Binary-signal display employing a matrix of illuminative elements

Claim 2

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the bi-level sensing circuit includes a comparator circuit having an adjustable switching threshold for adapting the sensing circuit to different input signals having varying voltage levels.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the display sweep circuitry includes counting register means clocked by pulses coupled to it from the source of pulses, and decoding circuitry responsive to the register means for providing the control signals defining the column addressing signal.

Claim 4

Apparatus for displaying a pulse pattern defined by a time-varying, binary-valued electrical input signal, which comprises: a display including a plurality of electrically-controlled illuminative elements arranged in a matrix having at least first and second rows and a plurality of columns, each element being electrically connected into a respective one of a plurality of display circuits, each display circuit having first and second terminals and causing its element to light in response to the coincidence of half-select values of signals coupled to its terminals; a source of sequentially occurring pulses; display sweep circuitry including circuit means responsive to the pulses for generating in parallel a plurality of time-varying, binary-valued control signals, each control signal having a half-select value as one of its binary values, the first terminals of the display circuits in each column being coupled to receive a respective one of the control signals; means, including an electrical probe sensing the electrical input signal and a bi-level sensing circuit responsive thereto, for providing in parallel first and second binary-valued gating signals, the first gating signal assuming a half-select value each time a first binary value is sensed and the second gating signal assuming a half-select value each time a second, opposite binary value is sensed; and the second terminal of each display circuit in the first row being coupled to receive the first gating signal, and the second terminal of each display circuit in the second row being coupled to receive the second gating signal.

Claim 5

Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein each illuminative element is a light emitting diode and wherein each display circuit provides for forward biasing a corresponding light emitting diode in response to the coincidence of the half-select values.

Claim 6

Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein each display circuit includes a series circuit between its two terminals, the series circuit including a resistor and a light emitting diode, and wherein the half-select value of each control signal is defined by a first voltage level and the half-select value of each gating signal is defined by a second voltage level, the first and second voltage levels differing by an amount sufficient to forward bias the light emitting diode.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein each display circuit includes a memory circuit having first and second states, the corresponding light emitting diode being coupled to the memory circuit and being forward biased in response to the first state, the memory circuit being set to the first state in response to the coincidence of half-select values of the control and gating signals coupled to the corresponding display circuit.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 5 and further comprising: circuit means for detecting transitions in the input signal and, in response, providing a third binary-valued, time-varying gating signal; and a third row of elements in said matrix for displaying an indication of the detected transitions in accordance with the third gating signal and the control signals.

Claim 9

Apparatus accoRding to claim 5 wherein the bi-level sensing circuit includes a comparator circuit having an adjustable switching threshold for adapting the sensing circuit to different input signals having varying voltage levels.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the display sweep circuitry includes register means clocked by pulses coupled to it from the source of pulses and means for controlling the register means to define a single sweep whereby one-by-one the control signals for the respective columns sequentially assume their half-select value.