JPS61253484A - Color display echo detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a target image easy to see, by switching between ordinary display and accentuated display. CONSTITUTION:When switches 41a and 41b is connected to the ordinary display position, namely, to the contact U, the contact U is connected to a display 16 through OR circuits 43a and 43b. So, when the values of digital signals read out of a main memory 17, that is, the higher-order bit output ray 42a and the lower-order bit output ray 42b are (0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0) and (1, 1) respectively, they are displayed 16 as blue, green, yellow and red, for instance. When the switches 41a and 41b are connected to the accentuated display position, namely, the contact E, the output signal of the main memory 17 below the specified value, for example, below (0, 1) is converted to a digital signal (0, 0) for background color while that above the specified value, for example above (1, 0) is converted into a digital signal (1, 1) for a color distinctly against the background color (blue), for instance, red while being extended by one pixel. This eliminates small dot images distributed in a large number to present the target image more distinct against the background color and larger in the size, thereby making the target image easy to see.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" This invention emits wave pulses such as radio waves and sound waves, such as radar sonar and fish finder, receives the reflected waves, and converts the received signal into a digital The present invention relates to a color display echo detection device that converts the digital signal into a signal and supplies the digital signal as a display signal to a scanning color display to display an image having a color corresponding to each value of the digital signal.

``Prior Art'' For example, in a radar, as shown in FIG. 2, a pulse radio wave is radiated from an antenna 12 in the directional direction by a transmission pulse from a transmitter 11, and the reflected wave is received by the antenna 12. 13 for amplification and detection. The output of the receiver 13 is sampled by the AD converter 14 at a constant period, more specifically, at a sampling period according to the detection range, and each sample value is sampled by a plurality of constant bits.
) into digital signals, and the converted digital signals are sequentially stored in the buffer memory 1J15.

The detection signal stored in the buffer memory 15, that is, the received signal, is read out during, for example, a blanking period of the scanning display 16 and transferred to the main memory 1717. The main memory 17 can store pixels corresponding to each position on the display surface of the scanning display 16.
The main memory 17 is read in synchronization with the scanning of 6, and the read output is converted into a color signal by the color converter 18 in the display 16 and displayed on the color display 16 as a color according to the value of the digital signal. Is displayed. For example, a digital signal is 2 bits, and these digital values are (0
,O), (0,' 1), (1゜0), (1,1
) are blue, green, and yellow, respectively.

Displayed as red.

Scanning of the display surface of the scanning display 16 is as follows:
So-called spiral scanning, which scans concentrically, and horizontal and vertical scanning are mainly used, and writing and reading to and from the main memo IJ17 differ depending on the scanning method.

For spiral scanning, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 57-2244
Main memo U1 as shown in No. 64 “Radar Detection Device”
7 writing, reading and display scanning are performed, and in horizontal and vertical scanning, for example, Utility Model Application No. 59-135361 "
This is done by a method such as that shown in "Coordinate Transformation Display Device". In any case, in the case of radar, the pointing direction of the antenna 12 is rotated by the motor 19, and an angular pulse is generated from the angular pulse generator 21 at every fixed angle, and this is supplied to the write address generator 22, A write address for data transfer from memory 15 to main memory 17 is given to main memory 17 from write address generator 22 through selector 23 .

A read address generator 24 is also provided, and the read address generator 24 generates a scanning signal to perform spiral scanning or horizontal/vertical scanning on the scanning display 16, and at the same time, the address from the read address generator 24 is generated. The signal is supplied to the main memory 17 through the selector 23 and read out from the main memory 17 in synchronization with the scanning of the scanning display 16.

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' Many small-level reflected waves from snow and rain occur, and many small-level reflected waves from sea spray during maritime surveillance occur. In this case, the radar reflected received signal has a low level and a short pulse width, but there are many reflected signals 31 larger than the noise level, as shown in FIG. There is a reflected signal 32 of , and a large and strong reflected signal 33 from land, islands, etc. is also received. For example, as shown in FIG.
The area below l is displayed in blue as a background color, and a large number of small signals 31 that slightly exceed the small level L1 appear distributed as green dots 34, and among them are small boats that slightly exceed the medium level L2, etc. A small image 3 with a yellow reflected signal 32 such as a buoy
5, and a large reflected signal 33 exceeding the large level L3 of land etc. is displayed as a red image 36. In order to obtain such a display, the image 35 of the reflected signal 33 from a small medium-level object is used as the image of the target object, and a large number of small dot images 3 are used.
It took some time to come up with a title from among the four.

In such a case, it may be possible to display level 2 or higher. However, in general, each pulse-shaped reflected signal has a smooth rise and fall, so in the above example, the middle level signal 32 is surrounded by a green image 35a of a reflected signal having a lower level than the yellow image 35. Although a border is formed, if the area below level 2 is cut off as described above, the green image 35a of the border disappears, and the image 35 of the target object becomes that much smaller, making it difficult to spot it.

In addition, in color display, generally adjacent red dots, green dots, and blue dots emit light at the same time to display one white pixel. This means that images as small as one pixel are affected by neighboring colors, and there is a risk of overlooking such small images unless one looks carefully from a close distance. For this reason,
As mentioned above, if the noise below the small level Lx is removed as noise, the image 35 of the target object becomes even smaller as mentioned above,
Moreover, it becomes even more susceptible to the influence of surrounding colors, and there is a greater possibility that it will be overlooked. In addition, when the reflected signals of level 2 or higher are displayed as different colors depending on the level, the image of a small target is not necessarily the most conspicuous color compared to the background color, and due to the presence of parts of other conspicuous colors, Even if the background color is level 2 or lower, small targets cannot necessarily be easily discovered.

"Means for Solving the Problem" According to the present invention, a reflected received signal is converted into a digital signal, the digital signal is stored in a main memory, and the main memory is synchronized with the scanning of a scanning color display. It is the same as the conventional method to read out the digital signal, supply it as a display signal to a color display, and display it as a color image with a color corresponding to the value of the digital signal, but in this invention, the normal display and highlighted display are particularly emphasized. When this is switched to highlighted display, digital signals read from the main memory that are below a predetermined value are converted to digital signals with a background color, and signals that are above a predetermined value are converted to background color digital signals. is converted into a digital signal of a color that stands out against the background color, and is expanded by at least one pixel of the display and is supplied to the display.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows the main parts of an embodiment of a color display echo detection device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, emphasis switching means 41 for switching between normal display and highlighted display is inserted on the output side of the main memo IJ17. In this example, as in the previous case, one sample in the AD converter 14 (Fig. 2) is converted into a 2-bit digital signal. line 42
b has been derived.

A switch is used as the emphasis switching means 41, and the upper bit switch 41a and the lower bit switch 41b switch the upper bit output line 42a and the lower bit output line 42b to the fixed contact U side for normal display, and fixed for highlighted display. Each contact can be switched and connected. Switch 41a.

Reference numeral 41b indicates mechanical or electronic switches, which are interlocked with each other, and whose operation knobs are provided on the operation panel (not shown) of this device.

When the switches 41a and 41b are connected to the 9ii1 display side, that is, to the fixed contact U side, the display is similar to that of the conventional device. That is, the fixed contacts U of the switches 41a and 41b are connected to the display 16 through OR circuits 43a and 43b, respectively. Therefore, switch 41a,
41b is connected to the fixed contact U side, the value of the digital signal read from the main memo 'JL7, that is, the upper bit output vA42a, the lower bit output &'j14
2 b are (0, O), (0, 1), (1,
0) and (1,1) are displayed on the display 16 as blue, green, yellow, and red, for example, as described above.

When the switches 41a and 41b are connected to the highlighted display side, that is, to the fixed contact E side, if the output digital signal of the main memo U17 is less than a predetermined value, in this example (0, 1) or less, the background color digital signal is A signal, that is, (0,0), is converted to a predetermined value or more, in this example, (1,0) or more is a digital signal of a color that stands out against the background color (blue), for example, red, that is, (1,1) and expanded by at least one pixel. Therefore, for example, the highlighted display side fixed contact E of the upper bit switch 41a is directly connected to the OR circuit 44 and also connected to the OR circuit 44 through the 1-clock delay circuit 45. The output side of this OR circuit 44 is connected to both OR circuits 43a and 43b. On the other hand, the highlighted display side fixed contact E of the lower binocular switch 41b is either left floating without being connected to anything, or connected to a high impedance element.

Therefore, for example, when the received signal shown in FIG.
), its upper bit is “0”, so the OR circuit 4
4. It is also “0” through the delay circuit 45, and the OR circuit 4
The output of the OR circuit 43b is "0", and the lower bit "11" is cut off by the switch 31b, so the output of the OR circuit 43b is also "0", and the digital signal (0°1) is as shown in FIG. 3B.
The signal is converted into a background color signal (0, O) as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the digital value (1, O) of the medium health signal 32 is
The high-order bit "1" is supplied to the OR circuit 44 and also to the 1-clock delay circuit 45, so on the output side of the OR circuit 44, the length of the signal is expanded by 1 clock, that is, by 1 pixel. Moreover, the output of this OR circuit 44 is not only the OR circuit 43a but also the OR circuit 43b.
Since the digital signal (1, 0) of the intermediate level signal 32 is converted into a digital signal (1, 1) as shown in FIG. 3B as a signal 37, and its length is 1. It becomes longer by 37a pixels.

This digital signal (1, 1) is displayed in red, which stands out against the blue background color. High level signal 3
3 is a signal of digital value (1, 1) as in the conventional case, as shown as a signal 38, but its length is increased by one pixel. In addition, generally, the portion of the signal 33 whose level is higher than level 3 is adjacent to the portion which exceeds the level L2, so the signal 33 becomes an even longer signal due to the conversion effect of (1, 1) of the signal (1, 0). be done.

Since such an operation is performed, the switch 41a.

When 41b is connected to the fixed contact on the highlighting side, Fig. 4A
As shown in FIG. 4B, the small dot image 34 disappears and becomes the background color, and the small target image 35 becomes a red image 35°.
Moreover, the size is longer by one pixel in the horizontal direction in the scanning line direction of the display 16, in the case of horizontal and vertical scanning, so it stands out against the blue background color, and is also large in size, making the display easy to find. A large hell image 36 such as land is displayed as a red image 36'. This image 36° is large in its entirety, so even if it becomes larger by one pixel, the change in the image 36 is not noticeable when switching from normal display to highlighted display.

In the above, a digital signal of a predetermined value or more is sent to the circuit 44.
．． After being expanded by 45, it was converted into a digital value of a conspicuous color by supplying it to both OR circuits 43a and 43b.
You can extend the length. Further, the conversion by the AD converter 14 is not limited to 2 bits per sample, but may be 3 bits or more. In this case, a relatively low-level signal of the target is made into a digital signal with a color that stands out against the background color, but if the color of a large image with a high level changes when switching to highlighted display, the user may be confused by a completely different image. However, there is a risk that the person monitoring the radar image will be confused. Therefore, it is preferable to convert a digital signal having a predetermined value or more into the maximum value of the digital signal.2 The present invention can be applied not only to radars but also to nona, fish finders, and the like.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the present invention, a large number of point images are displayed in a distributed manner, such as reflected images of clutter or rain and snow, on radar, making it difficult to find target images such as buoys and small boats. In this case, switching to highlighted display eliminates the large number of small dot images, making it easier to see the target image.Moreover, the target image has a color that stands out against the background color, and its size is also increased. , which makes it extremely easy to discover.

In particular, as mentioned above, when the display in Figure 4A is changed to the display in Figure 4B, the large image 36'' is almost the same as the image 36'' before switching in both size and color, and the small dot image 34 disappears. A conspicuously colored image 35' will appear at that location, so you can immediately spot this image 35'.

The control for reading out the main memory 17 and sending the digital signal to the display 16 is carried out, for example, by reading the main memory 17 and sending the digital signal to the display 16 for one or more main scans.
6, and in this case as well, it is performed in synchronization with the scanning, such as during the retrace section of the main scanning of the display 16.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a specific example of the main parts of a color display echo detection device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of a color display radar, and FIG. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the relationship with the threshold value, and FIG. A
4A is a diagram showing an example of a display by a conventional device, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a display obtained when the present invention is applied to a signal from which the display of FIG. 4A is obtained and the signal is highlighted. 13: receiver, 14: AD converter, 16 two-scan power error display, 17: main memory, 41: emphasis switching means,
42a: Upper bit output line, 42b: Lower bit output line, 45:1 clock delay circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Emit a wave pulse, receive the reflected wave, convert the received signal into a multi-bit digital signal with an AD converter, store the digital signal in the main memory, and convert the main memory into a scanning color In a color display echo detection device that supplies a display signal to a display and displays it as an image with a color corresponding to each value of the digital signal, an emphasis switching means for switching between a normal display and an emphasized display, and the emphasis switching means Converts a digital signal read from the main memory under a predetermined value into a digital signal with a background color while the display is set to be highlighted, and converts a predetermined value or more into a digital signal with a color that stands out against the background color. and an emphasizing means for expanding the display by at least one pixel of the display and supplying the expanded image to the display.