JPH06198959A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize fine printing in an enlarged printing of a registered external character by a method wherein the exceptional character, which is registered by a user in a printing device, is converted into an outline font. CONSTITUTION:The exceptional character data 9, which are registered by a user in a printing device 1, is stored in an exceptional character data storage part 5 as bit map font data. When the registered exceptional character is enlargedly printed, a processing part 3 reads the bit map font data of the character code 10 of the character to be fed out of the exceptional character data storage part 5 so as to send its data to an outline font conversion part 6 in order to produce an outline font to a bit map font, resulting in carrying out a treatment for making it solid and a drawing treatment at an outline font expansion part 7 an finally printing at a printing part 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a small electrophotographic printer device for a personal computer, which is capable of creating user external characters.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional printer device. The printer device 12 includes print data (external character data 19, character code 2) from the upper device 21.
0, etc.), a receiving buffer unit 13, a processing unit 14 that analyzes and processes the received data, a printing unit 15 that prints the data, an external character data storage unit 16 that stores the external character data 19 sent from the higher-level device 21, The outline font data is stored in the built-in outline font data storage unit 18, and the outline font data is read from the built-in outline font data storage unit 18 in accordance with the character code 20 sent from the higher-level device 21, and the filling process and the drawing process are performed. It is composed of an outline font expansion unit 17. Here, when the registered external character is enlarged and printed, the registered bitmap font is enlarged and printed as it is.

[0003]

In this conventional printer device, when an external character is enlarged and printed, it becomes jagged and enlarged, and since other character codes are enlarged by the outline font, the enlarged enlargement of the external character is beautiful. There is a problem that it does not become.

[0004]

According to the present invention, there is provided a receiving buffer section for receiving print data including external character data and a character code from a host device, and a processing section for analyzing and processing the data received by the receiving buffer section. A printing unit for printing the data, an external character data storage unit for storing the external character data, a built-in outline font data storage unit for storing built-in outline font data, and the built-in outline font data storage unit according to the character code. Read out outline font data from
In a printer device that is composed of an outline font expansion unit that performs fill processing and drawing processing and that employs a small electrophotographic method for personal computers, outline font data of external characters from bitmap font data of user external characters registered from the host device. And an outline font conversion means for generating.

[0005]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the printer device of the present invention. The printer device 1 of the present embodiment includes a reception buffer unit 2, a processing unit 3, a printing unit 4, an external character data storage unit 5, an outline font conversion unit 6 for generating an outline font from a bitmap font,
It is composed of an outline font expansion unit 7 and a built-in outline font data storage unit 8.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When the user registers the external character in the printer device 1, the external character data 9 is sent from the upper level device 11 to the printer device 1. The reception buffer unit 2 in the printer device 1 uses the external character data 9
Receive. The reception buffer unit 2 causes the processing unit 3 to store the external character data 9
And the processing unit 3 stores the external character data in the external character data storage unit 5.

Here, when the character code of the external character registered from the upper level device 11 is sent to the printer device 1 and the external character is enlarged or reduced for printing, the reception buffer unit 2
Passes the sent character code 10 of the external character to the processing unit 3. The processing unit 3 reads the bitmap font data of the character code of the external character from the external character data storage unit 5 and sends it to the outline font conversion unit 6. The outline font conversion unit 6 generates outline font data of external characters from the input bitmap font data of external characters,
Furthermore, the outline font is enlarged or reduced to the specified size. The outline font conversion unit 6 sends the generated external character outline font data to the outline font expansion unit 7. The outline font expansion unit 7 performs a filling process and a drawing process on the input outline font. The processing unit 3 causes the printing unit 4 to print the data drawn by the outline font expansion unit 7.

In addition, when the character code 10 of the registered external character is sent from the higher-level device 11 to the printer device 1 and the external character is printed without being enlarged or reduced, the processing unit 3 similarly causes the reception buffer unit 2 to perform processing. The external character code 10 is passed from. The processing unit 3 reads the bitmap font data of the character code of the external character from the external character data storage unit 5, and the printing unit 4 prints the bitmap font data.

When the character code containing the outline font data is sent from the upper level device 11 instead of the external character code and the character is printed, the processing section 3 similarly outputs the character code 10 from the reception buffer section 2. Passed. The processing unit 3 passes the character code to the outline font expansion unit 7. The outline font development unit 7 reads out outline font data corresponding to the character code from the built-in outline font data 8, and if enlargement or reduction is designated at this time, enlargement or reduction is performed, and then fill processing and drawing processing are performed. . The processing unit 3 causes the printing unit 4 to print the data drawn by the outline font expansion unit 7.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the outline font conversion unit 6 and the contents of each process in a simple diagram.

When the external character bitmap font data 22 is sent to the outline font conversion unit 6, the contour extraction processing unit 23 first extracts the contour of the bitmap font data. Next, the fitting processing unit 24 sequentially determines whether the extracted contour is replaced with a straight line or a curved line, and performs processing. Finally, the outline font data with straight line and curve data is enlarged and reduced by the enlargement / reduction processing unit 25,
The external character outline font data 26 is output.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, the bitmap font data of the user-registered external character, which is not the outline font data, is internally converted into the outline font, so that there is no jaggedness when the external character is enlarged / reduced and printed. This has the effect of being able to perform beautiful printing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a printer device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an outline font conversion unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional printer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer device 2 Reception buffer unit 3 Processing unit 4 Printing unit 5 External character data storage unit 6 Outline font conversion unit 7 Outline font expansion unit 8 Built-in outline font data storage unit 9 External character data 10 Character code 11 Upper device 22 External character bitmap font data 23 Contour Extraction Processing Section 24 Fitting Processing Section 25 Enlargement / Reduction Processing Section 26 External Character Outline Font Data

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A reception buffer unit that receives print data including external character data and a character code from a higher-level device, a processing unit that analyzes and processes the data received by the reception buffer unit, and a printing unit that prints the data. An external character data storage unit that stores the external character data, a built-in outline font data storage unit that stores built-in outline font data, and outline font data is read from the built-in outline font data storage unit according to the character code and filled. It consists of an outline font expansion unit that performs processing and drawing processing.
A printer device adopting a small electrophotographic system for a personal computer, comprising outline font conversion means for generating outline font data of external characters from bitmap font data of user external characters registered from the higher-level device. Printer device. 2. The outline font conversion means,
A contour extraction processing unit that extracts the contours of the bitmap font data, a fitting processing unit that performs determination and processing for sequentially replacing the contours extracted by the contour extraction processing unit with straight line data or curved line data, the straight line data, and the curve 2. The printer device according to claim 1, further comprising an enlarging / reducing processing unit for enlarging and reducing the data that has been made into an outline font with the data and outputting it as the external character outline font data.