JP5672889B2 - Drawing apparatus, laser irradiation apparatus, drawing control method, drawing control program, and recording medium recording the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drawing apparatus, a laser irradiation apparatus , a drawing control method, a drawing control program, and a recording medium recording the same.

  Laser irradiation devices (laser markers or laser marking devices) that use technology to write letters, numbers, symbols, etc. on a medium by irradiating a medium such as metal, plastic, or thermal paper with laser light are heated. ing.

  By irradiating a laser beam using a gas laser, a solid-state laser, a liquid laser, a semiconductor laser, or the like as a laser light source of the laser irradiation apparatus, characters or the like can be written on a medium such as metal, plastic, or thermal paper.

  Metals and plastics are drawn by shaving or scorching by irradiating with laser light and heating. On the other hand, thermal paper has the property of being discolored by heat, and drawing is performed when the recording layer is colored by heating with laser light irradiation.

  Since thermal paper is easier to handle than metal and plastic media, it is widely used as a medium for printing the address of an article and the name of an article in the field of logistics, for example.

  And rewritable paper that can be written and erased even with such thermal paper has appeared. For example, when used in physical distribution, it is desirable that writing and erasing can be performed with a medium attached to a container. For this reason, by using a relay lens system that transmits an image by laser light incident from one end of a plurality of lens systems configured by a flexible joint to the other end, the medium is irradiated with laser light in a non-contact manner to generate heat. An apparatus for drawing characters and the like has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  As an image forming method using a laser, there is an image forming method in which one original image data is divided into a plurality of lines and a photosensitive drum is irradiated with a laser for each line (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  By the way, this thermal rewritable medium has such a property that the color development is erased by heat at a certain temperature and the color develops when further heat is applied. However, when an excessive heat load is applied, the thermal rewritable medium changes in quality, and deterioration such as the life of the medium being shortened or being unable to be completely erased easily occurs.

  Consider drawing characters on a thermal rewritable medium. By tracing the strokes of characters with a laser, heat is generated and the characters float on the medium. FIG. 1 shows an example of characters drawn with a laser on a thermal rewritable medium. The character in FIG. 1 is, for example, a modification of the number “7”, but the strokes intersect at intersection 1. If the strokes intersect, the laser will strike again while there is residual heat of the stroke drawn immediately before, and as a result, the intersection 1 will become hotter, which will adversely affect the thermal rewritable medium. End up.

  Further, even if there is no intersection point, the folded portion 2 exists at the number “7”, but due to the inertia of the mirror that controls the laser irradiation direction, the folded portion 2 is irradiated with the laser near the folding point for a relatively long time. As a result, the temperature becomes high and the thermal rewritable medium is adversely affected.

  Therefore, techniques for avoiding redundant irradiation of lasers have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4). Patent Document 3 discloses a recording method in which, when drawing with a laser, a laser is scanned so that a portion where a line overlaps passes a previously drawn line and then the next line is drawn. Patent Document 4 discloses a recording / erasing apparatus that performs control so as to reduce at least one of the laser power and the irradiation time applied to the intersecting drawing points when the laser drawing lines intersect.

  As described above, Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose techniques for avoiding redundant laser irradiation.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-224863 frequently jumps (runs idle) to the next drawing position in a state of laser irradiation (drawing) and non-laser irradiation in order to avoid laser overlapping irradiation. Therefore, there has been disclosed a laser marking device that determines the drawing order that minimizes the free running distance by adjusting the drawing order.

  The laser marking device includes a galvano scanner that scans a galvano mirror, and performs drawing by irradiating a laser beam by scanning the galvano mirror using coordinate data representing characters or the like to be drawn.

  By the way, since there is generally a behavioral delay or a control delay due to the inertia of the galvanometer mirror, even if coordinate data is input from the control device to the galvanometer scanner, a tracking delay occurs at the laser irradiation point (galvanometer mirror position). .

  Further, the follow-up delay as described above is not limited to an apparatus that performs laser irradiation such as a laser marking apparatus, but also occurs in a drawing apparatus that scans a head or the like in a biaxial direction such as an XY plotter.

  However, the drawing order has not been optimized in consideration of such a follow-up delay.

  Therefore, a drawing order determination device, drawing control device, laser irradiation device, optimized font DB, drawing control method, drawing control program, and recording medium on which this is recorded, which optimizes the drawing order in consideration of the tracking delay of the drawing device The purpose is to provide.

A drawing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention provides one or a plurality of continuous line segments and a free running section in which drawing is not performed while another one or more continuous line segments are drawn. A drawing apparatus for determining a drawing order for drawing a drawing target including one or more line segments on a medium, wherein the drawing target is drawn on the medium based on drawing information for drawing the drawing target Direction change between a drawing position determining means for determining a position, a line segment included in the drawing object, and a free running line segment representing the free running section that is continuous with the line segment based on the drawing information or the drawing position Based on the direction change degree calculating means for calculating the degree, and at the drawing end point of the one or more continuous line segments, the free running line segment that is continuous with the line segment is calculated. First waiting time to wait, or before continuing to the idle running line In the drawing start point of one or more continuous segments, the standby time setting means for setting the second waiting time to wait for drawing the line segment that is continuous with the empty run segment, the drawing time of the object Drawing order determining means for determining the drawing order so as to be shorter .

  Further, the waiting time setting means sets the first waiting time when the direction change degree between the line segment including the drawing end point and the idle line segment continuing to the line segment is equal to or greater than a predetermined degree. May be.

  The waiting time setting means may set the second waiting time when the direction change degree between the line segment including the drawing start point and the idle line segment is not less than a predetermined level.

Further, the drawing order determining means such that said writing time for drawing the drawing object becomes shorter, and determines the drawing order of said drawing object that reflects the first waiting time or the said second waiting time Also good.

The image processing apparatus further includes line segment group generation means for generating a line segment group to be treated as a continuous line segment group included in the drawing target based on the drawing position determined by the drawing position determination means, and the drawing order determination means includes as writing time for drawing the line segment group is shortened to the generation means for generating, it may determine the drawing order of the line segment group.

  In addition, when the second waiting time is set by the waiting time setting means, a free running speed for running in the free running section is set higher than a drawing speed for drawing the one or more line segments. The drawing order determining unit may further include a speed setting unit, and the drawing order determining unit may determine the drawing order in which the drawing speed and the idling speed set by the speed setting unit are reflected.

  In addition, when the distance of the idle running section is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance, a speed setting unit that sets an idle running speed idle in the idle running section higher than a drawing speed for drawing the one or more line segments is further provided. May be included.

The drawing commands may also further including do the drawing command generation means for generating a reflecting said drawing position and the drawing order of the determined.

A laser irradiation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a laser oscillator that irradiates a laser, a direction control mirror that controls an irradiation direction of the laser irradiated by the laser oscillator, and a direction control that drives the direction control mirror. The above-described drawing apparatus that controls the irradiation output of the laser oscillator and the drive control of the direction control motor based on the drawing command.

A drawing control method according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention includes an idle running section in which drawing is not performed while drawing one or more continuous line segments and another one or more continuous line segments. A drawing control method in which a computer determines a drawing order for drawing a drawing target including one or a plurality of line segments on the medium, wherein the computer is based on drawing information for drawing the drawing target. wherein determining the drawing position to draw the drawing object to, based on the drawing information or the drawing position, the line segments included in the drawing object, and an empty run segment representing the empty run section continuous with the line calculates the direction change degree, on the basis of the direction change degree, the drawing end point of the one or more continuous segments, first waits for an empty run of the idling-run segment that is continuous with the line segment 1 waiting time or the above continuous running line Or in a plurality of successive segments of the drawing start point, and sets the second standby time to wait for drawing the line segment that is continuous with the idling-run line, drawn as drawing time of the object becomes shorter order To decide .

A drawing control program according to an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an empty space that does not perform drawing while drawing one or more continuous line segments and another one or more continuous line segments on a computer. the run sections provided, a rendering control program for executing the drawing order determining process of determining a drawing order to draw a drawing object that includes one or more line segments on the medium, the computer drawing the drawing target A drawing position for drawing the drawing target on the medium is determined based on the drawing information for performing, and based on the drawing information or the drawing position, a line segment included in the drawing target and the line segment continuous to the line segment are determined. The direction change degree with the free running line segment representing the free running section is calculated, and the sky that continues to the line segment at the drawing end point of the one or more continuous line segments is calculated based on the direction change degree. Wait for a free run 1 waiting time, or the 2nd waiting time which waits for the drawing of the said line segment which continues to the said idle line in the drawing start point of the said one or several continuous line segment which continues to the said idle line Is set , and the drawing order is determined so as to shorten the drawing time of the drawing target .

A recording medium on which a drawing control program according to an aspect of the present invention is recorded is a recording medium on which the drawing control program described above is recorded.

It is possible to provide a drawing apparatus, a laser irradiation apparatus , a drawing control method, a drawing control program, and a recording medium on which this is recorded, which optimizes the drawing order in consideration of the follow-up delay of the drawing apparatus .

It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of the drawing by the conventional laser marking apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the laser marking apparatus 100 of embodiment. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a drawing control apparatus 20. FIG. It is a figure showing an example of the character drawn based on font data, coordinate data, and coordinate data. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the drawing control apparatus 20 of embodiment. (A) is a figure which shows an example of drawing condition DB43, (b) is how to define the angle which a line segment and the free-running line segment which continues to this line segment make between line segments. It is a figure for demonstrating, (c) is a figure which shows an example of required time DB44. It is a flowchart showing the drawing order determination process by the drawing control apparatus 20 of embodiment. (A) is a figure which shows an example of a character string, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the drawing base point of the character string shown to (a). It is a figure which shows the various patterns which have a free running line segment between line segments. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of a drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a drawing order determination process performed by the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a drawing order for drawing each drawing target by a drawing order determination unit 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the character string by which a drawing order is determined by the drawing order determination means 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 of Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a drawing order for drawing a line segment included in each drawing target by a drawing order determination unit 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a drawing target whose line segment drawing order is determined by the drawing order determination unit 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a standby time calculation process in the drawing control apparatus according to the second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Embodiments to which a drawing apparatus, a laser irradiation apparatus , a drawing control method, a drawing control program, and a recording medium on which the drawing apparatus of the present invention are applied will be described below.

  Here, the term “drawing target” is used to indicate a drawing target such as letters, numbers, symbols, and figures. In addition, the “character” is used as a word representing the whole or a part of a character such as a genre, a sword (making), or a part thereof. Similarly, “numerals”, “symbols”, and “graphics” are used as words that represent all or part of the numbers, symbols, and graphics.

  The “line segment” refers to a section that is included in a drawing target such as a character and whose coordinates at both ends are determined in order to draw the drawing target. This line segment includes not only a part of a straight line but also a part of a curve, and has a thickness.

  Further, the “single-stroke component” is used as including one or a plurality of line segments that are continuously drawn from the position at which drawing is started to the position at which drawing is ended next. For example, when drawing is performed by laser irradiation, one stroke of characters or the like drawn from the start point of laser irradiation to the end point of irradiation becomes one stroke part.

  For this reason, drawing objects such as letters, numbers, symbols, and figures include one or more one-stroke parts, and one-stroke parts include one or more line segments.

  Further, the term “free running section” means that when the end point A of one line segment included in the drawing target and the end point B of another line segment are separated from each other, the other line segment is next to the end point A. This is the section AB when the vehicle runs idle to move the drawing position to the end point B for drawing.

  The term “idle line segment” is used when the idling section AB is represented as a virtual line segment.

  The one-stroke component (one stroke) of the embodiment corresponds to the stroke of the conventional stroke font, but the one-stroke component of the embodiment is optimized for drawing characters by the laser marking device 100 as a laser irradiation device. It may be the same as or different from a stroke defined by a public organization (for example, Japanese Standards Association, ISO, etc.). The laser marking device 100 according to the embodiment adjusts the one-stroke component to an appropriate shape in order to draw the one-stroke component by coloring the medium with laser light.

  In addition, the term “drawing order” includes the order in which line segments included in the drawing target are drawn (including the drawing order of which line segment is drawn from), and a plurality of drawing targets included in the text. These are used to have two meanings of the order of drawing.

Hereinafter, the drawing apparatus, the laser irradiation apparatus , the drawing control method, the drawing control program, and the recording medium recording the same according to the first and second embodiments will be described.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the laser marking apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

  The laser marking device 100 includes a drawing device 10 that irradiates a laser, and a drawing control device 20 that controls drawing of the drawing device 10. The drawing apparatus 10 includes a laser oscillator 11 that irradiates a laser, a direction control mirror 13 that changes the laser irradiation direction, a direction control motor 12 that drives the direction control mirror 13, an optical lens 14, and a condenser lens 15.

  The laser oscillator 11 is a semiconductor laser (LD (Laser Diode)), but may be a gas laser, a solid laser, a liquid laser, or the like. The direction control motor 12 is, for example, a servo motor that controls the direction of the reflecting surface of the direction control mirror 13 to two axes. The direction control motor 12 and the direction control mirror 13 constitute a galvano mirror. A laser irradiation point is scanned by a galvanometer mirror. The optical lens 14 is a lens that increases the spot diameter of the laser light, and the condenser lens 15 is a lens that converges the laser light.

  The rewritable medium 50 is a rewritable heat-sensitive medium that develops color when heated to a temperature of 180 ° C. or higher and rapidly cools and decolors when heated to a temperature of 130 to 170 ° C. Normal thermal paper and thermal rewritable media do not absorb near-infrared laser light, so when using a laser light source that oscillates near-infrared laser wavelengths (semiconductor lasers, solid-state laser YAG, etc.) It is necessary to add a material or a layer that absorbs laser light to the rewritable medium. Note that rewriting means recording by heating with laser light, and erasing by heating with laser light, hot air, hot stamp, or the like. The non-rewritable thermal paper refers to thermal paper that is difficult to be decolored by heating. In the first embodiment, a case where a rewritable medium 50 is used will be described as an example of a medium to be used. However, it is also suitable for a medium that cannot be rewritten such as thermal paper, plastic, metal, etc. that cannot be rewritten. Applicable.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the drawing control apparatus 20. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram when the drawing control apparatus 20 is mainly implemented by software, and a computer is an entity. When the drawing control apparatus 20 is realized without using a computer as an entity, an IC generated for a specific function such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) is used.

  The drawing control device 20 includes a CPU 31, a memory 32, a hard disk 35, an input device 36, a CD-ROM drive 33, a display 37 and a network device 34. The hard disk 35 includes a font data DB 41 that stores font data of a series of stroke font characters, a character drawing program 42 that generates a drawing command that eliminates duplication from the font data and controls the drawing device 10, a drawing condition DB 43, and a required A time DB 44 is stored. Here, the required time DB 44 is a DB for storing the required time described later at the stage of sequentially determining the drawing order of the line segments in the drawing order determining process described later. The contents will be described later together with the description of the drawing order determination process.

  The CPU 31 reads and executes the character drawing program 42 from the hard disk 35 and draws characters on the rewritable medium 50 in the procedure described later. The memory 32 is a volatile memory such as a DRAM, and serves as a work area when the CPU 31 executes the character drawing program 42.

  The input device 36 is a device for a user to input an instruction to control the drawing device 10 such as a mouse or a keyboard. A drawing condition indicating a sentence or a figure (hereinafter referred to as a sentence or the like) to be drawn on the rewritable medium 50 or a size of a drawing target included in the sentence or the like is input by the user via the input device 36, for example. The input drawing conditions are stored in, for example, the hard disk 35 as the drawing condition DB 43. The drawing conditions include data representing the position, size, drawing order, etc. of each drawing target in a sentence or the like. The data structure of the drawing conditions will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The display 37 is a user interface that displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen with a predetermined resolution and number of colors based on, for example, screen information instructed by the character drawing program 42. For example, an input field for characters to be drawn on the rewritable medium 50 is displayed.

  The CD-ROM drive 33 is configured to be detachable from the CD-ROM 38, and is used when reading data from the CD-ROM 38 and writing data on a recordable recording medium. The font data DB 41 and the character drawing program 42 are distributed in a state stored in the CD-ROM 38, read from the CD-ROM 38, and installed in the hard disk 35. In addition, the CD-ROM 38 can be replaced with a nonvolatile memory such as a DVD, a Blu-ray disc, an SD card, a memory stick (registered trademark), a multimedia card, and an xD card.

  The network device 34 is an interface (for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) card) for connecting to a network such as a LAN or the Internet, and executes processing in accordance with protocols defined in the physical layer and data link layer of the OSI basic reference model. Thus, a drawing command corresponding to the character code can be transmitted to the drawing apparatus 10. The font data DB 41 and the character drawing program 42 can be downloaded from a predetermined server connected via a network. Note that the drawing control apparatus 20 and the drawing apparatus 10 may be directly connected via USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE 1394, wireless USB, Bluetooth, or the like, not via a network.

  Characters to be drawn drawn on the rewritable medium 50 are input from the input device 36 as described above, and are stored in the hard disk 35 as, for example, list-like data. Note that the text or the like including characters to be drawn on the rewritable medium 50 or the size of the drawing target included in the text or the like constitutes a drawing condition.

  The character is specified by a character code such as UNICODE or JIS code, and the drawing control device 20 reads out font data of the character corresponding to the character code from the font data DB 41 and generates a drawing command for controlling the drawing device 10. Used for.

  The character code of the character to be drawn may be input from the input device 36 or stored in the hard disk 35 in advance (including a case where the character code is input via a network).

  When input from the input device 36, the character code corresponding to the key code input by pressing a key on the keyboard, or the IME is converted from the key code when the IME (Input Method Editor) is activated. The character code thus obtained is input to the target character code acquisition means 24. Further, when stored in advance in the hard disk 35, for example, since character strings such as destinations are stored in a list, a character code designating the characters of the character string is read out, and the target character code acquisition means 24 is read out. Is input.

  Further, when the drawing target is composed of straight line segments such as the number “1”, the coordinates of each line segment can be easily extracted. However, the outline font can be drawn with a curve such as a Bezier curve so that the curve can be drawn in a scalable manner. Since the calculation of the distance between line segments becomes complicated when drawn with a curved line, it is preferable to draw a drawing by converting it into a straight line segment even if the drawing target includes a curved line.

  Therefore, when the font data includes a curve, the drawing control apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment converts the curve portion into a straight line and detects the coordinates of the line segment of each straight line. If the character includes a curve, the font data includes data for curve control. Therefore, whether or not the character includes a curve is determined from the font data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of font data, coordinate data, and characters drawn based on the coordinate data. FIG. 4A shows an example of font data as drawing information. The font data in FIG. 4A indicates font data of the letter “r” of the alphabet, and includes data for defining with four line segments. The font data has the coordinates of the end points of each line segment and the drawing order. The coordinates of the end points included in the font data are specified with the predetermined pixel of the bitmap when the character is arranged in the bitmap as the origin.

  Note that the drawing control apparatus 20 of the first embodiment may change the drawing order included in the font data in order to optimize the drawing order.

  When drawing a stroke font with a laser or the like, it is not possible to determine whether the movement is performed while irradiating the laser or not without irradiating the laser based on the coordinates alone. For this reason, the font data of the stroke font includes the laser drawing start position (position where the brush is lowered if a person writes) and a movement command, and the laser drawing end position (position where the brush is raised if a human writes) and a movement command. It is included.

  In FIG. 4A, “m” indicates a laser drawing start position and a movement command up to the coordinates thereof, and “d” indicates a drawing end position and a movement command up to the coordinates thereof. Therefore, “m” means that the brush is moved up and moved, and “d” means that the brush is moved down and moved. As described above, the font data defines the character shape according to the coordinates, the drawing order, and the drawing direction (in the figure, a line segment having an arrow), and the presence or absence of laser irradiation is defined by “m” and “d”. That is, a line segment represented by coordinates associated with one or more consecutive “d” is a one-stroke component.

  Accordingly, in the font data as the drawing information shown in FIG. 4A, a line segment is drawn from the coordinates (100, 500) to the coordinates (100, 50), and the coordinates (100, 50) to the coordinates (120, 220). Moves without drawing a line segment, a line segment is drawn from coordinates (120, 220) to coordinate (230, 500), and a line segment is drawn from coordinates (230, 500) to coordinate (300, 500) Furthermore, it represents that a line segment is drawn from the coordinates (300, 500) to the coordinates (400, 450).

  On the other hand, the shape of the drawn character can be specified if the coordinates of the two points specifying the line segment are the same as the number of line segments. FIG. 4B shows an example of the coordinates of each line segment constituting a character (here, “r”) that is actually drawn on the medium. FIG. 4B shows coordinate data as data representing a drawing position at which a drawing target is drawn on a medium, and the coordinate data when the character size is doubled based on font data as drawing information. Represents. Since the stroke font is a kind of scalable font such as an outline font, for example, the size of characters when drawing on the rewritable medium 50 can be designated.

  Several methods for adjusting the character size of the stroke font are known, but for the sake of explanation, the coordinates of the font data are simply doubled. For example, the coordinates of the line segment may be adjusted according to the distance from the center of the character.

  In the case of a character including four line segments such as “r” in the alphabet, the coordinates of the line segments are four sets. [0] to [3] shown in FIG. 4B indicate the drawing order of each line segment, and the first two numerical values of the four numbers that follow the right side of the drawing order indicate the coordinates of the start point of the line segment. The remaining two numbers (on the right) represent the coordinates of the end point of the line segment.

  When the coordinate data as the data representing the drawing position shown in FIG. 4B is used, the drawing target “r” is point A → point B and point C → point D as shown in FIG. 4C. Drawing is performed in the order of point E → point F.

  Next, functional blocks of the drawing control apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of the drawing control apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment. When each block is realized by software, each block is realized by the CPU 31 executing the character drawing program 42.

  The drawing control apparatus 20 includes a main control unit 211, a drawing position determination unit 21, a drawing order determination unit 22, a drawing command generation unit 23, a target character code acquisition unit 24, a font data acquisition unit 25, a drawing condition acquisition unit 26, and a direction change. A degree calculation means 27, a direction change degree determination means 28, a speed calculation means 29, a standby time calculation means 30, an idle distance calculation means 212, and an idle distance determination means 213 are included. Of the drawing control apparatus 20, the main control means 211, the drawing position determination means 21, the drawing order determination means 22, the target character code acquisition means 24, the font data acquisition means 25, and the drawing condition acquisition, excluding the drawing command generation means 23. The means 26, the direction change degree calculating means 27, the direction change degree determining means 28, the speed calculating means 29, the standby time calculating means 30, the idle distance calculating means 212, and the idle distance determining means 213 constitute a drawing order determining device. To do.

  The main control unit 211 performs drawing position determination unit 21, drawing order determination unit 22, drawing command generation unit 23, target character code acquisition unit 24, font data acquisition unit 25, drawing when executing drawing order determination processing described later. A process that supervises the processes of the condition acquisition means 26, the direction change degree calculation means 27, the direction change degree determination means 28, the speed calculation means 29, the standby time calculation means 30, the idle distance calculation means 212, and the idle distance determination means 213. And control means for executing other peripheral processing required.

  The drawing position determination unit 21 draws a drawing target on the rewritable medium 50 based on the font data read from the font data DB 41 by the font data acquisition unit 25 and the drawing conditions read from the drawing condition DB 43 by the drawing condition acquisition unit 26. The coordinate data that is the drawing position to be determined is determined. Note that the drawing conditions include data representing the position, size, drawing order, and the like of each drawing target in a sentence or the like. Data representing the drawing conditions will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The drawing order determination unit 22 determines both the drawing order for drawing a line segment included in the drawing object and the drawing order for drawing each of a plurality of drawing objects included in the text.

  The drawing command generation means 23 is calculated by the coordinate data determined by the drawing position determination means 21, the drawing order determined by the drawing order determination means 22, the drawing speed calculated by the speed calculation means 29, and the waiting time calculation means 30. A drawing command reflecting the waiting time to be generated is generated. The generated drawing command is input to the drawing device 10, and as a result, a drawing target representing a sentence or the like input to the input device 36 by the user is drawn on the rewritable medium 50 by the drawing device 10.

  The target character code acquisition unit 24 acquires a character code to be drawn included in text or the like input to the input device 36 by the user.

  The font data acquisition unit 25 refers to the font data DB 41 based on the character code acquired by the target character code acquisition unit 24 and reads font data associated with the character code.

  The drawing condition acquisition means 26 is a drawing condition DB 43 stored in the hard disk 35 for drawing conditions including drawing characters and the like to be drawn on the rewritable medium 50, and drawing conditions indicating drawing size conditions included in the writings. Get from.

  The direction change degree calculating means 27 is based on the coordinate data determined by the drawing position determining means 21, or an angle formed between consecutive line segments, or an angle formed between a line segment and a free running line continued to the line segment. Is calculated as the degree of direction change.

  The direction change degree determination means 28 determines whether or not the direction change degree calculated by the direction change degree calculation means 27 is greater than a predetermined degree. In the first embodiment, the predetermined degree is set to 30 °, and the direction change degree determining means 28 determines whether or not the angle formed by the continuous line segments is larger than 30 °. The method of defining the angle between the line segments that are continuous and the angle between the line segment and the free running line segment that is continuous with the line segment will be described later with reference to FIG.

The speed calculation means 29 calculates the drawing speed when drawing the drawing target and the free running speed when running in the free running section. The idling speed is determined under the first rule indicated by the following (A), (B), and (C).
(A): When the length of the idling section is longer than the predetermined length, the idling speed is made higher than the drawing speed.
(B): Even if the length of the idling section is equal to or shorter than the predetermined length, if the waiting time is set at the end point of the idling section, the idling speed is made higher than the drawing speed.
(C): In cases other than (A) and (B), the idling speed is made equal to the drawing speed.

The waiting time calculating means 30 calculates a time te for waiting for the next line segment to start drawing at the drawing end point, and a time ts for waiting for the next line segment to start drawing at the drawing start point. The waiting times te and ts are determined under the second rule indicated by the following (D), (E), and (F). Data representing the standby time calculated by the standby time calculation means 30 is incorporated in the drawing order generated by the drawing order determination means 22.
(D): When the angle formed by the line segment and the free running line segment continuous to the line segment is equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle, the waiting time te is not inserted at the drawing end point.
(E) When the angle between the line segment and the free running line segment that is continuous with the line segment is larger than a predetermined angle, the waiting time te is inserted at the drawing end point.
(F): The waiting time ts is not inserted at the drawing start point when the angle formed between the free running line segment and the continuous line segment is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle.
(G) When the angle formed between the free running line segment and the continuous line segment is larger than a predetermined angle, the waiting time ts is inserted at the drawing start point.
(H): Even when the angle between the free running line segment and the continuous line segment is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle (in the case of (F)), the free running speed is higher than the drawing speed. If it is higher, the waiting time ts is inserted at the drawing start point.

  The free running distance calculation means 212 calculates the free running section distance based on the coordinate data.

  The free running distance determination unit 213 determines whether the distance of the free running section calculated by the free running distance calculation unit 212 is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance.

  FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of the drawing condition DB 43. FIG. 6B shows an angle formed between continuous line segments, a line segment, and a free running line segment that is continuous with the line segment. It is a figure for demonstrating how to define the angle to make, (c) is a figure which shows an example of required time DB44.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the drawing condition DB 43 is arranged such that each drawing target representing a JIS code, a sentence, etc. as an example of a character code for specifying the type of drawing target is arranged (x, y Position data representing coordinates), size, and data representing the drawing order. Data representing the drawing order is determined for each line segment by drawing order determination processing described later with reference to FIG. The coordinate value indicating the position of the drawing target is, for example, the coordinates of the upper left point of the region where the drawing target is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the angle formed between the continuous line segments (that is, the degree of direction change) is an extension line l of the line segment AB with respect to the continuous line segments AB and BC. It is obtained as an angle θ formed by the line segment BC. In addition, the angle formed by the line segment and the free running line continuous to the line segment is an angle when either the line segment AB or the line segment BC shown in FIG. 6B is replaced with the free running line segment. As required.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, the required time DB 44 is a DB that stores the x and y coordinates of the end of the line segment in association with the required time. The required time DB 44 stores the required time to the end of the candidate line segment calculated in the brute force format when determining the line segment as the next drawing order candidate in the drawing order determination process of the first embodiment. To do.

  In addition, although the symbol which combined the alphabet and the number is shown as a JIS code, x-coordinate value, y-coordinate value, drawing object size, drawing order, and required time, in an actual drawing control apparatus, a specific code number, x A coordinate value, a y-coordinate value, and a numerical value representing the size of the drawing target, the drawing order, and the required time are given.

  Next, a drawing order determination process performed by the drawing control apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a drawing order determination process performed by the drawing control apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment.

  First, the drawing position determination unit 21 sets a drawing target as a rewritable medium 50 based on the font data read from the font data DB 41 by the font data acquisition unit 25 and the drawing conditions read from the drawing condition DB 43 by the drawing condition acquisition unit 26. The coordinate data that is the drawing position for drawing is determined (step S1).

  In the process of step S1, the font data acquisition unit 25 refers to the font data DB 41 based on the character code acquired by the target character code acquisition unit 24, and reads font data associated with the character code. Then, the drawing position determination means 21 is based on the font data read from the font data DB 41 by the font data acquisition means 25 and the size data included in the drawing conditions read from the drawing condition DB 43 by the drawing condition acquisition means 26. Coordinate data that is a drawing position for drawing the drawing target on the rewritable medium 50 is determined. Thus, the process of step S1 is performed.

  For example, when a character string as shown in FIG. 8A is drawn, as shown in FIG. 8B, the drawing base point (for example, the upper left point is the base point, and the coordinate value of the base point is (x0, y0) ) Is set, and coordinate data representing a position for drawing each line segment included in the drawing target is determined from the character size included in the drawing conditions.

  Next, the main control unit 211 acquires the current position of the laser irradiation point of the drawing apparatus 10 and the total number of line segments that determine the drawing order (step S2). The position of the laser irradiation point can be obtained as a value representing the x and y coordinates from the biaxial data for controlling the direction control motor 12 (see FIG. 2). The total number of line segments can be acquired based on all the font data to be drawn included in the drawing conditions or the coordinate data determined in step S1.

  Next, the main control unit 211 determines whether or not the current position of the irradiation point acquired in step S2 matches the end point of any line segment (step S3). In this determination, among the x and y coordinates representing the end points of the line segment included in the coordinate data determined in step S1, there is data that matches the x and y coordinates representing the current position of the irradiation point acquired in step S2. This is done by determining whether or not.

  If the main control unit 211 determines in step S3 that there is matching data, the main control unit 211 sets a line segment having one end at the end point represented by the x and y coordinates as a drawing start line segment (step S4Y). The drawing start line segment is a line segment to be drawn first among all the line segments included in all drawing targets included in the drawing conditions. Of the both ends of the drawing start line segment selected in step S4Y, the drawing is started at the end point coincident with the current position of the irradiation point in step S3.

  On the other hand, if the main control unit 211 determines that there is no matching data in step S3, the main control unit 211 extracts the end point closest to the x and y coordinates representing the irradiation point from the coordinate data, and draws a line segment including the end point. A start line segment is set (step S4N). Note that drawing is started at the end point closest to the x and y coordinates representing the irradiation point.

  The main control means 211 selects the end points of candidate line segments that are candidates for the next line segment to be drawn (step S5). This process is a process for selecting candidates for the drawing start point of the line segment whose drawing order is the next, and the processes up to step S18 described later are repeatedly executed in a brute force format with all line segments as candidates. Thus, the end point included in the coordinate data is selected one after another. The standby time when each line segment is a candidate line segment in the brute force format is calculated, and the end point of the candidate line segment determined to have the shortest standby time in step S16 described later is determined as the next drawing start point. Since the line segment includes two end points, the end points at both ends of each line segment are selected by repeatedly executing the process of step S5.

  Here, the line segment connecting the end point selected in step S5 (the drawing start point of the candidate line segment whose drawing order is the next) and the drawing end point of the line segment whose drawing order is determined to be before it. Is the empty line segment. Both ends of the free running line segment are obtained from the coordinate data. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9A, a line segment connecting the drawing end point B of the line segment AB whose drawing order is determined and the drawing start point C of the candidate line segment CD whose drawing order is the next. Becomes the free running segment BC.

  Next, the direction change degree calculating means 27 calculates an angle θe (direction change degree) formed by the idle line segment obtained by the end point selected in step S5 and the line segment whose drawing order is determined (step S6). ). The formed angle is obtained in the manner shown in FIG. 6B based on the coordinate data. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9A, the angle formed between the line segment AB whose drawing order is determined and the idle line segment BC is calculated as θe. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the line segment AB and the free-running line segment BC are on the same straight line, so θe is 0 °.

  Next, the direction change degree determination means 28 determines whether or not the angle θe calculated in step S6 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle θ1 (step S7). In Embodiment 1, θ1 is set to 30 °, but is not limited to this value.

  Next, the free running distance calculation means 212 has a length d () of the free running line connecting the end point selected in step S5 and the drawing end point of the line segment whose drawing order is determined to be before it. That is, the distance d) of the free running section is calculated based on the coordinate data (step S8Y). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9A, the length d of the free running line segment BC is calculated based on the coordinate data of points B and C.

  When the distance d of the idling section is obtained in step S8Y, the idling distance determining means 213 determines whether or not the distance d of the idling section is equal to or less than a predetermined distance d0 (step S9Y).

  Next, the direction change degree calculation means 27 calculates an angle θs (direction change degree) formed by the line segment including the end point selected in step S5 and the idle line segment (step S10A). The formed angle θs is obtained as shown in FIG. 6B based on the coordinate data.

  When the angle θs is calculated in step S10A, the direction change degree determination unit 28 determines whether or not the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2 (step S11A). In the first embodiment, θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  When it is determined in step S11A that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0), the waiting time ts at the drawing start point to zero (0), The idling speed V in the idling section is set to V1 (step S12A). The idle speed V1 is the same speed as the drawing speed for drawing a line segment.

  The reason why the standby time te is set to zero (0) in step S12A is that it is determined in step S7 that θe is equal to or less than a predetermined θ1. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the angle θe formed by the line segment AB and the free-running line segment BC is equal to or less than the predetermined angle θ1 at the point B that is the drawing end point of the line segment AB. This is because it is considered that it is not necessary to provide a waiting time for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled because the angle change when entering the section is relatively small.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to zero (0) in step S12A is that it is determined in step S11A that θs is equal to or smaller than a predetermined θ2. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the angle θs formed by the free running line BC and the line segment CD is not more than a predetermined angle θ2 at the point C that is the drawing start point of the line segment CD. This is because it is considered that it is not necessary to provide a time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled because the change in angle at the time of entering from drawing is relatively small.

  In step S12A, the idling speed V is set to V1 which is the same as the drawing speed. In step S9Y, the distance d of the idling section is determined to be less than the distance d0, and the distance of the idling section is relatively short. Therefore, there is little need to increase the idle speed. Even if the idling section is short, increasing the idling speed shortens the idling time, but the waiting time at the drawing start point (point C) is set to zero (0) because θs is equal to or less than θ2. Therefore, it is considered that it is not necessary to set the waiting time only to reduce the increased idle speed. For this reason, the idling speed V is set to V1.

  Step S12A is a case where the above-described rules (C), (D), and (F) are applied.

  As described above, when the standby times te, ts, and the idling speed V are set in step S12A, the main control unit 211 needs to run idle from the drawing end point and start drawing at the drawing start point. Time tk is calculated (step S13).

  tk is a required time calculated for the k-th end point among the 2N end points included in the N line segments acquired in step S2. k is an integer satisfying 1 ≦ k ≦ 2 (N−1), and tk is calculated by the following equation (1).

tk = tek + dk / V + tsk (1)
Here, tek is a waiting time (first waiting time) at the drawing end point calculated for the k-th end point among 2 (N-1) end points included in the (N-1) candidate line segments. Tsk represents a waiting time (second waiting time) at the drawing start point calculated for the kth end point. Dk represents the length of the free running line segment calculated for the kth end point, and V represents the free running speed. For this reason, dk / V represents the time (idle time) required for idling in the idling section.

  The required time calculated in step S13 is stored in the hard disk 35 as the required time DB (see FIG. 6C) in association with the x and y coordinates of the kth end point.

  When the process of step S13 is completed, the main control unit 211 increments the value of k to calculate the required time for the next end point (step S14).

  Next, the main control unit 211 determines whether k ≧ 2 (N−1) is satisfied (step S15). This is because it is determined whether or not the processing for all the 2 (N-1) end points included in the (N-1) candidate line segments has been completed.

  If the main control means 211 determines in step S15 that the processing has not been completed for all end points, the flow returns to step S5.

  When it is determined in step S11A that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S12B, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0), The waiting time ts at the drawing start point is set to t1, and the idling speed V in the idling section is set to V2 (step S12B). The idle speed V2 is twice as fast as the drawing speed for drawing a line segment.

  The reason why the standby time te is set to zero (0) in step S12B is that, in the same manner as in step S12A, it is determined in step S7 that θe is equal to or smaller than a predetermined θ1. In the example shown in FIG. 9B, the angle θe formed by the line segment AB and the idle line segment BC is equal to or less than the predetermined angle θ1 at the point B that is the drawing end point of the line segment AB. This is because it is considered that it is not necessary to provide a waiting time for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to converge because the change in angle when entering the section is relatively small.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to t1 in step S12B is that it is determined in step S11A that θs is greater than the predetermined θ2. In the example shown in FIG. 9B, the angle θs formed by the free running line BC and the line segment CD is larger than the predetermined angle θ2 at the point C, which is the drawing start point of the line segment CD, and Since the angle change at the start of drawing is relatively large, when changing the direction at the boundary point (point C) between the free running section and the drawing section, a time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled is provided. This is because it is considered necessary.

  In step S12B, the idling speed V is set to V2, which is twice the drawing speed. The waiting time t1 is provided at the drawing start point (point C) because the angle between the idling section and the line segment is large. Since the waiting delay t1 is used to converge the follow-up delay when decelerating from the idle speed V2 to the drawing speed V1, the idle speed is increased even if the idle distance is less than d0. This is to shorten the length.

  Step S12B is a case where the above-described rules (B), (D), and (G) are applied.

  If it is determined in step S9Y that the distance d of the idle section is longer than the predetermined distance d0, the flow proceeds to step S11B, and the direction change degree determination means 28 determines that the angle θs is equal to or less than the predetermined angle θ2. It is determined whether or not there is (step S11B). Step S11B has the same contents as step S11A, and θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  When it is determined in step S11B that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0), the waiting time ts at the drawing start point to t1, and the idle running section. Is set to V2 (step S12C). The idle speed V2 is twice the drawing speed.

  The reason why the standby time te is set to zero (0) in step S12C is that θe calculated in step S6 is determined to be equal to or smaller than a predetermined θ1 in step S7. In the example shown in FIG. 9C, the line segment AB and the free-running line segment BC are on the same straight line at the point B which is the drawing end point of the line segment AB, and the angle θe formed is a predetermined angle θ1. It is as follows. This is because it is considered that it is not necessary to provide time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled because the change in angle when entering the idle running section is relatively small.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to t1 in step S12C is that the idle running distance d calculated in step S8Y is determined to be longer than d0 in step S9Y, and the idle running speed is thus twice the drawing speed. This is because, since V2 is set, a waiting time for converging the follow-up delay accompanying the speed reduction is required. In the example shown in FIG. 9C, the follow-up delay of the laser irradiation point is converged because the idle speed V2 is decelerated to the drawing speed V1 at the point C that is the drawing start point of the line segment CD. Standby time is provided.

  The reason why the idling speed V is set to V2 that is twice the drawing speed in step S12C is that the distance d of the idling section is determined to be longer than the distance d0 in step S9Y, and the distance of the idling section is relatively long. This is to increase the idle speed and shorten the idle time.

  Step S12C is a case where the above-described rules (A), (D), and (H) are applied.

  If it is determined in step S11B that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S12D, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0), The waiting time ts at the drawing start point is set to t1, and the idling speed V in the idling section is set to V2 (step S12D).

  The reason why the standby time te is set to zero (0) in step S12D is the same reason as in step S12C.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to t1 in step S12D is that it is determined in step S11B that θs is greater than the predetermined θ2. In the example shown in FIG. 9D, the angle θs formed by the free running line BC and the line segment CD is larger than the predetermined angle θ2 at the point C that is the drawing start point of the line segment CD. This is because it is considered that it is necessary to provide a time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled because the angle change at the start of drawing is relatively large.

  In step S12D, the idling speed V is set to V2, which is twice the drawing speed, because the waiting time t1 is provided at the drawing start point C. Therefore, the idling speed is increased by increasing the idling speed. This is because even if a delay occurs, it can be absorbed at the point C, so that the idling speed is increased to shorten the idling time.

  Step S12D is a case where the above-described rules (A), (D), and (G) are applied.

  If it is determined in step S7 that θe is greater than θ1, the flow proceeds to step S8N, and the idle distance calculation means 212 has the end point selected in step S5 and the drawing order preceding it. Is calculated based on the coordinate data (see step S8N). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9E, the length d of the free running segment BC is calculated based on the coordinate data of points B and C.

  When the distance d of the idling section is obtained in step S8N, the idling distance determination means 213 determines whether or not the distance d of the idling section is equal to or less than the predetermined distance d0 (step S9N).

  Next, the direction change degree calculating means 27 calculates an angle θs (direction change degree) formed by the line segment including the end point selected in step S5 and the idle line segment (step S10C).

  When the angle θs is calculated in step S10C, the direction change degree determination unit 28 determines whether or not the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2 (step S11C). In the first embodiment, θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  When it is determined in step S11C that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point (point B) to t1, and the waiting time ts at the drawing start point (point C). Zero (0), the idling speed V of the idling section is set to V1 (step S12E).

  The reason for setting the standby time te in step S12E is that it is determined in step S7 that θe is greater than the predetermined θ1. In the example shown in FIG. 9 (e), the angle θe formed by the line segment AB and the free-running line segment BC is larger than the predetermined angle θ1 at the point B that is the drawing end point of the line segment AB, and the free-running section. This is because the angle change at the time of entering is relatively large, and it is considered necessary to provide a time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point due to the angle change to converge.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to zero (0) in step S12E is that it is determined in step S11A that θs is equal to or smaller than a predetermined θ2. In the example shown in FIG. 9E, the angle θs formed by the free running line BC and the line segment CD is equal to or less than the predetermined angle θ2 at the point C which is the drawing start point of the line CD. This is because it is considered that it is not necessary to provide a time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled because the change in angle at the time of entering from drawing is relatively small.

  In step S12E, the idling speed V is set to V1 which is the same as the drawing speed. In step S9Y, it is determined that the distance d of the idling section is equal to or less than the distance d0, and the distance of the idling section is relatively short. Therefore, there is little need to increase the idle speed. Even if the idling section is short, increasing the idling speed shortens the idling time, but the waiting time at the drawing start point (point C) is set to zero (0) because θs is equal to or less than θ2. Therefore, it is considered that it is not necessary to set the waiting time only to reduce the increased idle speed. For this reason, the idling speed V is set to V1.

  Step S12E is a case where the above-described rules (C), (E), and (F) are applied.

  If it is determined in step S11C that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S12F, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to t1, and the drawing start point. Is set to t1, and the idling speed V of the idling section is set to V2 (step S12F). The idle speed V2 is twice as fast as the drawing speed for drawing a line segment.

  The reason why the standby time te is set to t1 in step S12F is for the same reason as in step S12E.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to t1 in step S12F is that it is determined in step S11C that θs is greater than the predetermined θ2. In the example shown in FIG. 9 (f), the angle θs formed by the free running line BC and the line segment CD is larger than the predetermined angle θ 2 at the point C that is the drawing start point of the line segment CD. This is because it is considered that it is necessary to provide a time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled because the angle change at the start of drawing is relatively large.

  In step S12F, the idling speed V is set to V2, which is twice the drawing speed. The waiting time t1 is provided at the drawing start point (point C) because the angle between the idling section and the line segment is large. Since the waiting delay t1 is used to converge the follow-up delay when decelerating from the idle speed V2 to the drawing speed V1, the idle speed is increased even if the idle distance is less than d0. This is to shorten the length.

  Step S12F is a case where the above-described rules (B), (E), and (G) are applied.

  If it is determined in step S9N that the distance d of the idle section is longer than the predetermined distance d0, the flow proceeds to step S11D, and the direction change degree determination means 28 determines that the angle θs is equal to or less than the predetermined angle θ2. It is determined whether or not there is (step S11D). Step S11D has the same contents as steps S11A, S11B, and S11C, and θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  When it is determined in step S11D that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to t1, the waiting time ts at the drawing start point to t1, and the idle running section idle running. The speed V is set to V2 (step S12G).

  The reason why the standby time te is set to t1 in step S12G is the same as in steps S12E and S12F.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to t1 in step S12G is that the idle running distance d is determined to be longer than d0 in step S9N, and the idle running speed is set to V2 that is twice the drawing speed. This is because a waiting time for converging the follow-up delay accompanying the speed reduction is required. In the example shown in FIG. 9G, since the point C, which is the drawing start point of the line segment CD, is decelerated from the idle running speed V2 to the drawing speed V1, the follow-up delay of the laser irradiation point is reduced. A time to wait for is provided.

  The reason why the idling speed V is set to V2 that is twice the drawing speed in step S12G is that the distance d of the idling section is determined to be longer than the distance d0 in step S9N, and the distance of the idling section is relatively long. This is to increase the idle speed and shorten the idle time.

  Step S12G is a case where the above-described rules (A), (E), and (H) are applied.

  If it is determined in step S11D that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S12H, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to t1, and the drawing start point. Is set to t1, and the idling speed V in the idling section is set to V2 (step S12H).

  The reason why the standby time te is set to t1 in step S12H is the same reason as in steps S12E, S12F, and S12G.

  The reason why the standby time ts is set to t1 in step S12H is that it is determined in step S11D that θs is greater than the predetermined θ2. In the example shown in FIG. 9 (h), at the point C that is the drawing start point of the line segment CD, the angle θs formed by the idle line segment BC and the line segment CD is larger than the predetermined angle θ2, and This is because it is considered that it is necessary to provide a time for waiting for the tracking delay of the laser irradiation point to be settled because the angle change at the start of drawing is relatively large.

  In step S12H, the idling speed V is set to V2, which is twice the drawing speed, because the waiting time t1 is provided at the drawing start point C. Therefore, the idling speed is increased by increasing the idling speed. This is because even if a delay occurs, it can be absorbed at the point C, so that the idling speed is increased to shorten the idling time.

  Step S12H is a case where the above-described rules (A), (E), and (G) are applied.

  After steps S12B, S12C, S12D, S12E, S12F, S12G, and S12H, the time required to start drawing is calculated in step S13.

  In step S13, the drawing end point of the line segment determined as the drawing start line segment in step S4Y or S4N and the (N-1) candidate line segments that are candidates for the next line segment to be drawn are included. The required time tk for all the idle line segments between the 2 (N-1) end points is calculated in the brute force format.

  Thereby, in step S15, k ≧ 2 (N−1) is established, and the flow proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the drawing order determination means 22 finds the end point of the shortest required time among the end points that realize all the required times obtained in step S13 (step S16).

  When the end point is obtained in step S16, the line segment including the end point is fixed as the line segment in the next drawing order of the drawing start line segment. That is, step S16 is a step in which the drawing order determination means 22 determines the drawing order based on the required time. Since the candidate line segment is defined by two end points (both ends), one end point of both ends of the candidate line segment is obtained in step S16, so that the candidate line segment including the end point is the line in the next drawing order. It is determined as minutes. For the line segments for which the drawing order is determined, for example, the drawing order may be stored in the drawing condition DB 43 (see FIG. 6A).

  Next, the main control unit 211 determines whether or not the drawing order of all line segments has been determined (step S17). This determination is performed, for example, by determining whether or not the drawing order stored in the drawing condition DB 43 is fixed for all line segments to be drawn.

  If the main control unit 211 determines in step S17 that the drawing order of all the line segments has not been determined, the main control unit 211 sets the drawing end point of the line segment in which the drawing order is determined in step S16 as a reference point, and The flow returns to step S5 to determine the line segment in the drawing order.

  By repeatedly executing step S16, the number of line segments for which the drawing order has not been determined decreases by one, so the total line segment number N is decremented in the process of returning from step S17 to step S5. (Step S19). When the process of step S19 is completed, the processes in and after step S5 are repeatedly executed using the decremented line segment total number N.

  If the main control unit 211 determines in step S17 that the drawing order of all line segments has been determined, the drawing order of all line segments is determined. The determined drawing order is optimized so that the drawing time for drawing all drawing objects is the shortest. Thereby, the optimized font DB generated by the drawing control apparatus of the first embodiment is completed.

  As described above, according to the drawing control apparatus 20 of the first embodiment, the time required for drawing in the brute force format with all line segments as candidates from the drawing end point of the drawing start line segment (required time including standby time and idle running time). Since the line segment including the end point with the shortest (time) is repeatedly selected as the line segment in the next drawing order, the drawing order can be optimized.

  In the above description, the line segment (drawing start line segment) in which the drawing order is the best has been described as the initial position of the laser irradiation position. However, the drawing order is determined by the following method. Also good. In the above-described embodiment, the current position of the irradiation point is used as a reference, and the end point that is the same as or closest to the irradiation point is used as the drawing start point. However, the following method is different in that the drawing start point is also optimized. .

  Since there are N line segments to be drawn and each line segment can be drawn from both end points, two drawing orders can be considered for each line segment.

  In this case, the order in which all line segments are drawn includes only combinations represented by Expression (2).

2N ^* 2 (N-1) ^* 2 (N-2) ^* ... ^* 2 (2)
Here, ^* represents a power.

  For each of these drawing orders, te, ts, V described above are determined from the direction change degree θ between the line segments or between the line segment and the idle line segment and the distance d between the end points, and the requirements for each drawing order. Find the total time.

  Then, the drawing order with the shortest total time required is extracted as the optimized drawing order. In this way, the drawing order may be determined.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. When each block is realized by software, each block is realized by the CPU 31 executing the character drawing program 42.

  The drawing control apparatus 220 includes a main control unit 211, a drawing position determination unit 21, a drawing order determination unit 22, a drawing command generation unit 23, a target character code acquisition unit 24, a font data acquisition unit 25, a drawing condition acquisition unit 26, and a direction change. In addition to the degree calculation means 27, the direction change degree determination means 28, the speed calculation means 29, the standby time calculation means 30, the idle travel distance calculation means 212, and the idle travel distance determination means 213, a line segment group generation means 221 is included.

  That is, the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment has a configuration in which the line segment group generation unit 221 is added to the drawing control apparatus 20 according to the first embodiment.

  Of the drawing control device 220, the main control means 211, the drawing position determination means 21, the drawing order determination means 22, the target character code acquisition means 24, the font data acquisition means 25, the drawing condition acquisition means 26, excluding the drawing command generation means 23. , Direction change degree calculating means 27, direction change degree determining means 28, speed calculating means 29, waiting time calculating means 30, idle running distance calculating means 212, idle running distance determining means 213, and line segment group generating means 221 are arranged in the drawing order. Configure the decision device.

  When the main control unit 211 executes the drawing order determination process, the drawing position determination unit 21, the drawing order determination unit 22, the drawing command generation unit 23, the target character code acquisition unit 24, the font data acquisition unit 25, the drawing condition The acquisition means 26, direction change degree calculation means 27, direction change degree determination means 28, speed calculation means 29, standby time calculation means 30, idle distance calculation means 212, idle distance calculation means 213, and line segment group generation means 221 It is a control means for executing processing that supervises processing and peripheral processing necessary for other processing.

  The line segment group generation unit 221 generates a line segment group for handling continuous line segments as a group based on the coordinate data of both end points of each line segment.

  The line segment group handles line segments having end points of the same coordinates as continuous line segments (line segment group). When a line segment exists alone, that is, when both end points of a line segment do not have the same coordinates as the end points of other line segments, one line segment is treated as a line segment group.

  For example, in the three line segments shown in FIG. 4C, the line segment CD, the line segment DE, and the line segment EF, the end point D and the end point E are end points having the same coordinates. For this reason, the line segment group generation means 221 generates a line segment group including three line segments CD, DE, and EF. Further, since the line segment AB in FIG. 4C exists independently, the line segment group generation means 221 generates the line segment AB as a line segment group.

  The drawing position determining means 21, the drawing order determining means 22, the drawing command generating means 23, the target character code acquiring means 24, the font data acquiring means 25, the drawing condition acquiring means 26, the direction change degree calculating means 27, and the direction change degree determining. The means 28, the speed calculation means 29, the standby time calculation means 30, the free running distance calculation means 212, and the free running distance determination means 213 are respectively the same reference numerals included in the drawing control apparatus 20 of the first embodiment. Basically the same. For this reason, in the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the respective units, the description of the respective units is omitted, and the following description will focus on the differences.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a drawing order determination process performed by the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 shows an overall flow of the drawing order determination process by the drawing control apparatus 220.

  The drawing position determination unit 21 of the drawing control device 220 selects a drawing target based on the font data read from the font data DB 41 by the font data acquisition unit 25 and the drawing conditions read from the drawing condition DB 43 by the drawing condition acquisition unit 26. Coordinate data that is a drawing position for drawing on the rewritable medium 50 is determined (step S201).

  Next, the drawing order determination means 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 determines the drawing order for drawing each drawing target (step S202). For example, when the drawing target is a character string, the order of drawing each character is determined.

  Next, the drawing order determination means 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 determines the drawing order for drawing the line segments included in each drawing target (step S203). For example, when the drawing target is a character string, the order in which line segments included in each character are drawn is determined. Although the font data has a drawing order, in the second embodiment, the drawing order included in the font data may be changed in order to optimize the drawing order.

  Next, the standby time calculation means 30 of the drawing control device 220 determines the standby time and idle speed at the start point and end point of the idle running section (step S204).

  The drawing order of all drawing objects is determined by the processing in steps S201 to S204.

  Next, details of processing for determining a drawing order for drawing each drawing target in step S202 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a drawing order for drawing each drawing target by the drawing order determination unit 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a character string whose drawing order is determined by the drawing order determination unit 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment.

  When the flow shown in FIG. 12 starts, the drawing order determination unit 22 calculates the number N of characters included in the character string based on the number of font data read in step S201 (step S211).

  Next, the drawing order determination means 22 generates a rectangular area 130 that includes each character as shown in FIG. 13A for all drawing objects based on the coordinate data determined in step S201 (see FIG. 13A). Step S212).

  The rectangular area 130 may be generated so as to include the drawing target based on the coordinate data, and the drawing order determination unit 22 may hold the coordinates of the upper left vertex closest to the origin O.

  Here, as an example, as shown in FIG. 13B, rectangular areas 131 to 135 are generated for five drawing objects (“A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O”). To do.

  Next, the drawing order determination means 22 determines the drawing target included in the rectangular area closest to the origin as the drawing target to be drawn first based on the upper left coordinates of all the rectangular areas to be drawn (step S213). ). The rectangular area closest to the origin may be obtained by, for example, obtaining the distance between the upper left coordinates of all the rectangular areas and the origin and extracting the rectangular area having the shortest distance.

  In the example shown in FIG. 13B, since the rectangular area 131 including “A” is closest to the origin O, “A” included in the rectangular area 131 is a drawing target to be drawn first.

  The drawing order determination unit 22 determines a drawing target to be drawn next (step S214). The drawing object to be drawn next is determined as a drawing object included in the rectangular area having the coordinates of the upper left vertex closest to the coordinates of the upper left vertex of the rectangular area including the previous drawing object in the drawing order.

  In the example shown in FIG. 13B, what is drawn after “A” is included in the rectangular region 132 having the upper left vertex closest to the upper left vertex of the rectangular region 131 including “A”. Is.

  Next, the drawing order determination unit 22 subtracts 1 from N (step S215).

  Next, the drawing order determination means 22 determines whether N has become 0 (step S216).

  If the drawing order determination unit 22 determines that N is not 0 in step S216 (S216: NO), it returns the flow to step S214, and determines the drawing object to be drawn next (step S214).

  By repeating steps S214 to S216, in the example shown in FIG. 13B, the drawing order is determined in the order of “I” “U” “E” “O”.

  If the drawing order determination unit 22 determines that N is 0 in step S216 (S216: YES), the flow ends.

  As described above, the drawing order of all drawing objects is determined.

  Next, details of processing for determining a drawing order for drawing line segments included in each drawing target in step S203 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process of determining a drawing order for drawing line segments included in each drawing target by the drawing order determination unit 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment. The process for determining the drawing order of the line segments shown in FIG. 14 is a process executed independently for each drawing target.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a drawing target whose drawing order is determined by the drawing order determination unit 22 of the drawing control apparatus 220 according to the second embodiment.

  When the flow shown in FIG. 14 is started, the drawing order determination unit 22 counts the number M of line segment groups generated by the line segment group generation unit 221 (step S221).

  Next, the drawing order determination means 22 is a line segment group in which either end point is not adjacent to another line segment group and the x coordinate of the end point not adjacent to the other line segment group is closest to the origin O. Is determined as the line segment group to be drawn first, and the start point (drawing start position) of the line segment group to be drawn first is determined (step S222).

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 15A, the hiragana “a” includes seven line segment groups 151 to 157. Among the line segment groups 151 to 157, a line segment group whose one of the end points is not adjacent to another line segment group is a line segment group 151 (both ends), 152 (one end), 155 (one end), 156 (one end), 157 ( One end). That is, “the end point is adjacent to another line segment group” may be the case where the end point is adjacent to the end point of another line segment group or the end point may be adjacent to the line segment between both ends of the other line segment group. .

  In the example shown in FIG. 15A, since the end point whose x coordinate is closest to the origin O is the left end of the line segment group 151, the line segment group to be drawn first is determined as the line segment group 151.

  Further, the drawing order determining means 22 determines the start point (drawing start position) of the line segment group to be drawn first in step S221. In the example shown in FIG. 15A, the start point of the line segment group 151 is determined as the end point closer to the origin among the both ends of the line segment group 151 (the left end point in FIG. 15A). The end point on the right side of the line segment group 151 is the end point (drawing end position).

  Next, the drawing order determination unit 22 determines a line segment group to be drawn next (step S223).

  In step S223, the drawing order determination unit 22 determines the line segment group having the end point closest to the end point (drawing end position) of the previous line group in the drawing order as the line segment group to be drawn next.

  In the example shown in FIG. 15A, since the line segment group having the end point closest to the right end of the line segment group 151 is the line segment group 152, the line segment group whose drawing order is next to the line segment group 151 is determined as the line segment group 152. .

  Next, the drawing order determination means 22 subtracts 1 from M (step S224).

  Next, the drawing order determination unit 22 determines whether or not M is 0 (step S225).

  If the drawing order determination unit 22 determines that M is not 0 (S225: NO), the flow returns to step S223.

  As a result, steps S223 to S225 are repeatedly executed, and in the example shown in FIG. 15, the drawing order after the line segment group 152 is determined as the line segment groups 153, 154, 155, 156, and 157.

  As described above, the line segment groups 151 to 157 are drawn in the order of the line segment groups 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, and the drawing order of each of the line segment groups 153, 154, 155, 156, 157 is drawn. Is determined as indicated by an arrow in FIG.

  When the drawing order of all line segments is determined, the standby time calculation means 30 determines the standby time and idle speed at the start and end points of the idle section in step S204.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a standby time calculation process in the drawing control apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  The standby time setting means 30 selects one idle running section in order to set the standby time provided at the start point and the end point of the idle running section with respect to the idle running section included in the drawing order of the drawing target whose drawing order is determined ( Step S231). The idle section may be selected one by one from the earlier drawing order.

  Next, the direction change degree calculation means 27 calculates an angle θe (direction change degree) formed by the free running line segment representing the free running section selected in step S231 and the line segment located before the free running line part. (Step S232). The formed angle is obtained in the manner shown in FIG. 6B based on the coordinate data.

  Next, the direction change degree determination means 28 determines whether or not the angle θe calculated in step S232 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle θ1 (step S233). In Embodiment 2, θ1 is set to 30 °, but is not limited to this value.

  Next, the free running distance calculation means 212 calculates the length d (that is, the free running section distance d) representing the free running section selected in Step S231 based on the coordinate data (Step S231). S234Y).

  When the distance d of the idling section is obtained in step S234Y, the idling distance determining means 213 determines whether or not the distance d of the idling section is equal to or less than the predetermined distance d0 (step S235Y).

  Next, the direction change degree calculating means 27 calculates an angle θs (direction change degree) formed by the free running line segment representing the free running section selected in step S231 and the line segment continuous to the free running line segment (step change degree). S236A). The formed angle θs is obtained as shown in FIG. 6B based on the coordinate data.

  When the angle θs is calculated in step S236A, the direction change degree determination unit 28 determines whether or not the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2 (step S237A). In the second embodiment, θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  When it is determined in step S237A that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0), the waiting time ts at the drawing start point to zero (0), The idling speed V in the idling section is set to V1 (step S238A). The idle speed V1 is the same speed as the drawing speed for drawing a line segment.

  The reason for setting the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V as described above is due to the same reason as in step S12A of the first embodiment.

  The main control unit 211 delivers the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V set in step S238A to the drawing command generation unit 25.

  The drawing command generation means 25 incorporates the waiting time te, the waiting time ts, and the idle speed V set in step S238A into the drawing command.

  If it is determined in step S237A that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S238B, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0). The waiting time ts at the drawing start point is set to t1, and the idling speed V in the idling section is set to V2 (step S238B). The idle speed V2 is twice as fast as the drawing speed for drawing a line segment.

  The reason why the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V are set as described above is due to the same reason as in step S12B of the first embodiment.

  If it is determined in step S235Y that the distance d of the idle section is longer than the predetermined distance d0, the flow proceeds to step S237B, and the direction change degree determination means 28 determines that the angle θs is equal to or less than the predetermined angle θ2. It is determined whether or not there is (step S237B). Step S237B has the same contents as step S237A, and θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  When it is determined in step S237B that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0), the waiting time ts at the drawing start point to t1, and the idle running section. Is set to V2 (step S238C). The idle speed V2 is twice the drawing speed.

  The reason for setting the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V as described above is due to the same reason as Step S12C of the first embodiment.

  If it is determined in step S237B that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S238D, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to zero (0). The waiting time ts at the drawing start point is set to t1, and the idling speed V in the idling section is set to V2 (step S238D).

  The reason for setting the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V as described above is due to the same reason as in step S12D of the first embodiment.

  If it is determined in step S233 that θe is greater than θ1, the flow proceeds to step S234N, and the idle distance calculation means 212 has the end point selected in step S231 and the drawing order preceding it. Is calculated based on the coordinate data (i.e., the distance d of the idle running section) (see step S234N). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9E, the length d of the free running segment BC is calculated based on the coordinate data of points B and C.

  When the distance d of the idling section is obtained in step S234N, the idling distance determining means 213 determines whether or not the distance d of the idling section is equal to or less than the predetermined distance d0 (step S235N).

  Next, the direction change degree calculation means 27 calculates an angle θs (direction change degree) formed by the line segment including the end point selected in step S231 and the idle line segment (step S236C).

  When the angle θs is calculated in step S236C, the direction change degree determination unit 28 determines whether or not the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2 (step S237C). In the second embodiment, θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  When it is determined in step S237C that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point (point B) to t1, and the waiting time ts at the drawing start point (point C). Zero (0), the idling speed V of the idling section is set to V1 (step S238E).

  The reason for setting the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V as described above is due to the same reason as in step S12E of the first embodiment.

  If it is determined in step S237C that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S238F, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to t1, and the drawing start point. Is set to t1, and the idling speed V of the idling section is set to V2 (step S238F). The idle speed V2 is twice as fast as the drawing speed for drawing a line segment.

  The reason for setting the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V as described above is due to the same reason as in step S12F of the first embodiment.

  If it is determined in step S235N that the distance d of the idle section is longer than the predetermined distance d0, the flow proceeds to step S237D, and the direction change degree determination means 28 determines that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2. It is determined whether or not there is (step S237D). Step S237D has the same contents as steps S237A, S237B, and S237C, and θ2 is set to 30 °, which is the same as θ1. Note that the value of θ2 does not have to be the same as θ1, and can be set to an arbitrary angle.

  If it is determined in step S237D that the angle θs is equal to or smaller than the angle θ2, the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to t1, the waiting time ts at the drawing start point to t1, and the idling of the idling section. The speed V is set to V2 (step S238G).

  The reason for setting the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V as described above is due to the same reason as in step S12G of the first embodiment.

  If it is determined in step S237D that the angle θs is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined angle θ2, the flow proceeds to step S238H, and the main control unit 211 sets the waiting time te at the drawing end point to t1, and the drawing start point. Is set to t1, and the idling speed V in the idling section is set to V2 (step S238H).

  The reason for setting the standby time te, the standby time ts, and the idling speed V as described above is due to the same reason as in step S12H of the first embodiment.

  When steps S238B to S238H are completed, the main control unit 211 passes the standby time te, standby time ts, and idle speed V set in step S238A to the drawing command generation unit 25. Then, the drawing command generating means 25 incorporates the waiting time te, the waiting time ts, and the idling speed V set in step S238A into the drawing command.

  Thus, a drawing command is generated.

The drawing apparatus, the laser irradiation apparatus , the drawing control method, the drawing control program, and the recording medium storing the drawing according to the first and second exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is specifically disclosed. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Drawing apparatus 11 Laser oscillator 12 Direction control motor 13 Direction control mirror 14 Optical lens 15 Condensing lens 20 Drawing control apparatus 21 Drawing position determination means 22 Mode setting means 23 Drawing order determination means 24 Drawing command generation means 25 Target character code acquisition means 26 Font data acquisition means 27 Drawing condition acquisition means 28 Direction change degree calculation means 29 Direction change degree determination means 30 Drawing speed calculation means 31 CPU
32, 230 Memory 33 CD-ROM drive 34 Network device 35 Hard disk 36 Input device 37 Display 38 CD-ROM (storage medium)
41 Font data DB
42 Character drawing program 43 Drawing condition DB
44 Time required DB
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 Rewritable medium 100 Laser marking apparatus 211 Main control means 212 Empty travel distance calculation means 213 Empty travel distance determination means 220 Drawing control apparatus 221 Line segment group generation means

JP 2004-90026 JP JP 2004-341373 A JP 2006-306063 A Japanese Patent No. 3990891

Claims (12)

A drawing section including one or a plurality of continuous line segments and a free-running section in which drawing is not performed while the other one or a plurality of continuous line segments are drawn is provided on the medium. A drawing device for determining a drawing order for drawing ,
Drawing position determining means for determining a drawing position for drawing the drawing object on the medium based on drawing information for drawing the drawing object;
Direction change degree calculation means for calculating a direction change degree between a line segment included in the drawing object and an idle running line segment that is continuous with the line segment based on the drawing information or the drawing position; ,
Based on the direction change degree, at the drawing end point of the one or more continuous line segments, a first waiting time for waiting for idle running of the idle running line that continues to the line segment, or the empty A waiting time setting means for setting a second waiting time for waiting to draw the line segment continuous to the idle running line segment at a drawing start point of the one or more continuous line segments continuous to the running line segment; ,
A drawing apparatus , comprising: a drawing order determining unit that determines a drawing order so that a drawing time of a drawing target is shortened . The waiting time setting means sets the first waiting time when the direction change degree between the line segment including the drawing end point and the idle line segment continuing to the line segment is a predetermined degree or more. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1. The said waiting time setting means sets the said 2nd waiting time when the direction change degree of the line segment containing the said drawing start point and the said free running line segment is more than predetermined degree, The 2nd waiting time is set. Drawing device . Wherein the drawing order determining means such that said writing time for drawing the drawing target is shortened, determines the drawing object drawing order that reflects the first waiting time or the said second waiting time, claim The drawing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3. Based on the drawing position determined by the drawing position determining means , further includes a line segment group generating means for generating a line segment group to be treated as a continuous line segment group included in the drawing target ,
Wherein the drawing order determining means such that said writing time for drawing a line segment group segment group producing means generates becomes shorter, and determines the drawing order of the line group, any one of claims 1 to 3 The drawing apparatus described in 1. A speed setting for setting a free running speed for running in the free running section higher than a drawing speed for drawing the one or more line segments when the second waiting time is set by the standby time setting means. Further comprising means,
The drawing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the drawing order determination unit determines the drawing order in which the drawing speed and the idle speed set by the speed setting unit are reflected. When the distance of the free running section is a predetermined distance or more, it further includes a speed setting means for setting a free running speed for running in the free running section higher than a drawing speed for drawing the one or more line segments, The drawing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Further comprising a drawing command generation means for generating a drawing command reflecting the determined said drawing position and the drawing order, the drawing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A laser oscillator for irradiating a laser;
A direction control mirror for controlling the irradiation direction of the laser irradiated by the laser oscillator;
A direction control motor for driving the direction control mirror;
A laser irradiation apparatus comprising: the drawing apparatus according to claim 8, which controls irradiation output of the laser oscillator and drive control of the direction control motor based on the drawing command. A drawing section including one or a plurality of continuous line segments and a free-running section in which drawing is not performed while the other one or a plurality of continuous line segments are drawn is provided on the medium. A drawing control method in which a computer determines a drawing order for drawing,
The computer is
Based on the drawing information to draw the drawing object, and determines a drawing position to draw the drawing object on the medium,
Based on the drawing information or the drawing position, calculates the line segments included in the drawing object, the direction change degree of the idling-run segment representing the empty run section contiguous to said line,
Based on the direction change degree, at the drawing end point of the one or more continuous line segments, a first waiting time for waiting for idle running of the idle running line that continues to the line segment, or the empty At the drawing start point of the one or more continuous line segments continuous to the running line segment, setting a second waiting time to wait for the drawing of the line segment continuous to the idle running line segment ,
A drawing control method for determining a drawing order so as to shorten a drawing time of a drawing target . Provide one or more continuous line segments in the computer and a free running section in which drawing is not performed while another one or more continuous line segments are drawn, and the medium includes one or more line segments A drawing control program for executing a drawing order determination process for determining a drawing order for drawing a drawing target,
Based on the drawing information for the computer to draw the drawing object, and determines a drawing position to draw the drawing object on the medium,
Based on the drawing information or the drawing position, a direction change degree between a line segment included in the drawing target and a free running line segment representing the free running section that is continuous with the line segment is calculated ,
Based on the direction change degree, at the drawing end point of the one or more continuous line segments, a first waiting time for waiting for idle running of the idle running line that continues to the line segment, or the empty At the drawing start point of the one or more continuous line segments continuous to the running line segment, setting a second waiting time to wait for the drawing of the line segment continuous to the idle running line segment ,
A drawing control program that determines a drawing order so that a drawing time of a drawing target is shortened . The recording medium which recorded the drawing control program of Claim 11 .