JPH02275990A - Television game device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the kinds and number of moving picture characters which can be displayed by specifying registers stored with corresponding color data while specifying the readout timing of pattern data stored in respective shift registers for plural moving picture characters to be displayed on the next line in shift register units. CONSTITUTION:Moving picture characters to be displayed on next one line by each horizontal scan are retrieved among moving picture characters to be displayed on next one frame which are written in a 1st storage means in a vertical blanking period, and written in a 2nd storage means. Then the pattern data and color data of the moving picture characters are written in the shift registers and registers in a next horizontal blanking period. Consequently, the kinds of moving picture characters which can be displayed on one line and, therefore, one frame can be increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a video game device, and particularly to a video game device that is connected to a raster scan type display such as a home television receiver and that displays a plurality of images on the screen. The present invention relates to a television game device that can display video characters and the like.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, as a video game device, an image processing device (hereinafter referred to as "PPUJ") 1 is used as shown in FIG. 1(A).
A video memory 2 consisting of RAM is connected to the , and data regarding still images and moving images is transferred from the main memory 4 to the video memo I 72 under the control of the CPU 3, and the PPU1 calls out data from the video memory 2 as appropriate according to signals from the CPU 3. A device is known that outputs a video signal as a video signal.

The memory map of video memory 2 in this device is:
As shown in Figure (B), an area 2-1 that stores and generates multiple video character patterns; a video attribute table 2-2 that is rewritten every frame during the vertical blanking period; It is divided into an area 2-3 for storing and generating still image character patterns, a still image character pattern name table 2-4, and a still image color table 2-5. The operation of this device will be explained with reference to FIG. 2. During the horizontal blanking period of the scanning line, the moving image attribute table 2 is
-2 is searched, the attributes of the video pattern displayed on the next line are searched, and based on the attributes, video character pattern generation area 2-2 is searched during the same horizontal blanking period.
A moving image pattern is generated by outputting moving image character pattern data from 1. Further, as the display screen is scanned in line (horizontal), the pattern name and color code of the address corresponding to the display position are called from the still image character pattern name table 2-4 and the still image color table 2-5. A still image pattern is generated in real time by outputting pattern data from the still image character pattern generation area 2-3 based on the pattern name. If still image pattern data and moving image pattern data collide at the same position on the display screen, one of them is displayed with priority according to preset conditions.

Other conventional techniques include those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-33741. During the vertical blanking period, the vertical, horizontal, and image data of the moving object (corresponding to a moving image character) to be displayed in the next frame are stored in the object storage memory (37 shown in FIG. 1 of JP-A-5333741). )
and write to the specimen storage memory (
37), the moving object to be displayed in the next line is determined by arithmetic processing, the determined moving object identification data is written to the RAM (46), and the moving object is displayed based on this identification data during the next line scanning. The pattern data of the moving object is read out from the image memory (49) and displayed on the CRT.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the former case, an external address bus and data bus are used to call up still image character data during line scanning, so due to the number of pins, it is necessary to search the video attribute table and create video character pattern data based on the search results. All calls must be made during the horizontal blanking period. Therefore, there are restrictions on the number of moving image characters that can be displayed in one line and the types of moving image characters that can be displayed in one frame, and there is a problem that it is not possible to configure a display screen that is sufficiently varied.

In the latter case, the moving objects to be displayed on the next line are determined and written during a very short period of time during the horizontal blanking period, which limits the number of moving objects that can be processed within this time. There is also a problem in that the speed at which the object can be displayed moving is limited. This problem can be solved by using a 16-bit microprocessor capable of high-speed processing, but it is significantly more expensive, so it is not suitable for products with strong demand for lower prices, such as home video game devices. cannot be used.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a television game device that can increase the variety and number of moving image characters that can be displayed on the screen.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a television game device that can increase the types and numbers of moving image characters and still image characters that can be displayed on the screen.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a video game device that can solve the above problems with a small storage capacity and at low cost.

[Means to solve the problem]

A first aspect of the present invention is a video game device connected to a raster scanning type display for displaying a plurality of moving image characters on the screen of the display, the apparatus comprising a plurality of moving image characters that can be displayed in color. Picture pattern generation means (12-
1) Specifying data generation means (4) for generating data for specifying the horizontal and vertical display position, type and color of each video character to be displayed; horizontal and vertical display of video characters that can be displayed in one frame; a first storage means for storing data specifying the display position, type, and color of the
12-2) During the vertical blanking period of the display, the type data, display position data, and color data of the moving image character to be displayed in the next frame are read from the specified data generation means and written into the first storage means. 1 writing means (3
, 18), second storage means (15) for temporarily storing type data, display position data, and color data of a certain number of moving image characters to be displayed in one next horizontal scanning line; horizontal scanning period of the display; one of the next horizontal scanning lines based on the display position data stored in the first storage means.
A second writing means (20, 1
9) A plurality of shift registers each having a number corresponding to the number of moving image characters that can be displayed in one horizontal scanning line and each having a number of bits corresponding to the number of dots in the horizontal direction of pattern data of one moving image character. (16-3
), a plurality of registers (16-2) whose number corresponds to the shift registers and which store the color data of the moving image characters written in each shift register; Based on multiple types of data specifying video characters from the means, the following 1
The pattern data of horizontal predetermined dots of multiple video characters to be displayed in a line is read from the picture pattern generation means and written to one of the shift registers, and the color data of the video characters stored in each shift register is matched. A third writing means (
21, 22, 23), the read timing of the pattern data stored in each shift register is adjusted based on the data specifying the horizontal position of the display position data of each moving image character from the second storage means. By specifying the register storing the corresponding color data at the same time, the readout means (16 −
L L7.30), and color signal generating means (35, 36, 3
7, Fig. 8).

A second aspect of the invention is a video game device that is connected to a raster scanning display and is used to display a plurality of video characters and still image characters on the screen of the display, the video game device being capable of displaying a plurality of color display characters. The first step is to generate pattern data for each video character.
picture pattern generation means (12-1), second picture pattern generation means (12-3) for generating pattern data of a plurality of still image characters that can be displayed in color;
Specifying data generating means (4) for generating data specifying the horizontal and vertical display positions, types, and colors of each video character and still image character to be displayed.
, a first storage means (12-2) for storing horizontal and vertical display position data, type data, and color data of a moving image character that can be displayed in one frame; a first writing means (3, 18) for reading type data, display position data, and color data of a moving image character to be displayed from the designated data generating means and writing them into the first storage means; and one of the next horizontal scanning lines. a second storage means (15) for temporarily storing type data, display position data, and color data of a certain number of moving image characters to be displayed in a line; selects a video character to be displayed on the next horizontal scanning line based on display position data, and writes type data, display position data, and color data of the selected video character to the second storage means; Second writing means (20, 19), the number of which corresponds to the number of moving image characters that can be displayed in one horizontal scanning line, and each corresponds to the number of dots in the horizontal direction of the pattern data of one moving image character. a plurality of shift registers (16-3) having a number of bits corresponding to the number of bits, a plurality of registers (16-2) corresponding to the number of registers and storing color data of moving image characters written to each shift register, a horizontal block of the display; During the ranking period, based on a plurality of type data specifying video characters from the second storage means,
The pattern data of horizontal predetermined dots of a plurality of moving image characters to be displayed on the next line is read out from the picture pattern generation means and written to one of the shift registers, and the color data of the moving image characters stored in each shift register is read out. The third writing means (2L22, 23) writes the data into the corresponding register, and the third writing means (2L22, 23) writes the data into each shift register based on the data specifying the horizontal position of the display position data of each moving image character from the second storage means. By specifying the readout timing of stored pattern data for each shift register and at the same time specifying the register that stores the corresponding color data, the pattern data and color data of the shift register with the specified readout timing can be read on the display. a first readout means (16-1) that reads in synchronization with horizontal scanning;
a second reading means (24) for reading pattern data specifying a color of a still image character specified based on display position data and still image type data from the second picture pattern generating means; -1, 24-
2, 25, 26-1, 26-2, 27, 28-1°28
-2.29), and synthesis of combining and outputting the moving image character pattern data read out by the first reading means from each shift register and the still image character pattern data read out by the second reading means. means(
17, 30), and color signal generating means (35, 36, 37, FIG. 8) that generates a color signal and supplies it to the display based on the pattern data and color data output from the synthesizing means. It is.

[Effect]

In the first invention, the picture pattern generation means generates pattern data of a plurality of moving image characters, and the specification data generation means generates data specifying the type and position of each moving image character to be displayed. Then, the first writing storage means selects a moving image character to be displayed in the next frame based on the specified data during the vertical blanking period of the display, and stores the specified data of its type and position in the first storage. Memorize the means. The second writing means writes the types and positions of a certain number of moving image characters to be displayed in one next horizontal scanning line based on the data stored in the first storage means during the horizontal scanning period. Select the specified data and
Temporarily stored in the storage means of. The shift register corresponds to the number of moving image characters that can be displayed in one horizontal scanning line, and stores pattern data of each moving image character, and the register stores attribute data (color data) of each moving image character. The third writing means temporarily stores pattern data of predetermined bits in the horizontal direction of each moving image character from the second storage means in the shift register during the horizontal blanking period, and writes color data into the register. The reading means reads out the pattern data of the shift register and the color data of the register during the next horizontal scanning period in synchronization with the horizontal scanning. Based on this pattern data and color data, a color signal generating means such as a color encoder generates a color signal, which is applied to the display.

In the second invention, in addition to the action of displaying a moving image of the first invention, an action for displaying a screen in which a moving image and a still image are combined is performed. That is, the second picture pattern generation means generates pattern data of a plurality of still image characters.

The designation data generating means generates designation data for the type and position of each still image character in addition to the video character. The second readout means reads pattern data of the still image character from the second picture pattern generation means based on the designated data during the horizontal scanning period.

During the next horizontal scanning period, the pattern data and color data of the moving image character read from the shift register and the register by the first reading means and the pattern data of the still image character are combined by the combining means and sent to the color signal generating means. [Effects of the Invention] According to the first invention, among the moving image characters to be displayed in the next frame written in the first storage means within the vertical blanking period, the next A video character to be displayed in one line is searched and written to the second storage means, and pattern data and color data of the video character based on this are written to a shift register or a register during the next horizontal blanking period. Therefore, 1) the number of video characters that can be displayed in a line can be increased, and 2) the types of video characters that can be displayed in a frame can be increased. Furthermore, the moving speed of the moving image character can be increased, and the overall system configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

According to the second invention, a moving image character and a still image character can be synthesized and displayed using a simple circuit, and even in this case, in addition to the same effect as when displaying a moving image character, the moving image can be displayed in one line. The number of characters and still image characters can be increased, and the types of moving image characters and still image characters that can be displayed in one frame can be increased.

The above objects, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

〔Example〕

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention. For convenience, the structure of an embodiment corresponding to the first invention and the structure of an embodiment corresponding to the second invention will be described together below, but the first invention will mainly be described with reference to the dotted lines in FIG. It should be noted that the second invention is directed to the part related to video display excluding the part related to still image display, and the second invention is directed to the whole including the part related to both video display and still image display. I want to be

11 is a PPU (image processing unit), which is PPU in Fig. 1 (A).
Unlike PUL, it has a built-in video attribute table 12-2 made up of a RAM that is rewritten for each frame in the video memory. Reference numeral 15 searches the video attribute table memory 12-2 to store one line of video character data; Memorize attribute and pattern data, 1
A video buffer memory 17 consisting of a RAM that is rewritten line by line, a signal sent from the video memory 16, a signal sent from the still image character pattern generator 12-3 for still images, and a is a synthesizer that inputs signals sent from an external circuit and outputs a specific signal according to preset conditions. Reference numeral 12 denotes a video memory provided externally to the PPUI 1, including a moving image character pattern generation device 12-1 made of ROM or RAM, a still picture character pattern generation device 123 made of ROM or RAM, and four still picture character pattern generation devices made of RAM. Drawing character pattern name table 12
-41 to 12-44, and four still image color tables 12-51 to 12-54 made up of RAM.

In this embodiment, when the device is turned on or the game is changed, the still image character pattern name tables 12-41 to 11-44 and the still image color tables 12-51 to 1254 are stored in the CP according to the main memory 4.
It is rewritten under the control of U3. Then, in the vertical blanking period at the beginning of one frame, the video attribute table memo IJ12-2 is stored in the CPU 3 according to the main memory 4.
It is rewritten under the control of

PPUI i stores the video character pattern displayed on the next line during line scanning in the video attribute table memory 1.
2-2 and stored in the temporary memory 15, and during the horizontal blanking period, the moving image character pattern generator 12-1 is generated via the address bus and data bus based on the data stored in the temporary memory 15. Search for
Data necessary for displaying a moving image character for the next line is stored in the moving image buffer memory 16. When line scanning starts and the corresponding horizontal position is reached, the video buffer memory 16
The moving image character pattern data is sent to the synthesizer 17, and at the same time, the still image character pattern name tables 12-41 to 12-4 are sent via the address bus and data bus.
4 and color tables 12-51 to 12-54 are searched online, and based on the search results, still image character pattern data that becomes the background is sent to the synthesizer 17 from the still image character pattern generator 12-3. .

In FIG. 3, still image character pattern name tables 12-41 to 11-44 and still image color tables 12-51 to 12-54 have an area four times larger than the area displayed as a background. Therefore, it goes without saying that only a specific still image character pattern name table can be used in the display area;
Or, as shown in (B), it is possible to freely select a background within a maximum of four screens. It is also possible to scroll independently in dots in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Here, scrolling refers to moving the entire background like a scroll (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-1989)
(See Japanese Patent No. 96186) In the video memory 12, the moving image character pattern generating device 12-1 and the still image character pattern generating device 12-3 can be used not only separately but also in common, as described above.
By calling the same character pattern generator with a video address and a still image address, it is possible to generate both video characters and still image characters from the same character pattern generator, which makes it possible to generate both video characters and still image characters, compared to when they are not shared. This means that a large number of characters can be generated with a character pattern generating device having a capacity of .

Here, the display screen has 256 dots in the horizontal direction and 2 dots in the vertical direction.
It is assumed that the character unit, which is composed of 40 dots and constitutes a moving image and a still image, has a size of 8 dots x 8 dots. It is also assumed that a maximum of 8 moving images can be displayed in one horizontal line, and a maximum of 64 moving images can be displayed in one screen.

Furthermore, in the video character pattern generation device 12-1 and the still image character pattern generation device 123, one pixel on the display screen is represented by 2 bits, so one character (8 dots x 8 dots) is 16 bytes. represented.

FIG. 5 shows the PPUI 1 of this embodiment in more detail. First, to describe the configuration for displaying a moving image character pattern, the moving image attribute table memory 12-2, which stores the attributes of moving image characters for one frame, stores 64 moving image characters as shown in FIG. It has an area for storing the vertical position (8 bits), character number (8 bits), attribute (5 bits) and horizontal position (8 bits) for each character. The attribute data includes 1 bit each for vertical or horizontal inversion, 1 bit for determining the priority order between moving image characters and still image characters, and 2 bits for color display.

Data is stored in the video attribute table 12-2 by the CPU.
From the terminal. -7, and its storage location is specified by the moving picture attribute memory address register 18.

The search for moving image characters for subsequent lines during the preceding line scan is performed by comparator 20 on the basis of vertical position data. The comparator 20 compares the signal representing the vertical position of the next line with the vertical position data of each character in the video attribute table memory 12-2, and determines the corresponding (in-range) signal.
Determine whether or not. The moving image characters that are searched and determined to be in range are further stored in the memory 15 by the memory register 19. - The time memory 15 has an area for 8 video characters, and if 9 or more video characters are in range, 8
Only those items are stored in the layer memory 15, and a flag is set to indicate that nine or more items were present.

The video buffer memory 16, which is rewritten during the horizontal blanking period, also has an area for eight video characters to be displayed on the next line, and for each video character, a horizontal position area (8 bits) 16-1, an attribute Area (3 bits 1-) 16-2.2 shift 1-registers (8 bits)
16-3 are assigned to each. The horizontal position data from the memory 15 is stored in the horizontal position area 16-1, and this area is a down counter that counts down as the line is scanned in the horizontal direction, and when it reaches 0, the video character is output. It is now possible to do so. The attribute area 16-2 stores a total of 3 bits of the attribute data in the memory 15, including a priority order determining bit and 2 bits of color data. Further, each shift register 163 stores 8-pinto data called from the moving image character pattern generation device 12-1 based on the character number of the moving image character in the - time memory 15. The reason why two shift registers 16-3 are provided in parallel is that one pixel is expressed by two bits.

21 is connected to terminal AD via the bus by in-ranged moving image character data during the horizontal blanking period and by still image character data during line scanning. This is a picture address register that searches the character pattern generator 12-1 or 12-3 from -7 and calls the character pattern data corresponding to Hatake, and when the video character data includes vertically inverted data, it is an inverter. 22, the vertical address within the moving image character pattern is inverted and searched. 23, the horizontal direction inverter inverts the transmission order of the called video character pattern data when the video character data includes a horizontal inversion signal, and sends the video character pattern data to the video panzer memory 16.
The data is sent to the shift register 16-3.

Next, the configuration for displaying a still image (background) character pattern will be described. As line scanning is performed, still image character pattern data at a corresponding position is called out via the terminal ADO-7 by a signal from the picture address register 21. This character pattern data consists of 2 bits of character pattern data and 2 bits of color display data for one dot on the display screen, so the character pattern data is stored in the shift register 241.
．． 24-2, two selectors 25 for color display data
are respectively input to the shift register 26-1.
Selector 28-128-229 via 26-2.27
are input in units of 8 and 8.16 bits, respectively. If scrolling is not performed, the data will be output to the multiplexer 30 in the same order. 31 is a horizontal scroll register (SCCH) and a video memory address register (VR) that counts the lower address of the video memory.
32 is a register that also serves as a vertical scroll register (sccv) and a video memory address register (VRAM-ARH) that counts the upper address of the video memory. Offset values at the time of scrolling (scrolling start position) are set in the scroll registers 31 and 32 in the order of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and the selectors 2B-1, 28-2 and 29 perform selection operations based on these offset values. Also, when used as the video memory address register 3132, after reading/writing the video memory 12,
1 or 32 is automatically added, respectively. 33.3
4 are horizontal and vertical counters, respectively.

The multiplexer 30 constitutes a part of the synthesizer 17 shown in FIG. 3, and inputs moving image character pattern data and still image character pattern data, and depending on the mode, also outputs other moving image character pattern data and still images from the terminal EXT, 3. The video character pattern data is input, a priority order is determined based on the attribute data in the video character pattern data, and a signal is sent to the color generator 35. Multiplexer 30 also connects terminal E for other modes.
It is also possible to output signals from the XTO-3 to the outside. If specific moving image character pattern data and still image character pattern data collide in the multiplexer 30, a flag (STK, F) is set. 35 is RAM
Specify 4 levels with the color generator 2
It is set by a total of 6-bit codes, including a 1-bit code and 4-bit codes specifying 12 types of phases (hues), and is selected by 4-bit data representing character pattern data output from the multiplexer 30. 36
37 is a decoder that converts the output signal of the color generator 35 into a level selection signal and a phase selection signal, and 37 is a DA converter that converts the output signal of the decoder 36 into an analog video signal and sends it out. 38 is a phase shifter.

The multiplexer 30, color generator 35, decoder 36, DA converter 37, and phase shifter 38 constitute the synthesizer 17 shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 39 and 40 are control registers that determine the operation mode of this PPU, and data is set from the CPU via the counter 41. This counter 41 generates a vertical blanking signal, a horizontal blanking signal, a clock signal synchronized with the vertical position and horizontal position of the electron beam, etc. for determining the write timing or read timing of each memory and register. The detailed circuit configuration is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-45225 or Japanese Patent Publication No. 46
This is similar to what is known from No.-29284. That is, the counter 41 controls each of the registers 16-1 to 163.1B, 19.21 to 2 shown in FIG.
3.24-1, 242.25.26-1.26-2.2
7.28-1.2E12, 29, 31, 32.39 and 40 and comparator 20. The entire operation timing of the PPU II (FIG. 3) including the moving image attribute table 12-2 or a portion of the memory 15 is controlled.

Details of the multiplexer 30 are shown in FIG. 50 is 4-bit still image character pattern data (BGO to BG
3) A transmission gate for transferring MOS transistors 50-1 to 50- corresponding to each bit.
It is equipped with 4. Reference numeral 51 denotes a transmission gate for transferring 4 bits (OBJO to 0BJ3) of the 5-bit moving image character pattern, and also includes MOS transistors 51-1 to 514 corresponding to each bit. 52 is still image character pattern data BGO-BO2 serving as the background and video character pattern data 0
This is a priority determination circuit that determines which of BJO to 0BJ3 is to be transferred.
The BGO and BGI are operated by two people in the OR circuit 54. The data 0BJ4 that determines the priority order and the output of the OR circuit 54 are connected to the AND circuit 55, and the AND circuit 5
The output of 5 and the output of the NOR circuit 53 are connected to the 2 of the OR circuit 56.
By using manual power, the output of the OR circuit 56 and the inverted output of the output from the inverter 57 are applied to the gates of the transistors of the transmission gates 50 and 51, respectively.

As a result, the combination of BGo, 1.0BJ0, 1 and OBJ4 turns on either 1-transmission game 1, 50 or 51, and BGO to BG3 or 0
BJO to 0BJ3 and the output signal of inverter 57, which is a signal representing the determination result, are transmitted to inverters 61-1 to 61-1 by transmission gate transistors 59-1 to 59-5, which are controlled on/off by clock signal φ.
614.611 to 62-5.

64-1 to 64-4 are connected to terminals EXT by slave signals st and xvn when connecting one PPU to another PPU.
This is a switching circuit that switches O to EXT3 to input terminals or output terminals. In this switching circuit 64-1, the ≦UA100 signal is input to the return signal interrupter circuit 65 in order to control the data output of the driver circuit 65 which inputs the data BGO or 0BJO. In addition, in order to control data input from EXTO, data from EXTO is input to one input terminal of the NAND circuit 66 via an inverter 67, and the It is input through the switching circuits 64-2 to 64-6.
The same applies to 4-4.

80 is 100 UAV 100 signals, BC; 0. 1 (or 0
This is a master/slave priority determination circuit that turns on the transmission gate 81 or 82 in response to input signals from the BJ0, 1) and EXTo, 1 terminals to determine which data of the master PPU or slave PPU is to be transferred. BGO21 (or 0BJ0,1) as O
The R circuit 85 uses a human input signal, and the data input from the EXTo, 1 terminal is used as an input signal to the NOR circuit 86. The output signal of the OR circuit 85 and the output signal of the NOR circuit 86 are input to the OR circuit 87, and the output signal of the OR circuit 87 and the inverted signal of the output signal by the inverter 88 are respectively applied to each MO3 of the transmission gates 81 and 82. Use as transistor gate signal.

The data transferred via the transmission gate 81 or 82 is transferred to the transmission gate MO3) transistors 94-1 to 94-1 controlled by the clock signal f.
94-4 outputs the address signals CGAO to CCA3 of the color generator 35 shown in FIG. 5 through inverters 96-1 to 96-4 and 97-1 to 974. Also, CGAO~3 is BCO~3 or 0
The output signal from the priority determination circuit 52 is inverted by the inverter 94-5 and used as the CGA 4 for representing BJO~3.

Note that the AND circuit 100 has BGO~3 and 0BJO~3.
A circuit is configured to set a collision flag (STK-F) when there is a collision between the two.

In this multiplexer, first, the priority determination circuit 5
The operation of 2 is shown in the table below (the following is a blank space). 36~ Next, when two PPUs are combined, this PP
If U is a mask, ≦[100 signals are 1. In the switching circuits 64-1 to 64-4, since O is inputted to one input terminal of the NAND circuit 66 via the inverter clock 8, the NAND circuit 66 is activated and EXTO-
Data will now be input from the EXT3 terminal. On the other hand, the driver circuit 65 becomes inactive because the λVE signal is 1, and no data is output.

Conversely, when this PPU is a slave, the ≦LλV100 signal becomes O, so the NAND circuit 66 becomes inactive,
Since the driver circuit 65 is in the operating state, EXTO~3
The data will be output from.

Further, the operation of the master/slave priority determining circuit 80 is as shown in the following table.

(The following is a blank space.) Next, a specific operation when a moving image is displayed using the above configuration will be explained first, and then an operation when a still image is also displayed will be explained.

During the vertical blanking period, the CPU 3 selects a video character to be displayed in the next frame based on the program data stored in the main memory 4, and converts the character code, vertical and horizontal coordinate data, and attribute data into the video. Write to attribute table 12-2.

When horizontal scanning begins, the vertical coordinate data of each moving image character stored in the moving image attribute table 122 is read out in synchronization with the horizontal scanning and provided to the comparator 20. The comparator 20 compares the vertical coordinate data of each moving image character with H
Compare the signal with the signal indicating the vertical position of the next line given from the V counter 41, and when in-range is detected, that is, when it is determined that the video data should be displayed on the next line, the corresponding signal is detected in synchronization with horizontal scanning. More memory for video character codes, vertical/horizontal coordinate data, and attribute data
Write to 5.

In the first line of horizontal scanning, no moving image is displayed because no moving image character pattern is written to any shift register 16-3.

During horizontal blanking, each character code and vertical coordinate data stored in the -time memory 15 are written to the picture address register 21. Using the contents of this register 21 as an address, the pattern data corresponding to each video character code stored in the -time memory 15 is read out from the video character pattern generation device 12-1, and sent to a plurality of The data is written to one of the shift registers 16-3. Further, the horizontal coordinate data of each moving image character code is written into the horizontal position area 16-1 corresponding to the shift register 163 storing the pattern data. The moving image color data and priority determining data included in the attribute data of each moving image character code are written into the attribute area 16-2 corresponding to the shift register 16-3 storing the pattern data. Note that these write operations are performed in synchronization with the clock provided from the HV counter 41 during horizontal blanking as well as during horizontal scanning.

In the second line of horizontal scanning, each horizontal position area 1
6-1 counts down in synchronization with horizontal scanning, and when it reaches 0, provides an activation signal to the corresponding shift register 16-3 and attribute area 16-2. That is, the horizontal position area 16-1 functions as a down counter that subtracts the horizontal coordinate data at which to start displaying the moving image character every time the electron beam moves by one dot. In response to this activation signal, a moving image character pattern is outputted from the shift register 16-3 in synchronization with horizontal scanning, and moving image color data and priority determination data are outputted from attribute area 16-2 in synchronization with horizontal scanning. and multiplexer 3
given to 0. This multiplexer 30 outputs pattern data and color data of a moving image. Thereby, the aforementioned color generator 35. The decoder 36 and the DA converter 37 generate video signals of moving images.

Furthermore, in the second line of horizontal scanning, the character code vertical and horizontal coordinate data and attribute data of the video to be displayed on the next line (third line) are further stored in the memory 15 in the same manner as the scanning period of the first line. written.

Thereafter, in the same way, in-range detection of the moving image character to be displayed in the next line is performed every horizontal scanning period, and at the same time, in-range detection of the moving image character to be displayed in the immediately preceding horizontal scanning period and shift register 16-3 and attribute area 16-3 is performed. The data written to 2 is read out. This operation is repeated until the vertical blanking period begins.

In addition, if the attribute data includes reversed data,
■The inverter 22 inverts the lower 3 bits of the vertical coordinate data (data indicating the vertical position of one character) and supplies it to the picture address register 21, so the reading order of the vertical position of the horizontal 8 dot pattern data is reversed. . On the other hand, if the attribute data includes H inverted data, H
The inverter 23 inverts the bit arrangement of the 8-bit data inputted to the 0, 1, 2, . . . 7 lotus lines and outputs it (
In other words, it is output to the 7.6.5...0 lotus lines).

When displaying a moving image and a still image, the moving image is displayed according to the procedure described above. Therefore, operations related to still image display will be described here.

During the vertical blanking period, the CPU 3 selects a still image character to be displayed in the next frame based on the program data stored in the main memory 4, and applies the character code to the still image character pattern corresponding to the display position. Write to name tables 12-41 to 11-44.

Immediately before the horizontal scanning starts, the CPU 3 writes vertical and horizontal coordinate data to the scroll register 31.32 to specify from which position in the still image galactor pattern name tables 12-41 to 12-124 the display should start. The data in these registers 31, 32 corresponds to the H counter 33. V
It is set in the counter 34.

When the horizontal scan starts, in synchronization with the horizontal scan, the contents of the H counter 33 and the V counter 34 are used as addresses to read the still image character pattern name tables 12-41 to 12-.
The still image character code read from the still image color table 1251 to 1154 is written to the picture address register 21, and the still image color data read from the still image color tables 1251 to 1154 is transferred to the shift register 2 via the data selector 25.
7 is written. Furthermore, the still picture character pattern data read from the still picture character pattern generating device 12-3 is written into the shift registers 24-1 and 24-2, using the contents of the picture address register 21 as addresses. Still image character pattern data and still image color data are transferred to shift registers 26-1, 26-2, 27. in synchronization with horizontal scanning. Data selector 281
．． 28-2.29 to the multiplexer 30.

In the first line of horizontal scanning, as described above, the video character code is not written to any shift register 16-3, so the multiplexer 30 outputs still image character data and still image color data. do. Therefore,
Color generator 35 Decoder 36. The DA converter 37 generates a video signal containing only still images.

In horizontal blanking, as described above, pattern data corresponding to each moving image character code stored in the memory 15 is written into one of the plurality of shift registers 16-3. Further, the horizontal coordinate data of each video character code corresponds to the shift register 16-3 storing the pattern data.
-1 is written. The video color data and priority determination data included in the attribute data of each video character code are
Shift register 16- storing the boar pattern data
It is written in the attribute area 16-2 corresponding to 3.

In the second line of horizontal scanning, as described above, the moving image character pattern is output from the shift register 16-3 in synchronization with the horizontal scanning, and the moving image color data and priority determination data are output from the attribute area 16-2 during the horizontal scanning. The output signal is output in synchronization with the output signal and applied to the multiplexer 30.

On the other hand, a still image character pattern is also provided to the multiplexer 3o. Therefore, the multiplexer 30 outputs pattern data and color data for either a moving image or a still image based on the priority order determination data. Thereby, the aforementioned color generator 35. Decoder 36
And the DA converter 37 generates a video signal that is a composite of a moving image and a still image.

When a video character and a still image character overlap in this way, if one of them is displayed with priority based on the priority determination data, the video character can be displayed as if it is in front of the still image or the background image, or the still image It has the advantage of being able to be displayed as if it were hidden behind the screen, allowing for a rich variety of image expressions.

In addition, if still images and videos do not overlap in the same display position,
That is, when displaying pattern data for either a still image or a moving image, the given pattern data is output from the multiplexer 30 as is since there is no priority determining data.

Similarly, moving images and still images are displayed according to each horizontal scan.

Next, the color generator 35, decoder 36, DA converter 37, and phase shifter will be explained in detail with reference to FIG.

The color generator 35 is made up of a RAM (random access memory) and can store 32 6-bit color code signals, one of which is selected by the 5-bit address signals CGAO to CGA4 from the multiplexer 30. Outputs color code signal. The color code signal stored in the color generator 35 can be rewritten by the CPU 112.

The phase shifter 38 divides the frequency of the color subcarrier (Sc) by six times (3.58 MHz x 6) to generate 12 types of color subcarriers with different phases. 114 is a phase selector which inputs 4 bits of the 6-bit color code signal sent from the color generator 35, and which inputs 4 bits of the 6-bit color code signal sent from the color generator 35,
One of the 12 types of color subcarriers with different phases transmitted from the 8 is selected and output. Reference numeral 115 denotes a level decoder which receives two bits of the color code signal sent from the color generator 35 and converts it into a four-level level selection signal. The decoder 36 in FIG. 5 includes a phase selector 114 and a level decoder 115.

116 is a resistor ladder that connects the power supply Vcc and ground (GND
), nine resistors 117-1 to 1179 are connected in series between them, and the voltage level distributed by each resistor is connected to the transmission gate MOS transistor 11B-1.
~11 The output signal is taken out via B-8. The transistors 11B-1 to ll8-8 are
Two gate circuits are controlled by gate circuits 119-1 to 119-4. Gate circuits 119-1 to 11
9-4 each includes two NAND circuits 120 and 121, and both NAND circuits 120 and 12 in the same gate circuit.
A predetermined level selection signal from a level decoder 115 is commonly input to one input terminal of the two. Also, one NAND circuit 1 of each gate circuit 119-1 to 119-4
The color subcarrier signal of a predetermined phase sent from the phase selector 114 is commonly input to the other input terminal of the NAND circuits 20, and the other input terminal of the other NAND circuit 121 is input with one of the NAND circuits.
The output signal of AND circuit 120 is input. The output terminals of each NAND circuit 120, 121 are connected to the gates of transistors 118-1 to 1188, respectively. DA converter 37 in FIG. 5 is resistance ladder 1
16, transistors 118-1 to 11B-8 and gate circuits 119-1 to 119-4.

The operation of the circuit shown in FIG. 8 will be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

When one piece of data is output from the multiplexer 30,
The color generator 35 outputs one color code signal (
6 bits) is output. The phase selector 114 inputs 4 bits of the color code signal, selects one type from among 12 types of color subcarriers with different phases, and sends it to all gate circuits 119-1 to 119-4. Send. In addition, the level decoder 115 inputs 2 bits of the same color code signal and outputs the gate circuits 119-1 to 119.
A level selection signal is sent to one of the -4 gate circuits.

For example, if the level decoder 115 selects the Ricade circuit 119-1, the gate circuit 119-1 is selected by the level decoder 115.
A low level signal is applied to one input terminal of each of the NAND circuits 120 and 121 in the gate circuit 1, and the NAND circuits 120 and 1 in the other gate circuits 111-2 to 119-4
A high level signal is applied to one input terminal of each of 21. Therefore, when the color subcarrier signal from the phase selector 114 is low level, the gate circuit 1
At 19-1, the output of the NAND circuit 120 becomes high level, the output of the NAND circuit 121 becomes low level, and the transistor 11B-1 connected to the position of the voltage vI level of the resistor ladder is turned on, and connected to the position of the voltage V2 level. The transistor 118-2 is turned off. Furthermore, when the color subcarrier signal is at a high level, the same gate circuit 11
At 91, the output of the NAND circuit 120 becomes low level, so the output of the NAND circuit 121 becomes high level, and the transistor 11 connected to the voltage ■2 level position
B-2 is turned on, and the transistor 118-1 connected to the voltage level 1 is turned off. Other gate circuit 11
The outputs from 9-2 to 1194 are all at low level, and transistors 11B-3 to 11B-8 are off.

As a result, the signal output from the output terminal 22 is a signal having an amplitude in which the color subcarrier having a predetermined phase oscillates between the voltage level V and 72, as shown in part A of FIG. The center level of the amplitude is converted into a color signal whose voltage level represents brightness. In this color signal, amplitude represents saturation and phase represents hue.

The other output signal of multiplexer 30 allows data 1
When another level is selected by 15, for example, if the gate circuit 119-2 is selected, the voltage level ■ has an amplitude between 3 and 74 as shown in part B of FIG. A color signal having a voltage level is output. Similarly, for other color code levels, 9th
A color signal having the amplitude and voltage level shown in part C1D in the figure is obtained.

Furthermore, when a color subcarrier of another phase is selected by the 4-bit code signal for phase selection of the color code signal from the color generator 35, the amplitude (color) of any one of A to D in FIG. A color signal of another phase (hue) having a voltage level (brightness) and a voltage level (brightness) is output.

Adding the synchronization signal on the burst signal to the color signal output in this manner results in a color video signal.

In this embodiment, each of the 12 types of color subcarriers having different phases can take four levels (amplitude and voltage level), so 48 types of colors can be generated. However, since the output signal from multiplexer 30 has a 5-bit configuration, only 32 colors can be selected per degree. Therefore, in this embodiment, a color generator 11 that stores 32 6-bit color code signals is provided, and although 32 types can be selected by the color data generator 10, the stored contents of the color generator 35 can be changed by the CPU 12. By rewriting a 6-bit color code signal, a maximum of 48 types (48 types of colors is the maximum in the method of this embodiment).Four of the remaining codes can be assigned as white → gray (2) → black. You can choose from up to 3 colors.

Next, in this example, two PPUI 11.11
A method of combining character patterns of both PPU II-1 and 11-2 by combining PPU II-2 will be explained with reference to FIG. Now, from the 100% lambda signal shown in Figure 7, the PPUI
Let l-1 be a mask and PPUI 1-2 be a slave. Connect the wires as shown in Figure 10, input a square wave with sharp rising and falling edges to the clock (CLK), and connect both PPUI 11
The initial reset signal is used for synchronization of ゜11-2. As a result, the character pattern data of the slave PPU II 2 is output from EXTO-3 and input to the master PPUI 1-1, and is prioritized and synthesized within the master PPUI 11 as explained in FIG. 7.

By the method shown in FIG. 10, the video signal output is as follows:
Still image character pattern and video character pattern of mask PPUI 1-1, and slave PPU
Any combination of display images can be constructed from the still image character patterns and moving image character patterns of I1-2.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(A) is a block diagram showing a conventional television game device. FIG. 1(B) is an illustrative diagram showing a memory map of the video memory in FIG. 1(A). FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the conventional example shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) are illustrative views showing the method of displaying the background in this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a more specific example of this embodiment. FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram showing a memory map of the moving picture attribute table memory of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing the multiplexer in detail. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a portion related to the color generator. FIG. 9 is a waveform diagram schematically showing the level of the color signal generated by the circuit of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a method of combining two PPUs. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... PPU (image processing device), 12... Video memory, 12-1... Video character pattern generation device, 12-2... Video attribute table memory, 123
...Still image character pattern generator, 1241~
12-44... Still image character pattern name table, 12-51 to 12-54... Color table, 1
5...-time memory, 16... Video buffer memory,
17...Synthesizer. Patent Applicant Ricoh Nintendo Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Yama 1) Yoshito

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A video game device connected to a raster scanning display and used to display a plurality of video characters on the screen of the display, the video game device being capable of displaying a plurality of video characters in color. Picture pattern generation means for generating pattern data for each video character to be displayed; specification data generation means for generating data for designating the horizontal and vertical display positions, types, and colors of each video character to be displayed; a video that can be displayed in one frame; The first one stores data specifying the horizontal and vertical display position, type, and color of the character.
storage means, during a vertical blanking period of the display, reads type data, display position data, and color data of a moving image character to be displayed in the next frame from the specified data generation means and writes them to the first storage means; a first writing means for temporarily storing type data, display position data, and color data of a certain number of moving image characters to be displayed in one next horizontal scanning line; During the scanning period, a moving image character to be displayed on the next horizontal scanning line is selected based on the display position data stored in the first storage means, and type data and display of the selected moving image character are performed. a second writing means for writing position data and color data into the second storage means; a number of moving image characters corresponding to the number of moving image characters that can be displayed in one horizontal scanning line, each of which is one moving image character; a plurality of shift registers each having a number of bits corresponding to the number of dots in the horizontal direction of pattern data; a plurality of registers having a number corresponding to the number of shift registers and storing color data of a moving image character to be written to each shift register; During the horizontal blanking period of the display, pattern data of horizontal predetermined dots of a plurality of moving image characters to be displayed on the next line based on a plurality of type data specifying moving image characters from the second storage means. a third writing means for reading out the picture pattern generation means from the picture pattern generating means and writing it into one of the shift registers, and writing the color data of the moving image character stored in each shift register into the corresponding register; Based on the data specifying the horizontal position of the display position data of each video character from the storage means of
By specifying the read timing of the pattern data stored in each shift register for each shift register and at the same time specifying the register storing the corresponding color data, the pattern data of the shift register with the specified read timing can be read. and color data in synchronization with the horizontal scanning of the display, and color signal generation for generating a color signal and applying it to the display based on the pattern data and color data read from the reading means. A video game device comprising means. 2 A video game device that is connected to a raster scanning display and is used to display a plurality of moving image characters and still image characters on the screen of this display, and that is capable of displaying a plurality of moving image character patterns in color. a first picture pattern generating means for generating data, a second picture pattern generating means for generating pattern data of a plurality of still image characters capable of color display, and a horizontal line for each moving image character and still image character to be displayed. and a specification data generating means for generating data specifying the vertical display position, its type, and color; storage means, during a vertical blanking period of the display, reads type data, display position data, and color data of a moving image character to be displayed in the next frame from the specified data generation means and writes them to the first storage means; a first writing means for temporarily storing type data, display position data, and color data of a certain number of moving image characters to be displayed in one next horizontal scanning line; During the scanning period, a moving image character to be displayed on the next horizontal scanning line is selected based on the display position data stored in the first storage means, and type data and display of the selected moving image character are performed. a second writing means for writing position data and color data into the second storage means; a number of moving image characters corresponding to the number of moving image characters that can be displayed in one horizontal scanning line, each of which is one moving image character; a plurality of shift registers each having a number of bits corresponding to the number of dots in the horizontal direction of pattern data; a plurality of registers having a number corresponding to the number of shift registers and storing color data of a moving image character to be written to each shift register; During the horizontal blanking period of the display, pattern data of horizontal predetermined dots of a plurality of moving image characters to be displayed on the next line based on a plurality of type data specifying moving image characters from the second storage means. a third writing means for reading out the picture pattern generation means from the picture pattern generating means and writing it into one of the shift registers, and writing the color data of the moving image character stored in each shift register into the corresponding register; Based on the data specifying the horizontal position of the display position data of each video character from the storage means of
By specifying the read timing of the pattern data stored in each shift register for each shift register and at the same time specifying the register storing the corresponding color data, the pattern data of the shift register with the specified read timing can be read. and color data in synchronization with the horizontal scanning of the display, based on display position data and still image type data from the specified data generation means in synchronization with the horizontal scanning of the display. second reading means for reading pattern data specifying a color of a still image character specified by the second picture pattern generating means; and a moving image from each of the shift registers read by the first reading means. a synthesizing means for synthesizing and outputting the character pattern data and the still image character pattern data read by the second reading means, and generating a color signal based on the pattern data and color data output from the synthesizing means. and a color signal generating means for applying the color signal to the display.