Automated sign generator

An automated sign generator for laying out sign text comprising:

• support means having a support surface for holding sheet material on which sign text is generated in a visually perceptible form;
• a marking tool engageable with the sheet material on the support surface of the support means for marking the contours of text characters on the material;
• controlled motor means connected with the support means and the marking tool for moving the tool and the sheet material relative to one another to mark text characters on the sheet material;
• memory means for storing as preprogrammed data a font of text characters of uniform size in terms of strokes, and character spaces whereby the controlled motor means can produce relative movement of the sheet material and the marking tool in accordance with the preprogrammed data to manifest the characters;
• keying and storing means connected with the memory means for selecting characters from the stored font and composing a sign text for manifestion of the sign by the marking tool on the sheet material;
• and
• editing means for modifying the preprogrammed spacing of selected characters in the composed text of a sign to improve the text appearance in the manifested sign.

Apparatus for cutting sign text in sheet material adhesively carried on an underlying release liner for transfer from the liner to a sign board or other object comprising:

• support means having a support surface for holding the sheet material and the underlying liner during a cutting operation;
• cutting means having a cutting tool suspended over the support surface and the sheet material on the release liner for cutting sign text characters as a group through the sheet material to the underlying liner;
• controlled motor means for moving the sheet material on the release liner and the cutting tool relative to one another as the tool cuts each sign text character through the sheet material to the liner;
• memory means having a ROM portion for storing vectors and other data defining a font of text characters for guiding the relative movement of the cutting tool and sheet material during the character cutting operations, the memory means also including a RAM portion for receiving and storing from the font in the ROM portion data defining a plurality of characters selected to compose the sign text to be cut by the tool during a sign cutting operation;
• and
• text entry means for selecting the text characters in the memory means and the character arrangement in a sign to be cut in the sheet material, and including a keyboard having keys corresponding to the text characters defined in the font stored in the ROM portion of the memory means, and associated interface means between the keyboard and memory means for storing the data defining the keyed characters composing a sign in the RAM portion of the memory means.