Abstract: An analog circuit controller having fewer signal paths and elements is disclosed herein. A microcomputer has a first D/A converter for generating control voltages variable into a plurality of levels in a time-divided manner and a second D/A converter for generating switching signals of various levels each indicative of the type of a control voltage. The analog circuit controller receives the outputs of the first and second D/A converters and responds to the output of the second D/A converter to select the necessary circuit to be controlled to which the control voltage is to be applied. As a result, a plurality of circuits to be controlled can be controlled through only two signal lines.

Abstract: A plurality of linework data including run length data are combined at a high speed and without reconverting run-length data to pixel image data. During the combining operation based on linework data stored in a linework operation memory 50, subsequent linework data is supplemented from an external storage unit 64 to an input linework memory 48. When one of the plurality of linework data in the linework operation memory is used up, the supplement of linework data is transferred from the input linework memory to the linework operation memory, both of which are random access memories. In the combining process of run-length data, unit-run data are respectively extracted from each linework data according to the value of a current position pointer representing an end point of the run which has already been combined. Combined unit-run data is produced by comparing the working data for the plurality of linework data.

Abstract: An image layout processing method for simulating on a display screen an arrangement of a plurality of image objects to be transferred to a prepress mechanical. An image memory plane is divided into a ground area, a key object area, and a display work area. A plurality of objects other than a key object fetched from an external storage are written as priority data to the ground area in an order of priority for superposition of the objects. Data of a selected key object are written to the key object area. The data in the ground area are unconditionally copied to the display work area, while the data in the key object area are copied to a designated position in the display work area with a condition based on a designated priority. Respective pixel data successively read from the display work area are converted by a lookup table into color data to be displayed on a cathode ray tube (CRT) whereby the key object is presented as inserted between desired objects.

Abstract: An image window (N) is intermittently moved along the contour (CT) of a subject image (I). At a respective paused position of the image window, a spacial differential of the density level is calculated for each pixel in the image window. A differential histogram is produced from the respective differentials, and a threshold level (Eth) is determined from the differential histogram and a designated percentile ratio. A contour image is then obtained by discriminating the respective differentials with the threshold level.

Abstract: Cutout mask data is easily obtained while setting small unit areas in an original image and displaying them in order on a display unit. Unit areas including vertexes of an outline of a cutout mask are first designated. Unit area images within the unit areas are simultaneously displayed on a display unit. An operator sequentially designates positions of the vertexes while watching the unit area images arrayed in order of the designation. Cutout mask data are formed on the basis of the positions of the vertexes.