JPH075868A - Outputting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an outputting method by which it can be selected by external setting whether a character pattern specified before a command specifying a font is inputted, that is, a character pattern of the conventional font is generated, or a character pattern in which emphasis processing for a character pattern of the conventional font is performed, is generated, when a character pattern of a specified font can not be generated. CONSTITUTION:In a character train in which fonts of 133-312 are required to change by an inputted command, when a character pattern storage means of a specified font for a device by a command is not found, it is selected and controlled whether a pattern of the conventional font is continued to generate or emphasis processing is performed for a character pattern of the conventional front underlined at 315 as illustrated, in accordance with external setting by a operator.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an output method for designating a typeface by a command and generating a character pattern of the designated typeface corresponding to an input character code.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among output devices which can generate a plurality of different patterns which have been used conventionally, in many printing devices other than a type printer, character code data provided from a host computer is associated with each character in advance. It is designed to be converted into a character dot pattern for printing. For example, an output device in a non-impact printer such as a thermal printer, a wire dot printer or a laser beam printer corresponds to this.

In these printers, it is also possible to print characters of different typefaces by having a character generator for each typeface (character pattern) having a different pattern. It is likely to be installed in a printer for printing such as. Furthermore, recently, ROM or RAM, which is a character generator, has been made into a cartridge, and a socket has been provided in the output device so that it can be attached and detached. Also, the manufacturer does not need to expand the character generator built into the printing device indefinitely or replace the character generator for each individual user, and it is possible to equip only a very limited typeface as standard equipment. It also has advantages such as becoming.
Therefore, its adoption is expected to increase in the future.

The change of the typeface is carried out in various cases, but most of them are intended to emphasize a character string for some reason. In particular, the italic type as shown in FIG. 1B and the Gothic type as shown in FIG. 1C are often used for the purpose of character string emphasis. Specifically, the change of the typeface is usually realized by issuing a command for changing the typeface to the printing device, and switching to the address of the character generator of the designated typeface according to the command.

Not only the printing apparatus having the above-mentioned detachable character generator but also the printing apparatus which has been used conventionally has another problem as described below.

In other words, when a typeface change command is received, the designated typeface is not included in the typefaces of the detachable character generator currently attached to the printing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as not attached), Alternatively, if the removable character generator is not connected to the printing device at all, the conventional printing device has no means for emphasizing. At this time, conventional treatments are roughly classified as follows.

A message indicating that the designated typeface is not attached is notified, and the printing ends.

Ignoring the change command of the typeface, printing is continued with the typeface at that time.

Among these, in order to continue printing, it is indispensable to retransmit the character code data of the designated typeface from the data source, and, for example, in a plurality of printing devices, a removable type character of a certain typeface is used. If the character generator was shared and the character generator was in use by another printing device, it had to have its termination. In the worst case that the character generator has not been purchased or lost, there is no other way than recreating the data.

Regarding the above, although the printing can be completed for the time being, not only the original purpose of changing the typeface has not been made, but also the character string emphasis, which is the main purpose of changing the typeface, has been ignored. .

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the drawbacks of the above-described conventional example. When a specific command for designating a specific typeface is accepted, it is determined that a character pattern of the specific typeface can be generated. When it is determined that the character pattern of the specific typeface corresponding to the input character code is generated and the specific command is accepted, it is determined that the character pattern of the specific typeface cannot be generated. ,
Based on the information set from the outside, the character pattern of the typeface corresponding to the input character code and specified before the reception of the specific command is generated, or the character pattern of this typeface is emphasized. It is an object of the present invention to provide an output method of an apparatus capable of generating or selectively controlling a character pattern.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings in the same manner as in the conventional example.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a print typeface, and FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a control mechanism according to the present invention. Character code data and control commands sent from a host computer are input to a laser beam printer or the like. In the case of printing with a page printer, 201 is a computer that generates data and control commands, 202 is an input buffer for temporarily storing data and control commands, 203 is a CPU consisting of a general-purpose microprocessor, and 204 is a character. A built-in character generator that generates a character dot pattern according to code data, 205 is a cartridge-type removable character generator, 206 is a socket for connecting the character generator 205, and 207 has a dot number for one page. RAM
And 208 is a printer interface unit for generating a video signal from the dot information of the output page buffer 207 while keeping an interface with the printer, and 209 is an output machine for actually printing an image by receiving the video signal. A page printer, 210 is a line counter for storing the vertical position in the currently generated character page in the output page buffer 207, 211 is a column counter for similarly storing the horizontal position, 212
Is an emphasis start register for storing the position of starting the underline, 212 is an emphasis end register for storing the position of ending the underline, and 214 is a CPU board.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a page layout for printing in this embodiment, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a format of control commands, and FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the main function of the CPU 203.

Next, the control mechanism will be specifically described.

In the configuration of FIG. 2, the character code data and the font change command sent from the computer 201 are temporarily stored in the input buffer 202. Here, the format of the typeface change command in this embodiment is as shown in FIG. 4, and the character string 402 requesting the typeface change is sandwiched between the typeface change start command 401 and the typeface change end command 403. I am taking it. The typeface change start command 401 includes content that specifies what typeface to change to, and the typeface change end command 403 means to restore the original typeface before the typeface change was performed.

The character code data and the font change command stored in the input buffer 202 are stored in the CPU for each unit code.
It is taken out by 203 and is sequentially processed according to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the shaded frame in FIG. 5 indicates processing directly related to the main part of the present invention.

In the figure, first, in steps 501 and 502, the CPU 203 first outputs a digit counter 211 indicating the horizontal print position and a line counter 2 indicating the vertical print position.
10 is further initialized, and in step 503, a negative value is set in the emphasis start register 212 indicating the start position where an underline is generated, and initialization is performed.

After the above initialization is completed, the CPU 203
Reads one unit code from the input buffer 202 in step 504, determines the end of the data in step 505, and if it is determined that the end is not reached, returns step 506.
At 507, it is determined whether or not there is a command related to changing the typeface.
If it is determined that the command is not the command, the process proceeds to step 508, and the character dot pattern corresponding to the character code is generated in the output page buffer 207. Here, the character code data becomes an address of the built-in character generator 204 which is composed of a RAM or a ROM in which a dot pattern for each character of the standard typeface is stored, and the character dot pattern generated by this is generated by the CPU 203 as described later. With proper positioning, one character is imaged with dots in the output page buffer 207. The typeface contained in the built-in character generator 204 is not particularly limited as long as it is a standard type. In this embodiment, a so-called “elite” typeface as shown in FIG. I will use it.

The position of the character generated next will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 301 is the left margin digit number (lm), 30
2 is the number of digits in the text (n), 303 is the number of digits in the right margin (rm), 3
04 is the number of upper margin lines (tm), 305 is the number of body lines (l),
306 is the number of lines in the bottom margin (bm), 307 is the number of dots in the line pitch (y _P ), 308 is the number of dots in the character pitch (x _P ), and 309 is the number of dots in the horizontal character width (x _S ).
Is. When the upper left corner of the page is the origin (0, 0), the value of the digit counter 211 is X _c , and the value of the line counter is Y _C , the lower right position of the generated character dot pattern (x
_0, y _{0) is, x 0 = (l m +} X C) obtained by _{× x P y 0 = (t} m + Y C) × y P becomes formulas, X _C, the generation characters according Y _C is changed Positioning is done.

After the characters are generated in step 508 by the above method, the digit counter 21 is set in step 509.
The value of 1 is incremented by 1 and line overflow is checked in step 510. If no line overflow occurs, that is, if the value of the digit counter 211 is smaller than the number of digits (n) 302 in the text, the process returns to step 504. Read the following 1-unit code.

Characters are generated one after another in the same manner, and if a line overflow occurs in step 510, that is, if the value of the digit counter 211 reaches the number of body digits (n) 302, step 511. At the emphasis start register 212
The contents of this register are judged. At this time, the value of this register remains the initial value and is negative, so that the process jumps to step 515.
In the same step, the value of the row counter 210 is incremented by 1, the digit counter is initialized in step 516, and then the page overflow is determined in step 517. If it is determined that there is no page overflow, that is, if the value of the line counter 210 is equal to or smaller than the body line number (l) 305, it is determined that there is still room in the output page buffer, and the process returns to step 504. The process of creating the output page buffer 207 is continued. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 517 that the page overflow has occurred, that is, the line counter 2
When the value of 10 is larger than the number of text lines (l) 305, it is assumed that the creation of the output page buffer 207 for one page is completed, and the dot image for each scan line is passed to the printer interface unit 208. Then, after being converted into a video signal in the same section, printing is performed by the page printer 209 which is an output device.

Similarly, steps 504 to 51
Pages are created one after another by repeating 9 times.

Next, the processing when the change of the font is instructed will be described.

When the typeface change start command 401 is read, it is recognized in step 506 and step 5
In step 20, it is determined whether the typeface designated by the command is the same as the typeface of the character generator mounted on the output device and the typeface is in a usable state. Specifically, this is performed by reading a predetermined area in the ROM in the removable character generator 205. That is, a unique code indicating the contents of the typeface is stored in the area, and it is determined whether or not it matches the typeface designated by the typeface change start command 401. Further, even when the removable character generator 205 is not connected to the socket 206, an irregular bit pattern (dust) is only generated by performing the work of reading that area. Do not hinder. As a result of the determination, if the changed typeface is usable, the CPU 203 that has addressed the internal character generator 204 in step 521.
The value of the base register in the removable character generator 205
After switching to point to, return to step 504,
The process for the next 1-unit code is started. Thereafter, printing is performed with the changed typeface, that is, using the typeface of the removable character generator 205 until the typeface change end command 403 is read. Next, when the typeface change end command 403 is read, it is recognized in step 507, and step 5
23, it is determined whether the value of the emphasis start register 212 is negative. When the typeface change command is issued and the designated typeface is available, the emphasis start register 212 is used as in the case where the typeface change command is not issued.
Since no operation has been applied to the register, the register retains the initial value, and since the value is negative, the routine proceeds to step 524. In this step, the reverse operation of the above-mentioned step 521 is performed. That is, after switching the value of the base register in the CPU 203 that has addressed the removable character generator 205 to point to the built-in character generator 204, the process returns to step 504 to start the processing of the next one unit code. . By doing so, thereafter, printing is performed again with the previous typeface, that is, with the typeface of the built-in character generator 204.

Next, in the case where a typeface change command, which is an essential part of the present invention, is issued and the typeface is not included in the typeface of the character generator 205 attached to the output device, and therefore the typeface cannot be used. The processing method will be described below.

First, when the typeface change command 401 is read, it is recognized in step 506 and step 52
At 0, as described above, it is determined whether or not the character generator of the typeface designated by the command is attached. In this case, the typeface is not attached, so
In step 522, the horizontal start position to underline as an alternative to the typeface change is calculated by the following method and stored in the emphasis start register 212.

That is, the character "C" indicated by 311 in FIG. 3 is the first character of the character string for which the font change is requested, the value indicated by the digit counter 211 at that time is X _C , and the number of left margin digits is l. _m, when the number of dots character pitch was x _P, x ₁ of the coordinates of underline the start position 313 of the top left end with respect to the origin _{(0,0) (x 1, y} 1) is the following formula x ₁ = ( 1 _m + X _C −1) × x _P.

After the calculation result obtained by the above method is stored in the emphasis start register 212, the process returns to step 504 to start the processing of the next one unit code. Thereafter, the same process is repeated until the typeface change end command 403 is read while the typeface is not changed, that is, the character dot pattern is continuously generated from the built-in character generator 204.

When the typeface change end command 403 is read, it is recognized in step 507, and step 52
Although the contents of the emphasis start register 212 are inspected at 3,
In step 522, as already mentioned in step 5
Since the value of 0 or more is stored in 22, the step 52
Go to 5. In the same step, the horizontal end position for underlining is calculated by the following method and stored in the emphasis end register 213.

As in the case of calculating the emphasis start position described above, the character "t" indicated by 312 is the last character of the character string for which the font change is requested, and the value indicated by the digit counter 211 at that time is x _C. , the number of dots x _P of the character pitch, the number of dots x _S horizontal character width, when the left margin digits and l _m, underline the end position 314 of the top left end with respect to the origin (0, 0) coordinates ( x ₂ of x _2, y ₁₎ is the following formula _{x 2 = (l m + X} C -1) obtained by × x _P + x _S, emphasizing ends the result register 213
To store. Then, the process proceeds to step 526, where a horizontal line actually corresponding to an underline is generated in the output page buffer 207.

Next, for the vertical position, the number of upper margin lines is t
_{where m is} the value of the line counter 210 is Y _C , the number of dots in the line pitch is Y _P , and the number of dot intervals between the character pattern and the underline is U, the coordinates (x ₁ , y ₁ ) of the underline start position and the end The value of the vertical coordinate y _{1 at} the position coordinate (x ₂ , y ₁ ) is given by the following equation y ₁ = (t _m + Y _c ) × y _p + u. Note that U is a constant having a unique value. From the coordinates (x ₁ , y ₁ ) obtained as described above, the coordinates (x
₂ 、 y ₁ ) is a straight line made up of dots,
This is performed using the register in the CPU 203 without using the character generator.

After the underline 315 is generated in the output page buffer 207 by such a method, a negative value is stored in the emphasis end start register 212 for initialization in step 527, the underline generation process is completed, and step 504 is completed. Return to.

The method described above is based on "C" shown in FIG.
This is a case where a character string whose typeface is to be changed, such as "at", is contained in one line, but in the case where the character string extends over two lines as in "Dog" in the figure, processing for line overflow is added. The method of storing the start position in the emphasis start register 212 is the same as that described above, but in the case of line overflow, it is necessary to calculate the underline end position and then once perform the underline generation process for that line. In particular,
If it is determined in step 510 that there is a line overflow, the content of the emphasis start register 212 is evaluated in step 511, and since a value of 0 or more has already been stored, the processing from step 512 onward is performed. In step 512, the underline end position is calculated using the same formula as in step 525,
The value is stored in the emphasis end register 213, and step 5
At 13, the underline is generated in the output page buffer 207 by the same method as the process of step 526. After that, in step 514, the dot number (lm) 301 of the left margin is stored in the emphasis start register in order to generate an underline in the next line. After that, the process in which an underline is generated when the typeface change end command 403 is read in the next line is performed in the same manner as in the case described above.

Printing is performed according to the font change command and the character code data according to the processing flow as described above, but at the end, information for indicating the end of data (for example, a code indicating the end of work, the end of a file (Indicated code, etc.)
Is recognized in step 505, step 528,
Proceeding to step 529, the output page buffer 20 currently being created.
Only when the content of 7 is not empty, that is, when the line counter 210 is 2 or more or the digit counter is 1 or more, the same buffer is printed and all the processing is finished.

In this embodiment, the case of horizontal writing in English is assumed as an example of the pattern, but the case of vertical writing in Japanese can be easily dealt with. In the case of vertical writing, it is appropriate to indicate the emphasis by drawing a right lateral line instead of underlining. It is also possible to print by creating a reverse character instead of underlining. Further, when it is impossible to use the typeface as in this embodiment, not only the method of always underlining but also outputting a message to that effect once using the display and the operator responding to it There is also a method of processing by. At that time, the output device prompts the operator to continue, that is, to generate a character pattern of the typeface specified before the input of the command to specify the specific typeface, underline it, and select either cancel or execute. The setting request is made by a message, and the output device operates based on the setting information set from the outside.

Further, the terminal device in the above embodiment is assumed to be a printing device, but it can be easily applied to a CRT terminal device or the like.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the character pattern storage means for storing the character pattern for each typeface in response to the input of the command designating the typeface is used.
When the character pattern of the specified typeface corresponding to the input character code is generated and output, the specified typeface corresponding to the input character code is input according to the input of the command that specifies the typeface of the desired character pattern. When it is not possible to generate the character pattern of, the character pattern corresponding to the input character code is based on the setting information set from the outside, and the character of the typeface specified before the command for specifying the typeface is input. Whether to generate a pattern or a character pattern in which the character pattern of this typeface is emphasized can be selected and executed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a general print typeface of English characters.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a control configuration relating to a typeface which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a print page layout according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a control command format.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the main function of the CPU in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

301 Left margin digit number 302 Body digit number 303 Right margin digit number 304 Top margin line number 305 Body line number 306 Bottom margin line number 307 Line pit dot number 308 Digit pitch dot number 309 Horizontal character width dot number 310 Constant 313 Underline start Position 314 Underline end position 315 Underline 501-510, 515-519 Font generating means 506, 507, 520-524 Font selecting means 503, 506, 520, 522, 523, 525-5
27,511-514 Underline generating means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In response to input of a command designating a typeface,
An output method in a device for generating a character pattern of the specified typeface corresponding to an input character code by using a character pattern storage unit that stores a character pattern for each typeface, wherein a typeface of a desired character pattern is generated. When the character pattern of the specified typeface corresponding to the input character code cannot be generated in response to the input of the specified command, the character pattern corresponding to the input character code is used based on the setting information set from the outside. And controlling whether to generate the character pattern of the typeface specified before the input of the command designating the typeface or to generate the character pattern in which the character pattern of this typeface is emphasized. Output method characterized by.