JP2000010962A - Automatic conversion device for horizontal and vertical characters and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To automatically select and convert horizontally written characters and vertically written characters. A character LT constituting a character string LS is provided.
A device for automatically converting between horizontally written characters and vertically written characters, wherein the inclination angle α of the character LT and the inclination angle of the character string LS when the inclination angle of a straight line extending horizontally from left to right is set to 0 ° β is detected, and a difference (α−β) between the inclination angles α and β is obtained. When the difference (α−β) is equal to or more than the negative predetermined angle A and equal to or less than the positive predetermined angle B, the character string The character LT in the LS is determined to be a horizontal writing character, otherwise, it is determined to be a vertical writing character, and a horizontal writing character or a vertical writing character is assigned to the character LT according to the determination.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically converting horizontally written characters and vertically written characters in a word processor or the like and a recording medium.

In recent years, word processors have dramatically improved the expressiveness of documents, and have been used in many business and private situations. In addition, it is equipped with various functions such as drawing, spreadsheet, graph creation, formula creation, etc., not only for documents mainly, but also for presentation materials mainly for graphics or advertisement and materials creation by pop art, etc. Used for a wide range of applications.

[0003] In response to such improvements in expressiveness and functions, it is desired to further improve the efficiency of character input.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters as types of characters that can be input by a word processor. For example, the position or orientation of the character in the font matrix differs depending on whether the character string is written horizontally or horizontally, such as reading marks, punctuation marks, murmurs, long sounds, and the like.

Conventionally, selection of either horizontal writing characters or vertical writing characters is manually performed by an operator performing key operations for selection. For example, after the operator inputs the reading of characters, the horizontal key or vertical key is displayed by pressing the conversion key an appropriate number of times, and when the desired character appears, the operator presses the enter key. determine. Or, when the operator inputs the reading of the character, the horizontal character is displayed first, and if the vertical character is necessary, the vertical character is displayed in the window by performing the key operation by the operator, The operator is allowed to select a required character from among them.

In any case, the word processor converts the input characters into either horizontal writing characters or vertical writing characters in accordance with the operator's selection.

[0007]

As described above, in the prior art, after an operator inputs a reading of a character, a key operation for selecting either a horizontal writing character or a vertical writing character is performed. However, efficiency was low in terms of operability.

When character strings are arranged not only in the horizontal or vertical direction but also in an oblique direction as in pop art, it may be unclear which one to select depending on the angle in the oblique direction. There was also a problem of operability in this respect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an apparatus and a recording medium for automatically selecting and converting between horizontally written characters and vertically written characters.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for automatically converting between horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters for a character LT constituting a character string LS,
Means for detecting the inclination angle α of the character LT and the inclination angle β of the character string LS when the inclination angle of a straight line extending in the horizontal direction from left to right is set to 0 degree, and the difference between the inclination angles α and β Means for determining (α-β), and when the difference (α-β) is equal to or greater than the negative predetermined angle A and equal to or less than the positive predetermined angle B, the character in the character string LS is a horizontal character. And means for judging that the character is a vertical writing character otherwise, and means for assigning a horizontal writing character or a vertical writing character to the character in accordance with the determination.

In the apparatus according to the present invention, the inclination angle β of the character string LS is the inclination angle of a straight line connecting the reference coordinate position SP of the character LT and the reference coordinate position SP of the next character LT. Used.

In the apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the predetermined angle A is -45 degrees, and the predetermined angle B is 45 degrees. A recording medium according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a recording medium that stores a program for automatically converting between horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters for characters LT forming a character string LS, from left to right. A function of detecting the inclination angle α of the character LT and the inclination angle β of the character string LS when the inclination angle of the straight line extending in the horizontal direction is set to 0 degree, and the difference between the inclination angles α and β (α−β ) And the difference (α−
β) is equal to or greater than the negative predetermined angle A and equal to or less than the positive predetermined angle B, the character LT in the character string LS
A function that determines that the character is a horizontal writing character, otherwise determines that the character is a vertical writing character, and according to the determination, a function that assigns a horizontal writing character or a vertical writing character to the character,
Is a computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to realize the above is recorded.

The apparatus according to the present invention is realized using, for example, a personal computer or a workstation. A program for realizing the device according to the present invention includes:
It is stored in a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, or a magneto-optical disk. The program stored in the recording medium is loaded on the main memory as appropriate and executed by the processing device. At that time, a drive device such as a CD-ROM drive, a floppy disk drive, or a magneto-optical disk drive is used as necessary. When the recording medium is provided in a server connected by a communication line such as a network, the program is read or downloaded from the server through the communication line. When the program is transferred to the processing device via a communication line,
The communication line itself also corresponds to a recording medium. The programs can be supplied to operate under various OSs, platforms, system environments, or network environments.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a computer system 1 using an automatic conversion device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of a word processor WP. In the following, the word processor WP
The file created by the function is described as a “document”. "Document" includes text data, image data,
Control data and various other data can be included.

In FIG. 1, a computer system 1
Are a processing device 10, a magnetic disk device 11, a floppy disk device 12, a CD-ROM device 13, and a display device 1.
4, printer device 15, keyboard 16, and mouse 1
7 and the like.

The processing unit 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit), a memory, a modem, a sound source, various interface circuits, and other peripheral circuits (not shown). As a memory, a ROM storing a BIOS or the like, an RA used as a main memory or a cache memory.
M and a video RAM.

The magnetic disk device 11 includes various OSs, various device drivers, various application programs including word processing software, a program for realizing the automatic conversion apparatus according to the present invention, and various other programs and programs. Data is stored. Those programs or data are loaded into the main memory at appropriate times.

Floppy disk drive 12 and CD-R
Recording media corresponding to the respective OM devices 13 are set, and reading or writing of programs or data is performed as appropriate.

The display device 14 displays input or edited characters, character strings, line drawings, graphics, and various other images on the display surface HG. Printer device 15
Prints the content displayed on the display surface HG and other various data or images in accordance with the command. Keyboard 16
The mouse 17 is used to input various data such as characters, character strings, and line drawings, or to input various commands.

The processing device 10 functions as a word processor WP by executing a program. The word processor WP has a kana-kanji conversion unit 31,
An editing unit 32, a vertical and horizontal detection unit 33, a font unit 34, and a document storage unit 35 are provided.

The kana-kanji conversion section 31 refers to the font section 34, converts the reading of characters input from the keyboard 16 into kana-mixed kanji, and creates a document composed of the converted characters or character strings. At this time, the vertical / horizontal detecting unit 33
Automatically converts each character into either a horizontal writing character or a vertical writing character based on the vertical and horizontal information DF1. The created document is temporarily stored in the document storage unit 35.

The editing unit 32 displays the document once created on the display surface HG, and performs various editing based on commands from the keyboard 16 and the mouse 17. Also at the time of editing, based on the vertical and horizontal information DF1 from the vertical and horizontal detection unit 33,
Automatically convert each character to either horizontal or vertical.

The vertical / horizontal detecting unit 33 determines whether the input character is a horizontal writing character or a vertical writing character based on the inclination angle of the character and the character string, and obtains the vertical / horizontal information DF1 as a result. Is output.

The font section 34 stores fonts for various typefaces. For characters having horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters, both fonts are stored. The document storage unit 35 stores the created or edited document.

FIG. 3 shows horizontal writing characters HL and vertical writing characters LL.
FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating examples of the inclination of the character string LS, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of detecting the inclination of the character string LS.

As shown in FIG. 3, horizontally written characters HL1 to HL4
The vertical writing characters LL1 to LL4 have the same or similar shapes of the characters themselves, but differ in the position or orientation of the characters in the font matrix.

FIG. 4 shows character strings LS1 to LS6 of "word processor". The character string LS1 extends in the horizontal direction (horizontal direction) from left to right as a whole, and the inclination angle β in this case is 0 degree. The inclination angle β is measured in the counterclockwise direction (counterclockwise direction). Where 0 degrees ≦ β
≤ 360 degrees. Then, the character string LS2 has an inclination angle β of about 45 degrees, and the character string LS3 has an inclination angle β of about 80 degrees.
Degrees. In addition, the character strings LS4, 5, 6 have the inclination angle β
Are about 330 degrees, about 300 degrees, and about 270 degrees, respectively.

Further, in the character strings LS1 to LS6 shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal writing characters HL are used except for the characters "-" and "tsu". The characters "-" and "tsu" use the horizontal writing character HL or the vertical writing character LL depending on the inclination angle β of the character string LS (this is actually the inclination angle β of each character as described later). Have been.

In FIG. 5, the inclination angles β of the character strings LS7, LS8, and LS9 are 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees. FIG. 6A shows a character string LS11 composed of eight characters LT1 to 8 called "word processor". In each of the characters LT1 to LT8, the lower left point of the font matrix is the respective reference coordinate position SP. The above-described inclination angle β of the character string LS is strictly defined for each character LT. That is, for each character LT, it is defined as the inclination angle of the straight line connecting the reference coordinate position SP of the character LT and the reference coordinate position SP of the next character LT with respect to the horizontal line. For the last character LT, the inclination angle β is determined based on a straight line connected to the immediately preceding character LT.

For each character LT, a tilt angle α of the character itself is defined. The inclination angle α is an angle between the lower side of the font matrix of the character LT and the horizontal line, and is measured in the counterclockwise direction (counterclockwise direction).

In the characters LT1 to LT8 shown in FIG. 6A, both the inclination angles α and β are 0 degrees. In the character string LS12 shown in FIG. 6B, the inclination angle α of each of the characters LT1 to LT3 is 0 degree, and the inclination angle β is about 20 degrees. In the character string LS13 shown in FIG. 6C, the inclination angles α and β of the characters LT1 to LT5 are all different.

For the input characters LT, the inclination angles α and β can be detected from the arrangement angle and arrangement position of the font. The vertical / horizontal detecting unit 33 determines whether the character is a horizontal writing character or a vertical writing character based on these inclination angles α and β. In making the determination, A and B are set to predetermined angles, and the following (1)
When the condition of A ≦ (α−β) ≦ B (1) is satisfied, the character LT is replaced with the horizontal writing character HL.
If the condition is not satisfied, the character LT is assumed to be a vertical writing character LL. This determination result is output as vertical and horizontal information DF1.

In the character strings LS1 to LS6 shown in FIG. 4, the characters LT32, 37, 52, 57, 62, and 67 are determined to be vertical writing characters LL, and the vertical writing characters LL are used. In the character strings LS1, 7 to 9 shown in FIG. 5, all the characters LT are determined to be horizontal writing characters HL, and the horizontal writing characters HL are used.

In the above example, the predetermined angle A is -45 degrees and the predetermined angle B is 45 degrees. However, the predetermined angles A and B can be variously changed. For example, the combination of the predetermined angles A and B is defined as -50 and 50,-
40 and 40, -35 and 55, -60 and 55, or other angles. Further, as the inequality sign in the equation (1), the elimination sign can be used.

Next, the processing operation of the word processor WP will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the overall processing of the word processor WP, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the vertical / horizontal conversion processing.

In FIG. 7, a character LT is input (# 1).
1) When a conversion command is input (# 12), if the character LT needs vertical / horizontal conversion (Yes in # 13), vertical / horizontal conversion processing is performed (# 14), and vertical / horizontal conversion is not required Is converted to kanji if necessary (# 1
5).

In FIG. 8, in the vertical / horizontal conversion process,
The inclination angles α and β of the character LT and the character string LS are detected (# 21). Depending on whether the above equation (1) is satisfied or not (#
22), a vertical writing character LL is allocated (# 23), or a horizontal writing character HL is allocated (# 24).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a form of a recording medium ST on which a program for automatically converting horizontally written characters and vertically written characters is recorded. As shown in FIG.
Storage device STA such as a main memory, a RAM, a ROM, or a hard disk, a portable medium STB such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, or a magneto-optical disk, a server connected to a network or a communication line STD, or a DASD. Line destination medium STC,
Alternatively, the communication line STD itself can be used as the recording medium ST.

When the recording medium ST is a portable medium STB, the program is read by a drive device corresponding to the type of the portable medium STB and stored in the storage device STA of the processing device PS or stored in the main memory. Loaded and executed. When the recording medium ST is the line destination medium STC, the program is downloaded to the storage device STA via the communication line STD, or is transferred and executed at appropriate times. The programs can be supplied to operate under various OSs, platforms, system environments, or network environments.

According to the computer system 1 described above,
When used as a word processor WP, the character LT input from the keyboard 16 is automatically determined to be a horizontal writing character HL or a vertical writing character LL, and the horizontal writing character HL or the vertical writing character LL is determined based on the determination result. Is automatically selected. Therefore, the operability is extremely good and the efficiency is good.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the present invention is applied to the word processor WP for inputting a reading and converting it into kanji mixed with kana. However, the present invention can also be applied to a word processor which does not change kanji. . In addition to the word processor WP, CAD, spreadsheet software, etc.
The present invention can be applied to various processes or devices involving input of characters. Further, the present invention can be applied as an independent package that outputs the vertical / horizontal information DF1 separately from other functions such as a word processor.

In the above-described embodiment, the configurations and processing contents of the computer system 1 and the word processor WP
The processing order, operation timing, and the like can be appropriately changed according to the purpose of the present invention.

[0043]

According to the present invention, horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters can be automatically selected and converted, thereby improving operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a computer system using an automatic conversion device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions of a word processor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating examples of horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of inclination of a character string.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of inclination of a character string.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of detecting the inclination of a character string.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the entire processing of the word processor.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a vertical / horizontal conversion process.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a form of a recording medium on which a program according to the present invention is recorded.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Computer System 33 Vertical and Horizontal Detector WP Word Processor (Automatic Converter) LT Character LS Character String HL Horizontal Character LL Vertical Character SP Reference Coordinate Position STA, STB, STC, STD Recording Medium

Claims (4)

[Claims] An apparatus for automatically converting between horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters for characters constituting a character string, wherein the inclination angle of a straight line extending horizontally from left to right is set to 0 degree. Means for detecting the inclination angle α of the character and the inclination angle β of the character string; means for calculating the difference (α-β) between the inclination angles α and β; When the angle is equal to or greater than the angle A and equal to or less than the positive predetermined angle B, the character in the character string is determined to be a horizontal writing character, and otherwise, the character is determined to be a vertical writing character. Means for allocating a horizontally written character or a vertically written character to the character according to the above. An automatic conversion device for horizontally written characters and vertically written characters, comprising: 2. A horizontally written character and a vertically written character according to claim 1, wherein an inclination angle of a straight line connecting a reference coordinate position of the character and a reference coordinate position of a next character is used as the inclination angle β of the character string. Automatic conversion device. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle A is −45 degrees, and the predetermined angle B is 45 degrees. 4. A recording medium on which a program for automatically converting between horizontal writing characters and vertical writing characters is recorded for characters constituting a character string, wherein the inclination angle of a straight line extending horizontally from left to right. A function of detecting the inclination angle α of the character and the inclination angle β of the character string in the case where is set to 0 degree; a function of calculating a difference (α−β) between the inclination angles α and β; If -β) is equal to or greater than the negative predetermined angle A and equal to or less than the positive predetermined angle B, the character in the character string is determined to be a horizontal writing character, otherwise, it is determined to be a vertical writing character. And a function of assigning a horizontally written character or a vertically written character to the character in accordance with the determination.