Character generator
US4205309A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 21, 1978 |
| Grant date | May 27, 1980 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 21, 1998 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG09G1/10
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A character generator produces highly accurate electronic reproductions of characters of any chosen style on the screen of a CRT by simultaneously controlling the orientation, length and intensity of the strokes formed by the electron beam of the CRT. The character generator is coupled to an input source which periodically generates a character address signal representative of a selected character. A read only memory contains a plurality of multi-byte microprograms each located at a predetermined address. Twelve eight-bit bytes constitute a single microprogram which defines a single character. A single byte of a microprogram defines a single stroke of a character. A first three-bit element of each byte fully defines the magnitude and polarity of the X component of the stroke, while a second three-bit element of the byte defines the magnitude and polarity of the Y component of the stroke. The remaining two-bit element of the byte designates one of four available electron beam intensity levels. The read only memory sequentially reads out each byte of the microprogram designated by each sequentially received character address signal. A set of digital to analog converters converts the …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.