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US3868673A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Display apparatus including character enhancement
Assignee: AT&T Teletype Corp
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Filing: 1973-08-14
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Granted: 1975-02-25
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Expires: 1993-08-14
Abstract
Abstract A readout means provides encoded information representing each character to be written on a cathode-ray tube screen as well as five enhancement levels. The output of the readout means is decoded into a video format and fed through a selectively actuated inverter for control of the cathode-ray beam. In response to signals at one of two of the memory enhancement output levels, the intensity of the displayed character is uniformly reduced or caused to pulsate. In response to an underline signal at one of the enhancement levels coinciding with a selected scan line, the inverter is actuated writing a row of dots under a desired character. A cursor signal at one of the enhancement levels actuates the inverter producing a cursor indication upon the screen and a tabulate enhancement signal creates a tabulate mark upon the screen.
Inventors
- 👤 Jr Theodore J Mau
- 👤 John L Peterson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-22 17:57
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09G; G09G1/00; G09G5/00; G09G5/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
200 words
An apparatus for enhancing the presentation of selected characters displayed upon the screen of a cathode-ray tube comprising: readout means providing a plurality of coded signal outputs, at least one of said outputs providing a multilevel character signal determining the character to be displayed upon the cathode-ray tube screen; means for selectively controlling the cathode-ray tube beam in accordance with said character signal so as to generate a dot matrix forming the encoded character; said readout means providing an underline enhancement signal corresponding to an enhancement characteristic of the character being displayed; a selectively actuated inverter receiving said character signal from said readout means for controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube electron beam; a scan line counter providing an output signal related to the writing of a selected scan line on the display screen; first control means actuated by said scan line signal in the presence of said underline enhancement signal for generating a first control signal; and said readout means providing a cursor enhancement signal indicating a cursor location, gating means serving to couple said first control signal and said cursor enhancement signal to said selectively actuated inverter thereby displaying an inverted, underlined character on the display screen.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
200 words
An apparatus for enhancing the presentation of selected characters displayed upon the screen of a cathode-ray tube comprising: readout means providing a plurality of coded signal outputs, at least one of said outputs providing a multilevel character signal determining the character to be displayed upon the cathode-ray tube screen; means for selectively controlling the cathode-ray tube beam in accordance with said character signal so as to generate a dot matrix forming the encoded character; said readout means providing an underline enhancement signal corresponding to an enhancement characteristic of the character being displayed; a selectively actuated inverter receiving said character signal from said readout means for controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube electron beam; a scan line counter providing an output signal related to the writing of a selected scan line on the display screen; first control means actuated by said scan line signal in the presence of said underline enhancement signal for generating a first control signal; and said readout means providing a cursor enhancement signal indicating a cursor location, gating means serving to couple said first control signal and said cursor enhancement signal to said selectively actuated inverter thereby displaying an inverted, underlined character on the display screen.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said gating means serves to couple said first control signal to said selectively actuated inverter in the absence of said cursor enhancement signal and serves to couple said cursor enhancement signal to said selectively actuated inverter in the absence of said first control signal.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
232 words
An apparatus for enhancing the presentation of selected characters displayed upon the screen of a cathode-ray tube comprising: readout means providing a plurality of coded signal outputs, at least one of said outputs providing a multilevel character signal determining the character to be displayed upon the cathode-ray tube screen; means for selectively controlling the cathode-ray tube beam in accordance with said character signal so as to generate a dot matrix forming the encoded character; said readout means providing an underline enhancement signal corresponding to an enhancement characteristic of the character being displayed; a selectively actuated inverter receiving said character signal from said readout means for controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube electron beam; a scan line counter providing an output signal related to a selected scan line being written on the display screen; first control means actuated by said scan line signal in the presence of said underline enhancement signal for generating a first control signal serving to selectively actuate said inverter during said scan line; and said readout means providing a tabulate enhancement signal indicating a tabulate location, said first control means further including means activated by said scan line signal and said tabulate enhancement signal for selectively controlling the combination of said tabulate enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs so as to display a tabulate underline indication on the screen at a selected scan line.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
232 words
An apparatus for enhancing the presentation of selected characters displayed upon the screen of a cathode-ray tube comprising: readout means providing a plurality of coded signal outputs, at least one of said outputs providing a multilevel character signal determining the character to be displayed upon the cathode-ray tube screen; means for selectively controlling the cathode-ray tube beam in accordance with said character signal so as to generate a dot matrix forming the encoded character; said readout means providing an underline enhancement signal corresponding to an enhancement characteristic of the character being displayed; a selectively actuated inverter receiving said character signal from said readout means for controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube electron beam; a scan line counter providing an output signal related to a selected scan line being written on the display screen; first control means actuated by said scan line signal in the presence of said underline enhancement signal for generating a first control signal serving to selectively actuate said inverter during said scan line; and said readout means providing a tabulate enhancement signal indicating a tabulate location, said first control means further including means activated by said scan line signal and said tabulate enhancement signal for selectively controlling the combination of said tabulate enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs so as to display a tabulate underline indication on the screen at a selected scan line.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said readout means provides a cursor enhancement signal, gating means serving to couple said first control signal and said cursor enhancement signal to said selectively actuated inverter thereby displaying an inverted, tabulated, underlined character upon the screen.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said gating means serves to couple said first control signal to said selectively actuated inverter in the absence of said cursor enhancement signal and serves to couple said cursor enhancement signal to said selectively actuated inverter in the absence of said first control signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said readout means provides an intensity enhancement signal (20,22), second control means actuated by said intensity enhancement signal for controlling the overall intensity of the cathode-ray beam during the writing of a displayed character thereby determining the overall illumination intensity of the character so generated.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said second control means includes means responsive to said intensity enhancement signal for cyclically varying the intensity of the displayed character.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said control means further includes means for inhibiting the combination of said tabulate enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs in the presence of said underline enhancement signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said control means includes second means actuated by the simultaneous occurrence of said scan line signal and said underline and tabulate enhancement signals for selectively controlling the combination of said tabulate enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
33 words
The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said readout means provides a cursor enhancement signal, gating means serving to couple said first control signal and said cursor enhancement signal to said selectively actuated inverter.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
50 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said gating means serves to couple said first control signal to said selectively actuated inverter in the absence of said cursor enhancement signal and serves to couple said cursor enhancement signal to said selectively actuated inverter in the absence of said first control signal.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
242 words
An apparatus for enhancing the presentation of selected characters displayed upon the screen of a cathode-ray tube comprising: readout means providing a plurality of coded signal outputs, at least one of said outputs providing a multilevel character signal determining the character to be displayed upon the cathode-ray tube screen; means for selectively controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube beam in accordance with said character signal so as to generate a dot matrix forming the encoded character; said readout means providing a first enhancement signal (14,16) corresponding to an enhancement characteristic of the character being displayed; a font decoder receiving said character signal from said readout means and converting same to a multilevel output fOr control of said cathode-ray tube beam intensity; control means for selectively combining said first enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs from said font decoder; a scan line counter providing an output signal related to the scan line being written, said control means being activated by said scan line signal for selectively controlling the combination of said first enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs from said font decoder; and a selectively actuated inverter receiving the multilevel output from said font decoder for controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube electron beam and means for selectively applying a second enhancement signal (16,18) to said inverter for inverting the input thereof in response to the presence of said second enhancement signal (16,18).
Claim 15
Independent Claim
242 words
An apparatus for enhancing the presentation of selected characters displayed upon the screen of a cathode-ray tube comprising: readout means providing a plurality of coded signal outputs, at least one of said outputs providing a multilevel character signal determining the character to be displayed upon the cathode-ray tube screen; means for selectively controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube beam in accordance with said character signal so as to generate a dot matrix forming the encoded character; said readout means providing a first enhancement signal (14,16) corresponding to an enhancement characteristic of the character being displayed; a font decoder receiving said character signal from said readout means and converting same to a multilevel output fOr control of said cathode-ray tube beam intensity; control means for selectively combining said first enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs from said font decoder; a scan line counter providing an output signal related to the scan line being written, said control means being activated by said scan line signal for selectively controlling the combination of said first enhancement signal with at least one of said multilevel outputs from said font decoder; and a selectively actuated inverter receiving the multilevel output from said font decoder for controlling the intensity of the cathode-ray tube electron beam and means for selectively applying a second enhancement signal (16,18) to said inverter for inverting the input thereof in response to the presence of said second enhancement signal (16,18).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said readout means provides an intensity enhancement signal (20,22), and control means actuated by said intensity enhancement signal for controlling the overall intensity of the cathode-ray beam during the writing of a displayed character thereby determining the overall illumination intensity of the character so generated.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
41 words
The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said intensity enhancement signal is in the form of a highlight enhancement signal and said control means includes means responsive to said highlight enhancement signal for cyclically varying the overall intensity of the displayed character.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-02-24 | 1978-08-26 | 1979-02-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-02-24 | 1982-08-26 | 1983-02-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-02-24 | 1986-08-26 | 1987-02-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |