WO1992006463A1

WO1992006463A1 - Method and apparatus for adjusting a display

Info

Publication number: WO1992006463A1
Application number: PCT/US1991/007060
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rodger Alan Reinhart
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-09-28
Filing date: 1991-09-26
Publication date: 1992-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 1993-03-28
Also published as: AU8739491A

Abstract

A method and apparatus for adjusting the value of a number displayed on a digital display is disclosed. The display (10) is put into an adjustment mode. A first icon (20) and a second icon (22) are alternately displayed. The displayed value (21) is incremented by engaging an adjustment means (18) while the first icon (20) is displayed. The displayed value (21) is decremented by engaging the adjustment means (18) while the second icon (22) is displayed.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTING A DISPLAY

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention:

This invention relates to displays, and more particularly to a display that provides for adjustment in either direction of the value displayed by engaging a button in conjunction with an icon on the display.

Description of the Prior Art: Most display devices (watches, timers, altimeters, bicycle speedometers, etc.) display information that requires setting or adjustment, such as time of day, date, altitude, etc. In order to adjust the value displayed, a combination of buttons must be operated. A first button is pressed to put the device into the adjustment mode. When in the adjustment mode, a second button will increase the value displayed, while a third button will decrease the value displayed. The adjustment mode is exited by pressing the first button again. For example, if the number displayed is 90 and the number to be changed to is 80, the first button is pushed to enter the adjustment mode, and the third button is pushed ten times to reach the number 80. In conventional two button displays, and as an alternative for three button displays, the second button is pushed to increase the value through the full range of numbers, past zero, and up to 80. Most conventional devices now include a scroll feature, so that by holding down the second or third button, the values displayed will scroll continuously through the range, rather than by pushing the button multiple times. Many digital display devices are difficult and confusing to operate and/or adjust because it is difficult to remember which button does what. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the number of buttons needed to operate and adjust the device, thereby simplifying the operation and reducing the cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method and apparatus for adjusting the information displayed on a display is disclosed. The display is preferably microprocessor driven. A first icon and a second icon are alternately displayed at a convenient time interval on the display (typically one second) . The displayed value may be incremented by engaging an adjustment means while the first icon is displayed. The displayed value may be decremented by engaging the adjustment means while the second icon is displayed. Preferably, the icon displays do not change while the adjustment means is engaged. Additionally, scrolling adjustments are provided. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description of the invention and accompanying drawings that set forth an illustrative embodiment in which the principles of the invention are used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. la is a top plan view of a digital display according to the present invention. Fig. lb is a block diagram of a digital display according to the present invention. Figs. 2a and 2b are flow charts of the program to implement a digital display according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to Figs, la and lb, a digital display 10 in housing 12 is driven by a microprocessor 14. The display 10 is preferably a liquid crystal display (LCD) . The microprocessor 14 is one such as the Sanyo LC5863H Semiconductor Microcontroller. The Sanyo LC5863H is a 4-bit microcontroller with a 3,000 instruction read-only- memory (ROM) , and random-access-memory (RAM) of 256 4-bit words. The typical clock frequency is 32,000 Hz, and the typical instruction rate in 8,000 instructions per second.

A pair of function buttons 16 and 18 are located on the housing 12 and are used to set, display, or adjust the numerical values associated with the various functions which may be programmed into the microprocessor 14 and viewed on display 10. At least one numerical value 21 is displayed at all times on the display 10.

Figs. 2a and 2b are an illustration of the operation of the invention in the context of adjusting a value such as "altitude." It is to be understood that the invention is applicable to adjusting values, generally, and that the following description is meant only as an example. For this example, it is assumed that the user has pushed button 16 a sufficient number of times to cause the altitude function to be displayed.

According to the present invention, when the altitude function is displayed on display 10, button 16 is held down for two seconds to put the device into the adjustment mode, and icon 20 (up arrow) and icon 22 (down arrow) flash alternately. The displayed value 21 may be incremented by pushing button 18 when the up arrow 20 is illuminated, or decremented by pushing button 18 when the down arrow 22 is illuminated.

A flowchart of the software implementation of the adjustment scheme is given in Figs. 2a and 2b. In step 30, button 16 is pushed for at least 2 seconds. This places the microprocessor 14 into the adjustment mode. In step 32, the system checks to make sure that button 16 has been released.

In step 34, a direction change time T_c is set equal to the present time of day T plus 1.3 seconds. T_c is the time at which the change in the direction arrow being displayed will occur. It is to be understood that the time of day value is provided by the microprocessor 14 as a part of a conventional time of day clock function maintained by the microprocessor.

In step 36, the system interrogates button 18 to see if it is being pushed. If so, an attempt is being made to adjust the numerical display and the program jumps to step 60.^' If not, then the program continues to step 38.

In step 38, the current time of day T is compared to the direction change time T_c. If 1.3 seconds have not elapsed since T_c was set in step 34, the program jumps back to step 36. If 1.3 seconds have elapsed, the program proceeds to step 40.

In step 40, the status of the increment flag is checked to see if the flag is set (logic level = 1) . If so, then the program jumps to step 46. If not, the program continues to step 42. The increment flag is an internal flag maintained by the microprocessor 14 to indicate whether the up arrow or down arrow is currently being displayed. If the increment flag is "set," the "up" arrow is being displayed. If the increment flag is not set, the down arrow is being displayed.

In step 42, the increment flag is set (logic level = 1) .

In step 44, the up arrow 22 is displayed on display 10. The program then jumps to step 50. In step 46, the increment flag is reset (logic level = 0) .

In step 48, the down arrow 20 is displayed on display 10.

In step 50, the direction change timer T_c is updated by setting it equal to the present time of day T plus 1.3 seconds.

In step 52, the system interrogates to see if button 16 is being pushed. If so, the adjustment mode is exited. If not, then the program jumps back to step 36.

As noted above in step 36, if button 18 was being pushed, the program flow jumps to step 60. In step 60, the increment flag is checked to see if it is set (logic level = l) . If so, then the program goes to step 62, and if not, then the program jumps to step 64.

In step 62, the displayed value 21 is incremented and the program jumps to step 66.

In step 64, the displayed value 21 is decremented.

In step 66, the scroll time T_s is set equal to the present time of day plus 0.9 seconds. The scroll time T_s is a slight delay such that when it is desired to scroll through the values, either in an increment or decrement mode, there exists a differentiation between holding the button 18 down and merely pushing it briefly for a single digit chang .

In step 68, the system interrogates button 18 to see if it is being pushed. If so, then the program continues to step 70. If not, the program jumps back to step 50.

In step 70, the present time of day T is compared to the scroll time T_fi. If the scroll time T_s is greater than T, the program jumps back to step 68. If the present time of day T is greater than T , the program continues to step 72.

In step 72, the status of the increment flag is checked. If the increment flag is set (logic level = 1), then the program goes to step 74, and if not, then the program jumps to step 76.

In step 74, the displayed value 21 is incremented.

In step 76, the displayed value 21 is decremented.

In step 78, the program delays for 0.05 seconds and then returns to step 68.

From another point of view, the flow diagram of FIG. 2 can be viewed as having several functional parts: 1) an up/down arrow illumination portion; 2>- an increment/decrement value portion; and 3) a value scrolling portion.

The up/down arrow illumination portion is implemented by steps 34 through 52. The increment flag is alternately set and reset in steps 40 through 48. When the increment flag is set, step 42, the up arrow is displayed, step 44. When the increment flag is reset (to a logic zero), step 46, the down arrow is displayed, step 48. Each arrow is typically displayed for 1.3 seconds .as determined in steps 34, 38, and 50. That is, in step 34, the direction change time T_c is initialized to be 1.3 seconds more than the current time. In step 38, the current time is compared against the direction change time T_c. Step 38 causes the system to loop back to step 36 until the current time exceeds the direction change time. At that point, steps 40 through 48 are executed to change the arrow being illuminated. Thereafter, step 50 updates the change direction time T_c so that 1.3 more seconds will elapse before step 38 permits the change in the arrow being illuminated.

The increment/decrement value portion is implemented by steps 36, and 60 through 64. In step 36, the operation of button 18 indicates that a change in the value is desired. If the increment flag is in a "set" condition at this time, the value is to be incremented, steps 60 and 62. If the increment flag is not in a "set" condition at this time, the value is to be decremented, steps 60 and 64. In the example of Fig. 2, the amount by which the value is incremented or decremented is 10.

The value scrolling portion permits the user to scroll the value up or down in predetermined steps for as long as button 18 is pushed, if the user holds button 18 down continuously for at least 0.9 seconds. Whether this latter requirement has been met is determined in step 66 through 70. Step 66 sets the scroll time T_g. If, after the current time exceeds time T_s, button 18 is still pushed, steps 72 through 78 will be executed to scroll the value for as long as button 18 remains pushed. If, on the other hand, button 18 is released before 0.9 seconds has elapsed, the up/down arrow portion of the program will be executed, and only a single step change will have been made in the value.

It is to be noted that step 78 provides a short 0.05 second delay between changes in the value being scrolled to permit the user sufficient time to see the display change and to release button 18. The incrementing and decrementing operation in steps 72 through 76 is substantially the same as that in steps 60 through 64. Finally, step 52 is used to permit the user to exit out of the adjustment procedure by pushing button 16.

While the present invention has been illustrated in the context of up and down arrows, it is to be understood that other icons can be used in the spirit of the invention. As such, the icons are not intended to be limited to representing direction, but may be representative of other parameters, such as size, hue, temperature, and the like. The scope of the invention is defined by the accompanying claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A method for adjusting the information displayed on a display, comprising the steps of: a. alternately displaying a first icon and a second icon on the display; b. changing the information displayed in a first predetermined manner when an adjustment means is engaged while the first icon is displayed; c. changing the information displayed in a second predetermined manner when the adjustment means is engaged while the second icon is displayed.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of alternately displaying the first and second icons comprises the steps of: a. querying the status of a first flag, i.e., high or low; b. displaying the first icon if the first flag is high and setting the first flag to low; c. displaying the second icon if the first flag is low and setting the first flag to high; d. maintaining the display of step b or step c for a first time interval; and e. repeating steps a through d.

3. The method of claim l, further comprising the step of interrupting the alternate display step when the adjustment means is engaged.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of changing the information in a first predetermined manner comprises incrementing a value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of changing the information in a second predetermined manner comprises decrementing a value.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the incrementing step includes continuously incrementing the value as long as the adjustment means remains engaged.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the decrementing step includes continuously decrementing the value as long as the adjustment means remains engaged.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the incrementing step comprises: a. querying the status of a first flag, i.e., high or low; and b. incrementing the displayed value if the flag is high.

9. The method of claim 5,- wherein the decrementing step comprises: a. querying the status of a first flag, i.e., high or low; and b. decrementing the displayed value if the flag is low.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the incrementing step comprises: a. querying the status of a first flag, i.e., high or low; b. incrementing the displayed value if the flag is high. c. querying the status of the adjustment means, i.e., engaged or disengaged; d. querying the status of the first flag; e. incrementing the displayed value if the flag is high and the adjustment means have been engaged for at least a second interval; f. delaying for a third interval; and g. repeating steps c through f until the adjustment means are disengaged.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the decrementing step comprises: a. querying the status of a first flag, i.e., high or low; b. decrementing the displayed value if the flag is low. c. querying the status of the adjustment means, i.e., engaged or disengaged; d. querying the status of the first flag; e. decrementing the displayed value if the flag is low and the adjustment means have been engaged for at least a second interval; f. delaying for a third interval; and g. repeating steps c through f until the adjustment means are disengaged.

12. An apparatus for adjusting the information displayed on a display, comprising: a. means for alternately displaying a first icon and a second icon on the display; b. means for changing the information displayed in a first predetermined manner when an adjustment means is engaged while the first icon is displayed; c. means for changing the information displayed in a second predetermined manner when an adjustment means is engaged while the second icon is displayed.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising means for interrupting the alternately displaying means when the adjustment means is engaged.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the information is a value, and wherein the means for changing the value in a first predetermined manner comprises means for incrementing the value.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the information is a value, and wherein the means for changing the value in a second predetermined manner comprises meams for decrementing the value.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the incrementing means includes means for continuously . incrementing the displayed value as long as the adjustment means remains engaged.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the decrementing means includes means for continuously decrementing the displayed value as long as the adjustment means remains engaged.

18. A digital display apparatus, comprising: a. a microprocessor having data stored therein; b. a display coupled to the microprocessor for observing at least one datum from the microprocessor; c. means for adjusting the value of the observed datum; d. means for alternately displaying a first icon and a second icon on the display; e. means for incrementing the value of the observed datum by engaging the adjusting means while the first icon is displayed; and f. means for decrementing the value of the observed datum by engaging the adjusting means while the second icon is displayed.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising means for selecting a datum from the microprocessor to be observed.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a housing which contains the microprocessor, the display, the selection means, and the adjustment means.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the selection means comprises a first button which is accessible from the outside of the housing.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the adjusting means comprises a second button which is accessible from the outside of the housing.