US20160069007A1 - Sewing machine system, terminal device, method of synchronizing embroidery data for sewing machine system, and recording non-transitory medium storing program for terminal device - Google Patents
Sewing machine system, terminal device, method of synchronizing embroidery data for sewing machine system, and recording non-transitory medium storing program for terminal device Download PDFInfo
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- US20160069007A1 US20160069007A1 US14/634,656 US201514634656A US2016069007A1 US 20160069007 A1 US20160069007 A1 US 20160069007A1 US 201514634656 A US201514634656 A US 201514634656A US 2016069007 A1 US2016069007 A1 US 2016069007A1
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- embroidery data
- sewing machine
- terminal
- recording unit
- sewing
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- 238000009958 sewing Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 177
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 18
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims description 24
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 9
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 9
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 4
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000013523 data management Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000007726 management method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003086 colorant Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004973 liquid crystal related substance Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 1
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Classifications
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- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D05—SEWING; EMBROIDERING; TUFTING
- D05B—SEWING
- D05B19/00—Programme-controlled sewing machines
- D05B19/02—Sewing machines having electronic memory or microprocessor control unit
- D05B19/04—Sewing machines having electronic memory or microprocessor control unit characterised by memory aspects
- D05B19/06—Physical exchange of memory
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- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D05—SEWING; EMBROIDERING; TUFTING
- D05B—SEWING
- D05B19/00—Programme-controlled sewing machines
- D05B19/02—Sewing machines having electronic memory or microprocessor control unit
- D05B19/04—Sewing machines having electronic memory or microprocessor control unit characterised by memory aspects
- D05B19/08—Arrangements for inputting stitch or pattern data to memory ; Editing stitch or pattern data
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a sewing machine system, a terminal device, a method of synchronizing embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device.
- the tablet terminal In order for a tablet terminal to realize an operation equivalent to that performed with the sewing machine, the tablet terminal has to have the same embroidery data as that stored in the sewing machine.
- the embroidery editing application program is configured to include entire embroidery data stored in the sewing machine, and a volume of the program is large.
- a program component for control accounts for only about a dozen percent of an entire volume, and most of the remaining part is occupied by embroidery data and image data such as selection buttons.
- the embroidery data includes data that require copyright management, such as character patterns (hereinafter referred to as copyright data).
- copyright data is unfavorably copied to the tablet terminal along with the embroidery data.
- One or more embodiments of the present invention provide: a sewing machine system, in which an editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with a sewing machine may be performed by a terminal device using an embroidery editing application program that does not include embroidery data, and data management is appropriately performed; the terminal device; a method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system; and a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device.
- Embodiment (1) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a sewing machine system including: a sewing machine; and a terminal device, wherein the sewing machine and the terminal device are connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other, the sewing machine includes: a sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the terminal device; a sewing-machine-side recording unit configured to record embroidery data; and a control unit configured to respond to an inquiry from the terminal device, and the terminal device includes: a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine; a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data; an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery
- Embodiment (2) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein the terminal-side recording unit records no embroidery data in an initial state before wireless communication with the sewing machine is performed for the first time, and the embroidery data obtaining unit obtains the embroidery data from the sewing-machine-side recording unit when wireless communication at least with the sewing machine is enabled for the first time.
- Embodiment (3) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein to the embroidery data, attribute information indicating copy restriction is assigned.
- Embodiment (4) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (3), wherein when a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data having different attribute information are combined in an editing operation, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
- Embodiment (5) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (3), wherein when the editing unit generates new embroidery data by combining a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
- Embodiment (6) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein when the embroidery data is obtained, the embroidery data obtaining unit identifies individuality of the sewing machine as a communication target, and the system further includes: a post-edit embroidery data transmission unit configured to have a capability of transferring post-edit embroidery data edited by the editing unit only to the sewing machine as the communication target that is identified by the embroidery data obtaining unit.
- Embodiment (7) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the terminal device including: a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine; a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data; an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
- Embodiment (8) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a method of synchronizing embroidery data for a sewing machine system having a sewing machine and a terminal device connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other, the method including: a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
- Embodiment (9) One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for a terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the program causing a computer to execute: a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
- an editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with a sewing machine may be performed by a terminal device using an embroidery editing application program that does not include embroidery data, and data management is appropriately performed.
- FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an embodiment of a sewing machine system according to the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating control configurations of a sewing machine 10 and a tablet terminal 20 ;
- FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which a “pattern attribute change” screen is displayed in a sewing-machine-side display unit 11 ;
- FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an “attribute selection dialogue box” displayed in the sewing-machine-side display unit 11 ;
- FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of transferring embroidery data of the tablet terminal 20 ;
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation relating to a usage method and restriction of patterns for the tablet terminal 20 ;
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation relating to the usage method and the restriction of patterns for the tablet terminal 20 ;
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart relating to interrupt handling of communication by the sewing machine 10 ;
- FIG. 9 is a diagram of a sequence relating to transmission and reception of embroidery data between the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 ;
- FIG. 10 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which an embroidery pattern edited by the tablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where attribute information includes restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to a different sewing machine 10 B;
- FIG. 11 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which an embroidery pattern edited by the tablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where the attribute information includes the restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to the sewing machine 10 from which the embroidery pattern is originally obtained.
- FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an embodiment of a sewing machine system according to the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating control configurations of a sewing machine 10 and a tablet terminal 20 .
- FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are schematic diagrams, in which sizes and shapes of components are shown figuratively if appropriate in order to facilitate understanding.
- the sewing machine system includes the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 as a terminal device, and the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 are able to communicate with each other through a wireless LAN via a router or the like (not shown).
- the sewing machine 10 is able to perform embroidery semi-automatically according to embroidery data, using threads of a plurality of colors, for example.
- the sewing machine 10 is a multi-functional sewing machine capable of performing normal sewing with various sewing patterns.
- the embroidery data is referred to a “pattern” when appropriate, and the “embroidery data” is assumed to be a synonym for the “pattern”.
- the sewing machine 10 includes a sewing-machine-side display unit 11 , a sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit 12 , a sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 , and a control unit 14 .
- the sewing-machine-side display unit 11 is provided for the sewing machine 10 itself, and configured by a liquid crystal display device, for example.
- various information useful for a user is displayed according to an operational status of the sewing machine. For example, in a state in which needle threading is performed, information that may help needle threading operation is displayed.
- the content that is displayed has a number of variations.
- the sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit 12 is connected to the wireless LAN, and is able to perform wireless communication mutually with the tablet terminal 20 via a router or the like (not shown).
- the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 is configured by a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, or the like, and records embroidery data for several hundreds of patterns.
- Each of the patterns of the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 has attribute information.
- the attribute information is set so as to indicate a level of copy restriction, and there are four types of attribute information in this embodiment.
- Attribute 1 the data is copiable to the tablet terminal 20 , editable by the tablet terminal 20 , and transferable to a different sewing machine. Specifically, the attribute 1 indicates that the data may be freely copied and treated.
- Attribute 2 the data is copiable to the tablet terminal 20 , and editable by the tablet terminal 20 , but transferable only to the sewing machine 10 owned by the user. Specifically, the attribute 2 indicates that the sewing machine to which the data may be transferred is restricted.
- Attribute 3 the data is copiable to the tablet terminal 20 , but an editing feature by the tablet terminal 20 is restricted.
- the attribute 3 indicates that there is a certain restriction in the editing operation.
- Attribute 4 copying of the data to the tablet terminal 20 is prohibited, and the data may be used only within the sewing machine 10 .
- the attribute 4 typically assigned to copyright data such as character patterns.
- the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 may record patterns that the user externally obtained (user-generated patterns).
- the user-generated patterns are also transferable to the tablet terminal 20 , and an attribute may be set to each of the user-generated patterns.
- the control unit 14 controls operation of the sewing machine 10 as a whole.
- the control unit 14 also makes a response to an inquiry from the tablet terminal 20 . Further, the control unit 14 allows the sewing machine 10 to alone perform the editing operation such as combining patterns or changing a shape of a pattern.
- the sewing machine 10 described above is able to change the attribute.
- an operator operates a touch panel of the sewing-machine-side display unit 11 to open a “pattern attribute change” screen.
- FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which the “pattern attribute change” screen is displayed in the sewing-machine-side display unit 11 .
- FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an “attribute selection dialogue box” displayed in the sewing-machine-side display unit 11 .
- the operator touches a target pattern and place a check mark D 1 . Then, as the “attribute selection dialogue box” shown in FIG. 4 opens when an attribute change button D 2 is pressed, the operator may select an attribute to be changed, press an OK button, and change the attribute. However, the attribute 3 and the attribute 4 may not be changed, as it is prohibited to change these attributes. Further, when patterns of different attributes are combined by editing operation, one of the attributes with heavier restriction is carried over. For example, if a pattern that is prohibited to be transferred to a different sewing machine is included in a group of patterns that are being edited, transferring of an entire patterns in the group to a different sewing machine is also prohibited.
- the attribute information described above is assigned to stored embroidery data previously recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13
- the attribute information may also be assigned to a pattern stored by the user.
- the attribute information set for the embroidery data is carried over even if editing and storing is repeated.
- Setting and changing of the attribute information described above may be performed by operating the sewing machine 10 , and the patterns copied to the tablet terminal 20 may be used under the set conditions (within the restriction based on the attribute information).
- a general-purpose product that is commonly available in the market may be used.
- a program for the sewing machine system (application program) is installed in the tablet terminal 20 and executed.
- This program may be recorded in a recording non-transitory medium such as a flash memory device, or may be downloaded through various known networks.
- the tablet terminal 20 includes a terminal-side display unit 21 , a terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 , a terminal-side recording unit 23 , an embroidery data obtaining unit 24 , an editing unit 25 , and a post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 .
- the terminal-side display unit 21 is configured to serve as a touch panel, with which various input may be performed in addition to display of information.
- the terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 is connected to the wireless LAN, and is able to perform wireless communication mutually with the sewing machine 10 via a router or the like (not shown).
- the terminal-side recording unit 23 is configured by a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, or the like, and records embroidery data obtained from the sewing machine 10 . It should be noted that, the embroidery data is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 at all immediately after the program for this system is installed in the tablet terminal 20 . In other words, the program for this system does not include the embroidery data, and configured only by a control program component.
- the embroidery data obtaining unit 24 compares the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 , obtains embroidery data that is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 from the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 , and records, i. e., copies the obtained embroidery data in the terminal-side recording unit 23 . However, the embroidery data obtaining unit 24 does not obtain embroidery data whose copying is restricted based on the attribute information even if the embroidery data is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 .
- the embroidery data obtaining unit 24 obtains an MAC address in order to identify individuality of the sewing machine 10 as a communication target which the obtained embroidery data is transmitted, and associates the MAC address with the obtained embroidery data.
- the MAC address may be obtained only when the attribute is the attribute 2.
- the editing unit 25 operates so as to perform various editing to the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 according to the operator's operation.
- Examples of the editing include combining of a plurality of different kinds of patterns.
- the embroidery data to which the editing of combining a plurality of different kinds of patterns is performed by the function of the editing unit 25 in the tablet terminal 20 is also subjected to management of attribute information similarly to the case in which the editing is performed in the sewing machine 10 .
- one of the attributes with heavier restriction is carried over.
- the editing unit 25 operates so as to prevent a restricted editing operation such as scaling of a pattern from being performed.
- the post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 transmits post-edit embroidery data that has been edited by the editing unit 25 to the sewing machine 10 . Therefore, the sewing machine 10 is able to perform embroidery based on the embroidery data that has been edited by the editing unit 25 in the tablet terminal 20 .
- the post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 confirms the attribute information described above to determine if there is restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine. If the attribute is the attribute 2, transferring is allowed only to the sewing machine 10 owned by the user. Accordingly, the post-edit embroidery data is not transmitted to a different sewing machine other than the sewing machine 10 (hereinafter referred to as a different sewing machine 10 B).
- the MAC address is used.
- the post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 determines whether or not to transmit the embroidery data by confirming an MAC address of a sewing machine to which the post-edit embroidery data is transmitted (the sewing machine 10 or the different sewing machine 10 B). In this manner, if the attribute is the attribute 2, the post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 allows transmission of the post-edit embroidery data that has been edited only to the sewing machine 10 as the communication target that has been identified by the embroidery data obtaining unit 24 .
- FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of transferring the embroidery data of the tablet terminal 20 .
- the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 are connected via a router (not shown), and are able to communicate with each other through a wireless LAN by previously having cryptosystems match and setting a password on either side.
- Step (hereinafter simply referred to as S) 1 the tablet terminal 20 confirms if a pattern stored in the sewing machine 10 is already recorded in the tablet terminal 20 , and makes determination in S 2 . If the pattern stored in the sewing machine 10 is not recorded in the tablet terminal 20 , the operation moves to S 3 , and the tablet terminal 20 transmits a request command to the sewing machine 10 for a pattern list.
- the tablet terminal 20 waits for the pattern list to be transmitted from the sewing machine 10 .
- the tablet terminal 20 receives the pattern list, and records the list temporarily.
- the tablet terminal 20 requests for the embroidery data in order to copy a pattern in the pattern list from the sewing machine 10 to the tablet terminal 20 .
- the tablet terminal 20 waits for the embroidery data to be transferred from the sewing machine 10 , and upon reception of one pattern, records the pattern as a file in a recording area of the tablet terminal 20 (S 8 ).
- the tablet terminal 20 registers an attribute of this pattern (S 9 ) as well as an MAC address indicating a source of the pattern (S 10 ).
- the tablet terminal 20 draws an image for a selection button from the embroidery data to generate a pattern icon, and registers the icon in a selection screen.
- the tablet terminal 20 repeats from S 6 to S 12 until all of the patterns registered in the pattern list are received.
- the above process is performed once if a pattern is not copied in the tablet terminal 20 . Further, even if the pattern is copied in the tablet terminal 20 , when the embroidery data stored in the sewing machine 10 includes a pattern of embroidery data that is not recorded in the tablet terminal 20 , the tablet terminal 20 obtains this pattern of embroidery data alone.
- FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are flowcharts showing a flow of an operation relating to a usage method and the restriction of the patterns for the tablet terminal 20 .
- the tablet terminal 20 displays a pattern selection screen in which icons of the patterns copied from the sewing machine 10 to the tablet terminal 20 are arranged.
- the tablet terminal 20 adds an image of the pattern selected by the user to the edit screen.
- the tablet terminal 20 registers new attribute information as a result of the combination. Setting of the new attribute information is performed according to the rules described above.
- the tablet terminal 20 determines whether or not the editing is completed according to the user' s operation. If more patterns are to be added, the operation of the tablet terminal 20 returns to S 22 from S 28 , and a next pattern is selected. This process is repeated by the number of the patterns.
- the operation moves to S 29 , and the tablet terminal 20 determines whether or not attribute information of the generated pattern includes restriction on the transmission-target sewing machine. If the attribute of the generated pattern indicates that “there is the restriction on the transmission-target sewing machine”, the tablet terminal 20 requests for status information of the sewing machine 10 in S 30 , and then obtains the MAC address of the sewing machine 10 in S 31 .
- the tablet terminal 20 compares the MAC addresses. If the MAC addresses do not match, the operation moves to S 35 , and the tablet terminal 20 displays a message and stops transmission of the pattern to the sewing machine 10 . If the MAC addresses match, or if it has been determined that transmission of the pattern is not restricted in S 29 , the operation moves to S 33 , and the tablet terminal 20 transmits the post-edit embroidery data (pattern) to the sewing machine 10 and waits for completion of the transmission.
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart relating to interrupt handling of communication by the sewing machine 10 .
- the interrupt handling is started upon reception of a command from the tablet terminal 20 , and in S 41 , the sewing machine 10 receives a command.
- the sewing machine 10 determines the command, and generates a list of machine-stored patterns if a pattern list is requested.
- the sewing machine 10 determines pattern attribute of a pattern, and adds the pattern to the list if transmission of the pattern is not prohibited (S 44 ).
- the sewing machine 10 repeats the operation from S 43 to S 45 , and generates a pattern list of all patterns.
- the operation moves to S 47 , and the sewing machine 10 converts binary data of a specified pattern in the ROM into embroidery data in a file.
- the sewing machine 10 transmits the converted embroidery data to the tablet terminal 20 .
- FIG. 9 is a diagram of a sequence relating to transmission and reception of embroidery data between the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 .
- a pattern list is requested (S 301 and S 302 ).
- the sewing machine 10 makes a list of patterns whose attribute allows transfer out of the machine-stored patterns (S 303 ), and transmits the pattern list (S 304 ).
- the tablet terminal 20 sequentially requests for a pattern in the pattern list (S 305 ), and registers a file, an attribute, and an MAC address of the embroidery data for each pattern (S 306 to S 313 , . . . ).
- the sewing machine 10 first converts binary embroidery data in the ROM into embroidery data in a file, and then transmits the converted data to the tablet terminal 20 .
- FIG. 10 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which the embroidery pattern edited by the tablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where the attribute information includes restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to the different sewing machine 10 B.
- FIG. 11 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which the embroidery pattern edited by the tablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where the attribute information includes the restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to the sewing machine 10 from which the embroidery pattern is originally obtained.
- the tablet terminal 20 As described above, according to the sewing machine system, the tablet terminal 20 , the method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and the program for the tablet terminal 20 of this embodiment, as the program for the tablet terminal 20 is separated from the patterns stored in the sewing machine (machine-stored patterns), and configured only by a control program, the program (application) does not include the pattern data or image data such as selection buttons, and therefore an entire volume may be reduced to a small size. Therefore, it takes only a short time to download the program from an online store or the like. The number of the machine-stored patterns tends to increase more and more in recent years, and the configuration of separating the embroidery data is expected to be still more effective in the future.
- the data for machine-stored patterns is directly transferred from the sewing machine via a telecommunication line (such as LAN), contents of the data for machine-stored patterns and variation of the patterns always match the data stored in the sewing machine, eliminating necessity to consider a difference between versions of the sewing machine and the application.
- a telecommunication line such as LAN
- contents of the data for machine-stored patterns and variation of the patterns always match the data stored in the sewing machine, eliminating necessity to consider a difference between versions of the sewing machine and the application.
- there are the completely same patterns both in the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 there is no problem such as the patterns may differ even if the editing operation is performed separately by the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 .
- the sewing machine from which the machine-stored pattern received may be identified by the MAC address of the sewing machine, it is possible to restrict transmission of the pattern data to the different sewing machine, and thus to prevent a machine-stored pattern from being copied or the like.
- the tablet terminal 20 and the method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system according to the present invention by having the process of the tablet terminal 20 be recorded in a computer-readable recording non-transitory medium, and by having the tablet terminal 20 read and execute a program recorded in the recording non-transitory medium.
- the computer includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.
- the program may be transmitted from the computer having the program stored in a storage device or the like to another computer via a transmission medium or by transmitted waves in the transmission medium.
- the “transmission medium” that transmits the program refers to a medium having a function for transmitting information, like a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a telecommunication line (communication line) such as telephone line.
- the program may be for realizing a part of the function described above.
- the program may be a so-called difference file (difference program) with which the functions described above may be achieved in combination with a program that is already recorded in the computer.
- a tablet terminal is used as the terminal device.
- the present invention is not limited to such an example, and a personal computer or a gaming machine may be used as the terminal device, for example.
- a terminal device of any configuration may be used.
- the sewing machine and the tablet terminal communicate through a wireless LAN is described.
- the present invention is not limited to such an example, and it is possible to use a different type of wireless communication such as infrared communication or Bluetooth (registered trademark), for example.
- the tablet terminal 20 uses the MAC address to identify individuality of a sewing machine as the communication target.
- the present invention is not limited to such an example, and it is possible to use a different type of information such a serial number of the sewing machine.
- control unit 14 control unit
- terminal-side display unit 21 terminal-side display unit
Abstract
A sewing machine includes: a sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the terminal device; a sewing-machine-side recording unit configured to record embroidery data; and a control unit configured to respond to an inquiry from the terminal device. The terminal device includes: a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine; a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data; an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
Description
- This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-180512 filed on Sep. 4, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
- The present invention relates to a sewing machine system, a terminal device, a method of synchronizing embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device.
- Conventionally, there is known a technique of connecting a sewing machine to a personal computer or the like via a wireless communication (see PTL 1).
- Further, in recent years, tablet terminals that can be used in a simpler manner have become widely used in various fields in place of personal computers.
- In the field of sewing machines, systems in which a sewing machine and a tablet terminal may be connected via a wireless LAN have also been developed. In the conventional system, a single-purpose embroidery editing application program is installed in a tablet terminal. With the embroidery editing application program, it is possible to perform an offline editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with the sewing machine.
- In order for a tablet terminal to realize an operation equivalent to that performed with the sewing machine, the tablet terminal has to have the same embroidery data as that stored in the sewing machine.
- However, as the embroidery editing application program is configured to include entire embroidery data stored in the sewing machine, and a volume of the program is large. In the conventional embroidery editing application program, a program component for control accounts for only about a dozen percent of an entire volume, and most of the remaining part is occupied by embroidery data and image data such as selection buttons. In order for a user to download such a conventional embroidery editing application program of a large volume from an online store, for example, it takes a long time.
- Further, in order to have the embroidery data stored in the sewing machine and the embroidery data held by the embroidery editing application program match, it is necessary to prepare an embroidery editing application program for every model of the sewing machine. Even with this, when embroidery data is newly added to the sewing machine using an external recording non-transitory medium, or when a firmware version of the sewing machine is updated, it is not possible to respond only with the embroidery editing application program that has been installed in the tablet terminal, and the user has to additionally perform updating of the version of the embroidery editing application program or the like.
- Moreover, the embroidery data includes data that require copyright management, such as character patterns (hereinafter referred to as copyright data). In the case of the conventional embroidery editing application program, such copyright data is unfavorably copied to the tablet terminal along with the embroidery data.
- PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-141471
- One or more embodiments of the present invention provide: a sewing machine system, in which an editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with a sewing machine may be performed by a terminal device using an embroidery editing application program that does not include embroidery data, and data management is appropriately performed; the terminal device; a method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system; and a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device.
- Embodiment (1): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a sewing machine system including: a sewing machine; and a terminal device, wherein the sewing machine and the terminal device are connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other, the sewing machine includes: a sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the terminal device; a sewing-machine-side recording unit configured to record embroidery data; and a control unit configured to respond to an inquiry from the terminal device, and the terminal device includes: a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine; a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data; an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
- Embodiment (2): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein the terminal-side recording unit records no embroidery data in an initial state before wireless communication with the sewing machine is performed for the first time, and the embroidery data obtaining unit obtains the embroidery data from the sewing-machine-side recording unit when wireless communication at least with the sewing machine is enabled for the first time.
- Embodiment (3): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein to the embroidery data, attribute information indicating copy restriction is assigned.
- Embodiment (4): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (3), wherein when a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data having different attribute information are combined in an editing operation, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
- Embodiment (5): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (3), wherein when the editing unit generates new embroidery data by combining a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
- Embodiment (6): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein when the embroidery data is obtained, the embroidery data obtaining unit identifies individuality of the sewing machine as a communication target, and the system further includes: a post-edit embroidery data transmission unit configured to have a capability of transferring post-edit embroidery data edited by the editing unit only to the sewing machine as the communication target that is identified by the embroidery data obtaining unit.
- Embodiment (7): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the terminal device including: a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine; a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data; an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
- Embodiment (8): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a method of synchronizing embroidery data for a sewing machine system having a sewing machine and a terminal device connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other, the method including: a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
- Embodiment (9): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for a terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the program causing a computer to execute: a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
- According to a sewing machine system, the terminal device, a method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention, an editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with a sewing machine may be performed by a terminal device using an embroidery editing application program that does not include embroidery data, and data management is appropriately performed.
-
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an embodiment of a sewing machine system according to the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating control configurations of asewing machine 10 and atablet terminal 20; -
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which a “pattern attribute change” screen is displayed in a sewing-machine-side display unit 11; -
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an “attribute selection dialogue box” displayed in the sewing-machine-side display unit 11; -
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of transferring embroidery data of thetablet terminal 20; -
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation relating to a usage method and restriction of patterns for thetablet terminal 20; -
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation relating to the usage method and the restriction of patterns for thetablet terminal 20; -
FIG. 8 is a flowchart relating to interrupt handling of communication by thesewing machine 10; -
FIG. 9 is a diagram of a sequence relating to transmission and reception of embroidery data between thesewing machine 10 and thetablet terminal 20; -
FIG. 10 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which an embroidery pattern edited by thetablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where attribute information includes restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to adifferent sewing machine 10B; and -
FIG. 11 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which an embroidery pattern edited by thetablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where the attribute information includes the restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to thesewing machine 10 from which the embroidery pattern is originally obtained. - Hereinafter, an embodiment for implementing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an embodiment of a sewing machine system according to the present invention. -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating control configurations of asewing machine 10 and atablet terminal 20. - The following figures including
FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 are schematic diagrams, in which sizes and shapes of components are shown figuratively if appropriate in order to facilitate understanding. - Further, while specific values, shapes, operations, and the like are referred in the following description, these are mere examples and may be modified as appropriate.
- The sewing machine system according to this embodiment includes the
sewing machine 10 and thetablet terminal 20 as a terminal device, and thesewing machine 10 and thetablet terminal 20 are able to communicate with each other through a wireless LAN via a router or the like (not shown). - The
sewing machine 10 is able to perform embroidery semi-automatically according to embroidery data, using threads of a plurality of colors, for example. Thesewing machine 10 is a multi-functional sewing machine capable of performing normal sewing with various sewing patterns. - In the following description, the embroidery data is referred to a “pattern” when appropriate, and the “embroidery data” is assumed to be a synonym for the “pattern”.
- The
sewing machine 10 includes a sewing-machine-side display unit 11, a sewing-machine-sidewireless communication unit 12, a sewing-machine-side recording unit 13, and acontrol unit 14. - The sewing-machine-
side display unit 11 is provided for thesewing machine 10 itself, and configured by a liquid crystal display device, for example. In the sewing-machine-side display unit 11, various information useful for a user is displayed according to an operational status of the sewing machine. For example, in a state in which needle threading is performed, information that may help needle threading operation is displayed. As the sewing machine is multi-functional, the content that is displayed has a number of variations. - The sewing-machine-side
wireless communication unit 12 is connected to the wireless LAN, and is able to perform wireless communication mutually with thetablet terminal 20 via a router or the like (not shown). - The sewing-machine-
side recording unit 13 is configured by a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, or the like, and records embroidery data for several hundreds of patterns. Each of the patterns of the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 has attribute information. The attribute information is set so as to indicate a level of copy restriction, and there are four types of attribute information in this embodiment. - Attribute 1: the data is copiable to the
tablet terminal 20, editable by thetablet terminal 20, and transferable to a different sewing machine. Specifically, theattribute 1 indicates that the data may be freely copied and treated. - Attribute 2: the data is copiable to the
tablet terminal 20, and editable by thetablet terminal 20, but transferable only to thesewing machine 10 owned by the user. Specifically, theattribute 2 indicates that the sewing machine to which the data may be transferred is restricted. - Attribute 3: the data is copiable to the
tablet terminal 20, but an editing feature by thetablet terminal 20 is restricted. The attribute 3 indicates that there is a certain restriction in the editing operation. - Attribute 4: copying of the data to the
tablet terminal 20 is prohibited, and the data may be used only within thesewing machine 10. The attribute 4 typically assigned to copyright data such as character patterns. - Further, in addition to the patterns (embroidery data) that are previously stored in the
sewing machine 10, the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 may record patterns that the user externally obtained (user-generated patterns). The user-generated patterns are also transferable to thetablet terminal 20, and an attribute may be set to each of the user-generated patterns. - The
control unit 14 controls operation of thesewing machine 10 as a whole. Thecontrol unit 14 also makes a response to an inquiry from thetablet terminal 20. Further, thecontrol unit 14 allows thesewing machine 10 to alone perform the editing operation such as combining patterns or changing a shape of a pattern. - The
sewing machine 10 described above is able to change the attribute. In order to change the attribute of a pattern with thesewing machine 10, an operator operates a touch panel of the sewing-machine-side display unit 11 to open a “pattern attribute change” screen. -
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which the “pattern attribute change” screen is displayed in the sewing-machine-side display unit 11. -
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an “attribute selection dialogue box” displayed in the sewing-machine-side display unit 11. - In order to change the attribute of a pattern, the operator touches a target pattern and place a check mark D1. Then, as the “attribute selection dialogue box” shown in
FIG. 4 opens when an attribute change button D2 is pressed, the operator may select an attribute to be changed, press an OK button, and change the attribute. However, the attribute 3 and the attribute 4 may not be changed, as it is prohibited to change these attributes. Further, when patterns of different attributes are combined by editing operation, one of the attributes with heavier restriction is carried over. For example, if a pattern that is prohibited to be transferred to a different sewing machine is included in a group of patterns that are being edited, transferring of an entire patterns in the group to a different sewing machine is also prohibited. - Further, while the previously set attribute information described above is assigned to stored embroidery data previously recorded in the sewing-machine-
side recording unit 13, the attribute information may also be assigned to a pattern stored by the user. - Moreover, the attribute information set for the embroidery data is carried over even if editing and storing is repeated.
- Setting and changing of the attribute information described above may be performed by operating the
sewing machine 10, and the patterns copied to thetablet terminal 20 may be used under the set conditions (within the restriction based on the attribute information). - Referring back to
FIG. 1 andFIG. 2 , as thetablet terminal 20, a general-purpose product that is commonly available in the market may be used. In order to use thetablet terminal 20 as a terminal device according to this embodiment, a program for the sewing machine system (application program) is installed in thetablet terminal 20 and executed. This program may be recorded in a recording non-transitory medium such as a flash memory device, or may be downloaded through various known networks. - The
tablet terminal 20 includes a terminal-side display unit 21, a terminal-sidewireless communication unit 22, a terminal-side recording unit 23, an embroiderydata obtaining unit 24, anediting unit 25, and a post-edit embroiderydata transmission unit 26. - The terminal-
side display unit 21 is configured to serve as a touch panel, with which various input may be performed in addition to display of information. - The terminal-side
wireless communication unit 22 is connected to the wireless LAN, and is able to perform wireless communication mutually with thesewing machine 10 via a router or the like (not shown). - The terminal-
side recording unit 23 is configured by a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, or the like, and records embroidery data obtained from thesewing machine 10. it should be noted that, the embroidery data is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 at all immediately after the program for this system is installed in thetablet terminal 20. In other words, the program for this system does not include the embroidery data, and configured only by a control program component. - The embroidery
data obtaining unit 24 compares the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23, obtains embroidery data that is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 from the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13, and records, i. e., copies the obtained embroidery data in the terminal-side recording unit 23. However, the embroiderydata obtaining unit 24 does not obtain embroidery data whose copying is restricted based on the attribute information even if the embroidery data is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23. Further, when the embroidery data is obtained, the embroiderydata obtaining unit 24 obtains an MAC address in order to identify individuality of thesewing machine 10 as a communication target which the obtained embroidery data is transmitted, and associates the MAC address with the obtained embroidery data. Here, the MAC address may be obtained only when the attribute is theattribute 2. - The
editing unit 25 operates so as to perform various editing to the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 according to the operator's operation. Examples of the editing include combining of a plurality of different kinds of patterns. Here, the embroidery data to which the editing of combining a plurality of different kinds of patterns is performed by the function of theediting unit 25 in thetablet terminal 20 is also subjected to management of attribute information similarly to the case in which the editing is performed in thesewing machine 10. Specifically, when patterns of different attributes are combined by editing operation, one of the attributes with heavier restriction is carried over. - Further, if the editing operation is restricted as in the case of the attribute 3, the
editing unit 25 operates so as to prevent a restricted editing operation such as scaling of a pattern from being performed. - The post-edit embroidery
data transmission unit 26 transmits post-edit embroidery data that has been edited by theediting unit 25 to thesewing machine 10. Therefore, thesewing machine 10 is able to perform embroidery based on the embroidery data that has been edited by theediting unit 25 in thetablet terminal 20. Here, when the embroidery data that has been edited is transmitted to thesewing machine 10, the post-edit embroiderydata transmission unit 26 confirms the attribute information described above to determine if there is restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine. If the attribute is theattribute 2, transferring is allowed only to thesewing machine 10 owned by the user. Accordingly, the post-edit embroidery data is not transmitted to a different sewing machine other than the sewing machine 10 (hereinafter referred to as adifferent sewing machine 10B). In order to distinguish thesewing machine 10 from thedifferent sewing machine 10B (identification), the MAC address is used. As described above, as the embroiderydata obtaining unit 24 has obtained the MAC address when the embroidery data is obtained, the post-edit embroiderydata transmission unit 26 determines whether or not to transmit the embroidery data by confirming an MAC address of a sewing machine to which the post-edit embroidery data is transmitted (thesewing machine 10 or thedifferent sewing machine 10B). In this manner, if the attribute is theattribute 2, the post-edit embroiderydata transmission unit 26 allows transmission of the post-edit embroidery data that has been edited only to thesewing machine 10 as the communication target that has been identified by the embroiderydata obtaining unit 24. - Next, a method of synchronizing embroidery data for the sewing machine system according to this embodiment is described with reference to flowcharts.
-
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation of transferring the embroidery data of thetablet terminal 20. - Here, the
sewing machine 10 and thetablet terminal 20 are connected via a router (not shown), and are able to communicate with each other through a wireless LAN by previously having cryptosystems match and setting a password on either side. - Upon starting up the application program for embroidery editing on the
tablet terminal 20, in Step (hereinafter simply referred to as S) 1, thetablet terminal 20 confirms if a pattern stored in thesewing machine 10 is already recorded in thetablet terminal 20, and makes determination in S2. If the pattern stored in thesewing machine 10 is not recorded in thetablet terminal 20, the operation moves to S3, and thetablet terminal 20 transmits a request command to thesewing machine 10 for a pattern list. - In S4, the
tablet terminal 20 waits for the pattern list to be transmitted from thesewing machine 10. - In S5, the
tablet terminal 20 receives the pattern list, and records the list temporarily. - In S6, the
tablet terminal 20 requests for the embroidery data in order to copy a pattern in the pattern list from thesewing machine 10 to thetablet terminal 20. - In S7, the
tablet terminal 20 waits for the embroidery data to be transferred from thesewing machine 10, and upon reception of one pattern, records the pattern as a file in a recording area of the tablet terminal 20 (S8). - At the same time, the
tablet terminal 20 registers an attribute of this pattern (S9) as well as an MAC address indicating a source of the pattern (S10). - In S11, the
tablet terminal 20 draws an image for a selection button from the embroidery data to generate a pattern icon, and registers the icon in a selection screen. Thetablet terminal 20 repeats from S6 to S12 until all of the patterns registered in the pattern list are received. The above process is performed once if a pattern is not copied in thetablet terminal 20. Further, even if the pattern is copied in thetablet terminal 20, when the embroidery data stored in thesewing machine 10 includes a pattern of embroidery data that is not recorded in thetablet terminal 20, thetablet terminal 20 obtains this pattern of embroidery data alone. -
FIG. 6 andFIG. 7 are flowcharts showing a flow of an operation relating to a usage method and the restriction of the patterns for thetablet terminal 20. - In S21, the
tablet terminal 20 displays a pattern selection screen in which icons of the patterns copied from thesewing machine 10 to thetablet terminal 20 are arranged. - In S22, the user selects one of the patterns in the
tablet terminal 20. - In S23, the
tablet terminal 20 adds an image of the pattern selected by the user to the edit screen. - In S24, if the attribute of the pattern indicates that “editing is restricted”, the operation of the
tablet terminal 20 moves to S26, skipping S25, so that an operation for scaling and rotation (S25) may not be performed. - In S26, the
tablet terminal 20 moves and positions the pattern according to the user's operation. - In S27, the
tablet terminal 20 registers new attribute information as a result of the combination. Setting of the new attribute information is performed according to the rules described above. - In S28, the
tablet terminal 20 determines whether or not the editing is completed according to the user' s operation. If more patterns are to be added, the operation of thetablet terminal 20 returns to S22 from S28, and a next pattern is selected. This process is repeated by the number of the patterns. - Upon completion of the editing operation, the operation moves to S29, and the
tablet terminal 20 determines whether or not attribute information of the generated pattern includes restriction on the transmission-target sewing machine. If the attribute of the generated pattern indicates that “there is the restriction on the transmission-target sewing machine”, thetablet terminal 20 requests for status information of thesewing machine 10 in S30, and then obtains the MAC address of thesewing machine 10 in S31. - In S32, the
tablet terminal 20 compares the MAC addresses. If the MAC addresses do not match, the operation moves to S35, and thetablet terminal 20 displays a message and stops transmission of the pattern to thesewing machine 10. If the MAC addresses match, or if it has been determined that transmission of the pattern is not restricted in S29, the operation moves to S33, and thetablet terminal 20 transmits the post-edit embroidery data (pattern) to thesewing machine 10 and waits for completion of the transmission. -
FIG. 8 is a flowchart relating to interrupt handling of communication by thesewing machine 10. - The interrupt handling is started upon reception of a command from the
tablet terminal 20, and in S41, thesewing machine 10 receives a command. - In S42, the
sewing machine 10 determines the command, and generates a list of machine-stored patterns if a pattern list is requested. - In S43, the
sewing machine 10 determines pattern attribute of a pattern, and adds the pattern to the list if transmission of the pattern is not prohibited (S44). - In S45, the
sewing machine 10 confirms if there is a next pattern, and the operation returns to S43 if there is the next pattern, and moves to S46 if there is no next pattern. - In this manner, the
sewing machine 10 repeats the operation from S43 to S45, and generates a pattern list of all patterns. - On the other hand, if the command is a request for a pattern data in the determination in S42, the operation moves to S47, and the
sewing machine 10 converts binary data of a specified pattern in the ROM into embroidery data in a file. - In S48, the
sewing machine 10 transmits the converted embroidery data to thetablet terminal 20. - In S49, the
sewing machine 10 transmits attribute information of this pattern. -
FIG. 9 is a diagram of a sequence relating to transmission and reception of embroidery data between thesewing machine 10 and thetablet terminal 20. - In a sequence of obtaining the embroidery data, when it is determined that there is machine-stored pattern that has not been transferred to the
tablet terminal 20, a pattern list is requested (S301 and S302). Thesewing machine 10 makes a list of patterns whose attribute allows transfer out of the machine-stored patterns (S303), and transmits the pattern list (S304). - The
tablet terminal 20 sequentially requests for a pattern in the pattern list (S305), and registers a file, an attribute, and an MAC address of the embroidery data for each pattern (S306 to S313, . . . ). Here, thesewing machine 10 first converts binary embroidery data in the ROM into embroidery data in a file, and then transmits the converted data to thetablet terminal 20. -
FIG. 10 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which the embroidery pattern edited by thetablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where the attribute information includes restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to thedifferent sewing machine 10B. -
FIG. 11 is a diagram of a sequence showing a case in which the embroidery pattern edited by thetablet terminal 20 is transmitted to the sewing machine, where the attribute information includes the restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine, and the embroidery pattern is to be transmitted to thesewing machine 10 from which the embroidery pattern is originally obtained. - If there is included a pattern with attribute information indicating that “the transmission-target sewing machine is restricted” (S401 and S501), an MAC address of a transmission target, which is the
sewing machine 10 or thedifferent sewing machine 10B, is requested before transmission (S402 and S502), and the MAC address is received from thesewing machine 10 or thedifferent sewing machine 10B (S403 to S404, and S503 to S504). If the MAC addresses do not match (S405), a message indicating that transmission is discontinued is displayed (S406), and the transmission is stopped. If the MAC addresses match (S505) the sequence of pattern transmission is executed (S506 to S510). - As described above, according to the sewing machine system, the
tablet terminal 20, the method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and the program for thetablet terminal 20 of this embodiment, as the program for thetablet terminal 20 is separated from the patterns stored in the sewing machine (machine-stored patterns), and configured only by a control program, the program (application) does not include the pattern data or image data such as selection buttons, and therefore an entire volume may be reduced to a small size. Therefore, it takes only a short time to download the program from an online store or the like. The number of the machine-stored patterns tends to increase more and more in recent years, and the configuration of separating the embroidery data is expected to be still more effective in the future. - Further, as the data for machine-stored patterns is directly transferred from the sewing machine via a telecommunication line (such as LAN), contents of the data for machine-stored patterns and variation of the patterns always match the data stored in the sewing machine, eliminating necessity to consider a difference between versions of the sewing machine and the application. Moreover, as there are the completely same patterns both in the
sewing machine 10 and thetablet terminal 20, there is no problem such as the patterns may differ even if the editing operation is performed separately by thesewing machine 10 and thetablet terminal 20. - Furthermore, as the sewing machine from which the machine-stored pattern received may be identified by the MAC address of the sewing machine, it is possible to restrict transmission of the pattern data to the different sewing machine, and thus to prevent a machine-stored pattern from being copied or the like.
- It is also possible to realize the
tablet terminal 20, and the method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system according to the present invention by having the process of thetablet terminal 20 be recorded in a computer-readable recording non-transitory medium, and by having thetablet terminal 20 read and execute a program recorded in the recording non-transitory medium. As used herein, the computer includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. - Further, when a WWW (World Wide Web) system is used, a web-page providing environment (or display environment) is also included in the computer. Moreover, the program may be transmitted from the computer having the program stored in a storage device or the like to another computer via a transmission medium or by transmitted waves in the transmission medium. As used herein, the “transmission medium” that transmits the program refers to a medium having a function for transmitting information, like a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a telecommunication line (communication line) such as telephone line.
- Furthermore, the program may be for realizing a part of the function described above. In addition, the program may be a so-called difference file (difference program) with which the functions described above may be achieved in combination with a program that is already recorded in the computer.
- The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and may be modified or altered in various ways, which are also included within the scope of the present invention.
- In this embodiment, the example in which a tablet terminal is used as the terminal device is described. The present invention is not limited to such an example, and a personal computer or a gaming machine may be used as the terminal device, for example. As long as the application program can be executed and wireless communication with the sewing machine is possible, a terminal device of any configuration may be used.
- In this embodiment, the example in which the sewing machine and the tablet terminal communicate through a wireless LAN is described. The present invention is not limited to such an example, and it is possible to use a different type of wireless communication such as infrared communication or Bluetooth (registered trademark), for example.
- In this embodiment, the example in which the
tablet terminal 20 uses the MAC address to identify individuality of a sewing machine as the communication target is described. The present invention is not limited to such an example, and it is possible to use a different type of information such a serial number of the sewing machine. - While the embodiment and the modified embodiment may be used in an appropriate combination, detailed descriptions shall be omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.
- 10: sewing machine
- 10B: different sewing machine
- 11: sewing-machine-side display unit
- 12: sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit
- 13: sewing-machine-side recording unit
- 14: control unit
- 20: tablet terminal
- 21: terminal-side display unit
- 22: terminal-side wireless communication unit
- 23: terminal-side recording unit
- 24: embroidery data obtaining unit
- 25: editing unit
- 26: post-edit embroidery data transmission unit
Claims (9)
1. A sewing machine system comprising:
a sewing machine; and
a terminal device, wherein
the sewing machine and the terminal device are connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other,
the sewing machine includes:
a sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the terminal device;
a sewing-machine-side recording unit configured to record embroidery data; and
a control unit configured to respond to an inquiry from the terminal device, and
the terminal device includes:
a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine;
a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data;
an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and
an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
2. The sewing machine system according to claim 1 , wherein
the terminal-side recording unit records no embroidery data in an initial state before wireless communication with the sewing machine is performed for the first time, and
the embroidery data obtaining unit obtains the embroidery data from the sewing-machine-side recording unit when wireless communication at least with the sewing machine is enabled for the first time.
3. The sewing machine system according to claim 1 , wherein
to the embroidery data, attribute information indicating copy restriction is assigned.
4. The sewing machine system according to claim 3 , wherein
when a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data having different attribute information are combined in an editing operation, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
5. The sewing machine system according to claim 3 , wherein
when the editing unit generates new embroidery data by combining a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
6. The sewing machine system according to claim 1 , wherein
when the embroidery data is obtained, the embroidery data obtaining unit identifies individuality of the sewing machine as a communication target, and
the system further comprises: a post-edit embroidery data transmission unit configured to have a capability of transferring post-edit embroidery data edited by the editing unit only to the sewing machine as the communication target that is identified by the embroidery data obtaining unit.
7. A terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the terminal device comprising:
a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine;
a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data;
an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and
an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
8. A method of synchronizing embroidery data for a sewing machine system having a sewing machine and a terminal device connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other, the method comprising:
a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
9. A recording non-transitory medium storing a program for a terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the program causing a computer to execute:
a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2014180512A JP6494960B2 (en) | 2014-09-04 | 2014-09-04 | Sewing machine system, terminal device, embroidery data synchronization method in sewing machine system, terminal device program |
JP2014-180512 | 2014-09-04 |
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US20160069007A1 true US20160069007A1 (en) | 2016-03-10 |
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US14/634,656 Abandoned US20160069007A1 (en) | 2014-09-04 | 2015-02-27 | Sewing machine system, terminal device, method of synchronizing embroidery data for sewing machine system, and recording non-transitory medium storing program for terminal device |
Country Status (4)
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US (1) | US20160069007A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP6494960B2 (en) |
CN (1) | CN105986367B (en) |
TW (1) | TW201610257A (en) |
Cited By (4)
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US20200063309A1 (en) * | 2018-02-27 | 2020-02-27 | Levi Strauss & Co. | Apparel Design System with Collection Management |
US10995437B2 (en) * | 2018-07-05 | 2021-05-04 | Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. | Coordinate data generator, sewing machine, and non-transitory recording medium |
US11268226B2 (en) * | 2018-10-09 | 2022-03-08 | Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. | Sewing data processing system, terminal, sewing machine, and program |
US20220403572A1 (en) * | 2021-06-17 | 2022-12-22 | Janome Corporation | Coordinate data creating device, sewing machine and program |
Families Citing this family (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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TWI601864B (en) * | 2016-08-19 | 2017-10-11 | Zeng Hsing Industrial Co Ltd | Embroidery machine wireless transmission control method |
CN106801300A (en) * | 2016-12-12 | 2017-06-06 | 罗莱生活科技股份有限公司 | A kind of embroidery machine line color goes out the automatic control system and method for pin order |
CN106757817A (en) * | 2016-12-20 | 2017-05-31 | 广西风华服饰有限责任公司 | A kind of industrial sewing machine and method of sewing |
CN108315879B (en) * | 2017-01-17 | 2021-01-29 | 北京大豪科技股份有限公司 | Pattern editing method and device |
JP2020121063A (en) * | 2019-01-31 | 2020-08-13 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Information processing system, information processing device, and information processing method |
CN113308805A (en) * | 2021-04-24 | 2021-08-27 | 深圳市星火数控技术有限公司 | Multi-axis motion control method and controller based on interconnection bus and universal serial bus |
CN113862907B (en) * | 2021-09-13 | 2023-10-31 | 浙江大豪明德智控设备有限公司 | Control method, device, equipment, storage medium and program product for stitch head mechanism |
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JP2001300166A (en) * | 2000-04-27 | 2001-10-30 | Juki Corp | Electronic sewing machine |
JP2002058888A (en) * | 2000-08-18 | 2002-02-26 | Janome Sewing Mach Co Ltd | Sewing machine and sewing machine system |
WO2002081803A1 (en) * | 2001-03-30 | 2002-10-17 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Sawing pattern supply system |
JP2004141471A (en) * | 2002-10-25 | 2004-05-20 | Janome Sewing Mach Co Ltd | Network connectable embroidery machine and network system |
JP4818784B2 (en) * | 2006-04-14 | 2011-11-16 | Juki株式会社 | Sewing data creation method and sewing data creation device |
JP2008102786A (en) * | 2006-10-19 | 2008-05-01 | Sanyo Electric Co Ltd | Communication method, terminal device using the same, and communication system |
JP2008220475A (en) * | 2007-03-09 | 2008-09-25 | Juki Corp | Sewing machine |
CN101748564B (en) * | 2008-12-04 | 2013-02-13 | Juki株式会社 | Control device and control method of sewing machine |
JP5308837B2 (en) * | 2009-01-16 | 2013-10-09 | ヤフー株式会社 | Mobile terminal synchronization system and method |
-
2014
- 2014-09-04 JP JP2014180512A patent/JP6494960B2/en active Active
-
2015
- 2015-02-10 CN CN201510071213.8A patent/CN105986367B/en active Active
- 2015-02-11 TW TW104104626A patent/TW201610257A/en unknown
- 2015-02-27 US US14/634,656 patent/US20160069007A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20200063309A1 (en) * | 2018-02-27 | 2020-02-27 | Levi Strauss & Co. | Apparel Design System with Collection Management |
US11000086B2 (en) * | 2018-02-27 | 2021-05-11 | Levi Strauss & Co. | Apparel design system with collection management |
US11618995B2 (en) | 2018-02-27 | 2023-04-04 | Levi Strauss & Co. | Apparel collection management with image preview |
US10995437B2 (en) * | 2018-07-05 | 2021-05-04 | Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. | Coordinate data generator, sewing machine, and non-transitory recording medium |
US11268226B2 (en) * | 2018-10-09 | 2022-03-08 | Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. | Sewing data processing system, terminal, sewing machine, and program |
US20220403572A1 (en) * | 2021-06-17 | 2022-12-22 | Janome Corporation | Coordinate data creating device, sewing machine and program |
US11926942B2 (en) * | 2021-06-17 | 2024-03-12 | Janome Corporation | Coordinate data creating device, sewing machine and program |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP6494960B2 (en) | 2019-04-03 |
JP2016052473A (en) | 2016-04-14 |
CN105986367A (en) | 2016-10-05 |
CN105986367B (en) | 2020-02-11 |
TW201610257A (en) | 2016-03-16 |
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Legal Events
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Owner name: JANOME SEWING MACHINE CO., LTD., JAPAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:KONGO, TAKESHI;REEL/FRAME:035058/0075 Effective date: 20150220 |
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STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |