US3614524A - Display system with different intensity indication - Google Patents

Display system with different intensity indication Download PDF

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Publication number
US3614524A
US3614524A US23562A US3614524DA US3614524A US 3614524 A US3614524 A US 3614524A US 23562 A US23562 A US 23562A US 3614524D A US3614524D A US 3614524DA US 3614524 A US3614524 A US 3614524A
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Prior art keywords
electrodes
display system
electrode
drive means
indicating
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Expired - Lifetime
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US23562A
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English (en)
Inventor
Koichi Kojima
Tadahiko Nakamura
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Sony Corp
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Sony Corp
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F15/00—Digital computers in general; Data processing equipment in general
    • G06F15/02—Digital computers in general; Data processing equipment in general manually operated with input through keyboard and computation using a built-in program, e.g. pocket calculators

Definitions

  • PAIENIEnum 19 ran SHEET 10F 2 MM Q $1 f m a
  • This invention relates to a display system according to which brightness of specified electrodes of a plurality of indicator tubes is made lower than that of the other electrodes so as to facilitate interpretation of a number being displayed.
  • place-indicating-point electrodes of comma shape introduces complexity not only in the construction of the indicator tubes but also in a drive circuit therefor.
  • gaseous glow indicator tubes their discharge conditions vary with individual indicator electrodes and tubes and it is regarded as difficult to change brightness of indication by altering a current or voltage applied thereto and, in addition, this is likely to introduce unstability in the display operation.
  • this system is applicable to the elimination of figures of less significance than a specific place and to the indication of unnecessary figures with less brightness than the other ones in the case of counting fractions of more than 0.5 inclusive as one and cutting away the rest.
  • the display device of this invention employs gaseous indicator tubes such, for example, as commercially known under the names of Nixie Tube (trademark) including an anode and a plurality of cathodes, Pandecon" (trademark) adapted for indicating a plurality of figures in one envelope, the so-called itron" (trademark) having contained in a vacuum envelope a cathode, a grid and a plurality of indicating anodes coated over their surfaces with a phosphor material, an electroluminescent display device and so on.
  • gaseous indicator tubes such, for example, as commercially known under the names of Nixie Tube (trademark) including an anode and a plurality of cathodes, Pandecon" (trademark) adapted for indicating a plurality of figures in one envelope, the so-called itron” (trademark) having contained in a vacuum envelope a cathode, a grid and a plurality of indicating anodes coated over their surfaces with a phosphor material, an
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit connection diagram showing one example of a display system of this invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a series of waveforms, for explaining this invention.
  • FIG. 1 there is illustrated one example of this invention as being applied to an indicator device employing gaseous glow indicator tubes.
  • gaseous glow indicator tubes For convenience of explanation and illustration, the following description will be made in connection with the indication of a number containing five figures.
  • Gaseous glow indicator tubes la, lb, 1c, 1d and 1e each comprise one anode 2, cathode electrodes 3a to 3j for indicating, for example, numbers to 9 and a point indicati g cathode electrode 4.
  • the corresponding cathode electrodes of the indicator tubes la to I: are respectively connected to common lines 50 to 5j.
  • the cathode electrode 3a of each tube is connected to the common line 50, while each cathode electrode 3b is connected to the common line 5b, and so forth.
  • the common lines 5a to 5j are grounded through switching means 7a to 7j respectively made up of transistors 6a to 6]. Further, it is preferred to supply the common lines 5a to 5j with a positive bias voltage C through resistors to 8j. This is to prevent discharge of other electrodes than those which are desired to glow and the bias voltage is preferred to be 50 to 60 volts.
  • the anodes 2 of the indicator tubes la to 1e are respectively connected to a power source terminal .+
  • Reference numeral 11 designates a counter circuit which converts pulses of a synchronizing clock pulse source 12 into signals of a predetermined long period.
  • the output of the counter circuit 11 is supplied to a timing pulse generator 13 to derive at output lines 14a to 14:: driving signals 15a to I5e such as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2E which are of the same duty cycle and are phased apart from one another.
  • the resulting driving signals 15a to l5e are respectively applied to the base electrodes of the transistors 9a to 92 to supply a voltage to the anode of each indicator tube.
  • Reference numeral 16 indicates a computer register circuit and its binary signal output is applied to a matrix circuit 17 in synchronism with the output signals 15a to l5e of the timing pulse generator 13 to supply signals to lines 18a to'I8j in accordance with the binary signal output.
  • the lines 184 to 18 are respectively connected to the base electrodes of the transistors 6a to 6j to selectively ground the cathode electrodes according to the signals applied to these lines. Accordingly, when the indicator tube of a desired place supplied with the signal from the timing pulse generator 13 is supplied with the signals from the computer register circuit 16 in synchronism with the above signal, the cathodes of the indicator tube of the desired place only are caused to glow to provide a desired display. Since this system has been described in detail in the US. Pat. No. 3,414,764, issued tothe same assignee as this invention on Dec. 3, 1968, no detailed description will be repeated for the sake of brevity.
  • the point-indicating cathode electrodes 4a to 4e of the indicator tubes la to 1e are interconnected by a line 19 and are grounded through switching means 21 made up of a transistor 20.
  • the line 19 is supplied with a positive bias voltage +C through a resistor 22 in the same manner as the other lines.
  • Reference character SW identifies a decimal point switch and SW a place indicating switch, which are designed to be ganged with each other.
  • Fixed contacts 23a to 23 of the decimal point switch SW are respectively connected to the lines to 14c and a movable contact 24 is connected to the base of the transistor 20 through an or" circuit 25.
  • Fixed contacts 26a and 26b of the place indicating switch SW are respectively connected to the lines 14d and 14a and a movable contact 27 is connected to the-base of the transistor 20 through a counter 28 and the or" circuit 25.
  • the moving contact 24 is supplied with a signal 15d such as depicted in FIG. 2D and the movable contact 27 of the place indicating switch SW, is supplied with a signal 15a such as shown in FIG. 26.
  • the mechanical switches SW, and SW are employed but may be substituted with electric circuits.
  • the counter 28 derives at its output a signal 29 such as de picted in FIG. 2H and the base of the transistor 20 is supplied with a signal such as shown in FIG. 2I. Consequently, the point-indicating cathode electrode 4d of the indicator tube Id is caused to glow in synchronism with the signal 15b and on the same duty cycle as the latter, thus providing a display of a usual decimal point.
  • the point indicating cathode electrode 4a of the indicator tube la glows only when supplied with the signals 15a and 29 at the same time, the duty cycle of the glowing of the electrode 4a is %of that of the signal 15a and the brightness of the electrode 4a is lower than that of the point-indicating cathode electrode 4d. Accordingly, in the case of indicating a number, for example, 1,234.5," the point indicating cathode electrode 4a for place indication of the third order glows dark to display the number in the form of l.234.5,” thus preventing misinterpretation of the number displayed.
  • FIG. 2J shows a signal which is applied to the base of the transistor when the movable contact of the switch SW is held in contact with the fixed contact 230.
  • the point-indicating cathode electrode 4e of the indicator tube 1e glows bright to indicate the decimal point
  • the point indicating cathode electrode 4b of the indicator tube lb glows dark to indicate the third order.
  • the duty cycle can be readily changed by the use of a scale-of-four or scale-of-five counter as the counter 28.
  • the indication of the place which has become unnecessary in the cases of emission of fractions and counting fractions over has one and disregarding the rest, can be rendered darker by actuating the switching means 7a to 71' with a circuit for changing their duty cycle as in the foregoing.
  • a display system comprising a plurality of electrically energized indicator devices, each having a first electrode and a plurality of electrodes to provide difi'erent indications according to a particular second terminal which becomes connected in a circuit with a first electrode, means for connecting each one of said second electrodes of said indicator devices, first drive means for actuating said first electrodes sequentially, second drive means for selectively actuating said connected electrodes in synchronism with said first drive means, and means for controlling indication of at least one of said connected second electrodes on less duty cycle than that of the other second electrodes.
  • a display system comprising a plurality of electrically energized indicator devices, each having a first electrode and a plurality of second electrodes to provide different indications according to a particular terminal which becomes connected in a circuit with the first electrode, a plurality of first switching means respectively connected to each of said first electrodes, means for connecting each one of said second electrodes of said indicator devices, second switching means connected to said connecting means, first drive means for applying signals to a plurality of said first switching means sequentially, second drive means for applying signals of the same duty cycle as said first drive means to said second switching means, and third drive means for applying signals of less duty cycle than that of said first drive means to said second switching means.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computing Systems (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Control Of Indicators Other Than Cathode Ray Tubes (AREA)
  • Digital Computer Display Output (AREA)
US23562A 1969-04-03 1970-03-30 Display system with different intensity indication Expired - Lifetime US3614524A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP44025827A JPS4839490B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1969-04-03 1969-04-03

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US3614524A true US3614524A (en) 1971-10-19

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JP (1) JPS4839490B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1264572A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3794881A (en) * 1971-01-29 1974-02-26 Philips Corp Supply circuit for a gas discharge character display tube

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3414764A (en) * 1965-03-15 1968-12-03 Sony Corp Circuit for controlling the displaying of selected indicia by indicator tubes in a display system for electronic computers and the like

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3414764A (en) * 1965-03-15 1968-12-03 Sony Corp Circuit for controlling the displaying of selected indicia by indicator tubes in a display system for electronic computers and the like

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3794881A (en) * 1971-01-29 1974-02-26 Philips Corp Supply circuit for a gas discharge character display tube

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS4839490B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-11-24
GB1264572A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-02-23

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