JP2616427B2 - String display device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character string display device for displaying a character string composed of a plurality of characters on a display screen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When displaying a character string consisting of a plurality of characters on a display screen, conventionally, each time a character is input, the input character is actually displayed at a desired position on the display screen.
Therefore, when a plurality of input characters are input on the display screen, the plurality of input characters may not fit in a desired area on the display screen.

[0003]

As a result, if the character arrangement direction, the character rotation direction, the character size, and the like of the character string input and displayed as described above are not the desired ones, those character strings are not displayed. After changing the designated state, the character tag has to be re-entered, which requires a complicated operation. An object of the present invention is to specify a display occupied area of a character string on a display screen based on attributes such as a character string arrangement direction and a character size and to display the area as a character string frame image, and after displaying the character string frame image. Therefore, by simply changing the character size attribute among the above attributes, the area size of the display occupied area can be changed immediately without re-inputting a character string in accordance with the attribute change. .

[0004]

The means of the present invention are as follows. A character string storage unit for storing a character string composed of a plurality of characters arbitrarily input, an attribute storage unit for storing attribute information such as an attribute of the character string in an arrangement direction and an attribute of a character size of each character; Position specifying means for specifying the reference position of the display occupied area on the display screen of the character string, and specifying the position, area direction, and area size of the display occupied area of the character string on the display screen by the position specifying means The character string frame specified based on the specified reference position and the attributes of the arrangement direction and the character size stored in the attribute storage means, and the position, the direction of the area, and the shape of the specified area having the specified area size. A character string frame image displaying means for generating and displaying an image, and changing the character size attribute in the attribute storage means after displaying the character string frame image by the character string frame image displaying means. Is designated, the attribute of the character size in the attribute storage means is changed, and the area size of the display occupied area of the character string is changed according to the change in the attribute to change the shape of the character string frame image. Change control means for changing and displaying, and the font of each character of the character string stored in the character string storage means along the display occupied area before the attribute change or the display occupied area after the attribute change by the change control means. And character string display means for displaying the size in accordance with the character size attribute stored in the attribute storage means at that time and in the character arrangement direction stored in the attribute storage means.

[0005]

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. An area of a character string composed of a plurality of characters arbitrarily input is specified based on the position of the display occupied area of the character string on the display screen, the attribute in the character string array direction, and the attribute of the character size, A character string frame image is generated and displayed according to the shape of the area whose position, area direction, and area size are specified. After displaying this character string frame image,
When the change of the attribute of the character size is designated, the area size of the display occupied area of the character string is changed according to the change of the attribute, and the shape of the character string frame image is changed and displayed. For each character of the above character string, the font of each character has a size according to the character size attribute at that time along the display occupied area before or after the attribute change, and a character string array based on the attribute. They are arranged in the direction.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of this embodiment. In FIG.
Reference numeral 1 denotes an input unit for the purpose of this embodiment, a function of inputting a character string (using a character key or the like), a function of inputting an attribute of a character string (the attribute will be described in detail later), and a function of inputting a character string. A function for designating a reference position (for example, with a cursor, a mouse, or the like) and a function for requesting layout or other execution (with a return key, etc.) are provided.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a control unit for the entire apparatus, which manages input character strings, attributes, positions, and the like via the RAM 3, and sets necessary areas for character string occupation and moves the positions. The information is passed to the character string frame drawing unit 4 and the drawing unit 4 is started. If there is a final layout request, the character string is converted into a Kana-Kanji font via the Kana-Kanji conversion unit 5 according to the attribute. And the resulting imaged character string is replaced with the current character string position (cursor position).
Is set on the frame memory 6 using.

After the contents of the frame memory 6 have been updated by the control section 2 and the character string frame drawing section 4, they are read out to the display device 7 and displayed on the screen. In the present embodiment, it is possible to instruct the user to change the display position or attribute of the character string via the input unit 1 while the character string is displayed on the graphic screen of the display device 7. The drawing unit 4 newly creates a frame of a character string to be imaged in accordance with the attribute related to the change, or moves the position of the frame of the character string and writes it on the frame memory 6.

FIG. 2 shows the character string attribute, which will be described. Although the attributes that can be changed depend on the model, in the present embodiment, four types of attributes such as character size, character angle, character string direction, and character pitch can be changed. 16 types from 1x to 16x, 4 angles of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, 270 °,
The direction of the character string can be selected from two types, horizontal and vertical. The direction of the string is "horizontal" when the horizontal direction of the character matches the length direction of the string,
“Vertical” is a mode in which the vertical direction of a character matches the length direction of a character string.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. First, a figure, here a triangle, is drawn as shown in FIG. This is performed, for example, by designating three pairs of vectors (start point and end point) via the input unit 1 and requesting execution. As a result, the display device 7
A triangle is displayed on the screen (graphic area). Here, the attribute is specified. For example, the size is three times,
The angle is 0 °, the direction is horizontal, and the pitch is zero.

Next, a character string, here, "triangle" is input. The “triangle” is displayed in the character string creation area (monitor area) on the screen of the display device (FIG. 3 (2)). The character string here is merely for confirmation, and is displayed with a size of 1, an angle of 0, a horizontal direction, and a pitch of zero, regardless of the attributes set earlier. Next, when the return key is pressed to indicate the end of the character string, a character string frame corresponding to the designated attribute is automatically created and displayed based on the position of the graphic cursor as shown in FIG. Thereafter, by moving the position of the graphic cursor on the screen with the cursor keys, the character string frame moves following the graphic cursor (FIGS. 3 (4) and (7)).

When the return key is pressed when the layout of the character string frame with respect to the triangular figure reaches the desired relationship, the character string is converted into a font according to the attribute and displayed (FIGS. 3 (5) and (8)). Further, the character string attribute can be changed while the character string frame is displayed in the figure.
An example of the display after the change is shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows a flow of creating and changing a character string frame. This is for executing the display shown in FIGS. 3 (3), (4), (6) and (7). This is executed by the control unit 2 and the character string frame drawing unit 4.

In the case of initial setting of the character string frame, the number of characters of the input character string is calculated in response to a return key as a signal for ending the character string (S1), and thereafter, the number of characters as the calculation result is given. The size of the character string frame is calculated using the attributes, ie, character size, character pitch, character angle, and character string direction (S2). For example, a character string frame is defined by obtaining four vectors in the xy coordinate system.

Next, four vectors describing the character string frame are moved in parallel at the given graphic cursor position (S3). Finally, the control unit 2 determines the 4
Are passed to the character string frame drawing unit 4 (S4). On the other hand, the character string frame drawing unit 4 scan-converts each of the given four vectors and draws a character string frame on the frame memory 6. This is performed, for example, by finding the respective point storage positions constituting the character string frame on the frame memory 6, reading them out from the frame memory 6, inverting them, and returning them to the frame memory 6. In this case, the amount of change in the content on the frame memory 6 is very small, and processing can be performed very quickly.

If there is an instruction to change the attribute during the display, the attribute is read and then the character frame description processing shown in S2 is started. If a change in the cursor position is input during the display, the process enters the character frame shift process shown in S3. The drawing process by the character string frame drawing unit 4 in response to such attribute change or cursor position change is preceded by a previous character string frame erasing process. That is, the character string frame drawing unit 4 erases the previous character frame from the frame memory 6 before drawing a new character frame. This can be performed by scan-converting the four vectors describing the previous character frame and inverting the contents of the obtained point storage positions again to restore the original contents.

FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the character frame and the graphic cursor for each attribute. As can be seen from this figure, in the present embodiment, there are eight combinations depending on the angle of the character and the direction of the character string. According to each combination, the character string frame is set in combination with the graphic cursor in a different manner, Is displayed. In this example, the lower left coordinates of the first character of the character string are set at the origin of the character string, that is, the coordinates of the graphic cursor. For example, a frame of a character string having an attribute of zero angle and horizontal direction is drawn in the horizontal direction, and the origin at the lower left thereof matches the graphic cursor position (see also FIG. 3 (3)).

In the above embodiment, in addition to defining the character string frame, the character string frame is scan-converted, set in the frame memory 6, and displayed through the display device 7. The display or the like can be changed using the character string subjected to the font conversion. This can be performed, for example, as follows. First, an in-frame image in which characters subjected to font conversion are arranged in a character string frame is prepared. Next, the frame memory 6
Thus, the graphic portion in the character string frame is saved in another memory. Finally, the in-frame image is transferred into the cut-out character string frame on the frame memory 6. When the attribute or the position is changed, the above-described processing is preceded by the previous in-frame image erasing processing. That is, the inside of the previous character string frame on the frame memory 6 is cleared, and the partial image of the saved graphic is returned to the cleared area. Also in this modification, the concept of the character string frame or the occupied area of the character string exists, but it is simply invisible to the operator. In other words, it takes into account the imaged character string that is "managed" by an invisible frame.

[0018]

According to the present invention, after a character string is input, the character string on the display screen is displayed on the basis of the attribute of the character string in the character array direction and the attribute of the character size on the display screen. By specifying the area direction and the area size of the display occupied area, a character string frame image of the display occupied area can be generated and displayed. By simply changing the attribute of the character size of the above, the change of the area size of the display occupied area and the change of the shape of the character string frame image accompanying the change of the area size in accordance with the change of the attribute are described as a character string. This can be done immediately without re-input and without changing the character string arrangement direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a character string attribute.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a procedure of layout of a character string.

FIG. 4 is a diagram exemplifying the arrangement of character string frames on an image for each attribute;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a main part of the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input part 2 Control part 3 RAM 4 Character string frame drawing part 6 Frame memory 7 Display device

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sentence consisting of a plurality of arbitrarily input characters.
Character string storage means for storing character strings ; attributes of the character strings in the array direction; and attributes of the character size of each character.
Attribute storage means for storing attribute information such as gender, and a reference position of a display occupied area on the display screen of the character string.
Position designation means for designating the position, and the position of the display occupied area of the character string on the display screen.
The position, area direction, and area size are specified by the position specifying means.
The determined reference position and the arrangement stored in the attribute storage means.
Identify based on column direction and character size attributes
The shape of the area with the specified position, area direction, and area size
String frame to generate and display a character string image according to
Image display means, and a character string frame image by the character string frame image display means
After the display of the character size of the attribute storage means
When the attribute change is instructed, the attribute storage means
Change the font size attribute and change the attribute
Change the area size of the display occupied area of the above character string according to
To change and display the shape of the character string frame image
Control means and a display occupied area before attribute change by the change control means.
Or along the display occupied area after the attribute change
The font of each character in the character string stored in
The attribute of the character size stored in the attribute storage means at the time
And stored in the attribute storage means.
A character string display device, comprising: character string display means for displaying an arrangement in the character arrangement direction .