Image analysis – Pattern recognition – Feature extraction
Reexamination Certificate
1997-10-03
2001-07-24
Boudreau, Leo (Department: 2621)
Image analysis
Pattern recognition
Feature extraction
C382S181000, C382S199000, C382S203000, C345S443000, C345S469000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266444
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a character processing apparatus and a method therefor, for providing a character pattern of high quality by converting intersecting stroke data into non-intersecting outline data.
2. Related Background Art
In case of generating a large-sized character or an outlined character from a character of intersecting strokes, the data of intersecting strokes have to be converted into data of the non-intersecting entire outline before the generation process. For this purpose there has been employed a process of generating bit map data from the stroke data and tracing the outline of such bit map data thereby obtaining the coordinate data of the entire outline.
In order to improve the quality of the large-sized character or the outlined character, the outline has to be traced after the bit map is generated in the desired output size, so that there is involved a long processing time.
The generation of the bit map is sometimes limited to a certain size because of the limitation in the capacity of the bit map developing memory. In such case, for obtaining a character of a larger size, there is inevitably required an expansion of the coordinate values obtained from the generated outline, so that the deterioration of the image quality is inevitable depending on the memory capacity.
On the other hand, for achieving high-speed processing, there has been employed a method of forming a bit map image of a small size, tracing the outline of such bit map image to obtain the coordinates of the entire outline and expanding or reducing the obtained coordinates. In such case significant deterioration in quality is unavoidable in the large-sized output character.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to resolve the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide an information processing apparatus and a method therefor, capable of generating data of the entire non-intersecting outline from the intersecting stroke data at a higher speed, thereby outputting a character or a pattern of higher quality.
The above-mentioned object can be attained, according to the present invention, by an information processing apparatus for generating a non-intersecting outline from data registered in each of the strokes that may mutually intersect, comprising extraction means for extracting every pair from all the registered strokes of a character, intersection discrimination means for discriminating whether the segments of the strokes of each stroke pair, extracted by the extraction means, mutually intersect, intersection coordinate calculation means for calculating the coordinate of the intersection of the segments in case an affirmative result is obtained by the intersection discrimination means, intersection coordinate storage means for storing the coordinate of the intersection calculated by the intersection coordinate calculation means, and re-connection means for re-connecting the outline according to a predetermined rule and based on the intersection coordinate stored in the intersection coordinate storage means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an image processing apparatus for generating non-intersection outline data from outline data registered in each of the strokes that may mutually intersect, comprising:
reading means for reading the outline coordinates of two strokes;
straightening means for straightening the outline represented by the outline coordinates;
discrimination means for discriminating whether the outlines of the two strokes mutually intersect, based on the outline coordinates of the two strokes;
outline data generation means for determining an intersection in case the intersection is identified by the discrimination means and changing the connection of the outline points including such intersection thereby generating non-intersecting outline data;
judgment means for judging a curve portion in the non-intersecting outline data generated by the outline data generation means; and
curve generation means for generating a curve based on the curve portion judged by the judgment means.
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Boudreau Leo
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Mariam Daniel G.
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