High speed apparatus and method for rasterization of font glyphs

Abstract

An apparatus derives data to enable a fill action during operation of a print device along a scan line. The apparatus includes a processor which determines, for each of a sequence of contours of a glyph, point of intersection values between a scan line and the contours. The sequential point of intersection values indicate OFF-to-ON and ON-to-OFF transitions required of the print device. Sequential OFF-to-ON and ON-to-OFF transitions comprise a transition pair. The apparatus includes a memory comprising 2N storage positions for storage of N transition pairs. Comparator circuitry is coupled in parallel to the 2N storage positions. A controller operates the comparator circuitry to determine an order of all OFF-to-ON point of intersection values and an order of all ON-to-OFF point of intersection values in the 2N storage positions. Switch circuitry is responsive to the determined order of OFF-to-ON point of intersection values to re-order the OFF-to-ON point of intersection values in the 2N storage positions and is further responsive to the determined order of the ON-to-OFF point of intersection values to re-order the ON-to-OFF point intersection values in the 2N storage positions. Overlap regions are determined and transition pairs to be arranged so that overlap regions are ignored.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.