JP3560310B2 - Apparatus and method for changing contour data - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a contour data changing apparatus and method, and more particularly to a character / graphic for changing and processing outline type coordinate data in stroke units that allow intersection in character or graphic data including a curve to all contour data in which intersection is not allowed. The present invention relates to a contour data changing apparatus and method for generating graphic data.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as described in the specifications of patent applications (Japanese Patent Application Nos. 8-269844 and 8-351567) filed by the present applicant, a "line segment" The curve data among the data of "+ curve" was converted into a short vector, and all the data were once converted into line segment data.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of the conventional technique as described above, since the intersection determination is performed after first converting all the curve data into a set of short vectors, the number of line segments becomes enormous, and a one-to-one search method is used. Thus, there is a problem that the processing time is required because the number of searches is large.
[0004]
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a contour data changing apparatus and method which solve the above-mentioned problems.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the apparatus according to the present invention, a contour representing a stroke constituted by a line segment or a curve and a contour representing a stroke constituted by a line segment or a curve intersect. A contour data changing device for changing data into contour data in which a contour representing a stroke constituted by a line segment or a curve and a contour representing a stroke constituted by a line segment or a curve do not intersect, wherein a line segment on a reference side is provided. Alternatively, an area determining unit that determines whether there is an intersection between the area of the curve and the line segment or the area of the curve on the target side, and when the area determining unit determines that there is an intersection, the curve is converted into a set of line segments. It is characterized by having conversion means and change means for examining whether or not there is an intersection between line segments and, when it is determined that there is an intersection, changing the connection of line segments based on the intersection.
[0006]
Here, in the apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the first extracting means for extracting the sequence of points of the line segment or the curve on the reference side, and the point of the line segment or the curve on the reference side extracted by the first extracting means. A first check unit for checking a region of a row, a second extracting unit for extracting a sequence of points of a line segment or a curve on a target side, and an area of a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the target side extracted by the second extracting unit And the area determination means, based on the check between the first check means and the second check means, and a reference-side line segment or a curve region and a target-side line segment or It can also be determined whether there is an intersection with the area of the curve.
[0007]
Here, the apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention includes an intersection determining unit that determines whether the reference contour data intersects with the target outline data. The determination by the area determination means can also be performed.
[0008]
Here, the apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes an extracting unit that extracts a curve that has not been changed by the changing unit, and a processing unit that converts a curve extracted by the extracting unit into a curved line segment. You can also.
[0009]
Here, in the apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the intersecting contour data may be contour type data.
[0010]
Here, in the apparatus of the present invention described in claim 6, the intersecting contour data may be contour type data converted from the data of the core line + thickness type.
[0011]
Here, the apparatus of the present invention according to claim 7 may have a display unit for displaying a character or a graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed by the changing unit.
[0012]
Here, the apparatus of the present invention described in claim 8 may have a printing unit that prints a character or a graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed by the changing unit.
[0013]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the method of the present invention, a contour representing a stroke constituted by a line or a curve and a contour representing a stroke constituted by a line or a curve intersect with each other. A contour data changing method executed by a computer for changing data to contour data in which a contour representing a stroke composed of a line segment or a curve and a contour representing a stroke composed of a line segment or a curve do not intersect, A region determining step of determining whether there is an intersection between the line segment or the curve region on the reference side and the line segment or the curve region on the target side; And a change step of changing the connection of the line segments based on the intersection if it is determined that there is an intersection between the line segments and it is determined that there is an intersection. And wherein the Rukoto.
[0014]
Here, in the method according to the present invention, a first extraction step for extracting a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the reference side, and a point of the line segment or the curve on the reference side extracted in the first extraction step. A first check step for checking a row area, a second extraction step for extracting a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on a target side, and an area of a point sequence for a target line segment or a curve extracted in the second extraction step And the area determination step is based on the check of the first check step and the second check step and the area of the line segment or curve on the reference side and the line segment or curve on the target side It is also possible to determine whether there is an intersection with the region.
[0015]
Here, the method of the present invention according to claim 11, further comprising an intersection determination step of determining whether or not the reference outline data and the target outline data intersect, and when it is determined that the intersection occurs in the intersection determination step. The determination in the area determination step can be performed.
[0016]
Here, the method according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention includes an extracting step of extracting a curve that has not been changed in the changing step, and a processing step of converting the curve extracted in the extracting step into a curve segment. You can also.
[0017]
Here, in the method of the present invention described in claim 13, the intersecting contour data may be contour-type data.
[0018]
Here, in the method of the present invention described in claim 14, the intersecting contour data may be contour-type data converted from data of a core line + thickness type.
[0019]
Here, the method of the present invention according to claim 15 may include a display step of displaying a character or a graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed in the changing step on a display.
[0020]
Here, the method according to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention may include a printing step of printing, by a printer, a character or graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed in the changing step.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0026]
(1st Embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of an information processing system to which the present invention is applied. This system may be a Japanese word processor or a system such as a workstation or a personal computer. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU, that is, a central processing unit, which controls the entire apparatus, performs arithmetic processing, and the like.
[0027]
Reference numeral 2 denotes a ROM, that is, a read-only memory, which stores a system startup program, character pattern data, and the like.
[0028]
Reference numeral 3 denotes a RAM, that is, a random access memory, which temporarily stores data used by the CPU 1 for calculation and a calculation result of the CPU 1.
[0029]
Reference numeral 4 denotes a KBC, that is, a keyboard control unit that controls an input device. The keyboard control unit 4 receives key input data (character codes and control codes) from a keyboard (KB) 5 and transmits the key input data to the CPU 1. A pointing device is also used as an input device.
[0030]
Reference numeral 6 denotes a CRTC, that is, a display control unit, which reads out display information stored in the RAM 3, that is, a bitmap image converted from a character code, and transfers it to a display device (CRT) 7.
[0031]
The display device 7, which is an output device, receives the bitmap image transferred from the display control unit 6, and displays the bitmap image on a display screen.
[0032]
Reference numeral 8 denotes a DKC, that is, a disk control unit, which controls data transmission and the like of the external storage device 9. The external storage device 9 includes an FD, that is, a floppy (registered trademark) disk device, an HD, that is, a hard disk device, a CD-ROM, or the like. The external storage device 9 stores programs and data, and the CPU 1 refers to the stored data or loads the data into the RAM 3 as needed.
[0033]
Reference numeral 10 denotes a PRTC, that is, a printer control unit, which controls the operation of the PRT, that is, a printer device 11 that is an output device.
[0034]
A system bus 12 transfers data between the above-described components.
[0035]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a memory configuration in the overall processing of the apparatus of the present invention having the system configuration of FIG.
[0036]
As shown in FIG. 2, the memory configuration required for the overall processing of the present apparatus includes a basic I / O program 20, an operating system 21, an application 22, related data 23, and a work area 24. The present apparatus executes the basic I / O program 20, an operating system 21 such as a Windows (registered trademark) system, and an application 22 including a character generation processing program which is a process of the method of the present invention. Operate.
[0037]
In FIG. 2, the operating system 21 indicates a state in which an operating system such as a Windows system is loaded into the RAM 3 and becomes executable.
[0038]
The application 22 shows a memory map in a state where the character processing program of the present invention is loaded into the RAM 3 and becomes executable. The related data 23 is a memory map in a state where the related data is loaded into the RAM 3 and becomes executable. Is shown. The work area 24 shows a memory map of a work memory used by each program.
[0039]
Further, the basic I / O program 20 shown in FIG. 2 is stored in the ROM 2 of FIG. The operating system 21 is stored in the external storage device 9 such as the HD shown in FIG. When the power is turned on, the operating system is read from the HD into the RAM 3 by the IPL (initialize program loading) function in the basic I / O program 20, and the apparatus starts up.
[0040]
Here, FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the recorded contents of a recording medium such as an FD, a CD-ROM or the like in which a character generation processing program and related data are recorded.
[0041]
As shown in FIG. 3, a recording medium such as an FD or a CD-ROM is composed of recorded information 30 such as volume information 31, directory information 32, a character generation processing program execution file 33, and a character generation processing program related data file. Is done.
[0042]
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the program and related data of the present invention are obtained by inserting a recording medium 43 detachable from an apparatus such as an FD or a CD-ROM into a recording medium insertion port 42 provided in the apparatus main body 41. Supplied with. Then, by once installing the program and related data from the FD or CD-ROM into the HD, it is possible to load the program from the HD into the RAM 3 and execute the program of the present invention. Note that it is also possible to directly load the program from the FD or CD-ROM to the RAM 3 without installing the program on the HD and execute the program.
[0043]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of another system to which the character processing device according to the present invention can be applied.
[0044]
The present system may be a laser beam printer, an ink jet printer, or an output device such as a thermal transfer system. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 51 denotes a CPU, that is, a central processing unit, which controls the entire apparatus, performs arithmetic processing, and the like.
[0045]
Reference numeral 52 denotes a ROM, that is, a read-only memory, which is a storage area for a system startup program, character pattern data, and the like. Reference numeral 53 denotes a RAM, that is, a random access memory, which is an area where each program and data are loaded and executed for each of various processes.
[0046]
Reference numeral 510 denotes a PRTC, that is, a printer control unit, and reference numeral 511 denotes a PRT, that is, a printer device. Reference numeral 512 denotes a system bus, which should serve as a data path between the components described above.
[0047]
Here, the details of the method of the present invention using the apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0048]
First, a character code, an output size when outputting to an output device, a font, deformation information, and the like are passed as an interface of the flowchart in FIG. Then, in step S101, data of the target character is read from the character code and the font. The data to be read at this time is character data registered in units of strokes, and each stroke as shown in FIG. 7 may be data of a core line + thickness type, or as shown in FIG. It may be contour type data.
[0049]
Then, if the obtained data is data of the core line + thickness type as shown in FIG. 7, the data of the core line + thickness type is converted into outline coordinates in units of one stroke as shown in FIG.
[0050]
In step S102, coordinate conversion such as enlargement / reduction processing and deformation processing is performed based on the character width and height of the data previously stored in the external storage device 9 such as the ROMs 2 and 52 or the HD and the output size requested by the interface. To generate the outline data of the read character.
[0051]
In step S103, it is determined whether the generation of outline data has been completed for all strokes of one character. When the coordinate conversion is completed for all the strokes of one character, the process proceeds to step S104. If there is still a stroke to be processed, the process returns to step S102, and steps S102 and S103 are repeated.
[0052]
In step S104, coordinate data of the point sequence defined by the Bezier curve or the B-spline curve and the coordinate data of the point sequence registered as a line segment are registered so as to maintain the order of the outline.
[0053]
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a registered coordinate sequence.
[0054]
FIG. 9A shows an example of “na” composed of a stroke 91 whose outline includes points A to H and a stroke 92 whose outline includes points I to L. In this figure and the following figures, △ (open triangle) represents the middle point of the curve, and （(open circle) represents other points.
[0055]
The registration contents are registered as data 910 and 920 for each contour in the contour data management information section of FIG. 9B. As the members of the outline data, the rotation direction (counterclockwise, counterclockwise), start point number, end point (end point) number, maximum coordinate value and minimum coordinate value of the outline data of each outline are stored. The maximum coordinate value is the maximum x coordinate and the maximum y coordinate of the stroke, and the minimum coordinate value is the minimum x coordinate and the minimum y coordinate of the stroke.
[0056]
Actually, the outline information is stored in the outline coordinate data table of FIG. 9C. In this contour coordinate data table, for the points on the contour from the start point number to the end point number indicated by the contour data management information section, the coordinate values, point attribute flags, the previous point number, the next point number Is stored. Here, 1 is added to the point attribute flag if it is the start point of the curve, 2 if it is the middle point of the curve, and 3 if it is the end point of the curve. Then, 0 is added to the flag values of other points such as points on the straight line.
[0057]
Therefore, 1 is added to the start point B, 2 is set to the intermediate points C and D, and 3 is set to the end point E of the curved portion of the stroke 91 in FIG. Here, the stroke 92 is a straight line, and 0 is added to all of the points I to L. Further, from the values of the previous point number and the next point number, it is understood that the outline of the stroke 91 is registered in the order of ABCDEFGHA and then in the order of IJKLI.
[0058]
Returning to FIG. 6, after step S105, the contour data of the stroke registered in the processing up to step S104 is checked. Is performed.
[0059]
In step S105, first, the first contour data registered as shown in FIG. 9 is set as reference contour data.
[0060]
In step S106, contour data next to the reference contour data set in step S105 is set as target contour data. Thus, two strokes of one character are extracted.
[0061]
In step S107, it is determined whether or not the reference contour data and the target contour data cross each other. The determination method here is to check the maximum coordinate value and the minimum coordinate value of the reference contour data and the maximum coordinate value and the minimum coordinate value of the target contour data from the information of each contour shown in FIG. It is to judge. If they overlap, it is determined that there is an intersection, and the process proceeds to step S108. If they do not overlap, it is determined that there is no intersection, and the process proceeds to step S110.
[0062]
In step S108, a line segment where the reference contour data and the target contour data intersect is searched, and if there is an intersection, the curve is converted into a set of line segments to calculate the intersection coordinates of the line segments. A connection change process for changing the outline is performed. The details of the connection change process will be described later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0063]
In step S109, new contour data registration processing such as registration deletion of a contour which has disappeared due to the change in connection in step S108 and registration addition of a newly generated contour are performed.
[0064]
In step S110, the next candidate of the target contour data is searched. As a search method, the contour information data management unit checks whether or not another contour data exists after the target contour data targeted in step S109. If there is still a search result, it is determined in step S111 that the target contour data has not been completed, and the process proceeds to step S112. If there is no more target contour data as a result of the search, it is determined in step S111 that the target contour data has been completed, and the process proceeds to step S113.
[0065]
In step S112, the target contour data searched in step S110 is registered as the next new contour data to be checked. When the next target contour data is registered, the process returns to step S107, where the intersection with the reference contour data is checked, and if there is an intersection, a connection change process for changing the connection of the contours is performed.
[0066]
In step S113, since the processing for one piece of reference contour data has been completed in the processing so far, the next new reference contour data is searched. As a search method, it is checked whether there is data next to the reference contour data targeted up to step S112. As a result, if it exists, it is determined in step S114 that a contour that can serve as reference data still exists, and the process proceeds to step S115. However, when there is no contour to be the reference contour data, it is determined in step S114 that the reference contour data no longer exists, and the process proceeds to step S116.
[0067]
When searching for the target contour data or the reference contour data in step S110 or step S113, the point numbers of the start point and the end point of the contour information data management unit are checked, and the values of the start point and the end point are set to “−”. If it is not "1", it is determined that it still exists. If the value is "-1", it is determined that the contour data has disappeared, and the next contour data is searched.
[0068]
In step S115, the reference contour data retrieved in step S113 is registered as the next new reference contour data to be checked. When the next reference contour data is registered, the flow returns to step S106 to check the intersection with the target contour data, and if there is an intersection, the processing after step S107 for changing the connection of the contours is performed. That is, two strokes are extracted from all the registered strokes of one character, and processing such as intersection determination is performed on each extracted stroke pair.
[0069]
Then, in step S116, the contour data obtained so far is output as all contour data that does not allow intersection. At this time, not all the contour data registered in the contour data management information section are output, but necessary contour data is extracted. Further, data required to completely convert one character into a line segment, that is, curve data that has not been converted even after performing the connection changing process in step S108, is searched and extracted. Based on the data generated and output as described above, a character (and / or graphic) pattern is displayed and output on the display screen of the display 7 under the control of the display control unit 6. Further, under the control of the printer control units 10 and 510, the printer devices 11 and 511 print out character (and / or graphic) patterns.
[0070]
In extracting necessary contour data, for example, in the case of a figure composed of strokes 101 to 104 shown in FIG. When the contour data 110, 120, 130, and 140 shown in FIG. 10B are processed by the above algorithm, the contour data shown in FIG. 11 is finally obtained in the contour data management information section. Is as shown in FIG. This can be easily understood by referring to the detailed description of the connection change in step S108.
[0071]
In FIG. 11, contour data 110a, 120a, 130a, and 140a are obtained by updating and registering the contour data 110, 120, 130, and 140, and contour data 150 to 190 are newly registered. The values of the start point and the end point of the contour data 120a, 130a, 140a are "-1", and the contour data has disappeared. The contour data 110a represents the contour 101a in FIG. 12, and the contour data 150 to 190 represent the contours 105 to 109, respectively.
[0072]
In this example, since the first number of contours is 4, only the first contour represented by the contour data 110a is registered in a smaller place and the rotation direction of the contour is not reversed. Further, only the last contour represented by the contour data 190 is registered in a place where the number of contours is larger than the first four, and the rotation direction of the contour is reversed counterclockwise. Therefore, by extracting only these two contours 101a and 109 and finally registering them, it becomes possible to generate all the contour data that does not allow the intersection of the contours as shown in FIG.
[0073]
By the way, if it is determined in the step S108 that the curve has an intersection with another line segment area or the curve area during the above processing, the curve has already been converted into a line segment. If not, it is necessary to convert the curve line segment at the end. Therefore, all point attributes registered in the extracted contour data are searched. The “next” connection point is checked in order from the start point of the contour, and it is checked whether there is a point attribute 1 (curve start point). If there is a point attribute 1, it is registered that the data up to the point of the point attribute 3 (curve end point) appearing thereafter is curve data. This curve search is performed for all points of the registered contour data. In step S117, if there is the curve data extracted in step S116, a process of converting the curve data into a curved line segment is performed, and the entire process ends. The processing in step S117 is the same as the processing described later with reference to the flowcharts in FIGS.
[0074]
In this way, the intersection of the outlines is searched, the connection of the outlines is changed, only the necessary data is extracted at the end, and further converted into a curved line segment, thereby intersecting all strokes of one character. It is possible to generate all the contour data that does not allow the intersection from the contour data that allows the intersection.
[0075]
Here, the details of the connection change in step S108 in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to the flowcharts in FIGS.
[0076]
First, in step S201, a determination is made to extract a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the reference contour side. Here, looking at the point attribute shown in the contour coordinate data table of FIG. 9C, if the value of the attribute is 0, it is determined that the attribute is not a curve but a line segment, and the process proceeds to step S202. If it is 1, it is determined that it is a curve and the process proceeds to step S204.
[0077]
In step S202, line segment data is extracted by extracting the current point and the next point, that is, a straight line point sequence is extracted.
[0078]
In step S203, the area of the extracted straight point sequence is checked. That is, the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate of the extracted line segment data are checked, and the maximum coordinate value and the minimum coordinate value of the range including the line segment are stored, thereby defining the area of the line segment.
[0079]
In step S204, a point having a point attribute of 2 is sequentially read from the current point attribute 1 to a point having a point attribute of 3 to extract a curve point sequence.
[0080]
Then, in step S205, the region of the extracted curve point sequence is checked. That is, the x- and y-coordinates of all the read points are checked, and the minimum value and the maximum value of each coordinate are stored, thereby defining the area as including the curve. Up to this point, each of the line segment portion and the curved portion is calculated as one region.
[0081]
When the above processing is performed on the reference contour data side, the same processing is subsequently performed on the target contour data side, so that the line segment portion and the curve portion are each calculated as one region. Specifically, the processing of steps S206 to S210 is performed.
[0082]
In step S206, a determination is made to extract a point sequence that is a line segment or a curve on the target contour side. Here, looking at the point attribute shown in the contour coordinate data table of FIG. 9, if the value of the attribute is 0, it is determined that the attribute is not a curve but a line segment, and the process proceeds to step S207. If it is determined to be a curve, the process proceeds to step S209.
[0083]
In step S207, line segment data is extracted by extracting the current point and the next point, that is, a straight line point sequence is extracted.
[0084]
Then, in step S208, the area of the extracted straight point sequence is checked. That is, the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate of the extracted line segment data are checked, and the maximum coordinate value and the minimum coordinate value of the range including the line segment are stored, thereby defining the area of the line segment.
[0085]
In step S209, the points having the point attribute 2 are sequentially read from the current point attribute 1 and the curve point sequence is extracted by reading up to the point having the point attribute 3.
[0086]
Then, in step S210, the region of the extracted curve point sequence is checked. That is, the x- and y-coordinates of all the read points are checked, and the minimum value and the maximum value of each coordinate are stored, thereby defining the area as including the curve.
[0087]
When regions are calculated for the reference contour side and the target contour side, in step S211 in FIG. 15, there is an intersection between the line segment or curve region calculated on the reference contour side and the line segment or curve region calculated on the target contour side. Is determined (other crossing determination). Here, the minimum value and the maximum value of the calculated x-coordinate and y-coordinate of the region are checked, and it is checked whether there is a portion where the regions overlap. As a result, when there is an overlapping portion, it is determined that there is an intersection, and the process proceeds to step S212. On the other hand, if there is no overlapping portion, it is determined that there is no intersection, and the process proceeds to step S219.
[0088]
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing how to determine the intersection between the line segment area and the curved area.
[0089]
FIG. 16A shows a case where the line segment area 1600 and the curved area 1610 actually intersect. FIG. 16B shows a case where there is no actual intersection between the line segment area 1600 and the curved area 1610, but it is determined that there is an intersection when determined as an area. Here, a range 1620 indicated by a broken line including the curve 1610 and a line segment region 1600 intersect. FIG. 16C shows a case where there is no actual intersection between the line segment region 1600 and the curved region 1610, and there is no intersection even when it is determined as a region. Here, a range 1620 indicated by a broken line including the curve 1610 does not intersect with the line segment region 1600.
[0090]
Therefore, when the determination processing in step S211 is performed, it is determined that there is an intersection in the case of FIGS. 16A and 16B, and the process proceeds to step S212. In the case of FIG. 16C, there is no intersection in the area. And the process proceeds to step S219. The determination of the line segment region and the line segment region and the determination of the curved region and the curved region are performed in the same manner.
[0091]
When there is an intersection in the area, in step S212, it is determined whether the data extracted on the side of the reference contour is a curve. If the data is not a curve but a line segment, the flow proceeds to step S214;
[0092]
In step S213, the curve data is converted into a set of short line segments (short vector). The curve handled here may be a Bezier curve or a B-spline curve having the property of inclusiveness (not exceeding the range of the minimum value and the maximum value of the control point). Then, Bezier decomposition or B-spline expansion is performed according to the rules to convert the curve into a short vector.
[0093]
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a point sequence of a character obtained by decomposing a curve from a character at the control point level of the curve shown in FIG. 9A and converting it into a short vector (line segment conversion). Here, 171 and 172 are curved areas of the strokes 91 and 92 in FIG. 9, which will be described in detail below.
[0094]
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a coordinate sequence of the converted line segment.
[0095]
In the contour data management information section, as in the case of FIG. 9B, data 1710 and 1720 are registered for each contour, but the contents of the contour coordinate data table are different from those of FIG. 9C. .
[0096]
In other words, as shown in FIG. 18C, data of the line segment of the point after the point number 14 is newly added to the contour coordinate data table, and the point attribute and the connection information (the previous point number, the next point number, Point number) is also updated. Since the points A, B, E, and F are the end points of the curve, the point attribute flag becomes 0. Since the next point after the points B and F and the point before the points A and E change depending on the added point, the connection information thereof is updated. From the values of the previous point number and the next point number in FIG. 18C, the outline information of the stroke 91 is obtained by dividing the continuous line segment AB, line segment Ba, line segment ab, line segment bc, line segment cd, line segment. It can be seen that dE, line segment EF, line segment Fe, line segment ef, line segment fg, line segment gh, and line segment hA are converted and registered. That is, the curve is changed to a line segment. Further, it can be seen that the outline information of the stroke 92 is registered after being converted into a set of continuous line segments IJ, JK, KL, and LI.
[0097]
Referring back to FIG. 15, in step S214, it is determined whether the data extracted on the target contour side is a curve. If the data is not a curve but a line segment, the process proceeds to step S216, and if it is a curve, the process proceeds to step S215.
[0098]
In step S215, similarly to step S213, the data of the curve is converted into a set of short line segments (short vectorization).
[0099]
In step S216, it is checked whether there is any actual intersection with the reference-side line segment or short vector group and the target-side line segment or short vector group. In the case of line segments, it is checked whether or not there is an intersection in the area of each line segment, and if so, the intersection is found. In the case of a short vector group of line segments, it is checked whether or not all the short vectors have intersections with the line segment. If there are, the line segment and the intersection are registered. In the case of short vector groups, it is checked whether or not there is an intersection between line segments for all combinations, and if so, each line segment having the intersection and the intersection are registered. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 16, in the case of FIG. 16A, since an actual intersection exists, the intersection coordinates are calculated in this step. In the case of FIGS. 16B and 16C, there is no actual intersection, so it is determined that there is no intersection, and no coordinate calculation is performed.
[0100]
In step S217, it is determined whether or not the intersection checked in step S216 exists (whether or not there is a line segment intersection). If it exists, the process proceeds to step S218, and if not, the process proceeds to step S219.
[0101]
The process proceeds to step S218 when there is an intersection in the two curved regions 171 and 172, and the connection of the two contours is changed based on the intersection to change the connection. In the example of the katakana “na” in FIG. 17, four points α, β, γ, and δ are the intersections of the two curved regions 171 and 172 as shown in FIG.
[0102]
Therefore, to change the connection, these intersection coordinates are additionally registered as point numbers 22 to 29 in the contour coordinate data table as shown in FIG. Two intersection coordinates α1 and α2 are registered for the intersection α, and two intersection coordinates are similarly registered for the other intersections β, γ and δ.
[0103]
First, the connection reconnection using the intersection point α will be described. Since the intersection point of the line segment IJ and the line segment gh is the intersection point α, the connection in the order of I → J is changed to the order of I → α1 → h. The connection is changed in such a way as to become g → h, and the connection is changed in the order of g → α2 → J. The intersection β is the intersection of the line segment ab and the line segment IJ, but is changed to the intersection of the line segment ab and the line segment α2J by the above-described connection change using the intersection α. Therefore, the connection is changed from a → b in the order of a → β1 → J in the order of a → b. The connection of α2 → J is changed so that the connection is in the order of α2 → β2 → b.
[0104]
Hereinafter, when the same connection changing operation is performed for the intersections γ and δ, the contour coordinate data table of FIG. 18C becomes the connection information (the previous number and the next number) as shown in FIGS. Will be updated. FIG. 20 shows two contours. One is that the point A of point number 1 is the start point and the point I of point number 8 is the end point, as indicated by the connection information, and the connection order is A → B → a → J → K → γ1 → c → d → E → F → e → f → δ1 → L → I. The other is that the point I of point number 9 is the start point and the point A of point number 13 is the end point, and the connection order is I → α1 → h → A. Since these two contours are connected to each other at the start point and the end point, one of the start point and the end point has disappeared and becomes a part of the contour.
[0105]
That is, the point I, which is the start point and the end point in FIG. 19, is connected as L → I → α1 as a part of the normal contour. This is shown in FIG. FIG. 21 shows two contours obtained by reconnection. One is that the point A of the point number 1 is the start point and the point A of the point number 8 is the end point as indicated by the connection information, and the connection order is A → B → a → J → K → γ1 → c → d → E → F → e → f → δ1 → L → I → α1 → h → A The other is that the point α2 of the point number 23 is the start point and the point α2 of the point number 30 is the end point, and the connection order is α2 → β2 → b → γ2 → δ2 → g → α2.
[0106]
Then, the information of the contour data management unit is also updated accordingly, as shown in FIG.
[0107]
The second outline (start point number 9, end point number 13) shown in FIG. 20 has been closed by the connection change, and therefore needs to be deleted from the outline data management unit. Here, a value of “−1” is substituted for the start point number and end point number of the contour data 222 in the sense that the contour has disappeared. Then, since the outline data 223 of the second outline (start point number 23, end point number 30) shown in FIG. 21 is newly generated, its rotation direction, start point number, end point number, and maximum coordinates of the outline data are obtained. The information of the contour, such as the value and the minimum coordinate value, is registered in the contour data management information section. Reference numeral 221 denotes the contour data of the first contour (start point number 0, end point number 8) shown in FIG.
[0108]
Referring back to FIG. 15, in step S219, it is determined whether or not the above-described intersection determination has been completed for all the point sequences of the target contour. If the check has been completed for all the point sequences of the target contour, the process proceeds to step S221. If the check has not been completed yet, the process proceeds to step S220 in FIG. 14, and the process of steps S206 to S218 for the next new point sequence. I do.
[0109]
In step S221, it is determined whether or not the above-described intersection determination has been completed for all the point sequences of the reference contour. If the check has been completed for all the point sequences of the reference contour, the intersection determination and connection change processing of the two contours in this flowchart are terminated. If the check has not been completed yet, the process proceeds to step S222 in FIG. 14, and the processes in steps S201 to S220 are performed for the next new point sequence.
[0110]
According to the present embodiment in which the connection change process is performed based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 14 and 15 as described above, when all the curve data are converted into a set of short vectors, Is changed from a curve to a group of line segments. In other words, it is possible to change from a curve to a group of line segments only when there is an intersection in the line segment or curve area by performing intersection judgment, so that processing can be speeded up and a high-quality image can be generated without handling a huge amount of data. Becomes possible.
[0111]
Also, the stroke data that allows the intersection may be outline data in units of strokes, or may be data of a core line + thickness type.
[0112]
(2nd Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which a process is performed by a user's instruction to eliminate a crossing for a stroke having a crossing in a character or graphic displayed on a user-definable font editor screen or a graphic editing screen.
[0113]
FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a character data editing screen when characters and graphics are edited on a screen of a computer or a workstation according to the present invention.
[0114]
On this screen, the user can edit and register a favorite outline font by a known technique. FIG. 23 shows a display example when a character "yoshi" is registered by crossing its outline, and is registered as data of seven strokes 231 to 237. 230 and 239 are mode selection buttons, and the functions of the present embodiment are performed according to the button clicked by the user using a pointing device such as a mouse.
[0115]
When the mode selection button 230 is clicked, the batch conversion mode is selected. As described later with reference to FIG. 24, the conversion from all the data on the edit screen to the outline data that allows intersection to all the outline data that does not allow intersection is performed. Is On the other hand, when the mode selection button 239 is clicked, the partial conversion mode is selected, and as described later with reference to FIGS. The conversion is performed from the contour data that allows intersection only to the entire contour data that does not allow intersection.
[0116]
FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state of conversion when the user selects the batch conversion mode.
[0117]
The intersection of all data is checked for strokes 231 to 237 of all characters (and / or graphics) on the editing screen as described in the first embodiment, and if there is an intersection, the intersection is not permitted. When the batch conversion to the contour type is performed, two contours 241 and 242 that do not intersect are obtained.
[0118]
FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of conversion when the user selects the partial conversion mode.
[0119]
First, the user specifies which partial area is to be subjected to the conversion process. In this example, the designation is made by surrounding a partial area as shown by a dotted line 250.
[0120]
When an area to be converted is designated, the program processing first checks whether there is a stroke including at least a part of the stroke in the partial area indicated by the dotted line 250, and if so, checks the stroke. Check which stroke the stroke is. In the example of FIG. 25, a part of each of the strokes 231 and 232 indicated by a thick line is included in the partial area specified by the dotted line 250, and the other strokes 233 to 237 are completely included in the partial area specified by the dotted line 250. Not.
[0121]
Therefore, for the strokes 231, 232 at least partially included in this partial area, the flag indicating that they are included is set to 1. On the other hand, the strokes 233 to 237 which are not included at all in this partial area are not included, so that their flags are cleared to 0. Then, only the strokes 231 and 232 for which the flag is set are extracted, and only the strokes 231 and 232 are subjected to the same processing as that described in the first embodiment, so that the part arbitrarily specified by the user is obtained. For a stroke at least partially included in the area, it is possible to perform conversion from the contour data that allows intersection to 251 entire contour data that does not allow intersection.
[0122]
Similarly, the example of FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state of conversion when the user selects the partial conversion mode.
[0123]
First, the user specifies which partial area is to be subjected to the conversion process. In this example, the designation is made by surrounding a partial area as shown by a dotted line 260.
[0124]
When the area to be converted is designated, the program processing first checks whether there is a stroke at least partially included in the partial area designated by the dotted line 260, and if so, the stroke is Check which stroke it is. In the example of FIG. 26, the entire stroke 234 and a part of the strokes 235 and 237 are included in the partial area 260, and the other strokes 231 to 233 and 236 are completely included in the partial area designated by the dotted line 260. Not.
[0125]
Therefore, a flag indicating that the stroke is included in the strokes 234, 235, 237 at least partially included in the partial area is set to 1. On the other hand, other strokes that are not included in this partial area at all are not included, so that the flag is cleared to 0. Then, only the strokes 234, 235, and 237 for which the flags are set are extracted, and only the strokes 234, 235, and 237 are subjected to the same processing as that described in the first embodiment. Can be converted from the outline data that allows the intersection to the entire outline data 261 that does not allow the intersection for the stroke at least partially included in the partial area specified in (1).
[0126]
As described above, when the user edits a character or a figure and creates and registers an intersection of strokes, the user specifies on the screen an area including at least a part of each stroke whose intersection is to be removed. In addition, it is possible to automatically remove the intersection of two or more contours without the user's trouble.
[0127]
The method of the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Needless to say, the method of the present invention can be applied to a case where the method is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, by reading out a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the method of the present invention into a system or an apparatus, the system or apparatus can receive the effects of the method of the present invention. Become.
[0128]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, image data including stroke pairs that intersect each other is registered in units of strokes, and when generating contour data that does not intersect from the data of the stroke pairs, registration is performed. A stroke pair is extracted by combining two strokes each other, and it is determined whether the two strokes intersect each other with respect to the extracted stroke pair. Only when it is determined that the two strokes intersect, both strokes are formed into a set of line segments. By converting and reconnecting each line segment so that each line segment of both strokes does not intersect, a contour line without intersection representing both strokes is generated, so the number of line segments to be processed can be minimized. Thus, an effect that high-speed and high-quality contour data can be changed can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of the system.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of a recording medium.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an appearance of the system.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another system configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an overall flow of a process according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of stroke data of a core line + thickness type.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of outline type data in units of strokes.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a registered coordinate sequence.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing how to find an intersection.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline data management information section after reconnection.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a figure after reconnection.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where only necessary data is extracted.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart (part 1) showing a detailed flow of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart (part 2) showing a detailed flow of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing how to determine the intersection between a line segment area and a curved area.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a state where a line segment is converted from a curve.
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where an intersection is obtained after performing line segment conversion.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram (part 1) of a contour coordinate data table showing a state of reconnection.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) of a contour coordinate data table showing a state of reconnection.
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram (part 3) of a contour coordinate data table showing a state of reconnection.
FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a contour data management information part showing a state of new registration of a contour.
FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a character data editing screen according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of batch conversion.
FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram (part 1) illustrating a state of partial conversion.
FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) illustrating a state of partial conversion.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 CPU
2 ROM
3 RAM
4 Keyboard control unit
6 Display control unit
7 Display device
8 Disk control unit
9 External storage device
10 Printer control unit
11 Printer device
12 System bus

Claims (16)

Contour data that intersects a contour representing a stroke composed of a line segment or a curve and a contour representing a stroke composed of a line segment or a curve, A contour data changing device for changing to contour data that does not intersect with a contour representing a stroke composed of
Area determining means for determining whether there is an intersection between the line segment or curve region on the reference side and the line segment or curve region on the target side,
When it is determined that there is an intersection by the area determination means, conversion means for converting the curve into a set of line segments,
A contour data changing device, comprising: changing means for changing the connection of a line segment based on the intersection if it is determined whether there is an intersection between the line segments and it is determined that there is an intersection. First extraction means for extracting a sequence of points of a line segment or a curve on the reference side;
First check means for checking a region of a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the reference side extracted by the first extraction means;
Second extracting means for extracting a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the target side;
A second check unit for checking an area of a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the target side extracted by the second extraction unit;
The area determination means determines whether there is an intersection between a reference-side line segment or a curve area and a target-side line segment or a curve area based on checks by the first check means and the second check means. The contour data changing device according to claim 1, wherein: Intersection determining means for determining whether the reference contour data and the target contour data intersect,
2. The contour data changing device according to claim 1, wherein when the intersection is judged by the intersection judging means, the judgment is made by the area judging means. Extracting means for extracting a curve that has not been changed by the changing means,
2. A contour data changing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising processing means for converting a curve extracted by said extracting means into a curved line segment. 2. The contour data changing device according to claim 1, wherein the intersecting contour data is contour type data. 2. The contour data changing device according to claim 1, wherein the intersecting contour data is contour-type data converted from data of a core line + thickness. 2. The contour data changing device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying a character or graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed by said changing means. 2. The outline data changing device according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit that prints a character or a graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed by the changing unit. Contour data that intersects a contour representing a stroke composed of a line segment or a curve and a contour representing a stroke composed of a line segment or a curve, A contour data changing method executed by a computer to change to contour data that does not intersect with a contour representing a stroke composed of:
A region determination step of determining whether there is an intersection between the line segment or curve region on the reference side and the line segment or curve region on the target side,
A conversion step of converting a curve into a set of line segments when it is determined that there is an intersection in the area determination step;
A step of examining the line segments for intersections and, if it is determined that there is an intersection, changing the connection of the line segments based on the intersections. A first extraction step of extracting a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on a reference side;
A first check step of checking an area of a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the reference side extracted in the first extraction step;
A second extraction step of extracting a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the target side;
A second check step of checking an area of a point sequence of a line segment or a curve on the target side extracted in the second extraction step,
The area determination step determines whether there is an intersection between the reference side line segment or curve area and the target side line segment or curve area based on the check of the first check step and the second check step. 10. The contour data changing method according to claim 9, wherein: Having an intersection determination step of determining whether the reference outline data and the target outline data intersect,
10. The contour data changing method according to claim 9, wherein when it is determined in the intersection determination step that the vehicle crosses, the determination in the area determination step is performed. An extracting step of extracting a curve that has not been changed in the changing step;
10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising a step of converting a curve extracted in the extraction step into a curve segment. 10. The contour data changing method according to claim 9, wherein the intersecting contour data is contour type data. 10. The contour data changing method according to claim 9, wherein the intersecting contour data is contour-type data converted from data of a core line + thickness. 10. The contour data changing method according to claim 9, further comprising a display step of displaying a character or a graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed in the changing step on a display. 10. The contour data changing method according to claim 9, further comprising a printing step of printing, by a printer, a character or a graphic based on the line segment whose connection has been changed in the changing step.

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