Embroidery sewing machine, sewing method, and program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10883209-B2
Application number	US-201815956818-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 19, 2018
Priority date	Jun 26, 2017
Publication date	Jan 5, 2021
Grant date	Jan 5, 2021

Abstract

An embroidery sewing machine calculates the number of designs to be used for sewing for a length that is closest to a desired sewing length, based on the desired sewing length and information regarding the designs. The embroidery sewing machine calculates the sewing length based on the calculated number of designs and the information regarding the designs. Furthermore, the embroidery sewing machine adjusts the length of each design such that the calculated sewing length matches the desired sewing length, and converts the adjusted data of the designs into embroidery data. This enables sewing such that the sewing start and end points match each other or junction matching is secured, even in a case of sewing in the form of various kinds of combinations of curves and lines or the like. In addition, this provides an embroidery sewing machine that is capable of executing sewing with an improved appearance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An embroidery sewing machine configured to perform sewing of designs arranged for a prescribed sewing length, the embroidery sewing machine comprising:
a storage unit that stores the prescribed sewing length and information with respect to the designs;
a cycle number calculation unit that calculates a number of designs to be used for sewing for a length that is closest to the prescribed sewing length, based on the prescribed sewing length and the information with respect to the designs;
a sewing length calculation unit that calculates a sewing length based on the number of the designs calculated by the cycle number calculation unit and the information with respect to the designs;
an adjustment unit that adjusts the length of the designs such that the prescribed sewing length matches the calculated sewing length; and
a data conversion unit that converts data of the designs that support the sewing length thus adjusted into embroidery data,
wherein the calculated sewing length is calculated as a length of an entirety of the designs for a single embroidery pattern made of the embroidery data.

2. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1 , wherein each of the designs is formed of an actual design portion having a predetermined shape and an actual design junction portion that joins adjacent actual design portions, arranged in a region defined in a length direction and a width direction that is orthogonal to the length direction,
and wherein the adjustment unit adjusts one from among or otherwise both of a length of the actual design portion and a length of the actual design junction portion.

3. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 2 , wherein, in a case of adjusting the length of the actual design portion, the adjustment unit subtracts a length of the actual design junction portions that corresponds to the number of the designs thus calculated from the prescribed sewing length,
wherein the adjustment unit divides the length thus subjected to the subtraction by a value obtained by multiplying the number of designs thus calculated by the length of the actual design portion, so as to calculate a scaling factor to be applied to the length of the actual design portion,
and wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the length of the actual design portion using the scaling factor thus calculated.

4. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 2 , wherein, in a case of adjusting the length of the actual design junction portion, the adjustment unit subtracts a length of the actual design portions that corresponds to the number of the designs thus calculated from the prescribed sewing length,
wherein the adjustment unit divides the length thus subjected to the subtraction by a value obtained by multiplying the number of designs thus calculated by the length of the actual design junction portion, so as to calculate a scaling factor to be applied to the length of the actual design junction portion,
and wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the length of the actual design junction portion using the scaling factor thus calculated.

5. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 2 , wherein the adjustment unit subtracts a length of the actual design junction portions that corresponds to the number of the designs thus calculated from the prescribed sewing length,
wherein the adjustment unit divides the length thus subjected to the subtraction by a value obtained by multiplying the number of designs thus calculated by the length of the actual design portion, so as to calculate a scaling factor to be applied to the length of the actual design portion,
wherein the adjustment unit subtracts a length of the actual design portions that corresponds to the number of the designs thus calculated from the prescribed sewing length,
wherein the adjustment unit divides the length thus subjected to the subtraction by a value obtained by multiplying the number of designs thus calculated by the length of the actual design junction portion, so as to calculate a scaling factor to be applied to the length of the actual design junction portion,
and wherein the adjustment unit selects, from among the scaling factor for the length of the actual design portion and the scaling factor for the length of the actual design junction portion, a scaling factor that is closer to 1, and performs adjustment based on the selected scaling factor.

6. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 2 , wherein the adjustment unit calculates an adjustment scaling factor to be used for sewing of the designs arranged for a prescribed sewing length, in order to perform adjustment such that the prescribed sewing length matches the sewing length thus calculated based on the length of the actual design portion and the length of the actual design junction portion.

7. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case in which the designs are arranged along a curve, the data conversion unit converts the data of the designs thus adjusted into polar coordinate data, following which the data conversion unit converts the polar coordinate data into the embroidery data.

8. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 7 , wherein the data conversion unit comprises:
a circle information calculation unit that calculates a radius and a coordinate position of a center of a circle defined such that three points, including an arbitrary point along the curve on which the designs are arranged and two points before and after the arbitrary point, are on the circumference thereof; and
a polar coordinate data generating unit that generates the polar coordinate data based on a feed amount and a swing amount in sewing, the radius and the coordinate position of the center thus calculated, and the coordinate position of the arbitrary point.

9. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1 , wherein, the designs are arranged on a circle.

10. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1 , wherein, the prescribed sewing length is defined as a prescribed entire length of a plurality of straight line segments in a seam along which the designs are arranged.

11. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1 , wherein, the prescribed sewing length is defined as a prescribed entire length of a plurality of straight line segments and curved line segments in a seam along which the designs are arranged.

12. The embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1 , wherein, the prescribed sewing length is defined as a prescribed entire length of a plurality of curved line segments in a seam length along which the designs are arranged.

13. A sewing method employed in an embroidery sewing machine comprising a storage unit, a cycle number calculation unit, a sewing length calculation unit, an adjustment unit, and a data conversion unit, and configured to perform sewing of designs arranged for a prescribed sewing length, the sewing method comprising:
a first step in which the cycle number calculation unit calculates a number of the designs to be used for sewing for a length that is closest to the prescribed sewing length, based on information with respect to the sewing of the prescribed sewing length and the information with respect to the designs stored in the storage unit;
a second step in which the sewing length calculation unit calculates a sewing length based on the number of the designs calculated in the first step and the information with respect to the designs;
a third step in which the adjustment unit adjusts the length of the designs such that the prescribed sewing length matches the calculated sewing length; and
a fourth step in which the data conversion unit

Assignees

• Janome Sewing Machine Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kongo Takeshi

Classifications

• D05B3/02 Primary

  with mechanisms for needle-bar movement · CPC title

• D05B19/10

  Arrangements for selecting combinations of stitch or pattern data from memory {; Handling data in order to control stitch format, e.g. size, direction, mirror image} · CPC title

• D05C5/02

  by electrical or magnetic control devices · CPC title

• D05C13/02

  Counting, measuring, indicating, warning, or safety devices · CPC title

• D05C3/02

  with vertical needles · CPC title