US3573813A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Light image display apparatus including selectively illuminated light piping elements
Assignee: Tektronix Inc
•
Filing: 1968-10-25
•
Granted: 1971-04-06
•
Expires: 1988-10-25
Abstract
Abstract A light image display apparatus is described in which a plurality of light transmission elements are employed together with means for selectively applying light to the input ends of such elements in order to form a light image display by the illuminated output ends of such elements and to successively produce different images in the same display area by illuminating different combinations of elements. The light transmission elements may be flexible fibers of plastic or glass which are arranged in optically noncoherent bundles with the input ends of all elements in a bundle being irradiated simultaneously by the same light source and with the output ends of such elements being supported in different relative positions and spaced over a greater area than the input ends. The display apparatus may be used as a switch position readout for the switches on a cathoderay oscilloscope controlling its vertical amplifier gain and horizontal sweep rate by turning light bulbs on and off with such switches to selectively illuminate the light transmission elements and thereby produce light image displays of the switch positions. The switch position readout displays are positioned adjacent the faceplate of the cathode-ray tube employed in such oscilloscope, so that they may be viewed or photographed simultaneously with the electrical signal waveform produced on such tube to indicate the horizontal and vertical scale units of such waveform.
Inventors
- 👤 Andrew R Burns
- 👤 Peter J Unger
- 👤 Robert J Rossman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 09:20
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01R; G01R13/00; G01R13/20; G01R13/202; G09; G09F; G09F9/00; G09F9/30; G09F9/305
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
186 words
A light image display apparatus, comprising: a plurality of light transmission elements having input ends and output ends, said elements being optically separated so that light is not transmitted from one element to another element; support means for supporting the light transmission elements so that the output ends of elements are positioned in display groups with the output end of each element forming part of at least one image display and with at least some output ends each forming parts of a plurality of different characters in the same one display area, and for supporting the input ends of said elements in different relative positions than their output ends; and control means for selectively applying light to the input ends of said elements in order to illuminate the output ends of the selected elements and cause said illuminated output ends to produce a light image display, and for changing the light image display by illuminating different ones of said elements, said control means producing the light images of said different characters successively in said one display area by selectively illuminating different combinations of said output ends.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
186 words
A light image display apparatus, comprising: a plurality of light transmission elements having input ends and output ends, said elements being optically separated so that light is not transmitted from one element to another element; support means for supporting the light transmission elements so that the output ends of elements are positioned in display groups with the output end of each element forming part of at least one image display and with at least some output ends each forming parts of a plurality of different characters in the same one display area, and for supporting the input ends of said elements in different relative positions than their output ends; and control means for selectively applying light to the input ends of said elements in order to illuminate the output ends of the selected elements and cause said illuminated output ends to produce a light image display, and for changing the light image display by illuminating different ones of said elements, said control means producing the light images of said different characters successively in said one display area by selectively illuminating different combinations of said output ends.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
33 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the light transmission elements are made of a flexible light transparent material and have the same number of input ends and output ends.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
31 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the control means couples the input ends of several light transmission elements in a display group to a single light source.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
66 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 3 which also includes a switch means for changing the connections in an electrical circuit, and said control means includes a plurality of light bulbs which are electrically energized when the control means is operated by movement of said switch meaNs to produce a different illuminated character display for each switch position which indicates the position of said switch.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
75 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 2 in which the light transmission elements are in the form of a plurality of separate bundles of said elements with the output ends of the elements of each bundle together forming a single part in several different characters and all of the input ends of the elements of a bundle being simultaneously irradiated with light from the same light source in one position of the control means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
63 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the light transmission elements are in the form of single individual light guides each of which has an output end in the shape of a single part in several different characters, and the input ends of the light guides are each irradiated with light by the control means in a separately controllable manner.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
41 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 5 in which said elements are fibers of uniform cross section along their length so that the input end and the output end of each element are both of the same size and shape.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
37 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 6 in which the light guides are of nonuniform cross section along their length and have output ends which are larger and of a different shape than their input ends.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
74 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the support means includes a display member of light opaque material having a plurality of separate holes extending therethrough from the back to the front of said display member, and the light transmitting elements are mounted within said holes with their output ends terminating adjacent the front surface of said display member so that the illuminated ones of said output ends form the display.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
92 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 9 in which the control means includes a plurality of light bulbs mounted within cavities provided in one side of a support block of light opaque material and switch means connected to said light bulbs for selectively switching them on and off, and the input ends of the light transmitting elements are mounted within passageways extending from the opposite side of said support block to openings in the bottom of said cavities so that said input ends are irradiated by light emitted from said bulbs.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
32 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 10 in which the electrical leads of the light bulbs are attached to a circuit board secured to said one side of said support block.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
67 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 11 which includes at least a pair of support blocks with associated light transmission elements, light bulbs and circuit boards, one of said pair of support blocks being positioned between the display member and the other support block, and said one support block being provided with an aperture through which extend the light transmitting elements of the other support block.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
39 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which the output ends of the light transmission elements are supported adjacent the face plate of a cathode-ray tube in a cathode-ray oscilloscope which is controlled by said switch means.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
61 words
A display device in accordance with claim 13 in which the switch means changes the connections of a deflection circuit which controls the deflection of the electron beam of said tube to vary the scale of the image produced on the phosphor screen of such tube and the display device produces a light image of a character display indicating said scale.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
57 words
A display apparatus in accordance with claim 14 in which the switch means includes at least two switches connected to the horizontal deflection circuit and the vertical deflection circuit of said oscilloscope, and each switch is connected to a similar display device which provides switch position readouts for such switches by forming two separate illuminated character displays.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-04-05 | 1974-10-05 | 1975-04-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-04-05 | 1978-10-05 | 1979-04-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-04-05 | 1982-10-05 | 1983-04-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |