Text editing and display system

A unit for displaying characters including predetermined delimiter characters, said display comprising:

• A. display means for displaying characters at a predetermined number of consecutive display positions along a given line in a predetermined timing sequence in response to the receipt of character codes;
• B. memory means for storing the character codes in a plurality of addressable storage locations, the character codes representing the characters to be displayed on a line, each character code designating whether it represents a delimiter character;
• C. timing means connected to said display means for establishing the predetermined timing sequence;
• D. transfer means connected to said memory means, said display means and said timing means for transferring the character codes from said memory means to said display means;
• E. delimiter means connected to said transfer means and responsive to the retrieval of character codes from said memory means for indicating the transfer of a character code representing a delimiter character from said memory means;
• F. detector means connected to said timing means for indicating when a character would be displayed at a display position beyond the predetermined number of display positions after the beginning of the given line;
• G. delimiter position recording means connected to said delimiter means and said timing means for recording the display position for each successive delimiter character that is to be displayed on the given line;
• H. control means connected to said delimiter position recording means, said detector means and said transfer means for enabling said transfer means to transfer to said display means character codes corresponding only to the characters to be displayed through a display position defined by said delimiter position recording means;
• and
• I. address generator means connected to said memory means and said timing means for generating address signals that are applied to said memory means for identifying the storage locations in a sequence corresponding to the consecutive display positions thereby to cause a retrieval of the character codes from said memory means.

A unit for displaying groups of characters on a plurality of lines wherein each character group is defined by a delimiter character and each character is defined by a character code, said unit comprising:

• A. display means for displaying the character groups in a predetermined timing sequence at a predetermined number of display positions along a given line;
• B. memory means for storing the character codes representing the characters to be displayed in addressable storage locations;
• C. timing means connected to said display means for establishing the predetermined timing sequence;
• D. transfer means connected to said memory means, said display means and said timing means for transferring the character codes from said memory means to said display means;
• E. delimiter means connected to said transfer means and responsive to the retrieval of character codes from said memory means for indicating the transfer of a character code representing a delimiter character from said memory means;
• F. margin means connected to said timing means for generating a margin signal when a character would be displayed in a display position beyond the predetermined number of display positions in the given line;
• G. address generating means connected to said timing means and said memory means for applying to said memory means storage location addresses in a sequence corresponding to the consecutive display positions;
• H. address recording means connected to said address generator means and said delimiter means for recording the storage location address for each delimiter character to be displayed on the given line;
• I. display position recording means connected to said margin means and said delimiter means for recording the display position for each successive delimiter character to be displayed on the given line;
• J. address transfer means connected to said address recording means, said address generator means and said timing means for setting said address generating means to the last recorded address in said address recording means thereby to set a starting address for a first character to be displayed at the beginning of a line of characters following the given line;
• and
• K. control means connected to said transfer means, said margin means and said display position recording means and responsive to the margin signal and signals from said display position recording means for inhibiting the transfer from said transfer means to said display means of any character codes representing characters to be displayed beyond a display position determined by the last recorded delimiter character.

A text-editing and display system for displaying lines of characters, said system comprising:

• A. a processor for performing editing operations in response to editing commands;
• B. a memory unit connected for data transfer with said processor for storing character codes defining characters to be displayed and word delimiters, at least some of which are also characters, said processor performing editing operations on the character codes stored in said memory, the character codes corresponding to successively displayed characters being stored in said memory unit for retrieval in sequence, and
• C. a display unit comprising:
• i. a display device for displaying frames of text formed of lines of displayed characters in a predetermined timing sequence, and
• ii. a display controller connecting said memory unit and said display device, said display controller including:
• a. timing means connected to said display device for establishing the predetermined timing sequence,
• b. running-address register means connected to said memory means and said timing means for addressing said memory unit to retrieve the character codes therefrom in sequence,
• c. a character register means connected to said memory unit and said timing means for receiving and holding the succession of character codes retrieved from said memory unit,
• d. display causing means connected to said character register and to said display unit and responsive to the contents of said character register for causing the display of a corresponding line of successive characters at said display device,
• e. a margin register connected to said processor for storing a number indicating a selected maximum line length and thereby defining a line-ending margin position,
• f. position recording means connected to said timing means for recording the position, along said line, of the last word delimiter to be displayed in the line of characters,
• g. inhibiting means connected to said position recording means and said display causing means and responsive to the recorded position along said line of the last word delimiter for inhibiting the display of the characters that succeed the last word delimiter, and
• h. means connected to said timing means and said running address generator means and operable after the beginning of each display frame for setting said running-address register means to the memory address of the next character code for use in the retrieval of character codes for the next line of characters to be displayed.