JPH0616227B2 - Display controller - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention is equipped with a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display, such as a plasma display, as standard equipment, and optionally a color display unit. The present invention relates to a display control device that is suitable for use in constructing a connectable computer system such as a personal computer or a personal workstation.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a computer system such as a personal computer or a personal workstation in which a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display such as a plasma display unit is provided as standard and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected. In the case where the data to be handled has a color element, it is impossible to express the data for each color in the display by the flat panel display unit.

Further, in the past, when performing gradation display in a flat panel display capable of multi-gradation display, display information is provided with gradation by thinning out display dots, plucking, etc. The gradation display means has a problem that it is not possible to perform clear divisional display such as color-based display in a color display.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, conventionally, in a system in which a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display is standardly provided and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected, There is a problem in that it is not possible to clearly display the data that is color-coded and displayed by the unit on the flat panel display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a display control device capable of displaying data having color-specific display elements handled by a color display in a gradation manner in association with colors on a flat panel display capable of displaying multiple gradations.

[Structure of Invention] (Means and Actions for Solving Problems) The present invention is equipped with a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display such as a plasma display as a standard equipment, and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected. In the system described above, there is a palette for setting gradation display palette information associated with multicolor display palette information used in the display drive of the color display unit, and the flat panel is used by using the palette. The display unit is configured to control the gradation display with the gradation corresponding to the display color of the color display unit. By this, the data having the color-specific display elements handled by the color display is displayed on the flat panel display. Can be displayed in multi-gradation by associating with colors,
A flat panel display mechanism compatible with color → gradation compatible with color displays can be realized.

Further, the present invention is a system in which a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display such as a plasma display is provided as standard, and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected, and a specific display is provided on the I / O port. A plurality of color designation bits of is also used for the display drive of the flat panel display unit.A single pallet common to the display drive of each display unit is provided, and the pallet is unique to the color display unit to be display-driven. Gradation display control is performed by selectively setting palette information for multi-color display or palette information for gradation display unique to the flat panel display unit, and using the palette common to the color display unit for the flat panel display unit. It is configured to As a result, data with color-specific display elements handled by a color display can be displayed in multi-gradation on a flat panel display by associating with colors, and a flat panel display mechanism that is compatible with color → gradation can be provided. It can be easily realized using a single physical pallet.

Further, the present invention is a system in which a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display such as a plasma display is provided as a standard, and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected, and the above-mentioned is provided on the I / O port. Each color display unit and flat panel display unit has its own pallet, and each pallet has its own pallet information.
By configuring the flat panel display unit to control gradation display by a palette different from the color display unit, data having color-specific display elements handled by the color display is associated with colors on the flat panel display. The multi-gradation display can be performed, and the color display unit and the flat panel display unit can be driven simultaneously in parallel, and the pallet rewriting process is not required even when the above display units are selectively driven and controlled. The burden on the operation and processing of can be reduced.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. still,
Here, a display control mechanism having a so-called common pallet structure in which a color display unit and a plasma display unit are selectively driven by using a common pallet will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 11 and 12 are CPs that control the system, respectively.
A palette data buffer for storing palette data under the control of U. Of these, 11 is a palette data buffer for a color CRT display placed in the main memory (hereinafter referred to as a CRT palette data buffer).
And 12 is a palette data buffer for plasma display (hereinafter referred to as PD
P pallet data buffer).

Reference numeral 13 is a palette in which palette data corresponding to a display currently in use is set under the control of the CPU, and color conversion or color-to-gradation conversion is performed according to the palette data. The color CRT display is a drive target. If there is a pallet data buffer for CRT 1 above
When the pallet data stored in 1 is set and the plasma display is the drive target, the PDP
When the palette data stored in the palette data buffer 12 for CRT is set and the palette data for CRT is set, color conversion of [16 colors → 64 colors] is performed, and
When P palette data is set, [16 colors →
4 gradation] color → gradation conversion is performed.

14 is a video RAM (hereinafter V-RA) for storing display data.
It is referred to as M), and has a 4-plane (16 colors) structure here.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a color CRT display device (hereinafter, simply referred to as CRT) which receives display data in 6-bit units color-converted by the palette 13 and displays 64 colors.
Reference numeral 30 denotes a plasma display device (hereinafter, simply referred to as PDP) that receives the display data in 2-bit units whose color is converted into gradation by the palette 13 and performs gradation display of 4 gradations.
Is called).

FIG. 2 shows a memory map of the entire system including the palette data buffers 11 and 12 on the main memory and the V-RAM 14, and in the figure, 15 is a CRT.
BI storing the default value (D / CRT) of the pallet for PDP and the default value (D / PDP) of the pallet for PDP
OS / ROM. Since other areas on the memory map are not directly related to the present invention, the description thereof will be omitted here.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the pallet 13 and CR
6-bit display data (R, G,
B, SR, SG, SB), SR, SG, SB are auxiliary bits for R, G, B. Here, of the 6-bit display data (R, G, B, SR, SG, SB), 2 bits of R (RED) and G (GREEN) are PD.
The display data for P is led to the interface circuit of the PDP 30 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows an interface circuit of the PDP 30, which receives R (RE) input from the palette 13 shown in FIG.
The 2-bit PDP display data of D) and G (GREEN) is serial-parallel conversion circuit (S → P) 3 respectively.
1 and 32 are 4-bit data (PH1 to PH4, PL
1 to PL4) and supplied as 8-bit 4-gradation display data to the display panel via a 4-gradation display drive circuit (not shown).

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the display processing flow in the above embodiment.

The operation of the embodiment will now be described with reference to FIGS.

When the system is started up when the power is turned on, first the CP
Under the control of U, P stored in the BIOS / ROM 15
The default value (D / CRT, D / PDP) of the DP palette and CRT palette is the CRT in the main memory.
The pallet data buffer 11 for PDP and the pallet data buffer 12 for PDP are loaded (step S in FIG. 5).
1).

When no display selection command is input or when a new PDP 30 selection command is input, the pallet data stored in the PDP pallet data buffer 12 is loaded into the pallet 13. , V-RAM14 by the same pallet data
The display data stored in (1) is subjected to color conversion of [16 colors → 4 gradations] → gradation and then supplied to the PDP 30 for display (steps S2 and S3 in FIG. 5).

Here, R (R) shown in FIG. 3 which is read from the V-RAM 14 and converted by the palette 13 [16 colors → 4 gradations]
The 2-bit PDP display data of ED) and G (GREEN) is led to the interface circuit of the PDP 30 shown in FIG. 4 and serial-parallel conversion circuit (S →
P) 31 and 32 are converted into 4-bit (4-pixel unit) data (PH1 to PH4, PL1 to PL4), for a total of 8
4 bit / 4 gradation display data not shown 4
It is supplied to the display panel via the gradation display drive circuit. Here, when the 2-bit PDP display data (R, G) output from the palette 13 is "0, 0", the discharge pulse width for the Y electrode drive 1H period is set to the lowest duty ratio of 10%. Then, 40% is set for "0, 1", 70% is set for "1, 0", and 100% is set for "1, 1".

In the display mode using the PDP 30, when a command for changing the correspondence between color and gradation and palette data are input by the user's designation, the contents of the palette 13 are changed under the control of the CPU. The data is rewritten according to the input data, and thereafter, the [16 colors → 4 gradations] color → gradation conversion is performed according to the rewritten PDP palette data (steps S4 and S5 in FIG. 5).

When a command to switch the display device to be used from the PDP 30 to the CRT 20 is input by the user's designation, the CRT pallet data buffer 11 is read-accessed under the control of the CPU and the pallet 1
The contents of 3 are rewritten according to the CRT pallet data read from the pallet data buffer 11, and thereafter V
-Display data read from the RAM 14 [16 colors → 64 according to the rewritten CRT palette data.
After being subjected to the color conversion of [Color], it is displayed on the CRT 20 (steps S6 to S8 in FIG. 5).

In the display mode by the CRT 20, when a palette color change instruction command and palette selection designation information for changing the color correspondence of [16 colors → 64 colors] are input by the user, the CPU Under control, the rewriting process of the palette 13 is executed by the application software, and thereafter, the color conversion of [16 colors → 64 colors] is performed according to the palette color of the rewritten CRT palette data (step S9 in FIG. 5). , S10).

Here, when a command for switching the display device to be used from the PDP 20 to the PDP 30 is input by the user's designation, the PDP palette data buffer 12 is read-accessed under the control of the CPU, and the palette 13 is read. The contents are rewritten according to the PDP palette data read from the same palette data buffer 12, and thereafter, the display data read from the V-RAM 14 is changed according to the rewritten PDP palette data [16 colors →
[4 gradation] color → gradation is converted and then displayed on the PDP 30 (steps S11, S2, S3, ... In FIG. 5).

In this way, using the palette 13 common to the CRT 20 and the PDP 30, the information displayed by color on the CRT 20 can be displayed on the PDP 30 in multiple gradations in correspondence with any color → gradation.

In the above embodiment, the display control mechanism having a so-called common pallet structure in which the color display unit and the plasma display unit are selectively driven by using a common pallet has been described. However, as shown in FIG. Palette 1 for display (for CRT)
3A and a pallet for a flat panel display that is standard equipment, for example, for a plasma display (PDP
In the case where the pallet 13B (for use) has an independent structure, it is possible to perform display control by the same color → gradation correspondence as described above, and the configuration and operation at this time can be easily understood from the above-described embodiment. The detailed description is omitted here.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the pallet 13A unique to the CRT 20 and the PDP 30 are controlled under the control of the CPU.
The palette information unique to each pallet is set in the pallet 13B peculiar to each of the pallets with a different I / O port address, and the PDP 30 controls the gradation display in the pallet different from the CRT 20. By C
Data having color-specific display elements handled by RT20 is used for PDP30.
Can be displayed in multi-gradation by associating with color on the above, and can also be a CRT
20 and the PDP 30 can be simultaneously driven in parallel, and the pallet rewriting process is unnecessary when selectively controlling the drive of the CRT 20 or the PDP 30,
The burden on the operation and processing of pallet rewriting can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the case where the CRT display and the plasma display are used as the display device has been described, but various flat panel displays such as a liquid crystal display can be applied instead of the plasma display.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above in detail, according to the display control device of the present invention, the gradation display palette information associated with the multicolor display palette information used for the display drive of the color display unit is set. A flat panel display unit having a palette and capable of multi-gradation display such as a plasma display is configured to perform gradation display control with a gradation corresponding to the display color of the color display unit. Data with color-specific display elements handled by a color display can be displayed in multi-gradation on the flat panel display by associating with colors. This allows the flat panel display unit to be equipped as standard and the color display unit to be connected arbitrarily. Compatible with color display It is possible to realize a flat-panel display mechanism that supports color → gradation.

Further, according to the display control device of the present invention, a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display such as a plasma display is provided as standard, and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected to the I / O system. A specific pallet common to the display drive of each display unit that uses specific multiple color specification bits for the display drive of the above flat panel display unit is provided on the port. Selectively set the multicolor display pallet information specific to the display unit or the gradation display pallet information specific to the flat panel display unit, and set the flat panel display unit to a pallet common to the color display unit. Configuration for controlling gradation display using By the can multi-gradation display in association with data in color in a flat panel display having a Color display elements to be handled in a color display,
A flat panel display mechanism compatible with colors and gradations compatible with color displays can be easily realized using a single physical palette.

Further, according to the display control device of the present invention, a flat panel display unit capable of multi-gradation display such as a plasma display is provided as standard, and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected to the I / O system. On the port, a palette unique to each of the color display unit and the flat panel display unit is provided, and unique palette information is set in each palette, and the flat panel display unit is different from the color display unit. By adopting a structure that controls gradation display using a palette, data with color-specific display elements handled by a color display can be displayed on a flat panel display in multiple gradations in association with colors, and a color display unit and flat panel display It is possible simultaneously to display drive knit, and unnecessary rewriting process work palettes when selectively drive controls the respective display units, can reduce the burden on the operation and processing of the pallet rewriting.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a memory map on the system in the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a pallet in the above embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the PDP interface circuit in the above embodiment, FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the display processing flow in the above embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention. 11 ... CRT palette data buffer, 12 ... P
Palette data buffer for DP, 13 ... Palette, 1
3A ... CRT palette, 13B ... PDP palette, 14 ... Video RAM (V-RAM), 15 ... B
IOS / ROM, 20 ... CRT display device (C
RT), 30 ... Plasma display device (PD
P), 31, 32 ... Serial-parallel conversion circuit (S
→ P), D / PDP ... default value of PDP palette, D / CRT ... default value of CRT palette.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A computer system having a mechanism for selectively driving either one of a flat panel display unit and a color display unit, wherein a palette for color / gradation conversion and the color display unit on the palette. Means for setting gradation display palette information associated with multi-color display palette information used for the display drive of the above, and controlling the gradation display of the flat panel display unit using the palette. Characteristic display control device. 2. A computer system having a mechanism for selectively driving either one of a flat panel display unit and a color display unit, wherein a plurality of specific color designation bits are used together with a display drive of the flat panel display unit. A single pallet common to the display drives of the respective display units, a first pallet information storage means for storing pallet information for multicolor display unique to the color display unit, and a unique pallet information storage unit unique to the flat panel display unit. The flat panel display unit includes the second palette information storage means for storing gradation display palette information and means for selecting palette information specific to a display unit to be driven for display and setting the palette information in the flat panel display unit. Di Display control apparatus characterized by gradation display control by using the play unit common pallet. 3. A system in which a flat panel display unit is standardly installed, and a color display unit can be arbitrarily connected, a first pallet in which pallet information unique to the color display unit is set, and the flat panel display. The color display unit is provided with a second pallet in which pallet information peculiar to the unit is set, and means for setting pallet information peculiar to each pallet, according to the pallet information set in the second pallet. 2. A display control device, characterized in that data having color-specific display elements handled in 1. is converted into multi-gradation data, and the flat panel display unit is multi-gradation display controlled by the data.