Teaching or training aid system

Claim 2

A teaching aid comprising: a display array of illuminable indicia, each indicium being of a character to indicate a unit to be learned; lamp means behind each indicium for illuminating said indicium; switch means connected with said lamp means for selecting respective ones of said display array of indicia to be illuminated; said switch means including a stepping switch selectively connectable to said lamp means to illuminate selected ones of indicia; periodic control means connected to said switch means for operating the respective selected lamp means in accordance with the periodicity of said control means; and said periodic control means including a relaxation oscillator to control the period of operation of said switch means and the stepping rate of said stepping switches.

Claim 3

The teaching aid defined in claim 1 wherein: said switch means includes a selection switch connected for selection of one of a plurality of modes of operation of said teaching aid by respective connections between said stepping switches, and manually operative switches connected to said lamps so that a teacher may select the lamp to be illuminated, or by-passed in accordance with a particular training program.

Claim 4

A teaching aid for selectively displaying indicia of units to be learned in a random or sequential program, said aid comprising: a switching matrix array including rows and columns of connections and of matrix elements, each element comprising a steering diode, a normally closed switch and a lamp connected in series between a row and a column and being normally actuatable by the presence of a d-c potential thereacross of a polarity conductable across said diode; said matrix being selectively operable in a sequential and in a random mode, said lamps forming a display array in which individual lamps may be made inoperative by manually opening said switch series connected therewith; row and column drivers connected to said rows and columns of said matrix array for on a d-c d-c potential between said rows and columns; a digital control system including a counter with decoder outputs connected to said row and column drivers in said switching matrix for actuating said lamps in a predetermined sequential or random order when a row and column drivers are gated on; and pulse generators connected to said counter and including selective means for providing non-uniform low frequency or high frequency pulses to said counter for operating said drivers in accordance with the decoded signals derived from said counter to provide random or sequential patterns of illumination of said lamps in said matrix to display a predetermined training pattern for students observing the indicia pattern thus generated, the selected inoperative lamps being part of the pattern.

Claim 5

A teaching aid for selectively displaying indicia of units to be learned in a random or sequential program, said aid comprising: a switching matrix array including rows and columns of connections and of matrix elements, each element comprising a steering diode, a normally closed switch and a lamp connected in series between a row and a column and being normally actuatable by the presence of a d-c potential thereacross of a polarity conductable across said diode; said matrix being selectively operable in a sequential and in a random mode, said lamps forming a display array in which individual lamps may be made inoperative by manually opening said switch series connected therewith; row and column drivers connected to said rows and columns of said matrix array for on a d-c d-c potential between said rows and columns; a digital control system including a counter with decoder outputs connected to said row and column drivers in said switching matrix for actuating said lamps in a predetermined sequential or random order when a row and column drivers are gated on; and pulse generators connected to said counter and including selective means for providing non-uniform low frequency or high frequency pulses to said counter for operating said drivers in accordance with the decoded signals derived from said counter to provide random or sequential patterns of illumination of said lamps in said matrix to display a predetermined training pattern for students observing the indicia pattern thus generated, the selected inoperative lamps being part of the pattern.

Claim 6

In a teaching aid system: means for recording selectively digital signals on a recording medium; a digital signal generator; a matrix of manually operable switching elements connected with said recording means so that selection of particular switching elements in said matrix can be made manually to record particular digital signals from said generator on said recording means; a playback means associated with said recording means for playing back the recording medium for receiving said digital signals recorded thereon; a playback decoding matrix including switch elements and a digital input means responsive to said digital signals from said playback means and adapted to actuate said switch elements in response to the decoding of said playback signals; and a display array including lamps and associated indicia arrayed to be illuminated by said lamps, said lamps being connected with said switch elements so as to be illuminated selectively in accordance with said decoded signals, whereby a program of materials to be learned can be recorded on said recording means by the manual operation of said switching elements of said matrix and reproduced on playback on said display array.

Claim 7

In a teaching aid system: means for recording selectively digital signals on a recording medium; a digital signal generator; a matrix of manually operable switching elements connected with said recording means so that selection of particular switching elements in said matrix can be made manually to record particular digital signals from said generator on said recording means; a playback means associated with said recording means for playing back the recording medium for receiving said digital signals recorded thereon; a playback decoding matrix including switch elements and a digital input means responsive to said digital signals from said playback means and adapted to actuate said switch elements in response to the decoding of said playback signals; and a display array including lamps and associated indicia arrayed to be illuminated by said lamps, said lamps being connected with said switch elements so as to be illuminated selectively in accordance with said decoded signals, whereby a program of materials to be learned can be recorded on said recording means by the manual operation of said switching elements of said matrix and reproduced on playback on said display array.