Electronic display controlled stage lighting system

• US 3,898,643 A
• Filed: 08/24/1973
• Issued: 08/05/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Skantronics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Adrian Ettlinger
• Inventors: Ettlinger, Adrian
• Primary Examiner(s): Caldwell, John W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Curtis, Marshall M.
• Application Number:
  US05/391,481
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: 340/324A,324AD,166R,175,332 240/9 315/312,316,318,325
• US Class Current: 700/84
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/406 for theatres, stages or film studios
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

An electronic display controlled lighting system and method for controlling a large number of theatrical stage lights including data storage apparatus for storing information representing sequences of stage lighting cues, data processing apparatus for modifying, rearranging and executing the stored stage lighting cues under control of an electronic display control apparatus such as a cathode ray tube monitor for displaying, in the form of a character matrix display, information representing the operating status of the system and information representing the circuit values to be applied to each lighting circuit to be controlled in accordance with the stored lighting cues and a light pen selecting device for activating system functions according to the portion of the character matrix display designated by the operator.

Claims

1. Display-controlled apparatus for controlling a plurality of stage lighting circuits, comprising:

display means for displaying data in the form of a character matrix;

selecting means for selectively designating portions of the displayed character matrix;

a data processor connectable to said display means and said selecting means, said data processor including;

first data storage means for storing a plurality of digital data records, each data record including data representing a plurality of lighting circuit values, each circuit value bein associated with one of the lighting circuits to be controlled;

second data storage means for storing a single digital data record representing a plurality of lighting circuit values;

selective retrieving means connectable to said first and second data storage means for transferring selected data records from said first data sotrage means to said second data sotrage means;

means for causing said display means to display characters identifying the lighting circuits controlled in a first portion of said character matrix;

means connectable to said second data storage means and said display means for causing said display means to display characters representing the circuit values stored in said second data storage means in said first portion of said character matrix adjacent said characters identifying the lighting circuits with which said circuit values are associated;

circuit value changing means connectable to said second data storage means and said selecting means for changing the circuit values of the data record stored in said second data storage means in response to the designation by said selecting means of the associated lighting circuit identifying characters in said first portion of said character matrix display; and

a digital-to-analog converter mEans connectable to said second data storage means for converting the digital data record stored in said second data storage means to a plurality of voltages for controlling the stage lighting circuits.

2. The display controlled apparatus of claim 1 wherein said digital-to-analog converter means comprises:

means for generating a set of synchronized periodic pulse waveforms, each of said waveforms having one pulse per cycle, said pulses being non-overlapping it time and having pulse widths related as powers of the base 2;

means responsive to the digital data record stored in said second data storage means for combining selected ones of said set of waveforms to provide a composite pulse waveform having a duty cycle corresponding to the circuit value associated with a lighting circuit to be controlled; and

means for integrating said composite pulse waveform to provide an analog d.c. voltage for controlling a lighting circuit.

3. The display controlled apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means for combining selected ones of said set of waveforms comprises:

a plurality of registers, each of said registers being associated with one of the lighting circuits to be controlled and each of said registers being connectable to said second data storage means to receive the data representing the circuit value of the lighting circuit with which said register is associated;

a plurality of sets of gate circuits, each set of gate circuits being associated with one of said registers, each gate circuit having one input connected to one stage of said associated register and another input connected to receive one of said waveforms from said waveform generating means so that selected ones of said set of waveforms appear at the outputs of said set of gate circuits in accordance with the data stored in said associated register; and

means for combining the outputs of each set of gate circuits so as to provide a plurality of composite pulse waveforms, each said composite pulse waveform having a duty cycle corresponding to the circuit value associated with a lighting circuit to be controlled.

4. The display controlled apparatus of claim 2 wherein said waveform generating means generates a set of six waveforms having pulse widths related as 1:

2;

4;

8;

16;

32.

5. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 1 wherein said circuit value changing means comprises:

means for causing said display means to display, in a second portion of said character matrix, characters representing a range of circuit values for the circuits controlled;

means for specifying a circuit value in response to the designation by said selecting means of the character representing said circuit value in said second portion of said character matrix display; and

means for changing the circuit values of the data record stored in said second data storage means to correspond to said specified circuit value in response to the designation by said selecting means of the associated circuit identifying characters in said first portion of said character matrix display.

6. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

third data storage means for storing a single data record representing a plurality of circuit values;

means for causing said display means to display characters representing the circuit values stored in said third data storage means in said first portion of said character matrix adjacent said characters identifying the electrical circuits with which said circuit values are associated; and

mode selecting means for causing said selective retrieving means to transfer selected data records from said first storage means to said third storage means and for causing said circuit value changing means to change the circuit values of the data record stored in said third storage means so as to enable selected data records to be displayed and changed without affecting the circuit values of the circuits controlled.

7. The display controlled apparatus of clAim 6 wherein said mode selecting means comprises:

means for causing said display means to display, in a third portion of said character matrix, characters representing each of the possible operating modes of the apparatus;

means for specifying an operating mode of the apparatus in response to the designation by said selecting means of the characters representing said operating mode; and

means for causing said display means to display, adjacent the characters representing said specified operating mode, a code identifying the data record displayed in said first portion of said character matrix display.

8. The display controlled apparatus of claim 6 further comprising:

storing means for transfering data records from said second storage means and said third storage means to said second storage means.

9. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said data records stored in said first data storage means is associated with a data record identifying code, said apparatus further comprising:

means for causing said display means to display data record identifying characters in a fourth portion of said character matrix;

means for specifying a data record identifying code in response to the designation by said selecting means of data record identifying characters; and

means for causing said display means to display the specified data record identifying code in said fourth portion of said character matrix.

10. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 9 further comprising:

means for determining whether there is stored in said first data storage means a data record associated with said specified data record identifying code;

means responsive to said determining means for causing said display means to display a first character near said specified record identifying code in said fourth portion of said character matrix if there is a data record associated with said specified record identifying code stored in said first data storage means and for causing said display means to display a second character near said specified record identifying code if there is no data record associated with said specified record identifying code stored in said first storage means.

11. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 10 further comprising:

means responsive to said determining means for causing said display means to display in said fourth portion of said character matrix, a first set of codes representing operations to be selectively activated if there is a data record associated with said specified record identification code stored in said first storage means, and for causing said display means to display a second set of codes representing operations to be selectively activated if there is no data record associated with said specified record identification code stored in said first storage means.

12. The display controlled apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

means responsive to the designation by said selecting means of one code of said first set of codes to activate said selective retrieving means to transfer from said first data storage means to said second data storage means the data record associated with said specified record identification code.

13. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 12 further comprising:

means responsive to the designation by said selecting means of a second code of said first set of codes to activate said selective retrieving means to transfer from said first data storage means to said second data storage means the data record associated with the record identification code next higher than said specified record identification code.

14. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 12 further comprising:

means responsive to the designation by said selecting means of a third code of said first set of codes to activate said selective retrieving means to transfer from said first data storage means to said second data storage means the data record associated with the record idenTification code next lower than said specified record identification code.

15. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

canceling means for selectively canceling data records stored in said first storage means and for linking the data record having the next higher record identification code than the canceled record to the data record having the next lower record identification code than the canceled record; and

means responsive to the designation by said selecting means of a fourth code of said first set of codes for activating said canceling means to cancel the data record associated with said specified record identification code.

16. The display controlled apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

first storing means for transferring the data record stored in said second data storage means to the location in said first storage means which is occupied by the data record associated with said specified record identification code, and;

means responsive to the designation by said selecting means of a fifth code of said first set of codes to activate said first storing means.

17. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

second storing means for transferring the data record stored in said second data storage means to said first storage means and for linking said data record to the data record having the next higher record identification code than said specified record identification code and to the data record having the next lower record identification code than said specified record identification code; and

means responsive to the designation by said selecting means of one code of said second set of codes for activating said second storing means.

18. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 1 wherein said display means comprises a cathode ray tube monitor unit.

19. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 18 wherein said selecting means comprises a light pen.

20. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

control means for simultaneously and proportionally increasing or decreasing all circuit values in said second data storage means between zero and full value for the data record stored in said second storage means.

21. The display-controlled apparatus of claim 20 further comprising:

means responsive to said control means for causing said display means to display, in a fifth portion of said character matrix, characters representing the status of said control means between zero and full value.