US5339092A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Beam former for matrix display
Assignee: Honeywell Inc
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Filing: 1993-01-13
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Granted: 1994-08-16
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Expires: 2013-01-13
Abstract
Abstract A graphics system having a beamformer operating on image data and sub-pixel or fractional address data coming from a modified image memory and graphics processor producing correctly anti-aliased data to be shown on raster displays and in particular on color mosaic active matrix displays.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael J. Johnson
- 👤 William R. Hancock
- 👤 Brent H. Larson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 11:45
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09G; G09G5/00; G09G5/36; G09G5/39; G09G5/399; G09G3/00; G09G3/20; G09G3/2007; G09G3/2074; G09G5/20; G09G5/395; G09G2300/00; G09G2300/04; G09G2300/0439; G09G2300/0452; G09G3/001
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
271 words
A graphics system apparatus to apply an anti-aliasing filter to an output of an image memory configuration to improve the image quality of an active matrix display having one or more pixels each identified by unique addresses, comprising: a modified graphics generator having an output means for providing standard integer x and y addresses corresponding to the unique addresses of said one or more pixels, and for providing data elements, including image data elements and sub-pixel or fractional address data elements representative of an image to be displayed; a modified image memory including storage for said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements provided by said modified graphics generator at locations indicated by said standard integer x and y addresses, said modified image memory having an input connected to receive said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements from said modified graphics generator output means, said modified image memory having an output means for providing a sub-pixel output, including said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements; and a beamformer having a point spread function of gaussian profile with regard to intensity covering a window including a plurality of pixels around an output pixel, said beamformer including means for generating an intensity output for said output pixel as a function of said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements for one or more of said plurality of pixels in said window covered by said point spread function, said active matrix display having an input to receive said intensity output from said beamformer for display of said image on said display.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
271 words
A graphics system apparatus to apply an anti-aliasing filter to an output of an image memory configuration to improve the image quality of an active matrix display having one or more pixels each identified by unique addresses, comprising: a modified graphics generator having an output means for providing standard integer x and y addresses corresponding to the unique addresses of said one or more pixels, and for providing data elements, including image data elements and sub-pixel or fractional address data elements representative of an image to be displayed; a modified image memory including storage for said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements provided by said modified graphics generator at locations indicated by said standard integer x and y addresses, said modified image memory having an input connected to receive said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements from said modified graphics generator output means, said modified image memory having an output means for providing a sub-pixel output, including said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements; and a beamformer having a point spread function of gaussian profile with regard to intensity covering a window including a plurality of pixels around an output pixel, said beamformer including means for generating an intensity output for said output pixel as a function of said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements for one or more of said plurality of pixels in said window covered by said point spread function, said active matrix display having an input to receive said intensity output from said beamformer for display of said image on said display.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
164 words
An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the beamformer comprises: sliding window means for moving said window including said plurality of pixels around said output pixel covered by said point spread function in a raster-like fashion to provide a plurality of windows of said data elements; means for selecting data elements in one of said plurality of windows according to a plurality of colors, said selection means having an input means connected to said output means of said image memory and having a selection means output; shade look-up means for determining intensity of said selected data elements for each of said plurality of colors utilizing said point spread function, said shade look-up means having an input connected to said selection means output and having a shade look-up output; means for finding maximum shades for each color, said finding means having an input connected to said shade look-up output and having an output for providing said maximum shades as said intensity output to said display.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said beamformer further includes a color encoding scheme matching a color pixel pattern of the active matrix display.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the display is a liquid crystal flat panel color display.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said modified graphics generator is a vector generator to draw lines and figures by incrementally calculating addresses of pixels of said display and commanding a write operation to said modified image memory for each of said pixels.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
71 words
An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said vector generator includes an accumulator with sufficient precision to handle fractions, a truncating circuit and a fraction-stripping block which strips out a fractional portion of a pixel address, wherein said vector generator utilizes said fractional portion available from the accumulator to store sub-pixel or fractional address data elements representative of said fractional portion in said modified image memory for use by said beamformer.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
203 words
A method for improving the image quality of an active matrix display having one or more pixels identified by unique addresses, comprising the steps of: providing standard integer x and y addresses corresponding to said unique addresses of said one or more pixels and providing data elements including image data elements and sub-pixel or fractional address data elements representative of an image to be displayed; storing the image data elements and sub-pixel or fractional address data elements at locations of an image memory as indicated by said standard integer x and y addresses; addressing said image memory to provide a sub-pixel output, including said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements; expanding said sub-pixel output into a point spread function, said point spread function having a gaussian profile with regard to intensity covering a window of a plurality of pixels around an output pixel; generating an intensity output for said output pixel as a function of said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements for one or more of said plurality of pixels in said window covered by said point spread function; and providing said intensity output to said active matrix display to finely position light energy on said display.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
203 words
A method for improving the image quality of an active matrix display having one or more pixels identified by unique addresses, comprising the steps of: providing standard integer x and y addresses corresponding to said unique addresses of said one or more pixels and providing data elements including image data elements and sub-pixel or fractional address data elements representative of an image to be displayed; storing the image data elements and sub-pixel or fractional address data elements at locations of an image memory as indicated by said standard integer x and y addresses; addressing said image memory to provide a sub-pixel output, including said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements; expanding said sub-pixel output into a point spread function, said point spread function having a gaussian profile with regard to intensity covering a window of a plurality of pixels around an output pixel; generating an intensity output for said output pixel as a function of said image data elements and said sub-pixel or fractional address data elements for one or more of said plurality of pixels in said window covered by said point spread function; and providing said intensity output to said active matrix display to finely position light energy on said display.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein said active matrix display is a monochromatic or color display.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of providing a color encoding scheme matching a color pixel pattern of the active matrix display.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
98 words
The method according to claim 7, wherein said generating step comprises the steps of: sliding said window including said plurality of pixels around said output pixel in a raster-like fashion to provide a plurality of windows of data elements; selecting data elements in one of said windows according to a plurality of colors; determining an intensity of said selected data elements for each color utilizing said point spread function; finding a maximum shade for each color as a function of the intensity for said selected data elements; providing said maximum shades as said intensity output to said display.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method according to claim 10, wherein said selecting step comprises the step of decomposing a color of one of said data elements in one of said windows representative of a pixel of said image memory into primary color components which comprise a color mosaic pattern of a particular display.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method according to claim 11, wherein said finding step comprises the stp of combining intensity contributions from said selected data elements in a window so as to generate said maximum shade for a color to be part of said intensity output.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
62 words
A method according to claim 7, wherein said expanding and generating steps include the step of determining intensity of each sub-pixel or fractional address data element in a window as a function of a distance from a center of said window and said point spread function having a luminance profile which decreases in intensity as said distance from the center becomes larger.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 13, wherein said expanding and generating steps further include the step of combining intensity contributions from all the sub-pixel or fractional address data elements within said window having an intensity associated therewith so as to generate said intensity output.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-08-15 | 1998-02-14 | 1998-08-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-08-15 | 2002-02-14 | 2002-08-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-08-15 | 2006-02-14 | 2006-08-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |