Printing Apparatus Text Box Segmentation Character Overlap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing printing technologies face challenges in arranging characters within a fixed printing area, particularly when multiple addressees are involved, leading to reduced font size and gaps between characters due to the virtual body and reference frame differences.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus and text input program that allocate characters to multiple text boxes, allowing adjacent characters to be placed in separate boxes, with adjustable character and inter-character sizes to ensure the outer frame of one character is inside the outer frame of another, preventing overlap and maintaining expected character size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the number of joint addressees increases, then the quantity of characters to be printed increases, but the fixed printing area becomes insufficient, requiring reduction of character size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the character string into multiple text boxes, with adjacent characters placed in separate boxes. This segmentation allows the printing system to manage character placement more flexibly within the fixed printing area, preventing the need to uniformly reduce character size when accommodating more addressees.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the concept of text boxes as an intermediate layer between characters and the fixed printing area. By managing character placement at the text box level and allowing text boxes to be positioned and sized independently, the system adds a dimensional layer of control that enables better space utilization without compromising character size.
2Quantity of substance
If the character size is reduced to fit more characters in the fixed area, then the quantity of characters increases, but gaps between adjacent characters remain due to virtual body and reference frame differences
Solution Approach 1:
By placing adjacent characters in separate text boxes, the patent isolates the rendering space of each character. This segmentation allows independent control of character positioning and sizing, enabling the system to eliminate gaps caused by virtual body and reference frame differences while maintaining the desired character size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different character sizes and inter-character spacings locally within each text box rather than uniformly across all characters. This local quality approach allows precise control over the rendering of each character pair, eliminating gaps between adjacent characters while preserving the overall layout.
3Adaptability or versatility
If characters are allocated to separate text boxes, then the character arrangement flexibility increases, but the device complexity increases due to multiple text box management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the character string into multiple text boxes, which provides flexibility in character arrangement. The segmentation is performed systematically based on character adjacency, and the text boxes are managed through a structured process that balances flexibility with computational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functionality of multiple text boxes into a unified printing output. By controlling the positioning and sizing of text boxes to achieve overlapping outer frames, the system combines the flexible arrangement capability with a simplified final rendering process, reducing the perceived complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In S210, a character size and an inter-column size are calculated using a virtual body size in S206, and the character size and an inter-character size (inter-column size) are reflected in properties of each text box. In step S301, a position and a size of each text box are set, in step S302, the character size is set in the property of each text box, and in the following step S304, the inter-character size is set in the property so that characters do not overlap in each text box. Thereafter, in S306, the text boxes are superimposed so that reference frames of adjacent characters are in contact with each other.