Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Eiichi Uematsu

Toshiaki Yoshiyasu

Masato Nanboku

Kyosuke Iribe

Yoshihiro Maruchi

Yoshiharu Yoshimoto

Hiroshi Okada

Sadamitsu Koike

Koji Ono

Teruma Nishi

A system for designing visual information on a monitor unit which enables the use of the monitor unit manufactured at a reduced cost but assures rapid reproduction of the intended visual information. The monitor unit is utilized in combination with a programmable logic controller (PLC) for monitoring a task to be performed by I/O devices managed by the PLC. The monitor unit includes a display, a controller section, and a memory. The system includes an image design tool operating on a personal computer for creating a source display code of the visual information to be reproduced on the display. The image design tool has a conversion means which translates the source display code into a corresponding bitmapped image and exports the bitmapped image to the monitor unit for immediate reproduction of the visual information on the display. Consequently, the monitor unit can be dispensed with a costly component of translating the source image code into the bitmapped image, yet effecting rapid reproduction of the visual information on the display directly from the bitmapped image transferred from the image design tool.

System for designing visual information to be displayed on monitor unit used in combination with programmable controller

A light guide member for guiding a beam of light from a light emitting element, fixedly mounted on a printed circuit board, towards a display window defined in a casing that encloses the light emitting element and the printed circuit board therein. The light guide member includes a transparent rod having at least first and second reflecting surfaces defined therein at different locations along the length of the transparent rod. The transparent rod is designed to allow the beam of light to travel in three dimensions along the entire length of the transparent rod from a light receiving face, defined at one end of the transparent rod, to a light emitting face defined at the opposite end of the transparent rod.

Transparent light guide members

Growing community of inventors

Neyagawa, Japan

Eiichi Uematsu