Method and means for reducing data transmission rate in synthetically generated motion display systems

• US 3,899,662 A
• Filed: 11/30/1973
• Issued: 08/12/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honeywell Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Matthew O. Kuitunen, Richard C. Kreeger
• Inventors: Kreeger, Richard C., Kuitunen, Matthew O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Botz, Eugene G.
• Application Number:
  US05/420,748
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 340/324A 178/DIG.20,DIG.22,DIG.3 235/151,150.26,150.27
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 1/10 the deflection signals being produced by essentially digital means, e.g. incrementally
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/96 Iterative display of preconfigured images

Abstract

A digitally controlled synthetically generated motion display system in which the data to be displayed is provided in bit serial fashion from a master computer to a stroke writing symbol generator for displaying the resulting pictures. Words defining picture frames to be displayed at a relatively low repetition frequency (for example, one frame per second) are generated in the master computer and transmitted to and stored in the symbol generator. Interspersed with the frame defining words, translation and rotation increment words are generated in the master computer and transmitted to the symbol generator at a relatively high repetiton frequency (for example, 20 times a second) wherein they are combined with the previously transmitted frame defining words to generate incremented frame defining words which when utilized by the symbol generator result in the display of sequentially related picture frames providing the illusion of smooth motion without the necessity of generating and transmitting all of the words required to define each displayed frame.

Claims

1. A digitally controlled synthetically generated motion display system in which successively displayed frames of information provide an illusion of motion comprising first digital computer means for providing digital background words representative of information elements that comprise nonsuccessive frames and of the locations of said elements in said frames and for further providing digital incremental words representative of incremental motions of said information elements between successive frames, second digital computer means responsive to said background and incremental words for combining said incremental words with said background words to provide incremented words defining said successive frames, transmission means coupled said first digital computer means to said second digital computer means for transmitting said background and incremental words therebetween, and display means coupled to said second digital computer means for displaying said successive frames in response to said incremented words, thereby displaying a succession of frames providing an illusion of motion.

2. The system of claim 1 in which said transmission means comprises a single data bus along which said background and incremental words are transmitted in bit serial fashion.

3. The system of claim 1 in which said first digital computer means comprises means for providing interleaved groups of said background words and said incremental words to said transmission means.

4. The system of claim 3 in which said second digital computer means includes a plurality of background memory means, a plurality of incremental memory means, a plurality of background memory load gate means coupling said transmission means to said respective background memory means, a plurality of incremental memory load Gate means coupling said transmission means to said respective incremental memory means, and reading means coupled to said background and incremental memory means.

5. The system of claim 4 in which said second digital computer means includes a digital computer coupled to said reading means for providing control signals to said background memory load gate means to route groups of said background words representative of said frames into said background memory means, respectively, providing control signals to said incremental memory load gate means to route said groups of incremental words into said incremental memory means, respectively, and providing control signals to said reading means to extract said background words and said incremental words for combining said incremental words with said background words thereby providing said incremented words.

6. The system of claim 3 in which each said group of incremental words includes an incremental translation word and an incremental rotation word, and said second digital computer means includes means for combining said incremental translation and rotation words with said background words to provide said incremented words representative of successive frames incrementally translated and rotated with respect to each other.

7. The system of claim 6 in which said background words include X and Y coordinate positions with respect to said frames, said incremental translation word includes Beta X and Beta Y translation increments, and said incremental rotation word includes sine phi and cosine phi rotation increments.

8. The system of claim 7 in which said second digital computer means includes means for combining said incremental translation and rotation words with said background words in accordance with X2 X + Delta X Yh Y + Delta Y Xk Xh cos phi + Yh sin phi Yk Xh sin phi + Yh cos phi thereby providing said incremented words representative of successive frames incrementally translated and rotated with respect to each other.

9. The system of claim 3 in which said first digital computer means comprises means for providing further digital words in each said group of incremental words representative of further information elements requiring redefining in each said successive frame, and said display means includes means for diplaying said further information elements in each said successive frame in response to said further digital words.

10. The system of claim 1 in which said display means comprises cathode ray tube means including X and Y deflection means.

11. The system of claim 10 further including digital-to-analog converter means responsive to said incremented background words and coupled to said deflection means to move the beam of said cathode ray tube means to draw said information elements represented by said incremented background words.

12. The system of claim 1 in which said first digital computer means comprises means for providing said background words as vector words representative of line elements and as symbol words representative of predetermined symbols, said second digital computer means includes character generator means for storing digital symbol signals representative of predetermined coordinates of said symbols and for providing the specific digital signals for a specific symbol in response to the symbol word therefor, and said display means includes means coupled to said character generator means for diplaying said predetermined symbols in response to said digital symbol signals.

13. The system of claim 1 in which said motion display system comprises a moving map display and said information elements comprise map features.

14. A method for reducing data transmission rate in digitally controlled synthetically generated motion dIsplayed systems in which successively displayed frames of information provide an illusion of motion comprising the steps of generating digital background words representative of information elements that comprise non-successive frames and of the locations thereof in said frames, generating digital incremental words representative of incremental motions of said information elements between successive frames, transmitting said background and incremental words, combining said transmitted incremental words with said transmitted background words to provide incremented words defining said successive frames, and displaying said successive frames in response to said incremented words.

15. The method of claim 14 in which said generating steps include the steps of generating interleaved groups of said background words and said incremental words, and said transmitting step comprising the step of transmitting said interleaved groups of words.