Call Number:

022

Repository:

Science History Institute Archives

Extent:

.01 linear feet (1 folder)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Item Description, Beckman Liquid Crystal Display Manuals Collection, 1980, Science History Institute Archives, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Date:

1980

Creator:

Beckman Instruments, Inc.

Abstract:

Two manuals, produced by Beckman Instruments, for the application, operation, and maintenance of their liquid crystal displays.

Beckman Instruments was a scientific instruments company founded by Arnold O. Beckman in 1935. Initially named National Technical Laboratories, it was one of the largest manufacturers of scientific instruments in the United States. Beckman founded Beckman Instruments while he was a member of the faculty at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Beckman Instruments' first product was an "acidimeter", later renamed to pH meter. The product was designed for a former classmate of Beckman's who used it to determine the acidity of lemons. The pH meter later became an indispensable tool for analytic chemists. After the success of the pH meter, Beckman Instruments would go on to innovate ultraviolet and infrared spectrophotometers. Beckman's company still exists today, now called Beckman Coulter, Inc., and manufactures biomedical instruments.

This collection consists of two manuals produced by Beckman Instruments for the company's liquid crystal displays. The first manual is titled "Liquid Crystals Display: Principles of Operation, Construction, and Application" and has an effective date of May 1980. The manual explains the components and characteristics of Beckman Instruments' liquid crystal displays, as well as their applications. Each section is supplemented with corresponding illustrations of the liquid crystal displays' hardware. The second manual is titled "Interfacing Liquid Crystal Displays in Digital Systems", with an effective date of July 1980. This manual is like the previous manual, though it focuses more on the chips and methods of driving liquid crystal displays. Each section is accompanied with corresponding illustrations.