LU82516A1 - ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR DISPLAYING ALPHA-DIGITAL CHARACTERS - Google Patents

Description

D-80/19

8 ~ ~ Ο ζ 1 ÆrAND-DUCHÉ DE LUXEMBOURG

...... Cm ..... M ...... I V

from ... 1..1 .. (.. 0.6 .., .. 1.3..80, ..................... {CfiSXft Minister ... κζρ§ |> ϊ of the Economy and the Middle Classes' be delivered ............................... .......... Intellectual Property Service

'' S & Ê LUXEMBOURG

Patent Application I. Application

Louis Verdier, 5bis avenue Gille, F-94340 Joinville Le Pont, ^ represented by Jean Waxweiler, 21-25 Allée Scheffer, Luxembourg, ............

. acting as agent ^ deposit) this eleven June one thousand nine hundred and eighty (3) at .1.5 ..,. 0.0 ........ hours, at the Ministry of the Economy and the Middle Classes, at Luxembourg: 1. the present request for obtaining a patent for an invention concerning: .............................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .............................................. (4). ..... Electronic device ..... display of ..... alpha characters -........................

digital.

.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..............................................Bridge... .................................................. .....................

2. the delegation of power, dated ...... ll9.Î9Yïl.L9 ..... ïi9 ............ on .._ 27 _ ,, May _ ,,. 1980, , .............

3. description in language ................. i.ï'.Sngaise .................... of the invention in two copies; 4 .................. 4 · ........... drawing boards, in two copies; 5. the receipt of the taxes paid to the Luxembourg Registration Office on ... eleven ..... j.ui.n.-mil ..... neuf ...... cent-. ..eighty............................................. .................................................. .................

declares (s) assuming responsibility for this declaration, that the inventor (s) is (are): ...... Louis Verdier, 5bis avenue Gille, F-94340 Joinville Le Pont (5) claiming) for the above patent application the priority of one (or more) application (s) of (6) · —........... „... patent ----------- ---------------------------------- filed in (7) -------- ------------------------France·...................... ...............................................

the ....... eleven ...... june .mil .... new ..... c.ent .... s.Qixant.e ..... dix-ne.uf ..... so.us .... le ..... no., ....................... (8) ... ............ 7914818 ..................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................

in the name of ...... Loui-sVerdi-er .................................... ..------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------—....... (9) elect (elect) for him / her and, if appointed, for his / her proxy , in Luxembourg ..................................

Jean Waxweiler .21-25 Allée Scheffer, Luxembourg ........................ ...... (20) requests (s) the issue of '' a patent for the invention for the subject described and represented in the appendices ^, mentioned above, - with deferment of this issue to ................. 1 ..... .....................................month. (11)

The - \ manda ta 1-re .......................

'IL Procès-verbal de Dépôt \ The above application for a patent for invention has been filed with the Ministry of the Economy and the Middle Classes, Intellectual Property Service in Luxembourg, dated: 11.06.1980

Pr. The Minister ..... hours of Economy and ^^ Middle Classes, "

PATENT_D ^ INVENTI ° N

ELECTRONIC DEVICE D1 DISPLAY OF ALPHA-DIGITAL CHARACTERS

Louis VERDIER.

4M »*» <* · * »* <M» * »» «* Mail« 4 »« Md · # "μΜ *" Α

International Convention - Priority of a patent application filed in France on June 11, 1979 under the number 79.14818.

- Wl "W WMW1"> M 11 W | i | l> lll || im "- M | IM" HW - Mlll, <m "WHMIWlWIW" WM "" lW WIM "H MIMW - fl — MT - M" W - »*” The invention relates to an electronic device for displaying alpha-numeric characters.

XI is known to use in various fields very diverse display devices which take the form of ^ panels, such as advertising panels, indicator panels, or the like, and use a wide variety of implementation techniques.

Thus, more often than not, the very support of the display device is produced by thermoforming sheets of plastic material so as to obtain a panel in relief or not, highlighting certain advertising characters. In commercial signage, these panels are most often supplemented by a lighting device.

The methods of implementing such panels use very significant technological means of production requiring an essentially industrial manufacturing structure if only because of the specific nature of the equipment to be used. In addition, each panel is made so as to respond in a strictly limiting and irremovable manner to certain advertising or information purposes, the panel thus produced being then susceptible of no modification or indeed requiring for its modification complex operations which cause significant delays and which most often cannot be carried out at the place of use. This is particularly annoying whenever a change becomes imperative, such as for example a change caused by the simple modification of a telephone code.

In another field of activity, it is common to use during congresses, seminars, or other events 30 bringing together a fairly large number of people, badges, more commonly called "badges" used to identify the people in a group. or the group itself in the meeting places. Some corporations, such as that of airport ground staff, use the badge widely.

These badges or badges are also obtained from synthetic material, such as molded plastics, and most of the indications which are worn thereon are of an irremovable nature, which considerably limits the possibilities of using these badges. in However it is arraaru interesting in the modern life which 2 is characterized by an accelerated evolution in all the fields, j and in particular by a duration of use of more and more reduced many products, to be able to modify the indications of '' an identification or signaling badge as well as the 5 indications of advertising medium.

Such modifications are not possible or hardly possible with the known display devices which have just been listed.

The object of the present invention is therefore to create a display device the indications of which can be changed easily and practically instantaneously at the place of use to allow adaptation without problem to the accelerated evolution of modern life. In addition, this device must be able to be made up of common commercial elements without calling on specialized industrial structures, and it will moreover be capable of being placed in a reduced bulk and of being supplied with an expense. very reduced energy so that it can be used on a motor vehicle or even be worn by an individual.

To this end, the invention relates to an electronic device for displaying alpha-numeric characters, device characterized in that it consists of a set of modules for displaying alpha-numeric characters in segments, these modules being juxtaposed by lines and by columns and covering the whole of a display unit, the device comprising means making it possible to independently control, animated or fixed, each of the constituent segments of the alphanumeric characters so as to display on the whole display modules for a specific text or path. jO Other characteristics of the invention make it possible to extend the field of application thereof.

It is thus particularly advantageous for the display modules to be nematic type liquid crystal display modules.

The control means are constituted by electronic components.

The control means consist of a combination of electronic components and electromechanical devices "

The control means include a device with 3 periodic actions making it possible to periodically suppress and restore the display on at least part of the display unit,

The value of the period of the perio-action device. dique is chosen so as to produce a flickering effect, 5 The control means further comprise a positive switching device allowing, after the suppression of the display of an alpha-numeric character, to restore the display of this character by shifting it by a sequence number in the 'line so as to produce a scrolling effect.

10 The control means are programmed by means of a card or a data recording tape.

The control means are programmed via a tabulator.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1a shows an example of a module for displaying alpha-numeric characters with 16 segments, - Figure 1b shows examples of alpha-numeric characters obtained from the module of Figure 1a, - Figure 2 shows schematically the overall arrangement of a display unit using modules according to Figure 1a, - FIG. 3 is a front and rear view of a display badge according to the invention, FIG. k is an enlarged view of display cells with 16 segments enabling each of the characters of FIG. 3 to be produced, - Figure 5 is a sectional view of the structure 30 for implementing a liquid crystal, - Figure 6 is a block diagram of a matrix display screen with access by rows and columns.

The display module shown in FIG. 1a is a module known per se and commercially available, for displaying alpha-numeric characters by segments. In the example shown, the module corresponds to the display of a single character and comprises 16 segments. Such a module makes it possible to represent all the letters of the Latin alphabet as well as all the numbers from 0 to 9. There are also commercially available HO modules made up on the same principle, but comprising a smaller number k * "of segments , for example 7 or 8 segments, but whose display possibilities are more limited in that they do not allow for example to represent all the letters of the Latin alphabet. There are also modules called 5 "mosaic" in which the line segments are replaced by points arranged in a matrix generally in five columns and seven lines, that is to say 35 points in total. These mosaic modules allow a representation of alpha-numeric characters. even more precise than the 16-segment module of FIG. 1a, 10 but not only their unit price is higher, but also they require a much more complex control system since for the representation of an alpha-numeric character, it is necessary then activate 35 representative points instead of 16 representative segments.

1 ^ The segments constituting the module according to FIG. 1a can be constituted by elements emitting light, for example by light-emitting diodes or can on the contrary be constituted by elements which are satisfied with reflecting or diffusing the ambient light. It is to this latter category that nematic type liquid crystal elements belong. This type of liquid crystal is transparent in the absence of any external excitation, but under the action of a continuous excitation voltage of a few volts, these crystals become relatively opaque and, consequently, reflect or diffuse the ambient light.

The decisive interest of the liquid crystal display system is its very low power consumption which is at a very lower level compared to all other systems. For example, with equal dimensions, a liquid crystal display module 30 will consume approximately 100 times less energy than a light emitting diode display module. In addition, this energy can be supplied at a voltage of less than 10 volts, and which can in practice fall below 3 V, which makes it possible to supply the liquid crystal modules with portable sources of energy of dimension and very reduced weight.

Figure 1b shows some examples of the alphabetic characters and numbers that can be displayed using the module in Figure 1a.

FIG. 2 shows the general arrangement of a display unit 40 co-located from the modules of FIG. 1a.

5

On a support frame 1, the modules 2 are arranged in rows and in columns. The support frame 1 will preferably be made of a non-conductive material, such as a plastic material of sufficient rigidity and solidity. The dimensioning of the display unit 5 shown in FIG. 2 could for example be as follows. Each unit module of the type shown in FIG. 1a has a useful width in the direction of the lines of the order of 25 mm and a useful height in the direction of the columns of 55 mm. Each row comprises 20 modules and each column comprises 20 10 modules and each column comprises 6 modules, which gives the total display unit a total of 120 modules, and overall dimensions of the order of 600 mm wide and hOO mm high, The total thickness perpendicular to the plane of Figure 2 of the display unit thus formed, will be of the order of 15 50 mm. These dimensions make it possible to envisage the embedding of such a display unit, for example in the door of a motor vehicle.

The modules according to Figure 1a which make up the display unit of Figure 2, have only one character. 20 It is also possible to use modules which match several characters arranged in line, which saves space and price, but which, on the other hand, results in the simultaneous replacement of several characters, when one of between them becomes faulty.

25 The display unit shown in Figure 2 takes the form of a rectangular panel, but it is obvious that it could take any other form and in particular it is possible to give this panel a curved shape for the adapt for example to the outline of the door of a motor vehicle, go or even to constitute it in the form of a cylinder or in any other form suitable for a particular application.

The assembly constituted by the modules 2 and their support frame 1 are associated with control means for the different individual segments constituting the modules, these means making it possible to excite the segments according to a pre-established program, so as to compose on the display unit for a text or a plot. With regard to this last point, it is obvious that the presence on the display unit of contiguous modules each comprising a multitude of segments makes it possible, by selectively exciting 40 the segments of the different modules, to constitute 6 Λ practically any traces can represent objects, characters etc ...

The texts or the lines thus revealed by the excitation of the modules can appear permanently, or on the contrary at least certain parts of these lines or these texts can appear and disappear periodically so as to better attract the attention of potential observers. Such a successive appearance and extinction effect can be obtained by incorporating into the control system of the display unit a periodic positive device which periodically establishes and interrupts the excitation voltage at the terminals of said segments considered. This periodic arrangement can for example be constituted by a quartz oscillator, the frequency of which can be multiplied so as to adapt under the best conditions to the desired goal. 15 If, for example, it is simply a question of attracting the attention of a potential observer, the period can be chosen to be short enough to give rise to a flickering effect on the part of the text or line, controlled by the periodic device. To this periodic device incorporated in the 20 V control system can be added a switching device which allows, / \ after each extinction of a character, to transfer this character from one location to another. It is thus possible, for example, to shift step by step a character from the right end of a line to the left end of this line, thereby obtaining an effect 25 of 'scrolling11 of the text displayed on this line, this which makes it possible to pass on a single line a text much more important than that which one could display statically on an entire panel. The periodic device, as well as the possible switching device, can be controlled by a 3ς | \ "clock" advantageously constituted by a quartz oscillator.

'' The entire control system can be programmed either manually by means of a tabulator or by means of a data medium, such as a card or a bandaged. In the latter case, this strip 25 will generally be driven by an electro-mechanical system, so that the entire control system will be a combination of electronic and electro-mechanical means.

FIG. 3 represents the front and rear face of an exemplary embodiment of a badge according to the present invention, ^ 0 enabling two lines 7 of 10 alphanumeric characters to be displayed in a fixed or flashing manner.

These two lines of text appear in a window 3 covered by a box k of plastic or other material.

Each of these characters is made up of a cell 3 to 16 4 segments used to obtain an alpha-numeric display.

It should be noted that cells with 7 segments would suffice for a purely digital display.

The various modules constituting the 5 ′ cells can be produced by display structures such as light-emitting diodes or liquid crystals.

10 However, the very low consumption of liquid crystals (of the order of a few microwatts per cm) makes them particularly advantageous compared to light-emitting diodes (whose consumption is of the order of a few milliwatts per. Cm) when seeks to produce portable devices of 15 small dimensions.

As a result, the description below will refer in a non-limiting manner more particularly to liquid crystal modules, these can of course be combined with modules with light-emitting diodes, in particular in the case of low ambient lighting.

The rear face of the badge has a keyboard 6 of 35 keys 7 corresponding to the 26 letters of the alphabet supplemented by the numbers from 1 to Ie zero corresponding to the letter 0 of the alphabet. The size of this keyboard is limited to a few 25 cm f the keys being too small to be pressed with the finger and must be pressed using a point of pencil or pin like the keys of mini - pocket or watch calculators ·

The rear panel also has an ef-30 facement button 8, an upper line on / off button 9> a lower line on / off button 10, an upper line flashing button 11 and a lower line flashing 12. A battery housing 13 is also provided for supplying a display control logic 22 mounted in the badge thickness between the keyboard J and the front display window 3 ·

The display window 3 is secured to the rear face and the box k of FIG. 2 is fixed in the manner of a cover to the base 14 of the rear face.

8

FIG. 4 represents the detail of the liquid crystal display modules 5 of FIG. 3.

Each module is made up of 16 segments 15 making it possible to form all the letters of the alphabet as well as the 2 figures from 1 to 9 to obtain an alphanumeric display „

FIG. 5 shows a liquid crystal display structure essentially constituted by a planar capacitor, the dielectric of which is a liquid crystal rod 16 ′ -jq of thickness approximately 10 microns regulated by shims of mylar 17 · 'The electrodes 15 are formed by deposits of transparent tin oxide (or a mixture of indium and tin oxides) on glass slides 18. The shape of these electrodes is that of the 16-segment drawing of the figure 4. The 16 segments are each connected by thin conductors 19 to the display control logic 13 and to a terminal of a DC or AC voltage source as indicated below. The conductors 19 numbered from 1 to 16 in FIG. 4 also consist of transparent deposits of indium oxide, taking care that the conductors of the upper electrodes do not come opposite the conductors of the lower electrodes so as to do not operate as a capacitor like electrodes 15 ·

In the absence of voltage on the electrode segments 15, the liquid crystal such as a nematic liquid crystal has a transparent crystal structure. When a voltage is applied to an electrode by one of the wires 19 "the electric field thus created causes a disorientation of the crystal structure which becomes diffusing. It is thus possible to obtain, by dynamic diffusion of ambient light, a display of white segments 20 on a black background.

t

However, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a helical nematic will be used as the liquid crystal. This material used for example in commercial watches makes it possible to obtain better image contrast and lower consumption than in the case of the dynamic diffusion above.

In the case of the helical nematic, the two glass plates 18 of the capacitor are replaced by polarizers.

In the absence of an electric field, the molecules of the nematic liquid crystal 4θ in a helix 16 are oriented parallel to the directions • 9 of the polarizing plates. If the polarization directions of these polarizers are parallel the module appears black in the absence of an electric field, on the contrary, if the polarization directions are perpendicular, the module appears white in the absence of an electric field.

When the electric field is applied, the molecules of the helical nematic tend to orient themselves perpendicularly to the polarizing glass slides and the module loses its optical anisotropy so that its appearance is reversed. There is thus obtained either a white display on a black background using parallel polarizers, or a black display on a white background using crossed polarizers.

The control of the various electrode segments 15 is done using a logic of segmental control logic with integrated circuits 13 exciting the various modules of a line one after the other, each module receiving a train of pulses of which the shape is determined by the character key 7 pressed on the keyboard 6 of FIG. 3. The train of pulses corresponding to this alphanumeric character 7 selectively ignites, in order 1 to 16 of the wires 19 for example, the different electrode segments 15 constituting the letter to be displayed. The second element 5 of FIG. 5 represents for example the display of the letter R.

In the case of helical nematics, the control voltages are of the order of 3 volts and the powers consumed are of the order of several microwatts per cm ^ of electrode.

The rate of repetition of the pulse sequence, that is to say of "refresh" of the display can be of the order of 50 Hz to obtain a permanent display. This result is obtained for the upper line for example by pressing the start / stop button 9 ·· it is then necessary to scan the 10 x 16 segments of the line in _1_ = 20 milliseconds. The duration 5 ° of a segment 15 excitation pulse must then be less than 20 = 125 microseconds, which is sufficient 10 × 16 to obtain the disorientation of the molecules of the liquid crystal.

A line flashing effect can be obtained by choosing a much slower repetition rate, of the order of a second for example, this result is obtained for 2 d.q the upper line for example, by pressing the key of ' - 1 10

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, control logic is used for each line so as to obtain, for example, a fixed upper line and a flashing lower line, or any combination of fixed and flashing lines,

To increase the life of the liquid crystal, it is preferable to use alternating voltages or to periodically reverse the polarity of the voltage source 20, to avoid electrolysis of the liquid crystal.

10 The structure described above makes it possible to obtain black and white displays with nematics in a helix of well controlled implementation.

It is however also possible to envisage color displays using liquid crystals with a homeotropic trick at the start, with products with negative anisotropy. Surface treatments of the glass walls are then necessary to impose the direction of the lines. neutral.

Under these conditions, yellow red and green displays are currently possible by applying alternating voltages ranging from 8 effective volts for red to 12 effective volts for green.

The structure by modules described above makes it possible to produce displays of the order of 20 alphanumeric characters. on a surface of a few cm well suited to the manufacture of 25 badges. Given the low consumption of liquid crystals, displays lasting several hours are easily achievable with flat batteries such as watch batteries or pocket calculators.

FIG. 5 shows a unit for displaying texts or larger drawings obtained using a more complex device, with a matrix structure. Each point of the matrix 21 is defined by the intersection of a line electrode 22 and a column electrode 23. The liquid crystal matrix screen 35 thus obtained is excited sequentially by supplying the lines 22 of the matrix one after the other, each point of a line being controlled by a "video" pulse applied in parallel to all the columns. The line 2k and video 25 logic are then controlled by a console 26 which can use a micro-ko processor.

11

A point in the matrix lights up or becomes diffusing when there is a coincidence of a line pulse with a video column pulse. Such a structure makes it possible to obtain fixed or animated color displays of the order of 100 × 100 5 points. The control electronics are then heavier but the consumptions remain low and allow these matrix screens to be used on vehicle batteries for example.

The display device according to the invention differs essentially from the display devices known up to the present day by its great flexibility. This flexibility resides, on the one hand, in its method of construction. Instead of necessarily making use of rigid industrial structures which are difficult to adapt as is the case for the current display panels obtained by thermoforming, the device according to the invention can be made up on demand, ”.

from common commercial elements (display modules, electronic control components). It also resides in the possibility of instantly modifying the display program, to adapt it to the evolution of the application considered. Finally, the modular constitution of the device makes it possible to remedy very quickly, and under economic conditions, a breakdown or damage, which is precious in particular for display units called upon to operate in public places.

The invention applies to all activity sectors 25 and in particular to advertising, information, signaling and display in general.

Claims (5)

1, - Electronic display device for alpha-numeric characters j, device characterized in that it consists of a set of display modules for alpha-numeric characters 5 by segments or by pcdnts, these modules being juxtaposed by lines and by columns and covering the whole of a display unit provided with a support frame, the device comprising means making it possible to independently control, in an animated or fixed manner, each of the constituent segments of the alpha-numeric characters or of the points so as to display a set text or plot on all of the display modules and in this case each display module corresponds to an alpha-numeric character. 2.- Device according to claim 1, characterized in that each display module corresponds to a set of alpha-numeric characters arranged in line and in that the display modules are liquid crystal display modules of the nematic type. 3. “Device according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the control means j 20 are constituted by commercial electronic components and in that these control means are constituted by a combination of I electronic components and electromechanical devices. k.- Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the control means comprise a device with periodic action enabling the display to be periodically suppressed and restored on at least part of the display unit and in that the value of the period of the periodic action device is chosen so as to produce a flickering effect. 5. Device according to claim k, characterized in that the control means further comprise a switching device making it possible, after deletion, to: 1 f efficient of an alpha-numeric character, to restore the display of this 33 character by shifting it by a sequence number in the line so as to produce a scrolling effect, and in that the device with periodic action and / or the switching device are controlled by a quartz clock 6. - Device according to any one of the claims - 13 - programmed by means, taken separately or in combination, such as tabulator, memory tabulator or memory using a data recording card. 7. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the display module with 5 liquid crystals consists of a planar capacitor, the dielectric of which is a liquid crystal string regulated by mylar shims, electrodes produced by deposits of transparent tin oxide, or of a mixture of indium and tin oxides on glass slides and in that the segments of the electrodes are each connected to a control logic d 'display by' conductors also made of transparent deposits of indium oxide, and to a DC or AC voltage source. 8. - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the display module consists of liquid crystals of the nematic helical type, produced by polarizers connected to an electric field. The control of the different segments of the electrodes is carried out by a segmental control logic 'with integrated circuits exciting the different modules of a line, one after the other, each module receives a train of pulses whose shape is determined by a character key pressed on a keyboard and in that a control logic is used for each line so as to obtain a fixed line and a flashing line or a combination of the fixed and flashing lines at alternating voltages or by periodically reversing the polarity of the voltage source; ' 9 · - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the pulse sequence is of the order of 50 Hz for a permanent display of a line obtained by pressing a control key , which corresponds to a scan of 10 x 16 segments in _1_ = 20 milliseconds, 5 ° the duration of an excitation pulse of a segment must be less than 20 = 125 micro-seconds, to obtain a 10 x 16 35 disorientation of the liquid crystal molecules. 10.— Electronic display device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. of texts or drawings characterized by a liquid crystal matrix screen, in which each point of the matrix is defined by the intersection 14 screen, is energized sequentially by supplying the rows of the matrix, one after the other and each point of a row is controlled by a video pulse applied in parallel to all the columns and in that the logic 5 are controlled by a connected console or no to a microprocessor, "