Patent EP0528631A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0528631A2
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EP
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Electronic image generation
Assignee: Xerox Corp
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Filing: 1992-08-12
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-08-12
Abstract
Abstract A graphics editor generates an appearance construction graph (ACG) which represents an image formation process as a directed acyclic graph (DAG). The ACG includes nodes representing image fragments (sources), image transformation operations (transforms), and outputs (viewable images - sinks) which can be displayed, for example, in a window of a display screen, and manipulated to construct and edit complex images. Accordingly, the displayed ACG is a user interface that permits complex graphics images to be constructed in a straightforward manner, and thus easily understood and manipulated (edited) by an operator. The nodes in the ACG are selectively interconnected by links (edges) therebetween. The complex image represented by the ACG can be constructed and displayed in a viewer window on the display screen by "running" the ACG. The graphics editor "runs" the ACG by performing operations on image fragments as defined by the interconnected nodes of the ACG.
Inventors
- 👤 Daniel Carl Brotsky
- 👤 Daniel Eli Rabin
- 👤 David Myron Levy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 14:30
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T11/00; G06T11/60; G06F; G06F8/00; G06F8/30; G06F8/34; G06T15/00; G06T15/50; G06T15/503; G06T2200/00; G06T2200/24; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S715/00; Y10S715/961; Y10S715/965; Y10S715/966; Y10S715/967
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
120 words
An electronic image generator, comprising: means for generating at least one output image capable of being displayed, the output image being generated as a result of performing no, one or some transformation operations on one or more source images; means for constructing and displaying a graphical flow diagram of an image formation process used to generate the output image, the graphical flow diagram including a plurality of interconnected nodes which represent the source images, any transformation operations, and the output image; and means for controlling the graphical display constructing means to form and modify said graphical flow diagram, wherein the output image generation is responsive to the said graphical flow diagram so as to generate the or each output image.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
14 words
The electronic image generator of claim 1, wherein the graphical flow diagram is acyclic.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
70 words
The electronic image generator of claim 1 or 2, wherein the graphical flow diagram corresponds to an image formation process operating on plural source images in which each source image may be subjected to transformation operations, in which the output of transformation operations may be themselves subjected to transformation operations, and in which both source images and the outputs of transformation operations may be selectively used as the output images.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The electronic image generator of claim 3, wherein output images result directly or indirectly from all applications of transformation operations.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The electronic image generator of any preceding claim, wherein the control means is responsive to operator input commands.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The electronic image generator of any preceeding claim, wherein the control means causes the means for generating a constructed image to display the constructed image concurrently with the displayed graphical flow diagram.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
70 words
The electronic image generator of any preceding claim, wherein the graphical flow diagram has nodes which are generated and displayed in a vertically-ordered manner, such that the nodes representing transformation operations appear above the nodes representing source images or other transformation operations to which they are being applied, and the nodes representing output images appear above the nodes representing source images or the transformation operations to which they are connected.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The electronic image generator of any preceeding claim, wherein the control means permits the selection of source images and transformation operations from a library.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The electronic image generator of claim 8, further comprising means for defining and entering additional source images and transformation operations into the library.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
44 words
The electronic image generator of any preceding claim, further comprising means for translating image data defining the source images or outputs of transformation operations into different graphical domains to permit the image data to be processed by transformation operations operating in different graphical domains.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The electronic image generator of claim 10, wherein the means for translating permits translation of image data into a graphical domain suitable for display.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The electronic image generator of claim 10 or 11, wherein the different graphical domains include at least two-dimensional rasters and two-dimensional vectors.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
65 words
The electronic image generator of claim 12, wherein the transformation operations selectively operate in a single graphical domain or across different graphical domains so that each transformation operation has input protocols and output protocols, and wherein the control means controls the means for constructing and displaying a graphical flow diagram so that the graphical flow diagram is constructed according to the input and output protocols.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
71 words
The electronic image generator of any preceding claim, wherein the means for generating one or more output images can use source images and the results of performing transformation operations on source images as inputs to a plurality of further transformation operations, the means for constructing a graphical flow diagram displaying such plural input use by attaching the node associated with the source images and the results to the further transformation operations.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
The electronic image generator of any preceding claim, further comprising a display screen, wherein the output images and the graphical flow diagram of an image formation sequence used to produce the output images are generated on the display screen.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
107 words
A method of generating a graphical representation of an image formation process, comprising: selecting at least one image source used as a component of one or more final output images; selecting no, one or more transformation operations to be performed on the image sources to produce, at least indirectly, the final output images; and generating a graphical flow diagram including display icons representing all selected image sources, all selected image transformation operations, all selected final output images, and interconnections between the image sources, the image transformation operations, and the final output images which represent the image formation sequence which is performed to produce the final output images.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
191 words
A method of constructing a graphics image represented by an output image display icon from one or more image sources represented by image source display icons and no, one or more transformation operations represented by transformation operation display icons, each transformation operation capable of being performed on at least one of the image sources, the method comprising: selecting at least one of the image sources as a component of a final output image; optionally selecting a transformation operation to be performed on the image source to produce, at least indirectly, the final output image; generating a graphical flow diagram of an image formation sequence required to produce the final output image by generating on a display screen the display icons associated with the selected image sources, the selected transformation operations, the final output image, and interconnections between the image source display icons, the transformation operation display icons, and the output image display icon which represent the image formation sequence which is performed to produce the final output image, and generating the final output image by executing the selected transformation operations on the selected image sources according to the graphical flow diagram.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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