Network font server
First Claim
1. A communications network with printers and workstations, the network including:
- A. font storage devices for storing font files;
B. one or more font servers, for providing to each of the printers and workstations printing and displaying information and bit maps or outlines of characters for printing or display in response to printing and display requirements frown the printers and workstations, respectively, said font servers including;
i. means for performing selected rendering instructions,ii. means for performing character mappings,iii. means for manipulating font-specific information in accordance with transformation matrices,iv. means for manipulating bit maps and character outlines into formats which are compatible with the operating system and application software of the printer or workstation printer.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A font server communicates with workstations and printers, i.e., clients, on a network and provides them with font-specific information that allow them to select a licensed font and to specify how to customize the font. The font server responds to a client'"'"'s printing or display requests regarding a specific font or printing or display features, such as letter height, orientation, writing mode. The font server may customize a font by remapping glyphs, rotating or scaling characters and symbols, or adding special kerning pairs or ligatures. The font server then performs all the necessary rendering calculations and manipulations using the font, and produces the bit maps or outlines required for displaying or printing the desired characters and symbols. The font server translates fonts into a format that is compatible with the client'"'"'s text processing application and operating system. To minimize traffic on the network, the font server and client use name-identifiers to communicate.
127 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A communications network with printers and workstations, the network including:
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A. font storage devices for storing font files; B. one or more font servers, for providing to each of the printers and workstations printing and displaying information and bit maps or outlines of characters for printing or display in response to printing and display requirements frown the printers and workstations, respectively, said font servers including; i. means for performing selected rendering instructions, ii. means for performing character mappings, iii. means for manipulating font-specific information in accordance with transformation matrices, iv. means for manipulating bit maps and character outlines into formats which are compatible with the operating system and application software of the printer or workstation printer. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for printing characters, the method including the steps of:
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A. sending to a font server information identifying a printer and the operating characteristics of the printer; B. sending to the font server requests for information relating to one or more fonts; C. receiving the requested information from the font server; D. selecting a font for use in printing characters and notifying the font server; E. sending to the font server a list of characters; F. receiving from the font server a bit map or outline, as appropriate, for each character on the list rendered in accordance with the selected font and in a format which is compatible with the operating system of the printer, and G. accumulating the bit maps and outlines and printing the characters in a prescribed order. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for displaying characters, the method including the steps of:
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A. sending to a font server information identifying a workstation and the operating characteristics of the workstation; B. sending to the font server requests for information relating to one or more fonts; C. selecting a font and rendering instructions for use in displaying characters; D. sending to the font server a list of characters; E. receiving from the font server a bit map or outline, as appropriate, for each character on the list rendered in accordance with the selected font and rendering instructions and in a format which is compatible with the operating system of the workstation, and F. accumulating the bit maps and outlines and displaying the characters in a prescribed order. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for providing over a network character bit maps or outlines for use in printing or displaying characters, the apparatus including:
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A. means for receiving information over the network; B. means for sending information over the network; C. means for remapping characters to glyphs, in accordance with information received over the network; and D. means for rendering character bit maps or outlines in accordance with the glyph mapping. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A font server comprising:
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means for receiving from a client an identifier of said client and client information related to said client; means for receiving a request from said client for selecting a font, said request containing a font identifier for said font and containing said identifier of said client; means, responsive to said font identifier, for retrieving font information related to said font from a storage device; means, responsive to said request, for establishing a font object associated with said client, said font object holding said font information and a plurality of characters, said characters being manipulated according to said font information and said client information into a form required by said client; and means for providing said characters to said client. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method for serving a client application, said method comprising:
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receiving from a client an identifier of said client and client information related to said client; receiving a request from said client for selecting a font, said request containing a font identifier for said font and containing said identifier of said client; retrieving, in response to said font identifier, font information related to said font from a storage device; establishing, in response to said request, a font object associated with said client, said font object holding said font information and a plurality of characters, said characters being manipulated according to said font information and said client information into a form required by said client; and providing said characters to said client. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification