JP3470378B2 - Character information output device and method - 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 information output device and method for outputting character information used in printers, displays and the like, and more particularly to a character information output device and method having a plurality of fonts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a character information output device for outputting character information used in a printer or a display is equipped with a plurality of types of fonts, respectively, and characters / characters are displayed / printed using a font designated by a user. . The font mentioned here means a set of character patterns having the same attribute, and includes symbols and figures.

Generally, such a character information output device is
In many cases, different types of fonts are installed. This is remarkable in a multi-vendor environment such as a network system in which devices and software from a plurality of sources are used in combination, but it is installed in a character information output device applied to a display device / printing device, for example. When a font that does not exist is specified, conventionally, display / printing is stopped and an error is displayed.

In order to solve such a situation, for example, JP-A-60-80895 and JP-A-62-20.
According to Japanese Patent No. 8091, when a font used or an attribute of the font is instructed from the host side, if there is a font matching the font or the attribute of the font on the information output device side, the font is selected and output. An information output device for selecting and using a font having an attribute most similar to the attribute of the font even when there is no such font or a font that matches the attribute of the font is described.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional information output apparatus, when a font or font attribute data is instructed from the host side, the font or font attribute data is set on the information output apparatus side. If there is a font that matches, the font is selected and output.If there is no font that matches the font or font attribute data, the font that most closely matches the specified font attribute data is selected and output. It was

However, in such an information output device, the font attribute data is determined at the stage of creating the font and set in the information output device together with the font, or the creator of the information output device sets the font and the font attribute data. And must be set in association with each other, and if the attribute data is not set properly, even if the character information output device is equipped with a font similar to the specified font,
I cannot output a font that is similar to that.

Therefore, the present invention solves such a point, and when the specified font is not installed in the character information output device, the font itself provides quantitative data indicating the characteristics of the font (hereinafter referred to as "feature"). It is intended to provide a character information output device and method for extracting a font having a feature most similar to a specified font by using the extracted feature data and outputting the selected feature data. .

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a character information output device of the present invention has a storage means for storing a plurality of fonts, and when a designated font is designated, an output request is made. In a character information output device for selecting a selected font from the fonts stored in the storage means and outputting character information corresponding to the font, a feature amount for extracting the feature amount of the font from the font stored in the storage means. If the font specified by the extraction means and the output request is not stored in the storage means, the feature quantity of the font extracted by the feature quantity extraction means and the output request acquired from the request source of the output request A font whose feature amount is similar to the font feature amount related to the output request is stored in the storage means by comparing with the feature amount of the font. A selection means for selecting from the font, characterized by comprising a character information output means for outputting the character information in place of the font selected by said selection means to the font that is specified by the output request.

Further, according to the character information output method of the present invention, when an output request for designating a predetermined font is made, the designated font is selected from a storage means for storing a plurality of fonts and character information corresponding to the font is selected. In the character information output method of the character information output device for outputting, it is determined whether the font specified by the output request exists in the storage unit, and when the font specified by the output request does not exist in the storage unit, , Acquiring the feature quantity of the font relating to the output request from the request source of the output request, extracting the feature quantity of the font from the font stored in the storage means, and extracting the feature quantity of the extracted font and the output The feature amount of the font related to the output request is compared with the feature amount of the font related to the output request acquired from the request source of the request, and the feature amount is The fonts that are similar to select from fonts stored in said storage means, the selected font instead of the font specified by the output request and outputs the text information.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the character information output device of the first embodiment and the configuration of a client that requests the character information output device to output a font.

First, the configuration of the character information output device 10 will be described.

The character information output device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, a feature extraction unit 13, and a font data storage unit 1.
4, a replacement font storage unit 15, a feature amount comparison unit 16, and an output unit 17. The communication unit 11 is the network 1
Data is transmitted / received to / from the client 1 and other devices via the server 8. The feature extraction unit 13 includes a font data storage unit 1
Characteristic data for each font is extracted from all the fonts stored in 4. The font data storage unit 14 stores a plurality of types of bitmap fonts for each font. The feature amount comparison unit 16 compares the feature data for each font extracted by the feature extraction unit 13 with the feature data transmitted from the client 1, and the feature closest to the feature data transmitted from the client 1. Select the data font. The replacement font storage unit 15 stores the font selected and compared by the feature amount comparison unit 16. The output unit 17 performs an output process with the font selected by the feature amount comparison unit 16. The control unit 12 controls the communication unit 11, the feature extraction unit 13, the font data storage unit 14, the replacement font storage unit 15, the feature quantity comparison unit 16, and the output unit 17, and the font designated by the user is the font data storage unit. 14 or the replacement font storage unit 15 exists,
The control unit 12 extracts the font designated by the user from the font data storage unit 14 or the replacement font storage unit 15, and causes the output unit 17 to perform an output process. If the font specified by the user does not exist in the font data storage unit 14 and the replacement font storage unit 15, the control unit 1
2 requests the client 1 for the characteristic data of the designated font. Then, when the requested feature data is transmitted, the control unit 12 causes the feature extraction unit 13 to extract the feature data for each font from all the fonts stored in the font data storage unit 14, and the feature amount comparison unit 16
Then, the feature data transmitted from the client 1 is compared with the feature data for each font extracted by the feature extraction unit 13, and the font having the closest feature data is selected from the font data storage unit 14. And output section 1
7 to perform output processing.

Next, the configuration of the client 1 will be described.

The client 1 includes a communication unit 2, a control unit 3,
It is composed of a feature extraction unit 4 and a font data storage unit 5. The communication unit 2 sends and receives data to and from the character information output device 10 and other devices via the network 18. The feature extraction unit 4 extracts the feature data of the font designated by the user from the font data storage unit 5. The font data storage unit 5 stores a plurality of types of bitmap fonts for each font. The control unit 3 controls the communication unit 2, the feature amount extraction unit 4, and the font data storage unit 5, and documents a sentence created for the user to output to the character information output device 10 and a font name designated by the user. The data is transmitted to the character information output device 10. Further, when there is a request for font feature data from the character information output device 10, the control unit 3 causes the feature amount extraction unit 4 to extract the feature data of the font specified by the user from the font data storage unit 5 and extracts it. Characteristic data transmission unit 2
And is transmitted to the character information output device 10.

Next, a font data storage unit 14, which stores a plurality of types of bitmap fonts for each font,
The configuration of the font data storage unit 5 will be described.

FIG. 2 shows the configurations of the font data storage unit 5 and the font data storage unit 14.
In the figure, the font data storage unit 5 and the font data storage unit 14 include a plurality of bitmap fonts 20.
a to 20n are stored for each font. The font name 21 and the character data 22a to 22n are stored for each bitmap font, and the character data 22a to 22n are stored.
2n has a character code of 23 for each character data.
And raster data 24 are stored.

Next, the replacement font storage unit 15 of the character information output device 10 will be described.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the replacement font storage unit 15 of the character information output device 10. In the figure, the replacement font storage unit 15 is a storage unit that stores the font output by replacing the font specified by the user with the font specified by the user when the font specified by the user is not installed in the character information output device 10. And
It is composed of a font name 40a, font feature data 40b, and a substitute font 40c. The font name 40a stores the font name of the font designated by the user, the font feature data 40b stores the feature data of the font designated by the user, and the replacement font 40c is designated by the character information output device 10 by the user. Memorize the output font by replacing it with a font.

Next, the operation of the character information output device 10 and the client 1 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the character information output device 10 and the client 1.
4A is a flowchart showing the operation of the client 1, and FIG. 4B is a flowchart showing the operation of the character information output device 10.

In the figure, the control unit 3 of the client 1
Creates document data from the text to be output by the character information output device 10 and the font name specified by the user. Then, the created document data is transferred to the communication unit 2
To the character information output device 10 via the (step 10
0).

Next, the communication section 11 of the character information output device 10
When the document data transmitted from the client 1 is received (step 110), the control unit 12 of the character information output device 10 extracts the font name designated by the user from the received document data. The font name specified by the user is the font data storage unit 1.
It is judged whether or not the data exists in No. 4 (step 111).
As a result of the determination, if the font designated by the user exists in the font data storage unit 14, the process proceeds to step 112, and if the font designated by the user does not exist in the font data storage unit 14, the process proceeds to step 113.

In step 112, the control unit 12 of the character information output device 10 extracts the font designated by the user from the font data storage unit 14. Then, the extracted font and document data are passed to the output unit 8 to perform output processing, and this processing ends.

In step 113, the control unit 12 of the character information output device 10 determines whether or not the font name designated by the user exists in the replacement font storage unit 15. That is, it is determined whether or not the font designated by the user has been replaced with the 14 fonts in the font data storage unit and output has been performed. If the result of the determination is that the font designated by the user has been output after replacement, the process proceeds to step 114. If the font designated by the user has not been output after replacement, step 1
Move to 15.

At step 114, the control unit 12 of the character information output device 10 replaces the replacement font 40 from the replacement font storage unit 15 based on the font name specified by the user.
Extract c. Then, the extracted font and document data are passed to the output unit 8 to perform output processing, and the processing ends.

In step 115, the character information output device 10 does not have a font specified by the user, and the character information output device 10 has not output by replacing the font specified by the user before. 12 requests the client 1 for characteristic data.

When the communication unit 2 of the client 1 receives the request for the characteristic data from the character information output device 10 (step 101), the control unit 3 obtains the characteristic data of the font specified by the user. The extraction unit 4 is caused to perform the characteristic data extraction processing (step 10
2).

Here, the characteristic data extraction processing performed by the characteristic extraction unit 4 of the client 1 in step 102 will be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the characteristic data extraction processing performed by the characteristic extraction unit 4 of the client 1. For convenience of explanation, a case where the characteristic data of the font is black density will be described. The black density here means a ratio of how much a certain character is filled with black dots within a predetermined size in a bitmap font.

In the figure, the feature extraction unit 4 determines whether or not the feature data of the font designated by the user is extracted from the specific character (step 120). That is, whether to extract the black density data from a predetermined character (for example, a character such as "A" or "A"), or whether all characters of the specified font (Hiragana, Kanji, numbers,
Judge whether to extract black density data from (alphabet, etc.).
As a result of judgment, when extracting feature data from specific characters,
If the characteristic data is extracted from all the characters in the designated font, the process proceeds to step 123.

In step 121, the feature extraction unit 4
Is the font 2 stored in the font data storage unit 5.
A font specified by the user is searched from 0a to 20n, and a specific character is searched from the searched font.

Then, the feature extraction unit 4 extracts the character code 23 and the raster data 24 from the retrieved specific character, and calculates the black density data from the extracted raster data 24. Then, the extracted character code 23, the calculated black density data, and the calculation method when the black density data is calculated are passed to the control unit 3, and the characteristic data extraction processing ends (step 122). Note that the black density data calculation performed here is calculated by dividing the total number of dots set in the raster data 24 by the number of black dots and multiplying by 100.

In step 123, the feature extraction unit 4
Is the font 2 stored in the font data storage unit 5.
The font specified by the user is searched from 0a to 20n.

Then, the feature extraction unit 4 extracts the raster data 24 from all the characters of the searched font. Then, the black density data is calculated from each of the plurality of extracted raster data 24 (step 124).

Next, the feature extraction unit 4 calculates the average value of the black density data from the calculated plurality of black density data. Then, the calculated average value of the black density data and the calculation method when the black density data is calculated are passed to the control unit 3, and the characteristic data extraction processing is ended (step 125).

Returning to FIG. 4, the control unit 3 of the client 1
Sets the characteristic data to be transmitted to the character information output device 10 from the characteristic data passed from the characteristic extraction unit 4 (step 103), and transmits the set characteristic data to the character information output device 10 (step 104). .

The characteristic data transmitted by the control unit 3 of the client 1 to the character information output device 10 will be described.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the characteristic data 30 transmitted to the character information output device 10 by the control unit 3 of the client 1.

In the figure, the characteristic data 30 is data set by the control unit 3 of the client 1 and transmitted to the character information output device 10, and is composed of a font name 30a, font characteristic data 30b, and an extraction method 30c. . The font name 30a sets the font name of the font specified by the user. The font feature data 30b sets the feature data of the font passed from the feature extraction unit 4.
The extraction method 30c sets the extraction method when the feature data passed from the feature extraction unit 4 is extracted. That is, the black density data passed from the feature extraction unit 4 is set in the font feature data 30b, and the black density data calculation method passed from the feature extraction unit 4 is set in the extraction method 30c. When the character code 23 is passed from the feature extraction unit 4, the extraction method 30c is set together with the black density data calculation method.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the communication unit 11 of the character information output device 10 receives the characteristic data 30 transmitted from the client 1 (step 116), the control unit 12 of the character information output device 10 receives the characteristic. The data 30 is passed to the feature extraction unit 13, and the feature extraction unit 13 is caused to perform a feature data extraction process for extracting feature data for each font from all the fonts stored in the font data storage unit 14 (step 117).

Here, the characteristic data extraction process performed by the characteristic extraction unit 13 of the character information output device 10 in step 117 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the characteristic data extraction processing performed by the characteristic extraction unit 13 of the character information output device 10.

In the figure, the feature extraction unit 13 of the character information output device 10 uses the feature data 3 passed from the control unit 12.
According to the extraction method 30c of 0, it is determined whether or not the black density data is calculated from the specific character (step 130). This determination is made based on whether or not the character code 23 is set in the extraction method 30c. As a result of the determination, when the black density data is extracted from the specific character, the process proceeds to step 131, and when the black density data is extracted from all the characters,
Control goes to step 133.

In step 131, the feature extraction unit 13
Searches for a specific character having the same code as the character code 23 of the extraction method 30c from each of the fonts stored in the font data storage unit 14.

Then, the raster data 24 is extracted from the searched specific characters of each font. And the extraction method 30
Based on c, the black density data of the specific character for each font is calculated from the raster data 24 of each font. Then, the calculated black density data of the specific characters for each font is used by the control unit 12
To end the feature data extraction processing (step 13).
2).

In step 133, the feature extraction unit 13
Extracts the raster data 24 of all the characters of each font stored in the font data storage unit 14. Then, the black density data is calculated from all the raster data 24 of each font based on the extraction method of the extraction method 30c (step 133).

Then, the feature extraction unit 13 calculates the average value of the black density data for each font from the calculated plurality of black density data. Then, the calculated average value of the black density data for each font is passed to the control unit 12, and the characteristic data extraction processing is ended (step 134).

Returning to FIG. 4, the control unit 12 of the character information output device 10 that causes the feature extraction unit 13 to perform the feature data extraction processing.
Passes the feature data 30 transmitted from the client 1 and the plurality of feature data for each font passed from the feature extraction unit 13 to the feature amount comparison unit 16, and the feature amount comparison unit 16
The font data storage unit 14 is caused to select the font closest to the font specified by the user (step 118). For example, the value of the black density data transmitted from the client 1 is "50", and the value of the black density data for each font obtained by the feature extraction unit 13 is "3".
5 ”,“ 45 ”,“ 60. ”In such a case, the feature amount comparison unit 16 selects from the font data storage unit 14 the font having the value“ 45 ”with the smallest numerical difference.

Then, the control unit 1 of the character information output device 10
In the item 2, the font selected and compared by the feature amount comparison unit 16 is passed to the output unit 17 for output processing, and the font selected and compared by the feature amount comparison unit 16 is stored in the replacement font storage unit 15 to end the process. (Step 119).

As described above, in the first embodiment, the font closest to the font specified by the user is selected based on the black density data directly obtained from the bitmap font.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the character information output device of the second embodiment and the configuration of a client which requests the character information output device to output a font.

First, the configuration of the character information output device 50 will be described.

In the figure, the character information output device 50 is
A communication unit 51, a control unit 52, a font data storage unit 53,
It is composed of a font comparison / selection unit 54 and an output unit 55. The communication unit 51 transmits and receives data to and from the client 56 and other devices via the network 61. The font data storage unit 53 stores a plurality of types of outline fonts for each font. The font comparison / selection unit 54 selects, from a plurality of fonts stored in the font data storage unit 53, a font having feature data that is the closest to the feature data transmitted from the client 56. The output unit 55 uses the font selected by the font comparison and selection unit 54 to perform output processing. The control unit 52 controls the communication unit 51, the font data storage unit 53, the font comparison selection unit 54, and the output unit 55, and when the font designated by the user exists in the font data storage unit 53, the font data storage unit 53 The font specified by the user is extracted, and the output unit 55 is made to perform output processing. If the font designated by the user does not exist in the font data storage unit 53, the control unit 52 causes the font comparison and selection unit 54 to extract the characteristic data from all the fonts stored in the font data storage unit 53, and Causes the font closest to the one specified by to be selected. Then, the output unit 55 is caused to perform output processing.

Next, the structure of the client 56 will be described.

In the figure, the client 56 includes a communication section 57, a control section 58, and a font data storage section 59.
Composed of. The communication unit 57 transmits and receives data to and from the character information output device 50 and other devices via the network 61. The font data storage unit 59 stores a plurality of types of outline fonts for each font. The control unit 58 controls the communication unit 57 and the font data storage unit 59, and extracts the feature data of the font designated by the user from the font data storage unit 59. Then, the sentence created for the user to output to the character information output device 50 and the extracted feature data are transmitted to the character information output device 50 as document data.

Next, a font data storage unit 53 which stores a plurality of types of outline fonts for each font,
The configuration of the font data storage unit 59 will be described.

FIG. 9 shows the configurations of the font data storage unit 53 and the font data storage unit 59. In the figure, a font data storage unit 53 and a font data storage unit 59 store a plurality of types of outline fonts 65a to 65n for each font.
Then, the font name 67 and the character data 68a to 68n are stored for each outline font 65a to 65n, and the character data 68a to 68n include constituent elements (straight line drawing, curve drawing) that form a character for each character data. ,
Coordinate data) 69a to 69n are stored.

Next, the operation of the character information output device 50 and the client 56 will be described.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of the character information output device 50 and the client 56, FIG. 10 (a) is a flow chart showing the operation of the client 56, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information output device 50.

In the figure, the control unit 57 of the client 56 extracts the font feature data from the font data storage unit 59 based on the font name specified by the user. That is, the control unit 57 controls the font data storage unit 59.
All character data of the font specified by the user from 6
The straight line drawing number and the curve drawing number are extracted from 8a to 68n.
Then, the number of straight lines drawn per character (hereinafter referred to as the number of straight line segments) is calculated from the extracted number of straight lines drawn. Similarly, the number of curved lines drawn per character (hereinafter referred to as the number of curved line segments) is calculated from the extracted number of curved lines drawn (step 200).

Then, the control unit 57 of the client 56
Creates document data from the font name specified by the user, the number of straight line segments calculated, the number of curved line segments, the text created by the user, etc. (step 20
1), and transmits to the character information output device 50 (step 20)
2).

Next, when the communication section 51 of the character information output device 50 receives the document data transmitted from the client 56 (step 210), the control section 52
The font name designated by the user is extracted from the received document data (step 211).

Then, the control unit 5 of the character information output device 50
2, the extracted font name is the font data storage unit 53.
(Step 212). As a result of the determination, if the font name exists in the font data storage unit 53, the process proceeds to step 213. If the font name does not exist in the font data storage unit 53, step 21
Go to 4.

In step 213, the control unit 52 of the character information output device 50 extracts the font designated by the user from the font data storage unit 53. Then, the output unit 55 is caused to perform output processing, and the processing is ended.

In step 214, the control unit 52 of the character information output device 50 extracts the number of straight line segments and the number of curved line segments from the document data. Then, the total number of segments is calculated from the extracted number of straight line segments and the number of curved line segments.

Next, the control section 52 of the character information output device 50.
Calculates the number of straight line segments and the number of curved line segments for each font from a plurality of fonts stored in the font data storage unit 53. Then, the total number of segments for each font is calculated from the calculated number of straight line segments for each font and the number of curved line segments (step 215). The number of straight line segments and the number of curved line segments for each font calculated here are the same as those used by the client 56.

Next, the control section 52 of the character information output device 50.
Is the number of straight line segments extracted / calculated in step 214, the number of curved line segments, the total number of segments, and step 2
Number of straight line segments for each font extracted / calculated in 15
The number of curve segments and the total number of segments are passed to the font comparison / selection unit 54, and the font comparison / selection unit 54 is caused to select the font closest to the font designated by the user from the font data storage unit 53 (step 21).
6).

Then, the control unit 52 passes the font selected by the font comparison / selection unit 54 to the output unit and causes the output unit to perform an output process (step 217).

Next, the font selection processing performed by the font comparison / selection unit 54 in step 216 will be described in detail.

This selection process is performed by the logical distance of the font designated by the user from the number of straight line segments, the number of curved line segments, and the total number of segments passed from the control unit 52, and the logic of the font stored in the font data storage unit 53. The target distance is calculated and the font with the smallest difference in logical distance is selected.

That is, the formula for calculating the difference (P) in logical distance is as follows: P = K (A-AA) ^ 2 + L (B-BB) ^ 2 + M (C
C-C) ^ 2 In addition, "^" in this calculation formula means exponentiation,
"K", "L", and "M" are predetermined constants. Then, “AA”, “BB”, and “CC” are the number of straight line segments, the number of curve segments, and the total number of segments of the font designated by the user, and “A”, “B”,
“C” is the font data storage unit 5 of the character information output device.
4 is the number of straight line segments, the number of curved line segments, and the total number of segments for each font stored.

Here, a numerical value is applied to the above calculation formula,
The selection process of the font comparison / selection unit 54 will be specifically described. For convenience of explanation, the number of straight line segments, the number of curved line segments, and the total number of segment segments per character specified by the user are set to "40, 50, 90", respectively.
And The font data storage unit 53 of the character information output device 50 stores fonts A, B, and C.
It is assumed that three types of fonts are stored, and the number of straight line segments, the number of curved line segments, and the total number of segments per character of font A are "37, 53, 90", respectively.
And the number of straight line segments per character of font B,
The number of curve segments and total number of segments are "37,
47, 84 ", and the number of straight line segments, the number of curve segments, and the total number of segments per character of font C are" 50, 40, 90, "respectively. Furthermore, predetermined constants" K "and" L "are set. , And “M” are respectively set to “1”.

First, the font comparison / selection unit 54 calculates the difference (P1) between the logical distance of the font designated by the user and the logical distance of the font A stored in the font data storage unit P1 = 1 (37). -40) ^ 2 + 1 (53-50) ^ 2 +
1 (90-90) ^ 2 P1 = 18. That is, the difference between the logical distance of the font designated by the user and the logical distance of the font A stored in the font data storage unit 53 is "18".

Similarly, the font comparison / selection unit 54 calculates the difference (P2) between the logical distance of the font designated by the user and the logical distance of the font B stored in the font data storage unit P2 = 1 (37). -40) ^ 2 + 1 (47-50) ^ 2 +
1 (84-90) ^ 2 P2 = 54, and the difference between the logical distance of the font designated by the user and the logical distance of the font B stored in the font data storage unit 53 is "54".

Further, the font comparison / selection unit 54 calculates the difference (P3) between the logical distance of the font designated by the user and the logical distance of the font C stored in the font data storage unit P3 = 1 (50- 40) ^ 2 + 1 (40-50) ^ 2 +
1 (90−90) ̂2 P3 = 200, and the difference between the logical distance of the font specified by the user and the logical distance of the font C stored in the font data storage unit 53 is “200”.

Then, the font comparison / selection unit 54 compares the calculated logical distance differences P1, P2, and P3, and P1 having the smallest logical distance difference, that is, the font A is the closest to the font specified by the user. Judge that you are doing.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the font closest to the font designated by the user is selected based on the logical distance of the outline of the outline font.

As described above, the character information output apparatus of the present invention extracts font characteristic data from a font, that is, quantitative data directly obtained from the font, and the user specifies it based on the extracted data. The font that most closely resembles the font you selected is selected. Therefore, the output failure due to the difference in the installed fonts can be eliminated.

Unlike the conventional character information output device, the character information output device of the present invention uses the numerical data obtained directly from the font, and selects the font closest to the font specified by the user. You have selected. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the font attribute data in the character information output device, and it is not necessary for the user to obtain the font attribute data from the character information output device. That is, the character information output device of the present invention can output the font most similar to the specified font only by specifying the font name.

In the first embodiment, the client 1 extracts the characteristic data in response to the request from the character information output device 10. However, the characteristic data is extracted in advance and is transmitted when the document data is transmitted. May be. Further, in the second embodiment, the characteristic data is transmitted at the time of transmitting the document data, but the characteristic data may be transmitted in response to a request from the character information output device as in the first embodiment. further,
In the first embodiment, the black density data is used as the characteristic data, and in the second embodiment, the number of straight line segments and the number of curved line segments are used as the characteristic data. However, the number is not limited to this, and the number directly obtained from the font is available. Characteristic data can be used as characteristic data. Also, a plurality of fonts may be designated by the client.

[0083]

As described above, the character information output device of the present invention extracts quantitative font data from the font itself and uses the extracted data to best approximate the specified font. The selected font is output. Therefore, even if the font specified by the user is not installed in the character information output device, a font similar to the specified font can be output.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a character information output device and a configuration of a client according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a font data storage unit of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a replacement font storage unit.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operations of the character information output device and the client according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the characteristic data extraction processing performed by the characteristic extraction unit of the client.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of characteristic data transmitted from a client to a character information output device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the characteristic data extraction processing performed by the characteristic extraction unit of the character information output device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a character information output device and a configuration of a client according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a font data storage unit of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operations of the character information output device and the client according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Client 2, 11 Communication Unit 3, 12
Control unit 4, 13 Feature extraction unit 5, 14 Font data storage unit 10 Character information output device 15 Substitute font storage unit 17 Output unit 18 Network

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-6-59851 (JP, A) JP-A-7-56909 (JP, A) JP-A-7-253770 (JP, A) JP-A-7-253771 (JP , A) JP-A-7-253970 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G09G 5/22 G06F 17/21

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A storage means for storing a plurality of fonts, wherein when an output request for designating a predetermined font is made, the designated font is selected from the fonts stored in the storage means and corresponds to the font. In a character information output device for outputting character information, a feature amount extraction unit that extracts a feature amount of the font from a font stored in the storage unit, and a font specified by the output request are stored in the storage unit. If not, the font feature amount extracted by the feature amount extraction means is compared with the font feature amount of the output request acquired from the request source of the output request, and the font feature amount of the output request is compared. Selecting means for selecting a font whose characteristic amount is similar to the font stored in the storage means, and the font selected by the selecting means. And a character information output means for outputting character information in place of the font designated by the output request. 2. A feature data requesting means for requesting feature data to a request source of the output request when the font designated by the output request is not stored in the storage means, and the feature data requesting means. Characteristic data receiving means for receiving the characteristic data transmitted from the request source of the output request in response to the request for the characteristic data according to the above, and the characteristic amount of the font relating to the output request is obtained by the characteristic data receiving means. The character information output device according to claim 1, wherein the character information output device acquires the character data based on the received feature data. 3. The output request includes characteristic data of a font specified in the output request, and the characteristic amount of the font related to the output request is acquired based on the characteristic data included in the output request. The character information output device according to claim 1. 4. The character information of a character information output device for selecting a specified font from a storage means for storing a plurality of fonts and outputting character information corresponding to the font when an output request specifying a predetermined font is made. In the output method, it is determined whether the font specified by the output request exists in the storage unit, and when the font specified by the output request does not exist in the storage unit, the source of the output request requests the font. The feature quantity of the font relating to the output request is acquired, the feature quantity of the font is extracted from the font stored in the storage means, and the feature quantity of the extracted font and the output obtained from the request source of the output request By comparing with the feature quantity of the font requested, the font whose feature quantity is close to the feature quantity of the font requested to output is stored in the memory. A character information output method, comprising: selecting from fonts stored in columns, replacing the selected font with the font specified by the output request, and outputting the character information. 5. When the font specified by the output request is not stored in the storage means, the feature data of the font specified by the output request is requested to the request source of the output request, The feature amount of the font relating to the output request is acquired based on the feature data transmitted from the request source of the output request in response to the request for the feature amount data.
How to output the written character information. 6. The output request includes characteristic data of a font specified by the output request, and the characteristic amount of the font related to the output request is acquired based on the characteristic data included in the output request. The character information output method according to claim 4.