JPH08263670A - Device for generating woodgrain design conduit section pattern and printed matter with woodgrain design pattern - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To express a natural woodgrain design pattern being proximate to a natural tree or the pattern with a high design which is not seen in the natural tree on a printed matter by comparatively simple work. CONSTITUTION: The woodgrain design pattern P12 such as a wall paper is generated by superimposing an annual ring pattern P1 on a conduit section pattern P2. The annual ring pattern P1 is picked-up from the plate grain pattern of the natural tree T1. The conduit section pattern P2 is generated by a computer. A probability value is defined on the gradation value of an individual picture element constituting the picture of the annual ring pattern P1 so as to permit the conduit section pattern P2 is matched with the various densities of the annual ring pattern P1, an individual conduit section is generated so as to obtain a distribution based on the probability value to obtain the conduit section pattern P2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for generating a wood grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern and a printed material having a wood grain pattern, and more particularly, to achieve a more natural texture or a design with a higher design. As possible, it relates to a technique of artificially creating a conduit cross-section pattern and forming it on a printed material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wood grain pattern is widely used as a building material product such as wallpaper and a package pattern for various products. When a printed matter having such a wood grain pattern is created, a method is usually used in which the grain of natural wood is photographed with a camera and the grain pattern of the natural wood is used as it is. Further, in recent years, image processing technology using a computer has become widespread also in the printing field. Therefore, a grain pattern pattern of a natural tree is captured as image data by a CCD camera or the like, and a computer is used for this image data. And perform the necessary image processing,
A method of printing based on the processed image data is also widely used.

Generally, the wood grain pattern includes an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross-section pattern. The annual ring pattern is
It is a pattern that is formed as the tree grows year by year. Usually, a difference in light and shade occurs based on the difference in temperature and temperature in the growth environment of trees, and this difference in light and shade appears as an annual ring pattern. Therefore, it becomes a periodic light and shade pattern every year. On the other hand, the conduit cross-sectional pattern is a cross-sectional pattern obtained by cutting the conduit of the tree. A conduit is an organ required for a tree to perform a physiological function as a plant, and is a thin tube extending from a trunk toward a treetop. Usually, its cross section is elongated and elliptical. Therefore, when observing the grain pattern that appears in the grain of natural wood, the annual ring pattern is generally recognized, but when viewed in detail, it is recognized that many small conduit cross-section patterns are arranged.

In a wallpaper or the like, it is common to express a wood grain pattern by superimposing an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross-section pattern in order to reproduce the texture of the above-mentioned natural wood grain as faithfully as possible. Usually, a method is adopted in which the annual ring pattern and the conduit cross-section pattern are separately photographed from the grain of natural wood, separate plates are created, and both are combined at the time of printing. Although the annual ring pattern and the conduit cross-section pattern may be printed on the same layer in an overlapping manner, the annual ring pattern may be separately formed on the print layer and the conduit cross-section pattern on the embossed layer. Originally, since the conduit cross section of natural wood has an uneven structure, the conduit cross-section pattern is expressed as a three-dimensional pattern with unevenness on the transparent embossed layer, and this embossed layer is printed on the printed layer on which the annual ring pattern is printed. By stacking them, a texture closer to natural wood can be expressed.

[0005]

However, the work of extracting the conduit cross-section pattern from the grain of natural wood is technically very difficult work. This work is usually performed by taking a photograph of the cross section of the sheet with a camera and capturing the conduit cross section pattern as digital data from the photograph with a scanner device, or by capturing the conduit cross section pattern directly from the sheet with a digital camera. . However, the spatial resolution of cameras and scanners is limited, and it is difficult to faithfully capture the shape of a minute conduit cross section as pattern data. In particular, depending on the natural wood, there may be a slight difference in color tone between the conduit portion and the non-conduit portion appearing in the wood grain, and for such wood grain, the sensitivity of the image input system, the dynamic range, Due to the limit of the number of quantization bits, the number of A / D bits, etc., it is very difficult to faithfully capture the conduit cross-section pattern. In such a case, a method is used in which only the conduit section is colored with a dye and then a photo is taken, but it is technically difficult to accurately color only the conduit section. Therefore, there is a problem that the time and effort are increased.

Further, there is a problem that the wood grain pattern expressed on the printed matter by the conventional method is poor in designability. That is, if the annual ring pattern and the conduit cross-section pattern are extracted from the grain of natural wood, it is possible to reproduce the natural texture close to that of natural wood on the printed matter, but conversely, it exists naturally. Since it is limited to the woodgrain pattern found in trees, it is no longer possible to create a woodgrain pattern with a novel design. For example, a natural tree that does not originally have a conduit (such as a conifer)
Then, of course, it is impossible to extract the conduit cross-section pattern from the wood grain, so the wood grain pattern pattern extracted from such natural wood is composed only of annual ring patterns, which makes the design monotonous. Cheap.

Therefore, the present invention provides a wood grain pattern conduit which can express a natural wood grain pattern pattern close to that of natural wood, or a wood grain pattern pattern of high design, which is not found on natural wood, on a printed matter by a relatively simple operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for generating a cross-sectional pattern, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printed matter having such a grain pattern.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

(1) A first aspect of the present invention is, in a device for generating a wood grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern, a tree ring pattern annual ring pattern input means for inputting as a raster image composed of a set of pixels having gradation, Correspondence relationship defining means for defining a correspondence relationship between the gradation value of the pixel and the probability value indicating the occurrence probability of the conduit cross-section pattern, and the probability value associated with the gradation value for each pixel of the raster image. Based on, the generation position determining means for determining whether or not the generation position of the conduit cross-section pattern, and in the vicinity of the pixel at the generation position,
And a conduit cross-section pattern generating means for generating a conduit cross-section pattern of a predetermined shape.

(2) A second aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generating device according to the aspect of (1), the cross section of the natural tree is photographed in the annual ring pattern input means,
The captured image is provided as a raster image.

(3) A third aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned second aspect.
In the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generation device according to the aspect of (1), the correspondence relationship defining means includes a correlation between the concentration value of each part and the growth time, and the growth time and the conduit for the natural tree that is the source of the raster image. The correspondence between the gradation value and the probability value is defined based on the correlation with the density.

(4) A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generating device according to the third aspect, the generation position determining means has a function of generating a random number, and the generated random number and the probability value associated with the gradation value of the pixel. Based on the magnitude relationship between and, it is determined whether or not each pixel is the position where the conduit cross-section pattern occurs.

(5) A fifth aspect of the present invention relates to the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generating device according to the fourth aspect, the conduit cross-section pattern generating means has a function of generating a random number, and the shape / size of the conduit cross-section pattern is determined based on the generated random number. It was made to be done.

(6) A sixth aspect of the present invention relates to the above-mentioned first aspect.
In the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generating device according to the fifth aspect, an orientation determining means for determining the orientation of each pixel based on the gradient of the gradation value of the raster image is further provided to generate the conduit cross-section pattern. The means is capable of generating the conduit cross-section pattern in the direction corresponding to the orientation of the pixel at the generation position.

(7) According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in a printed matter expressing a wood grain pattern by superimposing an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross-section pattern, a large number of conduit cross-section patterns of different shapes / sizes are formed. It is generated and arranged on the annual ring pattern.

(8) According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in a printed matter expressing a wood grain pattern by superimposing an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross section pattern, the conduit cross section pattern is formed at a density according to the shade of the annual ring pattern. It is arranged on the annual ring pattern.

(9) A ninth aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned eighth aspect.
In a printed matter having a woodgrain pattern according to
Regarding the annual ring pattern, the density of the conduit cross-section pattern is increased in the lighter part, and the density of the conduit cross-section pattern is decreased in the darker part.

(10) A tenth aspect of the present invention is a printed matter in which a wood grain pattern is expressed by superimposing an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross section pattern on the basis of a direction according to the shade of the annual ring pattern. The pattern is arranged on the annual ring pattern.

(11) An eleventh aspect of the present invention is to express the inside of each conduit cross-section pattern with gradation in the printed matter having the grain pattern according to the seventh to tenth aspects.

(12) According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in a device for generating a wood grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern, a tree ring pattern annual ring pattern is inputted as a raster image consisting of a set of pixels having gradations. Means, for each pixel of the raster image, based on a predetermined probability value, a generation position determining means for determining whether or not it is a generation position of the conduit cross-section pattern, and a predetermined shape near the generation position pixel. A conduit cross-section pattern generating means for generating a conduit cross-section pattern, and a means for superimposing the conduit cross-section pattern and the annual ring pattern on the medium and outputting the medium are provided.

[0020]

[Operation] According to the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generating device of the present invention, a computer can be used to artificially generate the conduit cross-section pattern. Therefore, the work of extracting the conduit cross-section pattern from the natural wood is not necessary at all, and it becomes possible to express the wood grain pattern having the annual ring pattern and the conduit cross-section pattern on the printed matter with a relatively simple work. In addition, since the generated conduit cross-section pattern is not extracted from an actual natural tree, it has a higher degree of freedom, and it is possible to generate a highly-designed woodgrain pattern that is not found in natural wood.

Generally, the annual ring pattern has a gradation of light and shade in the annual cycle, and similarly, the density of the conduit cross-section pattern also changes in the annual cycle. Usually, the lighter the density of the annual ring pattern, the higher the conduit density, and the darker the density, the lower the density.
This is because the growth pattern of trees differs depending on the growing season (four seasons), and the density of the generated conduits also varies depending on the growing season (four seasons). In the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generating device according to the present invention, the density of the conduit cross-section pattern can be determined according to the gradation value of each part of the annual ring pattern. Can be tuned to the shading distribution of. Therefore, even though the conduit cross-section pattern is artificially generated, a natural texture can be expressed as a whole.

The present invention is characterized by artificially generating at least the conduit cross-section pattern when forming the wood grain pattern by superimposing the annual ring pattern and the conduit cross-section pattern. Therefore, as the annual ring pattern, a pattern extracted from a natural tree or a pattern artificially generated may be used. However, for the purpose of obtaining a wood grain pattern having a natural texture, it is preferable to adopt a method of extracting the annual ring pattern from a natural tree. Extract the annual ring pattern from natural trees,
By artificially generating a conduit cross-section pattern having a density distribution synchronized with this annual ring pattern, the wood grain pattern obtained by superimposing the annual ring pattern and the conduit cross-section pattern is very similar to the natural wood grain pattern. It will have a texture close to. On the contrary, for the purpose of obtaining a woodgrain pattern having a high design property which is not found in natural wood, the present invention can be carried out using an artificially generated annual ring pattern. Further, if the present invention is applied to a natural tree such as a conifer that does not originally have a conduit, it becomes possible to create a highly patterned wood grain pattern that is not found in a natural tree.

Random numbers are preferably used in the process of generating the conduit cross-section pattern. That is, in order to determine the occurrence distribution of the conduit cross-section pattern, based on the magnitude relationship between the occurrence probability value of the conduit cross-section pattern defined corresponding to the gradation value of the annual ring pattern and the generated random number, By determining whether or not to generate the conduit cross-section pattern, it is possible to obtain the conduit cross-section pattern randomly distributed while having the density distribution synchronized with the annual ring pattern. Also, if random numbers are used to determine the shape / size of the conduit cross-section pattern, the generated conduit cross-section patterns will have different shapes / sizes from each other. In spite of
You can express the fluctuation of nature.

In the actual natural tree, the direction in which the conduit extends also depends on the growing time. Therefore, if the orientation of the conduit cross-section pattern to be generated is determined based on the gradient of the tone value of the annual ring pattern, it becomes possible to obtain a natural conduit cross-section pattern that also considers the direction in which the conduit extends. .

Further, if the inside of the conduit cross-section pattern to be generated is expressed with gradation, it is possible to realize a wood grain pattern that is more natural or has a higher design.

[0026]

The present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments. First, the configuration of a general wood grain pattern will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a general wood grain pattern P12 used for decoration such as wallpaper and building materials is an annual ring pattern P1 and a conduit cross-section pattern P2.
It is obtained by superimposing and.

As described above, the annual ring pattern is a pattern formed according to the annual growth of trees,
Usually, a difference in light and shade occurs based on the difference in temperature and temperature in the growth environment of trees, and this difference in light and shade appears as an annual ring pattern. The diagram shown in the upper left of FIG. 1 is a simple geometric model diagram showing the natural tree T1, and shows the natural tree T1 as a simple coaxial cylinder model. The area between one cylinder and the outer cylinder corresponds to the part that has grown in one year. Of course, an actual natural tree does not have such a perfect coaxial cylindrical model, but has a considerably distorted shape. When such a natural tree T1 is cut along a predetermined cut surface J1, the annual ring pattern P1 as shown is obtained on the cut surface. In the case of this simple geometric model, the annual ring pattern P1 becomes a concentric ellipse pattern, and the region between one ellipse and the ellipse outside the one ellipse corresponds to the portion grown in one year.

On the other hand, the conduit cross-section pattern is a pattern obtained by cutting a conduit required for a tree to perform a physiological function as a plant, and is usually a fine, elongated elliptical pattern. The diagram shown in the upper right of FIG. 1 is a simple geometric model diagram showing one conduit T2 that constitutes the tissue of a natural tree, and the conduit T2 is shown as a simple cylindrical model. The substances necessary for the physiological action of the plant are transported along the inside of this cylindrical conduit. When such a conduit T2 is cut by a predetermined cutting plane J2, a single elliptical conduit cross-section pattern P as shown by hatching in the drawing is obtained on the cutting plane.
Of course, in practice, this single conduit cross-section pattern P
Will not be a geometrically perfect ellipse, but rather a rather distorted shape. In the upper right of FIG. 1, one conduit T2 is provided with a cut surface J2.
Although there are many such conduits T2 in the tree, the conduit cross-section pattern P shown in FIG.
As in 2, a pattern in which a large number of conduit cross sections are arranged will be obtained. Usually, when cutting natural wood, in order to obtain as beautiful grain as possible, it is often cut in a cross section along the growth direction. Therefore, the conduit cross-section pattern P2 is a collection of very elongated and distorted elliptical patterns, and when observed with the naked eye, many linear marks are all arranged substantially in the direction of tree growth. Looks like a simple pattern.

By overlaying such a conduit cross-section pattern P2 on the annual ring pattern P1, a wood grain pattern P1 is obtained.
2 will be obtained. As a method of superimposing both patterns, there is a method of overprinting on a resin sheet such as vinyl chloride and expressing any pattern by printing, but the annual ring pattern P1 is expressed on the resin sheet and the cross section of the conduit There is also a method in which the pattern P2 is expressed on this resin sheet as a transparent embossed concavo-convex structure (the inside of the conduit is a recess) and the embossed layer is laminated on the printed layer. Alternatively, there is also a method in which both patterns are expressed on the print layer, and further only the conduit cross-section pattern P2 is formed as an uneven structure on the emboss layer, and the emboss layer is laminated on the print layer.

In the case of decorating a printed matter such as wallpaper with a wood grain pattern, conventionally, a tree ring pattern P1 is formed from natural wood.
Although the conduit cross-section pattern P2 has been extracted, it has already been mentioned that the operation of extracting the conduit cross-section pattern P2 is technically difficult. Further, with such a conventional method, it is possible to reproduce a natural texture close to natural wood on a printed matter, but there is also a problem that it is not possible to obtain a novel wood grain pattern pattern with high design. As already mentioned.

In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a novel technique for artificially generating the conduit cross-section pattern P2 using a computer. Examples of this technique will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a building material sheet (for example, wallpaper) that uses the grain pattern conduit cross-sectional pattern generating device according to the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the creation system of FIG. Here, the annual ring pattern input means 1 has a function of inputting the annual ring pattern of the grain pattern as a raster image composed of a set of pixels having gradation, and the correspondence definition means 2 has the pixels of the input raster image. It has a function of defining a correspondence relationship between the gradation value of and the probability value indicating the occurrence probability of the conduit cross-section pattern. Further, the generation position determining unit 3 refers to the probability value associated with each gradation value in the correspondence defining unit 2 for each pixel of the raster image input by the annual ring pattern input unit 1, and each pixel is a conduit cross section. The orientation determining unit 4 has a function of determining whether or not it is a pattern generation position, and the orientation determining unit 4 determines the orientation of each pixel based on the gradient of the gradation value of the raster image input by the annual ring pattern input unit 1. Has the function of determining.

The conduit cross-section pattern generating means 5 is actually
This is a means for generating a conduit cross-section pattern, and specifically, a process of generating a conduit cross-section pattern of a predetermined shape is performed in the vicinity of the pixel determined to be at the generation position by the generation position determining means 3. At this time, the conduit cross-section pattern is arranged in the direction corresponding to the orientation determined by the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5. In this way, the conduit cross-section pattern P2 output from the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5 is an object to be generated by the grain pattern conduit cross-section pattern generator according to the present invention. As a concrete hardware configuration, the correspondence definition means 2, the generation position determination means 3, the orientation determination means 4, and the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5 are all configured by a computer and a storage device connected to the computer. Has been done.

In the building material sheet production system shown in FIG. 2, the conduit cross-section pattern P2 thus obtained is applied to the printing plate device 6 to produce an embossed plate having an uneven structure on the surface. On the other hand, the annual ring pattern P1 input by the annual ring pattern input means 1 is applied to the plate making device 8 to create a printing plate of the annual ring pattern. Then, the printing device 9 performs printing using this printing plate to mass-produce the printing layer L2. Subsequently, embossing is performed using the embossing device 7, and the embossing layer L having an uneven structure on the printed layer L2.
1 is formed. In this way, the building material sheet in which the grain pattern P12 in which the annual ring pattern P1 and the conduit cross-section pattern P2 are superimposed is expressed is manufactured.

Next, the operation of the system shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to a concrete example. First, the annual ring pattern input means 1 inputs the annual ring pattern P1 as a raster image composed of a set of pixels having gradation. In this embodiment, the annual ring pattern input means 1 is composed of a camera and a plate-making scanner. Therefore, a photograph of the cross section of the natural wood that is the target of extraction of the annual ring pattern P1 is taken, and this photograph is separated into four colors by a plate-making scanner,
Input as raster image data. If a digital camera is used as the annual ring pattern input means 1, it is possible to directly input the raster image data from the grain.

Thus, the annual ring pattern P1 input as a raster image is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, an image made up of a set of pixels having gradation, and has a pattern in which the gradation changes periodically. This change in light and shade is caused by the difference in growth based on the difference in temperature during the year,
It becomes periodic every year. It is possible to identify the growth time of each part of the annual ring pattern P1 by analyzing such a periodic change in the shading. For example, in FIG.
An example of the relationship between each pixel of the annual ring pattern and the growth period is shown. In this example, the portion corresponding to the pixel Q1 is the portion grown on December 31, 1992, the portion corresponding to the pixel Q2 is the portion grown on July 1, 1993, and so on. ~ Q7 is the part that grew after half a year. As a method of identifying such a growth period, a recognition algorithm that grasps the flow of grain based on the difference between the gradation value of each pixel and the gradation value of a neighboring pixel can be considered. In the present invention, the growth period is specified by a simpler method. That is, paying attention to the fact that the gradation of the light and shade of the annual ring pattern changes in one year cycle, a table that associates the gradation value with the growth time is prepared, and the growth time is associated with each pixel. If the annual ring pattern P1 is separated into four colors and input as a color image, each pixel has a gradation value for four colors, and it is possible to associate the growth time with each pixel with considerable accuracy. become.

However, in the present invention, it is not necessary to obtain the growth period associated with each pixel with a high precision of one day, and it is also possible to obtain it with a rough precision of a week or a month. For example, when the input raster image is an 8-bit monochrome image, each pixel is 0-25.
The gradation value is 5, but in this case, for example, gradation values 0 to 40 are January, and gradation values 41 to 80 are 2.
Correspondence between gradation value and growth month such as month, March from 81 to 120, July from 221 to 255, November from 81 to 120 and December from 41 to 80 If a table is prepared, the growth month can be associated with each pixel. By making such a correspondence, the small portion of the natural tree corresponding to each pixel is
It will be possible to identify when in the year it was a growing part. Note that the gradation value and the growth period do not necessarily correspond linearly, and the correspondence between the two is unique to each individual natural tree, so a unique correspondence table is prepared for each target natural tree. It is preferable to keep it.

The reason for associating the growth time for each pixel in this way is that there is a certain relationship between the growth time and the conduit density. For example, there is a large difference between the density of the conduit in the portion grown in January (winter) and the density of the conduit in the portion grown in July (summer) based on the difference in temperature and temperature even for the same tree. FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of such a correspondence relationship between the growth time t and the conduit density D. What kind of graph is specifically obtained depends on the individual tree, but if only a tree can be specified, an average graph for that tree can be obtained by actual measurement. The example of the graph shown in FIG. 5 is for a tree for a plate material called a so-called semi-annular hole material. The part corresponding to the period from spring to summer when the growth is active is pale, and the conduit density D is The part corresponding to the period from autumn to winter when it grows and grows slowly is dark,
Moreover, the conduit density D becomes smaller. If such a graph is obtained, a correspondence table between the growth time t and the conduit density D can be created. Alternatively, it is also possible to represent the correspondence by a function.

By the way, as described above, since the gradation value of each pixel of the inputted annual ring pattern can be associated with the growth period, eventually, the gradation value C of each pixel is
→ It becomes possible to correlate growth time t → conduit density D. In the present invention, the conduit density D is further associated with the probability value Z indicating the probability of occurrence of the conduit cross-section pattern. The probability value Z is a value proportional to the conduit density D, that is, Z =
It can be obtained as kD. Here, k is a proportional constant and is a value obtained by dividing the area of one pixel of the input annual ring pattern by the unit area. For example, if the area of one pixel is 1/100 of the unit area, k = 1/100 and Z = 1/100 · D. Specifically, for example, the conduit density D such that there are three conduits in a unit area
= 3, the probability value Z = 0.03, and it is understood that the conduit cross-section pattern should be generated at a rate of 3 per 100 pixels.

After all, for each pixel, the gradation value C →
It becomes possible to associate the growth time t → the conduit density D → the probability value Z. The correspondence relationship defining means 2 shown in FIG. 2 is composed of a table for making correspondence from the gradation value C without the middle part to the probability value Z, and by referring to this table, the annual ring pattern P1 is composed. A predetermined probability value Z can be associated with each individual pixel. As described above, since this correspondence table differs depending on the target tree, it is preferable to prepare a separate correspondence table for each tree. Further, instead of the correspondence table, a function may be used to define the correspondence.

The conduit cross-section pattern generating means 5 determines that each pixel is based on the probability value Z thus associated.
This is a device that performs processing to determine whether or not the position is the "generation position of the conduit cross-section pattern". FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the pixel Q that has become the “occurrence position” by such processing.
In this figure, the pixel indicated by the black square is the pixel Q at the “occurrence position”. Whether or not it is the "occurrence position" is determined by using a random number. For example,
When making this determination for a specific pixel, first, based on the gradation value C of that pixel, the correspondence table in the correspondence definition means 2 is referenced to obtain the corresponding probability value Z. Subsequently, an arbitrary random number R (0 <R <1) is generated, and if R <Z, the pixel is set as a “generation position”, and R
If ≧ Z, it is not regarded as the “occurrence position”. If such a process is performed separately for all the pixels, it can be finally determined whether or not the "occurrence position" is reached for each pixel.
However, it is not necessary to perform such processing for all pixels. To improve the processing speed, n
Such processing may be performed only on every other pixel. However, as the number of n increases, the pixel Q
The randomness of the distribution of is reduced.

When the pixels Q which are the "occurrence positions" are determined by such a method, the pixels Q are randomly distributed as shown in FIG. 6, but the distribution density depends on the probability value Z. And is dependent on the gradation value C. In other words, the distribution density of the pixels Q depends on the shade of the annual ring pattern P1. In the case of a general tree, the lighter the annual ring pattern, the higher the density of the conduit cross-section pattern, and the darker the density, the lower the density. Therefore, when such a correspondence table is prepared in the correspondence definition means 2, The lighter the pattern, the more pixels Q exist, and the darker the pattern, the less pixels Q exist.

Now, the pixel Q defined in this way
Is used as a guide for the generation position of the conduit cross-section pattern. That is, the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5 executes a process of generating a conduit cross-section pattern of a predetermined shape in the vicinity of the pixel Q. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, an elliptical pattern of a predetermined size is generated around the pixel Q at the “occurrence position”, and this elliptical pattern is used as a single conduit cross-sectional pattern P. I have to. As a result, the conduit cross-section pattern P2 as shown in FIG.
Can be generated. It can be seen that a single elliptical conduit cross-sectional pattern P is arranged around each pixel Q. The pattern output by the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5 is a set of the patterns P in FIG. 8 (in FIG. 8, an annual ring pattern is drawn for convenience, but such an annual ring pattern is actually a conduit cross-section pattern. Not included in P2).

It should be noted that it is preferable that the single conduit cross-section patterns P thus arranged are slightly different in size and shape from each other in order to express a natural texture. Therefore, the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5 uses random numbers to individually determine the size / shape of a single conduit cross-section pattern P. Specifically, in the pattern P shown in FIG. 7, the minor axis a and the major axis b of the ellipse may be determined based on random numbers. For example, the standard minor axis length A and the standard major axis length B are defined in advance, and using the random numbers R1 and R2 generated each time, the minor axis length a = A
It may be determined as + R1 and major axis length b = B + R2.
Also, the relationship between the average and variance of the minor / major axis lengths and the growth period is defined in advance, and the shape of each ellipse is determined using random numbers so that an ellipse with the defined average and variance can be obtained. You may decide.

After the conduit cross-section pattern P2 is generated, it is supplied to the printing plate device 6 to form an embossed plate. Specifically, the embossing plate is formed so that only the area inside each conduit cross-sectional pattern P is convex.
When embossing is performed by the embossing device 7 using such an embossing plate, the embossing can be performed so that only the region inside each conduit cross-sectional pattern P is concave. On the other hand, a printing plate is created by the printing plate device 8 based on the annual ring pattern P2 (gradation pattern as shown in FIG. 3) input by the annual ring pattern input means 1, and the printing device 9 forms an annual ring on the printing layer L2. The pattern P1 is printed. Then, if embossing is performed on this printed layer, the target building material sheet is completed. In such a building material sheet, the conduit cross-section pattern P2 is in synchronism with the shade of the underlying annual ring pattern P1.

Of course, both the annual ring pattern P1 and the conduit cross-section pattern P2 may be given to the printing plate device 8 without using the embossed layer L1 and both patterns may be expressed on the printing layer L2. The pattern may be expressed on the printed layer L2, and further, the conduit cross-section pattern P2 may be expressed on the embossed layer L1 to be laminated.

By the way, the conduit cross-section pattern P shown in FIG.
In 2, the major axes of each single conduit cross-section pattern P are oriented in the same direction, and there is no relationship between the conduit cross-section pattern P2 and the annual ring pattern P1. The orientation determining means 4 in the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 plays an important role in synchronizing the orientation of the generated conduit cross-section pattern P2 with the annual ring pattern P1. That is, the orientation determining means 4
Has a function of determining the orientation of each pixel based on the gradient of the gradation value of the annual ring pattern raster image input by the annual ring pattern input means 1. This orientation indicates the contour line direction of the gradation of the annual ring pattern P1. FIG. 9 shows the orientation information determined by the orientation determining means 4 for the pixel Q at the “occurrence position” by an arrow. Such orientation is oriented in a direction orthogonal to the gradient of the gradation value, as can be seen by referring to the annual ring pattern P1 having the gradation shown in FIG. Since such an orientation is seen in a cut surface of a general natural wood, a more natural texture can be expressed by arranging the conduit cross-section pattern in such a direction. Specifically, the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5 determines the arrangement direction by taking into consideration such orientation information provided from the orientation determination means 4 when arranging the individual conduit cross-section patterns P. You can do this. FIG. 10 shows an example of the conduit cross-section pattern P2 obtained in consideration of such orientation information. The patterns shown by the broken lines are all the patterns shown in FIG. 8, and the patterns shown by the solid lines are patterns after correction in consideration of the orientation. In this embodiment, a correction is made to slightly incline in the direction shown by the orientation in FIG. 9 (correction is not made so that it is completely oriented in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9, but a slight rotation in the direction indicated by this arrow). It is carried out). Compared with the pattern shown in FIG. 8, it can be seen that even the direction of the individual conduit cross-section pattern P is slightly synchronized with the annual ring pattern P1. It should be noted that various methods are known as methods for obtaining the orientation information as shown in FIG. 9 from the gradation image as shown in FIG. 3, so detailed description thereof will be omitted here. As software for image processing,
Image filters such as a "gradient filter" are commercially available, and orientation information can be easily obtained by using such a filter.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and can be implemented in various modes other than this. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an elliptical pattern is used as the generated single conduit cross-section pattern, but it does not necessarily have to be an ellipse. Since the natural conduit has a slightly distorted cylindrical shape, its cross-sectional pattern is basically an ellipse with a slight distortion. Therefore, if a wood grain pattern closer to the texture of natural wood is to be expressed, it is basically preferable to use an elliptical conduit cross-section pattern. However, the elliptical conduit cross-section pattern is not necessarily used if a novel wood grain pattern that does not exist in nature and has a high design is expressed. FIG. 11 shows the shapes of some conduit cross-section patterns. 11 (a) is the elliptical cross-sectional conduit pattern described above, while FIGS. 11 (b) to 11 (i) are very novel shape patterns. In the present invention, the conduit cross-section pattern generating means 5 artificially generates the conduit cross-section pattern. Therefore, if data of some shape pattern is prepared in advance in the conduit cross-section pattern generating means 5, the conduit having any shape It is possible to generate a cross-sectional pattern.

Further, it is possible to further modify and use the thus prepared conduit cross-sectional pattern. It is also possible to modify these patterns or partially add intentional defects by using random numbers or fractal fields.

FIG. 12 shows the above-mentioned elliptical conduit cross-section pattern P, which expresses the inside with gradation. It is also possible to form gradation within the generated pattern by preparing in advance data for specifying the gradation expression inside the conduit cross-section pattern generating means 5. Such a conduit cross-section pattern P having gradation inside can be expressed as a shaded pattern on the printed layer L2 and can be expressed as an uneven structure having a depth distribution on the embossed layer L1.

In the above embodiment, the annual ring pattern P
Although 1 is extracted from a natural tree, the annual ring pattern P1 itself can also be artificially generated. For example, the three-dimensional tree model M shown in FIG. 13 is a model including an annual ring model Mr and a conduit model Mt. The annual ring model Mr is a coaxial cylindrical geometric model and constitutes a three-dimensional stereoscopic image. That is, each pixel arranged in the three-dimensional coordinate system has a predetermined gradation value. This gradation value is a cyclic gradation value for each growth layer for each year, and a three-dimensional tree model M in which the gradation value periodically changes according to the distance from the central axis is used. It has been built. Moreover, this three-dimensional tree model M
A conduit model Mt is also formed therein. The conduit model Mt is a geometric model on an elongated cylinder, and the inside thereof is composed of a set of pixels also having a predetermined gradation value.

If such a three-dimensional tree model M is constructed on a computer and a cross section cut along a predetermined cutting plane J is considered, a wood grain pattern is obtained on this cutting plane J. That is, the annual ring pattern is obtained by cutting the annual ring model Mr, and the conduit cross-sectional pattern is obtained by cutting the conduit model Mt.

Here, if the distribution density of the conduit model Mt is determined according to the tone value of the annual ring model Mr, a conduit cross-section pattern synchronized with the annual ring pattern can be obtained as in the above-described embodiment. Will be available. To do so, first build the annual ring model Mr, and then use this annual ring model Mr.
Based on the gradation value of each pixel forming the conduit model Mt
The probability of occurrence of is determined, and the conduit model Mt is generated with a distribution according to this probability.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the conduit cross-section pattern is artificially generated, a natural wood grain pattern close to that of natural wood, or a wood grain pattern pattern of high design which is not found in natural wood. Can be expressed on a printed matter by a relatively simple operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a general concept of forming a grain pattern P12 by superimposing an annual ring pattern P1 and a conduit cross-section pattern P2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a building material sheet creating system including a grain pattern conduit cross-sectional pattern generating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of annual ring pattern P1 input by annual ring pattern input means 1 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between each pixel of the annual ring pattern P1 shown in FIG. 3 and a growth period.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of a correspondence relationship between a growth time t and a conduit density D for a general tree.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a pixel Q which has become a “generation position” by the processing in the generation position determining means 3 shown in FIG.

7 is a diagram showing an example of a single conduit cross-section pattern P generated by the conduit cross-section pattern generation means 5 shown in FIG.

8 is a diagram showing a state in which a conduit cross-section pattern P is generated around the pixel Q shown in FIG.

9 shows the orientation information determined by the orientation determining means 4 shown in FIG. 2 by an arrow.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a conduit cross-section pattern P2 obtained in consideration of orientation information as shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing examples of shapes of some conduit cross-sectional patterns.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an elliptical conduit cross-sectional pattern in which the inside is expressed with gradation.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a three-dimensional tree model M composed of an annual ring model Mr and a conduit model Mt.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Annual ring pattern input means 2 ... Correspondence definition means 3 ... Generation position determination means 4 ... Orientation determination means 5 ... Conduit cross-section pattern generation means 6 ... Printing plate device 7 ... Embossing device 8 ... Printing plate device 9 ... Printing device a ... Minor axis length b ... Major axis length J, J1, J2 ... Cut surface L1 ... Embossing layer L2 ... Printing layer M ... Three-dimensional tree model Mr ... Annual ring model Mt ... Conduit model P ... Single conduit cross-section pattern P1 ... Annual ring pattern P2 ... Conduit cross-section pattern P12 ... Wood grain pattern Q ... Pixels at "occurrence position" Q1-Q7 ... Pixels T1 ... Natural wood T2 ... Natural wood conduit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Hayashi 1-1-1, Ichigaya-Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Within Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Ieharu Hashizume, 1-chome, Ichigaya-Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. 1-1 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshio Ariyoshi 1-1-1 Ichigaya Kaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Inside Dai-ni Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yu Okamoto Ikaya-kaga, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 1-1-1 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshio Sukegawa 311 Takemazawa, Miyoshi-cho, Iruma-gun, Saitama Dai-Nihon Total Process Building Materials Co., Ltd.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An annual ring pattern input means for inputting a wood grain pattern annual ring pattern as a raster image consisting of a set of pixels having gradation, a gradation value of the pixel, and a probability indicating a probability of occurrence of a conduit cross-section pattern. A correspondence relationship defining means for defining a correspondence relationship between the value and the value, and for each pixel of the raster image, based on the probability value associated with each gradation value, whether or not the position is a conduit cross-section pattern occurrence position. An apparatus for generating a wood grain pattern cross-section pattern, comprising: a generation position determination means for determining the position; and a conduit cross-section pattern generation means for generating a conduit cross-section pattern of a predetermined shape in the vicinity of the pixel at the generation position. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the annual ring pattern input means has a function of photographing a cross section of a natural tree and capturing the photographed image as a raster image. Generator. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the correspondence defining means defines the correlation between the density value of each part and the growth time, and the growth time and the conduit for the natural tree that is the source of the raster image. An apparatus for generating a wood grain pattern cross-section pattern, characterized in that a correspondence between a gradation value and a probability value is defined based on a correlation with a density. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation position determining means has a function of generating a random number, and the generated random number is associated with the gradation value of the pixel. An apparatus for generating a wood grain pattern cross-section pattern, which determines whether or not each pixel is a generation position of the cross-section pattern of the conduit based on a magnitude relationship between the probability value and the probability pattern. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conduit cross-section pattern generating means has a function of generating a random number, and the conduit cross-section pattern shape /
An apparatus for generating a cross-section pattern of a wood grain conduit, characterized in that the size is determined. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising orientation determining means for determining the orientation of each pixel based on the gradient of the gradation value of the raster image. A device for generating a wood grain pattern cross-section pattern, wherein the pattern generation means generates the cross-section pattern for the conduit in a direction corresponding to the orientation of the pixel at the generation position. 7. A printed matter in which a wood grain pattern is expressed by superimposing an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross-section pattern, a large number of conduit cross-section patterns of non-uniform shape / size are generated and arranged on the annual ring pattern. A printed matter with a grain pattern that is characterized by 8. A printed matter expressing a grain pattern by superimposing an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross-section pattern, wherein the conduit cross-section pattern is arranged on the annual ring pattern at a density according to the shade of the annual ring pattern. A printed matter with a wood grain pattern. 9. The printed matter according to claim 8, wherein, in the annual ring pattern, the lighter portion has a higher density of the conduit cross-section patterns and the darker part has a lower density of the conduit cross-section patterns. Printed material with a pattern. 10. A printed matter expressing a wood grain pattern by superimposing an annual ring pattern and a conduit cross-sectional pattern, wherein the conduit cross-sectional pattern is arranged on the annual ring pattern based on the direction corresponding to the shading of the annual ring pattern. A printed material with a characteristic wood grain pattern. 11. The printed matter according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the inside of each conduit cross-section pattern is expressed with gradations. 12. An annual ring pattern input means for inputting a tree pattern annual ring pattern as a raster image composed of a set of pixels having gradation, and a conduit for each pixel of the raster image based on a predetermined probability value. Generating position determining means for determining whether or not the generating position of the cross-sectional pattern, a conduit cross-section pattern generating means for generating a conduit cross-section pattern of a predetermined shape in the vicinity of the pixel at the generating position, the conduit cross-section pattern A unit for generating the tree ring pattern by superimposing the annual ring pattern on a medium, and outputting the medium.