US 5,140,532 AGranted

Digital map generator and display system

AssigneeHarris Corporation

InventorsPaul B. Beckwith, Jr., Kent P. Bascle, Luen C. Chan, Wayne E. Basta

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Abstract

A digital information storage and read-out system in which digital elevation and cultural terrain data is read from a magnetic tape in compressed form into an intermediate memory which operates as a speed buffer memory. The data in the intermediate memory is read out to a reconstruction processor in which the compressed data is reconstructed and applied to a scene memory. A navigation computer determines the instantaneous position of a vehicle with respect to the terrain and controls the reading of data into the scene memory in blocks with the vehicle position occupying a center of scene location. In order to provide a heading up display of the terrain, the data in the scene memory is raed out at an angle to its north-up storage orientation and interlaced scanning of pixel data in the scene memory improves resolution and enhances line display. The data read out of the scene memory controls the generation of video control signals to effect a display of the elevation and cultural data as a moving map related to the vehicle position.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A digital information storage and read-out system for use in simulating a moving map display of terrain data by selectively energizing a matrix of pixels of a video display, comprising:

a scene memory having a plurality of storage locations representable as a spatial matrix of storage locations associated with the matrix of pixels of said video display and storing therein digital data representative of information to be displayed which includes at least one line segment;
read-out means for generating read-out addresses to be applied to said scene memory for reading out digital data therefrom, including means for controlling the read-out of data from said scene memory by addressing storage locations such that said spatial matrix of storage locations is scanned in first and second interlaced fields which are effectively offset in mutually orthogonal directions by one half the separation between storage locations of said spatial matrix;
processor means for generating display control signals in response to the data read out of said scene memory by said read-out means;
and
line display control means for restricting energizing of those pixels forming said line segment to a first directional half or a second directional half of a pixel to effect the thinning of a displayed line.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/242,125Filed 9 Sep 1988 · division
Priority: 13 Jan 1981
Granted: 18 Aug 1992
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G09B 9/24
For teaching control of aircraft, e.g. Link trainer: including display or recording of simulated flight path
G06T 15/005
Three-dimensional [3D] image rendering: general purpose rendering architectures
G06T 15/10
Three-dimensional [3D] image rendering: geometric effects
Y10S 707/99931
Data processing: database and file management or data structures: database or file accessing