Composite document accessing and processing terminal with graphic and text data buffers

What is claimed is:

1. A data processing terminal comprising;

an input device including text data generator means for generating coded text data representative of information symbols,

mass storage means for storing said text data, and for storing graphic data representative of a binary bit pattern of a raster image,

monitor means and raster image printer means for displaying and printing, respectively, images in response to said graphic and text data,

graphic data buffer means electrically coupled to the printer means, the monitor means and the mass storage means for storing for a short term, graphic data, for a full raster image, received from the mass storage means and for supplying graphic data to the printer means and monitor means,

text data buffer means electrically coupled to the text data generator means, the printer means, the monitor means and the mass storage means for storing for a short term, text data, for a full raster image, received from the text data generator means and mass storage means and for supplying text data to the printer means and monitor means, and

a central processing unit (CPU) programmed to respond to commands from the input device to process text data and to control data flow to and from the graphic data buffer means, the text data buffer means and the mass storage means, the CPU being programmed to maintain composite documents, an individual composite document comprising separately stored blocks of graphic data and text data to be displayed or printed as a composite image, the CPU being programmed to retrieve from mass storage both graphic data and text data of a composite document with a single file access of the composite document by a user and programmed to control application of text data from the text data buffer means and graphic data from the graphic data buffer means to the monitor means and the printer means for respectively displaying and printing images created from a composite document of text data and graphic data.

2. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the CPU is programmed to maintain a file index to composite documents.

3. The terminal of claim 1 further comprising telecommunication means for coupling the terminal to a transmission medium for transmitting graphic data, text data and a combination of graphic data and text data between local and remote terminals to display and print images created from graphic data, text data and a combination of graphic data and text data with data residing at the local and remote terminals.

4. The terminal of claim 3 wherein said telecommunication means is coupled to the mass storage means of the terminal.

5. The terminal of claim 1 further comprising graphic data compression means for compressing the graphic data from the graphic data buffer means prior to storage by the mass storage means and decompression means for decompressing graphic data retrieved from the mass storage means to the graphic data buffer means.

6. The terminal of claim 1 further comprising scaler means for reducing resolution of graphic data received from the graphic data buffer means before its application to the monitor means.

7. The terminal of claim 6 wherein the resolution of graphic data displayed by the monitor means is less than that printed by the printer means.

8. The terminal of claim 5 wherein the scaler means reduces the resolution of the graphic data from about 200 ppi to about 100 ppi.

9. The terminal of claim 1 further comprising graphic data generator means including a CCD array having a plurality of photosensitive elements corresponding to pixels in a row of the raster image defined by the graphic data.

10. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the printer means includes a thermographic printer having a plurality of heating pads for marking a record medium.

11. The terminal of claim 1 wherein the text data generator means comprises a keyboard means having keys for generating different information symbols.

12. An office information system communication method comprising, at a local terminal,

providing graphic data representative of a raster image of a target document and text data representative of information symbols,

storing the graphic and text data in mass storage means as composite documents, an individual composite document comprising separately stored blocks of graphic data and text data to be displayed or printed as a composite image,

temporarily storing the graphic and text data, for a full raster image, from the mass storage means in graphic and text data buffers, respectively,

applying the graphic data to a raster image monitor means from the graphic data buffer and applying the text data to the monitor means from the text data buffer for displaying images created from text data, graphic data and a combination of text data and graphic data,

transmitting between the local terminal and a remote terminal a composite document comprising text data and graphic data and at the local terminal and remote terminal displaying and printing images created from text data, graphic data and a combination of text data and graphic data residing at the local terminal and at the remote terminal.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising maintaining a fine index to documents.

14. A data processing terminal comprising

primary memory including separate graphic data map storage and text data storage,

a graphic data source for providing graphic data representing a binary bit pattern of a raster image, the graphic data to be stored in the graphic data map storage,

an input device including text generator means coupled to the memory for generating text data representing information symbols, the text data to be stored in the text data storage,

a monitor coupled to the primary memory for displaying data from the graphic data map storage and from the text data storage, and

a central processing unit (CPU) programmed to respond to commands from the input device to process text data from the text data storage, to control data flow to and from the primary memory, to maintain composite documents, an individual composite document comprising separately stored blocks of graphic data and text data to be displayed, but not being displayed, as a composite image, and to control display by the monitor of images created from a combination of graphic data from the graphic data map storage and text data from the text data storage.

15. The terminal of claim 14 wherein the graphic data source comprises mass storage.

16. The terminal of claim 14 wherein the CPU is programmed to maintain a file index to composite documents.

17. The terminal of claim 14 wherein the graphic data source comprises a camera for viewing a document.

18. The terminal of claim 14 further comprising disc storage for storing graphic data and text data as composite documents of separately stored blocks of graphic data and text data to be displayed or printed as a composite image.

19. The terminal of claim 18 further comprising compression means for compressing or decompressing graphic data for storage and retrieval of graphic data to and from the disc storage.

20. The terminal of claim 14 further comprising printer means coupled to the memory for printing an image created from text data, graphic data and combinations thereof.

21. A data processing terminal as claimed in claim 14 further comprising a character generator coupling the text data storage and the monitor, the character generator converting text data from the text data storage to a binary bit pattern of a raster image.

22. A data processing terminal comprising

primary memory including separate graphic data map storage and text data storage,

a graphic data source for providing graphic data representing a binary bit pattern of a raster image of a document, the graphic data to be stored in the graphic data map storage,

an input device including text generator means coupled to the memory for generating text data representing information symbols, the text data to be stored in the text data storage,

a monitor coupled to the primary memory,

telecommunications means for coupling the terminal to a transmission medium and transmitting and receiving text data and graphic data, and

a central processing unit (CPU) programmed to respond to commands from the input device to process text data from the text data storage, to control data flow to and from the primary memory, to maintain composite documents, an individual composite document comprising separately stroed blocks of text data and graphic data to be displayed or printed as a composite document, to control superimposed display by the monitor of graphic data from the graphic data map storage and text data from the text dta map storage and to control transmission and reception of text data and graphic data through the telecommunication means as composite documents of separately transmitted blocks of graphic data and text data to be displayed or printed as a composite image.

23. The terminal of claim 22 further comprising printer means coupled to the memory for printing an image created from text data, graphic data and combinations thereof.

24. The terminal of claim 22 wherein the CPU is programmed to maintain a file index to composite documents.

Description Submit all comments and votes

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to method and apparatus for office information systems and more specifically to communication terminals having a raster image scanner and being capable of dealing with the combination of text and graphic images created with structured and unstructured data.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Office information systems include computers and associated peripherals such as monitors, e.g. a cathode ray tube (CRT), mass storage devices such as disks, and printers to keep track of, to manipulate and to distribute information necessary to the activities of a given office. Typically, these systems deal only with structured, i.e. coded, digital data to represent the information. Text and (synthesized) graphic information displayed on a monitor or printed out by a printer are created solely from structured data.

A daisy wheel printer is an example of a printer that can create only limited images and it does so from structured or coded input data. In contrast, a CRT monitor and a matrix pin printer create images in a raster pattern made up of a plurality of rows of pixels or points on the screen or a page of paper each of which must be represented by a binary bit to represent an "on", i.e. glow state for a given pixel on the monitor screen or the "dot" for a given pixel on a piece of paper in the printer. The pixel on the monitor screen may also have a plurality of intensity levels but that dimension is not relevant to the present discussion.

Structured or coded data applied to a CRT or a matirx pin printer requires that the code be translated by a local character generator into a family of binary bits or data that represent the "on" or "off" status of the number of pixels and rows needed to create the image represented by the code. Coded data applied to a daisy wheel serial printer merely requires that the character on a given pedal of the daisy wheel be positioned under the printer hammer in response to the code for the given character.

As used herein, digital or binary data that represents the "on" or "off" (or "dot" or "blank") status of all the pixels in the raster--or a portion of the raster--is unstructured or uncoded data.

Hereafter, the term "term data" is intended to mean structured or coded data representing an image to be created at either or both a monitor and printer. Text data is an appropriate term for coded data because a large portion of the coded data in an office information system is likely to be English prose--or another language --as distinquished from graphics. However, it is also meant to include data representive of any information symbols such as mathematical expressions and geometric line segments, an arc and a curve.

The term "graphic data" is intended to mean unstructured data representative of the binary bit pattern associated with a raster image. This term is appropriate for unstructrured data because it conveys the idea of being related to a picture, handwritten prose, a chart or graph or the like which logically would be appropriate for being scanned by a camera.

The reader should understand, however, that text data can represent graphic information but it will be in a structured data form and graphic data can represent printed prose if that is the information put in front of the raster scanner.

Prior to this invention, raster scanning devices that generate unstructered data, e.g. the vidicon tube of a television (TV) camera and charge coupled device (CCD) arrays with scanning optics, have not been integrated into office information systems. The complexity of dealing with the unstructed data produced by the scanner was understood to require too great expenditures of money to make the integration of a camera into the system economically feasible. As explained, monitors and printers typically found in office information systems respond only to structured input data. The communication time required to transmit information represented by unstructured data is much greater than that for information represented by coded data which is another inhibiting factor. Most significantly, no one perceived the present system configuration or its ability to make a highly effective use of a scanning camera and its graphic data.

The publishing industry has used computers and monitors to edit materials prior to publication but their systems are not office information systems. The publishing systems are not interactive communication tools but rather are used to make printing masters that include both text information, i.e. prose, and graphic information, i.e. a facsimile of a photograph. The requirements of a publishing system differ greatly from that of an office information system. For one, the image resolution requirements expressed in terms of pixels per inch (ppi), of the publishing system are economically inappropriate for a real-time, interactive, office information system. The scan rate in a publishing system is generally inappropriate and the required graphic data storage far too excessive for an office information system. Also, a document need not be displayed while it is being transmitted to a remote station when the purpose is photographic plate or master making.

Office systems have needed a terminal suited in particular for the manager or executive. Managers continually communicate with their peers and subordinates. A good portion of their communications are over the telephone and often a document necessary to the conversation exists in the hands of only one of the callers. In addition, information in digital form on a word processing system or in a personal computer would be helpful to the conversation but there is no appropriate means for transmitting it between terminals in real or near real time. The callers, of course, would have no way of modifying or blending transmitted text data with graphic data in a manner helpful to a phone conversation between the users of the terminals. Also, there is a need to store both graphic and text data at remote devices for rapid retrieval and review.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to devise a communication terminal having a graphic data generator, i.e. a camera, being capable of exchanging text and graphic data with a remote device and being capable of having a display and a print out of composite images created from text data and graphic data residing in either or both the local or remote device.

It is also a main object of this invention to make a communication terminal for an office information system that includes a raster scanning input device for generating graphic data for display, storage, transmission to another terminal and for printout of images that include both text and graphic information, i.e. information represented by text and graphic data.

Another object is to define a highly effective configuration for a communicating device having a raster scanning input ability and that is technically and economically viable for the office environment, suited for business order entry applications, and suited for remote storage and retrieval of text and graphic data.

Another prime object of the invention is to integrate a raster scanning device, specifically a charge coupled device (CCD) linear array with scanning optics or a self scanning array, with a communicating personal computer to significantly expand the capabilities of the computer to the point that a unique communication product is defined for office information systems.

Still another object of this invention is to significantly reduce the complexity of the foregoing defined communication terminal by segregating text and graphic data within the communication teminal until it is outputted to a monitor or display and to leave it segregated for communication between terminals.

Another object of this invention is to design the above communication terminal to use temporary storage buffers for both text and graphic data for entry of the data into the terminal and entry and exit of data into and out of long-term storage means to simplify the terminal without sacrificing performance.

A further object directed at simplifying the foregoing communication terminal is to reduce the resolution of the graphic data for display only. This means that graphic data can be displayed at a resolution lower than the resolution at which it is printed or long term stored. The low resolution graphic buffer gives the operator the choice to view the graphic information at one resolution on the monitor or at a second higher resolution via the printer. This arrangement enables the terminal to have a lower cost but without totally sacrificing a desired resolution.

Yet another object directed toward defining the above communication terminal in a fashion to make it suited for the office is to establish communications between two terminals to direct transfer of text and graphic data between long term storage at the terminals.

Consistent with the foregoing, it is also an object to compress the graphic data before storing it in the long-term storage means and before transmission to a remote device.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are realized by integrating a CCD camera, i.e. a graphic data generator, with a personal computer and by further including the necessary memory capacity for buffer storage, a Winchester disk drive for long term storage, a communication controller for terminal to terminal transmissions and a thermographic printer capable of producing a raster image print out. The text an