Character Stroke Alignment to Sampling Grid via Directed Acyclic Graph

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for automatic hinting in complex scripts like Chinese and Japanese characters are inadequate, leading to labor-intensive manual hinting and inefficiencies in rendering quality, especially at small screen sizes and for animated type.

Innovation Solution

A method that automatically aligns character strokes to a sampling grid by determining hinted coordinates through a directed acyclic graph, resolving collisions, and fitting segments to an integer or half-integer grid, reducing the need for manual hints and improving rendering quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If manual hinting is used to align character strokes to sampling grid, then rendering quality is improved, but labor cost and time consumption increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverendering qualityVSAvoidlabor cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs automatic hinting where the computer itself aligns character strokes to the sampling grid using algorithms that analyze stroke geometry and automatically determine alignment parameters, eliminating the need for manual intervention while maintaining rendering quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system modifies rendering parameters automatically by adjusting stroke width, position, and alignment based on mathematical calculations of the character geometry relative to the sampling grid, transforming manual parameter setting into automated parameter optimization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If manual hinting is used for complex CJK character sets, then rendering quality is improved, but development time extends to years

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverendering qualityVSAvoiddevelopment time

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The automatic hinting system processes complex CJK characters independently using geometric analysis algorithms that evaluate stroke patterns and automatically generate alignment rules, enabling rapid processing of thousands of glyphs without manual intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system decomposes complex CJK characters into individual stroke segments and processes each segment separately through geometric analysis, allowing parallel processing and significantly reducing the time required to hint entire character sets

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Productivity

If current automatic hinting methods are used, then labor cost is reduced, but rendering quality is inadequate for complex scripts like Chinese and Japanese

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelabor efficiencyVSAvoidrendering quality

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts rendering parameters including stroke width, position, and alignment based on mathematical optimization of the character geometry relative to the sampling grid, achieving high rendering quality through automated parameter calculation rather than fixed rules

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces manual mechanical hinting processes with computational algorithms that automatically analyze character geometry and calculate optimal alignment parameters, substituting human expertise with mathematical optimization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

4Manufacturing precision

If hints are stored in font files for manual hinting, then rendering quality is maintained, but font size increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverendering qualityVSAvoidfont file size

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system generates hinting parameters dynamically during rendering based on the character geometry and sampling grid configuration, eliminating the need to store pre-computed hint data in the font file and thereby reducing font file size

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-calculates alignment parameters during the rendering process based on real-time analysis of character geometry and grid position, replacing the need for stored hint data while maintaining rendering quality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2211333B1Method for aligning character to sampling grid of image

Publication Date: 2013.03.27 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP

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AI summary

A method aligns a character to a sampling grid of an image. An original uniform width path that traces a skeleton of the character is specified by input pen commands having original coordinates. The width of the original path is rounded to a nearest integer to produce a hinted width. The original path is traversed using the input pen commands to identify segments of the path. The segments are stored in an array. Hinted coordinates are determined for each segment in the array. The array is sorted, and a directed acyclic graph (DAG) is constructed. Collisions between the segments are resolved using the sorted array, the DAG, and the width of the hinted path. The segments are fitted to the sampling grid, and the result is stored in output pen commands, thereby aligning the skeleton of the character to the sampling grid.