JPH05290161A - Image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the image processing method which is suitable for drawing processing and capable of simplifying and speeding up the handling of an image in consideration of the condition that an increase in the amount of data and the delay of screen display processing, enlargement/reduction processing, etc., are caused by conventional drawing input technique for input to CAD, etc. CONSTITUTION:A drawing on paper, etc., is read as binary image data by an image scanner, etc. A CPU reads the binary image data in a memory and converts them into contour vector data, and sets sections of contour vector loops (S1 and S2). Painting-out points are calculated, section by section (S3). In this calculation, one contour vector is optionally selected from a pending problem section. The other contour vector opposite to this contour vector is detected. A perpendicular is drawn from one contour vector to the other and a painting-out point is set at the mid-point of the perpendicular. Position data on the painting-out point is added as attached data to section data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing method suitable for a technique of inputting an image into a CAD (Computer Aided Design) system, a drawing management system, etc., and particularly simplifies and speeds up the handling of image data. On how to do.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, when a drawing such as an electric circuit diagram or a mechanical structure diagram written on a paper or a film is input into a CAD system or a drawing management system to be utilized, the following (1)-
The method of (3) can be mentioned.

(1) The contents of the drawing are digitized through a character or figure recognition device and converted into the same level as the CAD system database.

(2) A drawing is read by an image scanner, converted into binary image data, traced on a CAD system with this binary image data as a background, and a new drawing is made.

(3) A drawing is read by an image scanner, converted into an image, and stored as an image.

In any of the techniques, data on paper or the like is converted into digital data and stored in a disk device of a CAD system or a drawing management system.

[0007]

However, in the above method (1), it is difficult to maintain a good storage state because the original drawing is stored on a medium such as paper, and the pattern recognition technology of today is used. Then, there was a problem that the recognizable drawings were very limited. Further, in the method of (2), the drawing is newly created, and it is inefficient and uneconomical to newly draw the entire drawing. Further, in the method (3), the amount of image data to be handled becomes enormous, not only a large-capacity disk is required, but also the screen display processing and other processing speed are delayed, and processing such as enlargement / reduction in particular is caused. Will be at a disadvantage.

Of these methods, the method of (3) is the most realistic even though it has a problem, and the problem is compensated by the introduction of the data compression method and the hardware of the device.
It is used in drawing input devices such as AD systems.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is directed to CA
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing method suitable for a process of inputting a drawing into a D system or the like and capable of simplifying and speeding up image handling.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image processing method comprising the following means.

(1) The binary image data is converted into the outline vector data by extracting the outline of the image from the binary image data and performing polygonal line approximation.

(2) To the contour vector data group corresponding to a series of contour vectors forming the loop, the coordinate data of the filled point indicating the filled side is added.

(3) The filling points are set in the following procedure.

A) Arbitrarily select one from the series of contour vectors.

B) A contour vector opposite to the selected contour vector is detected.

C) An arbitrary point between both contour vectors is taken as a filled point.

[0017]

In the present invention, attention is paid to the fact that the contour vector data is faithful to the original image and the data amount is smaller than that of the binary image data, and the input image is converted into the contour vector data for processing. Therefore, the processing speed and memory capacity will be reduced. However, when the display process is performed using the contour vector data as it is, a hollow image is displayed, which causes a visual discomfort. Therefore, filling points are added in advance to the loop of the contour vector, so that the filling process inside the contour can be performed easily and at high speed.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 2 shows a main part of a system configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an input interface for receiving inputs from a pointing device 2 and others, 3 is a CRT
(Cathode ray tube) device, 4 is a display interface for performing display control, 5 is an external storage device, 6 is an external storage interface, 7 is a communication control interface for transmitting image data and the like to and from an external system, and 8 is a CPU. (Central processing unit). A main memory 9 stores the input image conversion processing and other programs according to this embodiment.

An outline of this input image conversion processing is shown in FIG. An example of an image to be processed is shown in FIG. The drawing (FIG. 3A) written on paper or film is read as binary image data by an image scanner or the like. This 2
When the value image data is transferred to this device, the CPU reads the binary image data into the memory (FIG. 1S1) and converts it into contour vector data (FIG. 1S2). This conversion can be performed by a known method, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, the contour of the image represented by the binary image data is traced to generate a contour vector, and the generated contour vector is looped for each loop. Collectively set the section of the contour vector loop.

After that, the fill point is calculated for each section of the contour vector loop (S3 in FIG. 1). FIG. 4 shows how the filled points are calculated. In this calculation,
As shown in (a), if one contour vector is arbitrarily selected from the pending section and the selected contour vector is a, another contour vector facing the contour vector a is the same as when generating the core vector. b is detected. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, a filling point P is set between the contour vectors a and b. Specifically, for example, a perpendicular line is drawn from the outline vector a to the outline vector b, and the midpoint of the perpendicular line is set as a filling point P. The position data of the filling point P is added as ancillary data to the pending section data.

The image data thus obtained is registered in a file and used for editing processing and the like. As shown in FIG. 3B, the image based on the contour vector data is relatively faithful to the original image, but it is a hollow image, so that a feeling of strangeness occurs especially when enlarged. Therefore, when displaying an image or the like, the hollow portion is filled in as shown in FIG. At this time, by referring to the filled points, it is possible to easily and quickly detect the filled area in the hollow portion of the image.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the binary image data is converted into the contour vector data and stored, the data amount is small, and the image display processing or the reduction / enlargement processing can be speeded up and the memory capacity can be reduced. Furthermore, since the filling point data is added to the contour vector data, it is possible to fill in the hollow part of the image by referring to this filling point data, which is true to the original image and visually uncomfortable. It is possible to easily and quickly obtain an image that does not cause the image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an outline of an input image conversion processing procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of a system configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how to calculate a fill point.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Input interface 2 ... Pointing device 3 ... CRT device 4 ... Display interface 5 ... External storage device 6 ... External storage interface 7 ... Communication control interface 8 ... CPU 9 ... Main memory a, b ... Contour vector loop P ... Filling point

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A contour vector data group corresponding to a series of contour vectors forming a loop by converting the binary image data into contour vector data by extracting the contour of the image from the binary image data and approximating the polygonal line. On the other hand, the coordinate data of the filling point indicating the filling side is added, and the setting of the filling point is performed by arbitrarily selecting one from the series of contour vectors and selecting the contour vector opposite to the selected contour vector. Is detected and an arbitrary point is set between both contour vectors to perform an image processing method.