JPH01295374A - Producing device for contour vector data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and quickly produce the contour vector data by producing a picture where only the isolated points are extracted, a picture where only the points set on the contours are extracted and a picture where only the points of 1-line width are extracted and scanning these pictures for production of the data from which the final vector data is obtained. CONSTITUTION:A contour extracting part 4 produces a picture where only the isolated points are extracted, a picture where only the points set on the contours are extracted and a picture where only the points of 1-line width are extracted based on the pattern of an original picture P where the contours are extracted. Each of these produced pictures is scanned in each fixed directional order for production of the data line from which the final vector data is obtained through each extracted point. Thus it is possible to easily and quickly produce the contour vector data with no intervention of manual operations.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a contour data generation device used when converting a dot image of a dot font into vector data and saving the vector data.

(Prior Art) In a system that handles image data in a relatively large dot matrix structure generated based on original images such as character fonts created by a designer, the above image data is
If the data were saved and transferred in its original form (as a dot image), the amount of data to be handled would be enormous, causing practical problems in various aspects such as storage capacity and transfer speed. Therefore, as a data compression means for efficiently storing and transferring the above image data, the original image of a character font etc. created by a designer is scanned and its outline is extracted, and the extracted outline dot data is One possible method is to generate vector font data based on .

Conventionally, in order to create vector font data, the original pattern was set on a digitizer table, and the data was traced one by one by directly pointing the outline of each line segment by hand. I was creating it while doing so.

Therefore, in the past, it took a lot of time and effort to generate vector font data from an original image, which caused problems in terms of workability.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, conventionally, when generating vector font data from an original image, the original image pattern is set on the table of a digitizer, and its outline is directly manually drawn for each line segment. Since the data was created by tracing each piece of data one by one by pointing, the creation process required a lot of time and effort.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a contour vector data generation device that can easily and quickly perform contour vector data generation processing when generating vector font data from an original image without requiring manual labor. With the goal.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides an image in which only isolated points are extracted from a dot image of an original image whose outline is to be extracted, an image in which only points on the outline are extracted, 1
Generate an image in which only line width points are extracted, scan each of the above images in a fixed direction (for example, counterclockwise), and generate a data string from each extraction point that will become the basis of the final vector data. , having a means for generating and storing compressed final vector data from the same data, and automatically generating and forming contour vector data when generating vector font data from an original image without relying on humans. As a result, contour vector data generation processing can be performed easily and quickly without any manual effort.

In addition, adjacent points can be detected on a plane in which a screen in which only points on the contour line are extracted (α plane) and a screen in which only points of one line width are extracted (β plane; contour line auxiliary screen) are superimposed vertically. By tracking, it is possible to convert isolated original data of one dot, original data of one dot line width, etc. into vector data, and extremely highly accurate vector data can be easily obtained without the need for human intervention. .

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, l is a CPU that controls the entire system, and here controls various processes as shown in FIGS. 2 to 12, which will be described later. Reference numeral 2 denotes an image scanner that scans an original image P placed on a document table and outputs it as dot image data.

Reference numeral 3 denotes an original image data reading section which inputs data scanned by the image scanner 2, buffers it, and delivers it to the CPUI. 4 extracts the contour data of the original pattern under the control of the CPUI, and from the same data, a screen in which only isolated points are extracted, a screen in which only points on the contour line are extracted, and a screen in which only points of one line width are extracted. This is a contour extraction unit that obtains a
) A screen (hereinafter referred to as γ-brane) in which only isolated points are extracted from the original pattern shown in (d) of the same figure,
A screen in which only points on the contour line are extracted (hereinafter referred to as α plane) as shown in (b) of the same figure, and an auxiliary contour screen in which only points of one line width are extracted as shown in (-C) in the same figure. (hereinafter referred to as β plane) is obtained. 5 is the contour extraction section 4
Scan each extraction point of the α and β planes obtained in a predetermined scanning direction (here, scan in the line direction from the upper left corner)
Starting from the first point detected (the upper left point), successively descend adjacent points in a predetermined directional order (in this case, counterclockwise order)
6 and 12 according to the processing procedure shown in FIG. 11. Obtain absolute vector (absolute coordinate) data as shown in (a). 6 is CPU
A main memory (MM) whose access is controlled by I, and stores various data including dot pattern data of the original image P read by the image scanner 2.

FIG. 2 shows the pattern of the original picture P that is the target of the contour extraction process, and the patterns of each plane generated by the contour extracting section 4 based on the same pattern. Figure (b) is an α-brane that extracts only points on the contour line, Figure (C) is a β-brane (contour auxiliary screen) that extracts only points with a width of one line, and Figure (d) is only isolated points. This is the extracted γ-brane.

FIGS. 3 to 7 are for explaining the processing operations of the contour tracking section 5, respectively. FIGS. 3 to 5 and 7 are explanatory diagrams of the tracking processing operations, respectively, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing absolute vector (absolute coordinate) data obtained through tracking processing.

8 to 11 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the above embodiment, of which FIG. 8 shows the overall main flow, and FIG. 9 shows the isolated point processing flow of step S2 in FIG. 8. and FIG. 10 is step S3 in FIG.
FIG. 11 shows the outline tracing processing flow of step S4 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 12 is for explaining the processing procedure for obtaining compressed final vector data from absolute vector data. FIG. The same figure (b) is the same figure (a
) data data converted from absolute vector data to relative vector data.

- Fig. 3(C) shows a data pattern obtained by converting the relative vector data in Fig. 4(b) into data-compressed relative vector data (final vector data). At this time, Figures 12 (a'), (b), and (b)
) to (c) is performed by the CPUI.

The operation of one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12.

The dot pattern data of the original image P read by the image scanner 2 is once buffered in the original image data reading section 3 and then stored in the main memory 6 under the control of the CPU 1. This dot pattern configuration is shown in FIG. 2(a).

The dot pattern data to be processed shown in FIG. 2(a) stored in the main memory B is sent to the contour extraction section 4 under the control of the CPUI, and the dot pattern data shown in FIG. , a γ-brane that extracts only isolated points shown in (d) of the same figure, an α-brane that extracts only points on the contour line shown in (b) of the same figure, and only points of one line width shown in (C) of the same figure. β-brane extracted (contour auxiliary screen)
is generated (steps 81 to S3 in FIG. 8).

Here, first, isolated point processing is executed to extract only isolated points from the dot pattern data shown in FIG. 2(a) (step S2 in FIG. 8). This isolated point processing flow is shown in FIG.

In this isolated point processing, when we look at a dot and there are no adjacent points in all eight directions around it, we extract this dot as an isolated point and create the γ plane shown in Figure 2(d). (Step 511 in FIG. 9).

Next, on the γ-brane shown in FIG. 2(d) where only the isolated points have been extracted, search is performed sequentially from the upper left to the lower right in the line direction (X direction), and each extracted isolated point is converted into absolute vector data. (step S12.313 in FIG. 9).

Next, based on the dot pattern data from which isolated points have been removed (cleaned), a contour line extraction process is performed to extract points on the contour line, and an auxiliary contour line extraction process is performed to extract only points with a width of one line. processing is executed. The outline extraction process flow at this time is shown in FIG.

Here, when we first focus on a dot, we extract points on the contour line that have no adjacent points in at least one of the eight surrounding directions, and create the α-brane shown in Figure 2(b). (Step S21 in Figure 10).

Next, when looking at the dots that form, we extract points with no adjacent points in both the vertical and horizontal directions as points with a width of one line, and create the β-brane shown in Figure 2(c) (10th Figure step 522).

As described above, an α-brane in which only points on the contour line shown in FIG. After obtaining the dot pattern data of the same plane, the dot pattern data of the same plane is sent to the contour tracing section 5, and the data that becomes the basis of the final contour vector data is generated by the contour tracing process on the same plane (step S4 in FIG. 8). The outline tracking process flow at this time is shown in FIG. 11, specific operation examples of the tracking process are shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, and FIG. 7, and data pattern examples of absolute vector data are shown in FIGS. It is shown in FIG. 12(a).

Here, contour tracking processing is performed using the concept of a plane in which the α-plane and the β-brane are superimposed one above the other.

First, the starting point of the contour line on the α plane from which only points on the contour line shown in FIG. 2(b) are extracted is detected. That is, here, we search sequentially in the line direction (X direction) from the upper left to the lower right on the α plane shown in FIG. Set at the starting point of the line (step S31 in Fig. 11)
．． 532).

When a starting point is found here, points adjacent to the starting point are searched for in a predetermined direction order. Here, as shown in FIG. 4(b), adjacent points are tracked in a counterclockwise direction in 45° increments. In other words, in Fig. 4(b), when the tracking of the adjacent point progresses in the south direction, the next direction is a direction rotated 45° counterclockwise from the opposite direction of the vector direction (south). The base point of the tracking vector direction is (northwest direction), and then the direction further rotated by 45 degrees counterclockwise (west direction)
is the base point of the tracking vector direction (Step 5 in Figure 11).
33).

When an adjacent point is found in this adjacent point detection process, the point to be processed at that time (initially the starting point) is converted into absolute vector data and the data is buffered. to erase. Then, the newly searched adjacent point is set as the next point to be processed, and a similar adjacent point is searched for (steps S33, S34, 535 in FIG. 11).

By repeatedly executing this process, a data pattern of absolute vector data as shown in FIG. 6 is created.

In the figure, A is the coordinate data of point A in Figure 3 (a),
B is the coordinate data of the same point B.

When the above process is repeatedly executed and the adjacent point returns to the starting point position, one closed loop contour extraction process is completed and absolute vector data of one closed contour line has been created (11th Figure step 53G, S37).

The tracking loop at this time is shown in FIG. 7(a).

Also, in this case, [A
-+B→C→D→E→F→A] is erased, and the outline dots B'
-The outline pattern of E' remains.

When the one-closed-loop contour extraction process described above is completed, the same contour extraction process as described above is started again, and in this example, the contour line pattern B'-E' shown in FIG. 5(a) is converted into absolute vector data. However, the adjacent points are interrupted at point E'.

In this case, the adjacent points are traced on a brane in which the β-brane shown in FIG. 5(b) is superimposed on the α-plane shown in FIG.
3...).

Therefore, here, E′ on the α plane shown in FIG. 5(a) is
The process moves from the point to the E-point on the β plane shown in FIG. 7(b), progresses as E'→F'→A''→B-, and a closed loop shown in FIG. 7(b) is formed.

By completing the conversion of the outline pattern into absolute vector data through this tracking process, the original image P shown in FIG. 2(a) is
All absolute vector data conversion processing for the pattern is completed (step 539 in FIG. 11).

All the absolute vector data for the pattern of the original picture P are stored in the main memory 6 through CPU processing.
The data is converted into relative vector data as shown in FIG. 2(b), and further converted into compressed relative vector data (final vector data) as shown in FIG. 2(C).

In this way, contour vector data is generated for a pattern such as a character font having an arbitrary dot matrix structure.

Adjacent points are tracked on the above-mentioned alpha plane, which extracts only the points on the contour, and the beta plane (contour auxiliary screen), which extracts only the points of one line width, which are superimposed vertically. Eventually, it will become possible to convert isolated original data of one dot, original data of one dot line width, etc. into vector data, and extremely highly accurate vector data can be easily obtained without the need for human labor.

The contour vector data generation device described above can be used not only for ordinary image processing equipment but also, for example, for phototypesetting machines, graphic processing equipment, and the like.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the contour vector data generation device of the present invention, a first image in which only isolated points are extracted from a dot image to be contour extracted, and a second image in which only points on the contour line are extracted. means for generating a third image in which only the second image and one line width points are extracted, and each of the above images is scanned in a predetermined directional order to generate data from each extraction point that becomes the basis of final vector data. By adopting a configuration comprising a means for storing data, and a means for generating and storing compressed final vector data from the stored data,
The generation process of contour vector data can be performed easily and quickly without any manual effort.

In addition, a second image (α-brane) in which only points on the contour line are extracted and a second image (β-brane; contour auxiliary screen) in which only points with a width of one line are extracted are superimposed vertically. By tracking adjacent points on a plane, it is possible to convert isolated original data of one dot, original data of one dot line width, etc. into vector data. can be easily obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows the pattern of each brane generated by the contour extracting section 4 based on the pattern of the original picture P that is the target of the contour extraction process in the above embodiment. (a) is the original pattern, (b) is the α-brane in which only points on the contour are extracted, (C) is the β-brane (outline auxiliary screen) in which only points with one line width are extracted, and ( d) is γ that extracts only isolated points.
It's plain. 3 to 7 are for explaining the processing operation of the contour tracking section in the above embodiment, respectively. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing absolute vector (absolute coordinate) data obtained by the above tracking process. Figures 8 to 1
1 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the above embodiments, FIG. 8 shows the overall main flow, and FIG.
The figure shows the isolated point processing flow in step S2 of Fig. 8, Fig. 10 shows the outline extraction processing flow of step S3 in Fig. 8, and Fig. 11 shows the outline tracing processing flow of step S4 in Fig. 8. . FIG. 12 is for explaining the processing procedure for obtaining compressed final vector data from absolute vector data. FIG. Same figure (
b) is a data pattern obtained by converting the absolute vector data in (a) to relative vector data, and (C) is a data pattern obtained by converting the absolute vector data in (a) to relative vector data.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data patterns obtained by converting the relative vector data in b) into data-compressed relative vector data (final vector data). ■...CPU, 2...Image scanner, 3...
Original image data reading unit, 4--contour extracting unit, 5--contour tracking unit, 8--main memory (MM). Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue (b) (c)
(d) Figure 2 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 7
Figure 12

Claims (1)

[Claims] Means for generating a first image in which only isolated points are extracted from a dot image to be contour extracted, a second image in which only points on the contour line are extracted, and a third image in which only points of one line width are extracted; Means for scanning each of the above images according to a fixed directional order and generating and storing data that becomes the basis of final vector data from each extraction point, and generating and storing compressed final vector data from the stored data. 1. A contour vector data generation device comprising: means for generating contour vector data.