JP2003015628A - Device and program for handwritten character font generation, and character entry form for handwritten character font generation - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily generate a font of characters that the user oneself handwrites, to obtain font characters of sufficient sizes, and to enable the person who enters the characters to obtain the font characters of intended sizes. SOLUTION: A device is equipped with a 1st rectangular frame image cutting means which cuts an image out of a 1st rectangular frame, a 2nd rectangular frame erasing means which erases a 2nd rectangular frame, a character circumscribed rectangle applying means which applies a character frame circumscribed with a character part, a character enlargement rate calculating means which calculates the enlargement rate of the character part, a character enlarging means which compares the maximum enlargement rate calculated from the size of the 1st rectangular frame and the size of the 2nd rectangular frame with the enlargement rate and enlarges the character part according to a larger value, and a font data generating means which generates a handwritten character font composed of handwritten characters from images having been enlarged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for creating a font used in a word processor, a printer or the like, and more particularly to a technique for creating a font for handwritten characters.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of personal computers, it is easy to create text such as postcards and letters with word processing software installed in personal computers and print them using a printer or the like connected to the personal computers. ,and,
It is becoming widely used.

An advantage of creating a sentence using a word processor is that it can be freely rewritten any number of times, so that it can be freely edited. "Editing" here means adding, deleting, changing words in a sentence, or changing the order of sentences and paragraphs.

Before the spread of such word processors, sentences were written directly on paper with a handwriting. In that case, it was necessary to go through the steps of drafting, proofreading, and clear copy.

On the other hand, in the case of using a word processor, if a draft document created by the editing function is proofread, it becomes a plain copy as it is.

As described above, once the benefits are obtained by using the word processor, the work of creating a sentence by directly writing a character on paper is very troublesome. Therefore, as described above, texts to be written on postcards and letters have also been created using word processors.

Usually, a sentence created by using word processing software installed in a personal computer is converted into a raster image (bitmap image) using a digital font installed in the personal computer, and a bitmap image is created. Is output to a printing device such as a laser beam printer or an ink jet printer that prints.

There are many types of digital fonts, which are used according to the type of sentence. As Japanese fonts, standard character fonts such as "Mincho type" and "Gothic type" are often used.

[0009]

However, although the characters output by the standard character font as described above are beautiful, they do not reflect the personality of the writer. Postcards and letters are a medium for transmitting information from the writer to the reader, and some people take a cold view that the purpose can be achieved if the information itself has individuality, while writing with handwriting There are many people who feel that their hearts are filled with things, and many people are grateful when they receive something written with a handwriting, and such sensitivity cannot be explained reasonably.

[0010] If there is a means for outputting a sentence created using a word processor as one's own handwritten characters, the handwritten character can be output with heartfelt handwriting while enjoying the convenience of the free editing function which is the advantage of the word processor. Yes, but no such mechanism is currently available.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described situation, and it is possible to easily create a font by a user's own handwritten character, and it is sufficient when a completed font is displayed or printed. Handwritten character font creation device, handwritten character font creation program, and character entry sheet for handwritten character font creation that can obtain font characters of various sizes and further obtain font characters of the size intended by the character writer The purpose is to provide.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the feature of the handwritten character font creating apparatus according to the present invention is that a character image obtained by reading a character entry sheet on which handwritten characters are written by a user is obtained. A handwritten character font creation device for creating a handwritten character font composed of handwritten characters from (1) a first rectangular frame for cutting out an image within a frame of a first rectangular frame from an image of the read character entry sheet Image cropping means, (2) second rectangular frame erasing means for erasing the second rectangular frame from the in-frame image of the cropped first rectangular frame, and obtaining an image after erasing, (3) characters of the after-erasing image A character circumscribing rectangle fitting means for fitting a character circumscribing rectangle circumscribing the portion, and (4) calculating the enlargement ratio of the character portion of the erased image from the size of the character circumscribing rectangle and the size of the first rectangular frame. Character enlargement ratio calculation means, (5) The maximum enlargement ratio calculated from the size of the first rectangular frame and the size of the second rectangular frame, and the enlargement ratio are compared, and the larger value as a result of comparison. According to this, the character portion of the erased image is enlarged, and the character enlarging means for obtaining the enlarged image, and (6) the font data creating means for creating a handwritten character font composed of handwritten characters from the enlarged image. It is characterized by

A feature of the character entry sheet for handwritten font creation according to the present invention is that the handwritten font created by the user is entered in the character entry field and read by the handwritten font creation apparatus. In the character entry field in which handwritten characters by the user are entered, a first rectangular frame for cutting out the character portion entered in the character entry field and a second rectangular frame arranged inside the first rectangular frame are provided. It is characterized by being composed of a rectangular frame.

Here, the "letter" means a word that is symbolically separated by a combination of dots and lines to visually represent a word, and the "font" is made in the same typeface. A set of characters.

The "font character" refers to a character that is symbolized in one section of the "font" and corresponds to one "character" forming the "font".

The "handwritten character font" means that the characters handwritten by the user are regarded as the same typeface, and the "font data" means that the "font" is converted into data and the file format is bit. It may be a map format or a vector format composed of a set of equations such as Bezier curve and spline curve. Further, in order to more faithfully reproduce the feeling of handwriting, a bitmap format having monochrome gradations or a bitmap format having color gradations may be used.

According to a feature of the present invention, the character entry field of the character entry sheet for creating a handwritten font is arranged inside the first rectangular frame and the first rectangular frame which limits the range for entering characters. And a second rectangular frame. Therefore, it is sufficient for the person who entered the character to fill in the second rectangular frame without paying attention to the limited range of the first rectangular frame. Therefore, the completed font is displayed or printed. In this case, a font character of a sufficiently large size can be obtained. Even if the entered character overlaps the second rectangular frame or extends out of the frame, the character is extracted without being cut off unless it extends out of the first rectangular frame, and the second rectangular frame itself is deleted. Therefore, the finished character font does not include the second rectangular frame.

Further, when the size of the circumscribed rectangle of the written character is equal to or smaller than the size of the second rectangular frame, the enlargement ratio of the written character is the size of the second rectangular frame and the size of the first rectangular frame. When the size of the circumscribed rectangle of the written character exceeds the size of the second rectangular frame, the size is calculated from the size of the character circumscribed rectangle and the size of the first rectangular frame. It is enlarged at the enlargement ratio for each character. Therefore,
Characters that are intentionally written smaller than the second rectangular frame are enlarged at the above-described maximum enlargement ratio, and thus are enlarged to have a size having a margin intended by the writer. Further, since the characters that are written so as to extend beyond the second rectangular frame are enlarged at the enlargement ratio for each character, the portions that extend beyond the second rectangular frame are not cut off, and the margin is minimized. Expanded.

Various methods can be considered for obtaining the sizes of the first rectangular frame, the second rectangular frame, and the character circumscribing rectangle.
This can be easily realized by using the side length of each rectangular frame.

Further, in the present invention, as a technical solution for erasing the second rectangular frame, the line width of the second rectangular frame is formed on the character entry paper at a predetermined threshold value or less, and the line width is set at the predetermined threshold value or less. Is detected as the second rectangular frame and erased. The threshold value should be set so that the line width of the second rectangular frame is sufficiently thinner than the line width of the characters to be written.

Alternatively, as a technical solution for erasing the second rectangular frame, the second rectangular frame is formed on the character entry sheet in a predetermined color, and the line formed in the predetermined color is the second line. It is detected as a rectangular frame and deleted. As the predetermined color forming the second rectangular frame, a color that is sufficiently chromatically separated from the background color of the character entry sheet and the color of the entered character should be selected.

Alternatively, as a technical solution for erasing the second rectangular frame, the second rectangular frame is formed on the character entry sheet at a density lower than a predetermined threshold value and formed at a density lower than the predetermined threshold value. The line drawn is detected as a second rectangular frame and erased. The threshold value should be set so that the density of the second rectangular frame is sufficiently lower than the density of the written character.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the handwritten character font creation device 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the handwritten character font creation device 1 is composed of an image scanner 5 as a character entry sheet input means, a printer 20 as a character entry sheet output means, and a personal computer 10.

The configuration of the handwritten character font creation device 1 according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as a configuration in which the above respective devices are integrated to form the handwritten character font creation device 1. Alternatively, the printer 20 may be connected via a network line (not shown),
The configuration may be such that it is connected to the personal computer 10.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart exemplifying a schematic process for creating and registering a handwritten character font.

First, the personal computer 10 creates image data for outputting the character entry sheet 30a, and the printer 20 prints and outputs the created image data on the character entry sheet 30a (Step 01).

A layout example of the character entry sheet 30a is shown in FIG.
Shown in. In the example shown in FIG. 4, one character entry sheet 30
m lines of 33a to 33m are secured in a, so that n lines of font characters can be entered in one line.
A character entry field formed by the first rectangular frame 40 is arranged. The number of output sheets of the character entry sheet 30a created here changes according to the number of font characters required for each user, and the page number is output to the page number display field 32.

A bar code 31 for identifying the page of the sheet is printed on the character entry sheet 30a.
In addition, font characters 34a to 34n of standard character fonts to be entered are printed in the vicinity of the character entry field where the user himself / herself writes characters. Therefore,
The user selects the font characters 34a-
Characters may be filled in with a handwriting in the character entry field in the first rectangular frame 40 while watching 34n.

Further, cancel check frames 35a to 35n are arranged for each character near them, and
When a character to be entered in the character entry field in the rectangular frame 40 is written incorrectly, the user can check the cancellation frames 35a to 35c.
A mark (for example, a check mark or a fill in the frame) is added to 35n.

Here, the "missing writing" means, for example, miswriting the deviation of the kanji, changing the place where the number of horizontal lines forming the kanji character is three to four, and adjusting the balance as expected. It means an entry error due to various factors, such as being unable to place Straw.

The writing instrument used for writing is not particularly limited, and any commonly used writing instrument such as a fountain pen, a ballpoint pen, and a writing brush can be used.

Returning to FIG. 3 again, the user manually writes characters on the character entry sheet 30a printed / output by the printer, and sets the completed letter entry sheet 30b in the image scanner (Step 02).

The image scanner 5 reads the character entry sheet 30b on which handwritten characters are entered and inputs it as image data (Step 03).

Next, the input image data of the character entry sheet 30b is subjected to a series of processes such as clipping and image processing to create a character image that constitutes a handwritten character font. The series of processes will be described in detail later. (Step04) And, based on the created character image,
A font character corresponding to the character code is created (Step0
5) Created / updated in the registered character DB (database) (Step 06).

By the above processes, a digital font composed of characters handwritten by the user can be created.

By the way, when a handwritten font is created by the above processing, the following problems can be considered. Figure 4
When the user writes a character in the character entry field formed by the first rectangular frame 40 on the character entry sheet 30a as illustrated in FIG. 3, be careful not to go out of the first rectangular frame 40. Therefore, the characters that are naturally written tend to be small. In other words, blank spaces are likely to appear above, below, to the left and right of the entered characters, so when you create a document, etc. using the created handwritten character font, the character spacing and line spacing will be unnecessarily large. become.

Therefore, in order to remove the margins on the upper, lower, left and right sides of the written character, as shown in FIG. 14, the enlargement ratio is obtained from the size of the written character and the size of the first rectangular frame 40, and is calculated. A method of enlarging a character image with a different enlarging ratio can be considered. FIG. 14B shows an example in which an extra blank space is removed by enlarging the character image in FIG.

However, when the enlargement ratio calculated from the largest size character is applied to a relatively small character as illustrated in FIG. 15 (a), it cannot be ignored as shown in FIG. 15 (b). Margins are created.

On the other hand, if the enlargement ratio is calculated from the size of the entered character and the size of the first rectangular frame 40 for each entered character and the enlargement is performed, the extra margin is uniformly removed for all the characters. You can However, for example,
Some users prefer to write letters such as "day,""mouth," and "country" smaller than the letters of "Seki." Such a user may want to create a font image with some margins on the top, bottom, left, and right for characters such as “day”, “mouth”, and “country”.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a font character of a sufficient size can be obtained when the finished font is displayed or printed, and further, a font character of a size intended by the character writer (user) can be obtained. A handwritten character font creation device capable of performing the above will be described in detail.

FIG. 6 shows the character entry sheet 30a shown in FIG.
It is the figure which picked up the character entry column for 1 character in the 1st rectangular frame 40 in. As shown in the figure, the character entry field for the user to enter characters is formed by the first rectangular frame 40, and further, the second rectangular frame 38 is arranged inside the first rectangular frame 40.

[First Rectangular Frame] The first rectangular frame 40 is a frame for cutting out an image forming a written character, and a portion protruding from this frame is cut out. Incidentally, the specification may be such that the portion where the written characters overlap the frame of the first rectangular frame 40 is utilized, or the overlapping portion is cut off. First rectangular frame 40 and second
Since a predetermined gap is provided between the rectangular frame 38 and the user, it is not difficult for the user to write characters so as not to overlap the first rectangular frame 40. Does not make the user feel inconvenient.

[Second Rectangular Frame] The second rectangular frame 38 is a frame that serves as a guide when the user enters characters. In the finished font, if it is desired to prevent extra margins on the top, bottom, left and right sides, it is sufficient to fill the second rectangular frame 38 with characters. As will be described later, the second rectangular frame 38 is erased by a later process, so that even if characters overlap the second rectangular frame 38 or if the characters overlap the second rectangular frame 38, as long as the characters do not protrude from the first rectangular frame 40, The entered characters are extracted without being cut off.

In the finished font, if a certain amount of white space is generated in the upper, lower, left, and right, that is, if it is desired to intentionally make the character small, the second rectangular frame 38 is used as a guide and a margin is provided within the frame. Should be entered.

The size of the gap between the first rectangular frame 40 and the second rectangular frame 38 should be such that the characters do not protrude from the first rectangular frame 40 even if the user does not write it down with a writing instrument. Good. As an example, when the user writes a character using a fine fountain pen (the thickness of the line is about 0.5 mm), the first rectangular frame 40 has a side length of 10 mm square, and the first rectangular frame 40 The side length may be a square of 8 mm.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram exemplifying the functional blocks of the handwritten character font creation device 1 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is particularly a part of the handwritten character font creation / registration process shown in FIG. It is the flowchart which expressed the process concerning Step03-Step04 in more detail. The personal computer 10 is equipped with a handwritten character font creation program that controls each part described below according to the processing procedure of the above flowchart, and the CPU (not shown) inside the personal computer 10 is defined by this program. A series of processing control of the handwritten character font creation device 1 is performed according to the procedure.

The personal computer main body 10 includes a character entry sheet image creating means 11, a first rectangular frame image cutting means 12, a second rectangular frame erasing means 13, a circumscribing rectangle fitting means 14, an enlargement ratio calculating means 15, and a first rectangle. Frame side length storage means 16, second rectangular frame side length storage means 17, maximum enlargement ratio calculation means 18, character enlargement means 19, font data creation means 2
1, font data storage means 22 and the like.

[Character Entry Sheet Image Creating Means] The character entry sheet image creating section 11 creates a character entry sheet 30a in which the user himself or herself writes the characters corresponding to a specific number of character codes according to the individual use of the user. Create image data for printing. The side length of the first rectangular frame 40 is stored in the first rectangular frame side length storage means 16, and the side length of the second rectangular frame 38 is stored in the second rectangular frame side length storage means 17, respectively. The character entry sheet image creating means 11 creates a print image of the character entry sheet 30a based on each side length data,
The printer 20 prints and outputs.

[First Rectangular Frame Image Cutting-Out Means] The image scanner 5 reads the character entry sheet 30b in which handwritten characters are entered and inputs it as image data (Step
11).

The first rectangular frame image cutting-out means 12 is a filled-in character entry sheet 3 input by the image scanner 5.
The image in the first rectangular frame 40 of each character is cut out from the image of 0b. The position of the first rectangular frame 40 on the character entry sheet 30b and the character code of the character corresponding to the first rectangular frame 40 are stored in the character entry sheet image creating means 11 and the entered completed character entry sheet 30b is entered. The image in the first rectangular frame 40 of each character is cut out according to the relative position from the predetermined mark in the image (step 12).

As the mark, for example, the upper left first rectangular frame 40 of the character entry sheet 30b is used. If the upper and left portions of the uppermost first rectangular frame 40 are left blank, the character entry sheet 3 input by the image scanner 5
By searching for a rectangular frame from the upper left margin of the image of 0b, the first frame found can be recognized as the first rectangular frame 40 serving as a mark.

If the reading accuracy of the image scanner 5 is poor, for the input character entry sheet 30b image,
Perform position correction by rotation. In that case, when creating the print image of the character entry sheet 30a by the character entry sheet image creating means 12, the register marks are arranged at the four corners of the character entry sheet 30a. Then, the image cutting means 12 in the first rectangular frame detects the registration marks from the four corners of the image of the character entry sheet 30b input by the image scanner 5, and the inclination between the line connecting the registration marks and the scanning direction of the image scanner 5. Is calculated, and the calculated inclination is corrected using the figure conversion by the affine transformation. A specific method of figure conversion by affine transformation is described in, for example, "Basic Techniques for Image Processing (Introduction to Techniques)" (Hasegawa et al., Technical Review Company).

[Second Rectangular Frame Erasing Means] The second rectangular frame erasing means 13, as shown in FIG. 7, selects the second rectangular frame image from the first rectangular frame image cut out by the first rectangular frame image cutting means 12.
The rectangular frame 38 is erased and output as an image after the second rectangular frame is erased (Step 13).

The erasing process of the second rectangular frame 38 will be described in more detail later.

[Circulating Rectangle Fitting Means] The circumscribing rectangle fitting means 14 outputs the second rectangular frame erasing means 13 outputs the second rectangle.
Regarding the image after the rectangular frame is erased, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a character circumscribed rectangle 39 circumscribing the character portion is circumscribed.
And apply (step 14).

In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the coordinates of the upper end of the image after erasing the second rectangular frame are AreaMaxY and the coordinates of the lower end are Area.
MinY, the rightmost coordinate is AreaMaxX, the leftmost coordinate is AreaMinX, the uppermost coordinate of the character circumscribed rectangle 39 is MaxY [n], the lowermost coordinate is MinY [n], the rightmost coordinate is MaxX [n], the leftmost coordinate. To Mi
Let nX [n].

[Expansion Ratio Calculation Means] Expansion ratio calculation means 15
Is the first stored in the first rectangular frame side length storage means 16.
From the side length of the rectangular frame 40 and the side length of the character circumscribed rectangle 39,
The enlargement ratio for each character is calculated by the following formula.

[0059]

## EQU1 ## Enlargement ratio = side length of first rectangular frame 40 / side length of character circumscribed rectangle 39 [first rectangular frame side length storage means] first rectangular frame side length storage means 1
6 is a first rectangular frame 40 printed on the character entry sheet 30a
The side length of is previously stored.

[Second Rectangular Frame Side Length Storage Means] The first rectangular frame side length storage means 17 previously stores the side length of the second rectangular frame 38 printed on the character entry sheet 30a.

[Maximum Enlargement Ratio Calculation Means] The maximum enlargement ratio calculation means 18 includes the side length of the first rectangular frame 40 stored in the first rectangular frame side length storage means 16 and the second rectangular frame side length storage means. 1
From the side length of the second rectangular frame 38 stored in No. 7, the maximum expansion rate is calculated by the following equation.

[0062]

## EQU00002 ## Maximum enlargement ratio = side length of first rectangular frame 40 / side length of second rectangular frame 38 Here, the first rectangular frame 40 and the second rectangular frame 38 are both squares, and the first rectangular frame 40 Side length is 10 mm, second rectangular frame 38
If the side length is 8 mm, the maximum expansion rate is 10/8
= 1.25.

The maximum expansion rate may be calculated in advance and stored in the maximum expansion rate calculating means 18.

[Character Enlarging Means] The character enlarging means 19 compares the side length of the first rectangular frame 40 with the side length of the second rectangular frame 38 (Step 15) and determines the character enlargement ratio as follows. , The character circumscribing rectangle 39 is applied to enlarge the extracted character image.

(1) (Character circumscribed rectangle 39 ≦ second rectangular frame 3)
8), the character image is enlarged by the maximum enlargement ratio calculated in advance by the maximum enlargement ratio calculating means 18 (Step 18).

When the user writes a character so that the character fits within the second rectangular frame 38, or when the user intentionally writes the character smaller than the second rectangular frame 38 as shown in FIG. Wants to reflect the margin between the second rectangular frame 38 and the character circumscribing rectangle 39 of the entered character in the finished font image. Therefore, regardless of the character circumscribing rectangle 39 of the character, by enlarging at the maximum enlargement ratio, it is possible to provide a margin as shown in FIG. 9C.

(2) (Character circumscribed rectangle 39> second rectangular frame 3)
8), the enlargement ratio calculation means 15 calculates the enlargement ratio for each character (Step
16) Enlarge the character image according to the calculated enlargement ratio (St
ep17).

As shown in FIG. 9B, when the user fills out the second rectangular frame 38, the image is enlarged at the enlargement ratio for each character. As a result, the second rectangular frame 38
The portion protruding from is not cut off, and is enlarged so that the margin of the created font image is minimized.

When the enlargement ratio is obtained by paying attention to the horizontal direction (X direction) of the character circumscribing rectangle 39 of the character "7" in FIG. 9B, it can be expressed by the following equation.

[0070]

[Equation 3] Expansion rate = (AreaMaxX-AreaMinX) / (MaxX [2]
-MinX [2]) FIG. 7D shows an example of enlargement at the enlargement ratio obtained by the above equation. The left and right margins are completely cut.

The above steps 12 to 18 are repeated for the number of characters entered in the character entry form 30b (Step 1
9) Further, this is repeated for the number of character entry sheets 30b (Step 20).

[Font Data Creating Means] The font data creating means 21 creates the enlarged character image subjected to the enlargement processing by the character enlarging means 19 as a font character corresponding to the character code.

[Font Data Storage Means] The font data storage means 22 stores the font characters created by the font data creation means 18 in the registered character DB.

(First Embodiment of Second Rectangular Frame Erasing Means) Next,
A specific embodiment of the second rectangular frame erasing means 13 will be described in detail.

FIG. 10 shows the first of the second rectangular frame erasing means 13.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration in the embodiment of FIG. As shown in the figure, the second rectangular frame erasing means 13 in the first embodiment includes a binarizing means 41, a horizontal line detecting means 42,
Horizontal line erasing means 43, vertical line detecting means 44, vertical line erasing means 4
It is equipped with 5. The character entry form 30 used here
The second rectangular frame 38b is formed with a line that is sufficiently thinner than the line of the character written by the writing instrument.

[Binarizing Means] The binarizing means 41 converts the image in the first rectangular frame 40 into a binary image of "0" (white pixels) or "1" (black pixels). Incidentally, this binarizing means 41
May be provided in the image scanner 5 or the first rectangular frame image cutting-out means 12.

For example, when the image in the first rectangular frame 40 is an 8-bit monochrome image, an 8-bit value (0 to 2)
55) is binarized by a predetermined threshold. As for this threshold, the background color of the character entry sheet 30b is "0" (white pixel),
The value is set so that the density of the ink forming the characters written on the character writing sheet 30b becomes "1" (black pixel).

When the image in the first rectangular frame 40 is a color image having three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), each of which has 8 bits, green (G) of the above three colors is used. Take
With respect to the green (G) data, the 8-bit value (0 to 255) is binarized by a predetermined threshold value as in the case of the 8-bit monochrome image. Since the green (G) signal is output by the image sensor having a peak near the center wavelength of the visible light wavelength range, black or blue black, which is generally used in writing instruments for writing characters on the character writing sheet 30b, is used. It is possible to separate the density of the ink and the density of the background color of the paper with high contrast.

[Horizontal Line Detecting Unit] The horizontal line detecting unit 42 detects the horizontal line of the second rectangular frame 38 of the binary image in the first rectangular frame converted by the binarizing unit 41 so as to detect the horizontal line in the first rectangular frame. A vertical black run (a fragment of an image formed by vertically continuous black pixels) of the value image is extracted. If the length of the black run is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the black run is detected as a thin line forming a horizontal line of the second rectangular frame 38, and a horizontal line detection signal is output. This threshold value is set so that the lines forming the characters written by the writing instrument are not detected and only the thin lines of the second rectangular frame 38 are detected.

Here, the character entry sheet 30b has a resolution of 72.
If the second rectangular frame 38 is printed by a 0 DPI ink jet printer 20 and the second rectangular frame 38 is composed of a 2-dot line, the thickness of the line is about 71 μm. When the resolution of the image scanner 5 which reads this is 600 DPI, the line thickness of 71 μm of the second rectangular frame 38 corresponds to 1.6 pixels. Considering the blurring of the optical system, the horizontal line of the second rectangular frame 38 may be read with a thickness of 4 pixels when it is the thickest. Therefore, in this case, the threshold value for extracting the black run is 4
You can set it to.

[Horizontal Line Erasing Means] The horizontal line erasing means 43 sets the value of the pixel detected as a thin line constituent element to "0" when the horizontal line detection signal output by the horizontal line detecting means 42 is valid.
Convert to (white pixels). As a result, the horizontal line of the second rectangular frame 38 can be erased.

[Vertical Line Detection Means] The vertical line detection means 44 detects the vertical line of the second rectangular frame 38 by the same method as the horizontal line detection means 42 and outputs a vertical line detection signal. The difference from the horizontal line detection means 42 is that a horizontal black run (a fragment of an image formed by horizontally continuous black pixels) of the first rectangular binary image is extracted.

When the vertical and horizontal lines forming the second rectangular frame 38 of the character entry sheet 30b have the same thickness, the same threshold value as that of the horizontal line detecting means 42 may be used. If they are different, the threshold value is calculated by the same design method as that of the horizontal line detecting means 42.

[Vertical Line Erasing Unit] The vertical line erasing unit 45 sets the value of the pixel detected as the vertical line constituent element to “0” when the vertical line detection signal output by the vertical line detecting unit 44 is valid.
Convert to (white pixels). As a result, the vertical line of the second rectangular frame 38 can be erased.

As described above, since the second rectangular frame 38 is erased using only the line thickness information, the character entry paper 30a is printed by a monochrome ink jet printer. The monochrome printer 20 can be used, and the monochrome image scanner 5 can be used when reading the completed character entry sheet 30b.

(Second Embodiment of Second Rectangular Frame Erasing Means) FIG. 11
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the second rectangular frame erasing means 13 in the second embodiment. As shown,
The second rectangular frame erasing means 13 in the second embodiment is the second
Rectangular frame color detection means 51, color / monochrome conversion means 5
2. The binarizing means 53 is provided. Here, the color of the second rectangular frame 38 of the character entry sheet 30b to be used is formed with a color having a chromaticity difference from the color of the background of the character entry sheet 30b and the color of the character entered by the writing instrument. .

[Second Rectangular Frame Color Detection Means] The second rectangular frame color detection means 51 belongs to the color forming the second rectangular frame 38 for each pixel forming the image in the first rectangular frame 40. It is determined whether or not it is detected.

The color forming the second rectangular frame 38 is set in advance. This set value can be obtained by measuring the color of the character entry sheet 30b in advance with a color difference meter (not shown). Alternatively, the character entry sheet 30a on which no letters are entered may be read by the image scanner 5 and the RGB value of the portion corresponding to the second rectangular frame 38 may be acquired from the image entry sheet 30a.

As shown in the following equation, the RGB values of the colors of the frames forming the second rectangular frame 38 are set to R2, G2, and B2, respectively, and the RGB colors of the pixels forming the image in the first rectangular frame 40 are set.
The values are R, G, and B, respectively, and the square of the distance between the RGB values is the determination value J, which is determined as a predetermined threshold value.

[0090]

Equation 4] ^{J = (R2-R) 2} + (G2-G) 2 + (B2-B) 2 first determines for each pixel constituting the rectangular frame 40 in the image, the determination value J is less than a predetermined threshold value If so, the pixel of interest is determined to be the color forming the second rectangular frame 38, and the second rectangular frame color detection signal is output. If the determination value J exceeds the predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the pixel of interest is not the color forming the second rectangular frame 38.

Pixels forming the second rectangular frame 38 are detected, and pixels corresponding to the background color of the character writing sheet 30b and the ink color of the writing instrument used for writing on the character writing sheet 30b are detected as the threshold value. Set not to be performed.

In this embodiment, the character entry sheet 30b is used.
It is required that the ink color to be written in and the color forming the second rectangular frame 38 be separated in terms of chromaticity. For example, since a black or blue-black fountain pen or a water-based ballpoint pen is often used as a writing instrument, it is desirable that the second rectangular frame 38 be formed in a color such as pink or yellow which is chromatically separated from those colors. .

When the printer 20 for printing the character entry paper 30a is printed by a color inkjet printer, it is desirable not to use cyan (C) ink for forming the second rectangular frame 38.

As an attempt, the present inventor writes a character on a high-quality paper using a fountain pen of blue-black ink, and the 8-bit RGB value of the pixel when read by an image scanner is R = 6, G = 19, B = 83. Moreover, the ink jet
Image of cyan (C) ink printed on the printer
The 8-bit RGB value read by a scanner is R
= 8, G = 83, B = 163.

In this way, the cyan (C) ink RGB
Since the values are high in density and the distribution of RGB is close to the distribution of blue-black ink, the chromaticity distance between them is close. Therefore, with the above method, it may be difficult to separate the second rectangular frame 38 and the character.

The ink jet printer is a combination of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) inks, or in addition, a combination of black (K), light cyan, and light magenta inks. The colors are represented by additive color mixture and subtractive color mixture. Therefore, even if the second rectangular frame 38 looks pink at first glance,
In some cases, cyan (C) ink is used to express the pink color, and when viewed finely, the dots formed by the cyan (C) ink can be confirmed. if,
Image scanner 5 that reads the character entry sheet 30b according to the resolution of the printer 20 that prints the character entry sheet 30a.
When the resolution is higher, the RGB value of the cyan (C) ink is read in the pixel formed by the cyan (C) ink, and thus it becomes difficult to separate the second rectangular frame 38 and the character.

Therefore, it is desirable not to use the cyan (C) ink for forming the second rectangular frame 38 of the character entry sheet 30a.

[Color / Monochrome Converting Means] The color / monochrome converting means 52 converts the image in the first rectangular frame of the RGB color image into a monochrome image. To convert,
A monochrome image can be created by linearly combining RGB, but more simply, the green (G) value may be directly used as a monochrome image. As described above, since the green (G) signal is output by the image sensor having a peak near the center wavelength of the visible light wavelength range, the density of ink such as black or blue black that is generally used in writing instruments and the character It is possible to classify with high contrast with the density of the ground of the entry form 30b.

[Binarizing Means] The binarizing means 53 converts the first rectangular frame monochrome image converted by the color / monochrome converting means 52 into "0" (white pixels) or "1" (black pixels).
Convert it to a binary image. The conversion rules are as follows.

(1) If the second rectangular frame color detection signal output by the second rectangular frame color detection means 51 is valid, "0"
(White pixels).

(2) When the pixel value of the monochrome image in the first rectangular frame is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, "0" (white pixel)
And

(3) If none of the above,
It is set to “1” (black pixel).

As described above, if the color forming the second rectangular frame 38 and the ink color of the writing instrument to be written on the character writing sheet 30b are appropriately selected, the second rectangular frame 38 is subjected to a simple color conversion process. Can be easily erased.

(Embodiment 3 of the second rectangular frame erasing means) FIG.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a second rectangular frame erasing means 13 in a third embodiment. As shown,
The second rectangular frame erasing means 13 in the third embodiment comprises a color converting means 61 and a binarizing means 62. Here, the color of the second rectangular frame 38 of the character entry sheet 30b used is
It is formed with a color having a chromaticity distance from the background color of the character writing sheet 30b and the color of the character written by the writing instrument.

[Color Converting Means] The color converting means 61 uses RGB
Color conversion for erasing the color forming the second rectangular frame 38 is performed from the image in the first rectangular frame consisting of 8 bits.

As an attempt, the inventor first wrote a character on a high-quality paper using a fountain pen of blue-black ink, and the 8-bit RGB value of a pixel when the character was read by an image scanner was previously determined. As explained, R = 6, G
= 9, B = 83. Further, when the pink ink printed by the ink jet printer of the present inventor is read by the image scanner, 8-bit RGB values are R = 243, G = 164, B = 210. Met. Similarly, when the yellow ink printed by the ink jet printer of the present inventor is read by the image scanner, the 8-bit RGB value is R =
247, G = 160 and B = 82.

It can be seen that these inks mostly reflect red (R) light. Therefore, if only the R signals in RGB are extracted, the reflected light from the second rectangular frame 38 is as much as the reflected light from the ground of the character writing sheet 30b, and as a result, the second rectangular frame 38 is erased. .

The color conversion means 61 converts the RGB values so that the second rectangular frame 38 is erased in this way. Generally, color conversion is performed according to the following equation.

[0109]

## EQU00005 ## C = a (R-R0) + b (G-G0) + c (B-B0) The values of R0, G0, B0 and the coefficients a, b, c in the above equation are
The second rectangular frame 38 is set to be erased by the RGB value of the second rectangular frame 38. In the above example, R0 =
When 0 and b = c = 0, C = R, and as a result, the second rectangular frame 38 is erased.

[Binarizing Means] The binarizing means 62 sets the color-converted image in the first rectangular frame converted by the color converting means 61 to “0” (white pixel) or “1” (black pixel). Convert it to a binary image. Binarization is performed by setting a threshold value such that the background color of the character entry sheet 30b is "0" (white pixel) and the ink portion forming the character is "1" (black pixel).

(Embodiment 4 of the second rectangular frame erasing means) FIG.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the second rectangular frame erasing means 13 in the fourth embodiment, which comprises a binarizing means 71.

[Binarizing Means] The binarizing means 71 selects the second image from the first rectangular frame image composed of an 8-bit monochrome image.
A binarization process for erasing the line forming the rectangular frame 38 is performed.

The second rectangular frame 38 of the character entry sheet 30b used in this embodiment is formed to have a density sufficiently lower than the density of the characters to be entered. For example, it may be formed of a light gray line or a line of low density such as yellow, pink, and light blue.

The binarizing means 71 uses the threshold value set in advance to convert the image after color conversion in the first rectangular frame into a binary image of "0" (white pixel) or "1" (black pixel). Convert to. The threshold value is set so that the second rectangular frame 38 becomes "0" (white pixel) and the line portion forming the character becomes "1" (black pixel), and binarized. The second rectangular frame 38 of the character entry sheet 30a
It is desirable not to use cyan (C) ink having a high density for forming the ink.

As described above, since only the density information is used to erase the second rectangular frame 38, a monochrome image scanner can be used as the image scanner 5 for reading the character writing sheet 30b. .

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various improvements and changes may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. .

For example, in the present embodiment, an example of creating in Japanese has been shown, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, a character code other than Japanese such as Korean or Chinese (Chinese). -It is also applicable when creating a handwritten character font corresponding to a set.

The present invention can be applied not only to the output of handwritten character fonts from a printer to a paper medium such as a postcard or a letter, but also to the output of characters or sentences to a display device such as a CRT or liquid crystal. It is also applicable to. For example, if a greeting mail such as a Christmas card or a New Year's postcard is created using the handwritten character font according to the present invention and transmitted via a network, a greeting with a handwritten touch with a heartfelt touch on the display device at the destination.・ Email is displayed.

[0119]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is sufficient for the person who entered the character to fill in the second rectangular frame without worrying about the limited range of the first rectangular frame. You can get a font character of sufficient size. In addition, since characters written intentionally smaller than the second rectangular frame are enlarged at the maximum enlargement ratio, they are enlarged to have a size having a margin intended by the writer. Further, since the characters that are written so as to extend beyond the second rectangular frame are enlarged at the enlargement ratio for each character, the portions that extend beyond the second rectangular frame are not cut off, and the margin is minimized. Expanded.

From the above, it is possible to easily create the font by the user's own handwritten character, and obtain a font character of a sufficient size when the finished font is displayed or printed. It is possible to obtain font characters of the size intended by the writer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of functional blocks of a handwritten character font creation device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a device configuration of the handwritten character font creation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a font generation processing procedure in the handwritten character font generation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing a layout example of a character entry sheet.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing in detail the processing according to Step 03 to Step 04 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view in which a character entry section of the character entry sheet shown in FIG. 4 is picked up.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an image of a process of cutting out a first rectangular frame internal image from an image obtained by reading a character entry sheet and erasing a second rectangular frame in the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a processing image in which a character circumscribing rectangle is applied to a character image portion in an image after erasing a second rectangular frame in the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an image of enlargement processing of a character image fitted with a character circumscribing rectangle in the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a first example of a second rectangular frame erasing means in the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing a second example of the second rectangular frame erasing means in the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram showing a third example of the second rectangular frame erasing means in the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram showing a fourth example of the second rectangular frame erasing means in the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an image in which a character image is enlarged by the enlargement ratio obtained from the size of the largest character and the size of the first rectangular frame among the written characters.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an image obtained by enlarging an image of a relatively small written character with the enlargement ratio illustrated in FIG. 14;

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Handwritten character font creation device 5. Image scanner 10. Personal computer 11 ... Character entry sheet image creation means 12 ... First rectangular frame image cutout means 13 First rectangle frame erasing means 14. Character circumscribing rectangle fitting means 15. Enlargement ratio calculating means 16. First rectangle frame side length storage means 17. Second rectangle Frame side length storage means 18 ... Maximum enlargement ratio calculation means 19 ... Character enlargement means 20 ... Printer 21 ... Font data creation means 22 ... Font data storage means 30a. ..Character entry sheet 30b .... Entered letter entry sheet 31 .... Bar code 32 .... Page number display fields 34,34a to 34n .... Standard character font font characters 35,35a ... 35n .... Canceling check frames 38, 38a to 38n .... Second rectangular frame 39 .... Character circumscribing rectangle 40 .... First rectangular frame 41 .... Binarizing means 42 Horizontal line detecting means 43. Horizontal line erasing means 44. Vertical line detecting means 45. Vertical line erasing means 51. Rectangular frame color detecting means 52. Monochrome conversion Means 53..binarization means 61..color conversion means 62 .... binarization means 71..binarization means

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G09G 5/26 630 G09G 5/26 630B H04N 1/38 H04N 1/38 1/393 1/393 F term ( Reference) 5B009 LA01 RA01 5B021 AA01 JJ09 5B050 BA10 BA20 DA02 DA04 DA06 DA09 EA02 EA03 EA06 EA09 EA12 EA13 5C076 AA21 CA02 CB02 5C082 AA17 AA27 BA02 CA33 MM09

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A handwritten character font creation device for reading a character entry sheet on which handwritten characters have been entered by a user, and creating a handwritten character font composed of handwritten characters from the obtained character image. First rectangular frame image cutting-out means for cutting out a framed image of a first rectangular frame from the read image of the character entry sheet; and (2) a second rectangular frame from the framed image of the cut-out first rectangular frame. Second rectangular frame erasing means for erasing and obtaining an image after erasing; (3) character circumscribing rectangle fitting means for fitting a character circumscribing rectangle circumscribing a character portion of the image after erasing; (4) size of the character circumscribing rectangle And a size of the first rectangular frame, a character enlargement ratio calculating means for calculating an enlargement ratio of the character portion of the erased image, and (5) the size of the second rectangular frame and the size of the first rectangular frame. Calculated from And a maximum enlargement ratio, which is larger than the maximum enlargement ratio, and a larger value as a result of comparison to enlarge the character portion of the erased image to obtain an enlarged image. (6) After the enlargement A handwritten character font creation apparatus comprising: font data creation means for creating a handwritten character font composed of handwritten characters from an image. 2. The second rectangular frame erasing means converts the image inside the frame of the first rectangular frame into a binary image composed of white pixels and black pixels, and a vertical direction of the binary image. Extracting a black pixel continuous in the direction, and detecting the black pixel continuous in the vertical direction as a horizontal line of the second rectangular frame if the number of the extracted black pixels continuous in the vertical direction is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. 2 rectangular frame horizontal line detecting means, second rectangular frame horizontal line erasing means for converting the detected horizontal line pixels of the second rectangular frame into white pixels, and extracting black pixels continuous in the horizontal direction of the binary image. Second rectangular frame vertical line detection means for detecting the black pixels continuous in the horizontal direction as vertical lines of the second rectangular frame if the number of the extracted black pixels continuous in the horizontal direction is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold value, Second rectangular frame vertical line erasing hand for converting the detected vertical line pixels of the second rectangular frame into white pixels Handwritten character font generation apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of a. 3. The second rectangular frame erasing means determines, for each pixel forming the in-frame image of the first rectangular frame, whether or not the pixel belongs to a predetermined color forming the second rectangular frame. If it belongs, a second rectangular frame color detecting means for detecting the pixel as a pixel forming the second rectangular frame, and a color for converting the in-frame image of the first rectangular frame composed of a color image into a monochrome image. / Monochrome conversion means, and a binary conversion means for converting the converted monochrome image into a binary image composed of white pixels and black pixels, and further converting the pixels forming the second rectangular frame into white pixels. The handwritten character font creation device according to claim 1, characterized in that. 4. The second rectangular frame erasing means performs color conversion for erasing a predetermined color forming the second rectangular frame on the in-frame image of the first rectangular frame composed of a color image. The color conversion means for performing the conversion to obtain the color-converted image and the binarization means for converting the converted color-converted image into a binary image composed of white pixels and black pixels. Handwritten character font creation device described. 5. The second rectangular frame erasing means sets, for each pixel forming the in-frame image of the first rectangular frame, a pixel having a density lower than a predetermined threshold as a pixel forming a background of the character entry sheet. Alternatively, the handwritten character font creating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a binarizing unit that converts white pixels as pixels forming the second rectangular frame and converts other pixels into black pixels. 6. A handwritten character font creation program for reading a character entry sheet on which handwritten characters have been entered by a user and creating a handwritten character font composed of handwritten characters from the obtained character image. From the read image of the character entry sheet, a first rectangular frame image cutting function that cuts out a frame image of a first rectangular frame, and (2) a second rectangular frame from the frame image of the cut first rectangular frame. A second rectangular frame erasing function for erasing and obtaining an image after erasing; (3) a character circumscribing rectangle fitting function for fitting a character circumscribing rectangle circumscribing a character portion of the image after erasing; and (4) a size of the character circumscribing rectangle. And a size of the first rectangular frame, a character enlargement ratio calculating function for calculating an enlargement ratio of the character portion of the erased image, and (5) the size of the second rectangular frame and the size of the first rectangular frame. From The maximum enlargement ratio to be output is compared with the enlargement ratio, and a character enlargement function of enlarging the character portion of the image after deletion to obtain the enlarged image according to the larger value as a result of the comparison, A handwritten character font creation program characterized by causing a computer to implement a font data creation function for creating a handwritten character font composed of handwritten characters from a rear image. 7. The second rectangular frame erasing function is a binarizing function for converting an in-frame image of the first rectangular frame into a binary image composed of white pixels and black pixels, and a vertical direction of the binary image. Extracting a black pixel continuous in the direction, and detecting the black pixel continuous in the vertical direction as a horizontal line of the second rectangular frame if the number of the extracted black pixels continuous in the vertical direction is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. 2 rectangular frame horizontal line detection function, second rectangular frame horizontal line erasing function for converting detected horizontal line pixels of the second rectangular frame into white pixels, and extracting black pixels continuous in the horizontal direction of the binary image A second rectangular frame vertical line detection function for detecting the horizontally continuous black pixels as vertical lines of the second rectangular frame if the number of the extracted horizontal continuous black pixels is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, Second rectangular frame vertical line erasing device for converting detected vertical line pixels of the second rectangular frame into white pixels Handwritten character font generation program according to claim 6, characterized in that it consists of a. 8. The second rectangular frame erasing function determines, for each pixel forming an in-frame image of the first rectangular frame, whether or not the pixel belongs to a predetermined color forming the second rectangular frame. If it belongs, a second rectangular frame color detection function that detects the pixel as a pixel that forms the second rectangular frame, and a color that converts the image inside the frame of the first rectangular frame that is a color image into a monochrome image / Monochrome conversion function and a binarization function of converting the converted monochrome image into a binary image composed of white pixels and black pixels, and further converting the pixels forming the second rectangular frame into white pixels 7. The handwritten character font creation program according to claim 6, wherein. 9. The second rectangular frame erasing function performs color conversion for erasing a predetermined color forming the second rectangular frame from an in-frame image of the first rectangular frame composed of a color image. 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: a color conversion function for obtaining a color-converted image and a binarization function for converting the converted color-converted image into a binary image composed of white pixels and black pixels. Handwritten character font creation program described. 10. The second rectangular frame erasing function is characterized in that, for each pixel forming the in-frame image of the first rectangular frame, a pixel having a density lower than a predetermined threshold is set as a pixel forming a base of the character entry sheet. 7. The handwriting character font creation program according to claim 6, further comprising a binarization function of converting white pixels as pixels forming the second rectangular frame and converting the other pixels into black pixels. 11. A handwriting font creation character entry form, in which handwriting characters by a user are entered in a character entry field and read by the handwriting font creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein handwriting characters by a user are entered. The character entry field is a first rectangular frame for cutting out a character portion entered in the character entry field, and a second rectangular frame arranged inside the first rectangular frame.
A character entry sheet for creating a handwritten font, which is composed of a rectangular frame. 12. A handwriting font creating character entry sheet, wherein handwritten characters by a user are entered in a character entry field and read by the handwriting font creating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein handwritten characters by a user are entered. The character entry field is a first rectangular frame for cutting out a character portion entered in the character entry field, and a second rectangular frame arranged inside the first rectangular frame.
A character entry sheet for creating a handwritten font, wherein the line width of the second rectangular frame is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold value. 13. A character entry form for handwritten font creation, in which handwritten characters by a user are entered in a character entry field and read by the handwritten font creation device according to any one of claims 3 to 4. The character entry field in which handwritten characters by the user are entered is a first rectangular frame for cutting out the character part entered in the character entry field, and a second rectangular frame arranged inside the first rectangular frame.
And a rectangular frame, wherein the second rectangular frame is formed in the predetermined color, the handwriting font creating character entry sheet. 14. A handwriting font creating character entry sheet, wherein handwritten characters by a user are entered in a character entry field and read by the handwriting font creating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein handwritten characters by a user are entered. The character entry field is a first rectangular frame for cutting out a character portion entered in the character entry field, and a second rectangular frame arranged inside the first rectangular frame.
A character entry sheet for handwriting font creation, characterized in that the density of the second rectangular frame is lower than the predetermined threshold. 15. The handwritten font creation device according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined color forming the second rectangular frame is formed by ink of colors other than cyan. Character entry form.