DIGITAL DATA SELECTION AND DISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 3,699,531 A
• Filed: 03/13/1970
• Issued: 10/17/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Richard F. Heimann
• Original Assignee: Richard F. Heimann
• Inventors: Heimann, Richard F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Henon, Paul J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chapnick, Melvin B.
• Application Number:
  US05/019,371
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 340/172.5,324A,152,153,154
• US Class Current: 345/25
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices

Abstract

A real-time communications system in which a dynamic memory recirculates character address information for an entire frame of information for display in a line raster on a cathode ray tube and in which a plurality of selection switches aligned with the individual lines of the raster permit an operator to select new frames of character information from a central memory for display and recirculation in accordance with the character information contained in the individual line selected.

Claims

1. A digital data selection and display system comprising:

a visual display area having a plUrality of display regions;

means including a movable electron beam for generating characters for display on said display regions in response to input signals;

a recirculating memory for storing said input signals in the form of character address codes;

means for coupling said input signals to said character generation means; and

means visually associated with said plurality of display regions for controlling said input signals.

2. A display system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means visually associated with said plurality of display regions for controlling said input signals includes means for producing a complete change of the information content of said recirculating memory.

3. A display system comprising:

a cathode ray tube having a visual display area upon which characters are displayed in a plurality of lines L1, L2 ... Ln;

a recirculating memory wherein character address codes for the selection of complete characters for generation on said visual display area are stored;

a plurality of control means X1, X2 ... Xn visually associated with said plurality of lines for generating control signals; and

character generation means for generating characters on the cathode ray tube responsive to the output of said recirculating memory, said memory output controlled by the control signals.

4. A display system in accordance with claim 3, further comprising:

means coupled to said plurality of control means for altering the character information on all of the lines L1, L2 ... Ln, in response to said control signals, thereby causing a different visual display each time a control signal is generated.

5. A display system in accordance with claim 4, wherein the cathode ray tube includes a faceplate through which the plurality of lines L1, L2 ... Ln is viewed, and a plurality of indicia I1, I2 ... In, each indicia marking the correspondence between control means X1 and line L1, X2 and line L2, and Xn and line Ln, such that an operator may manually select a particular control means in accordance with the character information on any particular line, by which selection the entire visual display is changed.

6. A display system in accordance with claim 5, further comprising a character entry means, said character entry means including a keyboard such that characters may be added to the visual display on selected lines.

7. A display system in accordance with claim 6, wherein said character entry means includes a shift register for adding characters to said visual display;

and means for recirculating said characters in said memory such that they may be recalled only when the control means which was controlling the memory output at the time the added characters were entered generates a control signal to the memory.

8. A digital data selection and visual display system comprising:

a cathode ray tube having a visual display area upon which characters are displayed in a plurality of lines L1, L2 ... Ln;

a first memory wherein character information for the visual display is stored;

a plurality of control means X1, X2 ... Xn visually associated with said plurality of lines for generating coded control signals;

character address code generation means coupled to a second memory for generating character address codes;

storage means in said second memory for storing said character address codes;

means for recirculating said character address codes;

means for non-destructively transferring said recirculated character address codes;

character generation means for generating characters on the cathode ray tube responsive to said transferred character address codes from said second memory, the output of which is controlled by the output of said first memory; and

means for transFerring said control signals to said first memory for changing the character address code content of said second memory.

9. A digital data selection and visual display system in accordance with claim 8, wherein said character code generation means includes means for generating said coded control signals.

10. A digital data selection and visual display system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said character code generation means is a keyboard including a diode matrix for the generation of digital codes.

11. A digital data selection and visual display system in accordance with claim 10, wherein said character address code generation means include means for generating character address codes of n bit length from coded control signals of (n - 1) bit length.

12. A digital data selection and visual display system comprising:

a cathode ray tube having a visual display area upon which characters are displayed in a plurality of lines L1, L2 ... Ln;

a first memory wherein character information for the visual display is stored;

a plurality of control means X1, X2 ... Xn associated with said plurality of lines for generating control signals;

a second memory wherein digital character address codes are stored, recirculated and non-destructively transferred;

means for generating characters on the cathode ray tube responsive to said transferred digital character address codes from said second memory such that said transferred codes are determined by the output of said first memory wherein said last-mentioned means includes a monoscope containing an electron gun and a plurality of target elements;

means for positioning the electron beam of said electron gun to scan selected portions on the target element to develop an output signal; and

means for developing a visual display in response to said output signal, said last-mentioned means including said cathode ray tube.

13. A digital data selection and visual display system in accordance with claim 12, wherein the means for positioning the output of said electron gun includes a digital-to-analog converter for converting digital codes into analog voltages for positioning the monoscope scan in the X and Y directions such that a specific character on said monoscope may be scanned in accordance with said transferred digital character codes.

14. A digital data selection and visual display system in accordance with claim 13, wherein the means positioning the monoscope scan in the X and Y directions includes a modulation means for modulating the Y position analog voltage.

15. In combination:

a visual display area having a plurality of display regions;

recirculating memory means for storing and recirculating character address codes;

means for transferring said character address codes from said recirculating memory means;

character generation means for generating characters for display on said display regions in response to character address codes transferred thereto from said transfer means; and

means visually associated with said display regions for selecting said address codes.

16. A combination in accordance with claim 15, wherein said display regions are parallel lines, each of which contains a plurality of alphanumeric characters;

and wherein said means visually associated with said display regions is visually associated with said parallel lines.

17. A combination is accordance with claim 16, further comprising:

means coupled to said means visually associated with said display regions for effecting a complete alteration of alphanumeric characters in said parallel lines when said address codes are selected.