JPS638474B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a display device in which a displayed image is provided by modulation of a signal synchronized with point scanning of a display area, and in which such a modulation signal is provided by a memory relating to the mapping of the image within the display area. Relating to a type of display device that is generated in response to information and in which the position of an image within a display area changes from a reference position set by stored information in response to an appropriate control signal. It is.

This type of display device can be applied, for example, to head-up display equipment in aircraft. In other words, the pilot or other crew member of the aircraft
A display image can be provided to project onto a half-mirror reflective element placed in their line of sight so that it can be viewed in the act of looking out through a window at an external scene.

The display provided by such devices is usually provided by a cathode ray tube, and appears in the image projected onto the half-mirror reflective element, with signals indicative of various factors such as aircraft attitude and flight path. including.

Said signal conventionally comprises one or more lines that always remain on the horizon in the external scene visible through the reflective element, regardless of the movement of the aircraft.

In order to maintain the horizontal position of such a line, the line may be allowed to tilt and move sideways in accordance with control signals indicating attitude changes for each of the bank and pitch angles of the aircraft.

In some cases, a conventional raster or other point-scan applied display is used and, depending on the stored information, the generation of the video signal is programmed to provide one or more horizontal lines. It is required to keep it.

However, in such cases, overly complex and expensive equipment is generally required to achieve the required horizon tilt and lateral displacement as the aircraft changes attitude in terms of bank and pitch angles. requires the use of

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved display device that significantly reduces the need for such complex and expensive equipment.

According to the present invention, corresponding points in the mapping of the stored reference coordinates are identified for the sequentially scanned points by coordinate transformation according to the control signal, and the modulation signal is generated according to the stored information regarding the identified points. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a novel display device that is being developed.

In the display device of the present invention, the signal corresponding to the scanning point in the display area is modulated by identifying the corresponding point in the conversion of the coordinates of the reference position, and then reading the stored information to make the identified point. This can be achieved by controlling the degree of modulation.

The display area is effectively mapped by coordinate transformation according to the control signal.

Therefore, the modulation signal to be applied during scanning is
As the scan progresses, stored information will be obtained point by point.

The display device according to the invention thus does not require a large storage capacity, which is essential if the information for each desired display point is derived by transformation of the reference coordinates.

The display of the display device according to the invention can be provided by a cathode ray tube or also by a matrix display.

When using a cathode ray tube, the modulation signal may be applied point by point in a conventional manner to properly adjust the brightness of the point on the screen of the cathode ray tube during scanning. The scanning method can be conventional raster scanning controlled by frame and line time-based waveforms.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
This will be explained in more detail.

The accompanying drawings show an embodiment in which a display device according to the present invention is applied to an aircraft.

As shown in FIG. 1, a half-mirror type reflective element 1 is arranged in front of a pilot in a cockpit of an aircraft and on a line of sight 2 passing through a window 3.

The reflective element 1 is located at an angle to the line of sight 2, onto which information regarding the flight attitude of the aircraft and the aiming of the weapon is projected. The pilot can view the image projected on the reflective element by looking at the outside world through the window 3.

Said information display is provided from the screen 4 of the cathode ray tube 5 by an optical device 6 which focuses the image observed by the pilot on a point at approximately infinite distance. It's getting old.

The information to be displayed is, for example, as shown in FIG.
13 and 14, and a vector symbol 15 in the form of a circle with two short lines extending from the sides.

The vector symbol 15 is provided to maintain a fixed position over the center of the screen 4 of the cathode ray tube 5, and its image is always located within the pilot's field of view of the reflective element 1.

However, five pitch line symbols 10 to 14
From the pilot's perspective, the symbol 15 makes relative angular changes and vertical movements in response to the banking and pitching movements of the aircraft.

The five pitch lines 10 to 14 remain parallel to each other and their movement on the screen 4 is based on the vertical reference given by the gyroscope and other sensors relating to the flight attitude of the aircraft. With respect to the line, line symbol 10 is located in the center to indicate the horizontal position, that is, the pitch angle is zero value, and the remaining four line symbols 11 to 14
are positioned above and below the center line 10 at pitch angles of 30 degrees.

On the other hand, information regarding the aiming of the weapon is given by the crosshair symbol 16 (see FIG. 2). This symbol 16 is movable within the display area on the screen 4 so as to indicate the line of sight of the weapon when viewed by the pilot against the background of the external scenery seen through the window 3.

The pilot replaces the crosshair symbol 16 with the vector symbol 15.
The aircraft can be positioned within the range and maneuvered accordingly so that the aircraft's attitude is suitable for firing the weapon.

The electrical time base signals and video signals necessary for displaying information about the aircraft's flight attitude and weapon aiming on the screen 4 are generated by a waveform generator 17 and fed to the cathode ray tube 5. .

The waveform generator 17 receives signals from a sensor 18 regarding the flight attitude of the aircraft and a computer 19 for aiming the weapon, etc.
A raster time-based signal and a corresponding video signal are generated.

In this regard, the information display embodied in the video signal sent to the cathode ray tube 5 actually contains a much wider variety of information than the simplified information shown in FIG. I think that what I can give will be understood.

Such information may be represented in digital and/or analog formats.

However, in any event, the information is represented by the lines provided to the deflection elements of the cathode ray tube by the waveform generator 17 and the intensity modulation of the cathode ray tube raster provided by the frame time base signal. become.

The video signals required for each of the symbols 10 to 16 are generated separately in a waveform generator and then mixed together and applied to the grid electrodes of the cathode ray tube 5.

Here, each signal is generated by selectively increasing the brightness of the time-based raster in order to project one or more corresponding symbols at appropriate locations on the screen 4.

A video signal consisting of pulses of successive raster intensities required for the representation of each symbol is used to represent one or more symbols in order to give an indication of the flight attitude of the aircraft, in particular the wing attitude.
It is generated by the waveform generator 17 based on sufficient stored information to be plotted on the screen 4 as a dot.

A one-to-one mapping of the above symbols, taking into account changes in the aircraft's flight attitude, can be achieved according to the aircraft's pitch angle and bank angle.

At each moment in time, the line and frame time-based signals define the point at which the cathode ray beam is projected within the area of the screen 4. In this way, it is possible to generate a video signal suitable for performing a mapping corresponding to any flight attitude, based on the time-based signal, the stored information, and the signals regarding the measured pitch and bang angles. .

Generation of such a video signal can be accomplished by first performing a coordinate transformation on the stored information depending on the magnitude of the pitch angle and bank angle. Thus, 1
A one-to-one mapping representing one or more symbols can be performed.

Pulses for brightness enhancement of the raster are then generated from successive comparisons between each point of the cathode ray beam according to the line and frame time base signals and the mapping defined above. However, reading each point based on a time-based signal requires a significant amount of storage capacity to store the results of the coordinate transformation.

Therefore, in the device of the present invention, in order to avoid the need for extremely large storage capacity as described above,
The video signal is calculated by calculating each successive point on the screen 4 on which the cathode ray beam is projected according to the progression of the line and frame time-based signals as a corresponding point obtained as a mapping of the reference position. It is now possible for it to occur.

Direct reading of the pulses for appropriate brightness enhancement of the raster can be done from stored information regarding the mapping of the reference coordinates.

Therefore, the entire display area is mapped by coordinate transformation according to the flight attitude of the aircraft, and each point in the area where the brightness should be increased can be determined from comparison with stored information regarding the flight attitude. The coordinate transformation described above may be performed incrementally.

As shown in FIG. 3, the displayed images on the screen 4 are spaced apart from each other by (ΔX _{d ) in the horizontal axis direction, i.e. in the direction of the line time base deflection, and separated from each other by (ΔX d} ) in the vertical axis direction, i.e. in the direction of the frame time base deflection. can be thought of as consisting of an elementary matrix defined by a series of points represented by coordinates (X _d , Y _d ) separated from each other by (ΔY _d ).

The cathode ray beam is scanned through said series of points, the scanning preferably starting from the origin (0,0) in the horizontal direction, i.e., X while keeping (Y _d ) zero.
It gradually advances by (ΔX _d ) in the axial direction.

Upon completion of the first horizontal scan, the cathode ray beam returns to the Y-axis, i.e., at (X _d = 0), and then repeats the horizontal scan at a point incremented by (ΔY _d ) on the Y-axis. will start again.

This process is repeated until the display area is completely covered.

If each point X _d , Y _d in the display area is a mapping obtained by rotating the points X _p , Y _p at the reference position by an angle (φ) around the points X _c , Y _c , then X _{p =} X _c + (X _d − X _c ) cosφ + (Y _{d − Y c ) sinφ Y p} = Y _c − (X _d − _d sinφ〕＋[X _c −X _c cosφ−Y
_c sinφ〕 Y _p = [−X _d sinφ＋Y _d cosφ] + [Y _c +X _c sinφ
−Y _c cosφ] holds true.

From the above equation, it can be seen that the mapping of corresponding points at the reference position according to the movement from the points X _d , Y _d to the points X _d +ΔX _d , Y _d in the horizontal scanning of the cathode ray beam can be expressed by the following equation. I understand.

X _p + ΔX _p = X _p + ΔX _d cosφ Y _p + ΔY _p = Y _p −ΔX _d sinφ That is, for every (ΔX _{d )} increment of the horizontal scan, each _point in the diagram
cosφ) and a component obtained by subtracting (ΔX _d sinφ) from Y _p .

Similarly, the change in the mapping of the reference position that occurs in response to the movement from the point X _d , Y _d to the point X _d , Y _d +ΔY _d in the vertical scanning is expressed by the following equation.

_{X p + ∆X p = _ _ _ _ _} It is now expressed by new coordinates consisting of the added component and the component obtained by adding (ΔY _d cosφ) to Y _p .

The principles described above can be applied for the generation of video signals necessary for displaying information as shown in FIG.

More specifically, the present invention can be applied to the deformation of the display symbol due to the rotational movement of the bank angle (φ) of the aircraft. The coordinate transformation required as the pitch angle changes may be determined by appropriate linear shift calculations.

In FIG. 4, it is incorporated into the waveform generator 17.
Illustrated is an apparatus useful for generating the video signals necessary for displaying groups of pitch line symbols 10-14. The operating procedure of this device is as follows.
The change in bank angle (φ) will be explained below.

As shown in FIG. 4, two computer devices 20 and 21 for calculating the instantaneous values of (X _p ) and (Y _p ) address a storage device 22 with signals based on those values. Perform the work that occurs for the purpose.

The storage device 22 is for storing binary information relating to the point representation of the pitch line signal that matches the flight attitude of the aircraft. A pulse associated with an increase in raster brightness is a state in which "1" or "0" is stored at the identified address, in other words, points X _p and Y _p in the image become brighter or
Alternatively, the light is fed from the storage device 22 to the cathode ray tube 5 as the condition becomes darker.

As is clear, it is of course possible to store more information at each location.

For example, if it is required to provide the pilot with separately colored images of a number of symbols themselves or their parts, information regarding the colors may be stored and fed to the cathode ray tube. You can also do it.

Each of the computer devices 20 and 21 has four
It includes three adders 23, 24, 25 and 26 and two registers 27 and 28, each register being connected to a corresponding adder in order to receive the output of the corresponding adder 23 or 24, respectively. It is connected in such a way that it can provide feedback.

The adder 23 of one computer device 20 has normally constant values (ΔX _d ) and (cosφ).
A signal representing the product of is fed from outside the device. The adder 23 of the other computer arrangement 21 is likewise fed with a signal representing (-X _d sinφ).

Also, two computer devices 20 and 21
The adder 24 has (ΔY _d sinφ) and (ΔY _d
cos φ) is respectively fed from outside the device.

These four signals externally fed to the adders 23, 24 of the computer units 20 and 21 described above are the incremental signals of the bank angle (φ) and the (ΔX _d ) and Depending on the incremental change in (ΔY _d ),
It is provided by a device (not shown) within waveform generator 17.

Such a device calculates (sinφ) based on information regarding the flight attitude of the aircraft provided by the sensor 18.
The waveform generator 17 calculates the values of and (cosφ).
A suitable signal can be generated according to the waveform propagation sent from a time base generator (not shown) to the cathode ray tube 5.

The digitizers 27 and 28 of one computer device 20 calculate (X _d +ΔX _d )cosφ and (Y _d +ΔY _d )
The values of the functions of sinφ are respectively accumulated, and the digitizers 27 and 28 of the other computer device 21 calculate -
Accumulate the values of the functions (X _d +ΔX _d )sinφ and (Y _d +ΔY _d )cosφ, respectively.

The summation of the two function values accumulated in each of the computer devices 20 and 21 is performed by an adder 25 and the instants of (X _p ) and (Y _p ) are used to address the memory device 22 . The value is
is derived by the adder 26 of the two computer devices.

In one computer device 20, the output of adder 25 is summed by another adder 26 to give a calculated value expressed by the following equation.

X _c −X _c cosφ−Y _c sinφ ...(1) On the other hand, adder 2 in computer device 21
The outputs of 5 are also added by adder 26 to give the calculated value of the following equation.

Y _c + X _c sinφ − Y _c cosφ ...(2) Signals corresponding to these calculated values are based on the set values of (X _c ) and (Y _c ) and the information regarding the flight attitude given from the sensor 18. According to the calculated values of (sinφ) and (cosφ), it is fed to computer devices 20 and 21.

In the scanning raster, when the cathode ray beam is initially directed to the origin (0,0), the register 2 in the two computer devices 20 and 21
7 and 28 are set to zero.

The values of (X _p ) and (Y _p ) generated are then equal to the function values 1 and 2, and as the cathode ray beam is scanned across the screen 4, the adders of both computers 20, 21 In 23,
The increment (ΔX _d cosφ) is added to (X _p ) and (ΔX _d
sinφ) is subtracted from (Y _p ).

At the end of each line scan, the register 27 is again set to zero, and in the adder 24 of the two computer devices 20 and 21, (X _p ) plus (ΔY _d
sinφ) is added, and (ΔY _d cosφ) is also added to (Y _d ).

At the end of each frame scan, the two registers 27 and 28 are both set to zero again.

Thus, as the cathode ray beam continues its raster scan, its position at successive instantaneous points is the coordinate (X _p , X _p ) of the beam position relative to the diagram.
In order to derive this, it can be obtained as a mapping with a one-to-one relationship.

These coordinates are used to accomplish addressing of the memory device 22 and to read the appropriate brightness increase information related to the beam position and apply it to the cathode ray tube 5.

The storage device 22 may be capable of storing image information regarding each of the line symbols or other symbols forming a group as shown in the figure, but may also store information regarding the positional spacing and direction of each symbol element. Together, they may be capable of storing sufficient information to define a single line or other symbol.

For example, image information regarding only one line of a group of pitch line symbols 10 to 14 is stored together with information regarding the positional spacing of individual symbol elements in the Y-axis direction, so that the entire line symbols 10 to 14 are constructed. can be made so that it can be done.

The use of such raster scanning and the derivation of symbology allows for the rapid combination of images obtained by television or an infrared camera with the video signal applied to the cathode ray tube 5 by the waveform generator 17. Make it possible.

Such cameras typically utilize raster scanning and therefore have the advantage of not requiring any form of scan conversion in providing the video signals for the element symbology.

For example, a television or infrared camera
The same scenery as the external scenery observed by the pilot can be observed, and if desired, it can be observed with a greater degree of clairvoyance, and the signal generated from the camera can be used to create a scenery image that should be reflected on the reflective element 3. The same image can be drawn on the screen 4.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a schematic diagram of a display device according to the invention; FIG. 2 shows the symbols displayed by the display device of FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 shows the relationships that hold true in the symbol representation of FIG. FIG. 4, which diagrammatically shows a raster scan of the display area, diagrammatically shows the electrical circuitry applied to the generation of the video signals necessary for the symbology of FIG. 1... Reflective element, 2... Line of sight, 3... Window,
4...Screen, 5...Cathode ray tube, 6...Optical device, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14...Pitch line symbol, 15...Vector symbol, 16...Crosshair symbol, 17...Waveform Generator, 18...sensor,
19... Computer, 20, 21... Computer device, 22... Storage device, 23, 24, 2
5, 26... adder, 27, 28... register.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A display image is provided by modulation of a signal synchronized with point scanning in a display area for points Xd, Yd, and the modulated signal provides an image for points Xp, Yp in the display area. The coordinates of the image within the display area are converted from the reference position set by the storage signal in accordance with the input variable angle Φ. A display device of the type shown in FIG. 2
24 in 0), third means (23 and 27 in 21) for obtaining the third output signal -Xd sinΦ, and fourth means (23 and 27 in 21) for obtaining the fourth output signal Yd sinΦ.
24 and 28 in 1), and a first adder (24 and 28) that adds the first output signal and the second output signal for successive points Xd, Yd of the scan to obtain an instantaneous value (Xp) for each point of the scan. 2 out of 20
5), and a second adder (2 of 21) which adds the third output signal and the fourth output signal for successive points Xd, Yd of the scan to obtain an instantaneous value (Yp) for each point of the scan.
5), the mapping of the reference position stored in the storage device 22 is
The information in the memory regarding this point is read in order to control the brightness increase to points Xd, Yd within the display area, thereby controlling the brightness increase within the display area. A display device characterized in that a mapping of is rotated by an angle Φ. 2. The display device adds the value (X−XcosΦ−Yc sinΦ) to the first adder (25 of 20) to obtain the instantaneous value of (Xp) for each point of the scan. (20
26 in 2) and a fourth adder to add the value (Yc + Xc sinΦ−Yc cosΦ) to the second adder (25 in 21) to obtain the instantaneous value of (Yp) for each point of the scan. (26 of 21), and the mapping of the reference position stored in the storage device 22 is
The information in the storage device 22 addressed to the point Xp, Yp regarding this point is read in order to control the brightness increase of the point Xd, Yd in the display area, so that the mapping in the display area is Point Xc,
2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is adapted to rotate around Y'c through an angle Φ. 3. A display device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the coordinate transformation is performed incrementally for each point of the display scan. 4. Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the displayed image is displayed by a cathode ray tube, and the modulation signal modulates the brightness of the beam of the cathode ray tube.
Display device according to any one of paragraphs. 5. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the input signal is generated in response to a change in the attitude of the aircraft. 6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein the displayed image includes one or more horizontal lines. 7. The display device according to claim 5 or 6, which is a head-up display device that projects an image onto a half mirror reflective element placed in the line of sight of an aircraft pilot.