amos@instable.UUCP (Amos Shapir) (01/08/87)
LCD display enable different shapes of on/off segments to be created. The challenge: design a better looking 7-segment set of digits instead of the popular slanted rectangular. Bonus point will be awarded if you can do it in less than 7 segments (4 is the theoretical minimum). Yes, I know it can be done in 5*7 dot matrix for the same price, but the exercise may lead to nicer-looking designs. -- Amos Shapir National Semiconductor (Israel) 6 Maskit st. P.O.B. 3007, Herzlia 46104, Israel (011-972) 52-522261 amos%nsta@nsc 34.48'E 32.10'N
ken@rochester.ARPA (SKY) (01/08/87)
It can be done with 6 segments provided you are willing to go to curved
segments. Here is the basic layout:
-----
| /
\_ /_
/ \
/ /
-----
Label the segments a-f from top to bottom, left to right.
0: def
1: cd
2: acdf
3: acef
4: bcd
5: abef
6: cdef
7: acd
8: abcdef
9: abcd
Comments: 0 is half height. 4 looks funny but with a little juggling
can look good. The tops should have rounded edges to help. It also
helps to skew the whole figure so the diagonal is about 15 degrees from
the vertical. 7 gets fair treatment this time.
I wish I could say I invented this but I saw this in a very old
flourescent display calculator some 10-15 years ago. There may
be a patent on this scheme. I have always wondered why this
encoding hasn't been made more popular.
Kencolonel@sunybcs.UUCP (01/10/87)
_Design_ featured this 7-stroke alphabet around 1972: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- It must be art; it's not pretty! (A few months later I implemented this on a Cyber driving a Calcomp roll plotter. I've still got the source somewhere ... ) If you think this is bad, the authors also proposed a "simplified" 4-stroke alphabet: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- a ckqx dpb e fv gj h iy l m n owu r sz t -- Col. G. L. Sicherman UU: ...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel CS: colonel@buffalo-cs BI: colonel@sunybcs, csdsiche@ubvms
l-aron@obelix.UUCP (01/23/87)
In article <668@instable.UUCP> amos@instable.UUCP (Amos Shapir) writes: >The challenge: design a better looking 7-segment set of digits ... Remember the electroluminous valves? (I'm not 100 % on that word...) Those looked (any `round today?) like ordinary "radio valves" and had got one electrode (anode? cathode?) per digit. The advantage of this is beautiful digits. Now, could you do the same with LCD? Yes, if you can manufacture multi-layer LCDs, it should be possible. You will have to have ten segments, one per digit, or maybe fewer, if you use the same "small circles" for 6, 9, and 8... Has anyone heard of or seen anything like this done? I have not. -- Name: Lars Aronsson Snail: Rydsvagen 256 A:10, S-582 48 Linkoping, Sweden UUCP: {mcvax,seismo}!enea!liuida!obelix!l-aron ARPA: l-aron%obelix.ida.liu.se@seismo.CSS.GOV