ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR DISPLAYING ARTIFICALLY PRODUCED ENVIRONMENT PATTERNS

• US 3,833,759 A
• Filed: 07/24/1972
• Issued: 09/03/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Shuntetsu Matsumoto, Teruo Yatabe
• Original Assignee: Shuntetsu Matsumoto, Teruo Yatabe
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Shuntetsu, Yatabe, Teruo
• Primary Examiner(s): Britton, Howard W.
• Application Number:
  US05/274,254
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• Field of Search: 178/6.8,DIG.35 35/11,12N
• US Class Current: 434/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06G 7/22 for evaluating trigonometric functions; for conversion of co-ordinates; for computations involving vector quantities trigonometric computations using simultaneous equations G06G7/34 for computations in the complex plane; G06G7/20, G06G7/28 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/05 the view from a vehicle being simulated G09B9/052, G09B9/058 take precedence

Abstract

The display system of the present invention produces simplified environment patterns and these simplified patterns are projected on a screen which is assumed to be located a certain distance to the front of the moving body by converting the x-y coordinate of the projected patterns to voltage values, applying these voltage values to an analog electronic circuit constructed in accordance with the equations of the patterns, converting the output electric signals of the analog electronic circuit to electric signals having widths corresponding to the spatial regions, controlling respective color signal generators in proportion to the time widths so that the color signal generators generate color signals corresponding to the color distribution of the environment patterns and producing the environment patterns on a color TV monitor screen by feeding the color signals to the color TV monitor.

Claims

1. A method of electronically composing and displaying environmental patterns comprising the steps of converting x-y coordinates on an imaginary screen to a voltage value as a function of time with reference to horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals, applying said voltage to an analog electronic circuit constructed in accordance with equations of the environment patterns when simplified, converting the output electric signals of said analog circuit to an electric signal having width corresponding to the spatial region, controlling respective color signal generators corresponding to the color distribution of the environment patterns in proportion to the width of said electric signal and producing the environment on a color TV monitor by feeding these color signals to the color TV monitor.

2. The method of electronically composing and displaying environment patterns set forth in claim 1, wherein the environment patterns are the patterns seen from a moving body and the parameters of said analog electronic circuit are controlled in accordance with the velocity of the moving body.

3. The method of electronically composing and displaying environment patterns set forth in claim 1, wherein the parameters of the analog electronic circuit are controlled in accordance with the lateral deviatIon of the moving body thereby producing changes in the environment patterns on the color TV monitor in accordance with the lateral deviation of the moving body.

4. The method of electronically composing and displaying environment patterns set forth in claim 1, wherein an analog electronic circuit is used for the coordinate transformation of the x-y coordinates on the imaginary screen to coordinates corresponding to the changes in the environment pattern due to the change of attitude of the moving body.

5. A simulator system of an automobile comprising in combination, a simulator cockpit including a driving means, an accelerator pedal and a breaking pedal, a horizontal and vertical synchronizing signal generator for generating horizontal and vertical synchronizing signals, a dynamic characteristics simulating device operative upon the actuation of said driving means, said accelerator and said breaking pedal to generate electric signals representative of the velocity and the lateral deviation of the automobile, a forward environment pattern composing device adapted to receive the electric signals from said dynamic characteristics simulating device, said forward environment pattern composing device including integrators connected to the output of said synchronizing signal generator, a combined analog and digital circuit connected to the outputs of said integrators, a gate controlled by said analog and digital circuit and a color signal generator controlled by said gate, said analog and digital circuit including at least one computing circuit, at least one comparator and at least one logic circuit which are combined according to equations defining front patterns including a fundamental pattern and additional patterns to be combined therewith, a color signal modulator connected to the output of said gate, and a color TV monitor connected to the output of the color signal modulator for displaying the combined front patterns, said color TV monitor also connected to the output of said synchronizing signal generator, whereby the combined front pattern displayed on said color TV monitor varies according to the operation of said simulator cockpit.

6. A simulator system set forth in claim 5, further comprising a rearward environmental pattern composing device having second integrators, a second analog and digital circuit, a second gate and a second color signal generator for composing rearwardly extending patterns on a portion of said color TV monitor, said rearward environmental pattern composing device being connected to said dynamic characteristics simulating deivce and to said horizontal and vertical synchronizing signal generator and said second analog and digital circuit including at least one computing circuit, at least one comparator and at least one logic circuit which are combined according to equations defining rear patterns including a fundamental pattern and additional patterns to be combined therewith.

7. A simulator system set forth in claim 5, wherein said additional patterns include patterns for tunnels, cutthrough roads and ramps and are produced by a means including a combined analog and digital circuit, gate and color signal generator, said analog and digital circuit including at least one computing circuit, at least one comparator and at least one logic circuit which are combined according to equations defined for each respective additional pattern, and said additional patterns are combined with the fundamental pattern by said gate and the combined front patterns are displayed on said color TV monitor.

8. A simulator system set forth in claim 7, further comprising means for producing said additional pattern of a desired length by comparing an electric value preset for the desired length with an electric value corresponding to a distance obtained by integrating the velocity of the automobile over the time during which the automobile runs through the distance.

9. A simulator system set forth in claim 7, further comprising means for gradating the color of the additional pattern according to the relative regions thereof.