Eltra Corporation

Dr. Ing. Rudolf Hell Gmbh

Rudolf Hell Gmbh

Electra Corporation

Walter I Hansen

Roderick I Craig

Louis C Vella

Derek J Kyte

John A Kennedy, Jr

Wiley E Galbraith

Herbert Klepper

Joel S Harris

Farrokh Golesorkhi

Martin M Cohen

A laser diode imagesetter having multiple resolution operating modes, includes means for stabilizing the optical output power from the semiconductor laser diode during the scan trace interval across a photosensitive material so as to maintain a high extinction ratio for the laser diode even when its driving current is changed to a different level in order to operate the imagesetter at a different resolution mode.

Laser diode output power stabilization in a laser imagesetter

Image setting apparatus is disclosed for producing two-dimensional images on photosensitive sheet material. The apparatus includes a device for transporting the photosensitive sheet material past an image point to provide a first dimension of the two-dimensional image; a light source for producing a modulated beam of light, a scanning device for converting the light beam into a scanning beam; and a scan lens in the path of the scanning beam such that a focused beam spot moves repeatedly in a linear direction across the photosensitive material at the image point to provide the other dimension of the two-dimensional image. According to one improvement the scanning device is a rotatable prism having two mirror facets whose planes intersect in a common line. The prism is arranged to rotate about an axis perpendicular to this line so as to reflect the light beam into a scanning beam having a substantially constant angular velocity. According to another improvement, the device for transporting the photosensitive sheet material includes a pair of driving rollers at the nip of which the sheet material is pinched, the image point being located along a line on the surface of one of these rollers extending parallel to its axis of rotation.

Apparatus for imaging text and graphics on photosensitive material

A method for displaying characters on a raster display including the steps of storing a digitized font of normalized encoded characters in a first store, storing the identity size, and display location of the characters in a second store, generating a succession of raster lines, 1 through N, said first raster line being 1 and said last raster line being N in a predetermined order of raster lines, arranging successive characters in said second store into segments, each segment referenced to a respective raster line 1 through N, reordering the sequence of said segments by the value of each segment's respective raster line 1 through N, sequentially identifying respective segments for successively generated raster lines, identifying the boundaries of the characters within the said segments intersecting the raster lines and displaying the said characters responsive to said identified intersections.

Method and apparatus for arranging segmented character groups in a

A font storage system for a typesetter having an electronically controlled character imaging device includes a floppy disk and digital information stored on the floppy disk defining each character to be typeset. A series of vectors proceeding from a start point and extending around the character define the character outline. The vectors each are defined by start points, end points and the coordinate distances for each vector defining the slope and distance of each outline vector. The characters are encoded in digital form and at a normalized size. The electronic typesetter includes means for reducing or expanding the character size to type of various size characters from the single size or a normalized font size. Characters enlarged beyond a predetermined size may have excessive outline angles at the coincidence points of the contiguous outline vectors. A method and means is provided for identifying such excessive angles in enlarged characters and altering the outline encoding by replacing the originally encoded vectors with additional vectors in the character outline code to produce a smoother character outline with less pronounced angles. The method and apparatus identifies a critical character size, removes vector codes associated with the excessive angles and replaces it with new vector encoding to produce a smoother curve. The new character encoding with the replacement vectors is then accessed and imaged through an electro-optical imaging device to produce the typeset characters in the predetermined order, size and placement as originally desired.

Method and apparatus for smoothing outlines

A font storage system for use in a typesetter having an electronically controlled character imaging device. The storage system, which preferably includes a floppy disk, has digital information stored thereon defining each character to be typeset by at least two outlines on a normalized X-Y grid. The digital information defining each character includes (1) digital numbers defining the X and Y coordinates of the initial start points of the outline and (2) digital numbers defining a plurality of straight line vectors extending successively along the character outlines. Each vector has a first digital number representing the X coordinate distance and a second digital number representing the Y coordinate distance from one end of the vector to the other.

Character generating method and apparatus

A digital typesetter for imaging graphics quality characters of a specified font. The typesetter includes an electronic data processing system which receives first digital data defining the identity, form, size and placement of characters to be typeset; receives second digital data defining the contour of each character to be typeset with respect to a normalized encoding set of first and second coordinates; and produces third digital data defining the character boundaries intersecting a raster (scan) line. This third digital data, for at least a portion of the raster line extending the width of several characters, is temporarily stored in a raster line storage buffer. A character imaging device, connected to the line storage buffer, is provided to image successive raster lines on a print medium. Drive means are also provided for moving the print medium in a direction transverse to the direction of the raster (scan) line.

Digital typesetter

Typesetter character generating apparatus

A photocomposing machine and font strip therefor are described which allow type designers to have the flexibility to design typographical characters which are kerned. The photocomposing machine is able to automatically kern those characters which are designed to be kerned. The automatic kerning is accomplished by intentionally offsetting each character's placement on the font strip to the left with respect to the machine's aperture, and providing an optical system in the photocomposing machine which intentionally offsets the projection of the font strip through the aperture of the machine to the right, thereby cancelling the offset of unkerned characters. Kerned characters are placed to the right on the font strip in order to allow the machine's optical system offset to overlap the image of kerned characters on the space normally reserved for the next character.

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Cold Spring Harbor, NY, United States of America

Walter I Hansen