U.S. patent application number 12/379414 was filed with the patent office on 2009-10-29 for sewing machine and computer-readable medium storing sewing machine control program.
This patent application is currently assigned to BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA. Invention is credited to Masayuki Iwata, Kei Kawase, Motoshi Kishi, Yoshio Sugiura, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Shoichi Taguchi.
Application Number | 20090266282 12/379414 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41144481 |
Filed Date | 2009-10-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090266282 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Suzuki; Hiroyuki ; et
al. |
October 29, 2009 |
Sewing machine and computer-readable medium storing sewing machine
control program
Abstract
A sewing machine includes a sewing device, an imaging device, a
determination device, a sewing condition storage device, a reading
device, and a control device. The sewing device includes a needle
bar and a sewing machine motor. The imaging device captures an
image of a work cloth on which a marker is disposed to identify
information corresponding to actual sewing conditions. The
determination device determines an appearance feature of the work
cloth based on the image obtained by the imaging device. The sewing
condition storage device stores the appearance feature and sewing
condition information corresponding to the sewing conditions that
are correlated with each other. The reading device reads the sewing
condition information corresponding to the appearance feature from
the sewing condition storage device. The control device identifies
the actual sewing conditions based on the sewing condition
information read out by the reading device, and controls the sewing
device.
Inventors: |
Suzuki; Hiroyuki;
(Nagoya-shi, JP) ; Taguchi; Shoichi;
(Toyohashi-shi, JP) ; Iwata; Masayuki; (Gifu-shi,
JP) ; Kawase; Kei; (Nagoya-shi, JP) ; Sugiura;
Yoshio; (Nishikamo-gun, JP) ; Kishi; Motoshi;
(Nagoya-shi, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OLIFF & BERRIDGE, PLC
P.O. BOX 320850
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22320-4850
US
|
Assignee: |
BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI
KAISHA
Nagoya-shi
JP
|
Family ID: |
41144481 |
Appl. No.: |
12/379414 |
Filed: |
February 20, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
112/470.03 ;
112/102.5; 112/470.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D05B 19/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
112/470.03 ;
112/470.01; 112/102.5 |
International
Class: |
D05B 19/14 20060101
D05B019/14; D05B 19/02 20060101 D05B019/02; D05B 19/16 20060101
D05B019/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 27, 2008 |
JP |
2008-045439 |
Claims
1. A sewing machine that performs sewing on a work cloth, the
sewing machine comprising: a sewing device that includes: a needle
bar to which a sewing needle is to be attached; and a sewing
machine motor that drives a needle bar mechanism via a drive shaft,
the needle bar mechanism being configured to move the needle bar in
an up-and-down direction; an imaging device that captures an image
of the work cloth on which a marker is disposed to identify
information corresponding to actual sewing conditions, the actual
sewing conditions being sewing conditions to be used in actual
sewing; a determination device that determines an appearance
feature of the work cloth on which the marker is disposed, based on
the image obtained by the imaging device; a sewing condition
storage device that stores the appearance feature and sewing
condition information corresponding to the sewing conditions that
are correlated with each other; a reading device that reads out the
sewing condition information corresponding to the appearance
feature determined by the determination device from the sewing
condition storage device; and a control device that identifies the
actual sewing conditions based on the sewing condition information
read by the reading device, and controls the sewing device so as to
perform sewing.
2. The sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein the
determination device determines at least one of a shape of the
marker, a color of the marker, and a density of the marker, as the
appearance feature.
3. The sewing machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a
needle bar swinging motor that drives a needle bar swinging
mechanism configured to swing the needle bar in a right-and-left
direction with respect to a cloth feeding direction; and a feed
adjustment motor that adjusts a feed amount by a cloth feed
mechanism configured to feed the work cloth placed on a sewing
machine bed, wherein: the sewing condition information includes at
least one of sewing speed data about a rotation speed of the drive
shaft, swing amount data about a movement amount in the
right-and-left direction of the sewing needle by the needle bar
swinging mechanism, and feed amount data about the feed amount by
the cloth feed mechanism, and the control device controls at least
one of the sewing machine motor, the needle bar swinging motor, and
the feed adjustment motor.
4. The sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein the marker is a
pin that has a head portion and a needle portion.
5. The sewing machine according to claim 1, wherein the marker is a
sticker that has an adhesive layer on a surface.
6. A computer-readable medium storing a computer-executable sewing
machine control program for a sewing machine to perform sewing on a
work cloth, the sewing machine comprising a sewing device that
includes a needle bar to which a sewing needle is to be attached
and a sewing machine motor that drives via a drive shaft a needle
bar mechanism configured to move the needle bar in an up-and-down
direction, and the sewing machine control program comprising
instructions for: determining an appearance feature of the work
cloth on which a marker is disposed, based on an image obtained by
image capturing of the work cloth on which the marker is disposed
to identify information corresponding to actual sewing conditions,
the actual sewing conditions being sewing conditions to be used in
actual sewing; identifying sewing condition information that
corresponds to the determined appearance feature based on a
predetermined correlation between the appearance feature and the
sewing condition information corresponding to the sewing
conditions; and controlling the sewing device so as to perform
sewing, based on the actual sewing conditions indicated by the
identified sewing condition information.
7. The computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein
determining an appearance feature of the work cloth includes
determining at least one of a shape of the marker, a color of the
marker, and a density of the marker as the appearance feature.
8. The computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein: the
sewing machine further comprises: a needle bar swinging motor that
drives a needle bar swinging mechanism configured to swing the
needle bar in a right-and-left direction with respect to a cloth
feeding direction; and a feed adjustment motor that adjusts a feed
amount by a cloth feed mechanism configured to feed the work cloth
placed on a sewing machine bed; the sewing condition information
includes at least one of sewing speed data about a rotation speed
of the drive shaft, swing amount data about a movement amount in
the right-and-left direction of the sewing needle by the needle bar
swinging mechanism, and feed amount data about the feed amount by
the cloth feed mechanism; and controlling the sewing device
includes controlling at least one of the sewing machine motor, the
needle bar swinging motor, and the feed adjustment motor.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent
Application No. 2008-045439, filed Feb. 27, 2008, the disclosure of
which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a sewing machine and a
computer-readable medium storing a sewing machine control program.
More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a sewing
machine that performs sewing based on a marker disposed on a work
cloth and a computer-readable medium storing a sewing machine
control program.
[0003] Conventionally, when sewing a work cloth (a sewing target)
with a sewing machine, an operator (sewing machine user) may
usually mark sewing positions on the work cloth with a chalk
pencil, basting thread, pin, etc. and then perform sewing following
the marks. In such a case, the operator may need to change sewing
conditions (sewing speed, sewing method, for example) during
sewing, while the operator moves the work cloth following the marks
put on the work cloth as a guide. Therefore, to sew a complicated
pattern, the sewing machine user may need to be experienced in
operations of the sewing machine.
[0004] To solve the problem, for example, a sewing machine
disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No.
2007-289653 may capture an image of a baseline drawn on a work
cloth, detect a baseline width and a baseline color, and specify a
stitch width and a thread color that respectively correspond to the
baseline width and baseline color, thereby automatically sewing a
variety of stitch patterns along the baseline.
SUMMARY
[0005] With the conventional sewing machine described above, the
operator may need to erase the baseline drawn on the work cloth
after the operator has finished sewing.
[0006] Various exemplary embodiments of the general principles
herein provide a sewing machine that is capable of setting sewing
conditions and eliminates the need for a change in the set sewing
conditions during sewing and the need for extra work after sewing,
and a computer-readable medium storing a sewing machine control
program.
[0007] Exemplary embodiments provide a sewing machine that performs
sewing on a work cloth and includes a sewing device, an imaging
device, a determination device, a sewing condition storage device,
a reading device, and a control device. The sewing device includes
a needle bar to which a sewing needle is to be attached, and a
sewing machine motor that drives a needle bar mechanism configured
to move the needle bar in an up-and-down direction via a drive
shaft. The imaging device captures an image of the work cloth on
which a marker is disposed to identify information corresponding to
actual sewing conditions to be used in actual sewing. The
determination device determines an appearance feature of the work
cloth on which the marker is disposed, based on the image obtained
as a result of image capturing by the imaging device. The sewing
condition storage device stores the appearance feature and sewing
condition information about the sewing conditions that are
correlated with each other. The reading device reads out the sewing
condition information corresponding to the appearance feature
determined by the determination device from the sewing condition
storage device. Further, the control device identifies the actual
sewing conditions based on the sewing condition information read
out by the reading device, and controls the sewing device so as to
perform sewing.
[0008] Exemplary embodiments also provide a computer-readable
medium storing a sewing machine control program for a sewing
machine to perform sewing on a work cloth. The sewing machine
includes a sewing device that includes a needle bar to which a
sewing needle is to be attached and a sewing machine motor that
drives via a drive shaft a needle bar mechanism configured to move
the needle bar in an up-and-down direction. The sewing machine
control program causing a controller of the sewing machine to
execute instructions of determining an appearance feature of the
work cloth on which a marker is disposed, based on an image
obtained by image capturing of the work cloth on which the marker
is disposed to identify information corresponding to actual sewing
conditions, the actual sewing conditions being sewing conditions to
be used in actual sewing, identifying sewing condition information
that corresponds to the determined appearance feature based on a
predetermined correlation between the appearance feature and the
sewing condition information about the sewing conditions, and
controlling the sewing device so as to perform sewing, based on the
actual sewing conditions indicated by the identified sewing
condition information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be
described below in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sewing machine;
[0011] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a head;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electrical configuration of
the sewing machine;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of storage areas arranged in
an ROM;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a sewing condition storage
area in a first embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 6 is an external view of a pin in the first
embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 7 is an illustration of a work cloth to which pins are
fixed;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a main flowchart of sewing control processing;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a subroutine flowchart of sewing conditions
specification processing;
[0019] FIG. 10 is an illustration of a pattern sewn on the work
cloth in the first embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the sewing condition
storage area in a second embodiment;
[0021] FIG. 12 is an illustration of pins disposed on the work
cloth in the second embodiment;
[0022] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the sewing condition
storage area in a third embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 14 is an illustration of pins disposed on the work
cloth in the third embodiment; and
[0024] FIG. 15 is an illustration of a sticker put on a work cloth
60.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0025] The following will describe a sewing machine 1 according to
a first embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to the
drawings. The drawings will be used to explain technological
features that may be employed in the present disclosure, and
configurations of an apparatus and flowcharts of a variety of
processing are provided for just illustrative purposes and not
intended to be restrictive.
[0026] The physical configuration of a sewing machine 1 according
to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the sewing machine 1 includes a
bed portion 2, a pillar 3 erected upward from the bed portion 2 at
the right end of the bed portion 2, an arm portion 4 extending
leftwards from the upper end of the pillar 3 in parallel with the
bed portion 2, and a head 41 provided at the end of the arm portion
4. The side, which the operator of the sewing machine 1 faces for
sewing, is referred to as the "front side" of the sewing machine 1,
and the opposite side thereof is referred to as the "rear side" of
the sewing machine 1. The side at which the pillar 3 is disposed is
referred to as the "right side" and the opposite side thereof is
referred to as the "left side" of the sewing machine 1.
[0027] The bed portion 2 is provided with a needle plate 11 and a
needle plate cover 12 that can be opened and closed. In the needle
plate 11, square holes 34 are formed. Feed dogs (not shown), which
will be described later, may be raised and lowered through the
square holes 34. In the bed portion 2 below the needle plate 11, a
shuttle mechanism (not shown) that houses a bobbin for a lower
thread (not shown) is provided. The shuttle mechanism is configured
in such a manner that the bobbin can be attached to and detached
from the shuttle mechanism when the needle plate cover 12 is
detached. Below the needle plate 11, the bed portion 2 contains the
feed dogs (not shown) to feed a work cloth as a sewing target by a
certain feed amount, a cloth feed mechanism (not shown) to drive
the feed dogs, and a feed adjustment motor 76 (see FIG. 3) to
adjust the feed amount. At the lower part in the pillar 3, a sewing
machine motor 77 (see FIG. 3) is provided. Drive power of the
sewing machine motor 77 will be transmitted via a drive belt (not
shown) to a drive shaft (not shown) that extends in the
right-and-left direction in the arm portion 4. The drive power of
the sewing machine motor 77 will be transmitted also to a lower
shaft (not shown) that extends in the right-and-left direction in
the bed portion 2, via a transmission mechanism (not shown)
provided at a part of the sewing machine drive shaft. With such a
configuration, a needle bar 8, a thread take-up mechanism (not
shown), the shuttle mechanism (not shown), the cloth feed
mechanism, etc. may be synchronously driven.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the pillar 3 is provided with a
vertically long liquid crystal display (LCD) 10. The LCD 10
displays names of a variety of functions that may be required to
perform sewing operations, as well as a variety of messages. The
variety of functions may include pattern setting and editing, for
example. On the front surface of the LCD 10, a touch panel 111 (see
FIG. 3) is mounted. If any one of items displayed on the LCD 10 is
selected with a finger or a dedicated pen, the item may be sensed
on the touch panel 111. The operator may thus enter various
instructions via the LCD 10. On the right side surface of the
pillar 3, a connector 108 (see FIG. 3) is provided. Via the
connector 108, various kinds of data and programs can be input to
and output from the sewing machine 1.
[0029] Over the top of the arm portion 4, a cover 6 is mounted to
cover the entire length of the arm portion 4 in the right-and-left
direction. The cover 6 is pivotally supported on the rear upper
surface of the arm portion 4 so that the cover 6 may be opened and
closed around the longitudinal axis along the arm portion 4. As
shown in FIG. 1, under the cover 6, near the midsection on the
upper surface of the arm portion 4, a thread spool housing 15 is
provided as a concave portion. The spool housing 15 is configured
to house a thread spool 21 with a needle thread wound around. From
the right side surface of the thread spool housing 15, a thread
spool pin 17 to support the thread spool 21 extends in parallel
with the arm portion 4. At the lower part of the head 41, a needle
bar 8 is disposed. A sewing needle 16 (see FIG. 2) may be attached
to the needle bar 8. The head 41 contains a needle bar mechanism
(not shown), a needle bar swinging motor 78, and the thread take-up
mechanism (not shown). The needle bar mechanism is configured to
move up and down the needle bar 8 with the sewing needle 16. The
needle bar swinging motor 78 (see FIG. 3) is used to swing the
needle bar 8 right and left. At the rear side of the needle bar 8,
a presser bar 14 (see FIG. 2) is provided. The presser bar 14 has a
presser foot 13 (see FIG. 2) at a lower end to hold a work cloth.
The arm portion 4 has a thread guide groove 7 which guides a needle
thread pulled out from the thread spool 21 to the sewing needle 16
via a tension mechanism (not shown), a thread take-up spring (not
shown), and a thread take-up lever, etc. (not shown).
[0030] A plurality of operation keys 9 are provided on the front
surface of the arm portion 4. The operation keys 9 may be used for
instructing various sewing operations. The operation keys 9 may
include a start-and-stop switch 91, a reverse stitch switch 92, a
needle up-and-down switch 93, and a speed control lever 94. The
start-and-stop switch 91 may be used to start or stop sewing
operations. The reverse stitch switch 92 may be used to perform
reverse stitching. The needle up-and-down switch 93 is used to
switch a position of the sewing needle 16 between upper and lower
positions. The speed control lever 94 is used to set a sewing
speed.
[0031] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the head 41, on the front
side of the needle bar 8 and somewhat to the right of the needle
bar 8 in front view, an image sensor 30 is mounted so that the
image sensor 30 can capture an image of an area including a needle
drop hole 131 formed in the presser foot 13 and its vicinity. The
needle drop hole 131 has a size large enough for the sewing needle
16 to pass through. The image sensor 30 may include, for example, a
CMOS sensor and a control circuit, and the CMOS sensor will capture
an image. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a support
frame 31 is attached to a frame (not shown) of the sewing machine
1, and the image sensor 30 is fixed to the support frame 31.
[0032] Next, the electrical configuration of the sewing machine 1
will be described below with reference to FIG. 3. As shown in FIG.
3, the control system of the sewing machine 1 has a configuration
centered on a control portion 100. The control portion 100 includes
a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, an EEPROM 104, an external access
RAM 105, an input interface (I/F) 106, an output I/F 107, all of
which are connected to each other with a bus 110. The sewing
start-and-stop switch 91, the reverse stitch switch 92, the needle
up-and-down switch 93, and the speed control lever 94 (see FIG. 1
for all of them), the touch panel 111, and the image sensor 30 (see
FIG. 2) are respectively connected to the input I/F 106. Drive
circuits 71, 72, 73, and 74 to respectively drive the feed
adjustment motor 76, the sewing machine motor 77, the needle bar
swinging motor 78, and the LCD 10 (see FIG. 1) are connected to the
output I/F 107. A connector 108 is connected to the external access
RAM 105. Information stored in the external access RAM 105 can be
output to the outside of the sewing machine 1 via the external
access RAM 105.
[0033] The CPU 101 in the control portion 100 conducts main control
over the sewing machine 1 and executes computations and processing
in accordance with a variety of programs stored in a control
program storage area 201 (see FIG. 4) in the ROM 102, which is a
read-only memory. The RAM 103, which is a random access memory, has
storage areas to store various kinds of data temporarily.
[0034] Next, the storage areas arranged in the ROM 102 will be
described below with reference to FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the
ROM 102 may have the control program storage area 201, an initial
setting information storage area 202, a sewing condition storage
area 203, a possible sewing condition storage area 204, and other
storage areas.
[0035] The control program storage area 201 may store a control
program required by the CPU 101 (see FIG. 3) to execute sewing
control processing (see FIGS. 8 and 9) including appearance feature
recognition processing for a head portion 51 of a pin 50 (see FIG.
6). The pin 50 will be described in detail later. The initial
setting information storage area 202 may store initial setting
information that will be read out when the CPU 101 is powered or
reset. An example of the initial setting information may include
initial values of sewing condition information (described later)
about the sewing conditions.
[0036] The sewing condition storage area 203 may store sewing
condition information in association with each of a plurality of
different shapes, in plane view, of the head portion 51 of the pin
50. The sewing conditions may include, for example, a sewing
pattern, a swing amount, a feed amount, and a sewing speed. The
sewing conditions will be described in detail later with reference
to FIG. 5. In accordance with a planar shape of the head portion 51
of the pin 50, the CPU 101 selects and reads out any one of a
plurality of the sewing condition information pieces stored in the
sewing condition storage area 203 and stores the information in an
actual condition storage area (not shown) of the RAM 103. The
actual condition storage area will be described later. Based on the
stored sewing condition information, the CPU 101 controls the drive
circuits 71 to 73 (see FIG. 3) to respectively drive the feed
adjustment motor 76 (see FIG. 3), the sewing machine motor 77 (see
FIG. 3), and the needle bar swinging motor 78 (see FIG. 3).
[0037] The possible sewing condition storage area 204 may store
specifications of the sewing machine 1, that is, limit values of
the swing amount, the feed amount, and the sewing speed of the
sewing machine 1, for example. If any one of the swing amount, the
feed amount, and the sewing speed read out from the sewing
condition storage area 203 as the sewing conditions, in accordance
with the planar shape of the head portion of the pin 50, exceeds
the corresponding limit value stored in the possible sewing
condition storage area 204, the CPU 101 determines that the sewing
conditions do not comply with the specifications of the sewing
machine 1.
[0038] Next, the storage areas arranged in the RAM 103 will be
described below. Although not shown, the RAM 103 may be provided
with the actual condition storage area and other storage areas. The
actual condition storage area stores sewing condition information,
that is, information about the sewing pattern, the swing amount,
the feed amount, and the sewing speed for currently executed sewing
processing. The CPU 101 (see FIG. 3) may refer to the swing amount
included in the sewing condition information stored in the actual
condition storage area. The CPU 101 may then calculate a drive
amount of the needle bar swinging motor 78 (see FIG. 3)
corresponding to the stored swing amount, and control the drive
circuit 73 (see FIG. 3) based on the calculated drive amount. The
CPU 101 may also refer to the feed amount included in the stored
sewing condition information. The CPU 101 may then calculate a
drive amount of the feed adjustment motor 76 (see FIG. 3) so that
the actual feed amount by the feed dogs driven by the feed
mechanism equals to the stored feed amount, and control the drive
circuit 71 based on the calculated drive amount. Similarly, based
on the sewing speed included in the stored sewing condition
information, the CPU 101 may calculate a rotation speed of the
sewing machine motor 77. Specifically, the CPU 101 may calculate
the rotation speed so that a rotation speed of the drive shaft
equals to the sewing speed, and control the drive circuit 72 to
realize the calculated rotation speed.
[0039] The sewing condition information stored in the sewing
condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 will be described in
detail with reference to FIG. 5. In the first embodiment, the CPU
101 identifies sewing conditions by recognizing the planar shape of
the head portion 51 of the pin 50 (see FIG. 6) as an appearance
feature. For this purpose, in the sewing condition storage area
203, the sewing conditions (a sewing pattern, a swing amount, a
feed amount, and a sewing speed) to be used for sewing are stored
beforehand for each of the planar shapes of the head portion 51.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, as the sewing conditions, a
sewing pattern 301, a swing amount 302, a cloth feed amount 303,
and a sewing speed 304 are stored beforehand for each of the planar
shapes of the head portion 51. Because the shapes of the head
portion 51 of the pin 50 are correlated with the sewing conditions
beforehand, it may be easy for the operator to visually recognize
the sewing conditions when the pin 50 is disposed on the work
cloth.
[0040] For example, in an example shown in FIG. 5, corresponding to
the planar shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 "circle", the
sewing pattern 301 "straight stitch", swing amount 302 "0 mm", feed
amount 303 "2.5 mm", and sewing speed 304 "low speed (70 rpm)" are
stored. Corresponding to the planar shape "heart", the sewing
pattern 301 "straight stitch", swing amount 302 "0 mm", feed amount
303 "2.5 mm", and sewing speed 304 "high speed (750 rpm)" are
stored. Corresponding to the planar shape "triangle", the sewing
pattern 301 "zigzag stitch", swing amount 302 "2.0 mm", feed amount
303 "1.4 mm", and sewing speed 304 "medium speed (410 rpm)" are
stored. Corresponding to the planar shape "square", the sewing
pattern 301 "zigzag stitch", swing amount 302 "3.5 mm", feed amount
303 "1.4 mm", and sewing speed 304 "high speed (750 rpm)" are
stored. Corresponding to the planar shape "star", the sewing
pattern 301 "blind stitch", swing amount 302 "0 mm", feed amount
303 "2.0 mm", and sewing speed 304 "low speed (70 rpm)" are stored.
Corresponding to the planar shape "character X", the sewing pattern
"STOP" to stop sewing control processing is stored.
[0041] In the first embodiment, the CPU 101 (see FIG. 3) in the
sewing machine 1 (see FIG. 1) causes the image sensor 30 (see FIG.
2) to capture an image of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 stuck
through the work cloth, and recognizes the shape. Then, the CPU 101
identifies sewing conditions that correspond to the recognized
shape by referencing the sewing condition storage area 203.
[0042] Next, an example of the pin 50 that may be used in the
present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.
6. As shown in FIG. 6, the pin 50 has the head portion 51 and a
needle portion 52. The needle portion 52 is connected to the head
portion 51 and has a pointed tip. The needle portion 52 may be
stuck through the work cloth to be fixed. The head portion 51 may
be a plate-like portion made of plastic, for example. The head
portion 51 is connected to the end opposite to the pointed tip of
the needle portion 52. An example of FIG. 6 shows the pin 50 whose
head portion 51 is shaped as a circle in plan view. In the first
embodiment, a plurality of the pins 50 having the head portions 51
with different planar shapes may be stuck through the work cloth to
be fixed.
[0043] Next, how the pins 501 to 504 are fixed on a pair of work
cloths 60 will be described below with reference to FIG. 7. In FIG.
7, a sewing path intended by the operator is indicated by a
dash-and-dot line 61.
[0044] The work cloths 60 may be fed from the front side to the
rear side. Therefore, FIG. 7 shows a situation that the operator
intends to sew up the work cloths 60 from the rear side to the
front side along the dash-and-dot straight line 61 along the right
edge of the work cloths 60. In such a case, the pins 501 to 504 may
be stuck through the work cloths 60 and fixed in a condition where
the respective needle portions 521 to 524 intersect with the
dash-and-dot line 61 orthogonally and the tips of the respective
needle portions 521 to 524 are pointed to the left side from the
right edge side of the work cloths 60. On the right side of the
dash-and-dot line 61, the head portions 511 to 514 of the
respective pins 501 to 504 are disposed. By thus disposing the pins
501 to 504, as the work cloths 60 are fed by the feed dog, the head
portions 511 to 514 of the respective pins 501 to 504 may be moved
sequentially through the right side of the presser foot 13. The
right side portion of the presser foot 13 is an imaging area where
the image sensor 30 (see FIG. 2) can capture an image. The sewing
machine 1 (see FIG. 1) may capture images of the shapes of the head
portions 511 to 514 of the respective pins 501 to 504, and performs
sewing.
[0045] In the example shown in FIG. 7, from the rear side to the
front side, the total of four pins 501 to 504 are stuck through the
work cloths 60 and fixed in sequence. Specifically, from the top in
FIG. 7, the pin 501 having the "star" shape, the pin 502 having the
"triangle" shape, the pin 503 having the "circle" shape, and the
pin 504 having the "character X" shape are sequentially disposed.
In such a manner, the needle portions 521 to 524 of the respective
pins 501 to 504 may secure the work cloths 60, and the pins 501 to
504 may identify a start position and an end position of sewing in
a specific sewing method.
[0046] Subsequently, the sewing control processing that is executed
by the CPU 101 (see FIG. 3) of the sewing machine 1 will be
described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. A program that
causes the CPU 101 to execute processing shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is
stored in the control program storage area 201 (see FIG. 4) of the
ROM 102.
[0047] First, a main flowchart of the sewing control processing
will be described below with reference to FIG. 8. The main
flowchart of FIG. 8 starts if the power of the sewing machine 1 is
turned on by the operator.
[0048] As shown in FIG. 8, following the start of the processing,
initialization processing of the sewing machine 1 is executed. In
the initialization processing, the CPU 101 reads out the initial
setting information from the initial setting information storage
area 202 of the ROM 102 (S11). Among the read out initial setting
information, the initial setting values for the sewing conditions
(a sewing pattern, a swing amount, a feed amount, and a sewing
speed) are stored in the actual condition storage area of the RAM
103. In this state, if various kinds of setting information are
inputted via the touch panel 111 of the LCD 10, the speed control
lever 94, etc., the inputted setting information is stored in the
actual condition storage area as the sewing condition information
(S11). Based on the sewing condition information stored in the
actual condition storage area, the CPU 101 executes the sewing
control processing. Therefore, if nothing is changed hereafter, the
sewing pattern, the swing amount, the feed amount, and the sewing
speed that are stored in the actual condition storage area at this
point may be used as the sewing conditions in the sewing control
processing to be executed. The sewing pattern, the swing amount,
the feed amount, and the sewing speed that are stored in the actual
condition storage area will be hereinafter referred to as "actual
sewing conditions".
[0049] Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines whether an instruction
to start sewing is given, based on whether the start-and-stop
switch 91 is pressed once by the operator (S13). The CPU 101 waits
until the instruction to start sewing is given (NO at
S13.fwdarw.S13). If the instruction is given (YES at S13), the CPU
101 determines whether an instruction to end sewing is given (S14).
If the start-and-stop switch 91 is pressed again, the CPU 101
determines that the instruction to end sewing is given (YES at
S14). Then, the CPU 101 stops the currently executed sewing
processing (S12), and returns to the processing to acquire the
setting information (S11).
[0050] If the start-and-stop switch 91 is not pressed again (NO at
S14), an image of the work cloth 60 and the head portion 51 of the
pin 50 placed in the imaging area of the image sensor 30 is
captured to obtain image information. The obtained image
information is subjected to image processing, and processing to
recognize an appearance feature of the head portion 51 of the pin
50 (hereinafter referred to as "appearance feature recognition
processing") is performed (S15). In the appearance feature
recognition processing, the appearance feature of the work cloth
with the pin 50 disposed thereon may be recognized, based on the
image information obtained from the image sensor 30. In the first
embodiment, as an example of the appearance feature recognition
processing, processing to recognize the shape of the head portion
51 (hereinafter referred to as "shape recognition processing") is
executed.
[0051] The shape recognition processing may be executed as follows,
for example. First, binarization processing may be performed to
binarize the image information obtained by image capturing to
extract position information of the head portion 51 of the pin 50,
which has higher brightness with respect to the brightness of the
work cloth. The threshold value of the brightness may be determined
by a p-tile method, a mode method, a discrimination analysis
method, a variable threshold method, etc. Subsequently, edge
detection may be performed to identify a boundary (edge) between
light and dark in the image information to extract position
information of the boundary line between the head portion 51 of the
pin 50 and the work cloth 60. A filter to be used in edge detection
may include a first derivative filter, a Laplacian filter, etc.
Subsequently, through Hough transform, an edge that forms a curve
or a straight line may be extracted to identify a shape of the head
portion 51 of the pin 50. By determining whether the acquired shape
is the same as a predetermined shape, the shape of the head portion
51 of the pin 50 may be identified.
[0052] Further, in the image processing, from among all the image
information pieces of the imaging area captured by the image sensor
30, the image information of a certain area at the right side of
the presser foot 13 (hereinafter referred to as a target area) is
selected, and the shape recognition processing is executed for the
target area. Thus, when the head portion 51 of the pin 50 passes by
the right side of the needle drop hole 131 in the presser foot 13,
the shape of the head portion 51 may be recognized. Accordingly, at
this timing, the sewing conditions may be changed (see S23 in FIG.
9).
[0053] If the CPU 101 cannot identify the shape of the head portion
51 of the pin 50 through the shape recognition processing (NO at
S17), the CPU 101 determines that the head portion 51 of the pin 50
is not present in the target area of the image sensor 30. Then,
sewing is executed based on the actual sewing conditions stored in
the actual condition storage area of the RAM 103 (S19). The process
returns to step S14, and the processing to monitor an instruction
from the start-and-stop switch 91 (S14), the processing to detect
the head portion 51 of the pin 50, and the shape recognition
processing (S15) are executed repeatedly.
[0054] If the shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 is
identified through the shape recognition processing (YES at S17),
the CPU 101 reads out the sewing conditions identified by the
planar shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50, from the sewing
condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 (S18). The CPU 101 stores
the read out sewing information in a storage area arranged in the
RAM 103. Subsequently, the CPU 101 determines whether the
identified shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 is the
"character X", that is, whether the identified shape is a sewing
pattern that indicates stop of sewing (S21). If the shape of the
head portion 51 of the pin 50 is the "character X", the sewing
pattern stored in the actual condition storage area of the RAM 103
is "STOP", so that it is necessary to end the continuing sewing
control processing. Therefore, in such a case (YES at S21), the CPU
101 stops sewing (S27), ends a series of the sewing control
processing, and returns to the setting information acquisition
processing (S11) again to perform new sewing.
[0055] If the shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 identified
by the CPU 101 is any other than the "character X", that is, if the
identified shape is not the sewing pattern that indicates stop of
sewing (NO at S21), the CPU 101 proceeds to sewing condition
identification processing (see S23 in FIG. 9). In the sewing
condition identification processing, the CPU 101 determines the
actual sewing conditions based on the sewing conditions that
correspond to the planar shape of the head portion 51 of the pin
50, and executes the sewing processing.
[0056] The sewing condition identification processing to be
executed at step S23 of the sewing control processing will be
described below with reference to FIG. 9. In the sewing condition
identification processing, as shown in FIG. 9, the CPU 101
determines whether the sewing conditions that have been read out
according to the recognized shape of the head portion 51 of the pin
50 comply with the specifications of the sewing machine 1 (S31).
Specifically, the CPU 101 compares the swing amount, the feed
amount, and the sewing speed included in the read out sewing
conditions with the respective limit values of the swing amount,
the feed amount, and the sewing speed stored in the possible sewing
condition storage area 204 of the ROM 102. If at least any one of
the swing amount, the feed amount, and the sewing speed read out
according to the recognized shape of the head portion 51 is found
to exceed the limit value, the CPU 101 determines that the sewing
conditions do not comply with the specifications of the sewing
machine 1 (NO at S31).
[0057] In such a case, the sewing machine 1 cannot perform sewing
based on the sewing conditions identified by the head portion 51 of
the pin 50. Accordingly, the CPU 101 causes the LCD 10 to display
an error message saying, for example, "THIS SEWING MACHINE CANNOT
PERFORM SEWING", to inform the operator that sewing cannot be
continued (S47). The CPU 101 stores 1 to turn a stop flag "ON",
which indicates stop of sewing (S49), ends the sewing condition
identification processing, and returns to the sewing control
processing (see FIG. 8).
[0058] If the sewing conditions that are read out in accordance
with the recognized planar shape of the head portion 51 of the pin
50 comply with the specifications of the sewing machine 1, the CPU
101 determines that sewing can be performed with the sewing machine
1 (YES at S31). In such a case, the CPU 101 compares the actual
sewing conditions stored in the actual condition storage area of
the RAM 103 with the newly identified sewing conditions to
determining whether the both sewing conditions are identical (S33,
S37, and S41).
[0059] More specifically, first, among the sewing conditions, the
CPU 101 determines whether the sewing speeds are identical with
each other (S33). The CPU 101 refers to the sewing condition
storage area 203 of the ROM 102. If the CPU 101 determines that the
sewing speed identified by the planar shape of the head portion 51
of the pin 50 is identical to the sewing speed in the actual sewing
conditions (YES at S33), proceeds to step S37 without changing the
sewing speed of the actual sewing conditions. If the CPU 101
determines that the sewing speed identified by the planar shape of
the head portion 51 of the pin 50 is not identical to the sewing
speed in the actual sewing conditions (NO at S33), the sewing speed
identified by the planar shape overwrites the sewing speed stored
in the actual condition storage area (S35). Furthermore, a rotation
speed of the sewing machine motor 77 is calculated and set such
that the rotation speed of the drive shaft of the sewing machine 1
may be equal to the identified sewing speed. Then, the process
proceeds to S37.
[0060] At step S37, among the sewing conditions, the CPU 101
determines whether the swing amounts are identical (S37). The CPU
101 refers to the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102.
If the CPU 101 determines that the swing amount identified by the
planar shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 is identical to
the swing amount in the actual sewing conditions (YES at S37),
proceeds to step S41 without changing the swing amount of the
actual sewing conditions. If the CPU 101 determines that the swing
amount identified by the planar shape of the head portion 51 of the
pin 50 is not identical to the swing amount in the actual sewing
conditions (NO at S37), the swing amount identified by the planar
shape overwrites the swing amount stored in the actual condition
storage area (S39). Furthermore, a drive amount of the needle bar
swinging motor 78 is calculated and set such that a swing amount of
the needle bar 8 caused by the needle bar swinging mechanism may be
equal to the identified swing amount. Then, the process proceeds to
step S41.
[0061] At step S41, among the sewing conditions, the CPU 101
determines whether the feed amounts are identical (S41). The CPU
101 refers to the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102.
If the CPU 101 determines that the feed amount identified by the
planar shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 is identical to
the feed amount in the actual sewing conditions (YES at S41),
proceeds to step S45 without changing the feed amount of the actual
sewing conditions. If the CPU 101 determines that the feed amount
identified by the planar shape of the head portion 51 of the pin 50
is not identical to the feed amount of the actual sewing condition
(NO at S41), the feed amount identified by the planar shape
overwrites the feed amount stored in the actual condition storage
area (S43). Furthermore, a drive amount of the feed adjustment
motor 76 is calculated and set such that the feed amount of the
feed dogs caused by the cloth feed mechanism may be equal to the
identified feed amount. Then, the process proceeds to step S45.
[0062] At step S45, based on the thus set drive amount of the feed
adjustment motor 76, the rotation speed of the sewing machine motor
77, and the drive amount of the needle bar swinging motor 78, the
CPU 101 controls the drive circuits 71 to 73 to drive the feed
adjustment motor 76, the sewing machine motor 77, and the needle
bar swinging motor 78, respectively, thereby performing sewing on
the work cloth 60 (S45). After the sewing is performed, the sewing
condition identification processing ends to return to the sewing
control processing (see FIG. 8).
[0063] In the sewing control processing, as shown in FIG. 8, the
CPU 101 determines whether the stop flag is ON (S25). If the stop
flag is ON (YES at S25), the sewing conditions identified by the
recognized head portion 51 of the pin 50 do not comply with the
specification of the sewing machine 1. Therefore, the CPU 101 stops
sewing processing (S27). Then the CPU 101 returns to the setting
information acquisition processing (S11) again to perform new
sewing. If the stop flag is OFF (NO at S25), the CPU 101 returns to
step S14 to continue the sewing processing.
[0064] Next, a specific example of sewing procedures will be
described below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10, in a case where
the sewing control processing is performed according to the
flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 10 shows a sewing pattern
sewn on the work cloth 60 in a case where the pins 50 are disposed
as illustrated in FIG. 7. Prior to sewing with the sewing machine
1, the operator sticks the pins 501 to 504 through a work cloth 60
to be fixed in such a manner that respective head portions 511 to
514 of the pins 501 to 504 may be disposed at the right sides of
desired positions to be sewn on the work cloth 60. In an example
shown in FIG. 10, a total of four pins 501 to 504 are disposed. The
respective head portions 511 to 514 of the pins 501 to 504 have the
planar shapes of the "star" (head portion 511), the "triangle"
(head portion 512), the "circle" (head portion 513), and the
"character X" (head portion 514) in this order starting from the
rear side of the sewing machine 1.
[0065] Sewing may be started at the upper end of the dash-and-dot
line 61 shown in FIG. 7 (rear side of the sewing machine 1) (S11
and S13). If start of sewing is instructed (YES at S13), the image
sensor 30 in the sewing machine 1 captures an image of the work
cloth 60 in the imaging area (S15). In a condition shown in FIG. 7,
the head portion 511 of the pin 501 may not be detected (NO at
S17). Accordingly, sewing may be performed based on the actual
sewing conditions, that is, the sewing pattern, the swing amount,
the feed amount, and the sewing speed that have been read out from
the initial setting information storage area 202 of the ROM 102 and
stored into the actual condition storage area of the RAM 103 upon
start-up of the sewing machine 1 (S19). In this case, it is assumed
that sewing may be performed based on the initial sewing conditions
of a sewing pattern of a straight stitch, a swing amount of 0 mm, a
feed amount of 1.4 mm, and a sewing speed of a low speed (70
rpm).
[0066] Subsequently, the needle drop hole 131 in the presser foot
13 reaches to the left of an area where the pin 501 having the
"star"-shaped head portion 511 is disposed. At this timing, an
image of the head portion 511 of the pin 501 is captured by the
image sensor 30 so that the shape may be recognized (S15). The
sewing conditions corresponding to the shape "star" are read out
from the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and
identified (YES at S17.fwdarw.S18). Then, the actual sewing
conditions stored in the actual sewing condition storage area of
the RAM 103 are changed to a sewing pattern of blind stitch, a
swing amount of 0 mm, a feed amount of 2.0 mm, and a sewing speed
of a low speed (70 rpm) (S33 to S43). Based on the thus changed
actual sewing conditions, sewing is performed (S45).
[0067] Subsequently, the needle drop hole 131 in the presser foot
13 reaches to the left of an area where the pin 502 having the
"triangle"-shaped head portion 512 is disposed. At this timing, an
image of the head portion 512 of the pin 502 is captured by the
image sensor 30 so that the shape may be recognized (S15). The
sewing conditions corresponding to the shape "triangle" are read
out from the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and
identified (YES at S17.fwdarw.S18). Then, the actual sewing
conditions stored in the actual sewing condition storage area of
the RAM 103 are changed to a sewing pattern of a zigzag stitch, a
swing amount of 2.0 mm, a feed amount of 1.4 mm, and a sewing speed
of a medium speed (410 rpm) (S33 to S43). Based on the thus changed
actual sewing conditions, sewing is performed (S45).
[0068] Subsequently, the needle drop hole 131 in the presser foot
13 reaches to the left of an area where the pin 503 having the
"circle"-shaped head portion 513 is disposed. At this timing, an
image of the head portion 513 of the pin 503 is captured by the
image sensor 30 so that the shape may be recognized (S15). The
sewing conditions corresponding to the shape "circle" are read out
from the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and
identified (YES at S17.fwdarw.S18). Then, the actual sewing
conditions stored in the actual sewing condition storage area of
the RAM 103 are changed to a sewing pattern of a straight stitch, a
swing amount of 0 mm, a feed amount of 2.5 mm, and a sewing speed
of a low speed (70 rpm) (S33 to S43). Based on the thus changed
actual sewing conditions, sewing is executed (S45).
[0069] Subsequently, the needle drop hole 131 in the presser foot
13 reaches to the left of an area where the pin 504 having the
"character X"-shaped head portion 514 is disposed. At this timing,
an image of the head portion 514 of the pin 504 is captured by the
image sensor 30 so that the shape may be recognized (S15). The
sewing conditions corresponding to the shape "character X" are read
out from the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and
identified (YES at S17.fwdarw.S18). Because the sewing pattern
corresponding to the shape "character X" is "STOP" (YES at S21),
sewing is stopped (S27). Sewing is performed in such a manner, and
the patterns of "straight stitch", "blind stitch", "zigzag stitch",
and "straight stitch" are sewn in this order along the dash-and-dot
line 61 on the work cloth 60, as shown in FIG. 10.
[0070] As described above, the pins 501 to 504 may be disposed on
the work cloths 60 as a sewing target so that images of the
respective head portions 511 to 514 of the pins 501 to 504 may be
captured by the image sensor 30 provided in the sewing machine 1.
From the image information obtained by image capturing, the shape
of the head portion 51 may be recognized. Then, sewing may be
performed based on the sewing conditions corresponding to the
recognized shapes. Accordingly, the operator need not manually
change the sewing conditions during sewing. Therefore, even if the
operator is not skilled in sewing operations, the operator can sew
a pattern based on a combination of complicated sewing
conditions.
[0071] The following will describe a sewing machine 1 according to
the second embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to
the drawings. The second embodiment is almost the same as the first
embodiment described above except for the contents of the
appearance feature recognition processing (see S15 in FIG. 8).
Therefore, the description of the same configurations and
processing shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, 8, and 9 will be omitted
below.
[0072] In contrast to the first embodiment, in the second
embodiment, processing of recognizing a color of the head portion
51 of the pin 50 (hereinafter referred to as "color recognition
processing") may be performed. The color recognition processing is
another example of the appearance feature recognition processing.
For this purpose, the color of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 is
correlated with the sewing conditions (the sewing pattern, the
swing amount, the feed amount, and the sewing speed) and stored in
the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102. When sewing
is performed, an image of the head portion 51 of the pin 50
disposed on the work cloth may be captured by the image sensor 30
and the color may be determined. The sewing conditions that
correspond to the color may be read out from the sewing condition
storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and identified. Then, based on the
identified sewing conditions, sewing may be performed.
[0073] The sewing conditions stored in the sewing condition storage
area 203 of the ROM 102 will be described in detail below, with
reference to FIG. 11. The sewing condition storage area 203 of the
present embodiment stores the sewing conditions for each color of
the head portion 51 of the pin 50. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
11, the stored sewing conditions may include a sewing pattern 401,
a swing amount 402, a feed amount 403, and a sewing speed 404 for
each color. Because the colors of the head portion 51 of the pin 50
are correlated with the sewing conditions beforehand, it may be
easy for the operator to visually recognize the sewing conditions
when the pin 50 is disposed on the work cloth.
[0074] In an example shown in FIG. 11, corresponding to the color
of the head portion 51 of the pin 50 "blue", the sewing pattern 401
"straight stitch", the swing amount 402 "0 mm", the feed amount 403
"1.4 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "low speed (70 rpm)" are stored.
Corresponding to the color "yellow", the sewing pattern 401
"straight stitch", the swing amount 402 "0 mm", the feed amount 403
"1.4 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "medium speed (410 rpm)" are
stored. Corresponding to the color "white", the sewing pattern 401
"straight stitch", the swing amount 402 "0 mm", the feed amount 403
"2.5 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "high speed (750 rpm)" are
stored. Corresponding to the color "green", the sewing pattern 401
"zigzag stitch", the swing amount 402 "2.0 mm", the feed amount 403
"1.4 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "low speed (70 rpm)" are
stored.
[0075] Corresponding to the color of the head portion 51 "brown",
the sewing pattern 401 "zigzag stitch", the swing amount 402 "2.0
mm", the feed amount 403 "2.5 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "medium
speed (410 rpm)" are stored. Corresponding to the color "purple",
the sewing pattern 401 "zigzag stitch", the swing amount 402 "3.5
mm", the feed amount 403 "1.4 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "high
speed (750 rpm)" are stored. Corresponding to the color "pink", the
sewing pattern 401 "blind stitch", the swing amount 402 "0 mm", the
feed amount 403 "2.0 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "low speed (70
rpm)" are stored. Corresponding to the color "sky blue", the sewing
pattern 401 "blind stitch", the swing amount 402 "0 mm", the feed
amount 403 "2.0 mm", and the sewing speed 404 "medium speed (410
rpm)" are stored. Corresponding to the color "red", the sewing
pattern "STOP" to stop sewing control processing is stored.
[0076] Next, a specific example of sewing procedures will be
described below with reference to FIG. 12, in a case where the
sewing control processing is performed according to the flowcharts
shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 12 shows a condition in which pins 601
to 603 are disposed on the work cloth 60 for sewing. Prior to
sewing with the sewing machine 1, the operator sticks the pins 601
to 603 through the work cloth 60 to be fixed in such a manner that
respective head portions 611 to 613 of the pins 601 to 603 may be
disposed on the right sides of desired positions to be sewn. In an
example shown in FIG. 12, a total of three pins 601 to 603 are
disposed. The respective head portions 611 to 613 of the pins 601
to 603 have the colors "blue" (head portion: 611), "green" (head
portion 612), and "red" (head portion 613) in this order starting
from the rear side of the sewing machine 1.
[0077] Sewing may be started at the upper end of a dash-and-dot
line 61 shown in FIG. 12 (the rear side of the sewing machine 1)
(S11 and S13). If start of sewing is instructed (YES at S13), the
image sensor 30 in the sewing machine 1 captures images of the work
cloth 60, and performs processing to sequentially recognize the
colors of the head portions 611 to 613 of the pins 601 to 603
(S15). The color recognition processing may employ a single panel
method of, for example, separating image information into three
colors RGB (red, green, and blue) with a color filter. Intensities
of the respective colors are compared, and the colors included in
the image information may be recognized. As a result of executing
the color recognition processing, the color of the head portion 611
of the pin 601 is determined as "blue" and sewing conditions
corresponding to the color is read out from the sewing condition
storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and identified (YES at
S17.fwdarw.S18). Then, actual sewing conditions stored in the
actual sewing condition storage area of an RAM 103 are changed to
the sewing pattern of a "straight stitch", the swing amount of 0
mm, the feed amount of "1.4 mm", and the sewing speed of a "low
speed (70 rpm)" (S33 to S43). Based on the thus changed actual
sewing conditions, sewing may be performed (S45).
[0078] Subsequently, the needle drop hole 131 in the presser foot
13 reaches to the left of an area where the pin 602 having the
"green" head portion 612 is disposed. At this timing, an image of
the head portion 612 of the pin 602 is captured by the image sensor
30 so that the color may be recognized (S15). The sewing conditions
corresponding to the color "green" are read out from the sewing
condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and identified (YES at
S17.fwdarw.S18). Then, the actual sewing conditions stored in the
actual sewing condition storage area of the RAM 103 are changed to
the sewing pattern of a "zigzag stitch", a swing amount of "2.0
mm", a feed amount of "1.4 mm", and a sewing speed of a "low speed
(70 rpm)" (S33 to S43). Based on the thus changed actual sewing
conditions, sewing may be performed (S45).
[0079] Subsequently, the needle drop hole 131 in the presser foot
13 reaches to the left of an area where the pin 603 having the
"red" head portion 613 is disposed. At this timing, an image of the
head portion 613 of the pin 603 is captured by the image sensor 30
so that the color may be recognized (S15). The sewing conditions
corresponding to the color "red" are read out from the sewing
condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and identified (YES at
S17.fwdarw.S18). Because the sewing pattern corresponding to the
"red" is "STOP" (YES at S21), sewing is stopped (S27). Sewing may
be performed in such a manner, and the patterns of "straight
stitch" and "zigzag stitch" are sewn in this order from the rear
side of the sewing machine 1, along the dash-and-dot line 61 on the
work cloth 60.
[0080] As described above, the pins 601 to 603 may be disposed onto
a work cloth beforehand so that images of the respective head
portions 611 to 613 of the pins 601 to 603 may be captured by the
image sensor 30 provided in the sewing machine 1. From the image
information obtained by image capturing, the colors of the head
portions 611 to 613 may be recognized. Then, sewing may be
performed based on the sewing conditions corresponding to the
recognized colors. Accordingly, the operator need not need to
change the sewing conditions during sewing. Therefore, even if the
operator is not skilled in sewing operations, the operator can sew
a pattern based on a combination of complicated sewing
conditions.
[0081] The following will describe a sewing machine 1 according to
the third embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to
the drawings. Like the second embodiment, the third embodiment is
almost the same as the first embodiment described above, except for
the contents of the appearance feature recognition processing (see
S15 in FIG. 8). Therefore, the description of the same
configurations and processing shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, 8, and 9 will
be omitted below.
[0082] In contrast to the first and second embodiments, in the
third embodiment, processing of recognizing the density of the head
portions 51 of the pins 50 (hereinafter referred to as "density
recognition processing") may be performed. The density recognition
processing is another example of the appearance feature recognition
processing. For this purpose, a density of the head portions 51 in
a case where a plurality of the pins 50 are disposed on the work
cloth is correlated with the sewing conditions (the sewing pattern,
the swing amount, the feed amount, and the sewing speed) and stored
in the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102. When
sewing is performed, images of the head portions 51 of the pins 50
disposed on the work cloth may be captured by the image sensor 30,
and the density of the head portions 51 in the target area may be
determined. The sewing conditions that correspond to the density
are read out from the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM
102 and identified. Then, based on the identified sewing
conditions, sewing may be performed.
[0083] The sewing conditions stored in the sewing condition storage
area 203 of the ROM 102 will be described in detail below with
reference to FIG. 13. The sewing condition storage area 203 of the
present embodiment stores the sewing conditions for each of
densities of the head portions 51 of the pins 50. Specifically, as
shown in FIG. 13, the stored sewing conditions may include a sewing
pattern 411, a swing amount 412, a feed amount 413, and a sewing
speed 414 for each density. Because the densities of the head
portions 51 of the pins 50 are correlated with the sewing
conditions, it may be easy for the operator to visually recognize
the sewing conditions when the pins 50 are disposed on the work
cloth.
[0084] In an example shown in FIG. 13, corresponding to the density
of the head portions 51 of the pins 50 "low", the sewing pattern
411 "straight stitch", the swing amount 412 "0 mm", the feed amount
413 "2.5 mm", and the sewing speed 414 "medium speed (410 rpm)" are
stored. Corresponding to the density "medium", the sewing pattern
411 "zigzag stitch", the swing amount 412 "2.0 mm", the feed amount
413 "1.4 mm", and the sewing speed 414 "medium speed (410 rpm) are
stored. Corresponding to the density "high", the sewing pattern 411
"blind stitch", the swing amount 412 "0 mm", the feed amount 413
"2.0 mm", and the sewing speed 414 "medium speed (410 rpm)" are
stored. It is to be noted that the densities may be classified as
"low", "medium", and "high" in accordance with, for example, the
number of the head portions 51 of the pins 50 recognized in the
target area.
[0085] Next, a specific example of sewing procedures will be
described below with reference to FIG. 14, in a case where the
sewing control processing is performed according to the flowcharts
shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 14 shows a sewing pattern sewn on the
work cloths 60 in a condition where pins 701 and 702 are disposed
on the work cloths 60. Prior to sewing with the sewing machine 1,
the operator sticks the pins 701 and 702 through the work cloths 60
to be fixed in such a manner that respective head portions 711 and
712 of the pins 701 and 702 may be disposed on the right sides of
desired sewing positions. In an example shown in FIG. 14, the pins
701 are disposed in a low density and the pins 702 are disposed in
a high density in this order from the rear side of the sewing
machine 1.
[0086] Sewing may be started at the upper end of a dash-and-dot
line 61 shown in FIG. 14 (rear side of the sewing machine 1) (S11
and S13). If start of sewing is instructed (YES at S13), the image
sensor 30 in the sewing machine 1 captures an image of the work
cloth 60, and the CPU 101 performs the density recognition
processing to recognize the density of the head portions 711 of the
disposed pins 701 (S15). The density recognition processing may be
executed by, for example, determining how many head portions 711
and 712 of the pins 701 and 702 are present in the target area. The
shapes of the head portions 711 and 712 may be recognized by the
shape recognition processing of the first embodiment. As a result
of executing the density recognition processing, the density of the
head portions 711 of the pins 701 may be determined as "low", and
the sewing conditions corresponding to the density is read out from
the sewing condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and identified
(YES at S17). The actual sewing conditions stored in the actual
sewing condition storage area of the RAM 103 are set to be the
sewing pattern of a "straight stitch", the swing amount of "0 mm",
the feed amount of "2.5 mm", and the sewing speed of a "medium
speed (410 rpm)" (S33 to S43). Based on the thus set actual sewing
conditions, sewing may be performed (S45).
[0087] Subsequently, the presser foot 13 reaches to the left of a
portion where the head portions 712 of the pins 702 are disposed in
the high density. At this timing, an image of the head portions 712
of the pins 702 are captured by the image sensor 30 so that the
density may be recognized (S15). The sewing conditions
corresponding to the density "high" are read out from the sewing
condition storage area 203 of the ROM 102 and identified (YES at
S17). The actual sewing conditions stored in the actual sewing
condition storage area of the RAM 103 are changed to the sewing
pattern of a "blind stitch", the swing amount of "0 mm", the feed
amount of "2.0 mm", and the sewing speed of a "medium speed (410
rpm)" (S33 to S43). Based on the thus changed actual sewing
conditions, sewing may be performed (S45).
[0088] Subsequently, the operator may press the start-and-stop
switch 91 once (YES at S14). With this, sewing may be stopped
(S12). The sewing control processing may be executed in such a
manner, and the patterns of "straight stitch" and "blind stitch"
may be sewn in this order from the rear side of the sewing machine
1, along the dash-and-dot line 61 on the work cloth 60.
[0089] As described above, the pins 701 and 702 may be disposed
beforehand onto the work cloth as a sewing target so that images of
the respective head portions 711 and 712 of the pins 701 and 702
may be captured by the image sensor 30 provided in the sewing
machine 1. From the image information obtained by image capturing,
the densities of the head portions 701 and 702 may be recognized.
Then, the sewing control processing may be performed based on the
sewing conditions corresponding to the recognized densities.
Accordingly, the operator may not need to change the sewing
conditions during sewing. Therefore, even if the operator is not
skilled in sewing operations, the operator can sew a pattern based
on a combination of complicated sewing conditions.
[0090] It is to be noted that, of course, the sewing machine 1 of
the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described
above and can be modified variously without departing from the gist
of the present disclosure. For example, in the embodiments
described above, the pins 50 are disposed on the work cloth 60
beforehand so that images of the head portions 51 of the pins 50
may be captured by the image sensor 30 in the sewing machine 1 to
recognize the appearance features of the work cloth on which the
pins are disposed. Then, the sewing conditions are identified
according to the recognized appearance features. In a modified
embodiment, for example, stickers 801 to 804 (see FIG. 15) may be
employed as substitutes for the pins 50. Sewing control processing
with use of the stickers 801 to 804 according to the modified
embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 15.
[0091] As shown in FIG. 15, the stickers 801 to 804 have a
plurality of different planar shapes ("star" (801), "triangle"
(802), "circle" (803), and "character X" (804)). Each of the
stickers 801 to 804 has an adhesive layer formed on one of the
surfaces and can be stuck to the work cloth 60 with the adhesive
layer. Therefore, as in the case of the pins 50 described above, it
may be possible to identify a position where sewing with a desired
sewing style is to be started or ended. Prior to actual sewing, as
shown in FIG. 15, the operator may stick the stickers 801 to 804 to
desired positions on the work cloth 60 at which sewing is to be
started or ended based on the sewing conditions that are correlated
with the respective shapes of the stickers 801 to 804. After the
work cloth 60 is placed on the bed portion 2 of the sewing machine
1, like the embodiments of the pins 50 described above, images of
the stickers 801 to 804 may be captured by the image sensor 30
sequentially, and the shapes of the stickers 801 to 804 may be
recognized. The sewing conditions that correspond to the recognized
shapes may be identified, and the sewing machine motor 77, the
needle bar swinging motor 78, and the feed adjustment motor 76 may
be controlled based on the identified sewing conditions. Because
the stickers 801 to 804 do not have the needle portions 52 in
contrast to the pin 50, the stickers 801 to 804 may be easy to
handle. On the other hand, the work cloths cannot be temporarily
secured when sewn up, so that a basting thread etc. may be
separately used to temporarily secure the work cloths along a path
for actual sewing by the sewing needle 16.
[0092] In the above embodiments, the shape, the color, and the
density of the head portions 51 are employed as examples of the
appearance features of the work cloth recognized from the image
information obtained by image capturing of the work cloth on which
the head portions 51 of the pins 50 are disposed. Further, any one
of the shape the head portion 5, the color the head portion 5, and
the density of the head portions 5 is correlated with the sewing
conditions (the sewing pattern, the swing amount, the feed amount,
and the sewing speed), and the actual sewing conditions are
identified to perform sewing. However, the present disclosure is
not limited to the embodiments. For example, the sewing conditions
may be correlated with a combination of a plurality of the
appearance features, and the actual sewing conditions may be
identified according to the combination. The sewing conditions,
that is, the sewing pattern, the swing amount, the feed amount, and
the sewing speed, may be separately correlated with the different
appearance features, that is, the shape, the color, and the
density. Specifically, for example, the sewing pattern may be
correlated with the shape of the head portions 51, the swing amount
may be correlated with the color of the head portions 51, and the
feed amount may be correlated with the density.
[0093] In the above embodiments, the four sewing conditions (the
sewing pattern, the swing amount, the feed amount, and the sewing
speed) are correlated with the appearance feature of the head
portions 51 of the pins 50. However, only any one of those sewing
conditions may be correlated with the appearance feature. The
actual sewing conditions may be identified according to any one of
those sewing conditions that corresponds to the recognized
appearance feature.
* * * * *