JPH08282195A - Character engraving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To carry out an automatic engraving of characters in brush-written style, wherein the character thickness is changed by a method wherein an engraving machine is controlled by providing the locus of the cutting edge of a chisel after engraving basic data are formed from inputted character shape and, at the same time, image data are formed by controlling the arrangement and size so as to suit to an object. CONSTITUTION: When characters in brush-written style are engraved on a piece with an engraving device, in which character is automatically engraved by moving a rotating chisel, firstly character to be engraved is inputted. The inputted character data are expanded as bit map data at a bit map conversion part 2 so as to form outline at an outline forming part 3 and inline at an inline forming part 4. At a computing part 5, the linewidth and the depth of engraving groove are calculated and the locus of the cutting edge is formed as engraving basic data stored in a storage part 6. The shape, dimensions and the like of an engraving object and characters are inputted so as to form engraving character image under the condition that the positions and sizes of the characters are controlled in order to carry out automatic engraving with the engraving machine 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for automatically engraving characters while moving a rotating chisel in up and down and to the left and right, and more particularly to a brush character engraved on a shogi piece. In addition, it is suitable for engraving characters whose groove width is tapered in the groove depth direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 11, a brush character engraved on a shogi piece has a V-groove having a different depth depending on the location. And, this is because a craftsman carved by hand using a V-shaped chisel, and the engraving depth d was changed according to the thickness (line width) W of the character. On the other hand, machine-engraved characters using an automatic engraving machine, which are often used for name tags, are formed by U-grooves having a certain depth.

[0003]

As described above, the method of engraving a character with a constant depth groove by the rotating blade is suitable for a character having a constant line width such as a Gothic body. However, it cannot be used for things such as Shogi brush characters whose line width changes. Therefore, the craftsman had to carve it by hand, and it took more time and labor than machine carving, so only expensive things could be made. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to automatically engrave a brush character in which the line width of the character is changed by changing the depth.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an object is engraved by moving up and down and left and right while rotating, and the groove width is tapered in the depth direction of the groove. An engraving machine equipped with a chisel that forms a carved trace, a data input section for inputting character data, a bitmap conversion section for converting the input character data into bitmap data,
An outline creation unit that creates outline data from bitmap data, and an inline creation unit that creates inline data by thinning the bitmap data,
A first calculation unit that calculates engraving basic data by calculating a line width and an engraving depth centered on the inline based on the outline data and the inline data; and a first storage unit that stores the engraving basic data. , And a control unit for controlling the chisel according to the engraving basic data.
According to a second invention, the control unit of the first invention corrects the character shape of the engraving basic data in the first storage unit and determines the size, and the character is set on the engraving target. It is characterized in that it is provided with an image data creating section for creating the arranged image data, a second storage section for storing the image data, and an output section for outputting a signal for controlling the engraving machine according to the image data. A third invention is based on the second invention, and is characterized by comprising a data conversion unit for converting the image data stored in the second storage unit into engraving basic data and inputting the data into the first storage unit.

[0005]

[Operation] A character to be engraved is input, and basic engraving data is created from the character shape. Image data is created by adjusting the layout and size according to the engraving target. The trajectory of the cutting edge of the chisel is defined by the basic engraving data and the image data. If the control unit controls the engraving machine according to these data, engraving can be performed automatically.

[0006]

1 to 8, a data input unit 1, a bitmap conversion unit 2, an outline creation unit 3, an inline creation unit 4, a first calculation unit 1, and a first operation unit 1 are provided. 1 storage unit 6, control unit 7, and engraving machine 8. Control unit 7
Includes a second calculation unit 9, an image data creation unit 10, a second storage unit 11, and an output unit 12. The operation of this device will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. Figure 2
FIG. 3 is a chart for explaining the function of the control unit 7 up to the point where the engraving basic data is created. First, input the characters to be engraved. If the font is stored in advance in this device, you can enter it from the keyboard,
Image data can also be input using an image reader (steps 1 and 2).

Here, description will be given using the character "king" shown in FIG. The input character data is expanded as bitmap data by the bitmap conversion unit 2 (step 3), and the bitmap data is corrected on the screen if necessary (steps 4 and 5). When the bitmap data is determined, the outline creating unit 3 creates the outline O (step 6), and the inline creating unit 4 creates the inline I (step 7). The inline I is a line obtained by subjecting a character to a thinning process, and is shown in FIG. Here, the created outline O and inline I can be modified on the screen, so they are modified if necessary (steps 8 and 9), and the process proceeds to step 10.

In step 10, the first calculator 5 calculates the line width W. A point A ₁ is set on the inline I, and the radius r ₁ of a circle that is in contact with the outline O with the point A ₁ as the center is obtained. Next, on the in-line I, a point A ₂ is set at a position having a unit length ΔI from the point A ₁ , and the radius r ₂ of the circle that is in contact with the outline O is obtained with this point A ₂ as the center.
In this way, the radius r _n of the circle having the center A _n on the inline I and in contact with the outline O is obtained one after another. From the r _n thus obtained, the line width W is W _n = 2
It can be regarded as a series of r _n . In step 11,
The depth D of the carved groove that can form the line width W is calculated. When the blade 14 of the chisel has a shape as shown in FIG. 7, if W = w, then D = w tan θ / 2. Then, from D, the z coordinate of the groove bottom when the engraving target surface is the xy plane is obtained. In this way, the locus (x, y, z) of the cutting edge is created as engraving basic data, and the first
The data is stored in the storage unit 6 (steps 12 and 13). The blade of the chisel used in this example has a shape in which a part of a cone is cut out, but any blade can be used as long as the locus when rotated during engraving becomes a cone. You can

Next, a procedure for creating an engraved character image to be actually engraved will be described according to the flow shown in FIG. First, the shape, size, etc. of the engraving object are input, and then the characters are input (steps 21 to 23). This character input is performed by selecting the data stored in the first storage unit 6. Since the input characters are displayed on the screen, array adjustment is performed on the screen (steps 24 and 25). Figure 8 shows
A "king" and a "sho" are placed in a shogi piece.
Adjust the position and size of characters and create image data. If it is necessary to correct the character shape again at this stage, the process proceeds to step 27, and if it is acceptable, the process proceeds to step 32 to create and save the image data and then engrave (step 34). , 34).
In step 27, the bitmap data is modified as a modification of the character shape, and a new outline and inline are created based on this (steps 28 and 29).
Then, the line width and the engraving depth are calculated (steps 30 and 31). Creation and calculation of these data are shown in Figure 2.
Steps 6 to 11 are the same.

Then, the image data thus created is stored in the second storage section 11 in FIG. 2 and engraved (steps 32 to 34). The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is the same as the first embodiment except that the data conversion unit 13 is provided in the control unit 7. The data converter has a function of converting image data into basic engraving data. The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 includes steps 21 to 32, as shown in FIG.
However, in the next step 35, it is possible to select whether to create image data or basic engraving data based on the data up to this point. When the image data is selected, the process proceeds to steps 33 and 34 as in the first embodiment, and engraving is performed.

On the other hand, when the creation of the engraving basic data is selected, the previously created image data is converted into engraving basic data by the data converting section 13 of FIG. 10, and is stored in the first storage section 6 as engraving basic data. Save and control the engraving machine with these data (step 36 → 37 → 3
4). Just set the engraving target such as shogi pieces and nameplates in the engraving machine, and the engraving machine automatically engraves based on the font data and the image data. If such an engraving device is used, engraving can be performed with good reproducibility even without a craftsman, and shogi pieces and the like can be produced at low cost. In addition, any calligraphy can be engraved in a short time, so it can be used to engrave the name of a customer on the spot as a souvenir for a memorial occasion such as a tourist spot.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, a brush character, which was conventionally only possible by hand engraving, can now be automatically engraved by a machine. Therefore, engraving can be done in a short time. Also, if you save the basic engraving data, you can always reproduce the same engraving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for creating font data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for creating image data according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an example of a character shape that can be engraved in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of outline data and inline data.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a line width calculation method.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a cutting edge of a chisel.

FIG. 8 is an example of character arrangement.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a brush character engraving portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Data Input Section 2 Bitmap Conversion Section 3 Outline Creation Section 4 Inline Creation Section 5 1st Calculation Section 6 1st Storage Section 7 Control Section 8 Engraving Machine 9 2nd Calculation Section 10 Image Data Creation Section 11 2nd Storage Section 12 Output Part 13 Data conversion part W, w Line width D, d Depth O Outline I Inline

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An engraving machine equipped with a chisel that moves up and down, left and right while rotating to engrave an object, and forms an engraving trace such that the groove width tapers in the depth direction of the groove. When,
A data input unit that inputs character data, a bitmap conversion unit that converts the input character data into bitmap data, an outline creation unit that creates outline data from the bitmap data, and a thinning process for the bitmap data. An inline creation unit for creating inline data, and a first calculation unit for creating engraving basic data by calculating a line width centering on the inline and a carving depth based on the outline data and the inline data.
A character engraving device comprising a first storage section for storing the engraving basic data and a control section for controlling a chisel according to the engraving basic data. 2. A second control section for correcting the character shape of the engraving basic data in the first storage section and for determining the size.
An arithmetic unit, an image data creation unit that creates image data in which characters are arranged on an engraving target, a second storage unit that stores the image data, and an output unit that outputs a signal for controlling the engraving machine according to the image data. The character engraving device according to claim 1, wherein the character engraving device is provided. 3. The character engraving device according to claim 2, further comprising a data conversion unit that converts the image data stored in the second storage unit into engraving basic data and inputs the engraving basic data into the first storage unit. .