Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Tooru Mizuno

Shinichi Kiribayashi

Yasuo Hagisato

Yutaka Imai

Motoharu Esaki

Keizi Oosugi

Takao Ogawa

A fluorescent display tube drive apparatus of the type used with a vehicle instrument panel or the like. The apparatus includes a transparent electrode arranged opposite to anodes and filaments. Ac voltages are applied to the filaments for the emission of thermoelectrons and a pulsating voltage is applied to the transparent electrode to cause pulsation of the potential difference between the filaments and the transparent electrode, thereby causing the thermoelectrons to impinge uniformly on the anodes.

Fluorescent display tube drive apparatus

In an electronic odometer for a wheeled vehicle, a non-volatile memory circuit includes a main memory having 256 cells in sequence for non-volatilely storing first data indicative of a unit mileage of the vehicle upon each application of the first data to the memory circuit. The memory circuit also includes an auxiliary memory having 32 cells in sequence for non-volatilely storing second data indicative of 256 times of the unit mileage upon each application of the second data to the memory circuit. A microcomputer repetitively determines the unit mileage in relation to the actual vehicle speed to search each cell of the main memory as to storage of the first data in each cell of the main memory. The microcomputer applied the first data to the memory circuit upon each search of no storage of the first data in at least one cell of the main memory and also applies the second data to the memory circuit upon each search of storage of the first data in each cell of the main memory. Upon application of the second data to the memory circuit, the first data is erased from each cell of the main memory. A display indicates a total mileage of the vehicle based on the contents in the memory circuit.

Electronic odometer

In a bar-graph type display method and system for automotive vehicle for monitoring an engine speed of the automotive vehicle and displaying the result of monitoring stepwise, when an indication level adjacent to the present indication level is detected a predetermined number of times successively, the present indication level is changed to the adjacent indication level, and when an indication level other than the present or adjacent indication level is detected the present indication level is changed to the detected indication level immediately.

Display method and system

A display intensity control apparatus for controlling under dark ambient conditions the display intensity of an automobile display system comprises a plurality of display units (e.g., LED, FLT, Lamp) for providing displays effected by display elements of different types. Under dark ambient conditions, a pulse signal with a predetermined duty ratio is generated at a predetermined frequency and the display intensity of selected one of the display units is decreased in accordance with the duty ratio. Simultaneously, the duty ratio of the pulse signal is changed, and the display intensities of the other display units are decreased in accordance with the changed duty ratio.

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Nagoya, Japan

Tooru Mizuno