Character pattern generation

• US 5,930,408 A
• Filed: 12/17/1996
• Issued: 07/27/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Seto, Kunio
• Primary Examiner(s): Kelley, Christopher S.
• Application Number:
  US08/767,855
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 382/242, 382/299, 382/301, 382/325, 382/112, 382/282, 345/17, 345/23, 345/26, 345/469, 395/150, 395/151
• US Class Current: 382/301
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0045 Converting outline to bitmap
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2215/0057 Sizing and resolution changes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/246 of ideographic or arabic-like characters

Abstract

A character processing apparatus for recognizing coordinate information expressing a character, an exterior outline, an interior outline, a horizontal line and a vertical line; classifying the coordinate information expressing a character, the exterior outline, the interior outline, the horizontal line and the vertical line, and then determining a pair of the horizontal line and the vertical line; and setting a skipping order at the time of low pixel so as to be converted into character data for a bit map development composed of a control point coordinate for expressing the outline of the subject character, band information and coordinate value information about the control point which is not included in the band information.

Claims

1. A character processing apparatus comprising:

memory means for storing control point information representing an outline of one of a plurality of characters including a character which comprises a plurality of radicals each comprising a plurality of line elements, minimum reproducible pixel size information representing a minimum reproducible pixel size for each radical, and skipping order information representing skipping order of each of a plurality of horizontal or vertical bands obtained by dividing each radical;

comparing means for comparing size information of a character to be generated and the minimum reproducible pixel size information for that character stored in said memory means;

determining means for determining a band to be skipped, on the basis of the plurality of pieces of skipping order information for the character to be generated stored in said memory means in response to a comparison by said comparing means showing that the size information of the character to be generated is smaller than the minimum reproducible pixel size information for that character; and

generating means for generating a character pattern on the basis of the control point information for each band not determined by said determining means as being a band to be skipped, and generating no character pattern on the basis of the control point information for the band determined by said determining means to be skipped.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising output means for outputting the character pattern generated by said generating means.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said output means comprises a printer.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said output means comprises a display device.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control point information includes a band number, a class number and an attribute flag for each control point.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory means further stores outline information and offset information.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the size information for a character to be generated is derived on the basis of an output resolution and an output character size of an output device.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said generating means deletes one of two bands, including a horizontal line or a vertical line, which are in contact with each other.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said generating means deletes a middle one of three bands, including a horizontal line or a vertical line, which are in contact with one another.

10. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the one band deleted by said generating means has fewer black pixels than the other band.

21. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein for the character having the plurality of radicals, each comprising the plurality of line elements which are arranged in a first direction, but not arranged in a second direction, said memory means stores the minimum reproducible pixel size information and the skipping order information for each of the plurality of radicals of the character with respect to the first direction and stores the minimum reproducible pixel size information and the skipping order information for the character with respect to the second direction.

11. A character processing method using a memory for storing control point information representing an outline of one of a plurality of characters including a character which comprises a plurality of radicals each comprising a plurality of line elements, minimum reproducible pixel size information representing a minimum reproducible pixel for each radical, and skipping order information representing skipping order of each of a plurality of horizontal or vertical bands obtained by dividing each radical, said method comprising the steps of:

comparing size information of a character to be generated and the minimum reproducible pixel size information for that character stored in the memory;

determining a band to be skipped, on the basis of the plurality of pieces of skipping order information for the character to be generated stored in the memory in response to a comparison in said comparing step showing that the size information of the character to be generated is smaller than the minimum reproducible pixel size information for that character; and

generating a character pattern on the basis of the control point information for each band not determined as a band to be skipped, and generating no character pattern on the basis of the control point information for the band determined to be skipped.

12. A method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of outputting the character pattern generated in said generating step.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said outputting step is performed using a printer.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein said outputting step is performed using a display device.

15. A method according to claim 11, wherein the control point information includes a band number, a class number and an attribute flag for each control point.

16. A method according to claim 11, wherein said storing step includes storing outline information and offset information.

17. A method according to claim 11, wherein the size information for a character to be generated is derived on the basis of an output resolution and an output character size of an output device.

18. A method according to claim 11, wherein, in said generating step, one of two bands, including a horizontal line or a vertical line, which are in contact with each other, is deleted.

19. A method according to claim 11, wherein, in said generating step, a middle one of three bands, including a horizontal line or a vertical line, which are in contact with one another, is deleted.

20. A method according to claim 18, wherein the one band deleted in said generating step has fewer black pixels than the other band.

22. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein for the character having the plurality of radicals, each comprising the plurality of line elements which are arranged in a first direction, but not arranged in a second direction, said memory means stores the minimum reproducible pixel size information and the skipping order information for each of the plurality of radicals of the character with respect to the first direction and stores the minimum reproducible pixel size information and the skipping order information for the character with respect to the second direction.