Patent ID: 7503271

Claim:
A multi-needle sewing machine comprising: a plurality of sewing needles respectively set with a thread of different type; a control unit that controls the sewing machine so as to execute a sewing operation by selectively using the plurality of sewing needles in accordance with sewing data which at least includes needle drop point data and thread specification data that specifies a type of thread to be used for a sewing process, wherein thread specification data comprises thread color and at least one selected from the group consisting of thread material, a thread thickness and a thread manufacturer; a sewing needle-thread type storage medium that stores sewing needle-thread type mapping data capable of specifying a correspondence between the plurality of sewing needles and the thread type of the thread respectively set to each sewing needle; a similarity evaluation unit that evaluates, based on the thread specification data and the sewing needle-thread type mapping data, the similarity between the thread type specified by the thread specification data and the thread type of the thread set to each sewing needle; and a sewing needle selection unit that selects, based on an evaluation result rendered by the similarity evaluation unit, the sewing needle to be used for the sewing process performed in accordance with the sewing data.