Signal generating apparatus

Claim 1

IN A SIGNAL GENERATOR ADAPTED TO COOPERATE WITH A CATHODE-RAY TUBE FOR DISPLAYING A MULTI-CHARACTER, MULTIROW DISPLAY ON THE FACE OF THE TUBE BY GENERATING A CHARACTER RASTER IN A PLURALITY OF DIVERSE POSITIONS AND SELECTIVELY CONTROLLING THE APPEARANCE OF EACH STROKE OF EACH RASTER FOR DISPLAYING A SELECTED CHARACTER IN EACH POSITION (A) MEANS GENERATING DEFLECTION SIGNALS WHICH ARE APPLIED TO THE DEFLECTION MEANS OF A CATHODE-RAY DISPLAY DEVICE TO CAUSE THE CATHODE-RAY BEAM TO TRACE A CHARACTER RASTER, SAID MEANS INCLUDING: (1) A TIMING CHAIN GENERATING TWO BINARY DIGITAL SETS OF TIMING SIGNALS AND A SWEEP SIGNAL, (2) GATING MEANS CONVERTING A FIRST SET OF SAID TIMING SIGNALS INTO A SET OF COMMUTATED PULSES, (3) MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE REMAINING TIMING SIGNALS, COMMUTATED PULSES, AND SWEEP SIGNALS TO PROVIDE DEFLECTION SIGNALS, (B) TIMING MEANS CONNECTED TO THE TIMING CHAIN FOR ALTERING SAID DEFLECTION SIGNALS WHEREBY A CHARACTER RASTER IS GENERATED IN A PLURALITY OF DIVERSE POSITIONS ON THE SCREEN OF SAID CATHODE-RAY DISPLAY DEVICE, THE RASTER POSITIONS BEING ARRANGED ON THE FACE OF THE TUBE IN A PLURALITY OF DETERMINABLE REGISTERS; (C) ADJUSTABLE MEANS CONNECTED TO THE TIMING MEANS FOR DETERRMINING THE NUMBER OF REGISTERS IN WHICH THE CHARACTER RASTERS APPEAR, AND (D) BLANKING SIGNAL SYNTHESIZING MEANS CONNECTED TO THE TIMING CHAIN FOR RECEIVING THE SECOND SET OF TIMING SIGNALS THEREFROM AND OPERATING IN SYNCHRONISM WITH SAID TIMING MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY BLANKING PREDETERMINED STROKES OF A CHARACTER RASTER GENERATED IN A PREDETERMINED CHARACTER POSITION WHEREBY A SELECTED DIGIT MAY BE PRODUCED BY THE APPEARING STROKES OF THE RASTER.