JPH08132703A - Method and device for outputting character - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To match indication of a picture of a host computer to a result of output by output device of a character coincide with each other, by a method wherein a spacing between character strings are constituted of a combination of the spacing between the characters having certain widths which are identical with each other and a space character and after designation of the widths of the spacing between the characters and the space character, desired character string is output. CONSTITUTION: Data from a host computer and instructions from a receiving buffer are taken in, whether or not the instructions mean end of a page is decided, and in the case where the auser is is negative, whether or not the instructions are related to a character are decided (501-504). In the case of the instructions being relating to selection of a font, its selection process is performed. In the case of the instructions being designating a space between the characters in instructions designating width of a space character, they are stored (505-510) by a designated unit by including attribute. In the case where a character code is a space code, a position is moved by a width amount of the space character. In the case of the character code other than the space code, a printing position is moved (511-514) by a value to be obtained by adding a width of the character and the designated spacing between the characters together.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character output method for analyzing input information from the outside and outputting a character string and its apparatus, and more particularly to a character output method for outputting a character string based on a font and its method. It relates to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional character output system, application software and a printer driver print positions character by character in order to match the print result with the host screen regardless of whether the font is a dot font or a scalable font. And sent a command to the character output device to adjust the position of each character. Further, even if the character output device has a smaller effective print area than the screen of the host, the data is transmitted as it is.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when there are a large number of characters, issuing a command for calculating and designating the position for each character takes a lot of processing time and increases the amount of data. Further, when the character output device has a smaller effective print area than the host screen, the characters displayed on the host screen will be out of the effective print area on the character output device, and as shown in FIG. It is not done or it goes around to the next line. Also,
When the font is replaced, the font before the replacement could be printed, but the font after the replacement overflows the effective printing area due to the difference in the attributes such as the pitch, and the printing may not be performed as shown in FIG. .

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and can reduce the processing time and the amount of data for matching the screen display of the host computer with the output result by the character output device such as LBP. And a device therefor. In addition, even if the data sent from the host computer to the character output device is processed as it is, the output result may match the screen even if the output result differs from the screen of the host computer. A character output method and device capable of performing the same are provided.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the character output method of the present invention comprises a space between character strings in combination with a character space having a certain width and a space character having a certain width. The desired character string is output after the width of the character space and the width of the space character are designated in advance.

The character output device of the present invention is a character output device which analyzes print information input from a host computer and outputs characters based on the print information. Character spacing storage means for storing the space character width storage means for storing the width of the space character based on the input space character width information, and the input character string, the stored character spacing information and space character And character string output means for outputting while controlling the space between the character strings using the width information.

Here, the host computer has a display means for displaying a character string, and when the character string displayed on the display means is output to the character output device, the display means and the character output device are Character outputs are compared to calculate the character spacing and / or space character width, and the character spacing and / or space character width is sent to the character output device, and then a character string is sent. Further, the character string output means determines whether or not the output of the input character string exceeds the output area of the character output device, and when it determines that the output exceeds the output area of the character output device, a space between the character strings is further added. And a space control means for controlling. In addition, the space control means,
A calculation means for calculating the length of the character string output exceeding the output area of the character output device, and a space changing means for changing the space so as to absorb the length between the selected characters are provided. The character string output means determines whether or not the designated font is replaced with another font, and the output of the input character string is performed when the font is replaced. Second discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the output area of the character output device is exceeded, and when it is determined that the output area is exceeded, a character cutout for cutting out and outputting the last character outputable area of the output area is outputted. Ejection means is further provided. Further, the printer further comprises a printing unit that prints the character string output from the character string output unit.

In the character output method of the present invention, output areas are compared between a plurality of different output devices, and the space between the character strings is controlled so that the output areas fit in each output area based on the comparison result. Characterized by transferring a character string between a plurality of output devices. Further, the character output device of the present invention analyzes the print information input from the host computer, and in the character output device which performs character output based on the information, determines whether the output of the input character string exceeds the output area. And a controlling means for controlling the space between the character strings so as to fit in the output area when it is determined to exceed,
Space control means for outputting the input character string is provided. Here, the space control means includes a calculating means for calculating a length of an output of a character string exceeding the output area, and a space changing means for changing a space so as to absorb the length between selected characters. Equipped with. Further, it further comprises a printing unit for printing the character string output by being controlled by the space control unit.

Further, the character output method of the present invention determines whether the designated font is replaced with another font,
When the font is replaced, it is determined whether the output of the input character string exceeds the output area. If it is determined that the output exceeds the output area, the last character outputable area output to the output area is determined. Is cut out and output.
The character output device of the present invention analyzes the print information input from the host computer, and determines whether or not the designated font is replaced with another font in the character output device that performs character output based on the analysis. First determining means for determining, a second determining means for determining whether the output of the input character string exceeds the output area when the font is replaced, and a second determining means for determining whether the output of the input character string exceeds the output area Character cutting means for cutting and outputting the outputable area of the last character output to the area. here,
The printing apparatus further includes a printing unit that prints a character string including the characters output from the character cutting unit.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a laser beam printer (hereinafter abbreviated as LBP) as an example of a printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the unit which controls the whole. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and LED printers,
It may be an inkjet printer or the like, and the character output device may be a display device such as a CRT or LCD.

In FIG. 1, 101 is a host computer, which outputs output information consisting of print data and control codes to the print control apparatus 102. 10
Reference numeral 3 is a reception buffer for storing the reception data from the host computer 101, 104 is a CPU for controlling the print control apparatus 102, 105 is a program for controlling the LBP (for example, a ROM in which programs related to a flow chart described later are stored, Reference numeral 106 is a RAM used during printing processing, 107 is a page buffer memory that stores internal data for each page in order to expand the data received from the host computer 101 into a bitmap, and 108 is 1
A bitmap memory for storing the output image for pages in dot format, 109 for a cache memory for storing patterns developed in dot format, 110 for a font memory for storing various font information, 111 for other than the built-in fonts. A font card that stores various font information, 112 is an operation panel for the user to perform various settings and displays messages, and 113 is a printer engine that outputs the contents of the bitmap memory to paper. 114 is a printed output sheet.

(Embodiment 1) In the present embodiment, by providing a means for designating a space between characters and a means for designating a width of a space character, a screen and a print result are matched with each other,
Moreover, the processing time is shortened to reduce the data amount. Here, horizontal writing from left to right will be described. FIG. 2 is an example of a conventional case, and is an example of an instruction related to printing transmitted to an LBP from an application or a printer driver when printing a character “A B C” on the left side. In order to match the screen and the print result, the commands a to e that determine the print position for each character are transmitted.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the character spacing setting in this embodiment is applied. The application or printer driver first calculates the character interval so that the screen and the print result match, and sends the command f that sets the value once, and then the command g that specifies the print start position is used. After that, all you have to do is send the character code of that line in succession.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the space character width is set in this embodiment. Only the width h of the space character needs to be adjusted in order to match the screen and the printed result. Figure 5
3 is a flowchart showing a flow of a series of processes in the present embodiment. The processing in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step S501
Then, the data sent from the host computer 101 is fetched. Next, in step S502, one instruction is fetched from the reception buffer 103. In step S503,
It is determined whether or not the read command is a command such as a paper discharge command, which means a page break. If the command does not mean a page break, the process advances to the next step S504 to determine whether the command is a character command. Step S
If it is determined in 504 that the command is not a character-related command, the process proceeds to step S505, analysis processing is performed according to each command, intermediate data for drawing in the bitmap memory is created, and written in the page buffer. It returns to step S502.

If it is determined in step S504 that the command is a character, the process proceeds to step S506. Step S
If the command is for selecting a font in 506, the flow advances to step S507 to perform font selection processing.
It returns to step S502. If the command is not a font selection command in step S506, step S50.
Proceed to 8. In step S508, if the command is to specify the space between characters (hereinafter referred to as character space), go to step S509 to store the character space,
Then, the process returns to step S502. If the command does not specify the character spacing in step S508, step S508
Proceed to 510.

If the read instruction is the command for designating the width of the space character in step S510, the space character width is stored in step S511. Here, in the process of step S511, the character spacing and the space width may differ depending on the font attributes, so that information about which font is the space character is also stored. In addition to dots, you can specify in detail in specified units such as inches and millimeters. After step S511, the process returns to step S502. In step S510, if the read instruction is not a command that specifies the width of the space character, the process proceeds to step S512.

If it is determined in step S512 that the character code is acquired from the buffer, step S5 is performed.
At 13, it is determined if it is a space code. If it is a space code, proceed to step S514,
The process of moving the print position by the stored space character width is performed, and the process returns to step S512. In step S514, the default value is used when the space character width is not specified. If it is determined in step S513 that the character code is other than the space code, step S51
In step 5, the character printing process is performed, and the printing position is moved by a value obtained by adding the character width and the specified character spacing.
If the character spacing is not specified, the default value will be used. After that, intermediate data for drawing in the bitmap memory is created, written in the page buffer, and the process returns to step S502. If it is determined in step S512 that the data fetched from the buffer is not a character code, the flow advances to step S516 to analyze the command relating to characters other than the above, and then returns to step S502.

The above processing is repeated to perform step S5.
If it is determined in step 03 that the read instruction is an instruction to end the page, such as a paper discharge instruction, step S5
In step 17, the image is drawn in the bitmap memory based on the data in the page buffer, and the print processing is performed in step S518 to output the visible image on the paper. In the present embodiment, the default value is used when the character spacing and the space character width are not specified, but the default value can be set by the user using a panel or a command. Furthermore, the user can specify whether or not to perform the process of this embodiment.

Regarding the line spacing, if the application or printer driver first calculates the line spacing such that the screen and the print result match, and sends a command to set the value once, the position will be changed. You do n’t have to specify
All you have to do is send a newline command. (Embodiment 2) In the present embodiment, the screen of the host computer that fits in one line is set so that the LBP printing result fits in one line. Here, it will be described as horizontal writing from left to right.

FIG. 6 is a conventional case, and FIG. 7 is a diagram to which the first embodiment is applied. Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, when the effective print area of the LBP is smaller than the effective print area of the host computer, it is stored in one line on the screen of the host computer, but when printing, the characters at the end of the line are missing or the next line There were times when I went around. In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 7, this is prevented, and a process for printing according to the screen of the host computer is performed.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the flow of a series of processes in this embodiment. The process of the second embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S701, the data sent from the host computer 101 is fetched. Next, in step S702, one instruction is fetched from the reception buffer 103. In step S703, it is determined whether the read command is a command such as a paper discharge command, which means the end of the page. If the command does not mean the end of the page, the next step S
Proceed to 704.

In step S704, it is determined whether or not it is a character code, and if it is not a character code, step S7.
Go to 05, perform analysis processing according to various instructions, create intermediate data for drawing in the bitmap memory,
Write to the page buffer, and then return to step S702. If the character code is determined in step S704,
In step S706, if the font is a scalable font, the pattern corresponding to the character code is developed in the specified size, and it is checked whether the pattern extends from the effective print area. If it is a bitmap font, check whether the pattern extends outside the effective print area. If the pattern extends beyond the effective print area, the flow advances to step S707 to store how many dots the pattern has overflowed, and then advances to step S708.

In step S708, referring to the table shown in FIG. 9, a character pattern which has less influence on the printing result even if it is filled with about 1 dot is searched for in that row, and the moving amount of the character is reduced by 1 dot. The print position of the subsequent characters is shifted to the left by one dot. This process is performed for the number of dots that have overflowed. For example, when two dots are projected, another character pattern which has less influence on the print result even if it is filled with about one dot in that line is searched for, and the above processing is performed. FIG. 9 is an example of a table in which the priority is assigned and registered from the character that has a small effect on the print result even if one dot is packed. First, check if the space code (20) with the first priority is in the line, and if there is a period (2E) with the second priority, and so on, until the required number of dots is filled. Adjust the print position of the character by searching from the top.

Taking the case of outputting the data as shown in FIG. 7 as an example, when two dots are projected as it is, there are two spaces in this data, so the space portion is separated by one dot. The print position of the subsequent characters should be left justified. Then, in step S709, a process of printing this pattern at a predetermined position is performed, and then the process returns to step S702.

The above processing is repeated for each character, and step S
If it is determined in 703 that the read instruction is an instruction indicating the end of the page such as a paper discharge instruction, the process proceeds to step S710, an image is drawn in the bitmap memory based on the data in the page buffer, and further, Step S71
The print process is performed in 1 and a visible image is output on a sheet.

The priority order for reducing the movement amount may be set by the user. Example 2
The user may specify whether or not to perform the process. Further, when the pattern protrudes at the boundary between the upper and lower effective print areas, the line spacing may be adjusted so that the protruded portion falls within the effective print area.

(Embodiment 3) In this embodiment, the data sent from the host computer specifies the Gothic font, but the LBP does not have the Gothic font built-in, or the font specified by the user can be replaced. This is an embodiment in the case of having a function and replacing with another font. Here, description will be given with horizontal writing from left to right, and a fixed pitch. FIG. 10 shows a conventional case, and FIG.
1 is a diagram to which the present embodiment is applied. Conventionally, when the pitch of the font after the replacement is larger than the pitch of the font before the replacement as shown in FIG. 10, the character that part of the character pattern protrudes from the effective print area is not printed. In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 11, processing is performed such that the portion within the effective print area of the pattern is printed.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a flow of a series of processes in this embodiment. Below, Figure 1
The process of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1001, the host computer 10
Take in the data sent from 1. Then step S
At 1002, one instruction is fetched from the reception buffer 103. In step S1003, it is determined whether or not the read command is a command such as a paper discharge command that indicates a page break. If the command does not mean the end of the page, the process advances to step S1004 to determine whether the command is for character printing. If the command is not a command related to character printing, the process proceeds to step S1005, analysis processing according to various commands is performed, intermediate data for drawing in the bitmap memory is created, the intermediate data is written in the page buffer, and the process returns to step S1002.

If the command is for character printing, the process proceeds to step S1006, and first, based on the received command,
Perform font selection processing. In step S1006,
If the font specified by the host computer 101 is set to be replaced or if the font specified by the host does not exist, the process advances to step S1008 to replace the font. In step S1006,
If it is determined that the font replacement is not performed, the process proceeds to step S1007, the designated font is selected in the conventional manner, and the character printing process is performed in step S1012.
It returns to step S1002.

If font replacement has been performed, the pitch of the font before replacement is compared with the pitch after replacement in step S1009. If the pitch after replacement is larger, the process advances to step S1010, and the character at the end of the line that could be printed with the font before replacement is likely to overflow the effective print area in the font after replacement, so the pattern is effectively printed character by character. Check whether to extend the area. If the pattern protrudes at the right end of the line, step S101
Proceed to 1 and cut the protruding portion to be the character pattern.

FIG. 13 shows an example in which "M" protrudes. Next, proceeding to step S1012, processing for printing this pattern at a predetermined position is performed, and step S100
Return to 2. The above processing is repeated for each character, and step S1
In step 003, if the read instruction is an instruction such as a paper discharge instruction, which means page division, step S1013.
In step S1014, the image is drawn in the bitmap memory to obtain the data in the page buffer. In step S1014, the printing process is performed to output the visible image on the sheet.

In this embodiment, the processing at the right end of the effective print area in the case of horizontal writing from left to right has been described, but the above processing is also performed when the pattern protrudes at the upper end or the lower end of the effective print area. In the same manner as in, print the part of the pattern that is cut off as the pattern for that character. Further, the user may specify whether or not to perform the process of the third embodiment.

In this embodiment, the controls of the first to third embodiments have been described independently, but more preferable printing results can be expected by combining these controls. Further, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices or an apparatus including one device. Also,
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to reduce the processing time and the data amount for matching the screen display of the host computer with the output result of the character output device such as LBP. In addition, even if the data sent from the host computer to the character output device is processed as it is, the output result may match the screen even if the output result differs from the screen of the host computer. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a character output device of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a command issued by a printer driver in a conventional case.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a command issued by a printer driver in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a space according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a conventional screen and a print result.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a screen and a print result according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a table used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram when a conventional font is replaced.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram when a font is replaced in the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of clipping a protruding portion in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 host computer 102 print control device 103 reception buffer 104 CPU that controls the print control device 105 ROM 106 that stores a program that controls the print control device 106 RAM 107 page buffer memory 108 bitmap memory 109 cache memory 110 various font information Stored font memory 111 Font card that stores various font information 112 Operation panel 113 Printer engine 114 Output paper

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A space between character strings is configured by a combination of a character space having a certain width and a space character having a certain width, and after designating the width of the character space and the width of the space character in advance, A character output method characterized by outputting a character string. 2. A character output device for analyzing print information input from a host computer and outputting characters based on the print information, and a character interval storage means for storing an interval between characters based on the input character interval information. A space character width storage means for storing the width of the space character based on the input space character width information; and an input character string, using the stored character spacing information and space character width information. A character output device comprising: a character string output means for outputting while controlling a space between columns. 3. The host computer has a display unit for displaying a character string, and when the character string displayed on the display unit is output to the character output device, characters on the display unit and the character output device are displayed. The character string is sent after comparing the outputs to calculate the character spacing and / or space character width, and sending the character spacing and / or space character width to the character output device. Character output device. 4. The character string output means determines whether or not the output of the input character string exceeds the output area of the character output device, and further determines the character string if the output exceeds the output area of the character output device. The character output device according to claim 2, further comprising space control means for controlling a space between them. 5. The space control means calculates a length by which the output of the character string exceeds the output area of the character output device, and a space is provided so as to absorb the length between the selected characters. The character output device according to claim 4, further comprising space changing means for changing the space. 6. The character string output means determines whether or not the designated font is replaced with another font, and the character string output means for inputting a character string when the font is replaced. Second discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the output exceeds the output area of the character output device, and if it is discriminated that the output exceeds the output area, the outputable area of the last character output to the output area is cut out and output. The character output device according to claim 2, further comprising: 7. The character output device according to claim 2, further comprising a printing unit that prints the character string output from the character string output unit. 8. An output area is compared between a plurality of different output devices, and a character string is controlled between the plurality of output devices while controlling a space between the character strings so that each output area is accommodated based on the comparison result. A character output method characterized by transmitting a character. 9. A character output device which analyzes print information input from a host computer and outputs a character based on the print information, and a determining means for determining whether or not the output of the input character string exceeds an output area. A character output device, comprising: a space control unit that outputs the input character string while controlling the space between the character strings so that the character string fits in the output area when it is determined that the character string exceeds the character string. 10. The space control means calculates a length of an output of a character string exceeding the output area, and a space change for changing a space so as to absorb the length between selected characters. 10. The character output device according to claim 9, further comprising means. 11. The character output device according to claim 9, further comprising a printing unit that prints the character string output by being controlled by the space control unit. 12. It is determined whether or not the designated font is replaced with another font, and when the font is replaced, it is determined whether or not the output of the input character string exceeds the output area. If it is determined that the number of characters exceeds the limit, the character output method is characterized in that the outputable area of the last character output to the output area is cut out and output. 13. A first discrimination for discriminating whether or not a designated font is replaced with another font in a character output device which analyzes print information inputted from a host computer and outputs a character based on it. Means and second judging means for judging whether or not the output of the input character string exceeds the output area when the font is replaced, and when it is judged that the output exceeds the output area, the second output means outputs the character string to the output area. A character output device, comprising: a character cutout unit that cuts out and outputs an outputable region of the last character. 14. The character output device according to claim 13, further comprising a printing unit that prints a character string including a character output from the character cutting unit.