APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING GRAPHICAL IMAGES ON A RADIANT-ENERGY-RESPONSIVE SURFACE

• US 3,614,764 A
• Filed: 03/04/1968
• Issued: 10/19/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Edwin R. Kolb, Herbert E. Drake
• Original Assignee: Edwin R. Kolb, Herbert E. Drake
• Inventors: Kolb, Edwin R., Drake, Herbert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Caldwell, John W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US04/710,350
• Time in Patent Office: 1,324 Days
• Field of Search: 340/324.1,324A 95/4.5 315/26,31
• US Class Current: 345/13
• CPC Class Codes: B41B 19/01 having electron-beam tubes producing an image of at least one character which is photographed
• CPC Class Codes: B41B 27/28 Control, indicating, or safety devices for individual operations or machine elements in devices for supplying molten metal B41B11/86, B41B11/88; for light sources B41B21/08
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 1/00 Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with cathode-ray tube indicators; General aspects or details, e.g. selection emphasis on particular characters, dashed line or dotted line generation; Preprocessing of datacathode-ray oscilloscopes G01R13/20; radar display arrangements G01S7/04; display of digital non-picture data in television systems H04N7/0255

Abstract

A phototypesetting system wherein characters may be displayed on a cathode-ray tube includes a character-positioning means for locating accurately each character horizontally on the face of the tube in response to the status of an accumulator means. The character-positioning means includes an output circuit means having a substantially linear response to the status of the accumulator to provide a substantial portion of the characterpositioning signal, and a compensating means, also responsive to the status of the accumulator means, to supply only that portion of the character-positioning signal which is necessary to compensate for nonlinearity in the characteristics of the cathode-ray tube so that the characters of consistent size may be accurately positioned regardless of the horizontal position of the characters relative to the face of the tube.

Claims

1. Apparatus for providing graphical images on an energyresponsive surface with an energy beam and having beam deflection means for deflecting said beam along perpendicularly related coordinate axes to form images on said surface and comprising:

image position command means registering digital representations respectively representative of desired major positions along one of said axes at which images are to be formed;

first deflection signal means for providing linear deflection signals for application to said deflection means to deflect said beam along said one axis in accordance with the magnitude of said linear deflection signals, said linear deflection signals being derived from said digital representation and being of magnitudes respectively linearly related to said digital representations to effect the majority portion of the beam deflection required to position the beam to each of said desired positions;

second deflection signal means for providing, for each of said desired positions, a nonlinear deflection signal which is independently derived from said digital representations for application to said deflection means to effect further positioning of said beam along said one axis to an associated one of said desired positions to compensate for nonlinear beam responsive characteristics.

2. Apparatus for providing graphical images on an energy-responsive surface with an energy beam and having beam deflection means for deflecting said beam along perpendicularly related coordinate axes to form images on said surface and comprising:

image position command means registering digital representations respectively representative of desired major positions along one of said axes at which images are to be formed;

first deflection signal means for providing linear deflection signals for application to said deflection means to deflect said beam along said one axis in accordance with the magnitude of said linear deflection signals, said linear deflection signals being derived from said digital representations and being of magnitudes respectively linearly related to said digital representations to effect the majority portion of the beam deflection required to position the beam to each of said desired positions;

second deflection signal means for providing, for each of said desired positions, a nonlinear deflection signal which is independently derived from said digital representations for application to said deflection means to effect further positioning of said beam along said one axis to an associated one of said desired positions to compensate for nonlinear beam responsive characteristics;

said second deflection signal means includes a first portion having compensating circuit means for providing a first portion of each said nonlinear deflection signal as a function of an associated one of said desired positions and an interpolation circuit means for providing the remaining portion of each said nonlinear deflection signal dependent at least in part on the said associated one of said desired positions.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said compensating circuit means includes reference means for providing reference signals having values respectively dependent upon associated ones of said desired positions, said interpolation means providing said remaining portions of said nonlinear deflection signals dependent at least in part on the value of said reference signals.

4. Apparatus for providing graphical images on An energy-responsive surface with an energy beam and having beam deflection means for deflecting said beam along perpendicularly related coordinate axes to form images on said surface and comprising:

image position command means registering digital representations respectively representative of desired major positions along one of said axes at which images are to be formed;

first deflection signal means for providing linear deflection signals for application to said deflection means to deflect said beam along said one axis is in accordance with the magnitude of said linear deflection signals, said linear deflection signals being derived from said digital representations and being of magnitudes respectively linearly related to said digital representations to effect the majority portion of the beam deflection required to position the beam to each said desired positions;

second deflection signal means for providing, for each of said desired positions, a nonlinear deflection signal which is independently derived from said digital representations for application to said deflection means to effect further positioning of said beam along said one axis to an associated one of said desired positions to compensate for nonlinear beam responsive characteristics;

said second deflection signal means provides reference signals having values dependent upon the said desired positions, and configuration forming means for controlling the formation of configurations on said surface dependent in part on the value of said reference signals.

5. Apparatus for providing graphical images on an energy-responsive surface with an energy beam and having beam deflection means for deflecting said beam along perpendicularly related coordinate axes to form images on said surface and comprising:

image position command means registering digital representations respectively representative of desired major positions along one of said axes at which images are to be formed;

first deflection signal means for providing linear deflection signals for application to said deflection means to deflect said beam along said one axis in accordance with the magnitude of said linear deflection signals, said linear deflection signals being derived from said digital representations and being of magnitudes respectively linearly related to said digital representations to effect the majority portion of the beam deflection required to position the beam to each of said desired positions;

second second deflection signal means for providing, for each of said desired positions, a nonlinear deflection signal which is independently derived from said digital representations for application to said deflection means to effect further positioning of said beam along said one axis to an associated one of said desired positions to compensate for nonlinear beam responsive characteristics;

said energy-responsive surface is the display face of a cathode-ray tube and said second deflection signal means provides focus signals for said tube which vary in value dependent upon the said desired positions.