Sequential rapid communication visual displays

• US 4,845,645 A
• Filed: 08/28/1987
• Issued: 07/04/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of Agriculture, United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force
• Original Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force
• Inventors: Matin, Ethel, Boff, Kenneth R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Paschall, M. H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wysocki, A. Jonathan
• Application Number:
  US07/090,500
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: 361/518, 361/521, 361/522, 340/716, 340/717, 340/721, 352/41, 352/43, 352/103, 352/297, 434/338, 434/350, 434/362, 434/372
• US Class Current: 715/781
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 1/00 Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with cathode-ray tube indicators; General aspects or details, e.g. selection emphasis on particular characters, dashed line or dotted line generation; Preprocessing of datacathode-ray oscilloscopes G01R13/20; radar display arrangements G01S7/04; display of digital non-picture data in television systems H04N7/0255
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/97 Instrumentation and component modelling, e.g. interactive control panel
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/972 Inserted real-time video in operator interface

Abstract

The rapid communication (RAP-COM) microprocessor controlled memory display system and method operates by presenting real-time data in rapid temporal succession at one spatial location. It can be embodied as a stand-alone instrument or as a small display window within a larger integrated display. It can be incorporated, for example, within larger display configurations in military crew stations, nuclear power plants, air-traffic control centers, space stations, or industrial process control plants. RAP-COM has two advantages over conventional display formats. First, it reduces the amount of required display space be presenting information in sequentially in one location rather than simultaneously in several locations. Second, it speeds the rate of system-to-operator information transfer by eliminating the time needed for the scanning saccadic eye movements that access information from conventional spatially separated displays.

Claims

1. A display system characterized by the sequential presentation of independent frames of real-time visual information in one small display window, comprising:

means providing said display window on an electronic image display means, the display window being one spatial location which is small enough that it may be viewed in its entirety without scanning eye movements (saccades);

a plurality of data sources, each of which provides digitized data representing the value of information from one data point;

means coupled to the data sources for storing and analysing the digitized data as a plurality of data items;

means including computer software means for rapid presentation of the data as a continually cycling sequence of independent frames of information in said display window, with the data presented in repetitive cycles, each cycle comprising a frame for each of the data items, and with a representation of the digitized data for each data item being displayed during its individual frame during each cycle.

2. The display system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said display window is embodied as a stand-alone device.

3. The display system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said display window is part of al larger integrated display means.

5. The display system as sets forth in claim 3, further including means for permitting operator control of display onset and offset.

6. The display system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said display window is embodied as a stand-alone device.

7. The display system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said display window is part of a larger integrated display means.

4. The display system as set forth in claim 14, further including means for permitting operator control of rate of frame sequencing, from options for the frame duration in the range of 100-450 milliseconds.

8. A display method characterized by the sequential presentation of independent frames of real-time visual information in one small display window of an electronic image display means, the display window being one spatial location which may be viewed in its entirety without scanning eye movements (saccades), said method comprising the steps:

(a) periodically inputting data from a plurality of data sources, each of which provides digitized data representing the value of information from one data point;

(b) storing and analyzing the digitized data as a plurality of data items;

(c) using computer software to organize the data as a continually cycling rapid sequence of independent frames of information; and

(d) displaying the data using computer software for rapid presentation of the data as said continually cycling sequence of independent frames of information in said display window, with the data presented in repetitive cycles, each cycle comprising a frame for each of the data items, and with a representation of the digitized data for each data item being displayed during its individual frame during each cycle.