Bitstream Inc.

Mark H Goldwater

John S Collins

A computer system includes a requesting computer which asks a responding computer, such as an Internet server, for one or more portions of text. The responding computer reacts by sending the requested text. The requesting computer can either render the requested text without the text's font shapes, or it can ask the responding computer to send descriptions of such shapes, and then render the text using them. Preferably the font descriptions sent are grouped into sets, or portable font resources ('PFR'); each text sent identifies the one or more PFRs needed to define its font shapes; and the requesting computer asks for PFRs identified in texts it receives. The fonts and characters within fonts represented by each PFR vary as a function of its associated text. For each character to be rendered, the requesting computer finds which PFR associated with the character's text describes its shape, and uses that font description to render that shape. The responding computer can install such new font descriptions into its operating system, so character shapes can be rapidly rendered by standard operating system calls. The responding computer can translate a text's pre-defined font description into new font descriptions which depend only on character-font shapes. The responding computer can receive a changed body of text and a corresponding old set of PFRs, and derive a new set of one or more PFRs as a function of which character-font shapes occur in the changed text.

Apparatus and methods for creating and using portable fonts

A computerized system inputs fonted text and outputs corresponding fonted text containing new, automatically created, font descriptions. The new font descriptions make the output a portable document which can be rendered at any magnification by a machine of any output resolution, even if that machine does do not have access to the pre-defined font descriptions associated with the original input text. The system creates the portable document by accessing the pre-defined font descriptions of each character-font shape in the input text and generating new font descriptions which describe those shapes in a new font description language. Preferably the system findspoints on the outlines of each character-font shape which are a function of the shape itself, rather than how its pre-defined description describes that shape. The system bases the segmentation of the new font description on such description-independent points. Once created, the portable document can be rendered on the computer or printer generating it or a computer or printer receiving the document over a network or on mass storage media. In some embodiments, the computer viewing the portable document determines whether can access and render the pre-defined font description of each character in the portable document. If so, it does so. If not, it interprets the shape of the character from its new font description in the portable document.

Apparatuses and methods for creating and using portable fonted texts

A computerized apparatus and methods for character shape recording develops new font descriptions from shapes received from pre-defined descriptions. It does so by modeling each such shape to find features, such as points on its outlines, which are a function of that shape itself, rather than the manner in which the pre-defined description defined that shape. The system bases the segmentation of the new font description on such description-independent points. It finds new line or curve segments to approximate the pre-defined font description between such description-independent points, and it picks the outline order, starting points, and directions of that description according to standard rules. This causes the new font descriptions to be free of non-shape-required aspects of the pre-defined descriptions. It is also preferred that the system find how finely the curve must be subdivided on playback so it can be accurately portrayed with vectors by recursively subdividing the curve into subdivisions, approximating each subdivision by a vector, and recursing on the worst fitted subdivision until the worst fit is acceptable. Preferably the system matches outline shapes for different characters of the same or different fonts, and saves storage space by recording a single description of any shape used in more than one new font description. It is also preferred that the system generate new font descriptions from non-character shapes, such as logos. The invention can be used to create portable documents, by receiving fonted input text, accessing and interpreting the pre-defined font descriptions associated with each character-font shape in the input text, and generating a new font description for that shape. Such a system creates a portable document which includes the sequence of characters in the input text, the new font descriptions for those characters; and an indication of which of new font description represents the shape of each such character.

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Norfolk, MA, United States of America

Mark H Goldwater