JPH03175062A - High quality character generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce information amount per one character, and to deform a character format or connect characters without altering representative points or modification information by using data of the point as data of a pressure change point, and generating a pattern having a size proportional to a pressure value from a pattern generator. CONSTITUTION:Representative point reading means 11 picks up representative points of a character one by one from a representative point file 12, and multiplies them by magnification of a character to be desirably displayed to obtain X- and Y-coordinates positions for forming the character, i.e., pressure values. These values are input to interpolators 13 - 15, in which the X-, Y- coordinates and pressure values of output information are converted to integer numbers of several times to be enhanced in qualities, and output from the interpolators 13 - 15. The pattern of a size responsive to the pressure values is generated from a pattern generator 16. That is, the generator 16 generates pattern information of each one line, and input to a contractor 17 together with the already obtained X- and Y-coordinates. The contractor contracts the input values, and outputs as pixel information to an image memory 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a high-quality character generation device for creating and developing character fonts.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in a dot matrix type character font generation device used in an information processing device, various data compression methods are employed when generating a large font using a large number of dots.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a conventional character font generator (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 163891/1983).

In the above character font generator, several representative points constituting a character are extracted from a representative point file 22 by a representative point reading means 21, and lines constituting the character, called skeleton lines, are extracted by a skeleton line calculator 23 by an approximation method. demand.

Next, the modification information calculator 24 determines a shape pattern corresponding to the modification information for each point forming the skeleton line and outputs it to the image memory 25.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the high-quality character generating device having the above configuration, in order to obtain natural and beautiful characters, the number of representative points increases and the amount of information per character increases. It is difficult to convert the data into ROM and store it in an output device such as a printer or CRT. Furthermore, when changing the typeface or making the letters appear connected, it is necessary to determine another representative point.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional high-quality character generator, reduces the amount of information per character, transforms the font without changing the representative point or modification information, and allows The purpose is to provide a high-quality character generator that can connect

(Means for solving the problem) For this purpose, in the high-quality character generation device of the present invention,
Font data is formed from the coordinates of representative points and writing pressure information, and characters are generated by interpolating this data.

Therefore, there is a representative point file that stores representative point data consisting of X coordinates, Y coordinates, and pressure values, representative point successive means for reading representative point data from the representative point file, and representative point data. An interpolator is provided for inputting and performing interpolation processing.

An interpolator is provided for each of the X coordinate, Y coordinate, and pressure value. The X and Y coordinates from the interpolator are directly input to the reducer, and the pressure values are input to the reducer via the pattern generator.

Further, the reducer is connected to an image memory, and the output data of the reducer is inputted thereto. It should be noted that the data at the representative point mentioned above is the data at the pressure change point.

(Operation) According to the present invention, when the data of the representative point is read from the representative point file that stores the data of the representative point composed of the X coordinate, the Y coordinate, and the pressure value as described above, the data of the representative point is multiplied by the desired magnification, and the resulting data is interpolated by an interpolator. The data is further multiplied several times inside the interpolator.

Then, a pattern of a predetermined size is generated at a predetermined coordinate position using the interpolation data, and this is returned to data of an appropriate size by a reducer and input into the image memory.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a high quality character generating device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the representative point reading means 11 is the representative point file 1
By extracting the representative points of the characters one by one from 2 and multiplying them by the magnification of the character to be displayed, the X and Y coordinates for character formation and the pen pressure information at the coordinate positions, that is, the pressure value, can be obtained.

These values are input to interpolators 13-15, respectively, and interpolated point data between each representative point is output from the interpolators 13-15.

Thereafter, information about each representative point is similarly transmitted to the interpolators 13 to 1.
5, the interpolators 13 to 15 output information on each point forming the handwriting. X coordinate of output information, Y
The coordinates and pressure values are output from interpolators 13 to 15 as integer values multiplied by several times in order to improve the quality.

Here, a pattern having a size corresponding to the pressure value is generated by the pattern generator 16. That is, the pattern generator 16 generates pattern information for each row,
This is input to the reducer 17 together with the already obtained values of the X and Y coordinates. The reducer 17 reduces each input value and outputs it to the image memory 18 as pixel information.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an image memory.

As shown in the figure, one day of image memory consists of a storage area called pixel 18a arranged on a two-dimensional (X, Y) plane. It consists of a storage device capable of storing color information.

Here, an example of output when the pattern is a circle and the pressure value is expressed by the radius of the circle will be explained.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of representative point data, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example output from the data of the representative point in FIG. 3, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are each input to the representative point reading means 11. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of outputting while changing the magnification. That is, FIG. 5 shows an example of reduced output, and FIG. 5(A) is 0.7
A diagram showing an example of double output, FIG. 5(B) is a diagram showing an example of 0.5 times the output, FIG. 5(C) is a diagram showing an example of 0.3 times the output,
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of enlarged output.

In FIG. 3, pressure values, X coordinates, and Y coordinate values are shown as representative points in each row. When multiple representative points come together, the strokes that make up a kanji, for example, are
do. -1 between data to indicate end of stroke
data is arranged.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, high quality is maintained even if the output is reduced or enlarged.

The data required to generate a character font using the above-mentioned high-quality character generator is extremely small compared to conventional methods. This is because the high-quality character generation device of the invention mainly prints data on pen pressure. Therefore, each data is indicated by an X coordinate, a Y coordinate, and a pressure value.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of pressure values, Figure 7 (A) is a diagram showing an example of pressure values for the first character pattern, and Figure 7 (B) is an example of pressure values for the second character pattern. FIG.

As shown in the figure, the pressure value at the point 31 and 32 where the brush tip touches the paper is O, and the pressure value at the point 33 where the brush stops is 2. The pressure values are divided into four types, with the pressure value at the writing point 34 of the brush tip being 1 and the pressure value at the point 35 where the brush is strongly pressed being 3, and the pressure values are plotted centering around the pressure change point.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing original data of pressure change points.

As a result of using the X coordinate, Y coordinate, and pressure value as data, as shown in the figure, it is possible to configure the original data with information on representative points so small that characters cannot be distinguished.

FIG. 9 shows the handwriting interpolation result, and FIG. 10 shows the final result, both enlarged five times.

Next, the operations of the interpolators 13 to 15 will be explained using mathematical formulas based on the data shown in FIG.

When B-splines of order 4 are used for interpolators 13 to 15, x=a, +bxt+c++t"+dxt"y=a, +
b, t+cyt2-1-d, 43, where O≦t≦1. And the above a.

”V+ bXI bV+ cxl CF+
Each value of d*+dy is determined by the following formula.

ax ”” (Xo + 4 XI + Xt) /
61ay −()'o + 4'! ＋ ＋Yz
) / 6; b e (3xo + 3xz) / 6゜by - (3yo + 33'z) / 6; CX
= (3Xo +6 XI +3 Xz) /6°C
,” (3yo +6y+ +37z)/6;dX=
(Xo +3x+ 3X2 +X3)/6°d
, = (3'O+3>'l 3y2 +y, )/
In Nico, when (xo, yo) to (Xa+3'z) are arranged in order, (x, y) is approximately equal to (x,, y,) and (
It can be seen that this is a set of points on the curve passing between X Z + y2).

Therefore, when the magnification of the reducer 17 is set to 1/6, a8 to d
, and 1/6 coefficients of a, to d, disappear and can be treated as integers. The same applies to pressure values.

Next, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of calculation of interpolation processing.

The data shown in FIG. 3 is extracted line by line from the representative point file 12 (see FIG. 1) by the representative point succession means 11. The first to fourth lines are points 31, 33, . . . in FIG. 7, respectively.
34.32 data is shown. - Pressure value 0 on the second reading, Xll! mark 18 and Y position 412, which are sent to interpolators 13 to 15 corresponding to each. At this time, the result of multiplying the external input by a factor is sent out, but here it is assumed to be 1.

Since the received data is the first, each interpolator 13 to 15 clears all the previous three consecutive points with the received data, and when receiving the next row of data (2, 22, 5), (p ,
x, y) = (0,108,12) and (0,10
913) is output.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the pattern generator output.

In the pattern generator 16, the seat! ! (x, y
) is the center and a circle with radius P is drawn. For example, the pattern generator 16 receiving the pressure value O generates a pattern of size O (radius 0
Outputs the information of the circle = point).

In addition, horizontal line information (Y coordinate, X coordinate minimum value) forming a pattern is output from the pattern generator 16.

X coordinate maximum value), for example (12, 108, 108) is output.

In this case, the multivalue is reduced by the reducer 17 according to the following formula, and (2, 18, 18) is sent out.

Y coordinate = (Y coordinate + horizontal line Y coordinate) / 6 X coordinate minimum value = (X coordinate + horizontal horizontal line X coordinate minimum value) / 6 X coordinate maximum value = (X coordinate 10 horizontal line
/6 Output one horizontal line to the image memory 18 from the above three pieces of information.

Next, the interpolators 13 to 15 receive the third row of data (1°2
2.5) is sent, and all point information between (0, 18, 2) and (2° 22, 5'') is sequentially output.

Then, horizontal line elements forming a pattern (circle) are output for each set of points, and a collection of black circles with a radius corresponding to the pressure is formed on the image memory.

After that, the representative points are read out again, and the collection of circles forms a character as shown in FIG. However, if the pressure value is negative, it is considered as the end of the stroke, and the representative point reading means 11 supplies an end signal to the interpolators 13 to 15, and interpolation with the next point is stopped. If you do not cancel it, it will be in a cursive style.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of output when the font is changed to a flowing character style. Figures 13 (A) and (B) are diagrams showing an example where each stroke is output independently, Figure 13 (C)
.

CD) is a diagram showing an example in which the stopping point of each stroke is raised and connected to the next stroke, FIG. 13(E).

(P) is a diagram showing an example in which each stroke is continuous, and is also connected to the next character. Also, Fig. 13 (B), (
D).

(F) has expanded the output five times.

In either case, when reading out the representative points, it is only necessary to distinguish by data whether they are continuous or independent, so the font can be easily changed.

Note that grayscale characters can also be created by halving the output density.

The number of outputs from interpolators 13 to 15 (Fig. 11) is x0
~Xs+)'o~y and p0~p, the value is selected to be the same as the value of the one having the longest distance to the adjacent point.

a+b t+c t” +d t at 1/n
(However, n is the number of outputs) By continuously changing the value between 0 and 1 in increments, seamless interpolation is performed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
Various modifications are possible based on the spirit of the present invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the X coordinate,
The data of the representative point is read from the representative point file that stores the data of the representative point consisting of the Y coordinate and pressure value, multiplies the data of the representative point, performs interpolation processing on the data, and calculates the specified value using the interpolated data. Since a pattern of a predetermined size is generated at the coordinate position of , and the pattern is reduced, high-quality characters with arbitrary magnification can be generated with a small amount of information.

The character "ei" shown as an example consists of 129 bytes. Since the original data is 48 x 48 dots, defining each dot requires 48 x 48 bits/8 bits = 288 bytes.

Furthermore, in the high quality character generating device of the present invention, since the maximum pressure value X coordinate point and Y coordinate point are (3, 47, 47), it is also possible to compress the pressure value into 2 bytes.

Since -1 in FIG. 3 is a delimiter code, if 1 byte is used, the total will be 88 bytes, which is about 1/3 of the amount required when defining by Todd string.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a high-quality character generator showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an image memory, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of representative point data, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of reduced output, FIG. 5 (A) is a diagram showing an example of 0.7 times the output, and FIG. A diagram showing an example of 0.5x output, Figure 5 (C)
is a diagram showing an example of output magnified by 0.3 times, Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of enlarged output, Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of pressure value, and Figure 7 (A) is the pressure value of the first character pattern. Figure 7 (B) showing an example of
Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the pressure value of the second character pattern, Figure 8 is a diagram showing the original data of pressure change points, Figure 9 is a diagram of handwriting interpolation results enlarged five times, and Figure 1O is the final result. Figure 11 shows a calculation example of interpolation processing.
Figure 2 shows an example of the pattern generator output, Figure 13 shows an example of the output when the font is changed to a flowing character style, and Figure 13 (
A) and (B) are diagrams showing examples in which each stroke is output independently, and Figures 13 (C) and (D) are examples in which the stopping point of each stroke is raised and connected to the next stroke. 13(E). (F) is a diagram showing an example of consecutive strokes, the 14th
The figure is a block diagram of a conventional character font generator. 11.21... Representative point successive output means, 12.22...
Representative point file, 13-15...Interpolator, 16...
Pattern generator, 17...Reducer, 18.25...
image memory.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (a) A representative point file that stores representative point data consisting of an X coordinate, a Y coordinate, and a pressure value, and (b) a representative point from which data of the representative point of the representative point file is read. (c) an interpolator that inputs representative point data and performs interpolation processing; (d) inputs the X and Y coordinates from the interpolator directly to the reducer, and transmits the pressure value to the pattern generator. (e) means for inputting the output data of the reducer into the image memory; (f) using the data of the representative point as data of the pressure change point; (g) ) A high-quality character generating device, wherein the pattern generator generates a pattern having a size proportional to the pressure value.