JP6247081B2 - Dot printer and font pattern editing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dot printer and a font pattern editing method, and more particularly to a technique for increasing the printing speed without significantly reducing the printing quality.

  In order to perform high-speed printing in a dot printer, a technique for improving the printing speed by thinning out the dots of the font pattern to be printed or by widening the dot interval of the font pattern is known.

  The dot printer described in Patent Document 1 creates a font pattern for high-speed printing without changing the thickness of the line by performing a process of thinning dots alternately in the moving direction of the font line.

  According to the printing method described in Patent Document 2, one original dot data of a font is converted into n dot data in the row direction, and m (where m ≧ n) dot data is selected, whereby non-integer multiples are selected. High-speed printing at a speed of

Japanese Patent No. 3033501 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-218988

  The dot printer described in Patent Document 1 described above has a problem that a staggered portion where dots are thinned gives a jagged (so-called jagged) impression.

  The printing method described in Patent Document 2 described above has a problem that the vertical elements of the font, such as the vertical line portion of the character, become thick because the dot interval is widened in the horizontal direction.

  The main object of the present invention is to provide a technique for solving the above-described problems.

A dot printer according to the present invention that achieves the above object is as follows.
It is determined whether a part of a font pattern that represents a font as one or more dots arranged in a grid-like region is a vertical element of the font. Horizontal element arrangement that arranges dots in the font pattern at intervals corresponding to a given printing speed when vertical element arrangement editing is performed to arrange the dots of the part in a staggered manner and it is determined that the dots are not vertical elements Font pattern editing means for editing is provided.

A font pattern editing method according to the present invention that achieves the above-described object is as follows.
Determining whether a part of a font pattern representing a font as one or more dots arranged in a grid-like region is a vertical element of the font;
If it is a vertical element, perform vertical element arrangement editing to arrange the dots of the part of the font pattern in a staggered manner,
If it is not a vertical element, horizontal element arrangement editing is performed in which the dots of that portion of the font pattern are arranged at intervals corresponding to a given printing speed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the printing speed without significantly reducing the printing quality.

1 is a block configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a dot printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure showing an example of the font pattern original data in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the font pattern in the middle of edit in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the original font pattern in 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the high-speed print font pattern edit process in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the font pattern in the middle of edit in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the font pattern in the middle of edit in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the font pattern in the middle of edit in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the font pattern for the printing speed of 2 times speed in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the font pattern for 1.5 times the printing speed in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the font pattern for the printing speed of 1.25 times speed in 1st Embodiment. It is a block block diagram showing the structure of the dot printer which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a dot printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A dot printer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a font pattern editing unit 102, a CG-ROM (Character Generator Read Only Memory) 103, an editing memory 104, a print A control unit 105 and a print head 106 are provided. The dot printer 1 is connected to the host device 2.

  The “font pattern” is a font (bitmap font) representing a font such as a character printed by the dot printer 1 as one or more dots arranged in a grid area.

  The host device 2 transmits print data, which is data for designating characters to be printed, and a print speed to the dot printer 1. The host device 2 may be a computer device that prints a document using the dot printer 1.

  The communication interface 107 communicates with the higher-level device 200. The CG-ROM 103 is a ROM that stores font pattern original data, which is data that is a source of a font pattern. The font pattern editing unit 102 creates a font pattern by editing the font pattern original data read from the CG-ROM 103. The edit memory 104 stores the edited or created font pattern. The editing memory 104 is a storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The print control unit 105 prints the font pattern stored in the editing memory 104 at a designated print speed using the print head 106. The CPU 101 controls the elements constituting the dot printer 1. The CG-ROM 103 and the editing memory 104 are sometimes called storage means.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of font pattern original data. The font pattern original data shown in FIG. 2 represents a state in which the font pattern used for actual printing is compressed to 1/4 the number of dots in the horizontal direction. Hereinafter, a process for creating an original font pattern from the original font pattern data of FIG. 2 will be described. The font pattern editing unit 102 acquires the font pattern original data in FIG. 2 from the CG-ROM 103. Then, the font pattern editing unit 102 creates a font pattern by expanding the acquired font pattern original data four times in the horizontal direction, and stores the font pattern in the editing memory 104. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the font pattern in the middle of editing stored in the editing memory 104 by this processing. Next, the font pattern editing unit 102 creates an original font pattern for printing by thinning out the dots except for every four columns from the left end of the font pattern of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the original font pattern stored in the editing memory 104 by this processing. The print control unit 105 prints the original font pattern of FIG. 4 using the print head 106. In FIG. 4, the lateral distance between the squares is 1/720 inch. Referring to FIG. 4, in the original font pattern, the distance between the dots in the horizontal line (L1 to L24) is 1/180 inch. This distance corresponds to the maximum response frequency of the print head 106 and the printing speed of the dot printer 1. Hereinafter, the printing speed of the dot printer 1 corresponding to the original font pattern is referred to as “normal printing speed”.

  Next, processing for creating a font pattern for a printing speed higher than the normal printing speed will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a high-speed printing font pattern editing process for creating a font pattern for a printing speed higher than the normal printing speed. Hereinafter, the high-speed print font pattern editing process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the dot printer 1 receives designation of a printing speed (high speed) and printing data for one line from the host device 2 (step S501). The printing speed (high speed) is a printing speed higher than the normal printing speed. The printing speed (high speed) may be represented by a magnification indicating how many times the normal printing speed is, such as “1.5 times speed” or “2 times speed”.

  The font pattern editing unit 102 acquires font pattern original data for one line corresponding to the received print data from the CG-ROM 103 (step S502). Then, the font pattern editing unit 102 creates a font pattern for one line by expanding the acquired font pattern original data four times in the horizontal direction, and stores the created font pattern in the editing memory 104 (step S503). .

  Next, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines whether a part of the editing font pattern stored in the editing memory 104 is a vertical element of the font (step S504). The vertical element of the font refers to a portion where the dots of the font pattern are continuous in the vertical direction, for example, a vertical line portion of “+”. This determination is based on a font pattern obtained by expanding the font pattern original data four times in the horizontal direction, and if there are 8 dots in the horizontal direction and there are no other dots before and after the horizontal direction, It may be performed by assuming that it is a vertical element. That is, in the font pattern original data, when two dots are continuous in the horizontal direction and there are no other dots before and after the horizontal direction, the portion is a vertical element of the font. If it is not determined in the above determination that the part is a vertical element of the font, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines that the part is not a vertical element of the font.

  If it is determined that the portion is not a vertical element of the font (“NO” in step S504), the font pattern editing unit 102 selects a dot that can follow the printing speed specified in step S501 for the portion. Editing is performed (step S505). That is, the dots of the portion of the font pattern are arranged so that the print head 106 can follow the maximum response frequency at the designated print speed. This editing may be performed by selecting dots in the portion of the font pattern at intervals corresponding to the designated printing speed and thinning out the dots that have not been selected.

  When it is determined that the part is a vertical element of the font (“YES” in step S504), the font pattern editing unit 102 determines that part of the font pattern based on the dot arrangement of the previous horizontal line. Editing is performed to arrange the dots in a zigzag pattern (step S506).

  After the processing of step S505 or S506 is completed, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines whether editing of one line in the horizontal direction of the font pattern is completed (step S507). If not completed (“NO” in step S507), the processing from step S504 onward is repeated for the dot on the right side of the processed portion.

  When editing of one line in the horizontal direction is completed (“YES” in step S507), the font pattern editing unit 102 determines whether editing of all lines of the font pattern is completed (step S508). If editing of all the lines has not been completed (“NO” in step S508), the processes in and after step S504 are repeated for the next line. If all lines have been edited (“YES” in step S508), the high-speed print font pattern editing process ends.

  When the high-speed printing font pattern editing process is completed, the dot printer 1 prints the font pattern for one line for which editing has been completed at the printing speed (high speed) designated in step S501.

  In the above-described high-speed print font pattern editing process, the editing process is performed in units of one line, but this need not be the case. For example, editing processing in units of one character may be performed.

  Next, the high-speed print font pattern editing process when the font pattern original data of FIG. 2 is input will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that the printing speed of “double speed” is designated in step S501, and the font pattern original data of FIG. 2 is acquired in step S502.

  In step S503, the font pattern editing unit 102 creates the font pattern of FIG. 3 by expanding the font pattern original data of FIG. 2 by four times in the horizontal direction.

  Next, in the processing after step S504, the font pattern editing unit 102 performs editing processing in order from the horizontal line L1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “line L1”) of the font pattern in FIG. First, in step S504, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines whether the leftmost portion R1 of the line L1 in FIG. 3 is a vertical element of the font. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the portion R1 at the left end of the line L1 corresponds to “8 dots are continuous in the horizontal direction and there are no other dots before and after the horizontal direction”. As a result, since this is not the case for the entire line L1, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines that the entire line L1 is “not a vertical element of the font”. Based on the determination result, in step S505, the font pattern editing unit 102 edits the font pattern line L1 in FIG. 3 so as to be able to follow the printing speed of “double speed”. Specifically, the font pattern editing unit 102 selects a dot at line 8 at a normal printing speed, that is, every 8 dots that is double the original font pattern of FIG. 4, and thins out the other dots. Process. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the font pattern after this editing process. Referring to FIG. 6, the line L1 subjected to the editing process is twice as long as the distance between the dots in the horizontal direction (1/90 inch) compared to the original font pattern for the normal printing speed in FIG. )It has become. Since the distance between the dots in the horizontal direction is double, the print element of the print head 106 can follow the double-speed scanning. This realizes a double speed printing speed.

  In step S504, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines whether the leftmost portion R1 of the line L2 in FIG. 6 is a vertical element of the font. As a result, R1 to R8 of the line L2 correspond to “8 dots are continuous in the horizontal direction and there are no other dots before and after the horizontal direction”. Therefore, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines that R1 to R8 of the line L2 are “vertical elements of the font”. Based on the determination result, in step S506, the font pattern editing unit 102 arranges the font pattern of the portion in a staggered manner based on the dot arrangement of the previous horizontal line. At this time, the distance between the dots arranged in a staggered pattern in the horizontal direction is shorter than the distance (1/180 inch) in the normal font speed, that is, the original font pattern in FIG. 4 (1/240 inch). ). Specifically, since there is a dot in R1 of the previous line L1, the font pattern editing unit 102 arranges a dot in R4 and deletes other dots in R1 to R8 of the line L2.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a font pattern after the above-described editing process is performed. Referring to FIG. 7, the distance between the dots in the horizontal direction is shorter in the R1 dot in the line L1 and the R4 dot in the line L2 than in the original font pattern for the normal printing speed in FIG. . This reduces the impression that the staggered printed result has a jagged appearance. Further, since the line L1 and the line L2 are different horizontal lines, a printing speed higher than usual can be realized while shortening the distance between the dots in the horizontal direction.

  Similarly, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines that portions R17 to R24 of the line L2 are “vertical elements of the font”. Thereafter, similarly, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines that the R1 to R8 and R17 to R24 portions of the lines L3 to L22 are “vertical elements of the font”. Based on the determination result, in step S506, the font pattern editing unit 102 arranges the font pattern of the portion in a staggered manner based on the dot arrangement of the previous horizontal line. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a font pattern after the above-described editing process is performed.

  In step S504, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines whether the leftmost portion R1 of the line L23 in FIG. 8 is a vertical element of the font. As a result, like the line L1, the font pattern editing unit 102 determines that the entire line L23 is “not a vertical element of the font”. Based on the determination result, in step S505, the font pattern editing unit 102 edits the font pattern line L23 so as to be able to follow the printing speed of “double speed”.

  Since there is no dot to be processed in the line L24, the high-speed print font pattern editing process ends. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a font pattern for the double speed printing speed after the high speed printing font pattern editing process is completed.

  In the above description, the case where the designated printing speed is “double speed” has been described. That is, the font pattern editing unit 102 may create font patterns corresponding to different printing speeds by changing the interval of the selected dots in step S505. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a font pattern for a printing speed of 1.5 times speed. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a font pattern for a printing speed of 1.25 times speed.

  The dot interval selected in step S505 is obtained by multiplying the horizontal dot interval at the normal printing speed, that is, the horizontal dot interval in the original font pattern of FIG. Also good.

  As described above, the dot printer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention increases the printing speed without significantly reducing the printing quality. This is because the font pattern editing unit 102 performs editing in which the dots of the vertical elements of the font are arranged in a staggered manner, and selects the dots of the non-vertical elements so that they can follow the designated printing speed. This is because editing to be arranged is performed.

  That is, for the vertical element of the font, the font pattern editing unit 102 increases the printing speed by arranging dots in a staggered pattern. In staggered arrangement, a jagged impression can be reduced by adjusting the distance between dots in the horizontal direction.

  For a portion that is not a vertical element, such as a horizontal line of a font, the font pattern editing unit 102 performs editing to select dots that can follow the designated printing speed. That is, the dots of the portion of the font pattern are arranged so that the print head 106 can follow the maximum response frequency at the designated print speed. As a result, the designated printing speed is realized while minimizing the deterioration of the printing quality.

  Furthermore, the dot printer 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention enables high-speed printing at an arbitrary speed without creating and storing a font pattern for high-speed printing in advance. This is because the font pattern editing unit 102 creates a font pattern corresponding to the designated printing speed (high speed) from the original data of the original font pattern.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the dot printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The dot printer 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a font pattern editing unit 1002 that creates a font pattern corresponding to a given printing speed by editing a font pattern.

  The font pattern editing unit 1002 determines whether a part of the font pattern that represents the font as one or more dots arranged in the grid area is a vertical element of the font. When it is determined that the element is a vertical element, the font pattern editing unit 1002 performs vertical element arrangement editing that arranges dots of the portion of the font pattern in a staggered manner. If it is determined that the portion is not a vertical element portion, the font pattern editing unit 1002 performs horizontal element arrangement editing in which the dots of the portion of the font pattern are arranged at intervals corresponding to a given printing speed.

  As described above, the dot printer 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention increases the printing speed without significantly reducing the printing quality. This is because the font pattern editing unit 1002 performs editing in which the dots of the vertical element portion of the font are arranged in a staggered manner, and the dots of the non-vertical element portion are arranged at intervals corresponding to the designated printing speed. Because it does.

  In the above-described embodiment, the distance between dots in the horizontal direction of the dots arranged in a staggered pattern in the process of step S506 is 1/240 inch, but other distances may be used. That is, for example, 1/180 inch or 1/360 inch may be used.

  In addition, although the font pattern original data is obtained by compressing the font pattern used for actual printing into the quarter number of dots in the horizontal direction, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the dot number may be compressed to 1 / n (n is an arbitrary natural number) such as 1/2 or 1/8.

  The font pattern editing unit 102 and the print control unit 105 in FIG. 1 and the font pattern editing unit 1002 in FIG. 12 may be realized by dedicated hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit).

1,10 dot printer 101 CPU
102,1002 Font pattern editing unit 103 CG-ROM
104 Editing Memory 105 Print Control Unit 106 Print Head 107 Communication Interface 2 Host Device

Claims (8)

It is determined whether a part of a font pattern that represents a font as one or more dots arranged in a grid-like region is a vertical element of the font. Horizontal element arrangement that arranges dots in the font pattern at intervals corresponding to a given printing speed when vertical element arrangement editing is performed to arrange the dots of the part in a staggered manner and it is determined that the dots are not vertical elements Font pattern editing means for editing,
Bei give a storage means for storing font patterns original data,
The font pattern editing means includes a font pattern obtained by expanding the font pattern original data in a horizontal direction at a predetermined magnification, and a predetermined number of dots are continuous in the horizontal direction, and other dots are arranged before and after the dot in the horizontal direction. If the dot is not, de you determined the moiety is a vertical element of font Ttopurinta. In the horizontal element arrangement editing, in the font pattern obtained by expanding the font pattern original data by a predetermined magnification in the horizontal direction, the dots of the font pattern are selected at intervals corresponding to the given printing speed, and the unselected dots 2. The dot printer according to claim 1 , wherein the dot printer is a process of thinning out. The font pattern editing means creates an original font pattern by thinning out dots excluding dots every predetermined number of columns in the horizontal direction in the font pattern obtained by expanding the font pattern original data by a predetermined magnification in the horizontal direction,
Said longitudinal element arrangement editing, the distance between the dots in the transverse direction of the dots arranged in a staggered shape, according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a process arranged to be shorter than the distance in the original font pattern dots Printer. Interval corresponding to the given printing speed, a dot interval of the original font pattern, to claim 3 wherein is obtained by multiplying the percentage printing speed and the given printing speed corresponding to the original font pattern The described dot printer. Determining whether a part of a font pattern representing a font as one or more dots arranged in a grid-like region is a vertical element of the font;
If it is a vertical element, perform vertical element arrangement editing to arrange the dots of the part of the font pattern in a staggered manner,
If not a vertical element, perform horizontal element arrangement editing to arrange the dots of the part of the font pattern at intervals corresponding to a given printing speed,
Store the font pattern original data in the storage means,
In a font pattern obtained by expanding the font pattern original data by a predetermined magnification in the horizontal direction, when a predetermined number of dots are continuous in the horizontal direction and there are no other dots before and after the horizontal direction, off Ontopatan editing portion it determined is longitudinal elements of the font. When performing the horizontal element arrangement editing, in the font pattern obtained by expanding the font pattern original data by a predetermined magnification in the horizontal direction, the dot of the font pattern is selected at an interval corresponding to the given printing speed, and is selected. 6. The font pattern editing method according to claim 5 , wherein the missing dots are thinned out. In the font pattern obtained by expanding the font pattern original data by a predetermined magnification in the horizontal direction, an original font pattern is created by thinning out dots excluding dots every predetermined number of columns in the horizontal direction,
The font according to claim 5 or 6 , wherein when performing the vertical element arrangement editing, the dots arranged in a staggered pattern are arranged such that a distance between dots in a horizontal direction is shorter than a distance in the original font pattern. Pattern editing method. Interval corresponding to the given printing speed, a dot interval of the original font pattern, to claim 7 is obtained by multiplying the ratio of the print speed and the given printing speed corresponding to the original font pattern The font pattern editing method described.

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