Display apparatus

Claim 2

Display apparatus including a plurality of concomitantly scannable display units upon which characters are displayable, the characters being formed by the presence or absence of excitation in allotted descrete positions, a plurality of groups of main storage means, one such means being associated with each display device and each said main storage means having a plurality of data storage locations for storing bits representing the desired excitation of corresponding positions of the associated display unit and the main storage means including means for operating said main storage means in synchronism with the associated display means to present the appropriate bits in sequence to the display means, the apparatus also including means for generating the bits in the main storage means, a shift register and an input register for responsive to the recognition of a received address code, receiving, group by group from a data highway, groups of bits and for, in turn, applying said received groups of bits to the shift register and means responsive to a further address code for selecting the group of main storage means which contains a specific main storage means to which bitcontents of the shift register are to be transferred.

Claim 3

Display apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said input register includes storage locations for receiving an indentifying code indicative of the main storage means within a group to be selectEd in response to a said further address and gating means responsive to said identifying code and the further address for selecting the indicated main storage means to receive data bits from the input register.

Claim 4

Display apparatus including a plurality of groups of concommitantly scanable display devices upon which characters are displayable, the characters being formed by the presence or absence of excitation signals operable corresponding to allotted positions, a main storage shifting register associated with each said device including a plurality of data bit storage locations for storing bits in the desired excitation pattern, means for stepping the registers in synchronism with scanning of the display units to present the excitation signals in the appropriate sequences to the display means, an input register for receiving up-dating data from a data highway for transfer to a said shift register and a selection code for determing which of the registers of a selected said group is to be selected, an address decoder responsive to an address presented on an address highway for determining which is the selected said group, a modification word register for receiving from the input register successive received words to make up a word to be transferred and gate means responsive to an address decoded by the address decoder and a selection code from the input register for transferring a word in the modification word register to the selected main storage shift register.

Claim 5

Display apparatus including a plurality of groups of concommitantly scanable display devices upon which characters are displayable, the characters being formed by the presence or absence of excitation signals operable corresponding to allotted positions, a main storage shifting register associated with each said device including a plurality of data bit storage locations for storing bits in the desired excitation pattern, means for stepping the registers in synchronism with scanning of the display units to present the excitation signals in the appropriate sequences to the display means, an input register for receiving up-dating data from a data highway for transfer to a said shift register and a selection code for determing which of the registers of a selected said group is to be selected, an address decoder responsive to an address presented on an address highway for determining which is the selected said group, a modification word register for receiving from the input register successive received words to make up a word to be transferred and gate means responsive to an address decoded by the address decoder and a selection code from the input register for transferring a word in the modification word register to the selected main storage shift register.