Embroidery data producing apparatus

Claim 2

An embroidery data producing apparatus, comprising: storage means for storing contour data defining contours of a plurality of embroidery regions; detection means for detecting ones of the plurality of embroidery regions which contain other ones of the plurality of embroidery regions, based on the contour data of the embroidery regions stored in the storage means; discrimination means for determining shapes of the contained ones of the plurality of embroidery regions contained in the containing ones of the plurality of embroidery regions detected by said detection means; and determining means for determining, based on the determined shapes of the contained ones of the plurality of embroidery regions, whether portions of the containing ones of the plurality of embroidery regions corresponding to the contained ones of the plurality of embroidery regions should be removed from the containing ones of the plurality of embroidery regions.

Claim 3

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 1, wherein said determining means determines for each corresponding portion, if the corresponding portion should be removed, based on at least one of an area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region and a circumference of the corresponding contained-embroidery region.

Claim 4

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 2, wherein said determining means determines that the corresponding region is to be embroidered when the area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is less than or equal to a predetermined area value.

Claim 5

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 2, wherein said determining means determines that the corresponding region is to be removed when the area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is greater than a predetermined area value and the circumference of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is greater than a predetermined area value and the circumference of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is less than a predetermined circumference value.

Claim 6

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 2, wherein said determining means determines that the corresponding region is embroidered when the area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is greater than a predetermined area value and the circumference of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is greater than or equal to a predetermined circumference value.

Claim 7

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 2, wherein determining means determines if the corresponding portion should be removed based on a predetermined area value Sf and a predetermined circumference value Lf, the predetermined area value Sf and the predetermined circumference value Lf being in the range of 0.06 cm 2 to 0.6 cm 2 and 1.0 cm to 3.0 cm, respectively.

Claim 8

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 6, wherein Sf=25 cm 2 and Lf=2.00 cm.

Claim 9

An embroidery data producing apparatus, comprising: storage means for storing contour data, the contour data defining a plurality of embroidery regions; detection means for detecting, for each one of the plurality of embroidery regions, whether at least one other embroidery region of the plurality of embroidery regions is at least partially contained within the embroidery-containing region of the plurality of embroidery regions; discrimination means for determining, for each detected embroidery-containing region, a shape for each at least one detected contained-embroidery region; determining means for determining whether, for each detected embroidery-containing region and each detected contained-embroidery region, a portion corresponding to one of the at least one detected contained-embroidery region should be removed from the detected embroidery-containing region, based on the determined shape of the corresponding detected contained-embroidery region; and embroidery data generating means for generating embroidery data based on the stored contour data and the removed portions of the embroidery-containing regions.

Claim 10

An embroidery data producing apparatus, comprising: storage means for storing contour data, the contour data defining a plurality of embroidery regions; detection means for detecting, for each one of the plurality of embroidery regions, whether at least one other embroidery region of the plurality of embroidery regions is at least partially contained within the embroidery-containing region of the plurality of embroidery regions; discrimination means for determining, for each detected embroidery-containing region, a shape for each at least one detected contained-embroidery region; determining means for determining whether, for each detected embroidery-containing region and each detected contained-embroidery region, a portion corresponding to one of the at least one detected contained-embroidery region should be removed from the detected embroidery-containing region, based on the determined shape of the corresponding detected contained-embroidery region; and embroidery data generating means for generating embroidery data based on the stored contour data and the removed portions of the embroidery-containing regions.

Claim 11

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 8, wherein said determining means determines for each corresponding portion, if the corresponding portion should be removed, based on at least one of an area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region and a circumference of the corresponding contained-embroidery region.

Claim 12

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 9, wherein said determining means determines that the corresponding region is to be embroidered when the area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is less than or equal to a predetermined area value.

Claim 13

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 9, wherein said determining means determines that the corresponding region is to be removed when the area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is greater than a predetermined area value and the circumference of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is less than a predetermined circumference value.

Claim 14

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 9, wherein said determining means determines that the corresponding region is embroidered when the area of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is greater than a predetermined area value and the circumference of the corresponding contained-embroidery region is greater than or equal to a predetermined circumference value.

Claim 15

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 9, wherein determining means determines if the corresponding portion should be removed based on a predetermined area value Sf and a predetermined circumference value Lf, the predetermined area value Sf and the predetermined circumference value Lf being in the range of 0.06 cm 2 to 0.6 cm 2 and 1.0 cm to 3.0 cm, respectively.

Claim 16

The embroidery data producing apparatus of claim 13, wherein Sf=0.25 cm 2 and Lf=2.00 cm.

Claim 19

The method of claim 15, wherein the removal determining step comprises the steps of: determining an area of the contained-embroidery region; comparing the determined area to a predetermined area value; and embroidering the corresponding portion of the embroidery-containing region if the determined area is less than or equal to the predetermined area value.

Claim 20

The method of claim 16, wherein, when the determined area is greater than the predetermined area value, the removal determining step further comprises the steps of determining a circumference of the contained-embroidery region; comparing the determined circumference to a predetermined circumference value; and removing the corresponding portion of the embroidery-containing region if the determined circumference is less than the predetermined circumference value.

Claim 21

The method of claim 17, wherein the predetermined area value, Sf, and the predetermined circumference value, Lf, are in the range of 0.06 cm 2 to 0.6 cm 2 and 1.0 cm to 3.0 cm, respectively.

Claim 22

The method of claim 18, wherein Sf=0.25 cm 2 and Lf=2.00 cm.

Claim 23

The method of claim 16, wherein, when the determined area is greater than the predetermined area value, the removal determining step further comprises the steps of: determining a circumference of the contained-embroidery region; comparing the determined circumference to a predetermined circumference value; and embroidering the corresponding portion of the embroidery-containing if the determined circumference is greater than or equal to the predetermined circumference value.