US 5,398,046 AGranted

Faceplate for an interactive display terminal

AssigneeLitton Systems, Inc.

InventorsNicholas J. Szegedi, Eric R. Eustis

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Abstract

A faceplate assembly has an electrically conductive grid, which is electrically connected to a suitable ground potential, positioned on or above a display screen of an interactive display terminal (IDT) where the grid has a plurality of optical pipes with metal walls, which provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection, and with optical cores, which enhance visibility, that optically pipe information originally displayed on the IDT screen which is piped to a viewing plane developed by the grid. A continuous, serpentine electrical conductor is carried by and positioned over the optical pipe walls by a flexible, transparent overlay sheet that can be flexed to bring a selected portion of the electrical conductor into an electrical switch closed position with an adjacent optical pipe wall(s). This selected grid position is electrically measurable and thereby determined.

Claims15

Dependent claims

In an interactive display terminal having an alphanumeric and graphic display surface which is generally planar, a faceplate for the display surface comprising:

a) an electrically conductive metal grid having a plurality of grid openings positioned on the display surface permitting a substantially unobstructed planar view of alphanumeric and/or graphic indicia which may be visible at the display surface where each of said openings has a grid outer casing or wall having its longitudinal axis on a geometric center of said grid opening oriented generally perpendicular to the plane of the display surface,
b) an electrical ground means connected to said electrically conductive metal grid placing said metal grid and its grid opening walls at a common electrical potential,
c) respective ones of a plurality of optically transparent pipes individually positioned within associated ones of said grid opening walls permitting the planar view at a generally longitudinally extending plane spaced apart from the display surface,
d) a continuous serpentine electrical conductor aligned off said geometric centers over said grid opening walls spaced apart from said generally longitudinally extending plane and selectively movable into electrical contact with an adjacent portion of said grid wall, and
e) electrical resistance measurement means responsive to said electrical contact generating an output signal representative of the position of said contact relative to the display surface.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.