CA1063149A - Gas discharge display panel with continuous wound electrode wires - Google Patents
Gas discharge display panel with continuous wound electrode wiresInfo
- Publication number
- CA1063149A CA1063149A CA266,646A CA266646A CA1063149A CA 1063149 A CA1063149 A CA 1063149A CA 266646 A CA266646 A CA 266646A CA 1063149 A CA1063149 A CA 1063149A
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Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The specification describes a gas analog display panel and a method of fabricating a gas discharge panel having a ladder array of electrode elements to establish a bargraph.
The display panel comprises a substrate having a front sur-face; a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around the substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent the front surface of the substrate, each of the turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of the wires to form a ladder array of the portions, each of the portions of an individual wire of each of the plurality of wires being electrically connected by the winding configuration of each of the plurality of wires around the substrate; second electrode means positioned in operative relation to the electrode wires a transparent cover sealed to the substrate to form a thin envelope over the front surface of the substrate and; an ionizable gas contained in the envelope.
The specification describes a gas analog display panel and a method of fabricating a gas discharge panel having a ladder array of electrode elements to establish a bargraph.
The display panel comprises a substrate having a front sur-face; a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around the substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent the front surface of the substrate, each of the turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of the wires to form a ladder array of the portions, each of the portions of an individual wire of each of the plurality of wires being electrically connected by the winding configuration of each of the plurality of wires around the substrate; second electrode means positioned in operative relation to the electrode wires a transparent cover sealed to the substrate to form a thin envelope over the front surface of the substrate and; an ionizable gas contained in the envelope.
Description
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Field of Inv~ntion The present invention relates to elec-trode arrays in a ladder format, particularly useful for gas discharge display devices of the planar, raised-cathode type, especially those adapted for information display in the fashion of a bargraph.
More particularly, it relates to improvements in such devices involving a plurality of like parallel aligned cathode strips adapted to provide visual signals as human-readable information-al indicia, the value o which is indicated by the position of 10. an illuminated ca~hode strip within a display field.
Background; Invention Features In the art of data display, workers tend to categorize displays into analog and digital types. An analog display is ~ ;
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exemplified by a meter needle or a pointer, such as on a d'Arson-15. val galvanometer or by the position of a movable eIement, such as a column of mercury, in a thermometer.
On the other hand, a digital display is represented by alpha-numeric symbology, with a change in information content being represented merely by a change in the symbology or numbers 20. displayed in a given field as opposed to a change in position or color, for example in the analog case.
There is presently a need in the art for analog dis-plays which respond to digital information input, principally , because it is commonly convenient to gather and process infor- ~-25. mation in digital form. There is also a need in the art for displays which render an analog presentation responsive to ei-ther digital or analog (electrical) input signals. The present invention is direc-ted toward facilitating this.
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This invention is directed towards providing such an i~;
analog display of electr.ical si~nals and parti:cularly, to do so using raised-cathode gas discharge (RC~) display devices, espe- '` ' -cially as represented in a bargraph display. Such might be .. '~
5. characterized as a digitally formulated analog display. '.' As workers know, a bar type display may be:character- .':~; '.'~ ..
ized as an indicating .device where the length'or hei.ght of the .
~ indicating medium is proportional to the magnitude of the meas~
;~ ured quantity. For example, a mercurial thermometer is a simple ' 10.. form of a bar ty.pe display, the.height of the column of mercury being proportional to the temperature. Bar type display devices ';~
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have potentially wide application in industrial process controls, '. aircraft instrumentation and, in general, in systems which re-' quire the mounting of a large number of displays on a relatively 15. small instrument panel. I'o be useful in many of the. potential :.
applications, such display devices must be capable of responding rapidly to digital input signals, must occupy a minimum amount '.` ~' of space and must operate under a wide variety of environmental ;~
conditians.
20. Electromechanical devices for providing bar type dis-'~ plays are well known to the art, but:these devices generally ' .. . .
have .the disadvantages of slow response time, of being relative-ly bulky and of limited accuracy when subjected to shock and vi- ' :~ bration, and consequently have found only limited acceptance as .;
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25. display devices. Electrical devices. are also known for provid~
ing bar type displays. A bargraph display.is often a more natur- .
al and acceptable display representation of a.variable than a .
digital readout, particularly when one wishes to quickly scan a number of displays for out-:of-range indications., presenting ana-30. .log data with digital ac:curacy.
Two methods of operating bar graph:displays, stepping and direct drive, will:be'described along with'thé'advantages of ..
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each. Direct drive is discussed below and is the operative mode of the described bargraph display e~bodiment. ~ ;
By contrast, in the s-tepping mode of operation, only one gas discharge exis-ts at any one time between the common anode and any cathode bar segment. The discharge is- initiated at the lower end at a separate cathode, the reset cathode; and, once so initiated, provides a supply of ionized and metastable atoms, having a relatively high density in the area of the cathode adjacent the reset cathode. The presence of ions and metastable atoms results in a considerable reduction in firing voltage for the adjacent cathode or phase-one cathode. Because ~ ;
there are a number of such phase-one cathodes connected in parallel, such a reduction in firing voltage for any electrode adjacent another bar-electrode which is discharging-glow is essential to a stepping operation. With only three ~or more, if desired) parallel-connected sets o cathodes, and a reset cathode to start the first discharge, a glow can be stepped from cathode to cathode with any number of cathode bars.
The present invention contemplates improved bargraph displays of the known gaseous discharge type wherein a glow is typically established at a reset cathode and then, by the glow transfer principle, transferred up a series of spaced bar-cathodes. These electrodes are arranged as a ladder and when viewed at normal range can readily be made to appear to merge into a continuous bar of controlled length corresponding to the number of digital counts represented by glowing bars.
Now, various workers in the art have addressed prob-lems like these (e.g., see U.S. patents 3,258,644 issued to Jan A. Rajchman on June 28, 1966; 3,328,790 issued to Constan-tine Rhodes on June 27, l9Ç7; 3,343,155 issued to Marcel A.
Pahlavan on September 19, 1967; 3,659,149 issued to Gordon R. Fleming on April 25, 1972; 3,689,912 issued to George ,~ ~ '', rw~ ~ 3 ~
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Wilmer Dick on September 5, 1972 and 3,824,581 issued to Isamu Ohno on July 16, 1974). For instance, it has been proposed to provide a display which converts electrical input signals, such as BCD (binary coded decimal) signals, ~ ;
and presents them in a visual analog disp:lay with the ~ ~
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magnitude (and/or sense) of the signals being represented by indicator position within the field. The display fieId might,.
for example, comprise a rectilinear array of bars, or bargraph, with all segments between the minimum analog value and the indi- ~;
5. cated value illuminated uniformly to simulate a solid bar. In some such arrangements, a numerical value is ind.icated by the activation of a particular luminous segment which is one of many in an aligned, parallel array, the:se;gments being prefer- .
ably visually contiguous, identically shaped and ac~ivatable so 10. as to be independently illuminated. Such:segments.visually in-dicate:increasing position-encode values along the array. This invention provides improved techniques for a ladder array of elec.trodes for a bargraph display. : .
Such a display may be driven by. elect.ric circuit means 15. responsive to the input signals and adapted to seIec.t and illu-minate a specific luminous segment corresponding.to the. encoded value, resulting in the.signal magnitude being indicated by il-lumination of a segment.along the.bar array. . The p.resent inven- ~:
tion is adapted to impr.oving such bargraph displays, especially :
20. where the arrayed indicator segments, comprise planar, raised gas discharge cathodes.
Of course, RCG display devices are, in themselves, well .
known. They are typically arranged to indicate alpha-numeric symbo.ls by the illuminati.on of cathode substrates which combine 25. to form a display symbol. Such:cathodes coact wi:th a confront~
ing anode (typically a tr.ansparent film on ~a faceplate~ to se~
lectively provide the.:desired i.llumination as a cold-cathode :~
glow discharge. Usually the:electr.odes are.mounted on a ceramic baseplate and packaged.in.an envelope provided with a transpar- ..:
30.. ent window, being hermetically sealed with an ionizable gas therein. Cathode glow patterns are viewed through the window as display information (e.g., see U.S. patent 3,675,066 to :~
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~rmstrong, Sc~lott and Warne, and 3,675,065 to Warne, describ-ing typical structure, fabrication and operation of such devices).
Typically such arrangements place the anode adjacent to the transparent faceplate ~e.g., a transparent conductive tin-oxide coating thereon), while the opposing cathodes are mounted upon the envelope base and arranged to coact with their anode so as to be selectively illuminated. Such cathodes typi-cally comprise conductor strips mounted on pins in the envelope ~;
base and coupled to electrical power to be selectively excited.
The anode and cathode elements, together with other conventional associated parts (such as spacers, bases, mounting pins and fill tube) are mounted in an envelope which is sealed, evacuated and partly backfilled with an ionizable gas, such as a neon mixtur~
known in the art. For excitation and display, electrical power ;
signals are applied between an anode and one, or several, assoc-iated cathodes so that the gas around these cathodes is ;
discharge-excited into visible luminescence, the glowing-cathode array thus forming the intended information symbol. The present ~ invention is arranged to utilize such raised-cathode gas dis-charge technology in a novel form and especially to provide an improved bargraph display.
Summar~ of the Embodiments One object of this invention is to provide an im-proved design and construction method for an array of ladder electrodes. A related object is to provide such for use with a bargraph display. Another object is to provide such a ladder of raised-cathode electrodes simply by winding wire.
Yet another object is to teach techniques for form-ing such an electrode ladder by winding conductive filamentsupon a prescribed mandrel, avoiding expensive multiple-deposition techni~ues.
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A further object is to so provide a ladder of raised-cathodes which are readily arranged in glow-overlap rela- ~.
tion to provide an improved high-speed, st~pping bargraph display Yet another object is to provide such a display in conjunction with glow-barrier means to limit glow length. A
related object is to provide such in conjunction with seal-isolation means provided adjacent to the display envelope seal and adapted to accommodate excess sealant.
Still another object is to provide such a ladder electrode array according to techniques which facilitate construction and operation of an improved direct-drive bargraph display. An alternate object is to provide such a ladder array j -of electrodes for a stepping bargraph display using multi-wire/
ribbon winding techniques. Another object is to provide a non-raised ladder array of electrodes bound directly upon a mandrel.
Another object of the present invention is to realize `
an improved raised-cathode discharge device having simple con-struction and high reliability at relatively low cost.
Another object is to provide an improved~cold cathode glow discharge as a bargraph or related pointer display. A re-lated object is to do this employing simple mechanical methods and structures, and particularly to eliminate multi-deposition techniques, or other complex, expensive fabrication techniques.
A further related object is to do this in conjunction with pro- ~-viding structure accommodating anode placement either in front of, or behind, the cathode array. Another related object is to ~-provide an improved cathode-ladder construction and associated activating interconnections simply by winding wire upon a suit-`~ 30 able mandrel-base.
Thus, one aspect of the present invention is defined as a method of fabricating a gas discharge panel having ... ..
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a ladder array of elec-trode elements to establish a bargraph, ~ -the method comprising the s-teps of: winding a plurality oE
continuous elec-trode wires completely around a substrate in a series of turns, each turn of each o:E the wires being in alternating sequence with each respective turn of ano-ther of the wires to establish a ladder array of al.ternating portions of the plurality of wires that are adjacent the front surface of the substrate, each of the portions of an individual wire of the plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding configuration of each of the plurality of wires .
around the substrate; posit:ioning second electrode means in .~ :
operative relation to the portions of the plurality of continuous electrode wires; seal.ing a face plate over the front surface of the substrake, the second electrode means, and the portions of the plurality of electrode wires to form a thin enclosed enve- ~.
lope; and inserting an ionizable gas into the envelope. .~-Another aspect of the present invention is . ,`
defined as a gas analog display panel comprising: a substrate having a front surface; a plurality of continuous electrode ~.
wires wound around the substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of the plurality of wires around the substrate havin~
a portion adjacent the front surface of the substrate, each of the turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another : ~.
of the wires to form a ladder array of the portions, each of the portions of an individual wire of each of the plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding config-uration of each of the plurality of wires around the substrate;
second electrode means positioned in operative relation to the electrode wires; a transparent cover sealed to the substrate to form a thin envelope over the front surface of the substrate and ~.
an ionizable ~as contained in the envelope.
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Other objects, aspects and features of the ~;~
advantage of this invention will be pointed out and demonstrated in or be apparent from, the detailed description following below, especially as considered in conjunction with the ~ ~-following drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure l is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention, with the gas tube portions thereof shown in schematized cross-section in Figure 2 and a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 4 in a schematically indicated dis-play environment;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the mandrel portion of this embodiment partly constructed and Figure 5 is a plan view of the same somewhat more conpleted;
Figure 6 is a side elevation of this display tube partly finished; and Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illus- -trating the manner of operating this embodiment and associated -;
electrical signal sources;
Figure 8 illustrates an alternate embodiment in schematic side section; Figure 9 illustrates another alternate embodiment in very schematic cross-section;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment in partly constructed condition;
Figure ll, located adjacent Figures 8 and 9, is . a schematic diagram illustrating still another embodiment, : rather functionally;
Figure 12 is an upper perspective view of yet another embodiment; while Figure 13 shows a further related embodiment ~.
in side section; and Figure 14 is a perspective view o~ another related structure, partly broken-away for illustrative purposes. -., .
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A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT `~ :
A direct drive bargraph display embodiment I is -~
made accordinq to various aspects of this i.nvention. Figure 1 illustrates the finished display including mandrel 5 and face-plate 3 as mounted upon a mounting block 61 and coupled electri- ;
cally to a printed circuit board (PCB~ 51 ready for mounting into ~
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a display setting and to be operatively associated wi.th a direct drive electronic control unit (see circuit of Figure 7).
Mandrel 5 constitutes the display-tube base as well as the form on which the ladder array of wire segments w is wound 5. and mounted; this wi.nding presentincJ each top seqment ~r turn in operative, cold-cathode-display relation with:another electrode means and associated eIectronic drive means. As better seen in Figures 3 and 5, the mandrel 5 is thus constructed to present a novel back-plane anode:(e.l.ectrode strip A~ at a prescribed dis-10. charge-distance'from the upper medial segments of each turn wound on the mandreI, and behind them (i.e.' away from the viewer).
The.se cathode'segments are presented as fixed, regularly spaced ; :
turns in a ladder.format on mandrel 5, being wound (e.g. manu-ally, or by machine as known in the art) thereon as a continuous-15. wire conductor with.inter-segment pitch being establ.ished by stepping the winding a prescribed distance across the back (non-discharge) side of mandrel.5. As workers know, cathode spacing is one factor determining firing voltage, and accordingly, the ~.
turns should be close enough.together to. ef.fectively transfer 20.. the'glow quickIy, when activated in'the known manner..
Preferably, the position of each turn may be estab-lished and held mereIy by the frictional engagement of wire and mandrel. Also, and preferably, at a later stage in manufacture, .
envel'ope seal material is.provided to both vacuum-seal the in-25. terior of the'display and to fasten the wires.permanently to the mandreI and faceplate. :'~
. The mandreI 5 (Figure 3) thus:establishes a central ~ :
discharge zone,: or glow chamber. GC, defined by a pair of opposed i' (glow .isolation~ barriers.5-A, 5-B, abutting the upper surface 30. of the cathode wires.and serving to limit:the~spread of glow .:
along the wire lengths (see.sectional view :in Figure.2). Bar-riers 5-A, 5-B also serve,.as a convenient noveI feature, to :
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electrically isolate the glow zone (discharge segments) as well ~:
as to.define the discharge-length K-S of all segments. For in- :
stance, in this embodiment, the common anode strip A is mounted between them at the bot-tom of chamber GC, and may be fixed there ;
5. quite:conveniently; e.g. by merely inserti.ng and fusing-in a ~ -metal strip or by known eq.uivalents (e.g. deposited film). The chamber. height thus serves to define a constant inter-electrode gap according to this useful feature. ~.
Preferably, and according to another feature, the dis-10. play face (top) of mandrel 5 is also provided with a pair of iso~
lati.on chambers IC, IC' (see Figures 2, 3'and 5 also) to assure that *he cold-cathode glow will not extend beyond the glow step-ping bars 5-A, 5-B as weIl as to accommodate any excess sealant from the seal area.
15. Figure'5 may be'understood as illustr.ating the semi-. finished condition of mandrel 5, with wire wo.und and affixed the'reon (as per Figure .3); however, but:after.the wire turns have been cut (along right-rear, Figure 5) and pulled-out (to .; left) preparatory to connecting the segments for dr.iver-coupling ~ ;
' 20... (i.. e.. connection to terminals on PCB 51). This specific embodi- :;
ment connects adjacent wound turns in pairs (see soldered wind-;
ings w Figure 5) with each free end, adapted for connection ;':
(e.g. solder) to a respective terminal on PCB Sl. Of course, this mode of connection may be varied, i.e. either wi.th every . :.
: 25. turn activated separately, or with every other turn lef.t uncon~
; nected.to a driver,. or with triplet connections,.etc. ~ .~
With mandrel.5" so arranged (Figure~5), it may then `:
have'faceplate'3 affixed thereon to provide an air.-tighk.closure abo.ut:zones GC, IC, IC': and provide a transparent display-window .;~
' 3~. for viewing cathode:segments K-S (bars) as well known in the art.
For instance',' faceplate 3'may be'affixed with'glass frit adhe- :~
sive'(not shown but well known) applied to the periphery of man~
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~(1 631~9 drel S (see Figure 6). As workers in the art will appreciate, a keep-alive ca-thode 21 and associated anode 22 is also provided, along with a connection 53 for common anode A. Reset electrode means (not shown, but well known) are also preferably provided adjacent the first bar to initiate each display sequence. A
suitable glow-discharge fill and associatecL electrical arrange-ments are also used as weIl ~nown in the art ~e.g. see cited patents).
Preferably, faceplate 3 is molded from a soft glass 10. (e.g. ordinary window glass), while mandrel 5 is molded from a similar glass (same thermal coefficient of expansion or TempCo) but pigmented black for optimum display contrast.. Anode A and cathode wire w should also be closely matched in TempCo to this glass. Anode A may pref.erably comprise a strip 1-2 mil thick 15. of a nickel-iron alloy that will also heat-fuse.to glass mandrel S (while being heat-molded, in reducing atmosphere). `:
Insulating block 61 (Figure 1) serves: to mount mandrel ~
, ., 5 and PC board 51 in fixed reIation, while'also protecting the :;
exhaust stem.
20. Thus,'mandreI 5 may be understood as an insulative body so formed and suitably dimensioned; preferably comprised of opaque colored glass in generally rectangular form with chan-nels IC, IC' and GC formed (molded) therein; its dimensions, '~
here,:.being on the order of 1/2". wide x 3" long x l/4" high.
25. Lid 3 which is made'from c.lear transparent.glass (faceplate) ' may be.'a mirror-image (molded) piece according to.a feature of convenience. Anode:strip.A may comprise a thin ~(1-2 mil) strip of metal matched to the:glass in coefficient of expansion, ':
lodged in channeI GC (in an offset therein) and bonded to ;.
30. mandreI 5. Wire w may comprise a length of'3 mil round nickel-iron alloy matched to the glass in coefficient of.expansion and wound on mandrel 5 to present 101 (only 96 used) turns along .. . .
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about 2-1/2" of the medial length of the mandrel, spaced uni-formly and parallel on its top (display) surface about.50 mils apart.. When so tied in pairs, fifty (50). double-wire cathodes will be presented to be driven as a bargraph display.
5. Preferably, mandrel 5 is also provided with exhaust ~ ~ :
port means to allow evacua~tion and gas filling; here (Figures 5, 6) an aperture 55 is drilled through one end of.the mandrel 5 .
and registering exhaust tubulation 57 (glass) is.attached, this :
being sealed off after filling, as is conven-tiona1.
10. As seen in Figures 1 and 5, electrical connection means ~
is provided to the bar segment~s (here 50 wire pairs tied to seg- ~.
ments WC) by PC Board.51, mounted, with the display tube, onto block 61. Insulat.ing board 51 is relatively conventional, pre-senting a set of connector terminal tabs on each side (front set lS.. 51-T; rear set 51-TR), each tab beiny connected to a respective :;
solder post (through-hole posts.51-C ~or front.tabs 51-T; thru- :~
; hole posts 51-PR for rear tabs. 51-TR) by connectors. ~51-C. With posts: 51-P, 51-PR formed as hollow posts, leads WC may be con- ; ;~:.
veniently inserted therein and soldered-in as known in the art. . :~
20. Block 61 acts as an insulative mount and PCB stiffener and may . comprise any insulator bonded to board 51 and to the display. ..
Figure 4 indicates a typical use of bargraph display embodiment I and may be understood comprising as indicator panel.
If mounted (e.g. on an aircraft instrument paneI) so as to pre- ;. ~ .
25. sent indicator indicia (here, numerals 0-10) operativeIy adjacent the bargraph cathode segment ladder, here a.value of 2.. 1 is `.
~ exemplarily shown. ;~
It will be understo.od that display I will be arranged ~.
: and coupled to a source of si:gnals adaptable:to apply digital .
30. form information representing analogl bargraph values to the j.
wound cathode segments. (pairs tied to.WC) on mandrel 5 and to .~ thereby initiate a ser:ies of adjacent (usually contiguous) bar-., ; . . . ~ , . .
~6~49 glow representations forming the resultant bar value ~here, 2.1).
According to a novel feature hereof, a raised cathode gas display is taught wherein-the anode is mounted behind the cathode rather than in Eront. Workers will appreciate that, un-5. like:other displays (e.g. screen printed dlisplays for example), ~ :
the raised-cathode`type (see U.S. patent 3,675l066) allows the use of an anode mounted behind (as viewed from the.front of the display) the raised cathode structure. Such'a back-plane-mounted ~-anode has the'advantage of be.ing much less expensive to provide 10. than the tin oxide (NESA) transparent anodes common to the art;
also ~.uch anodes can be more accurateIy positioned relative to the.cathode structure; further,,the eLectrical connection to ~ :
: such an anode is more readily accomplished.
This disclosure specifically describes ~the. use of such 15. a back-plane anode (any electrically conducting material mounted behind the cathode structure) whether the:application be for a bargraph display as herein described, for a multiple segment dis- ,, .
play (such as the Beckman planar gas discharge displays, see .'"
SP-series) or for any other similar structure. ' 20. Driver Electronics ~
Workers will recognize that a bargraph display like ;, embodiment I is well adapted to employ prescribed types of driv- '~
er arrangements. One such driver I-D, is shown schematically in '. .
Figure'7 with 48 cathoae connections. Driver I-D comprises six, ..
25.. eight-unit cathode dr.iver.units (CD-l through CD-6), each .coupled to be driven by an as.sociated eight-bit shift register (e.g. SR-l ~.
for CD-l,. etc.) thQse registers being connected to operate in sequence; plus a common control signal means IKC (providing '~
cathode'currellt.control and duty-cyc~e input). Each:driver unit . .
30. CD has eight output terminals,: each coupled to.drive.a respective bar segment (double-cathode:lead WC.) as:known in.the art. A
source'of anode current V-A is also shown, along wi.th data clock '" .
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means for each register SR, plus data-in signal means for ini- ~ ; -tiating the register array and reset signal means for controlla-bly resetting all regis~ers. Means for implementing the above functions are well known in the art and will not be detailed ~ -5. here. ;
Direct Drive Bargraphs . , A direct drive bargraph display will be urlderstood as i~
using a separate drive input for each cathode element and coupled directly thereto. No stepping is involved, and all bars can be lO. on at~the same time, allowing up to 100% duty cycle. Direct drive has several very important advantages, among them~
a. Brightness of 300 ft. lamberts and more is readily possible.
b. Dimming ratios o 100 or more are possible. ;
15. c. Several displays may be multiplexed. Multi-plexing allows use o common cathode drivers for several displays, with anode drivers selecting and driving displays in a repetitive sequence.
d. Repetition rate of 200 Hz and more are read~
20. ily obtainable for bargraphs of 2% or better resolution.
e. A solid bar presentation and one or more `
pointers, and like display features, can be much more read~ `
ily generated with direct drive displays. ;
f. The display is more reliable because alse-25. stepping cannot occur, also a break in a single connection is not catastrophic as it is with a stepping tube.
The cost of direct drive is, however, higher because .
of the extra complexity of the driver electronics and the large number of electrical connections required.
30. A straightforward way to operate a direct drive display is shown in Figure 7. A shift register shifts da*a to the right with each applied clock pulse. If the register is irst reset, ,, ::
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and the data are all ones (cathode-activate), then a solid bar is generated; the height of the bar being controlled by the num-ber of clock pulses after the reset pulse. If a pointer display is desired, a single one pulse (at the data input) is shifted to 5. the required position, with all other data inputs (cathode-acti-vate signal) set to zero (off).
As an example, the following characteristics are achievable with the drive scheme and embocLiment shown, assuming a single 1/8" wide bar, using .008" diameter cathode wires and 10. operating at 400 Hz repetition rate.
a. Maximum brightness 300 ft. lambert b. Minimum brightness 3 ~t. lambert c. Dimming ratio 100:1 d. Maximum on time 2500 ~ sec.
15. e. Minimum on time 25 ~ sec. (sufficient ~-for reasonahle glow uniformity) --f. Segment-on current 500 ~A/segment.
Embodiment ~ariants ~' 20. Workers will appreciate that the' teachings herein may be employed for applications beyond those'specified. For in-stance, it will be apparent~ that the wound conductor need not, in all cases, be round or even symmetrical. In certain cases a -flat ribbon will serve as indicated schematically by ribbon R in 25. embodiment II, Figure 8. Here, ribbon R will be'understood as ;-` wo~nd upon mandrel B and kept in contact therewith (especially across the glow discharge zone confronting anode A) to form a non-raised and pre~erably, also being masked to prevent glow ~
discharge, at outboard, non-viewing segmen~s indicated at CC ~' 30. (e.g. simply by overcoating with a dieIectric fiber). The anode ~-A may be'provided as a transluscent coating on transparent lid L '`
sealed, with'spacers S, to mandreL-base'B. Workers will recog-.
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~063~9~9 nize that this mode very conveniently and advantageously makes ~
~ conventional, fussy cathode-deposition (and associated connector ; ' and insulator deposition) techniques unnecessary.
The mandrel may also provide a t.wo-faced gas display ;~
.' 5, as indicated very schematically for unit XII in Figure 9 where a ~:~
dog-bone mandrel DB accommodates cathode windings w apt for pre- ~ .
senting front and rear discharge segments (wf and wr, respec-tiveIy).
Such gaseous-discharge displays may alternatively be ' ~.
~` 10. implemented using a multi-anode control over cathode selection, , rather than only stepping with one anodeî and will allow the ::
display to function as a pointer (only a single bar illuminated at any one time) rather than as a bargraph,,while sti.ll advan tageously employing a wo,und ladder cathode:array as indicated '~
15. before.: Embodiment V in Figure 11 illustrates:this. Here, cath- ;~
odes 1, 2, 3 -- n will be .understood as comprising n filamentary -'' .' ,, conductors wound upon a mandreI (not shown) to present a plurali~
,~ ty (N) of multi-cathode sets, or turns, each:set having its own dischar.ge-exciting anode .(e.g., anode A-l for catho.des 1', 2' --20. n';.etc.), n x N being the total number of bar segments). A .`.. . ,"
xelated multi-filar winding arrangement is also shown in Figure ; .' 10 and could be operated as understood from .the foregoing. ~,, Keep-alive means KA is also provided preferably in the ,"
, foregoing display tubes to allow discharge-activation of any ,~ .
;. 25. cathode (wire) ene.rgized, provided of course'that a correspond- , ' ~.
. .,: .
,. ing (only one) anode is energized contemporaneously wi.th the selected wire (e.g.,,anode A-l and cathode'2.pulsed simultaneous- '~
ly to. initiate discharge thereb'etween; thus onl~y cathode #2 will . :
glow, e.:g. inste.ad of 2'. if.A-2 wexe pulsed rather than A-1). ,: ~, 30. Such.operation is.known in.:the'art (e.g'., see half-sel,ect activa-tion modes). This::foregoing.very.schematic (especially for an- .
odes) .showing will indicate such operation to those'skilled in . -15-....... .. . . . .. . ... . .
~63~49 the art.
With related, mult.i-filar winding arrangements some very novel, advantageous stepping types of gaseous bargraph dis-plays may be provided. Such an embodiment.IV is indicated in 5. Figure 10 where three wires (i, ii, iii) are., very schematically, indicated as wound, repeatedly as a set, about a mandrel base BB
to pres.ent any number of.turns (as in Figure 11); while using only one, common anode (.p.lus reset electrodes to initiate dis~
charge, neither being shown, but well known). ~ere, a repeat-10. sequenced energi~ing of the. (3) wires will be understood as ap-plied to step a glow display along the mandrel to thereby create .
an expanding bar pres.entation of the type indicated in Figure 4 -(s.ee above). Thus, it will be appreciated that,. according to known implementation techniques, display IV will generate dis-15. play columns, discharging a given, selec.ted number of cathode-bars according to how long the (automatic, once .initiated) cyc-ling activation of wires i, ii and iii is allowe.d to continue.
For example,: once the anode and res.et electrodes are fired, discharge potential will be applied to.wire C (the first 20. in order, thus illuminating bar segment i-a); then applied to :
wi.re .ii (illuminating segment ii-a), then to iii (so that seg-~e .
~ JJ ment iii-a glows, too); then back to wire i again (~t:i-b glows, : as well), etc. This expanding-column-illumination will termi-nate:(cathode activation ceases) when an illuminated bar-column 25. of seIected length has been generated (this corresponding to the ` .~::
magnitude of the applied input signal and the analog value rep- :
; res~ented thereby). Next,.the column may be turned-OFF (glow ;: .
entirely extinguished) by removal (or sufficient dropping) of anode:potential. The foregoing and related techniques. are well 30. known in the art and need not be further detailedO
: Embbdiment.IV illustrates yet another feature of advan-tage in that a single winding array can be used to provide a , - -. ; ,. ... .. . . .~.. .
1063~ 9 number of side-by-side gaseous displays. Here it will be seen ~
that in addition to a pair of outboard isolation grooves I~
(like chambers IC, IC' in Figures 1-3, etc.), base BB presents :
three, not just one, glow chamber channels, namely channels GC-l, 5. GC-2 and GC-3.
Each such.glow channel will be understood as adapted '~' to coact with the (common) cathode windings, and its own anode, ~
etc., as in embodiment I above, to generate.:its own bar (glow - column), with the cathode wires (i, ii, iii) being cyclically `
10. and.sequentially activated as before (e.g., as for embodiment I). -..
Now, for a single column display like unit I above, ' column height may be controlled by suitably dropping the poten- .~
: tial of the anode or raising that of the cathodes or both at the appropriate time in the stepping sequence, as known in the art. 'i 15. Howe.ver, workers will recognize that for a multi-co:lumn unit like embodiment IV, of course,' o.nly anode volkage control is :~ available as a column-hei'ght control (sinoe:the cathode windings are common while each:column has i'ts own anode)'.. Here, it will .: be.recognized as a feature of advantage, this multi-display~
20. column operation may be enjoyed for substantially the same cost ' ' and effort that a single-column display entails~ ;
Workers will recogniæe'that other such multi-filar ';
winding arrangements may be employed to yieId stepped bargraph .
displays employing various numbers of wires, as long as at least ~
~' 25. three wires are'used (to assure proper stepping only when a suc- ~
ceeding cathode wire is.activated, e.g., with only two wires. '' The shift in activation from the first.tQ the second wire may .;
'~ trans~fer' the glow backwards rather than forwards~ Also the wrap-angle may, of course, be varied to yield different angular cath-30. ode orientation relative to the mandrel axis as opposed to the ~'-' or.thogonal reIation in.embodiment I).
' Workers will also r.ecognize that a multi-filar winding ; ~
~ -17- :;
. .,. ~::
l~G3149 arrangement like that of embodiment IV (Figure 10) can also be rendered on a nonrectangular mandrel. For instance, using an ~.
endless toroid mandrel as indicated, schematically, in Figures : .
12 and 13 (embodiment VI and VI'). Now, her.e windings 1, 2, 3 .
(called-out as 11, 2', 3', at the second turn) may be wound to-gether, unidirectionally, on toroidal mandreI B-x with an asso-ciated common anode A-x set-into a discharge cavity found in, and around the top of toroid B-x (similar to embodiment I, above).
An associated faceplate or lid L-x is also provided and this em~
10. bodiment generally constr.ucted and operated as described above :.
except where othe`rwise indicated. For this circular ladder ar-ray, the column-glow (bar array) will be:seen as presented around~
the:toroid much in the manner of a growing-ring which is swept around a clock-face, .the (angular) e~tent being selected accor-15. ding to the value to be represented (e.g., in the fashion of a sweep-second-hand), as opposed to a rectilinear ladder array.
Also, a pointer, rather than a bar, may be generated. .~ .
As workers will recognizé, the filamentary cathode ends may be ~.
tied into cooperation, or a continuous coil, if desired, and :. :
20. counting functions also performed, then, by the. scanning display . ~
(i.e. as a pointer, preferably) as workers will understand. ;; `
.
By way of comparison, workers may be interested in considering embodiment VII in Figure 14.where a non-wound ladder-array of bargraph cathodes is shown as adapted for raised cathode gas dis.charge display. Here, an exemplary set:of three sets of -flat,: coplanar raised-cathode`groups is:shown, constructed and interconnected in a somewhat novel manner, yet withbut winding upon a mandrel. That is, a first .cathode~set 140:~only two shown, by way of example~ is mounted upon a substrate B-Y and .
specially interconneGted by a bus arrangement:B-l. Similarly, a second cathode set:130.with:its associated bus bar B-2 is simi~ . ..
larly mounted, cathode bars 130 being slightly longer at their .
~ 1163~4~
outboard connecting portions than set 140. to facilitate inter-connection. Likewise, a third cathode set 120 and associated bus bar B-3 is similarly provided, being slightly longer at con-nector-portions than set 130. A faceplate 101, including sides 5. 103, is also provided and sealed to base s-Y to. establish a dis~
charge zone above the.cathode sets in a known manner, with a ...
thin-film anode (not shown) be.ing understood as:conventionally provided and operated to generate bargraph displays of analog .. ~
. values along the length of the:unit, e.g. in the manner of em- ;.
10.. bodiment II, above.
Although specifie~ embodiments of the invention have .~
been disclosed her~in in detail to better illustrate the inven- ::
tion, it is to be understood that this is for purposes.oE illus-trating~ the invention and its manner of making and using it and 15. should not be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of the invention since it is apparent that many changes. can be made in the disclosed structure by. thb.se skilled in the art.to suit par- .
ticular applications.
.. . .
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Field of Inv~ntion The present invention relates to elec-trode arrays in a ladder format, particularly useful for gas discharge display devices of the planar, raised-cathode type, especially those adapted for information display in the fashion of a bargraph.
More particularly, it relates to improvements in such devices involving a plurality of like parallel aligned cathode strips adapted to provide visual signals as human-readable information-al indicia, the value o which is indicated by the position of 10. an illuminated ca~hode strip within a display field.
Background; Invention Features In the art of data display, workers tend to categorize displays into analog and digital types. An analog display is ~ ;
, ~ . ..
exemplified by a meter needle or a pointer, such as on a d'Arson-15. val galvanometer or by the position of a movable eIement, such as a column of mercury, in a thermometer.
On the other hand, a digital display is represented by alpha-numeric symbology, with a change in information content being represented merely by a change in the symbology or numbers 20. displayed in a given field as opposed to a change in position or color, for example in the analog case.
There is presently a need in the art for analog dis-plays which respond to digital information input, principally , because it is commonly convenient to gather and process infor- ~-25. mation in digital form. There is also a need in the art for displays which render an analog presentation responsive to ei-ther digital or analog (electrical) input signals. The present invention is direc-ted toward facilitating this.
. ?;,: .
~3:~L49 `` ~
This invention is directed towards providing such an i~;
analog display of electr.ical si~nals and parti:cularly, to do so using raised-cathode gas discharge (RC~) display devices, espe- '` ' -cially as represented in a bargraph display. Such might be .. '~
5. characterized as a digitally formulated analog display. '.' As workers know, a bar type display may be:character- .':~; '.'~ ..
ized as an indicating .device where the length'or hei.ght of the .
~ indicating medium is proportional to the magnitude of the meas~
;~ ured quantity. For example, a mercurial thermometer is a simple ' 10.. form of a bar ty.pe display, the.height of the column of mercury being proportional to the temperature. Bar type display devices ';~
.
have potentially wide application in industrial process controls, '. aircraft instrumentation and, in general, in systems which re-' quire the mounting of a large number of displays on a relatively 15. small instrument panel. I'o be useful in many of the. potential :.
applications, such display devices must be capable of responding rapidly to digital input signals, must occupy a minimum amount '.` ~' of space and must operate under a wide variety of environmental ;~
conditians.
20. Electromechanical devices for providing bar type dis-'~ plays are well known to the art, but:these devices generally ' .. . .
have .the disadvantages of slow response time, of being relative-ly bulky and of limited accuracy when subjected to shock and vi- ' :~ bration, and consequently have found only limited acceptance as .;
: ~.
25. display devices. Electrical devices. are also known for provid~
ing bar type displays. A bargraph display.is often a more natur- .
al and acceptable display representation of a.variable than a .
digital readout, particularly when one wishes to quickly scan a number of displays for out-:of-range indications., presenting ana-30. .log data with digital ac:curacy.
Two methods of operating bar graph:displays, stepping and direct drive, will:be'described along with'thé'advantages of ..
. . . :
~16319~ :
each. Direct drive is discussed below and is the operative mode of the described bargraph display e~bodiment. ~ ;
By contrast, in the s-tepping mode of operation, only one gas discharge exis-ts at any one time between the common anode and any cathode bar segment. The discharge is- initiated at the lower end at a separate cathode, the reset cathode; and, once so initiated, provides a supply of ionized and metastable atoms, having a relatively high density in the area of the cathode adjacent the reset cathode. The presence of ions and metastable atoms results in a considerable reduction in firing voltage for the adjacent cathode or phase-one cathode. Because ~ ;
there are a number of such phase-one cathodes connected in parallel, such a reduction in firing voltage for any electrode adjacent another bar-electrode which is discharging-glow is essential to a stepping operation. With only three ~or more, if desired) parallel-connected sets o cathodes, and a reset cathode to start the first discharge, a glow can be stepped from cathode to cathode with any number of cathode bars.
The present invention contemplates improved bargraph displays of the known gaseous discharge type wherein a glow is typically established at a reset cathode and then, by the glow transfer principle, transferred up a series of spaced bar-cathodes. These electrodes are arranged as a ladder and when viewed at normal range can readily be made to appear to merge into a continuous bar of controlled length corresponding to the number of digital counts represented by glowing bars.
Now, various workers in the art have addressed prob-lems like these (e.g., see U.S. patents 3,258,644 issued to Jan A. Rajchman on June 28, 1966; 3,328,790 issued to Constan-tine Rhodes on June 27, l9Ç7; 3,343,155 issued to Marcel A.
Pahlavan on September 19, 1967; 3,659,149 issued to Gordon R. Fleming on April 25, 1972; 3,689,912 issued to George ,~ ~ '', rw~ ~ 3 ~
~ ~3~ ~9 ~ ;
Wilmer Dick on September 5, 1972 and 3,824,581 issued to Isamu Ohno on July 16, 1974). For instance, it has been proposed to provide a display which converts electrical input signals, such as BCD (binary coded decimal) signals, ~ ;
and presents them in a visual analog disp:lay with the ~ ~
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magnitude (and/or sense) of the signals being represented by indicator position within the field. The display fieId might,.
for example, comprise a rectilinear array of bars, or bargraph, with all segments between the minimum analog value and the indi- ~;
5. cated value illuminated uniformly to simulate a solid bar. In some such arrangements, a numerical value is ind.icated by the activation of a particular luminous segment which is one of many in an aligned, parallel array, the:se;gments being prefer- .
ably visually contiguous, identically shaped and ac~ivatable so 10. as to be independently illuminated. Such:segments.visually in-dicate:increasing position-encode values along the array. This invention provides improved techniques for a ladder array of elec.trodes for a bargraph display. : .
Such a display may be driven by. elect.ric circuit means 15. responsive to the input signals and adapted to seIec.t and illu-minate a specific luminous segment corresponding.to the. encoded value, resulting in the.signal magnitude being indicated by il-lumination of a segment.along the.bar array. . The p.resent inven- ~:
tion is adapted to impr.oving such bargraph displays, especially :
20. where the arrayed indicator segments, comprise planar, raised gas discharge cathodes.
Of course, RCG display devices are, in themselves, well .
known. They are typically arranged to indicate alpha-numeric symbo.ls by the illuminati.on of cathode substrates which combine 25. to form a display symbol. Such:cathodes coact wi:th a confront~
ing anode (typically a tr.ansparent film on ~a faceplate~ to se~
lectively provide the.:desired i.llumination as a cold-cathode :~
glow discharge. Usually the:electr.odes are.mounted on a ceramic baseplate and packaged.in.an envelope provided with a transpar- ..:
30.. ent window, being hermetically sealed with an ionizable gas therein. Cathode glow patterns are viewed through the window as display information (e.g., see U.S. patent 3,675,066 to :~
., . . . , - .
.: .. . .
.
1~;3~
~rmstrong, Sc~lott and Warne, and 3,675,065 to Warne, describ-ing typical structure, fabrication and operation of such devices).
Typically such arrangements place the anode adjacent to the transparent faceplate ~e.g., a transparent conductive tin-oxide coating thereon), while the opposing cathodes are mounted upon the envelope base and arranged to coact with their anode so as to be selectively illuminated. Such cathodes typi-cally comprise conductor strips mounted on pins in the envelope ~;
base and coupled to electrical power to be selectively excited.
The anode and cathode elements, together with other conventional associated parts (such as spacers, bases, mounting pins and fill tube) are mounted in an envelope which is sealed, evacuated and partly backfilled with an ionizable gas, such as a neon mixtur~
known in the art. For excitation and display, electrical power ;
signals are applied between an anode and one, or several, assoc-iated cathodes so that the gas around these cathodes is ;
discharge-excited into visible luminescence, the glowing-cathode array thus forming the intended information symbol. The present ~ invention is arranged to utilize such raised-cathode gas dis-charge technology in a novel form and especially to provide an improved bargraph display.
Summar~ of the Embodiments One object of this invention is to provide an im-proved design and construction method for an array of ladder electrodes. A related object is to provide such for use with a bargraph display. Another object is to provide such a ladder of raised-cathode electrodes simply by winding wire.
Yet another object is to teach techniques for form-ing such an electrode ladder by winding conductive filamentsupon a prescribed mandrel, avoiding expensive multiple-deposition techni~ues.
.
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~Q63~9 ~
A further object is to so provide a ladder of raised-cathodes which are readily arranged in glow-overlap rela- ~.
tion to provide an improved high-speed, st~pping bargraph display Yet another object is to provide such a display in conjunction with glow-barrier means to limit glow length. A
related object is to provide such in conjunction with seal-isolation means provided adjacent to the display envelope seal and adapted to accommodate excess sealant.
Still another object is to provide such a ladder electrode array according to techniques which facilitate construction and operation of an improved direct-drive bargraph display. An alternate object is to provide such a ladder array j -of electrodes for a stepping bargraph display using multi-wire/
ribbon winding techniques. Another object is to provide a non-raised ladder array of electrodes bound directly upon a mandrel.
Another object of the present invention is to realize `
an improved raised-cathode discharge device having simple con-struction and high reliability at relatively low cost.
Another object is to provide an improved~cold cathode glow discharge as a bargraph or related pointer display. A re-lated object is to do this employing simple mechanical methods and structures, and particularly to eliminate multi-deposition techniques, or other complex, expensive fabrication techniques.
A further related object is to do this in conjunction with pro- ~-viding structure accommodating anode placement either in front of, or behind, the cathode array. Another related object is to ~-provide an improved cathode-ladder construction and associated activating interconnections simply by winding wire upon a suit-`~ 30 able mandrel-base.
Thus, one aspect of the present invention is defined as a method of fabricating a gas discharge panel having ... ..
~-rw/, - 6 -.,:, , . . :
106~
a ladder array of elec-trode elements to establish a bargraph, ~ -the method comprising the s-teps of: winding a plurality oE
continuous elec-trode wires completely around a substrate in a series of turns, each turn of each o:E the wires being in alternating sequence with each respective turn of ano-ther of the wires to establish a ladder array of al.ternating portions of the plurality of wires that are adjacent the front surface of the substrate, each of the portions of an individual wire of the plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding configuration of each of the plurality of wires .
around the substrate; posit:ioning second electrode means in .~ :
operative relation to the portions of the plurality of continuous electrode wires; seal.ing a face plate over the front surface of the substrake, the second electrode means, and the portions of the plurality of electrode wires to form a thin enclosed enve- ~.
lope; and inserting an ionizable gas into the envelope. .~-Another aspect of the present invention is . ,`
defined as a gas analog display panel comprising: a substrate having a front surface; a plurality of continuous electrode ~.
wires wound around the substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of the plurality of wires around the substrate havin~
a portion adjacent the front surface of the substrate, each of the turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another : ~.
of the wires to form a ladder array of the portions, each of the portions of an individual wire of each of the plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding config-uration of each of the plurality of wires around the substrate;
second electrode means positioned in operative relation to the electrode wires; a transparent cover sealed to the substrate to form a thin envelope over the front surface of the substrate and ~.
an ionizable ~as contained in the envelope.
- 6a -rw/`~
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~L~63~
Other objects, aspects and features of the ~;~
advantage of this invention will be pointed out and demonstrated in or be apparent from, the detailed description following below, especially as considered in conjunction with the ~ ~-following drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure l is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention, with the gas tube portions thereof shown in schematized cross-section in Figure 2 and a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 4 in a schematically indicated dis-play environment;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the mandrel portion of this embodiment partly constructed and Figure 5 is a plan view of the same somewhat more conpleted;
Figure 6 is a side elevation of this display tube partly finished; and Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illus- -trating the manner of operating this embodiment and associated -;
electrical signal sources;
Figure 8 illustrates an alternate embodiment in schematic side section; Figure 9 illustrates another alternate embodiment in very schematic cross-section;
Figure 10 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment in partly constructed condition;
Figure ll, located adjacent Figures 8 and 9, is . a schematic diagram illustrating still another embodiment, : rather functionally;
Figure 12 is an upper perspective view of yet another embodiment; while Figure 13 shows a further related embodiment ~.
in side section; and Figure 14 is a perspective view o~ another related structure, partly broken-away for illustrative purposes. -., .
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~1631~9 :: ~
A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT `~ :
A direct drive bargraph display embodiment I is -~
made accordinq to various aspects of this i.nvention. Figure 1 illustrates the finished display including mandrel 5 and face-plate 3 as mounted upon a mounting block 61 and coupled electri- ;
cally to a printed circuit board (PCB~ 51 ready for mounting into ~
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a display setting and to be operatively associated wi.th a direct drive electronic control unit (see circuit of Figure 7).
Mandrel 5 constitutes the display-tube base as well as the form on which the ladder array of wire segments w is wound 5. and mounted; this wi.nding presentincJ each top seqment ~r turn in operative, cold-cathode-display relation with:another electrode means and associated eIectronic drive means. As better seen in Figures 3 and 5, the mandrel 5 is thus constructed to present a novel back-plane anode:(e.l.ectrode strip A~ at a prescribed dis-10. charge-distance'from the upper medial segments of each turn wound on the mandreI, and behind them (i.e.' away from the viewer).
The.se cathode'segments are presented as fixed, regularly spaced ; :
turns in a ladder.format on mandrel 5, being wound (e.g. manu-ally, or by machine as known in the art) thereon as a continuous-15. wire conductor with.inter-segment pitch being establ.ished by stepping the winding a prescribed distance across the back (non-discharge) side of mandrel.5. As workers know, cathode spacing is one factor determining firing voltage, and accordingly, the ~.
turns should be close enough.together to. ef.fectively transfer 20.. the'glow quickIy, when activated in'the known manner..
Preferably, the position of each turn may be estab-lished and held mereIy by the frictional engagement of wire and mandrel. Also, and preferably, at a later stage in manufacture, .
envel'ope seal material is.provided to both vacuum-seal the in-25. terior of the'display and to fasten the wires.permanently to the mandreI and faceplate. :'~
. The mandreI 5 (Figure 3) thus:establishes a central ~ :
discharge zone,: or glow chamber. GC, defined by a pair of opposed i' (glow .isolation~ barriers.5-A, 5-B, abutting the upper surface 30. of the cathode wires.and serving to limit:the~spread of glow .:
along the wire lengths (see.sectional view :in Figure.2). Bar-riers 5-A, 5-B also serve,.as a convenient noveI feature, to :
,: . .. .: ~ , .. ~ -; : : : . , ~ 6;~9 ~ ~
electrically isolate the glow zone (discharge segments) as well ~:
as to.define the discharge-length K-S of all segments. For in- :
stance, in this embodiment, the common anode strip A is mounted between them at the bot-tom of chamber GC, and may be fixed there ;
5. quite:conveniently; e.g. by merely inserti.ng and fusing-in a ~ -metal strip or by known eq.uivalents (e.g. deposited film). The chamber. height thus serves to define a constant inter-electrode gap according to this useful feature. ~.
Preferably, and according to another feature, the dis-10. play face (top) of mandrel 5 is also provided with a pair of iso~
lati.on chambers IC, IC' (see Figures 2, 3'and 5 also) to assure that *he cold-cathode glow will not extend beyond the glow step-ping bars 5-A, 5-B as weIl as to accommodate any excess sealant from the seal area.
15. Figure'5 may be'understood as illustr.ating the semi-. finished condition of mandrel 5, with wire wo.und and affixed the'reon (as per Figure .3); however, but:after.the wire turns have been cut (along right-rear, Figure 5) and pulled-out (to .; left) preparatory to connecting the segments for dr.iver-coupling ~ ;
' 20... (i.. e.. connection to terminals on PCB 51). This specific embodi- :;
ment connects adjacent wound turns in pairs (see soldered wind-;
ings w Figure 5) with each free end, adapted for connection ;':
(e.g. solder) to a respective terminal on PCB Sl. Of course, this mode of connection may be varied, i.e. either wi.th every . :.
: 25. turn activated separately, or with every other turn lef.t uncon~
; nected.to a driver,. or with triplet connections,.etc. ~ .~
With mandrel.5" so arranged (Figure~5), it may then `:
have'faceplate'3 affixed thereon to provide an air.-tighk.closure abo.ut:zones GC, IC, IC': and provide a transparent display-window .;~
' 3~. for viewing cathode:segments K-S (bars) as well known in the art.
For instance',' faceplate 3'may be'affixed with'glass frit adhe- :~
sive'(not shown but well known) applied to the periphery of man~
, ' , ' .
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~(1 631~9 drel S (see Figure 6). As workers in the art will appreciate, a keep-alive ca-thode 21 and associated anode 22 is also provided, along with a connection 53 for common anode A. Reset electrode means (not shown, but well known) are also preferably provided adjacent the first bar to initiate each display sequence. A
suitable glow-discharge fill and associatecL electrical arrange-ments are also used as weIl ~nown in the art ~e.g. see cited patents).
Preferably, faceplate 3 is molded from a soft glass 10. (e.g. ordinary window glass), while mandrel 5 is molded from a similar glass (same thermal coefficient of expansion or TempCo) but pigmented black for optimum display contrast.. Anode A and cathode wire w should also be closely matched in TempCo to this glass. Anode A may pref.erably comprise a strip 1-2 mil thick 15. of a nickel-iron alloy that will also heat-fuse.to glass mandrel S (while being heat-molded, in reducing atmosphere). `:
Insulating block 61 (Figure 1) serves: to mount mandrel ~
, ., 5 and PC board 51 in fixed reIation, while'also protecting the :;
exhaust stem.
20. Thus,'mandreI 5 may be understood as an insulative body so formed and suitably dimensioned; preferably comprised of opaque colored glass in generally rectangular form with chan-nels IC, IC' and GC formed (molded) therein; its dimensions, '~
here,:.being on the order of 1/2". wide x 3" long x l/4" high.
25. Lid 3 which is made'from c.lear transparent.glass (faceplate) ' may be.'a mirror-image (molded) piece according to.a feature of convenience. Anode:strip.A may comprise a thin ~(1-2 mil) strip of metal matched to the:glass in coefficient of expansion, ':
lodged in channeI GC (in an offset therein) and bonded to ;.
30. mandreI 5. Wire w may comprise a length of'3 mil round nickel-iron alloy matched to the glass in coefficient of.expansion and wound on mandrel 5 to present 101 (only 96 used) turns along .. . .
' ' ' " ` "' ' "' ' ~6319~
about 2-1/2" of the medial length of the mandrel, spaced uni-formly and parallel on its top (display) surface about.50 mils apart.. When so tied in pairs, fifty (50). double-wire cathodes will be presented to be driven as a bargraph display.
5. Preferably, mandrel 5 is also provided with exhaust ~ ~ :
port means to allow evacua~tion and gas filling; here (Figures 5, 6) an aperture 55 is drilled through one end of.the mandrel 5 .
and registering exhaust tubulation 57 (glass) is.attached, this :
being sealed off after filling, as is conven-tiona1.
10. As seen in Figures 1 and 5, electrical connection means ~
is provided to the bar segment~s (here 50 wire pairs tied to seg- ~.
ments WC) by PC Board.51, mounted, with the display tube, onto block 61. Insulat.ing board 51 is relatively conventional, pre-senting a set of connector terminal tabs on each side (front set lS.. 51-T; rear set 51-TR), each tab beiny connected to a respective :;
solder post (through-hole posts.51-C ~or front.tabs 51-T; thru- :~
; hole posts 51-PR for rear tabs. 51-TR) by connectors. ~51-C. With posts: 51-P, 51-PR formed as hollow posts, leads WC may be con- ; ;~:.
veniently inserted therein and soldered-in as known in the art. . :~
20. Block 61 acts as an insulative mount and PCB stiffener and may . comprise any insulator bonded to board 51 and to the display. ..
Figure 4 indicates a typical use of bargraph display embodiment I and may be understood comprising as indicator panel.
If mounted (e.g. on an aircraft instrument paneI) so as to pre- ;. ~ .
25. sent indicator indicia (here, numerals 0-10) operativeIy adjacent the bargraph cathode segment ladder, here a.value of 2.. 1 is `.
~ exemplarily shown. ;~
It will be understo.od that display I will be arranged ~.
: and coupled to a source of si:gnals adaptable:to apply digital .
30. form information representing analogl bargraph values to the j.
wound cathode segments. (pairs tied to.WC) on mandrel 5 and to .~ thereby initiate a ser:ies of adjacent (usually contiguous) bar-., ; . . . ~ , . .
~6~49 glow representations forming the resultant bar value ~here, 2.1).
According to a novel feature hereof, a raised cathode gas display is taught wherein-the anode is mounted behind the cathode rather than in Eront. Workers will appreciate that, un-5. like:other displays (e.g. screen printed dlisplays for example), ~ :
the raised-cathode`type (see U.S. patent 3,675l066) allows the use of an anode mounted behind (as viewed from the.front of the display) the raised cathode structure. Such'a back-plane-mounted ~-anode has the'advantage of be.ing much less expensive to provide 10. than the tin oxide (NESA) transparent anodes common to the art;
also ~.uch anodes can be more accurateIy positioned relative to the.cathode structure; further,,the eLectrical connection to ~ :
: such an anode is more readily accomplished.
This disclosure specifically describes ~the. use of such 15. a back-plane anode (any electrically conducting material mounted behind the cathode structure) whether the:application be for a bargraph display as herein described, for a multiple segment dis- ,, .
play (such as the Beckman planar gas discharge displays, see .'"
SP-series) or for any other similar structure. ' 20. Driver Electronics ~
Workers will recognize that a bargraph display like ;, embodiment I is well adapted to employ prescribed types of driv- '~
er arrangements. One such driver I-D, is shown schematically in '. .
Figure'7 with 48 cathoae connections. Driver I-D comprises six, ..
25.. eight-unit cathode dr.iver.units (CD-l through CD-6), each .coupled to be driven by an as.sociated eight-bit shift register (e.g. SR-l ~.
for CD-l,. etc.) thQse registers being connected to operate in sequence; plus a common control signal means IKC (providing '~
cathode'currellt.control and duty-cyc~e input). Each:driver unit . .
30. CD has eight output terminals,: each coupled to.drive.a respective bar segment (double-cathode:lead WC.) as:known in.the art. A
source'of anode current V-A is also shown, along wi.th data clock '" .
,-.. . . .
31~
means for each register SR, plus data-in signal means for ini- ~ ; -tiating the register array and reset signal means for controlla-bly resetting all regis~ers. Means for implementing the above functions are well known in the art and will not be detailed ~ -5. here. ;
Direct Drive Bargraphs . , A direct drive bargraph display will be urlderstood as i~
using a separate drive input for each cathode element and coupled directly thereto. No stepping is involved, and all bars can be lO. on at~the same time, allowing up to 100% duty cycle. Direct drive has several very important advantages, among them~
a. Brightness of 300 ft. lamberts and more is readily possible.
b. Dimming ratios o 100 or more are possible. ;
15. c. Several displays may be multiplexed. Multi-plexing allows use o common cathode drivers for several displays, with anode drivers selecting and driving displays in a repetitive sequence.
d. Repetition rate of 200 Hz and more are read~
20. ily obtainable for bargraphs of 2% or better resolution.
e. A solid bar presentation and one or more `
pointers, and like display features, can be much more read~ `
ily generated with direct drive displays. ;
f. The display is more reliable because alse-25. stepping cannot occur, also a break in a single connection is not catastrophic as it is with a stepping tube.
The cost of direct drive is, however, higher because .
of the extra complexity of the driver electronics and the large number of electrical connections required.
30. A straightforward way to operate a direct drive display is shown in Figure 7. A shift register shifts da*a to the right with each applied clock pulse. If the register is irst reset, ,, ::
, , " ,, . . . , - : .
~L0~3~4~ :
and the data are all ones (cathode-activate), then a solid bar is generated; the height of the bar being controlled by the num-ber of clock pulses after the reset pulse. If a pointer display is desired, a single one pulse (at the data input) is shifted to 5. the required position, with all other data inputs (cathode-acti-vate signal) set to zero (off).
As an example, the following characteristics are achievable with the drive scheme and embocLiment shown, assuming a single 1/8" wide bar, using .008" diameter cathode wires and 10. operating at 400 Hz repetition rate.
a. Maximum brightness 300 ft. lambert b. Minimum brightness 3 ~t. lambert c. Dimming ratio 100:1 d. Maximum on time 2500 ~ sec.
15. e. Minimum on time 25 ~ sec. (sufficient ~-for reasonahle glow uniformity) --f. Segment-on current 500 ~A/segment.
Embodiment ~ariants ~' 20. Workers will appreciate that the' teachings herein may be employed for applications beyond those'specified. For in-stance, it will be apparent~ that the wound conductor need not, in all cases, be round or even symmetrical. In certain cases a -flat ribbon will serve as indicated schematically by ribbon R in 25. embodiment II, Figure 8. Here, ribbon R will be'understood as ;-` wo~nd upon mandrel B and kept in contact therewith (especially across the glow discharge zone confronting anode A) to form a non-raised and pre~erably, also being masked to prevent glow ~
discharge, at outboard, non-viewing segmen~s indicated at CC ~' 30. (e.g. simply by overcoating with a dieIectric fiber). The anode ~-A may be'provided as a transluscent coating on transparent lid L '`
sealed, with'spacers S, to mandreL-base'B. Workers will recog-.
. .
. .
: . , .
~063~9~9 nize that this mode very conveniently and advantageously makes ~
~ conventional, fussy cathode-deposition (and associated connector ; ' and insulator deposition) techniques unnecessary.
The mandrel may also provide a t.wo-faced gas display ;~
.' 5, as indicated very schematically for unit XII in Figure 9 where a ~:~
dog-bone mandrel DB accommodates cathode windings w apt for pre- ~ .
senting front and rear discharge segments (wf and wr, respec-tiveIy).
Such gaseous-discharge displays may alternatively be ' ~.
~` 10. implemented using a multi-anode control over cathode selection, , rather than only stepping with one anodeî and will allow the ::
display to function as a pointer (only a single bar illuminated at any one time) rather than as a bargraph,,while sti.ll advan tageously employing a wo,und ladder cathode:array as indicated '~
15. before.: Embodiment V in Figure 11 illustrates:this. Here, cath- ;~
odes 1, 2, 3 -- n will be .understood as comprising n filamentary -'' .' ,, conductors wound upon a mandreI (not shown) to present a plurali~
,~ ty (N) of multi-cathode sets, or turns, each:set having its own dischar.ge-exciting anode .(e.g., anode A-l for catho.des 1', 2' --20. n';.etc.), n x N being the total number of bar segments). A .`.. . ,"
xelated multi-filar winding arrangement is also shown in Figure ; .' 10 and could be operated as understood from .the foregoing. ~,, Keep-alive means KA is also provided preferably in the ,"
, foregoing display tubes to allow discharge-activation of any ,~ .
;. 25. cathode (wire) ene.rgized, provided of course'that a correspond- , ' ~.
. .,: .
,. ing (only one) anode is energized contemporaneously wi.th the selected wire (e.g.,,anode A-l and cathode'2.pulsed simultaneous- '~
ly to. initiate discharge thereb'etween; thus onl~y cathode #2 will . :
glow, e.:g. inste.ad of 2'. if.A-2 wexe pulsed rather than A-1). ,: ~, 30. Such.operation is.known in.:the'art (e.g'., see half-sel,ect activa-tion modes). This::foregoing.very.schematic (especially for an- .
odes) .showing will indicate such operation to those'skilled in . -15-....... .. . . . .. . ... . .
~63~49 the art.
With related, mult.i-filar winding arrangements some very novel, advantageous stepping types of gaseous bargraph dis-plays may be provided. Such an embodiment.IV is indicated in 5. Figure 10 where three wires (i, ii, iii) are., very schematically, indicated as wound, repeatedly as a set, about a mandrel base BB
to pres.ent any number of.turns (as in Figure 11); while using only one, common anode (.p.lus reset electrodes to initiate dis~
charge, neither being shown, but well known). ~ere, a repeat-10. sequenced energi~ing of the. (3) wires will be understood as ap-plied to step a glow display along the mandrel to thereby create .
an expanding bar pres.entation of the type indicated in Figure 4 -(s.ee above). Thus, it will be appreciated that,. according to known implementation techniques, display IV will generate dis-15. play columns, discharging a given, selec.ted number of cathode-bars according to how long the (automatic, once .initiated) cyc-ling activation of wires i, ii and iii is allowe.d to continue.
For example,: once the anode and res.et electrodes are fired, discharge potential will be applied to.wire C (the first 20. in order, thus illuminating bar segment i-a); then applied to :
wi.re .ii (illuminating segment ii-a), then to iii (so that seg-~e .
~ JJ ment iii-a glows, too); then back to wire i again (~t:i-b glows, : as well), etc. This expanding-column-illumination will termi-nate:(cathode activation ceases) when an illuminated bar-column 25. of seIected length has been generated (this corresponding to the ` .~::
magnitude of the applied input signal and the analog value rep- :
; res~ented thereby). Next,.the column may be turned-OFF (glow ;: .
entirely extinguished) by removal (or sufficient dropping) of anode:potential. The foregoing and related techniques. are well 30. known in the art and need not be further detailedO
: Embbdiment.IV illustrates yet another feature of advan-tage in that a single winding array can be used to provide a , - -. ; ,. ... .. . . .~.. .
1063~ 9 number of side-by-side gaseous displays. Here it will be seen ~
that in addition to a pair of outboard isolation grooves I~
(like chambers IC, IC' in Figures 1-3, etc.), base BB presents :
three, not just one, glow chamber channels, namely channels GC-l, 5. GC-2 and GC-3.
Each such.glow channel will be understood as adapted '~' to coact with the (common) cathode windings, and its own anode, ~
etc., as in embodiment I above, to generate.:its own bar (glow - column), with the cathode wires (i, ii, iii) being cyclically `
10. and.sequentially activated as before (e.g., as for embodiment I). -..
Now, for a single column display like unit I above, ' column height may be controlled by suitably dropping the poten- .~
: tial of the anode or raising that of the cathodes or both at the appropriate time in the stepping sequence, as known in the art. 'i 15. Howe.ver, workers will recognize that for a multi-co:lumn unit like embodiment IV, of course,' o.nly anode volkage control is :~ available as a column-hei'ght control (sinoe:the cathode windings are common while each:column has i'ts own anode)'.. Here, it will .: be.recognized as a feature of advantage, this multi-display~
20. column operation may be enjoyed for substantially the same cost ' ' and effort that a single-column display entails~ ;
Workers will recogniæe'that other such multi-filar ';
winding arrangements may be employed to yieId stepped bargraph .
displays employing various numbers of wires, as long as at least ~
~' 25. three wires are'used (to assure proper stepping only when a suc- ~
ceeding cathode wire is.activated, e.g., with only two wires. '' The shift in activation from the first.tQ the second wire may .;
'~ trans~fer' the glow backwards rather than forwards~ Also the wrap-angle may, of course, be varied to yield different angular cath-30. ode orientation relative to the mandrel axis as opposed to the ~'-' or.thogonal reIation in.embodiment I).
' Workers will also r.ecognize that a multi-filar winding ; ~
~ -17- :;
. .,. ~::
l~G3149 arrangement like that of embodiment IV (Figure 10) can also be rendered on a nonrectangular mandrel. For instance, using an ~.
endless toroid mandrel as indicated, schematically, in Figures : .
12 and 13 (embodiment VI and VI'). Now, her.e windings 1, 2, 3 .
(called-out as 11, 2', 3', at the second turn) may be wound to-gether, unidirectionally, on toroidal mandreI B-x with an asso-ciated common anode A-x set-into a discharge cavity found in, and around the top of toroid B-x (similar to embodiment I, above).
An associated faceplate or lid L-x is also provided and this em~
10. bodiment generally constr.ucted and operated as described above :.
except where othe`rwise indicated. For this circular ladder ar-ray, the column-glow (bar array) will be:seen as presented around~
the:toroid much in the manner of a growing-ring which is swept around a clock-face, .the (angular) e~tent being selected accor-15. ding to the value to be represented (e.g., in the fashion of a sweep-second-hand), as opposed to a rectilinear ladder array.
Also, a pointer, rather than a bar, may be generated. .~ .
As workers will recognizé, the filamentary cathode ends may be ~.
tied into cooperation, or a continuous coil, if desired, and :. :
20. counting functions also performed, then, by the. scanning display . ~
(i.e. as a pointer, preferably) as workers will understand. ;; `
.
By way of comparison, workers may be interested in considering embodiment VII in Figure 14.where a non-wound ladder-array of bargraph cathodes is shown as adapted for raised cathode gas dis.charge display. Here, an exemplary set:of three sets of -flat,: coplanar raised-cathode`groups is:shown, constructed and interconnected in a somewhat novel manner, yet withbut winding upon a mandrel. That is, a first .cathode~set 140:~only two shown, by way of example~ is mounted upon a substrate B-Y and .
specially interconneGted by a bus arrangement:B-l. Similarly, a second cathode set:130.with:its associated bus bar B-2 is simi~ . ..
larly mounted, cathode bars 130 being slightly longer at their .
~ 1163~4~
outboard connecting portions than set 140. to facilitate inter-connection. Likewise, a third cathode set 120 and associated bus bar B-3 is similarly provided, being slightly longer at con-nector-portions than set 130. A faceplate 101, including sides 5. 103, is also provided and sealed to base s-Y to. establish a dis~
charge zone above the.cathode sets in a known manner, with a ...
thin-film anode (not shown) be.ing understood as:conventionally provided and operated to generate bargraph displays of analog .. ~
. values along the length of the:unit, e.g. in the manner of em- ;.
10.. bodiment II, above.
Although specifie~ embodiments of the invention have .~
been disclosed her~in in detail to better illustrate the inven- ::
tion, it is to be understood that this is for purposes.oE illus-trating~ the invention and its manner of making and using it and 15. should not be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of the invention since it is apparent that many changes. can be made in the disclosed structure by. thb.se skilled in the art.to suit par- .
ticular applications.
.. . .
' ~
~" ~
Claims (18)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A method of fabricating a gas discharge panel having a ladder array of electrode elements to establish a bargraph, said method comprising the steps of:
winding a plurality of continuous electrode wires completely around a substrate in a series of turns, each turn of each of said wires being in alternating sequence with each re-spective turn of another of said wires to establish a ladder array of alternating portions of said plurality of wires that are adjacent the front surface of said substrate, each of said portions of an individual wire of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding configuration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
positioning second electrode means in operative rela-tion to said portions of said plurality of continuous electrode wires;
sealing a face plate over said front surface of said substrate, said second electrode means, and said portions of said plurality of electrode wires to form a thin enclosed en-velope; and inserting an ionizable gas into said envelope.
winding a plurality of continuous electrode wires completely around a substrate in a series of turns, each turn of each of said wires being in alternating sequence with each re-spective turn of another of said wires to establish a ladder array of alternating portions of said plurality of wires that are adjacent the front surface of said substrate, each of said portions of an individual wire of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding configuration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
positioning second electrode means in operative rela-tion to said portions of said plurality of continuous electrode wires;
sealing a face plate over said front surface of said substrate, said second electrode means, and said portions of said plurality of electrode wires to form a thin enclosed en-velope; and inserting an ionizable gas into said envelope.
2. A method of fabricating a gas discharge panel as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of winding comprises the wrapping of said plurality of continuous electrode wires in a continuous helical pattern around said substrate wherein each helical turn is accomplished with each of said plurality of said wires sequentially adjacent each other.
3. A gas analog display panel comprising:
a substrate having a front surface;
a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of said wires to form a ladder array of said portions, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding config-uration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
second electrode means positioned in operative rela-tion to said electrode wires;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front surface of said substrate; and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope, to provide a glow discharge between said second electrode and any one of said wires for transfer along said ladder array by exter-nal electrical potential means connected to said second electrode and said wires to apply electrical potential in repeating sequence to said plurality of wires.
a substrate having a front surface;
a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of said wires to form a ladder array of said portions, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding config-uration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
second electrode means positioned in operative rela-tion to said electrode wires;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front surface of said substrate; and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope, to provide a glow discharge between said second electrode and any one of said wires for transfer along said ladder array by exter-nal electrical potential means connected to said second electrode and said wires to apply electrical potential in repeating sequence to said plurality of wires.
4. A glass analog display panel as defined in claim 3, wherein the number of adjacent portions of said electrode wires illuminated by glow discharge corresponds to the value of the signal displayed to produce a bargraph display.
5. A glass analog display panel as defined in claim 3, wherein one of said portions of said electrode wires produces a pointer display device when illuminated wherein the position of said portion which is glowing is alone adapted to indicate the displayed value.
6. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 3 wherein said substrate has an elongated recessed channel within said front surface and wherein said second electrode means is positioned within said channel, so that said portions of said wires are positioned between said second electrode and said transparent cover, said channel forming the glow discharge chamber.
7. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 6 and additionally comprising means within said substrate for establishing a glow discharge barrier to limit the width of the glow discharge zone region along said substrate.
8. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 7, wherein said glow discharge barrier establishing means com-prises a recessed barrier channel on each side of said glow discharge channel chamber.
9. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 3 wherein said substrate is toroidal in shape.
10. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 3 wherein said plurality of continuous electrode wires comprises at least three separate wires each being a single wire continu-ously wound on said substrate member.
11. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 3, wherein said plurality of continuous electrode wires are wound substantially parallel to each other on said substrate member.
12. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 3 wherein said wires are in the form of flat cathode ribbons.
13. A gas analog display panel as defined in claim 3, wherein the number of said portions of said plurality of continuous electrode wires illuminated by said glow discharge establishes the magnitude of a bargraph.
14. A gas analog display device as defined in claim 3 and additionally comprising means connected to said electrode wires and said second electrode means for operating said device as a stepping bargraph display.
15. A gas analog display device as defined in claim 3 and additionally comprising means connected to said electrode wires and said second electrode means for operating said device as a direct drive bargraph display.
16. A gas analog display panel comprising:
a substrate having a front surface;
a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of said wires to form a ladder array of said portions, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding configu-ration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
a plurality of second electrodes positioned in oper-ative relation to said plurality of electrode wires, the number of said plurality of second electrodes equal to the number of turns of one of said plurality of wires on said substrate member;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front face of said substrate member; and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope
a substrate having a front surface;
a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of said wires to form a ladder array of said portions, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding configu-ration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
a plurality of second electrodes positioned in oper-ative relation to said plurality of electrode wires, the number of said plurality of second electrodes equal to the number of turns of one of said plurality of wires on said substrate member;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front face of said substrate member; and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope
17. A gas analog display panel comprising:
a substrate having a front surface and a plurality of elongated recessed channels;
a plurality of continuous cathode electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding con-figuration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
anode electric means positioned within each of said channels;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front surface of said substrate;
and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope, said plurality of channels providing a plurality of ladder electrode arrays along said display panel.
18. A gas analog display panel comprising:
a substrate having a front surface;
a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of said wires to form a ladder array of said portions, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding con-figuration of each of said plurality of wires around said sub-strate;
a substrate having a front surface and a plurality of elongated recessed channels;
a plurality of continuous cathode electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding con-figuration of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate;
anode electric means positioned within each of said channels;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front surface of said substrate;
and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope, said plurality of channels providing a plurality of ladder electrode arrays along said display panel.
18. A gas analog display panel comprising:
a substrate having a front surface;
a plurality of continuous electrode wires wound around said substrate in alternating sequence, each turn of each of said plurality of wires around said substrate having a portion adjacent said front surface of said substrate, each of said turns being in alternating sequence with a turn of another of said wires to form a ladder array of said portions, each of said portions of an individual wire of each of said plurality of wires being electrically interconnected by the winding con-figuration of each of said plurality of wires around said sub-strate;
Claim 18 continued...
second electrode means positioned in operative relation to said electrode wires;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front surface of said substrate;
and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope.
second electrode means positioned in operative relation to said electrode wires;
a transparent cover sealed to said substrate to form a thin envelope over said front surface of said substrate;
and an ionizable gas contained in said envelope.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA266,646A CA1063149A (en) | 1976-11-26 | 1976-11-26 | Gas discharge display panel with continuous wound electrode wires |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA266,646A CA1063149A (en) | 1976-11-26 | 1976-11-26 | Gas discharge display panel with continuous wound electrode wires |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1063149A true CA1063149A (en) | 1979-09-25 |
Family
ID=4107368
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA266,646A Expired CA1063149A (en) | 1976-11-26 | 1976-11-26 | Gas discharge display panel with continuous wound electrode wires |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1063149A (en) |
-
1976
- 1976-11-26 CA CA266,646A patent/CA1063149A/en not_active Expired
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