CA1101351A - Electronic typewriter having an electronic display - Google Patents
Electronic typewriter having an electronic displayInfo
- Publication number
- CA1101351A CA1101351A CA302,589A CA302589A CA1101351A CA 1101351 A CA1101351 A CA 1101351A CA 302589 A CA302589 A CA 302589A CA 1101351 A CA1101351 A CA 1101351A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- display
- dots
- line
- screen
- memory
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
- G03G15/22—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern involving the combination of more than one step according to groups G03G13/02 - G03G13/20
- G03G15/221—Machines other than electrographic copiers, e.g. electrophotographic cameras, electrostatic typewriters
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J3/00—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed
- B41J3/44—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms having dual functions or combined with, or coupled to, apparatus performing other functions
- B41J3/46—Printing mechanisms combined with apparatus providing a visual indication
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G2215/00—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes
- G03G2215/00172—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes relative to the original handling
- G03G2215/00177—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes relative to the original handling for scanning
- G03G2215/00181—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes relative to the original handling for scanning concerning the original's state of motion
- G03G2215/00189—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes relative to the original handling for scanning concerning the original's state of motion original moving
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Liquid Crystal (AREA)
- Printers Characterized By Their Purpose (AREA)
- Input From Keyboards Or The Like (AREA)
- Combination Of More Than One Step In Electrophotography (AREA)
- Liquid Crystal Display Device Control (AREA)
- Document Processing Apparatus (AREA)
Abstract
ELECTRONIC TYPEWRITER HAVING AN ELECTRONIC DISPLAY
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A word processing system for displaying and reproducing alphanumeric characters on a photocopy machine capable of scanning an original document, having a housing including an electronic keyboard with keys representing individual alphanumeric characters, the housing including a display for viewing a portion of the information keys, and a memory circiut coupled to said keyboard for storing and spacing the alphanumeric indicia in memory. A micro-processor circuit, having an algorythm circuit, is coupled to the memory circuit for converting the stored alpahnumeric indicia from the memory to a line of dots by comparison with the algorythm cirucit; and at least one elongated, solid state reflective display strip, having a single line of reflective dots defining its display screen, is disposed transversely to the scanning direction of the photocopy machine, the strip being coupled to the microprocessor, the microprocessor addressing he proper column of dots in a row to produce the top portion of a complete line of alpha-numeric characters on the screen, addressing the same column of dots in the next sequential row, so that the top portion of the characters are shifted one space up to display the adjacent lower portion of the character line on the screen, so that, after a plurality of addressing cycles, the stored alphanumeric indicia, which are converted to a line of dots and reproduced on the screen, are scrolled synchronously in the same direction and at the same speed as the scanning speed of the photocopy machine.
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A word processing system for displaying and reproducing alphanumeric characters on a photocopy machine capable of scanning an original document, having a housing including an electronic keyboard with keys representing individual alphanumeric characters, the housing including a display for viewing a portion of the information keys, and a memory circiut coupled to said keyboard for storing and spacing the alphanumeric indicia in memory. A micro-processor circuit, having an algorythm circuit, is coupled to the memory circuit for converting the stored alpahnumeric indicia from the memory to a line of dots by comparison with the algorythm cirucit; and at least one elongated, solid state reflective display strip, having a single line of reflective dots defining its display screen, is disposed transversely to the scanning direction of the photocopy machine, the strip being coupled to the microprocessor, the microprocessor addressing he proper column of dots in a row to produce the top portion of a complete line of alpha-numeric characters on the screen, addressing the same column of dots in the next sequential row, so that the top portion of the characters are shifted one space up to display the adjacent lower portion of the character line on the screen, so that, after a plurality of addressing cycles, the stored alphanumeric indicia, which are converted to a line of dots and reproduced on the screen, are scrolled synchronously in the same direction and at the same speed as the scanning speed of the photocopy machine.
Description
This invention relate~ to an electronic typewri- .
ter lls.ing a li~uid crystal display st.r;.p in coope.ration ~:
with a copy machine to produca a fin:ishad copy. -~
More speciically, ~his invention reJ.ates to an :~
electro,li.c typewriter which uses a li.quid crystal display strip in cooperation wi~h ~ copy machi.ne and whereby the .
li~uid cr~stal strip is scrolled in synaron:i~m with~the sweep o the copy machine to produce a printed copy.
Word pro~essing machines, that .i~ typewrit~rs l.0 having stor~d memories first became available to the public during the middle 1960's. ~IBM Corporation d~veloped the MTST model having a single or dua.1 tape drive which was capable of receiving programmed information from a type~
writer and allowing corrections to be;made to the program ~ :
~: before the final:copy was typed. A number of other manu- ~ ~
acturers such as ~emington, RedactronO Sabin as wall as ~ ~ :
IBM also began:producing magnetic card typew~iters having :
single and dual card capability. The t~ped .information`wa5 stored on one or more magnetic ccards and could be recalled by inserting the card into a card reader at an~ time.
Suitable corrections could be ma~e ~ the text oE the card ; so that the machines removed:~he necessity o expensiVe~:; :~
proof reading of the final material once minor corr~ctlons~
were made to the oriyinal copy.: More sophistocated word processing machines~ have also been developed U~iDg a full : : .
page CRT (cathode ray tube) ~isplay such as the Vydec apparatus. Thi~:allows a ~ull video display of the~ typed information hefore it is transcrihed on p~pe~
3~ , 1 ~ r ,, , 35~
~ rhere is also a xero~ :L200 Mod~l which consists of a binary information fed or serially fed photocopy machine which, however, employs many rno~ing parts, including a cha-racter-generating drum movillg at hiyh speed inside the ~elen-inum reproduction drum~ The character drum works in COlnbi- '~
nation with ~ photo-optical generator for repxoducing the images on the reverse si~e o the seleninum drum, so that they can he printed aftex suitable clust~ g and heat. The imayes produced by this Xerox method are blurr~d and this differs from the present invention, which does not have any moving parts or any noi~e since it is entirely electronic in its character generation.
Almost all o~ the above machines re~lire the use of of a mechanical printing device for transcrlbing the recor-ded information on to a printed page. Some o~ the word pro-cessing devices use a heavy duty IBM selectric ~ypewriter, whereas other use a high speed printer capable of printing approximatel~ 500 words per minute. Newex printer~ are becoming availa~ using an ink spray deposit method in an attempt to improve the speed of the printout. Where a large n~ber o~ pages have to be reproduced from stored information, the operator of the word pro~ssing machine remains idle for long periods of time until the mechanical printing device can complete the trans~er of the in~ormation from a memory disc or tape to the printed page.
The conventional word processing mach:ines also suffer ~rom the disadvanta~e that the mechanical printers are subject`to breakdown and reqllire ~requen~ repairs or adjustments during a heavy duty operation. ~'he mechanical printing portion of the word processtng machines also repre-sents a substantial cost of the word processor, so that the price to purchase some of the conventional word processors runs between $10,000 - $18,000. Moreover, the cost of typewriter ribbons for the mechanical processors runs about $200.00 ~o $500.00 per year, an expense that is eliminated by the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an electronic typewriter which is electrically coupled to a liquid crystal display (LCD) consisting of a strip of liquid crystal material that is exposed to a standard copy machine such as a dry copier for reproducing alpha-numeric charac-ters. In the ;nvention, the electric keyboard of the type-writer is used to type a letter or report. The alpha-numeric letters which are typed are displayed on a screen either adjacent to or mounted on the typewriter itself so that suitable corrections and additions can be made to the text before it is finalized. A~ter the text is typed, a print button on the typewriter is depressed and the complete text is scrolled line-by-line across the LCD
screen and viewed by ~he optical system of the copier.
The LCD strip is also coupled to a memory such as a RAM and a microprocessor by a peripheral interface adapter.
By strobing each electrode connected to the row of dots of the LCD screen, an opaque image is formed on the LCD dis-play. In order to produce a clear image on a xerographic type copy machine where a selenium drum is used to record the image as the drum rotates, the original text either has - : - - -.: ' s~
to be moved or scanned with a moving mirror that is syn-~
chxonous with the rotation of the drum. A9 the drum ro-tates, it IllUSt record a dif:Eerent part of the image on each par-t o~ its ~urface. In the present in~entioll, the :
ori~inal CO}lSists of an LCD strip which either h~s to move with the scanning beam or be held s~atlonar~ and have i~s imaye swept onto the selenium arum. In order to recreate the origina:L copy from -the LCD strip, a technique is used called "upshift character line mode". This is basically a modified scrolling of the character line on the LCD screen. :
On the LCD screen, the top portion of a complete ~ne of alpha-numeric characters are produced on the bottom por-tion of the LCD matrix stxip.
In the next time in-terval this top portion is shi.fted onespace up and now becomes the bottom of the LCD matrix strip and will contain the adjacent lower part of the c~aracter line. A5 the pro-i cessor continues, the entire char~cter will be formed and the topmost portion~of the character will be shifted of e the display in the next time .inter~al. This process is accomplished by the technique o addressing the proper column of doks in the last row, then in the next time in terval addressing these same column dots in ths next se-que.ntial row and addin~ the lower adjacent part of the character line by addressin~ the pre~ious row with the proper column dots. This, in effect, shi.fts the dots up one space ~ and adds to the bottom of the line, the next lowe.r port:ion - of the line. To the copy machine, this creates the illusion of an upward ascending copy in which on~ :is viewing ju5t a line or part o:E the line throu~h a narrow .~lit placed over the copy.
~ .
s~
The LCD strip coupled to the copy machine and fo-cused on the selenium drum thus does, i.n efEect, what the original text would clo when scanned by a mirror of the Ullit or Mo~ed across the ~lit of a moving bed type copy machine. The shi~ting process i5 made synchronous -to the ratP oE opera~ion of the copy mach.ine or in other words the rate of operation of ~he rotating selenium drum ancl thak o~ the movin~ bed.
It is therefore an ohject according to the present invention to provide an elertronic typewri~er:using a liq~lid crystal displa~ stxip which is capable of producing alpha-numerlc lndicla on a photoco~py machine.
It is anothex object according to the present in-vention to provide electronic typewriter with a liquid crys~ :
tal display strip as a printer which is simple in design, easy to construct, and reliable in operation. :
Other objects and ~eatures of the preseIlt inven~~
tion will become apparent ~rom the following detailed des-cription considered in connection with the~accompanying .
drawings which disclose the embodimerlts of the in~ention.
It is to be understood, however, that the drawirlgs are de signed for the puxpose of illustrat~.on only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention~
In the drawiDgs, wherein si.milar reference char~
ac-ters denote similar elements throughout the several views:
Fig. 1 is a perspective v.iew showing the~solid state typewrite.r coupled to a liquid crystal display strip in coopera-tion with a copy machine accordin~ to the inven-tion;
~0 ,~
- ~
l~n~s~ -Fig. 2 is a view partly in cross section of the machine of Fig. 1 with a liquid crystal display mounted thereon;
Fig. 3 shows the copy machine of Fig. 2 in another mode of operation with the moving bed locked;
Fig. 4 is a system operation diagram detailing the operation of the apparatus;
Fig. 5 is a system block diagram of the invention;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an LCD screen using a single dot matrix; and Figs. 7a-7g disclose the formation of an alpha-numeric character using the screen of Fig. 6.
Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown an electronic typewriter 10 having a keyboard with a plurality of keys 12 arranged in a typewriter mode as is well known in the art.
The typewriter has a three line alphanumeric display ll inclined above its keyboard. Power cord lS connects the device to 110 v. AC. In addition, there is included an erase button and repeat or back-space buttons. The typewriter also includes a so~lid state memory circuit for storing the typed alphanumeric display so that when the print button 14 is depressed, the alpha-numerlc display 23 on LCD strip 17 will begin to be scrolled line-by-line. When strip 17 is placed on a glass 21 of a photocopy machine 18, the scrolling of the indicia on strip 17 will be reproduced on the selenium drum 26 of machine 18 as shown in Fig. 2. The machine typicalIy ~ includes a high intensity lamp 24 for illuminating the - indicia formed on strip 17 when it is placed Oll open glass 21 of the machine. The machine also has a reflective mirror 30 so that the reflected light travelling along beam 25 will be reflected onto the surface of the drum as the .
~ -6-~æ .,,:
5~
drum rotates. Strip l7 is connected by a line 19 to the machine and the machine is connected via line 22 to an electronic typewriter 10. Under normal operation9 the original text would be placed on a moving bed 20 which moves across glass 21 at the same tangential speed as the surEace of drum 26 as shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 4 illustrates the system operation of the in-vention. AEter the operator types out the letter and then presses the print keyJ the copy machine is turned on and the LCD screen begins scrolling the alpha-numeric display from the first line to the last line of the type letter.
The image is continuously formed on the selenium drum of the copy machine and at the end of the scrolling, the machine produces the finished page.
Fig. 5 is an electrical block diagram showing tbe ~ ;
operation of the system. Microprocessor unit 31 which is ~ .fed from typewriter lO will drive the peripheral interface adapter (PIA) 32 which is interconnected to display strip 23 for displaying the alpha-numeric indicia. In the system block diagram, the input keyboard 12 which could also be a tape or facsimile input feeds into a memory circuit 33 so that the data is stored and spaced in the memory. A micro-processor 31 converts the keyboard indicia from the memory to a single line of dots by comparison with an algorythm 35.
. ~
The processor then addresses PIA unit 32 via a bussline 40 and the PIA unit strobes LCD display 23 for producing the alpha-numeric indicia.
Fig. 6 discloses an LCD strip having only a single line of dots 26 displayed across its screen. It is obvious that more than one row of dots can be provided on the . -.
~ 3 ~
screen if necessary. As shown in Figs. 7a-7g, when the letter "T" is formed on single row of dots 26, the first appearance of the letter is the top bar of the capital "T"
formed by darkening of a group of dots 126 as sbown in Fig.
7a. As the photocopy machine scans the single dot row, the image of the bar will be projected on the selenium drum or the photosensitive surface from the single dot row. In Fig. 7b,. the stem of the T is formed by a single dot as the drum scans the single dot row. Since the stem oE the T is oE a finite linear dimensionJ the single dot will stay darkened on the dot row 26 until the entire stem of the letter is scrolled as shown in Fig. 7g. At that point J the single dot row 26 will then disappear from the screen and the next letter on the next line below the capial T will begin to be produced.
The LCD dot row strip preferably has a highly reflective white background in order that the strips produce a high contrast of black on white. The operator of the apparatus wilL also have control over the timing of the shifting LCD strip. This can be accomplished by a software delay loop or a hardware control knob using a variable potentiometer, for example. The delay timing controls the ; character length and also the width of the spacing between separate lines. By simply trying a few copies, the operator can adjust his keyboard to the varying scan rate of any copylng machine with a fixed mirror. Elimination of segmentation in the horizontal row of the dots can be accomplished by a second layer which is superimposed on the first layer and offset slightly to overlap the adjacent layer.
,~ .
The segmen~ation problem which occurs in a direction trans-verse to the scrolling can be taken care of by providing a second LCD screen superimposed over the Eirst screen and slightly offset by the r~idth of the segmentation as described in the applicant's earlier U.S. patent 4,110,794.
In a typical dot arrangement on an LCD screen, the dots are approximately 20 mils wide separa~ed by 10 mils of open space. It is obvious that the style of type can be altered electronically so that characters can be reproduced in Roman or Gothic style type for example.
Moreover, the size of the let-ters can be adjusted in size and spaced on the papers. For example, if only a short letter is typed, the ~ize of the alpha-numeric indicia can be doubled or tripled and adjusted to fit the remaining space on the letter.
It is also possible to use a reflective character display that is different than liquid crystals. For example, selective plating, electrochromic, PTZL and LETI
(Silver/organic electrolyte).
There also exists LC~ and electrochromic display devices that can have various colors of opaque characters ~
produced on it `by varying the voltage to the particular `
electrodes or by other means. Variation of voltages are produced by the use of A~D to a converter interfacing the electrodes and the control unit. Coupling this color `~
imaging unit to a color copy machine can allow the opera- ;
tor to produce a color print.
3S~
LC~ do-t Inatri.x di~3plays are manllfactured by Itelc Corporatlon of Sunnyvale r C~lifornia, a.n~ by I.iquid Xtal.
Displays, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio While orlly a :Eew embodime:n~s of the present i.n~
vent.ion have L~een shown and de~crlbecl r .i t wi ll be obv:iou~
to those skilled in the ar-t that many c-:hanqe~ ancl modii-cation~; may be made there~nto withou~ depart.i.ncl rom the spirit and scope o~ the inventionO
~ 10- ,
ter lls.ing a li~uid crystal display st.r;.p in coope.ration ~:
with a copy machine to produca a fin:ishad copy. -~
More speciically, ~his invention reJ.ates to an :~
electro,li.c typewriter which uses a li.quid crystal display strip in cooperation wi~h ~ copy machi.ne and whereby the .
li~uid cr~stal strip is scrolled in synaron:i~m with~the sweep o the copy machine to produce a printed copy.
Word pro~essing machines, that .i~ typewrit~rs l.0 having stor~d memories first became available to the public during the middle 1960's. ~IBM Corporation d~veloped the MTST model having a single or dua.1 tape drive which was capable of receiving programmed information from a type~
writer and allowing corrections to be;made to the program ~ :
~: before the final:copy was typed. A number of other manu- ~ ~
acturers such as ~emington, RedactronO Sabin as wall as ~ ~ :
IBM also began:producing magnetic card typew~iters having :
single and dual card capability. The t~ped .information`wa5 stored on one or more magnetic ccards and could be recalled by inserting the card into a card reader at an~ time.
Suitable corrections could be ma~e ~ the text oE the card ; so that the machines removed:~he necessity o expensiVe~:; :~
proof reading of the final material once minor corr~ctlons~
were made to the oriyinal copy.: More sophistocated word processing machines~ have also been developed U~iDg a full : : .
page CRT (cathode ray tube) ~isplay such as the Vydec apparatus. Thi~:allows a ~ull video display of the~ typed information hefore it is transcrihed on p~pe~
3~ , 1 ~ r ,, , 35~
~ rhere is also a xero~ :L200 Mod~l which consists of a binary information fed or serially fed photocopy machine which, however, employs many rno~ing parts, including a cha-racter-generating drum movillg at hiyh speed inside the ~elen-inum reproduction drum~ The character drum works in COlnbi- '~
nation with ~ photo-optical generator for repxoducing the images on the reverse si~e o the seleninum drum, so that they can he printed aftex suitable clust~ g and heat. The imayes produced by this Xerox method are blurr~d and this differs from the present invention, which does not have any moving parts or any noi~e since it is entirely electronic in its character generation.
Almost all o~ the above machines re~lire the use of of a mechanical printing device for transcrlbing the recor-ded information on to a printed page. Some o~ the word pro-cessing devices use a heavy duty IBM selectric ~ypewriter, whereas other use a high speed printer capable of printing approximatel~ 500 words per minute. Newex printer~ are becoming availa~ using an ink spray deposit method in an attempt to improve the speed of the printout. Where a large n~ber o~ pages have to be reproduced from stored information, the operator of the word pro~ssing machine remains idle for long periods of time until the mechanical printing device can complete the trans~er of the in~ormation from a memory disc or tape to the printed page.
The conventional word processing mach:ines also suffer ~rom the disadvanta~e that the mechanical printers are subject`to breakdown and reqllire ~requen~ repairs or adjustments during a heavy duty operation. ~'he mechanical printing portion of the word processtng machines also repre-sents a substantial cost of the word processor, so that the price to purchase some of the conventional word processors runs between $10,000 - $18,000. Moreover, the cost of typewriter ribbons for the mechanical processors runs about $200.00 ~o $500.00 per year, an expense that is eliminated by the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an electronic typewriter which is electrically coupled to a liquid crystal display (LCD) consisting of a strip of liquid crystal material that is exposed to a standard copy machine such as a dry copier for reproducing alpha-numeric charac-ters. In the ;nvention, the electric keyboard of the type-writer is used to type a letter or report. The alpha-numeric letters which are typed are displayed on a screen either adjacent to or mounted on the typewriter itself so that suitable corrections and additions can be made to the text before it is finalized. A~ter the text is typed, a print button on the typewriter is depressed and the complete text is scrolled line-by-line across the LCD
screen and viewed by ~he optical system of the copier.
The LCD strip is also coupled to a memory such as a RAM and a microprocessor by a peripheral interface adapter.
By strobing each electrode connected to the row of dots of the LCD screen, an opaque image is formed on the LCD dis-play. In order to produce a clear image on a xerographic type copy machine where a selenium drum is used to record the image as the drum rotates, the original text either has - : - - -.: ' s~
to be moved or scanned with a moving mirror that is syn-~
chxonous with the rotation of the drum. A9 the drum ro-tates, it IllUSt record a dif:Eerent part of the image on each par-t o~ its ~urface. In the present in~entioll, the :
ori~inal CO}lSists of an LCD strip which either h~s to move with the scanning beam or be held s~atlonar~ and have i~s imaye swept onto the selenium arum. In order to recreate the origina:L copy from -the LCD strip, a technique is used called "upshift character line mode". This is basically a modified scrolling of the character line on the LCD screen. :
On the LCD screen, the top portion of a complete ~ne of alpha-numeric characters are produced on the bottom por-tion of the LCD matrix stxip.
In the next time in-terval this top portion is shi.fted onespace up and now becomes the bottom of the LCD matrix strip and will contain the adjacent lower part of the c~aracter line. A5 the pro-i cessor continues, the entire char~cter will be formed and the topmost portion~of the character will be shifted of e the display in the next time .inter~al. This process is accomplished by the technique o addressing the proper column of doks in the last row, then in the next time in terval addressing these same column dots in ths next se-que.ntial row and addin~ the lower adjacent part of the character line by addressin~ the pre~ious row with the proper column dots. This, in effect, shi.fts the dots up one space ~ and adds to the bottom of the line, the next lowe.r port:ion - of the line. To the copy machine, this creates the illusion of an upward ascending copy in which on~ :is viewing ju5t a line or part o:E the line throu~h a narrow .~lit placed over the copy.
~ .
s~
The LCD strip coupled to the copy machine and fo-cused on the selenium drum thus does, i.n efEect, what the original text would clo when scanned by a mirror of the Ullit or Mo~ed across the ~lit of a moving bed type copy machine. The shi~ting process i5 made synchronous -to the ratP oE opera~ion of the copy mach.ine or in other words the rate of operation of ~he rotating selenium drum ancl thak o~ the movin~ bed.
It is therefore an ohject according to the present invention to provide an elertronic typewri~er:using a liq~lid crystal displa~ stxip which is capable of producing alpha-numerlc lndicla on a photoco~py machine.
It is anothex object according to the present in-vention to provide electronic typewriter with a liquid crys~ :
tal display strip as a printer which is simple in design, easy to construct, and reliable in operation. :
Other objects and ~eatures of the preseIlt inven~~
tion will become apparent ~rom the following detailed des-cription considered in connection with the~accompanying .
drawings which disclose the embodimerlts of the in~ention.
It is to be understood, however, that the drawirlgs are de signed for the puxpose of illustrat~.on only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention~
In the drawiDgs, wherein si.milar reference char~
ac-ters denote similar elements throughout the several views:
Fig. 1 is a perspective v.iew showing the~solid state typewrite.r coupled to a liquid crystal display strip in coopera-tion with a copy machine accordin~ to the inven-tion;
~0 ,~
- ~
l~n~s~ -Fig. 2 is a view partly in cross section of the machine of Fig. 1 with a liquid crystal display mounted thereon;
Fig. 3 shows the copy machine of Fig. 2 in another mode of operation with the moving bed locked;
Fig. 4 is a system operation diagram detailing the operation of the apparatus;
Fig. 5 is a system block diagram of the invention;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of an LCD screen using a single dot matrix; and Figs. 7a-7g disclose the formation of an alpha-numeric character using the screen of Fig. 6.
Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown an electronic typewriter 10 having a keyboard with a plurality of keys 12 arranged in a typewriter mode as is well known in the art.
The typewriter has a three line alphanumeric display ll inclined above its keyboard. Power cord lS connects the device to 110 v. AC. In addition, there is included an erase button and repeat or back-space buttons. The typewriter also includes a so~lid state memory circuit for storing the typed alphanumeric display so that when the print button 14 is depressed, the alpha-numerlc display 23 on LCD strip 17 will begin to be scrolled line-by-line. When strip 17 is placed on a glass 21 of a photocopy machine 18, the scrolling of the indicia on strip 17 will be reproduced on the selenium drum 26 of machine 18 as shown in Fig. 2. The machine typicalIy ~ includes a high intensity lamp 24 for illuminating the - indicia formed on strip 17 when it is placed Oll open glass 21 of the machine. The machine also has a reflective mirror 30 so that the reflected light travelling along beam 25 will be reflected onto the surface of the drum as the .
~ -6-~æ .,,:
5~
drum rotates. Strip l7 is connected by a line 19 to the machine and the machine is connected via line 22 to an electronic typewriter 10. Under normal operation9 the original text would be placed on a moving bed 20 which moves across glass 21 at the same tangential speed as the surEace of drum 26 as shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 4 illustrates the system operation of the in-vention. AEter the operator types out the letter and then presses the print keyJ the copy machine is turned on and the LCD screen begins scrolling the alpha-numeric display from the first line to the last line of the type letter.
The image is continuously formed on the selenium drum of the copy machine and at the end of the scrolling, the machine produces the finished page.
Fig. 5 is an electrical block diagram showing tbe ~ ;
operation of the system. Microprocessor unit 31 which is ~ .fed from typewriter lO will drive the peripheral interface adapter (PIA) 32 which is interconnected to display strip 23 for displaying the alpha-numeric indicia. In the system block diagram, the input keyboard 12 which could also be a tape or facsimile input feeds into a memory circuit 33 so that the data is stored and spaced in the memory. A micro-processor 31 converts the keyboard indicia from the memory to a single line of dots by comparison with an algorythm 35.
. ~
The processor then addresses PIA unit 32 via a bussline 40 and the PIA unit strobes LCD display 23 for producing the alpha-numeric indicia.
Fig. 6 discloses an LCD strip having only a single line of dots 26 displayed across its screen. It is obvious that more than one row of dots can be provided on the . -.
~ 3 ~
screen if necessary. As shown in Figs. 7a-7g, when the letter "T" is formed on single row of dots 26, the first appearance of the letter is the top bar of the capital "T"
formed by darkening of a group of dots 126 as sbown in Fig.
7a. As the photocopy machine scans the single dot row, the image of the bar will be projected on the selenium drum or the photosensitive surface from the single dot row. In Fig. 7b,. the stem of the T is formed by a single dot as the drum scans the single dot row. Since the stem oE the T is oE a finite linear dimensionJ the single dot will stay darkened on the dot row 26 until the entire stem of the letter is scrolled as shown in Fig. 7g. At that point J the single dot row 26 will then disappear from the screen and the next letter on the next line below the capial T will begin to be produced.
The LCD dot row strip preferably has a highly reflective white background in order that the strips produce a high contrast of black on white. The operator of the apparatus wilL also have control over the timing of the shifting LCD strip. This can be accomplished by a software delay loop or a hardware control knob using a variable potentiometer, for example. The delay timing controls the ; character length and also the width of the spacing between separate lines. By simply trying a few copies, the operator can adjust his keyboard to the varying scan rate of any copylng machine with a fixed mirror. Elimination of segmentation in the horizontal row of the dots can be accomplished by a second layer which is superimposed on the first layer and offset slightly to overlap the adjacent layer.
,~ .
The segmen~ation problem which occurs in a direction trans-verse to the scrolling can be taken care of by providing a second LCD screen superimposed over the Eirst screen and slightly offset by the r~idth of the segmentation as described in the applicant's earlier U.S. patent 4,110,794.
In a typical dot arrangement on an LCD screen, the dots are approximately 20 mils wide separa~ed by 10 mils of open space. It is obvious that the style of type can be altered electronically so that characters can be reproduced in Roman or Gothic style type for example.
Moreover, the size of the let-ters can be adjusted in size and spaced on the papers. For example, if only a short letter is typed, the ~ize of the alpha-numeric indicia can be doubled or tripled and adjusted to fit the remaining space on the letter.
It is also possible to use a reflective character display that is different than liquid crystals. For example, selective plating, electrochromic, PTZL and LETI
(Silver/organic electrolyte).
There also exists LC~ and electrochromic display devices that can have various colors of opaque characters ~
produced on it `by varying the voltage to the particular `
electrodes or by other means. Variation of voltages are produced by the use of A~D to a converter interfacing the electrodes and the control unit. Coupling this color `~
imaging unit to a color copy machine can allow the opera- ;
tor to produce a color print.
3S~
LC~ do-t Inatri.x di~3plays are manllfactured by Itelc Corporatlon of Sunnyvale r C~lifornia, a.n~ by I.iquid Xtal.
Displays, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio While orlly a :Eew embodime:n~s of the present i.n~
vent.ion have L~een shown and de~crlbecl r .i t wi ll be obv:iou~
to those skilled in the ar-t that many c-:hanqe~ ancl modii-cation~; may be made there~nto withou~ depart.i.ncl rom the spirit and scope o~ the inventionO
~ 10- ,
Claims (3)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED, ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A word processing system for displaying and repro-ducing alphanumeric characters on a photocopy machine capable of scanning an original document, comprising:
a housing including an electronic keyboard with keys representing individual alphanumeric characters, said housing including a display for viewing a portion of the information keyed;
a memory circuit coupled to said keyboard for storing and spacing the alphanumeric indicia in memory;
a microprocessor circuit, having an algorythm circuit and coupled to said memory circuit for converting the stored alphanumeric indicia from the memory to a line of dots by comparison with the algorythm; and at least one elongated, solid state reflective display strip, having a single line of reflective dots defining its display screen, and disposed transversely to the scanning direction of the photocopy machine, said strip being coupled to the microprocessor, said microprocessor addressing the proper column of dots in a row to produce the top portion of a complete line of alphanumeric characters on said screen, addressing the same column of dots in the next sequential row, so that the top portion of the characters are shifted one space up to display the adjacent lower portion of the character line on said screen, so that after a plurality of addressing cycles, the stored alphanumeric indicia are converted to a line of dots and reproduced on said screen, and are scrolled synchronously in the same direction and at the same speed as the scanning speed of the photocopy machine.
a housing including an electronic keyboard with keys representing individual alphanumeric characters, said housing including a display for viewing a portion of the information keyed;
a memory circuit coupled to said keyboard for storing and spacing the alphanumeric indicia in memory;
a microprocessor circuit, having an algorythm circuit and coupled to said memory circuit for converting the stored alphanumeric indicia from the memory to a line of dots by comparison with the algorythm; and at least one elongated, solid state reflective display strip, having a single line of reflective dots defining its display screen, and disposed transversely to the scanning direction of the photocopy machine, said strip being coupled to the microprocessor, said microprocessor addressing the proper column of dots in a row to produce the top portion of a complete line of alphanumeric characters on said screen, addressing the same column of dots in the next sequential row, so that the top portion of the characters are shifted one space up to display the adjacent lower portion of the character line on said screen, so that after a plurality of addressing cycles, the stored alphanumeric indicia are converted to a line of dots and reproduced on said screen, and are scrolled synchronously in the same direction and at the same speed as the scanning speed of the photocopy machine.
2. The word processing system as recited in Claim 1 wherein said at least one solid state refelective display strip comprises a liquid crystal display.
3. The word processing system as recited in Claim 1 wherein said at least one solid state display strip comprises an electrochromic display.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US794,787 | 1977-05-09 | ||
| US05/794,787 US4194833A (en) | 1977-02-03 | 1977-05-09 | Electronic typewriter having an electronic display |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1101351A true CA1101351A (en) | 1981-05-19 |
Family
ID=25163687
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA302,589A Expired CA1101351A (en) | 1977-05-09 | 1978-05-04 | Electronic typewriter having an electronic display |
Country Status (7)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS53139435A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1101351A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2820070A1 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2390289B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1604187A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1094584B (en) |
| SE (1) | SE7805220L (en) |
Families Citing this family (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS6042457B2 (en) * | 1981-01-19 | 1985-09-21 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | printing device |
| JPS57186780A (en) * | 1981-05-12 | 1982-11-17 | Kyocera Corp | Electrophotographic printer |
| DE3323097A1 (en) * | 1982-06-28 | 1984-02-09 | Teleram Communications Corp | MODULARIZED COMPUTER DEVICE |
| DE3913745A1 (en) * | 1989-04-26 | 1990-10-31 | Elgeba Geraetebau Gmbh | Franking machine which prints bar codes - uses electrophotographic printing, contains envelope charger, print drum with toner, and heating fixer |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3824604A (en) * | 1972-10-12 | 1974-07-16 | E Stein | Alphanumeric printing system employing liquid crystal matrix |
| DE2414368A1 (en) * | 1974-03-26 | 1975-10-09 | Berkel Patent Nv | Marking of goods on weighing machines - is by photographing symbols made visible by selective energisation of liquid crystal |
-
1978
- 1978-05-04 CA CA302,589A patent/CA1101351A/en not_active Expired
- 1978-05-06 JP JP5331478A patent/JPS53139435A/en active Pending
- 1978-05-08 SE SE7805220A patent/SE7805220L/en unknown
- 1978-05-08 DE DE19782820070 patent/DE2820070A1/en not_active Ceased
- 1978-05-09 GB GB18394/78A patent/GB1604187A/en not_active Expired
- 1978-05-09 FR FR7813717A patent/FR2390289B1/en not_active Expired
- 1978-05-09 IT IT23167/78A patent/IT1094584B/en active
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB1604187A (en) | 1981-12-02 |
| SE7805220L (en) | 1978-11-10 |
| FR2390289A1 (en) | 1978-12-08 |
| FR2390289B1 (en) | 1986-02-21 |
| DE2820070A1 (en) | 1978-11-23 |
| IT7823167A0 (en) | 1978-05-09 |
| JPS53139435A (en) | 1978-12-05 |
| IT1094584B (en) | 1985-08-02 |
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