JPS63241625A - Line drawing input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain an effective line drawing input having high precision by converting the line drawing inputted as raster data input vector data and displaying it so as to execute tracing. CONSTITUTION:A titled device is constituted of a raster data input device 1, a storage device 2, a vector conversion device 3, a display device 4 and a coordinate input device 5. The input device 1 stores the line drawing as the picture data of the raster data in the storage device 2. The conversion device 3 converts the picture data into the vector data. The display device 4 displays the converted vector data on a display screen. An operator indicates the coordinate position of the line drawing of the displayed vector data from the input device 5. The input device 5 generates new vector data based on the specified coordinate value and stores it in the storage device 2. Thus, the tracing of the line drawing can be executed on the display screen and the effective input with high precision can be possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a line drawing input device, and particularly to a device for inputting line drawings for data processing by a computer.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, with the development of CAD systems and the like, systems that input line drawings and process them as digital data have been widely used. Here, the line drawing refers to vector data, that is, an image expressed as a collection of vectors. Conventionally, the following means have been adopted to perform such input.

(1) A method of drawing line drawings on a computer using graphic processing commands such as a CAD system.

(2) A method of fixing the paper with the original line drawing on a graphic tablet and tracing the original drawing with a tablet pen.

(3) A method of using a scanner to capture the original line drawing as raster data and converting it to vector data.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, each of the above-mentioned methods has the following problems.

(1) The method using figure processing commands has the problem that the input requires a great deal of labor and time on the part of the operator, as the commands must be entered according to each figure, and the dimensions must be manually performed in every detail. There is.

(2) The method using a tablet is superior in terms of operability for the operator. However, since the dimensional accuracy of the input image is controlled by the resolution of the tablet, there is a problem that the dimensional accuracy is reduced.

(3) The method using a scanner converts the data that has been imported as raster data into vector data, so there is a problem that the data after conversion becomes a collection of small vectors, making it impossible to obtain smooth straight lines and curves. . Furthermore, since all arcuate parts are approximated by fine straight lines, there is also the disadvantage that the amount of data becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a line drawing input device that can perform highly accurate and efficient input.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides a line drawing input device that includes a raster data input device that inputs line drawings as raster data, a storage device that stores data input from the raster data input device, and converts the raster data in this storage device into vector data. a vector conversion device that displays a line drawing based on the converted vector data in a storage device; A coordinate input device that generates new vector data consisting of a set of coordinate values is provided.

[For production]

According to the line drawing input device according to the present invention, as in the method (3) described above, the line drawing input as raster data is first converted into vector data, so the operator can perform input with extremely good operability. can. Moreover, the operator can input new vector data using the coordinate input device while viewing the image displayed on the display device.

This new vector data is very smooth, efficient data with little redundancy, similar to the data input using method (2) above. Moreover, since the data was originally imported as raster data, the dimensional accuracy is also good.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a line drawing input device according to the present invention. The raster data input device 1 is a device for inputting line drawings as raster data, and is composed of a device such as a scanner, for example. Image data input by this raster data input device 1 is stored in a storage device 2. The vector conversion device 3 is a device that converts raster data stored in the storage device 2 into vector data. In practice, this device is implemented in software within a computer. Since such conversion is a well-known method as described in (3) of the description of the prior art above, a description of this conversion algorithm will be omitted here. The display device 4 is a device that displays the input line drawing based on the converted vector data, and may be a general display device. The coordinate input device 5 allows the operator to specify the coordinate values of a predetermined point on the line drawing being displayed on the display screen, generates new vector data based on the specified coordinate values, and stores it in the storage device 2. It has a memorization function. This coordinate input device 5 can be composed of a computer having a program that performs the above-mentioned functions, a tablet connected to the computer, and the like.

Now, an actual line drawing input operation using this device will be explained with reference to FIG. Now, Figure 2 (a
), a case where a line drawing 7 drawn on a paper surface 6 is input will be explained as an example. First, an operator inputs the line drawing 7 into the storage device 2 as raster data using the raster data input device 1, for example, a scanner. This raster data image 8 is expressed as a set of pixels on a two-dimensional plane, for example, as shown in FIG. 2(b).
It becomes a collection of pixels like . Note that in reality, the resolution of the scanner is extremely high, so each pixel is so fine that it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Now, the raster data captured in this way is converted into vector data by the vector conversion device 3.

A vector data image 9 obtained by converting the raster data image 8 is shown in FIG. 2(C). As mentioned above, the raster data image 8 is represented as a set of fine pixels, so when it is converted to vector data, the vector data image 9 is represented as a set of fine vectors,
Both straight lines and curves will not be smooth, and the amount of information will be redundant and larger than necessary.

A feature of the present invention is that, based on this vector data image 9, a new vector data image that is smoother and has less redundancy is generated. First, the vector data image 9 as shown in FIG. 2(C) is displayed on the display device 4 as shown in FIG. 2(d).

Note that in this display device 4, images are displayed within an image display area 10, and this outer display area is used for displaying various commands and the like. Based on the vector data image 9 thus displayed, the operator uses the coordinate input device 5 to input a predetermined point in order to generate new vector data. In other words, the displayed line drawing is traced on the screen. This situation is shown in FIG. 2(e). Same figure (
e) shows a state in which points A-E have already been input. These points correspond to the starting and ending points of each side of this line drawing. The operator inputs the coordinates of points necessary to generate such new vector data. Specifically, this input is performed by moving a cursor to a predetermined position within the image display area 10 using a tablet, or by using a light pen to specify the position within the image display area 10.
You can directly specify a predetermined position. In this way, when a coordinate value is designated, new data is generated using this coordinate value. In the example of FIG. 2(e), point A-
Since E has already been specified, edges a, b, c.

d is traced so that each vector is expressed as one straight line. In this way, if the operator specifies the necessary positions while looking at the display screen, all parts of the line drawing can be expressed using new vector data with less redundancy. Note that the display device 4 has a function of enlarging and displaying a part of the line drawing, so if it is necessary to specify a detailed position, such as point F in FIG. You can specify the position using

The above explanation has been given by taking as an example the input of a line drawing composed of straight lines, but inputting a line drawing including curved lines can be performed in the same way. In this case, for example, by specifying the center point and one point on the circumference of a circle, or by specifying three points on the circumference of an arc, a new vector display becomes possible. Furthermore, if the curves have an arbitrary shape, they can be approximated by circular arcs and connected. In this way, this device can perform tracing based on data originally input as raster data, so it can perform highly accurate processing, and the processed data has no redundancy and becomes a smooth line drawing. Moreover, the precision can be further improved by enlarging and displaying detailed parts. Furthermore, since the operator's operation is tracing work (actually inputting points) while looking at the screen, it is extremely easy to operate.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the line drawing input device of the present invention, line drawings can be input as raster data, converted to vector data, displayed, and traced on this display screen to generate new vector data. This enables highly accurate and efficient input.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of a line drawing input device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an actual input operation using the device shown in FIG. 1... Raster data input device, 2... Storage device,
3... Vector conversion device, 4... Display device, 5...
・Coordinate input device, 6...Paper surface, 7...Line drawing, 8...
・Raster data image, 9... Vector data image,
10... Image display area. Applicant's agent Mr. Sato Figure 1) (C) (e) 2nd (b) n (cl) υ (f) Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A raster data input device that inputs line drawings as raster data, a storage device that stores the data input from this raster data input device, and converts the raster data in this storage device into vector data. a vector conversion device that displays the line drawing based on the converted vector data in the storage device; A line drawing input device comprising: a coordinate input device that generates new vector data consisting of a set of captured coordinate values. 2. The line drawing input device according to claim 1, wherein the display device has a function of enlarging and displaying the line drawing. 3. The line drawing input device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a scanner is used as the raster data input device. 4. The line drawing input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the coordinate input device inputs coordinates based on the position of a cursor moving on a display screen.