US3590156A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Flat panel display system with time-modulated gray scale
Assignee: Zenith Electronics LLC
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Filing: 1968-08-28
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Granted: 1971-06-29
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Expires: 1988-08-28
Abstract
Abstract A picture display system using a flat panel image display device and a separate memory system for generating quantized video signals to control the display panel. A switching system is provided for synchronously addressing both the display panel and the separate memory system to control the duty factor of each display element in accordance with the received picture signals. Two embodiments are shown, one in which separate binary element memory matrices are provided for each intermediate level in the gray scale, and the other in which a single multiple-level memory matrix is employed, with repetitive interrogation at different amplitudes to develop the quantized signals for the respective intermediate gray levels. The number of memory elements may be substantially smaller than the number of display elements.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard A Easton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 19:23
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N3/00; H04N3/10; H04N3/12; H04N3/125
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
206 words
A picture display system for reproducing a halftone image represented by a picture signal comprising, in combination: an image display device comprising a matrix of a predetermined number of individually actuatable display elements disposed at respective image points in a field pattern composed of a predetermined number of scanning lines, a memory device comprising a matrix of a number of storage elements smaller than said predetermined number of display elements, each storage element being associated with a plurality of display elements; means including said storage elements and at least partially responsive to said picture signal for developing time-modulated control signal information comprising separate turn-on and turnoff pulses for said display elements with said turnoff pulses following said turn-on pulses by times corresponding to different integral numbers of said scanning lines in accordance with variations in the brightness level of said picture signal from image point to image point; and means coupled to said last-mentioned means for actuating said display elements and for using said time-modulated control signal information to maintain each of said display elements individually actuated for a time corresponding to an integral number of said scanning lines and in proportion to the brightness level dictated by said picture signal for the associated image point.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
206 words
A picture display system for reproducing a halftone image represented by a picture signal comprising, in combination: an image display device comprising a matrix of a predetermined number of individually actuatable display elements disposed at respective image points in a field pattern composed of a predetermined number of scanning lines, a memory device comprising a matrix of a number of storage elements smaller than said predetermined number of display elements, each storage element being associated with a plurality of display elements; means including said storage elements and at least partially responsive to said picture signal for developing time-modulated control signal information comprising separate turn-on and turnoff pulses for said display elements with said turnoff pulses following said turn-on pulses by times corresponding to different integral numbers of said scanning lines in accordance with variations in the brightness level of said picture signal from image point to image point; and means coupled to said last-mentioned means for actuating said display elements and for using said time-modulated control signal information to maintain each of said display elements individually actuated for a time corresponding to an integral number of said scanning lines and in proportion to the brightness level dictated by said picture signal for the associated image point.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
A picture display system in accordance with claim 1, in which said display elements are of the on-off type and in which gray scale renditions are effected only by modulation of the on-time of the respective display elements.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
A picture display system in accordance with claim 1, in which said display elements are separate light sources.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
53 words
A picture display system according to claim 2, in which said memory device is an analog memory device comprising a matrix of storage elements each having a multilevel storage capacity, and in which said means for developing time-modulated control signal information comprises means for successively interrogating said memory device at different storage levels.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
62 words
A picture display system according to claim 2, in which said memory device comprises a plurality of separate matrices of binary storage elements, each storage element of each of such matrices being associated with a plurality of said display elements, and in which said means for developing time-modulated control signal information comprises means for successively interrogating said separate matrices of storage elements.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
191 words
A picture display system for reproducing an image represented by a picture signal, comprising: an image display device comprising a matrix of display elements disposed at respective image points in a predetermined array; a memory device comprising a separate matrix of storage elements respectively associated with said display elements; means coupled to said memory device and responsive to said picTure signal for storing in each of said storage elements information representing the instantaneous brightness level to be established by the associated display element of said image display device; a first switching system coupled to said image display device for repetitively scanning said display elements in a rectangular coordinate scanning pattern comprising a predetermined number of scanning lines; means including a second switching system for systematically reading said storage elements for stored brightness information; and means coupling said second switching system to said first switching system for employing the brightness information read from said storage elements to energize each display element for a time corresponding to an integral number of said scanning lines, which number varies from display element to display element in proportion to the instantaneous brightness level to be established.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
191 words
A picture display system for reproducing an image represented by a picture signal, comprising: an image display device comprising a matrix of display elements disposed at respective image points in a predetermined array; a memory device comprising a separate matrix of storage elements respectively associated with said display elements; means coupled to said memory device and responsive to said picTure signal for storing in each of said storage elements information representing the instantaneous brightness level to be established by the associated display element of said image display device; a first switching system coupled to said image display device for repetitively scanning said display elements in a rectangular coordinate scanning pattern comprising a predetermined number of scanning lines; means including a second switching system for systematically reading said storage elements for stored brightness information; and means coupling said second switching system to said first switching system for employing the brightness information read from said storage elements to energize each display element for a time corresponding to an integral number of said scanning lines, which number varies from display element to display element in proportion to the instantaneous brightness level to be established.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
A picture display system according to claim 6, in which the numbers of line-scanning intervals associated with the respective brightness levels are related in accordance with a square-law distribution function or spacing function.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
192 words
A picture display system for reproducing a halftone image represented by a picture signal comprising, in combination: an image display device comprising a matrix of individually actuatable display elements disposed at respective image points in a field pattern composed of a predetermined number of scanning lines; a memory device comprising a smaller matrix of storage elements each associated with a plurality of said display elements; means responsive to said picture signal for sequentially storing brightness information in said storage elements and for synchronously actuating the display elements associated therewith; means for reading said memory device to develop time-modulated control signal information comprising turnoff pulses which follow the actuation of said display elements by times corresponding to different integral numbers of said scanning lines in accordance with variations in the brightness level of said picture signal from image point to image point; means coupled to said last-mentioned means for using said time-modulated control signal information to deactuate said display elements after each has been actuated for a time corresponding to an integral number of said scanning lines in proportion to the brightness level dictated by said picture signal for the associated image point.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
192 words
A picture display system for reproducing a halftone image represented by a picture signal comprising, in combination: an image display device comprising a matrix of individually actuatable display elements disposed at respective image points in a field pattern composed of a predetermined number of scanning lines; a memory device comprising a smaller matrix of storage elements each associated with a plurality of said display elements; means responsive to said picture signal for sequentially storing brightness information in said storage elements and for synchronously actuating the display elements associated therewith; means for reading said memory device to develop time-modulated control signal information comprising turnoff pulses which follow the actuation of said display elements by times corresponding to different integral numbers of said scanning lines in accordance with variations in the brightness level of said picture signal from image point to image point; means coupled to said last-mentioned means for using said time-modulated control signal information to deactuate said display elements after each has been actuated for a time corresponding to an integral number of said scanning lines in proportion to the brightness level dictated by said picture signal for the associated image point.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
A picture display system according to claim 8, in which said matrix of storage elements is physically separate and distinct from said matrix of display elements, and in which each of said storage elements has a multiple-level storage capacity.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
37 words
A picture display system according to claim 8, in which said memory device comprises a plurality of matrices of binary storage elements, each storage element of each matrix being associated with a plurality of said display elements.
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) | 1974-06-28 | 1974-12-28 | 1975-06-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-06-28 | 1978-12-28 | 1979-06-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-06-28 | 1982-12-28 | 1983-06-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |