Data processor capable of outputting codes representing displayed patterns

The character code data processor of the invention has a pattern memory for storing patterns, and a keyboard for inputting codes for reading out the patterns stored in the pattern memory. The input code can be displayed on a CRT in a recognizable form.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a data processor which is capable of 
outputting codes representing patterns displayed on a CRT (cathode-ray 
tube) of, for example, a visualizing means. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Character processing apparatuses are conventionally known which are capable 
of inputting characters and which are capable of editing sentences or the 
like. However, with character processing apparatuses of this type, a 
character displayed "*" on the CRT is represented by a binary number such 
as "0001", "0010", "0011" and "0100" or a hexadecimal number such as 
"1234" inside the apparatus. Such numbers are called codes. 
One cannot readily confirm the codes for characters. For this reason, if 
the character processing apparatus does not have a means for storing the 
patterns of input data such as characters (special data), the operator 
cannot confirm the character codes of such input data. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a character code data 
processor which allows, at any time, confirmation of the code for any 
character of a character string. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a character code 
data processor which enables confirmation of the character code for a 
character of a character string displayed on a CRT, for example, the 
pattern of which cannot be displayed since it is not stored in the 
apparatus. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a character 
code data processor which allows easy confirmation of character codes for 
special data (including characters, symbols, and patterns) which is not 
the standard data of the character processing apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a character code data processor according to 
an embodiment of the present invention. A CPU (central processing unit) 
comprises a microprocessor which performs various operations and logical 
judgments. The CPU also controls various pieces of equipment through an 
address bus AB for designating the equipment to be controlled, a control 
bus CB for applying control signals to various pieces of equipment to be 
controlled, and a data bus DB for transferring various pieces of data. 
A control memory, a ROM (read-only memory), stores a control program, the 
flowchart of which is shown in FIG. 2. A RAM (random access memory) serves 
to temporarily store various kinds of data. 
A keyboard KB has a group of keys for inputting various instructions by the 
operator. The keyboard KB includes a character input key group KB1 for 
inputting characters, and function key groups KB2 and KB3 for inputting 
instructions for various functions. The character input key group KB1 may 
comprise a JIS keyboard or a tablet-type character input device and is for 
inputting character data. Data such as letters which are input through the 
character input keyboard KB1 are expressed by 16-bit binary numbers, for 
example, in the apparatus. The function key group KB2 has function input 
keys such as a cursor key and a code key. The function key group KB3 
includes other editing keys such as an output instruction key. 
A memory DISK for storing standard documents stores created documents. The 
documents stored in the memory DISK can be accessed as needed upon an 
instruction input through the keyboard. 
A cursor register CR stores serial numbers, addresses 1 to 31 which can be 
read out under the control of the CPU. A CRT controller CRTC to be 
described later displays the cursor at a position on the CRT corresponding 
to the serial number stored in the cursor register CR. The CRT controller 
CRTC converts the serial number into a row number and a column number and 
displays the cursor at a position on the CRT corresponding to these 
numbers. 
A buffer memory BUF has a capacity of 32 words and stores data input 
through the keyboard KB. The contents in the buffer memory BUF are 
expressed by B(N) in the description to follow of the mode of operation of 
the apparatus. Thus, B(N) represents the contents stored at an address N 
of the buffer memory BUF (where N is 0 to 31). 
As described above, the CRT controller CRTC serves to display on the CRT 
the contents stored in the cursor register CR and the buffer memory BUF. 
The contents of the buffer memory BUF are displayed on a display area of 
the CRT having 8 columns and 4 rows. Correspondence of the data 
arrangement in the buffer memory BUF with the CRT screen is represented by 
B(0), B(1), B(2), and so on in FIG. 3. A cursor mark CM is displayed at a 
position on the CRT corresponding to the column number and row number 
obtained from the serial number stored in the cursor register CR. The 
contents in the BUF are displayed by patterns generated by a character 
generator CG to be described later. 
The CRT thus has a display area of 4 columns and 8 rows on which the 
characters and the cursor are displayed by the CRT controller CRTC. 
As described above, the character generator CG generates the patterns for 
displaying the characters on the CRT or for printing the characters by a 
printer PRT. The printer PRT prints the data stored in the buffer memory 
BUF. 
A display register DR has a capacity of 16 bits and is capable of writing 
data under the control of the CPU. The data stored in the display register 
DR is converted into hexadecimal data and is displayed at a display device 
DISP to be described later. 
A binary-to-hexadecimal converter DC converts the binary data into 
hexadecimal data. The binary-to-hexadecimal converter DC receives 16-bit 
data and converts it into a hexadecimal code. 
For example, when binary data "0001", "0010", "0011", and "0100" are input, 
they are converted into 4-digit code data "1234". 
The display device DISP receives the hexadecimal code output by the 
binary-to-hexadecimal converter DC and displays the code, as shown in FIG. 
4. In the case of the example described above, "1234" is displayed. 
The mode of operation of the apparatus of the configuration as described 
above will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. When the 
operator turns on the power, the operation starts according to the 
flowchart as shown in FIG. 2. The processing steps will now be described. 
The contents of the respective steps shown in FIG. 2 are as follows: 
0. Initialization. 
1. Waits for input data from the keyboard KB. 
2. Data is input through the keyboard KB. 
3. It is discriminated if the input data is character data. If the 
discrimination result is YES, the flow advances to step 4. If the 
discrimination result is NO, the flow advances to step 5. 
4. Character input processing is performed; the input data is written in 
the buffer memory BUF. Thus, the operation B(N input data (where N is the 
serial number stored in the cursor register CR) is performed. 
5. It is discriminated if the input data is the data input through the 
cursor key. If the discrimination result is YES, the flow advances to step 
6. If the discrimination result is NO, the flow advances to step 7. 
6. Cursor key input processing is performed; the cursor is advanced by one 
position and the flow returns to step 1. 
7. It is discriminated if the input data is data input through the code 
key. If the discrimination result is YES, the flow advances to step 8. If 
the discrimination result is NO, the flow advances to step 9. 
8. Code key input processing is performed; the flow returns to step 1. 
9. It is discriminated if the input data is data input through other 
function keys. If the discrimination result is YES, the flow advances to 
step 10. If the discrimination result is NO, the flow returns to step 1. 
10. Processing for various editing and output operations is performed. 
Each step will now be described in more detail. In step 0, all the buffers, 
registers and so on are initialized. Thus, the operations below are 
performed: 
______________________________________ 
CR 0 
B(N) space code (where N = 0, 1, 2, to 31) 
DR 0 
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to display the cursor at the upper left position on the CRT screen and to 
clear all the characters which may be displayed on the screen. The display 
device DISP displays a four-digit number "0000". In step 1, the apparatus 
is ready for receiving data input through the keyboard KB. 
In step 2, the data input through the keyboard KB is loaded. In step 3, it 
is discriminated if the input data is character data. If the input data is 
data input through the character key group KB1, the flow advances to step 
4. If the discrimination result is NO, the flow advances to step 5. 
In step 4, the data input through the keyboard KB is written in the buffer 
memory BUF. Thus, the operation below is performed: 
B(N) input data (where N is the serial number stored in the character 
register CR). Upon this operation, the input data is displayed at the 
position on the CRT screen where the cursor is located. The flow then 
advances to step 6 wherein the address of the cursor is incremented by 
one. 
In step 5, it is discriminated if the input data is the data input through 
the cursor key. If the discrimination result is YES, the flow advances to 
step 6. If the discrimination result is NO, the flow advances to step 7. 
In step 6, the address of the cursor is incremented by one. Thus, if the 
content in the cursor register is equal to or larger than 31, the 
operation CR=0 is performed. If the content of the cursor register CR is 
smaller than 31, the operation CR CR+1 is performed. In step 7, it is 
discriminated if the input data is data input through the code key. If the 
input data is the data input through the code key, the flow advances to 
step 8. If the discrimination result is NO, the flow advances to step 9. 
In step 8, the code for the character above the cursor is displayed by the 
display DISP. 
Thus, the operation below is performed: 
DR B(N) (where N is the serial number stored in the cursor register CR). 
In step 9, it is discriminated if the input data is the data input through 
other function keys. If the input data is the data input through other 
function keys, the flow advances to step 10. If the discrimination result 
is NO, the flow returns to step 1. 
In step 10, processing of various editing and output operations is 
performed. The description of this step will not be made, since it is not 
directly related to the present invention. 
Assume that the display as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the CRT. If the 
operator desires to confirm the code of a pattern L above the cursor mark 
C, the operator depresses the code key of the function key group KB2. 
Starting from step 1, the flow progresses through steps 5, 7 and 8. In step 
8, the 16-bit code of the pattern L stored in the buffer memory BUF is 
transferred to the display register DR on the basis of the content stored 
in the cursor register CR. The 16-bit code is converted into hexadecimal 
data by the binary-to-hexadecimal converter DC and is displayed on the 
display device DISP as shown in FIG. 4. In this manner, the operator can 
confirm the code of the pattern displayed on the CRT. If this operation is 
performed when nothing is displayed at the position of the CRT above the 
cursor mark C and data is assumed to be present at this position, the code 
which is converted from binary into hexadecimal notation can be displayed. 
This can be converted into a number in a notation having a base still 
greater than sixteen or to a form which is easy to understand for the 
operator Therefore, the code may be expressed in another form 
1. Although the above embodiment is described with reference to the case of 
a character code output apparatus with a CRT, the present invention may be 
similarly applied to other types of character processing apparatuses. For 
example, the present invention can be applied to a character code output 
apparatus which does not have a CRT but which has a printer, only if it 
has a means for designating the character, the code of which is to be 
confirmed, and a means for displaying or printing the code, 
The present invention may also be applied to a character processing 
apparatus which does not have a character input function such as a 
character recognition apparatus or a voice input apparatus. 
2. In the above embodiment, keys are used as the means for designating the 
character code. However, other means may be used for this purpose. 
3. In the above embodiment, both the CRT and the display device DISP are 
used. However, one display device may serve for both purposes. 
According to the present invention, it is possible to confirm with ease and 
at any time the code for a character in character data. 
In the embodiment described above, the binary code is converted into a 
hexadecimal code. However, the binary code may be directly output without 
modification or may be converted into a number of still greater notation.