Graphics processing system for deleting one of overlapping line and graphics images

• US 5,293,471 A
• Filed: 09/10/1990
• Issued: 03/08/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ikeuchi, Tsutomu, Higasa, Hirohiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Harkcom, Gary V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JANKUS, ALMIS R
• Application Number:
  US07/580,077
• Time in Patent Office: 1,275 Days
• Field of Search: 395/133-135, 395/144-148, 395/119-122, 395/143
• US Class Current: 345/443
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/203 Drawing of straight lines or curves

Abstract

A graphics processing system arranged to display on a display screen of a display unit a line image produced on the basis of image data stored in a storage and graphics produced on the basis of vector data stored in the storage in an overlapping manner contains a line image delete processing unit for implementing delete processing of the line image in a segment in which a pixel displaying the graphics is displayed so as to overlap with a pixel displaying the line image, wherein the line image delete processing unit is arranged so as to leave only the pixel displaying the graphics undeleted yet to delete the pixel displaying the line image within a range from a range which is broader than a predetermined line width of a distorted line to a line width of the line image.

Claims

1. A graphics processing system arranged to display on a display screen of a display unit a line image produced from image data stored in a storage device and graphics produced from graphics data stored in a storage device in an overlapping manner, comprising:

display means for displaying the line image and the graphics in an overlapping manner;

first storage means for storing the line image produced from the image data;

second storage means for storing the graphics produced from the graphics data;

line image delete processing means for processing pixels of said image and said graphics data stored in said first and second storage means, respectively, to delete the line image in a segment in which a pixel displaying the graphics is displayed so as to overlap with a pixel displaying the line image, wherein the line image delete processing means is implemented so as to leave only the pixel displaying the graphics undeleted and to delete the pixel displaying the line image that is located within a range that is broader than a predetermined line width of a distorted line up to a line width of the line image; and

said line image delete processing means including means for determining if a pixel of the line image is an object for deletion located within said range, and for converting the pixel determined to be the object for deletion into a pixel with a background color with respect to the graphics.

2. A graphics processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pixels of the line image are black pixels and the pixels with a background color are white pixels.

3. A graphics processing system as claimed in claims 1, wherein the means for determining if a pixel is the object for deletion comprises means for tracing the pixels of the line image in directions left, right and perpendicular to a line vector direction of the graphics from a terminal point of the graphics in a segment in which the line image is to be deleted as a starting point.

4. A method for deleting a line image in a graphics processing system for displaying a line image produced from image data stored in a storage device and graphics produced from graphics data stored in a storage device in an overlapping manner, comprising the steps of:

displaying the line image and the graphics in an overlapping manner;

storing the line image produced from the image data in a first memory area;

storing the graphics produced from the graphics data in a second memory area;

processing pixels of said image and said graphics data stored in said first and second memory areas, respectively, to delete the line image in a segment in which a pixel displaying the graphics is displayed so as to overlap with a pixel displaying the line image, wherein said processing includes leaving only the pixel displaying the graphics undeleted and deleting the pixel displaying the line image that is located within a range that is broader than a predetermined line width of a distorted line up to a line width of the line image; and

said pixels processing further including determining if a pixel of the line image is an object for deletion located within said range, and converting the pixel determined to be the object for deletion in said determining step into a pixel with a background color with respect to the graphics.

5. A processing method according to claim 4, wherein said displaying displays pixels of the line image as black pixels and pixels with a background color as white pixels.

6. A processing method according to claim 4, wherein said determining includes tracing the pixels of the line image in directions left, right and perpendicular to a line vector direction of the graphics from a terminal point of the graphics in a segment in which the line image is to be deleted as a starting point.