Computer graphics data display device and method based on a high-speed generation of a changed image

• US 5,712,964 A
• Filed: 09/28/1994
• Issued: 01/27/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Musha, Hirokatsu, Kamada, Hiroshi, Yumoto, Asako, Kobayashi, Kiyoshi, Suzuki, Kaori, Kasai, Satoshi, Tada, Atsuko, Kodama, Michiteru, Sato, Fujio, Hirota, Katsuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vo, Cliff N.
• Application Number:
  US08/313,914
• Time in Patent Office: 1,217 Days
• Field of Search: 395/118, 395/119, 395/124, 395/806
• US Class Current: 345/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/00 Animation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 1/16 the pattern of rectangular co-ordinates extending over the whole area of the screen, i.e. television type raster

Abstract

A computer graphics data display device and method simplify a movement interference calculation by use of an interference attribute of an object, and control a process time by predicting a display time of a frame. Furthermore, the number of simultaneously calculated moving objects is restricted to speed up the calculation, and a retrieving process can also be performed at a high speed using display data obtained by compressing editing data. If any change has arisen in the editing data, only change data are transmitted to a display data memory unit, and the editing data and the display data are concurrently processed. Thus, dynamic images can be successfully displayed with reality.

Claims

1. A computer graphics data display device for displaying an object in a computer graphics world comprising:

attribute defining/setting means for defining and setting an attribute indicating a type of calculation to determine a state change for at least one object in the computer graphics world;

attribute memory means for storing the attribute of the at least one object set by said attribute defining/setting means;

state change calculating means for calculating the state change of a displayed object according to the attribute of at least one related object in response to one of a movement of the displayed object in the computer graphics world and receipt of an external activation instruction, the at least one related object including one of the displayed object and an other object; and

result display means for displaying a result of a calculation.

2. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

viewpoint volume defining means for defining a volume of a viewpoint corresponding to the displayed object in the computer graphics world, wherein

said state change calculating means calculates a moved-to position of the viewpoint based on a relation between the volume of the viewpoint and the attribute of the other object.

3. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 1, wherein

said attribute defining/setting means defines an interference attribute as the attribute indicating the type of the calculation, the interference attribute relating to an interference between the displayed object and the object when the displayed object comes in contact with the other object;

and

said state change calculating means performs a movement interference calculation for the displayed object using a calculation method specified by the interference attribute.

4. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 3, wherein

said interference attribute contains an interference restriction attribute indicating a constraint on the movement of the displayed object in the interference between the displayed object and the other object in the computer graphics world.

5. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 4, wherein

said attribute defining/setting means defines an average slope angle as the interference restriction attribute which is the constraint when the displayed object moves on the other object having the interference restriction attribute;

and

said state change calculating means performs a movement calculation, based on the average slope angle, of the displayed object moving on the other object assigned the average slope angle.

6. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 4, wherein

said attribute defining/setting means defines an attribute indicating restriction information which depends on a level of a contact force generated by the interference as the interference restriction attribute;

and

said state change calculating means calculates the contact force in the interference between the displayed object and the other object assigned the interference restriction attribute.

7. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 1, wherein

said attribute defining/setting means defines a reaction attribute as the attribute indicating the type of the calculation, the reaction attribute related to the displayed object which reacts with the other object when the displayed object comes in contact with the other object and starts the state change;

and

said state change calculating means performs the movement interference calculation for the displayed object according to one of a trigger and a type of the state change of the displayed object specified by the reaction attribute.

8. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 7, further comprising:

sound output means for outputting a predetermined sound when the displayed object having a sound output attribute, indicating an output of a predetermined sound as the reaction attribute, comes in contact with the other object;

wherein

said attribute defining/setting means defines the sound output attribute.

9. The computer graphic data display device according to claim 1, wherein

said attribute defining/setting means defines a reaction attribute as the attribute indicating the type of the calculation, the reaction attribute related to the displayed object which reacts with the external activation instruction and starts the state change of one of the displayed object and other objects involved;

and

said state change calculating means detects the external activation instruction and calculates the state change of the one of the displayed object and the other objects involved.

10. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 9, further comprising:

sound output means for outputting a predetermined sound when the activation instruction is issued to the displayed object having a sound output attribute indicating an output of a predetermined sound as the reaction attribute;

wherein

said attribute defining/setting means defines the sound output attribute.

11. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

attribute distribution display means for displaying information about the attribute defined and set for the at least one object correspondingly to the at least one object in the computer graphics world.

12. A computer graphics data display method of displaying an object in a computer graphics world comprising the steps of:

defining an attribute indicating a type of calculation to determine a state change for at least one object in the computer graphics world;

storing the defined attribute of the at least one object;

calculating the state change of a displayed object according to an attribute of at least one related object in response to one of movement of the displayed object in the computer graphics world and receipt of an external activation instruction, the at least one related object including one of the displayed object and an other object; and

displaying a calculation result.

13. A computer graphics data display device for use in a display system for displaying computer graphics data generated as graphic information by a computer, the computer graphics data display device comprising:

first processing means for detecting a change in first computer graphics data and, if there is a change detected in the first computer graphics data outputting second computer graphics data relating to the change as change data; and

second processing means for storing display computer graphics data corresponding to the first computer graphics data and used to generate image data, said second processing means receiving the change data output from said first processing means, updating the display computer graphics data using the change data, and generating the image data based on updated display computer graphics data.

14. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 13, further comprising:

change data buffer, provided between said first and second processing means, for storing the change data, wherein

said first and second processing means asynchronously performs respective processes.

15. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 13, wherein

said first processing means comprises:

computer graphics data memory means for storing the first computer graphics data; and

computer graphic data management means for obtaining the change data by calculating an influence of external information on the first computer graphics data stored in said computer graphics data memory means.

16. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 13, wherein

said second processing means comprises:

changed computer graphics data memory means for storing the display computer graphics data; and

computer graphics data image generating means for updating the display computer graphics data stored in said changed computer graphics data memory means and generating the image data from the display computer graphic data.

17. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 13, wherein

said first computer graphics data are output from a flight simulator comprising an operation integrating mechanism for obtaining information to be displayed based on data received from a pseudo flying device for a simulation of flying an airplane, calculated data of movement of an body of the airplane, and data indicating a flying method.

18. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 13, wherein

said computer graphics data are output from a run simulator comprising a run regenerating device for obtaining run display data to be displayed based on road surface form data designed according to a computer aided design, and run state data calculated from the road surface form data.

19. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 13,

said computer graphics data are output from a scene simulator comprising a scene generating mechanism for obtaining scene display data to be displayed based on form data designed according to a computer aided design and viewpoint data.

20. A computer graphics data display device for use in a display system for displaying computer graphics data generated as graphic information by a computer, comprising:

first processing means for outputting change data including first computer graphic data relating to a change if a change has arisen in second computer graphics data, said first processing means including;

a computer graphics data memory unit for storing the second computer graphics data; and

a computer graphics data management unit for obtaining the change data by calculating an influence of external information on the second computer graphics data stored in said computer graphics data memory unit;

second processing means including;

a changed computer graphics data memory unit for storing display computer graphics data corresponding to the second computer graphics data and used to generate image data; and

a computer graphics data image generating unit for updating the display computer graphics data stored in said changed computer graphics data memory unit based on the change data, and generating the image data from the display computer graphics data; and

a change data buffer, provided between said first and second processing means, for temporarily storing the change data.

21. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 20, wherein

said first and second processing means are separately provided processor systems.

22. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 21, wherein

said change data buffer is a shared memory to be commonly accessed by one of the processor systems forming said first processing means and another one of the processor systems forming said second processing means.

23. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 21, wherein

said computer graphics data memory unit is a random access memory in one of the processor systems forming said first processing means;

and

said changed computer graphics data memory unit is a random access memory in another one of the processor systems forming said second processing means.

24. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 20, wherein

said computer graphics data memory unit stores the second computer graphics data in a tree structure in item units;

and

said changed computer graphics data memory unit stores the display computer graphics data in item units, all items being stored at one level.

25. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 20, wherein

said computer graphics data management unit comprises:

an input interpreting unit for receiving the external information and interpreting meaning of the external information;

a computer graphics data calculating unit for receiving an interpretation result from said input interpreting unit and performing an operation specified by the interpretation result;

a computer graphics data storing unit for storing a result of the operation performed by said computer graphics data calculating unit in said computer graphics data memory unit; and

a change data storing unit for storing in said change data buffer the change data obtained from the result of the operation performed by said computer graphic data calculating unit.

26. The computer graphics data display device according to claim 20, wherein

said computer graphics data image generating unit comprises:

an image generating unit for receiving the change data, outputting an update instruction relating to the change data, and generating an display image;

a change data referring unit for receiving the update instruction from said image generating unit, referring to contents of said changed computer graphics data memory unit corresponding to the change data, and outputting contents of the change data;

a changed computer graphics data storing unit for updating the display computer graphics data, stored in said changed computer graphics data memory means, based on the contents of the change data output from said change data referring unit; and

a changed computer graphics data referring unit for reading from said changed computer graphics data memory unit and outputting the display computer graphics data updated to said image generating unit.

27. A computer graphics data display method, comprising the steps of:

storing first computer graphics data corresponding to second computer graphics data; and

performing in parallel a process of generating, if a change has arisen in the first computer graphics data, change data which are computer graphics data relating to the change, and a process of generating image data by updating the second computer graphics data based on the change data.