Abstract: The principles of the present invention relate to dynamically determining directions of freedom for control points used to represent graphical objects such as text. A computing system identifies a first function that represents a first constraint, solutions to the first function indicating compliance with the first constraint. The computing system calculates, based on the location of a control point and the identified first function, that the control point does not comply with the first constraint. The computing system automatically determines a first direction of freedom in which the control point can be moved to comply with the first constraint such that movement of the control point in the first direction of freedom has a reduced likelihood of causing non-compliance with other constraints.

Abstract: The principles of the present invention relate to appropriately rendering a graphical object when a corresponding outline has excessive control points. A computer system identifies a point of junction between a first and second feature of the outline. The computer system accesses an excess control point included in the first or second feature of the outline. The computer system moves the excess control point in a first direction until the position of the excess control point in the first direction is essentially the same as the position of the point of junction in the first direction. The computer system moves the excess control point in a second direction until the position of the excess control point in the second direction is essentially the same as the position of the point of junction in the second direction, the second direction being different from the first direction.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer program products for adding hinting instructions to a character in order to improve a character bitmap produced from an outline of the character at a certain size and output resolution when the character outline is scan converted. A character is retrieved to be output. A determination is made that the character belongs to a semantic character classifications, and hinting instructions that are associated with the semantic character classification are accessed. The hinting instructions preserve semantic meaning for the character while altering either stroke presence, stroke location, or both for at least one stroke of at least one feature of the character based on a reference character size and output resolution. If the actual character size and output resolution for the character is within a reference character size and output resolution for the hinting instructions, the hinting instructions are executed.

Abstract: The principles of the present invention relate to appropriately rendering a graphical object when a corresponding outline lacks necessary control points. A computer system calculates the target width for a feature of the graphical object. The computer system calculates the position of a center line corresponding to the feature. The computer system rounds the calculated position of the center line to a grid position based on the calculated target width for the feature. The computer system adjusts the position of one or more control points of the feature to comply with the grid position of the center line.

Abstract: The principles of the present invention relate to appropriately rendering a graphical object when a corresponding outline has exact or inexact control points. Based on the positions of control points on an outline it is calculated, that between a first parent control point and a second parent control point, the outline passes approximately though the center of a grid location. The positions of the first and second parent control points are adjusted by a first and second fraction of the size of a grid location respectively. The position of the child control point is realigned along a second axis of the grid space based on the positions of the first and second parent control points. The child control point position is rounded by a fraction of the size of a grid location based on the positions of the first and second parent control points.

Abstract: The principles of the present invention relate to adaptively filtering outlines of typographic characters to simply representative control data. A filtering module receives a set of control points (and instructions for connecting the control points) representing a graphical object, such as, for example, a typographical character. The filtering module adaptively filters out some variations in the outline of the graphical object to reveal common edges of the outline. The filtering module generates simplified control data that represents an outline of the common edges (e.g., representing a block “T”). Accordingly, based on the simplified control data, a computing system may be able to more efficiently recognize the graphical object represented by the control points.

Abstract: The principles of the present invention relate to iteratively solving constraints in a font-hinting language. A computing system accesses a more complex constraint that can not be natively expressed based on the vocabulary of the font-hinting language, the more complex constraint constraining at least a portion of the outline. The computing system decomposes the more complex constraint into a plurality of simpler constraints that can be natively expressed based on the vocabulary of the font-hinting language. The computer system represents each of the simpler constraints in corresponding font-hinting language instructions that can be iteratively processed to at least approximate a solution to the more complex constraint. The font-hinting language instructions are iteratively processed at the computing system or another computing system to cause a graphical object to comply, within a specific tolerance, with the more complex constraint.

Abstract: A method and system for matching digital information flow to the human perception system. In various embodiments, multi-monitor (multimon) support is leveraged to take advantage of multiple windowing and window positioning to separate elements of different tasks into information planes (which are based on a concept of “triage and focus”). Triage watches the flow of incoming information and determines the nature of the information. Based on the nature of the information and principles of human perception, Focus (or defocus) displays the information where the information is best viewed.

Abstract: Automatically positioning of typographical features, such as vertical stems or horizontal segments of a character, on high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries as part of a rendering process that uses separately controllable pixel sub-components of pixels to represent different portions of the character. In order to identify the typographical features of the character that are to be aligned with high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries, topology of the character is analyzed at runtime. In display devices having vertical stripes of same-colored pixel sub-components, character legibility is increased when the left edges of stems are aligned with high contrast boundaries between pixel sub-components. Processing time and resources are conserved by performing a partial, rather than a full, topological analysis of the character.

Abstract: The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for increasing the perceived quality of displayed images. This is achieved in a variety of ways including the use of a plurality of device specific display characteristics when preparing images for display. It is also achieved through the monitoring of display device and/or ambient light conditions, e.g., on a periodic basis, and using the obtained information when controlling display output. Another approach to improving the perceived quality of displayed images involves the use of information relating to a specific user's ability to perceive image characteristics such as color. By customizing display output to an individual user's own physical perception capabilities and/or viewing characteristics it is possible to enhance the image quality perceived by the individual viewer as compared to embodiments which do not take into consideration individual user characteristics.

Abstract: The principles of the present invention relate to using externally parameterizeable constraints in a font-hinting language to synthesize font variants. A computing system accesses a scaled font that has been scaled for rendering at a target size and a target resolution. The scaled font includes hints that constrain how glyphs of the scaled font are to be rendered at the target size and target resolution. The computing system accesses one or more external font parameters that alter how the glyphs of the scaled font are to be rendered. The computing system applies the one or more external font parameters to the scaled font to synthesize a font variant such that hints from the scaled font are preserved in the font variant. The computing system can render glyphs of the font variant that comply with the one or more external font parameters and the hints.

Abstract: Automatically positioning of typographical features, such as vertical stems or horizontal segments of a character, on high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries as part of a rendering process that uses separately controllable pixel sub-components of pixels to represent different portions of the character. In order to identify the typographical features of the character that are to be aligned with high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries, topology of the character is analyzed at runtime. In display devices having vertical stripes of same-colored pixel sub-components, character legibility is increased when the left edges of stems are aligned with high contrast boundaries between pixel sub-components. Processing time and resources are conserved by performing a partial, rather than a full, topological analysis of the character.

Abstract: Display devices and image rendering processes increase the resolution of displayed images in the horizontal and vertical dimensions. The increased resolution is obtained on LCD display devices or other display devices having separately controllable pixel sub-components. Assuming the display devices have vertical stripes, much of the increased resolution in the horizontal direction is obtained by mapping spatially different sets of one or more samples to the individual pixel sub-components. In this way, the pixel sub-components are treated as separate luminous intensity sources. The improved resolution in the vertical dimension is achieved by increasing the pixel sub-component density in the vertical dimension. To accommodate the increased number of pixel sub-components, image data compression can be performed if bandwidth limitations are present. The image data compression involves controlling sets of vertically adjacent pixels using red, green, and blue luminous intensity values and a bias value.

Abstract: Displaying image data with sub-pixel precision on display devices having pixels with separately controllable pixel sub-components, such as those used in liquid crystal display devices. Samples of the image data are obtained, and spatially different sets of one or more of the samples are mapped to individual pixel sub-components as opposed to mapping sets of samples to entire pixels. Luminous intensity values based on the mapped sets of samples are generated and used to control the operation of the separately controllable pixel sub-components. The image is thereby displayed on the display device, with different portions of the image being represented by different pixel sub-components, resulting an image with sub-pixel resolution. The image data can represent a text character, in which case the stem width of a stem of the text character can have a value that is not an integer multiple of the width of a full pixel.

Abstract: Automatically positioning of typographical features, such as vertical stems or horizontal segments of a character, on high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries as part of a rendering process that uses separately controllable pixel sub-components of pixels to represent different portions of the character. In order to identify the typographical features of the character that are to be aligned with high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries, topology of the character is analyzed at runtime. In display devices having vertical stripes of same-colored pixel sub-components, character legibility is increased when the left edges of stems are aligned with high contrast boundaries between pixel sub-components. Processing time and resources are conserved by performing a partial, rather than a full, topological analysis of the character.

Abstract: Displaying image data with sub-pixel precision on display devices having pixels with separately controllable pixel sub-components, such as those used in liquid crystal display devices. Samples of the image data are obtained, and spatially different sets of one or more of the samples are mapped to individual pixel sub-components as opposed to mapping sets of samples to entire pixels. Luminous intensity values based on the mapped sets of samples are generated and used to control the operation of the separately controllable pixel sub-components. The image is thereby displayed on the display device, with different portions of the image being represented by different pixel sub-components, resulting an image with sub-pixel resolution. The image data can represent a text character, in which case the stem width of a stem of the text character can have a value that is not an integer multiple of the width of a full pixel.

Abstract: The present invention provides for automatic placement of typographical features such as vertical stems or horizontal segments of a character on high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries as part of a rendering process that uses separately controllable pixel sub-components of pixels to represent different portions of the character. In order to identify the typographical features of the character that are to be aligned with high contrast pixel sub-component boundaries, topology of the character is analyzed at runtime. In display devices having vertical stripes of same-colored pixel sub-components, it has been found that character legibility is increased when the left edges of stems are aligned with high contrast boundaries between pixel sub-components. Processing time and resources are conserved by performing a partial, rather than a full, topological analysis of the character.

Abstract: Display apparatus, and methods for displaying images, e.g., text, on gray scale and color monitors are described. Gray scale displays implemented in accordance with the present invention include displays having a resolution in a first dimension, e.g., the horizontal dimension, which is several time the resolution in a second dimension, e.g., the vertical dimension. Various other displays of the present invention are capable of operating as both gray scale and color display devices. In one such display, the color filter used to implement a color portion of the display is omitted from another, e.g., gray scale portion of the same display. In such an embodiment, text, e.g., captions, are displayed using the gray scale portion of the display while color images, e.g., graphics, are displayed on the color portion of the display. In another display of the present invention, a color filter with filter cells that can be switched between a color and a clear mode of operation are employed. When images, e.g.

Abstract: Display apparatus, and methods for displaying images, e.g., text, on gray scale and color monitors are described. Gray scale displays implemented in accordance with the present invention include displays having a resolution in a first dimension, e.g., the horizontal dimension, which is several time the resolution in a second dimension, e.g., the vertical dimension. Various other displays of the present invention are capable of operating as both gray scale and color display devices. In one such display, the color filter used to implement a color portion of the display is omitted from another, e.g., gray scale portion of the same display. In such an embodiment, text, e.g., captions, are displayed using the gray scale portion of the display while color images, e.g., graphics, are displayed on the color portion of the display. In another display of the present invention, a color filter with filter cells that can be switched between a color and a clear mode of operation are employed. When images, e.g.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for utilizing pixel sub-components which form a pixel element of an LCD display, e.g., as separate luminous intensity elements, are described. Each pixel of a color LCD display is comprised of three non-overlapping red, green and blue rectangular pixel sub-elements or sub-components. The invention takes advantage of the ability to control individual RGB pixel sub-elements to effectively increase a screen's resolution in the dimension perpendicular to the dimension in which the screen is striped, e.g., the RGB pixel sub-elements are arranged lengthwise. In order to utilize the effective resolution which can be obtained by treating RGB pixel sub-components separately, scaling or super sampling of digital representations of fonts is performed in one dimension at a rate that is greater than the scaling or sampling performed in the other dimension. In some embodiments where weighting is used in determining RGB pixel values, e.g.