JPH1115458A - Character forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speed up the generation of a gray scale character, etc., and to further speed up the generation of a character which requires no quasi-halftone processing like a black character. SOLUTION: A character which is developed into a dot image on the basis of outline information in a vector font memory 2 is stored in a character memory 41. For the generation of a gray scale character, etc., pattern data corresponding to specified character attribute information is read out of a pattern table 43, an AND means 45 ANDs the read pattern data with the dot image of the character stored in the character memory, and then an OR means 46 ORs the AND result with a specific memory area in a page memory 6, thereby generating the character. For the generation of a black character, etc., no AND operation is performed and the dot image of the character stored in the character memory is ORed with the specific memory area of the page memory to generate the character.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character forming apparatus used for an output device for printing or displaying characters by raster scanning.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a character forming apparatus of this kind, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-64527 is known. This is a color character forming apparatus that stores characters developed in a bit pattern in character units, stores color characters in page units, fills the stored characters with a color according to an instruction command, and sets a color in page units. By outputting characters, the speed of color character formation is increased.

[0003]

Although this conventional apparatus describes the generation of color characters, the generation of characters that fill the outline of characters such as clay scale characters and pattern characters with a certain pattern is not described. Not considered. In addition, since it is optimized for an output device that can output color in order to display or print the generated characters, pseudo halftone processing is performed even for black characters that are frequently displayed or printed, and sufficient speed is achieved. Could not be planned.

Therefore, the invention according to claim 1 is suitable for a display device or a printing device for monochrome output, can speed up the formation of grayscale characters and pattern characters, and furthermore, can provide pseudo halftones such as black characters. Provided is a character generator capable of further increasing the speed of characters that do not require processing.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A vector font memory that stores character outline information, a page memory that stores data to be displayed or printed as dot information in page units, and a page memory that stores characters based on vector font memory outline information and specified character attribute information. A character forming means for generating a dot image on the basis of the outline information of the vector font memory. A pattern table storing various corresponding pattern data, a vector font rasterizer for developing characters in a dot image on the character memory based on outline information of the vector font memory, and a character attribute information designated from the pattern table. Pattern reading means for reading pattern data corresponding to the pattern data, AND operation means for performing an AND operation of the pattern data read by the pattern reading means and the dot image of the character stored in the character memory, and the AND operation means AND operation means for performing a logical sum operation of a result of a logical product operation by a predetermined memory area of a page memory and a logical sum operation of a dot image of a character stored in a character memory and a predetermined memory area of a page memory. Character attribute information for analyzing whether or not grayscale characters or pattern characters need to be generated, and the character attribute determination means determining that grayscale characters or pattern characters need to be generated. Then, the result of the logical product operation by the logical product operation means and the predetermined memory of the page memory are stored in the logical sum operation means. The switching control is performed so that the logical sum operation with the memory area is performed, and when the character attribute determining unit determines that generation of a grayscale character or a pattern character is not necessary, the dot image of the character stored in the character memory is stored in the logical OR calculating unit. Switching control means for performing switching control so as to perform a logical OR operation with a predetermined memory area of the page memory.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration.
1 is a CPU (central processing unit) for controlling and managing the entire system, 2 is a vector font memory storing character outline information as vector information, and 3 is the CP
U1 is a work memory used as a work area for holding a program executed and data processing, and 4 is a character forming means for forming and processing characters.
Are electrically connected. 6, a page memory for storing one page of dot image data to be printed;
Reference numeral denotes a print control unit for sequentially reading data from the page memory 6 and transferring the data to the monochrome printing device 8 while maintaining synchronization.

As shown in FIG. 3, the character forming means 4 includes a character memory 41 for storing characters developed into dot images in units of one character based on outline information of the vector font memory 2; 2, a vector font rasterize 42 for developing a character designated on the character memory 41 as a dot image based on the outline information 2; a pattern table 43 storing various pattern data corresponding to character attribute information; A pattern reading means 44 for reading pattern data corresponding to the designated character attribute information is provided. In the pattern table 43, two types of pattern tables for color and hatch are prepared. One entry in each pattern table has 16 bits × 16 bits (32 bytes).
Is stored. The size of one entry is changed according to the resolution of the printing device 8 and the printing method.

The logical AND operation of the pattern data read by the pattern reading means 44 and the dot image of the character stored in the character memory 41 is performed.
The AND operation means 45 for storing the operation result in the character memory 41, the character of the operation result of the AND operation means 45 stored in the character memory 41 and the character of this operation result on the page memory 6 are written. Logical OR operation with a predetermined memory area and logic between a character expanded by the vector font rasterization 42 stored in the character memory 41 and a predetermined memory area in the page memory 6 where the character of this operation result is written A logical sum operation means 46 for performing a sum operation is provided. Further, a character attribute determining unit 47 that analyzes the designated character attribute information and determines whether or not a grayscale character or a pattern character needs to be generated. The character attribute determining unit 47 needs to generate a grayscale character or a pattern character. When the determination is made, the changeover switch 48 is set to the contact 48a so that the logical sum operation means 46 performs the logical sum operation of the logical product operation result by the logical product operation means 45 and a predetermined memory area of the page memory 6. Side, and the character attribute determining means 47 is controlled.
Determines that it is not necessary to generate a grayscale character or a pattern character, the logical sum operation means 46 determines whether the character expanded by the vector font rasterization 42 stored in the character memory 41 and the predetermined memory in the page memory 6 Switching control means 49 is provided for switching the changeover switch 48 to the contact 48b side so as to perform a logical OR operation with the area.

Referring to character attribute information, FIG. 2 shows a memory configuration for storing character attribute information. A memory area 51 stores three types of fill style information of color, hatch, and user pattern by designating character attributes. Either is stored, color value information is stored in the memory area 52 when the fill style information is color, and hatch pattern ID information is stored in the memory area 53 when the fill style information is hatch.
When the fill style information is a user pattern, designated pattern data is stored.

When a color is designated as the fill style information, the character to be drawn is stored in the memory area 5.
2, the inside of the outline of the character is painted with a pattern corresponding to the color value stored in 2. If a hatch is specified as the fill style information,
The character to be drawn fills the inside of the outline of the character with a pattern corresponding to the value of the hatch pattern ID stored in the memory area 53. When a user pattern is specified as the fill style information, the character to be drawn fills the inside of the outline of the character with the bit pattern of the specified pattern data stored in the memory area 54.

The field of the memory area 52 is divided into three, each of which indicates the luminance of a primary color. That is, RGB indicating red information, green information, and blue information
Stores the value. In the RGB values, the value 0 indicates the lowest luminance, and the value 255 indicates the highest luminance. And this R
The luminance is calculated from the GB value, and the corresponding pattern data is read from the pattern table 43.

The hatch pattern ID of the memory area 53
For example, "1" is a horizontal hatch, "2" is a vertical hatch, "3" is a hatch rising 45 degrees to the right, "4" is a hatch falling 45 degrees to the right, and "5" is a vertical and horizontal cross hatch. It is defined as follows. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a character forming process by the character forming means 4, and this process is performed first in step S.
At step 1, the character code to be expanded is passed to the vector font rasterizer 42. Subsequently, at step S2, the character memory size required for the vector font rasterizer 42 to expand the designated character into bitmap data is determined. Calculate and secure the character memory 41 from the work memory 3. Next, in step S3, the vector font rasterize 42 obtains the outline information of the designated character from the vector font memory 2, and develops the bitmap on the character memory 41 secured in step S2. Fill the inside of the outline of. Note that the fill is data "1"
Execute by writing.

Next, at step S4, the character attribute determining means 47 determines whether or not a grayscale character or a pattern character needs to be generated, and passes the determination result to the switching control means 49. When it is determined that grayscale characters or pattern characters need to be generated, the switching control means 49 switches the switch 48 to the contact 48a side. Then, in step S5, the filling style information in the character attribute information is checked, and based on the result, the pattern reading means 44 reads the corresponding pattern data from the pattern table 43.

Here, the process of reading pattern data from the pattern table 43 by the pattern reading means 44 will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of a pattern table referred to by the pattern reading means 44 when the fill style information is color. When the fill style information is color, the number of entries is 256.
Is prepared. Each entry is 16
It is data of bits × 16 bits.

Now, the paint style information of the character attribute information is color, the color value is red value R is "31", and the green value G is
Is "17" and the blue value B is "80", the numerical value is obtained by substituting this numerical value into the following equation. (9 × G + 5 × R + 2 × B) / 16 That is, (9 × 17 + 5 × 31 + 2 × 80) / 16 is 29.

This equation is called luminance calculation, and the calculated value is a value from 0 to 255. The numerical value obtained by this formula becomes the index of the pattern table. In the pattern table of FIG. 5, 10110000100000100 :: 000000100001000111 Even when the fill style information is a hatch, each entry of the pattern table is the same as in the color style. 16 bits × 16 bits of data are stored.
Then, the numerical value stored as the hatch pattern ID of the character attribute information becomes the index of the pattern table. When the fill style information is a user pattern, the data stored as the specified pattern data of the character attribute information as the pattern data is the pattern data.

Subsequently, in step S6, the AND operation of the one-character bitmap data stored in the character memory 41 by the AND operation unit 45 and the pattern data read by the pattern reading unit 44 is performed. The result is stored in the character memory 41. Then, in step S7, it is determined whether the logical product operation of all the bitmap data and the pattern data in the character memory 41 has been completed, and the process of step S6 is repeated until the operation is completed.

When the logical AND operation of all the bitmap data and the pattern data in the character memory 41 is completed,
In step S8, the logical sum operation means 46 stores the bitmap data after the logical product operation stored in the character memory 41 and a predetermined memory area on the page memory 6 where the contents of the character memory 41 are written. And the result is stored in a predetermined memory area of the page memory 6. If it is determined in step S4 that the generation of grayscale characters or pattern characters is not necessary, the switching control means 49 switches the changeover switch 48 to the contact 48b. At this time,
A process of reading pattern data from the pattern table 43 by the pattern reading means 44 and a logical product operation means 45
In step S8, the logical sum operation means 46 performs the logical sum operation processing on the character memory 41 on the page memory 6 with the bitmap data directly expanded on the character memory 41 by the vector font rasterizing 42. A logical OR operation is performed with a predetermined memory area where the contents are written, and the result is stored in a predetermined memory area of the page memory 6.

As described above, when it is necessary to generate a grayscale character or a pattern character, the vector font rasterizing 42 compares the bitmap data developed in the character memory 41 with the pattern data read from the pattern table 43 by the pattern reading means 44. After performing the logical product operation, the logical product calculation result and the page memory 6
By performing a logical sum operation with a predetermined memory area in which the contents of the character memory 41 are written to generate characters, grayscale characters or pattern character generation processing is simplified and speeded up. Can be.

When it is not necessary to generate grayscale characters or pattern characters, such as black characters, the pattern reading means 44 reads pattern data from the pattern table 43 and the logical product operation means 45 performs logical product operation. Is performed, and only the logical sum operation of the bitmap data developed in the character memory 41 by the vector font rasterization 42 and the predetermined memory area in the page memory 6 where the contents of the character memory 41 are written is performed, and Since the generation is performed, the character generation processing is further simplified, and the speed can be further increased.

In the above-described embodiment, a case where a monochrome printing device is used as an output device has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and can be applied to a case where a monochrome display device is used. .

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is suitable for a display device or a printing device for monochrome output, and can speed up the formation of grayscale characters and pattern characters. The speed can be further increased for characters that do not require halftone processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an overall configuration showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a memory configuration for storing character attribute information according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a character forming unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a character forming process by a character forming unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view for explaining processing of reading pattern data from a pattern table in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CPU (Central processing unit) 2 ... Vector font memory 4 ... Character formation means 6 ... Page memory 41 ... Character memory 42 ... Vector font rasterizer 43 ... Pattern table 44 ... Pattern reading means 45 ... Logical product operation means 46 ... Logical sum Calculation means 47 ... Character attribute determination means 48 ... Changeover switch 49 ... Switching control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G09G 5/00 520 B41J 3/12 G 5/30 610 G06F 15/72 355U

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vector font memory that stores character outline information, a page memory that stores data to be displayed or printed as dot information in page units, and a vector font memory that stores outline information and specified character attribute information of the vector font memory. Character forming means for generating a character as a dot image on the page memory based on the character information. The character forming means stores a character developed into a dot image in character units based on outline information of the vector font memory. A character memory, a pattern table storing various pattern data corresponding to character attribute information, and a vector font rasterizer that develops a character in a dot image on the character memory based on outline information of the vector font memory, Pattern reading means for reading pattern data corresponding to the designated character attribute information from the pattern table, and logic for performing an AND operation on the pattern data read by the pattern reading means and the dot image of the character stored in the character memory. AND operation means, AND operation of the AND operation result by the AND operation means with a predetermined memory area of the page memory, and a dot image of a character stored in the character memory and a predetermined memory area of the page memory. OR operation means for performing an OR operation of the above, character attribute determination means for analyzing designated character attribute information and determining whether or not generation of grayscale characters and pattern characters is necessary, and this character attribute determination means The logical sum operation means when it is determined that generation of a scale character or a pattern character is necessary Control to perform a logical sum operation between the logical product operation result by the logical product operation means and a predetermined memory area of the page memory, and the character attribute determination means needs to generate grayscale characters and pattern characters. Switching control means for controlling the logical sum operation means to perform a logical sum operation between the dot image of the character stored in the character memory and a predetermined memory area of the page memory when it is determined that the logical sum operation is not performed. A character forming device characterized by the above.