JPH0762793B2 - 3D cursor display device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a display device for a three-dimensional cursor used when displaying a three-dimensional object or the like on a CRT screen, for example.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional three-dimensional cursor is, for example, one shown in FIG. This is disclosed in PIXEL No.13.

In FIG. 1A, an object (12) exists in a screen space (10) for three-dimensional display, and this object (12) has an object coordinate system (14) unique to its shape.
A cursor (16) exists in the screen space (10), and the cursor (16) is in the screen space (10).
It is possible to move in the positive and negative directions of the orthogonal three-dimensional screen coordinate system (X, Y, Z) set in.

The viewing direction of the operation is shown by the arrow F, and the actual two-dimensional display screen (20) seen from the viewpoint (18).
Are shown in FIG.

Next, the movement of the cursor (16) will be described. In the three-dimensional screen coordinate system (X, Y, Z), the X and Y directions are set within the plane of the screen (20) and the Z direction is the screen (20).
Is set in the direction perpendicular to. The cursor (16) moves in this X, Y, Z direction, but on the screen (20), X, Y
Move in the direction.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

According to the three-dimensional cursor as described above, the object coordinate system (14) specific to the object (12) and the three-dimensional screen coordinate system (X, Y, Z) in which the cursor (16) moves do not necessarily match. Therefore, there is an inconvenience that the cursor cannot be moved along the object coordinate system (14).

In addition, since the current position of the cursor (16), particularly the Z direction, that is, the depth direction, is not displayed explicitly, there is a disadvantage that the coordinate value of the cursor (16) on the screen cannot be effectively obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to move the cursor in the direction of the object coordinate system, regardless of the angle at which the three-dimensional shape of the object is projected on the two-dimensional screen. It is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional cursor display device capable of effectively obtaining the position of the cursor on the display screen.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention is a display device for converting a cursor that moves in a three-dimensional space according to a three-dimensional coordinate system onto a two-dimensional screen and projecting the display, wherein X, Y, and Z are from the origin in the three-dimensional coordinate system. The coordinate axis direction calculating means for calculating the cursor movement amount for each coordinate axis direction of the three-dimensional coordinate system; and the graphic means for projecting and displaying the calculated movement amount in each coordinate axis direction on the two-dimensional screen. The calculating means calculates an object coordinate axis direction according to a projected shape of the display object on the two-dimensional screen, and sets a moving direction of the cursor in the object coordinate system based on the calculation result. Is.

[Action]

According to the present invention, the cursor movement amount in each of the three-dimensional coordinate directions is calculated by the calculation means. This amount of movement is from the origin of the three-dimensional coordinates.

The three-dimensional coordinate system is converted and displayed on the two-dimensional screen, and at this time, the moving amount of the cursor is also displayed by the display means. This display is a graphic display.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, a shape data projection conversion unit (30) has a function of converting shape data defined in a three-dimensional coordinate system into a two-dimensional plane coordinate system.

For example, the three-dimensional coordinate value (x, y, z) is Ax + By + Cz = D
When the orthographic projection is performed on the projection surface (Hesse's standard form), the converted two-dimensional coordinate values (X, Y) are expressed by a matrix as in the following expression (1).

With this conversion formula, the three-dimensional shape data is converted into the data of the two-dimensional coordinate system and displayed on the two-dimensional plane screen.

Next, the coordinate axis direction calculation unit (32) uses the conversion equation shown in equation (1) to convert the object coordinate axis direction unit vector, for example, X =
(100), Y = (010), Z = (001) is converted into a vector on the plane of the two-dimensional coordinate system, and its length is also calculated.

Next, the key input section (34) is used by the operator to input information for moving the cursor to an arbitrary position on the display screen. As shown in FIG. 5 (A), a keyboard (38) is provided on the lower front side of the main body device (36), and the operator can operate the keyboard (38) while watching the display screen (40). You can do it. The key input section (34) is provided on the keyboard (38) and includes six keys KA to KF as shown in FIG. 5 (B). For example, the key KA is for moving the cursor in the + X direction, and the key KB is for moving the cursor in the + Y direction. The keys KC to KF are also illustrated.

Next, the movement amount calculation unit (42) detects the type and operation amount of the keys KA or KF operated by the key input unit (34), and based on this, the movement of the cursor from the origin in each axial direction. It has the function of determining the quantity.

For example, when there is an input to move + D in the X-axis direction, the increment movement amount is + D / with respect to the length dx of the X-axis unit vector obtained by the coordinate axis direction calculation unit (32).
Calculated as dx. The same applies to other directions, and the amount of movement from the origin is calculated by these calculations.

Next, the movement amount display unit (44) has a function of displaying the movement amount of the cursor calculated by the movement amount calculation unit (42) on the display screen (40). This display is made by a graphic as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

Next, the overall operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. It should be noted that FIG. 3 shows the moving direction of the three-dimensional cursor in this embodiment, FIG. 4 shows a graphic display example of the moving amount, and FIG. Float chart is shown. The same symbols are used for the same elements as in the conventional example of FIG. Also, three-dimensional screen space (10)
The coordinates at are represented by (X, Y, Z), and the object coordinate system (14)
Let (x, y, z) be the coordinates of.

First, necessary initialization is performed in the entire apparatus (see step SA in FIG. 6). As a result, the equation and magnification of the display surface are determined. When the shape data of the object (12) is input, the shape data projection conversion unit (30) converts the data from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, and the display screen (40) (see FIG. 5 (A)). ) Is displayed above (see FIG. 3 (B), see FIG. 6, step SB). When expressed in the three-dimensional screen space (10), it is as shown in FIG. 3 (A).

Next, the object coordinate system (14) of the object (12) (x, y,
The coordinate axis direction of z) is calculated by the coordinate axis direction calculation unit (32), and the direction unit vector is converted from three-dimensional to two-dimensional and displayed in the same manner (see step SC in FIG. 6). Then, the cursor (46) is displayed at the origin position (see step SC).

Next, the operator uses a key different from the keys KA to KF for the three-dimensional coordinates X, Y, Z directions shown in FIG. 5 (B) on the keyboard (38) in the x, y, z directions of the object coordinate system. And the object coordinate system keys are used to move the cursor on the display screen from the origin to the object coordinate axis direction (FIG. 3 (B)).
Along a line to a predetermined position on the display object (see steps SD and SE in FIG. 6). When such a key input is performed, the movement amount calculation unit (42) calculates the movement amount of the incremental cursor (46) to a predetermined position (see step SF in FIG. 6), and the value is added. By doing so, the three-dimensional coordinate value after key input is calculated. Then, on the display screen (40), the cursor (46) is displayed by the movement amount display section (44), and each of the cursors corresponds to the coordinate value of the current position of the cursor as shown in FIG. 4 (A). The length of the axis is displayed with a thick line (see step SG in Fig. 6). Therefore, as the cursor moves along the object coordinate axis direction on the display screen, the three-dimensional coordinate value of the current cursor position is calculated sequentially, and the display of the thick line axis length portion changes according to the change of the coordinate value. While being displayed.

It should be noted that the display of the coordinate values may be performed by any method such as change of color, intensity of brightness, and the like.

As described above, according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 (A), the position of the cursor (46) is displayed on the coordinate (X, Y, Z) axes in the screen space (10). The position of the cursor (46) can be grasped well in any direction.

The moving direction of the cursor (46) is the object coordinate system (14).
Since it is set in the direction of, the cursor can be favorably moved in the direction of the object coordinate system (14).

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment at all, and for example, the display of the cursor (46) on the display screen (40) is changed from the cursor (46) as shown in FIG. 4 (B).
You may make it display by the perpendicular line hung on each of the XY plane, the YZ plane, and the ZX plane. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (C), if the coordinate position display portion in FIG. 4 (A) or (B) is hidden by the shape of the object, that portion is deleted and displayed. May be.

Further, the cursor moving operation may be performed interactively while watching the display on the display screen (40).

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the moving direction of the three-dimensional cursor is set to the object coordinate system specific to the three-dimensional shape to be displayed, and the three-dimensional position of the cursor is displayed on the output screen. Therefore, there is an effect that the three-dimensional cursor movement and its position grasp can be performed well.

Further, there is an effect that it becomes possible to easily perform an interactive operation while observing the display.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional three-dimensional cursor.
The figure is an explanatory view showing the three-dimensional cursor in the above embodiment,
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a cursor movement amount display in the above embodiment, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a cursor moving operation key and an example of its main body device, and FIG. 6 is a flow showing an operation of the above embodiment. It is a chart. In the figure, (30) is a shape data projection conversion unit, (32) is a coordinate axis direction calculation unit, (34) is a key input unit, (40) is a display screen, (42) is a movement amount calculation unit, and (44) is Movement amount display,
(46) is a cursor, and (KA) to (KF) are keys. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A display device for converting a cursor, which moves in a three-dimensional space according to a three-dimensional coordinate system, onto a two-dimensional screen for projection display, wherein the amount of cursor movement from the origin in the three-dimensional coordinate system is expressed by the cubic The coordinate axis direction calculation means for calculating each coordinate axis direction of the original coordinate system, and the graphic means for projecting and displaying the calculated movement amount in each coordinate axis direction on the two-dimensional screen, the coordinate axis direction calculation means, A display device for calculating an object coordinate axis direction according to a projected shape on the two-dimensional screen and setting a moving direction of a cursor in the object coordinate system based on the calculation result. 2. The projection display by the graphic means,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display is such that a part of the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system displayed on the two-dimensional screen is made different according to the calculated movement amount. 3. The projection display by the graphic means,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display is made by a vertical line from a cursor on a plane including any two coordinate axes of a three-dimensional coordinate system. 4. The projection display by the graphic means,
The display device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the thickness of the line changes, the intensity of light emission is different, or the color is different.