INFORMATION STORAGE AND REPRODUCTION SYSTEM HAVING VERTICAL SYNCHRONIZING SIGNAL INDEPENDENT HORIZONTAL SCANNING FREQUENCY

• US 3,804,978 A
• Filed: 07/22/1968
• Issued: 04/16/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1964
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson
• Original Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson
• Inventors: Lemelson, Jerome H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Application Number:
  US04/746,504
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 178/6.7A,DIG.28,6.8
• US Class Current: 348/97
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0019 for images on filmstrips
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0035 User-machine interface; Control console input or output arrangements for computers G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00408 Display of information to the user, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0404 Scanning transparent media, e.g. photographic film

Abstract

An elongated film record has a sequence of picture frames and synchronizing indicia for the frames. The film record is transported through a scanning beam which passes through the record to a detector. The scanning beam is driven by a horizontal signal generator which scans the picture frames and synchronizing indicia with the detector developing a first signal representative of the information in the frames, and a vertical synchronizing signal at a frequency related to the rate of movement of the synchronizing indicia, but independent of the frequency of the horizontal signal generator.

Claims

1. Apparatus for reproducing picture information from a record medium comprising, in combination:

an elongated, narrow strip of thin, transparent material having formed thereon a sequence of picture information-containing frames and a sequence of synchronizing indicia associated with said frames, respectively;

means for transporting the strip through a scanning zone;

means for interrogating the frames and synchronizing indicia of the strip in a scanning zone including a scanning beam;

a horizontal scan signal generator productive of a periodic waveform signal at a given frequency for periodically sweeping the scanning beam across the record medium in the scanning zone in successive substantially superimposed line scans; and

detector means responsive to the interrogating means for developing (a) a first signal representative of the information contained in the frames of the strip and (b) a vertical synchronizing signal at a frequency related to the rate of movement of the synchronizing indicia through the scanning zone but independent of the given frequency of the periodic waveform signal.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which:

the synchronizing indicia are disposed on the strip between adjacent ones of the frames.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for combining the first and vertical synchronizing signals and a further signal synchronized with the periodic waveform as a composite signal suitable for application to a television receiver for reproducing the picture information contained on the record medium at the desired frame rate.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3, further comprising:

television receiver means responsive to the composite signal from the combining means and including means for generating a time sequence of visible television fields representing the sequence of frames on the strip, and means responsive to the vertical synchronizing signal and the initiation of the respective fields for controlling initiation of the field so as to maintain them in synchronism with the movement of the frames through the scanning zone.

5. Apparatus for reproducing picture information on a viewing screen from recordings thereof comprising:

electron beam scanning means for scanning an image field, conveying means for a plurality of image frames recorded on film, said conveying means being operative to sequentially carry each of said frames into the scanning field of said electron beam scanning means and to remove each frame from said field after it has been scanned by said scanning means, control signal generating means, servo means for intermittently driving said conveying means to bring each frame individually into the field of said electron beam scanning means and to stop said frame substantially centered in said field, control means for said servo means operatively connected to said control signal generating means and to become energized upon receiving a control signal therefrom to cause the movement of an image frame out of the scanning field of said electron beam scanning means and its replacement with a new image frame, monitor means including a cathode ray tube connected to receive picture signals from said electron beam scanning means and including means for generating images of the frames scanned by said scanning means, and means for automatically operating said control signal generating means to cause it to predeterminately generate control signals at predetermined time intervals so as to cause said servo means to intermittently operate at the end of each time interval in conveying image frames into and out of said image field for intermittently providing images of said frames on said means for generating images of said monitor means.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5, said conveying means comprising motion picture filmstrip and transport means for said filmstrIp, said electron beam scanning means operative to read said filmstrip image frames and generate video motion picture signals, said monitor means operative to receive said video signals and means for modulating the write beam of said cathode ray tube of said monitor means, said modulating means being operatively connected to receive said video signals and effect the generation of motion picture images on the screen of said monitor means.

7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5, said image frames containing separate images of different phenomena and adapted to be separately viewed on the image screen of said monitor means, and means for retaining the image generated in scanning each image frame on the screen of said monitor means for an extended period of time.

8. Apparatus for generating picture information on a viewing screen from recordings thereof comprising:

radiation beam scanning means for scanning an image field, conveying means for a plurality of image frame recordings recorded tandemly on a record member, said conveying means being operative to sequentially carry each of said frame recordings into the scanning field of said beam scanning means and to remove each frame recording from said field after it has been scanned by said scanning means prior to presenting the next frame recording to said scanning field, servo means for intermittently driving said conveying means to bring each frame individually into the field of said beam scanning means and to stop said frame substantially centered in said field, control means for said servo means operable to cause intermittent movement of said conveying means for intermittently replacing one image frame with another in said scanning field, monitor means for generating viewable images of the information recorded on the frames scanned by said scanning means and means for generating control signals in synchronization with the movement of said conveying means and applying said signals to said control means for intermittently operating said servo means to intermittently drive said conveying means at the rate of said control signals are generated to cause the intermittent presentation of the information of the frames scanned to said monitor means.

9. An apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which said control signal generating means is operable to generate control pulse signals at the rate of between 12 and 24 pulse signals per second.

10. An apparatus in accordance with claim 8 in which said servo means is a stepping motor.

11. Apparatus for reproducing picture information from a record medium and generating same on a viewing screen comprising:

a record member defining a record track with a sequence of picture information-containing frame recordings and a sequence of synchronizing indicia associated with said frame recordings respectively, means for transporting said record member to carry said frame recordings successively through a scanning zone, means for interrogating the frame recordings and synchronizing indicia of the record member with a scanning radiation beam, detector means responsive to the interrogating means for developing (a) a first signal representative of the information contained in the frame recordings of said record member and (b) a vertical synchronizing signal at a frequency related to the rate of movement of the synchronizing indicia through the scanning zone, a television receiver having a picture tube and a write-beam for generating images on the image writing screen of said picture tube, deflection means for said write-beam including means for horizontally deflecting the write-beam to scan respective horizontal lines of the image writing screen of said picture tube, and vertical deflection means for the beam, said first signal developed by said detector means having horizontal synchronizing signal components and line vertical deflection signal components, means for feeding said horizontal signal components and said Line vertical deflection signal components to said deflection means of said receiver for causing the write-beam to scan successive horizontal lines of the image writing screen, and means for applying said vertical synchronizing signals generated by said detector means each time it interrogates a synchronizing indicia on said record member to said vertical deflection means of said picture tube to position the beam at a start-scan location from which it may thereafter full-frame scan the image writing screen of said picture tube.

12. Apparatus for reproducing picture information from a record medium and generating same on a viewing screen comprising:

a record member having a sequence of picture information-containing frame recordings and a sequence of synchronizing indicia associated with said frame recordings respectively, means for transporting said record member to carry said frame recordings successively through a scanning zone, means for interrogating the frame recordings and sychronizing indicia of the record member with a scanning radiation beam, detector means responsive to the interrogating means for developing (a) a first signal representative of the information contained in the frame recordings of said record member and (b) a synchronizing signal at a frequency related to the rate of movement of the synchronizing indicia through the scanning zone, a television receiver having an electro-optical viewing screen and modulating means for generating images on said viewing screen, means for controlling said modulating means to intermittently modulate said viewing screen with image information to permit the generation of motion picture phenomena, means responsive to said synchronizing signal for activating said modulating control means to initiate a screen modulating and image generating cycle whereby each time said synchronizing signal is generated by said detector means, a new image will be generated on said viewing screen.

13. Apparatus for reproducing picture information from a record medium comprising, in combination:

a record member made of transparent material having formed thereon a sequence of picture information-containing frames and a sequence of synchronizing indicia associated with said frames, respectively, means for transporting said record member frames through a scanning zone, means for interrogating the frames and synchronizing indicia of the record member in a scanning zone including a scanning beam, a horizontal scan signal generator productive of a periodic waveform signal at a given frequency for periodically sweeping the scanning beam across the record medium in the scanning zone in successive substantially superimposed line scans, and detector means responsive to the interrogating means for developing (a) a first signal representative of the information contained in the frames of the strip and (b) a vertical synchronizing signal at a frequency related to the rate of movement of the synchronizing indicia through the scanning zone but independent of the given frequency of the periodic waveform signal.