JPH0876737A - Method for converting character pattern data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily convert the character pattern data of a standard style into the pattern data of an Italic style at a high speed by shifting extracted bits by shifting these bits in the row direction by as much as a prescribed quantity according to the positions of the bits, then putting the bits into a readable and reloadable memory. CONSTITUTION: The data on 8 bits in the vertical direction of the respective patterns in a character pattern ROM storing the character pattern data with column arrangement constitution are simultaneously read out and the one bit or several bits are extracted therefrom and are put into a work RAM after the bits are shifted in the row direction by as much as a prescribed quantity according to the positions of the extracted bits. More specifically, for example, the bits are put into the RAM by shifting the bits laterally by three pits as to the 1, 2 bits from above, shifting the bits by 2 bits laterally as to the 3, 4 bits from above, shifting the bits laterally by one bit as to the 5, 6 bits from above and without shifting the bits as to the 1, 2 bits from below in the case of 8 bits in the vertical direction of the pattern data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for changing the arrangement of data in a memory, and more particularly to a technique which is particularly effective when applied to a dot arrangement of a character pattern such as characters and symbols. And effective technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printer or a display control device stores character pattern data such as characters, symbols, and the like.
An OM (Read Only Memory) was built in, and the pattern data corresponding to a given character code was read and output on paper or a display screen. By the way, as shown in FIG. 1A, the character pattern data ROM incorporated in the ink jet printer collectively stores 8-bit data corresponding to 8 dots in the vertical direction of one character pattern. It was configured to be read. In addition,
FIG. 1B is a dot pattern when the data of FIG. 1A is read and printed by the printer.

[0003]

The character pattern data ROM of the ink jet printer generally stores only the character pattern of the standard typeface, but the character pattern of the italic typeface as shown in FIG. 4B is used. There is a demand for a printer that can output the. In this case, as a method of responding to such a demand, a method of storing a character pattern of italic typeface in addition to the character pattern of the standard typeface in the character pattern data ROM and a method of reading the character pattern of the standard typeface to read the italic typeface A conversion method in which the character pattern is converted and then output is considered.

However, in the former case, the capacity or quantity of the character pattern data ROM is increased, which causes a problem of cost increase. On the other hand, in the latter method, the italic typeface character pattern is a tilted version of the standard typeface pattern and can be obtained by simply laterally shifting the dots that make up the character pattern. can do.

However, as described above, the character pattern ROM of the ink jet printer has a structure in which the vertical direction 8-bit data of the pattern is collectively read. Therefore, in order to convert it to the italic typeface character, the pattern of the column structure is used. 1 column of data is read out, 1 bit is extracted from it, it is put in the work RAM, it is performed for all the bits, and the pattern data is shown in FIG.
The row data is converted into a row array configuration as shown in FIG. 1 and then horizontally shifted by a predetermined amount for each row and returned to the RAM to obtain pattern data for italic typeface as shown in FIG. To make it possible to read the pattern data of the configuration for each column in the vertical direction, FIG.
It is necessary to perform processing for converting into pattern data having a column array configuration as shown in (a). Therefore, it has become clear that the character conversion method as described above has a problem that the procedure is extremely complicated, the load of software is increased, and the conversion processing speed becomes slow.

An object of the present invention is to provide a data array conversion method capable of converting character pattern data of a standard typeface stored in a memory in a column array configuration into italic typeface pattern data relatively easily and at high speed. is there.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer control device capable of printing various characters with a pattern data memory having a small capacity.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0009]

The typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be outlined below.

That is, the vertical 8-bit data of each pattern in the character pattern ROM, in which the character pattern data is stored in a column arrangement, is read all at once, and one bit or several bits are extracted from the data. As shown in FIG. 5, a predetermined amount is shifted in the row direction according to the position of the extracted bit, and the data is placed in the work RAM. Specifically, for example, when the vertical direction of the pattern data is 8 bits, the first and second bits are horizontally shifted by 3 bits, and the third and fourth bits are horizontally shifted by 2 bits, and From 5 to 6 bits are shifted horizontally by 1 bit, and from the 1st and 2nd bits from bottom to RA without shifting
Put in M. When the shifted data is put into the work RAM, it is written by taking the logical sum of the bit data originally contained in the transfer destination position of the RAM. This is to protect the bit data that has already been transferred from being overwritten by subsequent data when there is already bit data.

It should be noted that "0" is written in all bits in advance in the work RAM as the transfer destination. However,
In this specification, bit "0" corresponds to the print dot white, and bit "1" corresponds to the print dot black. By repeating the above operation for the number of columns,
The conversion to the italic typeface pattern data as shown in FIG. 4B is completed. At the time of printing, the data may be read out for each column in the vertical direction as usual.

When extracting the above bits, the bit to be extracted is set to "1" and the other bits are set to "0".
The masked data (for example, "11000000" when extracting 1 or 2 bits from the top) is used as the mask data, and the bit data for one vertical column read from the character pattern ROM is ANDed. You can do this.

[0013]

According to the above means, the character pattern R
Converts a standard typeface character pattern to an italic typeface character pattern without performing complicated processing such as once converting each pattern data of the column array configuration in the OM to the pattern data of the row array configuration and then returning to the column array configuration again. can do.

When extracting bits, if the data to be extracted is set to "1" and the other bits are set to "0" as mask data, conversion can be performed only by logical operation. .

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As an example, a case where a character pattern of a standard typeface having 8 dots vertically and 10 dots horizontally is converted into a character pattern of italic typeface will be described.

In FIG. 6, a character pattern ROM is shown on the left side.
Shows an example of the pattern data before conversion stored in, and the transfer destination work RAM is shown on the right side. When converting the pattern data in the ROM on the left side, first, the leftmost vertical 1-column 8-bit data D1 is read from the ROM.
Read out 8-bit data and "11000000"
AND with. The data (initially all "0") in the address position (transfer destination) in the fourth column from the left of the work RAM is read, and the work RAM is calculated by ORing with the 8-bit data of the logical product result. In the transfer destination address position A4. This completes the 2-bit conversion.

Next, the leftmost vertical 1 column 8 bit data D
Read 1 from ROM. The logical product of the read 8-bit data and "00110000" is calculated. Work R
The data in the address position (transfer destination) in the third column from the left of AM is read out, the logical sum is obtained with the 8-bit data of the logical product result, and the result is placed in the transfer destination address position A3 of the work RAM.

Next, the leftmost vertical 1 column 8 bit data D
Read 1 from ROM. The logical product of the read 8-bit data and "00001100" is calculated. Work R
The data in the address position (transfer destination) in the second column from the left of AM is read out, the logical sum is obtained with the 8-bit data of the logical product result, and the result is placed in the transfer destination address position A2 of the work RAM.

Next, the leftmost vertical 1 column 8 bit data D
Read 1 from ROM. The logical product of the read 8-bit data and "00000011" is calculated. Work R
The data in the address position (transfer destination) in the leftmost column of AM is read out, and the logical sum of the data with the 8-bit data of the above logical product result is put into the transfer destination address position A1 of the work RAM.

Next, the second vertical column 1-bit data D2 from the left is read from the ROM. The logical product of the read 8-bit data and "11000000" is calculated. Address position in the fifth column from the left of the work RAM (transfer destination)
Read the data in the
The logical sum with the bit data is taken and placed in the transfer destination address position A5 of the work RAM.

Similarly, the second column from the left and the first column 8
The bit data D2 is transferred. After that, the same processing is performed on the third vertical 1-column 8-bit data D3 from the left. This is repeated up to the last 10th column of 8-bit data. The above completes the conversion of the pattern data of one standard typeface into the italic typeface.

When the bit data in the ROM is shifted into the RAM, it is shifted to the right by the R of the transfer destination.
When the AM address is used up, the transfer destination address is determined by returning to the left side. That is, the right end of the RAM on the right side of FIG. 6 is treated as a cylindrical shape that is continuous with the left end. For example, in FIG. 6, the 2-bit data indicated by reference sign D8-1 is stored in the address position A1 on the left side of the RAM.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of a control device of an ink jet printer which is suitable for applying the above conversion method.
Will be explained. As shown in FIG. 7, the controller of the inkjet printer includes a microprocessor 1 and a static RA that provides a working area for the microprocessor.
A work memory 2 made of M, a font memory 3 in which character pattern data of a standard typeface is stored, and a dynamic type memory for holding data to be printed (character code) sent from a host computer or the like and finally A line memory 4 as a buffer for holding print data is provided, and these are connected to each other by a system bus 12 so as to be capable of data transfer.

When the pattern conversion of the above embodiment is performed, first, the code of the character to be printed is read from the line memory 4, and the character pattern data of the standard typeface corresponding to this code is read from the font memory 3. . Then, the work memory 2 is used to perform the above-described mask processing and shift processing to form italic typeface character pattern data,
Finally, it is stored in the line memory 4.

Further, in the ink jet printer control apparatus of FIG. 7, a CR / LF motor drive circuit 6 for forming and outputting drive signals for the CR head driving CR motor 21 and the paper feeding LF motor 22 of the printer, and the ink. A pump / solenoid drive circuit 7 that forms and outputs a drive signal for the pump / solenoid 23 that is supplied to the head and ejected, a panel display that displays messages and the like, and a controller 8 that controls the input operation keys, and Monitors signals from the parallel / serial data conversion circuit 9 that converts the print data read from the line memory 4 into serial data and outputs the serial data to the printer head 24, and the sensor 25 that detects a condition such as paper out or ink shortage. Sense circuit 10
An interface circuit 11 for interfacing with the host personal computer 26, a system control circuit 12 for controlling the entire system, a dip switch 13 for setting modes and the like are provided.

As described above, in the above embodiment, the vertical bit string data of each pattern are collectively read out from the read-only memory in which the character pattern data is stored in the column array structure, and 1 bit or It extracts a few bits, shifts them by a predetermined amount in the row direction according to the position of the extracted bits, puts them in a readable / writable memory, and repeats this for all bit strings of the pattern. It is possible to convert a standard typeface character pattern to an italic typeface character pattern without performing complicated processing such as once converting each pattern data into row array configuration pattern data and then returning to the column array configuration again. This has the effect of reducing the load on the software.

Further, when the bit data is put into the readable / writable memory, the bit data already stored in the transfer destination position is logically ORed and written. In some cases, the data can be protected from being overwritten by later data.

Further, in extracting the above bits, data in which the bit to be extracted is set to "1" and the other bits are set to "0" is used as mask data and is read from the read-only memory. Since the logical product is obtained with the bit data for one vertical column, the pattern data can be converted only by the logical operation.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say. For example, when converting italic typeface character pattern data stored in the memory in a column array configuration into standard typeface pattern data, it can be easily applied by only reversing the shift direction in the above embodiment.

In the above description, the case where the invention made by the present inventor is mainly applied to the conversion of pattern data in an ink jet printer which is a field of application which is the background of the invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Instead, it can be widely used for a printer or a display device that transforms pattern data stored in a memory in a column arrangement configuration by a shift operation and outputs the transformed pattern data.

[0031]

The effects obtained by the representative one of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

That is, it is possible to convert the character pattern data of the standard typeface stored in the memory in the column arrangement configuration into the pattern data of the italic typeface relatively easily and at high speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of character pattern data of a standard typeface in a ROM before conversion and an output dot pattern;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an outline of a conversion method of character pattern data by software,

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a character pattern data conversion method examined prior to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of converted italic typeface character pattern data and an output dot pattern;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a character pattern data conversion method according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a character pattern data conversion method according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control device of an inkjet printer to which the data conversion method according to the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 microprocessor 12 system bus

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vertical bit string data of each pattern is collectively read out from a read-only memory in which character pattern data is stored in a column array structure, and 1 is selected from the read out data.
It is characterized in that a bit or several bits are extracted, shifted by a predetermined amount in the row direction according to the position of the extracted bit, placed in a readable / writable memory, and this is repeated for all bit strings of the pattern. How to convert character pattern data. 2. When the bit data is put into the readable / writable memory, the bit data already stored in the transfer destination position is ORed and written. Character pattern data conversion method. 3. When extracting the bits, the data to be extracted is set to "1" and the other bits are set to "0" as mask data, and this is read from the read-only memory. 3. The character pattern data conversion method according to claim 1, wherein a logical product of the generated bit data for one column is obtained.