JP3415331B2 - Brush font generation method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to writing brush fonts in word processors and other document processing devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, outline fonts capable of high-quality printing have been often installed in word processors and the like. In addition, font types are diversified, and a brush font imitating a brush character is often installed.

Even if the conventional outline font is a font called a writing brush, the shape of the character is represented by a smooth curve, for example, a quadratic Bezier curve, and the inside of the outline is evenly filled. Because
It had a very different impression from the brush letters.
In principle, it is not impossible to represent a complex ink bleeding shape similar to a brush character in an outline font, but in order to realize it, the amount of data to represent one character is enormous. It is not practical.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a practical method for generating a brush font which gives a natural impression close to that of a brush character.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the complicated ink mark shape of a brush character is divided into two components, "blurring" of ink and "blurring" of ink. The "blurring" component is mainly related to the contour mark shape, and the "blurring" component is related to the contour and the mark shape inside the character. The present invention generates a basic brush character image, for example, a brush character image having a smooth contour similar to that of a conventional brush outline font, and the inside of which is uniformly filled .
Alternatively, a brush font is created by adding both black "blurring" and "blurring" components .

The "bleeding" component of black is generated by a random or periodic function. More specifically, a sine wave or a composite wave of sine waves including harmonics thereof is used as this function, and the range in which the amplitude and / or period of the sine wave is set or limited for each character part Is determined by a random number.

[0007] In the ink for "blurring" component prepared in advance a plurality of types "blurred" pattern is used selectively, embedded in character inside. More specifically, for example, the type of the “blurring” pattern to be embedded is associated with each character portion, or is randomly selected within a limited range.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the basic brush character image
"Blurring" component added to, Or with a black “blurring” component
Due to the “blurring” component, the compound that is seen in actual brush letters
A rough ink mark shape is imitated.

As a function for generating the "blurring" component, for example, a composite wave of a plurality of sine waves is used, and its cycle and amplitude are determined by a character part or by a random number within a limited range. It is possible to prevent the shape of the “bleeding” from becoming monotonous and to impart a natural “bleeding” effect. Furthermore , by preparing an appropriate "blurring" pattern and randomly adding it for each character part or within a limited range, the amount of black ink contained in the brush and the writing speed can be determined. It is possible to add a natural "shading" effect that reflects the difference.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a writing brush font having a "blurred" or "blurred" ink mark shape close to that of a brush writing character and giving a natural impression.

Further, since the basic brush-writing character image may have the same smooth outline as the conventional brush-writing outline font and the inside thereof is uniformly filled, the amount of data for its generation increases significantly. do not do. If the "blurring" component of black ink is generated by a random or periodic function, and if multiple types of "blurring" patterns prepared in advance as the "blurring" component of black ink are selectively used, the data for generating those components There is no particular increase in quantity. As described above, the method of the present invention is practical without enormous data amount.

In addition, a plurality of types of "blurring" prepared in advance
According to the method of selectively using the pattern as the "blurring" component, the processing time for adding the "blurring" component can be shortened, and the font generation process can be speeded up easily.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing an outline of a brush stroke font generation process according to an embodiment of the present invention. The process flow shown here is as follows.

In the first step 100, a basic brush character image is generated. This brush-writing character image is a character image (called a smooth character image) that has a smooth outline and is filled in the inside, similar to a conventional brush-writing outline font, for example.

In step 102, a "blurring" contour image, which is the "blurring" component of the black ink, is generated, and this is combined with the smooth character image generated in step 100.

FIG. 3 shows how the basic smooth character image and the "blurring" contour image are combined. Figure 3
In, 300 is the basic smooth character image generated in step 100, and 302 is step 102.
It is a "blurring" contour image generated by. 304 is
It is a "blurring" added character image obtained by logically combining both images 300 and 302.

Returning to FIG. In step 104, a large number of "blurring" patterns prepared in advance are selectively added as "blurring" components inside the outline of the "blurring" added character image. FIG. 6 shows how the "fading" pattern is added. Reference numeral 600 is a character image with "blurring" added, in which a "blurred" pattern is embedded as an outline pattern.

In this way, the "bleeding" component and "blurring"
The character image added with the component is displayed or printed in step 106.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration for executing the above-mentioned brush font generation processing.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 is a bit map expansion unit (A) for generating an outline font similar to the conventional one.
Is. The bit map developing unit (A) 200 is given a character code and typeface designation information as the external data 220, and when a writing brush (line or rendition) is designated,
A handwritten character image (line or typeface) corresponding to the character code is bitmap-developed on the image memory (A) 206. Specifically, the contour loop of the character line is drawn, and then the inside of the contour loop is filled. The brush character image generated on the image memory (A) 206 in this manner is a smooth character image (corresponding to 300 in FIG. 3) having a smooth contour and having the inside uniformly filled.

The "blurring" numerical value table creating unit 201 and the bitmap developing unit (B) 202 represent the ink mark shape due to the "bleeding" of the black ink in the process of bitmap development by the bitmap developing unit (A) 200. This is the part that produces the "blurring" contour image of.

In the present embodiment, the contour of the "blurring" contour image has three sine waves S1 shown in FIG.
It is given by the composite wave Y (t) of (t), S2 (t), and S3 (t). t corresponds to the moving distance when the contour loop of the smooth character image is traced in one direction from a certain point.
a1, a2, a3 are amplitude coefficients of each sine wave, T1, T2,
T3 is the period of each sine wave.

Since the actual shape of "blurring" of a brush character changes depending on the part of the character, in order to reflect this change in the "blurring" contour, the amplitude coefficients a1, a2, a3 of each sine wave.
And / or the values of the periods T1, T2, T3 are changed for each character part. For example, a1, a2, and a3 are set small for a straight line portion where the stroke is fast and the "bleeding" is difficult to spread, and conversely, a1, a2,
Increase a3. Further, in order to prevent the "blurring" contour from becoming monotonous, the values of a1, a2, and a3 and / or the values of T1, T2, and T3 are determined by random numbers within a limited range for each character part. Also, the shape of the "bleeding" changes depending on the paper quality and the amount of black ink contained in the brush,
The values of a1, a2, and a3 are controlled by externally providing "bleeding" control information 221 relating to the paper quality and the amount of black ink.
For example, when a paper quality that easily causes black ink blur or a large amount of black ink is designated, the values of a1, a2, and a3 are made large overall to widen "bleeding".

When the character size exceeds a certain size, in order to prevent the "blurring" shape from becoming monotonous,
It is advantageous to use a composite wave of three sinusoids plus one or more sinusoids with a longer period to generate a "blurring" contour.

Referring to FIG. 2, the bit map developing unit (A) 200 "blurs" the contour information into the contour information of the smooth character image, the numerical value table creating unit 201, the bit map developing unit (B) 202 and the "blurring". It is supplied to the pattern embedding unit 204.

The "blurring" numerical value table creating section 201, based on the contour information of the smooth character image, as described above, for each part of the character contour, the amplitude coefficient of each sine wave shown in FIG. Alternatively, the value of the cycle is determined, and the "blurring" numerical table that stores the value is stored in the "blurring" numerical table memory 2
Created on 07. As described above, the "bleeding" control information 221 is also taken into consideration when determining the value of the amplitude coefficient of each sine wave.

The bit map expansion unit (B) 202 has the contents of the "blurring" numerical value table created in the "blurring" numerical value table memory 207, and the bitmap expansion unit (A) 20.
Drawing "blurring" contours along the contour of a smooth character image on the image memory (B) 208 based on contour information given from 0, which is composed of three (or more) sine wave composite waves. To do. Next, the inside of the "blurring" contour is filled to generate a "blurring" contour image (corresponding to 302 in FIG. 3).

The "blurring" contour image synthesizing section 203 synthesizes the "blurring" contour image on the image memory (B) 208 and the smoothed character image on the image memory (A) 206 on the image memory (C). To generate. This OR-synthesized image is obtained by adding a "blurring" contour image that is a "blurring" component along the contour of the basic smooth character image (corresponding to 304 in FIG. 3). This "blurred" additional character image is followed by "blurred"
Is added to obtain the final brush image.

The "blurring" pattern memory 211 stores a large number of "blurring" patterns prepared in advance in consideration of the shape of the "blurring" of the brush character. An example of this "blurring" pattern is shown in FIG.

The "blurred" pattern embedding section 204 is
The outline information of the smooth character image is recognized based on the outline information provided from the bit map expansion unit (A), and "blurred"
By selectively embedding a large number of "blurred" patterns in the pattern memory 211 inside the "blurring" added character image, mainly in a portion close to the contour, a character image to which a "blurred" shape and a "blurred" shape are added can be obtained. It is generated on the image memory (D). The shaded portion of each 8 × 8 dot pattern shown in FIG. 5 is a substantial “blurred” pattern, which is a portion that becomes blank when embedded in a character image.

The difference in the "blurring" of the brush character can be seen depending on the part of the character. In order to give a similar natural “blurred” shape, the “blurred” pattern embedding unit 204 determines the type of the “blurred” pattern to be embedded for each character part.
Randomly select within a limited range.

The final brush character image thus obtained is displayed or printed by the output unit 205.

Conventional cursive writing brush font (1024 × 1
An example of a 024-dot outline font) and an example of a line style brush stroke font according to the present invention using the font as a basic smooth character image are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, respectively. In addition, the conventional calligraphy writing brush font (1024 ×
An example of an outline font of 1024 dots) and an example of a slave calligraphy brush font according to the present invention using the font as a basic smooth character image are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, respectively. Each font is printed by a 300 dpi printer.

Each of the fonts shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 has a smooth contour and is uniformly filled in the inside thereof, and thus gives an impression quite different from that of a brush character. On the other hand, each of the fonts shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 well expresses the characteristic of the ink mark shape of the brush character by adding the “blurring” component and the “blurring” component. Comparing the fonts of FIGS. 7 and 9 with the fonts of FIGS. 8 and 10, it is clear that the font according to the present invention is a much more natural brush font.

Although it is possible to add only the "blurring" effect or the "blurring" effect to the smooth character image, it is more natural to add both effects. Can be obtained. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the outline font is used as the basic brush character image, but it is also possible to use the bitmap brush font as the basic character image.

[0037]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) It is possible to generate a brush font having a black ink trace shape due to “blurring” or “blurring” of black ink similar to a brush character and giving a more natural impression without increasing the amount of data.

(2) For example, a composite wave of a plurality of sine waves is used as a function for generating a “blurring” component, and its cycle or amplitude is determined by a character part or a random number within a certain range. As a result, it is possible to give the font a natural "bleeding" effect similar to that of a brush character.

(3) By using a “blurring” pattern prepared in advance as a “blurring” component, “blurring”
The component addition processing time can be shortened, and the font generation processing can be speeded up easily. In addition, by preparing an appropriate "blurring" pattern and using this randomly for each character part or within a limited range, for example,
You can give a font a natural "haze" effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an outline of a brush stroke font generation process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration for executing the processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how a “blurring” contour image is combined with a basic smooth character image.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing three sine waves and their composite wave for generating a “blurring” contour.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a “blurring” pattern.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how a “blurred” pattern is embedded.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a print example of a cursive writing brush font to which neither a “blurring” component nor a “blurring” component is added.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a printing example of a line typeface brush font to which a “blurring” component and a “blurring” component are added, which is generated according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a printing example of an example typeface brush font in which neither a “blurring” component nor a “blurring” component is added.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a printing example of an example typeface brush font to which a “blurring” component and a “blurring” component are added, which is generated according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

200 Bitmap development unit (A) 201 for smooth character image development 201 "Bleed" numerical table creation unit 202 Bitmap development unit (B) 203 for "blurring" contour image development 203 "Bleed" contour image synthesis unit 204 "Blur" Pattern embedding unit 205 Output unit 206 Image for smooth character image (A) 207 "Bleed" numerical table memory 208 Image memory for "blurring" contour image (B) 209 Image memory for character image with "blurring" (C) 210 "Bleed" Image memory (D) 211 for “blurring” additional character image 300 “blurring” pattern memory 300 Smooth character image 302 “blurring” contour image 304 “blurring” additional character image

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-8-48054 (JP, A) JP-A-62-229376 (JP, A) JP-A-62-282381 (JP, A) JP-A-4-235594 (JP , A) JP-A-7-152744 (JP, A) JP-A-8-202336 (JP, A) JP-A-8-202850 (JP, A) JP-A-8-202893 (JP, A) Takeshi Nakamura Takashi Kuroda, Hidenori Ito, Hiroyuki Seki, "On a Brush Character Generation System Introducing a Fuzzy Evaluation Method for Writing Speed", Journal of the Fuzzy Society of Japan, Fuzzy Society of Japan, April 15, 1995, Volume 7 No. 2, p. 371−379 Katsuhiko Nozaki, Takeshi Nakamura, Masayuki Yamada, Hiroyuki Seki, Hidenori Ito, “How to build a writing typeface output system using writing pressure information of electronic pen”, 50th IPSJ Term) Proceedings of the National Convention (5), Japan Society for Human Information Processing, March 15, 1995, p. 151-152 (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G09G 5/24 G06T 11/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A basic brush character image is generated,
Generates a black bleed component using a random or periodic function
A writing brush font generation method comprising: generating a writing brush font by adding the ink bleeding component to the basic writing brush character image . 2. The method for generating a brush font according to claim 1.
In addition, the black brush image on the basic brush character image.
The black component is added as well as the black component.
Brush phone that generates a brush brush font
Generation method. 3. A brush font generation method according to claim 2.
In addition, is the above-mentioned faint component a plurality of types prepared in advance?
Bristles characterized by being selected from a sliding pattern and added
Brush font generation method.