JP2000070568A - Pattern selection device for embroidery sewing machines - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To increase the size of a touch key for selecting a pattern provided on substantially the entire surface of a display, and to improve operability when selecting a pattern with the touch key. SOLUTION: When displaying a plurality of pattern names read from a floppy disk on a pattern name display screen, a plurality of pattern name selection keys 11k correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas 10a forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, respectively. And each of the plurality of read pattern names is displayed in a plurality of types (having a vertical dimension of 1).
0 pt, the vertical dimension is 15 pt, and the vertical dimension is 27 pt), and the font name display area data of the maximum character size (27 pt) is used for each pattern name display area 10.
Since it is displayed over substantially the entire area of a, a plurality of pattern name selection keys 1
Each of 1k is arranged so as to correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas 10a of a size that can be pressed by a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine, and more particularly to an operability for selecting a pattern name displayed on a display by operating a touch key provided on the display. About technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a home electronically controlled sewing machine is provided with an embroidery frame drive mechanism for independently moving and driving an embroidery frame in two orthogonal directions, and sewing data of a desired embroidery pattern selected via a display. By driving the sewing machine motor and the embroidery frame drive mechanism based on the above, the embroidery pattern can be colorfully sewn in a plurality of colors on the work cloth attached to the embroidery frame. Therefore, in the description of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-123471 and Japanese Patent No. 25661650 proposed by the present applicant, pattern data relating to each of a plurality of embroidery patterns is stored in a ROM or a removable ROM card provided in the control device. In addition, at the time of pattern selection, a plurality of embroidery patterns are displayed on the display as a list.

That is, the pattern data stores concrete display data consisting of dot data for displaying the specifics of the embroidery pattern, sewing data for sewing the embroidery, and the like. "Animals", "flowers" and "vehicles"
It is displayed as a list by type such as. Therefore, the operator can select a desired embroidery pattern by operating the touch keys on the front of the display, and by operating the start switch,
The selected embroidery pattern is sewn on the work cloth attached to the embroidery frame.

In an "embroidery processing system" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-76671, one embroidery processing controller and four embroidery machines are connected by communication lines, respectively, and a floppy disk provided in the controller is provided. From the floppy disk mounted on the disk drive, image data and file names of embroidery patterns to be sewn by each embroidery machine are divided and displayed on the display of the controller as shown in FIG. Then, the sewing process is executed by operating the sewing start key.

[0005] When storing concrete display data consisting of a plurality of types of concrete dot data in a ROM or ROM card of a control device or a floppy disk described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-76671, the ROM, ROM card, If the storage capacity of a recording medium such as a floppy disk increases, the size or number of ROMs increases, and the cost increases, and if the storage capacity of a ROM card or a floppy disk recording medium is specified, There are problems such as a decrease in the number of patterns to be performed and an increase in the unit price of the patterns.

Accordingly, the applicant of the present application has disclosed in
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 276, a plurality of sets of original sewing data created and associated data such as a title and a creator corresponding to the created original sewing data are stored in association with each other, and cost reduction is achieved by reducing the amount of stored data. On the pattern selection screen at the time of selecting an embroidery pattern, a sewing data processing apparatus has been proposed in which pattern names of embroidery patterns stored in advance are displayed in a table format, and a desired embroidery pattern is selected from the pattern selection screen.

For reference, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-13958.
In the “embroidery pattern creation device” described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7 (1995), the type of the font to be selected “Style 1 to Style 10” is displayed in a katakana table format on the menu screen 1 displayed first. In the "embroidery sewing machine" described in JP-A-4-288190, a plurality of file names in which sewing data and data of various parameters are associated are stored, and the plurality of file names are displayed on a pattern selection screen. Is displayed in table format.

[0008]

As described above, RO
The pattern name data and the associated data and sewing data are stored in a recording medium such as an M card or a floppy disk. As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-100276, the ROM card, the floppy disk, and the like are used. When the pattern names stored in the recording medium and the associated data such as the creator are displayed in one line, the pattern names and the associated data are displayed long in the horizontal direction, and each pattern is displayed. Since the name display area is elongated, especially when selecting a pattern by pressing the touch key provided on the front of the display, each pattern selection key for pattern selection is arranged elongated according to the display area, There is a problem that the operability of selecting a pattern with a finger is inferior and that an adjacent pattern name is selected by mistake.

Therefore, it is conceivable to select a pattern name using a pen or the like having a sharp tip. However, if the pen is strongly pressed with this pen, there is a possibility that the touch key may be damaged. Pointing a key with a pen still has the problem of operability. An object of the present invention is to increase the size of touch keys for selecting a pattern provided on substantially the entire surface of a display, to improve operability when selecting a pattern with the touch keys, and the like.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting apparatus for an embroidery sewing machine, comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display. In a pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine capable of selecting an embroidery pattern via the memory, a font storage means storing a plurality of types of display font data having different character sizes for displaying characters on a display; And data reading means for sequentially reading pattern name data from a data storage means for recording a plurality of sets of sewing data corresponding thereto, and a plurality of touch keys, a plurality of pattern names indicating a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. Each of the plurality of pattern names that are arranged so as to correspond to the area and are read is displayed in a font for display of a character size other than the minimum character size of the font storage means. Using cement data, and configured to be displayed on the substantially entire area of the pattern name display area.

Since a plurality of sets of embroidery pattern name data and sewing data corresponding thereto are recorded in the data storage means, the pattern name data is sequentially read from the data storage means by the data reading means. It is. By the way, since the plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display are arranged so as to correspond to the plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and columns, respectively, each of the plurality of read pattern names is read. Among the plurality of types of display font data stored in the font storage means, each of the plurality of display font data other than the minimum character size is used, for example, using a display font data having a character size of "27 pt" having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm. It is displayed over substantially the entire pattern name display area.

That is, each of the plurality of touch keys is arranged so as to correspond to each of a plurality of pattern name display areas of a size that can be pressed by a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm. The key can be pressed easily and accurately with a finger, and the operability when selecting a pattern is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting apparatus for an embroidery sewing machine.
A pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine, comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display. Data reading means for sequentially reading pattern name data from a data storage means that records a plurality of sets of data and sewing data corresponding thereto is provided, and in each of a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and columns, Touch keys larger than the pattern name display area are arranged in association with each other, and each of the plurality of read pattern names is displayed in each pattern name display area.

Since a plurality of sets of embroidery pattern name data and corresponding sewing data are recorded in the data storage means, the pattern name data is sequentially read from the data storage means by the data reading means. It is. By the way, in each of a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and columns, touch keys larger than the pattern name display area are arranged in association with each other. Displayed in the name display area. That is, each of the plurality of touch keys has a small pattern name display area, for example,
It is arranged larger than the pattern name display area that can be pressed with a finger whose vertical dimension is about 10 mm, and each touch key can be pressed easily and accurately with a finger, improving operability when selecting a pattern I do.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine.
The invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the touch keys in the plurality of rows and the plurality of columns are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other at least in a row direction. In this case, the touch keys of a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns are arranged adjacent to each other at least in the row direction without providing an extra space, so that the plurality of touch keys can be efficiently arranged and the operability of pattern selection is improved. improves. Other claim 1
Or 2 has the same effect.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine.
A display means including a display, and a plurality of touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, in a pattern selection device for an embroidery sewing machine capable of selecting an embroidery pattern via the touch keys, the pattern name data of the embroidery pattern and A data reading means for sequentially reading pattern name data from a data storage means for recording a plurality of sets of sewing data corresponding thereto, and a pattern name is displayed on a display of a display means based on the plurality of read pattern name data. And a pattern name display control means for displaying in a format, wherein touch keys of a size operable for selecting a pattern are arranged at the beginning or end of each pattern name display area.

Since a plurality of sets of embroidery pattern name data and corresponding sewing data are recorded in the data storage means, the pattern name data is sequentially read from the data storage means by the data reading means. Then, the pattern name display control means causes the display of the display means to display the pattern names in a table format based on the plurality of read pattern name data. At this time, touch keys of a size operable for pattern selection are arranged at the beginning or end of each pattern name display area, so that each touch key can be pressed easily and accurately with a finger. The operability at the time of selecting a pattern is improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine.
A pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine, comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display. Data reading means for sequentially reading pattern name data and associated data corresponding thereto from a data storage means in which a plurality of sets of data and associated sewing data and associated data relating to stitch formation are recorded; Are arranged so as to correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns,
A plurality of read pattern names and associated data corresponding thereto are arranged and displayed in a row direction over substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area.

In the data storage means, a plurality of sets of pattern name data of the embroidery pattern, the corresponding sewing data and the associated data relating to the formation of stitches are recorded. , Pattern name data and associated data corresponding to the pattern name data are sequentially read. By the way, since the plurality of touch keys are arranged so as to correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns,
A plurality of read pattern names and associated data corresponding to the read pattern names are displayed in a row direction over substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area.

That is, each of the plurality of touch keys can be pressed with a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm or more by arranging pattern names and associated data corresponding thereto in a row direction over substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area. Thus, each of the touch keys can be easily and accurately pressed with a finger, and the operability at the time of selecting a pattern is improved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting apparatus for an embroidery sewing machine.
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the accompanying data includes at least data on the number of stitches, the number of colors, and the sewing time in stitch formation. In this case, at the time of selecting the pattern name, at least the number of stitches, the number of colors, and the sewing time in the stitch formation can be known through the display at the same time as the pattern name.
The state of sewing is easily understood, and the sewing work is facilitated. In addition, the same operation as any one of the first to third aspects is achieved. Other operations are the same as those of the fifth aspect.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine.
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the data storage means is a floppy disk. In this case, since the external recording medium is a floppy disk, data created by various sewing data creating / editing devices, such as a personal computer, can be easily written, and the data written on the floppy disk can be easily stored in the floppy disk drive. Can be easily read. Other claims 1
6 has the same function as that of any one of 6.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to an electronically controlled sewing machine in which various embroidery patterns can be sewn in addition to practical patterns by detachably mounting an embroidery frame driving device (so-called embroidery device). It is an example. The electronically controlled sewing machine M is, as shown in FIG.
And a pillar 2 erected from the right end of the bed 1 and an arm 3 extending leftward from the upper end of the pillar 2 so as to face the bed 1.

The bed 1 accommodates a feed dog vertical movement mechanism (not shown) for moving the feed dog up and down, a feed dog front and rear movement mechanism (not shown) for moving the feed dog back and forth, and cooperates with the sewing needle 6. A thread catcher (for example, a horizontal shuttle) is provided.
A ROM card 40 in which pattern data (sewing data and pattern display data) of a large number of embroidery patterns to be added as an option are recorded is mounted on the pillar 2 by an internal card connector 13.
(See FIG. 2), a card slot 2a for connection to the floppy disk drive 29 is formed.
(See FIG. 2), a disk slot 2b for mounting the floppy disk FD is formed.

The arm 3 has a needle bar drive mechanism for vertically moving a needle bar 5 having a sewing needle 6 attached to a lower end thereof, and a needle bar swinging mechanism for swinging the needle bar 5 in a direction perpendicular to the cloth feeding direction (shown in the drawing). And a balance driving mechanism (not shown) that moves the balance up and down in synchronization with the vertical movement of the needle bar 5. The feed dog vertical movement mechanism, the needle bar drive mechanism, and the balance drive mechanism are driven by a sewing machine motor 17, the needle bar swing mechanism is driven by a needle bar swing stepping motor 18, and the feed dog longitudinal movement mechanism is a feed dog. It is driven by a front-rear drive stepping motor 19 (see FIG. 2). The head 4 of the arm 3 is provided with a start / stop switch 12 for instructing start and stop of the sewing operation.

A large color liquid crystal display (hereinafter simply referred to as a color display) is provided on the front surface of the arm 3.
The color display 10 includes various stitch patterns such as a practical pattern and an embroidery pattern, various function names,
Further, a pattern name, various messages, and the like are displayed. On substantially the entire surface of the color display 10, touch keys 11 formed of transparent electrodes are provided in a matrix in correspondence with a plurality of embroidery patterns and display positions of pattern names and function names indicating functions. That is, selection of a desired embroidery pattern and instruction of a function can be realized by pressing the touch key 11 corresponding to the embroidery pattern, the pattern name, or the function name.

A free bed, commonly called a free arm, is formed at the left end of the bed 1, and an embroidery frame drive mechanism (embroidery device) 30 is detachably mounted on the free bed. The embroidery frame drive mechanism 30 includes a main body case 30a and an embroidery frame 3 for detachably mounting a work cloth.
1, a Y-direction drive unit 32 having a built-in Y-direction drive mechanism for driving the embroidery frame 31 in the Y direction (front-back direction), and an X-direction drive mechanism for driving the Y-direction drive unit 32 in the X direction (left-right direction) And an X-direction driving mechanism housed in the main body case 30a. The X-direction driving mechanism is driven by the first stepping motor 33, and the Y-direction driving mechanism is driven by the second stepping motor 34 ( (See FIG. 2).

When the embroidery frame drive mechanism 30 is mounted on the free bed, the first and second stepping motors 33 and 34 are provided.
Is electrically connected to the control device C of the sewing machine M via the connector 14, the first and second stepping motors 33 and 34 are drive-controlled by the control device C, and the embroidery frame 31 on which the work cloth is set is moved to X. The embroidery sewing can be performed while independently moving and driving in the direction and the Y direction. Next, a control system of the electronically controlled sewing machine M will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device C comprises an input interface 21, a CPU 22, a ROM 23 and an R
A computer including an AM 24 and an electrically rewritable nonvolatile flash memory 25; a floppy disk controller (FDC) 28 for driving a floppy disk drive (FDD) 29; an output interface 26; Bus 27 such as
And The input interface 21 is connected to the start / stop switch 12, the touch key 11, the timing signal generator 16 for detecting a plurality of rotational phases of the main shaft of the sewing machine, and the like.

The output interface 26 has these motors 17 to 19 and a color display (LCD) 10
A display controller (LCDC) 20 for
First and second stepping motors 3 of embroidery frame drive mechanism 30
3 and 34 are connected via the connector 14. The ROM 41 of the ROM card 40 is connected to the connector 13.
And the FDC 28 is also connected to the bus 27.

The ROM 23 stores a general control program for sewing control and display control for sewing a practical pattern and a color display 10 for the selected embroidery pattern.
A control program for pattern selection editing and sewing control including editing processing for performing editing processing such as enlargement, reduction, rotation, and the like via embroidery, and embroidery sewing processing for embroidering and sewing the selected embroidery pattern. Are stored in advance.

Further, in the ROM 23, an alphabet having a vertical dimension of 10 pt (about 3.6 mm) is displayed in order to display a pattern name of the embroidery pattern and accompanying data such as "number of stitches" and "number of colors". Display font data and vertical size is 15pt
Alphabet display font data of about 5.4 mm (about 5.4 mm) and alphabet display font data having a vertical dimension of 27 pt (about 10 mm) are stored in association with code data of alphabet characters.

Further, the pattern data memory 23 of the ROM 23
As shown in FIG. 3, a includes a character pattern data composed of display data relating to each of the character patterns of numbers and alphabets and sewing data thereof, and a practical pattern composed of display data relating to each of a plurality of practical patterns and the sewing data thereof. Pattern data and pattern data of a large number of relatively frequently used embroidery patterns (first embroidery pattern, second embroidery pattern, third embroidery pattern ...) are stored. The embroidery patterns are grouped by type and stored with a pattern number.

That is, since the pattern data of each embroidery pattern has the same configuration, the pattern data of the first embroidery pattern will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the pattern data includes the embroidery pattern and a plurality of embroidery patterns included in the embroidery pattern. Starting with pattern display data for displaying a color-specific pattern portion, sewing data for embroidery sewing, and display information for screen display related to pattern selection shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, as shown in FIG. The auxiliary information display data for displaying additional information such as display information at the time of sewing including characters, numerals, and symbols other than the selected embroidery pattern and the embroidery area for each color is stored separately. .

As the pattern display data of the first embroidery pattern,
For example, in the case of the embroidery pattern of “elephant” shown in FIG.
Bit data (dot data) of a rectangular frame for displaying a color-specific pattern portion and a rectangular frame surrounding the outer periphery of each color-specific pattern portion
And bit data of the first to third color-specific pattern portions are stored. For sewing data, for example, for three colors, sewing data for three colors of the first to third color-specific pattern portions is stored. In addition, as display data of the accompanying information,
Display data for characters and function names to be displayed on various display screens is stored. Here, a stop code SC for thread change and data of a sewing time are stored in the sewing data for each color-specific pattern portion, respectively, and an end code EC is additionally stored in the final sewing data. .

A plurality of ROM cards 40 are prepared for each pattern type, and the ROM 41 of these ROM cards 40 includes a large number of relatively infrequently used embroidery patterns (first embroidery patterns) like the ROM 23. The pattern data of a pattern, a second embroidery pattern, a third embroidery pattern,...) Is stored. (See FIG. 3).

The pattern name memory 24a of the RAM 24 stores data of a plurality of pattern names read from the floppy disk FD. The sewing data memory 24b stores sewing data of the selected embroidery pattern. Further, the RAM 24 is provided with memories (memory for flags, pointers, counters, etc., registers, buffers, etc.) necessary for the various controls described above. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the floppy disk FD stores various data in addition to the sewing data for the stitch pattern.

That is, in the system area, data such as “2DD” and “2HD” that define the recording format for recording various data, management data such as a volume label “FLOWER” and the number of stored patterns “22” are added. And for each embroidery pattern,
The pattern name data relating to the "pattern name" and the "extension" associated therewith, and the corresponding recording date and time, the sewing data storage address in the data area, the file length, and the accompanying data related to the stitch formation are stored. ing. Here, the extension indicates the type of the pattern name or the file name in addition to the pattern name or other file names, such as “.HUS”.

The accompanying data includes data of "number of stitches" corresponding to the number of stitches, data of "number of colors" of the embroidery thread to be used, and data of "color name" corresponding to the "number of colors". Is stored. On the other hand, the data area stores, for each embroidery pattern, sewing data for forming an embroidery pattern, that is, stitch data, from a head address designated by a sewing data storage address. Here, when the sewing data is sewn with a plurality of different thread colors, a stop code for thread change is appropriately provided.

Next, a pattern selection control routine executed by the control device C will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. However, the symbol Si (i = 1, 2, 3,...)
・) Indicates each step. When this control is started by turning on the power, first, an initialization process such as clearing each memory of the RAM 24 is executed (S1), and a menu screen for designating the type (classification) of the pattern is displayed on the color display 10. Is displayed (S2).

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, character designating keys 11a to 11d for selecting a kana character or an alphabetic character pattern according to a typeface, a practical designating key 11e for selecting a practical pattern, and a concrete designating for selecting a concrete pattern. Key 11f-1
1h, a card designation key 11i for selecting an embroidery pattern recorded on the attached ROM card 27,
A menu screen including a floppy designation key 11j for selecting an embroidery pattern recorded on the mounted floppy disk FD is displayed.

Then, when the floppy designation key 11j is operated to select the embroidery pattern recorded on the floppy disk FD (S3: Yes, S4: No, S
5: Yes), the pattern name data and the associated data are read from the floppy disk FD and written into the pattern name memory 24a (S10). Next, a pattern name order sorting process for arranging the plurality of pattern names in the pattern name memory 24a in the order of the pattern names based on the alphabetical order is executed, and the pattern names after the sorting process are stored in the pattern name memory 2.
4a is updated and stored (S11).

Next, a plurality of pattern name selection keys for selecting a pattern name are set so as to respectively correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and columns (S12), and the pattern name display screen is displayed. Indicates that each of the sorted pattern names is
Using a font with a vertical dimension of 27 pt (about 10 mm),
It is displayed in substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area (S13). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of pattern name selection keys 11k
Are provided so as to correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas 10a each having 8 rows in the vertical direction and 2 columns in the horizontal direction, and the 16 pattern names "AAA" and "16" at the head portion read from the floppy disk FD are provided. AAB "," BBB "... 27pt
Are displayed over substantially the entire area of the pattern name display area 10a.

Next, a pattern selection process is executed by pressing the pattern name selection key 11k corresponding to the desired pattern name with a finger (S14). That is, at the time of this pattern selection, each of the plurality of pattern name selection keys 11k is a pattern name display area displayed in a font of 27 pt and has a vertical dimension of about 10
mm is arranged so as to correspond to each of a plurality of pattern name display areas 10a having a size that can be pressed by a finger, so that each pattern name selection key 11k can be easily pressed by a finger, and when a pattern is selected. Operability can be improved, and incorrect selection of a pattern name can be prevented.

Here, in the display of the pattern name in S13, as shown in FIG.
"A", "CAC", "DEA",...
For example, the display area 10a of the pattern names “AAB”, “BBB”, “EEB”,. In the above-described pattern selection processing in S14, when an embroidery pattern is selected by operating the pattern name selection key 11k, the sewing data of the embroidery pattern is read from the floppy disk FD and stored in the sewing data memory 24b.

When the sewing process is started by operating the start / stop switch 12 (S15: Yes), a command is issued to start the sewing process (S16). As a result, the sewing process is executed by reading the stitch data for each stitch from the sewing data memory 24b by the sewing control (S16, S17, S18: No). Then, when sewing is interrupted during sewing, when sewing is stopped by operating the start / stop switch 12, or when sewing is temporarily stopped by a stop code SC for thread change (S)
17: Yes), information on the sewing with the next thread color is displayed on the color display 10 (S19). As this information, for example, a message “sewing the second color” or “sewing the third color” is displayed.

When the sewing processing of all the embroidery areas is completed and the sewing is completed (S17: No, S18: Yes)
), S2 and subsequent steps are repeatedly executed. On the other hand, while the menu screen is displayed, when the desired pattern classification “animal or vehicle” is selected by operating the concrete designation key 11f (S3 ·
S4: Yes), as shown in FIG. 8, a large number of patterns related to "animals" and "vehicles" are displayed as a list in a matrix (S6). For example, the pattern key 11p
Is operated to select the embroidery pattern "panda" (S
7), as shown in FIG. 9, a pattern confirmation screen including an embroidery pattern “panda” and three color-specific pattern portions included in the “panda” is displayed on the color display 10 (S).
8). However, if the "return" key is operated while the pattern confirmation screen is being displayed, the process returns to S6.

Then, S15 to S19 are executed, and as described above, the embroidery pattern "Panda" is sewn with the embroidery threads of three colors. In this case, in S19, every time the embroidery sewing for each thread color is completed and temporarily stopped (S17: Yes), the second color-specific pattern portion and the third color-specific pattern portion are sequentially moved to the head position and displayed. Is done. Here, color display 10 or LC
The display means is constituted by the DC 20 or the like.
M23 corresponds to a font storage unit. The data reading means is constituted by S10 and the control device C in the pattern selection control, and the pattern name display control means is constituted by S12B and the control device C in FIG.

As described above, when displaying a plurality of pattern names read from the floppy disk FD on the pattern name display screen, a plurality of pattern name selection keys 11k are displayed in a plurality of pattern name display areas 10a forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. Each of the plurality of pattern names read and arranged so as to correspond to each other has a plurality of types (a vertical dimension of 10 pt, a vertical dimension of 15 pt, and a vertical dimension of 2
Since the display font data of the maximum character size (27 pt) of the font data of 7 pt) is used to display almost the entire area of each pattern name display area 10a, each of the plurality of pattern name selection keys 11k is A plurality of pattern name display areas 10a of a size that can be pressed by a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm
, Each pattern name selection key 11k can be easily and accurately pressed with a finger,
Operability when selecting a pattern can be improved.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 10, S12 and S13 of the pattern selection control are partially changed, and a pattern name selection key larger than the display area of the pattern name displayed in the table format is arranged. It may be. That is, after the plurality of pattern names are sorted in the order of the pattern names in S11, each of the pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and columns is provided with a pattern name selection key larger than the pattern name display area. The pattern names are set so as to be adjacent to each other in the column direction (S12A), and the pattern name display screen displays each of the sorted pattern names using a font whose vertical dimension is 15 pt (about 5.4 mm). Is displayed in each pattern name display area (S13A), and a pattern selection process is performed (S14).

For example, as shown in FIG. 11, in each of the pattern name display areas 10b forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of examples, each pattern name selection key 11m larger than the pattern name display area 10b has a row direction and a column direction. Are set adjacent to each other, and the plurality of read pattern names "AAA", "AAB", "BBB",... Are displayed in each pattern name display area 10b. Accordingly, even when the pattern name display area 10b is small, each of the plurality of pattern name selection keys 11m can be pressed by, for example, a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm, and is arranged larger than the pattern name display area 10b. And each pattern name selection key 11m
Can be easily pressed with a finger, and the operability at the time of selecting a pattern can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 12, S12 and S13 of the pattern selection control shown in FIG. 5 are partially changed so that a pattern name selection key is arranged at the head of each pattern name display area. You may. That is, after the plurality of pattern names are sorted in the order of the pattern names in S11, the pattern name display screen shows that each of the sorted pattern names has a vertical dimension of 15p.
Using a display font t (approximately 5.4 mm), each pattern name is displayed in each pattern name display area (S12B), and a rectangular pattern name selection key that can be pressed by a finger is provided at the top of each pattern name display area. Is set (S13B), and a pattern selection process is performed (S1B).
Four).

For example, as shown in FIG. 13, each of a plurality of read pattern names "AAA", "AAB", "BBB",... Is displayed in each of a plurality of pattern name display areas 10c. Is displayed. Then, a rectangular pattern name selection key 11n that can be pressed by a finger is set at the head of each pattern name display area 10c. Thereby, each pattern name display area 1
Dedicated pattern name selection key 1 separately provided at the beginning of 0c
1n can be easily and accurately pressed with a finger, and operability at the time of pattern selection can be improved. Here, each pattern name selection key 11n may be arranged at the end of each pattern name display area 10c.

Further, as shown in FIG. 14, S12 and S13 of the pattern selection control shown in FIG. 5 are partially changed to correspond to the pattern name display area for displaying the pattern name and the associated data corresponding thereto. You may make it arrange | position so that it may perform. That is, S
After the plurality of pattern names are sorted in the order of the pattern names according to step 11, the plurality of pattern name selection keys are mutually shifted in the row direction and the column direction so as to correspond to the plurality of pattern name display areas forming the plurality of rows and the columns. (S12c), and on the pattern name display screen, the plurality of sorted pattern names and associated data corresponding thereto are displayed in a row direction over substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area (S13c). ), And a pattern selection process is performed (S14).

For example, as shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of pattern name selection keys 11o are adjacent to each other in a row direction and a column direction so as to correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas 10d forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. A plurality of pattern names "AAA", "AAB", "BBB" ... that are arranged and read and corresponding data such as "number of stitches" and "number of colors" are displayed in each pattern name display area. It is displayed in the row direction over substantially the entire area of 10d. As a result, each of the plurality of pattern name selection keys 11o is a pattern name display having a size in which the pattern name and its associated data are arranged in the row direction and which can be pressed by a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm or more. Since each pattern name selection key 11o is easily and accurately pressed with a finger, the operability at the time of pattern selection can be improved.

Note that a monochrome display may be provided in place of the color display 10. Further, a ROM card may be used instead of the floppy disk FD. In addition, various data related to stitch formation such as sewing time are added to the accompanying data and stored, and at the same time as the pattern name, not only “number of stitches” and “number of colors” but also “color name” and “sewing time”. Alternatively, a plurality of accompanying data may be displayed.

Further, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiment, and the present invention can be applied to the control of each part of the above-described embodiment without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. Various changes may be made based on obvious techniques. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to various embroidery sewing machine pattern selection devices provided separately from the embroidery sewing machine.

In the above-described embodiment, the program relating to the touch keys that function as the gist of the present invention is stored in the ROM built in the sewing machine.
D or the like, an optical external recording medium such as a CDROM, or an electronic external recording medium such as a flash memory. In such a case, a processing step for automatically or manually setting the display size and the like in accordance with the type of the touch key or the display device is required.

[0059]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided display means including a display, and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, and an embroidery pattern can be selected via the touch keys. In the embroidery sewing machine pattern selection device, a font storage unit and a data reading unit are provided, and a plurality of touch keys are arranged and read so as to respectively correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. Since each of the plurality of pattern names is configured to be displayed over substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area using display font data of a character size other than the minimum character size of the font storage means, a plurality of touch keys are provided. Are arranged so as to respectively correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas of a size that can be pressed by a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm. Thus, the pressing operation can be performed easily and accurately, and the operability at the time of selecting the pattern can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an embroidery including display means including a display, and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, wherein an embroidery pattern can be selected via the touch keys. In the sewing machine pattern selection device, data reading means is provided, and in each of a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, touch keys larger than the pattern name display area are arranged in association with each other, and the read plurality is read. Since each of the pattern names is configured to be displayed in each of the pattern name display areas, each of the plurality of touch keys has a vertical size of about 10 mm even if the pattern name display area is small.
Therefore, each touch key can be easily and accurately pressed by a finger, and operability at the time of pattern selection can be improved.

According to the invention of claim 3, claim 1 or 2
The same effect as described above is obtained, but the touch keys in the plural rows and the plural columns are configured to be arranged at least adjacent to each other in the row direction, so that a plurality of touch keys can be efficiently arranged and the operability of pattern selection can be achieved. Is improved. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine, comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, and capable of selecting an embroidery pattern via the touch keys. In the above, a data reading means and a pattern name display control means are provided, and a touch key of a size operable for pattern selection is arranged at a head or a tail of each pattern name display area. A key can be pressed easily and accurately with a finger, and operability at the time of pattern selection can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an embroidery device including a display means including a display, and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, wherein an embroidery pattern can be selected via the touch keys. In the sewing machine pattern selection device, data reading means is provided, and a plurality of touch keys are provided.
A plurality of pattern names are arranged so as to correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas constituting a plurality of rows and columns, and the read plurality of pattern names and associated data are arranged and displayed in a row direction over substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area. Each of the plurality of touch keys is arranged such that pattern names and associated data are arranged in a row direction over substantially the entire area of each pattern name display area, and pressed with a finger having a vertical dimension of about 10 mm or more. Each of the touch keys can be easily and accurately pressed with a finger, and the operability at the time of pattern selection can be improved. it can.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the same effect as that of the fifth aspect is obtained. However, since the accompanying data includes at least data on the number of stitches, the number of colors, and the sewing time in stitch formation, a pattern At the time of selecting a name, at least the number of stitches, the number of colors, and the sewing time in the stitch formation can be known through the display at the same time as the pattern name. According to the invention of claim 7, claims 1 to 1 are provided.
6. The same effect as in any one of Item 6 is obtained, but since the data storage means is a floppy disk, it is possible to easily write data created by various sewing data creating / editing devices such as personal computers and the like. By simply mounting the disk drive, data written on the floppy disk can be easily read.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronically controlled sewing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the electronically controlled sewing machine.

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating a data configuration of a pattern data memory.

FIG. 4 is a table for explaining a data configuration recorded on a floppy disk.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a pattern selection control.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a menu selection screen.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a pattern name display screen.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a display screen of an embroidery pattern group.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a selected embroidery pattern and its color-specific pattern portion.

FIG. 10 is a part of a pattern selection control according to a modified embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 7 according to a modified embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a part of a pattern selection control according to a modified embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 7 according to a modified embodiment.

FIG. 14 shows a part of the pattern selection control according to the modified embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 7 according to a modified embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 M Electronically controlled sewing machine 10 Color liquid crystal display 22 CPU 23 ROM 24 RAM C Controller FD Floppy disk

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An embroidery sewing machine pattern selecting apparatus comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, wherein the embroidery pattern can be selected via the touch keys. Font storage means for storing a plurality of types of display font data having different character sizes for displaying characters on the display; and data for recording a plurality of sets of embroidery pattern name data and sewing data corresponding thereto. Data reading means for sequentially reading pattern name data from storage means, wherein the plurality of touch keys are arranged so as to respectively correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, and Each of the pattern names is stored in each pattern name display area using display font data of a character size other than the minimum character size of the font storage means. Embroidery machine for pattern selection apparatus characterized by being configured so as to display on the substantially entire region. 2. A pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine, comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, wherein the embroidery pattern can be selected via the touch keys. A plurality of pattern name display areas each comprising a plurality of rows and columns, comprising data reading means for sequentially reading the pattern name data from a data storage means in which a plurality of sets of embroidery pattern name data and sewing data corresponding thereto are recorded. Each of the
A plurality of touch keys larger than the pattern name display area are arranged in association with each other, and each of the plurality of read pattern names is displayed in each pattern name display area; apparatus. 3. The pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of rows and columns of touch keys are arranged so as to be adjacent at least in a row direction. 4. A pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine, comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, wherein the embroidery pattern can be selected via the touch keys. Data reading means for sequentially reading pattern name data from a data storage means in which a plurality of sets of pattern name data and sewing data corresponding to the pattern name data are recorded; based on the read plurality of pattern name data, Pattern name display control means for displaying in a tabular form on the display of the display means, and touch keys of a size operable for pattern selection are arranged at the beginning or end of each pattern name display area. A pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine. 5. An embroidery sewing machine pattern selection device comprising: display means including a display; and a plurality of transparent touch keys provided on substantially the entire surface of the display, wherein the embroidery pattern can be selected via the touch keys. Data reading for sequentially reading the pattern name data and the associated data corresponding to the pattern name data from the data storage means in which a plurality of sets of the pattern name data of the embroidery pattern and the associated sewing data and the associated data related to the stitch formation are recorded. The plurality of touch keys are arranged so as to correspond to a plurality of pattern name display areas forming a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns, and each of the read plurality of pattern names and associated data corresponding to the plurality of pattern names are displayed. A pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine, wherein the pattern selecting device is configured to be displayed in a row direction over substantially the entire area. 6. The pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine according to claim 5, wherein the accompanying data includes data of at least the number of stitches, the number of colors, and a sewing time in stitch formation. 7. The pattern selecting device for an embroidery sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein said data storage means is a floppy disk.