Data processing system with multiple display apparatus

• US 4,428,065 A
• Filed: 03/19/1982
• Issued: 01/24/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1979
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Duvall, William S., English, William K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Eddie P.
• Application Number:
  US06/360,036
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: 06F/7/24, 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 340/728, 340/731, 340/798, 340/751
• US Class Current: 707/745
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/917 Text
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting

Abstract

A data processing system comprises a first selection device for selecting a plurality of characters of a first set, the characters of the first set each being defined by a bit map of first predetermined dimensions. A second selection device is capable of selecting a plurality of characters of a second set, the characters of the second set each being defined by a bit map of second predetermined dimensions greater than the first predetermined dimensions. A display device is capable of displaying the selected characters of the first and second sets, and a control device is responsive to the first and second selection devices for controlling the display device to display the selected characters of the first set in a first display area and the selected characters of the second set in a second display area, the first dislay area representing a page of text of characters of the first set, and the second display area representing a magnified portion of the page of text comprised of characters of the second set.

Claims

1. A data processing system permitting the simultaneous display of two different images representing the same page of text but displayed in different font character sizes in different areas of a display and comprising:

(1) first storage means (64) for storing character font data representative of a first set of characters, each character of said first set being represented as a bit map of first predetermined dimensions;

(2) second storage means (90) for storing character font data representative of a second set of characters, each character of said second set corresponding to a character in said first set but being represented as a bit map of second predetermined dimensions of greater arbitrary scale than said first predetermined dimensions in order to provide more geometric detail of characters in said first set of characters, said second set character font data stored in said second storage means in numerically ordered character strikes with a predetermined number of characters per strike;

(3) third storage means (60) coupled to said first and second storage means for storing bit map representations of preselected of said first and second sets of characters, said preselected first set characters representative of a selected stored page of text and said preselected second set characters representative of a portion of or aspects of a corresponding stored page of text;

(4) fourth storage means (92) for storing pages of text, each page comprising a character identification list representative of said preselected firt set characters for each stored page of text and their position on each page,

(5) fifth storage means (76) for storing a bit map generation control list and a second list representative of preselected second set characters based upon a character identification list for a selected stored page of text,

(6) display means (24) coupled to said third storage means for displaying said bit map representations in a display area thereof;

(7) segmenting means (62,

     78) coupled to said third storage means for defining first and second segments (DCB'"'"'s) of said bit map representations in said third storage means to thereby define first and second display sections (66, 74 or

     96) in predetermined locations of said display area;

(8) display control means (26) coupled to said third storage means and to said display means for controlling said display means to display said preselected first and second set characters in said display area in accordance with the character font data stored in said bit map representations in said third storage means, said first display section (66) representing said preselected first set characters for a selected page of text, and said second display section (74 or

     96) representing said preselected second set characters;

(9) data control means (CPU

     10) coupled to said first, second, third, fourth and fifth storage means for controlling the processing and handling of character font data for a selected page of text, said data control means comprising

(i) means for accessing from said first storage means said preselected first set characters in their ordered visual display sequence in accordance with the character identification list for said selected page of text and for transferring said preselected first set characters from said first storage means into said first segment in said third storage means for display in said first display section;

(ii) means for creating said display bit map generation control list (FIG.

     7) in said fifth storage means based upon said character identification list for said selected page of text, said control list representative of said preselected second set characters for said selected page of text and to be displayed in said second display section in their ordered visual display sequence;

(iii) means for sorting through said control list (FIG.

     7) in said fifth storage means and rearranging said preselected second set characters in said control list into said second list (FIG.

     8) representative of an ordered sequence in which said preselected second set characters appear in said second storage means in said numerically ordered character strikes;

(iv) means for examining said second list to generate character strike selection signals representative of said selected character strikes in said second storage means that have the character font data for all said preselected second set characters in said second list;

(v) means for selecting said preselected second set characters from each accessed, selected character strike and for transferring the selected of said preselected second set characters into said second segment in said third storage means for display in said second display section;

(10) transfer means (22) coupled to said data control means and said second and fifth storage means and responsive to said character strike selection signals from said data control means to sequentially access from said second storage means, in ascending order, selected character strikes;

(11) data buffer means (68, 70,

     72) coupled to said data control means and to said second and third storage means to sequentially receive and store said selected character strikes accessed by said transfer means, and for transmitting the selected of said preselected second set characters into said second segment in said third storage means under the control of said data control means for display in said second display section.

2. The data processing system of claim 1 wherein said data buffer means is capable of receiving and storing a presently accessed character strike from said second storage means concurrently with the storage of a previously accessed character strike from said second storage means, the selection and transfer to said third storage means of said selected of said preselected second set characters from said previous accessed character strike occurring simultaneously with the access and transfer to said data buffer means of said presently accessed character strike.

3. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein said first and third storage means is a solid-state random access memory.

4. The data processing system of claim 3, wherein said second storage means is a magnetic disk random access memory.

5. The data processing system of claim 1, wherein the first set of characters include a plurality of character sub-sets, and all of the characters of a predetermined one of said sub-sets are represented by a single character font bit map in said first storage means.

6. The data processing system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of character sub-sets include Hiragana, Katakana, Romaji and Kanji character sub-sets, and said predetermined one character sub-set is the Kanji character sub-set.

7. The data processing system of claim 6, wherein the second set of characters include Hiragana, Katakana, Romaji and Kanji character sub-sets.