JPH0239362A - Document processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the evolution of vector fonts into dot pattern data by connecting directly or indirectly the common end points of the vector fonts to each other for preparation of the outline data. CONSTITUTION:An address part 10 inputs the index codes like character codes, etc., and points the font addresses of font memory parts 11 and 12 storing the corresponding pattern data. In case plural font data are available to a single index code, both memory parts 11 and 12 are addressed. A common point detecting part 13 reads the vector font data out of the parts 11 and 12 and checks these font data to detect the common end points. An end point connecting part 14 connects these detected end points to each other via a segment having the length equivalent to the size of a character pattern to be outputted. These connected end points are synthesized into a vector font by a synthesizing part 15 and converted into the dot pattern data by a dot pattern converting part 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a document processing device that stores font data such as characters and graphics in vector fonts.

[Prior Art] Generally, in a document processing device having a vector font, the font data of a document to be displayed or printed is divided into the display start position and end position when it is displayed as information on each line segment constituting one character. It is stored in the form of a vector represented by . Further, methods for realizing each line segment of such a vector font include a method using straight line segments, a method using interpolation using circular arcs or cubic splines, and a method generating using B-splines. Note that among vector fonts, fonts in which the outlines of characters are expressed by vectors are sometimes called outline fonts.

Compared to fonts composed of dot matrix, vector fonts do not require font data for each character size, so they have the advantage of requiring less memory space, and there is no wobble in characters even when enlarged/reduced. It has the advantage that no sticking occurs.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In such a vector font, one character pattern is divided into, for example, an upper half and a lower half, each vector font is stored in correspondence with the character code, and the corresponding character A possible application would be to synthesize a plurality of vector fonts to create a corresponding character pattern when a code is input. However, no device that can do this has conventionally existed. In fact, in order to develop such character fonts into pattern data, the connection between the font data becomes a problem, especially when the font data consists of outlines (contour lines), each font data is composed of a closed loop. Therefore, when combining these multiple font data and converting them into pattern data, it was necessary to perform special processing on the outline portion of each font data.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and when a plurality of vector fonts are synthesized to create a synthesized vector font for a character code, the common end points of each vector font are connected directly or indirectly. It is an object of the present invention to provide a document processing device that makes it easier to develop dot pattern data from vector fonts by creating outline data for the character codes.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a document processing device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a document processing device that stores font data in the form of vector fonts, comprising a storage means for storing instruction information that indicates common endpoints between a plurality of vector fonts, and an endpoint of each vector based on the instruction information. and connecting means for directly or indirectly connecting the two.

[Operation] In the above configuration, instruction information indicating common endpoints between a plurality of vector fonts is stored, and the endpoints of each vector are connected directly or indirectly based on the instruction information.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Description of Document Processing Apparatus (Fig. 1) Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of a document processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an address section that, when an index code such as a character code is input, specifies the font address of the font storage section in which the corresponding pattern data is stored;
1 and 12 are font storage sections that store vector fonts, and when there is multiple font data corresponding to one index code (for example, when multiple lines are used as described later), the address section 10 is stored. The two font storage units 11 and 12 are addressed by. 13 is font storage unit 1
This is a common point detecting section that sequentially outputs vector font data 1 and 12, checks the font data, and detects common end points.

Reference numeral 14 denotes an end point connecting section which reads the font data from the font storage sections 11 and 12 and connects the end points detected by the common end point detection section 13 with a line segment having a length corresponding to the size of the character pattern to be output. be. Reference numeral 15 connects the end points of each font data from the font storage units 11 and 12 using the end point connecting unit 14, synthesizes the end points into one vector font, and creates a vector font corresponding to the input character code. This is the synthesis section that creates the .

Reference numeral 16 denotes a dot pattern converter that converts the vector font synthesized by the synthesizer 15 into dot pattern data.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 100 is a control unit that controls the entire document processing device, and includes a CPU 10I such as a microcomputer.
, a ROM 102 that stores control programs and various data for the CPU 10I, and a RAM 103 that temporarily stores various data as a work area for the CPU 10I. Further, 104 and 105 are address tables that store addresses of font memories 106 and 107 corresponding to the size of character patterns, respectively, and table 104 is font data of normal size (one line) in font memory 106. The table 105 is an address table for reading multiple font data from the font memory 107 and creating, for example, large-sized font data spanning multiple lines. access.

Both 106 and 107 are font memories that store font data such as characters in vector fonts, font memory 106 has font data of normal character size, and font memory 107 has a size spanning multiple lines as described later. Each font data is stored in font memory 1.
This memory is divided and stored in the same size as the font size of 06.

A CRT display section 110 displays images corresponding to the dot information stored in the video memory 111, as well as input document information, messages to the operator, control data, and the like. 112 is a keyboard for inputting document information, operator control information, etc., and 113 is a mouse for moving a cursor etc. on the CRTIIO, inputting a command by pointing to a command image such as an icon, or specifying a coordinate position on the screen. It is a pointing device such as. Reference numeral 114 denotes an interface unit that performs interface control between the 115-body printer 114 and the control unit 100, such as a printer such as a laser beam. 116 is an image memory for storing image data such as characters;
The commands output from the keyboard 112, mouse 113, etc. are output to the printer 114, etc., and images are formed.

Reference numeral 117 denotes a bit manipulation unit (BMU) used as a pattern development means, a pattern transformation means, etc. in this embodiment, and the BMU 117 transforms any character string developed and displayed on the CRTIIO from the pointing device 113. When a section and character transformation information for this character string are specified and input, display data corresponding to each character specified in the section can be transformed and developed.

[Explanation of Pattern Development (FIGS. 3 and 4)] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the character code pattern development process in the document processing apparatus of this embodiment.

201 is input character data, and this data 201 includes data indicating the character coat, character size, and how many lines this character will be displayed (including printing) (hereinafter referred to as
(referred to as gyodori data), etc. 202 performs subsequent processing based on the input font size data, for example, if it is 16 font or more, a character pattern is created using a vector font, and if it is less than 16 font, a character pattern is created using a dot pattern. This is a size determination section for switching.

Here, dot pattern data 2 shown at the top of FIG.
In contrast to the flow of processing for creating a character pattern from 05, the pattern development processing using a vector font shown in processing block 220 is the main part of this embodiment. below,
This block 220 will be explained.

The line pattern determining unit 210 determines how many lines the character indicated by the input character code is patterned over. The operation of the gyo-dori determining section 210 is basically the same as the operation of the gyo-dori determining section 203, and it is determined whether the character pattern has the size of the number of lines based on character size data and the like. The address table 211 includes the address tables 104 and 105 shown in FIG. 2, and addresses the vector font in the font memory 106 when it is displayed in one line according to the line information from the line arrangement determination unit 210, and thereby reads out the vector font. The vector font is output to the dot conversion section 214 and converted into dot data.

On the other hand, when the line arrangement determination unit 210 determines that the pattern is expanded over multiple lines, the address table 2
A plurality of font data in the font memory 107 are designated and read out by the eleven tables 105. These plural vector fonts are synthesized by the synthesis section 212 according to the gyodori data, and outputted to the dot conversion section 214, where the pattern is developed.

Vector font 222 of font memory 106 indicates font data of inch graphics "1", and font memory 1
07 vector font 223 is inch gras symbol "I"
”, and 224 indicates the lower half font data of the inch gram symbol “1”.

Therefore, when the character code of Inchgra is input and the line arrangement determining unit 210 determines that the symbol "1" is to be displayed and output in one line, the font data in the font memory 106 is determined by the table 104 of the address table 211. 222 is referenced and read out. On the other hand, if the line arrangement determination unit 210 determines that the display will span multiple lines, for example, two lines, table 1 of the address table 211 will be displayed.
Font data 223 and 224 are addressed and read by 07, and the respective vector fonts are combined into one vector font by the combining unit 212 as described later.

The font data thus read out or synthesized is converted from a vector font into dot image data by a dot conversion section 214, details of which are shown in FIG. 4, and output as a dot character pattern.

On the other hand, when the character size is 16 characters, the character code is sent to the gyodori determination section 203, and it is determined whether or not it will be displayed throughout the line. And when it is displayed in one line,
Dot pattern data 2 is determined by the address table 204.
When the pattern data 05 is read out and displayed over a plurality of lines, a plurality of corresponding divided dot patterns are read out from the dot pattern data 206. Here, as in the case of vector fonts 212 and 213, the pattern data of the dot pattern data 205 stores the dot pattern of the entire "i", and the pattern data of the dot pattern data 206 stores the dot pattern of the entire "i". The pattern data of the lower half is stored as dot pattern data.

Reference numeral 207 is a conversion unit that performs conversion such as enlarging or reducing the read dot pattern data depending on the number of lines.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the dot conversion section 214 of the embodiment.

The dot conversion unit 214 receives coordinate data constituting a vector font, and the transformation circuit 301 performs affine transformation or the like as necessary. The converted coordinate data is then sent to the contour drawing section 302, where contour data of characters and the like is created. These contour lines are composed of closed curves, and 303 is a filling section 303 that fills in the inside of these contour data. Such a filling process can be executed by a process similar to, for example, the paint (PAINT) command of the BASIC language.

[Description of vector font synthesis processing (Figs. 5 to 9) Fig. 5 is a diagram showing outline data consisting of sample points obtained by sampling the kanji character "ai" using the B-spline method.

In the figure, the sample points of the character ``love'' are shown as small circular dots, which are arranged in a matrix of 512 x 512 dots. Here, each outline data is configured in a closed loop. A B-spline is created by using the start and end points of a certain curve section as fulcrums and generating a spline inside the sample point as the apex.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of vector font data of the upper half 223 and lower half 224 of the inch graphic symbol "1" developed by the spline method.

Here, the closed loop surrounding the diagonal line part 64 in the upper half 223 is the vector font data above the inch-grain symbol, and the closed loop surrounding the diagonal line part 65 in the lower half 224 is the vector font data below the inch-grain symbol. here,
Points 60 and 66, and points 61 and 69 are mutually common end points.

Therefore, when composing these two font data, a vector font corresponding to the line segment connecting these points is created in accordance with the gyodori information, and the vector font 223
and 224 are combined into one. As a result, the vector font data corresponding to the line segments 62 and 63 are erased, so that the combined vector font can be converted into dot pattern data in the same way as a normal vector font.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the vector font data in the shaded area 64 in FIG. The column shown is the sample data area that stores the coordinate values and attribute flags of each sample point.
71 is the coordinate value of point 66 in Fig. 6, 72 is the sample point 67
73 stores the coordinate value of the sample point 68, and 74 stores the coordinate value of the last sample point 69. Further, the attribute flag 53 stores the characteristics of each sample point. That is, 54 is a flag indicating that the sample point 66 is the starting point, and 55.57 is a flag indicating that the sample point 66 is a common coordinate (sample) point with the other vector font. Therefore, it can be seen that points 66 and 69 are common points in this vector font with the other corresponding vector font.

In addition, 56 of the attribute flags 53 is the sample point 6 in FIG.
7 indicates that it is a curve section.

In this way, the attribute flag 53 stores information such as the end point or start point of a curve section, information indicating that it is an end point or a straight section, and information indicating that the end point is a point common to other vector fonts. There is.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show address tables 104 and 1, respectively.
05, address table 104 is an address table for addressing vector font data in font memory 106, and address table 105 is an address table for addressing vector font data in font memory 107.

In either table, the management table stores the creation date of the font data, the file size of the font data, the start address of the font data, and the like. In the address area 80 of the address table 104,
Addresses of the font memory 106 corresponding to JIS codes are each stored in 2 bytes. In the address area 81 of the address table 105, for example, font data 223 shown in FIG.
The font memory 107 stores a plurality of divided font data corresponding to one character or symbol, such as or 224.
address is stored.

[Description of pattern development processing (FIG. 10)] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing pattern development processing by the control unit 100 of the document processing apparatus of this embodiment. R of
It is stored in OM102.

This program is started by inputting a character code, and the character code may be input from the keyboard 112 or the like, or the character code for one character may be read from the RAM, the document buffer 103, or the like. In this way, first, in step S1, a character code is input, and in step S2, the gyodori is determined, and it is checked whether the character code is expanded into a pattern and expanded into one line or across multiple lines. (Step S3).

If printing or displaying over multiple lines, step S
Step S4 addresses the plurality of vector font data in the font memory 107 with reference to the address table 105. In step S5, the addressed plurality of font data is read from the font memory 107 and is stored in the RAM 103.
Store in.

Then, in step S6, the font memory 10
The attribute flag of each coordinate point of a plurality of vector fonts read from 7 is checked to see if the coordinate point is a common coordinate point with the coordinate point of the other vector font to be synthesized. This can be easily determined using the attribute flag 53 as described above. If there are common points, step S7
Then, the attribute flag of those common points is changed to a flag indicating that it is a curved section.

Then, in step S8, these common points are connected with line segments corresponding to the line information. This can be done, for example, by changing the attribute flag of data 74 indicating sample point 69 in FIG. 6 to create a vector font that connects sample point 61, and by creating a vector font that connects sample points 60 and 66. , a closed-loop vector font is created by combining the hatched areas 64 and 65 in FIG.

In this way, it is checked in step S9 whether all coordinate points have been checked, and if not, the process returns to step S6.
Upon completion, the process proceeds to step SIO, where the vector font data is converted into dot pattern data and stored in the image memory 116 or video memory 111.

On the other hand, if the character pattern is to be displayed or printed within one line in step S3, the process advances to step Sll, where the font data in the font memory 106 is addressed using the address table l○4, and in step S12, the font data in the font memory 106 is
Read pattern data for one character from 06. and,
In step s10, the vector font is converted into a dot pattern and stored in the image memory 116. Note that the pattern data stored in the image memory 116 is output to the printer 114 and printed, or stored in the video memory 111 and displayed on the CRTIIO.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, when a plurality of vector fonts, such as characters divided corresponding to each line, are stored, and a plurality of patterns of the characters, etc. are printed or displayed, By creating a vector font by connecting the plurality of divided patterns and converting the vector font into a dot pattern, a combined dot pattern can be easily created.

In order to simplify the explanation, this embodiment has been explained for the case of two lines, but even in the case of three or more lines, it can be easily implemented by dividing the font data into three or more lines and holding it. Needless to say.

Also, when compositing, it is possible to connect common points between vector fonts so that unnecessary border parts between vector fonts do not remain.
Filling in characters, reversing them, etc. can be done very easily.

Furthermore, although this embodiment has been explained in such a manner that the common points are overlapped, the fonts are not limited to this, but the fonts may be synthesized by interpolating the common points with a straight line or the like. By doing this, it is possible to easily obtain composite characters for any gyodori.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, when a vector font for a character or symbol is created by combining a plurality of vector fonts, the combined vector is created by connecting points common to each vector font. Creating a font has the effect of simplifying the process of developing it into a dot pattern.

Furthermore, since there are no connecting lines in the connecting portion, there is an effect that high-quality characters can be obtained even when creating decorative characters such as outline characters and hatching.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a document processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a document processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 explains pattern development processing in the document processing device according to an embodiment. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the dot conversion section in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a diagram showing character sample points using the B-spline method. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the synthesis of vector fonts for inch graphics symbols. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of vector font data in the embodiment. FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams showing an example of the address table configuration in the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the address table configuration in the embodiment. 7 is a flowchart showing pattern development processing in the document processing device. In the figure, 10... Address section, 11. 12... Font storage section, 13... Common line deletion section, 14... Composition section, 15... Dot pattern conversion section, 53... Attribute Flags, 66-69... Sample points, 100... Control unit, 101... CPU, 102... ROM, 103
...RAM, 104,105...Address table, 106.107...Font memory, 110...
C.R.T. 111...Video memory, 112...Keyboard,
113...mouse, 114...printer, 115
...Interface unit, 116...Image memory, 117...BMU, 118...System bus,
202...Size determination unit, 203, 210...Gyokudori determination unit, 204.211...Address table, 2
07... Conversion unit, 214... Dot conversion unit, 301
...Deformation circuit, 302...Contour drawing section, 303...
・This is a filled part. 4 Codes in a Sentence Patent Applicant: Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A document processing device that stores font data in the form of vector fonts, comprising: a storage means for storing instruction information indicating common end points between a plurality of vector fonts; 1. A document processing device comprising: connecting means for directly or indirectly connecting end points to each other. (2) The document processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connecting means interpolates between the end points.