METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CREATING PRINTABLE IMAGES OF EMBROIDERED DESIGNS

Abstract

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product creating printable images of embroidered designs. In response to receiving an embroidered design the process captures a digital image of the embroidered design and saves the digital image as a graphic file. The process then presents the graphic file to a user for user selection.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to an improved method and apparatus for embroidered designs. In particular, the present invention relates to a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for creating printable images of embroidered designs.

2. Description of Related Art

Embroidery is generally used in quilting and crafting to create a decorative design or pattern on a piece of fabric or other material by either hand-sewing or machine needlework. The decorative design or pattern, also known as an embroidered design, can be stitched directly onto the target fabric or material or stitched onto a different material that is later applied to the target fabric or material. For example, a design or pattern can be stitched onto a piece of fabric to form a patch. The patch can then be subsequently sewn or otherwise affixed to the target fabric or material.

Currently, in order to decorate a piece of fabric or other material with embroidery designs, a user may be required to purchase an embroidery system that can be used to create machine-stitched embroidered designs. The embroidery system often requires the purchase of an embroidery machine and special software. Users of the embroidery system may be required to invest substantial amounts of money to purchase the necessary equipment. In addition, users may be required to invest substantial amounts of time to perfect the process of digitizing designs and operating the embroidery machine.

Rather than operate an embroidery system to obtain embroidery designs, a user may choose to create hand-stitched embroidered designs. However, this process is time-consuming and impractical for obtaining larger number of embroidered designs, or creating intricate embroidered designs. Alternatively, a user may purchase embroidery services from an embroidery company that specializes in creating embroidery designs. Although the user would not be required to invest the time and money in creating the embroidered designs, the user would be required to pay a fee for the embroidery services rendered by the embroidery company. The fees can increase exponentially if the user seeks to embroider a large number of items having complicated designs.

The use and application of traditional embroidered designs are limited by a number of factors, such as the cost of purchasing the necessary equipment to create the embroidered designs, or the cost of purchasing the services to create the embroidered designs. In addition, the use of decorative embroidery designs is limited by the material to which the design is to be applied.

As an alternative to embroidery, a user may opt to utilize screen printing, direct-to-garment inkjet printing, or heat transfer to apply designs and patterns to target materials, such as fabric. Screen printing, sometimes also referred to as silk screening, is a printmaking technique that consists of pushing ink through a porous fabric, to those areas not covered by a stencil. Direct-to-garment inkjet printing consists of printing an image or design onto a garment or other type of material, by means of an inkjet printer. Heat transfer involves the printing of a design on transfer paper. The application of heat to the transfer paper transfers the design to the target material. However, these methods of applying designs and patterns to target materials cannot reproduce the desirable features of embroidered designs, such as the stitch details.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for creating printable images of embroidered designs. In response to receiving an embroidered design the process captures a digital image of the embroidered design and saves the digital image as a graphic file. The process then presents the graphic file to a user for user selection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a network data processing system in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a data processing system in which the illustrative embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 3 is a pictorial representation of an embroidery system in which the present invention may be implemented in accordance with the illustrative embodiments; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for creating printable images of embroidered designs in accordance with the illustrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference now to the figures and in particular with reference to FIGS. 1-2, exemplary diagrams of data processing environments are provided in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented. It should be appreciated that FIGS. 1-2 are only exemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environments may be made.

With reference now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented. Network data processing system 100 is a network of computing devices in which embodiments may be implemented. Network data processing system 100 contains network 102, which is the medium used to provide communication links between various devices and computers connected together within network data processing system 100. Network 102 may include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables. The depicted example in FIG. 1 is not meant to imply architectural limitations.

In the depicted example, server 104 and server 106 connect to network 102 along with storage unit 108. In addition, embroidery machine 110 and clients 112 and 114 are coupled to network 102. Embroidery machine 110 is an example of a device that may be utilized for decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in material with strands of thread or yarn. Clients 112 and 114 are examples of devices that may be utilized for transmitting or receiving data in a network, such as network 102. Clients 112 and 114 may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop, a tablet PC, a network computer, a handheld computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or any other computing device capable of transmitting and/or receiving data. In the depicted example, server 104 provides data, such as boot files, operating system images, and applications to clients 112 and 114. Clients 112 and 114 are coupled to server 104 in this example. Network data processing system 100 may include additional servers, clients, computing devices, and other devices for sending and receiving data through network 102.

In the depicted example, network data processing system 100 is the Internet with network 102 representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial, governmental, educational, and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of course, network data processing system 100 also may be implemented as a number of different types of networks, such as for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a telephone network, or a satellite network. FIG. 1 is intended as an example, and not as an architectural limitation for different embodiments.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system is shown in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented. Data processing system 200 is an example of a computing device, such as server 104 and clients 112 and 114 in FIG. 1, in which computer usable code or instructions implementing the processes may be located for the illustrative embodiments.

In the depicted example, data processing system 200 employs a hub architecture including a north bridge and memory controller hub (MCH) 202 and a south bridge and input/output (I/O) controller hub (ICH) 204. Processing unit 206, main memory 208, and graphics processor 210 are coupled to north bridge and memory controller hub 202. Graphics processor 210 may be coupled to the MCH through an accelerated graphics port (AGP), for example.

In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter 212 is coupled to south bridge and I/O controller hub 204 and audio adapter 216, keyboard and mouse adapter 220, modem 222, read only memory (ROM) 224, universal serial bus (USB) and other communications ports 232, and PCI/PCIe devices 234 are coupled to south bridge and I/O controller hub 204 through bus 238, and hard disk drive (HDD) 226 and CD-ROM drive 230 are coupled to south bridge and I/O controller hub 204 through bus 240. PCI/PCIe devices may include, for example, Ethernet adapters, add-in cards, and PC cards for notebook computers. PCI uses a card bus controller, while PCIe does not. ROM 224 may be, for example, a flash binary input/output system (BIOS). Hard disk drive 226 and CD-ROM drive 230 may use, for example, an integrated drive electronics (IDE) or serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) interface. A super I/O (SIO) device 236 may be coupled to south bridge and I/O controller hub 204.

An operating system runs on processing unit 206 and coordinates and provides control of various components within data processing system 200 in FIG. 2. The operating system may be a commercially available operating system such as Microsoft® Windows® XP. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. An object-oriented programming system, such as the Java™ programming system, may run in conjunction with the operating system and provides calls to the operating system from Java programs or applications executing on data processing system 200. Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.

Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented programming system, and applications or programs are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive 226, and may be loaded into main memory 208 for execution by processing unit 206. The processes of the illustrative embodiments may be performed by processing unit 206 using computer implemented instructions, which may be located in a memory such as, for example, main memory 208, read only memory 224, or in one or more peripheral devices.

In some illustrative examples, data processing system 200 may be a personal digital assistant (PDA), which is generally configured with flash memory to provide non-volatile memory for storing operating system files and/or user-generated data. A bus system may be comprised of one or more buses, such as a system bus, an I/O bus and a PCI bus. Of course, the bus system may be implemented using any type of communications fabric or architecture that provides for a transfer of data between different components or devices attached to the fabric or architecture. A communications unit may include one or more devices used to transmit and receive data, such as a modem or a network adapter. A memory may be, for example, main memory 208 or a cache such as found in north bridge and memory controller hub 202. A processing unit may include one or more processors or CPUs. The depicted examples in FIGS. 1-2 and above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations. For example, data processing system 200 may also be a tablet PC or a laptop computer in addition to taking the form of a PDA.

The hardware in FIGS. 1-2 may vary depending on the implementation. Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash memory, equivalent non-volatile memory, or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIGS. 1-2. Also, the processes of the illustrative embodiments may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for creating printable images of embroidered designs. An embroidered design is a design created by forming stitches by passing thread or yarn through a target fabric or other material. In response to receiving an embroidered design, the process captures a digital image of the embroidered design and saves the digital image as a graphic file. The process then presents the graphic file to a user for user selection.

The creation of printable images of an embroidered design from an actual embroidered design yields a high resolution image of the original embroidered design. Thus, the image of the embroidered design will clearly and accurately depict the stitch detail, for example, providing a more aesthetically pleasing image. The digital image of the embroidered design can be enhanced or modified to include additional details, such as an image of a second embroidered design or copyright and trademark insignia.

Once a digital image of an embroidered design is created, the digital image can be easily disbursed to recipients for application to any number of target materials. The application of the digital image can include, for example, printing the image to a tee shirt. Thus, a user is able to decorate a target material, such as the tee shirt, with a realistic digital image of an embroidered design without having to actually create an embroidered design.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating components used in a system for creating printable images of embroidered designs are depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this embodiment, embroidery machine system 300 includes computing device 302 coupled to embroidery machine 304. Embroidery machine 304 is an embroidery machine, such as embroidery machine 110 in FIG. 1. Additionally, computing device 302 is coupled to network 306. Network 306, which is a network, such as network 102 in FIG. 1, may also provide connections to other devices and computing devices, such as remote computing device 308 and server 310. Computing device 302 and remote computing device 308 are computing devices, such as clients 112 and 114 in FIG. 1. Similarly, server 310 is a server, such as servers 104 and 106 of FIG. 1.

In this illustrative embodiment, computing device 302 includes art work digitizer 312. Art work digitizer 312 is a software component operable to convert art work 314 into art work design file 316. In other embodiments, however, art work digitizer 312 may be a hardware component, or a combination of hardware and software. Furthermore, in alternate embodiments, art work digitizer 312 may be included in another computing device rather than in computing device 302.

Art work 314 is any image or design that may be converted into an art work design file readable by an embroidery machine to create an embroidered design. For example, art work 314 may include a hand drawn picture or other design depicted on a piece of paper. In addition, art work 314 may be a photograph, photocopy, or picture. Furthermore, art work 314 may also be a computer generated image, such as a clip art image, or a graphic design stored in any available graphic file format, including, but not limited to bitmap (BMP), enhanced metafile (EMF), graphics interchange format (GIF), joint photographic experts group (JPG), picture exchange (PCX), portable network graphics (PNG), tagged image file format (TIFF), Windows™ metafile (WMF), or any combination of the above-referenced graphic file formats.

In the instances where art work 314 is depicted in a non-digital format, such as where art work 314 is a picture drawn on a sheet of paper or a photocopy of a company logo, art work 314 is converted into a digital format by utilizing image capture device 320 to capture a digital image of art work 314. Image capture device 320 is a device operable to convert a non-digital image or design into digital image usable by art work digitizer 312. A digital image is any image that may be saved as a commonly recognizable graphic file format. In this illustrative example, image capture device 320 may be a scanner, digital camera, or a combination of the two, connected to computing device 302 via a universal serial bus (USB) connector, for example. Although in this embodiment, image capture device 320 is depicted as a component included within computing device 302, in alternate embodiments image capture device 320 may be a peripheral component coupled to computing device 302.

Upon receiving art work design file 316, embroidery machine 304 creates embroidered design 318. Embroidery machine 304 includes embroidery software (not shown) usable to translate art work design file 316 into a series of instructions for guiding a needle and thread in a particular manner to create patterns of stitches that form embroidered design 318.

Once embroidered design 318 has been created, image capture device 320 captures a digital image of embroidered design 318. The digital image of embroidered design 318 may be subsequently altered, enhanced, or otherwise modified by a user operating graphic editing application 322. Graphic editing application 322 is a software application for editing graphics files such as, for example, Adobe® Photoshop®, trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. The digital image of embroidered design 318 may be altered by inserting additional features or graphics not present in the original digital image of embroidered design 318. For example, a copyright insignia may be added to the digital image of embroidered design 318 to indicate an entity that created the embroidered design. In addition, the digital image of embroidered design 318 may be modified by combining two or more images of other embroidered designs. Furthermore, the modification may consist of pairing a miscellaneous graphic, lettering, or a design with the scanned image of the embroidered design. Also, the digital image of embroidered design 318 may be modified by enhancing various details of the digital image of embroidered design 318. For example, a user may utilize graphic editing application 322 to accentuate the stitching details of the digital image of embroidered design 318 by altering saturation levels and contrast levels. Thereafter, the modified digital image of embroidery design 318 may be stored in memory 324.

Memory 324 is a storage device that may be used for storing the graphic file of modified digital image of embroidered design 318. Memory 324 may be implemented in any type of known or available memory, including, but not limited to, main memory, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NV-RAM), a hard disk, a secondary storage device, or any other type of memory. In addition to storing the modified embroidered design image file, memory 324 may also store art work design file 316 before it is sent to embroidery machine 304. Additionally, memory 324 may also store a copy of the digital image of embroidered design 318 captured by image capture device 320 prior to modification by graphic software application 322.

Computing device 302 also includes network device 326 for transmitting data and information, such as the modified digital image of embroidered design 318, throughout network 306. Network device 326 may be, for example, a wireless modem, cable modem, Ethernet card, wireless network card, transceiver components of a mobile phone, or any other known or available means for transmitting and/or receiving data. In one embodiment, network device 326 transmits the modified embroidery design image to server 310 for storage. Thereafter, a user operating remote computing device 308 may select one or more modified digital images of embroidered design 318 from server 310. In an alternate embodiment, network device 326 may be operable to transmit the modified digital image of embroidered design 318 directly to a user operating remote computing device 308.

A user operating remote computing device 308 may print the modified digital image of embroidered design 318 from printing device 328. Printing device 328 is any printing device, such as, for example, an inkjet printer or a laser printer. Depending upon the specific embodiment, printing device 328 may be used to print the image of the embroidered design directly onto fabric, such as in the instance where a direct-to-garment printer is used. Using this method, a user may decorate an article of clothing with an image that has the appearance of a stitched embroidered design without the necessity of utilizing a traditional embroidery system. Likewise, a user may use printing device 328 to screen-print the digital image of embroidered design 318 onto a fabric or other material. Consequently, a user may decorate fabric or other material with an image of embroidered design 318 having the desirable stitch detail found in traditional embroidery designs. A user may obtain these results without the necessity of purchasing expensive equipment and software, or investing the time to master the skill of digitizing and operating embroidery machines.

In another embodiment, printing device 328 may be used to print the digital image of embroidered design 318 onto a label having an adhesive backing to form a sticker. The sticker may be placed on surfaces traditionally unsuitable for accepting embroidered designs, such as on a door, wall, car bumper, or any other similar surface.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a flowchart of a process for creating printable images of embroidered designs is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. The process in FIG. 4 may be initiated by a user operating an embroidery system, such as embroidery system 300 in FIG. 3.

The process begins by digitizing art work (step 402). The art work may be digitized by utilizing an art work digitizer, such as art work digitizer 312 in FIG. 3. The process then generates an art work design file (step 404). The art work design file may be generated from the same art work digitizer utilized for digitizing art work, such as art work digitizer 312 in FIG. 3. Thereafter, the process creates an embroidered design using the artwork design file (step 406). In this example, the embroidered design is created by an embroidery machine by referencing the instructions provided in the art work design file. The embroidery machine is an embroidery machine, such as embroidery machine 304 in FIG. 3.

The process then captures a digital image of the embroidered design to form a digital image of the embroidered design (step 408). For example, the digital image of the embroidered design may be captured by an image capture device, such as image capture device 320 in FIG. 3. The process then modifies the digital image of the embroidered design to form a modified digital image of the embroidered design (step 410). The digital image of the embroidered design may be modified by a user operating a graphic editing application, such as graphic software application 322 in FIG. 3. The process then stores the modified digital image of the embroidered design for a user selection (step 412). In this illustrative example, the modified digital image of embroidered design is uploaded to a remote server, such as server 310 in FIG. 3. After selection, the process transmits the selected modified digital image of the embroidered design to a user (step 414), and the process terminates thereafter.

In this manner, the present invention provides an improved method and system for creating printable images of embroidered designs. The advantages of the present invention should be apparent in view of the detailed description provided above. For example, the method of the present invention allows for the creation of printable images of embroidered designs that can be easily applied to fabric, such as, for example, a t-shirt or sweatshirt. Because the printable image of the embroidered design is created by capturing a digital image of an actual embroidered design, the printable image is of high resolution. Higher resolution images of embroidered designs are more aesthetically pleasing, and appear more realistic than images of embroidered designs created by embroidery software to simulate embroidered designs. The printable image of the embroidery design may be applied by any known or available method, including but not limited to screen-printing, direct-to-garment inkjet printing, printing to heat press transfer paper, or any combination thereof. Using this method and apparatus, a printable embroidery image may be applied to selected materials without the necessity of having to purchase an embroidery system. In addition, this method obviates the need to master the skill of digitizing art work. Furthermore, the printable image of the embroidered design can be reused thereby reducing costs, and the printable image of the embroidered design can be applied to a wider variety of surfaces, instead of the traditional fabric. For instance, a printable image of an embroidered design can be printed onto a self-adhesive label to form a sticker that can be applied to an infinite number of surfaces, such as a car bumper, a wall, a door, or a piece of furniture.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for creating a digital image of an embroidered design, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to receiving an embroidered design stitched in a first material, capturing a digital image of the embroidered design;

saving the digital image as a graphic file;

presenting the graphic file for a user selection; and

responsive to the user selection, printing the graphic file depicting the embroidered design to a second material.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to capturing the digital image of the embroidered design, modifying the digital image to form a modified digital image.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein modifying the digital image is performed by a graphic editing application.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein modifying the digital image further comprises at least one of inserting additional graphics to the digital image or enhancing existing details of the digital image.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 4, wherein the additional graphics comprise at least one of copyright insignia, a non-embroidered image, or a digital image of a second embroidered design.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein capturing the digital image of the embroidered design further comprises at least one of scanning the embroidered design or photographing the embroidered design.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the graphic file is at least one of bitmap, enhanced metafile, graphics interchange format, joint photographic experts group, picture exchange, portable network graphics, or tagged image file format.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein saving the digital image as the graphic file further comprises:

storing the graphic file on a remote server.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein printing the graphic file to the second material comprises at least one of screen printing, direct-to-garment inkjet printing, printing to heat press transfer paper, or printing to a self-adhesive label.

10. A computer program product for creating a digital image of an embroidered design, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable storage medium with computer usable program code embodied thereon, comprising: computer usable program code for capturing a digital image of an embroidered design stitched in a first material in response to receiving the embroidered design; computer usable program code for saving the digital image as a graphic file; computer usable program code for presenting the graphic file for a user selection; and computer usable program code for printing the graphic file depicting the embroidered design to a second material in response to the user selection.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

computer usable program code for modifying the digital image to form a modified digital image in response to capturing the digital image.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein modifying the digital image is performed by a graphic editing application.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein modifying the digital image further comprises at least one of inserting additional graphics to the digital image or enhancing existing details of the digital image.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the additional graphics comprise at least one of copyright insignia, a non-embroidered image, or a digital image of a second embroidered design.

15. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein capturing the digital image of the embroidered design further comprises at least one of scanning the embroidered design or photographing the embroidered design.

16. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the graphic file is at least one of bitmap, enhanced metafile, graphics interchange format, joint photographic experts group, a picture exchange, a portable network graphics, or tagged image file format.

17. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computer usable program code for saving the digital image as a graphic file further comprises:

computer usable program code for storing the graphic file on a remote server.

18. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computer usable program code for printing the graphic file to the second material comprises at least one of screen printing, direct-to-garment inkjet printing, printing to heat press transfer paper, or printing to a self-adhesive label.

19. An apparatus for creating an image of an embroidered design for printing, the apparatus comprising:

a image capture device for capturing a digital image of an embroidered design stitched in a first material;

a graphic software application for modifying the digital image of the embroidered design;

a memory for storing the digital image of the embroidered design;

a network device for transmitting the digital image of the embroidered design; and

a printing device for printing the graphic file depicting the embroidered design to a second material.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the image capture device is at least one of a camera or a scanner.