JPH0520466A - Method and device for processing picture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To supply a picture processor in which a paint out reslut just like one intends can be obtained at high speed with less memory capacity at the time of painting out the internal part of an outline. CONSTITUTION:When it is judged that a notice line element is horizontal among respective line elements deciding a closed outline, the plotting of the line element into a page memory 3 is not executed. When it is judged to be not horizontal, the edge table of the notice line element is generated based on a connection relation between the notice line element and adjacent line elements before and behind, and the direction of an area to be painted out. When it becomes an output stage, the outline dot of the line to be noticed is written into the line memory 3. A medium paint-out circuit 5 outputs respective dots by assuming that the positions of the picture elements in the odd-numbered outline to be encountered at the time of scanning in the main scan direction of the line memory 3 shows the forward position of the area, and the positions of the adjacent picture elements in the travel direction of the even-numbered outline to be encountered show the inverse position of the area.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus, and more particularly to an image processing method and apparatus for filling the inside of a closed contour formed by a plurality of line elements.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of apparatus, filling the inside of a closed area is one of the basic image processing functions.
Various filling methods have been proposed so far.

The most basic method is to use software to specify the filling range for each pixel line of a random access memory (RAM), and to fill the line pixels in the specified range.

As a typical example of such a method, there is a document "Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics".
(JDFOLEY / A.VAN DAM, co-authored in 1982 Addison-Wesl
ey published pp. 456-460).

A brief description of this method is as follows.

For the closed figure F1 as shown in FIG. 2A given by the vertex data string, the bucket data shown in FIG. 3 is generated for each of the ridge line edges e1 to e10 forming the figure, and these are shown in FIG. Edge table (E
T) form. At this time, except for horizontal edges,
Create bucket data only for non-horizontal edges. The edge table (ET) has pointer bucket tables Ay0 to Ayn (when the image consists of n + 1 rasters from the 0th raster to the nth raster) as many as the number of scan line rasters that the image memory can store. ing. Then, for each of the ridge line edges e1 to e10 that are not horizontal, connect the bucket data of each edge in a list structure to the pointer bucket table corresponding to the y coordinate value of the end point with the smaller y coordinate value. To do. When a plurality of buckets form a list structure from the same pointer bucket, the list structure is formed by ascending order by the x value (xmin) of the end point having the smaller y coordinate value in each bucket. A marker code λ indicating that fact is stored in the pointer bucket having no corresponding edge bucket. Further, when the edge value is not the minimum value or the maximum value in the y-coordinate direction, in order to prevent an erroneous determination in the inside / outside determination of the graphic element, the scanning is advanced along the edge line by one scan from the original y-coordinate value. An edge table (ET) is generated as an end point having a position and a smaller y coordinate value. In FIG. 2A, the end point B of e3, the end point I of e9, and the end point G of e8 correspond to this.

Each of the edge buckets Ae1 to Ae10 corresponding to each ridge edge has a corresponding ridge edge e.
The y value (ymax of the end point of the larger y coordinate of 1 to e10)
e1 to ymax e10) and the x value of the end point with the smaller y coordinate (xmin e1 to xmin e10) and the increment of the x coordinate value when the y coordinate value increases by 1 (Δxe1 to Δxe1).
9) and the pointers (Pe1 to Pe10) that connect the edge buckets of the ridge line having the common y coordinate value of the end point having the smaller y coordinate to the ascending power from the one having the smaller x coordinate value. Λ in the pointers Pe1 to Pe10 means that there are no more edge buckets connected (FIG. 3).

The x direction coincides with the scanning line direction (right direction in the drawing), and the y direction coincides with the increment direction of the scanning line (down direction in the drawing).

The edge table (ET) thus created is used to execute the filling process. First.
The scan line y coordinate value is set to the minimum y coordinate value having the edge bucket in the edge table (ET). Next, an edge bucket is connected for the scan line y coordinate value, and the active edge table (AET) (see FIG. 5) is initialized to be empty.

Thereafter, the active edge table (A
The following processing is repeated until both ET) and the edge table (ET) are empty.

(1) Active edge table (AE
While maintaining the sort order by the x coordinate value (xmin) of T),
The information of the edge table (ET) at that time and the information of the active edge table (AET) are merged to create a new active edge table (AET) that connects the edge buckets corresponding to the scanning line y coordinate value.

(2) Active edge table (AE
Two pairs each having a smaller x-coordinate value (xmin) in T) are paired, and a space between them is set as a filled section, and the filling in the section is executed.

(3) The edge bucket having the y-coordinate value of the scanning line as the y value (ymax) of the end point having the larger y-coordinate is deleted from the active edge table (AET) for the operation in the next scanning line.

(4) Active edge table (AE
For the remaining edge buckets in T), using the incremental data (Δx) for operation in the next scan line,
Update the x-coordinate value (xmin). That is, with xmin + Δx, a new xmin is set.

(5) After updating the x coordinate value (xmin), sorting is performed again based on the x coordinate value (xmin).

(6) The y coordinate of the scanning line is incremented and the process returns to (1).

In this way, the filling is executed. Here, FIG. 5 shows the case where the y-coordinate value of the scanning line is “14” in FIG.
Active edge table (A
ET). In addition, FIG. 6 similarly shows the active edge table (A
It shows the transition of the state of (ET).

In addition to this, various methods have been proposed for performing high-speed painting by hardware.

In this type of method, only the pixels that define the contour of the figure are drawn on the image memory, then the image memory is raster-scanned to start painting with the odd-numbered contour line dots on the scanning line, and even The filling is finished at the th contour line dot (hereinafter referred to as the even-odd inversion method).

However, in the case of using the even-odd inversion method, if contours are simply drawn, L1, L2, L3, L in FIG.
There is a problem that portions that should not be filled, such as 4 and L5, are filled, and portions that should be filled are not filled (broken line portion of line L3).

Based on this, it has been proposed to set a rule for contour drawing and make an improvement.

For example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 1-54752 discloses writing of contour pixels according to the following five rules.

Rule 1: Do not write horizontal line segments.

Rule 2: Each line segment is 1 per line
Expressed in pixels.

Rule 3: The starting point of each line segment is not written.

Rule 4: The contour pixel is exclusive ORed with the pixel data stored at the memory address to which this pixel is being written and the result is written.

Rule 5: Each line segment is specified in one direction from top to bottom or bottom to top.

Rule 1 is that contour pixels P1 to P2 and P4 included in a horizontal contour line portion such as lines L2 and L4 in FIG.
By ~ P3, an odd number of contour pixels are prevented from occurring in one line.

Rule 2 is for always expressing the contour line with one pixel per line regardless of the angle of the line segment.

Rule 3 is to remove upward or downward vertices. If a line segment is specified in one direction from top to bottom according to rule 5, rule 3
Removes the contour pixels P5 and P6 at the top vertex of FIG.

Rules 4 and 5 remove the contour pixel (P7 in this example) of the vertex opposite the vertex processed by Rule 3.

[0032]

However, in the former of the above-mentioned conventional examples, that is, the method using software,
There is a drawback that the processing time is too long because not only the designation of the filling range but also the filling itself is performed by software. Further, FIG. 8 shows the processing result for the figure F1 shown in FIG. 2 by this conventional method. As in the section of P2 to P1 in FIG. 8, each point on the horizontal edge is painted out. There is also a drawback that the generated figure may be distorted in some cases.

Further, in the latter of the above-mentioned conventional examples, that is, in the method of performing the painting at high speed by hardware, the execution speed of the painting is faster than the former, but on the other hand, it is necessary to draw all the contour lines first. Therefore, there is a drawback that an image memory for one entire surface of an image is required, which causes a high cost. Further, FIG. 9 shows the results obtained when the conventional method (the latter method) determines the filling range for the figure F1 shown in FIG. 2 by the described method and executes the filling by the method recommended in the publication. In this method, the vertex pixels such as P5 and P7 in FIG. 9 and P5 to P8 and P9 to P are also represented.
There is a drawback that the generated figure is distorted because the portions 10, 10, P11 to P3 and P12 to P7 are not filled.

Further, in order to compensate for the distortion of the figure generated by the conventional method or the like, as shown in FIG. 10, only the contour line is drawn again, and each contour line pixel and the distorted figure are pixel-by-pixel. Although a method of outputting a logical figure without distortion as a graphic without any distortion has been attempted, in this case, the amount of memory required for processing is large enough to hold an image with only contour lines in addition to the memory for generating the graphic. However, it is not preferable either because it requires additional time or extra time and circuit for generating the image of only the contour line.

The present invention has been made in view of the prior art, and when painting the inside of the contour, it is possible to obtain an intended painting result at high speed and with a small memory capacity, and an apparatus therefor. Is to provide.

[0036]

In order to solve this problem, the image processing method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, in the image processing method of filling the inside of the closed contour configured by a plurality of line elements, in one continuous direction of the line element, the connection relationship between the line element of interest and each adjacent line element before and after it, Based on the direction of the area to be filled, the contour line data generation process that generates the contour line data when viewed from the main scan, and the odd-numbered contours that are encountered when scanning in the main scan direction are Assuming that the normal position is indicated, the adjacent pixel position in the traveling direction of the even-numbered contour is set as the pixel position indicates the reversal position of the area, and from the scanning direction on each scanning line. As a result, the determination process determines that the odd-numbered contour position to the pixel position immediately before the even-numbered position are within the closed figure region, and the rest are outside the closed figure region.

The image processing apparatus of the present invention has the following structure. That is, in an image processing device that fills the inside of a closed contour configured with a plurality of line elements, in one continuous direction of the line elements, the connection relationship between the line element of interest and the adjacent line elements before and after it, and Based on the direction of the area to be filled, the contour line data generating means for generating the contour line data when viewed from the main scanning, and the odd-numbered contours encountered when scanning in the main scanning direction are the pixel position of the area. Assuming that the normal position is indicated, the adjacent pixel position in the traveling direction of the contour that is encountered at the even number is set as the pixel position indicating the reverse position of the region, and from the scanning direction on each scanning line. As a result, it is provided with a determination unit that determines that the area from the odd-numbered contour position to the pixel position immediately before the even-numbered position is inside the area of the closed figure, and the rest is outside the area of the closed figure.

[0038]

In the image processing method or apparatus of the present invention, in each line element that determines the closed contour, the connection relationship between the line element of interest and the adjacent line elements before and after the line element in one continuous direction of the line element and Based on the direction of the area to be filled, the contour line data when viewed from the main scanning is generated, and the odd-numbered contour that is encountered when scanning in the main scanning direction indicates that the pixel position is the normal position of the area. Assuming that the pixel position is an even number, the adjacent pixel position in the traveling direction of the contour is set assuming that the pixel position indicates the inversion position of the area. Then, as seen from the scanning direction on each scanning line, it is determined that the region from the odd-numbered contour position to the pixel position immediately before the even-numbered position is inside the closed figure region, and the others are outside the closed figure region.

[0039]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Description of Operation Outline> First, the operation outline of the embodiment will be briefly described.

In the embodiment, a contour oriented in a predetermined direction is used as the contour of the figure. That is, the outlines of the figure to be handled are all a collection of outline vectors (line elements) that are continuous in the clockwise rotation direction (hereinafter, clockwise), or the outlines of the figure to be handled are all continuous in the counterclockwise rotation direction (hereinafter, counterclockwise). Expressed as a set of outline vectors. Here, it may be considered that the outline vector continuous in the rotation direction of the clock means that the corresponding figure is painted by painting the right side of the outline vector (FIG. 11). Further, the outline vector continuous in the counterclockwise rotation direction is the one in which the corresponding figure is painted when the left side of the outline vector is painted (FIG. 12).

In the embodiment, the direction and slope of each outline vector are determined, and the direction and slope of the outline vector immediately before the outline vector and the direction and slope of the outline vector immediately after the outline vector are applicable. It is determined whether or not each endpoint of the vector and the endpoints on the vector other than the endpoints are used to determine the boundary points forming the closed section. After that, plot at the corresponding pixel position on the memory at the odd-numbered boundary determination edge or even-numbered boundary determination edge that intersects the scanning line for each scan, or select one pixel in the main scanning direction. Controls whether to plot to the next position. After that, the data for one scanning line is horizontally scanned, and painting is performed from the odd-numbered plot to the pixel immediately before the even-numbered plot.

<Description of Device Configuration> The image processing device of the embodiment will be specifically described below.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an image processing apparatus of an embodiment configured for a raster scanning type video printer. In the figure, 1 is a microprocessor (CPU)
And RAM (random access memory) via the bus 9.
2, line memory 3, synchronization control circuit 6, I / O port 4
And 7 are connected. The control processing procedure of the CPU 1 is stored as a program in an internal ROM (not shown). A fill circuit 5 receives the contour image data 10 raster-outputted from the line memory 3 in accordance with the synchronization signal 12 from the synchronization control circuit 6 and outputs the filled image data 11. Reference numeral 8 denotes a printer device, which is interfaced with the microprocessor 1 through the I / O port 7. In addition, the printer device 8
The sync signal 13 from the sync control circuit 6 and the painted image data 11 are connected as a video interface.

The contour data is composed of data indicating the number of closed loops included in the target image and a data group indicating the number of vertices forming each closed loop. However, each vertex on each closed loop is represented as a collection of data while maintaining the relationship between adjacent vertices according to the order preliminarily set on each closed loop. This content is shown in FIG.

As described above, in the embodiment, the contour data is regarded as a set of data arranged in the predetermined direction. For example, FIG. 2B shows an example of clockwise outline data, and the contour data is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 14, when the figure F1 of FIG. 2B is present, the line is A → B → C → D → E → F → G → H → I → J → A.
In the order of, the point A is represented as a sequence of points that makes one round in a clockwise direction.

In the following examples, the origin of coordinates is at the upper left corner of the image, and the main scanning direction (right direction) is the x-axis,
The sub-scanning direction (vertical direction) will be described as the y-axis. Further, the outline will be described assuming that the outline represents a clockwise data expression. The starting point in each closed loop may be any point on the loop.

<Description of Main Processing> FIG. 15 shows an operation processing procedure of the CPU 1 in the embodiment, which will be described below.

When the CPU 1 starts the processing in step S1, it proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the line memory 3 is reset. At this time, the CPU 1 sets an additional circuit (not shown) so that a constant value 0 is written in the data input to the line memory, and at the same time, causes the synchronous control circuit 6 to write the constant value to the raster memory 3 all over. Then, the raster memory 3 is reset. Upon receiving an instruction from the CPU 1, the synchronization control circuit 6 sequentially generates addresses over the entire area of the raster memory in order to write the constant value set by the CPU 1 to the raster memory 3, and generates a synchronization signal required for writing. Then, after the constant value is written in a series of address areas in the raster memory 3 and the reset is executed, the CP
U1 is notified of a signal indicating the end thereof via a control register (not shown). The CPU 1 can know the reset of the line memory by detecting this signal. After executing the clearing of the line memory in step S2, the CPU 1 proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the CPU 1 determines whether or not an image is input from the outside via the I / O 4, and waits until an output instruction is given. When an image is input from the outside, the process proceeds to step S4, the outline data for filling is input from the outside via the I / O 4, and is stored in the RAM 2. Incidentally, the term "external" used here means not only a device connected to an external interface but also an auxiliary storage device (not shown). The outline data for filling is a group of outline vector data expressed in the format shown in FIG. 13 as described above. Next, in step S5, as shown in FIG.
In accordance with the rule shown in FIG. 4, data for each edge is created in the data format shown in FIG. 3 described above, an edge table (ET) in the format shown in FIG. 4 is created, and step S6 is performed.
Go to. The details of the process of step S5 will be described later.

In step S6, the scanning line position of interest is set to the leading scanning line position in the page. That is,
The scanning line position is y = 0. Further, the active edge pointer area as shown in FIG. 5 is secured. Then, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, the active edge table (AET) of the format shown in FIG. 5 at the scanning position of interest is generated, and based on this, contour points are plotted on the line memory 3. Step S
Details of the process of 7 will be described later. When the process of step S7 is completed, the process proceeds to step S8, and waits until the printer is ready for recording (ready).

When the printer becomes ready, the process proceeds to step S9. Here, based on the contour point data at the scanning line position drawn in the previous step S7, while refilling the area between the contour points, the line buffer is also re-cleared. The processing content of this step S9 will also be described later. When the process of step S9 ends, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, the scanning line position of interest is advanced by one line. That is, if the scanning position of y = i has been focused until then, y = i + 1
And Then, the process proceeds to step S11. Step S1
In 1, it is determined whether or not the scanning has been completed up to the final scanning line position within the page. If the scanning has been completed up to the final scanning line position, the process proceeds to step S12 to end the series of processes. If the processing has not ended up to the final scanning line position, the process returns to step S7 to continue the processing of the next line. Whether it is the last scan line,
In a routine (not shown), the number of scanning lines included in the page to be drawn is held in advance, and the determination is made by comparing the number of scanning lines with the position of the scanning line of interest.

<Description of Edge Table Creation Process> Details of the edge table creation process in step S5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when the processing is started in step S50, the process proceeds to step S51. In step S51,
Initialize the edge table. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, an address pointer (hereinafter also referred to as a pointer bucket) area Ay for the number of scanning lines (here, N + 1 lines from 0 to N) included in the page to be generated.
0 to Ay N are secured in the RAM 2, and a marker value “λ” indicating that reference data does not exist is stored in each area. In the next step S52, the closed loop number N of the outline data given in the format shown in FIG. 13 is referred to, and the flow proceeds to step S53. In step S53, it is examined whether or not the loop number N is larger than 0, and 0
If the value is not larger than that, that is, if it is 0 or less, the process proceeds to step S68, the series of processes is finished, and the process returns to the main flow. If the value is greater than 0, the process proceeds to step S54.

In this step S54, the in-loop vertex number table pointer is initialized to a position where the number of vertices in the 0th loop of the in-loop vertex number table of outline data given in the format of FIG. 13 is stored, Step S
Proceed to 55. In step S55, the in-loop vertex number data at the position pointed to by the in-loop vertex number table pointer is referenced, and the flow advances to step S56. In step S56, it is determined whether or not the number of vertices is 2 or more. If it is less than 2, it cannot be said that it represents a closed region.
Proceed to 68. If the number of vertices is 2 or more, the process proceeds to step S57.

In step S57, an edge having the final vertex of the loop as the starting point and the first vertex as the ending point is regarded as the current edge (target edge), and the direction of this edge and the increment of x are calculated. That is, the starting point coordinates of the relevant edge are now (x
start, ystart) and the end point coordinates are (xend, yend). When ystart = yend, the edge direction is horizontal and the x increment is not calculated. At this time, if xstart> xend, the edge points to the left, and if Xstart <xend, the edge points to the right. Further, at this time, xstart = xend means an edge having only one point where the start point and the end point coincide with each other, and is an isolated point, which is a part of the edge before or after the edge. It is assumed that such an edge has been previously removed from the apex row of the edges forming the contour when the data shown in FIG. 13 is formed.

When y start> y end, the direction of the edge is determined to be upward, and the increment of x is (x start −x end) /
It is calculated by (ystart-yend).

When ystart <yend, it is determined that the direction of the edge is downward and the increment of X is (Xend-Xstart) /
It is calculated by (yend-ystart).

When the processing of step S57 is completed, the process proceeds to step S58, and the edge starting from the first vertex (0th vertex) of the loop and ending at the next vertex (first vertex) is called the next edge (attention). For the edge, the next connected edge on the contour loop, that is, the edge having the end point of the target edge as the starting point) is set, and the direction of this edge and the increment of x are obtained in the same manner as in step S57. Step S58
When the process of is finished, the process proceeds to step S59. Step S
In 59, the vertex coordinate table pointer of interest is set to
The address value in which the data of the 0th vertex coordinate of the loop referred to in 3 is stored is set, and the process proceeds to step S60.
In step S60, the current edge data (the direction of the current edge and the increment of x) immediately before this point are held, and the preceding edge (the edge connected to the target edge on the contour loop immediately before it, that is, Edge) data whose end point is the start point of the target edge. Then, the process proceeds to step S61. In step S61, the next edge data (direction of the next edge and increment of x) immediately before this time point is set as the current edge data. Then, the process proceeds to step S62. In step S62, the next edge data (the direction of the next edge and the increment of x) is obtained as in step S57. At this time, the start point of the next edge is the end point of the current edge, and the end point of the next edge is, of course, the next vertex on the loop with respect to the end point of the current edge. These are obtained by referring to the next vertex position of the vertex position of interest and the data of the next vertex position. The vertex position of interest at this point is the final vertex of the loop. Time
For the next edge, the 0th vertex of the loop is the start point and the 1st vertex is the end point. Also, when the vertex position of interest is at the vertex immediately before the final vertex of the loop, control is also performed so that the final vertex becomes the start point and the 0th vertex becomes the end point.

When the processing of step S62 is completed, the process proceeds to step S63, and based on the previous edge data, the current edge data and the next edge data at this point, the bucket data of the form shown in FIG. To create. Then, the bucket data is added to the edge table and the edge table is updated. The details of this process will be described later. When the process of step S63 ends, the process proceeds to step S64. In step S64,
The value of the vertex coordinate table pointer of interest is updated to the position of the coordinate table of the next vertex on the loop. And
In step S65, it is determined whether or not the processing for all the edges in the loop is completed. If the processing is completed, step S65 is performed.
If not, the process returns to step S60 to continue the series of processes for the next edge. Whether or not the processing for all edges is completed is determined, for example, for each loop.
The number of times the process has passed through step S65 is counted, and it can be determined whether the number of times exceeds the number of vertices included in the loop.

In step S66, the in-loop vertex number table pointer is updated to the position for holding the data of the next loop, and the process proceeds to step S67. In step S67,
It is determined whether or not a series of processing is completed for all the loops included in the contour data, and if completed, the process proceeds to step S68, and if not, step S55.
Then, the process continues for the next loop.

Whether or not the processing of all the loops has been completed is determined, for example, by counting the number of times the step S67 has been passed and whether or not the number exceeds the number of loops included in the contour data. Can be determined. In step S68, the processing for creating the edge table (ET) is terminated, and the process returns to the main routine.

<Description of Edge Table Update Processing>
The processing contents of step S63 in FIG. 16 are shown in FIGS.
Will be explained. In step S63, the process proceeds using the directions of the current edge, the front edge and the next edge and the increment of x. FIG. 28 shows the generation rule when creating the bucket data of the form shown in FIG. 3 for the current edge.

First, when the current edge is a horizontal edge, that is, the direction is left or right, no bucket data is generated for this edge and the edge table is not updated. Therefore, it is not shown in FIG. When the current edge is upward or downward, depending on the contents of the front edge data, start 1 to start 10 and end 1 to 1
Consider the case of the last 10 separately. In FIG. 28, in the column of the state of the start point, the current edge is indicated by a solid arrow, the front edge is indicated by a dashed arrow, and the direction of each arrow indicates the direction of each edge.
The diagonal lines indicate that the shaded side of each edge is the area to be filled. In the end state column, the current edge is indicated by a solid line arrow, the next edge is indicated by a broken line arrow, the direction of the arrow indicates the direction of each edge, and the diagonal line indicates the side indicated by the diagonal line of each edge. It indicates that the area.

First, pay attention to the handling of the starting point of the current edge,
The case where the current edge is upward (start 1 to start 5) will be described. When the front edge is also upward (case start 1), it is assumed that the start point of the current edge is a point moved by one scanning line to the end point along the edge rather than the actual point, and bucket data is created. When the front edge is downward, if the end point of the front edge, that is, the start point of the current edge is the concave vertex of the closed figure (case start 2), the start point is still only one scanning line from the actual
Bucket data is created assuming that the point has moved to the end point along the edge. When it becomes a convex vertex of the closed figure (case start 3), the starting point is the point itself at the actual position, and bucket data is created. Case start 2 or case start 3
The determination can be made by comparing the magnitude relationship between the x increment of the current edge and the x increment of the preceding edge. That is, assuming that the x increment of the front edge is Δxpre and the x increment of the current edge is Δxnow, the case start 2 is given if Δxpre> Δxnow, and the case start 3 is given if ΔXpre <Δxnow. .
However, when Δxpre = ΔXnow, it is determined that the case starts. When the front edge points to the left (case start 4), bucket data is created with the start point of the current edge as the point at the actual position itself, and when the front edge points to the right (case start 5), the start point of the current edge is , Bucket data is created assuming that it is at a point moved along the edge by one scanning line from the actual point to the end point.

Next, when the current edge is downward (start 6
Looking at ~ start 10), if the front edge is upward, if the end point of the front edge, that is, the start point of the current edge is the convex vertex of the closed figure (case start 6), the start point is the actual Create bucket data as the position points themselves. When it becomes a concave vertex of the closed figure (case start 7), bucket data is created assuming that the start point is a point moved by one scanning line from the actual point to the end point along the edge. When the front edge is downward (case start 8) and right (case start 10), bucket data is created with the start point itself being the point at the actual position. When the front edge is directed to the left (case start 9), bucket data is created assuming that the start point is at a point moved along the edge by one scanning line from the actual point to the end point. Here, the case start 6 or the case start 7 is determined by determining the x increment Δxnow of the current edge and the x increment Δxp of the previous edge.
It is possible by comparing the magnitude relation with re. That is,
If Δxpre <Δxnow, case 6 is started, and Δx
When pre> Δxnow, the case starts. △ xpre
In the case of = Δxnow, it is determined to be Case 6.

Next, the case where attention is paid to the handling of the end point of the current edge will be described.

First, if the current edge is upward (end 1
~ End 5) will be explained. When the next edge is also upward (case end 1), bucket data is created with the end point of the current edge as the point at the actual position itself. When the next edge is downward, when the start point of the next edge, that is, the end point of the current edge becomes the concave vertex of the closed figure (case end 3), the end point of the current edge is only one scanning line from the actual position. Bucket data is created assuming that the point has returned to the start point side along the edge. When it becomes a convex vertex of a closed figure (case end 2), bucket data is created with the end point of the current edge as the point itself at the actual position. When the next edge is directed to the left, the end point of the current edge is located at a point that has returned to the start point along the edge by one scanning line from the actual position, and bucket data is created. When the next edge points to the right, the end point of the current edge creates bucket data as the point of the actual position. Here, the case end 2 or the case end 3 is discriminated by the x increment Δxnow of the current edge and the x increment Δ of the next edge.
It is possible by comparing the magnitude relationship with xpost. That is, in the case of Δxnow <Δxpost, the case end is 2,
In the case of Δxnow> Δxpost, the end of the case is 3. However, in the case of Δxnow = Δxpost, it is determined that the case end 2.

Next, when the current edge is downward (end 6 to end 1)
0) will be described. When the next edge is upward, when the start point of the next edge, that is, the end point of the current edge becomes the convex vertex of the closed figure (case end 6), the end point of the current edge is the bucket at the actual position point itself. Create the data. When it becomes a concave vertex of a closed figure (case end 7), bucket data is created assuming that the end point of the current edge is a point that has returned to the start point along the edge by one scanning line from the actual position. When the next edge is downward (case end 8), the bucket data is created assuming that the end point of the current edge is at a point along the edge, which is one scan line later than the actual position, and returns to the start point. When the next edge points to the left (case end 9), the end point of the current edge creates the bucket data as the point at the actual position itself. When the next edge points to the right (case end 10), the bucket data is created with the end point of the current edge being a point that is returned along the edge by one scanning line from the actual position. Here, the case end 6 or the case end 7 can be discriminated by comparing the magnitude relationship between the x increment Δxnow of the current edge and the x increment Δxpost of the next edge. That is, if Δxnow <Δxpost, the case end 6
And if Δxnow> Δxpost, then the end of case 7 is reached. In the case of Δxnow = Δxpost, it is determined that the end of the case is 6.

According to the above generation rule, the bucket data having the form shown in FIG. 3 is generated for the current edge.

Although the processing described above is performed in step S63, the CPU 1 will eventually perform the processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S630, when the series of processes is started, the process proceeds to step S631. This time,
As the input data, the front edge data updated in step S60 (the direction of the front edge and the x increment Δxpre)
And the current edge data updated in step S61 (the coordinate values of the start point and the end point of the current edge ((xstart, yst
art). (Xend, yend)), direction, and x increment Δxnow), and next edge data (direction of next edge and x increment Δxpost) created in step S62. In step S631, it is determined whether or not the direction of the current edge is horizontal (that is, whether it is rightward or leftward), and if it is horizontal, the process proceeds to step S644 to end the series of processes and complete the book. The process returns to the next step (step S64) after calling the process.

If it is not horizontal, step S632.
Then, it is determined whether or not the direction of the current edge is upward. If the current edge is upward, the process proceeds to step S633 to generate bucket data for the upward edge. On the other hand, if it is not upward (if it is a downward edge), step S645.
Then, the bucket data for the downward edge is generated.

When it is determined that the current edge is the upward edge and the process proceeds to step S633, the edge bucket of the form shown in FIG. 3 is once created as it is. That is, ymax = ystart,
Created as xmin = xend and Δx = Δxnow, and the pointer here is λ (marker indicating that there is no connection destination)
To have. In addition, in step S643
When this edge bucket is registered in ET, a value ymin indicating which pointer bucket the data should be connected to is also set, where ymin = yend.
And set. Here, ymax is the y value of the end point having the larger y coordinate at both end points (start point and end point) of the current edge, and xmin and ymin are the x values of the end points of the modulus having the smaller y coordinate. Means the value of y. The increment Δx of x means the amount of change in the x coordinate per scan line when a point on the current edge moves along the current edge from the smaller y coordinate to the larger y coordinate. . In the embodiment, it is assumed that the positive direction of the x coordinate is rightward and the positive direction of the y coordinate is downward, so that ymax, xmin, Δx, ymin are set as described above. When the process of step S633 ends, the process proceeds to step S634. In step S634, it is determined whether or not the front edge is downward, and if it is downward, step S634.
If not, the process proceeds to step S636. In step S635, it is determined whether the start point of the current edge corresponds to case start 2 or case start 3 by the method described above. If it corresponds to case start 2, the process proceeds to step S637, and otherwise. If step S6
Proceed to 38. In step S636, it is determined whether the start point of the current edge corresponds to case start 4 (that is, case start 1
Alternatively, the process proceeds to step S638 if it corresponds to case start 4, otherwise the process proceeds to step S637. In step S637, ymax is reduced by "1", that is, the start point of the upward edge is narrowed by one scanning line. When the process of step S637 ends, the process proceeds to step S638. This completes the processing for the start point when the current edge is upward.

In step S638, it is determined whether or not the next edge is downward, and if it is downward, step S63.
9, and otherwise proceeds to step S640. In step S639, it is determined whether the end point of the current edge corresponds to the case end 2 or the case 3 by the above-described method. If the end point of the current edge corresponds to the case end 2, the process proceeds to step S643; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S641. move on. In step S640, it is determined whether or not the end point of the current edge corresponds to case end 4 (that is, whether case end 1 or end 5 is satisfied). If it corresponds to case end 4, step S640
If not, the process proceeds to step S643. In step S641, xmin is increased by Δx,
That is, assuming that the end point of the upward edge is packed for one scanning line,
The x coordinate value is corrected. When the process of step S641 ends, the process proceeds to step S642. Step S64
In 2, the value is corrected by increasing ymin by "1", that is, assuming that the end point of the upward edge is one scanning line. When the process of step S642 is finished, step S6
Proceed to 43.

On the other hand, a case will be described in which it is determined in step S632 that the current edge is not upward, that is, downward.

In this case, the process proceeds to step S645 to temporarily generate the edge bucket of the form shown in FIG. 3 as it is. That is, ymax = yend, xmin = xstart, Δx =
Created as Δxnow, and the pointer here has λ (marker indicating that there is no connection destination). In addition, set ymin = ystart. Next step S64
At 6, it is determined whether or not the front edge is facing upward. If it is facing upward, the process proceeds to step S647, and if not, the process proceeds to step S648.

In step S647, it is determined by the above-mentioned method whether the start point of the current edge corresponds to case start 6 or case start 7. If it corresponds to the case start 6, the process proceeds to step S651, and if it corresponds to the case start 7, the process proceeds to step S649. In step S648, it is determined whether or not the start point of the current edge corresponds to case start 9 (that is, whether it corresponds to case start 8 or start 10). If it corresponds to case start 9, step S649
Then, xmin is increased by Δx, that is, assuming that the downward edge is specified for one scanning line, the x coordinate value is corrected. When the process of step S649 ends, step S6
The process proceeds to step 50 and increases ymin by "1", that is, assuming that the starting point of the downward edge is one scanning line, the value is corrected. This completes the process for the starting point of the current edge.

When the process of step S650 is completed, the process proceeds to step S651. In this step S651, it is determined whether or not the next edge is upward. If it is upward, the process proceeds to step S652, and if not, the process proceeds to step S653. In step S652, whether the end point of the current edge corresponds to the case end 6 or the case end 7 is determined by the method described above. Then, in the case of case end 6, the process proceeds to step S643, and in the case of case end 7, the process proceeds to step S654. In step S653, it is determined whether the end point of the current edge corresponds to case end 9 (that is, case end 8 or end 10), and if case end 9 is reached, step S643. Otherwise, to step S654. In step S654, ymax is decreased by "1", that is, the end point of the downward edge is closed by one scanning line. Step S65
When the process of 4 is completed, the process proceeds to step S643.

As described above, the edge bucket for the current edge is generated according to the rule shown in FIG. 28 in each of the case where the current edge is upward and downward.

In step S643, the edge bucket generated above is additionally registered in the edge table (ET). That is, the edge bucket of the current edge is added to the list connection of the edge buckets connected to the pointer bucket Ay ymin corresponding to y = ymin in the edge table. First, an area for holding the edge bucket of the current edge is secured in the RAM 2. Next, pointer bucket Ay ymi
The value of n is examined, and if the value is still “λ”, it is rewritten to the address of the area holding the edge bucket of the current edge, and the edge bucket of the current edge is list-connected to the pointer bucket. When the value of the pointer bucket Ay ymin has a value other than “λ” which is already present, there are some edge buckets already connected in the list, and therefore the value of xmin of these edge buckets is The edge bucket of the current edge is inserted into the edge bucket string connected to the list so that the edge buckets are in ascending order when viewed from the pointer bucket side. This is realized by copying the value of the pointer of the bucket immediately before being inserted into the pointer part of the edge bucket of the current edge and rewriting it to the address value of the edge bucket of the current edge of the pointer part of the immediately preceding bucket. Thus, when the process of step S643 is completed, the process proceeds to step S644. In step S644, a series of processes for updating the edge table is completed, and the process returns to the upper routine that called this process.

<Description of Generation Processing of Conscious Scanning Line Contour> Next, the “processing of generating the scanning line contour of interest” in step S7 in FIG. 15 will be described. Note that the process proceeds according to the procedure shown below using the active edge table (AET) at that time.

The active edge table (AE
T) is initialized in step S6 and is initially in an empty state (state in which the marker λ is written). After that, even if the processing is once ended and the process proceeds to step S8, the state of the active edge table is maintained until the next time step S7 is entered again.

(1) Active edge table (AE
While maintaining the sort order by the x coordinate value (xmin) of T),
The information of the edge table (ET) at that time and the information of the active edge table (AET) are merged to create a new active edge table (AET) that connects the edge buckets corresponding to the scanning line y coordinate value.

(2) Active edge table (AE
The value held in the address on the line memory 3 corresponding to the pixel at the position of the odd-numbered x-coordinate value is stored in that address, which is accessed from the smaller x-coordinate value (xmin) of T). Bit value (0 or 1) and "1"
And are exclusive-ORed and rewritten. In addition, even-numbered x
The value held at the address on the line memory 3 corresponding to the pixel to the right of the pixel at the position of the coordinate value is set to the bit value (0 or 1) stored at that address and 1
Rewrite to the value obtained by exclusive OR of and.

(3) The edge bucket having the y-coordinate value of the scanning line of interest as the y-value (ymax) of the endpoint having the larger y-coordinate is deleted from the active edge table (AET) for the operation in the next scanning line. .

(4) Active edge table (AE
For the remaining edge buckets in T), utilizing the incremental data (Δx) for operation in the next scan line,
Update the x coordinate value. That is, a new xmin is created with xmin + Δx.

(5) After updating the x coordinate value (Xmin), sorting is performed again based on the x coordinate value (xmin).

In this way, the point where only the contour of the closed figure on the scanning line of interest at that time intersects the scanning line at odd-numbered points is the point at which the memory address of the corresponding line buffer intersects at even-numbered points. , The point to the right of one pixel is drawn at the memory address of the corresponding line buffer.
However, the active edge table (AE
If T) is empty, nothing is drawn. Thus, step S7 ends. Further, the line buffer 3 has a capacity for the number of pixels arranged in the scanning direction (x-axis direction) included in the scanning line, and the data of each pixel is arranged in ascending order of the address along the main scanning direction. It is configured to increase continuously.

<Explanation of Scanning Line Data Output & Line Memory Clearing Process of Interest> Next, the processing contents of step S9 in FIG.

In step S9, re-clearing of the line buffer is simultaneously performed while the area between the contour points is filled based on the contour point data at the corresponding scanning line position drawn in step S7. Is. CPU
When step 1 advances to step S9, an additional circuit (not shown) is set so that the data inputted thereafter to the line memory 3 becomes a constant value 0 until the processing of step S9 is completed, and at the same time, the synchronous control circuit 6 is set to one scanning line. Then, the synchronous control circuit 6 waits for the synchronous control circuit 6 to return a signal indicating that the series of operations has been completed. When activated by the CPU 1, the synchronization control circuit 6 generates addresses in order from the head address of the line memory 3 and outputs the data held at the address position to the signal line 10, and at the same time, is set by the CPU 1. Further, the operation of writing the constant value 0 to the same address is executed for each address. Then, after this operation is performed for the preset number of pixels, the operation is stopped, and it is confirmed that the series of processing for the scanning line is completed.
A signal for notifying U1 is output. On the other hand, in synchronization with this series of operations, a synchronization signal as shown in FIG.
To the printer 8 and the sync signal 13 to the printer 8. Line Sync in FIG. 19 is a scanning line synchronization signal, and the rising signal of this signal means the start of processing of one scanning line. CLK is a pixel synchronization signal, and has a rising signal of this signal to indicate the effective timing of data. Line Sy
The rising edge of CLK immediately after nc indicates the valid timing of the data of the first pixel of the scanning line, and after 1 clock, it indicates the timing of the data of the adjacent pixel in the main scanning direction. FIG. 19 shows a synchronization signal when m pixels are present on the scanning line.

FIG. 20 shows a configuration example of the intermediate coating circuit 5 in the embodiment. By the above operation, the data 10 output from the line memory 3 is only the contour data on the scanning line. In FIG. 20, the synchronization signal 12 is used to output from the odd-numbered contour pixel signal on the data 10 to the pixel signal immediately before the even-numbered contour pixel as “1”, and the other pixel areas are “0”. Output as ". At this time, the input data 10 is input as the Data signal 205, and the contour position is "1" and the other is "0". First, by the input of Line Sync, the value held by the latch 201 is initialized to “0” and reset so that “0” is output to the exclusive OR gate 206. Next, data 205 input in synchronization with CLK204 and output 206 of the latch 201.
The gate 202 outputs the exclusive OR of the signal to the signal line 206. This signal line 206 becomes the output data 11 to the printer 8. Further, this signal line 206 is connected to CLK204
The data is fetched into the latch 201 in synchronism with, and held for the next data creation. This series of operations is repeated for the number of pixels.

In contrast to FIG. 2B, the edge table obtained by this embodiment is shown in FIG. That is, regarding the figure F1 in FIG. 2B, the edge e10 is an upward edge,
Since the front edge e9 is also the upward edge and the next edge e1 is the downward edge, the start point corresponds to the case start 1 in FIG. 28 and the end point corresponds to the case end 2, so e10: ymax = 8, xmin = 7 , Δx = −1, y min = 3.

Similarly, e1 is a downward edge, the start point corresponds to the case start 6 and the end point corresponds to the case end 10, and e1: ymax = 5, xmin = 7, Δx = 1, ymin = 3 Become.

Since e2 is a horizontal edge, no edge bucket is generated.

E3 is a downward edge, the start point corresponds to the case start 10 and the end point corresponds to the case end 9, and e3: ymax = 15, xmin = 19, Δx = 0, ymin = 6.

Since e4 is a horizontal edge, no edge bucket is generated.

E5 is an upward edge, the start point corresponds to the case start 4 and the end point corresponds to the case end 3, and e5: ymax = 15, xmin = 15, Δx = 1, ymin = 14.

E6 is a downward edge, the start point corresponds to the case start 7 and the end point corresponds to the case end 9, and e6: ymx = 16, xmin = 13, .DELTA.x = -1, ymin = 14.

Since e7 is a horizontal edge, no edge bucket is generated.

E8 is a downward edge, the start point corresponds to the case start 9 and the end point corresponds to the case end 6, and e8: ymax = 18, xmin = 7, .DELTA.x = -1, ymin = 17.

E9 is an upward edge, the start point corresponds to the case start 3 and the end point corresponds to the case end 1, and e9: ymax = 18, xmin = 1, Δx = 5/9, ymin = 9.

The above table is summarized in the edge table shown in FIG.
As shown in 1. Based on FIG. 21, when the active edge table (AET) is generated and the number of scanning lines of interest is sequentially increased from y = 0 by one, the change in AET is as shown in FIG. According to the AET of FIG. 22,
Xmin of odd-numbered edge bucket in each scan line
FIG. 23 is a diagram in which the pixel immediately adjacent to the position of x and the position of xmin of the even-numbered edge bucket in the main scanning direction are plotted as contour pixels. In the figure, P5 to Q10
Are contour pixels for e10. Similarly, from Q9
Q7, Q1-Q2, Q4-Q3, Q5-Q6, Q7-Q
8 are contour pixels for e9, e3, e5, e6 and e8, respectively. FIG. 24 shows an output when the contour data shown in FIG. 23 is filled in from the odd-numbered contour pixel on the scanning line to the position immediately before the even-numbered contour pixel as described above. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that the vertex pixels and the pixels on the horizontal edges are all painted without distortion.

In the above discussion, ymax and y
min is treated as a non-negative integer value. Also, xmin
With respect to Δx and Δx, they are treated as real number data (that is, having information of a decimal part) with sufficient accuracy in use. However, the x-coordinate when updating the scanning line to the next line is calculated as the x-coordinate of the immediately preceding edge by Δ.
It is a value obtained by adding x, but pixels in the memory can be taken only at integer positions. Therefore, when Δx is added and a carry occurs below the decimal point, the actual x coordinate changes.

<Description of Second Embodiment> In the above-described embodiment (referred to as the first embodiment), the case start 1 and the case end 1 and the case start 8 are included in the edge bucket generation rule shown in FIG. The rules may be modified as follows for each of the groups of case and case end 8.

That is, case start 1: the start point of the current edge is
It is "without clogging", and case end 1: the end point of the current edge is "cuffing only one scanning line".

In addition, case start 8: the starting point of the current edge is set to "pay only one scanning line", and case end 8: the end point of the current edge is set to "as-is".

The flow of the process shown in FIG. 18 is also adapted to the above, and for the case start 1, step S63 is performed.
It can be easily understood that step S640 is changed according to the change for the case 6 and the case end 1. Further, it can be easily understood that step S648 is changed for the case start 8 and step S653 is changed for the case end 8.

In the above modification, the vertex shared by two consecutive outline edges of upward comrades or downward comrades is processed only as a point on the edge that ends at that vertex, or It is processed only as a point on the edge starting from, or implied that it may be either, and it is processed as a point on both edges or a point on neither edge. If it is done, it can be considered that it means either.

<Explanation of Third Embodiment> In the first embodiment, the outline has been described as a clockwise data expression, but the present invention is not limited to this.
It is also possible to take counterclockwise data representation. When the counterclockwise data is expressed, the edge bucket generation rule shown in FIG. 29 may be used. In this case as well, the handling of the starting point of the current edge is determined based on the orientation and inclination of the current edge and the front edge, and the handling of the endpoint of the current edge is determined based on the orientation and inclination of the current edge and the next edge. . The processing flow of updating the edge table according to the generation rule of the edge bucket of the counterclockwise data expression is almost the same as that in FIG. 18, and steps S636, S640, and S64 are performed.
The difference is that "Y" and "N" in S653 are all opposite.

<Explanation of Fourth Embodiment> Similar to the modification described in the second embodiment with respect to the first embodiment, in the rule of FIG. 29 in the third embodiment, the case start 11 And the case end 11 and the case start 18 and the case end 18 are respectively combined, and the case start 11: the start point of the current edge is
The case end 11: the end point of the current edge may be “as it is without pawl”, and the case start 18: the start point of the current edge is “as is without pagination”, and Case end 18: Only one scanning line can be packed. "

<Explanation of Fifth Embodiment> In the above embodiment,
Although the origin of the coordinates is described as being located at the upper left of the image, the origin is not limited to this. That is, depending on the position of the origin and the direction of the coordinate, the direction determination method in the above description, ymax
, Ymin, xmin, Δx, etc. can be changed to perform the same processing.

<Description of Sixth Embodiment> In the above embodiment,
Although the main scanning direction during the filling operation is described as the direction from the left to the right of the image, the present invention is not limited to this.
If the scan direction is the opposite and right-to-left, then
When drawing contour pixels from the active edge table (AET) in the line buffer, x coordinate value (xmin)
For the odd-numbered x-coordinate value when accessed from the smaller one, pixel drawing is performed by exclusive OR with 1 at the memory address corresponding to the pixel next to the pixel at that position, and the even-numbered For the x-coordinate value of the pixel, contour pixel data is drawn from the right to left of the image from the memory buffer after performing pixel drawing by exclusive OR with the memory address corresponding to the pixel at that position. The data may be read in the direction opposite to and the intermediate coating method may be executed.

<Explanation of Seventh Embodiment> In the above-mentioned embodiment, an edge having only one point, that is, an edge where the start point and the end point coincide (point edge) forms the data shown in FIG. At this time, from the vertex row of the edges that make up the contour,
Although described as having been removed in advance, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, when examining the edge data, the point edge data may be ignored and the above processing may be continued. In the processing of FIG. 16, in the procedure of creating the current edge data in step S57, creating the next edge data in step S58, and creating the next edge data in step S62, if the edge being processed is a point edge, then the next vertex data is created. Is read further and new (xend, yend)
Then, the processing may be continued. At this time, the update of the target vertex position, the count of the number of processed vertices, and the like may be adjusted according to the number of skipped vertices. Thus,
It is of course possible to remove point edges during the creation of the edge table.

<Description of Eighth Embodiment> The configuration of the edge table is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration. That is, the pointer bucket may be formed as data having a two-dimensional list structure as shown in FIG. The pointer bucket has a y-coordinate value (ymi) of the end point having the smaller y-coordinate of the edge of the edge bucket connected to the pointer bucket in a list.
n) (This means that even if a plurality of edge buckets are sequentially connected from this pointer bucket, note that ymin of these edges are all the same value) and the y coordinate values are in ascending order. In the case of FIG. 3, it is composed of a term of a pointer to the next pointer bucket among pointer buckets having edge buckets connected to the list and a term of a pointer to the edge bucket connected to the pointer bucket. An example of an edge table configured with pointer buckets having the format of FIG. 25 is shown in FIG.
It is 6. FIG. 26 is an edge table configured for the outline figure given in FIG. 2B. As described above, the edge table having the two-dimensional list structure can be constructed by the procedure similar to that of the above-described embodiment.
The pointer bucket area is not secured in advance for the number of scanning lines of the image, and every time one edge bucket is generated, ymin of the edge represented by the corresponding edge bucket is held in the existing pointer bucket. Determine if there is something. Then, if there is, the relevant edge bucket is added to the list sequence of the edge bucket which is the pointer bucket, if not, a new pointer bucket is generated, and ymin is stored in the pointer bucket.
After connecting the relevant edge buckets in a list, a new generated pointer bucket is added / inserted in the list connection of the pointer bucket sequence in the order of ymin.

Generation of an active edge table using such an edge table is also the same as in the above embodiment.

If such a list structure having a two-dimensional structure is adopted, it is not necessary to prepare pointer bucket areas for the number of scanning lines of an image, and the larger the size of the image to be handled, the more. , The unique effect that the random memory area required for the edge table can be reduced.

<Explanation of Ninth Embodiment> In the embodiment, FIG.
It is also possible to implement with an apparatus configuration holding a plurality of line memories as shown in FIG. 27, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 27,
Two line memories 31 and 32, that is, line memories for two scanning lines are prepared. One of these two line memories is used to draw the contour pixel on the scanning line on which the CPU 1 is present, and the other one is used for the intermediate painting circuit to draw the contour pixel data on the other scanning line immediately before that. It is used to output to 5. That is, it is possible to perform two processes at the same time. The line buffer whose output has been completed is used to write the contour pixel for the scan line to be drawn next. As described above, in order to perform the toggle operation, the multiplexer 33 and the selector 34 are used to switch the input and output of the line memories 31 and 32. The synchronous control buffer 6'controls the multiplexer 33 and the selector 34,
The synchronous control circuit uses the CPU for one line memory.
From 1 onward, every time the writing of the contour pixel is completed, the output of the scanning line data is started, and the generation of the intermediate coating data from the other line memory is completed, the multiplexer 33 and the selector 34 operate. It operates by switching the line memory to be connected. Every time the line memory is switched, the CPU 1 is notified that the next scanning line can be drawn, and the intermediate painting data is generated and output from the buffer in which the contour pixel is drawn.

In this way, it is possible to reduce the waiting time required for the processing for each of the plurality of scanning lines, and to bring about the unique effect of speeding up the processing as a whole.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the direction of each outline vector is determined, and the direction and slope of the outline vector immediately before the outline vector and the direction and slope of the outline vector immediately after are determined. Therefore, it is determined whether or not each endpoint of the vector is used to determine the boundary point forming the closed section of the closed figure. After that, if it is an odd-numbered boundary determination edge that intersects with each scanning line, it is plotted at the corresponding pixel position in the memory, and if it is an even-numbered boundary determination edge, it is stored in the memory. The contour pixel data is generated by plotting to the right of one pixel at the corresponding pixel position. After that, the contour pixel data of the one scanning line is horizontally scanned, and it is determined that the contour area from the odd-numbered contour pixels to the even-numbered contour pixels is the internal area of the closed figure. It has an effect that it can be performed at low cost, at high speed, and without causing distortion.

[0121]

As described above, according to the present invention, when painting the inside of the contour, it is possible to obtain the intended painting result at high speed and with a small memory capacity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a device configuration of an embodiment configured for a raster scanning type video printer.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of outline graphic data.

FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of clockwise outline graphic data used in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an edge bucket.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an edge table (ET) of the figure of FIG. 2A according to a conventional method.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an active edge table (AET).

FIG. 6 shows an active edge table (AE
It is explanatory drawing of the transition of T).

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a problem inherent in the even-odd inversion method.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a processing result of the figure of FIG. 2A by the conventional method.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a processing result of the graphic of FIG. 2A by the second conventional method.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of another conventional method which is an improvement of the second conventional method.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an internal region of a clockwise outline closed figure.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an internal area of a counterclockwise outline closed figure.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing contour data in a coordinate sequence format of an outline figure.

FIG. 14 is contour data in a coordinate sequence format of the figure of FIG. 2B.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus in the example.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a procedure for generating an edge table (ET) in the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an initialized address pointer area.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a procedure for generating bucket data and updating an edge table.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a synchronization signal generated by the synchronization control circuit.

FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of an intermediate coating circuit.

FIG. 21 is an edge table (E
It is explanatory drawing of T).

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of the transition of the active edge table (AET).

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of contour pixel output for the figure of FIG. 2B.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of a processing result of the graphic of FIG. 2B.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of a pointer bucket according to another embodiment.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of an edge table (ET) of the figure of FIG. 2B in another embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a device configuration of another embodiment configured for a raster scanning type video printer.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing bucket data generation rules for clockwise outlines in the example.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a bucket data generation rule for a counterclockwise outline in the example.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 microprocessor 2 Random access memory 3 line memory 4 I / O ports 5 Intermediate coating circuit 6 Synchronous control circuit 7 I / O port 8 Printer 9 buses

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image processing method for filling the inside of a closed contour composed of a plurality of line elements, comprising: a line element of interest and adjacent line elements before and after the line element in one continuous direction of the line element. Based on the connection relationship and the direction of the area to be filled, the contour line data generation process that generates contour line data when viewed from the main scan, and the odd-numbered contour that is encountered when scanning in the main scan direction are the pixel positions. Represents the forward rotation position of the area, the adjacent pixel position in the traveling direction of the even-numbered contour is set as the pixel position indicates the reverse position of the area, and And a determination step of determining that the area from the odd-numbered contour position to the pixel position immediately before the even-numbered position is inside the closed figure area, and the others are outside the closed figure area when viewed from the scanning direction. An image processing method characterized by: 2. The contour line data generating process includes: a process of ignoring a line-of-interest element when the line-of-interest element is parallel to the main scanning direction; and a connection relationship between the line-of-interest element and adjacent line elements before and after the line-of-interest line element. The image processing method according to claim 1, further comprising a correction step of correcting the coordinate position of the point. 3. An image processing apparatus for filling the inside of a closed contour constituted by a plurality of line elements, comprising: a line element of interest in one continuous direction of the line element; A contour line data generating unit that generates contour line data when viewed from the main scanning based on the connection relationship and the direction of the area to be filled, and an odd numbered contour that is encountered when scanning in the main scanning direction is the pixel position. Indicates the normal position of the area, the setting means for setting the adjacent pixel position in the traveling direction of the contour at the even-numbered position as the pixel position indicates the reverse position of the area, and the setting means on each scanning line. And a determining unit that determines that the area from the odd-numbered contour position to the pixel position immediately before the even-numbered position is inside the closed figure area and the rest is outside the closed figure area when viewed from the scanning direction. An image processing device characterized by: 4. The contour line data generating means ignores the line-of-interest element when the line-of-interest element is parallel to the main scanning direction and the connection between the line-of-interest element and adjacent line elements before and after the line-of-interest element. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a correction unit that corrects a coordinate position of the point.