JPH09325747A - Device and method for character pattern generation, and character font data generating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate a character pattern including a blur part with high quality. SOLUTION: The character pattern generating device which generates a character pattern on the basis of character font data representing the shape of the outline of a character stroke with a core line and line width has a font ROM 14 storing the font data representing a blur part with a continuous core line and line width for a character having the blur part in a stroke constituting the character pattern, and a CPU 10 expands the pattern having a part where line width based upon the core line becomes negative as its outline on the basis of font data stored in the font ROM 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character pattern generation device and a character pattern generation method for generating a character pattern based on character font data, and a character font data generation method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an information processing apparatus such as a word processor that handles characters, a character pattern is generated based on character font data prepared for each character and is used for printing or displaying.

There are various data formats of character font data, but there is character font data (core line font) in which a character is expressed from data of a core line and a line width. In the skeleton font, a character line pattern is generated by generating contour lines at positions with line widths on both sides of the skeleton and filling the inside of the contour lines.

By the way, there is a writing type character as one type of typeface. In some writing brush characters, one stroke portion which is originally continuous may be expressed as being discontinuous in the flow of the brush. Hereinafter, the discontinuous portion will be referred to as "fading". FIG. 6 shows an example of a character pattern including a blurred portion.

Conventionally, strokes including a blurred portion as shown in FIG. 6 are treated as independent strokes (segments) separated in the blurred portion, and character font data is created.

Generally, when a character pattern is generated, an outline pattern is developed based on the character font data in accordance with the attributes of the character pattern to be generated, that is, the character size, line thickness, and the like. .

When the technique of changing the line width to generate characters of different weights (thicknesses) is used, the contour pattern is developed for each stroke independent of the faint portion. Even if the stroke is made thicker or thinner, the stroke discontinuity does not change.

[0008]

As described above, conventionally,
Blurred portions of brush-type characters were treated as independent strokes in the character font data (core font). If the line width of the character is thick (there is no blurring), the fading part of the writing brush character is continuous, and if the line width becomes a predetermined thinness, if it can be expressed so that fading occurs, The pattern can have the same impression as an actual writing brush character.

However, in the conventional character pattern generation, since blurred portions are treated as different strokes in the character font data, the line width is changed based on the font data so that different weights (thicknesses) are obtained. Even if the technique of generating characters is used, the original writing characters could not be expressed well.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and a character pattern generation device, a character pattern generation method, and character font data generation capable of generating a character pattern including a blurred portion with high quality. The purpose is to provide a method.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a character pattern generation device for generating a character pattern based on character font data representing a contour of a character stroke with a core line and a line width, character font data for each character A storage unit for storing font data represented by a core line and a line width in which the blurred portion is continuous for a character having a blurred portion in a stroke forming a character pattern, It is characterized by further comprising pattern developing means for developing a pattern whose contour is a portion whose line width is not negative based on the core line, based on the font data stored in the storage means.

According to such a structure, for a character having a blurred portion in a stroke forming a character pattern,
Since the faint area is expressed by a continuous core line and line width, stroke lines can be created by expanding the pattern based on the character font data according to the weight (thickness) of the character to be generated. The stroke becomes continuous when the width becomes a predetermined thickness (no blurring occurs), and as it becomes thinner, the length of blurring (discontinuous length of strokes in the pattern after development) gradually increases. , It is possible to generate a character pattern that represents a natural brush-type character.

The stroke is composed of a plurality of segments, and the font data includes segment data in which each segment is represented by a core line and a line width.
The storage means is characterized in that when the pattern is expanded by the pattern expanding means, predetermined information is added to the segment data having a portion where the line width with respect to the core line can be negative and stored.

According to this structure, when the pattern is developed based on the character font data, the segment data including the portion where the line width may be negative depending on the weight (thickness) of the character to be generated. Is explicitly indicated by predetermined information (shading flag), it is possible to judge whether or not the line width is a negative portion when the pattern is developed, only for the segment where the shading can be a width line. By doing so, the processing speed can be increased.

The stroke is composed of a plurality of segments, and the font data includes segment data in which each segment is represented by a core line and a line width,
When the pattern is expanded by the pattern expanding means, the storage means stores the segment data having a portion where the line width can be negative with respect to the core line, including the data representing the negative line width. And

With such a configuration, when the pattern is developed based on the character font data, the segment data including a portion where the line width may be negative depending on the weight (thickness) of the character to be generated. By explicitly indicating that the line width is negative in the same segment data, it is possible to judge whether or not the line width is not negative when the pattern is developed. The processing can be speeded up by performing only on the segment that can be drawn.

Further, when the pattern is expanded by the pattern expanding means, only the segment data stored in the storage means and having a portion whose line width with respect to the core may be negative is used as a reference for the core wire. It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not the line width to be defined is a non-negative portion.

Further, clipping data indicating the end points of the contour pattern developed by the pattern developing means at positions where the line width does not become negative is added to the segment data having a portion where the line width can be negative with respect to the core line. It is characterized by including.

Further, in a character font data creating method for creating character font data which expresses the contour shape of a character stroke with a core line and a line width, a stroke including a faint portion is provided on both sides of a stroke before and after the fading portion. The contour lines are virtually extended and expressed as continuous curves, and between the two points where the contour lines represented by the curves intersect, the point between the contour lines that is most distant is specified. It is characterized in that the stroke is divided into segments at different points, and segment data represented by at least one line width representing a core line and negative is generated for the segment generated by this division.

According to such a method, the connecting points of the segments forming the stroke are the points where the contour lines developed on both sides of the core line intersect each other on the core line, and the positional relationship with respect to the core line is reversed and then the point is the farthest. By creating the data so that the weight (thickness) of the character to be generated becomes thicker, the end points of the segments come closer to each other and the length of the blur becomes shorter, and when the thickness becomes a predetermined value, the continuous segment Segment data that can be expressed as follows is generated. In addition, since the connection point of the segment of the segment data created by this method is the farthest point after the positional relationship with respect to the core line is reversed, that is, the line width is negative, this segment data expands the pattern. At this time, it is clearly indicated that the segment data has a portion (blurred portion) where the line width with respect to the core line can be negative.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an information processing apparatus that realizes the character pattern generation apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the character pattern generation device according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 10, a main memory 12, a font ROM 14, a printing device 16, and a display device 18.

The CPU 10 executes various processes including character pattern generation according to a program stored in the main memory 12 and based on data. When generating a character pattern, the CPU 10 stores the main memory 12 in accordance with the character font data stored in the font ROM 14.
The character pattern is expanded using the data expansion area 12b provided in.

The main memory 12 is a program area 12
a, a data development area 12b, and the like are provided, and programs, data, and the like that define the operation of the CPU 10 are stored therein. The program area 12a includes a character pattern generation program for generating a character pattern based on the character font data stored in the font ROM 14. The data expansion area 12b is an area used for expanding a character pattern according to the character font data when the character pattern generation program is executed.

The font ROM 14 is for storing character font data prepared for each character, and in the present embodiment, character font data (core line font) for expressing the contour shape of a character stroke with a core line and a line width. Is stored. In the character font data in the present embodiment, for a character having a blurred portion in a stroke forming a character pattern, the blurred portion is represented by a core line and a line width having continuity. Details of the method for generating the character font data stored in the font ROM 14 will be described later.

The printer 16 prints a character pattern developed based on the character font data stored in the font ROM 14. The display device 18 is a font ROM 1
The character pattern developed based on the character font data stored in 4 is displayed.

Next, details of the structure of the character font data stored in the font ROM 14 will be described. In the present embodiment, strokes that form a character are divided into a plurality of segments and expressed as shown in FIG. The character font data is structured as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the character font data is composed of a character header section and stroke data sections (1) to (m) for the number of strokes forming a character. In the character header part, the character code that identifies the character, the number of strokes that make up the character (the number of stroke data parts)
Contains information about the entire character such as. The stroke data section includes data regarding one stroke,
It is configured as shown in FIG.

The stroke data section is composed of an information section of the entire stroke and segment data sections (1) to (n) corresponding to the number of segments forming the stroke. The information section of the entire stroke includes information about the entire stroke such as a stroke identifier indicating the stroke type and the number of segments. As shown in FIG. 4, the segment data section includes a segment type, core line data, line width data,
Contains clipping data.

The segment type includes information indicating whether the segment is represented by a straight line or a curved line. In this embodiment, the curve is represented by a Bezier curve. The core line data is represented by a start point and an end point when the segment is a straight line, and is represented by control points (4 points) of a Bezier curve when the segment is a curve. The line width data is represented by data indicating the position of the contour line with respect to the core line. The clipping data indicates the position of a point on the contour line represented by the line width data for connecting the segments with good consistency or for connecting a fixed pattern prepared in advance to obtain a high quality character pattern. .

FIG. 4A shows a blur flag 22 for clearly indicating that a part of the data of the segment type 20 has a portion (sharp portion) where the line width with respect to the core line can be negative (shaded portion). (For example, 1-bit data) is provided.

On the other hand, the data of the segment type 30 in FIG. 4B does not include the blur flag 22. However, when this format is used, when the pattern is developed, the line width based on the core line is used. If the segment data is a segment data having a negative portion, the line width data 34 includes negative data (data representing a blurred portion).

The segment data is created in one of the formats shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and stored in the font ROM 14. The process of creating a character pattern using each segment data will be described later.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining segment data of a general segment (not including a portion where the line width is negative (shaded portion)). As shown in FIG. 5, the position of the contour line is represented by the line widths W0, W1, W2, and W3 from arbitrary points on the core line. Details of the segment data including a portion where the line width is negative (blurred portion) will be described later.

In the present embodiment, not only the segment having a positive line width from the core line as shown in FIG. 5 but also the fading part as shown in FIG. 6 is expressed by the data of the core line and the line width having continuity. The prepared font data is prepared.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, a method of creating font data, which is prepared in the font ROM 14 and in which a blurred portion is represented by data of a core line and a line width having continuity, will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a blurred portion in a certain character pattern. here,
Segment data (line width data 34) shown in FIG. 4 (b)
Will be described.

First, a stroke to be processed is extracted from a character pattern for which character font data is to be created, and it is determined whether or not the stroke is a fading pattern including a fading portion (steps B1 and B2). In this embodiment, for example,
If a discontinuous portion is extracted in a stroke that should normally be continuous, it is determined to be a fading pattern.

Next, for discontinuous strokes, contour lines are virtually connected in order to express a blurred portion by a continuous core line and line width (step B).
3). Therefore, a core line (virtual core line) that is continuous to a discontinuous stroke is applied, and with this virtual core line as a reference, it is connected with good consistency with the contour line of the actual stroke and equidistant on both sides of the virtual core line. Connect the virtual contours so that (Bezier curve is applied).

When the virtual contour line is connected to the stroke contour line of the faint portion, the contour lines intersect at the tip portion of one fading and the contour line again at the tip portion of the other fading, as shown in FIG. Are fitted so that they intersect (contour lines are reversed). Therefore, assuming that one side is the positive direction with respect to the core line in the actual stroke and the line width is positive, the portion of the virtual contour line ahead from the intersecting point is
It can be considered that the line width is negative. That is, in FIG. 8, the line widths of W0A and W1A represent positive line widths, and W2A,
W3A represents a negative line width.

Next, the point where the virtual contours are left-right reversed, that is, between the two points where the contours intersect, the point farthest between the virtual contours on both sides of the virtual core line is specified (step B4). In FIG. 8, the point where W3A = W0B is applicable.

The blurred portion in the stroke is segmented from this point, and data is set for each segment (step B5). That is, each segment data includes core line data up to the point at which the segment is divided, and line width data indicating that the line width at one end point of the segment is negative. Here, since the segment data is generated based on the relationship as shown in FIG. 8, the blurred portion is represented by the continuous core line and line width.

If segment data including line width data indicating a negative line width is used, it is not necessary to provide a blur flag as shown in FIG. 4 (b). Further, by increasing the line width of the pattern represented by the contour line (including the virtual contour line) shown in FIG. 8, the negative line width portion can be made positive, but the pattern at this time is represented. In the case of using the width line data, the fading flag 22 may be provided as shown in FIG.

In the method of creating character font data using FIG. 8, the segment is divided at the points where the contour lines in the virtual contour are most distant from each other.
If a line connecting a contour line and a virtual contour line can be expressed as line width data, it is possible to divide into segments and generate one segment data including a blurred portion without generating two segment data. You can also

Next, the operation of generating a character pattern based on the character font data will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When generating a character pattern for a certain character, the CPU 10 develops a character pattern with an arbitrary weight in accordance with an attribute of the character pattern to be generated, that is, an instruction such as a character size and a line thickness. The line thickness can be designated by, for example, designating a ratio (%) to the basic thickness or preparing character thicknesses of several levels in advance and selecting from among them.

The CPU 10 sequentially reads the font data (segment data) of each stroke in the character pattern data to be generated, which is stored in the font ROM 14 (steps A1 and A2), and the characters are read according to the designated attribute. Expand the pattern.

Here, when the segment data shown in FIG. 4A is used, the CPU 10 refers to the blur flag 22 of the segment type 20 and determines whether or not there is a possibility that the developed character pattern has blur. It is determined (step A3).

When the blur flag 22 is not set (there is no possibility of blur), the CPU 10 is
A character pattern development process based on the character font data is executed (step A4).

On the other hand, when the blur flag 22 is set, the CPU 10 responds to the specified attribute and the segment data (core line data 24, line width data 26).
The character pattern is developed while checking the line width condition in the data of the development pattern (step A5) (step A5).

The CPU 10 continues the pattern generation when the line width of the contour with respect to the core line of the developed pattern is positive, and does not generate the pattern when it is negative (portion corresponding to the virtual contour). (Step A6). Further, the CPU 10 generates a pattern when the contour line width becomes positive again at the destination where the contour line width becomes negative (step A7).

FIG. 10A shows an example of a pattern developed for a blurred portion. For example, FIG.
As described with reference to FIG. 8, the character font data having the pattern shown in FIG.
It shall contain one segment data.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), one segment data is used, and the line width is positive in the portions where the line widths of the contour with respect to the core line are W0 and W1, so the pattern is developed. . On the other hand, between the points a and b in the figure, the pattern is not developed because the line width is negative. further,
Using the other segment data, the line width (e.g. W2) is negative up to point b, so the pattern is not expanded, and line width (e.g.
Since 3) is positive, the pattern is developed.

When the blurred portion is developed according to the segment data, the tip of the blurred portion has a sharply pointed shape as shown in FIG. 10 (a). If such a shape is not desirable as a character design, the processing is performed such that the shape is cut off when the predetermined line width becomes negative and the tip is cut off, or FIG. ), The coordinate point indicated by the clipping data 28 in the character font data may be designated, and the fixed data prepared in advance may be added. The coordinate point indicated by the clipping data 28 is provided in a portion where the line width of the developed contour pattern is positive.

FIG. 11 shows an example in which a fixed pattern for expressing the blur of the brush is added at the clipping point to the pattern obtained by expanding the portion where the line width is positive.
As shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to generate a high quality character pattern by adding a fixed pattern.

In the above description, FIG.
Although the description is given using the segment data (having the blur flag 22) shown in (a), when the segment data shown in FIG. 4 (b) is used, the line width data 34 is negative in step A3 of FIG. The line width data 34 is referenced to determine whether or not there is a possibility that the developed character pattern may be blurred. Thereafter, the character pattern is expanded in the same manner as the processing for the segment data having the blur flag 22.

In the example shown in FIG. 10, as a result of expanding the segment data having a possibility of fading in accordance with the specified attribute, the line width becomes negative (fading part). The pattern is generated, but it does not become a faint part depending on the specified attribute.

For example, if the weight (thickness) of the character to be generated according to the designated attribute is equal to or smaller than the predetermined thickness, a pattern including a faint portion as shown in FIG. 12A is generated. However, when the attribute for thickening the line width is designated, a character pattern in which the contour lines of two segments are connected is generated as shown in FIG.

That is, since the faint portion is expressed by the core line data and the line width data included in the two continuous segment data, the character font data is generated according to the weight (thickness) of the character to be generated. By expanding the pattern based on the above, when the stroke line width reaches a predetermined thickness, the stroke continues (no blurring occurs), and as it becomes thinner, the length of the blurring (in the developed pattern It is possible to generate a character pattern that expresses a natural brush-type character such that stroke discontinuity length is gradually increased.

In the above-described embodiment, the character pattern generating method according to the present invention is described as being realized in an information processing device, but some functions (character pattern) included in an application program such as a word processor are described. May be provided as a program that realizes (display or print). This program is provided in a state of being stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, or a CD-ROM. CPU10
Reads the program stored in the storage medium and executes the character pattern generation method.

[0058]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, for a character having a blurred portion in a stroke forming a character pattern, the blurred portion is represented by a continuous core line and a line width. , By expanding the pattern based on the character font data according to the weight (thickness) of the character to be generated, when the stroke line width becomes a predetermined thickness, the strokes continue (no blurring occurs. ), As it becomes thinner, the length of blurring (the discontinuous length of strokes in the developed pattern) gradually increases, producing a high-quality character pattern that expresses natural brush-type characters. It is possible to do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device that realizes a character pattern generation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which a stroke forming a character according to the present embodiment is divided into a plurality of segments and expressed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of character font data according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data structure of data included in a segment data portion in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining segment data of a general segment (not including a portion (a blurred portion) where the line width is negative).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a character pattern including a blurred portion.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a character font creating method according to this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a blurred portion in a character pattern for explaining a character font creating method according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a character pattern generation method according to this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern developed for a blurred portion in the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example in which a fixed pattern is added to the developed pattern.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern generated when the weight (thickness) of a character to be generated is changed in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... CPU 12 ... Main memory 12a ... Program area 12b ... Data development area 14 ... Font ROM 16 ... Printing device 18 ... Display device

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A character pattern generation device for generating a character pattern based on character font data representing a contour of a character stroke with a core line and a line width, wherein the character font data for each character is stored.
For a character having a blurred portion in a stroke forming a character pattern, a storage unit that stores font data represented by a core line and a line width with which the blurred portion is continuous; and font data stored in the storage unit. And a pattern developing means for developing a pattern having a contour as a contour based on the core line and having a non-negative line width. 2. The stroke is composed of a plurality of segments, the font data includes segment data in which each segment is represented by a core line and a line width, and the storage unit expands a pattern by the pattern expansion unit. At this time, the character pattern generation device according to claim 1, wherein predetermined data is added to and stored in the segment data having a portion where the line width with respect to the core line can be negative. 3. The stroke is composed of a plurality of segments, the font data includes segment data in which each segment is represented by a core line and a line width, and the storage unit expands a pattern by the pattern expansion unit. At this time, the character pattern generation device according to claim 1, wherein the segment data having a portion where the line width may be negative with respect to the core line is stored including the data representing the negative line width. 4. The core line is used as a reference when the pattern is expanded by the pattern expanding unit only for segment data stored in the storage unit and having a portion whose line width with respect to the core line can be negative. The character pattern generation device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein it is determined whether or not the line width to be defined is a non-negative portion. 5. The segment data having a portion where the line width can be negative with respect to the core line is provided with clipping data indicating an end point of a contour pattern developed by the pattern developing means at a position where the line width is not negative. The character pattern generation device according to claim 2, wherein the character pattern generation device includes the character pattern generation device. 6. A character font data creating method for creating character font data for expressing a contour shape of a character stroke by a core line and a line width, wherein a stroke including a faint portion is provided on both sides of a stroke before and after the faint portion. The contour lines are virtually extended and expressed as continuous curves, and between the two points where the respective contour lines expressed by the curves intersect, the point between the contour lines that is most distant is specified. The character font data creating method is characterized in that the stroke is divided into segments at different points, and segment data represented by at least one line width representing a core line and negative is generated for the segment generated by this division. . 7. A character pattern generation method for generating a character pattern based on character font data representing a contour of a character stroke with a core line and a line width, wherein character font data for each character is stored.
For a character having a blurred portion in a stroke that forms a character pattern, based on font data that the blurred portion is represented by a continuous core line and a line width, the line width based on the core line is negative. A method for generating a character pattern, which is characterized by expanding a portion that does not become a contour pattern.