U.S. patent number 3,854,130 [Application Number 05/361,493] was granted by the patent office on 1974-12-10 for polychromatic graphic visual display and control system assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Compagnie Industrielle des Telecommunications Cit-Alcatel. Invention is credited to Philippe Ligocki.
United States Patent |
3,854,130 |
Ligocki |
December 10, 1974 |
POLYCHROMATIC GRAPHIC VISUAL DISPLAY AND CONTROL SYSTEM
ASSEMBLY
Abstract
Polychromatic visual display and control system assembly,
characterized by a main memory receiving graphic data corresponding
to traces of various colors and/or various color portions to be
displayed on a polychromatic cathode tube, and a selection system
for sequentially selecting one of the various colors and for
controlling the read-out from the main memory of all the data
corresponding to the selected color such that the display of the
traces and/or portions of the traces of each of the various colors
is enabled in a sequential manner to form a composite display of
the traces of various colors.
Inventors: |
Ligocki; Philippe (Creteil,
FR) |
Assignee: |
Compagnie Industrielle des
Telecommunications Cit-Alcatel (Paris, FR)
|
Family
ID: |
26217091 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/361,493 |
Filed: |
May 18, 1973 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
May 19, 1972 [FR] |
|
|
72.18013 |
Sep 1, 1972 [FR] |
|
|
72.31146 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/22; 345/16;
345/564; 345/536 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01S
7/22 (20130101); G01S 7/062 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G01S
7/22 (20060101); G01S 7/06 (20060101); G01S
7/04 (20060101); G06f 003/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;340/324R,324AD,172.5
;178/5.4CD |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Caldwell; John W.
Assistant Examiner: Curtis; Marshall M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Craig & Antonelli
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Polychromatic graphic visual display assembly comprising:
a polychromatic cathode tube having a screen for receiving traces
having portions of various colors, the traces being renewed in
successive cycles;
a main memory means including a memory block, an address register
and an output register from which graphic data items entered into
the memory are extracted, the main memory means for each portion of
traces recording a group of data items relating to that portion,
the group of data items being classified in the memory means in a
group of addresses, the first of the data items relating to the
color of the portion and being classified as a first color change
address in the group of addresses, the other data items relating to
the parameters of the vectors constituting the portion being
classified at following addresses in the group of addresses;
data processing means for enabling the generation of the traces on
the screen of the cathode tube in response to the output
register;
vector generator means and character generator means responsive to
the data processing means for influencing a cathode beam deflection
control element means so as to make traces and characters appear on
the screen;
means for causing changes in color of the portions of traces in
response to said data processing means; and
color change address selecting means responsive to said memory
block and said address register thereof for listing the color
change addresses of the various color groups and recording the
corresponding color data thereof, the color change address
selecting means selecting in sequence one of the various colors and
controlling the reading of the main memory means for extracting
successively from the main memory means all of the data
corresponding to the groups of addresses of the main memory means
containing identical color data for the selected color so as to
extract the data corresponding to the various colors in
sequence.
2. Visual display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the color
change address selecting means includes auxiliary memory means
responsive to the memory block and the address register for listing
the color change addresses and recording the corresponding color
data, and color change address sorting system means controlling the
auxiliary memory means to sort out the addresses in the auxiliary
memory means which contain identical color data at the reading
outputs of the auxiliary memory means and for controlling the
reading inputs of the main memory means.
3. Visual display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the
cathode beam deflection control element means provides an output of
digital signals indicative of light spot positioning data on the
screen of the cathode tube, the color change address selecting
means being responsive to the digital signals for listing for each
color change address the light spot positioning data generating the
traces from each color change, the color change address selecting
means controlling the reading of the main memory means to extract
the corresponding light spot positioning data from the main memory
means at the same time as the extraction of the data of each color
change.
4. Visual display assembly according to claim 1, wherein the
digital signals are binary signals.
5. Visual display assembly according to claim 4, wherein the color
change address selecting means comprises:
auxiliary memory means responsive to the memory block, the address
register and the outputs of the cathode beam deflection control
element means for listing the color change address and for
recording the corresponding color change and positioning data;
and
color change address sorting system means controlling the auxiliary
memory means to sort out the addresses in the auxiliary memory
means which contain identical color data at the reading outputs of
the auxiliary memory means and for controlling reading inputs of
the main memory means.
6. Visual display assembly according to claim 2, wherein the color
change address sorting out system means comprises:
reference element means for providing successive outputs for each
cycle of traces and for each of the colors of a reference signal
characteristic of the color;
color comparator means for comparing, at each instant, the
reference signal with a color change signal provided at one of the
outputs of the auxiliary memory means, the color change signal
being characteristic of the color change data existing in the
auxiliary memory means in the color address corresponding to the
output at the instant, the comparator providing an output of one of
a positive test signal when the color change signal corresponds to
the reference signal and of a negative test signal when the color
change signal does not correspond to the reference signal;
an address counter for the auxiliary memory means;
incrementing means responsive to the comparator means for providing
an output to the address counter of the auxiliary memory means, the
incrementing means incrementing the said address counter in
response to a negative test signal, the auxiliary memory means
providing at one of the reading outputs thereof an operand signal
when a positive test signal is obtained for the color address
corresponding to such output, the operand signal controlling the
main memory means so that a trace corresponding to the data
contained at the corresponding address in the main memory means is
effected on the screen.
7. Visual display assembly according to claim 6, wherein the
reference element means is a counter capable of changing states for
each cycle of traces in accordance with the number of colors in
each of the cycles.
8. Visual display assembly according to claim 7, wherein the
incrementing means includes an AND gate having one input connected
to the output of the comparator means and another input connected
to receive clock pulses.
9. Visual display assembly according to claim 5, wherein the color
change address sorting out system means comprises:
reference element means for providing successive outputs for each
cycle of traces and for each of the colors of a reference signal
characteristic of the color;
color comparator means for comparing, at each instant, the
reference signal with a color change signal provided at one of the
outputs of the auxiliary memory means, the color change signal
being characteristic of the color change data existing in the
auxiliary memory means in the color address corresponding to the
output at the instant, the comparator providing an output of one of
a positive test signal when the color change signal corresponds to
the reference signal and of a negative test signal when the color
change signal does not correspond to the said reference signal;
an address counter for the auxiliary memory means;
incrementing means responsive to the comparator means for providing
an output to the address counter of the auxiliary memory means, the
incrementing means incrementing the said address counter in
response to a negative test signal, the auxiliary memory means
providing at one of the reading outputs thereof an operand signal
when a positive test signal is obtained for the color address
corresponding to such output, the operand signal controlling the
main memory means so that a trace corresponding to the data
contained at the corresponding address in the main memory means is
effected on the screen.
10. Visual display assembly according to claim 9, wherein the
reference element means is a counter capable of changing states for
each cycle of traces in accordance with the number of colors in
each of the cycles.
11. Visual display assembly according to claim 10, wherein the
incrementing means includes an AND gate having one input connected
to the output of the comparator means and another input connected
to receive clock pulses.
12. Graphic visual display assembly comprising:
polychromatic cathode tube means for displaying a picture composed
of traces of various colors in accordance with binary data items
supplied by a computer in groups of data items, each group defining
successive traces having the same color;
main memory means for recording the groups of data items at
successive groups of addresses wherein the first address is the
color data item of the corresponding traces;
processing unit means responsive to the main memory means for
generating signals for controlling the cathode tube means in
accordance with data read-out from the main memory means; and
selection circuit means for sequentially selecting one of the
various colors and for controlling the read-out from the main
memory means of all the groups of data items preceded by the color
data item of the selected color, the data read-out being supplied
to the processing unit means for enabling the display, one color
after another, of the traces having the same color to form a
composite picture.
13. A visual display assembly according to claim 12, wherein the
selection circuit means includes an auxiliary memory means for
recording the color addresses and recording the corresponding color
data.
14. A visual display assembly according to claim 13, wherein the
selection circuit means also includes color sorting means for
controlling the auxiliary memory means to sort out the addresses in
the suxiliary memory means which contain identical color data at
the reading outputs of the auxiliary memory means and for
controlling the reading inputs of the main memory means in
accordance therewith.
Description
The present invention concerns a polychromatic graphic visual
display assembly enabling, more particularly, the traffic of
various craft or the trace of various mathematical curves to be
observed on a screen.
Various data relating to craft moving in the region of space
considered and concerning, more particularly, their position, their
identity, their speed or their altitude, in the case of aircraft,
are transmitted to the observer installation, for example by a
radar or other detection or telemeasuring devices. The vectors
which are to be traced on the panoramic indicator screens are
intended, for example, to indicate the direction and the speed of
the craft, or of the cartographic elements. These vectors are
linked together and thus form broken lines or polygonal contours.
They have well-defined origins and ends. It is particularly
interesting to be able to observe the traffic of these various
craft according to traces of different color, in order to avoid any
possible confusion between the trajectories of the various
craft.
Known devices enabling such results generally comprise
A POLYCHROMATIC CATHODE TUBE WHOSE SCREEN IS SUITABLE FOR RECEIVING
TRACES OF SEVERAL COLORS, THESE TRACES BEING RENEWED IN SUCCESSIVE
CYCLES;
A MAIN MEMORY COMPRISING A MEMORY BLOCK, AN ADDRESS REGISTER AND AN
OUTPUT REGISTER, FROM WHICH ARE EXTRACTED THE GRAPHICAL DATA
RECEIVED FROM A CALCULATOR OR COMPUTER (THIS DATA IS RECORDED BY
THE MEMORY BLOCK AND CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO ITS ADDRESS IN THAT
BLOCK AND IT CONCERNS THE DIRECTING PARAMETERS AND THE COLOR OF
EACH VECTOR FORMING A PART OF THE POLYCHROMATIC TRACES);
A DATA PROCESSING MEANS OR ELEMENT FOR ENABLING THE GENERATION OF
TRACES ON THE SCREEN OF THE CATHODE TUBE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
OUTPUT REGISTER OF THE MAIN MEMORY;
A VECTOR GENERATOR CONTROLLED BY THE DATA PROCESSING ELEMENT AND
SUITABLE FOR AFFECTING THE DEFLECTION OF THE CATHODE BEAM SO AS TO
MAKE TRACES APPEAR ON THE SCREEN (Generally, the vector generator
is connected with a character generator enabling characters to be
made to appear on the screen); and
MEANS FOR CAUSING CHANGES IN COLOR OF THE VECTORS, THESE MEANS
BEING CONTROLLED BY THE CONTROL BLOCK AND ALSO FORM A PART OF THE
DEVICES.
Generally, the polychromatic visual display assembly is equipped
with a cathodic penetration tube which enables a polychromatic
adding synthesis, controlled by the energy in the electrons of the
beam. That is, by switching the acceleration voltage of the
electrons, the color on the screen is changed. Such voltage
switching requires high power, for example, with a conventional
switching device, the average power dissipated is on the order of
100 watts for a cathode tube having a diameter of 40 centimeters
and with a switching time not exceeding a millisecond.
The loss of time, when tracing figures, which results from such
relative slowness, causes stresses for programming pictures.
Indeed, only 25 milliseconds at the most are available for tracing
the picture, since the light revival frequency must not go below 40
Kc/s as this would cause a disagreeable flickering. If the color is
not counterbalanced by a reduction in the representing capacity,
the total duration assigned to the color switching operations
during a cycle must remain small with respect to the period of each
cycle of traces. With a switching time in the order of a
millisecond, this necessitates a grouping together of the elements
of the picture according to color to be effected by programming in
order to require of the visual display assembly only the minimum of
four color changes per picture (in the case where the polychromatic
visual display assembly is a four-color assembly, for example).
The programming requirement is, when analized, a very serious
matter. In the first place, it makes the rearranging and
transferring of a new visual display program compulsory for the
least change in color of a simple vector of the traces, since the
place of each vector in the main memory depends on its color. If
the link with the computer has a low output, the operator must wait
a long time for the complete message to be transmitted. What is
more serious is that the rearranging requires a great amount of
work by the calculator. Considering, for example, a curve traced in
a certain color by means of a sequence of vectors; the simple
changing of the color of a small part of the curve requires the
breaking of that sequence and hence, not only transferring the
element in question to another memory zone, but also inserting two
further positioning instructions, the one at the outset of the
element which has changed color, and the other at the resumption,
on the curve of the interrupted chain.
There are even more serious problems. For example, performing
graphic systems generally enable the simultaneous display of
several pictures. Thus, it is possible to feed four cathode units,
for example, with distinct pictures. The memory, the vector
generator, the character generator and the connected circuits are
common and used on a time-sharing basis. In principle, the four
pictures are traced successively, extinguishing, for each, the
beams of the screens which are not concerned. The program
requirement for grouping together according to color, necessitates
that with multi-screen systems, the four pictures are dissociated
and that at the least change made to one of the pictures, the
complete message of the four pictures must be reorganized by the
computer and transferred to the assembly.
A programming facility afforded to known assemblies is the
subprogram call instruction by means of which a picture element
capable of being repeated needs to be written only once, in a
"corner" of the memory, from where it may be called through the
"main program." It is quite evident that the sorting out according
to color requirement prevents any change in color within a
sub-program. These sub-programs must be written in an achromatic
way and will compulsorily be visually displayed in monochromatic
form.
With regard to power dissipation problems in the color switching
elements, a known device enables very fast switching without
permanent power dissipation to be ensured. The duration of the
color changes may thus be reduced to 50 microseconds. In a great
number of applications, that solution is satisfactory and enables
the color to be treated as a variably selected parameter, in the
same way as the brightness of the traces, for example.
Unfortunately, one requirement limits, at present, the number of
color changes allowed per picture. Technological imperatives limit
the average power exchanged between the color switching device and
the reactive charge which the anode of the cathode tube represents.
In present technology, that limit is reached at 20 color changes
per cycle of traces and per screen (the screens not concerned
remaining at rest). That limit is rarely reached, but it may
happen, in certain applications, that the limit is
insufficient.
A conventional solution enabling the requirement for programming
according to color to be obviated consists in having the sorting
out of the vectors effected by the visual display assembly and not
by the computer. That solution does not, however, rid the
programmer of all requirements pertaining to color. That is, with
this solution it is not only necessary to record a list for the
sorting out of the vectors according to color, but moreover, it is
necessary to:
1. Dissect each assembly of traces into "isochromatic elements or
vectors." That is, determine all the elements whose color is liable
to be modified.
2. Make the trace of each isochromatic element thus determined
practically autonomous, that is, independent from what may be
traced beforehand. Thus, not only the color, which is the cause of
that dissociation, but all the other parameters, as well as the
original positioning of each vector, must be specified at the
beginning of each element.
3. Organize in a quite particular manner the visual display
program. That is, each isochromatic element must be recorded in the
form of an achromatic sub-program and the main program then takes
the form of a list of sub-programs, each being preceded by the
indication of its color. If there are four distinct colors, these
requirements then being satisfied, the main program must be read
four times in succession, by cycle of traces, that is, calling only
the sub-programs which are in the processed color.
The part of the requirements imposed by the above solution present
problems when analized. For example, considering a curve traced
quite naturally by a sequence of small vectors, if it is required
to be able to show the operator any element of the curve and to
modify its color, this simple method of tracing is no longer
possible, since each elementary vector must be preceded by a
positioning and the specification of its color. It must, moreover,
be transmitted in the form of a sub-program with the jump and
return to main program instructions which this entails. This is the
equivalent of saying that it is an impossible task. It is therefore
possible to have doubts about the advantage of a solution which
sacrifices, to avoid a programming requirement which might be
troublesome but not impossible to overcome, the true possibilities
of using color.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to avoid these
various programming and technologically limiting requirements.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a
polychromatic graphic visual display assembly comprising:
a polychromatic cathode tube whose screen is suitable for receiving
traces having portions of various colors, these traces being
renewed in successive cycles;
a main memory comprising a memory block, an address register and an
output register from which the graphic data received from a
computer are extracted, the main memory being suitable, for each
portion of traces, for recording a group of data items relating to
that portion, the group of data items being classified in the
memory in a group of addresses, the first of these data items
relating to the color of the portion and being classified at a
first address, called the "color" address, in the group of
addresses, the other data items relating to the parameters of the
vectors constituting the portion being classified at the following
addresses in the group of addresses;
a data processing element for enabling the generation of the traces
on the screen of the cathode tube, in accordance with the output of
the output register;
a vector generator and a character generator controlled by the data
processing element and capable of influencing the deflection of the
cathode beam so as to make traces and characters appear on the
screen;
means for causing changes in color of portions of the traces, the
means being controlled by the control block; and
the assembly being characterized in that it comprises a color
change address selecting element controlled by the memory block and
its address register, the selecting element listing the color
addresses of the various groups and recording the corresponding
color data, and the selection element being capable of controlling
the reading of the main memory, so as to extract successively from
that memory the data corresponding to the groups of addresses of
the main memory containing identical color change data.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become more obvious from the following description
when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, which
shows, for purposes of illustration only, two embodiments in
accordance with the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustration of an embodiment
according to the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustration in another
embodiment according to the present invention.
Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals are
utilized to designate like parts throughout the several views, the
visual display assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are provided with a
polychromatic cathode tube 1 whose screen 2 is suitable for
receiving traces of several colors, these traces being renewed in
successive cycles. A main memory is also provided and includes a
memory block 3, an address register 4 and an output register 5. The
geographical data concerning the directing parameters and the color
of the vectors forming a part of the polychromatic traces are
received from a calculator or computer 6 by the block 3. This data
is classified according to its address by means of the address
register 4. A data processing element 7 for enabling the generation
of the traces and controlling the traces on the screen 2 of the
cathode tube 1 is connected to the output register 5 and controlled
thereby. A vector generator 8 and a character generator 9
controlled by the processing element 7 and suitable for influencing
the deflection of the cathode beam are provided so as to make
traces and characters appear on the screen. These vector and
character generators control the horizontal deviation plates 10 and
vertical deviation plates 11 by means of analog voltages supplied
by a binary-to-analog convertor 12. It has been supposed, by way of
an example, that one of the horizontal deviation plates 13 and one
of the vertical deviation plates 14 are brought to a fixed
reference potential.
The assembly comprises, also, means 15 for causing changes in color
of the traces. These means consist of a switching element for the
high voltage applied to the cathode 16 of the cathode tube 1 and
they are controlled by the element 7. It has been supposed, by way
of an example, that the wehnelt 17, as well as the anode 18 of the
cathode tube, is brought to the fixed reference potential.
Lastly, the assembly includes an address selection element or
system 19 for selecting by change in color, and controlled by the
memory block 3, by the address register 4 of the main memory and by
the processing element 7. The selection element is controlled so as
to receive, from the memory block 3 and from its address register
4, the data relating to each change in color of the traces and
enables all the addresses in the main memory where color change
data is stored to be listed. The selecting element 19 then controls
the address register 4 of the main memory, so that, for each cycle
of traces of several colors, the data items extracted from the main
memory is classified into several groups of addresses comprising
identical color change data. Thus, in the example of a chosen
embodiment, for which the visual display assembly enables red,
orange, yellow and green traces to be effected, the selection
element 19 which has received data concerning the address and the
color of the various color changes contained in the main memory,
controls the reading of the main memory, so that, for example:
Only data concerning the red-colored traces are extracted from the
main memory. That is, only the addresses preceded by a change in
the red color will be selected and consequently occupied by data
concerning red-colored traces. For that cycle of traces, the
red-colored traces effected through the data processor 7, the
vector generator 8, the character generator 9 and the switching
system 15 will appear in the first instance on the screen.
The processing then continues by means of element 19 for selection
by color change address, in an identical manner for the other
colors for the cycle of traces considered. That is, all the
orange-colored traces, then all the yellow-colored traces and
lastly all the green-colored traces are formed.
The operation of the selection element 19 will be better understood
by way of the following description. The selection element includes
an auxiliary memory 20 controlled by the memory block 3 and by the
address register 4 of the main memory. It is this auxiliary memory
20 which records the address and the color of each change in color
in a same cycle of traces. There is also provided an address
sorting out system 22 which includes a reference element 24 capable
of sending out, successively, for each cycle of traces and for each
color of traces, a reference signal characteristic of that color.
The reference element may be a counter, having four states, in the
case, for example. of a visual display system having four colors of
traces. The counter will be placed in the first, second, third and
fourth states, respectively for red, orange, yellow and green,
during a cycle of traces. It will therefore supply, at the output,
successively, four reference signals, each of these signals
relating to a color of the traces. The counter may receive, on one
of its inputs 25, a signal for resetting to zero at the end of the
cycle, coming from the auxiliary memory 20 through a referencing
element 26. The reference element 24 receives, on one input 27, a
signal indicating the end of a reading pass of the auxiliary
memory, each time a group of addresses concerning a same color is
exhausted. The end of reading pass signal causes the change in
states of the counter.
The color change address sorting out system also includes a color
comparator 28, which receives, on one input 29, the reference
signal of the reference element 24. The comparator receives,
simultaneously, on another of its inputs 30, the "color" signals
sent out by an output of the auxiliary memory 20, relating to the
various changes in color listed in the auxiliary memory and coming
into play during a cycle of traces. If the "color signal" 30
corresponds, at the instant considered, to the reference signal 29,
a signal which may be qualified, for example, as a "successful
test" signal, appears at the output 31 of the comparator and causes
the blocking of an "AND" gate 32, one of whose inputs receives
pulses from a clock 37. If, on the other hand, the color signal 30
does not correspond to the reference signal, a negative test signal
appears at the output 32 of the comparator and makes the "AND" gate
32 conductive. An address counter 33 for the auxiliary memory 20 is
connected by an input 34 to the output of the gate 32. Reading or
recording in the auxiliary memory is effected through a recording
and reading element 23, controlled by an output 39 of the data
processor 7.
The selection system 19 enables the reading of the contents of the
auxiliary memory 20 by the sorting out of the groups of color
change addresses. Thus, at the instant considered in the example,
only the successive addresses in the main memory preceded by a
change in the red color, then the addresses preceded by a change in
the orange color, the addresses preceded by a change in the yellow
color, and then in the green color, will be retained for the
traces. For each address of the auxiliary memory, for which a
successful test signal has been sent out by the comparator 28,
there appears at an output of that auxiliary memory corresponding
to that address, an operand which enables the reading of the main
memory at the address considered. In a first operation phase of the
visual display assembly, the graphic data, for a cycle of traces
coming from the calculator, are charged in the main memory. In a
second operation phase, the charging of the auxiliary memory 20 is
effected by the data concerning the address and color of each color
change, a recording order having reached an input 35 of that
memory. Lastly, the third operation phase is the auxiliary memory
reading phase, controlled by the selection system 19, as has
previously been described. Each time an address forming a part of a
same color change group in the auxiliary memory is selected, an
operand appears at one of the corresponding outputs of the buffer
21 of that memory, this causing the graphic data contained at that
address to be extracted from the main memory. The trace
corresponding to that data then appears in the color of the color
change group selected by means of the reference element 24;
If a "successful test" signal is applied at the output 31 of the
comparator, there is no signal at the input 34 of the address
counter 33. In that case, the address counter 33 does not change
states, this causing the appearance of an operand at an output
corresponding to the address considered in the auxiliary memory and
thus, the reading of the contents of the main memory 3 at the
address considered, when the input 36 of the address register of
the main memory has received the reading signal corresponding to
that address. A trace corresponding to the data contained at that
address of the main memory is then effected on the screen in the
color determined by the reference element 25 affecting the
switching element 15.
If a negative test signal appears at the output 31 of the
comparator 28, this is because the color comparison test is
unsuccessful, the color signal reaching an input 30 of the
comparator not corresponding to the reference signal, the gate 32
then supplies a pulse to the address counter 33 which changes
states and thus causes the passing to the following address of the
auxiliary memory while a new comparison of the color signal with
the reference signal is established. Comparison tests are thus
effected at the successive addresses of the auxiliary memory until
an address where a successful comparison test may be established is
detected, this causing the appearance of a new operand on an output
of the auxiliary memory and the subsequent reading of the
corresponding address in the main memory.
According to FIGS. 1 and 2, the assembly therefore enables the
traces to be effected separately according to successive colors,
during a cycle. In the case of a four-color system, the auxiliary
memory is passed through four times, each pass corresponding to a
color. The programming requirements relating to the colors are thus
avoided and the color switching system does not operate in
prohibitive switching speed conditions. With the color change
sorting out system, there is no longer any limit in the number of
changes in the colors of the traces. The system operates without
modification of the aspect of the message transmitted by the
calculator.
FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention
which is intended, moreover, to avoid programming requirements
relating to the operating of the spot when there are color changes.
In the visual display assembly in FIG. 2, the address register 4 is
forced by the calculator or computer 6, at the beginning of the
transfer, towards the memory block 3 at the address considered and
is incremented at each word of the graphic message. The selection
element 19 is moreover controlled by the binary outputs 38 and 40
of the assembly 12 comprising a binary-to-analog converter
supplying the analog control voltages of the horizontal deviation
plates 10 and vertical deviation plates 11. Thus, for each color
change address, the data concerning the positioning of the light
spot which generates the traces from each color change, are
supplied to the selection element 19, which records them. The
controlling of the selection element 19 by the binary outputs 38
and 40 of the assembly 12 is applied to the auxiliary memory 20
which records, besides the address and the color of each change in
color in a same cycle of traces, the data concerning the position
of the light spot at the instant of the change in color.
In operation, the selection element 19 which has received data
concerning the address, color, various changes in color and the
data concerning the positioning of the spot when the color changes,
contained in the main memory, will control the reading of the main
memory so that, for each cycle of traces having the same color, all
the traces of that color are then effected by selection, in the
main memory, of the address preceded by a change in that color, the
data concerning the coordinates of the light spot being extracted
from the main memory at the same time as the data concerning the
change in color by means of the selection element which has
previously recorded them. The programming requirements relating to
the positioning of the spot are thus avoided due to the extra
information supplied by the auxiliary memory for each change in
color, besides the address and the color in the main memory, the
coordinates of the spot at the instant of the change in color are
shown. These coordinates, at each change in color, are calculated
by the data processing element during the original reading cycle
which is used for seeking color change addresses. During that
original scanning of the main memory, the various instructions are
carried out as in a normal cycle of traces, but the spot remains
extinguished as long as the charging of the auxiliary memory is
effected. During that scanning, each time there is a change in
color, the various data concerning the address and the color of the
change in color is recorded in the auxiliary memory, but moreover,
it is easy, at that instant, to record, also, in the auxiliary
memory, data concerning the coordinates of the light spot when that
change in color takes place.
During trace presentation cycles, the auxiliary memory is scanned
and the isochromatic assemblies are traced by successive colors;
nevertheless, before the trace of each assembly, the light spot is
positioned according to the data recorded in the auxiliary memory.
If, at a given instant, a block of traces forming a part of an
isochromatic assembly is analyzed in the main memory, then traced
and if a color change instruction then appears, this indicates the
end of the isochromatic block. This is interpreted by the data
processing element as a reading order at the outgoing address of a
block of the same color in the auxiliary memory. Therefore, before
jumping to that outgoing address of the following block, the spot
is positioned according to the positioning data contained in the
auxiliary memory.
While I have shown and described only two embodiments in accordance
with the present invention, it is understood that the same is not
limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and
modifications as are known to those skilled in the art, and we
therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and
described herein but intend to cover all such changes and
modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *