DISPLAY @IEEE TRAN SACTI C] N S C) N
`:CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
`
`FEBRUARY 1987
`
`VOLUME CE-33
`
`NUMBER 1
`
`(ISSN 0098-3063)
`
`A Pubiication by the iEEE Consumer Electronics Society
`
`_.
`31
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`
`_
`
`I
`
`m A
`
`dministrative Committee ........................................................................................ i
`Officers and Committee Chairmen ................................................................................. ii
`From the President ............................................................................................. iii
`International Conference on Consumer Electronics .................................................................. iv
`Minutes of Ad Com, Dec. 4, I986 .................................................................................. v
`Implementing IS15, Cooperative Efforts to Establish a Standard for Attaching CATV Decoders Directly to
`TV Receivers & VCRs ............................................................................ J. E. Van Loan vi
`
`M A
`
`n Interactive, Reconfigurable Display System for Automotive Instrumentation
`...................................................................
`J. Ortega, C Barker, C. Wilson, and R. Kmse
`A Proposal for A New High-Definition NTSC Broadcast Protocol ....................................... R. J. Iredaie
`Interconnection Subtleties of Consumer Products and Cable ............................................. D. J. Large
`Cable and BTSC Stereo .............................................................. J. 0. Farmer and A. B. Best
`2/3-Inch MS (Magnetic-focus Electrostaticdeflection) Type Saticon for HDTV Hand-held Color Cameras
`...................................................M. Kuroshige. N. Egami, S. Okazaki, F. Okano, and J. Kannada
`Dot Matrix Alphanumeric Display System for Arabic ....................................... M. S. Beg and W. Ahmad
`A Simple Technique for Video Image Transmission .................................... K. L. Moog and N. D. Jotwani
`A DBTV System for Optimum Bandwidth Efficiency ................................................. W. H. Debbie
`
`l
`l4
`28
`3!
`
`39
`47
`51
`58
`
`ENGINEERING
`
`EERIODIGAL
`
`“198'? Winter Technical Cunference”
`
`|PR2013-00417 - Ex. 1024
`
`Toyota Motor Corp., Petitioner
`1
`
`IPR2013-00417 - Ex. 1024
`Toyota Motor Corp., Petitioner
`1
`
`

`

`9
`
`IEEE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SOCIETY
`
`The Consumer Electronics Society is an organization. within the framework of the IEEE, of members. with technical interests in all facets Of con-
`sumer electronics products. All members of the IEEE may join the Society and have the option of receiving the Transactions on CONSUMER
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`DUMONTE V0161."
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`IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
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`2
`
`

`

`Term Expires 1987
`
`Harold Benzuly
`Matsushita Industrial
`Company
`9401 W. Grand Avenue
`Franklin Park, IL 60131
`
`Dr. Scott Cutler
`Tandy Electronics
`1300 Two Tandy Center
`Fort Worth, TX T6102
`
`Wayne E. Luplow
`Zenith Electronics Corporation
`1000 Milwaukee Avenue
`Glenview, IL 60025
`
`Anthony Troiano
`Ge/ DSRC
`Princeton, NJ 08540
`
`DuMonte Voigt
`TRW
`14520 Aviation Blvd.
`Lawndale, CA 90260
`
`Term Expires 1988
`Dr. Walter Ciciora
`ATC
`160 Inverness Dr. West
`Englewood, CO 80112
`
`Eugene Lemke
`GE/CEB M/S 1—399
`600 N. Sherman Dr.
`Indianapolis, IN 46201
`
`Stuart J . Lipoff
`A. D. Little Inc.
`Acorn Park, M/S 15-337r
`Cambridge, MA 02140
`
`Dr. Howard Prosser
`Airfone
`2809 Butterfield Road
`Oakbrook, IL 60522
`
`Steve Tainsky
`Motorola, Inc.
`3102 N. 56th Street
`Phoenix, AZ 85018-6606
`
`Term Expires 1989
`
`R. Kenneth Barr
`GE/CEB M/S 6-124
`600 N. Sherman Dr.
`Indianapolis, IN 46201
`
`James 1. Gibson
`GE/DSRC
`Princeton, NJ 08540
`
`Frank Hilbert
`Motorola Corp. Research
`1301 E. Algonquin Rd.
`Schaumberg, IL 60196
`
`Stephen Ronzheimer
`Hazeltine Research, Inc.
`188 Industrial Dr.
`Elmhurst, IL 60126
`
`Dr. Ted Rzeszewski
`Bell Telephone Laboratories
`323-IH6B
`
`Naperville-thaton Rd.
`Naperville, IL 60566
`
`1987
`IEEE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SOCIETY
`ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
`
`Princeton. NJ 08540
`
`Ex-Officr'o Members
`
`David M. Lewis
`.1987 ICCE Conference Chairman
`Eastman Kodak Company
`Research Laboratories
`Rochester. NY 14650
`
`John G. N. Henderson
`1987 ICCE Program Chairman
`RCA
`David Sarnoff Research Center
`
`3
`
`

`

`1987
`
`IEEE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SOCIETY
`OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN
`
`President
`Vice President
`Secretary
`Treasurer
`Operations & Planning
`Publications
`Nominations
`Technical Activities
`Membership & Student Relations
`Conferences
`Standards
`Awards
`EIA Liaison
`1987 ICCE Conference Chairman
`1987 ICCE Program Chairman
`CES Historian
`CES Administrator of Fellow Awards
`IEEE R&D Committee
`
`Harold Benzuly
`Stuart J. Lipoff
`Dr. Howard F. Prosser
`Dr. Scott E. Cutler
`R. Kenneth Barr
`Wayne C. Luplow
`Anthony Troiano
`Dr. Ted S. Rzeszewski
`Frank Hilbert
`Dr. Howard F. Prosscr
`Stuart J. Lipoff
`Dumonte Voigt
`Eugene Lemke
`David M. Lewis
`John G. N. Henderson
`Stephen Ronzheimer
`Anthony Troiano
`James J. Gibson
`
`ii
`
`4
`
`

`

`FROM THE PRESIDENT
`
`We’ve just closed the books on 1986 and, with a clean
`slate, we’re offto fight the tigers of 1987. Along the way
`we’ll savor some victories,
`taste some defeats and
`hopefully wind up a whole lot smarter—if a little older.
`At this time of year, there is a tendency to reflect on
`the past as well as contemplate the future. When we do,
`we as engineers (and electronics engineers in particular)
`have good reason to be pr0ud of the contributions our
`profession has made toward making the world a better
`place to live than when we came along.
`We have conceived of amazing ways to communicate
`over unbelievable distances,
`to form images of all
`kinds—even of things which cannot be seen by the
`naked eye (like the inside cross-section of the human
`body) and to store, process and retrieve staggering amounts of information instantly. And best of all, we have
`made these wonders available and affordable to millions throughout the world.
`It’s nice to be part of a group whose credits include those listed above, and when you think of the tigers that
`had to be fought (and licked) to get where we are, how tough can those tigers be in 1987?
`
`
`
`Harold J. Benzuly,
`President, CES
`
`iii
`
`5
`
`

`

`Ortega, Barker. Wilson and Kruse: An Interactive. Reconfigurable Display System for Automotive Instrumentation
`
`AN INTERACTIVE, RECONFIGUFIABLE DISPLAY SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE INSTRUMENTATION
`
`Jesse Ortega and Claude Barker
`AC Spark Plug, GMC
`Cary Wilson and Robert Kruse
`BOG-Flint Engineering, GMC
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`The decision to improve consumer
`interface with on-board vehicle systems
`in the new Buick Riviera presented many
`challenges.
`The major challenges were
`how to display the information and how
`to optimize the driver's interface with
`the display. Challenges were met with
`the development of an interactive and
`reconfigurable display system based on
`CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and transparent
`membrane switch technologies. Human
`factors concerns were resolved, design
`requirements were met,
`limitations in
`existing technologies were overcome, and
`testing has verified that original
`design goals were met or exceeded.
`
`IN THIS PAPER WE IJILL. SU‘HHARIZE the
`development of the Graphic Control
`Center (600).
`The GCC is standard
`It
`equipment on the 1986 Buick Riviera.
`combines many display and control
`input
`systems into one reconfigurable system.
`We will first present an account of the
`evolution of the overall design concept
`from a systems viewpoint. We will then
`show how human factors and testing
`augmented the development of the
`diaplayfcontrol system.
`Then we will
`discuss the design features of the CRT
`controller and the CRT monitor
`assembly. Finally we will present an
`overview of the test program used to
`validate this system.
`
`EVOLUTION 0? DESIGN CONCEPT AND VEHICLE
`SYSTEM GOALS
`
`Need for a Versatile Control Unit -
`This electrical system
`started as a list of possible
`Electrical/Electronic features and
`functions being considered for the mid
`and late 1980's.
`Initial design
`objectives indicated that the vehicle
`would be smaller,
`including the
`instrument panel area, and that the
`theme of the vehicle wOuld cell for
`"Cockpit" styling.
`The intent was to
`consolidate the controls in the upper
`portion of the panel for good "eyes on
`the road" controls position.
`The image
`of the vehicle required that the
`displays and controls he as
`contemporary, and as advanced as
`possible. Also, styling and human
`factors allowed for the
`controlsidisplays area to be moved
`closer to the steering wheel for ease of
`reach in activating controls.
`As the architecture of the
`electricallelectronics system solidified
`it defined that the vehicle system would
`utilize a central processing module that
`would allow for increased vehicle
`diagnosis, ease of feature interaction
`and versatility for future expansion.
`This fact led to the need for developing
`a control system that would be as
`versatile and expandable as the vehicle
`system itself.
`The initial developmental Control
`panels utilized Vacuum Florescent
`diaplays in conjunction with
`Each
`conventional control buttons.
`feature, therefore, required instrument
`panel real estate dedicated to each
`specific controlidisplay panel. Based
`on the final decision of content on the
`
`Manuscript received January 13. 1981r
`
`0098-3063/87/0200-0001501.00 (9 1981' IEEE
`
`6
`
`
`
`6
`
`

`

`IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronica, Vol. CE-33, No. I, February 1987
`
`the
`1986 production intent,
`dedicated display requirements numbered
`a minimum of eight (3), and the controls
`were in excess of 100 individual
`switches.
`
`In order to achieve the initial
`program objectives of styling and system
`architecture,
`the decision was made to
`provide a universal display that would
`be reconfigurable,
`[thus allowing for
`the ability to share display/controls
`amongst many features]. This led to a
`study of functions in the instrument
`panel system to determine which items
`were adaptable to a shared
`display/control
`format.
`The outcome of
`the study concluded that the controls
`would be split into two types:
`Primary — Required for the normal
`operation of driving the vehicle, and;
`Secondary - Feature or function
`controls and displays not
`specifically required to operate
`the vehicle.
`
`The secondary controls were to be
`integrated into the reconfigurable
`control system.
`They include:
`Radio
`
`HeaterIVentilatioanir Conditioning
`( HVAC)
`Trip Monitor
`Sidereal
`(including Clock, Day,
`etc.)
`Gages
`Diagnostics (vehicle status,
`failure codes, service, etc.)
`Selection of the Dis la Technolo
`- The next program decision required was
`to decide which technology should be
`utilized for the display.
`System
`architecture for the vehicle was defined
`to be a central logic processing module
`that would interface with other "dumb"
`modules via a Universal Asynchronous
`Receiver Transmitter (U.A.R.T.) data
`link.
`The dumb modules would only
`include enough intellegence to interpret
`the link data, perform minimal local
`tasks (such as displaying information to
`the vehicle operator) and provide
`information to the system,
`(including
`putting switch or sensor status into the
`system via the link). Thus,
`the
`secondary reconfigurable displsyfcontrol
`device would also be a "dumb" module.
`Since the system was digital in format.
`and the display should be universal, it
`was obvious that a "Dot Matrix" type of
`display was desired.
`
`An analysis was conducted to
`determine the state of readiness of
`various "Dot Natrix" type displays.
`following technologies were reviewed.
`L.E.D. (Light Emitting Diode)
`L.C.D.
`(Liquid Crystal Display)
`Miscellaneous Future Twisted
`
`The
`
`Neumatic Technologies
`Plasma Displays
`Gas Discharge Displays
`C.R.T.
`(Cathod Ray Tube)
`A criteria chart was developed to
`measure the acceptability of the various
`technologies to vehicle parameters.
`The
`major parameters were brightness, design
`flexibility, development adaptation,
`packaging, weight, support electronics,
`durability, environmental compatability
`and cost. After such evaluation the
`decision was made to use CRT as the
`display media.
`Selection of the Switch Technolo
`- The other major decision was the form
`that the controls, or switches, would
`take. Again,
`in order to achieve the
`reconfigurable requirement for the
`system, not only would the displays have
`to be refornutable,
`the controls would
`also have to be reconfigurable.
`As a result of further analysis, it
`was decided that
`the controls or
`switches would be displayed on the CRT
`monitor, and a transparent switch would
`be mounted in front of the monitor.
`This allowed us to define the required
`controls utilizing software.
`The
`controls,
`including location and
`function could be changed, or
`reconfigured, by changing the displayed
`video. This type of control became
`known as a soft switch.
`The two main
`technologies considered for the
`transparent switch were an I.R.
`matrix and one based on membrane
`switching.
`The selected form is a
`transparent membrane switch which will
`be discussed later in this paper.
`Screen Format Selection — The CRT
`touch screen uses a free format display
`as opposed to segmented displays.
`The
`most
`important
`issues in the development
`program became the display "Graphics",
`and the priority of information and
`control functions. Controls were to be
`grouped by major features.
`The motive
`was
`to include all of the controls of a
`particular feature on a single display.
`This display was to be called one
`"Page".
`The Radio,
`for example, would
`have one page of controls, as would
`Climate controls, Trip Monitor, etc.
`In order to select the desired page
`of controls, perimeter switches (located
`on the periphery of the CRT display)
`were added.
`They were identified as
`"Hard Switches" since their function
`never changed, and were always exposed
`to the vehicle operator.
`Due to the human factors input only
`a specific density of controls were to
`be allowed on any one page. This soon
`led to prioritizing of controls within
`individual features, since the control
`
`light
`
`7
`
`

`

`01‘1583. Barker, Wilson and Kruse: An Interactive. Reconfigurable Display System for Automotive Instrumentation
`
`content of many features exceeded the
`limit for density.
`A "Sub-Page"
`structure was included so that less
`important controls for any one feature
`might then be put on a second page, and
`accessed via a Specific soft key on the
`primary page. This is best understood
`by IEViewing the Paging Structure Chart
`(Figures 1&2).
`Further study indicated
`that only a few controls are regularly
`used for operating the various
`features.
`An example was
`that for
`Radio; normal
`tuning, volume control,
`band selection and onfoff are the most
`frequently used controls. Therefore, it
`was determined that by placing a limited
`number of controls from all the features
`on one page, 902 of the time the driver
`needs could be handled from a single
`page. This page is called the "Sunmary"
`page.
`
`to
`
`Not only was the CRT to be used to
`control functions, it would also be
`utilized to display vehicle diagnostics,
`vehicle status, and act as a window into
`the vehicle electrical system. With the
`universal display capability of the CRT,
`it also would readily adapt
`to new and
`future applications of feature, or
`graphic appearance changes.
`The CRT
`display is completely software driven,
`and therefore easily changed by simply
`reprogramming the CRT controller
`software.
`As
`the vehicle goes through
`continuous product
`improvements,
`the
`control system can be changed, features
`added, etc. without requiring
`redesigning of the instrument panel
`locate a new control panel.
`The CRT required adaptation of the
`vehicle electrical system in order to
`optimize CRT usage.
`For
`the CRT to
`control various controls,
`the concept of
`a "Networked or Central
`logic” control
`system in the vehicle was necessary.
`another adaptation was
`neccessitated by the warm-up time
`required by the CRT tube itself. This
`was implemented in the total vehicle
`design. Activation of the door handle
`on the car was used to wake-up {or
`turn
`on} the display.
`By the time the driver
`was
`in the car,
`the tube would come up
`instantly.
`The vehicle interior
`environment was also designed to better
`accept
`the CRT technology.
`An example
`of this is the revisions to the air
`conditioning duct work in order to allow
`cold air to flow through the CRT monitor.
`Lastly, consolidating the controls
`into one unit inherently increases the
`reliability of the total system simply
`by reducing the number of required
`system components.
`The number of logic
`modules for the vehicle system was also
`reduced by the central logic controller
`
`concept. This led to better utilisation
`of the microprocessors since individual
`processors were not required for
`individual features on the car.
`
`HUMAN FACTORS TESTING AND DEVELOPMENT:
`
`Initial Display Design - The
`evolution to the final product was an
`iterative process. This included the
`human factors engineering that went
`into
`the product, based on inputs from human
`factors experts, and in—vehicle human
`factors testing.
`From the beginning of
`the l966 CRT system, human
`factors had considerable design
`influence.
`As first conceived,
`was used as a display device
`exclusively, and driver input was done
`from a switch device remote from the
`display.
`Human factors engineering
`considerations dictated the switch be
`transparent and on the face of the CRT.
`This increases driver handfeye
`coordination.
`It was then decided that
`the program would use a transparent
`membrane switch instead of an infrared
`light beam switch. This was primarily
`due to ease of use.
`The membrane switch
`
`the CRT
`
`'
`
`allowed the driver to locate his finger,
`and then press, avoiding inadvertent
`function activations while locating his
`finger.
`As
`the display content and page
`structure was defined initially,
`consideration was given to function
`location, monitor placement, appearance
`and ease of use.
`The display was
`divided into two major areas.
`The first
`being a fixed location "Hard Switch"
`area located on the perimeter of the
`screen containing the six major access
`controls (Climate, Summary, Radio, Cage,
`Diagnostics, and Trip Monitor).
`The
`other was a reconfigurable "Soft Switch“
`area located in the center of the
`display, consisting of 25 different soft
`switches arranged in a 5 x 5 matrix.
`Determining gptimum Control
`Locations — Initial prototype design
`focused on control location. This
`
`included insuring the CRT location
`within the instrument panel was as high
`and close to the driver as practical
`within the styling theme for the
`vehicles interior.
`The first design
`also addressed how individual pages of
`the system would be accessed, nested
`within each other, and the functional
`density per page. The hard switches
`located on the perimeter of the screen
`were defined and initially located.
`Audible feedback was also added at this
`design level.
`Driver controls and displays for
`each of the pages were also defined at
`this stage of development.
`
`8
`
`

`

`Consideration was given to locating
`primary controls high and close to the
`driver.
`Leas frequently used controls
`were located further from the driver and
`lower
`in the display.
`As an example on
`the radio page,
`the volume control were
`located in the upper left of the
`display,
`the easiest location for the
`driver to access.
`The less frequently
`used functions were located lower and to
`the right of the volume controls.
`Some
`controls like Balance and Tone were
`located on nested pages. These nested
`pages left the primary Radio controls
`(ie. Volume, onfoff,
`tuning,
`frequency
`display and AH/FH located on the top
`half of the display). Only the lower
`portion of the display was reconfigured
`to display balance and tone controls.
`As a guide when a function appears on
`more than one page it's location on the
`screen would be the same on all pages.
`This allows the driver to expect
`this
`control in only one location.
`For
`example,
`the radio volume controls
`appear on the sumnary, radio one and all
`nested radio pages in the same
`location.
`At this phase of design, the
`summary page was also created. This was
`intended to be the most frequently used
`page, displaying primary controls and
`selective information from all access
`areas.
`
`Display Legibility — Subsequent
`design iteration emphasized display
`legibility, clarity, contrast and
`visibility in direct sunlight. This
`design also enhanced all graphics
`including available fonts. All fonts
`were revised to improve appearance and
`increase legibility.
`The vehicle gage
`page graphics display was also
`It
`redesigned to improve legibility.
`displayed analog and digital readings
`for RPM, oil pressure. battery voltage,
`and coolant temperature. Switch target
`size and location were also revised to
`improve appearance and increase driver
`performance.
`The brightness of the CRT
`was increased to improve visibility in
`direct sunlight, and the membrane switch
`was enhanced to improve system
`legibility. This included an anti-glare
`coating to reduce reflections which were
`washing out
`the display. Hard switches
`were also relocated and prioritized
`based on importance of function.
`Accomodating Human Factors
`Reccomendstions - Throughout
`the
`development of this system, human
`factors testing was conducted on all
`phases of the design, and as a result
`the operation of several functions were
`modified or added.
`For
`instance, human
`factors testing at the Virginia
`Poly-technical Institute indicated that
`
`IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics. Vol. CE—33. No. 1, February 1987
`
`manual radio tuning was the most
`difficult function to perform.
`Consequently,
`the method of tuning the
`radio was redesigned.
`Tune up and down
`were replaced by seek up and down. This
`replaced a manual function with an
`automatic one.
`A manual
`tune page was
`added to allow the driver to tune in
`weaker stations. This page had separate
`controls for fast and slow tune up, and
`fast and slow tune down.
`The previous
`design combined all
`four functions into
`two target locations.
`A "Function tests
`0K" page was also added to the
`diagnostic system. This eliminated
`confusion as to whether or not a
`diagnostic was active at
`the time of a
`manual
`inquiry and message display.
`As previously indicated, human
`factors testing was a significant part
`of the design development process.
`Testing began when the concept was first
`spawned at Delco Electronics in Santa
`Barbara, California. This occurred
`before the concept was applied to a
`production program. Testing included
`measuring the time it took a driver to
`perform various CRT control functions,
`the accuracy in completing tasks, and
`eye dwell
`time on the display.
`Preliminary testing took place in the
`winter of 1982.
`
`The next phase of testing was
`conducted at Ohio State Univeristy.
`Suggestions were made on improvements
`from a human factors standpoint.
`Suggestions included locating the same
`control on different pages in the same
`physical location.
`The University staff
`also conducted in-vehicle testing on the
`original prototype CRT
`system. This testing included
`in-vehicle measurement of driver
`performance in operating the CRT
`system.
`As a result of this testing,
`design modifications were instituted to
`further improve the usesbility of the
`system. This testing was completed in
`the spring of 1983.
`Additionally, Virginia
`Poly-technical Institute was contracted
`to complete a series of in-vehicle
`on-road tests of four different
`vehicles,
`including a base and three
`prototype versions of the CRT system.
`This testing measured driver performance
`in adjusting the radio, climate control.
`trip computer and a no task event.
`Performance criteria included the
`ability of the driver to maintain speed
`control,
`lane control, brake frequency
`and duration, number of eye glances to
`complete a function and eye-dwell
`time.
`Information was analyzed, summarized,
`and used'to locate deficiencies within
`the system. Parameters included system
`
`
`
`9
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`

`011533. Barker. Wilson and Kruse: An Interactive, Reconfigurable Display System for Automotive Instrumentation
`
`sensitivity to location within the
`instrument panel, visibility problems
`with early designs in direct sunlight
`and in glare conditions, and the ability
`of the driver to easily operate his
`controls. All of which were resolved in
`
`previous design changes or caused new
`modifications to be made. One aspect of
`this testing indicated the importance of
`powertrsin performance on the ability of
`the driver to perform other tasks. This
`required the correlation of ride and
`handling performance with the
`performance of a driver control system.
`The summary of all testing
`including both CRT system performance
`and performance of the powertrain and
`suspension systems suggests the 1986
`Riviera system is equal
`to or slightly
`better than a similarly equipped non-CRT
`Riviera of the previous model year.
`
`CRT SYSTEM
`
`It would be misleading to portray
`the CRT as a stand alone system.
`The
`CRT is fully integrated into the vehicle
`electrical system and as such, depends
`on the networked logic referred to
`earlier.
`In order for the CRT to
`operate the radio and HVAC functions,
`remote radio and HVAC modules were also
`
`In order to display the
`required.
`diagnostics and vehicle status
`information, sensors and a central body
`computer module were also required.
`A
`complete description of the vehicle
`system is beyond the scope of this
`paper. We will
`limit our continuing
`discussion of components to the CRT
`controller, and the CRT display.
`
`CRT CONTROLLER
`
`The CRT Controller addresses 50K of
`
`2K of keep-alive
`ROM (Read Only Memory),
`RAM, and
`16K of Dynamic RAH (Random
`access Memory)
`through two
`microprocessors configured in a
`Master/SlaVe conmunicstions
`relationship.
`The Master processor is a
`Motorola 6803 addressing dBK of EPROH,
`2K of keep-alive RAM and 16K of Dynamic
`RAH.
`This processor is the Master of
`the parallel communications bus, and
`also handles the coumunications required
`of being a slave on the UART data bus.
`In addition,
`the Master processor is
`responsible for controlling the
`generation of video information, and
`vertical and horizontal sync pulses.
`The Slave processor is
`a 2K on—board ROM. This
`processor is the Slave on the parallel
`communications bus, but it the Master on
`the serial conmunications bus with the
`
`The Slave processor also has the
`radio.
`responsiblities of scanning the matrix
`membrane switch and retrieving its data
`(switch closures), controlling of the
`CRT relay (monitor onloff). and has
`input ports for other digital IIO not
`currently being used.
`Graphics generation occurs when the
`Master processor receives switch
`information pertaining to a particular
`switch closure from the slave
`processor.
`The Master processor,
`knowing which switch location was closed
`and what screen is currently on display,
`obtains the next screen data from EPROH
`
`and builds that screen in Dynamic RAM.
`The screen is then shifted out
`from
`
`Dynamic RAM to the monitor for display.
`Because the CRT system is on the
`UART link, the vehicle operator or
`service technician can call up the
`display of diagnostics for any system
`module residing on this link.
`For
`the
`operator this provides instant
`information should a problem exist.
`More detailed diagnostics for the
`service technician became an invaluable
`tool
`to help facilitate the repair
`operations.
`
`CRT I) IS PLAY ASSEMBLY
`
`The CRT display consists of three
`subassemblies;
`the monitor,
`the front
`face assembly, and the decoding
`electronics (Figure 3).
`The monitor has
`been custom designed for this
`application.
`The front
`face assembly
`consists of the transparent switch and
`support components to provide the
`backlit graphics used on the hard
`switches.
`The decoding electronics
`perform three main functions, which
`include:
`0 Interface with the vehicle
`system, and inform the controller
`of switch actuations.
`0 Drive the 15D annunciators.
`0 Provide audio feedback to the
`user of switch actuations.
`
`CRT MONITOR - The cathode ray tube
`(CRT) monitor is similar in appearance
`to any 5 inch (diagonal measurement)
`commercially available CRT monitor.
`Appearancel however.
`is where
`similarities end. This CRT monitor,
`which measures approximately lhOmm x
`140mm x 150-: deep, has been specially
`designed for the automotive
`environment.
`The campact site allows it
`to be situated within the instrument
`panel of the car.
`The electronics
`design has taken into account the
`temperature, voltage and vibration
`extremes anticipated in automobiles.
`
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`

`

`Power and Brightness — It is fed
`with conditioned battery voltage
`nominally 13.5 volts DC.
`Internal power
`supplies boost the voltage to 24 VDC for
`much of the electronics and up to 13000
`vdc for the high voltage circuitry
`needed to drive the Cathode Ray tube.
`The electron beam inside this
`112° deflection tube activate a custom
`blue—green phOSphor blend developed to
`match the vacuum flourescent displays in
`the digital
`instrument ouster. This
`high efficiency monitor is able to
`produce a luminance level of over 800
`ft-lamberts for direct sunlight
`viewsbility.
`The high brightness is
`needed in order to view the CRT in worst
`case lighting conditions while p