Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Plural physical display element control system – Physically movable array
Reexamination Certificate
1997-06-26
2001-08-21
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Plural physical display element control system
Physically movable array
C345S056000, C345S057000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06278419
ABSTRACT:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to electrical and electronic displays and, more particularly, to a type of display in which a display zone is scanned repeatedly by one or more arrays of lights to create the illusion of an image floating in space.
Displays of this type are known. Illustrative examples include those described by Lock in UK Patent Application No. GB 2 093 617 A and by Belcher et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,965, both of which are incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. Generally, these displays consist of a mobile, typically rotating, unit and a stationary unit. For example, in the displays of Lock and Belcher et al., the mobile unit in fact does only rotate with respect to the stationary unit. The mobile unit includes at least one array of light sources, typically light emitting diodes, oriented perpendicularly to the direction of motion of the mobile unit. As the mobile unit moves, the arrays of light sources sweep a path in a display zone. At each of several positions of the arrays within the display zone, different combinations of the light sources are illuminated. This creates the illusion of an image floating in space, with each light source at each position corresponding to one pixel of the image, and one column of pixels being displayed at each position. With appropriate sequencing of the illumination and extinction of the light sources, this image can be animated.
Displays of this kind suffer from two limitations. The first limitation relates to the accuracy with which the light sources can be positioned relative to the desired column positions. In known devices, the positions of the arrays are determined by measuring the position of the mobile unit as a whole, and inferring the positions of the arrays from this single measurement. For example, in one embodiment of Lock's display, the periphery of a slotted disk fixed to the stationary unit is scanned by an optical reading device fixed to the rotating unit to measure the angular position of the rotating unit relative to the stationary unit. The accuracy and stability of the inferred (nominal) positions of the arrays relative to their actual positions then depends on the accurate alignment and mechanical stability of the mobile unit. In principle, only one array needs be used to scan the display zone. In practice, there is a tradeoff between number of arrays, scan speed, and illumination level; and several arrays are needed to achieve an adequate level of illumination and an adequate scan speed. Small inaccuracies in the alignment of the mobile unit, and mechanical instability of the mobile unit, cause the arrays to be in positions other than their nominal positions as the mobile unit move. Because the light sources of the arrays are turned on and off sequentially as though the arrays were in their nominal positions, the resulting image is blurred.
A second limitation of these kinds of arrays relates to the limited amount of data that can be stored on the mobile unit. Typically, the mobile unit stores only as much data as is needed to display a small number of images, with a much larger store of data being stored in the stationary unit. In the display of Belcher et al., for example, data for new images may be transmitted from the stationary unit to the mobile unit, but only at a rate much slower than the rate at which the corresponding signals must be transmitted to the moving arrays. This limits the extent to which these displays may be used to display animated images.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a display, of the type in which a display zone is scanned repeatedly by one or more arrays of lights to create the illusion of an image floating in space, in which control signals are transmitted to the arrays according to their actual positions, rather than their nominal positions, and at a rate fast enough to support animation of the floating image.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a display of the type in which a plurality of arrays of light sources are moved successively among a plurality of positions in a common plane of motion to perform a repetitive scanning of a display zone, including: (a) a mechanism for providing each array with data to display at each one of the positions when the array has arrived at the each one of the positions; and (b) for each array, a mechanism for detecting an arrival of the array at the each one of the positions.
According to the present invention there is provided a display for displaying an image in a display zone, including: (a) a stationary unit; (b) a mobile unit, including at least one array of light sources, for moving the at least one array of light sources successively among a plurality of positions along a path to perform a repetitive scanning of the display zone; (c) a medium for storing data to be displayed by the at least one array at each of the positions, the medium being geometrically congruent with the path; (d) a mechanism, rigidly attached to the stationary unit, for securing the medium on the stationary unit; and (e) a mechanism, rigidly attached to the mobile unit, for reading the data as the moving unit moves.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, related to a display in which the arrays move among a set of coplanar positions, each array is provided with a mechanism for sensing when it arrives at one of the positions, and the stationary unit is configured to transmit to each array, when it arrives at a certain position, only the data that is to be displayed by the array at that position. In the examples of preferred embodiments described herein, the positions are along the circumference of a circle, although the scope of the present invention includes displays in which the arrays move in any coplanar sequence of array positions. In one embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, the stationary unit is provided with a flat surface bearing a circular pattern of apertures, each aperture corresponding to one sequential position of the arrays, and is also provided with an illumination source on the opposite side of this surface from the mobile unit; and each array is provided with an optical sensor to sense when it transits from one aperture to the next, based on the periodic alternation of the presence and absence of light transmitted through the flat surface. A control system in the stationary unit continuously interrogates the arrays and, upon determining that a given array has arrived at a certain position, transmits to that array the data to be displayed at that position. In another embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, the stationary unit is provided with a circular ensemble of conductive plates, each plate corresponding to one sequential position of the arrays, and is also provided with electrical connections from a memory device to the conductive plates, whereby each conductive plate is provided with electrical signals corresponding to the data to be displayed at the corresponding position. Each array is provided with a pair of parallel conductive plates, disposed so that as that array sweeps past a particular position, the conductive plate of the circular ensemble that corresponds to that position is sandwiched between the parallel plates attached to the array, forming a capacitively coupled link between the memory device and the array, so that the data to be displayed at that position is transmitted to the array.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in which the arrays move repetitively along a certain path as the mobile unit moves with respect to the stationary unit, the stationary unit includes a mechanism for holding a data storage medium, such as a magnetic storage medium, that is geometrically congruent with the path followed by the arrays, and the mobile unit includes a mechanism, such as a magnetic read head, for reading the data stored on the data storage medium as the mobile unit moves past the data storage me
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Friedman Mark M.
Light Spin Ltd.
Marc-Coleman Marthe Y.
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