Data-handling and display system capable of supporting multiple application programs and output devices
US5212770A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 6, 1989 |
| Grant date | May 18, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 6, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T11/60
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An interface system that facilitates user interaction with a plurality of document-management programs, each of which may require different data formats, and convenient output of data generated by such programs to recording or display devices. The invention includes a "front end", which accepts user commands and channels them to a designated application program; and a "back end", which converts output data into a form compatible with a selected output device or display, and which can simultaneously drive display of data from a plurality of application programs. The system operates using a common set of raster-image instructions; output and display data from an application program are converted into this common set of instructions before being provided to a selected output or display device. The system can store multiple display lists in segregated memory partitions, and then combine the lists according to a user-defined "mapping" procedure to produce a single, integrated display.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.