JP2001195395A - Character string information output method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] To output character string data to a limited output area, reduce missing characters as much as possible without deteriorating character quality. SOLUTION: An output character string obtaining means 101 for obtaining a character string to be output, an output area size obtaining means 102 for obtaining an output area size of the character string, and a size capable of recognizing all characters of the character string at the time of output Character reduction allowable range information holding means 10 for storing character reduction allowable range information for
Compare the length of the character string to the length of the output area when the character size is set to the standard size, and set the character size to the standard size if the length of the character string does not exceed the length of the output area. If the length of the character string exceeds the length of the output area, the character size setting means 104 sets the character string based on the allowable character reduction range information, and generates and outputs character string data according to the set character size. Character data output means 105 to be performed
And

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention displays and prints character string information, for example, when displaying a character string on a low-resolution consumer television monitor such as an electronic program guide display in a digital broadcast receiving terminal. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for outputting character string information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional technique, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
No. 5366 is disclosed. FIG. 7 is an example of a configuration diagram of a conventional character string information output device, 20 is a character string information output device, 201 is an output character string acquisition unit that acquires a character string to be output, and 202 is an output character string acquisition unit 201. An output area size obtaining means for obtaining the size of an area for outputting the obtained character string;
The character reduction ratio when outputting the character string information obtained in
A character reduction ratio calculation unit 204 that calculates based on the output region size acquired by the output region size acquisition unit 202 generates character shape data that is reduced based on the character reduction ratio calculated by the character reduction ratio calculation unit 203. And a character data output unit 204 for outputting character data, a character shape data holding unit 2041 for holding character shape data, and a character shape data holding unit 2041 based on the character reduction ratio calculated by the character reduction ratio calculation unit 203. Output character data preparing means for preparing data obtained by reducing the obtained character shape data,
Reference numeral 2043 denotes character data output control means for outputting the character data prepared by the output character data preparation means 2042.

Next, a character string information output device 2 shown in FIG.
An example of operation 0 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. Here is the horizontal 5 "Depressed Days"
Consider a case where a character string of a character is output to a rectangular output area having a width of 50 dots and a height of 16 dots on a television monitor.
The standard character size is 16 × 16 dots.

(Step S401) The output character string obtaining means 201 obtains a character string to be output. Here, a character string “Depressed Days” is acquired.

(Step S402) The output area size obtaining means 202 obtains the size of the output area. Here, a size of 50 dots in width and 16 dots in height is obtained.

(Step S403) The character reduction ratio calculating means 203 first counts the number of characters of the obtained output character string. Here, it is counted as five characters.

(Step S404) As the next process of the character reduction ratio calculating means 203, a character string width is calculated by a calculation formula of “number of characters × standard character width”. In this case, since the number of characters is 5 and the standard character width is 16 dots, 80 dots are calculated as 5 × 16.

(Step S405) As the next processing of the character reduction ratio calculating means 203, the character string width is compared with the width of the output area, and the processing branches according to the result. Here, since the condition of “character string width 80> output area width 50” is satisfied, the flow branches to step S406. This means that the standard character width overflows without being able to be output in the output area. In the next step, the character reduced in the output area is calculated and the reduced character is output.

(Step S 406) As the next process of the character reduction ratio calculating means 203, “width of output area / width of character string”
To calculate the character reduction ratio. Here, the character reduction ratio is calculated to be 5/8 at 50/80. When a character of 16 dot size is reduced at a character reduction ratio of 5/8, it becomes 10 dot size,
It is possible to output 10 dots × 5 characters to an output area having a width of 50 dots.

(Step S 408) As the next processing of the character reduction ratio calculating unit 203, the character data output unit 204 is instructed to output a character string at the calculated character reduction ratio. Here, since the character reduction ratio is 5/8, the character data output unit 204 is instructed to generate and output a character of 10 dot size with “standard character size 16 × character reduction ratio 5/8”. The output character data preparing means 2042 takes out the shape data of five characters included in the character string “Depressed Days” from the character shape data holding means 2041 and reduces the size to 10 dots. The character shape data may be held in either form of outline data called outline data or image data called dot data. The reduction processing method differs depending on the holding format.

(Step S409) The character data output control means 2043 outputs the reduced character string data to the output area.

As described above, in the prior art, when a character string to be output is long and cannot be completely output in a specified area, the character string is reduced and output, thereby This is to solve the drawback that part of the output is cut off and no longer is output.

[0013]

However, in such a conventional technique, when displaying on a low-resolution consumer television monitor, there is a problem that characters may be crushed and become unreadable due to character reduction. there were. For example, "depression" in "depressive days" has a very complicated shape, so it can be identified by 16 dots, but if it is reduced to 10 dots, it is crushed and cannot be identified. However, if all five characters are output in 16-dot size with emphasis on character quality for identification, only three characters can be output in a 50-dot width output area, and the last two characters are lost. Problems arise.

The present invention solves the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a character string information output method and apparatus capable of minimizing missing characters in an output area without deteriorating character quality.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a character string information output method comprising: obtaining a character string including a plurality of characters to be output and an output area size which is the size of an area where the character string is output; Compare the length of the character string when the character size is set to the preset standard size with the length of the output area, and if the length of the character string exceeds the length of the output area, change the character of the character string from the standard size. A character string information output method for creating and outputting small and reduced character string data, wherein when reducing the character of a character string to a size smaller than a standard size, each character of the character string is reduced to a size that can be recognized at the time of output. It is characterized by the following.

According to this method, when the character of the character string is reduced to a size smaller than the standard size when the length of the character string exceeds the length of the output area in the standard size, each character of the character string can be recognized at the time of output. By making the size as small as possible, it is possible to reduce the number of missing characters in the output area as much as possible without deteriorating the character quality.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the character string information output method according to the first aspect, when each character of the character string is reduced to a size that can be recognized at the time of output, each character has its own character. It is characterized in that the image is reduced according to the reduction limit value.

Thus, without deteriorating the character quality,
Further, the number of missing characters in the output area can be reduced as much as possible.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the character string information output method according to the first aspect, when each character of the character string is reduced to a maximum size that can be recognized at the time of output, all the characters are output. Calculate the length of the character string when reduced according to the character reduction limit value, and if the calculated character string length does not exceed the length of the output area, calculate the character string limit value for all characters. When the length of the calculated character string exceeds the length of the output area, the character string is reduced according to the character reduction limit value for each character.

Thus, the character reduction limit value for all characters and the character reduction limit value for each character can be selected and reduced. When the character reduction limit value for all characters is reduced, the character The processing is simpler, the processing time is faster, the output size is larger, and it is easier to recognize (read) than to reduce the image according to the reduction limit value.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the character string information output method according to the first aspect, when each character of the character string is reduced to a size that can be recognized at the time of output, each character group has Calculate the length of the character string when reduced according to the character reduction limit value, and if the calculated length of the character string does not exceed the length of the output area, calculate the length according to the character reduction limit value for each character group. When the length of the calculated character string exceeds the length of the output area, the character string is reduced according to the character reduction limit value for each character.

Thus, the character reduction limit value for each character group and the character reduction limit value for each character can be selected and reduced. When the character reduction limit value for each character group is reduced, the character The processing is simpler, the processing time is faster, the output size is larger, and it is easier to recognize (read) than to reduce the image according to the reduction limit value. Further, it is possible to output more characters in a limited output area as compared with the case of the third aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the character string information output method according to the first aspect, when each character of the character string is reduced to a maximum size that can be recognized at the time of output, all the characters are output. Calculate the length of the character string when reduced according to the character reduction limit value, and if the calculated character string length does not exceed the length of the output area, calculate the character string limit value for all characters. If the length of the calculated character string exceeds the length of the output area, the length of the character string when reduced according to the character reduction limit value for each character group is calculated, and the calculated character If the length of the string does not exceed the length of the output area, it is reduced according to the character reduction limit value for each character group, and if the calculated character string length exceeds the length of the output area, Character reduction according to the character reduction limit To.

Thus, the character reduction limit value for all characters, the character reduction limit value for each character group, and the character reduction limit value for each character group can be selected and reduced.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a character string information output device, comprising: an output character string obtaining unit for obtaining a character string including a plurality of characters to be output; and an output area size which is the size of the area where the character string is output. Output area size obtaining means to obtain;
Character reduction allowable range information holding means for storing character reduction allowable range information for making each character of a character string a recognizable size at the time of output, and obtaining an output character string when the character size is set to a preset standard size Compare the length of the character string obtained by the means with the length of the output area obtained by the output area size obtaining means, and if the length of the character string does not exceed the length of the output area, set the character size to the standard size If the length of the character string exceeds the length of the output area, the character size is set according to the character size set based on the character reduction allowable range information and the character size set by the character size setting unit. And character data output means for generating and outputting character string data.

According to this configuration, when the length of the character string exceeds the length of the output area in the standard size, the character size setting means can determine each character of the character string held in the character reduction allowable range information holding means. By setting the character size based on the character reduction allowable range information for making the size recognizable at the time of output, without deteriorating the character quality of the character string data output from the character data output means, and in the output area Missing characters can be minimized.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the character string information output device according to the sixth aspect, the character reduction allowable range information holding means holds a character reduction limit value for each character as character reduction allowable range information. It is characterized by doing.

Thus, without deteriorating the character quality,
Further, the number of missing characters in the output area can be reduced as much as possible.

The character string information output device according to claim 8 is the character string information output device according to claim 6, wherein the character reduction allowable range information holding means stores the character reduction limit value for each character as the character reduction allowable range information. The character size setting means can select the character reduction limit value for all characters and the character reduction limit value for each character.

Thus, the character reduction limit value for all characters and the character reduction limit value for each character can be selected and reduced. When the character reduction limit value for all characters is reduced, the character The processing is simpler, the processing time is faster, the output size is larger, and it is easier to recognize (read) than to reduce the image according to the reduction limit value.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the character string information output apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the character reduction allowable range information holding means includes a character reduction limit value for each character and a character reduction allowable range information as character reduction allowable range information. A character reduction limit value for each group is held, and the character size setting means can select a character reduction limit value for each character group and a character reduction limit value for each character.

Thus, the character reduction limit value for each character group and the character reduction limit value for each character can be selected and reduced. When the character reduction limit value for each character group is reduced, the character The processing is simpler, the processing time is faster, the output size is larger, and it is easier to recognize (read) than to reduce the image according to the reduction limit value. Further, it is possible to output more characters in a limited output area as compared with the case of the eighth aspect.

The character string information output device according to claim 10 is
7. The character string information output device according to claim 6, wherein the character reduction allowable range information holding means includes a character reduction limit value for each character, a character reduction limit value for each character group, and a character reduction limit for all characters as character reduction allowable range information. Hold the value,
The character size setting means can select a character reduction limit value for all characters, a character reduction limit value for each character group, and a character reduction limit value for each character.

Thus, the character reduction limit value for all characters, the character reduction limit value for each character group, and the character reduction limit value for each character can be selected and reduced.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a character string information output device according to the embodiment, and reference numeral 10 denotes a character string information output device.

The character string information output device 10 comprises an output character string obtaining means 101, an output area size obtaining means 102, a character reduction allowable range information holding means 103, a character size setting means 104, and a character data output means 105. The character data output unit 105 includes a character shape data holding unit 1051, an output character data preparation unit 1052, and a character data output control unit 1053. The output character string obtaining unit 101 obtains a character string including a plurality of characters to be output. The character string to be output may be sent from the outside like electronic program guide data of digital broadcasting or teletext data, or may be input by the user.

The output area size obtaining means 102 obtains the size of the area to output the character string. Generally, it is often composed of width and height information of a rectangular area and an output position. The size and position of the output area are generally managed by a display system (software), and may be sent from the outside. Size and location are given in pairs.

The character reduction allowable range information holding means 103
Tolerable range when reduced for each character (character reduction limit value)
, For example, the minimum size that can guarantee identifiable character quality.

The character size setting means 104 determines whether the character string obtained by the output character string obtaining means 101 can be output to the output area obtained by the output area size obtaining means 102 with a standard character size without any omission, and the omission occurs. In this case, the size of each character constituting the output character string is determined with reference to the character reduction allowable range information held by the character reduction allowable range information holding unit 103. If no dropout occurs, the standard character size is determined to be the size of each character. Note that the standard character size is a character size set in advance.

The character data output means 105 outputs character data reduced based on the size of each character determined by the character size setting means 104. Specifically, the character shape data holding unit 1051 holds character shape data for each character in a memory, a disk, or the like. The output character data preparation unit 1052 extracts character shape data corresponding to characters constituting the output character string from the character shape data holding unit 1051, and creates reduced data based on the size of each character determined by the character size setting unit 104. . Character data output control means 1053
2 performs output processing of the character string data created.

Next, the character string information output device 1 shown in FIG.
An example of operation 0 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. Here, a case is considered in which a character string of "horizontal days" written horizontally is output to a rectangular output area having a width of 50 dots and a height of 16 dots on a television monitor. The standard character size is 16 × 16 dots. FIG. 3 shows an example of the character reduction allowable range information for each character held by the character reduction allowable range information holding unit 103.

(Step S501) The output character string obtaining means 101 obtains a character string to be output. Here, a character string “Depressed Days” is acquired.

(Step S502) The output area size obtaining section 102 obtains the size of the output area. Here, a size of 50 dots in width and 16 dots in height is obtained.

(Step S503) The character size setting means 104 first counts the number of characters of the obtained output character string. Here, it is counted as five characters.

(Step S 504) As the next processing of the character size setting means 104, the character string width is calculated by the calculation formula “number of characters × standard character width”. In this case, since the number of characters is 5 and the standard character width is 16 dots, 80 dots are calculated as 5 × 16.

(Step S505) As the next processing of the character size setting means 104, the character string width is compared with the width of the output area, and the processing branches according to the result. Here, the character string width is 80 dots, the width of the output area is 50 dots, and “character string width>
Since the condition of "width of output area" is satisfied, step S50 is executed.
Branch to 6. This means that the standard character width overflows the output area beyond the output area, and will create and output the character data that has been reduced as much as possible without impairing the character quality after the next step. . If the condition of "character string width> width of output area" is not satisfied, that is, if all characters can be output in the output area with the standard character width, the flow branches to step S508 to execute the size width of each character. To the width of the standard font size.

(Step S 506) As the next processing of the character size setting means 104, character reduction allowable range information of each character constituting the character string output from the character reduction allowable range information holding means 103 is obtained. Here, it is assumed that the character reduction allowable range information holding unit 103 holds the information in FIG. 3 as an example for five characters constituting the output character string “depressive days”. In this case, "you: 12 dots"
Information such as “depression: 14 dots”, “na: 8 dots”, “date: 7 dots”, and “each: 7 dots” is acquired. These numerical values indicate the limit value of the size that can be reduced within a range that does not impair the character quality (character reduction limit value for each character).
For example, “depression” has a complicated shape, and indicates that if it is reduced to less than 14 dots, it will be crushed and cannot be identified. Also, “day” and “each” have a simple shape and can be reduced to 7 dots.

(Step S507) As the next process of the character size setting means 104, the size of each character is set by referring to the character reduction allowable range information acquired in step S506. Here, the total size of the five characters constituting the output character string is 48 dots in total of 12 + 14 + 8 + 7 + 7, which falls within the output region size width of 50 dots. . Since the height of the output area is 16 dots, the character size height is set to the standard size of 16 dots. If the area overflows even if the area is reduced as much as possible within the allowable range, some characters will be lost. However, the character quality is not impaired, and all five missing characters are output in a standard size. It can be reduced to a minimum compared to the case. If the output area has some margin and it is not necessary to reduce the size to the limit of the character reduction allowable range, the size may be finely adjusted in this step. For example, in this example, the width of the output area size is 50 dots, but the final output width is 48 dots, with a margin of 2 dots. For example, by finely adjusting one day each of “day” and “at” of 7 dots and the smallest size to 8 dots width, 50
Readability can be further improved by making full use of the dot width.

(Step S509) As the next processing of the character size setting means 104, the character data output means 105 is instructed to output a character string with the set character size.
Here, it is instructed that the character size height is 16 dots and the character size width is 12, 14, 8, 7, 7 respectively. The output character data preparation unit 1052 extracts the shape data of five characters included in the character string “Depressed Days” from the character shape data holding unit 1052, and sets the width to the size of 12, 14, 8, 7, and 7 dots, respectively. to shrink. The character shape data may be held in either form of outline data called outline data or image data called dot data. The reduction processing method differs depending on the holding format.

(Step S510) The character data output control means 1053 outputs the reduced character string data to the output area.

According to the present embodiment, when the length of the character string (character string width) exceeds the length of the output area (width of the output area) in the standard size, the characters of the character string are reduced to a size smaller than the standard size. In such a case, it is possible to output more characters to a limited output area without deteriorating the character quality of a character having a complicated shape such as "depression", and it is possible to reduce missing characters as much as possible.

In this embodiment, the case where a horizontally written character string is displayed has been described. However, when a vertically written character string is displayed, the character string can be output in the same manner. . The character string width and the width of the output area in the above description are the length of the character string and the length of the output area, respectively, in the direction in which the characters are arranged in the horizontal direction, but when displaying a character string in vertical writing, The length of the character string and the length of the output area in the direction in which the characters are arranged in the vertical direction may be considered. However, in this case, since the length of the character string depends on the height of the character size, in the above description, the description of the height and the width of the character size may be considered in reverse. This is the same for the following second and subsequent embodiments. (Second Embodiment) The second embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, but partially differs in the contents of the character size setting means 104 in FIG. Instead of the flowchart of FIG. 2 in the first embodiment, the flowchart of FIG. 4 is used in the second embodiment. 4, steps S706 to S708 and S711 are added to the flowchart of FIG. S501 to S505 and S505 in FIG.
Steps 506 to S507 and S508 to S510 correspond to steps S701 to S705, S709 to S710, and S7 in FIG.
12 to S714, and the processing contents are the same. As shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the information shown in FIG. 3, information on a character set reduction allowable range is added as information held in the character reduction allowable range information holding unit 103.
This information indicates the reduction limit size for all characters (character reduction limit value for all characters). Here, 14 dots are set, which indicates that there is no problem in uniformly reducing all characters to 14 dots without deteriorating the quality.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. Here, the width of the output area size is 72
Dots.

(Step S706) As the next processing of the character size setting means 104, the character set reduction allowable range information from the character reduction allowable range information holding means 103 is acquired. Here, information of 14 dots is obtained.

(Step S707) As the next process of the character size setting means 104, the character string width is calculated by “number of characters × character set reduction allowable range”. Here, 5 characters × 14 dots are calculated as 70 dots.

(Step S708) As the next processing of the character size setting means 104, the character string width is compared with the width of the output area, and the processing branches according to the result. Here, the character string width is 70 dots, the output area width is 72 dots, and the condition of “character string width> output area width” is not satisfied.
Branch to 711. This means that by setting the character size to the character set reduction allowable range of 14 dots, the output falls within the output area. If the condition of “character string width> width of output area” is satisfied, step S7
The process branches to step S09, and proceeds to step S713 after steps S709 and S710.

(Step S711) As the next processing of the character size setting means 104, the size width of each character constituting the output character string is set to 14 dots. Step S713
Subsequent processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

The differences between the first embodiment and the second embodiment are summarized as follows. In the first embodiment, when the output character string does not fit in the output area, the size of each character is immediately calculated from the allowable reduction range for each character. In the case of the character string “Depressive Days”, if the width of the output area is smaller than 80 dots, the character size cannot be reduced to the standard size, and the character string width is reduced to 48 dots from the allowable reduction range for each character. However, even when the output area width is slightly larger, such as 70 dots or 75 dots, instead of 50 dots as in the first embodiment, each character is referred to and reduced to 48 dots. Of course, if the size has a margin as supplemented in S508 of the first embodiment, the size can be finely adjusted and the output area can be used effectively, but the processing amount is further increased.

On the other hand, when the reduction limit size for all the characters is determined as in the second embodiment, the output between the standard size and the reduction limit value for each character is all It is possible to select an intermediate output form of output by the reduction limit size for the character of. In the case of a character string “Depressed Days”, the character string width can be reduced to 70 dots by using the reduction limit size for all characters. Moreover, as compared with the reduction allowable range reference for each character in the first embodiment, there is an advantage that the processing is simpler, the processing time is faster, and the output size is larger, so that the readability is higher. Therefore, it is very effective to be able to select the output based on the reduction limit size for all characters according to the output area size. In the case of the character string “Depressed Days”, the effect of the second embodiment appears when the output area width is 70 dots to 79 dots. In other cases, it is the same as the first embodiment.

As described above, by storing the character set reduction allowable range information in the character reduction allowable range information holding unit 103, the output area cannot be reduced to the standard character size. When it fits in the area, it is possible to improve the processing speed by simplifying the processing and to select a larger readable character. (Third Embodiment) The third embodiment is almost the same as the second embodiment, except that the character set reduction allowable range information held in the character reduction allowable range information holding means 103 is a group of characters. By providing each character group, the number of characters that can be output can be increased with the same level of processing simplicity as in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an example of information held in the character reduction allowable range information holding means 103 according to the third embodiment. The character set reduction allowable range information is 1
Up to 2 dots, Hiragana up to 10 dots, Katakana up to 8 dots, Kanji up to 14 dots can be reduced without loss of quality,
As described above, all characters are divided into character groups, and a character reduction limit value is set for each character group. Using this information, the character string width of "depressive days" calculated in step S707 in the second embodiment is 14 dots (Kanji) x 4 characters + 10 dots (Hiragana) x in the third embodiment. One character has 66 dots, which is 4 dots less than in the second embodiment. In the case of a character string having a large ratio of hiragana and katakana, the effect is further enhanced. As a result, more characters can be output to a limited output area.

The "symbols" shown in FIG.
For example, ≤, △,%, *, ☆, etc. A symbol is an example of grouping, and there are various other cases such as numbers, Roman numerals, Greek letters, uppercase alphabets, lowercase alphabets, and numbers with parentheses.

Further, character reduction allowable range information holding means 1
03, character set reduction allowable range information for all characters used in the second embodiment and character set reduction allowable range for each character group used in the third embodiment are used as character set reduction allowable range information. You may make it hold | maintain both of information.

In this case, the processing of the character size setting means 104 is slightly increased. In FIG. 4, steps S706 to S706
Steps 708 and S711 are performed using the character set reduction allowable range information for all the characters as described in the second embodiment, and three steps (hereinafter, steps SA and SB) are performed between step S708 and step S709. ,
SC is inserted), and a step SD branching from the step SC is provided. Step S708
If the condition of “character string width> width of output area” is satisfied, the flow branches to step SA. In step SA, character set reduction allowable range information for each character group is obtained. The character string width is calculated using the character set reduction allowable range information for each character as described in the third embodiment. Next, in step SC, step S
The character string width calculated in B is compared with the width of the output area. If the condition of “character string width> width of output area” is satisfied, the flow branches to step S709 in FIG. Also, "Character string width>
If the condition of "width of output area" is not satisfied, the flow branches to step SD, and in step SD, the size of each character is set to a value corresponding to the character set reduction allowable range used in step SB. The process proceeds to step S713.

In step SB, it is determined which character group each character belongs to, and a value is set according to the character group. In step SD, the result calculated in step SB is used as it is. (Fourth Embodiment) In the fourth embodiment, the first
In the third to third embodiments, reduction allowable range information for each character held by the character reduction allowable range information holding unit 103 is grouped and stored. For example, it is possible to associate the same value with hiragana as one group, or to divide kanji into a plurality of groups and have the same attribute for each group. Thereby, the storage area of the character reduction allowable range information storage unit 103 can be saved, and at the same time,
Processing can be simplified.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention, more characters can be output to the output area without deteriorating the character quality. The application fields are various such as electronic program guide and data broadcast display in digital broadcasting, monitor display of Internet information, subtitle display and closed caption display on DVD, character display of communication karaoke, character information display in video games, and the like. As the situation of needing to output many characters on a low-resolution monitor such as a home television has increased due to the further progress of digitization, more characters can be output to a limited output area according to the present invention without impairing the character quality. Is very effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a character string information output device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a character string information output method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of character reduction allowable range information according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a character string information output method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of character reduction allowable range information according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of character reduction allowable range information according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a character string information output device according to the related art.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a character string information output method according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Character string information output device 101 Output character string acquisition means 102 Output area size acquisition means 103 Character reduction allowable range information holding means 104 Character size setting means 105 Character data output means 1051 Character shape data storage means 1052 Output character data preparation means 1053 Characters Data output control means

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A character string when a character string composed of a plurality of characters to be output and an output area size that is the size of an area in which the character string is output are obtained, and the character size is set to a predetermined standard size. The length of the string is compared with the length of the output area, and when the length of the character string exceeds the length of the output area, character string data in which the characters of the character string are reduced to a size smaller than a standard size is output. Character string information output method, when reducing the characters of the character string to a size smaller than the standard size,
A character string information output method, wherein each character of the character string is reduced to a size that can be recognized at the time of output. 2. The character string information output according to claim 1, wherein, when each character of the character string is reduced to a size that can be recognized at the time of output, the character string is reduced according to a character reduction limit value for each character. Method. 3. When reducing the size of each character of a character string to a limit recognizable at the time of output, calculate the length of the character string when reduced according to the character reduction limit value for all characters. If the length of the calculated character string does not exceed the length of the output area, the character string is reduced according to the character reduction limit value for all the characters, and the length of the calculated character string exceeds the length of the output area. 2. The character string information output method according to claim 1, wherein the character string is reduced according to a character reduction limit value for each character. 4. When the size of each character in a character string is reduced to a limit that can be recognized at the time of output, the length of the character string when reduced according to the character reduction limit value for each character group is calculated. If the length of the calculated character string does not exceed the length of the output area, the character string is reduced according to the character reduction limit value for each character group, and if the calculated character string length exceeds the length of the output area. 2. The character string information output method according to claim 1, wherein the character string is reduced according to a character reduction limit value for each character. 5. When reducing the size of each character of a character string to a limit recognizable at the time of output, calculate the length of the character string when reduced in accordance with the character reduction limit value for all characters. If the length of the calculated character string does not exceed the length of the output area, the character string is reduced according to the character reduction limit value for all the characters, and the length of the calculated character string exceeds the length of the output area. Calculates the length of the character string when reduced according to the character reduction limit value for each character group, and if the calculated length of the character string does not exceed the length of the output area, And reducing the character string according to the character reduction limit value for each character when the length of the calculated character string exceeds the length of the output area. How to output the described string information. 6. An output character string obtaining means for obtaining a character string composed of a plurality of characters to be output, an output area size obtaining means for obtaining an output area size which is a size of an area where the character string is output, Character reduction allowable range information holding means for storing character reduction allowable range information for setting each character of the character string to a size recognizable at the time of output, and the output character when the character size is set to a predetermined standard size The length of the character string obtained by the column obtaining means is compared with the length of the output area obtained by the output area size obtaining means. If the length of the character string does not exceed the length of the output area, the character size is determined. A character size setting unit that sets the character size based on the character reduction allowable range information when the length of the character string exceeds the length of the output area. Character string information output apparatus and a character data output means for generating output character string data in accordance with the character size set by the character size setting means. 7. The character string information output device according to claim 6, wherein the character reduction allowable range information holding means stores a character reduction limit value for each character as character reduction allowable range information. 8. A character reduction allowable range information holding unit stores a character reduction limit value for each character and a character reduction limit value for all characters as character reduction allowable range information, and a character size setting unit stores characters for all the characters. 7. The character string information output device according to claim 6, wherein a reduction limit value and a character reduction limit value for each character can be selected. 9. A character reduction allowable range information holding unit stores a character reduction limit value for each character and a character reduction limit value for each character group as character reduction allowable range information, and a character size setting unit stores the character reduction limit value for each character group. 7. The character string information output device according to claim 6, wherein a reduction limit value and a character reduction limit value for each character can be selected. 10. A character reduction allowable range information holding unit stores a character reduction limit value for each character, a character reduction limit value for each character group, and a character reduction limit value for all characters as character reduction allowable range information. 7. The character string information according to claim 6, wherein the setting unit can select a character reduction limit value for all of the characters, a character reduction limit value for each of the character groups, and a character reduction limit value for each of the characters. Output device.