EP0201428A1 - Steuerungsschaltung für eine graphische Maschine und Verwendung dieser Schaltung in einer interaktiven graphischen Maschine - Google Patents

Steuerungsschaltung für eine graphische Maschine und Verwendung dieser Schaltung in einer interaktiven graphischen Maschine Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0201428A1
EP0201428A1 EP86400980A EP86400980A EP0201428A1 EP 0201428 A1 EP0201428 A1 EP 0201428A1 EP 86400980 A EP86400980 A EP 86400980A EP 86400980 A EP86400980 A EP 86400980A EP 0201428 A1 EP0201428 A1 EP 0201428A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
bits
memory
image
table memory
color
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP86400980A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0201428B1 (de
Inventor
Philippe Ligocki
Dominique Caignault
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Thales SA
Original Assignee
Cimsa Sintra SA
Thomson CSF SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Cimsa Sintra SA, Thomson CSF SA filed Critical Cimsa Sintra SA
Publication of EP0201428A1 publication Critical patent/EP0201428A1/de
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Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G5/00—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators
    • G09G5/02—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators characterised by the way in which colour is displayed
    • G09G5/022—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators characterised by the way in which colour is displayed using memory planes

Definitions

  • the invention relates to high resolution graphic display machines used to display images produced in digital form by a computer, on one or more color screens.
  • This type of machine conventionally has a computer coupled to a memory called “image memory” by graphic hardware and software resources: input-output processor, graphics processor, vector and character generator, surfacing processor, etc ...
  • image memory a memory
  • input-output processor graphics processor
  • graphics processor vector and character generator
  • surfacing processor etc ...
  • the image is decomposed into points or "pixels" and each point is characterized by an aspect word recorded, after processing, in the image memory.
  • This word of appearance defines in numerical form the color of the point and possibly if it blinks.
  • the image can consist of 1024 lines of each 2048 points and be projected onto the screen of a cathode-ray tube by means of a television-type scan, at the frequency of 50 images per second.
  • the terminal is equipped with an image memory making it possible to memorize the aspect word of each point, this memory being read in synchronism with the scanning.
  • the image memory in which a point is defined by an aspect word is coupled to a work station comprising a color screen by a circuit controlling color video signals.
  • the aspect word extracted from the image memory is directly decoded by a digital-analog decoding circuit, to produce analog signals feeding the projection device, that is to say generally say three primary analog signals, R, G, B, controlling the red, green and blue beams of a trichromatic cathode ray tube, respectively.
  • the image memory provides eight-bit words, the terminal station can be constructed so that three of these bits encode the amplitude of the signal R, three encode the amplitude of the signal V, and two the amplitude of the signal B.
  • These eight bits of the aspect word stored in image memory provide a "palette" of 28 colors. In such a simple design, the pallet is determined once and for all by construction.
  • a known improvement consists in adding a random access memory known as color transcoding table memory.
  • a random access memory known as color transcoding table memory.
  • the aspect word provided by the image memory it is a color word, read in table memory which feeds the digital-analog decoding circuit producing the primary signals for each pixel, the address for reading the table memory being given by the aspect word supplied by the image memory.
  • the format of the aspect words stored in the image memory is the same as the addressing format of the table memory, unless bits of the aspect word are taken directly from the output. of the image memory to control a particular function, for example the flashing of certain areas of the image.
  • the processor In a graphics system as briefly described above, to modify the image displayed on a screen, the processor must recalculate all the points of the image, which leads to a complete "refresh" of the image to each modification.
  • the improvement which is the subject of the present invention relates to these modifications of the image and makes it possible to dissociate subsets of the image which can be processed independently during the refresh and during the display, the control circuit connecting the memory of image to the projection device comprising means for selecting these sub-assemblies.
  • These selection means are controlled, on the one hand, by the image memory which stores appearance words having a format greater than the format of the addressing word of the table memory and, on the other hand, by a control word developed by the user in an interactive dialogue with the graphics machine.
  • the invention also relates to the use of such a control circuit in a graphics machine.
  • This single figure represents an exemplary embodiment of the control circuit for a graphics machine according to the invention.
  • the improvement according to the invention which makes it possible to contribute to the construction of a machine with a high level of interactivity, allows partial modifications of the image during an image refreshment, by the modification of only certain image memory plans.
  • This memory comprises a certain number of plans. It provides for each pixel a number of bits which is equal to the number of planes and which is greater than the number of bits necessary for the addressing of the color table memory.
  • the control circuit for a graphics machine shown in the figure includes an image memory 1, the content of which is supplied to each image calculation by the assembly 10 including the computer and the conventional graphics resources.
  • Each image point is characterized by an aspect word having a number of bits at most equal to the number n of planes in the image memory, ie 16 in the example above.
  • the output bus of this memory is a bus of n bits, that is to say 16 bits.
  • This bus is connected to an input of a plane selector circuit 3.
  • Another input of circuit 3 receives a command word from a configuration command register 2, to select from the aspect word a determined group of bits by the user.
  • This configuration command register 2 is loaded via the resources of the graphics system (set 10).
  • the output of the plane selector circuit 3 is connected by an n-bit bus to an addressing input of a color transcoding table memory 4 which supplies a color word for each image point.
  • the number n is less than n, which means that the appearance of a point on the screen cannot be defined, at any given time, by more than n 'bits.
  • the selector circuit 3 therefore selects, for each point, from among the 16 bits supplied by the 16 planes of the image memory, at most 8 appearance bits and it transmits them for the addressing of the table memory 4.
  • Each of the 2 8 words of color stored at an address of the table memory 4 can consist of 3 words of 8 data bits respectively associated with the three primary colors R, G, B. These 3 words, read at the address provided by the selector circuit 3 after selection of the planes of the image memory, are respectively applied to three digital-analog converters - (DAC), 51, 52, 53 whose outputs provide the analog signals R, G, B controlling the beams red, green and blue of a trichrome cathode ray tube in a projection device 6.
  • DAC digital-analog converters -
  • the circuit 3 is controlled by control words of n.n 'bits, that is to say 1 control word of n bits applied to each of the n' selectors.
  • Each selector then comprises n logical AND gates each receiving a bit of the word of n bits from the image memory 1, and a bit of the control word with n bit; the n AND gates of a selector have their outputs connected to a logic circuit OR with n 'inputs and one output, which provides a bit of the address of the table memory 4.
  • an elementary image can be memorized by a "logical plane" of the image memory made up of a subset of the planes of this memory, and the 16 planes of the image memory can make it possible to define several logical planes, each one being associated with a subset of the image forming an elementary image.
  • the processing of these different elementary images by the graphics processor of the display system can be carried out independently, both for their calculation and for their refreshment.
  • the control circuit according to the invention allows the user to view, on request, one of these different elementary images or else any combination of these images by means of a command issued by the command register. configuration 2. This arrangement allows the resources available to be adapted to the needs of the user.
  • Essential elements of the relief are stored in a subset of the planes of this first "logical plane", and additional elements of the relief are stored in another subset of the planes of this first "logical plane".
  • the circuit described above constitutes a first improvement which can be combined with another improvement relating to the color tables.
  • a color palette larger than the capacity of the color transcoding table memory 4, which capacity is 28 colors in the example above
  • this control circuit provided with the first or the combination of the first and the second improvement in a graphic machine opens up great possibilities of interaction between the machine and the user, by simple commands which do not occupy calculation time in the set 10 computer and graphic resources controlling the machine.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Controls And Circuits For Display Device (AREA)
EP19860400980 1985-05-10 1986-05-06 Steuerungsschaltung für eine graphische Maschine und Verwendung dieser Schaltung in einer interaktiven graphischen Maschine Expired - Lifetime EP0201428B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR8507149A FR2581779B1 (fr) 1985-05-10 1985-05-10 Circuit de commande pour machine graphique et utilisation d'un tel circuit dans une machine graphique interactive
FR8507149 1985-05-10

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0201428A1 true EP0201428A1 (de) 1986-12-17
EP0201428B1 EP0201428B1 (de) 1990-09-05

Family

ID=9319172

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19860400980 Expired - Lifetime EP0201428B1 (de) 1985-05-10 1986-05-06 Steuerungsschaltung für eine graphische Maschine und Verwendung dieser Schaltung in einer interaktiven graphischen Maschine

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0201428B1 (de)
DE (1) DE3673864D1 (de)
FR (1) FR2581779B1 (de)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2633426A1 (fr) * 1988-06-24 1989-12-29 Japan Aviation Electron Procede et dispositif de commande de visualisation en couleur
EP0277657A3 (en) * 1987-02-05 1990-05-16 Namco, Ltd. Image display apparatus

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2032740A (en) * 1978-10-16 1980-05-08 Tektronix Inc Programmable color mapping
EP0061213A1 (de) * 1981-03-19 1982-09-29 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Anordnung zur Darstellung digitaler Daten, einschliesslich der Auswahl von Bildseiten und/oder der Verbesserung des Auflösungsvermögens

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2032740A (en) * 1978-10-16 1980-05-08 Tektronix Inc Programmable color mapping
EP0061213A1 (de) * 1981-03-19 1982-09-29 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Anordnung zur Darstellung digitaler Daten, einschliesslich der Auswahl von Bildseiten und/oder der Verbesserung des Auflösungsvermögens

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0277657A3 (en) * 1987-02-05 1990-05-16 Namco, Ltd. Image display apparatus
FR2633426A1 (fr) * 1988-06-24 1989-12-29 Japan Aviation Electron Procede et dispositif de commande de visualisation en couleur

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE3673864D1 (de) 1990-10-11
FR2581779B1 (fr) 1987-06-12
FR2581779A1 (fr) 1986-11-14
EP0201428B1 (de) 1990-09-05

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