Method and device for graphics processing

Claim 2

A graphics processing device, comprising an image data storing unit (13, 26) for storing image data, a graphic data storing unit (14, 25) for storing graphic data, a coordinates inputting unit (15) for inputting co­ordinates, a display unit (16) for displaying the image data and the graphic data, and a graphic operation processing unit (21) for operating the image data and the graphic data; wherein the graphic data are operated with reference to the image data displayed on the display unit by designating a control point; further comprising: a characteristic image point recognizing unit (24) for setting a predetermined region in the neighborhood of an input point inputted for the graphic operation, recognizing the shape of an image in the predetermined region, deciding a characteristic point of the image corresponding to the shape of the image recognized, and delivering the characteristic point of the image as the control point to a control point inputting unit.

Claim 3

The graphics processing device according to claim 1, wherein the coordinates inputting unit (15) is a pointing device so arranged as to input an input point on a display screen of the display unit (16) on which the image data are displayed.

Claim 4

The graphics processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image operation processing unit (21) comprises a graphic operating section (22) for operating the image data and the graphic data, a control point inputting section (23) for inputting a control point for graphic operation, and a characteristic image point recognizing section (24) for setting a predetermined region in the neighborhood of an input point inputted as the control point for the graphic operation, detecting an image point by scanning, recognizing the shape of the image in the predetermined region by tracing the image from the image point, extracting the characteristic point of the image determined by the shape of the image, and delivering the characteristic point of the image as the control point to the control point inputting section.

Claim 5

The graphics processing device according to claim 3, wherein the characteristic image point recognizing section (24) recognizes the shape of the image in the predetermined region, and the characteristic point of the image to be extracted from the shape of the image recognized is an end point, a branch point, a corner point or a center point.

Claim 6

The graphics processing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the characteristic image point recognizing section (24) recognizes the shape of the image in the predetermined region, and the characteristic point of the image to be extracted from the shape of the image recognized is an end point determined by a dis­continuous point of image points which is detected in a constant range of the predetermined region from a position at which the image point has been detected for the first time as a result of tracing the image points in a direction in which the image points are continuously disposed in a linear form.

Claim 7

The graphics processing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the characteristic image point recognizing section (24) recognizes the shape of the image in the predetermined region, and the characteristic point of the image to be extracted from the shape of the image recognized is a branch point determined by a point of image points which is detected in a position in which a continuous direction of the image is branched into plural directions as a result of tracing the image points in a direction in which the image points are continuously disposed in a linear form.

Claim 8

The graphics processing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the characteristic image point recognizing section (24) recognizes the shape of the image in the predetermined region, and the characteristic point of the image to be extracted from the shape of the image recognized is a corner point determined by a point of image points which is detected in a position in which a continuous direction of the image is changed as a result of tracing the image points in a direction in which the image points are continuously disposed in a linear form.

Claim 9

The graphics processing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the characteristic image point recognizing section (24) recognizes the shape of the image in the predetermined region, and the characteristic point of the image to be extracted from the shape of the image recognized is a center point determined by a point of image points which is located in the center of a line width of the image and in a position nearest to the input point when the characteristic point of the image to be extracted from the shape of the image recognized is determined by neither an end point nor a branch point nor a corner point of the image.

Claim 12

The method according to claim 9, characterized by: A first step comprising defining a predetermined region in a constant range with the input point as a given center as the neighborhood region in the neighborhood of the input point, the input point being determined as coordinates of a point inputted by a co­ordinates inputting device or the like, when the graphic operation is carried out; a second step comprising scanning the image data from the input point in the defined neighborhood region and detecting the image point; a third step comprising restricting the constant range with the image point detected as a given center as a decision range in which the characteristic point of the image is recognized, and determining an image data region for the image as an object whose characteristic point is to be recognized; a fourth step comprising starting tracing the image points in the restricted decision range from the image point detected in a direction in which the image points are continuously and linearly disposed, and determining the shape of the image from the result of tracing; a fifth step comprising determining a discontinuous point as an end point functioning as the characteristic point of the image when the discontinuous point of the image points is detected as a result of tracing the image points in the direction in which the image points are continuously disposed in a linear form; a sixth step comprising determining a point at which a continuous direction of the image is branched into plural directions as a branch point functioning as the characteristic point of the image when the point of the image points is detected as a result of tracing the image points in a direction in which the image points are continuously disposed in a linear form; a seventh step comprising determining a point at which a continuous direction of the image is changed as a corner point functioning as the characteristic point of the image when the point of the image points is detected as a result of tracing the image points in a direction in which the image points are continuously disposed in a linear form; an eighth step comprising determining a point which lies in a center position in a line width of the image and in a position nearest to the input point as a center point functioning as the characteristic point of the image when neither an end point nor a branch point nor a corner point are detected as a result of tracing the image points in the direction in which the image points are continuously disposed in a linear form, and a ninth step comprising delivering the given characteristic point to the control point inputting section in place of the input point.