Darrell R Chan

US Patent:

56685807, Sep 16, 1997

Filed:

Jun 8, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/255995

Inventors:

Darrell K. Chan - Huntington Beach CA
Chihsin S. Young - Irvine CA

Assignee:

Canon Business Machines, Inc. - Costa Mesa CA

International Classification:

B41J 2942

US Classification:

347 37

Abstract:

A print position indicator is coupleable to and uncoupleable from a print head so that the print position indicator can continuously indicate the next print position even when the print head is not adjacent that position. The print position indicator is slidably mounted on the same guide rail that carries the print head for left-and-right movement and includes a coupling mechanism so that the print position indicator can be detached from the print head when the print head returns to a home position, leaving the print position indicator correctly pointing to the next print position. In addition, the print position indicator can include plural laterally extending indicators, such as a row of light-emitting diodes (LED's) which are sequentially activated so as to indicate the next print position when plural characters are input before any of them are printed.

US Patent:

51932075, Mar 9, 1993

Filed:

May 31, 1990

Appl. No.:

7/531199

Inventors:

Stanley J. Vander Vegt - Los Angeles CA
Darrell W. Chan - Monterey Park CA

Assignee:

Hughes Aircraft Company - Los Angeles CA

International Classification:

G06F 1574
G06F 1300

US Classification:

395800

Abstract:

A link sorted memory and method of storing and sorting data that provides for rapid sorting and retrieval of data stored in an unsorted fashion. The link sorted memory comprises a data memory for storing unsorted data, and a linking memory that functions as a pointer table to related memory addresses in the data memory. A sorting coprocessor is provided that stores the data unsorted in the data memory, scans the data words for a sort attribute, and uses the sort attribute to create the pointer table that links the unsorted stored data words. Sorting and retrieval of the unsorted data in the data memory is achieved by incrementing a counter, for example, that steps through the addresses stored in the linking memory to sequentially retrieve all data words having the sort parameter.