Digital Ink Stroke Surface Information Generation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current content creation applications lack the ability to effectively generate and apply diverse ink effects for digital ink strokes, limiting user interaction and creativity in 'inking' functionalities.

Innovation Solution

A digital ink system transforms ink stroke information into surface information, allowing for the application of graphic effects such as gradients and three-dimensional effects by calculating edge distance values, enabling conventional and unconventional graphics techniques to be applied to digital ink strokes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional graphics techniques are applied directly to ink strokes, then the implementation is simple, but the ink effects are limited and lack diversity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveink effects diversityVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the ink stroke processing into distinct components: outline identification, surface information generation, and gradient calculation. By dividing the complex task of applying diverse ink effects into manageable segments, the system enables versatile ink effects while maintaining implementation feasibility through modular processing steps.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces surface information as an intermediate dimensional representation between the original ink stroke and the final visual effect. This additional dimension allows conventional 2D graphics techniques to operate on enriched data structures, enabling diverse ink effects without requiring entirely new processing methodologies.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Manufacturing precision

If detailed surface information is calculated for each point in the ink stroke, then the visual representation quality improves, but the computational time and resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisual representation qualityVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary calculations of surface information and gradient values during the ink stroke creation process itself, rather than computing them in real-time during rendering. This preliminary action ensures high visual quality while reducing processing time during actual ink display, as the computationally intensive calculations are completed in advance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10438385B2Generating ink effects for a digital ink stroke
Publication Date: 2019.10.08 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • US10438385B2 patent drawing
  • US10438385B2 patent drawing
  • US10438385B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Techniques and systems for generating ink effects for an ink stroke are described. In particular, ink gradients for digital ink strokes are provided. The described techniques allow for inking input to be transformed into a structure in which conventional and unconventional graphics techniques can be applied. A digital ink system can receive an ink stroke having ink stroke information. The outline of the ink stroke can be identified, and the ink stroke information can be transformed into surface information within the outline of the ink stroke. A graphic effect can be applied to the ink stroke using the surface information.