Method and apparatus for automatically orienting a computer display

• US 5,672,840 A
• Filed: 12/21/1994
• Issued: 09/30/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TRW Limited (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Inventors: Sage, John, Ailes, Jack, Gonzalez, Mike, Liverpool, Jr., Henry, Siegel, Neil, Supapkooha, Pirom
• Primary Examiner(s): Carone, Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US08/362,085
• Time in Patent Office: 1,014 Days
• Field of Search: 89/41.01, 89/41.19, 89/41.22, 89/41.05, 89/1.11, 345/121, 345/133, 342/52, 395/484
• US Class Current: 89/41.01
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/04 for dispersing fire from a battery ; for controlling spread of shots; for coordinating fire from spaced weapons

Abstract

An automatically oriented computer display for a targeting computer used in connection with a shoulder-fired missile launcher. A computer operator member of an air defense team will read a computer display from a handheld targeting computer so as to give directional and distance information of approaching aircraft. An electronic compass rigidly secured to the handheld computer continually updates the directional orientation of the computer display as the computer operator moves. Therefore, the computer operator is able to accurately give directional information to a gunner operating a shoulder-fired missile launcher such that the gunner is ready to assess the hostility of the approaching aircraft as they become visible. An embedded computer is provided to decipher the compass signals so they are readable by the handheld computer. Additionally, a global positioning system receiver is provided to give positional information of the gunner and the computer operator.

Claims

1. A system for automatically orienting a computer display, said system comprising:

a first computer that is portable and includes the computer display that is oriented in an initial direction, said first computer being operative to reorient the direction of the display in response to computer signals;

an electronic compass secured to the first computer, and being operative to generate compass signals with reference to a particular compass direction in response to movement of the first computer; and

a second computer, said second computer including a compass controller and a computer controller, said compass controller being responsive to the compass signal from the electronic compass and being operative to generate computer signals indicative of the compass signals, said first computer being responsive to the computer signals from the computer controller so as to reorient the positional direction of the display so it is aligned in accordance with a particular direction with the movement of the first computer, said computer controller being responsive to computer signals, and processing the computer signals to be sent to the first computer on a single line in accordance with an interleaving scheme.

2. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a radio, said radio being responsive to positional information of objects and transmitting positional signals of the objects to the first computer, said first computer displaying signals representative of the position of the objects on the computer display.

3. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a global positioning system receiver, said global positioning system receiver sending position signals to the first computer, wherein the position signals are indicative of the position of the system.

4. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a third computer, said third computer providing recording and debugging signals to the second computer.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein the first computer is a targeting computer used in association with a shoulder-fired missile launcher.

6. The system according to claim 2 wherein the radio is selected from the group consisting of a single channel ground to air radio system and an enhanced position location radio system.

7. The system according to claim 1 wherein the electronic compass is a flux-gate electronic compass.

8. A system for automatically orienting directional information being displayed on a computer display being viewed by a computer operator so as to enable the computer operator to give accurate directional information of computer display signals of aircraft being shown on the display to a gunner operating a shoulder-fired missile launcher, said system comprising:

a hand-held targeting computer capable of being held by the computer operator, said hand-held computer including the computer display;

a radio receiving positional information of the aircraft and transmitting positional signals of the aircraft to the hand-held computer, said hand-held computer displaying signals indicative of the aircraft position on the computer display;

an electronic compass secured to the hand-held computer, said electronic compass generating compass signals with reference to a particular compass direction in response to the movement of the hand-held computer; and

an embedded computer responsive to the compass signals from the electronic compass, said embedded computer including a compass controller that is responsive to the compass signals and generates computer signals indicative of the compass signals, said embedded computer further including a computer controller responsive to the computer signals from the compass controller, wherein the hand-held computer is responsive to the computer signals from the embedded computer so as to adjust the directional information on the display in accordance with the movement of the computer operator; and

a global positioning system reciever, said global positioning system receiver sending position signals to the embedded computer, said computer controller within the embedded computer being responsive to the position signals from the global positioning system receiver, said computer controller sending the computer signals from the compass controller and the position signals from the global positioning system receiver to the hand-held computer along a single line in accordance with an interleaving scheme.

9. The system according to claim 8 further comprising a personal computer, said personal computer providing recording and debugging signals to and from the embedded computer.

10. The system according to claim 8 wherein the radio is selected from the group consisting of a single channel ground to air radio system and an enhanced position location radio system.

11. A method for automatically orienting a computer display, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a first computer including the computer display, said first computer being a portable computer;

providing an electronic compass structurally connected to the first computer to cause the electronic compass to move with the movement of the first computer, wherein the electronic compass generates compass signals with reference to a particular compass direction in response to the movement of the first computer such that the display is updated and reoriented in accordance with the movement of the first computer;

providing a second computer including a compass controller and a computer controller;

sending compass signals from the electronic compass to the compass controller within the second computer said compass controller converting the compass signals to computer signals;

sending the computer signals from the compass controller to the computer controller;

sending the computer signals from the computer controller to the first computer to reorient the computer display; and

providing a global positioning system receiver that sends position signals to the computer controller within the second computer of the position of the system receiver, said computer controller using an interleaving scheme to send computer signals from the global positioning system receiver and the computer signals from the compass controller to the first computer along a single line.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising the step of providing radio positional signals of objects to the first computer, wherein the step of providing a first computer includes providing a first computer that displays signals representative of the position of the objects on the computer display.

13. The method according to claim 11 wherein the step of providing a first computer includes providing a targeting computer used in association with a shoulder-fired missile launcher.