JPH04323056A - Character processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the grade of a four-time magnified character, in such a case that a magnified pattern obtained by magnifying a pattern expressed by a bit font by four times is corrected, by correcting the collapsed part of the magnified pattern on the basis of the data showing the direction and shape of said collapsed part. CONSTITUTION:Each dot on a bit map font magnified twice longitudinally and laterally so as to become four times in total is expressed as an (X, Y) coordinates point and searching is successively performed until a searching point becomes a black dot while a Y-value is previously moved. When the searching point is found out, it is investigated whether the region thereof is a part forming a collapsed part and, when said region is a part forming the collapsed part, the direction thereof is investigated to store the data thereof. Next, the data related to the collapsed part where a certain searching point is formed is investigated to be set to a correction condition at the time of correction. After correction, it is investigated whether the collapsed part in the other direction is present at the same searching point and, in the case of the presence of collapsed part, the same correction is performed. By this method, a collapsed part expressed by a four-time magnified character is corrected at a high speed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording method and apparatus for generating enlarged characters that are printed after enlarging basic characters.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art When enlarged characters are generated by enlarging basic characters represented by dot patterns, the quality of the characters is degraded due to distortions in the enlarged characters. To prevent this, the following methods are currently available.

1. Method of storing basic characters and enlarged characters in memory in advance 2. Outline font method that generates enlarged characters by performing several pattern matching

0004
]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, although the conventional methods can obtain high character quality, they have drawbacks such as the required large capacity and slow processing speed. An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to correct quadruple-width enlarged characters with high quality using character patterns represented by existing dot patterns.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] For the above purpose, in the present invention, a broken part is searched for on a bitmap font that has been enlarged four times (2 times vertically and 2 times horizontally), and the searched part is searched for. We used a method to perform correction by applying correction conditions. The distorted portions (circle marks) present on the font are divided into four patterns, as shown in FIG. 1, depending on their orientation, and six patterns, as shown in FIG. 2, depending on their shape. In addition, Figure 1 is a diagram that distinguishes the direction of the collapsed part in 90 degree units, starting from 1: the collapsed part facing the upper left, the collapsed part facing the lower right, the collapsed part facing the upper right, and the lower left. It is a broken part that is suitable for Figure 2 is a diagram that differentiates the number of dots on the two sides forming the collapsed part.
In order from 2 dots x 2 dots, 2 dots x 2 dots
These are a 4-dot deformed part, a 2 dot by 6 dot or more deformed part, a 4 dot by 4 dot deformed part, a 4 dot by 6 dot or more deformed part, and a 6 dot or more by 6 dot or more deformed part. Note that the halftone dots are correction dots. Using these correction conditions, it is determined what the distorted portion is, and based on that information, correction is performed by filling the distorted region with dots. The method of searching for a distorted part is to represent each dot on the font with (X, Y) coordinates, and to determine whether the dot at the coordinate point is black or white.

[0006]

[Operation] Since the present invention corrects enlarged characters, the correction can be made without being concerned with the character enlargement method. In addition, by changing the correction conditions, processing speed and capacity can be improved.
You can freely change the appearance of corrected characters.

[0007]

[Embodiment] A detailed explanation will be given below using figures and flowcharts.

In order to search for broken parts in a certain bitmap font shown in FIG. 3(a) that has been enlarged four times (2 times vertically and 2 times horizontally), each dot on the font is represented as an (X, Y) coordinate point ( The upper left dot of the font is (0, 0)), and the search is performed sequentially while moving the Y value first. At that time, from the method of creating a quadruple-width font (expanding each dot of the basic font to twice the height and twice the width to create a quadruple-width font), search in 4-dot area units of 2 dots vertically and 2 dots horizontally. , the dot at the top left of each area (hereinafter referred to as the search point)
The color of the entire area is determined using . The above is summarized in FIG. 3(b), and the numbers used in the figure represent the search order of the search points in each area.

Using this search method, (
0, 0) The search starts from the coordinate point and continues until the search point, which is a black dot, is found. FIG. 8 is a flowchart S1 showing a program for finding this search point, which loops until a black search point is found, and when it is found, proceeds to S2.
The process shown in FIG. 9 is started. Once a black search point is found, next, as described above, as shown in FIG. 8, it is checked whether the area is part of a collapsed area and, if so, its direction. When a certain search point A is black, the direction of the broken part that can exist is one of (a) to (d) in Fig. 4. If these do not apply, it is determined that the broken part does not exist, and the next Move to the search point. This determination method will be explained using a flowchart (FIG. 9) and FIG. 4(e). If it is determined that a certain search point, for example A in FIG. 4(e), is black on the font enlarged four times (S100), search point B is first checked. In that case, if the search point B is black, it is determined that there is a possibility that it is (a) or (b) in 4, and if it is white, it is determined that there is no possibility that it is (a) or (b). It's for a reason. If it is black, then point D
If this point is white, it is determined that (a) in FIG. 4 exists (s102). If point D is black, then point E is examined, and if this point is white, it is determined that (b) in FIG. 4 exists (S103). If this point is also black, it is determined that there is no possibility of either (a) or (b) in FIG. 4. In s101 of FIG. 9, when point B is white, point C is next checked, and when this point is black, (c) of FIG.
(d), and if it is white, it is determined that it is not part of the collapsed portion (S106). If point C is black, then check point E, and if this point is white, it is determined that (c) in FIG. 4 exists (S10
4). If point E is black, then check point F, and if this point is white, it is determined that (d) in Figure 4 exists (S1
05). If this point is also black, it is determined that it is not part of the collapsed portion (S106). In this way, it is determined whether the area of a certain black search point is part of a broken part or not, and if it is, the information about the direction of the broken part is saved (specifically There are 4 (
As shown in f), a certain 1-byte area (FLSV) is secured, and its upper 4 bits are regarded as flags related to the four orientations).

[0010]In the lower four bits, information about the shape of the collapsed portion, which will be explained next, is stored.

Next, as an example, how to investigate the shape of the collapsed portion determined to be in the orientation shown in FIG. 4(a) is shown in FIG. 4(g).
Explain using. The lower four bits of (f) in FIG. 4 correspond to search points 1 to 4 in (g) of FIG. 4, respectively, and if there is a black search point, the corresponding bit is set. At that time, if point 1 is white, point 2 is not black, and if point 3 is white, point 4 is not black. Therefore, if point 1 or point 3 is white, point 2 is not black. Or, decide not to investigate point 4. The above flow is shown in (FIG. 10).

[0012] In the manner described above, information about the broken portion formed by a certain search point is created and used as a correction condition during correction. The flow of correction using this condition is shown in Figure 4 (
h) is shown in FIG. 11 with reference to FIG. (Fig. 11) is a diagram for correction in the case of the orientation shown in Fig. 4 (h), and the numbers of the points used in the flowchart are the dots in Fig. 4 (h),
The bit numbers each represent a bit of (FLSV). Before determining the direction of the broken part, it is checked whether all the lower 4 bits of (FLSV) are set. This is because there is no need to fill it up. Also,
When bit 7 of (FLSV) is not set, the orientation is one of the other three. FIG. 4(h) is a diagram showing the distorted portion to be corrected, and the numbers used in the diagram are dot numbers for correction corresponding to the lower four bits of (FLSV).

After the correction, it is checked whether there is a deviation in another direction at the same search point, and if it exists, the same correction is made, and if it does not exist, the process moves to the next search point. By using such a correction method, the quadruple-width enlarged font (d) in FIG. 5 before correction is corrected as shown in (e) in FIG. According to the present invention as described above, the distorted portions appearing in quadruple-width enlarged characters outputted by a storage device can be corrected quickly and with a small capacity, and the printing quality is significantly improved.

(Other Embodiments) This method is inferior to the above-mentioned embodiments in terms of printing quality, but the processing speed is faster and
This is a correction that can be performed with a small capacity, and the method will be explained below.

[0015] In this method, all the collapsed parts are divided into four patterns as shown in Fig. 1 according to their orientation, and further into three patterns as shown in Fig. 5 (a), (b), and (c) according to their shape. . Figure 5 shows, in order from (a), a 2-dot x 2-dot broken area, a 2-dot x 4-dot or more broken area, and a 4-dot broken area.
This is a defective portion of 4 dots or more, and the halftone dots are for correction. Using these correction conditions, information about the distorted portion is obtained on a font that has been enlarged four times, twice in the vertical direction and twice in the horizontal direction, and correction is performed based on this information. The basic flow is the same as in the previous example, but the part for examining the shape of the collapsed part (Fig. 10) and the part for correcting it (Fig. 11) are shown in (Fig. 12) and (Fig. 13), respectively. It is necessary to change to The flowchart in (Fig. 12) is the part that obtains information about the shape by examining search points 1 and 2 in (a) of Fig. 6, and stores that information in the lower two bits of (FLSV). Information about the shape can be obtained with fewer search points than in 10). (Fig. 13) is a part that performs correction by filling in dots in the distorted part shown in Fig. 7 (a) based on the information obtained from (Fig. 12), and uses a smaller number of dots than (Fig. 11). It can be corrected.

[0016] If the above method is used, the 4
The double-width enlarged font (d) in FIG. 5 is corrected faster and with less capacity, as shown in (b) in FIG. Note that the correction conditions may be changed as appropriate from the host 101 or an operation panel (not shown).

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an outline of a printing device which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention may be realized in a device or a system, and it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to cases where the present invention can be achieved by supplying a program to the device or system.

In the figure, 102 is an input control unit for inputting character data and image data from an external device such as the host computer 101, and the image data etc. input from the external device through the input control 102 has a capacity of at least several lines. The data is stored in buffer memory 103. The data stored in the buffer memory 103 includes image information, character information, control codes for specifying emphasized characters, and the like. Incidentally, the buffer memory may have a sufficient capacity. Reference numeral 105 is a main control unit that controls the entire printing apparatus, and includes a CPU such as a microprocessor, a control program shown in the above-mentioned flowchart, a ROM that stores data, a RAM for a work area, a TTL for hard logic, or Equipped with gate array etc.

The main control unit 105 includes a buffer memory 103.
A reference numeral 107 into which the data output from is input is a scan buffer that stores pattern data for one scan of one line of pattern data to be printed, which is moved and scanned by a carriage, which will be described later.A reference numeral 108 is a control for reading out the scan buffer. The read control unit that performs this starts reading of the corresponding scan buffer in response to the read signal 112 from the main control unit 105.

[Description of inkjet printer] Fig. 15
1 shows an example of the configuration of an inkjet printer 11 using bubbles that can be applied to the present invention.

Here, 809 is a head cartridge having an inkjet recording head, and 811 is a carriage on which this is mounted for scanning in the S direction in the figure. 813
is a hook for attaching the head cartridge 809 to the carriage 811, and 815 is a lever for operating the hook 813. This lever 815 is provided with a marker 817 for indicating a scale provided on the cover, which will be described later, so as to read the printing position and set position by the recording head of the head cartridge. 819
is a support plate that supports the electrical connection to the head cartridge 809. 812 is a flexible cable for connecting the electrical connection section and the main body control section.

Reference numeral 823 denotes a guide shaft for guiding the carriage 811 in the S direction, and is inserted into a bearing 825 of the carriage 811. Reference numeral 827 denotes a timing belt to which the carriage 811 is fixed and which transmits power for moving the carriage in the S direction, and is stretched around pulleys 829A and 829B arranged on both sides of the device. Driving force is transmitted to one pulley 829B from the carriage motor 831 via a transmission mechanism such as a gear.

Reference numeral 833 is a platen roller that regulates the recording surface of a recording medium such as paper (hereinafter also referred to as recording paper) and conveys it during recording, and is driven by a conveyance motor 835. 837 is a paper pan 839 for guiding the recording medium from the paper feed tray side to the recording position, which is disposed in the middle of the recording medium feeding path and presses the recording medium toward the platen roller 833 to convey it. It is a feed roller. 841 is on the recording medium conveyance direction;
This is a paper discharge roller that is disposed downstream from the recording position and discharges the recording medium toward a paper discharge port (not shown). 842
is a spur provided corresponding to the paper ejection roller 841;
The roller 841 is pressed through the recording medium, and the paper ejection roller 8
41 to generate a conveyance force for the recording medium.

Reference numeral 843 is a release lever for releasing the respective biases of the feed roller 839, presser plate 845, and spur 842 when setting a recording medium or the like.

Reference numeral 845 denotes a presser plate for suppressing floating of the recording medium near the recording position and ensuring close contact with the platen roller 833. In this embodiment, an inkjet recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink is used as the recording head. Therefore, the distance between the ink ejection orifice forming surface of the recording head and the recording surface of the recording medium is relatively small, and the distance must be strictly controlled to avoid contact between the recording medium and the ejection orifice forming surface. , the arrangement of the presser plate 845 is effective. 847 is a scale provided on the holding plate 845, and 849 is a marker provided on the carriage 811 corresponding to this scale, and the print position and set position of the recording head can also be read by these.

Reference numeral 851 denotes a cap made of an elastic material such as rubber, which faces the ink discharge orifice forming surface of the recording head at the home position, and is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the recording head. This Mucap 851 is
It is used to protect the print head during non-printing times and during ejection recovery processing of the print head. Ejection recovery processing is to eject ink from all ejection ports by driving an energy generating element installed inside the ink ejection ports and used for ink ejection, thereby removing air bubbles, dust, and thickening. These include a process (preliminary ejection) for removing causes of ejection failure such as ink that is no longer suitable for recording, and a separate process for removing causes of ejection failure by forcibly discharging ink from an ejection port.

The cap 853 applies a suction force for forced ejection of ink, and the cap 85 is used during ejection recovery processing by such forced ejection or ejection recovery processing by preliminary ejection.
1 is a pump used to suck ink received in 1. 855 is a waste ink tank for storing waste ink sucked by the pump 853, and 857 is a tube that communicates the pump 853 and the waste ink tank 855.

Reference numeral 859 is a blade for wamping the ejection orifice forming surface of the recording head, and there is a blade that protrudes toward the recording head to perform wamping during the head movement process, and a retracted blade that does not engage the ejection orifice forming surface. It is supported so that it can be moved to and from the position. 861 is a recovery system motor; 863 is a pump 853 receiving power from the recovery system motor 861;
This is a cam device for driving the cap 851 and moving the blade 859.

[0030]

[Effects of the Invention] There is no need to be involved in the enlarging method for operating the font after it has been enlarged by 1.4 times, and there is almost no need to change the current environment in terms of hardware or software.

2. It can output high-quality characters faster and in a smaller capacity than conventional methods such as the outline font method.

3. By changing the correction conditions, you can easily change the processing speed, capacity, and appearance of corrected characters.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram in which collapsed parts are distinguished by orientation.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the shape of the distorted portion classified into six types according to shape and the case where correction is performed by filling in dots.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a font enlarged four times, twice in height and twice in width.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how information about the direction and shape of a collapsed portion is derived.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of correction of a quadruple-width enlarged font before correction.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a quadruple-width enlarged character and how the character is corrected.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how characters are corrected in another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of finding a black search point on a font enlarged by 4 times.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a part of checking whether a search point forms a broken part and, if so, checking the direction of the broken part.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the part in which the shape of the collapsed portion is investigated.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a portion in which correction is performed based on collected information.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a part in which the shape of a collapsed portion is investigated in another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a part in which correction is performed based on collected information in another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a printing device to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the structure of a printer section.

[Explanation of symbols]

105 Main control section 106 CG

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In the case of correcting an enlarged pattern obtained by enlarging a pattern represented by a bitmap font by four times, the correction is performed based on information representing the direction and shape of a distorted part on the enlarged pattern. A character processing method characterized by correcting distorted parts. 2. Direction detection means for detecting the direction of a distorted portion on an enlarged pattern obtained by enlarging a pattern expressed in a bitmap font four times;
Character processing characterized by correcting the collapsed portion on the enlarged pattern based on the detection results of a shape detection means for detecting the shape of the distorted portion on the enlarged pattern, the direction detection means, and the shape detection means. Device.