Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-07
2001-06-19
Bayerl, Raymond J. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C345S215000, C382S182000, C382S187000, C707S793000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249283
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to information processing systems such as personal computers or workstations and more particularly to a system for transferring any type of displayed data, from one application program to another application program.
BACKGROUND ART
A very common feature within application programs such as word-processors or text editors within graphical user interfaces (GUI) such as window-based environments, is the ability for the user to use functions that allow to transfer text or characters in general from one place to another. Examples of such functions are the well-known cut-and-paste or copy-and-paste functions. These functions basically use a buffer memory (often referred to as a clipboard) for storing the text or characters that are to be copied or transferred from one place to another within the same application program or to another application program when feasible. The common way for selecting a portion of a screen to be copied or moved, is to use a selecting device such as a mouse that the user drags over the portion of the screen being selected while pressing one of the mouse's button. When the desired portion of the screen is selected, normally that portion is highlighted, then, the user moves the mouse to the screen location where the selected portion is to be transferred and presses another mouse button for achieving the transfer. While the mouse is the most common selecting device used, in some applications the selection is done using the keyboard (e.g. the VI editor in UNIX environment).
With some applications e.g. some text editors, the user is provided with cut-and-paste or copy-and-paste functions that work only within the same application but not for transferring data to another application. Generally, this happens when the application uses its own clipboard, which is distinct from the operating system's clipboard.
In some other applications such as graphics/image display applications (such as applications accessed through the Internet network), the user is generally not provided with any such functions. If this is the case, the user will have to print the screen or manually copy the text that he wants to keep a record of. Considering the important development of graphical applications e.g. within the Internet network whereby the user may want to store or catch information, it would be very useful for the user to be provided with a system that would offer the capability of a copy/cut-and-paste function that is usable in any window-based application, that displays text or graphics, for transferring portions of screen into a file or to another portion of the screen within or not the same application.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a system for moving a displayed text from application to application when support is not provided and more particularly when the displayed text is issued from a graphic application.
According to the invention this object is achieved in a computer system including operating system with a graphical user interface responsive to a user input device by having: an information transfer means, activated in response to a user action on the input device, for identifying a user selected source of textual information, and for transferring textual information from the selected source as an image into a first predetermined location of the computer system's memory; and an optical character recognition logic (OCR) coupled to the information transfer means, for generating a character code for each character image identified in said image stored in the first predetermined location, the generated character codes being stored afterwards by the information transfer means into a second predetermined location of the computer memory whereby said source information is rendered available to an application program by being inserted into a user defined screen location.
Preferably the arrangement for transferring information into an application program is implemented by an application software program.
Viewed from another aspect, the present invention provides a method for transferring information into an application program of a computer system, the method comprising: identifying a portion of the display screen, the portion being selected by a user action on an input device, and storing said selected portion of the screen as a bit image into a first predefined location of the memory; detecting character images in the stored bit image and generating a coded representation of a character sequence from the detected character images, the detection and generation substeps being carried out by an optical character recognition logic, and storing the coded representation of a character sequence into a second predetermined location of the computer memory; and inserting the coded representation of a character sequence into a user selected location of the display screen by a user action on the input device, the location being operated by an application program.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5386564 (1995-01-01), Shearer et al.
patent: 5621878 (1997-04-01), Owens et al.
patent: 5659791 (1997-08-01), Nakajima et al.
patent: 5850480 (1998-12-01), Scanlon
patent: 5881381 (1999-03-01), Yamashita et al.
patent: 5889518 (1999-03-01), Poreh et al.
Bayerl Raymond J.
International Business Machines - Corporation
Tassinari, Jr. Robert
Thai Cuong T.
LandOfFree
Using OCR to enter graphics as text into a clipboard does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Using OCR to enter graphics as text into a clipboard, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Using OCR to enter graphics as text into a clipboard will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2437341