Digital display device

• US 3,924,227 A
• Filed: 11/07/1973
• Issued: 12/02/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Michael Stolov
• Original Assignee: Michael Stolov
• Inventors: Stolov, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US05/413,529
• Time in Patent Office: 755 Days
• Field of Search: 340/378R,378A,336 313/18D,109.5,112,510 350/16LC 40/13N,132C,132E
• US Class Current: 345/50
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133514 Colour filters
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133604 with lamps
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133621 providing coloured light G02F1/133617, G02F1/133533 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/134327 Segmented, e.g. alpha numeric display
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/3023 Segmented electronic displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/18 using liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3607 for displaying colours or for displaying grey scales with a specific pixel layout, e.g. using sub-pixels display of colours in flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; grey scales specific for television H04N3/127

Abstract

A digital device for displaying any desired numeric figure in any desired color, comprising in combination an arrangement of seven segments in the conventional pattern of digital display devices, sources of light of the colors green, blue and red, and means for illuminating any desired combination of the seven segments with any of the colors or combination of colors. A preferred embodiment comprises in combination seven groups of wires, each of these arranged in the conventional manner of digital display tubes, each group comprising three parallel wires at a small distance from each other, a color filter of three colors being provided so that in front of each of the three wires there is located a transparent strip of a different color, a frosted screen being provided in front of the color filter and a mask defining narrow transparent strips coinciding with the arrangement of the wires on or in vicinity of the color filter, leads being provided for actuating any desired combination of the seven wires and for actuating any of the three parallel wires of any combination thereof. A further embodiment comprises a digital display system wherein there are provided seven illumination elements, defining the seven segments-display, each of these comprising a housing in which there are provided three colored light bulbs of red, blue and green color respectively, at least one frosted screen being provided in front of these, means being provided for energinzing any combination of the seven segments and any of the light bulbs, or combination of these. Yet a further embodiment comprises a display system wherein the seven segments of the digital display are light valves, three light bulbs of the colors red, blue and green being provided behind the light valves, means being provided for actuating any desired combination of the light valves of the seven segment valve screen simultaneously with the actuation of one or more of the colored light bulbs.

Claims

1. A digital display device for displaying a numeric desired figure in any desired color, comprising in combination:

an electronic digital display device including an arrangement of seven segments in the conventional pattern of digital display devices, comprising in combination seven groups of wires, each group comprising three parallel wires spaced apart at a small distance from each other;

a color filter having three color sections being provided so that in front of each of the three wires of each group there is located a color section of a different color;

a frosted screen being provided in front of said color filter;

a mask defining narrow transparent strips coinciding with the arrangement of said seven segments, on or in the vicinity of said frosted screen;

actuating means being provided for actuating any desired combination of the seven groups and for actuating at least one of the three parallel wires in each group.

2. A digital display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the color filter comprises strips of the colors blue, red and green.

3. A digital display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the width of the strips on the mask is less than the combined width of the threE colored sections of the color filter.

4. A digital display device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mask is applied to the transluscent frosted screen.

5. A digital display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said seven segments contains three filaments, one for each of the three colors, characterized in that each of the 21 filaments is provided with a diode or similar element;

each group of three filaments of the seven segments having a common terminal, connected each to one of seven pins;

three further pins being provided, each one of said further pins being connected to the seven filaments of one of the three color, thereby making possible the actuation at will of any segment or combination of segments in any of the three colors or in a color resulting from a combination of two or three colors, by using only 10 pins from a DC current source.

6. A digital display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said seven segments of the digital display are comprised of light valves, three light bulbs of the colors red, blue and green being provided behind said valves, means being provided for actuating any desired combination of said light valves of said seven segments simultaneously with the actuation of at least one of said colored light bulbs.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6, where the light valves are of a liquid crystal type.

8. The digital display device as recited in claim 6 further including means for actuating any desired combination of said light valves of said seven segments simultaneously with two or more of said colored light bulbs.

9. The digital display device as recited in claim 1 wherein said actuating means includes means for actuating two or more of said parallel wires in each desired group.

10. A digital display device for displaying a numeric desired figure in any desired color, comprising in combination:

an electronic digital display device, including an arrangement of seven segments in the conventional pattern of digital display devices, each of said seven segments including a red light emitting diode, a blue light emitting diode, and a green light emitting diode, each of said light emitting diodes in each of said seven segments being parallel to one another;

a frosted screen being provided in front of, and in close proximity to said light emittind diodes;

a substantially opaque mask provided behind siad frosted screen including transparent strips coinciding with the arrangements of said seven segments, each of said strips having a width less than the width of each corresponding segment so that the median line of each of said transparent strips substantially coincides with the median line of the middle light emitting diode of each of said segments; and

actuating means being provided for actuating any desired combination of said seven segments and for actuating at least one of said light emitting diodes in each segment.