Graphic display device

• US 4,847,608 A
• Filed: 10/02/1986
• Issued: 07/11/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thomson-CSF
• Original Assignee: Thomson-CSF
• Inventors: Bouron, Jean P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brigance, Gerald L.
• Application Number:
  US06/914,421
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 340/739, 340/703, 340/750, 340/747, 340/745, 340/744, 340/736, 364/521
• US Class Current: 345/624
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/80 Shading

Abstract

The invention relates to a graphic display device. The main object of the invention is a screen display device using a combination of directed-beam scanning for drawings of patterns and frame-scanning display for surface coloring. The device of the invention comprises a microprocessor which makes real-time calculations, for each line displayed, of the starting and finishing abscissae of the various colors to be used. Real-time computing by the microprocessor makes it possible to use video memories instead of the habitually used page memories and to replace a very bulky and expensive graphic processor with a fast microporocessor. The invention can be applied chiefly to the display of three-dimensional perspective views on color screens.

Claims

1. Graphic display device comprising a combination directed beam and frame-scanning color screen, the display being obtained by the filling in of colored zones delimited by boundaries, the device comprising a microprocessor which successively computes for each frame line, the intersection points of the frame line with the boundaries of the colored zones, said microprocessor including first means for coloring a given frame line, and second means for simultaneously computing the intersection points of said boundaries with a frame line following said given frame line and wherein said boundaries of the colored zones are drawn on the screen by directed-beam scanning.

2. Device according to claim 1 wherein the screen is a shadow-mask color cathode tube.

3. Device according to claim 1, comprising a video memory capable of storing a frame line to be displayed.

4. Device according to claim 3, comprising two video memories wherein, alternately, one video memory is used to write data to be displayed on a given frame line while the reading of the other video memory provides for the display of a frame line preceding said given frame line.

5. Device according to claim 3, comprising a register connected to the output of said video memory and "exclusive-OR" logic gates connected in between, on the one hand, the memory input and the register output and, on the other hand, the microprocessor output so as to avoid registration in the video memory of the existence of a multiple intersection, at one point, between a frame line and a boundary of colored zones.

8. Device according to claim 3 wherein the video memory is arranged in n words, each with a number of bits equal to the number of pixels per frame line, n being the maximum number of colors that can be used.

9. Device according to claim 8, comprising flip-flop circuits, parallel connected to the output of each word of the video memory, each flip-flop circuit changing its logic state when it receives a "1", the flip-flop circuits being connected to a priority encoder, which is itself connected to the color-range memory.

6. Device according to claim one wherein the said device is a device for the display of three-dimensional perspective views.

7. Device according to claim one comprising a video processor which as a color-range memory in which are stored the intensities of primary colors needed to obtain desired colors associated with an interface comprising a digital-to-analog converter associated with each primary color generator.

10. Method for screen display, by frame scanning, of colored zones delimited by boundaries displayed by directed-beam scanning, wherein a microprocessor stores, in a RAM, data relating to the frame scanning, the said microprocessor computing, in real time, the abscissa of all of the intersection points of each frame line with the boundaries of the colored zones during frame scanning of the immediately preceding frame line.

11. Method according to claim 10 wherein the boundaries of the colored zones are segments of straight lines.

12. Method according to claim 10 wherein the said method displays perspective views of three-dimensional objects including determining hidden sides of the said objects and priority colors determined by overlapping zones of two colored zones.