Terminal display and storage system

Abstract

A terminal display incorporates a cathode ray tube (CRT) that is mounted in conjunction with a keyboard for use by an operator such as a bank clerk. Main and remote CPU's are accessed by the keyboard to provide an input for recording a signature card through a signature capture device including a television camera. The signature information in the form of the relevant bits or characters is transmitted to the main CPU for storage through a buffered system that incorporates a portion of this invention. In order to save storage space, only those relevant bits that relate to a given character designating the number of spaces is recorded in a manner whereby blanks and the appropriate number thereof are recorded as a single character form, indicating the number of blanks, thereby compressing the signature character bits substantially. After storage, the operator at the terminal is able to retrieve and display a signature that has been stored, which is then displayed on the lower portion of the CRT at the operator's remote location from the main CPU. The lower portion of the CRT is utilized in lieu of the entire CRT so that the data on the upper portion of approximately the top two thirds of the screen can be provided with an alphanumeric representation on the top of the screen and a video display on the bottom of the screen by means of a unique display timer of this invention.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.