US 4,231,096 A · Digital typesetter

Abstract

A digital typesetter for imaging graphics quality characters of a specified font. The typesetter includes an electronic data processing system which receives first digital data defining the identity, form, size and placement of characters to be typeset; receives second digital data defining the contour of each character to be typeset with respect to a normalized encoding set of first and second coordinates; and produces third digital data defining the character boundaries intersecting a raster (scan) line. This third digital data, for at least a portion of the raster line extending the width of several characters, is temporarily stored in a raster line storage buffer. A character imaging device, connected to the line storage buffer, is provided to image successive raster lines on a print medium. Drive means are also provided for moving the print medium in a direction transverse to the direction of the raster (scan) line.

Claims44

Dependent claims

A typesetter for the automatic generation of characters comprising, in combination:

(a) input means for providing first digital data specifying the identity, form, size and placement of characters to be typeset;
(b) font storage means for storing and providing second digital data defining the contour of each character of at least one font with respect to a normalized encoding set of first and second coordinates;
(c) electronic data processing means, connected to said input means and said font storage means, for receiving said first and second digital data and producing third digital data defining the boundaries of a plurality of characters, specified by said first digital data, at the points of intersection with a raster line, and,
(d) character imaging means, connected to said electronic data processing means, receiving said third digital data for writing said characters on an imaging surface.

1 more element

A system for the automatic generation of characters comprising:

an input means for specifying the identity, size and placement of the characters to be generated;
a font storage means defining the contour of each of said characters with respect to a normalized encoding set of first and second coordinates;
and data processing means, connected to the input means and the font storage means, for receiving the data from said input means and font storage means and identifying the locations of the intersections of the boundaries of a plurality of said specified characters with a raster line.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Digital typesetter

Life of this patent

Digital typesetter

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims44