JP2647510B2 - Character processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character processing device, for example, to a character processing device that generates a character pattern based on a character code.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to output a character pattern having the same character code but a different character typeface, this type of apparatus needs to include different pattern information, that is, contour point information. It was.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above conventional example, it is necessary to have contour point information corresponding to the character code for each typeface. For this reason, the amount of data for forming a typeface increases, and there is a disadvantage that a large amount of memory is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described drawbacks of the conventional example, and has as its object to reduce the data amount,
An object of the present invention is to provide a character processing device capable of generating a plurality of fonts from one font.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, a character processing device according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, storage means for storing a plurality of coordinate points corresponding to one closed contour and storing a start point and an end point for generating a pattern having a shape in which the plurality of closed contours are connected; When a typeface is designated, a character pattern is generated based on a closed contour formed according to a plurality of coordinate points stored in the storage means, and when a second typeface is designated, the character pattern is generated in the storage means. It is generated based on a closed contour formed according to a plurality of stored coordinate points, and a connection point formed by connecting a start point of the first closed contour and an end point of the second closed contour. Generating means for generating a character pattern including a pattern having a shape in which the first closed contour and the second closed contour are connected to each other.

The character processing method according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is, character processing using storage means for storing a plurality of coordinate points corresponding to one closed contour and storing a start point and an end point for generating a pattern having a shape in which the plurality of closed contours are connected. A method for generating a basic character pattern based on a closed contour formed according to a plurality of coordinate points stored in the storage means, when a first typeface is designated; When a typeface is designated, a closed contour formed according to a plurality of coordinate points stored in the storage means is connected to a start point of the first closed contour and an end point of the second closed contour. And a second generation step of generating a character pattern including a pattern having a shape in which the first closed contour and the second closed contour generated based on the formed connection line are connected.

[Operation] According to this configuration, the storage unit stores the coordinate points corresponding to the closed contour of the copy, and the start point and the end point for generating a pattern in which a plurality of closed contours are connected. The generating means generates a basic character pattern based on a plurality of coordinate points when a first typeface is designated, and a plurality of closed contours when a second typeface is designated. A character pattern including a pattern of a shape connected between the character and the end point is generated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a character processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment receives a character code and a control command (for example, a font command) from an external device 20 such as a host computer, and sends the character pattern data of the font corresponding to the font command to a printer 30. Is output. The printer 30 prints a character image on storage paper based on the input character pattern data. In the character processing device 1,
Reference numeral 2 denotes an input buffer for storing character codes, control commands, and the like sent from the external device 20. Reference numeral 3 denotes a central processing unit (CPU) for controlling the entire device 1;
Control program, error processing program,
It operates according to a program shown in FIG. The CPU 3 uses the RAM 5 as a work area and a temporary save area for error processing. Reference numeral 6 denotes a font memory that stores character information for generating a character pattern according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 7 denotes a pattern formed by a font pattern or the like generated by the font memory 6.
Reference numeral 8 denotes an image buffer for storing image data for a page. Reference numeral 8 denotes a printer interface for controlling transmission of the image data stored in the image buffer 7 to the printer 30.

Next, a method of storing character information according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a character pattern of the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method of storing character information corresponding to the character pattern shown in FIG. 2, and FIGS. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another typeface generated based on the basic typeface shown in the figure.

FIG. 2 shows the basic character pattern of "kawa", that is, the outline of the picture constituting the basic typeface. 201-208
Indicates the outline of each image in the writing order. Each of the contour lines 201 to 208 is formed by a plurality of contour points (coordinate points), that is, pattern extraction points. In FIG.
As character information, the number of strokes and the pattern extraction point for each stroke are stored so as to correspond to the character code. Further, in the present embodiment, as character information, “2” indicates that the pattern is continuous with the pattern of the preceding image (not necessarily the previous image), “1” indicates that the pattern is not continuous, and “0” indicates that the pattern is not patterned. The flag "" is stored for each image, and the start point and the end point when the pattern is connected to the pattern of the preceding or succeeding image (not necessarily the image located at the preceding stage in the writing order) are also stored. The start point and the end point are stored at two points in order to make the outline thicker. As shown in FIG. 3, in the case of the character "kawa", the code is "324F", the number of strokes is "8", and the start point, the end point, and the pattern extraction point are stored from 1 to 8 strokes, respectively. . In this embodiment, one character is formed in a matrix of 100 × 100 dots.

When a character pattern is generated based on the above character information, in this embodiment, two pieces of information are received from the external device 20. One is a character code, and the other is a typeface instruction for determining the typeface of the character corresponding to the character code. The typeface commands include Gothic, Mincho, brush, and olators. The method of designating these typefaces is a well-known technique on the external device 20 side, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a character pattern obtained by connecting each image from the basic typeface (FIG. 2). This typeface of the character pattern is an image when actually output to the printer 30, and is formed based on the flag information of the character information shown in FIG. Therefore, the part 401 (FIG. 4) of the character "Kawa" is represented by the outlines 201, 202, 2
03 (Fig. 2). Further, at the “mouth” portion 402 (FIG. 4) beside the character “Kawa”, the flag of the character information of the outline 208 (FIG. 2) is set to “2”, but the flag is set to “0”. "" May be set so as to connect each end point of the outlines 206 and 207.

FIG. 5 shows a contour line 202 of the second stroke (FIG. 2).
Are shown when the pattern is not patterned. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, a pattern is formed on the side 502 of the character "kawa" in the same manner as in FIG. The bias 501 of the character "Kawa" sets the flag of the second stroke to "0" and sets the contour 201 of the first stroke (FIG. 2) and the contour 203 of the third stroke 203 (FIG. 2).
Are connected.

 Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the character generation processing of the CPU 3.

First, the program is started when data is transmitted from the external device 20 and a character code is detected. Then, when the character code and its typeface command are input from the external device 20, the data is stored in the input buffer 2 (step S1). Then, character information corresponding to the input character code is searched in the font memory 6 (step S2). When character information corresponding to the input character code is detected in this way, the total number of strokes of the character is set in the parameter N (step S3), and the initial value of the number of strokes in pattern development is set in the parameter M. "1" is set (step S4). Then, the pattern extraction point and the flag are read out to the RAM 5 as the character information of the M-th image (step S5), and it is determined whether or not the flag needs to be changed from the font control command input in step S1.
(Step S6). In step S6, as an example, in the character pattern shown in FIG. 5, among the contour lines 201, 202, and 203 that form the bias 501, the contour line 202 and the flag information are changed from "2" to "0". As described above, when there is a flag change, the flag information is rewritten in the RAM 5 based on the typeface instruction (step S7).

Next, the state of the flag is checked, and a patterning process or the like is performed according to the content. First, when the flag is "0", the process proceeds to the next process without patterning like the contour line 202 of the character pattern in FIG. When the flag is “1”, the outline of the M-th image currently being processed is formed by the pattern outline points of the M-th image, and the inside of the closed area formed by the outline is also defined. It is filled (step S9). Alternatively, when the flag is “2”, the contour line is connected by connecting the end point (,) of the pattern by the previous contour line and the start point (,) of the M-th image currently being processed. The contour lines are integrated. In this manner, the inside of the closed area formed by the contour is also filled in the integrated contour in the same manner as in step S9 (step S10).

Then, when the processing of the M-th image is completed, "1" is added to the parameter M to increase the number of developed images by one (step S11). Thereafter, until the parameter M exceeds the parameter N, the process returns to step S5, and the process of generating a pattern for one character is repeated for each stroke (step S12).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the connection point between the contour lines forming the image is stored by storing the connection point, that is, the start point and the end point, for each image as character information. , And a plurality of fonts can be generated from one font, and of course, the memory capacity for storing patterns of the fonts can be saved.

In the above-described embodiment, the start point and the end point are simply connected to connect each image. However, the present invention is not limited to this. By obtaining the center position and the position of the center of gravity, a new outline to be connected can be obtained, and thereby a more uniform character pattern can be generated.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, by adding a means for changing the writing order, a unique character can be generated. In this case, the writing order may be rewritten by reading character information from the font memory 6 to the RAM 5 once.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to generate a basic character pattern based on a plurality of closed contours and a character pattern including a pattern of a shape connecting the plurality of closed contours. . Further, the memory capacity for storing character patterns of a plurality of typefaces can be saved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a character pattern of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is character information corresponding to the character pattern shown in FIG. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing other typefaces generated based on the basic typeface shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 explains the operation of the character generation processing of CPU3. It is a flowchart. In the figure, 1 ... a character processing device, 2 ... an input buffer, 3 ...
... CPU, 4 ... ROM, 5 ... RAM, 6 ... font memory, 7 ... image buffer, 8 ... print interface, 20 ... external device, 30 ... printer, 201-208 ...
... contour line, 401, 501 ... bias, 402, 502 ... side.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A storage means for storing a plurality of coordinate points corresponding to one closed contour and storing a start point and an end point for generating a pattern having a shape in which the plurality of closed contours are connected, When the first typeface is designated, a character pattern is generated based on a closed contour formed according to a plurality of coordinate points stored in the storage means, and when the second typeface is designated, Based on a closed contour formed according to a plurality of coordinate points stored in the storage means, and a connection point formed by connecting a start point of the first closed contour and an end point of the second closed contour. The first closed contour to be generated and the second
Generating means for generating a character pattern including a pattern having a shape connected to the closed contour of the character processing device. 2. The character processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising printing means for performing printing based on the character pattern generated by said generating means. 3. A storage means for storing a plurality of coordinate points corresponding to one closed contour and storing a start point and an end point for generating a pattern having a shape in which the plurality of closed contours are connected. Generating a basic character pattern based on a closed contour formed in accordance with a plurality of coordinate points stored in the storage means when the first typeface is designated; When a second typeface is designated, a closed contour formed according to a plurality of coordinate points stored in the storage means;
The first closed contour and the second closed contour generated based on a connection line formed by connecting a start point of the first closed contour and an end point of the second closed contour are connected. And a second generation step of generating a character pattern including a pattern having a bent shape.