Bar graph display apparatus

• US 4,739,319 A
• Filed: 08/09/1985
• Issued: 04/19/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Isuzu Motors Limited, Nippondenso Company Limited 1 1-Chome Showa-Cho Kariya-Shi Aichi-Ken Japan
• Original Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd. (DENSO Corporation), Isuzu Motors Limited
• Inventors: Okuda, Hideki, Nagasawa, Jukichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Curtis, Marshall M.
• Application Number:
  US06/763,987
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 340/753, 340/754, 340/718, 340/719
• US Class Current: 345/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 13/407 using a plurality of passive display elements, e.g. liquid crystal or Kerr-effect display elements G01R13/408 takes precedence

Abstract

In a display apparatus including a plurality of scaling display elements and a plurality of bar graph display elements, each of the scaling display elements is changed from its ON state to its OFF state when an adjacent bar graph display element is changed from its OFF state to its ON state and restored from the OFF state to the ON state when the adjacent bar graph display element is changed from the ON state, respectively to the OFF state.

Claims

1. A bar graph display apparatus comprising:

first display means including a plurality of bar display elements arranged in a column, a display condition of each of said plurality of bar display elements being variable;

second display means including a plurality of scale display elements respectively interposed at predetermined intervals among said plurality of bar display elements of said first display means for one end of said column to the other, a display condition of each of said plurality of scale display elements being variable;

first drive means for driving said bar display elements according to an amount of information to be displayed, wherein adjacent bar display elements at one end of said column are successively activated for bar graph display towards the other end of said column in accordance with a change in the amount of information to be displayed; and

second drive means for driving all of said plurality of scale display elements of said second display means such that all of said plurality of scale display elements are driven into a display condition different from a display condition of at least one adjacent bar display element of said first display means.

2. A bar graph display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second drive means includes inverters for inverting drive signals from said first drive means which are supplied to said adjacent bar display elements.

3. A bar graph display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first drive means includes means for turning on said bar display elements according to the amount of information to be displayed such that adjacent bar display elements at said one end of said column are successively activated for display towards the other end of said column and for turning off the rest of said bar display elements of said first display means, thereby displaying an area corresponding to the amount of information to be displayed, said area being formed by said bar display elements at said one end of said column which are activated.

4. A bar graph display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said bar display elements has an elongate shape, said bar display elements being arranged in parallel with each other so as to form said column.

5. A bar graph display apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of said scale display elements has an elongate shape, said scale display elements being arranged in parallel with said bar display elements at said predetermined intervals from said one end of said column to the other.

6. A bar graph display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined intervals include a predetermined number of said bar display elements.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second drive means changes said scale display elements of said second display means from an energized state to a deenergized state when an adjacent bar graph display element on the side of said scale display elements toward said one end of said column is energized and restores said scale display elements from the deenergized state to the energized state when said adjacent bar graph display element on said side toward said one end of said column of said scale display elements is deenergized.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second drive means changes said scale display elements of said second display means from an energized state to a deenergized state when an adjacent bar graph display element on the side of said scale display elements toward the other end of said column is energized and restores said scale display elements from the deenergized state to the energized state when said adjacent bar graph display element on said side toward said other end of said column of said scale display elements is deenergized.