Embroidery frame setting system

Abstract

To provide an embroidery frame setting system allowing an embroidery frame to be easily registered or set on an embroidery machine.SOLUTION: An embroidery frame setting system 10 sets shape and dimension of an embroidery frame in an embroidery machine for sewing a portion inside the embroidery frame of a fabric held by the embroidery frame Fs. The embroidery frame setting system comprises: an imaging device 18 to image the embroidery frame; an embroidery frame extraction part 14 to receive an image data of the embroidery frame imaged by the imaging device from the imaging device and extract a portion corresponding to the embroidery frame in the image data; an embroidery range calculation part 12 to calculate an area enclosed by an inner edge part of the embroidery frame as an embroidery range based on the image data corresponding to the embroidery frame extracted by the embroidery frame extraction part; and a communication part 16 to perform radio communication with a control device 100 of the embroidery machine and transmit the embroidery range to the control device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an embroidery frame setting system that registers or sets an embroidery frame to be used in an embroidery machine. [Background technology]

[0002] In embroidery machines, embroidery work is often performed using an embroidery frame, but there is a possibility that the needle may come into contact with or pierce the embroidery machine during embroidery work, resulting in damage to the needle. Therefore, when using an embroidery frame, the embroidery area, which is the area or region where embroidery can be performed, is registered or set in advance in the embroidery machine. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a sewing system in which the type of embroidery frame and the relative position of the sewable area are associated with each other and stored in advance as a sewable area table. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-010620 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Embroidery frames of various shapes are used depending on the product to be sewn. The sewing system of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that it cannot use an embroidery frame of a shape that is not stored in the sewable area table. This problem can be solved by registering or setting a sewable area suitable for the embroidery frame, but if the embroidery frame has a relatively complex shape, it may be difficult to measure the embroidery frame, making it impossible to register or set it.

[0005] The present invention has as its technical object to solve the problems of the conventional technology, and aims to provide an embroidery frame setting system that allows an embroidery frame to be easily registered or set in an embroidery machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided an embroidery frame setting system that sets the shape and dimensions of an embroidery frame for an embroidery machine that sews inside an embroidery frame of a fabric held by the embroidery frame, the system comprising: an imaging device that images the embroidery frame; an embroidery frame extraction unit that receives image data of the embroidery frame captured by the imaging device from the imaging device and extracts a portion of the image data that corresponds to the embroidery frame; an embroidery area calculation unit that calculates an area surrounded by the inner edge of the embroidery frame as an embroidery area based on the image data of the portion that corresponds to the embroidery frame extracted by the embroidery frame extraction unit; and a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with a control device of the embroidery machine and transmits the embroidery area to the control device. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to easily set the embroidery range in the control device of the embroidery machine by simply capturing an image of the embroidery frame. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an embroidery frame setting system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embroidery frame setting system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating an example of an embroidery frame. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of an embroidery frame for explaining characteristic points. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1, the main components of the embroidery frame setting system 10 are an embroidery area calculation unit 12, an embroidery frame extraction unit 14, a wireless communication unit 16, and an image capture device 18. As will be described later, the embroidery frame setting system 10 outputs information relating to the determined embroidery area Rc (see FIG. 3) to a control device 100 of the embroidery machine (not shown).

[0010] The embroidery machine is a machine or device that sews (embroideries) a fabric (not shown) held in an embroidery frame Fs, and is equipped with a drive device (not shown) that drives a needle (not shown) through which a thread (not shown) is threaded back and forth along a predetermined linear path, a frame moving device (not shown) that moves the embroidery frame in two perpendicular directions within a plane perpendicular to the linear path of the needle, and a control device 100 that controls the needle drive device and the frame moving device.

[0011] The embroidery machine control device 100 is equipped with a wireless communication unit 104 that wirelessly communicates with the wireless communication unit 16 of the embroidery frame setting system 10, and a movement range setting unit 102 that sets the movement range of the embroidery frame Fs by the frame moving device based on the received embroidery range Rc.

[0012] The embroidery frame setting system 10 and the embroidery machine control device 100 may be configured with a computer and associated software, including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), a storage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), an input / output port, and a bidirectional bus that interconnects these. The wireless communication units 16, 104 of the embroidery frame setting system 10 and the embroidery machine control device 100 may be communication devices that comply with wireless communication standards such as IEEE 802.11 (wireless LAN) or IEEE 802.15 (Bluetooth (registered trademark)).

[0013] The operation of the embroidery frame setting system 10 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, an embroidery frame to be used with the embroidery machine is prepared, and an image of the frame is captured by the imaging device 18 (step S10). The imaging device 18 is an imaging device such as a digital camera capable of generating digital image data. The imaging device 18 may utilize the camera function of a smartphone or tablet. The embroidery frame extraction unit 14 receives the image data of the embroidery frame generated by the imaging device 18.

[0014] The embroidery frame extraction unit 14 extracts a portion corresponding to the embroidery frame from the image data of the embroidery frame Fs captured by the imaging device 18, and generates embroidery frame extraction image data (step S12). As an example, the embroidery frame can be extracted by changes in color data and contrast data of each pixel in the two-dimensional image data captured by the imaging device 18. In addition, if the imaging device 18 is equipped with a distance measurement device such as LidAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and the captured image data includes three-dimensional point cloud data, the two-dimensional image data and the three-dimensional point cloud data can be combined to generate a polygon mesh (not shown), thereby making it possible to extract the embroidery frame with higher accuracy. Such extraction of the embroidery frame can be performed by using general-purpose contour extraction application software.

[0015] The embroidery area calculation unit 12 extracts characteristic points Pc (see FIG. 4) along the inside dimensions of the embroidery frame (step S14), and determines the embroidery area Rs based on the characteristic points Pc (step S16). If the imaging device 18 is equipped with a distance measurement device as described above, the point cloud contains three-dimensional coordinate data, so the embroidery area Rs can be easily determined by sorting the coordinates of the inside part of the embroidery frame. Based on the embroidery frame extraction image data thus generated by the embroidery frame extraction unit 14, the embroidery area calculation unit 12 determines the area surrounded by the inside dimensions of the embroidery frame as the embroidery area Rs (see FIG. 3).

[0016] The embroidery area calculation unit 12 generates the embroidery area Rs in the form of text data in the following procedure. (1) Calculate the center of the embroidery area Rs. The center can be calculated by determining the center of mass or center of gravity of the embroidery area. (2) Define polar coordinates with the center as the origin or pole. (3) For each predetermined deviation angle or central angle around the center, the distance from the center to the inner edge is calculated as a radius vector. (4) Calculate the radius around the center. (5) Generate a text file associating a radius with each deviation angle.

[0017] The embroidery frame setting system 10 transmits the embroidery area Rc determined by the embroidery area calculation unit 12 to the embroidery machine control device 100 via the wireless communication unit 16 (step S18). The movement range setting unit 102 of the embroidery machine control device 100 sets the range in which the embroidery frame Fs will actually be moved by the movement device based on the embroidery area received by the wireless communication unit 104. The movement range setting unit 102 subtracts the characteristics of the embroidery machine, particularly the margin of the presser foot, from the outer periphery of the embroidery area Rs, in other words, sets the range determined by subtracting the margin from the radius for each deflection angle as the movement range (step S20).

[0018] The embroidery frame setting system 10 may be an electronic device having the above-mentioned functions. As an example, the embroidery frame setting system 10 may be configured as a handheld terminal or device such as a smartphone or tablet equipped with a camera function. In particular, recent smartphones and tablets equipped with a distance measuring device such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) can easily calculate the distance to the inner edge of the embroidery frame in the above-mentioned step (2), and are therefore suitable for easily configuring the embroidery frame setting system 10 by incorporating a dedicated application for extracting the embroidery frame and calculating the embroidery range. According to this embodiment, it is possible to easily set the embroidery area in the embroidery machine by simply capturing an image of the embroidery frame. [Explanation of symbols]

[0019] 10 Hoop setting system 12 Embroidery area calculation section 14 Embroidery frame extraction section 16 Wireless Communication Section 18 Imaging device 100 Control device 102 Movement range setting section 104 Wireless Communication Section

Claims

1. 1. An embroidery frame setting system for setting a shape and dimensions of an embroidery frame for an embroidery machine that sews an inside of an embroidery frame of a fabric held by the embroidery frame, comprising: an imaging device that images the embroidery frame; an embroidery frame extraction unit that receives image data of an embroidery frame captured by the imaging device from the imaging device and extracts a portion of the image data that corresponds to the embroidery frame; an embroidery area calculation unit that calculates an area surrounded by an inner edge of the embroidery frame as an embroidery area based on the image data of the portion corresponding to the embroidery frame extracted by the embroidery frame extraction unit; and a communication unit that wirelessly communicates with a control device of the embroidery machine and transmits the embroidery area to the control device.

2. The embroidery frame setting system according to claim 1 , wherein the embroidery area calculation unit calculates a center of an area surrounded by an inner edge of the embroidery frame, and calculates a distance from the center to the inner edge for each predetermined deviation angle with the center as a pole.

3. The embroidery frame setting system according to claim 2 , wherein the embroidery area is output to a control device of the embroidery machine in the form of text data.

4. The embroidery frame setting system according to claim 1 , wherein the embroidery area calculation unit includes a measuring device that measures dimensions of the embroidery frame captured by the imaging device.

5. The embroidery frame setting system according to claim 4 , wherein the embroidery frame setting system is a handheld device that can be held and operated by an operator.

6. The embroidery frame setting system of claim 5 , wherein the handheld device is a smartphone.

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