JP2017211579A - Character generation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a character generation device capable of easily generating a character of a new design.SOLUTION: The character generation device of an embodiment of the present invention incudes: a path information storage unit for storing path information defining the shape of a character; a processing parameter storage unit for storing a plurality of processing parameters for processing the path information; a processing unit for processing the path information on the basis of a processing parameter selected from the plurality of processing parameters; and a display unit for displaying a processed character in real time on the basis of the path information after the processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a character creation device, and more particularly to a character creation device for creating character information in video content in which character information is superimposed on a video such as a television.

  In video such as television and movies, video content in which character information such as telop or subtitle superimposition is superimposed on moving images or still images is often used.

  The shape of characters used in these video contents is often preferred to a shape that evokes viewers' attention and interest more than the shape of fonts used in general documents. For this reason, in video content such as television and movies, the character shape to be used is generated by deforming a general font, or the character shape is newly generated as an image instead of a general font. I do.

JP2013-221958A JP 2011-109455 A

  However, with the conventional technology, it has been difficult for a user to process a character design. For example, in Patent Document 1, when printing in a font (font) that cannot be used in the image forming apparatus is requested, the image forming apparatus generates pseudo font data similar to the requested font.

  Patent Document 2 relates to an apparatus that executes a smoothing process so that characters are smoothly printed even when the enlargement ratio of characters generated from an image increases.

  As described above, in the prior art, a technique for processing a character in order to maintain the quality of the character has been disclosed, but it has not been possible to generate a character with a new design by processing the character.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a character creation device that can easily create a newly designed character.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a character creation device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a path information storage unit that stores path information that defines the shape of a character, and a plurality of processes for processing the path information. A processing parameter storage unit that stores parameters, a processing unit that processes the path information based on a processing parameter selected from the plurality of processing parameters, and a processing character that is displayed in real time based on the processed path information And a display unit.

  According to the character creation device of the present invention, it is possible to easily create a new design character.

The schematic diagram which illustrates path information notionally. The block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of the character production apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the character preparation apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The schematic diagram explaining the selection method of the process parameter of the character production apparatus which concerns on embodiment. The schematic diagram explaining the display of the process character processed with the process parameter selected in the character production apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described after describing the concept and points of focus considered by the present inventors.

  The shape of the character can be defined by information indicating the outline of the character called path information. The path information is composed of information on a plurality of points (nodes) forming the outline of the character and a straight line or a curve (line) connecting the points.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for conceptually explaining path information. The left side of FIG. 1A shows an alphabet “L”, and the right side of FIG. 1A shows an example of path information of the alphabet “L” in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format. . SVG is a two-dimensional vector image description language based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Vector format images are displayed by calculation. Therefore, by handling characters as vector format image data, the amount of character data can be reduced, and characters can be expressed by calculation even if the image is enlarged or reduced. Characters can be displayed with optimal image quality.

  As shown on the left side of FIG. 1A, the shape of the alphabet “L” is composed of six nodes (sometimes called nodes) and line elements (lines) connecting the nodes. . The right side of FIG. 1A is path information of the alphabet “L” shown in the SVG format. The right side of FIG. 1A illustrates, for example, path information from the node p1 to the node p2 with the node p1 shown on the left side of FIG. In “M50, 250” of the path information c1, “M” is a command indicating that the node p1 is a start point. “50, 250” indicates the XY coordinates of the node p1. In the path information c2 “L55, 239”, “L” is a command indicating that the line is a straight line, and specifies that the node p1 and the node p2 that are start points are connected by a straight line. “55, 239” indicates the XY coordinates of the node p2.

  In this way, the path information is composed of the coordinates of the nodes and commands that define the shape of the line connecting the nodes. The shape of the line connecting the nodes is not limited to a straight line, but may be various such as a curve, a circular arc, or a vertical line, and a command corresponding to each shape is defined.

  FIG. 1B shows an example of a font expressed by a brush. The left side of FIG. 1B shows the character “total” of the kanji in a font expressed by a brush. The right side of FIG. 1B shows a state in which the path information of the area surrounded by the left circle of FIG. 1B is enlarged. As shown on the left side of FIG. 1B, the “total” path information includes a large number of nodes indicated by squares, and a large number of lines connecting the nodes.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the font expressed by the brush is composed of a large number of contacts and lines, unlike the example of FIG. 1A, in order to express the texture of the brush. . Further, even if it is not such a brush font, the kanji font is often a complex figure, and the path information is also composed of a number of nodes and lines accordingly.

  Thus, coordinates and commands as shown on the right side of FIG. 1A are defined for all the nodes shown in FIG. In the prior art, there is a technique for changing a figure by manually moving a node, but it is very difficult and time-consuming to manually adjust a large number of nodes as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the present inventor has devised a very innovative structure that allows easy creation of characters with a new design. In other words, when processing a line element that connects nodes and nodes, it is possible to efficiently create a character by simply selecting a desired processing parameter from a plurality of processing parameters related to the line element, and easily creating a character Inspired about. With such a configuration, the user can efficiently and easily create a novel design with high impact and new design that cannot be realized by manually moving the nodes of the path information.

  Embodiments of a character creation device will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

(1) Configuration FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a character creation device according to the embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the character creation device 100 includes a storage unit 10, a main control unit 20, an input unit 30, and a display unit 40. The character creation device 100 is configured based on a computer, and can communicate with an external device (not shown) via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The storage unit 10 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory (Flash Memory), and the like. The storage unit 10 may be configured as a circuit in which portable media such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory and a DVD (Digital Video Disk) can be freely attached and detached. The storage unit 10 stores various programs executed by the main control unit 20 (including application programs, OS (Operating System) and the like), and various data necessary for executing the programs. The storage unit 10 may store various commands for controlling the OS and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) program that supports input from the input unit 30.

  The storage unit 10 stores characters to be processed by the character creation device 100. Further, the storage unit 10 stores processed characters created by the processing of the character creation device 100. In addition, a character may be input from the input part 30 and may be downloaded via an electronic network. Here, the characters are characters constituting a character string included in electronic data or the like.

  Furthermore, the storage unit 10 includes a path information storage unit 11 and a processing parameter storage unit 12.

  The path information storage unit 11 stores path information that defines the shape of a character to be processed by the character creation device 100. The path information is stored, for example, as SVG data.

  The processing parameter storage unit 12 stores a plurality of processing parameters for processing the path information. In the processing parameter storage unit 12, for example, the line element type is not limited to the conventional type such as a straight line or an arc, but also various line types such as a periodic waveform such as a sine wave, a triangular wave, a rectangular wave, a sawtooth wave, and a fractal. The processing parameters necessary for the processing for expressing by are stored. The machining parameters stored in the machining parameter storage unit 12 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The main control unit 20 is interconnected to each hardware component constituting the character creation device 100 via a bus as a common signal transmission path. The main control unit 20 may be configured by dedicated hardware, or may be configured to realize various functions by software processing by a built-in processor.

  The processor in the above description includes a dedicated or general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The dedicated hardware includes circuits such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device, and a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Examples of the programmable logic device include a simple programmable logic device (SPLD) and a complex programmable logic device (CPLD).

  Here, as an example, a case will be described in which the main control unit 20 realizes various functions by software processing by a processor. The main control unit 20 implements each function by reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 10 or a program directly incorporated in the processor of the main control unit 20.

  Note that the main control unit 20 may be configured by a single processor or a combination of a plurality of independent processors. In the latter case, a plurality of storage units 10 respectively corresponding to a plurality of processors may be provided, and a program executed by each processor may be stored in a storage circuit corresponding to the processor. As another example, one storage unit 10 may be configured to collectively store programs corresponding to the functions of a plurality of processors.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main control unit 20 includes a processing unit 21 and a drawing unit 22. The functions of the processing unit 21 and the drawing unit 22 are realized by the processor of the main control unit 20 executing a program stored in the storage unit 10.

  The processing unit 21 performs a path information processing process based on a processing parameter selected from a plurality of processing parameters. The processing unit 21 generates path information after processing based on the processing parameters. The user selects a desired processing parameter from the processing parameters displayed on the display unit 40. The processing parameter selection information is input from the input unit 30 to the processing unit 21. The processing of the processing unit 21 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The drawing unit 22 draws characters based on the processed path information. The processed characters drawn by the drawing unit 22 are displayed on the display unit 40. The drawing unit 22 executes a drawing process in real time each time the path information is changed by the processing parameter, and displays the drawing process on the display unit 40.

  The input unit 30 includes input devices such as a keyboard, a touch panel, a numeric keypad, and a mouse, for example. The input unit 30 outputs input information such as processing parameters input by a user who is an operator via the input device to the main control unit 20.

  The display unit 40 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display panel, a plasma display panel, and an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel. The display unit 40 displays characters and processing parameters according to the control of the main control unit 20. Moreover, the display part 40 displays the processing character produced | generated based on the path information after processing in real time. The display of characters and processing parameters on the display unit 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

(2) Operation FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the character creation device 100 according to the embodiment. The operation of the character creation device 100 according to the embodiment will be described below according to the step numbers in the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S <b> 101, the user inputs characters to the character creation device 100 from the input unit 30. Note that characters may be input to the character creation device 100 via a network.

  In step S <b> 103, the processing unit 21 acquires path information corresponding to the input character from the path information storage unit 11. Note that the path information may be input to the character creation device 100 via the network. For example, when there is no character information corresponding to the character input to the path information storage unit 11, the processing unit 21 receives the information from the external device. The corresponding path information may be obtained.

  In step S105, the user selects a desired processing parameter from among a plurality of processing parameters displayed on the display unit 40. At this time, the processing unit 21 may be configured to select an arbitrary line element and execute the processing on the selected line element.

  As the processing parameters, a plurality of types of processing parameters are stored in the processing parameter storage unit 12 according to the type of decoration for the character shape. For example, the types of line elements and parameters for defining each type of line element in more detail are stored as processing parameters. For example, for a line type of a periodic waveform such as a triangular wave or a sine wave, the line type of the periodic waveform and parameters such as the frequency and amplitude of the periodic waveform are stored as processing parameters.

  In step S <b> 107, the processing unit 21 acquires the machining parameter selected by the user from the machining parameter storage unit 12.

  In step S <b> 109, the processing unit 21 performs processing for the specified line element based on the selected processing parameter. For example, when a triangular wave is selected as the line type and its frequency and amplitude are input, the processing unit 21 processes the specified line element so as to obtain a triangular wave according to the input frequency and amplitude. The storage unit 10 may store the information of the processed line element as new path information (processed path information).

  The storage unit 10 stores an algorithm such as a calculation formula or a function for executing a machining process according to the inputted machining parameter, and the processing unit 21 executes the machining process using the algorithm. Also good.

  In step S111, the drawing unit 22 executes a drawing process based on the processed path information to generate a processed character.

  In step S113, the display unit 40 displays the processed character. The display unit 40 displays the processed characters in real time. That is, each time a processing parameter is selected by the user and a drawing process is executed according to the processed path information, the display unit 40 displays the processed character.

  Hereinafter, the selection of processing parameters and display of processing characters by the user will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 4 and 5, the alphabet “L” will be described as an example.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a processing parameter selection method of the character creation device 100 according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 illustrates a character creation screen D1. In the example of FIG. 4, the character creation screen D1 includes a character display area IMG1, a selection area M1 for selecting a decoration type for the line element of the character, and processing parameters corresponding to the decoration type selected in the selection area M1. It consists of a selection area M2.

  In the character display area IMG1 of FIG. 4, an example is shown in which the alphabet “L” is drawn with six nodes based on path information and lines connecting the nodes.

  The selection area M1 is displayed in a manner in which the type of decoration can be selected. FIG. 4 shows an example in which a line type is selected as a decoration type for the outline of a character. In the example of FIG. 4, “triangular wave”, “sine wave”, and “fractal” are shown as “line type selection”. "Triangular wave" is a case where the lines that make up the outline of a character are transformed into a sawtooth wave. "Sine wave" is a case where the lines that make up the outline of a character are transformed into a sine wave. The case where the line which comprises an outline transform | transforms into the shape where the geometric pattern was repeated is each shown.

  The pass processing is not limited to the mode shown in FIG. Processing of path information may be executed for a part of the selected character. For example, a range of part of the character may be selected by an input device such as a mouse, or an arbitrary line element of the character displayed in the character display area IMG1 may be selected. Furthermore, the type of decoration is not limited to the aspect of FIG. For example, a decoration process for changing the enlargement ratio may be selected. Further, the processing unit 21 may be configured so that the decoration process for changing the enlargement ratio is also performed on a part of the character.

  The selection area M2 is displayed in a manner in which processing parameters corresponding to the line type selected in the selection area M1 can be selected. The selection area M2 in FIG. 4 shows an example in which “triangular wave” is selected as “line type selection”. FIG. 4 exemplifies the frequency M21, the amplitude M22, the randomness M23, and the unsharpness M24 as processing parameters when the line type selected in “Select Line Type” is “triangular wave”.

  Note that the processing parameters displayed in the selection area M2 when “sine wave” is selected in “line type selection” are substantially the same as in the case of “triangular wave”. However, in the case of a “sine wave”, the unsharpness M24 is sharpness. When “fractal” is selected in “line type selection”, “direction”, “unit graphic”, “hierarchy”, and the like are displayed as processing parameters in the selection region M2. “Direction” indicates the direction in which the fractal graphic is generated, “Unit graphic” indicates the repeating unit of the geometric pattern constituting the fractal graphic, and “Hierarchy” indicates the number of repetitions of the fractal graphic. In this way, different processing parameters are displayed in the selection area M2 depending on the type of decoration selected.

  In the selection area M2, a processing parameter is displayed in a GUI that allows easy input. FIG. 4 shows an example in which each processing parameter is input by a slider. In the example of FIG. 4, the slider for inputting the frequency M21 is shown so that the frequency increases from the left side to the right side. The user moves the circle (level button) in the slider shown at the frequency M21 in FIG. 4 to the left and right, and inputs the magnitude of the triangular wave frequency. For example, the frequency is set stepwise from 1 Hz to 100 Hz according to the level of the slider, and the user can input a desired frequency between 1 Hz and 100 Hz simply by moving the slider level button to the left or right.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the amplitude M22, the randomness M23, and the unsharpness M24 are also displayed with the same GUI as the frequency M21. The amplitude M22 is a processing parameter selection display for designating the height of the triangular wave. The randomness M23 is a selection display of processing parameters for designating that the frequency and amplitude are discontinuous in the period of the triangular wave. That is, it is a processing parameter that specifies how often the frequency and amplitude of the triangular wave are changed, or discontinuity in the degree of change of the frequency and amplitude of the triangular wave. The unsharpness M24 is a selection display of processing parameters for designating whether or not each wave of the triangular wave is rounded.

  In addition, the input method of a process parameter is not limited to the aspect shown in FIG. Each processing parameter may be displayed so as to be selectable by a radio button, or a processing parameter value may be input by an input box. For each processing parameter, an “increase” or “decrease” button may be displayed, and the processing parameter may be input step by step each time the button is pressed.

  Further, only the machining parameter selected by a check box or the like may be displayed so that only the machining parameter selected by the user can be input. Further, a desired range of frequency and amplitude may be input by using two input boxes. It is also possible to configure so that randomness is calculated within the input range by inputting the range for the frequency and amplitude.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the display of the processed characters processed by the processing parameters selected in the character creation device 100 according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the user inputs processing parameters using the slider displayed in the selection area M2, and the processed characters processed according to the input processing parameters are displayed in the character display area IMG1. Each time the user operates a level button provided on the slider for each processing parameter displayed in the selection area M2, the processing text displayed in the character display area IMG1 is updated.

  In the example of FIG. 5, the level button of the frequency M21 is on the right side (large side), the level button of the amplitude M22 is near the center, and the level button of randomness M23 is slightly on the left side (small side). The level button of the sharpness M24 is on the right side (large side) from the center.

  In accordance with the selection of the processing parameter, the processing unit 21 performs a processing process on the path information. Specifically, the processing unit 21 calculates the coordinates of a new node according to the selected frequency, amplitude, randomness, and unsharpness processing parameters. For example, the randomness can be applied to the path information by calculating the coordinates of the nodes based on the waveform generated by multiplying the selected frequency and amplitude by a coefficient generated by a random number every certain period. Furthermore, the processing unit 21 determines a node where roundness occurs in the angular wave based on the unsharpness, and sets the command to a curve. On the other hand, commands other than the nodes forming the roundness are straight lines.

  The path processing in the processing unit 21 is not limited to the above-described processing. For example, the unsharpness may be configured to generate new path information by interpolating new nodes calculated based on frequency, amplitude, and randomness with a function.

  Further, the processing of the path information may be configured so that the processing of the path information is performed on the range selected in the character display area IMG1. For example, the processing may be performed only on the upper part of the alphabet “L” in FIG. When enlarging or reducing only the selected range, the processing unit 21 calculates the coordinates of the nodes according to the enlargement rate or the reduction rate.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the path information is generated by the processing unit 21 in accordance with the processing parameter selected in the selection area M2, the drawing unit 22 draws a character based on the generated path information and displays the character. Processing characters are displayed in region IMG1. The display of the processed character is updated in real time according to the selection of the processing parameter. Therefore, the user can perform desired processing on the character while looking at the character displayed in the character display area IMG1.

  In the above-described embodiment, a character has been described as an example. However, the above-described processing can be similarly executed even for a graphic having path information. Further, even for a character string represented by an image such as a bitmap image, the above-described processing can be performed in the same manner by extracting character path information.

  As described above, the character creation device 100 according to an embodiment can give various expressions to characters by combining various processing parameters stored in the character creation device 100. In addition, since the path information can be changed simply by the user selecting a processing parameter, character decoration can be executed efficiently and easily.

  According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to easily create a character with a new design.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Character preparation apparatus 10 ... Storage part 11 ... Path information storage part 12 ... Processing parameter storage part 20 ... Main control part 21 ... Processing part 22 ... Drawing part 30 ... Input part 40 ... Display part

Claims (3)

A path information storage unit that stores path information that defines the shape of the character;
A processing parameter storage unit for storing a plurality of processing parameters for processing the path information;
A processing unit that processes the path information based on a processing parameter selected from the plurality of processing parameters;
A character creation device comprising: a display unit that displays a processed character in real time based on the processed path information. The processing parameters include the line type of the periodic waveform, and the frequency and amplitude of the periodic waveform.
The character creation device according to claim 1. The character creation device according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit executes a change according to the selected processing parameter with respect to a part of the path information.

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