Digital display exerciser

• US 4,330,843 A
• Filed: 12/04/1979
• Issued: 05/18/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS Inc.))
• Inventors: Lawson, Charles A. II
• Primary Examiner(s): Nusbaum, Mark E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chin, Gary
• Application Number:
  US06/100,171
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200, 364/900, 364/492, 364/578, 364/504, 176/19 R
• US Class Current: 345/440
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/006 Electronic inspection or testing of displays and display drivers, e.g. of LED or LCD displays testing individual LED's G01R31/2635; testing lamps G01R31/44; testing of optical features of LCD displays G02F1/1309

Abstract

In a data acquisition and storage system including a plurality of remote data generating units, a data processor/display unit for addressing the respective data generating units, processing the data for storage and providing a visual display of the process data, and a computer having random access to the stored data of the processor/display unit to selectively update stored information, a display exerciser is connected in parallel with the processor/display unit and provides the capability of both recirculating data from storage and the processor/display unit through the display unit as well as introducing operator initiated data.

Claims

1. In combination, a data acquisition and storage system wherein data from at least one data source is processed for display and is stored both for recirculation as displayed data and for access by an external central computer means wherein the data acquisition and storage system includes a data processor means having an input and an output including means for generating display addresses at said output for addressing the respective data sources and causing data from the data sources to be supplied to the input of said data processor means, a display means operatively coupled to the output of said data processor means to provide a visual display of the data from said data sources and the data recirculated from storage, and a storage means for retaining the data processed from the respective data sources in storage locations corresponding to the display addresses associated with the respective data sources, and computer interface circuit means responsive to an address data generated by an external central computer means to access and read out data stored in said storage means at an address location corresponding to said address data, the combination of:

a display exerciser means, and switching means for connecting said display exerciser means in parallel with said data acquisition and storage system while disconnecting said data sources from said data processor means and disconnecting said external central computer means from said computer interface circuit means of said data acquisition and storage system, said display exerciser means including data recirculating means for causing the data retained in a storage location to be continuously recirculated for display on said display means during the subsequent occurrence of the corresponding display address, said display exerciser means further includes a simulation data generating means, and selecting means for operatively connecting either said data recirculating means for recirculating data from said storage means as input data to said data processor means for display on said display means, or connecting said simulation data generating means to said data processor means, said simulation data generating means being responsive to the display address of said data processor means for displaying said simulation data on said display means to determine the operational integrity of the data acquisition and storage system.

2. In the combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said data sources consist of control rods in a nuclear reactor facility, each control rod having a specific display address, said simulation data generating means of said display exerciser means including means for selecting the display address of a specific control rod and supplying simulation data to said data processor means in response to the corresponding display address generated by said processor means.