JPH03119488A - Method and device for generating graphic - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To evade placing the break of a broke line at the terminal part of a graphic which is not closed, like a straight line, etc., and to realize a well balanced broken line for a closed graphic by selecting a repetition width of a pattern in accordance with the length of the line segment of a graphic or a character. CONSTITUTION:A graphic generation device is composed of a solid line graphic generation part 12 which generates a normal solid line, a graphic discrimination part 13 which discriminates whether a graphic is closed like a circle or open like a straight line, a broken line generation part 14a which generates a closed graphic with a broken line, a broke line generation part 14b which generates a graphic that is not closed with a broken line, and a raster image output part 15 which develops the graphic generated with the broken line in a raster image and develops this on a memory. Then, having the length of the outer circumference of the graphic to be actually plotted, and having several kinds of shapes of the broken lime itself, the uniform distribution of the breaks of the broken line is executed. Thus, a balanced broken line graphic can be described.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a figure generation device for electronic publishing systems and the like, and particularly to a figure generation method and a figure generation device that can generate figures in special patterns such as broken lines.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, when drawing figures in an electronic desktop publishing system, image development was performed using straight lines or curved lines. Most of these straight lines and curves are drawn as solid lines (continuous, uninterrupted lines), but some are drawn as lines that have their own characteristics, such as broken lines, as necessary. Such dashed lines and other straight lines and curves with attributes other than solid lines are
This is achieved by thinning out certain determined intervals from points on the straight lines and curves.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a graphic processing device using a conventional graphic generation method. Hereinafter, referring to the drawings, a basic figure, that is, a figure that is intended to be drawn with a broken line but is drawn with a solid line, is generated by the solid line figure generation unit 82. The starting point and end point of this figure are recognized by the figure recognition section 83, and a broken line pattern determined by the thickness of each line is taken out from the broken line pattern storage section 86. Next, a broken line figure is created by a broken line creation unit 84 which combines the solid line figure and the broken line pattern, and a rask image output unit 85 develops and outputs it onto the memory.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the principle of drawing straight lines and curves using dashed-dotted lines using the conventional method. Figure 9 (A
) is a solid line, Figure 9 (B) is - the minimum unit of a dashed dotted line, Figure 9 (C) is a straight line drawn by a dashed dotted line, Figure 10 (A) is a circle drawn by a solid line, Figure 10 (B) is a - Minimum unit of circle drawing using a dotted chain line; FIG. 10(C) is a circle drawing using a dotted chain line. The dashed-dotted line in FIG. 9(C) is realized by continuously connecting the unit lines in FIG. 9(B). Similarly, the circle in FIG. 10(C) can be realized by expanding the unit circle in FIG. 10(B) circumferentially.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in the above conventional example, for example, in the case of a broken line, the interval between breaks is constant regardless of the length of the straight line or the length of the circumference, so it is difficult to actually develop it. When doing so, there were cases where unnatural expansion results were obtained. In other words, in the case of a straight line, if the end portion hits a break in the broken line, it will appear shorter than the actual length. Furthermore, in the case of circumferential expansion, if the cuts are connected, the figure will be unbalanced.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional art, and no matter what kind of figure is drawn, a broken line break is not placed at the end of an unclosed figure such as a straight line, and a broken line is not placed at the end of a closed figure such as a circle. In terms of graphics, it is an object of the present invention to provide a graphic generation method and a graphic generation device that realize well-balanced broken lines.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to solve this problem, the figure generation method of the present invention includes the following:
A figure generation method in which a figure or a character is generated by a pattern line with a blank space such as a dashed line or a dashed line, and the repetition width of the pattern is selected in accordance with the length of the line segment of the figure or character. Particularly, the figure generator of the present invention is characterized in that the figure generator generates figures or characters in a plurality of patterns of lines, and the figure generator stores the plurality of lines in a predetermined unit corresponding to the figure. A storage means, a pattern selection means for selecting a specific pattern based on a comparison between each pattern of the plurality of patterns and a line length of a generated figure, and a figure generation means for generating a figure according to the specific pattern. .

Here, the lines of the plurality of patterns include at least a broken line or a chain line.

Further, the storage unit is a unit in which both ends are not missing when the figure is not closed, and is a unit in which patterns do not overlap when the figure is closed.

[Function] In such a configuration, the outer circumference of the figure to be actually drawn, that is, the coordinate point and distance between the two ends of a straight line and an unclosed figure, and the expansion of the figure if it is a closed figure. By having the necessary coordinate points and circumference length, as well as several types of samples of the broken line itself, and by providing a calculation device that evenly distributes the breaks in the broken line, a well-balanced broken line figure can be drawn. .

[Example code] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a graphic generation device that implements the graphic processing method of the present invention.

In the figure, 12 is a solid line figure generation unit that generates a normal solid line figure, 13 is a figure discrimination unit that discriminates whether a figure is closed like a circle or open like a straight line, and 14a is a closed figure. 14b is a broken line creating unit that generates unclosed figures as broken lines; 15 is a raster image output unit that develops the figures generated as broken lines into a raster image and develops them on memory.

When a request to create a broken line is received, the solid line figure generating section 12 generates a solid line figure as a basis. Based on this, the figure discriminator 13
Now, determine whether this figure is a closed figure or an unclosed figure. If the figure is a closed figure, the closed figure broken line generation section 14a generates the broken line of the closed figure.

In the case of a non-closed figure, the broken line generation unit 14b generates a broken line of the non-closed figure. When the generation of the broken line is completed, the raster image output unit 15 outputs the broken line figure as a raster image.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the graphic generator of this embodiment.

In the figure, 21 is a ROM that stores this program, 22 is a CPU that performs graphic processing in this embodiment, 23 is a RAM for auxiliary storage and has a raster image development section 23a for developing generated graphics, and 24 is a RAM 23 The I10 interface 25 outputs the graphics developed in the raster image development section 23a above to the outside, and the desired graphics processing method is R.
This is an external storage device such as a floppy disk that stores data when it does not exist in the OM 21, and the solid line figure storage section 25
a and a broken line pattern storage section 25b.

In this embodiment, a program of this processing method stored in the ROM 21 or the external storage device 25 is executed on the CPU 22. Also, solid line figures and broken line patterns are R
A M 23 or the external storage device 25. In FIG. 2, it is shown as being stored in an external storage device 25.

Note that the above-mentioned broken line patterns are different for closed figures and unclosed figures. For closed shapes, it is necessary to not make the reader aware of the beginning and end of the stroke using broken lines.
Apart from this, broken figures must not have broken lines at the ends of figures that are not closed. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the broken line pattern storage section 25b in this embodiment. The pattern indicated by identification number 1 is a broken line pattern for a closed figure,
Identification number 2 is a broken line pattern for figures that are not closed.

If each is expressed as a continuous straight line, Figure 4 (a)
, (b). Broken line pattern 2 is used for closed figures.

It should be noted here that it is the meaning of the word broken line pattern. As mentioned above, there are several types of broken line patterns, but if you take into account the thickness of the line and imperfect shapes (i.e. straight lines, free curves outside of Tanabe, etc.), you will have to prepare an infinite number of patterns. .

Therefore, the broken line pattern referred to here means distance data of solid line portions and blank portions that appear alternately in the broken line portion.

The above operation will be explained in more detail using a flowchart.

FIG. 5, FIG. 6A, and FIG. 6B are flowcharts explaining the above processing in more detail.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the entire graphic generation procedure of this embodiment.

When a broken line output request is received, a solid line figure is output in step S1, the coordinate points of the figure are extracted in step S2, one figure is recognized in step S3, and whether the figure is closed or not is determined in step S4. Determine if the shape is not present. In the case of a non-closed figure such as a straight line, the process proceeds to step S5, where the broken line pattern of the non-closed figure, for example, pattern l in FIG. A desired dashed line figure is obtained by performing a logical product (AND) of the broken line patterns. On the other hand, in the case of a closed figure such as a circle, the process proceeds to step S6, where a broken line pattern of a closed figure, for example, pattern 2 in FIG. 3, is selected, and in step S7, a broken line figure is obtained in the same manner as described above.

Next, step S5. The procedure for selecting the broken line pattern in S6 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing the procedure of a routine for selecting a broken line pattern of an unclosed figure in step S5. First, in step S51, the distance from the start point to the end point of the 2 figures is measured, and in step S5
In step 2, a comparison is made with a figure that is an integral multiple of the broken line pattern. Specifically, the distance measured above is divided by the length of the broken line pattern (the minimum unit broken line pattern in which the type of broken line is the same but the length is slightly different), and the remainder is calculated. Approximately five types of broken line patterns are prepared, and in step S53, the one with the smallest remainder is used as the optimal pattern.

Using the selected pattern, a figure with a broken line pattern is created in step S54, and the process returns.

Next, FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing the procedure of a routine for selecting a broken line pattern of a closed figure in step S6. First, in step S61, the length of the outer circumference is measured.

In step S62, the dashed line pattern for the outer periphery and the outer periphery length are compared, and in step S63, the optimum pattern is selected. The outer periphery is created according to the pattern selected in step S64, and the process returns.

[Other Examples] Another embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating creation of a broken line figure according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 (A) is a straight line, Figure 7 (B), (
C) shows the application process of this embodiment, and FIG. 7(D) shows the completed broken line.

A series of operations will be explained according to FIG. 7. First, the distance (b→a) between both ends of the straight line is determined.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7(B), a blank space indicated by a broken line is provided at the position of the coordinate (c) of the midpoint. Furthermore, the midpoint (d, e) from both ends to the midpoint is determined, and a blank area is provided as shown in FIG. 7(C).

This process is repeated, and when the distance between adjacent blank areas becomes less than a predetermined value (depending on line thickness, purpose, etc.), this process is stopped. This makes it possible to create a broken line that is uniform over the entire straight line and does not have any blank spaces at the ends.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, no matter what kind of figure is drawn, broken lines are not placed at the end of unclosed figures such as straight lines, and broken lines are not placed at the end of closed figures such as circles. It is possible to provide a figure generator that realizes well-balanced broken lines.

In other words, by giving an appropriate interval between the occurrences of the broken lines,
The overall effect is well-balanced, and it is possible to depict figures without problems such as changes in length due to broken lines.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

5 6 Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the figure generator according to the embodiment of the book, Fig. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the embodiment, and Fig. 3 shows the structure of the broken line pattern storage section of the embodiment. Figures 4(A) and 4(B) are diagrams showing the generation of straight dashed lines by unit dashed lines. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for generating dashed line figures in this embodiment. Figure 6A is this embodiment. FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing the procedure for selecting a broken line pattern for a closed figure according to the embodiment of the book, and FIG. 7 is a method for generating a broken line according to another embodiment. Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional figure generator; Figures 9 (A) to (C) and Figures 10 (A) to (C) are diagrams explaining the conventional technology. be. In the figure, 12... solid line figure generation section, 13... figure discrimination section, 14a... broken line creation section for closed figures, 14b...
- Broken line creation unit for unclosed figures, 15... Raster image output unit, 16... Broken line pattern storage unit.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A figure generation method in which a figure or a character is generated by a pattern line with a blank space such as a dashed line or a dashed-dotted line, and the repetition width of the pattern is determined in accordance with the length of the line segment of the figure or character. A figure generation method characterized by selecting. (2) A figure generation device that generates figures or characters in a plurality of patterns of lines, comprising: a pattern storage means for storing the lines in the plurality of patterns in predetermined units corresponding to the figures; and generating each pattern in the plurality of patterns. A figure generation device comprising: a pattern selection means for selecting a particular pattern based on a comparison with the line length of the figure; and a figure generation means for generating a figure according to the particular pattern. (3) The graphic generation device according to claim 2, wherein the lines of the plurality of patterns include at least a broken line or a one-dot chain line. (4) The memory unit according to claim 2, wherein the storage unit is a unit that does not have both ends missing when the figure is not closed, and is a unit that does not have overlapping patterns when the figure is closed. Figure generator.