SOLID STATE DISPLAYS

• US 3,719,849 A
• Filed: 09/24/1971
• Issued: 03/06/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert L. Steward
• Original Assignee: Robert L. Steward
• Inventors: Steward, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kominski, John
• Application Number:
  US05/183,491
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 313/109.5,18D 340/324,336,343 235/64.3,60.15 315/169
• US Class Current: 313/500
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/15 including semiconductor components having potential barriers, specially adapted for light emission
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/00 Semiconductor devices having potential barriers specially adapted for light emission; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof H10K50/00 takes precedence; devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor components formed in or on a common substrate and including semiconductor components having potential barriers, specially adapted for light emission H01L27/15; semiconductor lasers H01S5/00

Abstract

A decimal point element is located within the boundaries of the charaCter element on a monolithic solid state character chip. When a character string is displayed, only the decimal point is energized on one character chip. This results in wide separation between the decimal point and its nearby characters Hence readability of the decimal point in improved in long character strings.

Claims

1. Visual display apparatus comprising:

a plurality of numeric display means disposed in lineal array to display a plurality of adjacent digits;

the display means being substantially similar and each including regions which emit light in response to applied excitation and which are arranged in a seven-segment font; and

in each of said display means, an additional region which emits light in response to applied excitation and which is located within the periphery of the surrounding regions for displaying a decimal point when excited in lieu of a digit in the digit place occupied by the associated display means.