JP3317600B2 - Image forming 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 printing and display function capable of thickening characters in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, and a display apparatus such as a display. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, or a display apparatus such as a display, when a character such as a character or code to be formed or displayed is to be fattened ( To increase the width)
For example, when it is desired to make N dots thicker in the horizontal direction, a method of selecting a designated character and forming the characters N times while shifting them by one dot in the horizontal direction (adding N dots) is adopted.
Further, when it is desired to make the M dots thicker in the vertical direction, a method of selecting a font of the designated character and forming the font M times by shifting one dot at a time in the vertical direction is adopted.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above conventional method is
Regardless of whether the character is to be fattened horizontally or vertically, it is a method of overlapping and forming it while shifting the forming position in the direction to make the font of the specified character fatter. The printing and display results had to be larger than the font of the specified character by the amount of the fatness. Therefore, when shaded, the outlines of the characters protrude from the net, or the fat characters and the adjacent characters overlap, or the margin between the characters is reduced, and the printing and display results are unsightly. Has occurred.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to select fonts smaller than the font of a designated character by the amount to be made thicker in the horizontal and vertical directions, and to form them by shifting them in the direction to make them thicker. If the font of the character is to be fattened in the horizontal direction, it is the same as the font width of the specified character.If the font of the character is to be fattened in the vertical direction, it is the same as the height of the font of the designated character. If you want to make the font of the character thicker, you can make the width and height of the font of the specified character the same, print the obtained character,
The display result will be the same size as the font of the specified character, and it will not protrude from the screen when shaded, without overlapping the fattened character with the next character and reducing the margin between characters Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of always obtaining beautiful and easy-to-see printing and display results.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses a font to form characters,
In an image forming apparatus having a function of increasing the font of a character to be formed, a font storage unit for storing and storing a preset font or a newly created font is formed from the font storage unit. A font selecting means for selecting a font suitable for the character; and a character forming means for setting a position of the character to be formed and forming the character at the set position.
In the case where each part of the character is fattened by the amount of the dot, the font selection means selects a font whose total horizontal width is smaller than the designated character by N dots, and the character formation means determines the position by one dot in the horizontal direction from the designated start position. A feature is to form dots N times while shifting.

Further, in an image forming apparatus having a function of using a font to form a character and increasing the font of the character to be formed, a predetermined font or
A font storage unit for storing and storing the newly created font, a font selection unit for selecting a font suitable for a character to be formed from the font storage unit, and setting and setting the position of the character to be formed. When a character forming means for forming a character at a position is provided, and each part of the character is thickened by M dots in the vertical direction as compared with the designated character, the font selecting means makes the vertical size larger than the designated character by M. A font having a smaller dot size is selected, and the character forming means forms dots M times while shifting the position by one dot in the vertical direction from the designated start position.

In an image forming apparatus having a function of using a font to form a character and increasing the font of the character to be formed, a font for storing and storing a preset font or a newly created font Storage means; font selection means for selecting a font suitable for the character to be formed from the font storage means; and character forming means for setting the position of the character to be formed and forming the character at the set position. In the case where each part of the character is thickened by n dots in the horizontal direction and m dots in the vertical direction as compared with the designated character, the font selection means sets the horizontal size to n dots and the vertical size to the designated character. Is selected by selecting a font whose size is m dots smaller, and shifting the character by one dot from the designated start position by n dots in the horizontal direction.
And dots are formed m times in the vertical direction, a total of n × m times.

[0008]

The image forming apparatus constructed as described above has a font storage means for storing and storing a preset font or a newly created font, and a font for selecting a font suitable for a character to be formed. Since the character selecting means and the character forming means for setting the position of the character to be formed and forming the character at the set position are provided, the font selecting means has a size of N dots (horizontal) compared to the designated character. N ≧ 0) A small font can be selected and formed by increasing the number of dots by N while shifting one dot at a time in the horizontal direction by the character forming means. You can increase the font of the characters. Therefore, by changing the value of N, it is possible to freely change the size of thickening in the horizontal direction, which is the same as the font width of the designated character.

The font selecting means selects a font whose size in the vertical direction is smaller than the designated character by M dots (M ≧ 0), and shifts by one dot in the vertical direction by M characters. Since the number of dots can be increased, the font of the character can be thickened while maintaining the same height as the font of the designated character. Therefore, by changing the value of M, it is possible to freely change the size of thickening in the vertical direction at the same height as the font of the designated character.

The font selecting means selects a font smaller by n dots in the horizontal direction and m dots (n ≧ 0, m ≧ 0) in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction by the character forming means. It is possible to increase the number of dots by n times in the horizontal direction and m times in the vertical direction while shifting by one dot every dot, so that the width and height of the font of the designated character are kept the same. You can thicken the font of the characters while doing so. Therefore, n or m
By changing the value of, the font width and height of the designated character are the same, and the size of thickening in the horizontal and vertical directions can be freely changed.

[0011]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration when a printer is taken as an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. A host device such as a computer transmits designated characters of w dots in the horizontal direction and h dots in the vertical direction to N dots horizontally. When a command is received to request that the print be made thicker in the direction, the command is fetched through an external connection means 8 connected to an external device and sent to a control means 9 having a CPU or the like. The control means 9 sends the fetched data to the font selecting means 2 and the character forming means 3 separately into information on the type and size of the character to be printed and information on the printing position. The font selecting means 2 determines that the total width in the horizontal direction is (w
-N) The font storage unit 1 searches for a dot whose overall height in the vertical direction is h dot. Where N is N ≧
It is an integer of 0. In other words, one having a horizontal width equal to or smaller than w dots is searched for. If the desired character is not found in the font storage unit 1, the information is fed back to the control unit 9 to create a new optimum character, and the character is stored in the font storage unit 1 and stored. Thereafter, when the font selecting means 2 has finished selecting the optimum character, the character forming means 3 performs N times of overprinting while shifting one dot at a time from the print designation start position in the horizontal direction, and makes the N dots thicker in the horizontal direction ( Get the desired character (increased horizontal width).

FIGS. 2A and 2B respectively show a designated character,
This is an example showing characters formed by thickening the N dots in the horizontal direction as described above. FIG. 2A shows a designated character having w dots in the horizontal direction and h dots in the vertical direction. In the figure, the character selected by the font selecting means 2 is designated in the horizontal direction (w-dot).
N) dots and h dots in the vertical direction (when a character having a total width in the horizontal direction smaller by N dots is selected) are not shown. However, the overprinting is performed N times while shifting the position by one dot in the horizontal direction. Since the size in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in FIG. 2B is the same as the designated character of the w dot and the h dot, it can be understood that the font selecting means 2 has been correctly selected.

In FIG. 2 (B), the portion indicated by N indicates the position of N while shifting the position by one dot in the horizontal direction.
This is a place where you can clearly see the repeated striking.
In this way, it is possible to thicken the font of the character by N dots in the horizontal direction without changing the width of the designated character (w in FIG. 2). It can be easily determined that the thickness of the horizontal font can be freely changed by changing the value of N in various ways.

In other words, according to the present invention, when the character width is increased in the horizontal direction, the horizontal width (w dots) of the character is not exceeded, and the horizontal width of each part of the character is increased. It is characteristic that the dot formation position is increased while being shifted toward (or outside).

Similarly, in FIG. 1, when an instruction to print or display a designated character of w dots in the horizontal direction and h dots in the vertical direction is required to be thickened in the vertical direction of M dots, the external device is connected. The command is fetched through the external connection means 8 and sent to the control means 9. The control means 9 sends the data to the font selecting means 2 and the character forming means 3 separately into information on the type and size of the character to be printed and information on the printing position. In font selection means 2,
The font storage unit 1 searches for a designated character having a total length of w dots and a total length of (h−M) dots in the vertical direction (M is an integer of M ≧ 0). If the desired character is not found in the font storage unit 1, the information is fed back to the control unit 9 to create a new optimum character, and the character is stored in the font storage unit 1 and stored. After that, when the font selecting means 2 finishes selecting the optimum character, the character forming means 3 overlaps M times while shifting the position by one dot in the vertical direction from the print designation start position within a range not exceeding the total length h in the vertical direction. Striking is performed to obtain characters in a font that is thickened in the vertical direction of M dots.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are examples showing a designated character and a character formed by thickening the M dots in the vertical direction as described above. FIG. 3A shows a designated character having w dots in the horizontal direction and h dots in the vertical direction. In the figure, the total width of the character selected by the font selecting means 2 in the horizontal direction is w dots.
Although an example in which the total height in the vertical direction is (h−M) dots is not shown, the size in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction in FIG. , W dot, and h dot, it is understood that the font selection means 2 has been correctly selected.

In FIG. 3 (B), the portions marked M are clearly shifted by one dot in the vertical direction.
This is the position where you can see how the multiple strikes were made. In this way, the total height of the designated character (h in FIG. 3) is the same,
It is possible to thicken the font of the character by M dots in the vertical direction. It can be easily determined that by changing the value of M in various ways, it is possible to freely change the way of thickening the font in the vertical direction. In other words, in the present embodiment, when the character width is increased in the vertical direction, the vertical height of the character is not exceeded, and the vertical width of each part of the character is increased. Is characterized by the fact that the dot formation position is increased while being shifted toward (outside).

Similarly, in FIG. 1, w dots in the horizontal direction,
When a command is received to request that the width of each part of the designated character of h dots in the vertical direction be increased (increased) by n dots in the horizontal direction and m dots in the vertical direction, external connection means for connecting to an external device The command is taken in through 8 and sent to the control means 9. The control means 9 further sends the data to the font selecting means 2 and the character forming means 3 separately into information on the type and size of the character to be printed and information on the printing position. The font selection means 2 searches the font storage means 1 for a designated character having a horizontal width of (w-n) dots and a vertical direction of (hm) dots. If the desired character is not found in the font storage means 1, the information is fed back to the control means 9 to create a new optimum character, which is stored and stored in the font storage means 1. When the font selection unit 2 finishes selecting the optimum character, the character formation unit 3 shifts the print designation start position by one dot at a time n times horizontally and m times vertically.
Overprinting is performed a total of n × m times (dot formation with shifted positions), and within a range of a horizontal width w and a vertical width h,
It is possible to obtain a character which is required to have a font which is thicker in the n-dot horizontal direction and in the m-dot vertical direction. So in this case too,
The dots are increased so as to increase the width of each portion toward the inside (or outside) of each width so as not to exceed the range of the horizontal width w and the vertical width h.

FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B) show a designated character and a character formed by thickening (increasing the width) n dots horizontally and m dots vertically as described above. This is an example. FIG. 4A shows w dots in the horizontal direction and h dots in the vertical direction.
It is a designated character of the dot, and in the figure, the font selecting means 2
The total width in the horizontal direction of the character selected by (w-n) dots,
Although the height in the vertical direction is not shown as (h−m) dots, overprinting is performed n times in the horizontal direction and m times in the vertical direction while shifting one dot at a time in the horizontal and vertical directions, for a total of nxm times. Since the total size in the horizontal and vertical directions in FIG. 4B is the same as the designated character of the w dot and the h dot, it can be understood that the font selecting means 2 has been correctly selected. Here, n is n ≧ 0 and m is m ≧ 0.

In FIG. 4 (B), the portions denoted by n and m are n times in the horizontal direction and m times in the vertical direction while being shifted by one dot in the horizontal and vertical directions. ×
This is a place where it is possible to see the state of performing the m repeatedly. In this way, the width (w in FIG. 4) and height (FIG.
In the case of h), it is possible to make the character font thicker by n dots in the horizontal direction and m dots in the vertical direction.
Further, it can be easily determined that by changing the values of n and m in various ways, it is possible to freely change the way of thickening the font in the horizontal and vertical directions.

Since the other functions of FIG. 1 are common to the above three embodiments, the operation means 4 will be briefly described in addition to turning on and off the power supply of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. It has a function of directly inputting information and displaying a mode in an execution state and an error state. The paper feeding means 5 supplies the printing paper in accordance with the print designation start position in the character forming means 3, and when the printing of the designated line is completed, the paper is fed to the next printing line. Has the role of transporting it to the storage location. The control means 9
Is responsible for bridging the signals between the means and the signals exchanged with the external device through the external connection means 8, controlling the start and end timings of the operations between the means, the operation order between the means, and the like. Therefore, generally, micro C
A PU is provided, and has a ROM 6 and a RAM 7 for storing control programs and the like and temporarily storing program processing.

As described above, the present invention is a method of selecting a font smaller than the font of a designated character by an amount corresponding to the thickening in the horizontal and vertical directions, and forming the fonts while shifting them by the amount corresponding to the thickening. If you want to make the font thicker, the font width of the specified character is the same as the width of the specified character.If you want to make the font of the character vertical, the height of the character is the same as the font height of the specified character. When the font is used, the font width and height of the specified character can be made the same, so that when the text is shaded, it does not protrude from the net. A beautiful and easy-to-read print and display result can be always obtained without reducing the margin.

[0023]

As described above, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, while keeping the entire horizontal width of a character to be printed or displayed in the horizontal direction the same as the font width of the designated character, Since the font of characters can be freely thickened in the horizontal direction, the shaded characters do not protrude from the net. Is not reduced, and a beautiful and easy-to-read printing and display result can be always obtained even if the character font is thickened.

Further, it is possible to freely thicken the font of the character in the vertical direction while keeping the total height of the character to be printed or displayed at the same height as the font of the designated character. Therefore, when shaded, it does not protrude from the net, and the thickened character does not overlap with the next character or the margin between characters does not decrease, so even if the character font is thickened, Beautiful and easy-to-read printing and display results can be obtained.

Further, while keeping the total width and height of the character to be printed or displayed in the horizontal direction equal to the width and height of the font of the designated character, the font of the character can be freely thickened in the horizontal and vertical directions. Since it is now possible to do so, when shaded, it does not protrude from the net, and the thickened character and the next character do not overlap and the margin between characters does not decrease, Even if the font is thickened, it is possible to always obtain beautiful and easy-to-see printing and display results.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of an original designated character in a case where a character font is enlarged in the horizontal direction according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of a sample in which the font of a character is enlarged in the horizontal direction according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of an original designated character in the case of thickening a character font in the vertical direction according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating characters in the vertical direction according to the embodiment of the present invention; The figure of an example of the sample which made the font of thick.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of an original designated character in a case where a character font is thickened in the horizontal and vertical directions according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. The figure of an example of the sample which made the font of the character thick in the vertical direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Font storage means, 2 ... Font selection means, 3 ... Character formation means, 4 ... Operation means, 5 ...
・ Paper feeding means, 6 ・ ・ ・ ROM, 7 ・ ・ ・ RAM, 8 ・
..External connection means, 9 ... control means.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] Claims: 1. A font is used to form a character.
In an image forming apparatus having a function of thickening a font of a character to be formed, a font storage unit for storing and storing a preset font or a newly created font is formed from the font storage unit. It has font selection means for selecting a font suitable for the character, and character forming means for setting the position of the character to be formed and forming the character at the set position, and has N dots in the horizontal direction compared to the designated character When thickening each part of the character, the font selecting means selects a font whose total horizontal width is smaller than the designated character by N dots, and shifts the position by one dot in the horizontal direction from the designated start position by the character forming means. An image forming apparatus characterized by forming dots one time. 2. Use a font to form a character,
In an image forming apparatus having a function of thickening a font of a character to be formed, a font storage unit for storing and storing a preset font or a newly created font is formed from the font storage unit. It has font selection means for selecting a font suitable for a character, and character forming means for setting a position of a character to be formed and forming a character at the set position. When thickening each part of the character, the font selecting means selects a font whose size in the vertical direction is smaller than the designated character by M dots, and shifts the position by one dot in the vertical direction from the designated start position by the character forming means. An image forming apparatus, wherein dots are formed M times. 3. Use a font to form a character,
In an image forming apparatus having a function of thickening a font of a character to be formed, a font storage unit for storing and storing a preset font or a newly created font is formed from the font storage unit. A font selecting means for selecting a font suitable for the character; and a character forming means for setting the position of the character to be formed and forming the character at the set position. M vertically
When thickening each part of the character by the dot, the font selection means selects a font whose horizontal size is n dots smaller and whose vertical size is m dots smaller than the designated character, and the character formation means starts the designation. An image forming apparatus characterized in that dots are formed n times in a horizontal direction and m times in a vertical direction while being shifted one dot at a time from a position, that is, a total of n × m times.