JPH0687249A - Apparatus for printing address - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print characters in an enlarged natural form in the printing of address data and others within a given area even when a small character size is selected because of a large number of characters to be printed and of a limited printing area. CONSTITUTION:Address data including adresses and names of adresses is stored in an address region 3-2. CPU 1, which prints the address data in a corresponding printing area according to each composing data, judges a character size on the basis of the number of characters in each composing data and the size of the corresponding printing area. When the specified character size is smaller than that of a standard size which is selected in advance for the corresponding printing area, the character size is enlarged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an address printing apparatus for printing an address on a postcard, an envelope or the like in a Japanese word processor, a personal computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when printing an address on a postcard by a Japanese word processor, the central area of the postcard is the address (recipient's name), the area on the right is the address of the recipient, and the area on the left is It was set as the sender's printing area, and address printing was performed using a handwriting style typeface such as a writing brush or pen font. In this type of word processor, when printing address data, etc., in the corresponding area, all characters should fit within the printing area based on the size of the printing area and the number of lines and maximum number of digits of the data to be printed. I decided the size of the letters. For example, compare the value obtained by dividing the vertical width of the area for printing the address by the maximum number of digits in the address data with the value obtained by dividing the horizontal width of the area by the number of address lines, and determine the character size based on the smaller value. Had decided. Here, what determines the character size based on the smaller value of the two calculation results is to use a character that fits in a square frame as a print character.

[0003]

However, in the method of determining the character size as described above, for example, when printing the address data in the corresponding area, the number of lines is small, but even one line has a large number of digits. If there are lines or if each line has a small number of columns but a large number of lines, there will be a large blank area in the print area of the address. For example, FIG. 5 shows the character size when address data having a small number of lines and a large number of digits is printed on a postcard, and in this case, a character size determined according to the maximum number of digits is used. Therefore, there is a large blank in the width direction (row direction) of the print area of the address. On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows an example in which address data having a large number of lines and a small number of columns in each line is printed on a postcard, and there is a large blank in the vertical direction (column direction) in the print area of the address. Become. As described above, even though there is a large blank in the print area, the print is made in a small character size, so that the print content becomes very difficult to read and an imbalanced and unstable impression is given. An object of the present invention is to print characters such as address data in a predetermined area even if a small character size is determined from the number of characters and the size of the area because the number of characters of the data to be printed is large. Is to be able to print by expanding and deforming it into a natural shape.

[0004]

The means of the present invention are as follows. Multiple configuration data (eg address, address, etc.)
In an address printing device that prints address data consisting of each configuration data in a predetermined printing area such as a postcard, the character size determination means prints each configuration data from the number of characters of each configuration data and the size of the corresponding printing area. Determine the size of the characters to be printed. The determining means determines whether or not the character size determined by the character size determining means for each of the constituent data is smaller than the reference character size predetermined for the corresponding print area. The character size enlarging means enlarges the character size determined by the character size determining means when the character size determining means determines that the character size is small. For example, when enlarging the character size determined by the character size determining means, the character size enlarging means expands the character size in the line direction when the number of lines of the constituent data is small and the number of digits is large. If the number of lines is large and the number of columns in each line is small, the character size is expanded in the column direction.
Further, the character size enlarging means enlarges the character size determined by the character size determining means so as to be within a preset limit value when enlarging in the row direction or the column direction.

[0005]

The operation of the means of the present invention is as follows. Now, assume that the address data is printed in the print area of the postcard. First, the character size determining means determines the size of a character to be printed for each piece of configuration data from the number of characters of each piece of configuration data and the size of the corresponding print area. As a result, when the character size is determined for each piece of configuration data, the determining means determines whether or not the character size is smaller than the reference character size predetermined for the corresponding print area. If the character size is smaller than the reference character size and the character size determined by the character size determination means is used for printing, the printed content becomes extremely difficult to read. Therefore, the character size enlargement means enlarges the character size. For example, if the number of lines of the configuration data is small and even one line is included, the character size is expanded in the line direction within the predetermined limit value, and the number of lines is large and the digit of each line is large. When the number is small, the character size is enlarged in the digit direction within a predetermined limit value. Therefore, when printing address data in a predetermined area, even if a small character size is determined from the number of characters to be printed and the size of the area because the number of characters of the data to be printed is large, the character will be displayed in a natural shape. It can be enlarged and transformed to print.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a Japanese word processor with an address printing function. The CPU 1 controls the overall operation of this word processor in accordance with various programs stored in the ROM 2, etc. The ROM 2 uses the operating system as a program area 3-1 of the RAM 3.
It stores character font data, etc. in addition to the programs to be loaded into and the programs for input / output control. Also, CPU1
The input unit 4 as a peripheral device, the display unit 5, the disk device 6, the input control unit 8 corresponding to the printer 7, the display control unit 9, the external storage control unit 10, the printer control unit 11
, And control their input / output operations.

The RAM 3 has a program area 3-1, an address area 3-2, a work area 3-3, a document memory 3-4 and the like. Here, the address area 3-2 is a memory area for storing address data for an address book, and the address data is composed of an address, a name, a remark, etc. for each record. The address and name of the address data are read out for each. The name and address of the sender are also stored in the address area 3-2.
A format for printing an address is also stored in the address area 3-2. In this print format, the central area of a postcard or the like is the address (recipient's name), the area on the right is the address of the recipient, and the area on the left is the area. Is set as the sender's printing area, and each area size is set for each type of paper such as postcards and envelopes. When the address print command is input from the input unit 4, the CPU 1 determines the address and the number of characters of the name and the size of the printing area corresponding to the address that form the address data, and determines the printing character size for each address and name. Here, in the present embodiment, the normal processing for printing using the character size determined as described above as it is, or the present embodiment for printing after expanding the determined character size in the line direction or the column direction It is possible to arbitrarily select the special processing peculiar to the example. When the address printing is performed by the special processing, the character size is enlarged according to the following rules. (1) If the character size determined as described above is smaller than the reference character size preset for the corresponding print area, the character size is enlarged. (2) When printing data including at least one line having a small number of lines and a large number of digits, the character size is expanded in the line direction so as not to exceed a predetermined limit value. (3) When printing data with a large number of lines and a small number of digits in each line, the character size is expanded in the digit direction so as not to exceed a predetermined limit value. Document memory 3
-4 is a text memory for storing other document data except the address data.

The input unit 4 inputs document data and various commands. The document data input from the input unit 4 is fetched by the CPU 1 via the input control unit 8 and then sent to the display control unit 9. Display output from the display unit 5,
Document memory 3-4 in RAM3 after kana-kanji conversion
Stored in. Here, when a document save command is input from the input unit 4, the CPU 1 transfers the address data in the address area 3-2 and the document data in the document memory 3-4 to the external storage control unit 1.
The data is transferred to 0 and stored in the disk device 6 for storage. The display control unit 9 controls the writing / reading operation of image data with respect to the VRAM (video RAM) 12, and the VR
The image data is read from the AM 12 and displayed on the display unit 5 for output.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of printing an address. First, when the type of paper such as postcards and envelopes of various sizes (paper size and paper direction) is input and designated from the input unit 4, C
PU1 automatically determines the address, the address, and the print area (the vertical size and the horizontal size of the area) of the sender as each element of the address (step S1). Next, the address printing method, that is, the above-described normal processing or special processing is arbitrarily selected from the input unit 4 and the address data to be printed is selected and designated (step S2).

Then, the CPU 1 makes the address area 3 of the RAM 3
-Work area 3 by reading the first address data from -2
After being set to -3 (step S3), the address is extracted from this address data, and the number of lines and the maximum number of digits of the address data are counted (step S4). Next, the vertical size and horizontal size of the print area relating to the address obtained in step S1 described above are fetched, and the area vertical size / maximum number of digits and area horizontal size / number of lines are calculated, and the values are a and b. Yes (step S5). The values of a and b are positive numbers, the value of a indicates the maximum width of the character, and the value of b indicates the maximum width of the character. Here, the reference size preset as a guideline for determining the character size related to the address (a guideline for preventing the character size from becoming too small and difficult to read) is compared with the values of a and b. . That is, it is checked whether or not the value of a obtained by the area vertical size / maximum number of digits is smaller than the reference size in the vertical width of the character (step S6). As a result, if the value of a is smaller than the reference size, It is checked whether or not the value of b obtained from the area horizontal size / the number of lines is smaller than the reference size in the horizontal width of the character (step S
7). Here, if either one of the values a and b is smaller than the reference size, the process proceeds to step S8, and the special process is performed on condition that the printing method by the special process is selected and designated in advance in step S2. However, if the values of a and b are both larger than the reference size, the character size is specified so that the shorter one of the values of a and b fits in a square with one side as usual (step S9). .

On the other hand, if one of the values a and b is smaller than the reference size, if the character size is determined by the same method as usual, the character becomes too small and difficult to read. (Steps S10 to S16).
If the special process is not selected and designated in advance, the same process as the normal process is performed (step S9). If special processing is selected and designated, first, the value of a and the value of b are compared (step S10), and it is checked whether the larger value is less than or equal to twice the smaller value. (Step S1
1, S12). Here, the value of b is larger and 2a <b
In this case, the character size is specified so that the vertical width fits in the rectangle defined by the value a and the horizontal width is defined by the value 2a (step S13). That is, when the value of b is larger than twice the value of a (when there are many characters in the vertical direction and the number of lines is small), 2
Specifies the size of a rectangle with a as the limit value. This is because the character becomes unnatural when the aspect ratio of the character is more than doubled, which causes a feeling of strangeness.
If the value of b is a <b <2a, the character size is specified so that the vertical width fits within the rectangle defined by the value a and the horizontal width is determined by the value b (step S14).

Similarly, when the value of a is larger than the value of b and 2b <a (when there are many characters in the row direction and the number of digits is small), the vertical width is the value of a and the horizontal width is 2a. A character size that fits in the rectangle determined by the value of is specified (step S15). In this case, similarly to the above, even if the value of a exceeds the value of 2b, the character size of the rectangle is specified with the limit value of 2b. If the value of a is b <a <2b, the character size is specified so that the vertical width fits within the rectangle defined by the value of a and the horizontal width depends on the value of b (step S16).
If the address data contains a line with a small number of lines and a large number of digits, specify a character size enlarged in the line direction.If the number of lines is large and the number of columns in each line is small, specify a vertical size. Specify the font size enlarged in the direction. When the processing for enlarging the character size for the address data is completed in this way, the address data read from the address area 3-2 is expanded into a size according to the specified character size, and a print buffer (not shown) in the printer control unit 11 is shown. Stored) (step S1)
7). In this case, the address data is expanded and stored in the print area related to the address in the print buffer.

When the address data is stored in the print buffer as described above, the character size is determined for other address data (recipient name and sender) by performing the same processing as described above, and the character size in the print buffer is determined. It is expanded and stored in the corresponding print area. In this way, when the processing of expanding all the address data for one case in the print buffer is completed,
The contents of the print buffer are sent to the printer 7 and printed (step S19). Then, it is checked whether or not there is the remaining address data specified as the print target (step S20), and if there is other address data, the process returns to step S3 to print all the address data specified as the print target. The above operation is repeated until the end.

Here, FIG. 3 shows an example in which address data having a small number of lines and a large number of digits is printed, and as shown in FIG. 5, the address data is printed in a character size determined by a usual method. If so, a large blank appears in the print area of the address in the width direction (row direction). In this embodiment, the character size determined by the special process is expanded in the blank direction in order to effectively use the blank portion. It has a horizontally elongated rectangle, which makes it easier to read and has a larger size than ever before.

FIG. 4 shows an example of printing address data in which the number of lines is large and the number of digits in each line is small. As shown in FIG. 6, the address data is printed in a character size determined by a normal method. Then, in the print area of the address, a large blank is generated in the vertical direction (column direction), but in this embodiment, in order to effectively utilize this blank portion, the character size determined by the special process is set in the blank direction. The enlarged vertical rectangle makes it easier to read and has a larger size than ever before. In this way, even if the character size determined by the ordinary method is stretched vertically or horizontally, it does not cause any discomfort, especially in the case of a handwriting typeface such as a writing brush. You can

In the above embodiment, the address printing is performed by using the handwriting style typeface such as a writing brush or pen type, but the address printing may be performed by the Mincho typeface or the Gothic typeface.

[0017]

According to the present invention, when address data and the like are printed in a predetermined area, a small character size is determined from the number of characters and the size of the area because the number of characters of the data to be printed is large. However, since the characters can be enlarged and deformed in a natural shape and printed, the characters are always in a readable and easy-to-read size, which is extremely practical.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a Japanese word processor with an address printing function according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an address printing process.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a case where each character is enlarged and deformed to be horizontally long when printing address data having a small number of lines and a large number of digits on a postcard.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where each character is enlarged and deformed to be vertically long when printing address data having a large number of lines and a small number of digits in each line on a postcard.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the size of each character when printing address data with a small number of lines and a large number of digits on a postcard in conventional address printing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the size of each character when printing address data having a large number of lines and a small number of digits in each line on a postcard in conventional address printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 3-1 Program Area 3-2 Address Area 3-3 Work Area 4 Input Section 7 Printer 11 Printer Control Section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In an address printing apparatus for printing address data composed of a plurality of configuration data in a predetermined print area corresponding to each configuration data, the configuration data is obtained from the number of characters of each configuration data and the size of the corresponding print area. The character size determining means for determining the size of the character to be printed for each, and the character size determined for each constituent data by the character size determining means is larger than the reference character size predetermined for the corresponding print area. And a character size enlarging means for enlarging the character size determined by the character size determining means when the character size is determined to be small by the determining means. Address printing device. 2. The character size enlarging means, when enlarging the character size determined by the character size determining means, if the number of lines of the constituent data is small and the number of columns is large, the line direction is increased. 2. The address printing device according to claim 1, wherein the character size is expanded to a large number and the character size is expanded in the digit direction when the number of lines is large and the number of digits in each line is small. 3. The character size enlarging means, when enlarging the character size determined by the character size determining means in a line direction or a column direction, enlarges it so as to be within a preset limit value. The address printing device according to claim 1, wherein the address printing device is provided.