Character pattern generating apparatus

A character pattern generating apparatus comprising:

• a memory for pre-storing character shape skeleton data of character shapes, element skeleton shape data of skeleton shapes representing constituent elements of the characters for each character style, and element outline shape data of outline shapes representing constituent elements of the characters for each character style;
• element skeleton shape altering means for altering the element skeleton shape data based on the character shape skeleton data;
• alteration procedure determining means for determining a transfer condition of outline points;
• element outline shape altering means for transferring each of the outline points in the element outline shape data based on the transfer condition;
• and
• generating means for generating a character pattern from the altered element outline shape data.

A character pattern generator, comprising:

• a memory for pre-storing character shape skeleton data, element skeleton shape data and element outline shape data, said element skeleton shape and element outline shape data representing constituent elements of characters having a plurality of styles;
• a thickness determining section for determining whether a thickness of each constituent element in said element outline shape data is performed by calculation, or by replacing the element with an alternative element where the thickness of the character corresponding to each constituent element is altered, so that the shape of each element may be altered by the most suitable method;
• an element outline section for altering element outline shape data thickness based on said determination;
• and
• an output section for generating a character pattern from the altered element outline shape data to provide a quality thick or thin character pattern using a relatively small capacity of memory.

A character pattern generator, comprising:

• a memory for pre-storing character shape skeleton data, element skeleton shape data and element outline shape data, said element skeleton shape and element outline shape data representing constituent elements of characters having a plurality of styles;
• a thickness determining section for determining whether a thickness of each constituent element in said element outline shape data is performed by calculation, or by replacing the element with an alternative element where the thickness of the character corresponding to each constituent element is altered, said element outline shape data thickness based on said determination, so that the shape of each element may be altered by the most suitable method;
• an element skeleton shape/outline shape section for altering said element skeleton shape data based on said character shape skeleton data, said element outline shape data being subsequently altered based on said element skeleton shape data;
• and
• an output section for generating a character pattern from the altered element outline shape data, thereby providing a quality thick or thin character pattern using a relatively small capacity of memory.

A method of generating a character pattern, comprising:

• pre-storing character shape skeleton data, element skeleton shape data and element outline shape data, said element skeleton shape and element outline shape data representing constituent elements of characters having a plurality of styles;
• altering said element skeleton shape data based on said character shape skeleton data;
• determining a transfer condition for transferring outline points of said element outline shape data;
• transferring each of said outline points based on said transfer condition;
• and
• generating a character pattern from the transferred element outline shape data.

A method of generating a character pattern, comprising:

• pre-storing character shape skeleton data, element skeleton shape data and element outline shape data, said element skeleton shape and element outline shape data representing constituent elements of characters having a plurality of styles;
• determining whether a thickness of each constituent element in said element outline shape data is performed by calculation, or by a replacement of a constituent element with an alternative element where the thickness of the character corresponding to each constituent element is altered, so that the shape of each element may be altered by the most suitable method;
• altering element outline shape data thickness based on the determination;
• and
• generating a character pattern from the altered element outline shape data, thereby providing a quality thick or thin character pattern with a relatively small capacity of memory.

A method of generating a character pattern, comprising:

• pre-storing character shape skeleton data, element skeleton shape data and element outline shape data, said element skeleton shape and element outline shape data representing constituent elements of characters having a plurality of styles;
• determining whether a thickness of each constituent element in said element outline shape data is performed by calculation, or by replacing the element with an alternative element where the thickness of the character corresponding to each constituent element is altered, said element outline shape data thickness based on said determination, so that the shape of each element may be altered by the most suitable method;
• altering said element skeleton shape data based on said character shape skeleton data;
• altering said element outline shape data based on said altered element skeleton shape data;
• and
• generating a character pattern from the altered element outline shape data, thereby providing a quality thick or thin character pattern using a relatively small capacity of memory.