Wang Laboratories, Inc.

Other

An Wang

John M Smutek

Stanley B Fry

Shu K Ho

Gary Nelson Stapleford

Shu-Kuang Ho

Carlos I Mainemer

Harold S Koplow

David Moros

Gerald J Crean

Burton G McConchie

A Edward Wild, Jr

Phillip P Brown

Donald R Dunning

Richard W Neiss

A keyboard having a conventional set of alphanumeric keys and special function keys which are actuable by an operator using a finger and a stylus. The stylus-actuable keys have keypad areas which are less than a prescribed range of areas. Other keys which have keypads greater in area than a value in the prescribed range are designed for keystroke operation by the operator's finger. Alternatively, the stylus-actuable keys have center line spacings which are less than a value from a predetermined range of lineal dimensions, while the finger-actuable keys have center line spacings which are greater in value than a value in the predetermined range. Having been derived from human factors considerations which have been defined for finger-actuable keys, the prescribed range of areas is preferably 100 square millimeters to 162 squares millimeters and the predetermined range of dimensions is preferably 12 millimeters to 21 millimeters. As a result, the footprint is smaller than that for a standard sized keyboard while maintaining substantially the same key stroke procedures of a conventionally-sized PC keyboard. Being suitable for use with a graphical tablet, another embodiment is made with keys mounted to a surface which is angled between 30 degrees and 90 degrees from the horizontal plane of a desktop. In an effort to reduce manufacturing costs, the preferred embodiment is made with membrane type switches using conventional touch panel technology.

Keyboard with finger-actuable and stylus-actuable keys

A management communication terminal is formed by integrating an electronic, raster scanning camera with a personal computer. The terminal has a keyboard, a Winchester disk drive, a telecommunication controller, a cathode ray tube monitor, and a thermographic, raster image printer. Two such terminals define an office information system for the exchange of information produced at the keyboards and by the cameras. In each terminal, the coded data generated at the keyboard and the raster image data generated by the camera are temporarily stored in separate data buffers and from there are routed to the monitor, the printer and disk storage. The monitor and printer are able to display and print respectively, images created from the keyboard data, the camera data or a combination of the two. The camera data is compressed prior to storage and is reduced in resolution prior to application to the monitor. The telecommunication controller, when coupled to a transmission line, transfers keyboard and camera data directly between the disk memories associated with two terminals.

Composite document accessing and processing terminal with graphic and

At least one mark is provided on a tennis racket. The distance between the mark and an end or edge of the racket defines a measurement length which is equal to the difference between the 36' height of the net and the length of the racket. The height of the net can be verified by the combined height of the racket and the measurement length. Three marks may be provided on the strings of the racket head to define the measurement length between each side edge of the racket head and the end of the racket head. Also, a mark may be provided on the handle of the racket.

Game racket

A writing pad in which a grid of electrical elements defines an array of discrete locations on the writing surface with a density of at least 100.times.50=5000 locations per square inch, and digital circuitry is connected to the grid to determine the locations at which writing stimuli are being received. In other aspects, circuitry is used to identify the upper and lower boundaries along one dimension of the writing surface, of a local region at which writing stimuli are being received; the writing surface is scanned to identify the coordinate value along one dimension of a point at which writing stimuli are being received, by scanning respectively different predetermined portions of the writing surface along that one dimension, all of the portions being scanned simultaneously; a local zone is defined in the vicinity of an identified point of touching, and limits the scanning to that local zone; and a portion of the writing surface includes key zones and a particular digital symbol is generated in response to writing stimuli being received at any of the locations corresponding to one of the key zones.

Writing pad

In a communication facility a masterstation initially directs a single inquiry signal to the aggregate of the operating stations and receives a response from this aggregate indicating by its structure which of the several individual stations currently needs service from the communication facility. Messages are thereafter exchanged between the masterstation and those stations only which need service to inform the masterstation as to the details of the needed service. The many message exchanges between the master station and individual stations needing nothing is eliminated.

Method of polling to ascertain service needs

Management communication terminal system

Apparatus is disclosed which functions with a scanning arrangement including a charge coupled device (CCD) scanner and an analog-to-digital converter to digitize documents for storage, display and transmission to a remote location. The apparatus is attached to the scanner and consists of a reticle with a site pattern thereon, a lens arrangement and a lamp which are used to position a document for scanning. Prior to scanning the document the lamp is briefly energized to project the pattern onto an easel on which the document is placed, and the portion of the document on which the pattern is projected is the portion that will subsequently be scanned by the scanner.

Scanner document positioning device

A high density dot matrix printer is disclosed which can print characters with variable font and having print resolution close to that of a typewriter. Printing on both a forward and reverse pass of a line of characters with the dot print head coupled with offsetting the dot matrix print head for the reverse pass printing doubles the line density in printing characters to increase resolution. In addition, a compacted character code arrangement is utilized having a different printing code for the reverse pass printing than for the forward pass printing, and uses single binary words to represent many dot printing positions dependent on the location of the single binary word in the character code coupled with using single binary words to represent many possible dot positions in which no dots are to be printed. This compacted character code arrangement permits the use of a relatively small amount of memory and results in operating a larger number of print head pins in printing each character than heretofore practiced in the art to greatly increase print resolution. A lower level of increased resolution printing is obtained by utilizing the compacted character code technique for the forward pass printing but deleting reverse pass printing to increase printing speed when required.

High density dot matrix printer

A data communication system for the transmission of electrical information signals among a plurality of user devices removably connected to the system which transmit signals over receive and transmit branches of coaxial cable. An interface is connected to each user device, providing a signal transmit portion and a signal receive portion. Each interface has a threaded plug connector connected to its signal transmit portion, and a threaded plug connector connected to its signal receive portion. The system further providing a plurality of outlets each connected to the receive and transmit branches through receive and transmit drop lines respectively, each outlet provides a threaded receptacle connected to the transmit drop line and a threaded receptacle connected to the receive drop line. The mating threaded portions of every transmit plug connector and transmit receptacle are threaded in a first sense, and the mating threaded portions of every receive plug connector and transmit receptacle are threaded in a second sense, so that any interface means is removably connectable to any outlet only in a correct transmit-receive relationship.

Data communication system

Printing apparatus, having a rotatable platen with a printing element in front of it and a reversible platen drive for rotating the platen counterclockwise or clockwise relative to the printing element, is operable to feed, from an upper hopper extending upwardly and rearwardly from the bottom of the platen, an unprinted sheet to the bottom of the platen and forwardly and upwardly to the front of the platen into printing position. A selector switch may be provided for selecting the direction of rotation of the platen after completion of printing so that its rotation counterclockwise moves the printed sheet upwardly and rearwardly toward the upper hopper and its rotation clockwise moves the printed sheet downwardly for sequential stacking in the lower hopper to collate successive printed sheets in their order of printing. A bail switch operable upon movement of the upper platen feed roll away from the platen may also be provided to cause the platen to rotate counterclockwise to move the leading edge of the unprinted sheet into printing position.

Selective paper insertion and feeding means for individual sheet

An impact printer head mechanism for printing on a print medium has a cylindrical print head with its axis perpendicular to the print line and a matrix of characters on its exterior surface in the form of a multi-turn helical row. A rotatably fixed screw thread cooperating with an internal screw thread on the print head is provided for supporting the print head for rotational and axial movement. A print head drive, including a gear cooperating with a spline on the print head, is provided for rotating the print head to simultaneously rotatably and axially move it to position a desired character relative to the print line. Operating means is provided for moving the print head relatively to the printing medium to cause a selected character to be printed.

Helical print head mechanism

A Chinese typewriter comprising a keyboard for the input of numerical and command signals, a control circuit for control of the system, a rotating drum carrying a film strip on which are optically stored a plurality of Chinese characters, a CRT display for verifying the desired character, and a printer.

Ideographic typewriter

A distributed data processing system having a magnetic disk and a master disk control and communication control unit; a slave work station unit having a keyboard for the input of data and a cathode ray tube display screen for the display of input data; and a slave output printer. The work station display is a CRT screen which can display 24 lines each of 80 characters, or a total of 1920 characters. The keyboard is similar to that of a standard electric typewriter with the addition of special instruction keys and keys for moving a cursor symbol on the screen. Optionally, other slave peripheral devices, such as a telecommunications link, a line printer, or a paper tape punch, may be provided. All slave units of the system are connected to the master unit by coaxial cables. Access to the disk for data reads and writes is under control of the master unit. Requests by slave devices for such access are signaled to the master unit by 'semaphores', which are specific areas in slave memory that may contain particular values indicating requests for particular services. Such semaphores are set by the slave, and are periodically polled and read by the master. The requested services are provided by the master, after which the master resets the semaphore value to a quantity indicating that the requested service has been completed. In addition to disk access, slave devices may request services of other slaves; these requests are relayed by the master.

Growing community of inventors

Lincoln, MA, United States of America

An Wang