Abstract: An image control unit, for generating control signals corresponding to text or graphic characters, in cooperation with a video display device having an image point storage device, produces plural signals including signals for controlling horizontal and vertical synchronization, for loading of the image point storage device, and for indicating reference marks on the screen of the video display unit. The image control unit contains a programmable memory for storing control words associated with lines to be represented on the video display unit in a plurality of blocks. A plurality of lines of each block are stored as one line in the memory and each line is read out repeatedly, in accordance with the line length of its associated block. The line length of each block is set by control signals stored in the ROM for the preceeding block.

Abstract: An apparatus for displaying characters on a picture screen of a display unit has an image point memory interconnected between an image generator and a display unit. The image generator controls the display of the characters on a picture screen of the display unit and contains a character generator in which data words corresponding to the shape of the characters to be displayed are stored. The image point memory serves as an image repetition memory and contains an allocated memory having memory elements corresponding to all of the possible raster points on the picture screen. The contents of the allocated memory are cyclically read out and transmitted as a video signal to the display unit wherein the characters are displayed line by line. A logic element is preconnected to the allocated memory for permitting a number of characters to be superimposed for generating multiple characters and further permitting certain characters to be cancelled.