Embroidery sewing device and external memory medium for use therewith

• US 5,778,808 A
• Filed: 10/31/1996
• Issued: 07/14/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Hirata, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): NERBUN, PETER P
• Application Number:
  US08/742,834
• Time in Patent Office: 621 Days
• Field of Search: 112/102.5, 112/470.06, 112/445, 112/458, 112/475.19, 112/470.01, 364/470.09
• US Class Current: 112/102.5
• CPC Class Codes: D05B 19/04 characterised by memory aspects
• CPC Class Codes: D05B 19/06 Physical exchange of memory
• CPC Class Codes: D05B 19/105 Physical layout of switches or displays; Switches co-operating with the display
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/408 characterised by data handling or data format, e.g. reading, buffering or conversion of data

Abstract

A sewing data processor capable of displaying embroidery patterns, including a display; an external memory medium detachably mountable to an external memory medium mounting portion and for storing pattern data relating to a embroidery patterns, each embroidery pattern including partial patterns each to be sewn in a corresponding thread color and storing thread color indication data each indicating a corresponding thread color for sewing a corresponding partial pattern; a pattern display controller for displaying the embroidery patterns on the display based on the pattern data; a character font memory storing display font data for displaying characters required to indicate each of the thread colors in a predetermined language using characters of the predetermined language, the display font data being stored under its lead address in the character font memory; a lead address table storing thread color indication data and lead addresses of the display font data, the thread color indication data indicating a corresponding one of the thread colors and being stored in correspondence with at least one lead address of display font data for displaying the corresponding one of the thread colors in at least a character of the predetermined language.

Claims

1. An external memory medium detachably mountable to an external memory medium mounting portion of an embroidery data processor, the external memory medium comprising:

a first storage region that stores sets of pattern data relating to a plurality of embroidery patterns, each embroidery pattern including a plurality of partial patterns each to be sewn in a corresponding one of a plurality of thread colors; and

a second storage region that stores sets of thread color indication data, each set of thread color indication data indicating a corresponding thread color for sewing a corresponding one of the plurality of partial patterns of the plurality of embroidery patterns; and

wherein the first storage region and the second storage region are located in different memory areas and have separate addresses.

2. An external memory medium as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second storage region stores the thread color indication data in order in which corresponding partial patterns of each embroidery pattern are to be sewn.

3. An external memory medium as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pattern data includes sets of pattern display data for displaying corresponding embroidery patterns and sets of embroidery data for sewing corresponding embroidery patterns using a sewing machine, each set of pattern display data and embroidery data being stored under a separate lead address, and further comprising a third storage region storing the lead addresses of sets of pattern display data and embroidery data corresponding to a same embroidery pattern under a common lead address.

4. An external memory medium as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fourth storage region that stores, for each embroidery pattern, partial pattern number data indicating a number of partial patterns in each embroidery pattern.

5. A sewing data processor capable of displaying embroidery patterns, comprising:

display means for displaying embroidery patterns;

an external memory medium mounting portion;

an external memory medium detachably mountable to the external memory medium mounting portion that stores sets of pattern data relating to a plurality of embroidery patterns, each embroidery pattern including a plurality of partial patterns each to be sewn in a corresponding one of a plurality of thread colors and stores sets of thread color indication data, each set of thread color indication data indicating a corresponding thread color for sewing a corresponding one of the plurality of partial patterns of the plurality of embroidery patterns;

pattern display control means for displaying at least one of the plurality of embroidery patterns on the display means based on the pattern data;

character font memory means for storing a first plurality of sets of display font data for displaying a corresponding first plurality of characters required to indicate each of the thread colors in a first predetermined language using at least one character of the first predetermined language, each set of the first plurality of sets of display font data being stored under its lead address in the character font memory; and

lead address correspondence means for storing a plurality of sets of thread color indication data and lead addresses of the first plurality of sets of display font data, each set of thread color indication data indicating a corresponding one of the thread colors and being stored in correspondence with at least one lead address of display font data for displaying the corresponding one of the thread colors in at least a character of the first predetermined language.

6. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 5, wherein:

the character font memory means further stores a second plurality of sets of display font data of a corresponding second plurality of characters required to display each thread color in a second predetermined language using at least one character of the second predetermined language, each set of the second plurality of sets of display font data being stored under its lead address in the character font memory; and

the lead address correspondence means further stores the lead addresses of the second plurality of sets of display font data, each set of thread color indication data being stored in correspondence with at least one lead address of display font data for displaying a corresponding one of the thread colors in at least a character of the second predetermined language.

7. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a language memory for storing language information indicating one of the first predetermined language and the second predetermined language in which thread colors are to be displayed on the display means.

8. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

the character font memory means further stores a third plurality of sets of display font data of a third plurality of characters required to display each thread color in a different writing type of the first predetermined language using at least one character of the different writing type of the first predetermined language, each set of the third plurality of sets of display font data being stored under its lead address in the character font memory, the different writing type being different from a writing type represented by the second set of display font data;

the lead address correspondence means further stores the lead addresses of the third plurality of sets of display font data, each set of thread color indication data being stored in correspondence with at least one lead address of display font data for displaying a corresponding one of the thread colors in at least a character of the different writing type of the first predetermined language.

9. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 8, wherein the language memory further stores writing type data indicating one of the writing type and the different writing type when the language information indicates the first predetermined language.

10. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 5, wherein:

the character font memory means further stores a second plurality of sets of display font data of a second plurality of characters required to display each thread color in a different writing type of the first predetermined language using at least one character of the different writing type of the first predetermined language, each set of the second plurality of sets of display font data being stored under its lead address in the character font memory, the different writing type being different from a writing type represented by the first set of display font data; and

the lead address correspondence means further stores the lead addresses of the second plurality of sets of display font data, each set of thread color indication data being stored in correspondence with at least one lead address of display font data for displaying a corresponding one of the thread colors in at least a character of the different writing type of the first predetermined language.

11. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a language memory that stores writing type data indicating one of the writing type and the different writing type when the language information indicates the first predetermined language.

12. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lead address correspondence means stores each set of thread color indication data in correspondence with lead addresses of display font data for displaying the corresponding one of the thread colors in abbreviated form in the first predetermined language.

13. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 5, wherein the embroidery data processor is mounted in an embroidery sewing machine for performing embroidery sewing.

14. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a language memory for storing language information indicating one of the first predetermined language and a second predetermined language in which thread colors are to be displayed on the display means.

15. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 5, wherein the embroidery data processor is mounted in a device for performing at least preparation and editing of the sewing data for embroidery.

16. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 15, further comprising a language memory for storing language information indicating one of the first predetermined language and a second predetermined language in which thread colors are to be displayed on the display means.

17. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 5, wherein the external memory medium stores the thread color indication data in order in which corresponding partial patterns of each embroidery pattern are to be sewn.

18. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 17, wherein the pattern data stored in the external memory medium includes sets of pattern display data for displaying corresponding embroidery patterns and sets of embroidery data for sewing corresponding embroidery patterns using a sewing machine, each set of pattern display data and embroidery data being stored under a separate lead address, the external memory medium further storing the lead addresses of sets of pattern display data and embroidery data corresponding to a same embroidery pattern under a common lead address.

19. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 17, wherein the pattern display control means displays partial patterns of the at least one of the plurality of embroidery patterns in the order in which the partial patterns are to be sewn.

20. A sewing data processor as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lead address correspondence means stores lead addresses of display font data for displaying the corresponding one of the thread colors in a plurality of characters of the first predetermined language.

21. A sewing data processor capable of displaying embroidery patterns, comprising:

display means for displaying embroidery patterns;

an external memory medium mounting portion;

an external memory medium detachably mountable to the external memory medium mounting portion that stores sets of pattern data relating to a plurality of embroidery patterns in a first storage region, each embroidery pattern including a plurality of partial patterns each to be sewn in a corresponding one of a plurality of thread colors, and stores sets of thread color indication data in a second storage region, each set of thread color indication data indicating a corresponding thread color for sewing a corresponding one of the plurality of partial patterns of the plurality of embroidery patterns, wherein the first storage region and the second storage region are located in different memory areas and have separate addresses; and

pattern display control means for displaying, on the display means, at least one of the plurality of embroidery patterns and color information corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of embroidery patterns, based on the pattern data and the thread color indication data.