|
T O P I C R E V I E W
|
Snaggy
Member # 123
|
 posted March 15, 2009 12:13
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr., a pioneer of television technology who with his boss, Allen B. DuMont, and others in the nascent industry perfected the cathode ray tube that eventually let little wooden boxes with grainy black-and-white screens bring moving images into millions of homes, died on March 5 at his home in Lacey, Wash. He was 99.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/arts/television/15goldsmith.html
cool...
In 1947, he received patent No. 2,455,992 for a video game that allowed a player to shoot down an image of an airplane with a beam aimed at the screen.
|
Metasquares
Member # 4441
|
posted March 16, 2009 15:16
quote:
Originally posted by Snaggy:
In 1947, he received patent No. 2,455,992 for a video game that allowed a player to shoot down an image of an airplane with a beam aimed at the screen.
Depending on how loose the definition of "airplane" and "beam" are, it sounds like he may have patented Duck Hunt ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
The world is worse off for his passing...
|
dragonman97
Member # 780
|
posted March 16, 2009 16:07
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2304/in-nintendos-duck-hunt-how-does-the-tv-know-when-youve-hit-a-duck
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question273.htm
I'd seen the former before, but not the latter. (Which has pure geeky detail.)
It's utterly brilliant and simple (though obviously technical).
http://www.google.com/patents?id=n-NZAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=2,455,992#PPA5,M1
...is Goldsmith's patent. It does /not/ involve pointing a 'gun' at the screen. (It uses buttons on a TV cabient.) I skimmed the patent, and the gist is that it uses very funky apparatus to alter the image on the screen, controlling a 'trace' which sounds to be the 'beam' used to shoot down the plane. Essentially speaking it sounds to be an aircraft version of 'missile command.'
Still cool to be sure, but quite different tech.
|
|
