JPH08118581A - Character column length regulating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a method for regulating the length of a character column which can efficiently automatically bring the length of the character column into coincidence with that of a row while considering an interval between character surfaces. CONSTITUTION: A kerning regulating functional calculator 10 calculates a kerning regulating function at each character to be kerned, and a kerning regulating function storage unit 11 stores it. A controller 1 calculates the sum of the kerning regulating function of each character to be kerned, and total kerning regulating function storage unit 12 stores it. A layout character interval data storage unit 17 calculates a layout character interval data common for the character based on the difference character column length and the total kerning regulating function, and a layout kerning amount calculator 18 calculates the kerning amount of each character based on the layout character interval data and the kerning regulating function of each character to be kerned, and a layout kerning amount storage unit 19 stores it. The controller 1 kerns to lay out the characters based on the layout kerning amount.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process for a character string, wherein when arranging each character of the character string in a predetermined arrangement direction, the character space is adjusted to adjust the character string. The present invention relates to a character string length adjusting method for adjusting the length (character string length) so that it matches the specified line length.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electronic typesetting using a computer in recent years, the information of each character has a predetermined size regardless of the Japanese characters handled by the character typesetting editing device, such as kana and kanji. It is contained in a frame. First, the constituent elements of Japanese characters will be defined with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. In the following explanation, "character"
The term includes ordinary sentences and letters in a narrow sense used to form words, as well as numbers and various symbols.

<Character composition> This schematic diagram shows, as an example,
The constituent elements of the character "shi" are shown. The character font shape is stored in a "virtual body" IB, which is a rectangular frame indicating the minimum arrangement unit of characters, and the horizontal length X of the virtual body IB is "character width", and the vertical length. Let Y be the "character height". In general, the character width X and the character height Y have the same value.

Inside the virtual body IB, a "character surface" F indicating the character shape of the character is arranged, and this character surface F is composed of dot data consisting of a collection of points and vector data expressing mathematically the shape. To be done. A rectangular frame surrounding the maximum outer shape of the character plane F is bounded by the bounding box B.
B, the horizontal length W of the bounding box BB is "character width", and the vertical length H is "character height".
And The character surface width W and the character surface height H are collectively referred to as a character surface dimension.

The difference between the character width W of the character surface F arranged in the virtual body IB and the character width X of the virtual body IB is given by:
As shown in the figure, a front space a and a rear space b are set, and a difference between the character height H and the character height Y is set to an upper space c and a lower space d. These intervals differ depending on the size and shape of the character surface F accommodated in the virtual body IB, that is, for each character.

The above bounding box BB
May refer to a rectangular frame that includes an appropriate gap (side bearing) around the character surface F as necessary, and in the following description, the bounding box will be referred to unless otherwise specified. Side bearings are not included.

<Conventional Method> A conventional character string length adjusting method for matching a character string length consisting of a plurality of characters with an input / specified line length is as follows. There are two methods.

1) Manual adjustment of character string length The first character (reference character) is observed while the operator is watching the screen display corresponding to the designated line length and the character string displayed on the screen.
And the second character (target character), then the second character (reference character)
And the third character (target character), the operator considers the character shape of each character and fine-tunes each character interval in order until the length of the entire character string finally matches the line length. Make adjustments.

2) Adjustment of Character String Length by Evenly Packing The difference between the character string length and the specified line length is assigned "equally" to each character, and each character is changed from the solid set state in which the virtual body of each character is in contact. Fill the intervals uniformly.

[0010]

However, the above-mentioned two conventional methods have the following problems. First
This method requires the operator's skill because each character interval is adjusted based on the operator's judgment, and there is a problem in that the adjustment requires trial and error and the work efficiency is extremely poor.

In the second method, the character size of each character is not taken into consideration, and the character intervals are narrowed "equally". Therefore, depending on the character surface of each character, the space between adjacent characters appears to be widened, or conversely. There is a problem that it looks narrow or sometimes the character faces of adjacent characters partially overlap with each other, so that the character string has a bad appearance even if the character string length can match the specified line length.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and while considering the character spacing between adjacent characters,
An object of the present invention is to provide a character string length adjusting method capable of matching a character string length with a designated line length with good work efficiency.

[0013]

The present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve such an object. That is, the character string length adjusting method according to claim 1 arranges a plurality of characters, each of which has a character surface representing a character shape, in a predetermined arrangement direction inside a virtual body which is a character arrangement unit. In this case, there is provided a character string length adjusting method for adjusting the lengths of all the arranged character strings so as to match a specified line length. Of the two characters, the character that is arranged first (reference character) and the character that is arranged in the arrangement direction (target character) are arranged closer to the reference character from the reference arrangement state of both characters. And a step of calculating, for each target character, a function (filling adjustment function) that represents the relationship between the padding amount and the amount of spacing between the faces of the two characters in the padding amount (letter spacing amount). Sum of padding amount based on face spacing of adjustment function (total Adjustment function), a step of calculating the reference character string length by arranging each of the target characters with respect to each corresponding reference character, and a step of calculating the input line length and the reference character. Difference from column length (difference character string length)
And a step of calculating the arrangement face spacing amount by the total filling adjustment function by using the difference character string length as a sum of required filling amounts, and the arrangement face spacing amount and each filling adjustment function of each target character. Based on the process of calculating the individual packing amount (layout packing amount) of each target character, and the individual layout packing amount of each target character, with respect to each reference character corresponding to each target character It is characterized by including a process of arranging them closely.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a character string length adjusting method according to the first aspect, wherein the justification adjusting function changes the dot pattern of the target character by one dot toward the dot pattern of the reference character. A step of obtaining a pair of dots (pairs of candidate points) having the shortest distance between both dot patterns in a direction orthogonal to the shift direction for each shift, and the step in the state where the virtual bodies of the two characters are in contact with each other. A process of storing the spacing information in the shift direction between each candidate point pair and the spacing information in the direction orthogonal thereto, the spacing information in the shift direction of each candidate point pair, and the spacing information in the direction orthogonal thereto. 2 is the shortest distance between each candidate point pair in each packing amount when the target character is brought closer to the reference character from the state where the virtual bodies of both characters are in contact with each other. The face spacing calculated from the process of calculating the original space amount (face space amount) for each candidate point pair and the process of obtaining the minimum space amount among the calculated space amounts. It is characterized in that it is a function representing the relationship between the quantity and the packing quantity.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a character string length adjusting method in which a plurality of characters each having a character face representing a character shape are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction inside a virtual body which is a character arrangement unit. A method of adjusting the length of all the arranged character strings so that the length of all the arranged character strings matches a specified line length, the process of inputting the line length and the adjacency of each character Of the two characters that are to be placed first (standard character)
And a function that represents the amount of space in the array direction between the character planes in the standard arrangement of the characters (target character) arranged in the array direction and the ratio of each packing amount of the target character with respect to the space amount as a packing ratio (packing adjustment function) And a step of calculating the sum of the filling amount of each of the filling adjustment functions based on the filling ratio (total filling adjustment function), and the reference arrangement of each target character with respect to each corresponding reference character. Then, the step of calculating the reference character string length, the step of calculating the difference between the input line length and the reference character string length (difference character string length), and the difference character string length to the required padding amount. Based on the process of calculating the placement packing ratio by the total packing adjustment function as the sum of the above, and the packing packing ratio and each packing adjustment function of each target character, the individual packing amount (alignment packing amount) of each target character And the process of calculating
And a step of closely arranging each target character with respect to each corresponding reference character with each individual arrangement packing amount of each target character.

[0016]

The operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. Note that a case where the arrangement direction of the characters is “horizontal” will be described as an example. First, the padding adjustment function will be described by taking a character string composed of three characters, that is, the first character C _{1 to} the third character C ₃ as shown in FIG. 1A as an example. The character string shown in FIG. 1A is a so-called "solid set" in which virtual bodies of characters are in contact with each other.
In addition, the bounding box that surrounds the character surface inside the virtual body shown by the solid line of the first character C _{1 to} the third character C ₃ is shown by the dotted line.

Of the two adjacent characters of this string,
First, paying attention to the first character C ₁ (reference character) and the second character C ₂ (target character), the packing adjustment function is obtained. First letter C
₁ and the second character C ₂ are arranged in "solid combination" (Fig. 1
(B)), The amount of spacing between the character faces at this time (character face spacing data D) is determined. It is assumed that the character spacing data D in the “solid assembling” state is “d ₂ ”. Then, the second character C ₂ is moved closer to the first character C ₁ so as to be packed, and character spacing data D at each packing amount S ₂ is obtained (FIG. 1).
(C)). The relationship between each padding amount S ₂ and the character spacing data D at each padding amount is graphed as shown in FIG. That is, the character spacing data D at the padding amount S ₂ = 0 (indicating the state of “solid embedding”) is “d ₂ ”, and when the second character C ₂ is packed toward the first character C ₁ , When the filling amount S ₂ = S _a , the character faces of both characters come into contact with each other, and the character spacing data D = 0. That is, the relationship between the filling amount S ₂ and the character spacing data D at each filling amount can be expressed by a linear function. This is the second character C for the first character C ₁ .
_{It is} assumed that the justification adjustment function of ₁ is S ₂ = f ₂ (D).

Next, using the second character C ₂ as the reference character and the third character C ₃ as the target character, the second character C ₂ and the third character C
₃ focuses on two adjacent characters, the first of the character C ₁
And the padding adjustment function is obtained as obtained with the second character C ₂ .
In addition, when the second character C ₂ and the third character C ₃ are arranged in a "solid combination" (see FIG. 3), the character spacing data D is "d".
₃ ". As described above, the third character C ₃
The character spacing data D for each packing amount is obtained by closely packing toward the character C ₂ . The relationship between each padding amount S ₃ and the character spacing data D at each padding amount is graphed as shown in FIG. That is, the filling amount S ₃ = 0
The character spacing data D (showing the state of “solid setting”) is “d ₃ ”, and when the third character C ₃ is packed toward the second character C ₂ , the packing amount S ₃ = S _b . At that time, the character faces of both characters come into contact with each other, and the character interval data D = 0. That is, the relationship between the padding amount S ₃ and the character spacing data D at each padding amount can be expressed by a linear function as in the case of the first character C ₁ and the second character C ₂ . This is defined as the justification adjustment function S ₃ = f ₃ (D) of the third character C _{3 with} respect to the second character C ₂ .

The packing adjustment function S ₂ = f calculated above
₂ (D) and the padding adjustment function S ₃ = f ₃ (D) are used for each target character (the second character C ₂ ) required to make the character spacing of both characters a desired spacing (character spacing data D). ，
This is a function for calculating the padding amounts S ₂ and S ₃ of the third character C ₃ ). Further, conversely, it is possible to calculate the character spacing D ₂ and D ₃ between the two characters when the target characters are arranged with a certain amount of packing from this function.

Next, to calculate the total packed adjustment function [sigma] s _i seeking a packed adjustment function S ₂ of the second character C ₂ the sum of the stuffing adjustment function S ₃ of the third letter C _3. This total closing adjustment function ΣS
_A graph of _i is shown in FIG. This total packing adjustment function ΣS _i (= S ₂ + S ₃ = f ₂ (D) + f
₃ (D) is a function representing the sum of the filling amounts (total filling amount) of the respective target characters [each character after the second character] in the same character spacing data D as a reference of each target character.

Next, the actual total padding amount is calculated as a difference between the solid character string length SL and the designated line length CL (difference character string length D
L) (see FIG. 6). This difference character string length DL is therefore the sum of the packing amounts of the respective target characters (second character C ₂ , third character C ₃ ) (total packing amount) necessary for matching the character string length SL with the specified line length CL. ).

Next, the difference character string length DL and the total packing adjustment function Σ
By S _i , the total packing amount of each target character is the difference character string length D
Character spacing data (D _A ) when L is calculated (see FIG. 5)). This character spacing data D _A is the character string length S
It is data of the spacing between the character faces that is commonly set for each character based on the difference character string length DL for making L a CL.

Based on the arrangement adjustment functions S ₂ = f ₂ (D) and S ₃ = f ₃ (D) based on the arrangement character spacing D _A thus obtained, the individual arrangement amount of each target character (the arrangement arrangement amount S _A2 , S _A3 ) is calculated (FIGS. 2 and 4), and the second character C ₂ is the padding amount S _A2 with respect to the first character C ₁ and the third character C _{3 is} with respect to the second character C ₂ . It is packed with the packing amount S _A3 (FIG. 7). At this time, since the characters are arranged so that the intervals between the characters are all the same (D _A ), there is little variation in the apparent character intervals, and the characters do not overlap with each other automatically. Can be placed.

The operation of the invention described in claim 2 is as follows. For each of the extracted candidate point pairs, distance information in the shift direction when the virtual bodies of both characters are in contact with each other and distance information in the direction orthogonal to the shift direction are stored. From the two pieces of space information, it is possible to obtain a two-dimensional (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) space (character space distance) between two character faces when the two characters are packed from the state where the virtual bodies are in contact with each other.
Then, the minimum padding amount of each padding amount is obtained, and the relationship between the above-mentioned character gap distance which is the gap between the character faces of each character in each padding amount and the minimum padding amount is used as the padding adjustment function. Then, the sum of the fill adjustment functions of each target character (total fill adjustment function) is calculated, and based on this and the difference character string length, the same face spacing amount (placed face spacing) is set as the spacing between the face of each reference character and each target character. Data) is calculated. The placement padding amount of each target character is calculated based on the placement character spacing data and the individual padding adjustment function of each target character. In this case, since the filling amount of each target character is calculated according to the two-dimensional spacing between the character faces of each character, when the characters are packed like "shi" and "te", the character faces bite (bounding box Even in the case where they overlap each other, the character string length can be matched with the designated line length, and the characters can be arranged well.

The operation of the invention described in claim 3 is as follows. That is, the filling adjustment function represents the filling amount of the target character at a certain filling ratio, and also indicates that the length of the character string becomes shorter. Therefore, if the filling amount in the sum of the filling adjustment functions of each character is the amount that reduces the reference character string length of all characters to the specified line length (= difference character string length), the filling ratio for that is all target characters. Can be obtained as a common placement packing ratio for. That is, if the target characters are sequentially packed and arranged with the layout packing ratio calculated in this way and the layout packing amount calculated by the packing adjustment function for each packing target character, the total packing amount of each character becomes the difference character string length. Therefore, the length of all the arranged character strings naturally matches the specified line length. Further, since the filling adjustment function at this time is based on the character spacing, the character spacing of the arranged character string is less likely to vary and the appearance is good.

[0026]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <First Embodiment> FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a character typesetting editing apparatus using the character string length adjusting method according to the present embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a control unit that mainly executes the method of the present invention. The control unit 1 is composed of a CPU, a memory such as a ROM and a RAM, which are not shown. The character string input unit 2a is for fetching character string data from a medium or the like in which a character string data file (font name, character code, etc.) created by a word processor or the like is stored, and is a floppy disk device or the like. From the instruction unit 2b, the size of the character (character size) is specified. The fetched character string data is temporarily stored in the character string information storage unit 3 together with the instructed character size. From the line length input section 4, the length of the line where the character string consisting of the character string data is placed (line length)
Is input by the operator, and the input line length is stored in the line length storage unit 5. The line length input unit 4 and the instruction unit 2b are composed of an input device such as a keyboard.

The font storage unit 6 stores various data of each character used as a font file for each typeface (font name such as Mincho typeface, Gothic typeface). Here, this font file is filed for each font name (font name 1, ...), as shown in FIG.
A character code of each character, character data corresponding to the character code (vector data for forming a character, which may be referred to as font data), and character parameters (intervals a to d and the character width shown in FIG. 39). W and the height H of the character surface.

The justification adjustment function calculation unit 10 calculates the justification adjustment function of the target character for each two adjacent characters (the reference character and the justification adjustment target character) of the character string stored in the character string information storage unit 3. They are stored in the packing adjustment function storage unit 11. Further, the control unit 1 calculates the sum of the amount of padding (hereinafter simply referred to as the sum of the padding adjustment functions) using the character spacing data of the padding adjustment function for each target character as a reference parameter, and this is stored in the total padding adjustment function storage. It is stored in the unit 12.

The reference character string length storage unit 15 stores the total length of the character string when the characters of the character string to be processed are arranged in a "solid character" (solid character string length). The difference character string length storage unit 16 stores the difference between the designated line length stored in the line length storage unit 5 and the solid character string length stored in the reference character string length storage unit 15. . The layout character spacing data storage unit 17 stores the layout character spacing data calculated based on the difference character string length and the total packing adjustment function, and the layout packing amount calculation unit 18 stores the layout character spacing data and each target character. A filling amount (placement filling amount) for each character, which will be described later, is calculated based on the filling adjustment function for each character and stored in the placement filling amount storage unit 19.

The display / output unit 20 is composed of a CRT for displaying a character string and a printer for printing, and the control unit 1 controls the character string information storage unit 3, the font storage unit 6 and the arrangement packing amount storage unit 19. By referring to, the character string closely packed and arranged in the specified character string length is displayed and / or printed.

Next, the contents of the processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of the character string length adjustment processing shown in FIG.
In step S1, the operator designates a character string data file to be processed and inputs it via the character string input unit 2a. This character string data file is created in advance by a general-purpose word processor or the like and is stored in a floppy disk or the like. Further, the character size of each character is designated via the designating section 2b.

In step S2, the character string data of the character string data file input in step S1 is stored in the character string information storage unit 3 together with the instructed character size.
The contents of the character string information storage unit 3 at this time are shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. The character string data stored in the character string information storage unit 3 is referred to by the control unit 1 together with the font storage unit 6, and the character string is displayed / outputted according to the contents (font name, character size, arrangement direction, character code) 20. Is displayed (step S3).

In step S4, the line length (designated line length) for arranging characters is input through the line length input unit 4. The input designated line length is stored in the line length storage unit 5. For this input, a numerical value may be directly input from a keyboard or the like, or a length may be designated on the display / output unit 20 with a pointing device such as a mouse.

Since the step S3 only displays the character string before adjustment of the character string length, if the character string length is clear to the operator, the display is not performed and the designated line in step S4 is not displayed. The length may be input.

In step S5, a process (arrangement packing amount calculation process) for obtaining the packing amount of each character for matching the length of the character string to be processed with the designated line length input in step S4 is performed.

This arrangement packing amount calculation processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step T1, a packing adjustment function is calculated. This justification adjustment function focuses on two adjacent characters (reference character and target character) in a character string,
This is a function that represents the relationship between the spacing between the character faces and the filling ratio, which is the ratio of the filling amount of the target character to the character spacing.

The character string input in step S1 is shown in FIG.
An example will be described in which three characters (first character C ₁ , second character C ₂ , third character C ₃ ) as shown in FIG. Here among the distance between the virtual body and lexically of each character, and in the arrangement direction of the character spacing intervals in the beginning side a _n, and the interval at the end of the line side b _n (indicating the subscript n is character number), If the designated line length CL input in step S4 is a length as shown in FIG. 13, the filling amount of the second character C _{2 as} the filling adjustment function is S ₂ (k) = k (b ₁ + a ₂ ) (Fig. 14)
(B)). FIG. 15 is a graph of the packing adjustment function at this time (the figure shows a range of 0 ≦ k ≧ 1).

If this padding adjustment function is similarly calculated for the second character C ₂ and the third character C ₃ , the padding adjustment function S ₃
(K) = k (b ₂ + a ₃ ), and a graph of this is as shown in FIG. As is clear from the above, the packing adjustment function in this embodiment is generally expressed as S _n (k) =
k (b _(n-1) + a _n ) (where _n is a character number and is an integer of 2 or more), and (b _(n-1) + a _n ) is the spacing between the character faces in the standard arrangement. Is the amount. The calculation of the padding adjustment function is executed by the padding adjustment function calculation unit 10, and the character parameters (in the space a to the font storage unit 6) corresponding to each character code in the character string information storage unit 3 are stored.
With reference to (d) and, the close adjustment function of each target character is calculated. The justification adjustment functions S ₂ (k) and S ₃ (k) of each target character calculated in this way are stored in the justification adjustment function storage unit 11).

Next, at step T2, the total sum (total filling adjustment function) ΣS _i (k) = S ₂ (k) + S ₃ (k) = k {(b ₁ + A ₂ ) + (b ₂ + a ₃ )} (1) is calculated and stored in the total packing adjustment function storage unit 12. FIG. 17 is a graph schematically showing this total packing adjustment function ΣS _i (k).

In step T3, the length of the character string (reference character string length SL (see FIG. 13) in the "solid set" in which the characters are arranged so that the virtual bodies of the characters contact each other as the reference arrangement.
Control unit 1) with reference to the character string information storage unit 3 and the font storage unit 6, and calculates the reference character string length storage unit 15
To be stored.

In step T4, the control unit 1 calculates the difference between the reference character string length SL calculated in step T3 and the designated line length CL (difference character string length DL). The calculated difference character string length DL is stored in the difference character string length storage unit 16. The difference character string length DL corresponds to the sum of the packing amounts (total packing amount) of all the character strings required to match the current [solid set] character string length SL with the input designated line length CL. In the next step T5, the arrangement packing ratio k _{A is} calculated based on the difference character string length DL and the total packing adjustment function ΣS _i (k).
To calculate. Total packing adjustment function ΣS shown in FIG.
_As shown in the graph of _i (k), the packing ratio k when the total packing amount S = difference character string length DL is stored as the layout packing ratio k _A in the layout character spacing data storage unit 17.

In step T6, the actual arrangement packing amount of each character is calculated. That is, based on the arrangement packing ratio k _A and the packing adjustment functions S ₂ (k) and S ₃ (k) of each target character stored in each packing adjustment function storage unit 11, the arrangement packing amount calculation unit 18 Explained with the graphs of the packing adjustment functions S ₂ (k) and S ₃ (k) calculated and shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the arrangement packing amounts S _2A and S of the second character C ₂ and the third character C ₃ are described. It will be _3A . The calculated placement packing amounts S _2A and S
Each of _3A is stored in the arrangement packing amount storage unit 19. Then, the process is completed, and the process returns to step S6 in FIG.

In step S6, the respective target characters are sequentially packed and arranged with respect to the reference character by the calculated respective layout packing amounts. Specifically, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. ₂ (target character) is the first character C ₁ (reference character)
Arranged packed with arranged filling amount S _2A respect, the third letter C ₃
The (target character) is packed and arranged with the layout packing amount S _3A with respect to the second character C ₂ (reference character). Thus, the character string length S
The character string length is packed by the total packing amount corresponding to the difference character string length DL, which is the difference between L and the specified line length CL. At this time, the packing amount according to the character spacing between characters (for a wide character spacing, Each character (target character) is arranged according to a large padding amount and a small padding amount. Therefore, the specified line length C
Even when L and the character string length SL are made to coincide with each other, the character faces of the respective characters do not overlap and the appearance is not deteriorated.

In the present embodiment, the case where the bounding box BB does not include the side bearing around the character face F in the character configuration has been described as an example. However, the bounding box BB includes the character configuration including the side bearing. May be In this case, the side bearing amount is set commonly for each character, and the packing rate k =
The character faces may be prevented from contacting each other in the vicinity of 1 (character face packing).

<Second Embodiment> With reference to FIGS. 8 and 19, a schematic structure of a character typesetting editing apparatus using the character string length adjusting method according to the present embodiment will be described. Since FIG. 8 is the same as the first embodiment, detailed description will be omitted.

The control unit 1 reads from the font storage unit 6 vector font data corresponding to the character code of the character string data stored in the character string information storage unit 3. Dot patterning processing unit 10 included in the filling adjustment function calculation unit 10
A converts the read vector font data into vector data corresponding to the designated character size, converts it into dot pattern data of a predetermined number of constituent dots, and stores it in the dot pattern data storage unit 10B. Control unit 1
Stores the dot pattern data for two characters to be processed from the dot pattern data storage unit 10B in the dot pattern row expansion memory 10C. In addition, the vector font data is a mathematical expression of a character surface indicating a character shape of a character, a closed figure represented by the function is a black pixel corresponding to the character surface, and other than that. It is a white pixel. In addition, the dot pattern data is a character surface formed of a bitmap (for example, binary data “1”).

The candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D and the candidate point pair storage unit 10E store information about a pair of dots (a candidate point pair) having a shortest interval between dot patterns described later. Here, the dot pattern refers to a set of dots that are black pixels of the dot pattern data.
The interval information storage unit 10F stores the interval information of the candidate point pairs stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E. The interval information, which will be described later in detail, indicates the positional relationship between the dots of the candidate point pair. Based on the stored spacing information, the padding amount when each target character is brought closer to the reference character, and the two-dimensional gap amount (character space) which is the shortest gap between each candidate point pair in each padding amount. Amount) is calculated by the filling amount calculation unit 10G, and the smallest filling amount among the respective filling amounts is stored in the filling amount storage unit 10H.
The corresponding face spacing amount is stored in the face spacing amount storage unit 10I. Then, the character spacing values [in the character spacing amount storage unit 10I] and the corresponding minimum packing amounts in the [filling amount storage unit 10H] are stored in the packing adjustment function storage unit 11 in a table format. The control unit 1 calculates the total filling adjustment function from the filling adjustment function in the table format stored in the filling adjustment function storage unit 11, and stores it in the total filling adjustment function storage unit 12 in the same table format.

<Outline of Process> First, an outline of a main process for facilitating understanding will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0050] FIG. 20 (a), the first letter C ₁ serving as a reference of the arrangement (standard character), the second placed in the "horizontally arranged" in a state where each other imaginary body are in contact with respect to the reference character C ₁ letter C ₂ and (object character) is a schematic view showing a vector data. The reference character C ₁ and the target character C ₂ are virtual bodies C each having a character size of 100 × 100.
_{It is composed of 1IB} and C _2IB, and character _planes F _C1 (in the area of the solid line) and F _C2 (in the area of the dotted line) inside thereof. At this time, the space (filling amount) in which one side of the virtual body of the target character C ₁ is packed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the characters are arranged with respect to one side of the virtual body of the reference character C ₁ is “0”.
And

Conversion to dot pattern data Both characters C ₁ and C ₂ represented by the vector data are converted into 1
FIG. 21A shows conversion into dot pattern data composed of 0 × 10 dots. Both letters C ₁ and C ₂ are
In order to identify each dot of each dot pattern forming the character planes F _C1 'and F _C2 ', column numbers are arranged in the character arrangement direction and rows are arranged in the direction orthogonal to the character arrangement direction. Assign a number. That is, in the character plane F _C1 ′ of the character C ₁ , from the right side to columns i to i-6 along the character arrangement direction, and in the character plane F _C2 ′ of the character C ₂ from the left side, columns j to j + 3.
Allocate up to columns. Further, p rows to p + 6 rows are allocated from the upper end along the direction orthogonal to the character arrangement direction. In addition,
In this row, one dot of dot pattern data corresponds to a size of 10 × 10 of vector data. This is the conversion magnification, and in this case, the conversion magnification is 1/10.

Extraction of candidate point pairs When the target character C ₂ is shifted by 1 dot to the reference character C ₁ , character faces F _C1 ', F _C2 ' expressed by the dot patterns of both characters C ₁ , C ₂ Of the pair of dots existing on the same line, the pair of dots having the shortest spacing amount is set as the candidate point pair in the shift amount. Here,
The interval amount of the pair of candidate points means the amount in which the distance between the centers of two dots is represented by the number of dots.

FIG. 21B shows a state in which the above-mentioned shift has been performed and the shift has been made by a total of 5 dots. In this state, there is only one pair of dots a (interval amount: 4 dots) consisting of a dot of p + 4 rows and j columns of the face F _C2 'and a dot of p rows and i columns of the face F _C1 ' on the same column. Since they exist, this pair of dots is stored as a candidate point pair in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E together with the interval information.

FIG. 21C shows a state in which the image is further shifted by one dot (a total shift amount of 6 dots). In this state, typeface F _C2 'of p + 4 rows · j rows of dots and textually F _C1'
A pair of dots b (interval amount: 3 dots) consisting of p + 1 rows and i−1 rows of dots, and p + 4 rows and j of the character face F _C2 '.
There is a pair of dots b ₁ (interval amount: 4 dots) formed by dots in the + 1th column and dots in the pth row and the ith column of the character surface F _C1 '. In this case, a pair of dots b ₁ is stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D, and this is compared with the distance amount of the pair of dots b, and the pair of dots b, which is the shortest distance, is a candidate point pair b. It is stored in the point pair storage unit 10E.

In the state of further shifting by one dot (a total shift amount of 7 dots, see FIG. 22A), the character surface F _C2 '
P + 1 row, j + 2 columns of dots, and the letter F _C1 'p row, i
A pair of dots c (interval amount: 1 dot) consisting of dots of columns, a pair of dots of p + 4 rows and j + 1 columns of the face F _C2 ′ and dots of p + 1 lines and i−1 columns of the face F _C1 ′. Dot c ₁ (space amount: 3 dots) and p of character face F _C2 '
+4 rows and j columns and p +2 rows and i-2 of character face F _C1 '
Of the pair of dots c ₂ (the amount of space: 2 dots) formed by the dots in the row, the pair of dots c that is the shortest space is stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E as the candidate point pair c.

The process of extracting the candidate point pairs ends when a part of the characters overlap. This is because, in normal processing, the characters are not padded until the character faces of adjacent characters overlap. Therefore, in the above example, the process ends with a shift of 8 dots in total (FIG. 22B). For example, in the case of a combination such as the character "country" and the character "country", if the target character is shifted by 1 dot,
The character faces of both characters may suddenly overlap each other without causing the so-called "bite" as in (b) and (c). In such a case, a pair of overlapping dots is extracted as a candidate point pair and the process ends. Through the above processing, the candidate point pairs a to d extracted for each shift are stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E.

In the above example, there is only one pair of dots on the same line, but there are cases where there are multiple pairs of dots on the same line depending on the character having a complicated shape. is there. For example, the character plane F _C1 'on one row with the reference character C ₁ and the character plane F _C2 ' on one row with the target character C ₂ are composed of dots as shown in FIG. And When these two rows are shifted and overlapped, as shown in FIG. 7B, five dot pairs P ₁ ,
There will be P ₂ , P ₃ , and P ₄ . In this case, it is sufficient to store a single dot pairs P ₁ with a spacing of minimum among all dot pairs P ₁ to P ₄ as the candidate point pair candidate point pair storage section 10E. Further, when there are a plurality of dot pairs having the shortest interval amount, any one of the dots may be stored as a candidate point pair. This is the "shift direction" of the candidate point pair when the virtual bodies are in contact.
Based on the space information of "and the direction orthogonal to the shift direction" and the character spacing when the target character is shifted toward the reference character from the state where the virtual bodies of both characters are in contact with each other, the padding amount This is because the same relational expression is obtained from a plurality of candidate point pairs having the same shift amount and the same shortest interval on the same column. In addition, the spacing amount of the candidate point pair at a certain shift amount is
If it is larger than the interval amount of the candidate point pair in the shift amount up to that point, the candidate point pair is ignored.

Calculation of Shortest Interval at Each Filling Amount The shortest interval at each filling amount when the target character C ₂ is brought close to the reference character C ₁ is calculated. In the “solid set” state as shown in FIG. 20A, the candidate point pair storage unit 1
For each candidate point pair stored in 0E, the distance information m in the shift direction and the distance information n in the direction orthogonal to the shift direction, which are converted into the distance between the contours of the character faces in the vector data, are obtained. The coordinates in the vector font data corresponding to the center coordinates of the dots of the candidate point pair are the reference characters C ₁ (P _ax ,
P _ay ) and the target character C ₂ (P _bx , P _by ), the two pieces of interval information m and n are m = (100−P _ax ) + P _bx −10 (2) n = | _Pay- P _by | -10 It can be expressed _by (3). However, when P _ay = P _by , n = 0
And The numerical value 100 in the above equation indicates the character size of the vector data, and 10 indicates the size on the vector data corresponding to the size of 1 dot of the dot pattern data.

The center coordinates [(P _ax , P _ay ), (P _bx , P _by )] of the dots in the vector data of each candidate point pair are set to the candidate point pair a [(75, 75), (25, 35)]. ], Candidate point pair b [(65,65), (25,35)], candidate point pair c [(75,75), (45,65)], candidate point pair d [(65,65), ( 45, 65)], the shift direction and interval information m of each candidate point pair and the interval information n in the direction orthogonal to the shift direction are calculated as the candidate point pair m n a 40 from the above equations (2) and (3). 30 b 50 20 c 60 0 d 70 0.

The shortest character space k in vector data can be calculated by k ² = m ² + n ² ……………………………… (4) (Fig. 20 ( a)).

Further, the target character C ₂ is arranged with a certain padding amount S from the state of the "solid set" in which the padding amount is "0" with respect to the reference character C ₁ . The interval information m can be expressed as (m−S) (FIG. 2).
0 (b)). Therefore, the above equation (4) becomes k ² = (m−S) ² + n ² ……………… (5). The relationship between the shortest distance k of each candidate point pair and the packing amount S is graphed based on this relational expression, as shown in FIG.

When this relational expression is converted into a relational expression for obtaining the packing amount S from the shortest interval k, S = | m ± √ (k ² −n ² ) |

As an example, the padding amount S with which the face spacing k = 30 is obtained. Both distance information m, n and (6)
From the formula, the filling amount S at which the shortest distance between the character faces of each candidate point pair is the character face distance k is the candidate point pair filling amount S a 40 b 72, 28 c 90, 30 d 100, 40. Of the calculated packing amount S, the candidate point pair b
The target character C ₂ may be arranged with respect to the reference character C ₁ with the minimum padding amount S _min = 28 calculated from (see FIG. 2).
0 (c)).

The reason for arranging characters with the minimum amount of space S _min will be described with reference to the graph showing the relationship between the amount of space S and the shortest distance k in FIG.
From this graph, the filling amount S is 0 or more and 20 or less (0 ≦ S ≦
20: Packing amount range), the candidate point pair a has the shortest interval, and 20 or more and 36 or less (20 ≦ S ≦ 36: packing amount range), candidate point pair b, and 36 or more and 60 or less (36
It is understood that the candidate point pair c has the shortest interval in the case of ≦ S ≦ 60: packing amount range). When the packing amount S is 20, the two candidate point pairs a and b have the shortest intervals, and when the packing amount S is 36, the two candidate point pairs b and c have the shortest interval. I understand.

In order to set the two-dimensional shortest distance between the character faces to be the character face space amount k = 30, the target character C ₂ with the non-minimum padding amount S among the padding amounts S calculated as described above.
Consider the case where is arranged with respect to the reference character C ₁ . For example, the filling amount S “4 calculated by the above candidate point pair d”
If it is arranged with "0", the shortest distance is certainly "30" which is equal to the character spacing k for the candidate point pair d,
In the candidate point pair c, the shortest distance is shorter than the character spacing k, “2
0 ". That is, when the character is arranged with a non-minimum padding amount, the character gap becomes shorter than the character gap k, so that the character is arranged with the smallest padding amount S _min among the calculated padding amounts S. Therefore, in the combination of the reference character C ₁ and the target character C ₂ , the relationship between the character space amount k and the filling amount S is as follows:
In FIG. 24B, the characteristics of the candidate point pairs a, b, and c having the shortest character spacing k can be represented by the relationship of FIG. From this, it can be seen that in the present example, the character face spacing amount is “0”, that is, the candidate point pair d when the character faces overlap is not used, but depending on the shape of the character faces of both characters, overlapping candidate point pairs are required. In some cases, such as when the facing parts of the two letters are parallel.

Calculation of Filling Adjustment Function and Total Filling Adjustment Function The filling adjustment represents the relationship between the minimum filling amount S and the shortest interval (character space amount) in the minimum filling amount as shown in FIG. Function S (k), which is calculated for each target character. That is, the first character C ₁ (reference character)
Function S of the second character C ₂ (target character) to be packed against
₂ (k) is obtained (this is schematically shown in FIG. 25A), and similarly, the function S _{3 of} the third character C ₃ (target character) to be packed with respect to the second character C ₂ (reference character) (K) is calculated (this is schematically shown in FIG. 25B). And
Sum of these justification adjustment functions (total justification adjustment function ΣS
_i (k)) is calculated (this is schematically shown in FIG. 25C). The character gap amount k corresponds to the character gap data in the present invention.

Note that these packing adjustment functions S ₂ (k),
S ₃ (k) is stored in the packing adjustment function storage unit 11 in a table format as shown in FIGS. 26 (a) and 26 (b), respectively. Then, the total sum (total packing adjustment function ΣS _i (k)) of these tables is calculated and stored in the total packing adjustment function storage unit 12 in a table format as shown in FIG.

Calculation of Filling Amount of Each Target Character Total filling adjustment function ΣS _i (k) calculated in this way
Based on the above, the shortest interval k (shortest interval k _A ) at which the total reduction amount S _T is equal to the difference character string length DL (see FIG. 6) is calculated (see FIG. 25 (c)). Actually, the table stored in the total packing adjustment function storage unit 12 (FIG. 26C).
Of the above), the shortest interval k in which the item of the total filling amount ΣS _i matches the difference character string length DL is searched for, and this is set as the shortest interval k _A common to each target character.

Next, the shortest interval k common to each target character
_{Based on A} and the respective filling adjustment functions S ₂ (k) and S ₃ (k), the respective filling amounts S _A2 and S _A3 that are the shortest intervals k _A are obtained.
In practice, the arrangement packing amount calculation unit 18 stores the table (FIGS. 26A and 26B) stored in the packing adjustment function storage unit 11.
(See above), the padding amounts S ₂ and S _{3 in} which the item having the shortest interval k matches the shortest interval k _A are set as the placement padding amounts S _A2 and S _A3 of the respective target characters. Then, the placement reduction amounts S _A2 and S _A3 are stored in the placement reduction amount storage unit 19.

Arrangement of Each Target Character For each target character (second character C ₂ , third character C ₃ ) corresponding to each reference character (first character C ₁ , second character C ₂ ),
Arrange with the corresponding individual arrangement packing amounts S _A2 and S _A3 . This state is schematically shown in FIG. After this arrangement of each target character, the [two-dimensional] shortest intervals between the character faces between adjacent characters are all the same (k _A ), and the character string length SL and the line length CL are
It is possible to adjust the length of the character string in a sensible manner while allowing “to be bitten” such that the character faces are intricate while matching and.

Next, with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 28 and 29, the details of the calculation process of the filling adjustment function [corresponding to step T1 of the flow chart of FIG. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the process of extracting a candidate point pair. Note that the following description will be made on the assumption that the same characters as in the outline description are used in "horizontal composition".

Referring to the flowchart of FIG. In step U1, the control unit 1 reads the vector font data corresponding to the character string data stored in the character string information storage unit 3 from the font storage unit 6, and the dot patterning processing unit 10A designates all the vector font data. It is converted into vector data of the character size and converted into dot pattern data composed of a predetermined number of dots. In the present embodiment, as an example, the conversion magnification is 1/10, that is, 10
The vector data of size 0x100 is converted into dot pattern data of 10x10 dots. In the conversion from vector data to dot pattern data, if the area of the character plane in the vector data occupies, for example, 50% or more of the dot size in the dot pattern data, it is converted to a black pixel, and if it is less than that, it is a white pixel. Convert as.

In step U2, the candidate point pair storage unit 10
Clear the contents of E. Every time a candidate point pair is extracted in the following process, the information about the candidate point pair is additionally stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E, so it is cleared only once before that.

In step U3, the control unit 1 stores the dot pattern data for two characters of the character C _i (reference character) and the character C _{i + 1} (target character) in the dot pattern data storage unit 10B in the dot pattern row expansion memory 10C. Write in. FIG. 30 shows a schematic diagram of the dot pattern row expansion memory 10C. A storage area is secured in the dot pattern row expansion memory 10C so that the dot pattern data for two characters can be stored. Further, the storage area is 0-9 (upward) with reference to the lower left of the reference character C _i. The data is divided into 10 rows up to the row data), and is divided into 20 columns from 0 to 19 (column data) in the horizontal direction.
In each area, addresses from 0 to 199 are continuously assigned to the area from the reference character C _i to the target character C _{i + 1} . Since the converted dot pattern data has a size of 10 × 10, the addresses “0 to 99” are assigned to the reference character C _i and the addresses “100 to 199” are assigned to the target character C _{i + 1} .

In the following description, the character C _i will be described as the first character C ₁ and the character C _{i + 1} will be described as the second character C ₂ . The first character C ₁ and the second character C ₂ are assumed to be characters having the same shapes as those used in the above-described outline description (see FIG. 31 (a)). Assuming that the set of addresses (within the solid line area in the figure) where the dots of the first character C ₁ are located is A ₀ , A ₀ = {11 to 17,22 to 27,33
~ 37,44 ~ 47,55 ~ 57,66,67,77} and the second character C
Address where the _second dot is located (in the area indicated by the dotted line in the figure)
When the set of the B ₀ B ₀ = {122,123,132,133,142 ~
146,152-156}. The symbols A and B representing the set
The subscript 0 represents the number of shifts = 0.

In step U4, the second character C ₂ is shifted by 1 dot with respect to the first character C ₁ . Specifically, the second
Only 10 is subtracted from each address of the set of addresses B ₀ indicating the dots of the character C ₂ . As a result, the set B ₁ of the addresses of the second character C ₂ is B ₁ = {112,113,122,123,132 to 136,
142-146} (see FIG. 31 (b)).

In step U5, it is determined whether or not there are dots of both characters in the direction orthogonal to the character arrangement direction, that is, in the same row. This decision is RA for set B ₁
'Copy as, the B _1' B ₁ to M area all addresses divided by 10, truncating the resulting fraction (hereinafter, referred to as integer). Similarly, all addresses in the set A ₀ are converted into integers. By this processing, the addresses included in each set of addresses are converted into column data. Therefore, the column data of the set A ₀ 'and the column data of the set B ₁ ' are compared to determine whether or not there is the same column data. Here, the set A ₀ '= {1,2,3,4,5,6,7} and the set B ₁ ' = {1
1,12,13,14}, and the same column data is not included,
Returning to step U4, another dot shift is performed.
With the dot pattern data for both characters, steps U4 and U5 are repeated until a shift of a total of 5 dots is performed.

Next, a description will be given of a state in which a shift of a total of 5 dots has been performed in steps U4 and U5. FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram of the dot pattern row expansion memory 10C at this time.
(A). In this state, the set A ₀ = {11 to 17,22
~ 27,33 ~ 37,44 ~ 47,55 ~ 57,66,67,77}, set B ₅
= {72,73,82,83,92 to 96,102 to 106}, and set A ₀ '= {1,2,3,4,5,6,7}, set B ₅ ' = {7,8,9 , 1
0}, the same column data “7” is included in the sets A ₀ ′ and B ₅ ′. Therefore, it is determined that there are dots of both characters on the same line, and the process branches from step U5 to step U6.

In step U6, the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 1
A predetermined initial value is set to 0D. The candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D stores the spacing amount Fp of a pair of dots having the shortest spacing on a certain column at the same shift amount and the original address thereof, that is, the pair of dots in the "solid set" shown in FIG. The addresses Ap and Bp of the are stored. The space amount Fp of the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D is
It is necessary to set some value as an initial value because it is compared with the distance amount of a pair of dots having the shortest distance on a different row from the above on the same shift amount. Therefore, "10", which is the maximum possible spacing amount, is set as the spacing amount, and the original address Ap,
An appropriate value (here, "0", "0") is set as Bp. A schematic diagram of this candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D is shown in FIG.

At step U7, all dot pairs on the same row of the reference character C ₁ and the target character C ₂ are obtained, and at step U8, a pair of dots having the shortest interval amount is obtained.

With the current shift of 5 dots,
Address set of reference character C ₁ A ₀ = {11 to 17,22 to 27,3
3 to 37,44 to 47,55 to 57,66,67,77}, the set of addresses of the target character C ₂ B ₅ = {72,73,82,83,92 to 96,102 to 10
6}, and the set of column data of the reference character C ₁ is A ₀ '=
{1,2,3,4,5,6,7}, the set B of column data of the target character C _{2
Since 5} '= {7,8,9,10}, 7 from the set of column data
In the second row, both dots are present on the same row. Therefore, a pair of dots is obtained in the seventh column. First, 7
Since it is in the column, the addresses of the characters C ₁ and C ₂ with 70 addresses are obtained. A result, the address of the character C ₁ Aw (7
7) and the address Bw (72,73) of the character C ₂ are obtained. Then, when the space amount Fp (Aw, Bw) is obtained, Fp (77,72) = 5 and Fp (77,73) = 4,
The shortest interval amount Fp (77,73) = 4 and the address of the pair of dots are temporarily stored in the RAM of the control unit 1 (step U8).

In step U11, the interval amount Fp 'of the pair of dots extracted in another column at the same shift amount, which is stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D, and the control unit extracted in that column. The distance amount Fp between the pair of dots stored in one RAM is compared, and the distance amount between the pair of dots having the shorter distance amount and the original address of each dot forming the pair of dots. The candidate point pair information consisting of and is stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D (step U12). At this time, the candidate point pair information already stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D is deleted.

Steps U7, U8, U11, U1 described above
2 is a process for extracting one pair of dots having the shortest interval amount among a pair of dots on a plurality of columns in the same shift amount.

Since the contents of the current candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D are in the state of being initialized as shown in FIG. 32 (b), the interval amount Fp = 4 stored in the control unit 1 and this pair The dot amount of the dot is compared, and the candidate point pair information including the interval amount Fp = 4 having the shorter interval amount and the original addresses Ap and Bp is compared with the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D.
To be stored. The original address can be calculated by the following formula. Original address of character C _i Ap = Aw ………………………………… (7) Original address of character C _{i + 1} Bp = Bw + shift count × 10 ……… (8) Therefore, The original address Ap of the character C ₁ of the current candidate point pair is “77”, the original address Bp of the character C ₂ is “123” (73 + 5 × 10), and the distance Fp is “4”. , The original addresses Ap “77” and Bp “123” are stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D (see FIG. 32 (b)).

In step U13, when a pair of dots are present on a plurality of columns, it is judged whether or not the processes for all the columns are completed, and the process is branched. At present, since a pair of dots exists only in one row of the seventh row, it is determined that the processing of all the rows is completed, and the process branches to step U15.

In step U15, the spacing amount of the candidate point pair stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D is smaller than the spacing amount of all the previous candidate point pairs stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E (shorter. Only in this case, the candidate point pair information is additionally stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E (step U16), otherwise it is not stored.

By these steps U15 to U16, like the combination of the reference character "-" and the object character ".", A plurality of pairs of dots having the same interval amount at different shift amounts are extracted as candidate point pairs. In that case,
Only the candidate point pairs obtained with the minimum shift amount are stored. By doing this, we avoid storing useless candidate point pairs. Therefore, the subsequent processing can be efficiently performed.

Since no candidate point pair information is currently stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E, step U16 is performed.
And the candidate point pair information (interval amount Fp “4”, original address Ap “77”, original address Bp “123”) stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D is used as a candidate point pair. It is stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E. A schematic view of the candidate point pair storage unit 10E at this time is shown in FIG. Note that, in FIG. 32 (b), the symbol C ₁ indicates that the candidate point pair information is based on the reference character C ₁ and the target character C ₂ . Further, this candidate point pair corresponds to the candidate point pair a in the above-mentioned outline description. Then, the process returns to step U9 in FIG.

In step U9, it is determined whether both characters are overlapping, that is, whether a pair of dots are overlapping, and the process is branched. This can be done by determining whether the interval amount Fp is "0". Since the interval amount Fp is not "0" here, the process branches to step U4.

In step U4, the target character C ₂ is further shifted by 1 dot with respect to the reference character C ₁ (a total of 6 dots are shifted, the state of FIG. 33A). At this time, the set A ₀ = {11 to 17,22 to 27,33 to 37,44 to 47,55 to 57,66,6
7,77}, the set B ₆ = {62,63,72,73,82~86,92 ~96}
Therefore, set A ₀ '= {1,2,3,4,5,6,7}, set B ₆ ' =
Since {6,7,8,9}, both sets A ₀ 'and B ₆ ' include the same column data "6,7". Therefore, it is determined that there is a pair of dots on the same row, and the process branches from step U5 to step U6.

In step U6, the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D is set to the initial value as described above (FIG. 33).
(B)).

In the state in which a total of 6 dots are shifted, there are dots of both characters in the 6th and 7th columns as described above, but first, the processing is performed from the 7th column. Find the addresses of 70 units of the characters C ₁ and C ₂ . As a result, the address Aw of the character C ₁
(77) and the address Bw (72,73) of the character C ₂ are extracted. Then, when the space amount Fp (Aw, Bw) is obtained, Fp (77,72) = 5 and Fp (77,73) = 4,
The shortest interval amount Fp (77,73) = 4 and the address of the pair of dots are temporarily stored in the RAM of the control unit 1 (step U8).

Then, through steps U11 and U12,
The interval amount Fp “4” stored in the control unit 1 and the original addresses Ap “77” and Bp “133” (73+) of the pair of dots calculated from the above equations (7) and (8). 6 × 10) candidate point pair information is stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D (see FIG. 33B).

In step U13, if a pair of dots are present on a plurality of columns, it is judged whether or not the processes for all the columns are completed, and the process is branched. Since only the seventh column out of the sixth column and the seventh column is currently processed, the process branches from step U13 to step U7.

In step U7, the process of the next sixth column is performed. Obtain the addresses of 60 units of the characters C ₁ and C ₂ . Result, the address of the character C ₁ Aw (66, 67) and the character C ₂ address Bw (62 and 63) are extracted. Then, when the interval amount Fp (Aw, Bw) is calculated, Fp (67,62) =
5, Fp (67,63) = 4, Fp (66,62) = 4, Fp
Since (66,63) = 3, the shortest distance Fp (6
6,63) = 3 and the address of the pair of dots are temporarily stored in the RAM of the controller 1 (step U8).

Through steps U11 and U12 of FIG. 29,
The interval amount Fp “3” stored in the RAM of the control unit 1 and the original addresses Ap “66” and Bp “12” of the pair of dots.
The candidate point pair information “3” (63 + 6 × 10) is stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D (see FIG. 33B).

At step U13, since the processing for all columns is completed, the candidate point pair information (interval amount Fp "3", original address) stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D is passed through steps U15 and U16. Ap “66”, Bp “123
)) As a candidate point pair is additionally stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E (see FIG. 33 (b)). It should be noted that this candidate point pair corresponds to the candidate point pair b in the above-mentioned outline description.

As described above, steps U4 to U1
After 6, the total shift is 7 dots (see FIG. 34 (a)).
Then, the set A ₀ of the addresses of the character C ₁ = {11 to 17, 22 to 2
7,33 ～37,44 ～47,55 ～57,66,67,77}, the set of characters C ₂ address B ₇ = {52,53,62,63,72~76,82 ~86}
And a set of column data of character C ₁ A ₀ '= {1,2,3,4
, 5,6,7}, a set of column data of character C ₂ B ₇ ′ = {5,6,
7,8}, the same column data “5,6,7” is included. Below, the following is done for each column (FIG. 34).
(See (a) and (b)).

[7th column] Content of RAM of control unit 1 ... Fp (77,76) = 1, A
w = 77, Bw = 76 These contents are stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D as the candidate point pair information in step U12.

[Sixth column] Contents of RAM of control unit 1 ... Fp (66,63) = 3, A
w = 66, Bw = 63 This content is "7" as a result of comparison in step U11.
It is determined that it is larger than the interval amount of “column”, and is not stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D. Therefore, the content of the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D remains "7th column".

"Fifth column" Contents of RAM of control unit 1 ... Fp (55,53) = 2, A
w = 55, Bw = 53 This content is also not stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D. Therefore, the content of the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D remains "7th column".

As a result, through the steps U15 to U16, the candidate point pair storage unit 10E stores the candidate point pair information (Fp
(77,76) = 1, Ap = 77, Bp = 146) is additionally stored as a candidate point pair. The candidate point pair corresponds to the candidate point pair c in the above-mentioned outline description.

Next, through steps U4 to U16, a total shift of 8 dots (see FIG. 35 (a))
Address set of character C ₁ A ₀ = {11 to 17,22 to 27,33
~ 37,44 ~ 47,55 ~ 57,66,67,77}, so "4,5,
The dots of both dot patterns are included on the "6,7" column. Below, the following is done for each column (FIG. 35 (a),
(B)).

[7th column] Content of RAM of control unit 1 ... Fp (77,76) = 1, A
w = 77, Bw = 76 These contents are stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D as the candidate point pair information in step U12.

[6th column] Content of RAM of control unit 1 ... Fp (66,66) = 0, A
w = 66, Bw = 66 These contents are stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D as candidate point pair information in step U12.

"Fifth column" Contents of RAM of control unit 1 ... Fp (55,53) = 2, A
w = 55, Bw = 53 The contents are "6" as a result of the comparison in step U11.
It is determined that it is larger than the interval amount of “column”, and is not stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D. Therefore, the content of the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D remains "6th column".

[4th column] Contents of RAM of control unit 1 ... Fp (44,43) = 1, A
w = 44, Bw = 43 This content is also not stored in the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D. Therefore, the content of the candidate point pair auxiliary storage unit 10D remains "6th column".

As a result, through the steps U15 to U16, the candidate point pair storage unit 10E stores the candidate point pair information (Fp
(66,66) = 0, Ap = 66, Bp = 146) is additionally stored as a candidate point pair. The candidate point pair corresponds to the candidate point pair d in the above-mentioned outline description.

As a result of the judgment in step U9, since the interval amount Fp is "0", it is judged that both the characters overlap each other, and the process branches to step U10 to proceed to the processing of the next character. . In addition, both characters are 10
Even in the case of the dot shift, the extraction and storage of the candidate point pairs for both characters are completed, and the process moves to the next character.

The above processing is performed for the next character C ₂ and character C.
Repeat ₃ and finish processing all characters (character C
_{When n-1} and the character C _n ), the process ends in step U10. Then, the processing of all characters ends, that is, the character C
FIG. 36 shows a schematic diagram of the candidate point pair storage unit 10E at the time when the processing up to _n-1 and the character C _n is completed.

<Calculation of Minimum Packing Amount> Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 37, the shortest interval amount k is varied based on the stored candidate point pair information to obtain each shortest interval amount k. The minimum padding amount S _min of the padding amounts S of the target character with respect to the reference character is obtained.

In step U30, an interval in the shift direction, which is an interval in the vector data of the candidate point pair, from the original address of each candidate point pair information of all the characters extracted and stored in the candidate point pair storage unit 10E. The information m and the interval information n in the direction orthogonal to the shift direction are calculated.

Specifically, the distance information m in the shift direction of each candidate point pair and the distance information n in the direction orthogonal to the shift direction are obtained as follows.

The interval information m in the shift direction is obtained as follows. First, the original addresses Ap and Bp are converted into column data, and the difference between them is obtained, whereby the distance in the shift direction from the center of the dot is obtained. Then, one dot is subtracted from the difference in order to obtain the interval in the dot outline. Furthermore, since the dot pattern data was converted from the vector data at a conversion ratio of 1/10, the reciprocal of the conversion ratio is multiplied here to restore it. This can be described by an equation as follows. However, the division symbol "/" indicates that integer conversion is performed. m = {(Bp / 10-Ap / 10) -1} × 10 …………………… (9)

Interval information n in the direction orthogonal to the shift direction
Is calculated as follows. First, the original address Ap
And Bp are converted into row data, and the difference between them is calculated to obtain the distance from the center of the dot in the direction orthogonal to the shift direction. This interval takes a negative value because it becomes negative depending on the combination of the character faces. Then, one dot is subtracted from the difference in order to obtain the interval in the dot outline. further,
Multiply the reciprocal of the conversion factor. This can be expressed by the following equation (however, when Fp = 0, n = 0). n = {| [Bp− (Bp / 10) × 10] − [Ap− (Ap / 10) × 10] | −1} × 10 (10)

Candidate point pair information of the above expressions (9) and (10) and the reference character C ₁ and the target character C ₂ extracted by the above processing (if the distance amount Fp (Ap, Bp) is given, Fp (7
7,123) = 4, Fp (66,123) = 3, Fp (77,146) = 1, F
p (66,146) = 0, see FIG. 36), the candidate point pair a is m = 40, n = 30, the candidate point pair b is m = 50, n = 20, and the candidate point pair c is m = 60, n. = 0 The candidate point pair d is m = 70, n = 0.

At step U31, the interval information m, n for every character calculated at step U30 is stored in the interval information storage unit 10F. FIG. 38 shows the storage state in the interval information storage unit 10F.

In step U32, the control section 1 varies the character spacing k and calculates the padding amount S from the spacing information m and n of all characters in each character spacing k. Specifically, the filling amount S is calculated from all the candidate point pairs for each character from the expression (6) shown in the outline of the above processing. As an example, the character spacing k = “30”, and the padding amounts S _a , S for each candidate point pair a, b, c, d of the reference character C ₁ and the target character C _{2.
When b} , S _c , and S _d are _calculated , the filling amount S _a = 40 ± 0 ∴ filling amount S _a = 40 filling amount S _b = 50 ± √500 ∴ filling amount S _b = 28,72 filling amount S _c = 60 ± 30 ∴ Packing amount S _c = 30,90 Packing amount S _d = 70 ± 30 ∴ Packing amount S _d = 40,100.

In step U33, the minimum padding amount S for each character among the padding amounts S calculated in step U32.
_min is calculated and stored in the packing amount storage unit 10H. In the above example, the padding amount S _b = 28 obtained from the candidate point pair b is the minimum, so the minimum padding amount S _min = S ₁ = 28 is set as the padding amount of the reference character C ₁ and the target character C _2. It is stored in the filling amount storage unit 10H. Then, the minimum packing amount S _min is calculated in the same manner for each of the character face spacing amounts k of the variable character face spacing amount k. The schematic diagram of the filling amount storage unit 10H at this time is
It becomes as shown in FIG. Also, for each target character (third character C ₃ ), the minimum padding amount S _min is calculated for each face spacing k of the variable face spacing k in the same manner. This schematic diagram is shown in FIG. In addition to the storage S _min of the minimum packing amount, the face spacing k corresponding to the minimum packing S _min is stored in the face spacing storage unit 10I (see FIGS. 26A and 26B).

The filling adjustment function for each target character is based on the minimum filling amount of the filling amount storage unit 10H calculated by the above processing and the face spacing amount corresponding to the minimum filling amount of the face spacing amount storage unit 10I. Is calculated and the packing adjustment function storage unit 1
1 (see the table format shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B). In this way, the justification adjustment function of each target character is calculated, and the total justification adjustment function is calculated in step T2 of FIG. Then, the subsequent processing is performed in substantially the same manner as in the first embodiment. That is, the total packing adjustment function storage unit 1
Based on the total filling adjustment function of 2 and the difference character string length of the difference character string length storage unit 16, the face gap amount common to each target character is calculated. Then, the placement padding amount of each target character is calculated by the placement padding amount calculation unit 18 based on the face spacing amount common to each target character and the padding adjustment function for each target character, and the placement padding of each target character is calculated. The amount is the arrangement packing amount storage unit 1
9 (steps T3 to T6 in FIG. 12). After such processing, the control unit 1 refers to the character string information storage unit 3, the font storage unit 6, and the placement reduction amount storage unit 19 to display or output the character string with the adjusted character string length on the display / output unit 20. (Step T6 in FIG. 12).

In the above embodiments, the filling amount of the filling adjustment function has been described as a positive number, but a negative number may be included. That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, each padding adjustment function is set within the range of “(character width X) × √5” (= equivalent to the theoretical maximum character spacing in a solid combination) for the character spacing data. If the sum is obtained as the sum of those values,
The amount of packing at this time is naturally found in each of the negative regions. If the padding amount of each target character is calculated based on the sum of the padding amounts as in the present embodiment, the padding amount may be a negative number due to the padding adjustment function of the target character. If positive numbers are packed as described in the example, the character spacing will be narrowed and widened according to the positive and negative packing amounts. If you change the way of looking, narrow the spaces where the characters are wide,
On the contrary, the narrow space will be vacated and the line length can be adjusted by the good character layout.

Further, the line length, in other words, the space between "the front face character position excluding the first character front space a ₁ " and "the rear character face position excluding the last character rear space b _n " Assuming that the net line length is apparent, since the standard arrangement is a solid set in the above embodiments, the net line length is (a ₁
+ B _n ) will be arranged shorter. To avoid this, it is assumed that (a) the specified line length CL is added by (a ₁ + b _n ), or (b) the reference character string length SL is subtracted by (a ₁ + b _n ). Then, the difference character string length DL may be obtained and the similar packing arrangement processing may be performed.
Expressing this by the formula, the case of (b), DL = SL- (CL + a 1 + b n) case (ii), DL = (SL-a 1 -b n) -CL.

[0123]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a filling adjustment function that represents the relationship between the filling amount and the face spacing data, which is the spacing between the faces of both characters, is provided. The calculation is performed for each target character, and the total closing adjustment function that is the sum of them is calculated. Then, based on the difference character string length and the total closing adjustment function, [arrangement] character spacing data common to each character is calculated. Based on the layout character spacing data and the packing adjustment function for each target character, the individual layout packing amounts of the target characters such that the character spacing of each character becomes the layout character spacing data are calculated. Therefore, the sum of the placement reduction amounts of the respective target characters is equal to the difference character string length, and the character string length can be matched with the line length by placing the respective target characters according to the placement reduction amount. Furthermore, since the distance between each target character and the character surface of the adjacent character is maintained by the arranged character surface distance data, the character surfaces do not overlap. That is,
There is a margin in the character spacing between two characters, which is caused by packing the character spacing "equally", which is done by the conventional method, and the character spacing between two other characters becomes narrow or overlaps. The appearance of the character does not deteriorate, and the character string length can be made to match the specified line length regardless of the character shape of the characters, regardless of the character string. Furthermore, the work efficiency is good because the character string length is automatically adjusted so as to match the length by simply specifying the line length.

Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the filling amount of each target character is calculated according to the two-dimensional spacing of the character faces of the adjacent characters, the character "bite" is allowed. The character string length can be made to match the line length in a good appearance.
Furthermore, since the process of obtaining the candidate point pairs is performed, the number of dot pairs to be processed is reduced, and the filling process can be performed faster.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the filling adjustment function is set to a value which is set between two adjacent characters in the character arrangement direction in the distance between each character body and each virtual body of the reference character and the target character. As a function that represents the ratio between the total value of the two intervals and each filling amount of the target character by the filling ratio, the character faces of adjacent characters do not overlap, that is, while considering the character size, The column length can match the row length.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a packing arrangement.

FIG. 2 is a graph of a filling adjustment function.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a packing arrangement.

FIG. 4 is a graph of a filling adjustment function.

FIG. 5 is a graph of a total closing adjustment function.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a character string.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a character string after the character string length is adjusted.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a character typesetting editing device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a font file.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a character string length adjustment process.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of character string data.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a placement packing amount calculation process.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a character string.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a packing arrangement.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing a packing adjustment function.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing a filling adjustment function.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing a total closing adjustment function.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a character string after the character string length is adjusted.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a fill adjustment function calculation unit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram provided for explaining a method of extracting a candidate point pair on vector data.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining a method of extracting a candidate point pair on the Dot pattern data.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a method of extracting a candidate point pair on the Dot pattern data.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a method of extracting a candidate point pair on the Dot pattern data.

FIG. 24 is a graph showing the relationship between the shortest interval and the filling amount and the filling adjustment function.

FIG. 25 is a graph showing a filling adjustment function and a total filling adjustment function.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram showing a table-shaped packing adjustment function and a total packing adjustment function.

FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing a character string after the character string length is adjusted.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a candidate point pair extraction process.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of a candidate point pair extraction process.

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram of a dot pattern row expansion memory.

FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of a dot pattern row expansion memory.

FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining extraction of a candidate point pair.

FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining extraction of candidate point pairs.

FIG. 34 is a diagram for explaining extraction of candidate point pairs.

FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining extraction of candidate point pairs.

FIG. 36 is a schematic diagram of a candidate point pair storage unit after processing of all characters.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of a process for calculating the minimum packing amount.

FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram of an interval information storage unit after processing of all characters.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a character structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Control unit 2a ... Character string input unit 2b ... Indication unit 3 ... Character string information storage unit 4 ... Line length input unit 5 ... Line length storage unit 6 ... Font storage unit 10 ... Filling adjustment function calculation unit 11 ... Filling adjustment function Storage unit 12 ... Total packing adjustment function storage unit 15 ... Reference character string length storage unit 16 ... Difference character string length storage unit 17 ... Arranged character spacing data storage unit 18 ... Arrangement padding amount calculation unit 19 ... Arrangement padding amount storage unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. When arranging a plurality of characters, each having a character surface representing a character shape, in a predetermined arrangement direction inside a virtual body which is a character arrangement unit, all character strings to be arranged are arranged. A method for adjusting a character string length for adjusting a length to match a specified line length, wherein the process of inputting the line length and the two adjacent characters of each character are arranged first. Character (reference character) and the character arranged in the arrangement direction (target character) are packed with respect to the standard character from the standard layout state of both characters, and A process of calculating a function (filling adjustment function) representing the relationship between the spacing between the character faces (filling spacing function) for each target character, and using the calculated face spacing of each packing adjustment function as a reference The process of calculating the sum of the filling amounts (total filling adjustment function), A process of arranging each target character with respect to each corresponding reference character and calculating a reference character string length, and a difference between the input line length and the reference character string length (difference character string length ), A step of calculating the layout character spacing by the total packing adjustment function with the difference character string length as a sum of required packings, and the packing adjustment of each layout and the layout character spacing. The process of calculating the individual packing amount (alignment packing amount) of each target character based on the function and the individual packing amount of each target character A method for adjusting the character string length, which includes the step of arranging the characters in a string. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the filling adjustment function shifts the dot pattern of the target character toward the dot pattern of the reference character by one dot, and the shift direction is changed for each shift. A step of obtaining a pair of dots (pairs of candidate points) having the shortest distance between both dot patterns in a direction orthogonal to, and a gap in the shift direction between each pair of candidate points in a state where the virtual bodies of the two characters are in contact with each other. Based on the process of storing the information and the interval information in the direction orthogonal thereto, based on the interval information in the shift direction of each candidate point pair and the interval information in the direction orthogonal thereto, the virtual bodies of the two characters are The filling amount when the target character is brought closer to the reference character from the contact state and the two-dimensional spacing amount (character spacing amount) which is the shortest spacing between each candidate point pair in each filling amount A process for calculating each candidate point pair, a process for obtaining a minimum packing amount among the calculated packing amounts, and a function representing the relationship between the face spacing and the packing amount calculated from A method for adjusting a character string length, which is characterized in that 3. When arranging a plurality of characters, in which character faces representing a character shape are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction, inside a virtual body which is a character arrangement unit, all character strings to be arranged are arranged. A method for adjusting a character string length for adjusting a length to match a specified line length, wherein the process of inputting the line length and the two adjacent characters of each character are arranged first. Character (reference character) and the character arranged in the arrangement direction (target character) in the reference arrangement in the arrangement direction of the character planes in the arrangement direction, and the ratio of each filling amount of the target character to the spacing amount are represented by the filling ratio. A step of calculating a function (packing adjustment function), a step of calculating the sum of the packing amounts of the packing adjustment functions (total packing adjustment function) based on the packing ratio, and a reference corresponding to each target character. Arrangement is standard for characters, and the standard string length is calculated. And a step of calculating a difference between the input line length and the reference character string length (difference character string length), and the difference character string length as a sum of required packing amounts by the total packing adjustment function. A step of calculating a placement packing ratio; a step of calculating an individual packing amount (layout packing amount) of each target character based on the layout packing ratio and each packing adjustment function of each target character; A method for adjusting the length of a character string, characterized by including a step of arranging each target character with respect to each corresponding reference character with an arrangement amount of each character.