JP2808317B2 - Layouter for flyers and catalogs - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for allocating flyers and catalogs, and more particularly to an apparatus for allocating flyers and catalogs that handles information on commodities as digital data using a computer.

[Conventional technology]

In order to print flyers and catalogs, it is necessary to assign photos, descriptions, prices, and other information about the products to be posted on a plane. In this allocation work, it is necessary to arrange information on each product in a well-balanced manner while looking at the overall composition, and at present, the final allocation work has to rely on human hands. However, with the advancement of technologies such as CAD devices, devices have been developed that take in product information as digital data on a computer and assign product information based on instructions input by an operator while displaying a layout screen on a display device. ing. In this type of allocating device, the operator can perform the allocating operation in a form of interacting with the computer while watching the screen of the display, and can perform the allocating efficiently.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The above-described flyer / catalog allocating apparatus using a computer enables a highly efficient operation, but the operation of allocating information on a large number of products has an inefficient aspect. For example, each product information is a pair of information such as a picture such as a picture of the product and a text such as a description of the product and the price. When a large number of products are allocated, It becomes difficult to recognize which character corresponds to which character. Therefore, it is easy to cause an error such that an explanation of a completely different product is assigned beside a photograph of a certain product.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for allocating flyers and catalogs that can accurately allocate information on a large number of products.

[Means for solving the problem]

The present invention relates to a flyer / catalog allocating apparatus for allocating information on a product to be published in a flyer / catalog on a plane, wherein a product information input device for inputting picture data and character data which is information on the product to be laid out. A first memory unit for storing input picture data and character data in a format in which data relating to one product correspond to each other; and a second memory for storing an allocation image formed as a result of the allocation operation as data. A memory unit, a display device for displaying an allocated image, an allocated image display device for displaying the allocated image stored in the second memory unit on the display device in a first display format, and an allocation from an operator. An instruction input device for inputting an instruction and a correction instruction; and an allocation instruction from the instruction input device. A predetermined product information is fetched, a layout image is formed based on the fetched information, and the formed layout image is
An allocation execution device that stores the correction position in the allocated image in accordance with the correction instruction from the instruction input device; and an allocation correction device that performs the operation of correcting the allocation position of the correction target in the allocation image in the second memory unit. Among the assigned images, for the pattern or character specified as the correction target by the correction instruction, the corresponding character or pattern is obtained, and the pattern or character specified as the correction target and the corresponding character or pattern are determined. And a modified image display device for displaying both of them on a display device in a second display format different from the first display format during the modification work by the allocation modifying device.

(Operation)

The flyer / catalog layout device according to the present invention has the following features.
The product information on one product is composed of a set of a picture and a character whose correspondence is defined. The operator
When the operator attempts to correct the layout position of a picture (or character) of a certain product on the layout screen, the corrected image display device displays the corrected pattern (or character) and the corresponding character. (Or pictures) are displayed on the display device in a specific display format (for example, a method of changing the color of only these two things). Therefore,
The operator can recognize to which character (or pattern) the picture whose layout position is currently to be corrected corresponds, thereby enabling accurate layout work without layout errors.

〔Example〕

Configuration of Apparatus Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the illustrated embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a flyer / catalog allocating apparatus according to the present invention. First, an outline of this device will be briefly described. The display 10 is a general computer display device. In the device of the present embodiment, the display 10 includes three display areas. The first display area is a product information display screen 11, the second display area is a layout screen 12, and the third display area is a command input screen 13. Screens 11 and 12 include display devices 21 to
23 displays an image. Each of the display devices 21 to 23 performs display based on data in the memory 30. That is, the product information display device 21 displays product information on the product information display screen 11 based on the product information data 31 in the memory 30,
The layout image display device 22 and the modified image display device 23 display the layout screen 12 based on the layout image data 32 in the memory 30.
Display the allocated image and the corrected image. The layout image display device 22 displays the layout image on the layout screen 12 in the first color, and the modified image display device 23 displays the layout image that is to be corrected among the layout images on the layout screen 12 in the second color. This function will be described later in detail. Product information data 31
It is composed of picture data and character data. The picture data is data created based on a photograph or sketch of a product, and the character data is data represented by characters such as a description of the product and a price. The picture data is inputted by the picture input device 41, and the character data is inputted by the character input device. The assignment execution device 51 is a device that executes an actual assignment operation based on an assignment instruction of the operator given via the instruction input device 43. That is, data on a product specified by the operator is extracted from the product information data 31, and allocated image data 32 is created so that the data can be displayed at a position in the screen specified by the operator. Note that the instruction input device 43 performs display for command input on the command input screen 13, and the operator performs input by instructing the display portion with a pointing device such as a mouse. The allocation correcting device 52 is a device that corrects the allocated image data based on a correction instruction given from the instruction input device 43.

The outline of the apparatus has been briefly described above. In practice, this device is formed using a computer. That is,
The memory 30 uses a memory in a computer to be used, and each of the display devices 21 to 23 is realized by hardware and software which perform an image display portion of the computer. An external input device such as a scanner is used as the image input device 1.
As the character input device 42, external input devices such as a word processor are connected to a computer and used. Further, as the instruction input device 43, an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse can be used by connecting to a computer. The allocation execution device 51 has a function of allocating predetermined product information data to a predetermined screen position, and is realized by hardware and software that perform an image processing portion of the computer. Further, the allocation correcting device 52 is also realized by computer hardware and software.

Basic operation of device Next, the function of each component will be described in detail while explaining the operation of this device. First, product information on products to be posted is input for each product. For example, the second
A photographic image of a product as shown in the figure is inputted as picture data from the picture input device 41 into the memory 30, and a character string as shown in FIG. 3 is inputted as character data into the memory 30 from the character input device 42. Is done. In this way, the product information data on all the products to be posted is stored in the memory 30. A feature of the present invention is that the picture data and the character data are input into the memory 30 in a format corresponding to each other. Any method may be used to make the two correspond to each other. For example, a method in which a common product number is assigned to the two and the input is performed is simple. In this method, when a picture of "apple" as shown in FIG. 2 is inputted from the picture input device 41, a product number may be inputted together with the picture data. On the other hand, when a character relating to “apple” as shown in FIG. 3 is input from the character input device 42, the same product number may be input together with this character data. By assigning a common product number in this way, a correspondence between a specific pattern and a character can be obtained on the memory.

Now, the operator starts the actual assignment work while looking at the display 10. FIG. 4 shows an actual display screen of the display 10. In this embodiment, the display screen of the display 10 is composed of a product information display screen 11, a layout screen 12, and a command input screen 13. Various commands are displayed on the command input screen 13 by the instruction input device 43, and the operator can give an allocation instruction to the allocation execution device 51 by specifying a desired command with a mouse. On the product information display screen 11, as shown in FIG. 4, information on products to be posted is displayed. Based on this display, the operator specifies a product to be allocated. Here, an image indicating a product as shown in FIG. 2 or a description of the product as shown in FIG. 3 may be displayed, but in this embodiment, each product number (1 to 1) is simply displayed.
Only 6) is displayed. In this case, the operator
For example, it is necessary to recognize which merchandise number indicates which merchandise, such as "apple" for the first and "banana" for the second.

The operator specifies one of the displays in the product information display screen 11 with a mouse, and specifies the product to be allocated. Also,
It also specifies whether to assign pictures or letters. For example, if you specify the pattern of the first "apple",
The assignment work for the "apple" pattern starts. That is, the fourth point around the point P designated by the operator with the mouse
As shown on the screen 12 in the figure, a pattern of “apple” is displayed. When the designated point P is moved by the mouse, the picture moves accordingly. When the picture reaches a predetermined position, the operator can fix the picture of the “apple” at that position by pressing a mouse button. First
In the illustrated device, this processing is as follows. First, assuming that the operator designates a pattern of “apple”, the assignment execution device 51 extracts pattern data of “apple” from the product information data 31. When the operator designates one point P, the layout execution device 51 recognizes the coordinates of the point P, and extracts the pattern data of the “apple” extracted in the layout image data 32 so that the pattern is allocated centering on the coordinates. Incorporate it. The assigned image display device 22 displays the picture data assigned to the layout screen 12. Similar operations can be performed for character assignment. Fig. 5 shows how to perform such a task.
"Apple" pattern 61 and character 62, and "Lemon" pattern
7 shows a layout screen in which 71 and characters 72 are allocated. By repeating such operations, it is possible to assign patterns and characters for a large number of products in one screen. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the allocated characters 62 and 72 are displayed as they are on the layout screen. However, in this apparatus, in order to avoid a complicated screen, as shown in FIG. Instead of the character string itself, Z-shaped microphones are displayed with character symbols 63 and 73 each having a product number.

Operation unique to the present invention A feature of the present invention lies in a method of correcting the layout position of a picture or character once allocated. Hereinafter, this feature will be described. As described above, the operator assigns an instruction from the instruction input device 43 to assign pictures and characters of many commodities, and displays the results on the layout screen 12.
You can see above. However, when a large number of commodities are allocated, there are cases in which it is desired to correct the allocated positions of the patterns and characters that have been allocated. Thus, the operator performs an input from the instruction input device 43 to specify which correction target is to be corrected and how to correct it. The layout correction device corrects the layout image data 32 based on the correction instruction. A feature of the present invention is that during this correction operation, the pattern (or character) to be corrected and the corresponding character (or pattern) are displayed in a display format different from the other ones. .

Now, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, assume that the operator wants to correct the assignment position of the character "symbol 73" when the assignment of "apple" and "lemon" is completed. Let me explain. In this case, the operator designates the character “Lemon” as a correction target. This designation can be performed, for example, by pointing the symbol 73 with a mouse. The allocation correcting device 52 sets a flag indicating that the character “Lemon” is specified as a correction target in the allocated image data 32 and that the correction is currently being performed. The corrected image display device 23 obtains a pattern corresponding to the character to be corrected based on the product information data 31, and if the corresponding pattern exists in the allocated image data 32, the corrected character and the corrected character are displayed. , And the corresponding picture are displayed on the layout screen in the second color. In this case, the layout image display device 22 displays only the remaining images on the layout screen in the first color. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, on the layout screen 12, the character “symbol 73” of “Lemon” to be corrected and the corresponding pattern 71 are displayed in the second form.
(Indicated by a broken line in the figure), and the remaining ones (that is, the pattern 61 and the symbol 63 for “apple”) remain displayed in the first color. Conversely, when a design is designated as a correction target, the design and the corresponding characters are changed to the second color. In this state, when the operator moves the cursor 80 on the screen with a mouse or the like (FIG. 8),
The symbol 73 to be corrected moves with the cursor. That is, the allocation correcting device 52 transmits the allocation image data 32 based on an instruction from the instruction input device 43 (in this case, a mouse).
Will be corrected. When the symbol 73 has moved to a desired position, the operator presses a mouse button or the like to notify the assignment correction device 52 of the end of the correction work. The layout correction device 52 releases the flag indicating that the correction work is being performed in the layout image data 32. Thereby, the corrected image display device
23 loses the object to be displayed in the second color, and all the allocated images are displayed on the layout screen 12 in the first color by the allocated image display device 22.

As described above, only during the correction operation for correcting the allocation position of a certain correction target, the correction target and the corresponding object are displayed in the second color. This is very convenient for the operator. Because the correction target is displayed in a different second color, it is possible to immediately grasp which allocation position of the target object is currently being corrected, and furthermore, the object corresponding to the correction target. Is also displayed in the second color, so that it is possible to easily recognize where the partner to be corrected is, so to speak, and to prevent an allocation error. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, while the symbol 80 of the character “Lemon” is moved on the screen, the pattern 71 of “Lemon” is also displayed in the second color. It is obvious that it corresponds to 71. Therefore, "lemon"
Can be prevented from allocating the symbol 73 near the pattern 61 of “apple”.

Although the present invention has been described based on one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes. In essence, the basic idea of the present invention is to make it possible to always recognize a pattern and a character of a product as a pair while performing an assignment correction work on one of the products.
The correspondence is clarified by displaying the pair in a unique color or the like, and may be implemented in any manner as long as the basic idea can be realized. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the display format is changed by changing the color, but other methods such as changing the luminance or changing the thickness of the line may be used.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the flyer / catalog allocating apparatus according to the present invention displays a pattern and a character relating to one product in a manner such that the correspondence between the two can always be recognized during the allocation correction work for one of the products. Therefore, the operator can recognize to which character (or pattern) the picture (or character) that is currently to be laid out and corrected corresponds to, and it is possible to perform an accurate allocating operation without erroneous assignment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a flyer / catalog allocating apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of picture data of a product used in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of character data used in the device shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen of the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a layout screen diagram showing a state where the layout work is performed by the device shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are performing layout correction work by the device shown in FIG. It is a layout screen figure showing a state. 10… Display, 11… Product information display screen, 12 ……
Layout screen, 13 ... Command input screen, 61 ... "Apple" pattern, 62 ... "Apple" character, 63 ... "Apple" character symbol, 71 ... "Lemon" pattern, 72 ...
"Lemon" characters, 73 ... "Lemon" character symbols,
80 ... Cursor.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Atsuhiro Fukumuro 1-1-1, Ichigaya-Kaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takashi Sekiguchi 1-1-1-1, Ichigaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. Within Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Moritaka Arai 1-1-1, Ichigaya-Kaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside Dai-Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-63-241660 (JP, A) ( 58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03F 1/00-1/06

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flyer / catalog allocating apparatus for allocating information on a product to be published in a flyer / catalog on a plane, wherein picture data and character data which are information on the product to be laid out are inputted. An information input device, a first memory unit for storing input picture data and character data in a format in which data relating to one product correspond to each other, and storing an allocation image formed as a result of the allocation operation as data A second memory unit, a display device for displaying the layout image, and a layout image display device for displaying the layout image stored in the second memory unit on the display device in a first display format. And an instruction input device for inputting an assignment instruction and a correction instruction from an operator, and according to the assignment instruction from the instruction input device, An allocation execution device that fetches predetermined product information in the first memory unit, forms an allocation image based on the fetched information, and stores the formed allocation image in the second memory unit; and the instruction input device. According to the correction instruction from, for the correction target in the allocation image, an allocation correction device that performs the work of correcting the allocation position, of the allocation image stored in the second memory unit,
For the pattern or character specified as the correction target by the correction instruction, a corresponding character or pattern is obtained, and both the pattern or character specified as the correction target and the corresponding character or pattern are allocated. A correction image display device that displays on the display device in a second display format different from the first display format during a correction operation by the correction device.