Display apparatus with rotatable display screen

• US 5,189,404 A
• Filed: 06/07/1991
• Issued: 02/23/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kanazawa, Hiroshi, Ito, Satoshi, Masuzaki, Hidefumi, Masimo, Tamon
• Primary Examiner(s): Oberley, Alvin E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HJERPE, RICHARD A
• Application Number:
  US07/711,903
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• Field of Search: 340/700, 340/720, 340/723, 340/724, 340/727, 340/789, 340/798, 340/799, 382/44, 382/45, 382/46
• US Class Current: 345/659
• 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

Abstract

An information processing system comprises a display apparatus having a display screen which can be held in position of either vertical elongation or lateral elongation. The information processing system provides the operator with messages necessary for operation. By detecting the position of elongation of the display screen, data for the messages are selectively rotated so as to be always displayed uprightly on the display screen.

Claims

1. A display apparatus for displaying images on a unidirectionally elongated, rotatable display device which displays synthesized data composed of a functional message and image information, said display apparatus comprising:

a rotational mechanism for rotating said display device to a position of vertical or a position of horizontal elongation;

means for displaying the functional message with a first orientation and the image information with a second orientation, which may be the same or different from said first orientation, on the display device when the display device is held in the position of vertical elongation, and for displaying the functional message rotated by 90°

with respect to said first orientation and synthesized with the image information having said second orientation on the display device when the display device is held in the position of horizontal elongation.

2. A display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display device includes a display screen having a first displaying area for display of image information and a second displaying area for display of a functional message.

3. A display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first displaying area is arranged at a position where the functional message is displayed horizontally regardless of whether the display device is held in a position of vertical elongation or a position of horizontal elongation.

4. A display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the functional message is displayed with the same orientation in the position of vertical elongation and the position of horizontal elongation, while the image information is rotated in orientation by rotating the display device.

5. A display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said rotation mechanism is driven by a motor.