Electrical apparatus for animating geometric figures and relationships utilizing a cathode ray tube display

Claim 1

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS FOR VISUALLY DISPLAYING AND ANIMATING COMPOSITE ALGEBRAIC, TRIGONOMETRIC AND GEOMETRIC FIGURES AND RELATIONSHIPS WHICH ARE THE SUPERIMPOSED COMPOSITE OF A PLURALITY OF UNRELATED AND INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTAL PATTERNS, SAID ELECTRICAL APPARATUS COMPRISING: A VISUAL DISPLAY DEVICE INCLUDING AN OSCILLOSCOPE HAVING HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DEFLECTION INPUT TERMINALS AND AN INTENSITY CONTROL TERMINAL FOR RESPECTIVELY CONTROLLING THE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL DEFLECTION AND THE INTENSITY OF THE OSCILLOSCOPE BEAM; VERTICAL CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ANALOG GATES HAVING THEIR OUTPUTS COMMONLY COUPLED TO SAID VERTICAL INPUT TERMINAL; HORIZONTAL CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ANALOG GATES HAVING THEIR OUTPUTS COMMONLY COUPLED TO SAID HORIZONTAL INPUT TERMINAL; FUNCTION GENERATOR MEANS FOR GENERATING A PLURALITY OF INDEPENDENT ELECTRICAL SIGNALS, EACH OF WHICH, WHEN APPLIED TO SAID DEFLECTION INPUT TERMINALS, PRODUCES ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF ELEMENTAL PATTERNS, SAID FUNCTION GENERATOR MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR INDEPENDENTLY VARYING AT LEAST ONE CHARACTERISTIC OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF ELEMENTAL PATTERNS, FOR PRODUCING ANIMATION, SAID ELECTRICAL SIGNALS BEING APPLIED TO THE ANALOG GATES OF SAID VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL CONTROL MEANS IN SUCH A MANNER THAT EACH OF SAID ELEMENTAL PATTERNS IS INDIVIDUALLY DISPLAYABLE UPON SAID DISPLAY DEVICE UPON SELECTIVELY CONTROLLING SAID ANALOG GATES; SEQUENCING MEANS FOR PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF SEQUENTIALLY OCCURRING TIMING SIGNALS THAT ARE APPLIED TO SELECTED ONES OF THE GATES OF SAID VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL CONTROL MEANS, WHEREBY EACH OF THE ELECTRICAL SIGNALS CHARACTERISTIC OF ONE OF SAID ELEMENTAL PATTERNS IS SEQUENTIALLY APPLIED TO THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL DEFLECTION INPUT TERMINALS OF SAID DISPLAY DEVICE AND WHEREBY THE SEQUENTIAL APPLICATION OF EACH OF SAID ELECTRIC SIGNALS, ONE AT A TIME, PRODUCES THE SUPERIMPOSED COMPOSITE OF THE UNRELATED AN INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTAL PATTERNS; AND INTENSITY CONTROL MEANS HAVING AN OUTPUT COUPLED TO SAID INTENSITY CONTROL TERMINAL, SAID INTENSITY CONTROL MEANS BEING RESPONSIVE TO SAID SEQUENCING MEANS AND OPERATIVE TO BLANK THE DISPLAY WHEN CHANGING FROM ONE ELECTRICAL SIGNAL TO THE NEXT.