Abstract: A distributed object system comprising at least one object distributing server, at least one client terminal and at least one server object execution server according to the present invention, including: an object distributing server for storing an object program to which an electronic signature is affixed; a client terminal including means for down-loading the object program from the object distributing server, means for verifying the electronic signature affixed to the object program, means for executing the client object program when the completeness of the object program is confirmed and the user of the client terminal beforehand permits execution of the client object program which is electronically signed by a signatory, and means for transmitting the electronic signature affixed to the object program to a server object execution server; and a server object execution server including means for verifying the signature received, and means for supplying services to the user of the client terminal when the c

Abstract: A multimedia system capable of readily permitting expansion of its display memory as well as its compression/expansion function and other features as desired. The multimedia system is implemented by an information processing apparatus which includes a controller which controls the apparatus, an extended input/output bus for connecting with the controller, and interface device which interfaces with the extended input/output bus, at least one function extending device which extends the functionality of the controller and a local bus for permitting data exchanges between the interface device and the function extending device.

Abstract: A retrieved image display method in an image file system in which image data records undergone a data compression and index records including positional information of the image data records are stored in a file medium. The method includes a first step to specify a partial region of a retrieved image to be displayed on a display screen, a second step to attain, based on positional information above included in an index record corresponding to the retrieved image, a recording position of an image data portion on the file medium corresponding to the partial region to be displayed and to partially read out image data from the image data record, and a third step to restore the compressed image data thus read out into the original image data and to display the restored image data on the display screen.

Abstract: An image data display system includes a file unit for storing image data is compressed form, a display unit for displaying image data, a table for storing address information of a plurality of image data to be read from the file unit, a buffer memory having a memory area corresponding to at least two image frames for temporarily storing image data read from the file unit, an expansion processor for expanding image data in the buffer memory, a bit map memory for storing expanded image data, an output unit for outputting image data in the bit map memory to the display unit, an input unit for inputting a first command instructing a successive display of image data and a second command instructing a halt of the successive display, and a control unit responsive to the first command for switching in a predetermined order the buffer memory area used for storing image data read from the file unit and the buffer memory area used by the expansion processor and successively reading image data from the file unit while re

Abstract: An input method and an input apparatus wherein a sketch read by an image scanner is displayed on the display, the class of component figure is designated thereon, characteristic values are input, and positions of characteristic points are designated such that a figure of fair copy is automatically prepared. Further, the sketch and the figure of fair copy are displayed being superposed upon each other while modifying the brightness or color so that the results of input can be easily recognized, making it possible to reduce the work for inputting the figure and to easily determine the size and position of the figure on the document which is a constituent component. In preparing the figure of fair copy by recognizing through a pattern recognition device the sketch that is input by the image scanner, furthermore, those portions that were not properly recognized are input again by the above method and apparatus.

Abstract: A retrieved image display method in an image file system in which image data records undergone a data compression and index records including positional information of the image data records are stored in a file medium. The method includes a first step to specify a partial region of a retrieved image to be displayed on a display screen, a second step to attain, based on positional information above included in an index record corresponding to the retrieved image, a recording position of an image date portion on the file medium corresponding to the partial region to be displayed and to partially read out image data from the image data record, and a third step to restore the compressed image data thus read out into the original image data and to display the restored image data on the display screen.

Abstract: In a document processing method using a multiwindow including a display device having a display screen on which a plurality of windows are established, a virtual screen memory in which a plurality of virtual screens each corresponding to programs are generated to output results of data processing by programs, a memory unit for storing therein a window control table defining corresponding relationships between the virtual screens and the windows, and a control device for referencing the window control table and for outputting contents of each virtual screen in a window associated with the virtual screen on the display screen, copy source attribute data including an identifier of a second window established in the display screen and data defining a second partial region in the second window is memorized in correspondence with a first partial region on the vertical screen so that, in response to a command inputted by an operator while painting to the first partial region displayed in the first window, the displa

Abstract: An image data file storing and retrieval system is disclosed. In registering an image, partial areas of the image are enlarged and/or reduced at an independent magnification for each partial area, the enlarged and/or reduced partial areas are combined to prepare an index image, and the image and the index image is stored. In retrieving the image, a desired image is retrieved based on a list of the index images.

Abstract: Method of and apparatus for converting a first two-dimensional image on first column direction and row direction scales to a second two-dimensional image on second column direction and row direction scales at a high speed, in which use is made of the periodicity of the positional relation between the image elements of the first image arranged in matrix and having various data values and the image elements of the second image arranged in matrix and having various data values to determine, for each one of the second image elements, four second image elements lying on the intersections between two adjacent rows and two adjacent columns in the first image element matrix which rows and columns surround the second image element and constitute a reference from for the second image element, and in which the data value for each second image element is calculated on the basis of the data values of the four first image elements associated with the first image element and the vertical and horizontal coordinates within th

Abstract: A display control apparatus comprises area specifier, area determiner and signal selector. The area specifier specifies at least one area of a bit map memory. The area determiner determines whether the scan position on the bit map memory is in the specified area or not, and, according to the determination, controls the signal selector so as to send the output of the bit map memory directly or through a look-up table to a display unit. In a modification, the signal selector selects the signal to be sent to the display unit from among the outputs of different look-up tables.

Abstract: A display system which uses one display unit as if it were a plurality of display units to separately display whole information and partial information of document is disclosed. A plurality of display windows are defined on one display screen and a layout or a reduced image of the whole information is displayed in one of the window and information or image representing the information of a partial area of the whole information is displayed in other window. When one of the whole information and the partial area information is changed, the other information is also changed correspondingly, or a mark indicating a relation between the whole information and the partial area information is displayed in one of the window.

Abstract: Main data records are recorded in a first area of a non-rewritable optical disk and index records used for retrieving the main data records are recorded in a second area. Each index record includes a code data to be used as an index, and a provisional order which is an order of the code data to be registered, occupying in the code data already registered in the second area. Prior to the data retrieval, the index records are sequentially read out of the second area of the optical disk, the latest index record first, and a sorted index table is prepared in parallel with the readout of the index records by referencing the provisional orders. The data record is retrieved by searching the designated index code data on the index table, reading out a pointer stored in the table in paired relation with the index code and reading out the main data record from the first area of the optical disk.

Abstract: In order to utilize memo data written by hand for purposes of retrieving a document, the original document image data is stored and, thereafter, a document image data with memo is separately input, the document image data with memo being comprised of the original document image onto which is additionally written memo data by hand. The position of the document image data with memo is then brought into alignment with the original document image data and is correlated to extract only that memo data which has been written by hand. Then the kind of memo is discriminated, the process is effected depending upon the kind of memo, and the memo data is stored in a secondary data file for retrieval. To retrieve the document, the memo data of a plurality of documents is read out from the secondary data file depending upon the kind of memo that is designated, and is displayed as a look-up table.

Abstract: Image retrieval method and apparatus wherein for retrieval of a plurality of images, a sub-image of each image is specified and extracted, reference data such as memo data related to each sub-image is stored, and the sub-image and the memo data related thereto are combined and outputted as desired, thereby simplifying the retrieval of the plurality of images. Specifically, a sub-image which is the most characteristic to each image is extracted and combined with a memo data to thereby provide a clear clue to the image extraction. The number of specified sub-images is freely increased without rewriting original image data stored in an image file and image retrievel is settled by using a memo image and a cutout sub-image both having a less amount of data than the entire image, so that applications to a storage medium which is not rewritable, for example, an optical disc can be ensured with high response image display.

Abstract: A multimedia display system for efficiently and economically displaying document information containing characters, a graph and a picture image, without using a large-capacity image memory is disclosed in which information in a window is directly written in a bit-map memory or the display screen of a display device, without necessitating an image memory having a storage capacity corresponding to one page of a document. The multimedia display system is effectively used in the multiwindow display method, and includes a transfer controller for controlling data transfer between the bit-map memory and a memory device including a main memory, a picture image memory and a font memory, to control the size, position and contents of each window and to make possible image synthesis or image conversion.

Abstract: A direct memory access control circuit equipped with a first register for storing the top address of a memory area, a second register for storing the bottom address of that memory area, a comparison circuit for comparing the current address used for memory access with the bottom address stored in the second register, and a control circuit for replacing the current address, which is to be subsequently used for memory access, with the top address stored in the first register when coincidence is detected by the comparison circuit.

Abstract: A signal rotation processing method for transforming an original image expressed on two-dimensional orthogonal coordinates into an image rotated by an arbitrary angle of .theta. radians. In order to raise the transforming speed, the method includes a skew coordinate transformation step of multiplying the original coordinates of the image elements by a matrix of ##EQU1## and an enlarging/reducing transformation step of conducting multiplication by a matrix of ##EQU2## .

Abstract: Method of and apparatus for converting a first two-dimensional image on first column direction and row direction scales to a second two-dimensional image on second column direction and row direction scales at a high speed, in which use is made of the periodicity of the positional relation between the image elements of the first image arranged in matrix and having various data values and the image elements of the second image arranged in matrix and having various data values to determine, for each one of the second image elements, four second image elements lying on the intersections between two adjacent rows and two adjacent columns in the first image element matrix which rows and columns surround the second image element and constitute a reference from for the second image element, and in which the data value for each second image element is calculated on the basis of the data values of the four first image elements associated with the first image element and the vertical and horizontal coordinates within th

Abstract: In a method for controlling an image display apparatus having a file management table for managing information including titles of image data stored in a file memory and storage addresses therefor and a window management table for managing information including locations and sizes of windows on a display screen and quarry locations of the image data, the content of the window management table in accordance with an input command is updated so that the location and size of the window, the superposition of the windows and the scrolling of the window can be interactively changed.

Abstract: A memory control unit for a computer has the function of extracting or synthesizing only a necessary portion from or to two-dimensional image scan data, in addition to a conventional main memory function. It comprises an address controller for calculating an address of data to be transferred based on source and destination start addresses A.sub.1 and A.sub.2 of the two-dimensional image scan data, a lateral length W.sub.1 and a longitudinal length of the necessary portion, and lengths I.sub.1 and I.sub.2 of unnecessary portion, and a controller for controlling memory read/write operation.