JPS61110231A - Hard copy control method for two-constant-potential type storage tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the quality of lines recorded on a recording medium smooth even when a scanning speed is not made slower, by successively changing the phase of a pulse which modulates an electron beam at every scan when a two-constant-potential type storage tube is read out and the scanning is performed with the electron beam. CONSTITUTION:The output of a monostable multivibrator 46 is supplied to RAMs 66 and 68. Moreover, A delay circuit of a monostable multi-vibrator, etc., is provided at the preceding stag of a high-speed inclined wave generator and a high-speed inclined wave B2 is generated after delaying a prescribed period from the generation of the 1st cycle signal A. Since the scanning period of the inclined wave B2 is longer than the vertical-direction scanning waveform B1 of an electron beam, the speed of readout electron beam becomes slower and high-resolution readout can be performed. A control circuit 70 sends W/R signals to the RAMs 66 and 68 in accordance with the signal A and, since the writing and reading out speeds of the RAMs 66 and 68 are different from each other, sends the optimum clock signal C and reset signal R to address counters 72 and 74. A multiplexer 76 selects one of the RAMs in the readout mode in accordance with the control signal of the circuit 70 and supplies the storing content of the selected RAM to a hard copy 48.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a hard copy control method for recording information stored in storage targets of two constant potential storage tubes on a recording medium.

[Conventional technology]

2 Constant potential storage tubes have the function of storing displayed information and have high display resolution, so they can be easily used by computers and
It is used as a display in various devices such as graph ink display devices and storage oscilloscopes. The information displayed on this storage tube may need to be semi-permanently recorded on a recording medium such as paper, that is, it may be necessary to take a hard copy.

First, FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the two constant potential storage tubes and the hard copy device. 2. The constant potential storage tube 10 is of a conventional type and includes a target electrode (collector electrode) 12, a fluorescent storage dielectric (e.g. P1 fluorescent material) 14, and a voltage supply circuit 16.
a collimation electrode 20 for the seven-land beam from these flood fogging guns 18, a cathode 22, a control grid 24 for controlling the electron beam from this cathode 22, a focusing electrode 26, a cathode 22;
A horizontal/vertical deflection coil 28 is provided for deflecting the electron beam from the electron beam. If the target potential due to the writing electron beam from the accumulator 22 of the accumulator tube 10 is less than the first crossover voltage Ve, the target voltage becomes the first stable voltage Vd due to the action of the flood beam, and if it is more than Ve, it becomes 7 rand.・Beam action 1
Therefore, the second stable voltage Vf is obtained. The structure and characteristics of the storage tube 10 described above are described in detail in Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-13863, Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-24820, Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-5931, etc.

To store information in storage tube 10, switches 30 and 3
2 selects write signal generator 34. This generator 34
According to the Vi write data, the intensity of the electron beam from the cathode 22 is controlled and deflected to accumulate a charge image at a second stable voltage.

To read the information stored in storage tube 10 and make a hard copy of this information, switches 30 and 32 select read control circuit 36. The control circuit 36 modulates the electron beam from the cathode 22 so as to enable non-destructive reading, and also deflects the electron beam so as to sequentially scan the storage targets in the storage tube 10 as shown by the dotted line in FIG.

Since the portion of the storage target where the charge image is written has a higher potential than the portion where the charge image is not written, more current flows from the target electrode 12 through the primary winding of the transformer 38 to the voltage source +V1. Amplifier 4011m detects the voltage generated in the secondary winding of transformer 38, and comparator 42 compares the output voltage of amplifier 40 with the threshold voltage from voltage meter 44. The output signal of the comparator 42 is waveform-shaped by a monostable multivibrator 46 and sent to the hard copy device 4.
Supply to 8. . . . The copy device 48 performs scanning similar to the scanning of the readout electron beam, and uses this readout signal to write the information stored in the storage tube 10 on the recording medium. In this way, hard copy devices are
It is described in detail in Japanese Patent No. 24820.

By the way, in order to perform non-destructive reading from the storage tube 10,
There is a method of lowering the electron gun voltage to weaken the readout electron beam from the cathode 22 so that the storage target hit by this electron beam does not exceed the first crossover. However, this method has the disadvantage that the amplitude of the readout signal from the target electrode 12 is low and is susceptible to noise. Therefore,
Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-13863 discloses a technique of pulse modulating the readout electron beam from the cathode 22 without weakening it. That is, the period when the electron beam is on (pulse is high level) is shorter than the potential of the storage target reaches the first crossover, and the period when the electron beam is off (pulse is low level) is shorter than when the potential of the storage target reaches the first crossover. It is selected to be sufficient to return the potential to the first stable point. Since the readout electron beam is sufficiently strong, the amplitude of the readout signal from the target electrode 12 is also large, making it resistant to noise. Note that this readout signal is in the form of a pulse, so
It is preferable to widen the pulse width using a monostable multivibrator 46.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Incidentally, the high-level period and low-level period of the pulse that modulates the readout electron beam are determined by the characteristics of the storage tube 10, and the frequency thereof is, for example, 500 kHz. Therefore,
To increase the resolution of the hard copy, the storage target must be scanned slowly by the readout electron beam. However, slow scanning takes a long time to obtain a hard copy. Hardcopy equipment also includes fiber optic tubes, laser beams,
There are various printers such as thermal printers, ink jet printers, etc., but the scanning speed of the readout electron beam is limited by the characteristics of the hard copy device, and there are cases where it is not possible to reduce the scanning speed.

In the prior art, the pulses modulating the readout electron beam are synchronized with the scanning of the electron beam. Thus, in the case of FIG. 9, where parallel and diagonal lines are accumulated in the storage target, if the scanning speed of the readout electron beam is not slow enough, the enlargement of the inner portion 50 will be as shown in FIG. 10A. Here, the readout electron beam is scanning in the vertical direction, and the readout electron beam is turned on in the diagonally shaded area on the upper right. Furthermore, the diagonally shaded area at the top left shows accumulated horizontal lines and diagonal lines, but due to the characteristics of the accumulation target, the periphery of each line is not straight (blurred). Therefore, a pulse signal having a high level can be obtained from the target electrode 12 in the overlapped portion of the upper right diagonal line portion and the upper left diagonal line portion. When the pulse width of this signal is widened by the monostable multivibrator 46 and the hard copy device 48 records on the recording medium by scanning similar to the scanning of the readout electron beam, the result is as shown in the shaded area in FIG. 10B. In this way, with conventional technology, hard copy (
The recorded diagonal lines have noticeable jaggies, and the horizontal lines have uneven line quality.

This phenomenon is the same for curves. In order to avoid this phenomenon, it is conceivable to make the scan of the readout electron beam and the modulation pulse asynchronous, but the jaggies become even worse depending on the phase relationship between each scan and the pulse.

[Means for solving problems]

According to the present invention, the storage target of the 2゜ constant voltage storage tube is read out and sequentially scanned with an electron beam to obtain an electrical output signal corresponding to the information stored in the storage target.
When recording the information stored by the hard copy device on a recording medium in response to this electrical output signal, the readout electron beam is modulated with pulses whose phase sequentially differs for each scan of the readout electron beam.

[Effect]

In the present invention, the phase of the pulse that modulates the readout electron beam is sequentially different for each scan, so even if the scanning speed is not slow, the jaggies in the diagonal lines recorded on the recording medium are significantly reduced and smoothed. Furthermore, there are no parts that protrude significantly on the horizontal line, and the quality of the beam is averaged, making it smooth.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

In the embodiment of the present invention described below, the readout electron beam scans the storage target as shown in FIG. 9 by the readout control circuit 36 of FIG. The first synchronization signal and the second synchronization signal of 'lateral scan (slow ramp phase) are generated by the hard copy device 48. In an embodiment of the invention, read control circuit 36 is configured as shown in FIG. Further, FIG. 2 shows waveforms at various parts in FIG. 1. The oscillator 50 generates a reference pulse C, which is a reference pulse for modulating the readout electron beam, but the oscillation frequency is limited by the characteristics of the storage target of the storage tube 10. The phase control circuit 52 receives the first synchronization signal A from the hardcopy device 48 and the reference pulse C from the oscillator 50.
, and generates an output pulse D having a different starting phase for each first synchronization pulse A. This output pulse Dti second
As shown in the figure, it starts with a phase difference of 0 degrees in synchronization with the synchronization signal A at time T1, and 1 degree with respect to the synchronization signal A at time T2.
It starts with a phase difference of 80 degrees, starts with a phase difference of 90 degrees from the synchronization signal AK at time T3 to the pulse D at time T1, and starts with a phase difference of 90 degrees from the synchronization signal AK at time T3 to the pulse DK at time T1.
Starting with a phase difference of 70 degrees, the above-described operation is repeated after time T5. That is, every time the first synchronization signal A is generated, the pulse D is repeatedly generated with a phase difference of 0 degrees, 180 degrees, 90 degrees, and 270 degrees with respect to the pulse D itself, and
The operation goes around in cycles. In addition, in FIG. 2, time T1~
Although each period T5 is partially omitted, only one pulse A is generated in each period. The pulse D generated in this way has its duty factor (relationship between high level period and low level period) adjusted by a monostable multivibrator as necessary (according to the characteristics of the storage target), and is then passed through the switch 30. Control grid 2 of storage tube 10
4.

On the other hand, the fast ramp generator 54 generates a fast ramp signal B in response to the first synchronization signal A, and the slow ramp generator 56 generates a fast ramp signal B.
generates a slow ramp signal F in response to the second figure signal E from the copy device 48. In addition, the second
The synchronization signal E is generated once every time the first synchronization signal A is generated, for example, 1800 times. These gradient wave signals B and F are supplied to the vertical/horizontal deflection coil 28 via the switch 32 to deflect the readout electron beam vertically at high speed and horizontally at low speed. Therefore, the electron beam performs scanning as shown in FIG.

The scanning by the readout electron beam according to the present invention is shown in the third section.
Shown in Figure A. This is the internal part 5 of the accumulation target in Figure 9.
10A. Similarly to FIG. 10A, the hatched area on the upper right is the area where the electron beam is on, and the hatched area on the upper left is the accumulated diagonal lines and horizontal lines. It should be noted here that the region where the readout electron beam is on differs sequentially for each scanning line. Therefore, the output signal from the target electrode 12 becomes high level in accordance with the overlapping portion of the upper right diagonal line portion and the upper left diagonal line portion. ÷→Comparator 4
2 determines the high level of this output signal, and the monostable multivibrator 46 widens the width of the high level. The hard copy device 48 records on a recording medium in response to the output pulses and scanning operation of the monostable multivibrator 46.

At this time, the portion shown in FIG. 3A is recorded as the shaded portion in FIG. 3B. As you can see from Figure 3B, the diagonal line is 10B.
Compared to the conventional technology shown in the figure, jaggies are significantly reduced and the image becomes smoother. Furthermore, the horizontal line has no extremely protruding parts, and the entire line is averaged, improving the quality of the radiation when visually observed. This effect also applies to hard copies of curves.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the phase control circuit of FIG. 1. Color/receiver 58 counts reference pulses C from oscillator 50 applied to its clock terminal C and is reset by a first synchronization signal A from hardcopy device 48 applied to reset terminal RK. The counter 60 counts the first synchronization signal A supplied to the clock terminal C. A multiplexer (MUX) 62 connects one of the input terminals IO to 115 to the output terminal OK in accordance with the count outputs of the counters 58 and 60 supplied to the selection control terminals AD.

In addition, input terminals ■2 to I5. I8. Ill, 113 and Il+ receive high levels, and the other input terminals receive low levels. The output pulse D of the multiplexer 62 is appropriately shaped by a monostable multivibrator 64 and sent to the switch 3.
0. Note that Table 1 shows the operation of the multiplexer 62.

Next, the operation shown in FIG. 4 will be explained with reference to FIG. The first synchronizing signal A at time T1 causes the output terminal QO of the counter 60 to
and Ql (MUX C and D), and after that, the output pulse (Table 1) D repeats rlloOJ. Furthermore, the output pulse D is ro 11 after time T3
0J is repeated, r1001J is repeated after time T4, and the above-described operation is repeated after time T5. Therefore, every time the first synchronization signal A is generated, output pulses D having different phases are generated.

By the way, if the hard copy device 48 records on the recording medium by scanning in the same phase as the scanning of the readout electron beam of the storage tube 10, there is no problem with the above-mentioned configuration and operation.
The generation timing of the synchronization signal A corresponds to the edge of the recording medium,
If you also want to leave a margin at the edge of the recording medium, use storage tube 1.
The zero readout electron beam must be scanned over the entire vertical direction of the storage target according to waveform B1 shown in FIG. In addition, between time points T1 and 13 and time points T4 and 1
The space between 5 and 5 corresponds to the margin of the recording medium. This causes a problem in that the scanning speed of the electron beam increases and the resolution of the no-tocobe decreases.

This problem can be solved by providing the circuit shown in FIG. To explain the circuit of FIG. 5 without referring to FIG.
and 68.

Furthermore, although not shown, a delay means such as a monostable multivibrator is provided upstream of the high-speed ramp generator 54 in FIG. Wave B2 is generated. This gradient wave B2 ends at time T5 and occurs again from time T6. Here, the period T5 to T6 (Tl to T2) is determined in consideration of the recovery time of the gradient wave generator 54 and the deflection coil 28. As can be seen from FIG. 6, since the scanning period of waveform B2 is longer than that of waveform B1, the speed of the readout electron beam becomes low, and high-resolution readout can be performed. Scanning period T2 of storage tube 10~
With respect to T5, the scanning period of the hard copy device 48 is from T3 to
Since T4, these scanning periods do not match. Therefore, the signal read out from the storage tube 10 between time points T2 and T15 is
Write (W) to AM66 and transfer this written signal to time T.
Read between 7 and 18 (n). On the other hand, time points T6 and 79
The signal read out from the storage tube 1o during this period is written into the RAM 68. The operations of these RAMs 66 and 68 are indicated by R1 and R2 in FIG. Thereafter, this write and read operation is repeated.

Note that the control circuit 70 supplies write/read control signals to the RAMs 66 and 68 in accordance with the first synchronization signal A, and since the write operation speed and read operation speed of the RAMs are different, the lock signal ( C) and recent signal (R) to the address counter 72 (RAM66
) and 74 (for RAM68). Further, multiplexer 76 selects a RAM in read mode in response to a control signal from control circuit 70 and supplies the selected RAM to hard copy device 48 .

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the phase of the pulse that modulates the readout electron beam may be other than four types, and the phase difference may also be set in various ways. The fast scan of the storage tube may be horizontal instead of vertical. Additionally, various combinations of delay lines and multiplexers can be used to control the phase of the pulses.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, when the two constant potential storage tubes are scanned with the readout electron beam, the phase of the pulse that modulates the electron beam is sequentially changed for each scan, so that the temporary scanning speed can be reduced. Even if the speed is not sufficiently low, the quality of the radiation recorded on the recording medium will be good and jaggies will not be noticeable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the present invention, FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 1, FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining a hard copy according to the present invention, and FIG. 4
The figure is a block diagram showing an example of the phase control circuit used in Figure 1, Figure 5 is a block diagram related to the present invention, Figure 6 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of Figure 5, and Figure 7 is A block diagram showing the interconnection of the two constant potential storage tubes and the hard copy device, FIG. 8 is a characteristic diagram of the two constant potential storage tubes, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the scanning of the readout electron beam, and FIGS. 10
FIG. B is a diagram illustrating a hard copy according to the prior art. In the figure, 10 is a two-potential storage tube, 36 is a readout control circuit, a 48Vi hard copy device, and 52 is a phase control circuit. Patent applicant: Sony Tektronix Corporation No. 10
Figure A Note 10 Figure B Figure 38
稟38Fig.1A4I! ￥1 T6 6th note paper 8th figure 9th figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] 2. The storage targets of the constant potential storage tubes are read out and sequentially scanned by an electron beam to obtain electrical output signals corresponding to the information stored in the storage targets, and in accordance with this electrical output signal, the hard copy device reads out the information stored in the storage targets. 1. A hard copy control method for a two-potential storage tube, characterized in that the readout electron beam is modulated with pulses having sequentially different phases for each scan of the readout electron beam.