GB2243520A

GB2243520A - Image creation system

Info

Publication number: GB2243520A
Application number: GB9008281A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Evans
Original assignee: AFE DISPLAYS Ltd
Current assignee: AFE DISPLAYS Ltd
Priority date: 1990-04-11
Filing date: 1990-04-11
Publication date: 1991-10-30
Also published as: GB9008281D0

Abstract

An image creation system comprising a processor (10) which, in use, receives an input signal containing colour information and additional information relating to an image (I), and a memory means (12) comprising a plurality of pixel information storage sites (14, 14') each of which is able to store information relating to a corresponding pixel point (15) of the image (I), the processor (10) being arranged to write into each pixel information storage site (14, 14') of the memory (12) information comprising colour information (R, to B) and additional information (Z, T) relating to the corresponding pixel point (15) of the image (I) so there is no need for storage elsewhere for the additional information (Z, T) or for the additional information (Z, T) to be regenerated when required. The additional information may be depth (Z) or transparency (T). <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Image Creation System Description of Invention This invention relates to an image creation system.

Systems are known which comprise a processor which receives an input signal from an upstream CPU and writes the information into a memory.

For a colour image creation system the input signal may comprise colour information and additional information relating to the image such as depth information, i.e. notionally how far behind the front of a screen a given point of the image is, and transparency information, i.e. how transparent a particular point is to enable a viewer to see through the particular point to what is behind.

Any screen, such as a visual display unit (VDU), on which the image is to be displayed, only requires the colour information to enable the image to be displayed on the screen, the additional information being usable by an operator of the system for subsequently manipulating the image which appears on the screen.

In known systems, the processor derives the colour information from the input signal and directs this to the memory from where it is read onto the screen.

Any additional information is stored separately or is re-generated as and when required.

According to one aspect of the invention, we provide an image creation system comprising a processor which, in use, receives an input signal containing colour information and additional information relating to an image, and a memory means comprising a plurality of pixel information storage sites each of which is able to store information relating to a corresponding pixel point of the image, the processor being arranged to write into each pixel information storage site of the memory information comprising colour information and additional information relating to the corresponding pixel point of the image.

Thus there is no need for storage elsewhere for the additional information, or for the additional information to be regenerated and in neither case need the processor separate the colour information from the additional information of the input signal.

Each pixel storage site may comprise a plurality of bytes of storage space of the memory means, each of which may contain any number of individual bits of information.

For example, each pixel storage site of the memory means may contain at least five bytes of information relating to a corresponding pixel point of the image, e.g. red, green and blue colour information and additionally depth and transparency information.

The system may include an image display screen to display the image contained in the memory means. The processor may read onto the screen the red, green and blue colour information only stored in the memory means to compose the image on the screen.

According to a second aspect of the invention we provide a method of operating an image creation system according to the first aspect, the method including feeding to the processor an input signal containing colour information and additional information relating to an image, writing into the pixel information storage sites of the memory means both colour and additional information relating to the corresponding pixel points of the image.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a schematic illustration of an image creation system in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawing, a colour image creation system comprises a processor 10 which is responsive to an input signal from an upstream central processing unit (CPU) 11.

The input signal from the CPU 11 contains information relating to an image to be displayed. For example, the image may comprise red (R), green (G) and blue (B) colour information and additional information such as depth information (Z) which is a notional indication as to how far behind the front of the screen any given point is, and transparency information (T) which is a measure of how transparent a particular point is to enable a viewer to see what is behind, i.e. to see what proportion of the colour of a pixel of the previous image to have been displayed should show through the new pixel which is written on top.

The processor 10 writes the information into a memory means 12 from which the information may be read and displayed on a screen 13.

The memory means 12 comprises a plurality of pixel storage sites 14 each of which comprises in this example five bytes of storage space. Each pixel storage site 14 has a corresponding pixel point in the image I to be displayed by the screen 13 so that the image I is a composite of at least some of the pixel point information stored in the pixel storage sites 14 of the memory means 12.

The screen 13 may comprise a visual display unit (VDU) having a cathode ray tube with three guns and masking means for producing at each pixel point of the screen, a red, green and blue dot in different intensities to achieve a desired colour.

The screen 13 requires only the colour information R, G, and B which is stores respective in the bytes of storage space indicated in the Figure, for each pixel storage site 14, to enable the image I to be displayed, i.e. the Z and T information is not required by the screen 13 for displaying the image I.

As an example, a pixel point 15 of the image I is indicated on screen 13 and comprises red, green and blue colour information, the intensity of each colour being represented by the values r, g and b, which values are stored in a corresponding pixel storage site 14' of the memory means 12, together with depth and transparency information z and t relating to the pixel point 15.

The processor 10 is adapted or a separate means is provided, to write onto the screen 13 only the colour information r, g, b, from the memory means 12.

It will be appreciated that if an operator of the system wishes to manipulate the image I on the screen, the colour information R, G, B and additional information Z and T relating to each pixel point of the image I can be retrieved from the memory means 12 by the processor 10, processed in the processor 10 under the command of the CPU 11 or in the CPU 11 itself, and rewritten into the memory means 12 to replace the image information previously written into the memory means 12.

There is no need for the processor 10 to retrieve the Z and T information separately from the colour information because the colour information and additional information are stored together in the memory means 12 in one-pixel information storage site. This gives increased processing speed.

Various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the additional information need not comprise depth (Z) and transparency (T) information but any other additional information it is desired to provide in addition to colour information for each pixel point of the image to be displayed may be the additional information.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in the terms or means for performing the desired function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

1. An image creation system comprising a processor which, in use, receives an input signal containing colour information and additional information relating to an image, and a memory means comprising a plurality of pixel information storage sites each of which is able to store information relating to a corresponding pixel point of the image, the processor being arranged to write into each pixel information storage site of the memory information comprising colour information and additional information relating to the corresponding pixel point of the image.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein each pixel storage site comprises a plurality of bytes of storage space of the memory means, each of which contains individual bits of information.

3. A system according to claim 2 wherein each pixel storage site of the memory means contains at least five bytes of information relating to a corresponding pixel point of the image.

4. A display system according to claim 3 wherein each pixel storage site contains red, green and blue colour information and additionally depth and transparency information.

5. A system according to any one of the preceding claims which includes an image display screen to display the image contained in the memory means.

6. A system according to claim 5 where appendant to claim 4 wherein the processor reads onto the screen the red, green and blue colour information only stored in the memory means to compose the image on the screen.

7. An image creation system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

8. A method of operating an image creation system according to any one of the preceding claims, the method including feeding to the processor an input signal containing colour information and additional information relating to an image, writing into the pixel information storage sites of the memory means both colour and additional information relating to the corresponding pixel points of the image.

9. A method of operating an image creation system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or shown in the accompanying drawings.