I claim as my invention:
1. An apparatus for alerting an operator to a specific condition, comprising:
a magneto-rheologic assembly;
a substrate coupled to said magneto-rheologic assembly;
at least one sensor at a first location for detecting an occurrence of the specific condition and producing an output signal; and
a circuit interconnected to said sensor and to said magneto-rheologic assembly for changing a natural frequency of said magneto-rheologic assembly and said substrate in response to said output signal received from said at least one sensor, said change in said natural frequency generating at least one of a vibration and an audible signal in said substrate for sensing by the operator to alert the operator to the specific condition.
2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said substrate is coupled to a control.
3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said magneto-rheologic assembly is coupled to an resonating substrate which produces an audible signal when at said natural frequency.
4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said magneto-rheologic assembly is attached to a portion of a seat for the operator through which said signal is sensed by said operator.
5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor monitors a relative distance between two points.
6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor monitors operator awareness.
7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said circuit includes one of a controller, a programmable logic circuit, a computer, and a dedicated hard-wired circuit.
8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, further including apparatus attached to said substrate for providing dynamic feedback to said circuit.
9. The apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said control includes at least one of a steering wheel, a control stick, an accelerator, and a shifter assembly.
10. A dynamically controlled alarm assembly, comprising:
a substrate having a natural frequency;
a magneto-rheological device attached to said substrate and controlling an occurrence of said natural frequency in said substrate;
a first sensor for monitoring a desired characteristic;
a second sensor at a location different from that of said first sensor and for monitoring said natural frequency of said substrate; and
a circuit interconnected to said first sensor, said second sensor, and said magneto-rheologic device for controlling said natural frequency of said substrate by changing a characteristic of said magneto-rheologic device in response to feedback from said first and second sensors.
11. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said substrate produces an audible signal when at said natural frequency.
12. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said substrate produces a tactile signal when at said natural frequency.
13. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said substrate produces a visual signal when at said natural frequency.
14. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said natural frequency of said substrate is tunable.
15. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said substrate includes at least one of a control, a seat, and a display.
16. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said first sensor detects a relative change in predetermined parameters.
17. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said circuit includes at least one of a controller, a computer, and a dedicated hard-wired circuit.
18. The dynamically controlled alarm assembly as defined in claim 10, wherein said magneto-rheological assembly include a non-Newtonian flow fluid locking assembly.
19. An alarm system, comprising:
a non-Newtonian flow fluid locking assembly;
a substrate having a natural frequency, coupled to said non-Newtonian flow fluid locking assembly, said substrate producing at least one of an audible, tactile, and visual signal when at said natural frequency;
at least a first sensor mounted to said substrate to monitor said natural frequency of said substrate;
at least a second sensor spaced from said first sensor for detecting the occurrence of a predetermined condition; and
a circuit assembly operably interconnected to said first and second sensors and to said non-Newtonian flow fluid locking assembly for monitoring said first and second sensors and changing a condition of said non-Newtonian flow fluid locking assembly in response thereto such that upon the occurrence of said predetermined condition, said non-Newtonian flow fluid locking system permits said substrate to achieve said natural frequency and produce said at least one of said audible, tactile and visual signal.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An operation system, comprising:
a hardware display unit for displaying windows including
(i) a plurality of instruction windows, each instruction window used for instructing an execution of a function, and
(ii) a plurality of hierarchical menu windows, each menu window containing items, each item respectively linked with a hierarchically lower window, which is displayed when a selection operation is performed for the each item, the plurality of hierarchical menu windows including
(a) a single first menu window, which is hierarchically highest,
(b) a plurality of intermediate menu windows hierarchically lower than the first menu window, and
(c) a plurality of last menu windows hierarchically lower than the intermediate menu windows, each last menu window directly linked with one of the instruction windows hierarchically lowest, wherein one of the instruction windows is displayed by a selection procedure of repeating selection operations taking place in menu windows from the first menu window up to one of the last menu windows;
a storage unit configured to store as a selection record of a latest selection procedure with respect to a certain item of items in a certain menu window of the plurality of menu windows an association between (i) the certain item in the certain menu window and (ii) a certain instruction window displayed by the latest selection procedure;
a skip instruction unit configured to indicate skipping of displaying at least one lower-layered menu window while specifying one of items in any one of the first menu window and the intermediate menu windows, the any one of the first menu window and the intermediate menu windows being displayed by the display unit; and
a display control unit configured to skip the at least one lower-layered menu window towards one of the instruction windows based on the stored selection record when the skip instruction unit indicates the skipping while specifying the one of items in the any one of the first menu window and the intermediate menu windows, wherein
the skip instruction unit indicates the skipping by continuing the selection operation for the certain item more than a predetermined time period.