Method for production of illustrated texts

Claim 1

A method for producing customized texts from input data relating to a plurality of customers comprising the steps of: storing input data including textual material relating to a plurality of customers; selecting the stored data relating to one of the plurality of customers from the stored input data; generating an ordered index in response to the selected stored data; merging the selected stored data with the generated ordered index; separating the merged stored data and the ordered index into consecutively numbered page-sized portions; generating a table of contents in response to the consecutively numbered page-sized portions; merging the merged stored data and ordered index with the generated table of contents; and, photographically reproducing the merged stored data, ordered index and table of contents.

Claim 2

A method for producing customized texts from input data relating to a plurality of customers comprising the steps of: storing input data including textual material relating to a plurality of customers; selecting the stored data relating to one of the plurality of customers from the stored input data; generating an ordered index in response to the selected stored data; merging the selected stored data with the generated ordered index; separating the merged stored data and the ordered index into consecutively numbered page-sized portions; generating a table of contents in response to the consecutively numbered page-sized portions; merging the merged stored data and ordered index with the generated table of contents; and, photographically reproducing the merged stored data, ordered index and table of contents.

Claim 11

A method for producing customized illustrated parts catalogs comprising the steps of: storing input data relating to a plurality of customers in a memory, the input data including parts illustration and text records each containing an identifiable record code, an entry date code and an identification code associating each record with at least one of the plurality of customers, at least some of the illustration records including illustration identifying indicia; duplicating the stored input data on a data carrier in machine readable form; machine reading the input data from the data carrier; selecting the machine read input data relating to a predetermined one of the plurality of customers in response to the identification code of each record; generating an ordered catalog index data from the selected input data in response to the record code of each record; merging the selected input data with the generated catalog index data; separating the merged selected input and index data into consecutively numbered page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data; generating table of contents data in response to the page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data; machine reading the table of contents data and the consecutively numbered page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data in a desired order of appearance of the data in the customized catalog; electronically displaying, in the desired order of appearance in the customized catalog, the machine read table of contents data and the consecutively numbered page-sized portions of textual data one page at a time on the face of a cathode ray tube; photographically recording each page of the electronically displayed data on an individual frame of film; interrupting the electronic display of the textual data in response to the reading of illustration blank data; displaying the illustration identifying indicia associated with the read illustration blank data; selecting from a plurality of slides containing parts illustrations the slide containing an illustration identified by the displayed illustration identifying indicia; photographically recording the illustration from the selected slide on an individual frame of the film to thereby form a composite record or ordered textual and illustrative material; continuing to electronically display and photographically record each page of the machine read textual data on individual frames of film after recording the illustration; and, repeating the last mentioned steps of interrupting, selecting, photographically recording and continuing until all of the table of contents data and consecutively numbered page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data has been read.

Claim 12

A method for producing customized illustrated parts catalogs comprising the steps of: storing input data relating to a plurality of customers in a memory, the input data including parts illustration and text records each containing an identifiable record code, an entry date code and an identification code associating each record with at least one of the plurality of customers, at least some of the illustration records including illustration identifying indicia; duplicating the stored input data on a data carrier in machine readable form; machine reading the input data from the data carrier; selecting the machine read input data relating to a predetermined one of the plurality of customers in response to the identification code of each record; generating an ordered catalog index data from the selected input data in response to the record code of each record; merging the selected input data with the generated catalog index data; separating the merged selected input and index data into consecutively numbered page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data; generating table of contents data in response to the page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data; machine reading the table of contents data and the consecutively numbered page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data in a desired order of appearance of the data in the customized catalog; electronically displaying, in the desired order of appearance in the customized catalog, the machine read table of contents data and the consecutively numbered page-sized portions of textual data one page at a time on the face of a cathode ray tube; photographically recording each page of the electronically displayed data on an individual frame of film; interrupting the electronic display of the textual data in response to the reading of illustration blank data; displaying the illustration identifying indicia associated with the read illustration blank data; selecting from a plurality of slides containing parts illustrations the slide containing an illustration identified by the displayed illustration identifying indicia; photographically recording the illustration from the selected slide on an individual frame of the film to thereby form a composite record or ordered textual and illustrative material; continuing to electronically display and photographically record each page of the machine read textual data on individual frames of film after recording the illustration; and, repeating the last mentioned steps of interrupting, selecting, photographically recording and continuing until all of the table of contents data and consecutively numbered page sized portions of textual and illustration blank data has been read.

Claim 13

A method for separating textual data into consecutively numbered pages of text approximately equal in length comprising the steps of: storing textual data in a memory, the textual data including a plurality of lines of textual material greater in number than a predetermined maximum page length, each line of textual material including at least one of a plurality of codes indicating the number of subsequent lines of textual material required to complete a textual entry; counTing the total number of lines of textual material in the stored textual data; comparing the total number of lines counted with the predetermined maximum page length to establish an approximate integral number of pages required to reproduce the stored textual data on consecutive pages; dividing the total number of lines counted by the established approximate integral number of pages to establish a text page length; scanning a first line of textual material corresponding in line number to the established text page length to detect at least one of the plurality of predetermined codes associated therewith; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding and including the first scanned line if the detected code associated with the first scanned line indicates that the first scanned line is not associated with subsequent, required lines of textual material; scanning a second line of the textual material if the detected code indicates that the first scanned line is associated with subsequent, required lines of textual material, the second scanned line being identified as the first scanned line plus the number of lines indicated by the detected code of the first scan line if the identified second scanned line does not exceed the maximum page length plus one; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding the second scanned line if the second scanned line does not include data indicative of subsequent, required lines of textual material; scanning a second line of the textual material identified as the first scanned line less one line if the previously identified second scanned line exceeds the maximum page length plus one; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding the second scanned line if the second scanned line does not include data indicative of subsequent, required lines of textual material; scanning a third line of the textual material identified as the first scanned line less three lines if the second scanned line includes an indication of subsequent, required lines of textural material; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding the third scanned line if the third scanned line does not include an indication of subsequent, required lines of textual material; and, repeating as necessary the latter two steps until the scanned line does not include an indication of subsequent, required lines of textual material at which time the first page number is assigned to the textual material preceding the last scanned line.

Claim 14

A method for separating textual data into consecutively numbered pages of text approximately equal in length comprising the steps of: storing textual data in a memory, the textual data including a plurality of lines of textual material greater in number than a predetermined maximum page length, each line of textual material including at least one of a plurality of codes indicating the number of subsequent lines of textual material required to complete a textual entry; counTing the total number of lines of textual material in the stored textual data; comparing the total number of lines counted with the predetermined maximum page length to establish an approximate integral number of pages required to reproduce the stored textual data on consecutive pages; dividing the total number of lines counted by the established approximate integral number of pages to establish a text page length; scanning a first line of textual material corresponding in line number to the established text page length to detect at least one of the plurality of predetermined codes associated therewith; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding and including the first scanned line if the detected code associated with the first scanned line indicates that the first scanned line is not associated with subsequent, required lines of textual material; scanning a second line of the textual material if the detected code indicates that the first scanned line is associated with subsequent, required lines of textual material, the second scanned line being identified as the first scanned line plus the number of lines indicated by the detected code of the first scan line if the identified second scanned line does not exceed the maximum page length plus one; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding the second scanned line if the second scanned line does not include data indicative of subsequent, required lines of textual material; scanning a second line of the textual material identified as the first scanned line less one line if the previously identified second scanned line exceeds the maximum page length plus one; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding the second scanned line if the second scanned line does not include data indicative of subsequent, required lines of textual material; scanning a third line of the textual material identified as the first scanned line less three lines if the second scanned line includes an indication of subsequent, required lines of textural material; assigning a first page number to the textual material preceding the third scanned line if the third scanned line does not include an indication of subsequent, required lines of textual material; and, repeating as necessary the latter two steps until the scanned line does not include an indication of subsequent, required lines of textual material at which time the first page number is assigned to the textual material preceding the last scanned line.