Abstract: A pointing device that is ergonomically designed is shown and described. In a preferred embodiment designed for children aged 2-6, a relatively large ball is provided in a housing which has a gripping area or handle for each hand of a user, a portion of the ball extending from an upper surface of the housing. A button is provided in a front region of the housing, the placement, shape and size of the button being configured to optimize the target area and activation of the button by the user. The size of the ball and the configuration of the housing provide a pointing device that is easy and comfortable for a child aged 2-6 to use, the pointing device being designed to accommodate the hand size, motor control, and postural needs of young children.

Abstract: In a three-slot addressing scheme for a liquid crystal optical modulator, where the data waveforms comprise a data section, a charge-balancing section and a further section, the form of the further section depends upon the sequence of data waveforms. The further section or pair of adjacent further sections comprises a pair of pulses of opposite polarities which charge-balance each other. The order in which these pulses occur in the pair enhances the effect of the adjacent data section to aid or inhibit switching as appropriate. This facilitates a shorter line address time.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for automatically adjusting the brightness level of an LCD based on the ambient lighting conditions of the environment in which the LCD is being operated are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a photodetector located proximate the front of the LCD generates to brightness control circuitry signals indicative of ambient lighting conditions. These signals are correlated to predetermined automatic brightness control values for use in controlling the brightness level of the LCD. Once the ambient light signals have been used automatically to set the brightness level of the LCD, user-selection of a different brightness level, either higher or lower, will override the automatic brightness control setting. In an alternative embodiment, a first photodetector is located proximate the front of the LCD and a second photodetector is located proximate the back of the LCD. In this embodiment, the brighter ambient condition is used to control the brightness level of the LCD.

Abstract: An IC driver mounted on a LCD display package contains a sensor for determining temperature of the LCD cell, and a digital value of the temperature is serially transmitted to a remote microprocessor which determines compensated voltage and sends voltage command data back to the IC driver which produces a drive voltage by a charge pump. A digital code on the LCD cell identifies cell response characteristics and the code is used by the microprocessor to calculate the desired voltage. A ROM in the IC driver stores many bit-mapped images which are selected by the microprocessor for display.

Abstract: A head-mounted type image display system includes right and left image display devices, first and second projection optical systems projecting right and left images displayed on the first and second image display devices onto right and and left eyes of a user as virtual images, a movement detection device for detecting a direction and an amount of up and down or right and left or back and forth movement of the user's head to derive a displacement signal, and a driving device responding to the displacement signal to move the first and second image display devices in a direction opposite to the detected direction of the movement of the user's head by an amount which is 0.8 times to 1.2 times of the detected amount of the movement of the user's head such that virtual images can be perceived by the user to be remained substantially stationary within the space.

Abstract: A user interface of simplifying selection of speaker volume level and power conservation level in a computer system. An icon is presented for setting the speaker volume which includes a bar graph of relative speaker volume. By depressing left or right arrow keys the graph moves and the volume level of the speaker is changed. By depressing the down arrow key when setting the volume level, the speaker is beeped to allow for a level check during the setting process. A series of icons are used to indicate and select power conservation level. Each icon includes a battery with a faucet attached to the side of the battery. Different water flow rates indicate the various conservation levels. A human figure is located adjacent the faucet to indicate the user-customerized conservation level.

Abstract: An ergonomic housing for a computer mouse helpful in minimizing the occurrence and alleviating the symptoms of repetitive strain injuries is disclosed. The mouse housing includes a palm support area having a hump which is an asymmetrically skewed bulge about with a user's hand may pivot. The palm support area also includes a tapered tail for supporting the hand and wrist off the surface. The housing includes at least one button which is elevated and angled to minimize flexion of and accompanying stress on the tendons of the finger. A thumb support is also provided to allow the thumb to rest off the surface and to aid in lifting the mouse.

Abstract: An image processor is composed of a game device body, an operation panel and a display. The game device body is composed of a data processor 11 and a memory 12. The data processor 11 realizes a hit determining circuit 111, an enemy control circuit 112, an enemy (object) set circuit 113, a cursor control circuit 114, an enemy retrieval circuit 115 and a camera control circuit 116 in accordance with corresponding programs used. When an object is displayed on the display, the cursor control circuit 114 displays a cursor in accordance with predetermined processing performed on the basis of data on the coordinates of the object. The camera control circuit 116 performs a zoom-in display process for the object when the object is displayed on the display.

Abstract: A pair of neighboring scan lines are selected either for a black write action of an arbitrary signal line in a blanking period and the other for another black write action of the signal line in the blanking period, permitting a relatively small voltage shift to be caused in associated pixel voltages.

Abstract: The liquid crystal display device includes a resistive string that divides each of voltage ranges between reference voltages to generate multi-level grayscale voltages to be applied to the liquid crystal layer. The resistances between the terminals of the resistive string to which the reference voltages are applied are set to magnitudes almost proportional to voltage differences between the reference voltages. This makes it possible to provide a liquid crystal display device with low power consumption and high picture quality.

Abstract: A data compression apparatus and method of displaying graphics in a computer system employs a full frame buffer and compressed frame buffer wherein pixel data is sent to a display device and concurrently compressed and captured in parallel so that subsequent unchanged frames are regenerated directly from the compressed frame buffer.

Abstract: A computer control device which provides spacial information to a computer or electronic game by sensing the linear acceleration or tilt angle of the control device. The computer control device includes an accelerometer having an enclosure containing a fluid and temperature sensing elements positioned within the enclosure. The fluid moves across the temperature sensing elements in free convection during acceleration or inclination of the enclosure causing a temperature differential between the temperature sensing elements which is measurable. The control device incorporating one or more of these accelerometers senses acceleration or tilt in one to three dimensions and may be used to control a cursor on a computer screen, a display of a virtual reality device, or other computer and electronic game displays.

Abstract: A battery powered sensing device using an analog sensor has electronic circuitry that maintains sensitivity and calibration of the sensing device during quiescent periods with very little power drain. In one implementation, a joystick is provided with a sensitive analog sensor, such as strain gauges, connected to the shaft of the joystick. The strain gauges are connected in a bridge circuit across which a voltage is applied. Three operational amplifiers are connected to combinations of the strain gauges in the bridge circuit to generate X, Y and Z output voltages corresponding to the combined signals generated by the strain gauges. A microprocessor receives outputs from the sensitive analog sensor and generates a sample signal and performs a recalibration of sampled signals during periods of inactivity.

Abstract: A display apparatus includes a pedestal, a cylindrical display body rotatably mounted on the pedestal, a plurality of light emitting lines composed of a plurality of units, each line being equidistantly and axially arranged on a wall of the display body for displaying information when the display body rotates, a control circuit mounted on the display body for controlling a rotating speed of the display body and the information displayed on the display apparatus, and a power supply having a positive electrode and a negative electrode provided within the pedestal for providing the power required by the apparatus.

Abstract: An addressing scheme for efficient memory use for storing textures with borders. Memory space is allocated for the texture maps, borders, and submaps equaled to two times the width times the height of the texture map to be stored. The memory space is then divided into a rectangular map space having a left-hand portion and a right-hand portion. Storage is accomplished by storing the main texture map on the left-hand portion of the map space. Submaps are then aligned along the bottom edge of the map space at the right in the right-hand portion. Finally, the borders are stored beginning at the top of the right-side portion of the rectangular space. The four corner edges of the borders are stored below the texel borders in the right-side portion.

Abstract: An active matrix display device, having an array of picture elements (12) comprising electro-optic, for example LC, display elements (14) and associated switching devices (15), for example thin film diodes, driven by selection and data signals applied to sets of row and column address conductors (16, 17) respectively, which includes a reference circuit (34) comprising a switching device (35) connected to a capacitive element (36) and similarly driven periodically by selection signals and a reference data signal applied via one of the column address conductors (17), and an adjustment circuit which senses the voltage at the capacitive element (36), indicative of the operational behavior of the switching device (35), at particular times corresponding substantially to the termination of a selection signal applied to the reference circuit and which, according to the sensed voltage at that time, is operable to adjust the drive voltages used for the picture elements (12) so as to compensate for changes in the operat

Abstract: To obtain a display method navigation map intended to lessen the load of control means such as CPU, by quick scroll display. By comparison between preceding judging region (JO) and present judging region (JN), a changing direction of judging region is recognized, and rewriting is processed in advance in a page (display off divided memory region) of a map memory, being out of map display region of a display device. At this time, rewriting is processed by priority in a divided memory region that is high in possibility of move of the own vehicle and that must be written at the earliest opportunity.

Abstract: The invention relates to a procedure for scrolling some raster scan lines in a window of a screen operated in the graphic-mode of a personal computer. The computer has a processor and a program memory allocated to it as well as a video card connected to the processor via an external bus. The video card has a video memory (RAM), whose memory contents can be presented on the screen. One first line of the raster scan lines to be scrolled, is moved into a raster scan line within the window and is marked with a source-pointer. The raster scan line within a window, in which this line is to be moved into, is marked with a destination pointer. Afterwards, a scroll is performed and repeated until all lines to be scrolled are in raster scan lines of the window. At the same time with the first line, the subsequent third line is also at least scrolled in raster scan lines of the screen window.

Abstract: An apparatus provides an electronic signal in response to at least one of an applied force and an applied torque. The apparatus includes a detection device that detects movement of a movable member relative to a base, and provides the electronic signal, by driving a plurality of first sensor components.

Abstract: Coupled to an error variance circuit 11 is an emission luminance characteristic acquisition circuit 20 that counts up, at a display number counter 21, the display number in the single or plural frames of the respective bits of image data by the counters, M in number, corresponding to said bits, then solves for display area percentage (Sk) dividing, at a display area percentage operation part 22, the display dot number as counted at a display number counter 21, by total dot number, and acquires the luminance deviation characteristic for each bit by means of an emission luminance deviation characteristic measuring part 24. The luminance deviation thus obtained is renewed for each frame and transferred to the error variance circuit 11, and processed for error variance on the basis of the emission luminance characteristic to be output at PDP.