the relative coordinates 73 of the sewing start point are the same.

Then, the process proceeds to S40 and waits until the + key 17 is pressed again. When the + key 17 is depressed, the process proceeds to S50, where the stitch is moved by one stitch according to the sewing data in the RAM 47. That is, the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 33 are each driven by the drive amount stored as the sewing data to move the table 5. At this time, the liquid crystal display 1
As the absolute coordinates 71 displayed in 3, the sum of the absolute coordinates of the immediately preceding point and the movement amount moved in S40 is displayed. On the other hand, as for the relative coordinates 73, if the reference point is set, the above-described relative position is displayed. If the reference point is not set, the coordinates with the origin set as the temporary reference point are displayed.
With respect to the relative coordinates 73 other than the sewing start point, the drive amounts of the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 33 are converted into the moving distances in the X and Y directions of the table 5 for each component of the absolute coordinates of the sewing start point. It is calculated by accumulating things.

At S60, an L key 87 (see FIG. 2)
Wait until is pressed. When the L key 87 is pressed, S
Proceeding to step 70, a position immediately below the needle 3 is set as a reference point. In S80, it is determined whether or not the tracing of the sewing data has been completed. If YES, the process returns to S10, where the table 5 is moved again, and the origin is located immediately below the needle 3. If NO, that is, if there is a continuation in the sewing data, the process proceeds to S90, waits again for the + key 17 to be pressed, and if pressed, returns to S50. Hereinafter, each time the + key 17 is pressed,
Read the next position information recorded in the sewing data,
X-axis motor 31 and Y
The shaft motor 33 is driven. When the L key 87 is pressed, the position is set as a reference point, and thereafter, the absolute coordinates 71 and the relative coordinates 73 with respect to the set reference point are displayed on the liquid crystal display 13.

According to this process, the sewing start point cannot be set as the reference point, but if the sewing start point is to be set as the reference point,
-Press the key 19. This will end this process,
A process (not shown) for following the sewing data in the reverse direction is started. In this process, trace to the sewing start point,
By pressing the L key 87, the sewing start point can be set as a reference point.

When the relative coordinates 73 are displayed in the trace mode as described above, sewing data for forming a line segment DE parallel to the line segment AB being traced can be easily created. For this, first, point B with respect to reference point A
Make note of the relative coordinates (10.00, 3.00) of
The trace mode is ended, and the automatic sewing machine 1 is set to the creation mode. Then, the function for performing the above-described line input is operated, and the cursor key 15 and the return key 23 are operated.

When the cursor key 15 is operated, the CPU 63 of the programmer 9 issues a signal to the sewing machine body 1 in response thereto, and the CPU 49 of the sewing machine body 1 drives the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 33 to move the table 5. Let it. That is, the CPUs 49 and 6 that drive the X-axis motor 31 and the Y-axis motor 33 in response to the operation of the cursor key 15
3 corresponds to the simulated operation means of the present invention.

When the table 5 is moved in this way and comes to the position of the point D with respect to the needle 3, the return key 23 is pressed. Then, the X-axis motor 3 from the previous point (here, point B) of point D
1. Each drive amount of the Y-axis motor 33 is stored in the RAM 47 and registered as a start point of a line segment to be formed. That is, the cursor key 15 and the return key 23
It corresponds to the position information input means of the present invention. Since no stitches are formed between the point B and the point D, unlike the position information up to that point, attribute information indicating this is necessary, but is omitted here.

At this time, the liquid crystal display 13 displays the absolute coordinates 71 obtained by converting the drive amounts of the reference point motors 31 and 33 so far into the moving distance, and the relative coordinates 73 with respect to the reference point A. That is, at this time, the processing of the CPU 63 for displaying the absolute coordinates 71 on the liquid crystal display 13 corresponds to the processing as the absolute coordinate display means of the present invention, and the processing of the CPU 63 for displaying the relative coordinates 73 on the liquid crystal display 13 corresponds to the relative processing of the present invention. This corresponds to processing as coordinate display means. Here, the display of the relative coordinates 73 has little meaning.

After inputting the point D, the L key 87 is pressed. Then, the point D is set as the reference point instead of the point A (in the creation mode, the return key 23 is set).
By pressing the L key 87 without pressing, any position other than the stitch can be set as the reference point.) Here, the cursor keys 15 are operated to display (-10.00, -3.0) on the liquid crystal display 13 as relative coordinates 73.
The table 5 is moved to a position where 0) is displayed. That position is point E. The relative coordinates are shown in FIG.
The sign is opposite to that of the relative coordinate 73 shown in (a), because the line segment DE is in the opposite direction to the line segment AB. Here, if the return key 23 is pressed, the point E is registered, and if a pitch is input using the numeric keys 21, the line segment DE is divided at the pitch, and a stitch is automatically generated. The line segment DE thus created is
Since the actual line segment AB is created based on the relative position of the point B to the point A, the parallelism and the length are faithful to the line segment AB. The sewing data of the line segment DE thus created is stored in the floppy device 39 together with the sewing data of the line segment AB when the creation mode is terminated.
Is stored in

As described above, in the automatic sewing machine 1, the relative coordinates 73 of the position information indicated by the sewing data with respect to the reference point are displayed on the liquid crystal display 13 in both the sewing data creation mode and the trace mode. . Therefore, it is possible to easily create sewing data of a new sewing pattern based on the existing sewing pattern as described above. In addition, since the absolute coordinates 71 are also displayed, it is possible to know where the position information is located in the sewing area, and also to know the outline of the positional relationship with the arbitrary stitches input so far.

As described above, the automatic sewing machine 1 has been described as an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and can be implemented in various modes. For example, in the trace mode, a reference point may be input at an arbitrary time. Also, a plurality of reference points may be set. Then, the relative coordinates of each of these reference points may be displayed. In FIG. 4A, the coordinates are absolute coordinates 71 and relative coordinates 73.
Are displayed in two lines, but when two reference points can be set, three lines of absolute coordinates 71 and two relative coordinates 73 are displayed in total. Of course, other display modes may be used. For example, only one of the relative coordinates 73 may be displayed on the liquid crystal display 13, and the display may be switched to the other by any key operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of an automatic sewing machine 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a programmer 9 provided in the automatic sewing machine 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the automatic sewing machine 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of position information displayed on a liquid crystal display 13 of the automatic sewing machine 1 and an explanation regarding the position information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a CP when the automatic sewing machine 1 is in the trace mode.
It is a flowchart of the process performed in U49,63.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of stitch position information and sewing data formed by the automatic sewing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic sewing machine 3 ... Needle 5 ... Table 7 ... Workpiece 9 ... Programmer 11 ...
Key group 13: LCD display 15: Cursor keys 17
... + key 21 ... numeric key 23 ... return key 87
... L key 31 ... X-axis motor 33 ... Y-axis motor 35
… Sewing machine motor 37… Switch group 39… Floppy device 41
… Buzzers 49, 63… CPU 71… Absolute coordinates 73
… Relative coordinates

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Minoru Yamaguchi 15-1, Nashiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi

Claims (2)

[Claims] An automatic operation for performing a sewing operation by relatively moving a table and a needle on which a sewing object is fixed relative to each other in accordance with sewing data including at least position information indicating a position where a stitch is formed on the sewing object. A sewing machine, a position information input unit for inputting the position information for each stitch, and a simulating operation unit for relatively moving the table and the needle relative to each other in accordance with the input of the position information by the position information input unit When,
In the automatic sewing machine capable of creating the sewing data, a reference point input unit for designating a reference point within a range where sewing of the automatic sewing machine is possible, and position information by the position information input unit Depending on the input of
And a relative coordinate display means for calculating coordinates of the input position information with the reference point as the origin and displaying the coordinates on a predetermined image display device. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the position information input means calculates coordinates of the input position information with a fixed point set in advance within the range as an origin. The automatic sewing machine according to claim 1, further comprising: absolute coordinate display means for displaying on a display device.