JP2669539B2 - Character output method and character output device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a character output method and a character output device in a printing system or a word processor. In particular, it relates to the printing and display of Japanese character strings.

[Conventional technology]

A character output method in a conventional printing system or a word processor and a character pattern portion in the character frame in which the size and position of the character pattern with respect to the character frame are determined for each character in these character output devices (this is called a character surface). The size and position of the font is determined as a font pattern that is determined in consideration of the nature of the pattern of each character and the balance of multiple characters in the same font when designing a font that is a character set that includes the character pattern. Determine.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above-described conventional technology, the size and position of each character pattern in the same font are designed so that the characters in the font can be sensed in a well-balanced manner when the characters in the font are arranged. However, it is actually difficult to define a character pattern that feels well-balanced. That is, a character with the exact same pattern, depending on its adjacent character, may be felt in one case to be the right size, in another case to be oversized, and in another case to be smaller. Can be. (A) of FIG.
In (b), the character pattern of "Ta" is the same, but (a)
The character string of (1) is felt to have an appropriate size, and the character string of (b) is felt to be small.

For this solution, a method of using character patterns of different sizes cannot be adopted. This is because, for characters of different sizes, the widths of the character frames are different, and the assignment as a character string is impaired. FIG. 5 is an example showing it. Character pattern of "ta" in Fig. 5 (a)
(B) is an example in which a character pattern of a larger size is used to solve the problem that 501 is too small.
The character pattern 502 of “Ta” in (b) has a good balance with other characters when only its size is compared, but since the character size itself is large, the placement position of the next character “Sa” moves to the right. It has shifted. That is,
A method of directly using a character pattern of another size cannot be adopted to solve the above problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem, when outputting a character pattern string of a character frame of a specified size, enabling the size and position of the character pattern in the character frame to be changed, and allowing adjacent characters to be changed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a character output method and a character output device capable of performing this change in accordance with such conditions as above, and always providing a well-balanced character pattern output irrespective of conditions such as a character arrangement.

[Means for solving the problem]

The above object is to provide a means for storing a character pattern in a character script and enlarging or reducing the character pattern. When outputting the character in a character string to be output, the character pattern of the character is extracted from the character script and the specified size is obtained. After obtaining the character pattern, it is determined whether or not the character pattern needs to be further scaled, and if necessary, it is performed by the scaling means described above.
This is achieved by arranging the pattern in the area of the output character pattern in accordance with the arrangement position information in the character writing according to the enlargement / reduction ratio.

[Action]

The character script stores a code representing a character type for each character, a coordinate group of skeleton points or contour points of a stroke of a character representing a display pattern, and positional information of an arrangement reference point of a character pattern in a character frame. . It is also possible for the character book to hold this for each character size. The means for enlarging / reducing the character pattern is to transform the character pattern based on the character pattern read from the character book by conventional graphic processing.
The character code is used to search for and extract the character pattern to be processed from the character pattern group stored in the character script, while the character size determines the size of the output character frame and Used to select a character pattern. The position information of the character pattern arrangement reference point in the character letter book determines the position of the character frame in the character line of the designated size. Means for determining the arrangement position correction value of the character pattern determines the amount of movement when the character pattern is moved so that the character pattern after scaling can be arranged in a character frame of the output size with good balance. The condition for changing the character pattern determines the changing method and the presence / absence of the change. These conditions include the codes of adjacent characters and the characters to be output, the nature of the character pattern, or the character set to be changed. The reference value information of the character pattern property used as the change condition is information serving as a reference for determining a character pattern changing method of the character by comparing this with the property of the output target character pattern.

As described above, since the change at the time of character output is limited to the change of the character pattern in the character frame, the character frame itself can be arranged at a predetermined position, thereby maintaining the allocation as a character string and A beautifully balanced output result can be obtained.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the Japanese word processor. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a processing device, reference numeral 202 denotes a keyboard, and reference numeral 20 denotes a keyboard.
3 is a display, 204 is a printer, 205 is a disk storage device, and 206 is a main memory. The disk storage device 205 stores a character output program and a character book containing a basic character pattern of each character. The character output program is stored in the main storage from the disk storage device 205.
It is read into the memory 206 and executed by the processing device 201. The program reads an output character size, a character code string, and various commands for a character string to be output from the keyboard 202 and displays the input value on the display 203. This program reads the character pattern of the designated character code from the disk storage device 205. On this occasion,
If the character pattern holds a character pattern for each character size, the character pattern of the specified size is extracted. On the other hand,
If the character pattern holds a character pattern of a standard size, a character pattern of a designated size is created based on this. In this way, after obtaining the character pattern of the specified size, this program actually changes only the character pattern in the character frame according to the conditions, generates a changed character pattern, and puts it on the output character pattern string. It is arranged and output to the display 203 or the printer 204.

Details of the operation of this program will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character output program of the present invention executed by the processing device 201 of FIG.

The character pattern holding format of the character script according to the present embodiment is a so-called skeletal character method having a character pattern as a combination of three types of information such as the type of each stroke of a character, a skeleton point sequence of the stroke, and parameters such as thickness. And
An example of this method is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-58263. The skeletal character system will be described with reference to FIG. In the skeletal character method, a character pattern is expressed by a combination of some basic patterns, and this basic pattern is called a stroke. It is said that in the case of kanji, if there are about 16 types of strokes, all character patterns can be expressed by their combination. The pattern in Fig. 7 is one of the strokes that make up the kanji.
"Left-payment". “Left payment” is a stroke that moves the brush from the top to the lower left, and is used, for example, in the first stroke portion of the character “I” with the character “rest”. As the information of the character letter book, three types of information such as a type of each stroke constituting a character, a skeleton point sequence of the stroke, and parameters such as a thickness are held. In the figure, S ₁ , S ₂ , and S ₃ indicate skeleton points. The skeletal points are represented by Cartesian coordinates (X, Y) with the origin at the lower left corner of the character frame. The contour feature points P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ , P ₅ , and P ₆ specific to the stroke type are generated from the positions of these skeleton points and the parameters W ₁ , W ₂ , W _{3 of the} thickness. Let The outline of the stroke is created by connecting these outline feature points with a line such as a straight line, a spline curve, or a Bezier curve according to the stroke type, and an outline pattern is generated by painting the interior. A pattern of one character is created by combining the outline patterns of the strokes generated in this manner. As a method of enlarging / reducing a character pattern in the skeleton character method, a method of enlarging / reducing a skeleton pattern and then generating a contour pattern can be considered. That is, the coordinates (X, Y) of each skeleton point are multiplied by the character pattern enlargement / reduction rate n to perform the scaling of the coordinates. As a result, (nX, nY) is obtained as the skeleton point coordinates, and the desired size is obtained. This is a method for obtaining skeleton pattern information. As for the thickness parameter, the thickness of a character having a desired size can be obtained by multiplying a constant determined by the character pattern enlargement / reduction ratio n in the same manner as described above.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a process of reading a code of an output character, a code of an adjacent character, and a character size S of an output character, and reference numeral 102 denotes a character size and character code of the output character in a character / character reading unit. On the other hand, a process of obtaining coordinates P _i (X _i , Y _i ) (where 1 ≦ i ≦ the number of skeleton points) and a character arrangement position r of each skeleton point of the given character pattern. Reference numeral 103 denotes a character using the output character code as a key. A process of retrieving a script and reading the black background density B of the output character pattern. Reference numeral 104 denotes a process of determining whether or not the output character code is included in the character pattern change table and branching according to the result. 105
Is a process for searching for a character writing book by using the adjacent character code as a key and reading the black background density C of the adjacent character pattern when the determination result of the process 104 is 4'Yes'. Reference numeral 106 is a character pattern black background of the output character. A process 107 for obtaining a ratio m between the density B and the character pattern black background density C of the adjacent character, a process 107 for reading the minimum value K of the character pattern enlargement / reduction condition, and a process 108
Whether or not the output character pattern needs to be scaled,
A process 109 for determining based on the m and K obtained above, and reference numeral 109 denotes a character pattern enlargement / reduction ratio of an output character based on the black background density m obtained in the process 106 when the determination result of the process 108 is “Yes”. n is a process for determining n, 110 is a process for temporarily retreating the skeleton point coordinates of the character pattern, 111 is a process for scaling the coordinates of the skeleton point of the character pattern by the magnification n determined in the process 109, 112 Is the X-axis direction arrangement position correction value required for character pattern movement accompanying character pattern enlargement / reduction.
The process of determining dx based on the character size S and the character pattern enlargement / reduction ratio n determined in process 109, reference numeral 113,
Similar to the processing 112, the processing for determining the arrangement position correction value dy in the Y-axis direction based on the character arrangement position r and the character pattern enlargement / reduction rate n. Reference numeral 114 denotes the correction value of the correction value determined in the processing 112 and the processing 113. The process of moving the skeleton point coordinates of the character pattern by the amount, reference numeral 115 is a process of determining whether or not there is even one skeleton point protruding from the output character frame due to the movement of process 114, and reference numeral 116 is a determination of process 115. If the result is'Yes',
A process of restoring the skeleton point coordinates of the character pattern to the value saved in the process 110, reference numeral 117 indicates a case where the determination result of the process 104 is'No 'and a determination result of the process 108 is'No' If the determination result of step 115 is 'No', and
This is a process executed after 6 to generate a contour based on the coordinates P _i (X _i , Y _i ) of the skeletal points determined for each, generate a character turn, and arrange it in the output character frame.

The character size read in the process 101 gives the output character frame size. The process 102 gives this character size and character code to the character reading unit. If there is a character pattern of the size in the written character, the document reading unit returns it, and if not, the character reading unit enlarges or reduces the character size and returns it. The character pattern returned here is a series of skeleton point coordinates P _i (X _i , Y _i ) of the character stroke represented by rectangular coordinates with the origin at the lower left corner of the character frame. It is possible to generate a stroke contour and a character output pattern from this by a method such as Japanese Patent Application No. 59-58263. Next, the character arrangement position r in the processing 102 is arrangement information necessary for allocating a character frame to a line, and here, a line of Y = r on the character frame is arranged on the base line of the output line on the premise of horizontal writing output. It indicates what should be done. The next character pattern black background density will be described later. In process 104,
Only when the character code exists in the character pattern change table with reference to the character pattern change table, it is determined to enlarge or reduce the character pattern. In the case of a character font that has undergone a normal design, the type of character that requires character pattern deformation, which is the object of this patent, is only a small part of the character in the character font. In the change table, for example, “day”, “eye”,
Since the design of characters such as "ta" is relatively simple, it is one method to have a character code group that changes the appearance of the size of the character pattern in relation to adjacent characters. This table can be updated separately. The processes 105 to 116 are the main part of the character pattern changing process, and will be specifically described later. In the process 117, a character pattern is generated using a conventional skeleton type character pattern generation technique and is arranged in the output line.

Here, a specific example of the character pattern changing method will be described with reference to FIG. The necessity of this change has already been described with reference to FIG. "Field" appearing in each of Fig. 3 (a) and (b)
Is exactly the same character pattern but the adjacent characters are different, so that it is felt that (a) is an appropriate size and (b) is too small. Therefore, the character pattern 301 of “ta” in FIG. 4 (b) is enlarged while the character pattern 301 of “ta” in FIG. 3 (b) is preserved while maintaining the character frame size. The other three character patterns in FIG. 4 are the same as the corresponding character patterns in FIG. Here, the enlargement ratio of the character pattern 401 of "Ta" in FIG. 4 (b) is the same as the black background density value of the character pattern 303 of "Take" and the character pattern 301 of "Ta" in FIG. 3 (b). It is calculated by ratio. When a character pattern is enlarged or reduced, the character arrangement position, which is a position to be arranged in accordance with the base line on the output line, is usually enlarged or reduced accordingly. However, in this case, since it is desired to save the character frame size and enlarge or reduce only the character pattern in the character frame size, it is necessary to adjust the character arrangement position after the enlargement or reduction. This adjustment amount is the arrangement position correction value. The method of determining this value will be described later.

Next, the character pattern change processing from processing 105 to processing 116 in FIG. 1 will be described more specifically. In FIG. 1, the character pattern is changed based on the black background density, which is one of the pieces of information representing the characteristics of the character pattern. The black background density of the character pattern is represented by the ratio of the number of dots on the character output pattern to the total number of dots in the character frame. The density of the black background is stored in advance in a character script, so that
It is possible to search by a character code such as 102. now,
As a result obtained in the process 102, it is assumed that the black background density B of the character pattern "T" is 31%. On the other hand, it is assumed that the black background density C of the adjacent character “take” 303 that has already been output is obtained as 32.8% in the processing 105. As a result, the ratio m between the adjacent characters and the black background density of the characters is 32.8 / 39, and m ≈ 1.058
Is required. In this embodiment, the absolute value of m−1, that is, | m
When −1 | exceeds a certain range, character pattern enlargement / reduction processing is performed. It is assumed that the threshold value K is held in the writing, and this is read in step 107. Process 108 determines || (black background density ratio-1) |> K. For example, K = 0.
Assume that it is 04. Then, since | m−1 | ≒ | 1.058−1 | = 0.058> 0.04, the determination in the process 108 is established, so that the character pattern needs to be enlarged or reduced, and the process proceeds to the process 109. In process 109, the enlargement / reduction ratio n of the character pattern is obtained. In this embodiment, this is obtained as the square root of the black background density ratio. That is, n = m ^1/2 . In the next process 110, the skeleton point coordinates P _i (X _i , Y _i ) of the character pattern are saved for all the skeleton points, and the subsequent process 116 is prepared. Now, in process 111, each skeleton point coordinate P _i (X _i , Y _i ) is multiplied by n. Next action 112
In process 113, the arrangement position correction values in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are determined.

Here, the necessity of the arrangement position correction will be specifically described. FIG. 6 illustrates the relationship between the character pattern held in the character writing and the arrangement position information. FIG. 6A shows that the arrangement position r indicates the position on the baseline in the character string area. (B) The point is the character frame of the character "Ta", the character pattern, and the arrangement position r.
The relationship is shown below. In (b), one point P _i (X _i , Y _i ) is displayed as a representative of the skeleton points in the character pattern of “T”. This indicates that the coordinates of the skeleton point P _i are (X _i , Y _i ). Coordinates are expressed in an orthogonal coordinate system whose origin is the lower left corner of the character frame, and the right direction is the positive direction of the X axis and the upward direction is the positive direction of the Y axis. Let P _{i denote} the i-th skeleton point of the character.
By the way, when outputting a character pattern, a base line is set on the output line area, and Y =
The lines of r (r is the value of the arrangement position) are aligned and arranged. Each character pattern is designed in the character frame on the assumption of this. An example in which the character pattern 601 is arranged on the output line is shown in FIG. 6 (e).

Next, referring to FIG. 6, the relationship between the enlargement / reduction of the character pattern and the change of the arrangement position will be described. Character pattern
When 601 is enlarged by the scaling factor n, any skeleton point P _i (X _i , Y _i ) of the character is changed to P _i (nX _i , nY) by the processing 111 in FIG.
_Go to _i ). The resulting character pattern is as shown in FIG. The character frame size is also multiplied by n, and the arrangement position r is also n.
Has been doubled. As described above, it is inconvenient to arrange an output character string that is n times the character frame size. Then, the broken line portion of (c) shows the character frame before transformation as the character frame from the character frame. This character box size is suitable for the purpose of output,
The size of the character pattern portion in it should be appropriate, but the position of the character pattern in the character frame is not appropriate. Therefore, correcting the position of the character pattern in the character frame is the arrangement position correction, and the value indicating the magnitude of the correction in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is the arrangement position correction value. By moving the character pattern, that is, each skeleton point in parallel in the X-axis and Y-axis directions according to the arrangement position correction value, the character pattern is accommodated at an appropriate position on the character frame of the size shown in FIG. The pattern of d) is obtained. The result of arranging this on the output line is shown in FIG.

Here, the method of determining the arrangement position correction value in the processes 112, 113 and 114 and the arrangement position correction by the method will be described.
When the character size is S, the arrangement position correction value dx in the X-axis direction
Is obtained by dx = S (n-1) / 2. Here, n is the enlargement / reduction ratio obtained in the processing 109. The Y-axis direction correction value dx is obtained as dy = r (n-1). Using the correction values dx and dy, the translation of the character pattern is actually performed in process 114. In the above-mentioned correction value determination, the X-axis direction is obtained from the character size S,
Although the Y-axis direction is obtained from the character arrangement position r, there is also a method of obtaining the correction value in the Y-axis direction from the character size S as in the X-axis direction. In this case, dy = S (n-1) / 2. According to this method, the enlarged / reduced character pattern is arranged at the center in the X-axis and Y-axis directions in the output character frame after the arrangement position is corrected. As one method of outputting a column of a character pattern arranged in the center of the output character frame, a vertical (for example, in vertical writing) or horizontal bisector of the output character frame is represented by a base line on an output line area. There is a method to place them on top of each other. FIG. 6 (g) is an example of this, and shows the result of arranging the horizontal bisector of the output character frame so as to overlap the base line of the output line.

This is the end of the description up to the processing 114 in FIG. Next, a description will be given of how the present embodiment deals with a case where the character pattern exceeds the character frame size by the above-described enlargement / reduction processing (in the case of enlargement). The handling is simple, and the character pattern before scaling is used as it is. The determination of protruding from the character frame is processing 115. If it is determined to be the protrusion, the process proceeds to step 116, the character pattern saved in step 110 is recovered, and the process proceeds to step 117 as an output character pattern. On the other hand, it is'No 'when it is judged as protruding
Is determined, the process proceeds to process 117 using the character pattern resulting from process 114 as an output character pattern.

Processing 117 converts the skeleton points into actual output patterns from the skeleton points based on the output character patterns obtained as described above, and applies the arrangement position to the base line in the output character pattern area. Output.

This is the end of the description of FIG. In the following, an alternative to the method illustrated in FIG. 1 will be briefly described.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the black background density ratio of a character pattern is used as a condition for changing a character pattern. Actually, the following various cases are conceivable as the criteria for this change condition.

(1) Whether to change the character pattern of the character is determined according to the type of the adjacent character. A combination of character codes for which a character pattern is to be changed is set in advance, and the character pattern change is determined by referring to it.

(2) Determined according to the pattern characteristics of adjacent characters.
The properties include the size of the smallest convex polygon that surrounds the character pattern. The size of the smallest convex polygon of the adjacent character is calculated and compared with the value of the character to determine whether or not the character pattern is changed.

(3) A method similar to that of (2) is used for adjacent characters, but a value stored in advance is used instead of being calculated and obtained at the time of output.

(4) A character pattern change necessity flag is set in advance in the script for the character, and the determination is made based on the flag.

(5) A character code group whose character pattern is to be changed is stored in advance, and if the character code is included in the character code group, the character code is changed. Conversely, a method of storing a group of character codes that cannot be changed is also possible.

(6) Using preset information (for example, a value of black background density) as a reference value, comparing this with a value of a corresponding property of the character, and determining whether or not to change the character pattern according to the magnitude relationship. To do.

(7) Determine the character pattern change according to the mode (vertical writing mode, variable pitch mode, etc.) set before the output of the character pattern.

The above alternative method will be described with reference to the drawings. However, since there are many common parts between the alternative method and the processing of FIG. 1, in the following description, the processing peculiar to the alternative method is mainly shown, and the corresponding processing of FIG. 1 is added before and after the processing. It was to be.

In the following, the processes having the same reference numbers as in FIG. 1 are the same.

An example of alternative method (1) is shown in FIG. This processing is the first
This is an alternative from processing 103 to processing 109 in the figure. Reference numeral 801
Is a process of determining whether or not the combination of the code of the output character and the code of the adjacent character is included in the character pattern change table, and branching according to the result; and reference numeral 802, the determination result of the process 801 is 'Yes' In this case, the character pattern enlargement / reduction ratio n of the output character is read from the change table. Process 801
Then, the combination of the character codes to be changed
By referring to the change table containing the character pattern enlargement / reduction rate related thereto, it is decided to enlarge / reduce the character pattern only when there is a combination of the code of the character and the adjacent character in the change table.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the alternative method (2). This processing is the first
This is an alternative from the processing 103 to the processing 106 in the figure. Reference numeral 901
Is a process of calculating the size B of the smallest convex polygon that surrounds the character pattern of the output character, reference numeral 902 is a process of calculating the size C of the smallest convex polygon that surrounds the character pattern of the adjacent character, and reference numeral 903 is the output character And the character pattern minimum convex polygon ratio m of adjacent characters. In process 901, process 1
A minimum convex polygon surrounding the output character pattern is obtained from each skeleton point coordinate of the output character read in 02, and its size B is calculated. Here, the size refers to the area of the convex polygon. In step 902, the size C of the smallest convex polygon that surrounds the adjacent character pattern is calculated from the skeleton point coordinates of the adjacent character. In this case, the skeleton point coordinates of the adjacent character can be obtained from the information stored in advance when outputting the adjacent character.

An example of alternative method (3) is shown in FIG. This processing is an alternative to processing 103 to processing 106 in FIG. Symbol 1001 is
A process of searching a character script using the code of the output character as a key and reading the size B of the minimum convex polygon of the output character pattern;
Reference numeral 1002 is a process for searching a character book by using the code of the adjacent character as a key and reading the size C of the minimum convex polygon of the adjacent character pattern. Reference numeral 1003 is a minimum convex polygon of the character pattern of the output character and the adjacent character. Is a process for obtaining the ratio m of

An example of alternative method (4) is shown in FIG. This process is an alternative to the process 104 in FIG. Reference numeral 1001 is a process for searching a character book by using the output character code as a key, and reading the character pattern change necessity flag F of the output character. Reference numeral 1102 is a process.
Based on the change necessity flag F read in 1101, it is determined whether it is necessary to change the output character pattern, and F = '1'
If so, it is judged that the change is necessary and the process branches to'Yes' and F
If ≠ '1', it is determined that the change is not necessary and the process branches to'No '.

An example of alternative method (5) is shown in FIG. This process is an alternative to the process 104 in FIG. Reference numeral 1201 is a process of determining whether the code of the output character is not included in the character pattern change prohibition table and branching according to the result.
In process 1201, if the output character code is not included in the change prohibition table, it is determined that the character pattern is changed, and the process branches to'Yes'. Conversely, if it is included in the change prohibition table, the character pattern is changed. Judge that there is not, and branch to 'No'.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the alternative method (6). This processing is an alternative to processing 104 to processing 106 in FIG. Reference numeral 1301 indicates
Reference numeral 1302 denotes a process of reading the reference value D of the black background density, and reference numeral 1302 denotes a process of obtaining the ratio m between the character pattern black background density B of the output character and the reference value D of the black background density. As the black background density reference value referred to in the process 1301, a method of using an average value of all the characters included in the character set or an average value obtained from a group of characters output before the processing of the output character is used. is there.

An example of alternative method (7) is shown in FIG. This process is an alternative to the process 104 in FIG. Reference numeral 1401 denotes a process for reading the character pitch mode E, and reference numeral 1402 denotes whether or not the character pitch mode E read in the process 1401 is the variable pitch mode, and branches depending on the result. Processing. In the processing 1402, if the character pitch mode E is the variable pitch mode, it is determined that the character pattern is to be changed, and the processing branches to "Yes". Conversely, if the character pitch mode E is the fixed pitch mode, the character pattern is changed. Judge that the pattern is not changed and branch to'No '.

In the example described in FIG. 1, it is assumed that a character pattern of a reference size or various sizes is held in a character script, and a plurality of character patterns of the same character code are not held for the same character frame size. It is assumed that

However, other embodiments are conceivable in this regard.
That is, a plurality of patterns having the same character frame size but different character sizes are held in advance in the character writing. It has means for selecting one of these patterns depending on conditions. In this case, the object of the present invention can be achieved by reading and using a desired character pattern from a character script without performing the character pattern enlargement / reduction processing of FIG.
This method can be applied to a character output device or the like employing a character pattern holding method using dot characters.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to change the character size of the output target character pattern in accordance with the ratio of the values of the properties such as the black background density of the output target character pattern and the adjacent character pattern, and to appropriately arrange them in the output line. it can.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the size of a character pattern and the position of the character pattern can be adjusted in accordance with the conditions, so that a more balanced arrangement of character strings according to the related art can be obtained. At this time, since the method of arranging the character frame is not affected, the functions of the existing arrangement program and output device can be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of a character output program according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an output device for executing the character output program of FIG. 1, and FIG. An output example, FIG. 4 is an example improved by changing the character pattern of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the output line of the character pattern and the arrangement of the character frame, and FIG. The figure explained, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the skeleton character system, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 12, FIG.
FIG. 14 and FIG. 14 are flow charts showing an alternative process of changing a character pattern. 101: Read character code, etc., 102: Read skeleton point coordinates, etc., 103: Read black background density of output characters, 104 ...
Judgment by referring to the character pattern change table, 105 ...
Reading the black background density of adjacent characters, 106 …… Calculating the black background density ratio, 107 …… Reading the scaling threshold value, 108 ……
Judgment of necessity of enlargement / reduction, 109: determination of character pattern enlargement / reduction rate, 110: retraction of skeleton point coordinates, 111: enlargement / reduction processing, 112: determination of X-direction correction value, 113: Y-direction Determination of correction value, 114: movement of character pattern, 115: check of protrusion, 116: recovery of skeleton point coordinates, 117: generation and arrangement of character pattern.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical display location G09G 5/26 650 B41J 3/12 L (72) Inventor Subordinate Kenji 1-280, Higashi Koikeku, Kokubunji, Tokyo Address: Central Research Laboratory of Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Motohide Kuniishi 1-280, Higashi Koigokubo, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Address: Central Research Laboratory of Hitachi, Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-61-270785 (JP, A) Kaisho 63-63091 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A character face and a character frame, which is an area that can be taken when the character face is output, are stored in advance in association with each other, and when a plurality of stored character faces are output, A character output method, wherein the size of the character face is changed based on the adjacent character face, and the changed character face is output within the range of the size of the character frame. 2. The character output method according to claim 1, wherein the size of the character face whose size is to be changed is compared based on the black background density of the character face between adjacent character faces, and is changed based on the comparison result. A character output method characterized by: 3. A storage unit for storing a character face to be output in advance, and a change for changing the size of the character face based on an adjacent character face when outputting a plurality of character faces stored in the storage unit. A character output device comprising: a unit and an output unit that outputs the character face changed by the changing unit and another character face to be output.