Patent ID: 7680558
Filing Date: 2010-03-16
Classification: D05B

Abstract:
1. An embroidery data creation apparatus, comprising: a line segment data creation device that creates, from an image, a plurality of line segment data pieces having an arbitrary angle component; an embroidery data creation device that creates embroidery data by connecting endpoint nodes of line segments to each other in such a manner that stitches are formed sequentially along a plurality of line segments specified by the plurality of line segment data pieces created by the line segment data creation device; a search device that preferentially searches a vicinity of a specific line segment when searching for such a line segment that is to be connected next to the specific line segment; an inter-endpoint node distance calculation device that calculates a distance between an endpoint node of the line segment found as a result of a search by the search device and an endpoint node of the specific line segment; a search range setting device that sets a search range to be searched by the search device; a selection device that selects the line segments that are closer to the specific line segment based on a result of calculations by the inter-endpoint node distance calculation device; a search termination device that terminates the search by the search device when all of the line segments in the search range set by the search range setting device have been searched for; and a connection device that sequentially connects the line segments selected by the selection device to each other.