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EP0174809A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Graphics display rapid pattern fill using undisplayed frame buffer memory

Assignee: Tektronix Inc
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Filing: 1985-09-05
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-09-05
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Abstract

Abstract 57 A graphics display unit providing rapid filling of predetermined areas of the display screen with one or more predefined repetitive patterns stored in the undisplayed portion of a frame buffer memory. The picture processor in executing a display list will encounter commands to load the predefined pattern(s) into the undisplayed portion of the frame buffer memory. The pattern is copied or replicated from there across the entire width of the frame buffer, with the final replication of the pattern being truncated. The display control unit fills the predetermined shapes or areas of the image to be displayed with the pattern(s) thusly loaded into the frame buffer memory, by copying sections of the scan lines of the replicated pattern up into the displayed section of the frame buffer specifically defining the shape to be filled-in. Pattern alignment between contiguous areas to be filled in with that pattern, is provided. Rapid filling is achieved by having the portion of the pattern coincide, scan line by scan line, with the image to be filled, in the X dimension. The replicated pattern becomes visible when the shape is drawn on the screen, with the shape acting as a window for viewing the pattern.

Inventors

  • 👤 David L. Knierim
  • 👤 Harvey J. Rosener

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-04 13:53
CPC Classifications
G; G09; G09G; G09G5/00; G09G5/36; G09G5/39; G09G5/393; G06; G06T; G06T11/00; G06T11/40

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim 157 words
An Improved method for rapidly filling-in pro- determined shapes or areas of a graphics display image with one or more predefined patterns, comprising: t (a) providing a frame buffer with a first section for receiving the information constituting the image to be displayed and a second section for receiving one or more patterns to be utilized in filling the predetermined shapes of the image being displayed; (b) defining at least one replicatable pattern to be utilized to fill said predetermined shapes: (c) entering the pattern information of said at least one pattern into said second section of the frame buffer; (d) replicating said pattern throughout the memory locations of said second section comprising the scan lines associated to the block of memory locations into which the pattern is entered initially; and (e) filling in one or more shapes of the image being displayed with said at least one predetermined pattern replicated in said frame buffer second section.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 157 words
An Improved method for rapidly filling-in pro- determined shapes or areas of a graphics display image with one or more predefined patterns, comprising: t (a) providing a frame buffer with a first section for receiving the information constituting the image to be displayed and a second section for receiving one or more patterns to be utilized in filling the predetermined shapes of the image being displayed; (b) defining at least one replicatable pattern to be utilized to fill said predetermined shapes: (c) entering the pattern information of said at least one pattern into said second section of the frame buffer; (d) replicating said pattern throughout the memory locations of said second section comprising the scan lines associated to the block of memory locations into which the pattern is entered initially; and (e) filling in one or more shapes of the image being displayed with said at least one predetermined pattern replicated in said frame buffer second section.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 49 words
A method according to claim 1 further including selecting a portion of the replicated pattern to fill a section of a shape to be filled such that said portions the replicated pattern and said section of the shape coincide in at least one dimension of the frame buffer memory.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 23 words
A method according to claim 2 wherein said predetermined shapes of the image being displayed are filled-in one scan line at a time.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 36 words
A method according to claim 3 further including filling-in multiple sections along the same scan line which are representative of different portions of the same shape or multiple shapes to be filled-in with the same pattern.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 22 words
A method according to claim 2 further including aligning the selected predefined pattern between adjacent shapes to be filled with such pattern.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 170 words
In a graphics display apparatus, an improved arrangement for filling-in predetermined shapes or areas of an image to be displayed with one or more predefined patterns, comprising: (a) frame buffer means having memory means with first and second sections for receiving respectively the information constituting the image to be displayed and a pattern to be utilized in filling the predetermined shapes of the image being displayed; (b) means for defining at least one replicatable pattern to be utilized to fill-in said predetermined shapes; (c) means for entering the pattern information of said at least one pattern into the second section of the frame buffer memory means; (d) means for replicating the pattern throughout those memory locations of said second section comprising the scan lines associated to the memory location block into which the pattern has been entered initially; and (e) means for filling-in one or more shapes of the image being displayed with said at least one predefined pattern replicated in said second section of the frame buffer memory means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 170 words
In a graphics display apparatus, an improved arrangement for filling-in predetermined shapes or areas of an image to be displayed with one or more predefined patterns, comprising: (a) frame buffer means having memory means with first and second sections for receiving respectively the information constituting the image to be displayed and a pattern to be utilized in filling the predetermined shapes of the image being displayed; (b) means for defining at least one replicatable pattern to be utilized to fill-in said predetermined shapes; (c) means for entering the pattern information of said at least one pattern into the second section of the frame buffer memory means; (d) means for replicating the pattern throughout those memory locations of said second section comprising the scan lines associated to the memory location block into which the pattern has been entered initially; and (e) means for filling-in one or more shapes of the image being displayed with said at least one predefined pattern replicated in said second section of the frame buffer memory means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 55 words
An arrangement according to claim 6 wherein said filling-in means includes means for selecting a portion of the replicated pattern to fill a section of the shape to be filled such that said portion of the replicated pattern and said section of the shape coincide in at least one dimension of the frame buffer memory.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 23 words
An arrangement according to claim 7 wherein said selecting means comprises means for filling-in the predetermined shapes one scan line at a time.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 40 words
An arrangement according to claim 8 further including means for filling-in multiple sections along the same scan line, which multiple sections are representative of different portions of the same shape or multiple shapes to be filled with the same pattern.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 24 words
id. An arrangement according to claim 7 further including means for aligning the selected pattern between adjacent shapes to be filled with such pattern.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 31 words
An arrangement according to cliam 6 wherein said replicating means comprises means for copying said at least one pattern from the memory location block into which said pattern is entered intitially.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 31 words
An arrangement according to cliam 6 wherein said replicating means comprises means for copying said at least one pattern from the memory location block into which said pattern is entered intitially.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 32 words
An arrangement according to claim 11 wherein said replicating means includes means for truncating those replications of the pattern positioned proximate the end(s) of the scan lines of the frame buffer memory.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 27 words
An arrangement according to claim 6 wherein said replicating means comprises means for loading contiguous memory location blocks with said pattern as received from said defining means.

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