Patent Application
20160069007
This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-180512 filed on Sep. 4, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a sewing machine system, a terminal device, a method of synchronizing embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device.
Conventionally, there is known a technique of connecting a sewing machine to a personal computer or the like via a wireless communication (see PTL 1).
Further, in recent years, tablet terminals that can be used in a simpler manner have become widely used in various fields in place of personal computers.
In the field of sewing machines, systems in which a sewing machine and a tablet terminal may be connected via a wireless LAN have also been developed. In the conventional system, a single-purpose embroidery editing application program is installed in a tablet terminal. With the embroidery editing application program, it is possible to perform an offline editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with the sewing machine.
In order for a tablet terminal to realize an operation equivalent to that performed with the sewing machine, the tablet terminal has to have the same embroidery data as that stored in the sewing machine.
However, as the embroidery editing application program is configured to include entire embroidery data stored in the sewing machine, and a volume of the program is large. In the conventional embroidery editing application program, a program component for control accounts for only about a dozen percent of an entire volume, and most of the remaining part is occupied by embroidery data and image data such as selection buttons. In order for a user to download such a conventional embroidery editing application program of a large volume from an online store, for example, it takes a long time.
Further, in order to have the embroidery data stored in the sewing machine and the embroidery data held by the embroidery editing application program match, it is necessary to prepare an embroidery editing application program for every model of the sewing machine. Even with this, when embroidery data is newly added to the sewing machine using an external recording non-transitory medium, or when a firmware version of the sewing machine is updated, it is not possible to respond only with the embroidery editing application program that has been installed in the tablet terminal, and the user has to additionally perform updating of the version of the embroidery editing application program or the like.
Moreover, the embroidery data includes data that require copyright management, such as character patterns (hereinafter referred to as copyright data). In the case of the conventional embroidery editing application program, such copyright data is unfavorably copied to the tablet terminal along with the embroidery data.
PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-141471
One or more embodiments of the present invention provide: a sewing machine system, in which an editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with a sewing machine may be performed by a terminal device using an embroidery editing application program that does not include embroidery data, and data management is appropriately performed; the terminal device; a method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system; and a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device.
Embodiment (1): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a sewing machine system including: a sewing machine; and a terminal device, wherein the sewing machine and the terminal device are connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other, the sewing machine includes: a sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the terminal device; a sewing-machine-side recording unit configured to record embroidery data; and a control unit configured to respond to an inquiry from the terminal device, and the terminal device includes: a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine; a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data; an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
Embodiment (2): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein the terminal-side recording unit records no embroidery data in an initial state before wireless communication with the sewing machine is performed for the first time, and the embroidery data obtaining unit obtains the embroidery data from the sewing-machine-side recording unit when wireless communication at least with the sewing machine is enabled for the first time.
Embodiment (3): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein to the embroidery data, attribute information indicating copy restriction is assigned.
Embodiment (4): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (3), wherein when a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data having different attribute information are combined in an editing operation, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
Embodiment (5): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (3), wherein when the editing unit generates new embroidery data by combining a plurality of patterns of the embroidery data, the attribute information of one of the combined patterns is carried over.
Embodiment (6): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide the sewing machine system according to the embodiment (1), wherein when the embroidery data is obtained, the embroidery data obtaining unit identifies individuality of the sewing machine as a communication target, and the system further includes: a post-edit embroidery data transmission unit configured to have a capability of transferring post-edit embroidery data edited by the editing unit only to the sewing machine as the communication target that is identified by the embroidery data obtaining unit.
Embodiment (7): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the terminal device including: a terminal-side wireless communication unit having a capability of wireless communication at least with the sewing machine; a terminal-side recording unit configured to have a capability of recording embroidery data; an embroidery data obtaining unit configured to compare embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit, to obtain embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and to have the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data; and an editing unit configured to edit the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit.
Embodiment (8): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a method of synchronizing embroidery data for a sewing machine system having a sewing machine and a terminal device connected in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with each other, the method including: a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
Embodiment (9): One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a recording non-transitory medium storing a program for a terminal device connected to a sewing machine in a manner providing a capability of wireless communication with the sewing machine, the program causing a computer to execute: a step of, by an embroidery data obtaining unit, comparing embroidery data recorded in a sewing-machine-side recording unit with embroidery data recorded in a terminal-side recording unit, obtaining embroidery data unrecorded in the terminal-side recording unit from the sewing-machine-side recording unit, and having the terminal-side recording unit record the obtained embroidery data.
According to a sewing machine system, the terminal device, a method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and recording non-transitory medium storing a program for the terminal device according to one or more embodiments of the present invention, an editing operation equivalent to an operation performed with a sewing machine may be performed by a terminal device using an embroidery editing application program that does not include embroidery data, and data management is appropriately performed.
Hereinafter, an embodiment for implementing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The following figures including
Further, while specific values, shapes, operations, and the like are referred in the following description, these are mere examples and may be modified as appropriate.
The sewing machine system according to this embodiment includes the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 as a terminal device, and the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 are able to communicate with each other through a wireless LAN via a router or the like (not shown).
The sewing machine 10 is able to perform embroidery semi-automatically according to embroidery data, using threads of a plurality of colors, for example. The sewing machine 10 is a multi-functional sewing machine capable of performing normal sewing with various sewing patterns.
In the following description, the embroidery data is referred to a “pattern” when appropriate, and the “embroidery data” is assumed to be a synonym for the “pattern”.
The sewing machine 10 includes a sewing-machine-side display unit 11, a sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit 12, a sewing-machine-side recording unit 13, and a control unit 14.
The sewing-machine-side display unit 11 is provided for the sewing machine 10 itself, and configured by a liquid crystal display device, for example. In the sewing-machine-side display unit 11, various information useful for a user is displayed according to an operational status of the sewing machine. For example, in a state in which needle threading is performed, information that may help needle threading operation is displayed. As the sewing machine is multi-functional, the content that is displayed has a number of variations.
The sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit 12 is connected to the wireless LAN, and is able to perform wireless communication mutually with the tablet terminal 20 via a router or the like (not shown).
The sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 is configured by a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, or the like, and records embroidery data for several hundreds of patterns. Each of the patterns of the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 has attribute information. The attribute information is set so as to indicate a level of copy restriction, and there are four types of attribute information in this embodiment.
Attribute 1: the data is copiable to the tablet terminal 20, editable by the tablet terminal 20, and transferable to a different sewing machine. Specifically, the attribute 1 indicates that the data may be freely copied and treated.
Attribute 2: the data is copiable to the tablet terminal 20, and editable by the tablet terminal 20, but transferable only to the sewing machine 10 owned by the user. Specifically, the attribute 2 indicates that the sewing machine to which the data may be transferred is restricted.
Attribute 3: the data is copiable to the tablet terminal 20, but an editing feature by the tablet terminal 20 is restricted. The attribute 3 indicates that there is a certain restriction in the editing operation.
Attribute 4: copying of the data to the tablet terminal 20 is prohibited, and the data may be used only within the sewing machine 10. The attribute 4 typically assigned to copyright data such as character patterns.
Further, in addition to the patterns (embroidery data) that are previously stored in the sewing machine 10, the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 may record patterns that the user externally obtained (user-generated patterns). The user-generated patterns are also transferable to the tablet terminal 20, and an attribute may be set to each of the user-generated patterns.
The control unit 14 controls operation of the sewing machine 10 as a whole. The control unit 14 also makes a response to an inquiry from the tablet terminal 20. Further, the control unit 14 allows the sewing machine 10 to alone perform the editing operation such as combining patterns or changing a shape of a pattern.
The sewing machine 10 described above is able to change the attribute. In order to change the attribute of a pattern with the sewing machine 10, an operator operates a touch panel of the sewing-machine-side display unit 11 to open a “pattern attribute change” screen.
In order to change the attribute of a pattern, the operator touches a target pattern and place a check mark D1. Then, as the “attribute selection dialogue box” shown in
Further, while the previously set attribute information described above is assigned to stored embroidery data previously recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13, the attribute information may also be assigned to a pattern stored by the user.
Moreover, the attribute information set for the embroidery data is carried over even if editing and storing is repeated.
Setting and changing of the attribute information described above may be performed by operating the sewing machine 10, and the patterns copied to the tablet terminal 20 may be used under the set conditions (within the restriction based on the attribute information).
Referring back to
The tablet terminal 20 includes a terminal-side display unit 21, a terminal-side wireless communication unit 22, a terminal-side recording unit 23, an embroidery data obtaining unit 24, an editing unit 25, and a post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26.
The terminal-side display unit 21 is configured to serve as a touch panel, with which various input may be performed in addition to display of information.
The terminal-side wireless communication unit 22 is connected to the wireless LAN, and is able to perform wireless communication mutually with the sewing machine 10 via a router or the like (not shown).
The terminal-side recording unit 23 is configured by a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, or the like, and records embroidery data obtained from the sewing machine 10. it should be noted that, the embroidery data is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 at all immediately after the program for this system is installed in the tablet terminal 20. In other words, the program for this system does not include the embroidery data, and configured only by a control program component.
The embroidery data obtaining unit 24 compares the embroidery data recorded in the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13 with the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23, obtains embroidery data that is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 from the sewing-machine-side recording unit 13, and records, i. e., copies the obtained embroidery data in the terminal-side recording unit 23. However, the embroidery data obtaining unit 24 does not obtain embroidery data whose copying is restricted based on the attribute information even if the embroidery data is not recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23. Further, when the embroidery data is obtained, the embroidery data obtaining unit 24 obtains an MAC address in order to identify individuality of the sewing machine 10 as a communication target which the obtained embroidery data is transmitted, and associates the MAC address with the obtained embroidery data. Here, the MAC address may be obtained only when the attribute is the attribute 2.
The editing unit 25 operates so as to perform various editing to the embroidery data recorded in the terminal-side recording unit 23 according to the operator's operation. Examples of the editing include combining of a plurality of different kinds of patterns. Here, the embroidery data to which the editing of combining a plurality of different kinds of patterns is performed by the function of the editing unit 25 in the tablet terminal 20 is also subjected to management of attribute information similarly to the case in which the editing is performed in the sewing machine 10. Specifically, when patterns of different attributes are combined by editing operation, one of the attributes with heavier restriction is carried over.
Further, if the editing operation is restricted as in the case of the attribute 3, the editing unit 25 operates so as to prevent a restricted editing operation such as scaling of a pattern from being performed.
The post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 transmits post-edit embroidery data that has been edited by the editing unit 25 to the sewing machine 10. Therefore, the sewing machine 10 is able to perform embroidery based on the embroidery data that has been edited by the editing unit 25 in the tablet terminal 20. Here, when the embroidery data that has been edited is transmitted to the sewing machine 10, the post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 confirms the attribute information described above to determine if there is restriction on a transmission-target sewing machine. If the attribute is the attribute 2, transferring is allowed only to the sewing machine 10 owned by the user. Accordingly, the post-edit embroidery data is not transmitted to a different sewing machine other than the sewing machine 10 (hereinafter referred to as a different sewing machine 10B). In order to distinguish the sewing machine 10 from the different sewing machine 10B (identification), the MAC address is used. As described above, as the embroidery data obtaining unit 24 has obtained the MAC address when the embroidery data is obtained, the post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 determines whether or not to transmit the embroidery data by confirming an MAC address of a sewing machine to which the post-edit embroidery data is transmitted (the sewing machine 10 or the different sewing machine 10B). In this manner, if the attribute is the attribute 2, the post-edit embroidery data transmission unit 26 allows transmission of the post-edit embroidery data that has been edited only to the sewing machine 10 as the communication target that has been identified by the embroidery data obtaining unit 24.
Next, a method of synchronizing embroidery data for the sewing machine system according to this embodiment is described with reference to flowcharts.
Here, the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20 are connected via a router (not shown), and are able to communicate with each other through a wireless LAN by previously having cryptosystems match and setting a password on either side.
Upon starting up the application program for embroidery editing on the tablet terminal 20, in Step (hereinafter simply referred to as S) 1, the tablet terminal 20 confirms if a pattern stored in the sewing machine 10 is already recorded in the tablet terminal 20, and makes determination in S2. If the pattern stored in the sewing machine 10 is not recorded in the tablet terminal 20, the operation moves to S3, and the tablet terminal 20 transmits a request command to the sewing machine 10 for a pattern list.
In S4, the tablet terminal 20 waits for the pattern list to be transmitted from the sewing machine 10.
In S5, the tablet terminal 20 receives the pattern list, and records the list temporarily.
In S6, the tablet terminal 20 requests for the embroidery data in order to copy a pattern in the pattern list from the sewing machine 10 to the tablet terminal 20.
In S7, the tablet terminal 20 waits for the embroidery data to be transferred from the sewing machine 10, and upon reception of one pattern, records the pattern as a file in a recording area of the tablet terminal 20 (S8).
At the same time, the tablet terminal 20 registers an attribute of this pattern (S9) as well as an MAC address indicating a source of the pattern (S10).
In S11, the tablet terminal 20 draws an image for a selection button from the embroidery data to generate a pattern icon, and registers the icon in a selection screen. The tablet terminal 20 repeats from S6 to S12 until all of the patterns registered in the pattern list are received. The above process is performed once if a pattern is not copied in the tablet terminal 20. Further, even if the pattern is copied in the tablet terminal 20, when the embroidery data stored in the sewing machine 10 includes a pattern of embroidery data that is not recorded in the tablet terminal 20, the tablet terminal 20 obtains this pattern of embroidery data alone.
In S21, the tablet terminal 20 displays a pattern selection screen in which icons of the patterns copied from the sewing machine 10 to the tablet terminal 20 are arranged.
In S22, the user selects one of the patterns in the tablet terminal 20.
In S23, the tablet terminal 20 adds an image of the pattern selected by the user to the edit screen.
In S24, if the attribute of the pattern indicates that “editing is restricted”, the operation of the tablet terminal 20 moves to S26, skipping S25, so that an operation for scaling and rotation (S25) may not be performed.
In S26, the tablet terminal 20 moves and positions the pattern according to the user's operation.
In S27, the tablet terminal 20 registers new attribute information as a result of the combination. Setting of the new attribute information is performed according to the rules described above.
In S28, the tablet terminal 20 determines whether or not the editing is completed according to the user' s operation. If more patterns are to be added, the operation of the tablet terminal 20 returns to S22 from S28, and a next pattern is selected. This process is repeated by the number of the patterns.
Upon completion of the editing operation, the operation moves to S29, and the tablet terminal 20 determines whether or not attribute information of the generated pattern includes restriction on the transmission-target sewing machine. If the attribute of the generated pattern indicates that “there is the restriction on the transmission-target sewing machine”, the tablet terminal 20 requests for status information of the sewing machine 10 in S30, and then obtains the MAC address of the sewing machine 10 in S31.
In S32, the tablet terminal 20 compares the MAC addresses. If the MAC addresses do not match, the operation moves to S35, and the tablet terminal 20 displays a message and stops transmission of the pattern to the sewing machine 10. If the MAC addresses match, or if it has been determined that transmission of the pattern is not restricted in S29, the operation moves to S33, and the tablet terminal 20 transmits the post-edit embroidery data (pattern) to the sewing machine 10 and waits for completion of the transmission.
The interrupt handling is started upon reception of a command from the tablet terminal 20, and in S41, the sewing machine 10 receives a command.
In S42, the sewing machine 10 determines the command, and generates a list of machine-stored patterns if a pattern list is requested.
In S43, the sewing machine 10 determines pattern attribute of a pattern, and adds the pattern to the list if transmission of the pattern is not prohibited (S44).
In S45, the sewing machine 10 confirms if there is a next pattern, and the operation returns to S43 if there is the next pattern, and moves to S46 if there is no next pattern.
In this manner, the sewing machine 10 repeats the operation from S43 to S45, and generates a pattern list of all patterns.
On the other hand, if the command is a request for a pattern data in the determination in S42, the operation moves to S47, and the sewing machine 10 converts binary data of a specified pattern in the ROM into embroidery data in a file.
In S48, the sewing machine 10 transmits the converted embroidery data to the tablet terminal 20.
In S49, the sewing machine 10 transmits attribute information of this pattern.
In a sequence of obtaining the embroidery data, when it is determined that there is machine-stored pattern that has not been transferred to the tablet terminal 20, a pattern list is requested (S301 and S302). The sewing machine 10 makes a list of patterns whose attribute allows transfer out of the machine-stored patterns (S303), and transmits the pattern list (S304).
The tablet terminal 20 sequentially requests for a pattern in the pattern list (S305), and registers a file, an attribute, and an MAC address of the embroidery data for each pattern (S306 to S313, . . . ). Here, the sewing machine 10 first converts binary embroidery data in the ROM into embroidery data in a file, and then transmits the converted data to the tablet terminal 20.
If there is included a pattern with attribute information indicating that “the transmission-target sewing machine is restricted” (S401 and S501), an MAC address of a transmission target, which is the sewing machine 10 or the different sewing machine 10B, is requested before transmission (S402 and S502), and the MAC address is received from the sewing machine 10 or the different sewing machine 10B (S403 to S404, and S503 to S504). If the MAC addresses do not match (S405), a message indicating that transmission is discontinued is displayed (S406), and the transmission is stopped. If the MAC addresses match (S505) the sequence of pattern transmission is executed (S506 to S510).
As described above, according to the sewing machine system, the tablet terminal 20, the method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system, and the program for the tablet terminal 20 of this embodiment, as the program for the tablet terminal 20 is separated from the patterns stored in the sewing machine (machine-stored patterns), and configured only by a control program, the program (application) does not include the pattern data or image data such as selection buttons, and therefore an entire volume may be reduced to a small size. Therefore, it takes only a short time to download the program from an online store or the like. The number of the machine-stored patterns tends to increase more and more in recent years, and the configuration of separating the embroidery data is expected to be still more effective in the future.
Further, as the data for machine-stored patterns is directly transferred from the sewing machine via a telecommunication line (such as LAN), contents of the data for machine-stored patterns and variation of the patterns always match the data stored in the sewing machine, eliminating necessity to consider a difference between versions of the sewing machine and the application. Moreover, as there are the completely same patterns both in the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20, there is no problem such as the patterns may differ even if the editing operation is performed separately by the sewing machine 10 and the tablet terminal 20.
Furthermore, as the sewing machine from which the machine-stored pattern received may be identified by the MAC address of the sewing machine, it is possible to restrict transmission of the pattern data to the different sewing machine, and thus to prevent a machine-stored pattern from being copied or the like.
It is also possible to realize the tablet terminal 20, and the method of synchronizing the embroidery data for the sewing machine system according to the present invention by having the process of the tablet terminal 20 be recorded in a computer-readable recording non-transitory medium, and by having the tablet terminal 20 read and execute a program recorded in the recording non-transitory medium. As used herein, the computer includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.
Further, when a WWW (World Wide Web) system is used, a web-page providing environment (or display environment) is also included in the computer. Moreover, the program may be transmitted from the computer having the program stored in a storage device or the like to another computer via a transmission medium or by transmitted waves in the transmission medium. As used herein, the “transmission medium” that transmits the program refers to a medium having a function for transmitting information, like a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a telecommunication line (communication line) such as telephone line.
Furthermore, the program may be for realizing a part of the function described above. In addition, the program may be a so-called difference file (difference program) with which the functions described above may be achieved in combination with a program that is already recorded in the computer.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and may be modified or altered in various ways, which are also included within the scope of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the example in which a tablet terminal is used as the terminal device is described. The present invention is not limited to such an example, and a personal computer or a gaming machine may be used as the terminal device, for example. As long as the application program can be executed and wireless communication with the sewing machine is possible, a terminal device of any configuration may be used.
In this embodiment, the example in which the sewing machine and the tablet terminal communicate through a wireless LAN is described. The present invention is not limited to such an example, and it is possible to use a different type of wireless communication such as infrared communication or Bluetooth (registered trademark), for example.
In this embodiment, the example in which the tablet terminal 20 uses the MAC address to identify individuality of a sewing machine as the communication target is described. The present invention is not limited to such an example, and it is possible to use a different type of information such a serial number of the sewing machine.
While the embodiment and the modified embodiment may be used in an appropriate combination, detailed descriptions shall be omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.
10: sewing machine
10B: different sewing machine
11: sewing-machine-side display unit
12: sewing-machine-side wireless communication unit
13: sewing-machine-side recording unit
14: control unit
20: tablet terminal
21: terminal-side display unit
22: terminal-side wireless communication unit
23: terminal-side recording unit
24: embroidery data obtaining unit
25: editing unit
26: post-edit embroidery data transmission unit
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-180512 | Sep 2014 | JP | national |
