Patent ID: 7693598
Filing Date: 2010-04-06
Classification: D05B

Abstract:
1. An embroidery data creation apparatus comprising: an angle data creation device that creates angle data from image data comprised of a collection of pixels and that forms an image, wherein the angle data determines an angle characteristic that represents a direction in which level of color continuity is high and an angle characteristic strength that represents strength of the continuity, for each pixel in the image data; a color data creation device that creates color data from the image data, wherein the color data determines a thread color to be used in a sewing machine for embroidering an image corresponding to the embroidery data; an angle information computing device that computes the angle characteristic and the angle characteristic strength for each pixel of the angle data created by the angle data creation device; an angle information storage device that stores, as angle information, the angle characteristic and the angle characteristic strength computed by the angle information computing device; an image data scaling device that expands or reduces a size of the color data by adding or removing the number of pixels comprising the color data, depending on a size of the embroidery data to be created; an angle information re-computing device that re-computes the angle information for each pixel of the color data, if the size of the color data expanded or reduced by the image data scaling device differs from that of the angle data; an angle information storage control device that re-stores the angle characteristic and the angle characteristic strength computed by the angle information re-computing device as angle information in the angle information storage device; a line segment data creation device that creates line segment data that represents line segments that are traces of threads to be arranged on respective pixels, based on the angle information stored in the angle information storage device; a color data creation device that creates color data that represents a thread color of each line segment of the line segment data created by the line segment data creation device based on the color data; and an embroidery data creation device that creates the embroidery data based on the line segment data created by the line segment data creation device and the color data created by the color data creation device.