Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display peripheral interface input device – Light pen for fluid matrix display panel
Reexamination Certificate
1994-09-27
2001-02-06
Mengistu, Amare (Department: 2778)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display peripheral interface input device
Light pen for fluid matrix display panel
C345S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06184860
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image editing apparatus and, more particularly, to an image editing apparatus which enables an operator to efficiently process and edit various images such as the image of a cut-in illustration, a pattern and so forth.
2. Related Background Art
The current progress in the field of word processors has enabled everybody to produce clean documents with a high degree of printing quality which well compares with that of conventional type printing. This in turn has given a rise to the demand for a facility which enables the user to edit documents together with pattern data such as of cut-in illustrations or figures.
A typical known system for editing pattern images together with document images incorporates drawing commands corresponding to a multiplicity of basic patterns or partial figure data such as a dot, a straight line, a circle, polygons and so forth, and the user drafts the illustration or drawing by making selective use of such drawing commands.
Edition of a portion of an illustration which has been formed already, requires a suitable editing operation such as deletion, movement and replacement of one of the elements of the illustration. Such an editing operation requires processing the whole of the illustration with the result that the operator is burdened heavily, even if only a part of the illustration is to be edited.
To explain in more detail, it is often required that a document, e.g., a letter, contain an illustration which enables the reader to recognize the content at a glance, as in the case of Christmas cards which usually have various attractive illustrations representing greetings. Such an illustration can be formed, in the known system, by suitably combining a plurality of illustration elements. The formation of a complicated illustration often requires that one or more illustration elements be superposed one on another, and there often is a need to edit only the underlying (or inner) element(s) amongst the superposed elements.
It will be very helpful and editing efficiency will be improved appreciably if the operator is allowed to select only the underlying or inner element and to confirm that such element has been selected.
Unfortunately, however, there has been no apparatus having an editing function capable of meeting such a demand.
It is to be pointed out also that the formation of a desired illustration by means of the drawing commands mentioned before requires a high level of skill and, hence, can be conducted only by well-trained persons.
In recent years, there has been remarkable progress in the field of apparatus for forming and editing patterns and images. A typical one of these apparatus makes use of a plurality of pattern elements and the operator forms a desired illustration by suitably selecting and positioning such pattern elements. In some of the apparatus of this type, when there is a need to edit of only one element of the illustration which has been formed already, the operator is required to appoint or select only the pattern element to be edited and to effect the desired editing operation such as correction or movement by a suitable means such as a coordinate input device (digitizer) or a keyboard. This editing operation can be conducted without substantial difficulty provided that the pattern elements are isolated discretely from each other. However, when one or more pattern elements are superposed or arranged in the close proximity to one another, the problem is encountered that, when the operator appoints one of these elements, the apparatus contrary to what is needed by the operator, selects another element superposed on or adjacent to the designated element.
When one of the illustration elements of an illustration image on a display of the apparatus is to be edited or corrected, it is necessary that such illustration element be appointed correctly. In most cases, the appointment of such a specific illustration element is conducted by moving a movable graphic cursor to the position of the designated illustration element in the image displayed on a display device by a suitable coordinate input means such as a mouse or a digitizer, and then inputting an appointing signal by means of a suitable key such as a key provided on a mouse.
This method of appointing a specific illustration element is disadvantageous in that it often fails to enable the operator to recognize which one of the illustration elements has been actually pointed out through a visual check of the image on the display device. In addition, it is not easy correctly to position the graphic cursor to the designated illustration element, particularly when the element has an extremely small size.
A typical example of the known methods for forming a desired illustration by combining a plurality of partial picture data, i.e., illustration elements, will be described hereinbelow.
FIG. 11
is a block diagram showing a typical example of known system for forming and editing illustrations.
The system has a CRT display
1101
on which are displayed various data such as characters, figure patterns and bit patterns. Input of data in the form of characters is conducted through a keyboard, while a mouse
1103
is used as a pointing device for pointing a desired position on the display and for selecting desried item in a menu on the display. The control and processing of the input and output signals are conducted by a microprocessor (referred to as “CPU”, hereinunder)
1105
which is connected to the display and the input means though a bus via a crt interface
1107
, keyboard interface
1108
and a mouse interface
1109
. Programs and data to be used in the processing by the CPU are stored in a main memory
1110
or in a magnetic disk
1111
. The main memory
1110
is directly connected to the BUS
1106
, while the magnetic disk
1111
is connected to the BUS
1106
through a disk interface
1112
.
The partial picture data or the illustration elements representing the basic patterns from which illustrations are to be synthesized are stored before-hand in the main memory
1110
or the magnetic disk
1111
. In operation, the partial picture data are transferred to the display while logical computation is conducted with these data in connection with the display, whereby the image of the desired image is synthesized and displayed.
In general, the data displayed on the display is stored in the form of a V-RAM (video RAM) in the memory and is read through the CRT interface
1107
in synchronism with the display on the CRT
1101
so as to be displayed on the display.
The writing of data in V-RAM in the CPU
1105
may be conducted directly or indirectly by sending a command to the CRT interface
1107
, and which one of these two types of writing is used does not matter in the present invention.
FIG. 12
shows an example of an illustration formed by synthesizing a plurality of partial picture data. The broken lines in this Figure are not actually displayed but are shown in this Figure for the purpose of showing the regions.
The rectangle shown by a broken line and including a point P
0
on the upper left corner thereof, represents the frame of the display for displaying the illustration. The illustration is composed of a plurality of partial picture data having the respective rectangular regions identified by points P
1
to P
5
on their upper left corners. This illustration is formed by conducting memory allocation and content in a manner shown in FIG.
13
. More specifically, the number n of the partial picture data is stored in a memory region
1301
. In the illustrated embodiment, the number “5” is stored because the illustration is composed of five partial picture data. A reference numeral
1302
designates an image structure table which is composed of a plurality of display position defining blocks
1302
-
1
to
1302
-n (n being 5 in this case) for defining the positions at which the respective partial pictures are to be displayed. Each display position defining block
1302
-i has regions x
i
and y
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Mengistu Amare
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