EP0207788A2
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EP
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Apparatus and method for displaying dot matrix characters in enhanced form
Assignee: Lexmark International Inc
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Filing: 1986-07-02
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-07-02
Abstract
Abstract The present invention relates to apparatus, for displaying dot matrix characters, formed from selected binary data elements each representing either a dot or a blank, of the type which comprises storage means (16, 72) for storing sets of binary data elements, each set defining the shape of a respective character, logic means (73) for performing logical operations on each set of stored binary elements to generate associated additional binary data elements which can be used to enhance the respective character selectively, and display means (14,75) for displaying each character using the associated stored binary data elements and associated additional binary data elements in order to display the character in an enhanced form (Figures 3, 7). Apparatus in accordance with the invention is characterised in that the display means uses the generated additional binary data elements together with the stored binary data elements to increase the density of at least one of the vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of the character being displayed along the linear direction thereof. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the display means uses the generated additional binary data elements together with the stored binary data elements to increase the thickness of at least one of the vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of the character being displayed in a direction generally orthogonal to the linear direction thereof. The invention also relates to a method of displaying dot matrix characters in an enhanced form using apparatus as above.
Inventors
- 👤 Demetrios Troupes
- 👤 Randall Wayne Alexander
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 12:35
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09G; G09G5/00; G09G5/22; G09G5/24; G09G5/28; G06; G06K; G06K15/00; G06K15/02; G06K15/10; G06K2215/00; G06K2215/0002; G06K2215/004; G06K2215/006
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
151 words
Apparatus for displaying dot matrix characters, formed from selected binary data elements each representing either a dot or a blank, comprising storage means (16, 72) for storing sets of binary data elements, each set defining the shape of a respective character, logic means (73) for performing logical operations on each set of stored binary data elements to generate associated additional binary data elements which can be used to enhance the respective character selectively, and display means (14, 75) for displaying each character using the associated stored binary data elements and associated additional binary data elements in order to display each character in an enhanced form, characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional binary data elements together with said stored binary data elements to increase the density of at least one of the vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of the character being displayed along the linear direction thereof.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
151 words
Apparatus for displaying dot matrix characters, formed from selected binary data elements each representing either a dot or a blank, comprising storage means (16, 72) for storing sets of binary data elements, each set defining the shape of a respective character, logic means (73) for performing logical operations on each set of stored binary data elements to generate associated additional binary data elements which can be used to enhance the respective character selectively, and display means (14, 75) for displaying each character using the associated stored binary data elements and associated additional binary data elements in order to display each character in an enhanced form, characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional binary data elements together with said stored binary data elements to increase the density of at least one of the vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of the character being displayed along the linear direction thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
57 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional binary data elements together with said stored binary data elements to increase the thickness of at least one of said vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of the character being displayed in a direction generally orthogonal to the linear direction thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
87 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which each stored set of binary data elements defines the shape of a respective character which has a relatively high density in the horizontal direction and a relatively low density in the vertical and diagonal directions, characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional binary data elements to increase the density of at least one of said vertical and linear components of the character being displayed and to maintain the relatively high density of the horizontal components thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional data elements to increase the density of the half diagonal linear components of the character being displayed.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
43 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional data elements to thicken the character being displayed in the horizontal direction and to increase the density of the diagonal and vertical linear components of said character.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
47 words
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional data elements to eliminate selected consecutive dots in the horizontal direction at the intersection of each half diagonal and a horizontal line in the character being displayed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
60 words
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional data elements to extend downwardly from the vertical and diagonal components of the character being displayed that lie on the base line of the character so as to extend the character being displayed one half dot below said base line.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
43 words
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that said display means uses said generated additional data elements to add dots to the lower edge of the character being displayed so as to thicken downwardly said character being displayed.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
133 words
Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that said logic means comprises means for defining a reference matrix formed from a subset of said set of stored binary data elements, means for adding predetermined blank binary data elements to said defined reference matrix between the binary data elements of said set of stored binary data elements, and comparison means for comparing selected portions of said reference matrix including the additional binary data elements with corresponding selected portions of a predetermined matrix defining a required enhanced form of the character being displayed and converting selected additional blank binary data elements to dots when said reference matrix matches said predetermined matrix in order to generate additional binary data elements for use in displaying said character in the required enhanced form.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of displaying dot matrix characters, formed from selected binary data elements each representing either a dot or a blank, comprising storing sets of binary data elements, each set defining the shape of a respective character, performing logical operations on each set of stored binary data elements to generate associated additional binary data elements which can be used to enhance the respective character selectively, and displaying each character using the associated stored binary data elements and associated additional binary data elements in order to display each character in an enhanced form, characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional binary data elements together with said stored binary data elements are used to increase the density of at least one of the vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of the character being displayed along the linear direction thereof.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of displaying dot matrix characters, formed from selected binary data elements each representing either a dot or a blank, comprising storing sets of binary data elements, each set defining the shape of a respective character, performing logical operations on each set of stored binary data elements to generate associated additional binary data elements which can be used to enhance the respective character selectively, and displaying each character using the associated stored binary data elements and associated additional binary data elements in order to display each character in an enhanced form, characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional binary data elements together with said stored binary data elements are used to increase the density of at least one of the vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of the character being displayed along the linear direction thereof.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
59 words
A method as claimed in claim 10 characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional binary data elements together with said stored binary data elements are used to increase the thickness of at least one of said vertical, diagonal and horizontal linear components of each character displayed in a direction generally orthogonal to the linear direction thereof.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
85 words
A method as claimed in Claim 10, in which each stored set of binary data elements defines the shape of respective character which has a relatively high density in the horizontal direction and a relatively low density in the vertical and diagonal directions, characterised in that said generated additional binary data elements are used to increase the density of at least one of said vertical and linear components of each character being displayed and to maintain the relatively high density of the horizontal components thereof.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as claimed in claim 10 characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional data elements are used to increase the density of the half diagonal linear components of the character being displayed.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method as claimed in claim 10 characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional data elements are used to thicken the character being displayed in the horizontal direction and to increase the density of the diagonal and vertical linear components of said character.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
53 words
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 10 t0 14 characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional data elements are used to eliminate selected consecutive dots in the horizontal direction at the intersection of each half diagonal and a horizontal line in the character being displayed.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
66 words
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 10 to 15 characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional data elements are used to extend downwardly from the vertical and diagonal components of the character being displayed that lie on the base line of the character so as to extend the character being displayed one half dot below said base line.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
49 words
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 10 to 16 characterised in that, in displaying each character, said generated additional data elements are used to add dots to the lower edge of the character being displayed so as to thicken downwardly said character being displayed.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
141 words
A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 10 to 17 characterised in that the step of performing logical operations on each set of stored binary data elements comprises defining a reference matrix formed from a subset of said set of stored binary data elements, adding predetermined blank binary data elements to said defined reference matrix between the binary data elements of said set of stored binary data elements, and comparing selected portions of said reference matrix including the additional binary data elements with corresponding selected portions of a predetermined matrix defining a required enhanced form of the character being displayed and converting selected additional blank binary data elements to dots when said reference matrix matches said predetermined matrix in order to generate additional binary data elements for use in displaying said character in the required enhanced form.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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