JPH0355962Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a layout system in which a computer performs trimming and layout of a picture according to a layout board.

In recent years, layout systems in which a computer is used to perform the layout work necessary for printing plate making have come into widespread use. and,
Such systems generally use a rotating drum type scanner to read image data from a document, and then store the read image data in a memory such as a magnetic disk pack for later processing. I was getting used to it.

By the way, the above-mentioned layout work is performed by trimming only the necessary range of the document surface and specifying the position on the image surface of one page. First, the image data imported into the memory is retrieved and displayed, and the cursor image representing the trimming range and the image of the document are arbitrarily moved on the display image surface, and the image of the document is placed at the position specified on the layout sheet. He had adopted a method of gradually incorporating the following.

Therefore, with this conventional method, positioning on the display image plane requires skill and time, and
The disadvantages are that errors in positioning are likely to occur, making accurate layout difficult, and that the system tends to be expensive because it requires a display device with special functions for layout.

Separately, when scanning a document with a scanner, measure the dimensions of the portion of the document to be trimmed in advance, taking into account the scanner's magnification ratio, and enter this dimension data and the trimming position on the scanner using the keyboard. A method is also known in which the image data is read after specifying the image data.

However, this method has the disadvantage that it requires a great deal of skill and time to measure dimensions and specify positions.

Therefore, in order to eliminate these drawbacks of the conventional methods, a means that can select an arbitrary point on the document surface and generate position data for the image data input means for reading image data from the document, such as a scanner, has been developed. and the layout position data of the image on the layout mount surface, the scaling factor data of the image, the position data of a specific point in the image, and the corresponding specific point of the document loaded on the image data input means. The range to be read on the document surface is calculated from the position data of the image data, the cropped image data can be directly obtained when reading the image data, and this image is laid out according to the specification of the layout position data. This system has been proposed by the applicant as an invention in Japanese Patent Application No. 168591/1983.

By the way, when trimming using such a system, it is necessary to measure the size ratio between the original image and the finished image, that is, the scaling ratio, and input this scaling ratio data in advance as control information for the system. In the conventional system described above, the scaling factor is measured in advance prior to the trimming operation to obtain the necessary scaling factor data, and the data is input to an appropriate input device, for example, data for reading the layout position data from the layout board. It is necessary to enter information into the system using the menu area provided on the tablet or the keyboard, which has the disadvantage of making the operation complicated.

Therefore, a cropping layout system that eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional technology and is easy to handle without requiring input operation of variable magnification data has been provided.
An example is shown in FIG.

This figure 1 has been proposed by the applicant as an invention in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-69216, and in the figure, 1 is a reading scanning drum (hereinafter simply referred to as drum) of a scanner for reading image data. , 2 is a document such as a photographic film, 3 is a magnifying glass, 4 is a rotary concoder (rotary position detector), 5 is a linear encoder (true line position detector), 6 is a control device,
7 is a switch, 8 is a data tablet, 9 is a layout board, 10 is a cursor, 11 is an external memory, 12
13 is a keyboard, 13 is a menu area, 15 is a projection lens, 16 is a document holder, 17 is a lamp house, and 18 is a support.

The drum 1 holds an original 2 on its cylindrical surface and rotates at a predetermined speed to cause a reading/scanning head (not shown) to scan the original 2 and read image data.

The magnifying glass 3 consists of a low-magnification microscope or the like, and is held so as to be freely movable parallel to the rotation axis of the drum 1 and near the surface of the drum 1 by a guide device (not shown). It is provided so that the original 2 attached and held can be observed in an enlarged manner.

The rotary encoder 4 functions to detect the position along the rotational direction of the drum 1, that is, along the circumferential direction, and to generate position data P _Y corresponding to the position.

The linear encoder 5 functions to detect the position of the magnifying glass 3 and generate position data _PX representing the position parallel to the axial direction of the drum 1.

The control device 6 includes a computer and the like, and controls the entire system and processes various data.

The switch 7 functions to generate a store signal _ST for inputting the position data P _x , P _y and the variable magnification data α into the control device 6 .

The data tablet 8 is also called a tablet digitizer, and functions to specify a point on its surface with a cursor 10 and generate position data P _x , P _y representing the position of that point in rectangular coordinates. Furthermore, numerical data can be input from a menu area 13 provided on the surface of the screen, and various data necessary for image trimming and layout can be input.

In addition, this necessary numerical data can be obtained from the keyboard 12.
You may also input it using, for example.

The external memory 11 has a large capacity such as a magnetic disk pack, and is capable of storing at least one page of image data.

The projection lens 15, document holder 16, and lamp house 17 are held by a support 18 attached to the data tablet 8, and constitute a magnification measuring device that uses the surface of the data tablet 8 as the projection surface of the document image. Original holder 1
The original 2 mounted on the data tablet 6 is illuminated with light from a light source provided in the lamp house 17, and the image is projected onto the layout sheet 9 placed on the surface of the data tablet 8 by the projection lens 15. It is beginning to be reflected in On the other hand, the projection lens 15, document holder 16, and lamp house 17 are held movably up and down along a support 18, and the distance between the projection lens 15 and the layout sheet 9, and the distance between the document 2 and the projection lens 17 are The ratio between the distance between It is now possible to form an image.

Then, the distance between the projection lens 15 and the layout sheet 9 and the distance between the document holder 16 at this time are measured using a linear encoder or the like, and the magnification ratio data α is generated by calculating the ratio of these. It serves as a direct input to the control device 6.

It should be noted that a device that provides the variable magnification data α by projecting such an original image is known as a magnification measuring device.

Next, the operation will be explained.

First, as shown in Figure 2, the data tablet 8
The layout mount 9 is set at a predetermined position. On this layout board 9, ruled lines K specifying the trimming range of the document to be laid out and simple figures F indicating outlines of the pictures included therein are drawn.

At the same time, the original 2 is mounted on the original holder 16, and the image of the original 2 is projected onto the surface of the layout board 9. Then, by adjusting the size and position of the projected image of the image portion of the document 2 to be trimmed so that it falls accurately within the ruled lines K of the layout sheet 9, the magnification ratio data α can be calculated. becomes.

Therefore, if the control device 6 is then instructed to take in the variable magnification data α by operating the switch 7 or the menu area 13, the variable magnification data α will be automatically taken into the control device 6. Become.

Subsequently, the cursor 10 is moved and the position data of the ruled line K is input into the control device 6. That is, if the trimming range is a rectangle as shown by the ruled line K in the figure, the point at the upper left corner of this rectangle
Cursor 1 is moved to P ₁ and point P ₂ in the lower right corner in sequence.
0 mark and send the position data (P ₁ : x ₁ , y _{1 )} , (P ₂ : x ₂ , y ₂ ) of these points P ₁ and P 2 to the control device 6.
Further, the position data (x _a , y _a ) of the specific point P _a of the figure F is input. Note that this specific point P _a
, it is necessary to select a point that can easily identify the same part in the image of manuscript 2. Therefore, for example, if the image is a person's face, the inner corner of the eye in figure F should be selected. .

In this way, the scaling factor data α and the position data x ₁ , x ₂ , x _a , of the three points P ₁ , P ₂ , P _a from the layout mount 9 are
After importing y ₁ , y ₂ , and y _a , next remove the original 2 from the original holder 16 and place it on the drum 1.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3, while looking through the magnifying glass 3, move the drum 1 and the magnifying glass 3 to find a point P _a ' corresponding to the specific point P _a of the figure F on the layout mount 9, that is, in this case, a person. The inner corner of the eye is found in the pattern of the original 2, and it is positioned at the center of the field of view of the magnifying glass 3. At this time, use a magnifying glass 3 that displays, for example, a cross-shaped mark at the center of its field of view, and align a specific point P _a ', such as the inner corner of the person's eye, with this marker M, as shown in Figure 4. What is necessary is to move the drum 1 and the magnifying glass 3 and then stop them.

In this way, when the specific point P _a ' of the document 2 is aligned with the center of the field of view of the magnifying glass 3, the switch 7 is operated to supply the store signal _ST to the control device 6.
Data P _Y from the rotary encoder 4 and data P _X from the linear encoder 5 are transmitted to the control device 6.
This causes the control device 6 to select a specific point.
Data representing the position of P _a ′ (P _a ′: X _a , Y _a ) can be imported.

Next, the control device 6 receives these position data x ₁ ,
Perform calculations based on x ₂ , x _a , X _a , y ₁ , y ₂ , y _a , and Y _a to find the point P necessary to determine the trimming range K' of the original 2, as shown in Figure 3. ₁ ′ and P ₂ ′ are calculated. Here, it goes without saying that the trimming range K' should be specified by the ruled lines K of the layout board 9 shown in FIG.

Now, the position data of point P ₁ ′ is (X ₁ , Y ₁ ), and the point
Assuming that the position data of P ₂ ' is (X ₂ , Y ₂ ) and that the magnification ratio when reading image data from the drum 1 is α, the relationship between these data is as follows.

x ₂ −y ₂ = α(X ₂ −X ₁ ) …(1) y ₂ −y ₁ = α(Y ₂ −Y ₁ ) …(2) x _a −x ₁ = α(X _a −X ₁ ) …(3) x ₂ −x _a = α(X ₂ −X _a ) …(4) y _a −y ₁ = α(Y _a −Y ₁ ) …(5) y ₂ −y _a = α(Y ₂ −Y _a ) …(6) Therefore, position data X ₁ , Y representing the points P ₁ ′ and P ₂ ′ necessary to specify the trimming range K′ from the relationships of these equations (1) to (6) ₁ , X ₂ , and Y ₂ can be easily determined.

After completing the calculation of the position data representing the points P ₁ ', P ₂ ', the scanner starts reading the image data, and at this time, the control device 6 calculates the position data X ₁ , Y ₁ , X ₂ , The image data is read out only when the trimming range K' of the document ₂ shown in FIG.
Store in 1.

At this time, position data representing P ₁ ′, P ₂ ′
Various methods can be considered for reading image _data only from the trimming range K _' using X ₁ , Y ₁ , The position in the scanning direction (sub-scanning direction) is detected by the rear encoder 5, and using the data P _X from this and the data P _Y from the rotary encoder 4,
Using a gate that opens only from when data P _X exceeds position data _{X 1 until} it reaches X ₂ , and a gate _that opens every time from when data _P The image data from the scanning head can be gated.

The image data thus stored in the memory 11 is subjected to layout processing in the control device 6 according to the layout coordinate data of P ₁ and P ₂ from the data tablet 8, and the result is stored in the memory 11 again. .

Therefore, according to this system, the layout position data of the image on the layout mount 9, the magnification data of that image, and the coordinate position data of a specific point of the corresponding image are inputted into the data tablet 8, and the magnifying glass 3 If you specify a corresponding specific point on the document 2 using , the document 2 will be automatically trimmed and the image data will be written directly into the memory 11, making reading the document extremely easy. can be done.

By the way, although omitted in the above explanation, manuscript 2
When image data is read from the image data, it may be put into a buffer and monitored to confirm whether or not the trimming has been performed accurately, and then change or modify the image data as necessary. .

Incidentally, the above operation is shown in a flowchart as shown in FIG. 7.

Also, at this time, in preparation for changing or modifying the trimming range _{of image data, the above equations (1 )} and ( ₂ ) _{are changed} to It may be set as y ₁ <α(Y ₂ −Y ₁ ) …(2)′ to leave room for change or modification.

By the way, according to the system explained in FIGS. 1 to 7, it is possible to automatically input various data necessary for trimming, including the variable magnification data α, but in order to do so, it is necessary to place the document 2 in the document holder. 16 and input the position data P _x , P _y and the magnification data α, then attach the original 2 to the drum 1 of the scanner body and input the position data again.
Since it is necessary to read P _X and P _Y , the operation is complicated and difficult to handle, and the operation takes time.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such drawbacks of the conventional technology, the document to be trimmed is stored in a cassette,
The operation of importing the data necessary for trimming and the operation of reading the image signal are performed using the original stored in the cassette, and as a result, all the data necessary for trimming and layout can be obtained during the operation of importing variable magnification data. An automatic trimming layout system for printing plate making that can complete the data import operation and also eliminate the need for the data import operation after loading the original into the scanner.
This invention has been proposed by the present applicant as an invention in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-69217.

However, with this conventional technology, the image signal must be read while the original is stored in the cassette, so a normal rotating drum type scanner cannot be used and a special plane scanning type scanner is required. Therefore, there is a drawback that the cost tends to increase.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art, eliminate the need to import position data of a specific point on a document when importing variable magnification data, or import position data of a specific point on a document after the scanner is installed. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic trimming layout device for printing plate making, in which image signals can be easily read using an ordinary rotating drum type scanner.

In order to achieve this purpose, the present invention is designed so that both the mounting position when measuring the variable magnification of the document and the mounting position during reading scanning are defined at predetermined positions, and the origin coordinates in trimming or layout of image data. is characterized in that it is given as a constant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The automatic trimming layout apparatus for printing plate making according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which 19 is a manuscript table;
Reference numerals 20 and 21 indicate pin members embedded in the surface of the document table 19, 22 and 23 indicate pin members embedded in the surface of the drum 1, and 24 indicates a reading scanning head. Same as example.

The document table 19 is provided above the document holder 16 so as to be freely movable in the directions of arrows B and C, and is designed to hold the document 2 by pin members 20 and 21 and move together with the document 2. . Then, it functions to generate data P X representing the position of the original 2 in the B direction, that is, the position in the coordinate _X direction, and data P _Y representing the position in the C direction, that is, the position in the coordinate Y direction. Note that for this purpose, the movement of the document table 19 relative to the document holder 16 may be detected by two linear encoders.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the document 2 in this embodiment, in which holes H ₁ and H 2 having a predetermined diameter φ are formed at a predetermined distance l in the upper margin UM of the document 2 _.
Set it up. The distance l and the diameter φ are made to exactly match the distance and diameter between the pin members 20 and 21 provided on the document table 19 and the pin members 22 and 23 provided on the drum 1. .

Therefore, when the original 2 is placed on the original table 19, these perforations H ₁ and H ₂ are connected to the pin members 20,
21, the document 2 is accurately positioned on the document table 19, and similarly,
When the document 2 is pasted on the surface of the drum 1, the perforations H ₁ and H ₂ tightly engage the pin members 22 and 23, and the position of the document 2 on the drum 1 is accurately defined.

Note that, in practice, it is not desirable to perform any kind of manipulation or processing on the manuscript 2, and generally there are many cases where the manuscript 2 does not have a sufficient margin UM. As shown in
Prepare a durable and transparent film base FB such as polyester film, attach the original 2 to it with transparent adhesive tape TA, etc.
Holes H 1 and H 2 shall be provided in the holes H ₁ and H ₂ .

The reading/scanning head 24 is provided in an ordinary scanner, and is merely shown here, as it was omitted in the conventional example shown in FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, R represents the entire trimming data acquisition section, and S represents the entire reading scanning section. Further, T is the image portion of the original 2 to be trimmed, T' is the image of the image portion T projected onto the layout mount 9, and K is the image of the image portion T projected onto the layout mount 9.
Each represents the ruled line drawn on the . Also,
The lamp house 17 (Fig. 1) is omitted in this Fig. 8, and the functions and functions of other parts are shown in Fig. 1.
This is the same as the conventional example shown in the figure.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, the original 2 is placed on the original table 19. At this time, _the pin _members 20,
Needless to say, the position of the document 2 is correctly defined by inserting the document into the document 21.

Meanwhile, in parallel with this, the layout mount 9 is placed at a predetermined position on the data tablet 8. Then, an image T' of the picture T of the original 2 is projected onto the upper surface of the layout mount 9. This state is shown in FIG.

Here, for ease of explanation and understanding, the center of the document table 19 is taken as the reference point N, and the lower right corner of the layout sheet 9 on the data tablet 8 is taken as the origin _P0 .

Next, move the document holder 16 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 8 to adjust its vertical position, and move the document table 19 in the directions of arrows B and C to adjust its position on the document holder 16. Then, the image T' of the part to be trimmed of the picture part T of the original 2 is made to coincide with the ruled line K of the layout board 9.

Then, when a matching state is obtained, place the document holder 1
From position 6, change the magnification data α, and from document platen 1.
Document table position coordinate data P _X , P _Y is input to the control device 6 from the position of the document plate 9 on the document holder 16 . At this time, the coordinate data detected by the document table 19
P _X and P _Y have the following relationship with the position data P _x and P _y so that they represent the coordinates from the origin P ₀ on the layout board 9.

_{P x = α ( P ​ ​} It is a fixed constant.

Next, using the cursor 10, coordinate data (P _1x , P _1y ) of point P ₁ at the upper left corner of ruled line K on layout mount 9
and the coordinate data (P _2x , P _2y ) of the lower right corner point P ₂ are input from the data tablet 8 to the control device 6.

When all of these data have been captured, the control device 6 enters the calculation operation and calculates the two points Q1 and ₂ necessary to determine the trimming range K' of the document 2 in the reading scanning section S, as shown in FIG. Coordinate data of Q ₂ at the scanning section (Q _1X , Q _1Y ) and (Q _2X , Q _2Y )
Calculate. That is, Q _1X = Q _0x +P _1x −P _x /α …(10) Q _1Y =Q _0y +P _1y −P _y /α …(11) Q _2X =Q _0x −P _x −P _2x /α …(12) Q _2Y =Q _0y −P _y −P _2y /α (13) However, Q _0x and Q _0y are constants determined by the positional relationship between the pin members 22 and 23 and the drum 1.

In this way, using the pin members 22 and 23, the original 2
positional data representing points Q ₁ and Q ₂ necessary to specify the trimming range K' of the document 2 mounted on the drum 1 of the reading scanning section S with the mounting position specified.
After completing the calculations of Q _1X , Q _1Y , Q _2X , and Q _2Y , the control device 6 starts reading scanning of the original 2 by the reading scanning section S, and reads the image signal from the reading scanning section S based on the above position data. υ is gated, and image data is captured only when the trimming range K' of the document 2 is being scanned, and is stored in the memory 11. Regarding the gate of the image signal υ at this time,
The same as described in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 may be used, and therefore, detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. The same applies to layout processing.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the acquisition of the positional data necessary for trimming the original 2 is completed only by the trimming data acquisition section R, and the reading scanning section S
Trimming and layout can be performed without the need for any data import operations.

The operation of the present invention is shown in a flowchart.
It will look like Figure 3. It goes without saying that in this embodiment as well, the trimming result may be monitored and confirmed before being stored in the memory, as in the prior art example described above.

Here, the effects of the present invention are listed below.

All the data required for trimming and layout can be imported just by measuring the data in the trimming data importing section, and there is no need to take dimension measurements on the document surface or specify areas in consideration of the magnification ratio. This makes the work easier and takes less time.

There is no need for any layout work on the display image playback surface, or only confirmation work is required, so accurate trimming work can be easily achieved, and a special display device with a layout function is not required, resulting in low costs. .

Since the trimmed image data is directly stored in the memory, there is no need to store extra data, and the memory capacity can be kept to a minimum.

As the reading scanning section S for reading image signals from the original document, a rotary drum type scanner that has been widely used can be used, and since a special reading scanning section is not required, there is almost no increase in cost.

In addition, as the structure of the data import section R, a system using a transparent data tablet and a transparent layout mount, such as the device already filed by the applicant in Utility Application No. 147604/1980, is used. In this case, in addition to the above-mentioned effects, control data can be taken in a bright place, and even better operability can be provided.

Further, in the above embodiment, pin members 20 to 20 are used to define the position of the document 2 on the document table 19 and the drum 1.
23 and perforations H ₁ and H ₂ are used, but instead of these, appropriate marks may be used and the periphery of the document 2 may be aligned with each of them.

As explained above, according to the present invention, all the control data required for trimming and layout can be captured in one place without moving the document, and image data can also be easily read by a rotating drum scanner. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art, and easily provide an automatic trimming layout device that is easy to operate and can perform accurate trimming.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a conventional example of an automatic trimming layout device, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of position data input operation using the data tablet, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of a document on the drum of a scanner. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a position data input operation, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a specific point designation operation, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams showing operations when the shape of the ruled line is other than rectangular. , FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional example, FIG. 8 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the automatic trimming layout device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are for defining the document mounting position. FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are conceptual diagrams for explaining the operation, and FIG. 13 is a flowchart. 2...Manuscript, 8...Data tablet, 9...
Layout mount, 16... Original holder, 19... Original table, 20-23... Pin member, 24... Reading scanning head.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) Image reading means that scans a manuscript to generate image data, and layout position data generation means that specifies an arbitrary point on the layout sheet surface and generates position coordinate data thereof. , a trimming layout system comprising: a variable magnification data generating means for projecting an image of a document onto the surface of a layout board attached to the layout position data generating means to measure a variable magnification and generating variable magnification data, the reading scanning means; and the variable magnification data generating means are each provided with a document position defining means for always specifying the loading position of the document at a predetermined position. An automatic trimming and layout device for printing plate making is characterized in that it is configured to obtain cropped and laid out image data directly from a document simply by inputting variable magnification data. (2) In claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, the document position determining means is composed of at least two pin members, and the position is determined by engagement of the pin members with a hole formed in the document in advance. An automatic trimming layout device for printing plate making, characterized in that it is configured to carry out regulations.