VISUAL DISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 3,750,138 A
• Filed: 12/17/1971
• Issued: 07/31/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Paul G. Burgan, Richard J. Jekiel
• Original Assignee: Paul G. Burgan, Richard J. Jekiel
• Inventors: Burgan, Paul G., Jekiel, Richard J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US05/209,046
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 340/334,339
• US Class Current: 345/59
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 13/0472 Traffic signs
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/30 in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell controlling light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. electro-optical or magneto-optical cell, G02F1/00

Abstract

A visual display system including a display unit for simultaneously displaying the individual characters of a word unit. A selector switch is operative to select any one of a plurality of messages, each message consisting of one or more word units which are separately stored in the memory locations of a memory bank. Logic means responsive to the selector switch sequentially activates individual ones of the memory locations in accordance with the selected message. Finally, a character generator receives the output of the memory bank and activates the display unit, a character at a time, until the entire word unit appears, whereupon the memory bank signals the logic means to activate the next memory location in accordance with the selected message.

Claims

1. A visual display system comprising:

display means including a limited number of display elements, one element for each character of a word;

means for selecting any one of a plurality of messages for display by said display means, at least some of said messages consisting of two or more word units, each of said word units consisting of a number of characters and spaces before, between, and after characters equal to the number of display elements in said display means, said display means being only capable of displaying one word unit at a time whereby said display means displays the word units of the selected message sequentially;

a directly addressable, pre-programmed, read-only memory means including a plurality of memory locations, each of said memory locations storing the characters of one of said word units;

logic means interposed between said selecting means and said memory means for activating individual ones of said memory locations in accordance with said selected message, each of said memory locations being operative, upon activation, to sequentially apply to the output thereof the characters of the word unit stored therein; and

means interposed between said output of said memory means and said display means for sequentially applying the characters of said word units to said display means, said characters applying means being operative, upon completion of the application of each character to said display means, to signal said memory means to apply to the output thereof the next character Of the word unit stored therein, said memory means including feedback means being operative, upon completion of the application to said display means of the last character of each word unit, to generate a feedback signal to activate the next memory location to apply the characters of the word unit stored therein to the output thereof in accordance with said selected message.

2. A visual display system according to claim 1 wherein said logic means further comprises:

memory means for storing, for each of said messages, the memory locations containing the word units required to form said message.

3. A visual display system according to claim 2 wherein said feedback signal is applied to said memory means in said logic means to select the memory location containing the next word unit in said selected message.

4. A visual display system according to claim 1 wherein said selecting means comprises:

manually controllable switch means having a plurality of positions corresponding to said plurality of messages; and

further comprising;

mechanical means positioned adjacent said switch means for displaying visually the message corresponding to the positions thereof.

5. A visual display system according to claim 1 further comprising:

means operatively coupled to said logic means for signaling said logic means to repeat the selected message at predetermined intervals.

6. A visual display system according to claim 1 wherein said feedback means is further operative, upon completion of the application to said display means of the last character of the last word unit of said selected message, to generate a second feedback signal and to apply said second feedback signal to said logic means to signal the completion of the display of said selected message.

7. A visual display system according to claim 6 wherein said logic means is operative, upon receiving said second feedback signal, to alternatively deactivate said display system or re-activate said ones of said memory locations in accordance with said selected message at predetermined time intervals;

and further comprising;

means associated with said selecting means for choosing whether said message is to be displayed once or is to be re-displayed at said predetermined time intervals.

8. A visual display system according to claim 1 wherein each of said display elements comprises a plurality of rows and columns of display units, each of said display units being selectively visible without the application of electrical power thereto, each of said display units only requiring power to change the state thereof.

9. A visual display system according to claim 8 wherein each of said display units consists of an indicator dot and an electro-magnetic drive assembly, each of said dots consisting of a thin, flat disc having a visible side and an invisible side and being rotatable to expose one side or the other, and wherein said electro-magnetic drive assembly maintains said disc with one side or the other exposed without the application of power thereto, whereby said selected message may be maintained with no power applied to said display system.