Multi-character display controller for text recorder

• US 4,464,070 A
• Filed: 06/30/1982
• Issued: 08/07/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/1979
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Pechanek, Gerald G., Hanft, Roy F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wright, Jr., Ernest T.
• Application Number:
  US06/393,981
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 400/17, 400/91, 400/92, 400/93, 400/94, 400/95, 400/98, 400/99, 400/110, 400/482, 400/484, 400/70, 400/83, 400/87
• US Class Current: 400/98
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 5/46 on internal storages
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 7/90 Syllable, line, or like type selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/274 Converting codes to words; Guess-ahead of partial word inputs

Abstract

A text recorder includes a multi-character display controller which is operated in a multi-character mode to record (e.g., print on paper or generate a CRT or the like display) multi-character sequences in response to operator actuation of a single key of a keyboard substantially identical to a conventional typewriter keyboard. Operator actuation of a key generates a coded signal representative of the actuated key, but in the multi-character mode, the normal text recorder function of printing or displaying the character associated with the key is inhibited, and instead, a memory device is accessed which has stored at a location corresponding to the actuated key, a sequence of coded signals representative of a plurality of characters, functions or both. The storage device may include a plurality of sets of stored signal sequences representing a plurality of multi-character sequences, the selection between the different storage sets being effected based on a particular key or key sequence previously actuated. Particular keys suitable for use in a multi-character mode are keys representing numeric characters, symbol graphics, or various punctuation marks. The invention is applicable to text recorders designed for use with English or foreign languages.

Claims

1. A multi-character display controller for use in a text recorder of the kind having:

(1) a text display means for displaying character sequences;

(2) keyboard means including a plurality of keys each producing a coded signal representing said key when actuated by an operator; and

(3) decoder means for receiving coded signals from said keyboard means and for supplying corresponding drive signals for at least some of said keys to said text display means, wherein said multi-character display controller includes;

mode means for producing a mode signal having normal and multi-character mode states to control an operating mode of said controller as either a normal or multi-character mode, said mode means responsive to operation action to alter said operating mode from a prior operating mode to a new operating mode and to maintain said new operating mode until further operator action,

first means, responsive to said mode signal in a multi-character mode state for nullifying the normal response of said decoder means to at least a subset of said coded signals, and

auxiliary means and storage means associated with said auxiliary means, said storage means retrievably storing signals representing preselected character sequences at locations corresponding to respective coded signals of said subset, said auxiliary means responsive to said mode signal in a multi-character mode state and to said storage means for supplying to said text display means drive signals representing a preselected character sequence corresponding to that defined by signals read from said storage means,

in which said decoder means includes a function means for correlating at least some of said coded signals with associated drive signals and wherein said storage means includes;

first memory means addressed by said coded signals including an entry for at least each of said coded signals in said subset,

counter means responsive to said first memory means for storing signals representing said entry,

second memory means addressed by said counter means including an entry for each of said coded signals in said subset, a first sub-entry located at a location designated by an entry from said first memory means, each said entry including a stop code as a final sub-entry,

control means responsive to said second memory means for incrementing said counter means each time an output is produced by said second memory means, said control means responsive to a stop code read from said second memory means for inhibiting further incrementing of said counter means,

and wherein said auxiliary means includes means for supplying outputs from said second memory means to address said function means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said keyboard means includes

at least a shift key and a shift lock key and in which said auxiliary means includes a shift latch means and a shift lock latch means tracking actuation of said shift and shift lock keys respectively and in which

said auxiliary means addresses said function means to supply said drive signals for each character in said preselected character sequence in an upper or lower case format in dependence on said shift and shift lock latch means.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said auxiliary means supplies drive signals representing upper case characters for each character in said sequence if said shift lock latch means is in a predetermined condition and supplies drive signals for an upper case character for selected characters in said sequence if said shift latch means is in a predetermined condition and said shift lock latch means is not in a predetermined condition.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said selected characters are identified by contents of said storage means.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said subset of coded signals includes at least one coded signal corresponding to a key associated with a punctuation mark and in which

said second memory means includes three subentries for one said punctuation mark, a first subentry representing said punctuation mark,

a second subentry representing a space function,

and a third subentry representing said stop code.

6. For use in a text recorder of the kind having (1) text display means for displaying one or more characters in a sequence determined by an operator;

(2) keyboard apparatus for operator actuation including a first set of keying devices for producing coded signals representing respective alphabetic characters in response to operator actuation and a second set of keying devices for producing coded signals representing respective numeric characters in response to operator actuation; and

(3) decoder means for receiving coded signals from said keyboard apparatus and for supplying corresponding drive signals to said text display means, a multi-character display controller comprising;

mode means for producing a mode signal having normal and multi-character mode states to control an operating mode of said controller as either a normal or multi-character mode, said mode means responsive to operator action to alter said operating mode from a prior operating mode to a new operating mode and to maintain said new operating mode until further operator action,

first means, responsive to said mode signal in a multi-character state for nullifying the normal response of said decoder means to a subset of said coded signals corresponding to at least some of the keying devices from said second set of keying devices,

auxiliary means responsive to said mode signal for responding to a coded signal in said subset of coded signals during operation in a multi-character mode to provide corresponding sequences of drive signals to said text display means in response to actuation of a single key producing a coded signal in said subset, said auxiliary means including storage means retrievably storing signals representing preselected character sequences at locations corresponding to respective coded signals from said subset of coded signals produced by actuation of at least some of said second set of keying devices

in which said decoder means includes function means correlating at least some of said coded signals with corresponding drive signals and in which

said storage mean includes

first memory means addressed by said coded signals including an entry for at least each of said coded signals in said subset,

counter means responsive to said first member means for storing signals representing said entry,

second memory means addressed by said counter means including an entry for each of said coded signals in said subset, a first sub-entry located at a location designated by an entry in said first memory means, each said entry including a stop code as a final sub-entry,

means for supplying outputs from said second memory means to address said function means, and

an incrementing means responsive to said second memory mean, for incrementing said counter means each time an output is produced thereby, said incrementing means responsive to a stop code read from said second memory means for inhibiting further incrementing of said counter means.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which said storage means:

retrievably stores signals representing second preselected character sequences at locations corresponding to respective coded signals from at least some of said subset of coded signals, each of said second preselected character sequences including a space function preceding a first character,

linkage means responsive to repeated actuation of an identical key producing a coded signal in said subset without intervening actuation of any other key, to alter the response of said auxiliary means in a second actuation to supply a second preselected character sequence from said second memory means.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 in which said linkage means includes

a comparator for comparing a coded signal with an immediately preceding coded signal,

a first latch set in response to a signal from said first memory means representing a coded signal from said subset of coded signals,

a second latch set in response to an equality result from said comparator,

and means for adjusting an input to said first memory means to access an entry representing said second preselected character sequence in response to a set condition of said first and second latches.

9. For use in a text recorder of the kind having (1) text display means for displaying one or more characters in a sequence determined by an operator;

(2) keyboard apparatus for operator actuation including a first set of keying devices for producing coded signals representing respective alphabetic characters in response to operator actuation and a second set of keying devices for producing coded signals representing respective numeric characters in response to operator actuation; and

(3) decoder means for receiving coded signals from said keyboard apparatus and for supplying corresponding drive signals to said text display means, a multi-character display controller comprising;

mode means for producing a mode signal having normal and multi-character mode states to control an operating mode of said controller as either a normal or multi-character mode, said mode means responsive to operator action to alter said operating mode from a prior operating mode to a new operating mode and to maintain said new operating mode until further operator action,

first means, responsive to said mode signal in a multi-character state for nullifying the normal response of sid detector means to a subset of said coded signals corresponding to at least some of the keying devices from said second set of keying devices,

auxiliary means responsive to said mode signal for responding to a coded signal in said subset of coded signals during operation in a multi-character mode to provide corresponding sequences of drive signals to said text display means in response to actuation of a single key producing a coded signal in said subset, said auxiliary means including storage means retrievably storing signals representingg preselected character sequences at locations corresponding to respective coded signals from said subset of coded signals produced by actuation of at least some of said second set of keying devices in which said keyboard apparatus includes a third set of keying devices for producing coded signals representing respective punctuation marks in response to operator actuation and a fourth set of keying devices for producing coded signals reresenting respective text recorder functions in response to operator actuation and in which said multi-character display controller further comprises;

buffer means for retaining a coded signal representing a prior operator key actuation until at least a subsequent operator key actuation,

second means responsive to operator actuation of a keying device in said third set of keying devices, to said mode signal, and to said buffer means, for nullifying normal response to said decoder means to at least a second subset of coded signals representing actuation of a keying device of said third set of keying devices but only if a prior key stroke represented operator actuation of a key in said fourth set of keying devices and wherein,

said auxiliary means includes means responsive to said mode signal, for responding to at least said second subset of coded signals during operation in said multi-character mode, to supply corresponding sequences of drive signals to said text display means, said storage means retrievably storing signals representing preselected character sequences at locations corresponding to respective coded signals from said second subset.

10. For use in a text recorder of the kind having (1) text display means;

(2) a keyboard apparatus including a first set of keying devices for producing coded signals representing respective alphabetic characters in response to operator actuation and a second set of keying devices for producing coded signals representing respective non-alphabetic characters or functions in response to operator actuation; and

(3) decoder means for receiving coded signals from the keyboard apparatus and for supplying corresponding drive signals to said text display means, a multi-character display controller comprising;

mode means for producing a mode signal and for changing said mode signal when actuated by the operator to command a change in operating mode of the text recorder from a normal mode of the text recorder to a multi-character mode or from a multi-character mode to a normal mode,

first means, responsive to said mode signal, for nullifying the normal response of said decoder means to at least some coded signals produced by operator actuation of a key from said second set of keying devices; and

storage means for retrievably storing signals representing a first group of preselected character sequences at locations corresponding to respective coded signals from at least a subset of said second set of keying devices, and for retrievably storing signals representing a second group of preselected character sequences at locations corresponding to identical respective coded signals from said subset of said second set of keying devices;

buffer means responsive to said keyboard apparatus for storing at least a coded signal representing prior operator key actuation;

and auxiliary means responsive to said mode signal and to said buffer means during operation in said multi-character mode to supply drive signals corresponding to a character sequence selected from said first or second group of preselected character sequences corresponding to a key actuation in dependence on the contents of said buffer means.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 in which

said decoder means includes a function means for correlating at least some of said coded signals and the corresponding drive signals and in which said storage means comprises

a first memory means including at least two entries for at least some of said coded signals corresponding to keying devices in said second set, a first of said entries corresponding to a particular coded signal, and a second entry corresponding to said particular coded signal modified,

counter means responsive to said first memory means for storing an output of said first memory means,

a second memory means addressed by said counter means with at least one entry for each entry in said first memory means including a first sub-entry and at least a last sub-entry representing a stop code,

address modifying means responsive to the contents of said buffer means and to a coded signal for controlling said first memory means to output said second entry,

and means responsive to said second memory means for incrementing said counter means until a stop code is read from said second memory means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said address modifying means operates only when the contents of said buffer means and a coded signal are identical.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said address modifying means operates when the contents of said buffer means contains a coded signal corresponding to a text display function.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said first memory means includes said first entry and said second entry corresponding to a coded signal from a key in said second set of keying devices and said second memory means includes an entry corresponding to said second entry of said first memory means with an initial sub-entry corresponding to a space function.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said first memory means includes a first and second entry corresponding to said particular coded signal and to said particular coded signal modified, and wherein said second memory means has an entry for each entry in said first memory means, a first entry corresponding to a multi-character sequence.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said first entry of said memory means includes, after said multi-character sequence, entries representing a punctuation graphic, a space function and a stop code.

17. A method of operating a text recorder including

a text display for displaying character sequences,

an operator actuated keyboard for producing coded signals corresponding to operator actuated keys and a decoder for responding to coded signals and producing drive signals to display corresponding characters,

to display multi-character sequences in response to operator actuation of a single key of a subset of keys of said keyboard but only when in a multi-character mode, and in which said subset of keys corresponds to non-alphabetic keys, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a storage device correlating signals corresponding to specific key actuation with identification of the subset of keys arranged to produce said multi-character sequence,

(b) providing a mode means responsive to operator actuation to control an operating mode as either a normal or multi-character mode, said mode means responsive to operator action to alter an operating mode from a prior operating mode to a new operating mode and to maintain said new operating mode until further operator action,

(c) inhibiting normal operating of said decoder when in a multi-character mode and said storage device identifies a key actuation in said subset,

(d) producing, from a second storage device, a sequence of signals definitive of a multi-character sequence corresponding to said specific key actuation in response to said actuation of a key in said subset,

in which said step (d) includes

producing from said second storage device one or another sequence of signals definitive of one or another multi-character sequence corresponding to said specific key actuation in dependence on a specific prior key actuation,

whereby a multi-character sequence is produced each time any key in said subset is actuated in response solely to said actuation of said any key.

18. The method of claim 17 in which said one and another multi-character sequences are different words, with said another multi-character sequence beginning with a space function, and said another sequence is produced only if said prior key actuation was identical to said specific key actuation.

19. The method of claim 17 in which said one multi-character sequence is a punctuation graphic and said another multi-character sequence is a word and wherein said another sequence is produced only if said specific prior key actuation is a function and not a character or graphic.