JPS6232789B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a character generator, and more particularly to a device for compressing and storing the memory contents thereof.

A character generator is a device that stores character information such as upper and lowercase English letters, numbers, symbols, and katakana characters, and outputs it when necessary. Character information is defined as 160 characters in the JIS code, and these are generally stored with 9 bytes (8 bits) allocated to each character. Therefore, a memory capacity of 160 x 9 x 8 = 11,520 bits (approximately 12 K bits) or more was usually required.

First, this relationship will be specifically explained.

FIG. 1A shows the number "1" in a dot matrix format. This dot matrix is subdivided into 8 columns and 9 rows of dots, and the total number of dots is 8×9=72. The position of this dot is represented by "0" and "1", as shown in FIG. 1B, and the memory stores its binary state. Note that this binary state is divided into 4 columns on the left and right, and each row is divided into 2 columns.
If it is treated as a base number and converted to hexadecimal, it can be displayed as a two-column code as shown in Figure 1C.

Now, in Figure 1B, the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th,
All nine rows are "0", and the eighth column is not actually used. Similarly, in the case of the number "2" in FIG. 2B, the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth rows are all "0", and the eighth column is not used and has no meaning.

Conventionally, memory was allocated for all dot matrices, including meaningless parts, resulting in an enormous memory capacity for storing character information, which caused the price of the memory part in the device to be low. The disadvantage is that it is expensive.

Here, the purpose of the present invention is to compress storage contents,
The purpose is to increase the storage density and eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional example.

Based on the above object, the present invention focuses on an unused column part, uses that column as a control code, and sequentially inserts rows with "0" content, for example, based on the content of this control code. In this way, lines with all "0" contents are excluded from the stored contents in the memory, thereby compressing the stored contents.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

In the present invention, all "0" rows are removed from the memory contents, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2B. Therefore, the stored content is limited to lines having at least "1". The eighth mark is used as a control code and records "1" or "0". "1" of this control code
This indicates that the next line is valid, and the control code "0" means that a line of "0" should be inserted between the next line and the next line. The last column is all "1" and serves as a delimiter code for character information.

Incidentally, the third row of Figure 1D is originally all "1", but in order to distinguish it from the delimiter code mentioned above, one bit of the part that does not cause any problem is set to "0", for example, the seventh column. . and the first
The content of D in the figure and Figure 2 is as shown in E of the same figure.
It can be expressed in hexadecimal code. In this way, the number "1" or "2" can be stored in 8×6=48 bits. Although the number of bits may not be reduced for some other characters, overall the number of bits is smaller than in the conventional method.

Now, FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a character generator based on the above compression method. The memory 1 stores compressed character information together with control codes and delimiter codes, and the control device 2 is a part that controls input/output and other operations based on programs. Register 3 is for storing 1 byte (1 line) of character information, and the control unit 4 connected to the addition point at the input/output end of register 3 stores 1 byte (1 line) of character information. It performs a control function to sequentially shift the stored contents of a portion of the minutes and arrange one byte worth of character information in a predetermined arrangement. Further, the control code determination unit 5 determines the content of the control code, that is, "0" or "1" from 1 byte of character information, and when it is "0", gives a code generation command to the code generator 6. . This code generator 6 generates "00000000" as a predetermined code.
This code is generated and sent to the buffer 7. Here, the buffer 7 temporarily stores the 1-byte worth of character information transferred from the memory 1 in a sequentially arranged state, and when it reaches 1 character's worth, that is, when the delimiter code is checked, the 1-byte character information is This is the part that outputs character information.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the operation of the character generator. The operation will be explained based on this. First, the address of character information to be read at the start is specified. First, the start address is specified, and this address is read. Designation and reading of these addresses is performed in an address register (not shown). Next, the contents of the address are read out, and then the contents of the storage address specified by the address are read out from the memory 1 and stored in the register 3. Here, the control unit 4 determines the delimiter code from the content of the stored information, and if it is not a delimiter code, transfers the content to the buffer 7 and stores it there.

Next, the control code determination unit 5 determines the content of the control code from the read character information, and determines "1".
If not, the address contents are incremented, the above operation is repeated based on the next address, and character information for one character is output to the buffer 7. During this reading process, when the control code discriminator 5 detects the content of the control code "1", it issues a code generation command to the code generator 6. Therefore, the code generator 6 outputs the contents of a predetermined code "00000000" to the buffer 7 instead of the memory 1. Therefore, the contents stored in the buffer 7 are a matrix corresponding to B in FIG. 1 or 2. Finally, when a delimiter code appears from the read character information, it means that character information for one character has been read, and the series of read operations ends.

In the above embodiment, the "00000000" code for any row in the dot matrix is generated separately from memory 1, but the code separate from memory 1 is
In addition to the code "11111111", it may be any other specific code that is frequently used, or it may be any column on the dot matrix. Furthermore, if the control code is 2 bits or more, a plurality of code generators can be provided correspondingly.

This character generator can be applied to devices having a memory for storing character information, such as printers, display devices, word processors, and the like.

In the present invention, since specific code contents that are frequently used are not stored in memory, the memory storage capacity can be compressed by up to 2/3 of JIS code, making it possible to increase memory density. Since the second bit has the function of inserting a specific code as a control code, the same subdivided character information as before can be obtained reliably, and since a delimiter code is stored for each character, compressed stored data can be The unique effect is that each delimiter code is output in an orderly manner, and that this device can be easily implemented by adding a code generation function and a control code discrimination function.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 A, B, C, D and Figure 2 A, B,
C and D are matrix diagrams showing characters after code conversion, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the character generator of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the order of operation. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Memory, 2...Control device, 3...Register, 4...Control unit, 5...Control code determination unit, 6
...Code generator, 7...Batsuhua.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A memory for storing codes excluding specific codes in the subdivided character information together with control codes and delimiter codes, and a buffer for sequentially storing the read contents of this memory and outputting them as one character. a control code discriminator that determines the content of the control code from the content read from the memory and generates a code generation command based on the determined content; A character generator comprising a code generator that outputs content. 2. In claim 1, a specific code in character information is stored except for a code in which one line is all "0", and one line is stored as a specific code when a code generation command is received from the discriminator. A character generator that outputs all "0" codes.