Printer apparatus

Abstract: A printer apparatus comprises: a holding circuit to hold a pattern of a character, a figure, or the like in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced into an arbitrary size; a converter to convert the pattern of the character, figure, or the like which was held in the holding circuit into a printable dot image of an arbitrary size; and a forming circuit to form a reduced dot image of the character, figure, or the like by the converter in accordance with reduction ratios of a character pitch and a line pitch upon reduction printing in the printer emulation mode. With this apparatus, the reduced print image which accurately conforms with the reduction ratios can be obtained.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer apparatus in which a pattern of a character, a figure, or the like is held in a form such that the pattern can be enlarged or reduced in an arbitrary size and a reduction dot image of the character, figure, or the like is formed and printed in accordance with reduction ratios of a character pitch and a line pitch upon reduction printing in a printer emulation mode. Related Background Art Hitherto, a printer apparatus reduces only the character pitch and line pitch and does not reduce the character size upon reduction printing in the printer emulation mode or the like. However, in the conventional apparatus, upon reduction printing in the printer emulation mode or the like, only the character pitch and line pitch are reduced and the character size is not reduced, so that there is a drawback such that the character and line pitches were narrowed and a reduced print result which accurately conforms with the reduction ratios is not derived. U.S. Patent Specification No. US-A-4,655,622 discloses a printer in which when a character is to be expanded the expanded character pattern is divided into a plurality of zones along a scanning direction so that a character string including different dot structures can be printed in a desired format. U.S. Patent Specification No. US-A-4,618,991 discloses a method for rotating images using a skew coordinate transformation step and a scaling step. European Patent Specification No. EP-A-0,391,670 discloses a dot pattern signal generator for generating outline dot pattern data in which selected dots are omitted. European Patent Specification No. EP-A-0,397,348 discloses a dot pattern signal generator in which in accordance with a desired scale factor dots can be interpolated. US Patent Specification No. US-A-4,331,955 discloses according to the preamble of claims 1 and 7 a font storage system having an electronic typesetter for reducing or expanding to enable different sized characters to be typed from the normalised characters stored in the font. US Patent Specification No. US-A-4,827,358 discloses a data recording apparatus having plural pattern generators for generating plural different patterns for each character code, with one of the patterns being selected in accordance with the size of a recording sheet. In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided printer apparatus as set out in claim 1. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method as set out in claim 7. In order that the invention may be more readily understood embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus of the invention; Fig. 2 is a diagram of an example of a character held in an arbitrary size in a form such that the character can be enlarged and reduced; Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a shape of a character which is expressed by the data of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 shows a transformation determinant in the first embodiment; Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a reduction print; Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a transformation determinant in the second embodiment; and Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Figs. 1 to 5 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the apparatus of the invention. Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the apparatus of the invention. In the diagram, reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU to control the whole apparatus; 2 indicates a bus of the CPU 1 including an address line, a data line, a control line, and the like; 3 a data input section to input data from a host computer or the like; and 4 an ROM to store programs, pattern data of a character, a figure, and the like, etc. The memory is not necessarily limited to the ROM 4 but may be a memory having the function to store the programs, pattern data of the character, figure, and the like, etc. shown in Fig. 7. Reference numeral 5 denotes an RAM which is used as a work area, image forming area, and the like of the CPU 1; 6 indicates a printer interface; and 7 a printer as a printing mechanism portion such as wire dot printer, thermal printer, laser beam printer, or the like. The printer interface 6 converts a dot image into a form adapted to the mechanism of the printer 7 and executes, for instance, a process for converting parallel data into serial data or the like. Fig. 2 shows an example in the case where a pattern of a character, a figure, or the like was held in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced in an arbitrary size and the outline of a character "A" was expressed by straight lines. Such a pattern is called an outline font, a vector font, or the like. Fig. 3 shows a form of the character "A" which is expressed by the data of Fig. 2. The method of holding the pattern of a character, a figure, or the like in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced in an arbitrary size is not limited to the method mentioned above as an example. It is possible to use a method of holding such a pattern by straight lines or various curves or by a combination thereof or the like if the pattern of a character, a figure, or the like can be held in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced in an arbitrary size. Fig. 4 shows a determinant for coordinate converting the pattern of the character, figure, or the like which was held in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced in an arbitrary size as shown in Fig. 2 for the purpose of enlargement or reduction. Reference numeral 401 denotes (x, y) coordinates in the pattern of the character, figure, or the like which was held as shown in Fig. 2; 402 indicates a matrix for enlargement, reduction, or deformation in the equal magnification printing mode; 403 a reduction matrix to execute a reduction print; and 404 (x, y) coordinates which are used to actually convert into a dot image. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the reduction print in the printer emulation mode. Fig. 5 shows a state in which an image which is printed to a continuous sheet having a print area of the size of 230 mm in the lateral direction and 279.4 mm in the vertical direction is reduced and printed onto a letter sheet having a print area of the size of 205.9 mm in the lateral direction and 269.4 mm in the vertical direction by the apparatus of the invention upon printing by a printer as an object of the emulation. A value of an element S in the reduction matrix 403 in the example of Fig. 5 is set to about 0.89. The operation of the printer apparatus with the above construction in the reduction mode such as a printer emulation mode or the like will now be described with reference to Fig. 7. First, an image forming area is initialized in step S1. If print data has been input from the data input section 3 in step S2, a pattern of a character, a figure, or the like in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced into an arbitrary size as shown in Fig. 2 is deformed or reduced by a determinant as shown in Fig. 4 (S3). The reduced pattern is converted into a printable dot image. Further, the converted dot image is formed in an image forming area in the RAM 5 corresponding to the coordinates which are obtained by multiplying S to the print coordinates in the equal magnification printing mode (S4). The dot image is then output from the printer 7 via the printer interface 6 (S5, S6). For instance, in the example of Fig. 5, the data which is printed to an area of the coordinates (100 mm, 100 mm) by the 12-point size upon printing of the printer as an object of the emulation is reduced to the data of the 10.7-point size by the above operation and printed to an area of the coordinates (89 mm, 89 mm) (S6). By the above embodiment, the reduced print result which accurately conforms with the reduction ratios is obtained upon reduction printing in the printer emulation mode or the like. Another embodiment The reduction matrix to reduce the pattern of a character, a figure, or the like is not limited to the matrix 403 shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 shows a determinant showing an example of such a reduction matrix. Reference numeral 401 denotes the (x, y) coordinates in the pattern of the character, figure, or the like which was held in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced into an arbitrary size as shown in Fig. 2; 402 indicates the matrix for enlargement, reduction, or deformation in the equal magnification mode; 603 a reduction matrix for the reduction print; and 604 (x, y) coordinates which are used when converting into the actual dot image. Elements SX and SY of the reduction matrix 603 are independently set in accordance with the reduction ratios of the character pitch and line pitch, respectively. By using the above method, the reduction ratios of a character, a figure, or the like upon reduction printing can be individually set in each of the vertical and lateral directions. The independent reduction ratios in the vertical and lateral directions of the sheet can be applied. In the example of Fig. 5, the elements SX and SY of the reduction matrix 603 can be also set in a manner such that SX ≃ 0.89 and SY ≃ 0.96. The reduced print result which accurately conforms with the reduction ratios can be obtained even by the above deformation. As described above, there is an effect such that the reduced print result which accurately conforms with the reduction ratios is obtained by providing the means for holding a pattern of a character, a figure, or the like in a form such that it can be enlarged or reduced into an arbitrary size, for reducing the pattern of the character, figure, or the like in accordance with the reduction ratios of the character and line pitches upon reduction printing in the printer emulation mode, and for forming and printing the reduced dot image.

Claims: A printer apparatus comprising: means (4) for storing a character pattern as outline font data; converting means (1, 5) for converting the character pattern into a reduced or enlarged dot image for reproduction by a printer (7); means (5) for storing the converted dot image as a dot pattern image, and interface means (6) for supplying the reduced or enlarged dot pattern image to a printer; characterised in that the converting means further comprises means for forming a reduced dot image of the character pattern by multiplication of the outline font data of the character pattern with a reduction matrix (603) having a pair of elements (Sx, Sy) respectively set in accordance with the vertical and lateral size of the print area. A printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outline font data is outline font data which expresses the outline of the pattern by a coordinate dot train. A printer apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the size of the reduced or enlarged dot image can be independently determined in vertical and horizontal directions. A printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus comprises a printer engine. A printer apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the vertical and lateral size of the print area can be obtained based on an emulation process for converting data for a continuous sheet into data for a cut sheet. A printer apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said apparatus is controlled on the basis of an emulation program. A printing method comprising: storing (4) a character pattern as outline font data; converting (1, 5) the character pattern into a reduced or enlarged dot image for reproduction by a printer (7); storing (5) the converted dot image as a dot pattern image; and supplying (6) the reduced or enlarged dot pattern image to a printer, characterised in that when the character pattern is converted into a reduced dot image the conversion is carried out by further forming a reduced dot image of the character pattern by multiplication of the outline font data of the character pattern with a reduction matrix (603) having a pair of elements (Sx, Sy) respectively set in accordance with the vertical and lateral size of the print area. A method according to claim 7, wherein the outline font data is outline font data which expresses the outline of the pattern by a coordinate dot train. A method according to claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the size of the reduced or enlarged dot image is independently determined in vertical and horizontal directions. A method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the vertical and lateral size of the print area is obtained based on an emulation process for converting data for a continuous sheet into data for a cut sheet.

Inventors: NAGATA SATOSHI, SHIMURA AKIHIRO, UEDA SHIGERU, NAGATA, SATOSHI, SHIMURA, AKIHIRO, UEDA, SHIGERU, NAGATA, SATOSHI, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, SHIMURA, AKIHIRO, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, UEDA, SHIGERU, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicants: CANON KK, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1990
Main classification: G06K15
IPC codes: G06F3, G06K15, B41J2, H04N1, B41J21, B41J29