Multiple character flat panel display device

Claim 2

A gas discharge display panel for displaying characters in at least three side-by-side character positions along a predetermined line, in each such position any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising an envelope formed of a front palte with a viewing window and a rear plate, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said enclosure at a pressure capable of sustaining a cathode glow discharge, a plurality of elongated conductive runs within said envelope extending along the interior surface of said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, at least three groups of cathode segments arranged side-by-side along said interior surface facing the viewing window to form the side-by-side character positions, each cathode segment being in contact with at least one of said conductive runs, a layer of insulating material over said conductive runs and said interior surface, at least in the area of the character positions, with a group of apertures therethrough for each character position, the respective apertures in each such group being aligned with the respective cathode segments of the associated cathode segment group, each such conductive run being electrically connected to a cathode segment in each cathode segment group to produce cathode glow along selective combinations of cathode segments in each group, and thereby display different characters through said viewing window, by a selective energization of said conductive runs, a plurality of anode electrodes each located adjacent and operatively associated with one of said cathode segment groups, each said anode electrode including a first conductive area located on the surface of the insulating material substantially coplanar with the cathode segments of its associated cathode segment group and a second conductive area located between the cathode segment group and the viewing window, and means comprising said conductive runs and a conductor connected to each of said anode electrodes for energizing the anodes sequentially and for selectively energizing different combinations of the cathode segments sequentially, in synchronism with the sequential energization of the anodes, to form a side-by-side character display over said character positions.

Claim 3

A gas discharge display panel for displaying characters in at least three side-by-side character positions along a predetermined line, in each such position any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said enclosure at a pressure capAble of sustaining a glow discharge, a plurality of elongated conductive runs within said envelope extending along the inside surface of said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, at least three groups of cathode segments arranged side-by-side along said inside surface facing the viewing window to form the side-by-side character positions, with the cathode segments of the different groups in substantially the same pattern and at least certain of the cathode segments in each such group forming a parallelogram, each such conductive run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned cathode segment in each cathode segment group to produce a glow discharge along selective combinations of cathode segments in each group and thereby display different characters through said viewing window, and a plurality of anode electrodes each located adjacent and operatively associated with one of said cathode segment groups, each said anode electrode including a first conductive area located within the parallelogram formed by the cathode segments of the associated cathode segment group, substantially coplanar with such cathode segments, and a second conductive area surrounding said cathode segment group and having a portion thereof located between said cathode segment group and the next adjacent cathode segment group on each side.

Claim 4

A gas discharge display panel for displaying characters in at least three side-by-side character positions along a predetermined line, in each such position any one of a predetermined number of characters can be displayed, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said enclosure at a pressure capAble of sustaining a glow discharge, a plurality of elongated conductive runs within said envelope extending along the inside surface of said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, at least three groups of cathode segments arranged side-by-side along said inside surface facing the viewing window to form the side-by-side character positions, with the cathode segments of the different groups in substantially the same pattern and at least certain of the cathode segments in each such group forming a parallelogram, each such conductive run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned cathode segment in each cathode segment group to produce a glow discharge along selective combinations of cathode segments in each group and thereby display different characters through said viewing window, and a plurality of anode electrodes each located adjacent and operatively associated with one of said cathode segment groups, each said anode electrode including a first conductive area located within the parallelogram formed by the cathode segments of the associated cathode segment group, substantially coplanar with such cathode segments, and a second conductive area surrounding said cathode segment group and having a portion thereof located between said cathode segment group and the next adjacent cathode segment group on each side.

Claim 5

A display panel as in claim 2 wherein the second conductive area of each anode contacts said insulating layer on both sides of its associated cathode segment group.

Claim 6

A flat display panel for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of a plurality of side-by-side character positions, comprising a gas-tight envelope formed of front and base plates closely spaced to one another and sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the character positions, the front and base plates forming outside walls of the envelope, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining glow discharge, at least the portions of the front plate which are aligned with the character positions being transparent to glow within the envelope to provide a viewing window for the characters to be displayed, an assembly supported on the inside surface of the base plate including a plurality of conductive runs extending along said inside surface in the direction of the side-by-side character positions, a plurality of groups of cathode electrodes positioned side-by-side in said direction, each such cathode electrode being in contact with at least one of said conductive runs, and an insulating layer covering said conductive runs and said inside surface in the area of the character positions, said insulating layer having a plurality of apertures therethrough, each aligned with one of said cathode electrodes, each such cathode electrode group forming one of said character positions, with the cathode electrodes of the different groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, and each cathode electrode being shaped as a segment of a character to be displayed, each such conductive run being electrically connected to a correspondingly positioned cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs, said conductive runs extending along said inside surface throughout the length of said cathode electrode groups, and continuing along said inside surface through said envelope to provide external electrical connections to said cathode electrodes, and a plurality of anode electrodes each located adjacent and operatively associated with one of said cathode segment groups, each said anode electrode including a first conductive portion located on the insulating layer substantially coplanar with the cathode segments of its associated cathode segment group, with at least certain of the caThode segments of the group surrounding said first portion, and including a second portion contacting said insulating layer and surrounding said cathode segment group.

Claim 7

A flat display panel for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of a plurality of side-by-side character positions, comprising a gas-tight envelope formed of front and base plates closely spaced to one another and sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the character positions, the front and base plates forming outside walls of the envelope, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining glow discharge, at least the portions of the front plate which are aligned with the character positions being transparent to glow within the envelope to provide a viewing window for the characters to be displayed, an assembly supported on the inside surface of the base plate including a plurality of conductive runs extending along said inside surface in the direction of the side-by-side character positions, a plurality of groups of cathode electrodes positioned side-by-side in said direction, each such cathode electrode being in contact with at least one of said conductive runs, and an insulating layer covering said conductive runs and said inside surface in the area of the character positions, said insulating layer having a plurality of apertures therethrough, each aligned with one of said cathode electrodes, each such cathode electrode group forming one of said character positions, with the cathode electrodes of the different groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, and each cathode electrode being shaped as a segment of a character to be displayed, each such conductive run being electrically connected to a correspondingly positioned cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs, said conductive runs extending along said inside surface throughout the length of said cathode electrode groups, and continuing along said inside surface through said envelope to provide external electrical connections to said cathode electrodes, and a plurality of anode electrodes each located adjacent and operatively associated with one of said cathode segment groups, each said anode electrode including a first conductive portion located on the insulating layer substantially coplanar with the cathode segments of its associated cathode segment group, with at least certain of the caThode segments of the group surrounding said first portion, and including a second portion contacting said insulating layer and surrounding said cathode segment group.

Claim 8

A flat display panel as in claim 4 wherein each said second anode portion contacts said insulating layer along the full height of its associated cathode electrode group on each side of said group.

Claim 9

A gas discharge display device for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of a plurality of side-by-side character positions, comprising a gas-tight envelope filled with an ionizable gas at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, an insulating member with a surface thereof within the envelope and facing the viewing window in close proximity thereto, a plurality of at least three groups of cathode electrodes supported on said insulating member and spaced side-by-side therealong in a predetermined direction face said viewing window, each such cathode electrode being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said insulating member in said predetermined direction, each such run being electrically connected to at least one cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of said cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, an anode electrode positioned in operative relation with each group of cathode electrodes and having a conductive lead extending through said envelope, and a unitary shield electrode associated with all of said groups of cathode electrodes and having a portion disposed between each group of cathode electrodes and the next adjacent group.

Claim 10

A gas discharge display device for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of a plurality of side-by-side character positions, comprising a gas-tight envelope filled with an ionizable gas at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, an insulating member with a surface thereof within the envelope and facing the viewing window in close proximity thereto, a plurality of at least three groups of cathode electrodes supported on said insulating member and spaced side-by-side therealong in a predetermined direction face said viewing window, each such cathode electrode being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said insulating member in said predetermined direction, each such run being electrically connected to at least one cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of said cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, an anode electrode positioned in operative relation with each group of cathode electrodes and having a conductive lead extending through said envelope, and a unitary shield electrode associated with all of said groups of cathode electrodes and having a portion disposed between each group of cathode electrodes and the next adjacent group.

Claim 11

The device defined in claim 6 wherein said shield electrode includes a mesh screen portion overlaying each group of cathode electrodes.

Claim 12

A gas discharge display device for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three side-by-side character positions along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said enclosure at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of cathode electrodes supported on said rear plate to face said viewing window and spaced side-by-side therealong in the direction of the line of character positions, each such cathode electrode being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in said direction, each such run being electrically connected to at least one cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of said cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multicharacter display, at least three anodes insulated from each other and from said cathode segments, each such anode being located adjacent to and operatively associated with one of said cathode electrode groups, and a unitary shielding structure extending along said character positions and having a conductive portion thereof located between each cathode electrode group and the next adjacent group, and forming a shield between said adjacent groups.

Claim 13

A gas discharge display device for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three side-by-side character positions along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said enclosure at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of cathode electrodes supported on said rear plate to face said viewing window and spaced side-by-side therealong in the direction of the line of character positions, each such cathode electrode being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in said direction, each such run being electrically connected to at least one cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of said cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multicharacter display, at least three anodes insulated from each other and from said cathode segments, each such anode being located adjacent to and operatively associated with one of said cathode electrode groups, and a unitary shielding structure extending along said character positions and having a conductive portion thereof located between each cathode electrode group and the next adjacent group, and forming a shield between said adjacent groups.

Claim 14

The panel defined in claim 8 wherein all of said conductive portions of said unitary shielding structure are connected electrically in common.

Claim 15

A gas discharge display device for dIsplaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of a plurality of side-by-side character positions, comprising a gas-tight envelope filled with an ionizable gas at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, an insulating member with a surface thereof within the envelope and facing the viewing window in close proximity thereto, a plurality of at least three groups of cathode electrodes supported on said insulating member and spaced side-by-side therealong in a predetermined direction to face said viewing window, the cathode electrodes in each of said groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, and each such cathode electrode being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said insulating member in said predetermined direction, each such run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of said cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, an anode electrode positioned in operative relation with each group of cathode electrodes and having a conductive lead extending through said envelope, and a plurality of conductive barriers, one located between each cathode electrode group and the next adjacent group, to form a barrier against interaction between such groups.

Claim 16

A gas discharge display device for dIsplaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of a plurality of side-by-side character positions, comprising a gas-tight envelope filled with an ionizable gas at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, an insulating member with a surface thereof within the envelope and facing the viewing window in close proximity thereto, a plurality of at least three groups of cathode electrodes supported on said insulating member and spaced side-by-side therealong in a predetermined direction to face said viewing window, the cathode electrodes in each of said groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, and each such cathode electrode being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said insulating member in said predetermined direction, each such run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned cathode electrode in each of said cathode electrode groups, so that selective combinations of said cathode electrodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, an anode electrode positioned in operative relation with each group of cathode electrodes and having a conductive lead extending through said envelope, and a plurality of conductive barriers, one located between each cathode electrode group and the next adjacent group, to form a barrier against interaction between such groups.

Claim 17

A display device as in claim 10 wherein each of said conductive barriers extends substantially the full height of the pattern of its adjacent cathode electrode groups, to shield said groups from each other.

Claim 18

A display device as in claim 10 wherein said conductive barriers are electrically connected in common.

Claim 19

A display device as in claim 10 wherein each of said conductive barriers forms part of a unitary electrode which extends along the length of said cathode electrode groups and shields each such group from the next adjacent groups.

Claim 20

A gas discharge display device for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three character positions disposed side-by-side along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of display cathodes supported on said rear plate and spaced side-by-side therealong to face said viewing window, each such group forming one of said character positions and each of the display cathodes being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, the display cathodes in each of said groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, with at least certain of the cathodes in each group forming a figure ''''8'''' pattern, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, each such run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned display cathodes in each of said display cathode groups, so that selective combinations of said display cathodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, at least three anode electrodes insulated from each other and from said display cathodes, each such anode electrode being located adjacent and operatively associated with one of the said display cAthode groups, and a plurality of conductive electrodes, in addition to the display cathodes and anode electrodes, one located adjacent each display cathode group and operative in conjunction with said group, all of conductive electrodes being electrically connected in common.

Claim 21

A gas discharge display device for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three character positions disposed side-by-side along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of display cathodes supported on said rear plate and spaced side-by-side therealong to face said viewing window, each such group forming one of said character positions and each of the display cathodes being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, the display cathodes in each of said groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, with at least certain of the cathodes in each group forming a figure ''''8'''' pattern, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, each such run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned display cathodes in each of said display cathode groups, so that selective combinations of said display cathodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, at least three anode electrodes insulated from each other and from said display cathodes, each such anode electrode being located adjacent and operatively associated with one of the said display cAthode groups, and a plurality of conductive electrodes, in addition to the display cathodes and anode electrodes, one located adjacent each display cathode group and operative in conjunction with said group, all of conductive electrodes being electrically connected in common.

Claim 22

A gas discharge display panel for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three character positions disposed side-by-side along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of display cathodes supported on said rear plate and spaced side-by-side therealong to face said viewing window, each such group forming one of said character positions, and each of the display cathodes being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, the display cathodes in each of said groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, with at least certain of the cathodes in each group forming a figure 8 pattern, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, each such run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned display cathodes in each of said display cathode groups, so that selective combinations of said display cathodes in each such group can be energized by a selective energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, at least three anode electrodes insulated from each other and from said display cathodes, each such anode electrode being located adjacent and operatively associated with one of said display cathode groups, a separate conductive lead connected to each said anode electrode for activating said anode electrodes individually, one after another, while said conductive runs are being selectively energized in synchronism, and a plurality of auxiliary electrodes, in addition to the display cathodes and anode electrodes, one located adjacent each of said display cathode groups and being operative each time the anode electrode associated with the group is energized.

Claim 23

A gas discharge display panel for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three character positions disposed side-by-side along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of display cathodes supported on said rear plate and spaced side-by-side therealong to face said viewing window, each such group forming one of said character positions, and each of the display cathodes being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, the display cathodes in each of said groups being disposed in substantially the same pattern, with at least certain of the cathodes in each group forming a figure 8 pattern, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, each such run being electrically connected to the correspondingly positioned display cathodes in each of said display cathode groups, so that selective combinations of said display cathodes in each such group can be energized by a selective energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, at least three anode electrodes insulated from each other and from said display cathodes, each such anode electrode being located adjacent and operatively associated with one of said display cathode groups, a separate conductive lead connected to each said anode electrode for activating said anode electrodes individually, one after another, while said conductive runs are being selectively energized in synchronism, and a plurality of auxiliary electrodes, in addition to the display cathodes and anode electrodes, one located adjacent each of said display cathode groups and being operative each time the anode electrode associated with the group is energized.

Claim 24

A display panel as in claim 15 wherein each of said auxiliary electrodes is located between one of said display cathode groups and the next adjacent group and extends substantially the full height of the area covered by the adjacent display cathode groups to serve as a barrier between such groups.

Claim 25

A gas discharge display panel for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three character positions disposed side-by-side along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of display cathodes supported on said rear plate and spaced side-by-side therealong to face said viewing window, each such group forming one of said character positions, and each of the display cathodes being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, each such ruN being electrically connected to at least one display cathode in each of said display cathode groups, so that selective combinations of said display cathodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, at least three anode electrode members insulated from each other and from said display cathodes, each such anode electrode member being located adjacent and substantially coplanar with one of said display cathode groups, and surrounded by at least some of the display cathodes of such groups, and a plurality of additional electrode members one of which is associated with each of said display cathode groups and surrounds the display cathodes of said group.

Claim 26

A gas discharge display panel for displaying any one of a predetermined number of characters in each of at least three character positions disposed side-by-side along a predetermined line, comprising an envelope formed of a front plate with a viewing window and a rear plate closely spaced thereto, said plates being sealed together along a predetermined perimeter surrounding the line of character positions to establish a gas-tight enclosure about said character positions, an ionizable gas within said envelope at a pressure capable of sustaining a glow discharge, and having a viewing window for viewing such glow discharge, a plurality of at least three groups of display cathodes supported on said rear plate and spaced side-by-side therealong to face said viewing window, each such group forming one of said character positions, and each of the display cathodes being shaped in the form of a segment of a character to be displayed, a plurality of conductive runs extending in insulatingly spaced relation to one another along said rear plate in the direction of the line of character positions, each such ruN being electrically connected to at least one display cathode in each of said display cathode groups, so that selective combinations of said display cathodes in each such group can be energized by a predetermined energization of said conductive runs to provide a multi-character display, at least three anode electrode members insulated from each other and from said display cathodes, each such anode electrode member being located adjacent and substantially coplanar with one of said display cathode groups, and surrounded by at least some of the display cathodes of such groups, and a plurality of additional electrode members one of which is associated with each of said display cathode groups and surrounds the display cathodes of said group.

Claim 27

A display panel as in claim 17 further including a plurality of barrier members each located between one of said display cathode groups and the next adjacent group, and extending transverse to the direction of the side-by-side character positions to extend over substantially the full height of the display cathode groups, to provide isolation between said groups, wherein each of said additional electrode members contains a first portion disposed between its associated display cathode group and the adjacent barrier member on one side of such group, and a second portion disposed between the display cathode group and the barrier member on the opposite side of such group.

Claim 28

A display panel as in claim 17 wherein said additional electrode members serve as portions of the anode electrodes.