Plotter including a display control for generating and supplying image data for use by a digital display device to control a state of one or more pixels

A method of plotting an image on a digital display device, the method comprising:

• upon receipt, at a first update phase within a first image refresh period, of a first imagery input defining activation of a selected pixel representing at least a first portion of an image to be displayed, storing the first imagery input in a first image buffer and outputting, to the digital display device, image data as stored in the first image buffer for setting a state of the selected pixel during the first update phase within the first image refresh period, thereby causing the digital display device to display at least a portion of the image represented by the first imagery input;
• upon receipt, at a second update phase within the first image refresh period, of a second imagery input defining activation of the selected pixel representing at least a second portion of the image to be displayed, storing the second imagery input in the first image buffer and outputting, to the digital display device, image data corresponding to the second imagery input as stored in the first image buffer for setting a state of the selected pixel during the second update phase within the first image refresh period mixed with the image data corresponding to the first imagery input, thereby causing the digital display device to display at least a portion of the image represented by the first and second imagery inputs;
• upon receipt, at a first update phase within a second image refresh period subsequent to the first image refresh period, of a third imagery input that does not define activation of the selected pixel, storing the third imagery input in a second image buffer and removing the first imagery input from the first image buffer and outputting, to the digital display device, image data corresponding to a removal of at least the portion of the image represented by the first imagery input for setting the state of the selected pixel during the first update phase within the second image refresh period, the output image data being mixed with image data corresponding to the second and third imagery inputs as stored in the first and second image buffers, thereby causing the digital display device to display at least a portion of the image represented by the second and third imagery inputs;
• and
• upon receipt, at a second update phase within the second image refresh period, of a fourth imagery input that does not define activation of the selected pixel, storing the fourth imagery input in the second image buffer and removing the second imagery input form the first image buffer and outputting image data corresponding to a removal of the at least second portion of the image represented by the second imagery input for setting the state of the selected pixel during the second update phase of the subsequent image refresh period, the output image data being mixed with image data corresponding to the third and fourth imagery inputs as stored in the second image buffer, thereby causing the digital display device to display at least a portion of the image represented by the third and fourth imagery inputs,
• wherein the first update phase within the first image refresh period is at a different time than the second update phase within the first image refresh period, and
• wherein the first update phase within the second image refresh period is at a different time than the second update phase within the second image refresh period.

A plotter for a digital display device, comprising:

• a first image buffer for storing received imagery inputs to be plotted during respective update phases of a first image refresh period;
• a second image buffer for storing received imagery inputs to be plotted during respective update phases of a second image refresh period, subsequent to the first image refresh period;
• a display control configured:
• to receive via an input a first imagery input defining a first portion of an image to be displayed during update phases beginning at a first update phase of the first image refresh period, to store the first imagery input in the first image buffer and to generate and to output to the display device image data for setting the state of one or more pixels for displaying the first portion of an image during each update phase of a display period beginning with the first update phase of the first image refresh period;
• to receive via the input a second imagery input defining a second portion of an image to be displayed during update phases beginning at a second update phase of the first image refresh period, different from the first update phase, to store the second imagery input in the first image buffer and to generate and to output to the display device image data for setting the state of one or more pixels for displaying the second portion of an image, mixed according to predetermined mixing criteria with the respective one or more pixels displaying the first portion of an image, during each update phase of a display period beginning with the second update phase of the first image refresh period;
• at the first update phase of the second image refresh period, to allow the state of the one or more pixels displaying the first portion of an image to be reset or, to the extent that the one or more pixels for displaying the first portion of an image are displaying, according to the predetermined mixing criteria, the second portion of an image,
• to continue to generate and to output to the display device image data for setting the state of the one or more pixels for displaying the second portion of an image during each update phase of the display period beginning with the second update phase of the first image refresh period, and/or
• to receive via the input a third imagery input defining a third portion of an image to be displayed during update phases beginning at the first update phase of the second image refresh period, to store the third imagery input in the second image buffer and to generate and to output to the display device image data for setting the state of one or more pixels for displaying the third portion of an image during a display period beginning with the first update phase of the second image refresh period mixed, according to the predetermined mixing criteria, with the one or more pixels displaying the second portion of an image defined according the second imagery input, copied from the first image buffer;
• and
• at the second update phase of the second image refresh period, to allow the state of the one or more pixels displaying the second portion of an image to be reset or, to the extent that the one or more pixels for displaying the second portion of an image are displaying, according to the predetermined mixing criteria, the third portion of an image, to continue to generate and to output to the display device image data for setting the state of the one or more pixels displaying the third portion of an image during each update phase of the display period beginning with the first update phase of the second image refresh period.