MONITORING AND DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 3,812,487 A
• Filed: 02/17/1972
• Issued: 05/21/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Christopher Philip Burton
• Original Assignee: Christopher Philip Burton
• Inventors: Burton, Christopher Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US05/227,209
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 340/324AD,183,413 178/7.3D,7.5D 179/15AL,15BM
• US Class Current: 340/524
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/005 with several inputs only
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/017545 Coupling arrangements; Impedance matching circuits

Abstract

Apparatus is described for displaying, on a display device having a number of spatially separated indicating positions such as a television monitor screen or a matrix of display lamps, the states of a number of elements, each elemental state being primarily indicated by signals applied over one of a number of indicating lines. The lines are connected to display converter modules which are arranged to scan the lines in sequence to produce a composite output signal which is applied to the display device. Where the number of lines is large, the serialisation of the line states may be done in stages, the first stage being the derivation of a separate composite signal from each of a number of groups of lines. The second stage then consists of deriving a final output signal by scanning the first-stage composite signals in turn. The disclosure also deals with the use of similar converter modules for performing both the first stage and the second stage scans. It is also shown that the timing and synchronising signals needed to control the scanning and the distribution of the output signals to the display device may also be provided by similar converter modules.

Claims

1. Signal monitoring and display apparatus including a plurality of element lines arranged in at least two groups and respectively carrying signals representative of the current states of elements to be monitored;

means for producing first timing signals at a first frequency and second timing signals at a second frequency which is a submultiple of said first frequency;

first parallel to serial converter means including a first parallel to serial converter module for each separate group of element lines, each said first module having a group of gating means respectively corresponding to and connected to a different one of the element lines, and scanning means responsive to the first signals to scan said group of gating means produce a first module output signal having a succession of elemental components respectively representing the states of the elements of the associated line group; and

second parallel to serial converter means having a data output line and including at least one second parallel to serial converter module having a group of gating means respectively corresponding to and connected to receive a different one of the first module output signals and scanning means responsive to the second signals to scan the group of gating means to produce on said data output line a data output signal containing as serial components the elemental components arranged in order from each of the groups in succession and said timing signals; and

a display device responsive to the data output signal of the second parallel to serial converter means data to provide a visual representation of the individual states of the elements.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said first display converter modules are arranged in at least two groups, with the modules of each group being connected in tandem, the scanning means for the modules of each group being serially connected to scan the gating arrangements of the different modules of each group in ordered succession.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the output signal from of the last of said first converter modules of each group is connected to a gating arrangement of the module of the second converter module, the scanning means of the module of the second converter module being so responsive to said second timing signals as to present as its output signals signals derived from its gating arrangements in succession on the data output line.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which the means for producing timing signals includes a pulse generator for producing a first train of pulses at said first frequency and at least one parallel to serial converter module, a plurality of gating arrangements each having input lines, and scanning means responsive to the first train of pulses to scan the gating arrangements in turn, selected ones only of the gating arrangements being enabled by their respective gating input lines, and in which scanning of the gating arrangements produces an output signal comprising a train of pulses at said second frequency.