System for selecting, distributing, and selling fonts

• US 6,853,980 B1
• Filed: 09/07/1999
• Issued: 02/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MyFonts, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Bitstream Incorporated
• Inventors: Ying, Charles, Collins, John S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bartuska, F. J.
• Application Number:
  US09/391,291
• Time in Patent Office: 1,981 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.62
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A computerized system, such as one practiced with an e-commerce font server, enables a user to select one or more fonts. According to one aspect, a user can select a font from a multi-dimensional font space defined by the attribute values of a plurality of fonts. The system repeatedly 1) enables the user to select a spatial specification defined relative to the currently selected font in the space; 2) determines which fonts, if any, match the spatial specification; 3) displays character-font shapes of those fonts; and 4) makes one of the displayed fonts a new currently selected font relative to which a new spatial specification can be selected. The spatial specification can merely selects fonts which are closest in the attribute space, can select the nearest font in a selected direction, or can provide more complex spatial selection. According to another aspect of the invention, a server makes fonts available to clients over a network. The server uploads from a client an image of one or more shapes belonging to a given font and performs pattern matching to select which fonts stored on the server best match the uploaded font shapes. The server downloads displayable font shapes for each such best matching font so a user can select one or more of them. It uploads information from the client identifying one or more fonts selected for downloading, and then downloads the selected fonts to the client in a form suitable for use by the client'"'"'s operating system.

Claims

1. A method performed by computing machinery for enabling a user to select a font comprising:

storing information about each of a set of fonts, including a value of each of a plurality of attributes for each such font, which attributes, and the values of such attributes, define a multi-dimensional font space in which each of said fonts has a position;

providing a font-selection user interface that enables a user to select a font from said font space;

responding to a user selection of a font through the font selection interface by making the selected font the currently selected font, including using the stored attribute values of the currently selected font to define a currently selected point in said multi-dimensional font space; and

then performing the following sequence one or more times;

providing a spatial-specification user interface that enables the user to select a spatial specification relative to said currently selected point from among a plurality of such spatial specifications, each of which user-selectable spatial specifications defines a sub-portion of said font space defined by position relative to the currently selected point, with different spatial specifications defining sub-portions of said font space with different displacements in different dimensions of said space relative to the currently selected point;

responding to a user selection of a spatial specification through said spatial-specification interface by making the selected spatial specification the current spatial specification;

searching to find which one or more fonts, if any, are in the sub-portion of the font space defined by the currently selected spatial specification;

displaying one or more character-font shapes of the one or more fonts found by the search to be in the current spatial specification'"'"'s sub-portion of the font space; and

—

making one of the said displayed fonts in the current specification'"'"'s sub-portion of the font space the new currently selected font relative to which a new spatial specification can be selected by said spatial-specification interface, including using the stored attribute values of the new currently selected font to define a new currently selected point in said multi-dimensional font space.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein when only one font occurs in the sub-portion of the font space defined by the currently selected spatial specification, said one font is automatically made the currently selected font relative to which a new spatial specification can be selected.

3. A method as in claim 1 wherein when more than one font occurs in the sub-portion of the font space defined by the currently selected spatial specification, the font selection user interface enables a user to select which of the fonts found by said search is to be made the new currently selected font.

4. A computerized method as in claim 1 wherein:

said method is executed by an e-commerce server computer which can communicate with one or more client computers over a computer network;

said server downloads a user interface to a given client computer which includes all or a part of said font selection and spatial selection interfaces;

said downloaded user interface includes a user interface that allows a user to select to pay for the use of a selected font and which uploads to the server information about such a selection to pay for a selected font; and

said server responds to an upload of information about such a selection to pay for a selected font by billing an account associated with the user.

5. A method performed by computing machinery for enabling a user to select a font comprising:

storing information about each of a set of fonts, including a value of each of a plurality of attributes for each such font, which attributes, and the values of such attributes, define a multi-dimensional font space in which each of said fonts has a position;

providing a user interface that enables a user to select a font from said font space;

responding to such a user selection of a font by making the selected font the currently selected font, including using the stored attribute values of the currently selected font to define a currently selected point in said multi-dimensional font space;

performing a search to find a sub-set of the fonts in said multi-dimensional font space which are within a sub-portion of the font space defined by a given distance metric relative to the position of said currently selected point; and

making the sub-set of fonts found by said search the currently selectable fonts;

displaying one or more character-font shapes of each such currently selectable font;

wherein;

said providing of a user interface includes providing a user interface that enables the user to select one of the displayed currently selectable fonts found by said search; and

said responding to a selection of a font includes responding to the selection of one of said displayed fonts found by the search by making the selected font said currently selected font.

6. A method performed on a server computer for making fonts available to client computers over a computer network comprising:

uploading from a given client computer an image of one or more sample character-font shapes belonging to a given font;

performing pattern matching between the character-font shapes in the uploaded image and character-font shapes from each of a plurality of fonts stored on the server to select one or more of said stored fonts having character-font shapes which best match the uploaded character-font shapes;

downloading to the client a representation of each of one or more of said best matching fonts, including one or more displayable character-font shapes for each such font;

uploading information from the client identifying one or more fonts as having been selected for downloading, which selected fonts can include the best matching fonts downloaded to the client; and

downloading the one or more fonts identified as selected for downloading to the client in a form which enables such fonts to be used by the client'"'"'s operating system for rendering text in said downloaded fonts;

wherein said method includes downloading to said given client computer a user interface which;

provides controls which help a user of the given computer upload said image;

displays said downloaded representations of the best matching fonts as currently selectable fonts;

enables a user to select one or more of said currently selectable fonts as a font selected for downloading; and

responds to a selection of one or more fonts as fonts selected for downloading by uploading said information identifying said fonts as fonts selected for downloading; and

wherein the server downloads to the client not only said representation of each of the one or more best matching fonts but also an indication of the relative closeness of the match between each of those best matching fonts and the character-font shapes in the uploaded image.

7. A method performed by computing machinery for enabling a user to select a font comprising:

storing information about each of a set of known fonts, including a value of each of a plurality of attributes for each such fonts, which attributes, and the values of such attributes, define a multi-dimensional font space in which each of said fonts has a position;

receiving from a user an image of sample character-font shapes belonging to a given font;

performing pattern matching between the sample character-font shapes and stored representations of character-font shapes from each of a plurality of said known fonts to select one or more of the known fonts having character-font shapes which best match the character-font shapes received from the user;

displaying the one or more best matching fonts, including one or more character-fonts shapes of each such font, as currently selectable fonts;

providing a font selection user interface that enables the user to select one of said currently selectable fonts;

responding to a user selection of a font through the font selection interface by making the selected font the currently selected font, including using the stored attribute values of the currently selected font to define a currently selected point in said multi-dimensional font space; and

performing the following sequence one or more times;

providing a spatial specification user interface that enables the user to select a spatial specification relative to said currently selected point from among a plurality of such spatial specifications, each of which specifications defines a sub-portion of said font space defined by position relative to the currently selected point, with different spatial specifications defining sub-portions of said font space with different extents in different dimensions of said space;

responding to a user selection of a spatial specification through said spatial specification interface by making the selected spatial specification the current spatial specification;

searching to find which one or more fonts, if any, are in the sub-portion of the font space defined by the currently selected spatial specification; and

displaying one or more character-font shapes of the one or more fonts found by the search to be in the current specification'"'"'s sub-portion of the font space; and

making one of the said fonts in the current specification'"'"'s sub-portion of the font space the currently selected font relative to which a new spatial specification can be selected by said spatial specification interface, including using the stored attribute values of the new currently selected font to define a new currently selected point in said multi-dimensional font space.

8. A method as in claim 7 wherein when only one font occurs in the sub-portion of the font space defined by the currently selected spatial specification, said one font is automatically made the currently selected font relative to which a new spatial specification can be selected.

9. A method as in claim 7 wherein when more than one font occurs in the sub-portion of the font space defined by the currently selected spatial specification, the font selection user interface enables a user to select which of the fonts found by said search is to be made the new currently selected font.

10. A computerized method as in claim wherein:

said method is performed by a client/server system comprised of a server computer and one or more client computers connected to the server computer by the internet;

the server downloads a user interface to a given client which has communicated with it;

the downloaded interface prompts the user to select an image of one or more character-font shapes and uploads that image to the server;

the server receives the uploaded image, performs the pattern matching on character-font shapes in the uploaded image, and downloads a displayable representation of character-font shapes of said one or more best matching font to the client; and

the downloaded interface receives the downloaded representations of the best matching fonts, and includes said font selection interface, which displays the best matching fonts as the currently selectable fonts, and allows the user to select one of the currently selectable fonts as the currently selected font.

11. A computerized method as in claim 10 wherein:

the downloaded interface also includes said spatial specification user interface, which allows the user to select the current spatial specification and uploads the identification of the current spatial specification to the server;

the server determines which, if any, known fonts are in the portion of the font space defined by the currently selected spatial specification and downloads a representation of such known fonts to the downloaded interface;

the downloaded interface displays the downloaded fonts which the server has found to be within the currently selected spatial specification, and through said font selection interface enable the user to select one of the resulting currently selectable fonts as the currently selected font.