Variable intensity display device
AssigneeStewart-Warner Corporation
InventorsGregory E. Slobodzian, Stanley A. Zielinski, Robert A. Payne
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A large display system capable of displaying a video image receives video signals, quantizes those signals to produce a digital code capable of representing variations in the light content of the image and processes the digital code so as to control individual display devices on a large matrix of such devices to have different levels of visibility to thereby reproduce the video image for viewing by a large audience. A data processor is optionally utilized to store the digital representation of the video image in memory so that on line or off line presentations can be made.
Claims14
A system for displaying images on a plurality of visual display devices operated by application of a periodic power waveform, including means for applying said periodic power waveform to said system, said display devices arranged in modules to form a full display matrix capable of at least eight levels of light intensity comprising:
- a. a source of video signals;
- b. a video to digital converter producing digitally coded signals representing said video signals;
- c. means for receiving and storing a full matrix of said digital signals;
- d. means for extracting the stored digital signals;
- e. means for decoding the transmitted signals only during selected intervals on said power waveform to produce intensity level information for initiating operation of selected ones of said display devices at each interval, each of said selcted intervals corresponding to a display device turn on point for a different level of light intensity;
- f. means for transmitting the extracted signals to said decoding means;
- g. means for applying the decoded intensity level information to said display devices;
- and
- h. clock means for operating said extracting means, transmitting means, decoding means and applying means on a real time basis at a data transmission rate sufficiently greater than the frequency of the periodic power waveform that said applying means completely applies the decoded intensity level information to the selected display devices during the occurrence of each power waveform interval
- whereby each display device is energized at the proper interval on the power waveform to accurately reproduce the applied intensity level information.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.