US3976995A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Precessing display pager
Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corp
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Filing: 1975-05-22
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Granted: 1976-08-24
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Expires: 1995-05-22
Abstract
Abstract A hand held pager is disclosed in which a transmitted message is displayed in alpha/numeric form by a precessing display which moves the received message across the display in a continuous fashion so that the display need be only large enough to present a relatively small portion of the total message at any given time. In one embodiment a dot matrix LED display is used and is driven by a recirculating shift register memory to provide the precession of the message as a result of the recirculation. In another embodiment the pager may also include a message entry section in which the precessing display is used to present and edit the message prior to transmission either via an acoustic telephone link to a remote transmitter, or directly from a transmitter carried in the pager/encoder package.
Inventors
- 👤 George Sebestyen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 19:50
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09G; G09G3/00; G09G3/04; G09G3/06; G09G3/12; G09G3/14; G08; G08B; G08B5/00; G08B5/22; G08B5/222; G08B5/223; G08B5/224; G08B5/225; G08B5/226
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
164 words
A pager for displaying a message in alpha/numeric form comprising: means for receiving address signals and coded message signals; means for decoding said address-signals and for generating an actuation signal; an internal memory for storing received message signals; means for displaying an alpha/numeric message of a predetermined length said display having character display means at different lateral locations; means responsive to said actuation signal for loading said message signals into said memory; and means for reading out said memory, decoding the signals read out from said memory and for driving said display means with the decoded message in such a manner that said message precesses across said display by lateral displacement of a character in the message a number of times to next adjacent character locations, so that the character moves across the display from one side of the display to the other side, whereby long messages for a predetermined recipient may be displayed on a limited length display in a personally portable unit.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
164 words
A pager for displaying a message in alpha/numeric form comprising: means for receiving address signals and coded message signals; means for decoding said address-signals and for generating an actuation signal; an internal memory for storing received message signals; means for displaying an alpha/numeric message of a predetermined length said display having character display means at different lateral locations; means responsive to said actuation signal for loading said message signals into said memory; and means for reading out said memory, decoding the signals read out from said memory and for driving said display means with the decoded message in such a manner that said message precesses across said display by lateral displacement of a character in the message a number of times to next adjacent character locations, so that the character moves across the display from one side of the display to the other side, whereby long messages for a predetermined recipient may be displayed on a limited length display in a personally portable unit.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
The pager of claim 1 wherein said memory is a recirculating memory which recirculates to precess the message.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
The pager of claim 2 wherein said recirculating memory includes a shift register and means for advancing said shift register.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The pager of claim 3 wherein said pager includes means for freezing the precession and wherein said advancing means selectively advances said shift register continuously and a character at a time.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The pager of claim 1 wherein said display includes a number of light emitting diodes for defining the alpha/numeric character.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The pager of claim 5 wherein said light emitting diodes are arranged in a dot matrix.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
91 words
A combination pager and message encoder comprising: means for decoding a message transmitted to said pager; means for displaying said decoded message in a precessing display in which characters in the message are laterally displaced a number of times to next adjacent character locations so that the characters move across the display from one side to the other; means including a keyboard for encoding a message; and means for coupling said encoded message to said precessing display, whereby a single precessing display is used for both message reception and message encoding.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
91 words
A combination pager and message encoder comprising: means for decoding a message transmitted to said pager; means for displaying said decoded message in a precessing display in which characters in the message are laterally displaced a number of times to next adjacent character locations so that the characters move across the display from one side to the other; means including a keyboard for encoding a message; and means for coupling said encoded message to said precessing display, whereby a single precessing display is used for both message reception and message encoding.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The combination pager and message encoder of claim 7 wherein said encoding means further includes means for forming a serially encoded message stream corresponding to said encoded message.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
27 words
The combination pager and message encoder of claim 8 and further including means adapted to couple said message stream to a telephone line via an acoustic coupler.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
The combination of claim 8 and further including means at said pager and encoder for directly transmitting said message stream to other pagers in the vicinity of said pager-encoder combination.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
62 words
In a pager adapted to receive messages transmitted from a remote location, means for decoding the transmitted message; and means for displaying said decoded message in a precessing display in which characters in said decoded message are laterally displaced a number of times to next adjacent character locations so that the characters move across the display from one side to the other.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
62 words
In a pager adapted to receive messages transmitted from a remote location, means for decoding the transmitted message; and means for displaying said decoded message in a precessing display in which characters in said decoded message are laterally displaced a number of times to next adjacent character locations so that the characters move across the display from one side to the other.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
87 words
For use in combination with common carrier paging transmission apparatus having a voice channel an encoder remote from said apparatus having a keyboard for entering a message and means for transmitting to said paging transmission apparatus a series of coded audio tones indicative to the message entered at said keyboard; and means for coupling said encoder to the audio channel of said transmitting apparatus, whereby the encoded message may be transmitted to a predetermined recipient via said audio channel after said apparatus has transmitted a predetermined address.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
87 words
For use in combination with common carrier paging transmission apparatus having a voice channel an encoder remote from said apparatus having a keyboard for entering a message and means for transmitting to said paging transmission apparatus a series of coded audio tones indicative to the message entered at said keyboard; and means for coupling said encoder to the audio channel of said transmitting apparatus, whereby the encoded message may be transmitted to a predetermined recipient via said audio channel after said apparatus has transmitted a predetermined address.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
53 words
The encoder of claim 12 and further including a precessing display at said encoder for displaying portions of the message entered at said keyboard in which characters are laterally displaced a number of times to next adjacent character locations so that the characters move from one side of the display to the other.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
62 words
The encoder of claim 13 wherein said precessing display includes a recirculating memory for storing the message entered at said keyboard, and means for driving said display in accordance with the output of said recirculating memory, said recirculating memory being coupled to said precessing display through said drive means for driving it in a precessing manner with the recirculation of said memory.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
106 words
A method for transmitting an alpha/numeric message to a predetermined pager adapted to receive and display the message, comprising the steps of: dialing a telephone number corresponding to said predetermined address, transmitting signals on an RF carrier indicative of said predetermined address to activate said predetermined pager from a central transmitter; and generating a series of audio tones indicative of said message on the carrier from said central transmitter after transmitting said address signals, said generating step including the steps of encoding said message at a location remote from said transmitter, converting said encoded message into audio tones, and coupling said audio tones to said transmitter.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
106 words
A method for transmitting an alpha/numeric message to a predetermined pager adapted to receive and display the message, comprising the steps of: dialing a telephone number corresponding to said predetermined address, transmitting signals on an RF carrier indicative of said predetermined address to activate said predetermined pager from a central transmitter; and generating a series of audio tones indicative of said message on the carrier from said central transmitter after transmitting said address signals, said generating step including the steps of encoding said message at a location remote from said transmitter, converting said encoded message into audio tones, and coupling said audio tones to said transmitter.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
131 words
A message encoding unit comprising: means including a keyboard for encoding a message; a memory for storing the encoded message; a display including an arrangement of display elements, selected elements being actuateable to present an alpha/numeric character; means for driving said display in accordance with selected characters in said memory such that a portion of an alpha/numeric message is presented by said display at any given time, said drive means including means for precessing said message across said display such that characters in the message are laterally displaced a number of times to next adjacent character locations so that the characters move from one side of said display to the other; and means for decoding the message in said memory and for making said decoded message available at an output thereof.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
131 words
A message encoding unit comprising: means including a keyboard for encoding a message; a memory for storing the encoded message; a display including an arrangement of display elements, selected elements being actuateable to present an alpha/numeric character; means for driving said display in accordance with selected characters in said memory such that a portion of an alpha/numeric message is presented by said display at any given time, said drive means including means for precessing said message across said display such that characters in the message are laterally displaced a number of times to next adjacent character locations so that the characters move from one side of said display to the other; and means for decoding the message in said memory and for making said decoded message available at an output thereof.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
29 words
The message encoding unit of claim 16 wherein said memory includes a recirculating shift register memory and wherein said drive means includes means for incrementing said shift register memory.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
43 words
The message encoding unit of claim 17 wherein said means for making said decoded message available includes means coupled to said memory for converting the message therein into a serial bit stream and means for coupling said serial bit stream to said output.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
17 words
The message encoding unit of claim 16 wherein said drive means includes means for inhibiting said precession.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
41 words
The message encoding unit of claim 19 wherein said memory includes a recirculating shift register memory, wherein said drive means includes means for incrementing said shift register memory, and wherein said precession inhibiting means includes means for inhibiting said incrementing means.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
17 words
The encoding unit of claim 16 wherein said display includes a dot matrix arrangement of display elements.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
14 words
The encoding unit of claim 16 wherein said display includes light emitting diode 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) | 1979-08-24 | 1980-02-23 | 1980-08-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-08-24 | 1984-02-23 | 1984-08-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-08-24 | 1988-02-23 | 1988-08-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |