VISUAL DISPLAY METHOD AND APPARATUS

• US 3,580,978 A
• Filed: 06/06/1968
• Issued: 05/25/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Link Flight Simulation Corporation Kirkwood Industrial Park Binghamton NY 13902-1237
• Original Assignee: William C. Ebeling
• Inventors: Ebeling, William C.
• Application Number:
  US04/735,109
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• US Class Current: 434/43
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/32 by projected image G09B9/307, G09B9/36 take precedence

Abstract

Apparatus for generating a realistic wide-screen visual display for an aircraft simulator with realistic perspective throughout plural widely different phases of simulated flight by scanning a plurality of different successive types of transparencies with a flying spot scanner to derive video signals to drive television display projectors, including the scanning of a pair of transparencies to provide a background terrain elevation image without topographical features, scanning of a second type of transparency to provide an image of an airport or the like to be inset into the background image and distorting the inset image as simulated range and elevation angle from the airport vary, scanning a third type of transparency to provide a different type of inset image during simulated approach and landing and distorting that inset image in accordance with deviation of the simulated aircraft from a reference glideslope, and scanning a fourth type of transparency to provide a panoramic view of the airport during simulated taxiing and parking maneuvers, with means for automatically controlling the successive scanning modes with signals from a flight computer.

Claims

1. Visual display apparatus for providing a display of an area to an operator of a vehicle simulator, comprising (1) means responsive to controls of said simulator for providing a plurality of computed quantities;

(2) a plurality of picTures of said area each representing a view of said area from the same distance from a reference point associated with said area but each a view from a position having a different angular orientation from said reference point;

(3) control means responsive to said computed quantities for selecting at a given instant a single one of said pictures in accordance with the instantaneous simulated azimuth and elevation angles of a simulated vehicle relative to a simulated reference point;

(4) projection means for projecting an image of the selected one of said pictures to be viewed by said operator; and

(5) means responsive to said computed quantities for varying the size of the projected image inversely in accordance with the instantaneous simulated distance of said simulated vehicle from said simulated reference point.

2. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 1 including means responsive to said computed quantities for distorting said projected image in accordance with the difference between the angular orientation of said selected one of said pictures and one of said simulated angles.

3. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said projection means includes scanning means for viewing said selected one of said pictures, in which said plurality of pictures are arranged in groups, each of said groups comprising pictures all taken from the same azimuth angle from said reference point at different elevation angles from said reference point, and in which said control means is operative to position a selected group of said pictures relative to said scanning means in accordance with the instantaneous simulated azimuth of said simulated vehicle and operative to control said scanning means to view said selected one of said pictures from said selected group in accordance with the instantaneous simulated elevation angle of said simulated vehicle.

4. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said plurality of pictures comprises a strip of transparent film having a plurality of successive frames, each of said frames comprising rows and columns of said pictures, each of the pictures of a given frame representing a view of said area from a common one of said angles from said reference point.

5. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said projection means includes means for projecting a background scene to be viewed by said operator and in which said projection means is operative to inset said projected replica into said background scene.

6. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said projection means includes further means responsive to at least one of said computed quantities commensurate with a simulated attitude angle of said simulated vehicle for controlling the position at which said projected image is inset into said background scene.

7. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said projection means comprises further means for translating said projected image to a position within said background scene in accordance with simulated pitch angle of said simulated vehicle.

8. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said projection means comprises further means for angularly rotating said projected image to a position within said background scene in accordance with simulated bank angle of said simulated vehicle.

9. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said projection means comprises flying spot scanner means for scanning the selected one of said pictures with a controlled pattern to derive video signals, and television projector means responsive to said video signals for projecting said image to be viewed by said operator.

10. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which said means for varying the size of said projected image comprises means for controlling the scanning pattern of said flying spot scanner means.

11. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which said television projector means comprises a pluRality of television projectors each having first and second sweep circuits and each having an intensity control means, and in which said apparatus includes means responsive to one of said computed quantities commensurate with a simulated attitude angle of said simulated vehicle for selectively applying signals from the sweep circuits of one of said television projectors to control said scanning pattern of said flying spot scanner and for selectively applying said video signals to the intensity control means of said one of said television projectors.

12. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 9 in which said television projector means includes raster scanning means, said apparatus further including means for angularly rotating said raster scanning means in accordance with an attitude angle of said simulated vehicle.

13. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said projection means includes a first flying spot scanner means for deriving a first video signal representing a background scene;

a second flying spot scanner means for scanning the selected one of said pictures; and

television projector means responsive to said first and second video signals for projecting a background scene with said image inset into said background scene.

14. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 13 in which said television projector means includes a plurality of television projectors, and in which said first flying spot scanner means includes delay means for applying respective portions of said first video signal repeatedly to respective one of said television projectors.

15. Visual display apparatus for providing a display of an area to an operator of a vehicle simulator, comprising (1) means responsive to controls of said simulator for providing a plurality of computed quantities;

(2) a plurality of groups of pictures of said area, each picture of a given group representing a view of said area from the same distance away from a reference point associated with said area, each different group of pictures representing views of said area from positions at different respective distances from said reference point, and each picture of a given group representing a view from a position having a different angular orientation from said reference point than other pictures of the same group;

(3) control means responsive to certain of said computed quantities for selecting at a given instant a single one of said pictures in accordance with the instantaneous simulated azimuth and elevation angles of a simulated vehicle relative to a simulated reference point;

(4) first flying spot scanner means for deriving a first video signal representing a background scene;

(5) second flying spot scanner means for scanning the selected one of said pictures to provide a second video signal;

(6) and projection means responsive to said first and second video signals for providing a background scene with an image of said pictures inset into said background scene.

16. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 15 in which each picture of a given group represents a view having a different combination of azimuth and elevation angles than other pictures of the same group, a first plurality of sets of said pictures representing views having the same respective azimuth angle from said reference point, and a second plurality of sets of said pictures representing views having the same respective elevation angle from said reference point.

17. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 15 in which said plurality of groups of pictures comprises a transparent filmstrip having successive frames, each of said frames comprising one of said groups of said pictures.

18. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 15 including means responsive to computed quantities commensurate with simulated deviation of said simulated vehicle from a simulated reference line for varying the operation of said flying spot scanner means to vary the apparent perspective of said imaGe inset into said background scene.

19. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 15 in which said projection means includes means responsive to a further of said computed quantities commensurate with a simulated attitude angle of said simulated vehicle for controlling the position at which said projected image is inset into said background scene.

20. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 15 in which said projection means comprises a raster scanning television projector means, and in which said apparatus includes means for angularly rotating the raster of said television projector means in accordance with an attitude angle of said simulated vehicle.

21. Visual display apparatus for providing a display of an area to an operator of a vehicle simulator, comprising (1) means responsive to controls of said simulator for providing a plurality of computed quantities;

(2) a plurality of groups of pictures of said area, the pictures of a given group representing views of said area from positions the same distance away from a reference point associated with said area at different respective azimuth angles from said reference point and all at the same elevation angle from said reference point;

(3) control means responsive to certain of said computed quantities for selecting at a given instant a single one of said pictures in accordance with the simulated distance and azimuth angle of said simulated vehicle from a simulated reference point;

(4) flying spot scanner means for scanning a selected portion of said selected one of said pictures to derive a video signal;

(5) television projector means responsive to said video signal for projecting an image of said selected portion of said selected one of said pictures; and

(6) means controlled in accordance with the simulated heading of said simulated vehicle for controlling said flying spot scanner means to select the portion of said selected one of said pictures being scanned by said scanner means.

22. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 21 further comprising means responsive to the azimuthal position of said simulated vehicle from said simulated reference point for varying the scanning pattern of said scanner means on said selected one of said pictures to vary the perspective of said display.

23. Visual display apparatus for providing a display of an area to an operator of a vehicle simulator, comprising (1) means responsive to controls of said simulator for providing a plurality of computed quantities;

(2) a motion-picture filmstrip having a plurality of successive sections, each section comprising a plurality of successive frames, each successive frame comprising a plurality of pictures of said area;

(3) flying spot scanner means for scanning selected successive portions of said successive frames to provide video signals;

(4) television projector means responsive to said video signals for providing a display to be viewed by said operator;

(5) film-feed means responsive to certain of said computed quantities for positioning successive sections of said filmstrip before said flying spot scanner means and for positioning successive frames of said filmstrip sections before said flying spot scanner; and

(6) means responsive to certain of said computed quantities for controlling said flying spot scanner to scan a single one of the plurality of pictures of a frame positioned before said scanner at a given instant.

24. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 23 in which all of the frames of one of said sections of said filmstrip represent views of said area from positions which are equidistant from a reference point associated with said area.

25. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 23 further comprising means for deriving further video signals representing a background area, and means for applying said further video signals to said television projector means.

26. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 23 in which said fiLmstrip includes successive indicia coded adjacent various of said frames along the length of said filmstrip, in which said apparatus includes means for sensing said indicia to provide a first signal, in which said film feed comprises servomechanism means responsive to a computed quantity commensurate with simulated distance of said simulated vehicle from a reference point associated with said area and responsive to said first signal.

27. Visual display apparatus for providing a composite display of an area to an operator of a vehicle simulator, comprising (1) means responsive to controls of said simulator for providing a plurality of computed quantities;

(2) a plurality of television projectors, each of said projectors having sweep generator means and the projectors being arranged to provide respective adjacent portions of the composite display;

(3) flying spot scanner means for scanning a picture to provide a video signal representing a picture replica to be inset into the display;

(4) first switching means for selectively connecting signals at different times from different ones of said sweep generator means to control said flying spot scanner means;

(5) second switching means for selectively applying said video signal at different times to different ones of said television projectors; and

(6) means responsive to certain of said computed quantities for controlling the operation of said switching means.

28. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 27 wherein the sweep generator means of said projectors are connected to be triggered in synchronism with each other;

said apparatus including counter means for counting successive scan lines of said projectors; and

wherein said means for controlling said switching means comprises means for computing a first quantity commensurate with the line width of the picture replica to be inset into the composite display, means for computing a second quantity commensurate with the desired location of a reference portion of said picture replica within said composite display, means for combining said first and second quantities to provide line-starting and line-stopping quantities for each of said projectors; and

comparator means for comparing said line-starting and line-stopping quantities with the count in said counter means to selectively operate said switching means.

29. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 27 wherein said means for computing said first quantity is responsive to a computed quantity commensurate with simulated distance of said simulated vehicle from a reference point associated with said area.

30. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 27 wherein said means for computing said second quantity is responsive to a computed quantity commensurate with simulated heading of said simulated vehicle.

31. A method of simulating from a pair of objects the appearance of an area as viewed from one of a plurality of selected viewpoints, which objects each have the appearance of said area as viewed from a respective reference viewpoint, with the range of each reference viewpoint from said area being approximately equal to one another and each reference viewpoint having a different angular orientation with respect to said area, comprising the steps of selecting one of said objects in accordance with the angular orientation of one selected viewpoint with respect to said area, projecting an image of the selected object onto a viewing surface, and distorting said image in accordance with the difference between the angular orientation of said one selected viewpoint and the angular orientation of the appearance of said area on said selected object with respect to said area.

32. A method of simulating the appearance of an area as defined in claim 31 further comprising the step of distorting said image in accordance with the difference between the range of said one selected viewpoint from said area and the range of the reference viewpoint of said selected object from said area.

33. Apparatus for simulating from a pair of objects the appearance of an area as viewed from one of a plurality of selected viewpoints, which objects each have the appearance of said area as viewed from a reference viewpoint, with the range of each reference viewpoint being approximately equal to one another and each reference viewpoint having a different angular orientation with respect to said area, comprising means for selecting one of said objects in accordance with the angular orientation of one selected viewpoint with respect to said area, means for projecting an image of the selected object onto a viewing surface, and means for distorting said image in accordance with the difference between the angular orientation of said one selected viewpoint and the angular orientation of the appearance of said area of said selected object with respect to said area.

34. Apparatus as defined in claim 33 further comprising means for distorting said image in accordance with the difference between the range of said one selected viewpoint from said area and the range of the reference viewpoint of said selected object from said area.

35. Visual display apparatus for providing a display of an area to an operator of a vehicle simulator, comprising means responsive to controls of said simulator for providing the plurality of computed quantities;

a plurality of pictures of said area each representing a view of said area from the same distance from a reference point associated with said area, but each a view from a position having a different angular orientation from said reference point;

control means responsive to certain of said computed quantities for selecting at a given instant a single one of said pictures in accordance with the instantaneous simulated azimuth and elevation angles of a simulated vehicle relative to a simulated reference point; and

projection means for projecting an image of the selected one of said pictures to be viewed by said operator.

36. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 35, further comprising means for altering the apparent prospective of the projected image of the selected one of said pictures in accordance with the difference between the simulated angular orientation of said simulated vehicle from said simulated reference point and the angular orientation of the projected image of the selected one of said pictures with respect to said reference point.

37. Visual display apparatus as defined in the claim 36 further comprising a means responsive to a further one of said computed quantities for varying the size of the projected image inversely in accordance with the instantaneous simulated distance of said simulated vehicle from said simulated reference point.

38. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 35 wherein said projection means includes a plurality of television projectors, each of said projectors having sweep generator means and the projectors being arranged to provide respective adjacent portions of the display, and flying spot scanner means for scanning the selected one of said pictures to provide a video signal representing a picture replica to be inset into the display;

said apparatus further comprising first switching means for selectively connecting signals at different times from different ones of said sweep generator means to control said flying spot scanner means;

second switching means for selectively applying said video signal at different times to different ones of said television projectors; and

means responsive to certain of said computed quantities for controlling the operation of said switching means.

39. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 38 in which the sweep generator means of said projectors are connected to be triggered in synchronism with each other;

said apparatus including counter means for counting successive scan lines of said projectors; and

wherein said means for controlling said switching means comprises means for computing a first quantity commensurate with the line width of the picturE replica to be inset into the display, means for computing a second quantity commensurate with the desired location of a reference portion of said picture replica within said display, means for combining said first and second quantities to provide line-starting and line-stopping quantities for each of said projectors, and comparator means for comparing said line-starting and line-stopping quantities with the count in said counter means to selectively operate said switching means.

40. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 38 wherein said means for computing said first quantity is responsive to a computed quantity commensurate with simulated distance of said simulated vehicle from a reference point associated with said area.

41. Visual display apparatus as defined in claim 38 wherein said means for computing said second quantity is responsive to a computed quantity commensurate with a simulated heading of said simulated vehicle.

42. A visual display apparatus as defined in claim 35 wherein said projection means includes means for scanning the selected one of said pictures, means for sensing the scanning position of said scanning means and generating positional signals corresponding thereto, means for generating sweep signals for said scanning means, and means for sensing the difference between said sweep signals and said positional signals and being coupled to said sweep generating means to correct the position of said scanning means with respect to the selected picture.

43. In a visual display apparatus for providing a display of an area by projecting an image from a filmstrip to the operator of a vehicle simulator, the improvement comprising a filmstrip having a plurality of pictures of said area each representing a view of said area from the same distance from a reference point associated with said area but each a view from a position having a different angular orientation from said reference point, and means responsive to the operation of controls of said simulator by the operator for selecting any one of said pictures and for projection of an image thereof to the operator.

44. A visual display apparatus as defined in claim 43 wherein said means selects a single one of said pictures in accordance with the instantaneous simulated azimuth and elevation angles of a simulated vehicle relative to a simulated reference point.

45. In a visual display apparatus for providing a display of an area by projecting an image from a filmstrip to the operator of a vehicle simulator, the improvement comprising a plurality of groups of pictures of said area, each picture of a given group representing a view of said area from the same distance away from a reference point associated with said area, each different group of pictures representing views of said area from positions at different respective distances from said reference point, and each picture of a given group representing a view from a position having a different angular orientation from said reference point than other pictures of the same group, and means responsive to the operation of controls of said simulator by the operator selecting any one of said pictures and for projection of an image thereof to the operator.

46. A visual display apparatus as defined in claim 45 wherein said means selects a single one of said pictures in accordance with the instantaneous simulated azimuth and elevation angles of a simulated vehicle relative to a simulated reference point.