Abstract: A communication system is provided in which one data transmitting display terminal has the capability of transmitting a data stream in coded form to at least one data receiving terminal over a communication linkage. This data transmitting terminal further includes the capability of displaying, when necessary, the stream of coded data directly on its display so that if there is a transmission problem, the coded data itself can be analyzed in diagnosing the problem.The present communications system has the further capability of diagnosing data streams at remote display terminals. For example, if one transmitting terminal is communicating with a receiving terminal and a problem arises between the two terminals, the system provides the capability of the transmitting terminal sending the data stream to another receiving terminal remote from the first two terminals.

Abstract: A plurality of data processor units are connected to a common bus which is connected to first and second interleaved storage units. The system is a synchronous one in which timing means establish a series of information transfer intervals. One or more of the processor units contain apparatus for selectively commencing an address transfer on the bus to one of the storage units during a transfer interval; the storage transaction initiated by the address transfer will require more than the one transfer interval to complete. One or more of the processors have means for monitoring the bus in order to determine whether an address on the bus has been transferred to the first or the second storage unit during a particular transfer interval. The address transfer apparatus further includes apparatus responsive to the monitoring apparatus for selectively transferring the next subsequent address to the other of said storage units to thus achieve alternating interleaving between storage units.

Abstract: An electronic document distribution network is provided having dynamic document interchange protocol generation. The electronic document distribution network has a dynamically variable number of communicating data processors at various locations, and these processors have dynamically varying data processing capabilities. Means are provided which take into account the dynamically variable nature of the distribution network in providing document interchange protocols between any two processors in the network. The invention comprises means whereby any processor in the network may establish a communications linkage with any other processor.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to an improvement in data processing systems involving a host processor and a remote printer which prints alphanumeric characters from data communicated from the host to the printer. The improvement provides the provision of an intermediate processor having an interactive display terminal. There are means in this intermediate processor for controlling the setup of repetitive format parameters of documents containing the alphanumeric characters printed by the printer. In addition, there are means on the display terminal for displaying in the form of a menu the various document parameters available to the setup means in the intermediate processor. Thus, an operator at the display terminal may select appropriate parameters for setting up the repetitive format of the document.

Abstract: A ribbon cartridge (10) is attached to a carrier (1) of a printing device such that it is tiltable along an axis that is parallel to the print line to drop the ribbon such that the print line is visible. That part of cartridge (10) which is opposite of the ribbon exposing part and on the other side of tilting axis (18) is on its bottom provided with a ribbon advance knob (8). Into this knob (8) two essentially upright standing walls and inclined ramps (11) are molded. The ribbon feed device (6), provided on carrier (1), has a blade (5) or noses (17) which cooperate with slot-forming walls (12) of knob (8). In ribbon drive direction (14) cartridge (10) automatically drops into coupling interconnection for ribbon feed. Upon turning ribbon feed device (6) in reverse direction (16) blade (5) or noses (17) slide up ramp (11) and lift the rear part and drop the front part of the cartridge (10) so that the print line is rendered visible.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a conventional data processing system having a CPU and at least one external unit such as the main storage unit acquiring data from or providing data to the CPU and I/O bus for the transfer of data between the CPU and the external unit. The apparatus of the present invention provides for transfers to and from this external unit, e.g., main storage being overlapped with a register to register data transfer routinely carried out in the CPU to implement various CPU operations and computation functions. The CPU includes apparatus for transferring data to or from said external unit over the I/O bus during synchronized time cycles. The CPU also includes local storage apparatus which comprise a plurality of registers as well as expedients for transferring data from register to register. Control apparatus controls the register to register data transfer so that such transfers are conducted during time cycles coincident with the transfer of data to or from the external storage unit.

Abstract: An impact printing system which is particularly suitable for word processing is provided with the capability of effecting mid-line pitch changes. The impact printer system which is particularly compatible with interactive display terminals in word processing system has means for receiving a selected one of a plurality of type or character font elements. The pitch of character font elements are different from each other. The printing system includes means for selectively impacting selected characters from selected fonts along lines in a document. The system further includes control apparatus for controlling and determining the selection of font elements to be used and in the case of printing with a particular font element, the characters to be printed in respective positions along the lines of the document to provide the desired document format. The control apparatus includes apparatus for controlling the printing with at least two different font elements having different pitch along a single line.

Abstract: An interactive display terminal of the multiple overlapping window type is provided. Each of the windows is smaller in dimension than the overall display screen. One or more of the windows have an associated virtual distributed menu which is made up of a plurality of menu items respectively distributed about the periphery of the associated window but not displayed during normal operations. Cursor means and means for moving the cursor are also provided. The display terminal further includes apparatus which in response to the movement of the cursor across a selected region in a window periphery will effect the display of a selected menu item associated with the particular selected region. The overlapping windows are preferably rectangular in shape and the selected regions are adjacent to corners of the periphery. The menu items are distributed so as to be positioned adjacent to the respective region across which the cursor movement will result in the item display.

Abstract: A communications system is provided in which at least the receiving terminal is a display terminal. The receiving terminal has the capability of storing substantially more data than just the data the alphanumeric representations of which is being displayed. The data receiving display terminal includes the text storage buffer for storing the received data. The text storage buffer has a capacity greater than just the data being displayed. The receiving terminal also includes apparatus operative during data transmission for displaying only part of the stored received data. The display terminal further includes expedients for selectively designating portions of the displayed received data and apparatus for printing such designated portions.

Abstract: A system in which a device or machine is controlled by instructions from a data processor is provided which minimizes main memory storage requirements. An interrupt service routine monitors the input to the processor received from the device in response to control instructions sent by the processor. The interrupt service routine monitors this response for exception conditions. When an exception condition indicating that the device is no longer capable of fully carrying out processor instructions is received by the interrupt service routine, it activates an exception handler routine. A primary memory storage stack normally supports the interrupt service routine.

Abstract: A coding system applicable to communication is provided so that variable length code representations of a set of characters may be transmitted. The system transmits a data stream made up of a series of variable length code representations of the characters in the set. A fixed code representation follows the end of each character representation. This data stream is received by apparatus which includes coding apparatus which reads the fixed code representations in order to determine the ends of each variable length character representation. The coding is set up so that the code is a binary code in which the most commonly used characters in the set are represented by code having the minimum number of digits, and the progressively less commonly used characters are respectively represented by code having progressively increasing numbers of digits. Preferably the fixed code representing the end of each character is 01.

Abstract: In order to avoid the problem of the last line of the body text not being justified when it is not the end of a paragraph but is followed by a footer, a converter/processor (13) is provided to modify the print data stream produced by another converter/processor (12) from the revisable or editable text data stream. If during conversion from the revisable data stream to the print data stream a "last body text line" is found and it is not the end of a paragraph, a latch (34) is set. Then, with each line of print data stream text, the latch is checked, and if the latch is set and the text line ends with a carriage return, the carriage return is replaced with a zero-index-carriage return and an index. These act similar to a carriage return in all cases except one--the text line which they terminate may now be justified.

Abstract: A processor controlled character box display is provided with apparatus which permits the display of curvilinear graphics. The characters used to generate the graphics display are selected from a limited character set in read only storage (46), but by shifting the characters up or down by less than a full line index to provide additional character positions, it is possible to produce curvilinear graphics without the need for further character generation. Since the graphics display is a low resolution display, it is necessary to make a best dot selection in order to map the print bit map into the character box display.

Abstract: A word processing system is provided with separate data structures in system memory (4). One of these, the internal image array, stores data representative of alphanumeric data and low resolution graphic data in the form of alphanumeric character data and graphic character data. Another stores data representative of high resolution printed graphics in the form of a bit array. The data from the internal image array is applied to the display terminal of the word processing system to provide a representation of the graphic data with the alphanumeric data. The alphanumeric data only from the internal image array is merged with the high resolution graphic data in the bit array to produce the printer data stream for the printer of the word processing system.

Abstract: A word processing system is provided with printing means for printing on a character by character basis a data stream including merged graphic and alphanumeric data. The word processing system is provided with an interactive display for displaying by character generation a data stream representative of alphanumeric characters to be printed together with means for printing the characters on a document on a character by character basis. Operator interactive apparatus is provided whereby the operator can form a graphics data stream which is displayable on said display by character generation. This graphics data stream may then be integrated into the existing alphanumeric data stream, and the data in this integrated data stream may then be applied to the printing means whereby the alphanumeric characters and the graphic characters represented by this data stream are printed character by character to provide a document having the integrated alphanumeric and graphic information.

Abstract: In the fabrication of integrated circuits, a method is provided for forming dielectrically isolated regions in a semiconductor substrate comprising forming over the semiconductor substrate surface an electrically insulating layer of dielectric material having a plurality of openings therethrough and etching to form recesses in the semiconductor substrate exposed in the openings. Then, aluminum is deposited over the substrate so that an aluminum layer is formed on said layer of dielectric material as well as in said recesses. Next, the aluminum in the recesses is selectively anodized to form aluminum oxide, and the remaining aluminum on said layer of dielectric material is removed either by selectively etching away the aluminum layer or by a "lift-off" technique wherein the insulating layer of dielectric material under the aluminum is etched away thereby "lifting-off" and removing the aluminum.

Abstract: An electronic document distribution network is provided having a uniform data stream which may be used by data processors of varying levels of data processing capability interconnected in the network. The network comprises a plurality of linked communicating data processors. Each of the processors has apparatus for receiving and for transmitting a uniform data stream which is representative of the content and format of the document as well as the processing to be performed with respect to the document. The network includes higher level processors which have a higher level of data processing capability with respect to the data stream and lower level processors. One or more of the lower level processors further include apparatus for scanning a received data stream and for selecting from the data stream parameters which this lower level processor is capable of processing. The lower level processor also has apparatus for storing the non-selective parameters which it is not capable of processing.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to word processing systems wherein material to be printed is formatted on a display unit having a display, e.g., CRT display and a text formatting processor which formats the display material. The display unit further includes means for controlling a printer to print the formatted text. In the present invention a plurality of such display units share a printer. This is accomplished by having at least one of the display units comprise means for controlling the sharing of the printer by the plurality of display units and each of the other display units communicate with the printer through these printer sharing control means. At least part of this printer sharing control means is contained in the text formatting processor of the primary display unit through which the other display units communicate with the printer.

Abstract: A servomotor drive system for a printer escapement is provided which minimizes power supply requirements. The drive system has means for accelerating and decelerating the printhead escapement having a fixed current source applied to a servomotor which drives the escapement. In order to minimize power requirements, the system includes means for controlling the current in the motor which comprise means for sensing the actual motor current and feeding back the sensed current to a comparing means. A preselected varying current profile is applied to the comparing means which compares this profile to the actual motor current. Means are then provided responsive to these comparing means for altering the actual motor current to conform with this preselected varying motor current profile.

Abstract: In a text processor including a communications facility, different tasks, such as typing tasks and communications tasks are entered into the machine from different program diskettes. As each is so entered, in view of the fact that main memory space is limited, it overlays control data in the main memory relating to the previous task. In a communications session, the operator has to build a queue of documents for sending under the control of communications foreground control (CFC) and communications background control (CBC) blocks in the main memory. If the operator is required to terminate this task before its completion, his queue data is lost as it is overlaid by control data relating to a new task that is entered, so on return to the communications task, he has to start from the beginning.