Abstract: A medical apparatus having a variety of electrically actuatable elements includes actuation arrangement for assisting the selection of functions of the electrically actuatable elements. The actuation arrangement includes a single actuation device, preferably a foot switch, that can be brought from an initial position into two working positions. By actuating the actuation device into one of the two working positions, function display elements provided with symbol identifiers and optical signal generators are driven in succession and are displayed on a visual field. A control arrangement processes the control signals from the signal generators, such that the optical signal generators of the function display elements are successively driven in accordance with the selected actuation direction until a desired function display element is reached. The appertaining operator elements are thereby switched in a preparatory manner.

Abstract: A method of driving a display unit having matrix-arranged pixel electrodes each connected via a capacitor to a first line, each pixel electrode being connected to a switching element which is electrically connected to an image signal line and scan signal line, and display material held between the pixel electrode and opposing electrode and being AC driven, wherein an image signal voltage is transmitted to the pixel electrode during an on-period of the switching element, and a modulating signal with its voltage reversing alternately for each field is applied to the first line during an off-period of the switching element, thereby changing the potential of the pixel electrode so that the changed potential is superposed upon, or cancelled out from, the image signal voltage, the resultant voltage being applied across the display material.

Abstract: A method of allocating space in a frame buffer memory which is not used for storing pixels to be displayed currently including the steps of selecting a portion of the memory to be allocated for off-screen memory; determining the size of an area to be allocated; comparing the size of the area to be allocated with portions of the memory available to be allocated for off-screen memory using a memory allocation technique in which the least area considered is at least as great in either its horizontal or its vertical dimension as the greater dimension of the area to be allocated, the comparison being conducted in a pattern which consistently checks first a minimum area followed by three other minimum areas in an area having a size which is the next power of two larger in each dimension than the minimum area, then four more minimum areas in an adjacent area having a size which is the next power of two larger in each dimension than the minimum area than the minimum area in the pattern, the area selected for the seco

Abstract: Method and apparatus for displaying a horizontal screen separator line between two screen areas. A first step operates a display screen controller (12) in a split screen mode of operation so as to display a first screen area (3) at an upper portion of a display screen (18) and a second screen area (4) at a lower portion of the display screen. The step of operating further includes a step of reading data from a screen memory (42) and displaying rows of corresponding alphanumeric characters. Each character is displayed as a plurality of image pixels arranged along a first number of horizontal scan lines. A further step displays a horizontal visual separator (2) between a last row of the first screen area and a first row of the second screen area.

Abstract: In the case of erasing a display on an active matrix type liquid crystal display which has a source bus drive circuit (16) and a gate bus drive circuit (17), pixel signals for turning OFF pixels of one row are applied to the source bus drive circuit, and at the same time, a clear signal (CL) is provided to the gate bus drive circuit (17), from which a voltage for turning ON transistors (13) provided in association with the respective pixels is applied to gate buses (15.sub.l through 15.sub.m) all at once. A power holding circuit (22) is provided for holding power of an operating power supply (V.sub.1) for a predetermined period of time after the power supply of the display is turned OFF, and a voltage drop detector (24) is provided for detecting the turning OFF of said power supply, and its detection signal is used to produce the clear signal (CL), which is provided to the gate bus drive circuit (17).

Abstract: A system for applying brightness signals to the pixels of a display device includes a transmission gate for each column of pixels. The control electrodes of the transmission gates are precharged to the threshold voltage of the gates to substantially increase the speed of the system. Comparators compare brightness voltages to a reference ramp voltage to enhance the speed and accuracy of the system.

Abstract: A touch sensor comprises a liquid crystal cell (10) and detector means (40, 50A, 50B) responsive to a change in the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal. The detector means comprise an HF electrical signal generator (40) together with integration means (50A, 50B) suitable for integrating the charge created by any change in the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal (14).