EP0673012A2 - Steuerung für eine Anzeige mit mehrfachen gemeinsamen Zeilen für jeden Pixel - Google Patents

Steuerung für eine Anzeige mit mehrfachen gemeinsamen Zeilen für jeden Pixel Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0673012A2
EP0673012A2 EP95301621A EP95301621A EP0673012A2 EP 0673012 A2 EP0673012 A2 EP 0673012A2 EP 95301621 A EP95301621 A EP 95301621A EP 95301621 A EP95301621 A EP 95301621A EP 0673012 A2 EP0673012 A2 EP 0673012A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
lines
line
display
data
common
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP95301621A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0673012A3 (de
Inventor
Kia Silverbrook
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Canon Inc
Original Assignee
Canon Information Systems Research Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AUPM4411A external-priority patent/AUPM441194A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4415A external-priority patent/AUPM441594A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4404A external-priority patent/AUPM440494A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4401A external-priority patent/AUPM440194A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4406A external-priority patent/AUPM440694A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4414A external-priority patent/AUPM441494A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4409A external-priority patent/AUPM440994A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4408A external-priority patent/AUPM440894A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4402A external-priority patent/AUPM440294A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4410A external-priority patent/AUPM441094A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4405A external-priority patent/AUPM440594A0/en
Priority claimed from AUPM4413A external-priority patent/AUPM441394A0/en
Application filed by Canon Information Systems Research Australia Pty Ltd filed Critical Canon Information Systems Research Australia Pty Ltd
Publication of EP0673012A2 publication Critical patent/EP0673012A2/de
Publication of EP0673012A3 publication Critical patent/EP0673012A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
    • G09F9/00—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements
    • G09F9/30—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements
    • G09F9/302—Indicating arrangements for variable information in which the information is built-up on a support by selection or combination of individual elements in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements characterised by the form or geometrical disposition of the individual elements
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/34—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source
    • G09G3/36—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals
    • G09G3/3607—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals for displaying colours or for displaying grey scales with a specific pixel layout, e.g. using sub-pixels
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/34—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source
    • G09G3/36—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals
    • G09G3/3611—Control of matrices with row and column drivers
    • G09G3/3622—Control of matrices with row and column drivers using a passive matrix
    • G09G3/3629—Control of matrices with row and column drivers using a passive matrix using liquid crystals having memory effects, e.g. ferroelectric liquid crystals
    • G09G3/364—Control of matrices with row and column drivers using a passive matrix using liquid crystals having memory effects, e.g. ferroelectric liquid crystals with use of subpixels
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/34—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source
    • G09G3/36—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals
    • G09G3/3611—Control of matrices with row and column drivers
    • G09G3/3674—Details of drivers for scan electrodes
    • G09G3/3681—Details of drivers for scan electrodes suitable for passive matrices only
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/34—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source
    • G09G3/36—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals
    • G09G3/3611—Control of matrices with row and column drivers
    • G09G3/3685—Details of drivers for data electrodes
    • G09G3/3692—Details of drivers for data electrodes suitable for passive matrices only
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G5/00—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators
    • G09G5/02—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators characterised by the way in which colour is displayed
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G5/00—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators
    • G09G5/36—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory
    • G09G5/39—Control of the bit-mapped memory
    • G09G5/393—Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G5/00—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators
    • G09G5/36—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators characterised by the display of a graphic pattern, e.g. using an all-points-addressable [APA] memory
    • G09G5/39—Control of the bit-mapped memory
    • G09G5/395—Arrangements specially adapted for transferring the contents of the bit-mapped memory to the screen
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G5/00—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators
    • G09G5/42—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators characterised by the display of patterns using a display memory without fixed position correspondence between the display memory contents and the display position on the screen
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2300/00—Aspects of the constitution of display devices
    • G09G2300/04—Structural and physical details of display devices
    • G09G2300/0439—Pixel structures
    • G09G2300/0452—Details of colour pixel setup, e.g. pixel composed of a red, a blue and two green components
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2310/00—Command of the display device
    • G09G2310/04—Partial updating of the display screen
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2320/00—Control of display operating conditions
    • G09G2320/04—Maintaining the quality of display appearance
    • G09G2320/041—Temperature compensation
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2340/00—Aspects of display data processing
    • G09G2340/04—Changes in size, position or resolution of an image
    • G09G2340/0407—Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2340/00—Aspects of display data processing
    • G09G2340/04—Changes in size, position or resolution of an image
    • G09G2340/0457—Improvement of perceived resolution by subpixel rendering
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G2370/00—Aspects of data communication
    • G09G2370/04—Exchange of auxiliary data, i.e. other than image data, between monitor and graphics controller
    • G09G2370/045—Exchange of auxiliary data, i.e. other than image data, between monitor and graphics controller using multiple communication channels, e.g. parallel and serial
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/2007—Display of intermediate tones
    • G09G3/2044—Display of intermediate tones using dithering
    • G09G3/2051—Display of intermediate tones using dithering with use of a spatial dither pattern
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
    • G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
    • G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
    • G09G3/2007—Display of intermediate tones
    • G09G3/2074—Display of intermediate tones using sub-pixels

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the display of images on a display apparatus such as a colour computer display or a video display and, more specifically, the display of images on a display apparatus such as a ferro-electric liquid crystal display, which is a discrete level display having a memory capability.
  • CTR Cathode Ray Tube
  • a high resolution discrete level display having a large number of pixels, with the pixels arranged in lines, and with each pixel having a plurality of independently setable areas with the overall pixel able to display a predetermined number of different discrete levels.
  • the independently settable areas being controlled by a series of intersecting drive and common lines, are designed to carry predetermined voltages to each pixel of the display. Examples of these types of displays include liquid crystal displays, plasma displays and electro-luminescent displays.
  • a computer work station comprising: a computation and data manipulation unit including means for the creation and manipulation of images, said computation and data manipulation unit being connected to a frame buffering means and being adapted to store images in said frame buffering means; said frame buffering means comprising a frame buffer storage means for the storage of images and a frame buffer controller means connected to said computation and data manipulation unit and also connected to a high resolution discrete level display device; and said high resolution discrete level display device including a plurality of pixels, which are arranged in an array of substantially parallel lines, with each pixel in a line having a plurality of common drive lines; wherein images created or manipulated by said computation and data manipulation unit which are to be displayed on said high resolution discrete level display device are stored in said frame buffer and subsequently displayed on said high resolution display device.
  • Fig. 1 there is shown the preferred embodiment 1 of the computer workstation.
  • This includes a base computer system 2 which is organised around a central high speed bus 3.
  • This high speed bus has connected via a high speed cache 4, a high speed microprocessor such as an Intel Pentium, Mips R4000, DEC Alpha (Registered Trade Marks) or the like.
  • a RAMBUS controller 6 which provides access to memory stored in an expandable memory store 7.
  • Power to the base computer 3 is provided via power supply 10. Voltages provided include 3.3 Volts and 5 Volts as required.
  • two memory card ports 11, 12 are provided for the insertion of memory cards.
  • the ports are designed to take standard PCMCIA memory cards.
  • a boot ROM 13 is provided for the storage of the requisite system codes.
  • Direct Memory Access (DMA) controller 14 is provided for the control of transfer of data between the various secondary memory storage areas and the main memory store 7.
  • DMA Direct Memory Access
  • a device controller 15 provides the relevant 'glue logic' (known in the art) necessary to control the relevant devices by means of standard direct memory mapping techniques.
  • a SCSI interface controller 16 is provided for controlling secondary storage devices such as hard disk drive 17 and CD-ROM drive 20, in addition to providing a SCSI port 21 for the optional connection of additional devices.
  • a serial controller 22 is provided for the control of various serial ports such as serial port A 23 and serial port B 24.
  • An ethernet controller 25 is used to control dual ethernet device ports 26 and 30 which are included to allow the preferred embodiment 1 to be interconnected in a network with other computer devices.
  • Audio control is provided by an audio controller 31 which controls stereo audio channels 32, 33 in addition to an internal speaker device 34.
  • a keyboard interface controller 35 controls, via keyboard port 36, a keyboard 37 and mouse device 40. Also connected to the high speed bus 2, via two buffers 41, 42 is a series of expansion ports 43, 44. One of these expansion ports 44 is connected to a display interface unit 45.
  • the display interface unit 45 includes a display unit controller 47 which is designed, through means of connector 48, to interact with the base computer system 2.
  • the display unit controller 47 is further arranged to operate together with a frame buffer 49, and to take input information 50, from the computer system and to output via cable 52 packets of display line update information, containing pixel by pixel information and panel drive information, to a panel controller 53 of a panel system 55.
  • the panel controller 53 controls the forwarding of the relevant information to a series of display drivers 57, 58, 59 for output of an image on a high resolution display 60.
  • Displays such as ferro-electric liquid crystal displays, anti ferro-electric liquid crystal displays, TN liquid crystal displays, plasma displays and electro-luminescence displays can be used as the display 60.
  • the display unit controller 47 of the present invention is arranged to operate with a pixel arrangement having multiple common lines. Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown the preferred pixel arrangement. This arrangement has six sub-pixel areas 62-67 for the colour red, six sub-pixel areas 70-75 for the colour green, and three sub-pixel areas 77-78 for the colour blue. Therefore there are a total of 15 separate sub-pixel areas.
  • the pixel 61 of the second embodiment has three common drive lines 80-82 and five data drive lines 84-88. Combinations of common and data drive lines control the various sub pixel areas 61-67, 70-78 at their intersection, in accordance with the following table: TABLE A Common Drive Line Data Drive Line Pixel Portion Area 80 84 62 80 85 65 80 86 70 80 87 73 80 88 76 81 84 63 81 85 66 81 86 71 81 87 74 81 88 77 82 84 64 82 85 67 82 86 72 82 87 75 82 88 78
  • Each pixel 61 of the display is controlled by the display unit controller 47 to operate in a number of different modes.
  • a first mode called “Forced Fast Mode”
  • the multiple common lines 80-82 are driven simultaneously and in unison.
  • the multiple drive lines of the pixel 84-87 are independently driven. Operation in Forced Fast Mode allows a line of pixels to be updated at a faster rate thereby increasing the rate of display update.
  • Fig. 3 there is shown the different possible combinations of illumination for the red and green sub pixel areas of the pixel when Forced Fast Mode is used.
  • the possible levels indicated are 0, 5, 10 and 15.
  • Fig. 4 there is shown the possible levels (0,15) of the blue sub pixel areas 76-78 (Fig. 2) when Forced Fast Mode is used..
  • a second driving mode called a "Normal Mode"
  • the outer two common lines 80, 82 are initially driven in unison and, subsequently, the inner common line 81 is further independently driven.
  • This allows each pixel 61 to provide a multicolour multilevel, optically balanced pixel arrangement with 16 levels of red and green and four levels of blue when Normal Mode is utilised.
  • Fig. 5 there is shown the 16 possible levels of each of the red and green sub pixels. In such a pattern, it is important that each of the subpixel areas in the vertical direction has substantially the same average position, so that different gray scale patterns cause the pixel to change brightness only, without any apparent positional change.
  • Fig. 6 there is shown the four possible levels of blue (0, 3, 7, 15). It has been surpisingly found that less levels of blue are required.
  • Each pixel 61 is further capable of operating in a "Super Fine Mode".
  • Super Fine Mode the spatial position of each sub-pixel area 62-67, 70-78, is utilised as if it were a separate independent pixel with the displayed becoming a display of higher apparent resolution, the increase in apparent resolution being governed by the number of sub-pixel areas in each pixel.
  • Super Fine Mode can sacrifice the chrominance accuracy of the displayed image in order to achieve this increase in apparent resolution.
  • Super Fine Mode is implemented through the preparation of bitmaps for commonly used graphical objects, such as fonts. The bitmaps prepared have a one-to-one correspondence with the various sub-pixel areas 62-67, 70-78 to be illuminated and hence frame buffer 49 (Fig. 1) stores 15 bits of data for each pixel, with one bit for each sub-pixel area.
  • Super Fine Mode will be urther discussed hereinafter.
  • the display unit controller 45 is arranged to take input information in the form of pixel data and simple commands from base computer 2 and to write corresponding pixel data to a frame buffer 49 which includes 6 Megabytes of DRAM, under the control of a DRAM control engine 93, DRAM address interface 99 and DRAM data interface 98.
  • the frame buffer 49 buffers the information to be displayed most often in a dithered form with the dither information for each pixel comprising 4 bits of red data, 4 bits of green data and 2 bits of blue data.
  • Output information is taken from the frame buffer 49 and, as will be described below, is optionally "sub-dithered" by a sub-dither unit 126 before being packed together for output via lines 52 to the panel controller 53 (Fig. 1).
  • the display unit controller 47 also includes a processor-interface 112 connected to a 32-bit bus 220, arranged to allow the display unit controller to interface, with a minimum of external logic, with a wide range of different computers that can interface with the 32-bit bus 220.
  • An image fill engine 221 receives simple commands and pixel data from the processor interface 112 and fills a rectangular region within the frame buffer with the pixel data as provided by the computer 2.
  • the address data of the image area to be filled is forwarded to a fill address generator 100.
  • This address data consists of four parameters being the starting X address, the starting Y address, the extent of the image data in the X direction and the extent of data in the Y direction.
  • the fill address generator generates the requisite addresses in left to right, top to bottom order, for forwarding to the DRAM address interface 99.
  • a region fill engine 223 fills a region defined by region addresses forwarded to the fill address generator with a colour defined by a predetermined entry of the CLUT 222.
  • the image fill engine 221 is provided to allow low speed computers to interact with the display unit controller 45 to display still or moving images with minimum processing. This enables a processor with the equivalent power of an Intel 386 micro processor to update a 320x240 pixel movie window on the display 60 at 30 frames per second. The display 60 is also able to display this window at 70 ms per line. It is therefore possible for a computer to keep up with the maximum display rate of the display 60 when displaying pixel image data.
  • a pixel write FIFO engine 224 is provided for the efficient writing of individual pixels into the frame buffer 49. It consists of a FIFO which is 8 words deep with each word consisting of:
  • a FIFO is used so that pixels can be written without requiring the computer 2 (Fig. 1) to wait for the pixel write operation to complete before the next write operation (i.e. a system of posted writes is implemented). This allows for eight writes to be posted before any processor delay is imposed. Because the DRAM of the frame buffer 49 is operated in burst access mode, the latency for a particular write operation is highly variable.
  • the dithering unit 127 converts the 24 bit colour data (input from pixel images, colour specifications, or the CLUT) into halftoned data for the display 60.
  • the 24 bit colour data is converted into 16 levels (4 bits) of red, 16 levels of green, and four levels (2 bits) of blue as will be described hereinafter.
  • the halftoned dithering unit output data 225 is forwarded to the frame buffer 49 via the FIFO 101 and DRAM data interface 98.
  • a fine line drawing engine 226, is used in the drawing of fine lines into the frame buffer 49. This is of particular use in applications such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) applications and is provided as an option in the display unit controller 45.
  • the fine line drawing engine 226 accepts line descriptions from the processor interface 112 which contain the following information:
  • the fine line drawing engine uses a modified version of a standard line drawing digital differential analyser (DDA) which steps through the grid of subpixels (e.g. 5x3) at a high speed. the results over each pixel are accumulated and forwarded to the frame buffer 49 via a fine mode colour register 91, FIFO 102 and DRAM data interface 98.
  • DDA digital differential analyser
  • a fine text bitwise block transfer engine (BITBLT) 90 enables the high speed bitwise block transfer for the movement of information directly from the computer system 2 to the frame buffer 49. This is particularly advantageous when used to move previously created image data such as system fonts directly from the computer to the frame buffer 49.
  • Modern computer displays are used to display many different types of objects, which can be stored within the computer system 2 in many different forms.
  • images can be stored in the form of a pixel by pixel representation of the object, or the images can be stored in object outline format only.
  • the outline of a font is stored, for example, in the format of straight lines or cubic curves such as splines. This outline is then 'rendered', by the computer 2, into a corresponding pixel form before being sent for display on display 60.
  • Some advantages of using outline information are that the objects are able to be stored in a more compact form and that the object based data can normally be quite easily scaled up and down or rotated, depending on its desired display format.
  • a disadvantage is that the outline information must be rendered into a bit map form each time the image is to be displayed. This disadvantage can sometimes be alleviated by 'caching' or storing frequently displayed objects in pixel mapped form, a process known to those skilled in the art.
  • One very common image displayed by a computer display is letters or characters of a particular 'font'.
  • the design of a particular font is normally carried out by an artist who has a number of criteria to be used in the design of the font, including aesthetic suitability, ease of reading and intended purpose.
  • Companies such as Adobe, Truetype or Agfa market a wide range of different fonts for use on computer displays and printing devices.
  • these fonts often take the form of various outline information in the form of splines and perhaps hinting (eg. inter-character spacing) or other information used in displaying the font.
  • the rendering of outline image data by computer 2 for display on a display device 60 can result in the introduction of a number of artifacts, as a result of the display 60 having a finite resolution.
  • Fig. 8 there is shown, by way of example, a primitive of object image data in the form of a Times Roman character 'A' 227 which is to be rendered on a 12 x 12 array of pixels 228.
  • each pixel is either replaced by the object's colour or left unchanged.
  • Fig. 9 there is shown the notional results of this rendering process.
  • the rendering has distorted the original letter to produce an image with severe 'stair-casing' or 'jaggies' 229 as they are known in the art, especially along the edges of the letter.
  • anti-aliasing Methods to reduce the extent of these jaggies have been developed in the art and are known generally as anti-aliasing. These methods involve increasing the apparent resolution of the rendering by area sampling techniques.
  • One such technique is to alter the colours of say square 6 to be a colour intermediate of the object to be rendered and the background of the object, with both unweighted and weighted sampling techniques being used.
  • anti-aliasing techniques reference is made to a standard textbook such as 'Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice', Second Edition by Foley et. al. published 1990 by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
  • Hue refers to the dominant wavelength of the colour displayed and distinguishes among the colours such as red, green, purple and yellow.
  • Saturation refers to how far the colour is from a grey of equal intensity, and luminance is a measure or the eye's perceived intensity of the reflected light. It has been found that the eye is highly sensitive to alterations in spatial luminance, the sensitivity often being more significant than the sensitivity to errors in the hue of an image.
  • FIG. 10 there is shown a rendering of a black Times Roman letter 'A' on a "white” background in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • the background is "white”
  • a colour defined by the illumination of all the pixel areas of a pixel the letter itself is “black”.
  • This "black” is a colour created by not illuminating any areas of the pixel.
  • the method of the preferred embodiment is preferably implemented by the creation of special 'bit map' arrays for the particular fonts which are to be used in the display.
  • the best method of creation of a particular bitmap is by the hand of a graphic artist experienced in the creation of fonts.
  • the need to create the fonts by hand is a consequence of fonts often having artistic and aesthetic qualities that are difficult to automate, in addition to automated methods often producing inferior results.
  • the final results of this process is a determination of which sub-pixel portions should be illuminated.
  • This information can be stored in a bitmap, with one bit for each sub-pixel portion, with a pixel bitmap being stored in 15 bits.
  • bi-level colours in this case include the mixture of colour formed from equal portions of one or more of the primary colours of the display, being the colours red, green, blue or cyan, magenta and yellow.
  • the automated methods described above can be applied to bi-level colours by alteration of step 5 to only count those pixel portions that would be used in the normal creation of that colour.
  • Other colour edge transitions can be achieved by the hand creation of bitmaps to determine the most aesthetically pleasing result.
  • the bitmaps for a range of pixels can be stored or created in accordance with the operating system or graphical user interface of computer system 2 (Fig. 1) and a sub-pixel by sub-pixel representation for each desired pixel can be sent to BITBLT engine 90 (Fig. 7) for storage within frame buffer 49.
  • the BITBLT engine 90 generates all of the addresses required for writing a rectangular array of sub-pixels to frame buffer 49.
  • the frame buffer 49 includes 15 bits of storage for each pixel, with one bit stored for each sub-pixel area 62-67, 70-78.
  • a BITBLT engine 90 is provided to transfer multiple pixels at once to the frame buffer 49, with the maximum number of pixels in a single transfer being an area 32x32 pixels wide.
  • a fine mode colour register 91 is loaded with a value corresponding to the desired background and foreground colours and acts as a filter when it is desired to utilise Super Fine Mode. All the sub-pixel areas can then be written to either the background or the foreground colour, depending on the data in the fine mode colour register 91.
  • a DRAM control engine 93 is responsible for controlling all access to the DRAMs 94-96 of frame buffer 49, in addition to the production of row and column address strobes and other required control signals for the DRAMs 94-96.
  • the DRAMs 94-96 include three 16MBit memory arrays organised as 2Mbit x 8 bits and are operated in parallel to provided an increased data rate, resulting in a 24 bit DRAM data interface bus.
  • the DRAMs are operated in burst mode, with variable length bursts depending upon the type of access.
  • a DRAM data interface unit 98 is a high speed interface able to accept or transmit data to the frame buffer 49 in 40nsec (25MHz) and consists of bi-directional latched buffers and multiplexers.
  • the speed of the DRAMs 94-96 will depend on the speed of the display 60 (Fig. 1) used with the display unit controller 47.
  • the highest data rates to and from the frame buffer 49 will occur when the many lines on the display 60 are being changed by the computer 2 (corresponding to many lines being written to and read from the frame buffer 49) as well as the display operating at its maximum speed in accepting information.
  • an access time of 50nsec is considered to be adequate.
  • a DRAM address interface unit 99 determines the appropriate address for access to and from the frame buffer 49. These addresses are forwarded from fill address generator 100 Pixel write FIFO engine 224, superfine line drawing engine 226, Super Fine Teat BITBLT 226 and pixel read engine 110 corresponding data is forwarded via pixel read and write FIFOs 101-104 to DRAM data interface 98.
  • the row and column portions of the addresses are multiplexed at times controlled by the DRAM control engine 93.
  • the DRAM address interface 99 includes a look-ahead detection of the next address from each of its sources. Hence, if the next address required is in the same DRAM row, the DRAM control engine 93 maintains the DRAM in burst mode.
  • the line change memory 106 includes a one bit flag for every line of the display 60.
  • the flag is used to indicate if the line has been changed since the last time it was updated. Hence the flag is set whenever the frame buffer memory for that line is written to by DRAM address interface 99.
  • the flag bit is also cleared by an update state machine 108 whenever that line is updated on the display 60, except when the line is updated in Forced Fast Mode (as will described below).
  • the line update memory is read by the update state machine 108 in order to determine the optimum update order.
  • a pixel read engine 110 In order to be able to read current pixel values from the frame buffer 49, a pixel read engine 110 is provided.
  • the pixel read engine 110 forwards the required address to DRAM address interface 99 and the required frame buffer value is read out via DRAM data interface 98 and FIFO 103, to pixel read engine 110.
  • pixel colour information is forwarded to the display unit controller 47 in the form of 24 bits of colour data divided into 8 bits of red, green and blue.
  • Frame buffer 49 buffers only dithered colour information with 4 bits each of red and green and 2 bits of blue.
  • Pixel read engine 110 converts this information into a 24 bit value, however only the most significant four bits of red and green values, and only the most significant two bits of blue values are valid.
  • This information is forwarded via line 111 back to the host computer 2 via a processor interface 112. If true 24-bit colour information is required, this will have to be implemented by the host computer 2 through the means of a software backing frame buffer.
  • the display unit controller 47 is capable of a number of optimisations to increase the speed with which it can display images having multiple common lines. In many cases, the data to be displayed on all of the common lines (in the case of the preferred embodiment, the number of common lines being three), will be the same. In many other cases, the data on two of the common lines will be the same.
  • the portion 114 is designed to detect differences in sub-lines of a line of pixels. This is achieved by monitoring the line data 115 as it is read from the frame buffer 49 (Fig. 2). In order to determine if the sub-lines 1 and 3 contain the same data, the data from these lines is compared by feeding it through an Exclusive OR gate 116, the result being used to set a flip-flop 117. The flip-flop 117 itself is cleared 118 by the update state machine 108 at the start of each new line.
  • a comparison 119 is also made between the data contained on the first second and third sub-lines.
  • the result of this comparison for each pixel is used as a set input to a second flip flop 120, with the flip-flop being reset 118 at the beginning of each new line.
  • the outputs from the flip-flops 117, 120 are forwarded to the update state machine 108 (whose operation will be described in more detail below).
  • the update state machine 108 determines firstly whether all three sub -lines contain the same data. If this is the case then the corresponding common lines of all three sub lines are to be driven simultaneously and the relevant mode information to achieve this is forwarded to the panel system unit 55 (Fig. 1) via data packer unit 123 (Fig. 7).
  • the data for these lines is forwarded to the data packer unit 123 with the relevant mode bits followed by the data for the middle sub-line being read out of the frame buffer 49 and forwarded to the data packer unit with its relevant mode bits being set.
  • the mode bits for this state is sent to the panel system unit 53, followed by the reading of data for sub-line 2 from the frame buffer 49, followed by reading the data from the frame buffer 49 for sub line 3. This assists in minimising the DRAM data read rates from the frame buffer 49.
  • the update state machine 108 is in Forced Fast Mode, sub-lines 1 and 2 are read simultaneously and sub-line 3 can be ignored.
  • portion 114 of Figs. 2 and 4 has been directed to the line update characteristics of the display unit controller 47, it is anticipated that, in order to decrease the processing speed requirements, it is desirable to increase the cycle time of the portion 114 by processing groups of pixels in parallel, methods of processing pixels in parallel being readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
  • the number of pixels is dependent on the relevant technology used to implement the display unit controller 47.
  • a Forced Fast Mode detection unit 107 (Fig. 7) is used to provide for an increased panel update speed when a substantial amount of motion is occurring on the display 60. This increased update speed is accompanied by only a small decrease in the image quality of the display for a short period of time.
  • the update state machine 108 enters a forced fast mode of updating. In this mode, all three sub-lines of a line of pixels on the display 143 are driven simultaneously, with the sub-pixels of each data line being forced to have the same values, thereby allowing the display to be driven at an update speed three times that which may be otherwise achievable.
  • the quality of the image displayed in forced fast update mode is temporarily that of a 32 colour display, with digital halftoning being utilised, through the use of sub-dither unit 126, to obtain an improved form of display.
  • pixel data to be written to the display 60 is dithered by an optimized dither unit 127.
  • Pixel data is input to the optimized dither unit 127 in the form of continuous tone 24 bit RGB colour (8 bits of red, green and blue).
  • RGB colour 8 bits of red, green and blue.
  • Fig. 14 there is shown an example of the multi level dither method implemented by the optimized dither unit 127.
  • the input range 0 to 255 is divided into 15 intervals delineated by the sixteen lines 0 to 15.
  • An input value 134 of, say, 53 is divided into two parts, one representing the level at the bottom of the interval (level 3) and one representing the portion of the interval that the value of 53 takes.
  • the remainder portion is then dithered against a set of dither matrix values in the normal manner to produce a dithered remainder value that is either zero or one.
  • This is then added to the integer portion of the division to determine a final output value of 3 or 4, depending on the result of the dithering process.
  • Fig. 14 there is shown the optimised dither unit 127 in more detail.
  • This unit is responsible for dithering the 8-bit Red 128, Green 129 and Blue 130 input values to output four bits of dithered red 131 and green 132 output as well as two bits of blue output 133.
  • the red input 128 is divided into its relevant integer 135 and remainder 136 portion by means of Read Only Memories (ROMs) 137, 138.
  • ROMs Read Only Memories
  • the division is implemented by means of ROMs as a full hardware divide is likely to be too complex as a non-binary division process is required.
  • a dither matrix value 139 is simultaneously read out of a dither matrix RAM 140.
  • the dither matrix RAM 140 defines a 16 x 16 array of 4 bit dither matrix values.
  • the value to be read out is determined by the 4 least significant bits 142, 143 of the current pixel address location.
  • the dither matrix value 139 is compared 145 with the remainder portion 136, and the output is added to the integer portion 135 by adder 146, to produce a red dithered output value 131.
  • the same method is used to derive a dithered green output value 132 from the green input value 129.
  • the dither matrix value 139 is preferably inverted 147 with respect to the normal red and blue values. This inversion process has been found to produce improved pictures, reducing the amount of luminance noise in the final dithered image.
  • the dithering of the blue input proceeds by dividing the input by 3, producing an integer portion and a remainder portion. The remainder portion only being defined to the level of four bits.
  • a similar process of comparison 151 and addition 152 is then used to produce dithered blue output 133.
  • the sub dither unit 126 takes pixel input data, intended for display of pixels in Normal Mode, comprising 4 bit red, 4 bit green and 2 bit blue component and 're-dithers' or 'sub-dithers' the input pixel components so that the output from the sub-dither unit 126 comprises 2 bit red output 2 bit green output and 1 bit blue output suitable for use in Forced Fast Mode.
  • This unit is responsible for taking a four bit red input 155, a four bit green input 156 and a 2-bit blue input 157 and producing a 2-bit red 155 and green 156 output in addition to a 1 bit blue output 157.
  • the red output 159 is produced by taking the red input 155 and dividing it by 3 to form an integer 162 and remainder part 163. Again division in the form of a ROM lookup table can be used.
  • the remainder portion 163 is again compared against a dither value 165 and the result added to the integer portion to form dithered output 159.
  • the green output 160 is derived in a similar manner to the red output 159, however, the dither matrix input value 165 is again inverted 166.
  • the blue output value 161 is derived by comparing the blue input 157 with the dither matrix value 165.
  • Fig. 16 there is shown the forced fast mode detection unit 107 of Fig. 7 in more detail.
  • the number of outstanding lines to be updated is contained in a lines to update counter 169.
  • This counter is incremented by the DRAM address interface 99 (Fig. 7), each time a line in the frame buffer 49 is altered, and decremented by the update state machine 108 (Fig. 7) each time a line is read out of the frame buffer 49 to the display 60.
  • a comparator 170 is used to compare the two values in FFM threshold register 168 and lines to update counter 169 to determine if the Forced Fast Mode should be entered.
  • a resultant FFM signal 171 is sent to the update state machine 108 (Fig. 12).
  • the Forced Fast Mode can be effectively turned off by loading a suitably high value in FFM threshold register 168.
  • Fig. 17 there is shown a flow chart 174 of the update method implemented by the update state machine 108.
  • the update state machine 108 is responsible for determining the relative priority of lines to be updated on the display 60.
  • the method implemented is to update those lines which have been written to the frame buffer 49 and altered in the line change memory 106.
  • the other lines of the display are updated in an interleaved fashion as a 'background process'.
  • the method shown in the flow chart 174 begins by incrementing a counter (n) 175 to determine the next candidate line for updating.
  • the line change set flag of the line change memory 106 (Fig. 7) is examined 176 to determine if the candidate line has been altered since it was last examined. If it has not then the update state machine checks to see if the end of the screen has been reached 177. If not, then the update state machine returns to step 175. Upon reaching the end of the screen the refresh priority portion 178 of the state machine is executed.
  • the flag is cleared 179, and a signal is sent 180 to the forced fast mode detection unit 107 (Fig. 7) to decrement the lines to update counter 169 (Fig. 12).
  • a determination 188 is made as to whether the sub-lines of the display are the same. If the three sub-lines are the same, they are updated simultaneously and the update state machine continues to a refresh decision 178.
  • a determination 190 is made as to whether the outer two sub-lines are the same, in accordance with the state of the flip-flop 117 (Fig. 8) at the end of a line, in which case sub-lines 1 and 3 can be updated simultaneously followed by the updating of sub-line 2.
  • each line must be individually updated 193, 194 and 195. At the end of these updates the update state machine returns to refresh priority determination 178.
  • a refresh priority counter is used to ensure that after every eighteenth line update cycle a background refresh takes place. Hence, if the current value of the refresh priority counter is not equal to eighteen 178, the refresh priority counter is incremented 197 before returning to process the next line 175.
  • a refresh cycle is undertaken whereby the refresh priority counter is cleared 198 and the next refresh line is determined. If this line has its line change flag set in line change memory 106 (Fig. 7), then the refresh cycle is skipped 200, otherwise, the line is refreshed 201.
  • the pixel information for the particular line, or sub-line portion thereof, is forwarded to the data packer unit 123.
  • a data packet 206 includes:
  • the mode data area 209 is sent after the line data area 208. This is advantageous as the mode data cannot be determined until after the line data has been read from the frame buffer 49. Placing the mode data last avoids the need to store the line data.
  • the data for each pixel on a line is sent in reverse order, with the last pixel on a line being sent first. This allows for data to be shifted into the relevant data line drivers of the display panel 60.
  • the synchronisation word 207 should normally be redundant as each packet will have a predetermined length. However, as seen in Fig. 1, in the case of a data transmission fault, synchronisation may be lost between the display unit controller 47 and panel controller 53. In this situation, the panel controller 53 is able to re-synchronise on the occurrence of the synchronisation word 206, with the synchronisation lock occurring when synchronisation words occur 1,340 words apart.
  • the synchronisation word is distinguished in that it is the only word that has its bit 15 set.
  • the transmission fault may also cause the loss of byte synchronisation, causing bit 7 to be indistinguishable from bit 15, a two word synchronisation word is provided.
  • the display unit controller 47 sends its data to the panel system unit 55.
  • the panel system unit 55 includes a backlight power supply 212 designed to control a backlight (not shown) for a display 60.
  • the display 60 is arranged as containing 2,000 pixels on a line by 1,600 lines of pixels, with each pixel in the form as previously described with reference to Fig. 2.
  • Data in packets from the display unit controller 47 are forwarded by cable 52 to the panel controller 53 which forms part of a panel system 55.
  • the pixel system 55 and display interface unit 45 communicate via a serial communications link connected between a panel microcontroller 215 contained within panel system 55 and a serial communications port 216 (Fig. 7) contained within display unit controller 47, provided for receiving information from the panel system 55.
  • This information is stored in a serial register 217 of the display unit controller 45 and includes the current operating temperature of the display panel.
  • the operation speed of ferroelectric liquid crystal devices is known to be temperature sensitive.
  • a temperature sensor 218 (Fig. 1) is provided, placed on the display to measure the current display temperature. The temperature value is forwarded to microcontroller 215 where it undergoes analog to digital conversion before being forwarded to serial register 217.
  • the large number of drive and common lines are connected at the exterior of the display 60 to corresponding driver chips 57, 58, 59. Connection can be by means of ansiotropic connectors and tape automated bonding (TAB) techniques known to those skilled in the art.
  • TAB tape automated bonding
  • the panel system unit is responsible for the demultiplexing and distributing of data from the display unit controller 47 (Fig. 7) to the various data and common drive lines of the display. Data is fed to the panel system unit 55 by means of the cable 52 which contains data 237, clock 238 and outgoing serial information 239. The data and clocking information is fed to the panel controller 53 via line balancing receivers 240.
  • the panel system unit 55 also includes a temperature sensor 218 connected to the display panel 60 and designed to sense the current temperature of the display 60. As is known in the art, the maximum operating speed of a ferroelectric switching element is dependent on its operating temperature. A reading obtained for the panel temperature is input to the analogue to digital converter of the 8-bit microcontroller 215. Additional controls are provided for allowing the setting of contrast 242 and brightness 243 respectively. The temperature, contrast and brightness levels are determined by the microcontroller 215 and forwarded to the panel controller unit 53, in addition to being forwarded to the display interface unit 45 (Fig. 7) via serial line 239. Additionally, a variable voltage panel power supply 213 is used to provided the required power to the display and associated circuitry, under the control of the microcontroller 215.
  • the panel controller 53 divides pixel data for each line into odd (numbered) pixel data and even pixel data.
  • the odd pixel data is feed along odd pixel data bus 245 to a first of a series of TAB mounted pixel drivers 57.
  • even pixel data is fed to a series of even pixel driver TABs 59. Pixel data is shifted from one TAB driver to the next via shift registers within each driver TAB.
  • each common line driver TAB 58 is activated by a TAB chip enable signal 247.
  • Each common line driver TAB 58 controls 120 common lines or 40 separate lines of pixels.
  • a line enable signal 248 from panel controller 53 determines which line of pixels, within a common line driver TAB, to enable.
  • a mode signal 249 determines whether one, two or three common lines will be simultaneously enabled.
  • the panel controller unit 53 of Fig. 19 is primarily responsible for the distribution of data to the various driver TAB chips 57, 58, 59 of Fig. 19.
  • the input data packet for one line comprises 1340 bytes, with the first two bytes being synchronisation detection bytes. Therefore, there is provided a synchronisation word detector 250 to detect the occurrence of a synchronisation word, which is the only word which has a bit 15 set. Normally the detector is not required as synchronisation should occur every 1340 bytes, however the synchronisation detector is required should, as explained previously, synchronisation be lost.
  • a synchronisation counter 251 is provided to signal when a new line should be starting, and is reset by timing control and state machine 253. The synchronisation counter 251 is preferably programmable to allow for the control of different panel sizes.
  • the input clock signal 238 is divided by two 254 to provide an odd pixel clock 255 and an even pixel clock 256 which are used to drive the odd and even pixels of a given line respectively.
  • each pixel data is sent to an odd pixel data register 258 and an even pixel data register 259, before being sent out on odd pixel data output 260 and even pixel data output 261.
  • the relevant line address is forwarded as a two word byte.
  • MSB most significant byte
  • LSB next least significant byte address
  • the signals from the panel controller 53 are used to drive the series of common line driver TABs 58.
  • a first signal 247, output from the MSB register 262 is used to select the desired common line driver TAB.
  • a second signal 248, derived from the line address LSB register 263, is used to determine which lines are to be enabled within the selected common line driver TAB.
  • the mode signal 249 derived from the mode register 264 is determined by the mode signal 249 derived from the mode register 264.
  • Each of the common line driver TABs 58 is used to control and drive 120 display common lines 266.
  • a generic common line driver TAB 58 in more detail.
  • a particular common line driver TAB is chosen by a common line driver enable signal 268, which is derived from the "AWD ing" together of active high 269 and low 270 chip enable signals 247.
  • Each common line TAB 58 is used to drive 40 lines of pixels, and the line enable signal 248 is decoded by decoder 271 to determine which line of pixels is to be activated. For the purposes of the present discussion, it will be assumed that the first line in the group of 40 lines controlled by the common line TAB 58 is selected 273 by the decoder 271.
  • the mode of driving the selected line of pixels is controlled by mode signal input 249 in conjunction with drive line control circuitry 274.
  • a top mode line signal 276 is used to control the activation of top common line of a line of pixels 80.
  • a middle mode line 277 is used to control activation of the middle common line 81, and a bottom mode line 278 is used to control the bottom common line 82.
  • a common line driver activation signal 279 is used to drive each output common line driver 280 to activate the driving of the common line selected.
  • panel controller 53 is responsible for forwarding odd pixel data to odd pixel data drivers 57, and even pixel data to even pixel drivers 59.
  • Each pixel driver e.g. 57 latches the pixel data from its pixel data bus 245, under control of the pixel clock signal 255.
  • the number of even pixel driver TABs 59 will also be 42.
  • a data line driver TAB e.g. 57, 59 which includes a shift register 282 and transfer latch 283. Data is shifted from one pixel driver TAB to the next on pixel data bus 245 upon the occurrence of pixel clock signal 284.
  • Clock regeneration circuit 285 acts to delay the clock signal simultaneously with the delay time of shift register 282.
  • the rate of the clock signal is approximately 9.5MHz, the actual speed being dependent on the desired line update rate of the display.
  • a pixel transfer signal 286 is activated by timing control and state machine 253 (Fig. 20). This results in the transfer of the information 287 stored in the shift register 282 to the transfer register 283.
  • an enable signal 288 is sent by timing control state machine 253, thereby enabling display line drivers to drive the output of the display simultaneously with the activation of the even pixel drive lines and the even pixel drivers 55 and the required pixel common line driver TAB 59.
  • Figs. 23 and 24 show a final form of the workstation display 1, with Fig. 23 showing a front view and Fig. 24 showing a side on view.
  • the final workstation display 1 which includes the panel system unit containing a display 60 mounted by means of tilt joint 290 and a support base 291 which is in turn mounted on a base computer 2.
  • the display 60 is connected to the base computer 2 by an interface cable 52 and a power cable 292.
  • the support base 291 is designed to carry the variable voltage power supply 213.
  • Fig. 25 shows the interior of the base computer unit 2 via a cross-section taken through the line XXV-XXV of Fig. 23.
  • the base computer unit 2 includes a hard disk drive 17, a keyboard connector 36, memory card readers 11, 12, a CD-ROM drive 20, a microprocessor 5, memory storage 7, a power supply 10, a general expansion unit 43, a display interface unit 43, a speaker 34, and cooling fan 294.
  • a number of input/output ports including a power connection 293, a SCSI port 21, ethernet connectors 26, 30, serial A and B connectors 23, 24 and left and right audio channels 32, 33 are also provided.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Crystallography & Structural Chemistry (AREA)
  • Control Of Indicators Other Than Cathode Ray Tubes (AREA)
EP95301621A 1994-03-11 1995-03-13 Steuerung für eine Anzeige mit mehrfachen gemeinsamen Zeilen für jeden Pixel. Withdrawn EP0673012A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (24)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AUPM4401A AUPM440194A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 A display panel control system
AUPM4408/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4402A AUPM440294A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 A manufacturing method for high quality discrete level displays
AUPM4404/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4411/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4414A AUPM441494A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Sub dithering of dithered image data
AUPM4408A AUPM440894A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Display pixel balancing for a multi colour discrete level display
AUPM4405A AUPM440594A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 A computer workstation with a high resolution flat panel display
AUPM4413/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4405/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4409/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4411A AUPM441194A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Update method and apparatus for the display of images on a discrete level display
AUPM4410A AUPM441094A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Frame buffer control system for a discrete level display
AUPM4406/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4415A AUPM441594A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Increasing the apparent resolution of images in discrete level displays
AUPM4413A AUPM441394A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Dynamic refinement of pixels for a display
AUPM4401/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4402/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4409A AUPM440994A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 A luminance weighted discrete level display
AUPM4406A AUPM440694A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Line update method for a display having multiple common lines
AUPM4404A AUPM440494A0 (en) 1994-03-11 1994-03-11 Intermingling subpixels in discrete level displays
AUPM4410/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4415/94 1994-03-11
AUPM4414/94 1994-03-11

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0673012A2 true EP0673012A2 (de) 1995-09-20
EP0673012A3 EP0673012A3 (de) 1996-01-10

Family

ID=27582844

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP95301621A Withdrawn EP0673012A3 (de) 1994-03-11 1995-03-13 Steuerung für eine Anzeige mit mehrfachen gemeinsamen Zeilen für jeden Pixel.

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0673012A3 (de)

Cited By (20)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0703562A3 (de) * 1994-09-26 1996-12-18 Canon Kk Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Steuern eines Anzeigegeräts
EP0703561A3 (de) * 1994-09-26 1996-12-18 Canon Kk Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Steuern eines Anzeigegeräts
EP0782124A1 (de) * 1995-12-28 1997-07-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Farbanzeigetafel und -einrichtung mit verbesserter Unterpixelanordnung
EP0810578A1 (de) * 1995-12-28 1997-12-03 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Anzeigetafel und -einrichtung, die in der Lage sind, die Auflösung zu verändern
WO1998010405A1 (en) * 1996-09-03 1998-03-12 United Technologies Automotive, Inc. Method of controlling display image shading depending on image resolution
EP0836172A2 (de) * 1996-10-09 1998-04-15 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Anzeigevorrichtung mit unterteilten Bildelementen und ihr Ansteuerungsverfahren
EP0848369A3 (de) * 1996-12-16 1998-09-23 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Lichtmodulationsvorrichtungen
GB2341476A (en) * 1998-09-03 2000-03-15 Sharp Kk Variable resolution display device
US6072555A (en) * 1996-02-01 2000-06-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Display apparatus capable of gradational display
EP1125269A1 (de) * 1998-10-07 2001-08-22 Microsoft Corporation Verfahren und gerät zum nachweisen und vermindern von farbartifakten in bildern
EP1127335A1 (de) * 1998-10-07 2001-08-29 Microsoft Corporation Anzeige von grautönen und farben, verfahren und gerät
WO2001078056A1 (en) * 2000-04-10 2001-10-18 Microsoft Corporation Methods and systems for asymmetric supersampling rasterization of image data
WO2001078053A2 (en) * 2000-04-10 2001-10-18 Microsoft Corporation Automatic optimization of the position of stems of text characters
EP1148468A1 (de) * 1999-09-27 2001-10-24 Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Verfahren zur steuerung einer farb-flüssigkrsitallanzeigevorrichtung und verfahren zur steuerung der anzeige einer uhr
EP1158482A2 (de) * 2000-05-26 2001-11-28 Seiko Epson Corporation Verfahren zur Ansteuerung eines elektrooptischen Gerätes, Ansteuerschaltung für ein elektrooptisches Gerät, elektrooptisches Gerät und elektronisches Gerät
EP1208538A1 (de) * 1999-03-19 2002-05-29 Microsoft Corporation Verfahren, gerät und datenstrukturen für den zugriff auf linkshandige sub-pixel datenträger
EP1472566A1 (de) * 2002-02-08 2004-11-03 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Flüssigkristallanzeige und ansteuerverfahren dafür und frame-speicher
US7134091B2 (en) 1999-02-01 2006-11-07 Microsoft Corporation Quality of displayed images with user preference information
EP2579246A1 (de) * 1998-10-07 2013-04-10 Microsoft Corporation Abbilden von Mustern von Vordergrund-/Hintergrundfarbbilddaten auf Pixelunterkomponenten
NL2011223C2 (en) * 2013-07-25 2015-01-27 Goa Uld B V Method and driver for a visual display, and software and a computer implemented with a driver to execute said method.

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0174809A2 (de) * 1984-09-06 1986-03-19 Tektronix, Inc. Schnelle Musterfüllung für eine graphische Anzeige mit einem nicht angezeigten Rasterpufferspeicher
EP0250868A2 (de) * 1986-06-23 1988-01-07 International Business Machines Corporation Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Ausfüllen von Zonen in einem graphischen Rastersystem
EP0274942A2 (de) * 1986-12-16 1988-07-20 Thomson-Csf Matrixanzeigesystem mit flachem Bildschirm zur geschützten Anzeige von primären Daten für den Betrieb
EP0361981A2 (de) * 1988-09-30 1990-04-04 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Flüssigkristall-Anzeigevorrichtung zur Anzeige mit Graupegeln
EP0526135A1 (de) * 1991-07-25 1993-02-03 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Flüssigkristall-Anzeigevorrichtung
EP0558342A1 (de) * 1992-02-28 1993-09-01 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Verfahren und Einrichtung zur Kontrolle einer Anzeigeeinheit
EP0573822A1 (de) * 1992-05-19 1993-12-15 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Verfahren und Einrichtung zur Steuerung einer Anzeige
EP0579359A1 (de) * 1992-05-19 1994-01-19 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Verfahren und Einrichtung zur Steuerung einer Anzeige

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0174809A2 (de) * 1984-09-06 1986-03-19 Tektronix, Inc. Schnelle Musterfüllung für eine graphische Anzeige mit einem nicht angezeigten Rasterpufferspeicher
EP0250868A2 (de) * 1986-06-23 1988-01-07 International Business Machines Corporation Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Ausfüllen von Zonen in einem graphischen Rastersystem
EP0274942A2 (de) * 1986-12-16 1988-07-20 Thomson-Csf Matrixanzeigesystem mit flachem Bildschirm zur geschützten Anzeige von primären Daten für den Betrieb
EP0361981A2 (de) * 1988-09-30 1990-04-04 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Flüssigkristall-Anzeigevorrichtung zur Anzeige mit Graupegeln
EP0526135A1 (de) * 1991-07-25 1993-02-03 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Flüssigkristall-Anzeigevorrichtung
EP0558342A1 (de) * 1992-02-28 1993-09-01 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Verfahren und Einrichtung zur Kontrolle einer Anzeigeeinheit
EP0573822A1 (de) * 1992-05-19 1993-12-15 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Verfahren und Einrichtung zur Steuerung einer Anzeige
EP0579359A1 (de) * 1992-05-19 1994-01-19 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Verfahren und Einrichtung zur Steuerung einer Anzeige

Cited By (40)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5808594A (en) * 1994-09-26 1998-09-15 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Driving method for display device and display apparatus
EP0703561A3 (de) * 1994-09-26 1996-12-18 Canon Kk Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Steuern eines Anzeigegeräts
US5963190A (en) * 1994-09-26 1999-10-05 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Driving method for display device and display apparatus
EP0703562A3 (de) * 1994-09-26 1996-12-18 Canon Kk Verfahren und Einrichtung zum Steuern eines Anzeigegeräts
EP0810578A1 (de) * 1995-12-28 1997-12-03 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Anzeigetafel und -einrichtung, die in der Lage sind, die Auflösung zu verändern
US5920299A (en) * 1995-12-28 1999-07-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Color display panel and apparatus
EP0782124A1 (de) * 1995-12-28 1997-07-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Farbanzeigetafel und -einrichtung mit verbesserter Unterpixelanordnung
US6014121A (en) * 1995-12-28 2000-01-11 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Display panel and apparatus capable of resolution conversion
US6072555A (en) * 1996-02-01 2000-06-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Display apparatus capable of gradational display
WO1998010405A1 (en) * 1996-09-03 1998-03-12 United Technologies Automotive, Inc. Method of controlling display image shading depending on image resolution
EP0836172A2 (de) * 1996-10-09 1998-04-15 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Anzeigevorrichtung mit unterteilten Bildelementen und ihr Ansteuerungsverfahren
EP0836172A3 (de) * 1996-10-09 1999-01-07 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Anzeigevorrichtung mit unterteilten Bildelementen und ihr Ansteuerungsverfahren
EP0848369A3 (de) * 1996-12-16 1998-09-23 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Lichtmodulationsvorrichtungen
GB2341476A (en) * 1998-09-03 2000-03-15 Sharp Kk Variable resolution display device
US6417868B1 (en) 1998-09-03 2002-07-09 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Switchable display devices
US6356278B1 (en) 1998-10-07 2002-03-12 Microsoft Corporation Methods and systems for asymmeteric supersampling rasterization of image data
EP1666956A3 (de) * 1998-10-07 2008-11-05 Microsoft Corporation Graustufen- und Farbanzeigeverfahren und Vorrichtung
EP2579246A1 (de) * 1998-10-07 2013-04-10 Microsoft Corporation Abbilden von Mustern von Vordergrund-/Hintergrundfarbbilddaten auf Pixelunterkomponenten
EP2015254A1 (de) 1998-10-07 2009-01-14 Microsoft Corporation Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Erkennen und Reduzieren von Farbartefakten in Bildern
US6950103B2 (en) 1998-10-07 2005-09-27 Microsoft Corporation Automatic optimization of the position of stems of text characters
EP1127335A1 (de) * 1998-10-07 2001-08-29 Microsoft Corporation Anzeige von grautönen und farben, verfahren und gerät
US6597360B1 (en) 1998-10-07 2003-07-22 Microsoft Corporation Automatic optimization of the position of stems of text characters
EP1125269A1 (de) * 1998-10-07 2001-08-22 Microsoft Corporation Verfahren und gerät zum nachweisen und vermindern von farbartifakten in bildern
US6577291B2 (en) 1998-10-07 2003-06-10 Microsoft Corporation Gray scale and color display methods and apparatus
EP1125269A4 (de) * 1998-10-07 2002-07-31 Microsoft Corp Verfahren und gerät zum nachweisen und vermindern von farbartifakten in bildern
EP1127335A4 (de) * 1998-10-07 2002-11-13 Microsoft Corp Anzeige von grautönen und farben, verfahren und gerät
US7134091B2 (en) 1999-02-01 2006-11-07 Microsoft Corporation Quality of displayed images with user preference information
EP1208538A1 (de) * 1999-03-19 2002-05-29 Microsoft Corporation Verfahren, gerät und datenstrukturen für den zugriff auf linkshandige sub-pixel datenträger
EP1208538A4 (de) * 1999-03-19 2009-10-28 Microsoft Corp Verfahren, gerät und datenstrukturen für den zugriff auf linkshandige sub-pixel datenträger
EP1148468A4 (de) * 1999-09-27 2005-02-02 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Verfahren zur steuerung einer farb-flüssigkrsitallanzeigevorrichtung und verfahren zur steuerung der anzeige einer uhr
EP1148468A1 (de) * 1999-09-27 2001-10-24 Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Verfahren zur steuerung einer farb-flüssigkrsitallanzeigevorrichtung und verfahren zur steuerung der anzeige einer uhr
WO2001078056A1 (en) * 2000-04-10 2001-10-18 Microsoft Corporation Methods and systems for asymmetric supersampling rasterization of image data
WO2001078053A2 (en) * 2000-04-10 2001-10-18 Microsoft Corporation Automatic optimization of the position of stems of text characters
WO2001078053A3 (en) * 2000-04-10 2002-07-25 Microsoft Corp Automatic optimization of the position of stems of text characters
US6965366B2 (en) 2000-05-26 2005-11-15 Seiko Epson Corporation System and method for driving an electro-optical device
EP1158482A2 (de) * 2000-05-26 2001-11-28 Seiko Epson Corporation Verfahren zur Ansteuerung eines elektrooptischen Gerätes, Ansteuerschaltung für ein elektrooptisches Gerät, elektrooptisches Gerät und elektronisches Gerät
EP1158482A3 (de) * 2000-05-26 2003-08-27 Seiko Epson Corporation Verfahren zur Ansteuerung eines elektrooptischen Gerätes, Ansteuerschaltung für ein elektrooptisches Gerät, elektrooptisches Gerät und elektronisches Gerät
EP1472566A4 (de) * 2002-02-08 2009-04-22 Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Flüssigkristallanzeige und ansteuerverfahren dafür und frame-speicher
EP1472566A1 (de) * 2002-02-08 2004-11-03 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Flüssigkristallanzeige und ansteuerverfahren dafür und frame-speicher
NL2011223C2 (en) * 2013-07-25 2015-01-27 Goa Uld B V Method and driver for a visual display, and software and a computer implemented with a driver to execute said method.

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0673012A3 (de) 1996-01-10

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6002385A (en) Computer display system controller
EP0673012A2 (de) Steuerung für eine Anzeige mit mehrfachen gemeinsamen Zeilen für jeden Pixel
US5515494A (en) Graphics control planes for windowing and other display operations
US4823120A (en) Enhanced video graphics controller
US4914729A (en) Method of filling polygonal region in video display system
US5473342A (en) Method and apparatus for on-the-fly multiple display mode switching in high-resolution bitmapped graphics system
US5500654A (en) VGA hardware window control system
US7808448B1 (en) Raster engine with hardware cursor
EP0752695A2 (de) Verfahren und Einrichtung zur gleichzeitigen Darstellung von Grafik und Videosignalen auf einem Rechnerbildschirm
US5345554A (en) Visual frame buffer architecture
US5293474A (en) System for raster imaging with automatic centering and image compression
JPH0690613B2 (ja) 表示制御装置
US5754170A (en) Transparent blocking of CRT refresh fetches during video overlay using dummy fetches
US5903253A (en) Image data control apparatus and display system
US5146211A (en) Bit mapped color cursor
US4616220A (en) Graphics display comparator for multiple bit plane graphics controller
US5838291A (en) Display control method and apparatus
US5086295A (en) Apparatus for increasing color and spatial resolutions of a raster graphics system
US4757309A (en) Graphics display terminal and method of storing alphanumeric data therein
US7427989B2 (en) Raster engine with multiple color depth digital display interface
US5790125A (en) System and method for use in a computerized imaging system to efficiently transfer graphics information to a graphics subsystem employing masked span
US5629723A (en) Graphics display subsystem that allows per pixel double buffer display rejection
EP0951694B1 (de) Verfahren und gerät zur verwendung von interpolationszeilenpuffern als pixeltabellen
US4860251A (en) Vertical blanking status flag indicator system
US6940516B1 (en) Method and apparatus for video underflow detection in a raster engine

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): DE ES FR GB IT NL SE

PUAL Search report despatched

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009013

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A3

Designated state(s): DE ES FR GB IT NL SE

K1C1 Correction of patent application (title page) published

Effective date: 19950920

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 19960522

RAP1 Party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred)

Owner name: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 19990303

GRAH Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patent

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOS IGRA

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 20030204