JPH0740285A - Device for originating cutting data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate removal of unnecessary parts by adding data about the cutting of an auxiliary line which makes it hard for the required portions of a figure to peel off, when cutting lines in a marking film based on outline data. CONSTITUTION:Data showing the contours of letters and logo marks is read into a data input means 11 from an external storage as outline data showing the contours of figures, and a means 12 for creating an auxiliary line detects the externally projected part of any contour based on the outline data; when the angle that a pair of straight lines constituting the projected part of the contour detected or a pair of approximate straight lines form is within a set angle range, auxiliary line data showing an auxiliary line of a preset length is created starting with the projected part of the contour. Data made up of the outline data with the auxiliary line data added thereto is output from a data output means 15 as cutting data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cutting device for performing line cutting on a marking film based on outline data indicating contours of figures, and more particularly, when an unnecessary portion of the marking film is peeled off,
The present invention relates to a cutting data creation device that creates cutting data to which auxiliary lines are added to prevent peeling of necessary parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When cutting out a figure such as a character on a marking film such as a vinyl chloride sheet, character string data created in advance is converted into outline data showing each character by a contour, and the converted outline data is used. By doing so, the marking film is contour-cut. Unnecessary parts are removed from this cut marking film. In this work, of the parts that need to be left without being removed, the part whose shape is protruding is peeled off along with the unnecessary parts. Often. Therefore, for the part that is often peeled off, a cutter knife or the like is used to carve an auxiliary line extending from the protruding portion to the unnecessary portion side to prevent the unnecessary portion from being peeled off when removing the unnecessary portion. .

[0003]

However, the above-described work of engraving the auxiliary line may engrave a necessary portion even if the shape of a character or the like is small, even if the hand is slightly moved. Therefore, it is a task that requires caution. Therefore, there is a problem that the work of removing the unnecessary portion is complicated and time-consuming.

The present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to remove unnecessary parts by adding cutting data of auxiliary lines that make it difficult to peel off the necessary parts of a figure to outline data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cutting data creation device capable of creating cutting data that facilitates.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the cutting data creating apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises:
It is applied to a cutting device that applies line cutting based on outline data showing a contour of a figure to a marking film, and data input means for reading the outline data created in advance, and each contour of the figure indicated by the read outline data. In, detecting a contour protruding portion such as a corner portion or a curve protruding in the outer direction, the angle formed between the pair of straight lines or the approximated pair of straight lines forming the detected contour protruding portion is set in advance in an angle range. When this is the case, auxiliary line creating means for creating auxiliary line data indicating an auxiliary line of a preset length extending in a preset direction from the contour projecting portion as a starting point, and read by the data inputting means. Data obtained by adding the auxiliary line data to outline data is It has a configuration that includes a data output means for outputting as Ingudeta.

Further, the cutting data creating apparatus of the present invention is applied to a cutting apparatus for performing line cutting on a marking film based on outline data indicating outlines of graphics and arrangement of graphics, and the cutting data is created in advance. By considering the data input means for reading the outline data and the arrangement of the figures indicated by the read outline data as a rectangular arrangement,
Extract the closest pair of vertices of adjacent rectangles, and from each of the pair of extracted vertices from the contour protrusions such as corners or curves protruding outward of the figure corresponding to each of these rectangles. Auxiliary line creating means for detecting the closest contour projecting portion and creating auxiliary line data using a line connecting the detected contour projecting portions as auxiliary lines, and the outline data read by the data input means to the outline data. The data output means outputs the data to which the auxiliary line data is added as cutting data.

[0007]

The operation of the invention according to claim 1 will be described below.

The auxiliary line creating means detects, in each contour of the figure indicated by the read outline data, a contour projecting portion such as a corner or a curve which is a contour projecting toward the outside of the figure. Then, it is determined whether or not the angle formed by the pair of straight lines forming the detected contour protruding portion or the pair of approximated straight lines is within a preset angle range. That is, of the portions that need to be left without being peeled off, the portions that are often peeled off due to the removal of unnecessary portions are detected.

Then, when the above-mentioned angle is within a preset angle range, auxiliary line data indicating an auxiliary line having a preset length extending in a preset direction from the contour protruding portion is created. . In other words, data for creating an auxiliary line is created for the portion determined to be often peeled off.

The data output means outputs data obtained by adding auxiliary line data to the outline data read by the data input means as cutting data. Therefore, when cutting is performed according to the data output by the data output means, the contour of the figure is cut, and the auxiliary line that makes it difficult to peel off a necessary portion is cut.

The operation of the invention according to claim 2 will be described below.

The auxiliary line creating means regards the arrangement of figures indicated by the read outline data as an arrangement of rectangles, and for each pair of adjacent vertices of adjacent rectangles, the contour projecting portion closest to the vertex. To detect. That is, the contour protruding portion detected at this time is a portion that is often peeled off due to the removal of the unnecessary portion among the portions that need to be left without being peeled off.

Further, the auxiliary line creating means creates, as an auxiliary line, a line connecting the contour protruding portions detected corresponding to each of the pair of vertices. In other words, this auxiliary line is a line that connects parts that are often peeled off from each other between adjacent figures.

Further, since the data output means outputs the data obtained by adding the auxiliary line data to the outline data read by the data input means as the cutting data, when the cutting is performed according to the data outputted by the data output means. In addition to cutting the outline of the figure, the auxiliary line that makes it difficult to remove the necessary portion is cut.

[0015]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of an embodiment of the cutting data creating apparatus of the present invention.

In the figure, the data input means 11 uses the outline of a character as outline data showing the outline of a graphic,
It is a block that shows the outline of the logo mark, the outline of a combination figure of straight lines and curves, and the data indicating the arrangement of these from an external storage device. Then, the read outline data is sent to each of the first and second auxiliary line creating means 12 and 13, and
It is sent to the correction means 14.

Further, the first auxiliary line creating means 12 is based on the outline data given from the data input means 11, and in each outline of the figure indicated by the outline data, a contour protrusion which is a contour protruding in the outward direction of the figure. It is a block that detects a portion (a corner portion, a curved protrusion, or the like).

When the detected contour protrusion is a corner, an angle formed by a pair of straight lines forming the corner is formed. When the detected contour protrusion is a curved protrusion, the contour protrusion is approximated. With respect to the angle formed by the pair of straight lines, it is determined whether or not this angle is within a preset angle range.

Next, when the above-mentioned angle is within the set range, a line of a preset length extending in a preset direction from the contour protruding portion is generated as an auxiliary line, and this auxiliary line is generated. After creating the auxiliary line data indicating, the created auxiliary line data is sent to the correction means 14.

Further, the second auxiliary line creating means 13 regards the arrangement of figures indicated by the outline data as a rectangular arrangement based on the outline data given from the data input means 11. Then, a combination of a pair of vertices that are closest to each other is extracted from adjacent rectangles, and the extracted vertices are closest to the extracted vertices from the contour protrusions such as corners or curves in the contour of the figure corresponding to each rectangle. It is a block that detects the contour protruding portion.

Then, a line connecting the contour projecting portions detected for each of the one and the other of the pair of vertices is generated as an auxiliary line, and auxiliary line data indicating this auxiliary line is created. Then, the created auxiliary line data is sent to the correction means 14.

The correcting means 14 generates an auxiliary line based on the auxiliary line data sent from the first and second auxiliary line creating means 12 and 13, and the outline data given from the data input means 11. It is a block for determining whether or not it has entered the portion that needs to be left without being removed, and for correcting the auxiliary line when it has entered. Then, the corrected auxiliary line data and outline data are sent to the data output means 15.

The data output means 15 is data obtained by adding the auxiliary line data read by the data input means 11 and corrected by the correction means 14 to the outline data given by the correction means 14. Is sent to an external storage device as cutting data.

Further, the input means 16 inputs to the first auxiliary line forming means 12 data (which can be specified in a range of 90 to 120 degrees) for designating an angle range serving as a reference for determining an auxiliary line. Is a block to be specified, and data for designating whether the extension direction of the auxiliary line is the vertical direction or the horizontal direction and the length of the auxiliary line (can be specified in the range of 2 mm to 20 mm) is input. .
Further, the correction means 14 inputs data required for correction.

Further, the display means 17 displays the outline of the figure and its arrangement according to the outline data, and this display and the first and second auxiliary line creation means 12, 13 are provided.
It is a block that simultaneously displays the auxiliary line generated by.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 3 to 14 are explanatory views showing the relationship between the outline of a figure and an auxiliary line, and FIG. 15 is the closest to the apex of a rectangle. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detection method of the contour protrusion part.

The operation of one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as necessary.

The data input means 11 reads the outline data which is created in advance and stored in the external storage device, and the read outline data is converted into the first and second auxiliary line creating means 12 and 13 and the correcting means. Send to 14. Therefore, the correction unit 14 displays the graphic indicated by the outline data on the display unit 17 (steps S11 and S12).

In this state, the person in charge is the display means 17
By referring to the display of, the data for setting the direction and the length of the auxiliary line generated by the first auxiliary line creating means 12 is input from the input means 16 (steps S13 and S14), and the first auxiliary line is generated. The angle range used by the creating unit 12 for determining the generation of the auxiliary line is input from the input unit 16 (step S15).

Then, only the auxiliary line extending from the contour protruding portion of the figure in the set direction is generated (the first auxiliary line creating means 12 is operated), or only the auxiliary line connecting the adjacent figures is generated. The input means 16 is used to specify whether (the second auxiliary line creating means 13 is operated) or both auxiliary lines are generated at the same time (step S16).

The first auxiliary line creating means 12 to which these data are given assumes that the figure indicated by the outline data is the diamond shape shown in FIG. 3, and the judgment angle range is 9
If the angle of 0 degrees or less and the direction of generation of the auxiliary lines are the horizontal direction, the angle a is larger than 90 degrees and the angle b is smaller than 90 degrees. To generate.

When the angle range is set to 120 degrees or less, the angles a and b are both 120 degrees or less, so that the auxiliary lines 25 to 30 extending laterally from all of the contour protrusions 21 to 24. Is generated (at this time, the contour protrusion 2
One of the auxiliary lines 27 and 28 is generated in 1 and one of the auxiliary lines 25 and 26 is generated in the contour protruding portion 22).

When the direction of generation of the auxiliary line is the vertical direction, the auxiliary lines 31 to 34 are generated when the angle range is set to 90 degrees or less, and the auxiliary lines 31 to 36 are generated when the angle range is set to 120 degrees or less. To do.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the shape of the figure is a shape composed of a combination of an arc and a straight line, it is necessary to determine whether or not to generate an auxiliary line in the contour protruding portion 40 which is a curved protruding portion. Is the contour protrusion 40 and the arc 43.
The straight lines 41 and 42 connecting the respective end points of are used as approximate straight lines. Then, it is determined whether or not the angle d formed by the straight lines 41 and 42 falls within the set angle range.

From the above, the auxiliary line creating means 12
When the angle range is 90 degrees or less, the contour protrusion 44
Generate auxiliary lines at ~ 46. The angle range is 120
In the case of less than or equal to the degree, auxiliary lines are generated in the contour protruding portions 40, 44 to 46.

Further, in the figure shape 48 shown in FIG. 5, if the contour projecting portion 51 is the target of the auxiliary line generation and the generation direction is the horizontal direction, the two auxiliary lines 49, 5 are formed.
Although 0 can be generated, since the direction of generating the auxiliary line 49 is the direction toward the inside of the figure, only the auxiliary line 50 is generated in this case.

When the generation direction is the vertical direction,
It is possible to generate two auxiliary lines 52 and 53. At this time, the larger one of the angles e and f formed by each of the auxiliary lines 52 and 53 and the straight line showing the outline of the figure. Only the auxiliary line 52 corresponding to e is generated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the shape of the graphic has an unnecessary portion 56 to be removed inside the graphic, an auxiliary line is not generated inside the graphic and an auxiliary line extending in the outward direction of the graphic is generated. Only the line 55 is generated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in the case where the graphic shape is a shape composed of a rectangle 58 and a closed circle 57, the rectangle 58 is a target for generating an auxiliary line, but the closed circle 57 is Do not generate auxiliary lines. This is also the case for closed ellipses, for example:
The same applies to the case where the circle 57 shown in is an elliptical shape, and only the rectangle is the target of the auxiliary line generation.

Further, as the other graphic shapes, if the shape is composed only of straight lines, arcs, circles, and ellipses, the auxiliary line is not generated. Also, auxiliary lines are not generated for polygons whose mounts are framed.

In the case of the logo mark, when the size of the figure is indicated by the number of resolution points of the digitizer or scanner for reading the figure, the figure having a size of 310 points or more has a large shape, Since the removal work is easy, no auxiliary line is generated.

The rules described above are the rules in the first auxiliary line creating means 12, and when the outline data is given, the first auxiliary line creating means 12 creates an auxiliary line according to this rule. Then, auxiliary line data indicating the generated auxiliary line is created, and the correction means 1
Send to 4.

On the other hand, the second auxiliary line creating means 13 regards the arrangement of figures indicated by the outline data as an arrangement of rectangles, and detects the contour protruding portion closest to the apex of each rectangle. The method will be described with reference to FIG.

Passing through the center of the rectangle 81 indicated by the two-dot chain line,
First, an orthogonal coordinate axis whose angle is inclined by 45 degrees with respect to each side of the rectangle 81 is set. And in the set coordinate axis,
In each of the plus direction and the minus direction of each axis, four points 82 to 85 that give the maximum distance from the center O are detected, and each of these four points is defined as the contour protrusion closest to each vertex. .

Assuming that the contours of the graphic and the arrangement thereof are the shapes shown in FIG. 8, a rectangle corresponding to the graphic "de" (a part of which is shown by a broken line 65) and a rectangle corresponding to the graphic "su". (Of which a part is shown by a broken line 66), a pair of vertices 67 and 68 that are closest to each other.
Take out. Then, the contour protruding portion 61 is detected as the contour protruding portion closest to the vertex 67. Further, the contour projecting portion 62 is detected as the contour projecting portion closest to the vertex 68.

Therefore, the second auxiliary line creating means 13
A straight line 60 connecting the contour projecting portion 61 and the contour projecting portion 62 is generated as an auxiliary line, and the data indicating the straight line 60 is sent to the correcting means 14 as auxiliary line data. Further, an auxiliary line 71 that connects the contour projecting portions 69 and 70 to each other is generated by the same method, and auxiliary line data indicating the auxiliary line 71 is sent to the correction means 14.

Since the second auxiliary line creating means 13 generates only when the figures are adjacent to each other, for example, in the shape shown in FIG. 9, the auxiliary lines are provided on the left side of the figure "de" and on the right side of the figure "ta". Not generated (auxiliary lines are indicated by dashed lines). Further, as shown in FIG. 10, when there are no adjacent figures and the figures are independent, the auxiliary line is not generated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the figures "ra", "tsu", "shi", "ya", "i", which have adjacent figures,
"Ma" and an independent figure "i" without adjacent figures,
When "se" is mixed, auxiliary lines are generated only for adjacent figures.

When one figure is composed of a plurality of figure elements independent from each other like the figure "River" in FIG. 12, an auxiliary line is not generated between each figure element and the figure "River" and the figure Auxiliary lines are generated only between "mountains".
Also, for the figure "T", which has a removed portion inside, an auxiliary line is generated only for the outermost contour.

Further, when the arrangement of figures is a horizontal arrangement as shown in FIG. 13, auxiliary lines 73 corresponding to the arrangement are generated, and when the arrangement is a vertical arrangement as shown in FIG. Corresponding auxiliary line 72
To generate.

The second auxiliary line creating means 13 creates an auxiliary line according to the above-mentioned rule, and then creates auxiliary line data indicating this auxiliary line. Then, the created auxiliary line data is sent to the correction means 14 (step S17).

8 to 14, the auxiliary line is shown by using a broken line in order to make the distinction between the auxiliary line and the contour of the figure clear, but the auxiliary line indicated by the auxiliary line data is a straight line. .

As a result of the operations of the first and second auxiliary line creating means 12 and 13, the correcting means 14 is provided with the outline data and the auxiliary line data. Therefore, the correction unit 14 displays the auxiliary line data and the outline data provided thereto according to these data (step S18).

In this state, the person in charge checks whether or not there is an interference that an auxiliary line enters a portion of the figure that should be left, or whether the generated auxiliary line is appropriate as a line that makes it difficult to peel the portion that should be left. If it is determined that there is interference or the auxiliary line is inappropriate, the auxiliary line is corrected or erased using the input means 16 (step S19).

The operation of the correction means 14 when correcting this auxiliary line will be described with reference to FIG.

In the same figure, it is assumed that the auxiliary line 60 is not appropriate, so that correction is required and the contour protruding portion 61 must be changed to a different position. And the contour protrusion 6
3 or the contour projection 64, if appropriate as a position for the auxiliary line, the contour projection 63 or 64
The position P2 in the vicinity of is designated. Then, correction means 1
4 automatically detects the contour protrusion (63 or 64) closest to the position P2, and generates a straight line connecting the detected contour protrusion and the contour protrusion 62 as an auxiliary line.

In this modification, when the contour projecting portion 63 comes closest to the position P2, a straight line connecting the contour projecting portion 63 and the contour projecting portion 62 is generated as an auxiliary line. Further, when the contour projecting portion 64 is the closest, a straight line connecting the contour projecting portion 64 and the contour projecting portion 62 is generated as an auxiliary line.

When the position P1 is designated for changing the auxiliary line, there is no contour protrusion in the vicinity of the position P1, so that the correcting means 14 does not specify the position for changing on the display means 17. Display the specified error as appropriate.

Further, when the auxiliary line generated by the first auxiliary line creating means 12 has a long length and enters an adjacent figure, the length is shortened or the corresponding auxiliary line is erased. I do.

When the correction is completed by repeating the above operation as many times as necessary, the correction means 14 automatically checks whether or not interference has occurred,
When interference has occurred, the graphic and the auxiliary line are displayed again. If there is no interference, the series of data is sent to the data output means 15 (step S).
18-S21).

The data output means 15 to which these data are guided creates cutting data by adding auxiliary line data to the outline data, and sends the created cutting data to the outside (step S2).
2).

[0063]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cutting data creating apparatus detects a contour projecting portion which is a contour projecting to the outside of the figure in the contour of the figure indicated by the outline data, and the detected contour projecting. When the angle formed by a pair of straight lines or a pair of approximated straight lines forming the part is within a preset angle range, a preset length extending in a preset direction from the contour protruding portion as a starting point The auxiliary line of is generated, and the cutting data is created by adding the auxiliary line data to the outline data. Further, the cutting data creation apparatus according to the present invention regards the arrangement of figures indicated by the outline data as an arrangement of rectangles, and a figure corresponding to each of the rectangles for each pair of vertices of the adjacent rectangles that are closest to each other. Of the contour projections such as corners or curved projections in the contour of the contour contour, the contour projection closest to the apex is detected, and auxiliary line data that connects the detected contour projections to each other is created, and the outline data is created. Cutting data is created by adding this auxiliary line data. Therefore, when cutting according to the cutting data, the auxiliary line is also cut, and this auxiliary line is a line that makes it difficult to peel off the necessary parts of the figure, making it possible to create cutting data that facilitates the work of removing unnecessary parts. Has the effect of becoming.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an embodiment of a cutting data creation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a graphic and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a graphic and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a graphic and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and an auxiliary line generated.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a figure and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a contour of a graphic and a generated auxiliary line.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of detecting a contour protrusion closest to a vertex of a rectangle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Data Input Means 12 First Auxiliary Line Creation Means 13 Second Auxiliary Line Creation Means 14 Correction Means 16 Data Output Means 21-24 Contour Protrusions 25-30 Auxiliary Lines

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cutting device for performing line cutting on a marking film on the basis of outline data indicating a contour of a graphic, the data input means for reading the outline data created in advance, and the graphic indicated by the read outline data. In each of the contours, a corner protrusion protruding in the outward direction or a contour protrusion formed by a curved line is detected, and an angle formed between a pair of straight lines or a pair of approximated straight lines forming the detected contour protrusion is set in advance. When the angle range is
Auxiliary line creating means for creating auxiliary line data indicating an auxiliary line of a preset length extending in a preset direction from the contour protruding portion as a starting point, and the outline data read by the data input means to the outline data. A data output device for outputting data to which auxiliary line data has been added as cutting data. 2. A cutting device for performing line cutting on a marking film based on outline data indicating a contour of a graphic and an arrangement of the graphic, data input means for reading the outline data created in advance, and the read outline By considering the arrangement of the figures indicated by the data as an arrangement of rectangles, a pair of adjacent vertices of adjacent rectangles are extracted, and corners or curves protruding outward of the figures corresponding to each of these rectangles. An auxiliary line data that detects the contour protrusions closest to each of the extracted pair of vertices from the contour protrusions according to the above, and creates auxiliary line data using a line connecting the detected contour protrusions as an auxiliary line. The line creation means and the output read by the data input means A data output means for outputting data obtained by adding the auxiliary line data to line data as cutting data.