Rotatable display work station

• US 4,542,377 A
• Filed: 12/27/1982
• Issued: 09/17/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hagen, Mark D., Mendel, Peter J., Regehr, John L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Curtis, Marshall M.
• Application Number:
  US06/453,019
• Time in Patent Office: 995 Days
• Field of Search: 340/727, 340/723, 340/750, 340/749, 340/748, 340/744, 340/726, 358/254
• US Class Current: 345/659
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/16 Constructional details or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1611 CRT monitor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 1/02 Storage circuits G09G1/06 - G09G1/28 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/227 Resolution modifying circuits, e.g. variable screen formats, resolution change between memory contents and display screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/343 for systems having a character code-mapped display memory

Abstract

A CRT display having a rotatable display face for presenting data in a vertical and horizontal orientation is disclosed. The reorientation of the CRT face causes activation of the switches that control the electronic logic to reorient the data and present the data properly on the face of the CRT.

Claims

1. A display for presenting text in a first format having a greater number of text lines but a smaller number of characters per line, and a second format having a smaller number of lines but a greater number of characters per line, comprising:

(a) rectangular display means having a longer dimension and a shorter dimension;

(b) scanning means fixedly mounted to said display means for producing a set of scan lines always along one of said dimensions;

(c) switch means for selecting between said first and second formats;

(d) buffer means for storing characters to be shown on said display means in both said first and said second format, the number of said characters being at least the greater number of said text lines times the greater number of said characters per line; and

(e) addressing means for selecting characters from said buffer means, and for transferring said characters to said display means, in either of two different sequences in response to said switch means.

2. The display of claim 1 wherein said display means is rotatably positionable in at least two orientations, one having said longer dimension in a horizontal orientation and one having said longer dimension in a vertical orientation.

3. The display of claim 2 wherein said switch means is responsive to the orientation of said display means.

4. The display of claim 1 wherein said addressing means selects characters from said buffer means in a sequence defined by the equation:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">ADDRESS=N.sub.scroll ×

132+(N.sub.char +(N.sub.row ×

132))

Where;

N_scroll has a value from 0 to 30,

N_char has a value from 0 to 131, and,

N_row has a value from 0 to 49 when

said longer dimension is horizontally oriented.

5. The display of claim 1 wherein said addressing means selects characters from said buffer means in a sequence defined by the equation:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">ADDRESS=N.sub.scroll +(N.sub.row +(N.sub.char ×

132))

Where;

N_scroll assumes a value from 0 to 51;

N_row assumes the value of 0 to 79, and,

N_char assumes a value from 79 to 0, being counted downward as the beam sweeps across the face of the CRT

when said longer dimension is vertically oriented.