Line symmetrical graphic arrangement device

• US 6,018,352 A
• Filed: 09/20/1996
• Issued: 01/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Personal Computers, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Saito, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Mark K.
• Application Number:
  US08/710,766
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: 345/433, 345/438, 345/441, 345/121, 382/186, 382/203
• US Class Current: 345/678
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/203 Drawing of straight lines or curves

Abstract

A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device comprising a graphic input unit for entering graphic data, a symmetry axis input unit for entering data of a symmetry axis, an arrangement processing instructing unit for instructing to perform an arrangement processing on an input graphic, a symmetry judging unit for judging whether the input graphic is substantially line symmetric or not with respect to the symmetry axis, on the basis of the graphic data and the data of the symmetry axis, according to a predetermined criterion, a symmetrizing processing unit for editing the input graphic judged to be substantially line symmetric so as to be accurately line symmetric with respect to the symmetry axis on the basis of the graphic data and the data of the symmetry axis, and an output device for displaying the arranged graphic.

Claims

1. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device for automatically arranging an input graphic into a line symmetrical shape and displaying the arranged graphic, the arrangement device comprising:

a graphic input unit configured to enter graphic data, the graphic data including characteristic quantities indicating coordinates of vertices of the graphic data, the graphic data including a plurality of separate shapes;

a graphic data storing unit configured to store the graphic data entered from said graphic input unit;

an arrangement processing instructing unit configured to receive an operator instruction to perform an arrangement processing on the input graphic;

a symmetry axis creating unit configured to automatically create a first symmetry axis according to a predetermined rule, when an instruction is issued by said arrangement processing instructing unit based on the operator instruction provided to said arrangement processing instruction unit, the symmetry axis creating unit creating the first symmetry axis for each of the plurality of separate shapes, determining corresponding candidate first symmetry axes, by one of;

a) acquiring each vertical bisector of a line connecting each of the corresponding characteristic quantities of the corresponding one of the separate shapes, and b) acquiring combinations of medial points of the corresponding one of the separate shapes, wherein the candidate symmetry axis for one of the plurality of separate shapes that is most symmetric with respect to all of the plurality of separate shapes is determined to be the first symmetry axis for the input graphic, the symmetry axis creating unit configured to automatically create a second symmetry axis according to the predetermined rule for remaining ones of the plurality of separate shapes besides the one of the plurality of separate shapes;

a symmetry axis storing unit configured to store the data of the symmetry axis created by said symmetry axis creating unit;

a symmetry judging unit configured to judge, in reply to the instruction of said arrangement processing instructing unit, whether the input graphic has a substantially line symmetrical shape or not with respect to the first and second symmetry axes, on the basis of the graphic data stored in said graphic data storing unit and the data of the symmetry axis stored in said symmetry axis storing unit, according to a predetermined criterion;

a symmetrizing processing unit configured to arrange the input graphic judged to be substantially line symmetric by said symmetry judging unit so as to be accurately line symmetric with respect to the first and second symmetry axes, on the basis of the graphic data stored in said graphic data storing unit and the data of the first and second symmetry axes stored in said symmetry axis storing unit; and

an output unit configured to display the graphic arranged by said symmetrizing processing unit.

2. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said symmetry judging unit judges whether the input graphic has a substantially line symmetrical shape or not with respect to the first and second symmetry axes passing through the input graphic, and

said symmetrizing processing unit arranges the input graphic judged to have a substantially line symmetrical shape by said symmetry judging unit into an accurately line symmetrical shape with respect to the first and second symmetry axes.

3. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said symmetry judging unit judges whether a plurality of the separate shapes of the input graphic have a substantially line symmetrical relation or not with respect to the second symmetry axis intervening between the input graphic, and

said symmetrizing processing unit arranges the shapes of the separate shapes of the input graphic and modifies the positions thereof so that the input graphic judged to have the substantially line symmetric positional relation by said symmetry judging unit may be in the accurately line symmetric positional relation with respect to the second symmetry axis.

4. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, wherein

said symmetric judging unit

judges whether the input graphic has a substantially line symmetrical shape or not with respect to the first and the second symmetry axis where the input graphic passes and

judges whether a plurality of the separate shapes of the input graphic have a substantially line symmetric positional relation or not with respect to the first and the second symmetry axis intervening between the separate shapes of the input graphic, and

said symmetrizing processing unit

arranges the input graphic judged to have a substantially line symmetrical shape by said symmetry judging unit into an accurately line symmetrical shape with respect to the first and the second symmetry axis and

arranges the shapes of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic and modifies the positions thereof so that the input graphic judged to have the substantially line symmetric positional relation by said symmetry judging unit may be in the accurately line symmetric positional relation with respect to the first and the second symmetry axis.

5. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a target graphic instructing unit for specifying one of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic to be arranged, in which device

said symmetry axis creating unit automatically creates a symmetry axis according to the predetermined rule, for the one of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic specified by said target graphic instructing unit, and

said symmetry judging unit judges, as for the one of the plurality of separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit, whether the one of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic is substantially line symmetric or not with respect to the first symmetry axis.

6. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a target graphic instructing unit configured to specify one separate shape of the input graphic to be arranged, from a plurality of the separate shapes of the input graphic entered by said graphic input, in which device

said symmetry axis creating unit automatically creates a first and a second symmetry axis according to the predetermined rule, for the one of the separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit,

said symmetry judging unit judges, for the one of the separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit, whether the one of the separate shapes is substantially line symmetric or not with respect to the first symmetry axis passing through the input graphic, and

said symmetrizing processing unit arranges the input graphic judged to have the substantially line symmetrical shape by said symmetry judging unit into an accurately line symmetrical shape with respect to the first and the second symmetry axis.

7. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a target graphic instructing unit configured to specify one separate shape of the input graphic to be arranged, from a plurality of the separate shapes of the input graphic entered by said graphic input, in which device

said symmetry axis creating unit automatically creates a first and a second symmetry axis according to the predetermined rule, for the one of the separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit,

said symmetry judging unit judges, for the one of the separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit, whether the one of the separate shapes is substantially line symmetric or not with respect to the first symmetry axis, and

said symmetrizing processing unit arranges the shapes of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic and modifies the positions thereof so that remaining ones of the separate shapes of the input graphic judged to have the substantially line symmetric positional relation by said symmetry judging unit may be in the accurately line symmetric positional relation with respect to the second symmetry axis.

8. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a target graphic instructing unit configured to specify one separate shape of the input graphic to be arranged, from a plurality of the separate shapes of the input graphic entered by said graphic input unit, in which device

said symmetry axis creating unit automatically creates a first and a second symmetry axis according to the predetermined rule, for the one of the separate shapes secified by said target graphic instructing unit,

said symmetry judging unit judges, for the one of the separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit,

whether the one of the separate shapes is substantially line symmetric or not with respect to the first symmetry axis, and

judges whether a subset of the plurality of the separate shapes have a substantially line symmetric positional relation with respect to the symmetry axis intervening between the subset of the plurality of the separate shapes, and

said symmetrizing processing unit

arranges the one of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic judged to have the substantially line symmetrical shape by said symmetry judging unit into an accurately line symmetrical shape with respect to the first symmetry axis and

arranges the shapes of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic and modifies the positions thereof so that remaining ones of the separate shapes of the input graphic judged to have the substantially line symmetric positional relation by said symmetry judging unit may be in the accurately line symmetric positional relation with respect to the second symmetry axis.

9. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a reference element instructing unit for specifying a predetermined data from the graphic data stored in said graphic data storing unit, in which device

said symmetrizing processing unit edits the input graphic with reference to the graphic data by said reference element instructing unit.

10. A line symmetrical graphic arrangement device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a target graphic instructing unit configured to specify one separate shape of the input graphic to be arranged, from a plurality of the separate shapes of the input graphic entered by said graphic input unit; and

a reference element instructing unit for specifying a predetermined data from the graphic data stored in said graphic data storing unit;

in which device

said symmetry axis creating unit automatically creates a first and a second symmetry axis according to the predetermined rule, for the one of the separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit,

said symmetry judging unit judges, for the one of the separate shapes specified by said target graphic instructing unit, whether the one of the separate shapes is substantially line symmetric or not with respect to the first symmetry axis, and

said symmetrizing processing unit edits the input graphic with reference to the graphic data by said reference element instructing unit.

11. A method for arranging graphic data, comprising:

a) inputting the graphic data, the graphic data including a plurality of separate shapes having corresponding characteristic quantities;

b) displaying the input graphic data on a display;

c) receiving an input, from a user, for performing a line symmetric arrangement of the graphic data;

d) determining whether a candidate symmetry axis exists for one of the plurality of separate shapes of the input graphic data, the corresponding candidate symmetry axis being determined based on the respective characteristic quantities of the one separate shape;

e) if the determination in the step d) is no, going back to step d) and performing the determination for a next one of the plurality of separate shapes;

f) if the determination in the step d) is yes, determining whether all of the other separate shapes, as a combined separate shape, are line symmetric with respect to the candidate symmetry axis determined in the step d);

g) if the determination in the step f) is yes, then performing accurate alignment of the plurality of separate shapes with respect to the candidate symmetry axis; and

h) if the determination in the step f) is no, going back to the step d) and performing the determination for a next one of the separate shapes of the input graphic.