Patent · US Expired

Methods and apparatus for hinting a font for controlling stem width as font size and resolution of output device vary

US5598520A · kind A · utility

32Cited by
7References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 26, 1994
Grant dateJan 28, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 26, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T11/203
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method of hinting a font to provide improved stem width and intercharacter spacing control in automatic typography systems. The method is adapted to make the transition smoothly and gradually from the smallest font sizes to the largest font sizes. The stem widths and sidebearings of the font are measured and then clustered within a predetermined cluster tolerance parameter. Next, the clustered measurements are partitioned into a plurality of contiguous blocks and then hinted to one of a plurality of integer number of pixels. The number of blocks in the partition will vary depending on the given scaling factor, which is a function of the font size and the resolution of the output device on which the font is to be rendered.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.