JPH0355960Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a layout system in which a computer performs trimming and layout of a picture according to a layout board.

In recent years, layout systems in which a computer is used to perform the layout work necessary for printing plate making have come into widespread use. and,
Such systems generally use a rotating drum type scanner to read image data from a document, and then store the read image data in a memory such as a magnetic disk pack for later processing. I was getting used to it.

By the way, the above-mentioned layout work is performed by trimming only the necessary range of the document surface and specifying the position on the image surface of one page. First, the image data imported into the memory is retrieved and displayed, and the cursor image representing the trimming range and the image of the document are arbitrarily moved on the display image surface, and the image of the document is placed at the position specified on the layout sheet. He had adopted a method of gradually incorporating the following.

Therefore, with this conventional method, positioning on the display image plane requires skill and time, and
The disadvantages are that errors in positioning are likely to occur, making accurate layout difficult, and that the system tends to be expensive because it requires a display device with special functions for layout.

Separately, when scanning a document with a scanner, measure the dimensions of the portion of the document to be trimmed in advance, taking into account the scanner's magnification ratio, and enter this dimension data and the trimming position on the scanner using the keyboard. A method is also known in which the image data is read after specifying the image data.

However, this method has the disadvantage that it requires a great deal of skill and time to measure dimensions and specify positions.

Therefore, in order to eliminate these drawbacks of the conventional methods, a means that can select an arbitrary point on the document surface and generate position data for the image data input means for reading image data from the document, such as a scanner, has been developed. The layout position data of the image on the layout mount surface, the scaling factor data of the image, the position data of a specific point in the image, and the corresponding specific point of the document loaded on the image data input means. A system that calculates the range to be read on the document surface from the position data, directly obtains cropped image data when reading the image data, and layouts this image according to the specification of the layout position data. has been proposed by the present applicant as an invention in Japanese Patent Application No. 168591/1983.

By the way, when trimming using such a system, it is necessary to measure the size ratio between the original image and the finished image, that is, the scaling ratio, and input this scaling ratio data in advance as control information for the system. In the conventional system described above, the scaling factor is measured in advance prior to the trimming operation to obtain the necessary scaling factor data, and the data is input to an appropriate input device, for example, data for reading the layout position data from the layout board. The disadvantage is that it is necessary to enter information into the system using the menu area or keyboard provided on the tablet, making the operation complicated.

Therefore, a cropping layout system that eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional technology and is easy to handle without requiring input operation of variable magnification data has been provided.
An example is shown in FIG.

This figure 1 has been proposed by the applicant as an invention in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-69216, and in the figure, 1 is a reading scanning drum (hereinafter simply referred to as drum) of a scanner for reading image data. , 2 is a document such as a photographic film, 3 is a magnifying glass, 4 is a rotary concoder (rotary position detector), 5 is a linear encoder (true line position detector), 6 is a control device,
7 is a switch, 8 is a data tablet, 9 is a layout board, 10 is a cursor, 11 is an external memory, 12
13 is a keyboard, 13 is a menu area, 15 is a projection lens, 16 is a document holder, 17 is a lamp house, and 18 is a support.

The drum 1 holds an original 2 on its cylindrical surface and rotates at a predetermined speed to cause a reading/scanning head (not shown) to scan the original 2 and read image data.

The magnifying glass 3 consists of a low-magnification microscope or the like, and is held so as to be freely movable parallel to the rotation axis of the drum 1 and near the surface of the drum 1 by a guide device (not shown). It is provided so that the original 2 attached and held can be observed in an enlarged manner.

The rotary encoder 4 functions to detect the position along the rotation direction of the drum 1, that is, along the circumferential direction, and to generate position data P _Y corresponding to the position.

The linear encoder 5 functions to detect the position of the magnifying glass 3 and generate position data _PX representing the position parallel to the axial direction of the drum 1.

The control device 6 includes a computer and the like, and controls the entire system and processes various data.

The switch 7 functions to generate a store signal _ST for inputting the position data P _x , P _y and the variable magnification data α into the control device 6 .

The data tablet 8 is also called a tablet digitizer, and functions to specify a point on its surface with a cursor 10 and generate position data P _x , P _y representing the position of that point in rectangular coordinates. Furthermore, numerical data can be input from a menu area 13 provided on the surface of the screen, and various data necessary for image trimming and layout can be input.

In addition, this necessary numerical data can be obtained from the keyboard 12.
You may also input it using, for example.

The external memory 11 has a large capacity such as a magnetic disk pack, and is capable of storing at least one page of image data.

The projection lens 15, document holder 16, and lamp house 17 are held by a support 18 attached to the data tablet 8, and constitute a magnification measuring device that uses the surface of the data tablet 8 as the projection surface of the document image. Original holder 1
The original 2 mounted on the data tablet 6 is illuminated with light from a light source provided in the lamp house 17, and the image is projected onto the layout sheet 9 placed on the surface of the data tablet 8 by the projection lens 15. It is beginning to be reflected in On the other hand, the projection lens 15, document holder 16, and lamp house 17 are held movably up and down along a support 18, and the distance between the projection lens 15 and the layout sheet 9, and the distance between the document 2 and the projection lens 17 are The ratio between the distance between It is now possible to form an image.

Then, the distance between the projection lens 15 and the layout sheet 9 and the distance between the document holder 16 at this time are measured using a linear encoder or the like, and the magnification ratio data α is generated by calculating the ratio of these. It serves as a direct input to the control device 6.

It should be noted that a device that provides the variable magnification data α by projecting such an original image is known as a magnification measuring device.

Next, the operation will be explained.

First, as shown in Figure 2, the data tablet 8
The layout mount 9 is set at a predetermined position. On this layout board 9, ruled lines K specifying the trimming range of the document to be laid out and simple figures F indicating outlines of the pictures included therein are drawn.

At the same time, the original 2 is mounted on the original holder 16, and the image of the original 2 is projected onto the surface of the layout board 9. Then, by adjusting the size and position of the projected image of the image portion of the document 2 to be trimmed so that it falls accurately within the ruled lines K of the layout sheet 9, the magnification ratio data α can be calculated. becomes.

Therefore, if the controller 6 is then instructed to import the variable magnification data α by operating the switch 7 or the menu area 13, the variable magnification data α will be automatically imported into the control device 6. Become.

Subsequently, the cursor 10 is moved and the position data of the ruled line K is input into the control device 6. That is, if the trimming range is a rectangle as shown by the ruled line K in the figure, the point at the upper left corner of this rectangle
Cursor 1 is moved to P ₁ and point P ₂ in the lower right corner in sequence.
0 mark and send the position data (P ₁ : x ₁ , y _{1 )} , (P ₂ : x ₂ , y ₂ ) of these points P ₁ and P 2 to the control device 6.
Further, the position data (x _a , y _a ) of the specific point P _a of the figure F is input. Note that this specific point P _a
, it is necessary to select a point that can easily identify the same part in the pattern of manuscript 2. Therefore, for example, if the pattern is a person's face, the inner corner of the eye in figure F should be selected. .

In this way, the scaling factor data α and the position data x ₁ , x ₂ , x _a , of the three points P ₁ , P ₂ , P _a from the layout mount 9 are
After importing y ₁ , y ₂ , and y _a , next remove the original 2 from the original holder 16 and place it on the drum 1.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3, while looking through the magnifying glass 3, move the drum 1 and the magnifying glass 3 to find a point P _a ' corresponding to the specific point P _a of the figure F on the layout mount 9, that is, in this case, a person. The inner corner of the eye is found in the pattern of the original 2, and it is positioned at the center of the field of view of the magnifying glass 3. At this time, use a magnifying glass 3 that displays, for example, a cross-shaped mark at the center of its field of view, and align a specific point P _a ', such as the inner corner of the person's eye, with this marker M, as shown in Figure 4. What is necessary is to move the drum 1 and the magnifying glass 3 and then stop them.

In this way, when the specific point P _a ' of the document 2 is aligned with the center of the field of view of the magnifying glass 3, the switch 7 is operated to supply the store signal _ST to the control device 6.
Data P _Y from the rotary encoder 4 and data P _X from the linear encoder 5 are transmitted to the control device 6.
This causes the control device 6 to select a specific point.
Data representing the position of P _a ′ (P _a ′: X _a , Y _a ) can be imported.

Next, the control device 6 receives these position data x ₁ ,
Perform calculations based on x ₂ , x _a , X _a , y ₁ , y ₂ , y _a , and Y _a to find the point P necessary to determine the trimming range K' of the original 2, as shown in Figure 3. ₁ ′ and P ₂ ′ are calculated. Here, it goes without saying that the trimming range K' should be specified by the ruled lines K of the layout board 9 shown in FIG.

Now, the position data of point P ₁ ′ is (X ₁ , Y ₁ ), and the point
Assuming that the position data of P ₂ ' is (X ₂ , Y ₂ ) and that the magnification ratio when reading image data from the drum 1 is α, the relationship between these data is as follows.

x ₂ −y ₂ = α(X ₂ −X ₁ ) …(1) y ₂ −y ₁ = α(Y ₂ −Y ₁ ) …(2) x _a −x ₁ = α(X _a −X ₁ ) …(3) x ₂ −x _a = α(X ₂ −X _a ) …(4) y _a −y ₁ = α(Y _a −Y ₁ ) …(5) y ₂ −y _a = α(Y ₂ −Y _a ) …(6) Therefore, position data X ₁ , Y representing the points P ₁ ′ and P ₂ ′ necessary to specify the trimming range K′ from the relationships of these equations (1) to (6) ₁ , X ₂ , and Y ₂ can be easily determined.

After completing the calculation of the position data representing the points P ₁ ', P ₂ ', the scanner starts reading the image data, and at this time, the control device 6 calculates the position data X ₁ , Y ₁ , X ₂ , Image data is read out and stored in the memory 11 only when the trimming range K' of the original 2 shown in FIG. 3 is being scanned by _Y2 .

At this time, various methods can be considered for reading image data only from the trimming range K' using the position data X ₁ , Y ₁ , X ₂ , Y ₂ representing P _{1 ′} , P ₂ ′. For example, the position in the scanning direction (sub-scanning direction) of the scanning head (not shown) of the scanner is detected by the linear encoder 5, and the resulting data _P
and data P _Y from rotary encoder 4, and after data P _X exceeds position data X ₁ , X ₂
A gate that opens only until the data P _Y
The image data from the scanning head may be gated using a gate that opens every time the position data exceeds the position data _Y1 until it reaches the position data _Y2 .

The image data thus stored in the memory 11 is subjected to layout processing in the control device 6 according to the layout coordinate data of P ₁ and P ₂ from the data tablet 8, and the result is stored in the memory 11 again. .

Therefore, according to this system, the layout position data of the image on the layout mount 9, the magnification data of that image, and the coordinate position data of a specific point of the corresponding image are inputted into the data tablet 8, and the magnifying glass 3 If you specify a corresponding specific point on the document 2, the document 2 will be automatically trimmed and the image data will be written directly into the memory 11, making reading the document extremely easy. can be done.

By the way, although omitted in the above explanation, manuscript 2
When image data is read from the image data, it may be put into a buffer and monitored to confirm whether or not the trimming has been performed accurately, and then change or modify the image data as necessary. .

Incidentally, the above operation is shown in a flowchart as shown in FIG. 7.

In addition, at this time, in preparation for changing or correcting the trimming _{range of} image data, the above equations ( ₁ ) and ( ₂ ) are _changed to −y ₁ <α(Y ₂ −Y ₁ ) …(2)′ may be set to leave room for change or modification.

By the way, according to the system explained in FIGS. 1 to 7, it is possible to automatically input various data necessary for trimming, including the variable magnification data α, but in order to do so, it is necessary to place the document 2 in the document holder. 16 and input the position data P _x , P _y and the magnification data α, then attach the original 2 to the drum 1 of the scanner body and input the position data again.
Since it is necessary to read P _X and P _Y , the operation is complicated and difficult to handle, and the operation takes time.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such drawbacks of the conventional technology, the document to be trimmed is stored in a cassette,
The operation of importing the data necessary for trimming and the operation of reading the image signal are performed using the original stored in the cassette, and as a result, all the data necessary for trimming and layout can be obtained during the operation of importing variable magnification data. An automatic trimming layout system for printing plate making that can complete the data import operation and also eliminate the need for the data import operation after loading the original into the scanner.
This invention was proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 58-69217 by the present applicant.

However, all of these conventional techniques require operation while viewing the image of the original projected on the layout mount surface, making it difficult to work in a bright place and requiring work in a darkroom, resulting in poor workability. It had the drawback of being bad.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art described above, and to provide automatic trimming for printing plate making, which eliminates the need for work in a darkroom and allows sufficient trimming and layout work to be achieved in a well-lit work environment. Provides a layout system.

In order to achieve this purpose, the present invention creates a layout mount using a transparent film, places it on a transparent data tablet, and projects the image of the original from the back of the tablet to perform trimming. It is characterized by the ability to perform layout work.

Hereinafter, the automatic trimming layout system for printing plate making according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments of the drawings.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1
9 is a light source lamp, 20 is a cassette for holding a document, 21 is a cassette stand, 22 is a cassette frame,
30 is a reading scanning table, 31 is a movable mirror, 32 is a fixed mirror, 33 is a photo sensor, and the rest is the same as the system shown in FIG.

In addition, R is the entire trimming data import part,
Further, S represents the entire reading scanning section. In addition, T is the image part of manuscript 2 that should be trimmed,
T' represents the image of the picture portion T projected onto the layout mount 9', and K represents the ruled line drawn on the layout mount 9'.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, unlike the system shown in FIG. 1, the data tablet 8 is a transmissive data tablet 8', and its coordinate reading surface H is made semi-transparent, so that it functions as a transmissive screen. It's starting to work. Although such a transmissive data tablet is well known, it may also be used by attaching a transparent touch panel to an ordinary transmissive screen.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, the layout mount 9 is a transparent layout mount 9' in which ruled lines K are drawn on a transparent film such as a copy film.
In addition, as such a transparent layout mount 9',
It may be made by drawing ruled lines on a transparent film from the beginning, or it may be made by copying them onto a film.

The cassette 20 is similar to what is called a negative clip or negative holder used in photo enlargers, and is made up of two plate-like members made of transparent material such as glass or plastic. , serves to sandwich and hold the original 2 between them. The outer shape is made into a rectangle while maintaining predetermined dimensions, and the document 2 held therein does not move within the cassette unless the document 2 is stored or removed.

The cassette stand 21 is held movably in the direction of the arrow A with respect to a support member (not shown), and is configured so that the variable magnification data α can be calculated from the movement position, and the cassette 20 is placed on it. The image T' of the picture portion T of the original document 2 is projected onto the surface of the layout sheet 9' from the back surface of the data tablet 8'.

The cassette frame 22 is placed above the cassette stand 21 by arrow B.
It is provided so as to be freely movable in the directions shown in FIG.
Then, data _P
and data P _Y representing the position in the C direction, that is, the position in the coordinate Y direction.

In reality, the cassette stand 21 and the lens 1 are placed in a dark box with the data tablet 8' on the top.
5. It accommodates a light source lamp 19 and the like, so that the cassette frame 22 can be taken in and out when necessary, but this is omitted from the figure.

The reading/scanning table 30 is provided with a recess for correctly mounting the cassette 20 in a predetermined position, and is configured to move linearly in the direction of arrow U at a predetermined speed. It has a similar structure to the original.

The movable mirror 31 is called a galvanometer mirror or the like, and is a movable coil type drive device (not shown).
The laser beam from the laser (not shown) rotates in the direction of arrow G in the figure.
It functions to alternately change the reflection direction of LB over a predetermined range.

The fixed mirror 32 receives the laser beam LB reflected by the movable mirror 31 and is held in the cassette 20.
It functions to reflect the light toward the surface of the original 2 housed on the reading scanning table 30.

The photo sensor 33 is a linear array of photoelectric conversion elements such as photodiodes, and functions to receive the laser beam LB transmitted through the original 2 and obtain an image signal v. In FIG. 8, the photo sensor 33 is shown side by side with the fixed mirror 32 for the sake of clarity, but in reality, the photo sensor 33 is provided on the lower side of the document 2 (lower side in the case shown). Needless to say.

Therefore, if the cassette 20 is mounted on the reading scanning table 30 and the table 30 is moved in the direction of arrow U while the movable mirror 31 is rotated in the direction of arrow G and the laser beam LB is incident, the original 2 is read. The flying point is scanned by the laser beam LB with the direction of the arrow V as the surface scanning (sub-scanning) direction and the direction of the arrow W as the line-scanning (main scanning) direction, and an image signal v is obtained from the photo sensor 33.

Incidentally, such a reading scanning section S is a well-known type called a flatbed scanner for printing, and is herein referred to as a plane scanning type image reading means.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, the original 2 is loaded into the cassette 20 and placed on the cassette table 21 of the data acquisition section R. Meanwhile, parallel to this, a transparent layout mount 9' is placed at a predetermined position on the transparent data tablet 8'. and,
An image of a pattern T of a document 2 is projected onto a transparent layout mount 9'. This state is shown in FIG.

Here, for ease of explanation and understanding, the center of the cassette 20 is taken as the reference point N, and the lower right corner of the transparent layout mount 9' on the transmissive data tablet 8' is taken as the origin _P0 .

Next, move the cassette stand 21 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 8 to adjust its vertical position, and move the cassette 20 in the directions of arrows B and C to adjust its position on the cassette stand 21. , manuscript 2
The image T' of the part to be trimmed of the picture part T of is made to coincide with the ruled line K of the transparent layout mount 9'.

Then, when a matching condition is obtained, the cassette stand 2
1, and cassette position coordinate data from the position of the cassette 20 detected by the cassette frame 22 on the cassette stand 21.
P _X and P _Y are input to the control device 6. At this time,
Coordinate data P _X detected by the cassette frame 22,
P _Y has the following relationship with the position data P _x and P _y so that it represents the coordinates from the origin P ₀ on the transparent layout mount 9'.

_{P x = α ( P ​ ​} It is a constant determined by .

Next, using the cursor 10, coordinate data _{(P 1x ,}
P _1y ) and the coordinate data of the lower right corner point P ₂ (P _2x ,
P _2y ) is input to the control device 6 from the transparent data tablet 8'.

Once all of these data have been captured, the control device enters calculation operation and calculates the two points Q 1 necessary to determine the trimming range K' of the document 2 in the reading scanning section S, as shown in FIG. ₁₀ . Coordinate data of and Q ₂ at the scanning section (Q _1X , Q _1Y ) and (Q _2X , Q _2Y )
Calculate. That is, Q _1X = Q _0x +P _1x −P _x /α …(10) Q _1Y =Q _0y +P _1y −P _y /α …(11) Q _2X =Q _0x −P _x −P _2x /α …(12) Q _2Y =Q _0y −P _y −P _2y /α (13) However, Q _0x and Q _0y are constants determined by the positional relationship between the cassette 20 and the reading scanning table 30.

In this way, the points necessary to specify the trimming range K' of the document 2 mounted on the reading scanning platform 30 of the reading scanning section S while being held in the cassette 20 are
Position data representing Q ₁ , Q ₂ Q _1X , Q _1Y , Q _2X , Q _2Y
After completing the calculation, the control device 6 starts the reading scanning section S.
starts reading scanning of the original 2, gates the image signal v from the reading scanning unit S based on the above position data, and captures image data only when the trimming range K' of the original 2 is being scanned. , is stored in the memory 11. Note that the gate of the image signal v at this time may be as explained in the conventional example shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, and therefore,
A detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. The same applies to layout processing.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the acquisition of the positional data necessary for trimming the original 2 is completed only by the trimming data acquisition section R, and the work in the darkroom or the data acquisition in the reading scanning section S is completed. Trimming and layout can be done without requiring any operations.

The operation of the present invention is shown in a flowchart.
It will look like Figure 1. It goes without saying that in this embodiment as well, the trimming result may be monitored and confirmed before being stored in the memory, as in the prior art example described above.

Here, the effects of the present invention are listed below.

It is possible to complete the import of all the data necessary for trimming and layout just by measuring on the trimming data import unit installed in a bright place, and it is possible to perform tasks such as dimension measurement on the document surface and area specification taking into account the magnification ratio. This eliminates the need for any work, making the work easier and faster.

There is no need for any layout work on the display image playback surface, or only confirmation work is required, so accurate trimming work can be easily achieved, and a special display device with a layout function is not required, resulting in low costs. .

Since the trimmed image data is directly stored in the memory, there is no need to store extra data, and the memory capacity can be kept to a minimum.

Because cassettes are used, manuscripts are easy to handle and there is no risk of damage.
Mounting on the reading scanning unit and accurate positioning can be easily performed.

As explained above, according to the present invention, all the control data required for trimming and layout can be taken in a bright place without moving the original, so the shortcomings of the conventional technology are eliminated and the operation is simple. Moreover, an automatic trimming layout system capable of accurate trimming can be easily provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a conventional example of an automatic trimming layout system, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of position data input operation using a data tablet, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of a document on a drum of a scanner. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a position data input operation, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a specific point designation operation, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams showing operations when the shape of the ruled line is other than rectangular. , FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional example, FIG. 8 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the automatic trimming layout system according to the present invention, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are conceptual diagrams for explaining the operation. , FIG. 11 is a flowchart as well. 2... Manuscript, 8'... Transparent data tablet,
9'...Transparent layout mount, 20...Cassette, 21
...Cassette stand, 22...Cassette frame, 30...
Reading scanning table, 31...movable mirror, 32...fixed mirror, 33...photo sensor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Layout position data generation means for specifying an arbitrary point on the layout mount mounting surface and giving the position coordinate data thereof;
Variable magnification data generating means for measuring a variable magnification by projecting an image of a document held in a cassette onto the surface of a layout sheet placed on the layout position data generating means; and a position of the cassette mounted on the variable magnification data generating means. In an automatic trimming layout system for printing plate making, which includes a cassette position measuring means for generating coordinate data, and a plane scanning type image reading means for reading and scanning a document held in the cassette to generate image data, The generating means is composed of a transparent data tablet on which a layout board made of transparent film is placed, and the image of the original is projected onto the back side of the coordinate position specifying surface of this data tablet. An automatic trimming layout system for printing plate making, characterized in that it is configured to simultaneously obtain trimming data of an image signal and layout position data by matching the pattern of the layout mount and the pattern of the image projected from the original.