REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A DISPLAY APPARATUS

Abstract: A remote control system (1) remotely switches an electric power supply (8,6) to the display section (4) of a display apparatus whose display data control section (2) and display section (4) are located far from each other and separately supplied with power from their respective local commercial power sources. The control system (1) comprises an oscillator (11), a counter (12) adapted to output a switch opening signal after counting out a predetermined number of pulses output from the oscillator (11), and a relay switch (13) inserted in the power supply (6,8) to the display section (4) and adapted to be opened by the switch opening signal from the counter (11). The counter (11) receives at its reset terminal (R) the clock signals transmitted to the display section (4) from the control section (2). While the control section (2) continues to output the clock signals, the counter (12) does not output the switch opening signal, and the relay switch (13) remains closed. If the clock signals cease for a predetermined period of time, corresponding to the predetermined number of clock pulses, the relay switch (13) is opened, thereby cutting off the power supply (6,8) to the display section (4).

Description: Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control system for a display apparatus, and more particularly to a system for remotely controlling the power supply to the display section of a display apparatus having its display and display data control sections separately located far from each other. Suppose, for instance, a display for advertisement or various kinds of public information such as a weather forecast, news and traffic conditions on roads. In general, a display apparatus for those purposes has its display section made large-sized and positioned at a high place such as the top of a building and of a pole or tower provided to support the same. As a result, the signals to control the display section so as to make it display information purposefully are usually transmitted from a remotely provided display data control section through an electrical or optical transmission line, while the electric power necessary to keep the display section operative is preferably supplied locally to avoid long wiring of the power line. In such a way of power supply to the display section the switching of the power line has so far been operated manually or by means of a timer. However, the manual operation is very troublesome especially in case the apparatus being intermittently put into action, while the use of a conventional timer is accompanied by laborious work of setting on the timer various periods of operation time in accordance with a time schedule of putting the apparatus into action. Another method in use for switching is to provide a special remote switching device only for switching the power source to the display section, but this method causes a whole apparatus to be not only complex but also expensive. Nevertheless, it is wasteful in power consumption to leave the display secion energized always. One method for switching off the power supply of an idle peripheral is described in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin Vol. 23 No. 10 March 1981 page 4809 which relates to a word processing system having switching circuitry and control logic to turn off the motor of an associated printer. The host is configured to generate and send 'ready' and 'not ready' commands to the printer. Rather than as a result of a sensed absence of print commands, the printer motor will be deactivated if the printer does not receive a 'ready' command within a predetermined period following receipt of 'not ready' command. Objects and Summary of the Invention The present invention, therefore, aims at eliminating such disadvantages and difficulties as are mentioned above in regard to the switching of a power source to a display section which is located remotely from a display data control section and supplied with power locally and makes it an object to provide a power source switching system for remotely controlling a display apparatus so that its remotely located display section may be energized only when supplied with clock signals. Another object is to constitute such a system in a simple constitution. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a remote control system for use in a display apparatus which comprises a display section and a display data control section which has a memory for storing display data and outputs clock signals and a series of digital data signals accompanied by said clock signals, both being based on said display data stored in said memory, characterised in that said remote control system comprises an oscillator for outputting timing pulses, a counter for outputting a switching signal after counting out a predetermined number of said timing pulses output from said oscillator and a relay switch operable to switch off a power source to said display section when operated by said switching signal output from said counter, further characterised in that said timing pulses output from said oscillator have a frequency much lower than that of said clock signals, while said counter is connected to receive and be reset by said clock signals inputted thereto through a reset terminal, whereby said display section is kept operative so long as said counter is prevented from counting out said predetermined number of timing pulses by being continually reset by said clock signals. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the relay switch is inserted in the power line to the display section, while the counter outputs a switch opening signal to open the relay switch after counting a predetermined number of pulses outputted from the oscillator. Further, the counter is supplied at its reset terminal with the same clock signals that are transmitted from display data control section to the display section to make it display some information. Accordingly, while the display section is being instructed to display information, the clock signals continually reset the counter to prevent the same from counting out the predetermined number of the pulses from the oscillator. This causes the relay switch to be kept closed to supply an electric power to the display section. On the other hand, if the clock signals remain stopped for a time longer than a predetermined period corresponding to the time needed for the counter to count out the above-mentioned predetermined number of pulses from the oscillator, the counter outputs the switch opening signal to cut off the power to the display section. Brief Description of the Drawings In the following the present invention is described in further detail on reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 blockdiagrammatically shows an embodiment of the present invention as applied to a conventional electrostatic display apparatus; and Fig. 2 shows another way of application of the above embodiment to the above display apparatus. Detailed Description of the Invention Fig. 1 shows a blockdiagrammatical constitution of an embodiment 1 of the present invention as applied to an electrostatic display apparatus consisting of a computerized display data control section 2 and a remotely located display section 4, both being connected to each other through an optical fiber signal transmission line 3. In advance of proceeding with the details of the invention, the display apparatus to which the embodiment 1 is connected will be described. The display data control section 2 produces a series of pulsed display data signals according to the display information stored in a memory provided therein. The pulsed display data signals are converted to optical signals by an electrosignal-to-photosignal converter 21 and outputted through the optical fiber signal transmission line 3 to the display section 4. The display section 4 consists fundamentally of a photosignal-to-electrosignal converter 41 and a display panel 42 consisting of a plurality of electrostatic display elements arranged so as to form a matrix. The optical signal received by the display section 4 are reconverted to the original display data signals at the photosignal-to-electrosignal converter 41. The display data signals, which comprise display information data, display instruction data and clock signals, operate the individual electrostatic display elements purposefully by changing the polarity of high AC voltage externally supplied thereto from a high AC voltage source 6. The high AC voltage source 6 is made up of a step-up transformer supplied with its primary power from a local commercial power source 8, which supplies power also to a DC power source 7 for energizing the photosignal-to-electrosignal converter 41 and supplying DC power to display panel 42 of the display section 4. With the description turned to the invention, the embodiment 1 of the invention comprises an oscillator 11, a counter 12 and a relay switch 13, which is to control the power supply to the above-mentioned high AC voltage source 6 from the commercial power source 8. The counter 12 is devised so as to output a switch opening signal after counting a predetermined number of pulses outputted from the oscillator 11, while the relay switch 13 is made open by said switch opening signal. All the constituents 11, 12 and 13 of the embodiment are also power-supplied from the DC power source 7. In addition to such a constitution of the embodiment, the counter 12 has its reset terminal R supplied with the previously mentioned clock signals, which branches out from the display section 4 to the terminal R through a branch line 5. Accordingly, while the clock signals are continually inputted to the reset terminal R of the counter 12 without a long time interval between the signals, namely, while the whole display apparatus (consisting of the display data control section 2, the display section 4 and the signal transmission line 3) is to be continually put into action, the counter 12 can not count out the predetermined number of the pulses from the oscillator 11, and therefore does not output the switch openning signal. Thus the relay switch 13 is kept closed to leave the display section 4 continuously energized from the commercial AC power source 8. On the other hand, if the clock signals stop for a time longer than a predetermined period corresponding to the time needed for the counter 12 to count out the predetermined number of the pulses from the oscillator 11, the counter 12 outputs a switch opening signal to make the relay switch 13 open, and accordingly the AC power supply to the display section 4 is made cut off. Thus the wasteful power consumed when the display apparatus is kept non-operating is largely suppressed, though the signal converter 41 and display panel 42 continue to consume a small amount of power supplied from the DC power source 7. In constructing the present invention in practice, however, it should be noticed that the frequency of the oscillator 11 is preferably chosen to be much lower than that of the previously mentioned clock signals inputted to the reset terminal R of the counter 12. The frequency of the clock signals is widely varied in accordance with a selected display mode, which specifies an animated display, a scrowling display, a stop pattern display or the like. In addition there may be put a time interval ranging from one to several seconds between two successive series of the clock signals. Therefore, it is necessary to make the counter 12 have a relatively long time, for example, of one minute of longer before outputting the switch opening signal by counting out a predetermined number of the pulsed from the oscillator 11. To make the counter 12 comply with such a condition, the counter 12 must have a very large capacity of counting, if the frequency of the oscillator 11 is not sufficiently low. It is economically disadvantageous to use a counter having an unnecessarily large counting capacity. Further, the present invention can be applied also as shown In Fig. 2, in which the display data control section 2 is omitted. Referring to Fig. 2, the same switching system as the embodiment 1 shown in Fig. 1 is power-supplied from a DC power source 7a, which also supplies power to the photosignal-to-electrosignal converter 41. A second, separate DC power source 7b supplies power only to the display panel 42 of the display section 4. Both the high AC voltage source 6 and the DC power source 7b are to be commonly switched by the relay swtich 13 contained in the present invention. According to this manner of power supply, a wasteful power consumption by the display panel 42 is completely eliminated when the display apparatus is out of operation.

Claims: A remote control system (1) for use in a display apparatus which comprises a display section (4) and a display data control section (2) which has a memory for storing display data and outputs clock signals and a series of digital data signals accompanied by said clock signals, both being based on said display data stored in said memory, characterised in that said remote control system (1) comprises an oscillator (11) for outputting timing pulses, a counter (12) for outputting a switching signal after counting out a predetermined number of said timing pulses output from said oscillator (11) and a relay switch operable to switch off a power source (8) to said display section (4) when operated by said switching signal output from said counter (12), further characterised in that said timing pulses output from said oscillator (11) have a frequency much lower than that of said clock signals, while said counter (12) is connected to receive and be reset by said clock signals inputted thereto through a reset terminal (R), whereby said display section is kept operative so long as said counter (12) is prevented from counting out said predetermined number of timing pulses by being continually reset by said clock signals.

Inventors: GODA, SHIGERU
Applicants: DAIWA SHINKU CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: G09G1
IPC codes: G09G1, G09F27, G06F1, G09G3