JPS63139588A - Embroidering pattern forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Object of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an embroidery pattern creation device that creates embroidery data for an embroidery sewing machine that forms a desired pattern on fabric using stitches. In particular, the present invention relates to an embroidery pattern creation device that automatically creates embroidery data for a multi-needle embroidery sewing machine that finishes an embroidery pattern in groups of colors using multicolored threads.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, multi-needle embroidery sewing machines use stitch data that is recorded in advance on perforated tape, magnetic tape, etc., and represents the coordinate position where the sewing needle will fall, which is necessary to sew a certain pattern; It operates according to embroidery data consisting of selection data for selecting a sewing needle to sew the pattern. However, this makes it impossible to embroider patterns other than the combinations of patterns recorded on the various tapes, so in recent years, new embroidery patterns have been created by processing the embroidery data read from the various tapes to some extent. An embroidery pattern creation device that creates one-stitch data for embroidering is provided. For example, read the above embroidery data.

It is possible to create a desired embroidery pattern by processing the embroidery data and enlarging the pattern, changing the selected data and changing the color, etc., according to the values input by the operator. It is.

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

In conventional embroidery pattern creation devices, the user has no choice but to imagine what kind of embroidery pattern will be formed on the cloth after changing the embroidery data, which is extremely inconvenient for creating embroidery patterns.

That is, it is clear from experience that when an embroidery pattern is created in which only the hue is changed by changing the selection data, the impression given by the pattern is significantly different from that before the change. However, with conventional embroidery pattern creation devices, it is not possible to know what kind of embroidery pattern will be created with the changed embroidery data before the actual embroidery is performed, and processes such as trial sewing are required, making them useless. Embroidery thread and fabric were consumed and a lot of time was wasted.

In addition, since it is up to the operator of the multi-needle embroidery machine to select the combination of hues to attach embroidery thread to each needle of the multi-needle embroidery machine that is entered on embroidery days and evenings, the hue of the embroidery thread is There has been a desire for an embroidery pattern creation device that is highly versatile and adaptable to changes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an excellent embroidery pattern creation device with high versatility.

[Means for solving the problems] The means configured by the present invention to solve the above problems are as follows:
As shown in the basic configuration diagram in Figure 1, a multi-needle embroidery machine has multiple sewing needles that work together with one pot, and attaches sewing threads of different hues to the sewing needles to perform multi-colored embroidery. The embroidery pattern creation device for creating embroidery data including the sewing needle selection data used in , pattern selection means C2 for selecting an arbitrary pattern from among the plurality of patterns stored in the pattern storage means; hue input means C3 for inputting the hue of the sewing thread attached to the sewing needle; and the pattern selection means a sewing needle selecting means C4 for selecting a sewing needle for sewing the pattern selected by the means C2; and a sewing needle selecting means C4 for selecting a sewing needle for sewing the pattern selected by the pattern selecting means C2;
The hue input means C for the sewing needle selected in step 4
display control means C5 for displaying on the two-dimensional display screen P according to the hue inputted in step 3; and the multi-needle embroidery including the sewing needle selection data based on the embroidery pattern created on the two-dimensional display screen P. Embroidery data creation means C that creates embroidery data to be executed by the sewing machine
The gist of the present invention is an embroidery pattern creating device characterized by comprising the following.

[Function] The pattern storage means C1 in the present invention is for storing minimum unit patterns, such as alphanumeric characters and symbols, when creating an embroidery pattern.

The pattern selection means C2 selects a desired pattern from among the plurality of patterns stored in the pattern storage means, and selects a pattern that becomes an element for creating an embroidery pattern.

Further, the hue input means C3 is for inputting the hue of the sewing thread attached to each of a plurality of sewing needles. Teach conditions specific to needle embroidery sewing machines.

The sewing needle selection means C4 selects a sewing needle for sewing the pattern selected by the pattern selection means C2. For example, a certain pattern is one of the sewing needles.
You can specify the sewing needle by the number attached to the sewing needle, such as number 2 for other patterns, or select the hue "red" of the sewing thread attached to the sewing needle number 1 in the above example. The sewing needle is selected by, for example, changing to the sewing needle selection using the sewing machine.

The display control means C5 displays the pattern selected by the pattern selection means C2 on the two-dimensional display screen P, and changes the hue of the display to the sewing needle selected by the sewing needle selection means C4 to sew the pattern. The hue input by the hue input means C3 is assumed. In other words, the embroidery completed on the cloth is simulated on the two-dimensional display screen P.

The embroidery data creation means C6 generates one-stitch data, which is the positional information of the needle groove point of the sewing needle, for actually embroidering the embroidery pattern created on the two-dimensional display screen P on the cloth as described above. Create selection data that is color change information. Using this embroidery data, the same pattern as displayed on the two-dimensional display screen P is embroidered onto the cloth.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, in order to explain the present invention more specifically, the present invention will be described in detail by giving examples.

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

The configuration will be described in detail below with reference to each of the drawings.

The entire system consists of a two-headed multi-needle embroidery machine 10 having a plurality of needles for each developing color, as shown in the regulation perspective view of FIG. 2, and embroidery data is transmitted to the multi-needle embroidery machine 10 Embroidery pattern creation device 60 for forming a desired embroidery pattern
It consists of and.

The multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 has been completed as a well-known automatic embroidery machine, and uses, for example, single-stitch data representing position data of sewing points of an embroidery pattern and multi-needle sewing needles from a tape reader (not shown) or the like. When embroidery data consisting of selection data indicating whether to perform embroidery is input, embroidery faithful to the data is performed. In the figure, a driver unit 20 installed at the bottom of a multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 decodes the above embroidery data, moves a needle change motor 58 that changes the sewing needle, and a frame body 32 holding an embroidery frame 30 in the X direction. , a set of pulse motors 36, 3B for moving in the Y direction,
It controls the sewing motor 57, which moves the sewing needle up and down to form stitches. Note that the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 includes an encoder 34 that detects the number of rotations of the main shaft that moves the sewing needle up and down, as well as an upper thread sensor (not shown) that detects cutting of the upper thread, and the position of the sewing needle. It is equipped with sensors necessary for drive control of the various motors mentioned above, such as the needle bar sensor 54, and provides detection signals to the driver unit 20.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a mechanism of a set of pulse motors (X-Y motors) that drive the frame 32 in the X and Y directions. As shown in the figure, a belt 40.4 is stretched in a V-shape with gears fitted to the output shafts of the X motor 36 and Y motor 38.
2, the rollers 44 and 46 inserted into the belts 40 and 42 and fitted into the frame body 32 move, and the frame body 32 can be moved in the X direction and the Y direction.

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

As shown in the figure, the embroidery pattern creation device 60 of the embodiment communicates with the driver unit of the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 through an interface R3422, and is responsible for creating embroidery data. Then, while decoding the transmitted embroidery data, the driver unit 20 decodes the above-mentioned encoder 34 and the needle thread detection device 52 having the needle thread sensor 50.
, the detection output from the color change device 56 having the needle bar sensor 54 is judged, and the X motor 36, the Y motor 38, the sewing motor 57, and the needle change motor 58 are controlled. The CPU 2OA constituting the driver unit 20 executes information processing according to the contents of the ROM 20B that stores the above-mentioned control procedures.

Interfaces (I/F) 20D to 20F A/D convert the detection signals from each sensor, temporarily store them, and respond to read signals from the CPU 2OA, and each motor controller 20G to 20I converts the detection signals from the CPU 2OA to control signals. A drive signal for each motor is created by performing D/A conversion and amplification.

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

As described above, the driver unit 20 is configured as a logic operation circuit and processes digital signals. Therefore, the embroidery pattern creating device @60 of this embodiment is similarly configured as a logic operation circuit as shown in FIG.

That is, the CPU 60A, which executes logical operations, reads and processes the contents of the ROM 60B, which stores various control programs to be described later, in accordance with input from the mouse 60C and keyboard 60D. Further, information necessary for the above processing is appropriately read from a magnetic disk attached to the hard disk drive (HD) 60F and flexible disk drive (FDD) 602, and the processed information is stored on the same disk. As is well known, the CPU 60A is equipped with an image display screen on a two-dimensional display screen so that it is easy to understand what kind of processing the CPU 60A is currently executing, as well as the results of the processing and commands that can be input. niC
The RT controller 60H controls the display contents on the screen while reading the contents of the video RAM 60J, and the CPU 60A controls the operation of the CRT controller 601-1 and changes the contents stored in the video RAM 60J as appropriate. In addition, R
The AM60 temporarily stores information and the CPU60A
Volatile memory element that assists logical operations, I/F60L,
60M is input means: mouse 60C, keyboard 60
This is the interface of D. Another interface I/F 6ON is an R3422 interface that enables communication with the driver unit 20 described above, and transmits embroidery data to the driver unit 20.

The embroidery pattern creation device 60 configured as described above stores in advance a minimum unit embroidery pattern (hereinafter referred to as a pattern) that is the basis for embroidery in a hard disk installed in the HD 60F. The structure of this information will be explained next.

FIGS. 7 to 10 are explanatory diagrams of pattern information stored in the hard disk. The pattern information stored on the hard disk is stored as a style master file as shown in FIG. In other words, it is obvious that preparing a variety of patterns is most convenient for creating embroidery patterns. Furthermore, even within the same alphabet, there are patterns in various styles such as block fonts, printed fonts, and floral fonts. Therefore, these patterns are collectively managed and stored as a file for each style as a set of patterns with the same relationship (same style).

Files for each style are read by specifying the name of the style from the style master file, and three types of files are prepared therein: an index search file, an index file, and a data file. This is because the pattern data that ultimately specifies the shape etc. of each pattern is stored in a data file, but since the pattern data of one style has too much information, it is necessary to make data management easier and to This is to shorten the search time.

First, we will explain the data file.

Figures 8 to 10 are explanations of the column data stored in the data file, and Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram of column data expressing the same alphabetic character rAJ in various styles, and Figure 9 is an explanation of the column data. is a column explanatory diagram of the style shown in FIG. 8(A), and FIG. 10 represents the data expression of the column of FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 8, each pattern is expressed as a set of columns of rectangles and arcs. For example, rAJ, which has the same alphabet, has various styles, so it is classified into patterns grouped by style, (A), (B
), (C) Diagrams are stored in files with different style names.

Here, as an example, the character rA in the style shown in Figure 8 (A>
The column data of J will be explained. As shown in Figure 9 (A>), there are four types of columns: thick rectangles and circular arcs, and thinner straight lines and circular arcs.
Each column is assigned an order, and the pattern in Figure 9 (A>) consists of five columns numbered 1 to 5. This order indicates the order in which each column will be sewn. Embroidery is done in descending order of numbers.The numbers from ■ to ■ in the diagram represent position data to express each column, and the coordinates from ■ to ■ are set at the vertices of the rectangular columns. , the straight column is a special type in which the vertices ■ and ■ and ■ and ■ of the rectangular columns mentioned above have the same coordinates.The position data ■~■ representing each column above are the rectangular coordinates determined for each pattern. They are positioned according to the system. Figure 10 is a diagram showing each position data ■ to ■ of the five columns shown in Figure 9 (A>) together with the actual values.As is clear from the figure, this example Now column N0
．． Points ■ and ■ of column No. 1 and point ■ of column N0.4 are defined as the origin of the rectangular coordinate system (hereinafter referred to as the character origin).

These columns form a pattern by using the character origin as the starting point for embroidery and sewing the area surrounded by the straight lines of points ■, ■ and ■, ■, which are the width, as shown in Figure 9 (B). .

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

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

In FIG. 11, the distance from the character origin CO is expressed using rectangular coordinates (Xl, Vl>, (X2.Vz)).

This is a column defined by points 1S, 2S, 3S, and 4S represented by (Xx, Va>, (Xa, Va). In order to sew this column as shown, the sewing point movement distance Δx1.Δy1 It can be seen that it is sufficient to calculate Δx2.Δy2.This sewing point movement distance Δx1.
Follow the steps to calculate Δy1, ΔX2, and Δy2 National policy 1
Shown in Figure 2. This is a procedure that is always executed when sewing this type of column in the CPU 60A when creating embroidery data by the embroidery pattern creation device 60.

First, in the CPU 60A, four points (xl.

V 1 ') e <X 2 , V 2 >,
...-(X4e'V4), step 101 is executed, and the sides of the column (X 1.
V 1) and (×2°Vz) and (x 3 , y 3
) and (Xa, Va), each midpoint (Xffh
+Vm1) and (Xmz IVm2) are obtained.

Next, in step 102, the result (xml, ym
1) and (Xm2.Vf) to calculate the column average length. Then, in the subsequent step 103, the desired sewing point is moved based on the stitch density P (number of times/Cm) for sewing the column and the average length of the column, which are input in advance before executing this type of processing as described later. Distance Δx1. Δ
y, and Δx2. Four types of values of Δy2 are calculated. By doing the above, the operator can obtain uniform stitch position data and -needle data with a desired number of pitches.

Next, the case of the curved column shown in FIG. 13 will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 14 and 16.

This type of column is different from the rectangular column shown in FIG. 11, and as shown in FIG.
Xl, Vl), (X2, V2), ..., (Xs, Vs
) are displayed using five points, points 18 to 5S. Therefore, as described above, when the CPU 60A determines that the column to be processed is a column consisting of five points, it executes step 201 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step 201, first, point (X 1. Vl)
, (X 2 , V 2 ) and (X a , V 3
), (x4*Va> midpoint of two line segments (xml
, Vllh), (XJ, Vl2).

Next, in step 202, calculate the equation of one circle that passes through the three points, the two midpoints obtained earlier and the sewing point (X5.Vs), and calculate the center point (xo, yO) of the circle and its Calculate radius R@.

In the following step 203, a circle with radius R centered at (xO, yO) and points (Xm1.Vlfh), (Xm2.
The following two mouths are calculated based on Vmz). First, line segments (xO, yO), (XJ, VITh) and line segment (
xo, yO), (Xm2, Vl2) from the horizontal line α1. the average angle α of α2, then the intersection P51 (×51
, y51) are obtained.

Then, in the next step 204, the line segment (×1°Vl)
, (X2 ,'/2), (XJ, Va), (xa
+y a ) with the horizontal axis β1. The average β of β2 is calculated, and in the subsequent step 205, an equation of a straight line passing through the point P51 and having an inclination of β with respect to the horizontal axis is calculated.

In step 206, the length of the straight line passing through the point P51 obtained in step 205 described above is h3. Q23 is determined according to the formula in the figure. That is, the width at the midpoint is determined so that the width of the arc changes evenly. And in the next step 207, the length on the straight line! 213. Coordinates pm 3 and pm4 at the position of Q23 are calculated, followed by step 208
Then, the equation of a circle passing through the coordinate Pm3 and points 13 and 3S, and in step 209, the coordinate Pm4 and point 2S
.

4S is calculated, and the outer shape of the arc column is determined.

Once the outer shape of the arcuate column is determined as explained in FIGS. 13 and 14 above, the stitch density P( (number of times/cm) according to the flowchart in FIG.

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

In this way, when the number of sewing points on the circular arc is determined, the movement angle per stitch is set at S16 so that the sewing points are evenly distributed on the circular arc. S2θ is obtained as one angle when the arc 13°Pm3,3S and the arc 2S, pm4,4S are equally divided by the total number of stitches.

Then, in the process of step 213, the number of stitches n is set to O, and in step 214, the variable n is set to
It is determined whether or not the number of stitches is equal to the total number of stitches calculated in step 1. If the number of stitches is equal to the total number of stitches, the routine ends, and if not, the process proceeds to the following process.

In step 215, the variable n is incremented by "1", and in the subsequent step 216, the movement angle S1
Arc 13.0 multiplied by variable n and advanced by one stitch.
Position data on pm 3.33 is calculated in step 217.

And this column is a column with no width (1S=23.3
It is determined in step 218 whether or not S=4S>, and if the column has no width, the process returns to step 214 again to shorten calculation time and calculate the arc 1S, Pm 3.3.
The next sewing position on the arc of S is calculated.

If the judgment in step 218 is that the column is not a widthless column, the subsequent steps 219 and 220 are executed, and the arc 2S, pm is moved by the variable n times at the movement angle S20.
The position data of the sewing point on a, 4S is calculated, and the process returns to step 214.

As described above, the embroidery pattern creation device 60 of this embodiment stores a pattern in a data file as a set of columns expressed by a plurality of points, such as a 4-point column, a 5-point column, and a 6-point column. Therefore, it becomes possible to significantly compress information.

In addition, as shown in Figure 7, the data structure is such that before the coordinates indicating each column data, the number of parts indicating how many columns the pattern consists of, and the width of the pattern are stored together. There is.

Data representing each pattern is thus created and stored in the HD 60F as a data file. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to quickly search the huge amount of data created in this way, the first address b11e where the data of each pattern in the data file is stored is stored.
An index file is created by collecting bl 2 e....

This index file is the pattern a11 or a1 that you want to search using, for example, ASCII key code or JIS code.
2, the pattern has a one-to-one correspondence with the address so that the address where the column data for that pattern is stored can be immediately retrieved.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the embroidery pattern creation device 60 of this embodiment is provided with an index search file so that even if the index file has a large capacity, the search time will be shortened. In this method, a predetermined number of pairs of patterns and addresses in an index file are defined as one record, and only the code of the pattern at the beginning of each record is filed. According to this index search file, it is possible to instantly find out which record contains the code of the pattern you want to search, and therefore, by simply searching the corresponding record in the index file, you can search for the desired data file. This is extremely useful for saving time, such as knowing the address.

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

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

First, when the embroidery pattern creation device 60 is started, step 3
By processing 00, menu screen 1 is displayed on the CRT 60G, and the operator can perform input operations such as selecting data and specifying constants while viewing the screen. The data input in the process of menu screen 1 is used for processes such as auto scale set and group origin set executed in the next step 301, and calculations necessary to execute the pattern display process described later are performed. It will be done. The process in step 302 is executed when preparations for pattern display processing are completed in this way, and clears menu screen 1 currently displayed on the CRT 60G and changes to menu screen 2, which can display the next pattern. , is the process of displaying. Then, the embroidery pattern corresponding to the input operation is displayed on the menu screen 2 (step 303), allowing the operator to visually confirm the pattern. Further, the editing process step 304, which is executed subsequent to the above processing, is a process of visually confirming the pattern for embroidery on the menu screen 2 and making desired changes.

This is a process for making corrections to finally create the desired embroidery pattern, and thus embroidery data is created according to the pattern displayed on the CRT 60G.

The above series of main program processing is performed by “BACKJ
When the key is pressed, it goes into a reset state and returns to step 3.
By returning to 00, it is possible to create new embroidery patterns.

In this way, CR of the embroidery pattern can be done while following the main processing procedure.
Creation is executed on the T60G. Below, the processing of each step described above will be explained in more detail.

FIG. 18 shows that the CRT is
This is a display example of menu screen 1 displayed on 60G. The screen is roughly divided into four blocks 81 to B4. Block B1 is a style designation block for designating which style (font) the currently desired pattern is from among the many pattern data stored in the hard disk 60F described above. The file with the style specified in this block (see Figure 7) is opened, and the lower index search files, index files, and data files are searched, and the desired pattern of data, that is, column data, is read out. It is possible.

Block B2 is an area where edit items for patterns that can be freely selected are listed.
terJ is displayed, its size, display interval between each pattern, height, sewing density, inclination angle, column width expansion/reduction, pattern width expansion/reduction, and sewing methods such as satin stitch and fill stitch. All items that can be changed or corrected when embroidering a pattern are displayed, such as the selection of the embroidery thread and the color of the embroidery thread.

Block B3 is an area for setting the format of the embroidery pattern for the entire group when a plurality of patterns form one set (hereinafter referred to as a group).

As shown in Figures 19 to 23, one group consisting of multiple patterns can be expressed vertically, horizontally, diagonally,
And they are arranged on an arc and are diverse. Therefore, the arrangement of this group is determined by the numbers 1 to 6 set in the Disposition. Here, the number "1" is arranged horizontally as shown in Figures 19 and 20, and the number "2" is arranged vertically as shown in Figure 21. ``3'' is a diagonal array that goes upward to the right as shown in Figure 22, ``4'' is a diagonal array that is downward to the right as shown in Figure 23, and the number ``5''.

"6" represents an upper circular arc array and a lower circular arc array, which are not shown, respectively. What is center or left?
When position is set to "1", the origin of the group can be set to the midpoint of all groups as shown in Figures 19 and 20, and the left end of the group can be set to the center point. This is for selecting whether to display left-justified as the origin, where the number rOJ indicates center distribution and the number "1" indicates left-justified. l-11
-1ei Interval is [)iSpO9it
This has meaning when ion is set to r3J and r4J, and it determines how much adjacent patterns are displaced in the vertical direction (Y direction) to form a diagonal arrangement, as shown in Figures 22 and 23. It is something to give.

Also, Rad + us is a variable that sets the radius of the arc when the [)isposition setting is r5J, r6J, LFInterva.
l represents a variable that sets mutual displacement in the Y direction of the groups.

Block B4 is an area where the selected pattern is displayed, and the figure shows alphanumeric characters rABCJ, rabcJ, r123J.
This example shows three groups consisting of three letters. These patterns are specified by pressing the corresponding keys on the keyboard 60D after determining what kind of embroidery pattern is desired for each of the blocks described above.

The above are the work items on the menu screen 1, but in this embodiment, the settings on the menu screen 1 can be changed as follows. There are many sewing needles at the head of the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10, and a desired embroidery thread can be attached to each of these sewing needles. Therefore, the block B mentioned above
When executing the embroidery thread setting (Color Code) in step 2, the number of sewing needles to be attached to which color of embroidery thread differs depending on each system, and can be set individually. is desirable. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to be able to freely change the relationship between the sewing needle number and the color of the embroidery thread, and to understand the status at a glance, the CRT
It is configured to be displayed on 60G.

[co] displayed at the bottom of block B2 in Fig. 18
Seven rectangular columns are set on the right side of the lor CodeJ row, each displaying a different hue. This column corresponds to the color of the embroidery thread attached to the multi-needle needles 1 to 7 (the multi-needle embroidery machine 10 of this embodiment uses up to 5 stitches), and the left end is the color of the embroidery thread attached to the needles 1 to 7 (the multi-needle embroidery machine 10 of this embodiment uses up to 5 needles). It is possible to visually confirm the color of the embroidery thread set to needle "2", then the color of the embroidery thread set to needle "2", etc.

Therefore, when setting the color of each pattern mentioned above, 7
Visually check and select the desired color from the two columns, then input from the keyboard the column number from the left in which the selected color is (the figure shows the state in which "1" is input from the keyboard). ), you can set the sewing needle number.

The above color setting is the 24th color stored in ROM60B.
This is done using the flowchart shown in the figure and the color code table shown in FIG. 25 stored in the hard disk 60F. Here, the color code table is one in which seven color codes corresponding to hues are set in seven tables corresponding to sewing needle numbers 1 to 7. ! FIG. 26 is a correspondence table between the color code of this embodiment and the colors displayed on the CRT 60G. That is, for example, if the color code is
1", the CRT controller 60H is a video RAM
The predetermined display information of 60J is displayed only in blue among the three primary colors (red, blue, and green).

When the color displayed on the menu screen 1 is different from the color of the embroidery thread attached to the multi-needle embroidery sewing machine 10 to be controlled, the operator operates the keyboard 60D to cause the CPU 60A to execute the process of the flowchart in FIG. 24. let C.P.L.
For I60A, first set counter C to "1" (
Step 310), the color code input from the operator using the keyboard 60D is accepted (Step 311).

If a color code is entered, the color represented by that value (
26), the C-th rectangular column from the left on the CRT 60G is repainted (step 312), and the color code of table No. rCJ of the color code table shown in FIG. 25 is also rewritten in the same way (step 312). 313
). Each time the color display and color table are changed, the contents of the counter C are incremented by 1 (step 314), and steps 311 to 314 are repeated again until the contents become 7 or more. Then, the changed color code table is stored in the hard disk 60F (step 316), and this routine ends.

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

FIG. 27, FIG. 28, and FIG. 29 are a flowchart showing the process of step 301 in detail and an explanatory diagram thereof. Each pattern appearing in block B4 on menu screen 1 is organized into groups and displayed on different lines by pressing a predetermined group division, for example, a carriage return key (see FIG. 18). The number of groups can be easily determined by remembering how many times the group separation operation has been performed at this time, but in the process of auto scale set and group origin set, it is necessary to check this number of groups first (step 320). Next, the occupied area as a group and the origin for each group are calculated for all groups (step 321).

In this calculation, the width and height of each pattern input in block B2 of menu screen 1 are added together with the character spacing, and the arrangement method and display position of those patterns input in block B3 are also taken into consideration. It can be calculated by

FIG. 28 shows an example of the calculation. The figure is rABJ, r1
This is an example of displaying three groups "234J, rab" in horizontal arrangement and center distribution. Group rABJ is the group origin (0,
From O), both require an area in the X direction of the pattern width ±W, and an area of the pattern height H in the Y direction. Also, group "1234" is the group rAB above.
The origin is set at the point (0.-L) moved in the Y direction by the value of LF Interval from the group origin of J, and from here the width of the two patterns is 2W in the X direction, and the height of the pattern is in the Y direction. It requires an area of Hl. Similarly, for group "ab", the group origin (O2-21),
The X direction ±W and the Y direction H are required.

Once the group origin and occupied area are determined for each group in this way, the occupied area (X
, Y) are calculated (step 322
). This is to extract the maximum and minimum values of the X coordinate value and Y coordinate value for each group as shown in Figure 28. If we follow the previous example, the minimum value min of all groups is as shown in Figure 28. (-2W, -21>, maximum value m a x
It becomes Ha (2W, H).

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

Finally, a scale value is calculated (step 32
4). This is a process for automatically reducing the embroidery pattern so that it fits on the display screen when the embroidery pattern is too large to be displayed in its actual size on the CPU 60A. In this embodiment, the width of the embroidery pattern (X coordinate) is set so that the embroidery pattern falls within the range of the X coordinate value CRT-X and the Y coordinate value CRT-Y that can be displayed on the CRT screen as shown in FIG.
Multiply the height (Y coordinate) by 1/2 sequentially, and when the entire pattern fits within the CRT screen at (1/2)n, the length in the X direction is L
When EN-X ((CRT-X)-(LEN-X>
)/2=IN-X, when the length in the Y direction is LEN-Y, ((CRT-Y)-(LEN-Y))/2=IN-
Y, value IN-X.

The embroidery pattern is displayed with IN-Y left blank on the left and right, top and bottom of the CRT screen. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
An embroidery pattern is displayed aesthetically in the center of the screen. In addition, in order to teach the operator the magnification (1/2>) automatically calculated as described above, a straight line of the reference length is displayed at the corner of the CRT screen at the same scale, or when the scale is changed. A configuration in which numerical values are displayed is adopted.

Each time various settings for each pattern and each group are executed as described above, the CPU 60A performs the process shown in FIG.
Parameter tables for each word and group shown in A) and (B) are created and stored in the RAM 60K. The word parameter table FIG. 30(A) is created for each pattern forming an embroidery pattern, and stores information necessary for embroidering a pattern including all the items determined on the menu screen 1 described above. The segment and offset represent address information that provides the column data storage location of the data file described above in FIG. Further, the X and Y coordinates of the character origin are areas for storing the displacement from the group origin determined as described above, and the character size is a value input as a letter size from the menu screen. Character rotation angle and mirror image No. 9 are storage locations for parameters specified by input operations after menu screen 2, which will be described later. Character width 1 is the data file (
An area for storing character width values as preset values (see Figure 7), and character width 2 stores values determined by input values such as character size and character width % value from menu screen 1. . The character spacing, italic angle, color No. 9, stem, fill stitch spacing, etc. are all stored in the input values from the menu screen 1 described above. The center of rotation )
Information indicating how much is displaced from the origin of the pattern (character origin) is stored. In addition, the character width % value is the change percentage value of the character width 1 mentioned above, the stitch interval is the stitch density explained in the column sewing point calculation, and the jump interval is the maximum value of the sewing point distance that can be moved per stitch. The character height percentage value stores each preset character height change percentage value.

The coordinates (Xn, Yn) of the idle points are arbitrary coordinate points set on the menu screen 2 described later, and offset values from the pattern origin (character origin) are input respectively.

The group parameter table (FIG. 30(B)) is an area for storing parameters specific to a group defined as a set of a plurality of patterns.

For array, use the setting number of Disposition, and for center distribution or left-justification, use the Center
or Left setting number, High Int
erval is the setting value of the menu screen 1, radius is the setting value of Radius, and the arc array center angle is whether the center of the group is 90° or 270° when arranging the arcs, that is, the upper arc or The setting value of the menu screen 1 is stored in LF INTERVAL to determine which of the lower arcs should be arranged. The group first character C0UNT and the group character C0tJNT store the address where the first data of the plurality of patterns constituting this group exist and the number of characters of the group, and GROU represents the range of pattern information of the group.
P-GENTEN-X.

Information indicating how far the group origin of this group is displaced from the embroidery origin is stored as Y. Note that since the embroidery origin is automatically set to the group origin of the first group as described above, the value of this table for the first group is (0, O). Also, MIN-X, Y coordinate, MAX-X.

The Y coordinate is an area that stores information giving the occupied area of the group as a whole.

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

When the operator inputs using the menu screen 1 and the information processing such as the explanation is completed, the CPU 60A executes the display process of the menu screen 2 in FIG. 17 (step 302>
, executes pattern display processing (step 303), and shifts to editing processing (step 304). Figures 31 to 34
The figure is an explanatory diagram for explaining these processes in detail.

As shown in FIG. 31, the CPU 60A acts on the CRT controller 60H to clear menu screen 1 shown in FIG. 18, and displays menu screen 2 as shown. In the figure, blocks B2, 83, and 84 are on the menu screen 2 and are essential displays in the process of step 302, and block B2 is the part shown in FIG.
, each command shown in (C) is displayed with pictograms,
A display section where so-called icons are displayed cyclically,
Block B3 is a command display area where commands subordinate to the command specified by the above icons are displayed, and block B4 is a command display area that displays which patterns or groups are to be processed based on each command specified as above. This is a check display section to be displayed.

Block B1, which occupies the largest area on the menu screen 2 shown in FIG. 31, is a pattern display section in which the result of executing the pattern display process in the subsequent step 303 is displayed.

In other words, the settings on Menu Screen 1 determine the style of characters to be embroidered, their size and inclination, the arrangement of groups of multiple characters, etc., and the embroidery pattern obtained when embroidery is executed based on these data. will be fully specified. Therefore, a simulation of the embroidery pattern obtained from these data is executed on the display screen of the CPU 60A.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the pattern display processing in step 303 in more detail. After reading the group parameters (step 330) that stores information about all the groups entered on menu screen 1, the array of the groups (D i 5pos i t i
on) is determined (step 331). Depending on this value, "1" means horizontal arrangement, "2" means vertical arrangement, etc.
..., and arrange each pattern that makes up each group (
Steps 332 to 339). At this time, in the case of horizontal arrangement (value "1"), it is determined whether the display should be centered or left-aligned (step 332).
will be done. In this way, when the arrangement of one group is completed, it is determined whether or not the processing of all groups has been completed (step 340), and after repeating the processing of steps 330 to 339 until the processing of all groups is completed, the processing of step 304 described above is performed. transition to. In addition, when displaying all the groups, each pattern is displayed as a set of columns as shown in FIG. 31. That is, only the outline of the column connecting each point of the 4-point or 5-point column stored in the data file of each pattern is displayed, and the detailed data display for each stitch described above in FIGS. 11 to 16 is not performed. Not executed.

As is clear from FIG. 31, it is easy to understand the embroidery pattern even when it is displayed as a collection of columns, and the CPU 6 due to displaying more detailed information.
By avoiding an increase in 0A load, system simplification and processing speed improvement are achieved. In the figure, the upper right apex and lower left apex of the rectangle indicated by thin lines surrounding each group indicate the MAX and MIN coordinate positions of each group,
The cross mark at the bottom left of each pattern indicates the character origin, which is the origin of the multiple columns representing that pattern, and the * mark at the center bottom of each group indicates the group origin of that group. The embroidery origin is defined at a position that overlaps with the group origin of the top group.

In this way, the menu screen 2 causes the menu screen 1 to
You can visually check the embroidery pattern set in , but since the embroidery pattern data is simply entered as numerical values as shown in Menu Screen 1, it is displayed on Menu Screen 2 as shown in Figure 31. There may be cases where you want to change or correct the embroidery pattern that has been created. Editing processing (step 304) is utilized in such a case, and a detailed flowchart of this processing will be described next.

FIGS. 34A and 34B are flowcharts showing the editing process in step 304 in detail.

As shown in the figure, this flowchart performs a branching process in which a large number of processes can be arbitrarily selected.

It is inefficient for the operator to memorize commands for so many processes, resulting in a decrease in operability. Therefore, in this embodiment, a command is input by visually pointing to the icon shown in FIG. 32 using the mouse 60C. When the editing process in step 304 is started, the mouse 60C first causes the CPU 60 to
Input which display on the screen of A is instructed (step 350), and determine whether it is within the icon area where the icon shown in FIG. 32 is displayed (step 351). In addition to editing using icons,
There are main commands such as changing the icon display from the state shown in Fig. 32 (A) to Fig. 32 (B) or (C), and terminating this editing process, so it is difficult to know which command is specified. It is to judge. If it is outside the icon area, the process goes to step 38 in FIG. 34(B).
The process moves to 0 or less, and when it is within the icon area, the icon page ((A) in FIG. 32) is displayed.

(B) and (C) correspond to pages 1 and 2.3) Processing of designated icons (steps 352 to 372)
is executed. The processing of each icon will be further explained in detail using a flowchart to be described later, and here the processing when a main command is designated will be described. First, if it is determined in step 351 that the command is outside the icon area, then in step 380 it is determined whether or not it is a main command. If it is not the main control, the position indicated by the mouse 60C is invalid, and the process returns to step 350 to prompt re-input. Furthermore, when the command is a main command, processing proceeds depending on which area in the main command is specified. That is,
If the next page of icons is specified, the icon area will be displayed from (A> to (B), (B) to (C) in Figure 32.
.

Change cyclically from (C) to (A) Step 3
81), if the previous icon page has been specified, the process of returning the icon display to the previous display content (step 382)
is executed. Furthermore, when rEXITJ has been instructed, it is determined that the end of editing processing has been instructed, and the end flag EXIT-FLG is reset (step 38
3〉. After processing in accordance with the position indicated by the mouse, step 384 is executed, and the end flag is set to rOJ.
If it is in the reset state, the main editing process is finished and the first
Proceed to step 305 of the main program in Figure 7, otherwise return to step 350 and press the mouse 60C.
It will be in a state of waiting for input from.

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

FIG. 35 shows rA in the icon area using the mouse 60C.
L in the step 353 specified when J is specified.
It is a flowchart detailing ETTERWIDTH processing. This process can be roughly divided into four parts. The - is the introduction process from step 401 to step 404, the second is the target identification process from step 406 to step 411, and the third is the group editing process from step 412 to step 418.
4 is a character editing process from step 419 to step 424.

In the introduction process, first, the commands rGRP and INCJ necessary for the target identification process are displayed on the command display section, which is block B3 in the menu screen 2.

rGRP, DECJ, rCAR, INCJ, rCAR,
Processing to display DECJ is performed (step 401). As will be understood from the following explanation, the commands displayed on each command display section are switched all at once, and three types of display are possible. The numbers correspond to these three types of command displays, and the command page "O" and the command page "O" are shown below.
1", command page "2". Then mouse 60
The input from G is accepted (step 402>), and if the input is rEXITJ, the process returns to step 350 to enable other editing processing; otherwise, the process proceeds to the command page (step 404). ).For the first time in this process, in step 401 the command page is set to ``0''.
" is set, so steps 405 to 41
The process moves on to the first target identification process. Here, a pattern to be edited is specified. Identification may be done on a group or character basis, and the cursor that was displaying the character origin of the first character of the first group displayed on the menu screen 2 in the initial state can be moved to rGRP, INC using the mouse 60C.
If the command area J is specified, the group advances so as to display the character origin of the first character of the next second group (step 406). Conversely, when the rGRP or DECJ frame area is designated, the group retreats (step 407). rCAR, INCJ is a command area used when you want to further specify a character in a specific group. When this area is specified with the mouse 60C, the cursor that was displaying the origin of characters in the group moves to the first character. to the second, and so on (step 408
). Then, a process opposite to this process is executed in step 409. After repeating the processes in steps 402 to 409 until the desired group or character is specified, if the rscROLLJ command is issued, the corresponding character is displayed in the check display area that is block B4 in the menu screen 2 (step 410), and then a command page "1" is set (step 411). Therefore, the process that returns to step 402 is step 404.
The process branches according to the command page determination process and proceeds to the next group editing process (steps 412 to 418). When this process starts, the command display section of menu screen 2 will display rG, WIDTH+J, rG, WIDTH-J,
rWIDTH, STJ, rRATIo, STJ, rsc
The characters ROLLJ are displayed.

When the rG, WIDTH+J command is specified, the width of all characters in the specified group is displayed on the menu screen 2.
is recalculated so as to increase by the value displayed in the rRATIOJ display area (step 413). r
G, WIDTH-J are calculated to reduce the character width by the displayed value of rRATIOJ (step 414), and rWIDTH, STJ are rRAT used in the above recalculation.
IO" directly from the keyboard 600.

This is a command that instructs the process (step 415) that uses the force value. Utilizing the results of such recalculation, after any one of steps 413 to 415 is performed, the corresponding group is redisplayed (step 416), and the character width can be increased or decreased by a desired value. Also, rRAT
When Io and STj are specified, the above rRATIOJ
A process is executed in which the numerical value displayed in is used as the input value from the keyboard 60D (step 417), and the above-mentioned rG,
A single operation of WIDTH+J, rG, and WIDTH-J changes the RATIO of the character width to be increased or decreased. Such steps 402 to 4O4 and step 412
~ When the process of step 417 has finished re-displaying the corresponding group, or when the above-mentioned process of this command page "1" is not necessary, specify rscROLLJ with the mouse 60C, step 418 is executed, and the following command page "2" is displayed. " is set and the process moves to character editing processing (steps 419 to 424). In this character editing process, width change editing similar to the above-described group editing process is performed for each character. At this time, if you specify rL and WIDTH+J displayed on the command display area with the mouse 60C, the width increase of the corresponding character will be recalculated based on the change displayed on rRATIOJ (step 420
), rL, and WIDTH-J, the width reduction is recalculated by the same change (step 421), and r
When WIDTH and STJ are specified, the width increase/decrease is recalculated according to the keyboard input value (step 422). Then, the result of the recalculation in any one of steps 420 to 422 is redisplayed on the CRT 60G in step 423, and the editing work is completed. rscROLLJ when processing of this command page is no longer required.
It is also possible to set the command page rOJ again by instructing .

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

FIG. 36 is a detailed flowchart of the 5IZE process executed when the area in which the concave-convex lens is displayed is specified using the icon in FIG. 32. As is clear from the figure, this flowchart has the same configuration as that in FIG.
- Same as that of step 411. Furthermore, the configuration is the same, such as changing the command page, making changes based on the numerical value displayed in RATIO, and making changes based on the input value from the keyboard.

・In other words, this time we will use the RATI for the identified groups and characters.
The only difference is that the size of the pattern is changed when recalculating using the displayed value or keyboard input value of O (steps 433 to 445, and step 4).
50 to 452). By executing this editing process, you can freely enlarge or reduce the group and the characters within it.

Below, in the same way, when you specify a pictogram that represents the interval between icons, when you specify a pictogram with the letter A tilted, and when you specify a pictogram STM, the distortion will be processed h6rIN
Detailed flowcharts of TERVALJ, rITALICJ, and rSTEMJ are shown in FIGS. 37, 38, and 39. As can be easily understood from the figure, these are also the third
Figure 5.

The configuration is similar to that shown in FIG. 36, and the space between characters, the inclination angle of characters, and the width of thick columns when embroidering characters are subject to change simply by recalculation.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of a rotation process executed in response to an instruction using an icon, as described above. This process is similar to the above-described process, in which groups and characters are specified, and then editing processing is executed based on the RATIO display value or keyboard input value, and the overall flow is the same. However, for the purpose of increasing the degree of freedom in rotation editing, the following unique processing is executed when instructing rcENTERJ when the command page is "1". As shown in FIG. 41, each character is expressed as position data centered on the character origin. Therefore, the results obtained by recalculating these numerical values using the rotation angle θ can only be used to rotate the character around this character origin. So, this rc
The ENTERJ command is executed to set the "rotation center" that is the center when characters are rotated using the mouse 60C. This command allows you to set the "center of rotation" (
When specifying the coordinates a, b) from the character origin, the CPU 60
Inside A, the column data of the corresponding character mentioned above is stored in the fourth column.
The coordinate conversion is performed according to the program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, and the subsequent rotation processing is performed. That is, the column data is first converted into coordinate data with the "center of rotation" as the origin (step 500), and the column data after conversion is rotated using the rotation angle θ which is the RATIO display value or the keyboard input value (step 500). Step 5
01), and finally the rotation result is converted back to the original coordinate system, that is, the coordinate system of the character origin (step 502).
.

The character rotation routine in Figure 42 above is converted to rCE in Figure 40.
By reading and executing the NTERJ command, various forms of rotation are possible, which helps in creating a desired embroidery pattern.

Figure 43 shows Figure 32 (A>R, G which are the three primary colors from the middle)
, B and an arrow are specified.

Similarly to the above, a command page "1" for actually executing editing (color change) is prepared next to command page "0" for determining the object to be edited.

If you specify the rcOLORJ area on command page "1", the color of the characters displayed in block B4 of menu screen 2 will change to the size in order to confirm the group or character specified on the previous command page "1". Changes to click. You can decide which color to change while visually checking the hue.

Then, after the hue is determined, the same command page "1"
rG, COL, STJ or “1.COL, STJ
If this is specified, the hue of the characters of all the specified groups or the hue of one character will be displayed in the same color as the color of the characters in the confirmation display section (block B4).

FIG. 44 shows MIRRORIMA that is processed when the hand-mirror pictogram in FIG. 32(A) is designated with the mouse 60C.
It is a flowchart of GE.

It is clear from the figure that this flowchart has the same structure as the C0LOR flowchart shown in FIG. 43 above. In other words, in the processing of this program, if you specify rMIRRORJ on command page "1" after specifying the character to be edited, the mirror image of rFJ displayed as the confirmation character in block B4 will be created. After that, rG, MIR, STJ or “1
When 9MIR or STJ is specified, the mirror image of all characters or one character in the specified group is changed in the same way as the mirror image of the confirmation character. Here, the mirror image was created for the purpose of increasing the efficiency of pattern creation.As shown in Figure 45, when mirror image No. 1 is changed, the characters are rotated by 90", reversed, etc., as if the characters were mirrored. It is possible to change the image as shown in .

Figure 46 shows the character r while the icon in Figure 32 (B) is being displayed.
This is a flowchart showing details of character movement processing executed when an area drawn by AJ and an arrow is designated. The introduction part and the command page rOJ part of this flowchart are the same as each flowchart explained previously, and since the editing process of command page "1" is specific to character movement, the following will explain this command page "1". The processing will be explained. On the command page "1"
The processing when the cAR and MOVEJ commands are specified is related to the execution of character movement, and the mouse 60
The input of C is accepted. By operating the mouse 60C, the cursor moves vertically and horizontally on the screen of the CRT 60G, and any position is input by clicking the mouse 60C. Next, it is determined whether or not the input position is a position that allows character movement, and if it is not within the permissible range, the mouse input is prompted again. When it is within the permissible range, the corresponding character specified on the command page rOJ is erased,
The movement amounts ΔX and Δy of the character origin of the corresponding character are calculated by the following equations.

Δx=x1− (xO+xaO) 8V=V1−(VO+ygO) where xo, yO) are the coordinates of the embroidery origin on the screen. <xaO, yoo) is the coordinate of the group origin of the group to which the corresponding character belongs, with (XO2yO) as the origin.

(xi, yl) are the coordinates on the screen for mouse input.

When the movement amounts ΔX and Δy of the character origin are calculated in this way,
Add the movement mouth to the coordinates of the conventional character origin and move the mouse 60.
The character is redisplayed using the arbitrary position specified in C as the character origin.

Figure 47 shows the character r while the icon in Figure 32 (B) is being displayed.
It is a flowchart of the group origin movement process performed when the area drawn by GJ and the arrow is designated. It has almost the same configuration as the character movement described above, and the operation when specifying the rGRP and MOVEJ areas on command page "1" is unique to the group origin. Here, first, a movement position within the allowable range is input as the input value of the mouse 60C, as described above. Thereafter, it is determined whether the group specified by command page "0" has group number "1". This is because, as mentioned above, in this example, the group origin of group number "1" and the embroidery origin are made to match, so when moving the group origin of group number "1", the embroidery origin is similarly set to the movement position. This is because it is necessary. Therefore, when moving the group origin of group number "1",
First, the embroidery origin is set to the movement position (Xi, yl), and then the LF INTE of group number "1" is set.
The setting of RVAL (LFl) is performed by the following equation.

LFI = bl + yl However, bl is the group number “2”. Loop origin y coordinate value.

Then, one after another, the group origin of other groups becomes (a
n-xi, bn-yl) Tosite-seeking melarel.

Here, (an, bn) are the original coordinates of the n-th group origin, and (xl, yi) are the coordinates of the new group origin of group number "1". When the calculation of the new coordinates of the origin and the calculation of LF INTERVAL are completed in this way, the corresponding group is redisplayed using the values, and the group movement process is completed.

On the other hand, when the relevant group has a group number other than "1", no change occurs to the group origin coordinates of other groups as described above, so the relevant group origin is first set to the specified position of the mouse, and the Group (7)
LF INTERVAL is remeasured. Then, one point earlier than the corresponding group (7) g/l, -777) LF
INTERVAL7')'; LFn =bn+1-
bn, the recalculation of all parameters is completed, and the corresponding group is redisplayed.

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

FIG. 49 is a flowchart for setting the idle stitching point position represented by the icon X mark.

This process prevents the crossover threads drawn between each character from being sewn in when embroidering the characters when the embroidery machine actually performs embroidery according to the embroidery pattern. When this program starts processing, characters are specified using the command page rOJ in the same manner as described above, and then the program moves to the command page "1". When you specify rsETJ on this command page "1", the mouse 60
The position input from C is accepted, and the coordinates of the input position are calculated from the character origin of the specified character, and are stored as play points in the parameters and sent to the CRT60G.
displayed above. Further, when [CLEARJ is specified, the stored value corresponding to the position input from the mouse 60C is erased, and the corresponding display on the CRT 60G is cleared. When there is a play point input in the character parameter in this way, when creating needle data, the CPU 60A sews the position specified by the play point after completing the embroidery of the corresponding character, and then sews the position specified by the play point, and then sews the next embroidery character. process to start embroidery. By doing this, the crossing thread can be freely manipulated on the CRT screen, and the efficiency of the embroidery work can be improved.

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

In addition, an editing process for changing the value of "array" in the group parameter table is also provided, similar to the process for each icon described above. This is a display that allows the arrangement to be easily understood, such as a vertical line and an e mark, a horizontal line and a * mark, and a circular arc and a * mark, as shown in FIG. 32(B). If the array values of the group parameter table are changed by specifying these icons, the CRT display of the corresponding group is erased and then redisplayed using the changed array values. These arrangement processes are almost the same as those for displaying block B1 on the menu screen 2 from the information on the menu screen 1, and therefore will not be described in detail here.

As shown in FIG. 32, the icon also has a third screen as shown in FIG. 32(C). The processing that is started by the icons shown in (C) is the menu screen 2 by the editing process of the icons (A>Fig.
This is used when a desired embroidery pattern is completed in block B1.

First, what is displayed with the letters rRJ is an icon command for performing a reset process. If this icon is designated, all the data in the parameter table that has been affected as described above will be reset, making it possible to create the next new embroidery pattern.

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

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

Furthermore, the embroidery pattern creation device 60 of this embodiment is an FDD 60.
Since it has a built-in E, an icon that simulates a flexible disk is also prepared. When you specify this icon, all embroidery pattern data will be transferred to FDD60E.
It is recorded on a flexible disk and can be stored non-volatilely. Note that when storing data on this flexible disk, the format of the data is as shown in FIG. 30 (A) above.
.

If it is stored as table information of character parameters and group parameters (B), the embroidery pattern can be stored in an extremely small storage area.

According to the embroidery pattern creation device of this embodiment configured and operated as described above, the following effects are obvious. 1 The color of the sewing thread when embroidering each pattern is set as a color hood in the character parameter table provided for each parameter, and the column data of each pattern is displayed on the CRT with the hue according to the setting of this color code. Displayed and embroidered. Therefore, the desired hue can be changed for each pattern by simply changing the color code set in the character parameter table, and no matter how complex the embroidery pattern is, it is easy to Moreover, it can be created quickly. Therefore, the time required to create an embroidery pattern is extremely short, and the efficiency of creating an embroidery pattern is reliably improved.

Moreover, since the hue of the sewing thread attached to each sewing needle of a multi-needle embroidery sewing machine can be freely changed, the embroidery pattern creation device of this embodiment non-volatilely stores the color code table set by the operator. Make a correspondence between the sewing needle number and the hue.

Therefore, embroidery data for any multi-needle embroidery machine can be easily created, resulting in an extremely versatile device.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the displayable hue of the CRT is 7.
It is possible to prepare colors and change the pattern to various hues. Normally, this requires many frequent operations by the operator, but in this practical system, all the hues that can be displayed on the CRT are displayed in advance, and the hue can be determined while visually checking. Since the embroidery pattern creation device is configured so that the embroidery pattern can be created, the embroidery pattern creation device has good operability and is easy to use.

As described above in detail with reference to embodiments, according to the embroidery pattern creation device of the present invention, the hue when embroidering each pattern can be freely set, and the hue can be set according to the details of the hue determination. , the embroidery pattern is drawn and embroidered on the two-dimensional display screen. Therefore, by creating embroidery patterns easily and quickly, no matter how complex the combination of hues, the time required to create one fill of an embroidery pattern is extremely short, and the efficiency of creating embroidery patterns is ensured. improves.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of an embodiment, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of its frame drive structure, Fig. 4 is a block diagram of the system configuration, and Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the driver unit, Figure 6 is a block diagram of the embroidery pattern creation device, Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram of the file structure of the embodiment, and Figure 8 (A
>, (B), (C) are style explanatory diagrams, Figure 9 (A>,
(B) and Fig. 10 are explanatory diagrams of column data, Fig. 11
The figure is an explanatory diagram of a 4-point column, Figure 12 is a flowchart thereof, Figure 13 is an explanatory diagram of a 5-point column, Figure 14 is a flowchart, and Figure 15 is an explanatory diagram of a 5-point column sewing point.
Fig. 16 is a flowchart thereof, Fig. 17 is a flowchart of the main program of the embodiment, Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram of menu screen 1, Figs. 19 to 23 are explanatory diagrams of group arrangement, and Fig. 24 is a color table. Flowchart of settings, Figures 25 and 26 are explanatory diagrams of the correspondence between color codes, color tables, and colors, Figure 27 is a detailed flowchart of a part of the main program, Figures 28 and 2
Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram thereof, Fig. 30 (A>, (B) is an explanatory diagram of the pattern parameter table and group parameter table, Fig. 31 is an explanatory diagram of the display of menu screen 2, Fig. 32
Figures (A>, (B), and (C) are explanatory diagrams of the microcomputer display, Figure 33 is a detailed flowchart of a part of the main program, and Figures 34 (A) and (B) are also part of the main program. Detailed flowcharts of Figures 35 to 40
The figure is a more detailed flowchart of a part of Figures 34 (A>, (B)), Figure 41 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of Figure 40, and Figure 42 is a more detailed flowchart of a part of Figure 40,
43 and 44 are more detailed flowcharts of parts of FIGS. 34(A) and 34(B), FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of FIG. 44, and FIGS. (A), (
A more detailed flowchart of a part of B), FIG. 50 is a display explanatory diagram showing the simulation results of embroidery data,
It is.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Used in a multi-needle embroidery sewing machine that has a plurality of sewing needles that cooperate with one hook, and that attaches sewing threads of different hues to the sewing needles to perform multicolored embroidery. The embroidery pattern creation device that creates embroidery data including sewing needle selection data comprises: a pattern storage unit that stores a plurality of patterns that are minimum units for composing the embroidery pattern; and a memory of the pattern storage unit. pattern selection means for selecting an arbitrary pattern from a plurality of patterns; hue input means for inputting the hue of sewing thread attached to the sewing needle; and sewing the pattern selected by the pattern selection means. a sewing needle selecting means for selecting a sewing needle; and a sewing needle selecting means for selecting a sewing needle; display control means for displaying on a two-dimensional display screen; and creating embroidery data to be executed by the multi-needle embroidery machine, including selection data for the sewing needle, based on the embroidery pattern created on the two-dimensional display screen. An embroidery pattern creation device comprising: embroidery data creation means;