Multiple screen digital video display

• US 4,746,981 A
• Filed: 06/16/1986
• Issued: 05/24/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Imtech International Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Imtech International Incorporated
• Inventors: Nadan, Joseph, Noble, Paul, Bahr, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Groody, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parker, Michael D.
• Application Number:
  US06/874,630
• Time in Patent Office: 708 Days
• Field of Search: 358/22, 358/160, 358/183, 358/287, 382/47, 340/731
• US Class Current: 348/581
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/153 using cathode-ray tubes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/026 Video wall, i.e. juxtaposition of a plurality of screens to create a display screen of bigger dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0414 Vertical resolution change
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0421 Horizontal resolution change
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/12 Picture reproducers H04N9/11 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and apparatus for displaying an interlaced image on a plurality of display screens in which the lines of two fields of the image are replicated a plurality of times in a memory to produce an enlarged image but determined lines are not read out of the memory for the production of the display screen signals, in order to maintain the original spatial relationship between the lines of the two fields. The addressing of the memory may be varied in order to obtain various special effects in the image on the display screen.

Claims

1. A method for producing display signals, from video signals, for application to a monitor, for the displaying on said monitor of a partial image that is formed by only a portion of the information of said video signals, said video signals containing successively occurring video field data of first and second interlaced fields of a full image, video data of each field comprising successively occurring video line data corresponding to successive scan lines of the respective field;

said method comprising;

writing said video signals in a memory for storing therein at least a portion of the video line data of each said field, and

reading said memory to produce said display signals,

said step of reading comprising sequentially reading video line data from said memory corresponding to at least portions of determined scan lines of the full image a plurality of times for each of said fields while omitting the reading of video line data for determined scan lines of said display signals, whereby the physical relationship of the lines of the first and second fields is maintained in said partial image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of writing comprises writing video information corresponding to each of a plurality of scan lines of each of said fields at a plurality of first locations in said memory, said step of reading comprising separately reading out only determined ones of said plurality of locations for each of a plurality of scan lines.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said determined scan lines are different for said first and second fields.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said memory has a plurality of first storage locations corresponding sequentially to first field lines of said display signals and a plurality of second storage locations corresponding sequentially to second field lines of said display signals, said step of writing comprising writing video information corresponding to determined lines of the first field of said full image at each of a plurality of successive first locations separated by at least one said first location from other first locations at which video information corresponding to other determined lines of the first field is written, and writing video information corresponding to determined lines of the second field of said full image at each of a plurality of successive second locations separated by at least one said second location from other said second locations at which video information corresponding to other determined lines of the second field is written.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said step of reading comprises sequentially reading said first locations and sequentially reading said second locations.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said memory has a plurality of first storage locations corresponding sequentially to first field lines of said display signals and a plurality of second storage locations corresponding sequentially to second field lines of said display signals, said step of writing comprising writing video information corresponding to said first and second fields during the occurrence of said first and second fields respectively and said step of reading comprises reading video information corresponding to said first and second fields of said video information during the occurrence of said second and first fields respectively.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting the relative brightness of the signals read out from said memory for the respective fields whereby the average brightness of the video lines of the fields is substantially equal.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said step of adjusting comprises attenuating the signals from the memory corresponding to the field having lesser blank lines in the image to be displayed on the monitor.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of reading comprises modifying the sequence of reading out of said memory at a determined time during the readout of data corresponding to a given video line, for each of a plurality of said video lines.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of reading comprises modifying the sequence of reading out of video line data at a determined time during the readout of video lines for each said field.

7. An apparatus for producing display signals, from video signals, for producing an image that contains only a portion of the image information of said video signals, wherein said video signals contain successively occurring video field data of first and second interlaced fields of a full image, the video data of each field comprising successively occurring video line data corresponding to successive scan lines of the respective fields;

said apparatus comprising;

memory means,

means applying said video signals to said memory means for storing therein at least a portion of the video line data of each said field,

and means for reading said memory means to produce said display signals,

said reading means comprising means for sequentially reading video line data corresponding to determined scan lines of the full image a plurality of times for each of said fields while omitting the reading of video line data corresponding to determined scan lines of said display signals, whereby the physical relationship of the scan lines of the first and second fields is maintained in said first mentioned image.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said memory means comprises first and second memories connected to receive video information corresponding to said first and second fields respectively, said means applying said video signals to said memory comprising means applying video signals to said first and second memories during the occurrence of said first and second fields of said video signals respectively, said reading means comprising means for reading said first and second memories during the occurrence of said second and first fields of said video signals respectively.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a source of analog signals, and analog to digital converter means for converting said analog signals to said digital video signals.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said memory means comprise first and second addressable memories for storing video information of said first and second fields respectively, and further comprising addressing means coupled to said memories for addressing the storage locations thereof.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said addressing means comprises means for addressing said memories to store video data corresponding to determined scan lines of said video signals at each of a plurality of locations, and means for addressing said memories to read video data sequentially from said locations, whereby said display signals contain successive data with the same video information corresponding to a plurality of successive lines of said display signals.

16. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising means for adjusting the relative brightness of signals from the memory means corresponding to the respective fields, whereby the average brightness of the video lines of the fields is substantially equal.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said adjusting means comprises attenuator means connected to attenuate signal from the memory means corresponding to the field having lesser blank lines in the image to be displayed.

12. A method for enlarging an image on a display device in response to video signals, wherein said video signals contain successively occuring video field data of first and second interlaced fields, the video data of each field comprising successive video scan line data corresponding to successive scan lines of the respective fields, said method comprising selecting a given group of scan lines of each of said fields, replicating the video data of the selected lines of each of said fields each at a plurality of first locations in a memory while leaving determined second locations free of video data, and reading said first and second memory locations in a sequence to maintain the physical relationship between video lines of said first and second fields on said display device.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said step of reading comprises reading at least one second location following each reading of a group of first locations corresponding to the same scan line of the video signals.