HK1115469B - Display apparatus and information apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Display device and information device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a display device, an information display method, an information display program, and a readable recording medium for displaying information and the like using a display device capable of color display, and an information device incorporating the same.

Background

For example, japanese patent laid-open publication No.2001-100725 discloses a conventional display apparatus that displays characters and the like using a display device capable of color display.

In this conventional technique, the intensity (e.g., brightness level) of a color factor (color factor) of a sub-pixel corresponding to a basic portion of a character is assigned a predefined value, and the intensities of color factors of sub-pixels adjacent to the sub-pixel corresponding to the basic portion are assigned values other than the predefined value. The number of adjacent sub-pixels having a color factor intensity different from the predetermined value and the color factor intensity of each sub-pixel are determined based on the correction pattern. Note that the basic portion (basic portion) of a character refers to the core portion (core portion) of the character.

For example, fig. 13 and 14 show a conventional technique disclosed in japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2001-100725.

Referring to fig. 13, the intensity of each color factor corresponding to the basic portion (skeleton portion) of the character "/" (slash sign) is designated to a predefined value.

In fig. 13, the rectangle of the hatched area indicates a sub-pixel corresponding to the basic portion (skeleton portion) of the character "/". When the intensity of the color factor of each sub-pixel is described by luminance levels 0 to 255, the intensity of the color factor of each sub-pixel corresponding to the basic portion (skeleton portion) of the character "/" (slash sign) is assigned to, for example, "luminance level 0" (a predefined value).

In fig. 13, a blank rectangular area indicates a sub-pixel corresponding to the background of the basic portion of the character "/". The intensity of the color factor of each sub-pixel corresponding to the background portion of the basic portion of the character "/" is set, for example, to a luminance level of 255.

Referring to fig. 14, the intensities of the color factors of sub-pixels adjacent to the sub-pixel corresponding to the character "/" are given values different from the predetermined value.

In fig. 14, the intensities of the color factors of three sub-pixels adjacent to respective sides of a specific sub-pixel corresponding to a basic portion "/" constituting a displayed character are set to "brightness level 73", "brightness level 182", and "brightness level 219", respectively, in order of distance from the basic portion, from near to far, in accordance with a predetermined correction pattern. Note that "assigning the luminance level to the intensity of the color factor of the sub-pixel adjacent to the specific sub-pixel corresponding to the basic portion of the displayed character according to the correction pattern" means "employing the correction pattern".

The purposes of using the correction pattern include: suppressing color noise; enabling human eyes to recognize characters or figures as black; and adjusting the character density to a desired value.

Thus, according to the conventional technique disclosed in japanese patent laid-open publication No.2001-100725, a character can be displayed with high definition by using a correction pattern for adjacent pixels corresponding to a basic portion of the character.

Further, according to the conventional technique disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No.2001-100725, sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion are determined depending on character outline information representing an outline of the character or skeleton data representing a skeleton shape of the character.

For example, outline information of a character includes a character code identifying a character type, the number of strokes constituting the character (the number of strokes of the character), and stroke information of each stroke. The stroke information includes a stroke code for identifying the stroke, and the number of contour points constituting the stroke, and a pointer (an address in the auxiliary storage device storing the coordinates of the contour points constituting the stroke) pointing to the coordinate data of the contour points constituting the stroke. From this information, the coordinates of the contour points constituting the stroke can be acquired. Thus, each stroke has a shape that is approximately surrounded by a contour line consisting of a curve, a straight line, an arc line, a combination thereof, and the like, and the outline of the character can be displayed by adding a predefined concentration.

Using the coordinate data of the contour points, the contour lines representing the outer shape of the character can be approximately described using straight lines, curved lines, arcs, combinations thereof, and the like. The contour lines are scaled according to the size of the input character. The scaling converts the coordinate data of the contour points to the coordinate system of the display.

The determination of the sub-pixels corresponding to the base portion of the skeleton portion representing the character depends on the area where the sub-pixels overlap the bounding region of the contour, e.g., if the area is greater than or equal to a predefined area.

The skeleton data includes a character code identifying a character type, the number of strokes constituting the character, and stroke information of each stroke. The stroke information includes the number of strokes identifying the stroke, the number of points constituting the stroke, the line type of the stroke (curved line, straight line, etc.), the coordinates of the points constituting the stroke, and the like. Thus, each stroke has no density information, and each stroke is represented in the form of a line of some certain line type to represent the skeleton shape of the character.

If the line type of a stroke is a straight line, the stroke can be approximated with a straight line passing through a plurality of points constituting the stroke using coordinate data. If the line type of the stroke is a curved line, the stroke can be approximated with a curved line passing through a plurality of points constituting the stroke using the coordinate data. The coordinate data of the points constituting each stroke may be scaled according to the size of the input character and converted into the coordinate system of the display.

The sub-pixels appearing on each scaled stroke are determined to be sub-pixels corresponding to a basic portion of the skeleton representing the character.

The applicant of the present application proposes a technique of: the technique of using bitmap data to correspond a basic portion of a graphic to a sub-pixel is disclosed in japanese laid-open publication No. 2002-49366. Hereinafter, this technique will be described in detail.

Typically, the bitmap data is binary data (binary is an example). Each bit constituting the bitmap data has a value of "1" or "0". For example, a bit with a value of "1" represents a black portion in the graphic, and a bit with a value of "0" represents a white portion in the graphic.

It is determined whether each bit constituting the bitmap data has a value of "1". The arrangement pattern of "1"/"0" values of bits adjacent to the bit of interest is studied. The bit of interest is associated with a pixel of the display. The pixel(s) corresponding to the basic portion are determined among the sub-pixels included in the pixel corresponding to the bit of interest, based on the arrangement pattern of the adjacent bits.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing a part of bitmap data of graphics.

D (x, y) represents the bit of interest, and N (a, b) represents the bit D (x + a, y + b) adjacent to D (x, y). Fig. 15 shows a bit D (x, y), and 8 bits adjacent to the bit vertically, horizontally, or diagonally: n (-1, 1), N (0, -1), N (1, -1), N (-1, 0), N (1, 0), N (-1, -1), N (0, 1) and N (1, 1). These 8 adjacent bits are referred to as 8 adjacent bits. The values of N (a, b) and D (x, y) are both "1" or "0".

Fig. 16 is an illustration of a portion of a display screen of a display device.

P (x, y) represents a pixel on the display screen. When the graphic represented by the bitmap data is displayed by the display, the bit D (x, y) shown in fig. 15 is associated with the pixel P (x, y). The pixel P (x, y) includes three sub-pixels C (3x, y), C (3x +1, y), and C (3x +2, y).

When the value of D (x, y) is "1", the sub-pixel(s) corresponding to the basic portion among the three sub-pixels C (3x, y), C (3x +1, y), and C (3x +2, y) is determined according to the basic portion definition rule. When the value of D (x, y) is "0", none of the three sub-pixels is determined as the pixel corresponding to the basic region.

Note that: here, bit D (x, y) in fig. 15 is associated with a plurality of sub-pixels in fig. 16, that is, pixel P (x, y) includes a group of C (3x, y), C (3x +1, y), and C (3x +2, y). Alternatively, the bit D (x, y) may be associated with a group of subpixels Grp in fig. 16. Note that: the number of sub-pixels in a group is not necessarily equal to the number of sub-pixels in a pixel. For example, bit D (x, y) may be associated with group Grp' of FIG. 16, which contains 4 subpixels. Further, the direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged is not limited to the X direction. For example, the bit D (x, y) may be associated with a group Grp "of subpixels arranged in the x and y directions in fig. 16.

According to the basic portion definition rule, it is determined whether each of the three sub-pixels of the pixel P (x, y) is related to the basic portion, depending on the arrangement of "0"/"1" of the bits N (a, b) adjacent to the bit D (x, y) corresponding to the pixel P (x, y). Hereinafter, it is assumed that the value of the bit D (x, y) is "1".

Fig. 17A shows exemplary 8 contiguous bits for the bit of interest D (x, y) in the bitmap data.

N (a, b) ═ 1 indicates that the value of the bit N (a, b) is "1", and N (a, b) ═ 0 indicates that the value of the bit N (a, b) is "0". Thus, in fig. 17A, N (0, -1) ═ N (1, 1) ═ 1, N (1, 0) ═ N (0, 1) ═ N (-1, 0) ═ 0, and N (-1, -1) and N (1, -1) are represented by "#", which means that their values may be "0" or "1".

FIG. 17B is a diagram showing sub-pixels associated with a base portion according to a base portion definition rule, where the values of 8 contiguous bits of bit D (x, y) are as shown in FIG. 17A.

On the display screen, the pixel P (x, y) corresponding to the bit D (x, y) has three sub-pixels C (3x, y), C (3x +1, y) and C (3x +2, y). Of these three sub-pixels, a sub-pixel having a value of "1" is associated with the base portion, and a sub-pixel having a value of "0" is not associated with the base portion. In other words, the sub-pixel C (3x +2, y) is associated with the basic portion, whereas the sub-pixels C (3x +1, y) and C (3x, y) are independent of the basic portion.

The basic portion definition rules, as described in fig. 17A and 17B, can be expressed in logical formulas.

For the logical values A and B, assume that "A x B" represents a logical multiplication of A and B, and "! A "represents the logical negation of A. When the values of 8 adjacent bits of the bit D (x, y) are as shown in fig. 17A, the following logical formula (1) is satisfied.

N(0，-1)＊！N(-1，0)＊！N(1，0)＊！N(-1，1)＊！N(0，1)＊N(1，1)＝1…(1)

As shown in fig. 17B, the following formula (2) represents a process of defining the sub-pixel C (3x +2, y) as the basic part, and not defining the sub-pixels C (3x, y) and C (3x +1, y) as the basic part.

C(3x，y)＝0，

C(3x+1，y)＝0，and

C(3x+2，y)＝1…(2)

The basic part is a part of a character or a graphic corresponding to its core. For example, the core is the central portion of a stroke included in a character. Stroke information may be obtained from the bitmap data. Therefore, it can be inferred that the bits in the bitmap data are associated with the basic portion. The base portion may be inferred from information on the leading bit of the bit of interest D (x, y), rather than from information only on the bit of interest D (x, y).

For example, in the bitmap data shown in fig. 17A, the stroke is inferred as a curve (broken line 1301 in fig. 17A) passing through the regions corresponding to the bits N (0, -1), D (x, y), and N (1, 1). This curve is considered to pass through the right side of the region corresponding to bit D (x, y). Therefore, in fig. 17B, the sub-pixel C (3x +2, y) on the right side of the pixel P (x, y) corresponding to the bit D (x, y) is associated with the basic portion. In accordance with such reasoning, basic part definition rules are generated.

The basic portion is defined in the sub-pixel. A higher resolution than the resolution defined on a pixel-by-pixel basis can be used to define the basic portion of the graphic, resulting in a high definition graphic display.

Fig. 18A shows another exemplary set of 8 contiguous bits of the bit of interest D (x, y) in the bitmap data. Fig. 18B shows sub-pixels defined according to the basic part definition rule when the values of 8 adjacent bits of the bit D (x, y) are as shown in fig. 18A.

The basic portion definition rule as shown in fig. 18A and 18B can be expressed by the following logical formula.

When N(-1，0)＊N(1，0)＝1，

C(3x，y)＝1，

C(3x+1，y)＝1，and

C(3x+2，y)＝1.

FIG. 19A shows another exemplary set of 8 contiguous bits of the bit of interest D (x, y) in the bitmap information. Fig. 19B shows sub-pixels defined according to the basic part definition rule when the values of 8 adjacent bits of the bit D (x, y) are as shown in fig. 19A.

The basic portion definition rule as shown in fig. 19A and 19B can be expressed by the following logical formula.

When N(0，-1)＊！N(-1，0)＊！N(1，0)＊N(0，1)＝1，

C(3x，y)＝0，

C(3x+1，y)＝1，and

C(3x+2，y)＝0.

Similarly, a basic part definition rule may be established for all combinations of "1" or "0" of 8 contiguous bits of the bit D (x, y) of interest. As a result, a substantial portion of the graphics to be displayed on the display is defined in the sub-pixels.

FIG. 20 shows all combinations of "1" or "0" of 8 contiguous bits.

Each square in FIG. 20 represents the bit of interest D (x, y), and its set of 8 contiguous bits. The rectangle is divided into 9 sections, the black section indicating that its corresponding bit has a value of "1", and the white section indicating that its corresponding bit has a value of "0". In fig. 20, there are 256 rectangles in total, and the values of 8 adjacent bits are "0" or "1", respectively, so that the number of combinations is 2⁸(＝256)。

However, the number of basic part definition rules does not have to be equal to the number of possible combinations. As described above, in fig. 17A, 18A, and 19A, the value of the bit indicated by "#" may be "1" or "0", so in the basic portion definition rule, these bits are not considered. In the base part definition rule, a single base part definition rule may cover multiple combinations in fig. 20, since some bits may not be considered. For example, the basic portion definition rules in fig. 17A and 17B cover the combination represented by rectangles 1701, 1702, 1703, and 1704 in fig. 20. In this way, since all (or part of) the basic part definition rules may contain bits taking arbitrary values, the number of basic part definition rules required may be reduced.

Note that: the basic part definition rules may be represented by logical formulas or tabular data.

The characters or graphics may be contained within a frame having a predefined size. The sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion of the character or graphic are contained within an area corresponding to a frame of the display screen area of the display. The frame is an area where a single character or graphic is displayed, for example, an area surrounded by a thick line 1901.

Generally, characters represented by pixel unit bitmap data are designed such that a blank area is left on the left or right side of the frame, that is, a blank space is left between the characters. For example, in FIG. 21, the character "H" is located within the frame, leaving a one-bit blank on the left.

Fig. 22 is a diagram of sub-pixels corresponding to a basic portion determined from the character "H" of fig. 21, in which the conventional method disclosed in japanese laid-open publication No.2002-49366 (refer to the foregoing) is used. According to the above basic portion definition rule, a stroke 1801 extending in the X direction in fig. 22 is displayed as a continuous skeleton shape.

In fig. 23, using the conventional method disclosed in japanese laid-open patent publication No.2002-100725 (please refer to the foregoing), a predetermined value is specified for the intensity of the color factor of the sub-pixel corresponding to the basic portion of the character "H" in fig. 22, and the intensity of the color factor of the sub-pixel adjacent to the sub-pixel corresponding to the basic portion of the character "H" is specified to other values than the predetermined value.

In fig. 23, the luminance level of the sub-pixel corresponding to the basic portion of the character "H" is set to "0"; the brightness levels of the adjoining sub-pixels of the three sides are set to "73", "182", and "219", respectively, in order of distance; and the brightness level of the sub-pixel corresponding to the background region is set to 255.

In the example shown in fig. 23, three sub-pixels are required for correcting the pattern. However, in the region 1021 corresponding to the frame containing the character "H", only one subpixel appears on the right side of the subpixel 1051 corresponding to the basic portion of the character "H". Therefore, for the portion of the right vertical line (1041 portion) in the character "H", the correction pattern cannot be used in the following manner: enabling the corrected pattern to be placed within frame area 1021 of the character "H".

The characters are displayed on the display in such a way that the characters can be placed in an area on the display screen corresponding to the character frame. Therefore, in fig. 23, when the correction pattern cannot be used in the area 1021, color noise occurs around the portion 1041, or the line of characters cannot be perceived as having a desired density. Thus, one would feel that the vertical lines to the right of the character "H" are narrower than the vertical lines to the left. The character "H" cannot be displayed on the display with high definition.

Thus, the correction pattern of the character cannot be used in such a manner that the correction pattern is used within the area range corresponding to the character frame. Therefore, the characters cannot be displayed with high definition. In order to solve the above problem, the present applicant proposed a method in japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2003-5738: a part of the corrected pattern of the frame of the first character is used in the frame of the second character.

Fig. 24 is an example using the conventional technique in japanese laid-open publication No.2003-5738, in order to adopt a corrected pattern of the first character (character "H"), a part of the frame of the second character (character "a") is used (area 1061).

The width of the first character (character "H") is 15a, and the width of the second character (character "a") is 15 b.

However, in the conventional method disclosed in japanese laid-open patent publication No.2003-5738 (please refer to the foregoing), when the correction pattern is adopted, the connection or overlap between the correction patterns of the character "H" and the character "a" is considered. This process is complicated and therefore takes a long time to perform.

The present invention solves the above conventional problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device, an information display method, an information display program, and a readable medium capable of displaying information with high definition, in which when a correction pattern cannot be employed in such a manner that information is put into a frame area, the correction pattern is moved in a simple manner so as to reduce color noise. It is another object of the present invention to provide an information device incorporating the above display device, information display method, information display program, or readable recording medium.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a display device includes: a control section including a CPU and a main memory, controls display of the display screen so as to specify a color factor level of an adjoining portion of the skeleton portion of symbol information (e.g., character or graphic information). The character or graphic information is displayed in a frame of a predefined size and the level of the color factors is gradually lower than the level of the color factors of the skeleton portion. The control unit includes a frame portion moving unit, and functions to control the center of the frame portion to move toward the center of the frame on the display screen in a direction (in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction) designated in advance. In this way, the above-described object is achieved.

Preferably, the control part includes: a skeleton portion color factor level specifying section for specifying a predefined color factor level for a sub-pixel corresponding to a skeleton portion of the symbol information after the skeleton portion is moved; an external color factor level specifying section that assigns at least one color factor level progressively lower than a predetermined color factor level corresponding to the sub-pixels of the skeleton portion to at least one adjoining sub-pixel outside the skeleton portion; and a display control part for displaying the symbol information assigned with the color factor level on the display screen.

Preferably, in the display device of the present invention, a plurality of pixels are provided on the display screen, each pixel including a plurality of sub-pixels arranged in a predetermined direction; and the control means (e.g., skeleton portion moving means) can move the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information in the sub-pixel arrangement direction within the frame on a sub-pixel by sub-pixel basis. In the display device of the present invention, each pixel is previously assigned to a corresponding one of a plurality of color factors. The brightness levels of these color factors are represented stepwise by a plurality of color factor levels. This enables control and display of characters or graphics on the display screen.

More preferably, the control section is capable of moving the skeleton portion of the frame so that at least two sub-pixels having a color factor level lower than that of the skeleton portion are positioned inwardly from the end portions of the frame.

The symbol information is at least one of the following information: character information, graphic information, image character information, and mark information.

Preferably, the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information may be defined by bitmap data.

Preferably, the skeletal part of the character or graphic information may be defined within the sub-pixels.

Preferably, the control section is capable of moving the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information by one or two pixels within the frame in the direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged. Alternatively, the control section can move the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information by three pixels or more within the frame in the direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged.

Preferably, the display device has a table storing movement information, the table defining a movement amount of a skeleton portion of character or graphic information; and the control section can determine the amount of movement of the skeleton with reference to the movement table.

Preferably, the display device includes a plurality of movement tables, and the control section is capable of changing the amount of movement of the skeleton by selecting and referring to at least one of the plurality of movement tables.

Preferably, the display device includes a recording section for storing information on a result of moving the skeleton portion within the frame in a direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged, sub-pixel by sub-pixel.

In accordance with other aspects of the present invention, a character/graphic display method for controlling and displaying character or graphic information on a display screen is provided. Providing a plurality of pixels in a frame having a predetermined defined size on a display screen; each pixel includes a plurality of sub-pixels arranged in a predetermined direction; and sub-pixels outside the skeletal portion of at least one character or graphic information are designated as a color factor level that is progressively lower than the color factor level. The method comprises the following steps: moving a skeleton portion of the character or graphic information sub-pixel by sub-pixel in an arrangement direction of the sub-pixels within the frame region; setting sub-pixels corresponding to a skeleton portion of the character or graphic information to a predefined color factor level; at least one color factor level progressively lower than the predetermined color factor level for the sub-pixels of the skeleton portion is assigned to at least one neighboring sub-pixel outside the skeleton portion. This achieves the object described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a character/graphic display program executable by a computer. The above character/graphic display method is described in the program.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable recording medium is provided. For recording the character/graphic display program described above.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information apparatus including the above display apparatus.

Hereinafter, the functions of the present invention will be described.

In accordance with the present invention, the sub-pixels corresponding to the skeletal portion (base portion) of the character or graphic information are assigned to a predefined color factor level. Adjacent sub-pixels other than the sub-pixel of the skeleton portion are designated to have their color factor levels set in a manner of being gradually lower than a predefined color factor level (that is, a correction pattern is employed). Thus in this case, on the display screen of the display device, if the correction pattern cannot be employed in the region corresponding to the frame, the center of the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information is moved to the center of the frame. In particular, the character or graphic information is moved on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis according to the direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged. The skeleton part (base part) may be moved such that a correction pattern having at least two sub-pixels (the color factor levels of which are stepwise lower from a predefined color factor level) is provided inwards from the ends of the frame. Therefore, the correction pattern extending out of the region corresponding to the frame can be moved deeper into the frame region (the correction pattern does not have to be moved completely into the frame region), whereby color noise is suppressed and the density of lines of characters is adjusted, so that characters or graphic information can be displayed with high definition.

The skeleton portion of the character or graphic information may be defined as bitmap data (basic portion data) in sub-pixels. These skeleton portion data (basic portion data) may be generated in the pixels from, for example, bitmap data representing the shape of character or graphic information, outline information representing the outline shape of the character or graphic information, or skeleton data representing the skeleton shape of the character or graphic information.

Particularly for bitmap data in units of pixels, a character or a graphic is generally designed in the following manner: a blank area is left on the left side or the right side of each character or figure. In this case, the correction pattern will typically exceed the boundary of the frame. The present invention can solve this problem.

A skeleton portion (basic portion) of character or graphic information is defined in the sub-pixels. Therefore, it is possible to precisely control and display character or graphic information in high definition, compared to when the color factor level is controlled on a pixel-by-pixel basis.

The skeleton portion of the character or graphic information moves 1 or 2 sub-pixels within the frame in the direction of arrangement of the sub-pixels. In this case, the amount of movement can be accurately and cautiously determined by referring to the movement table defining the amount of movement according to various display conditions such as the characteristics of the display device, the density of lines of characters or graphics, the type of characters, the combination of background colors and the colors of characters (or graphics), and the like.

Further, the skeleton portion (basic portion) of the character or graphic information is stored as data as a result of moving inside the frame on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis in the direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged. These data can be utilized when the same character or graphic information is displayed on other display devices.

The above and other advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary display screen of the display shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary fix-up table stored in the secondary storage device of fig. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary brightness table stored in the secondary storage device of FIG. 1.

Fig. 5A-5E are illustrations of exemplary move tables, all stored in the secondary storage device of fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of displaying characters/graphics in the character/graphic display program.

Fig. 7 shows an example in which the movement amount of the character is 0.

Fig. 8 shows that the basic portion of the character "H" is shifted to the left by "1".

FIG. 9 shows that the basic portion of the character "H" is shifted to the left by 1 sub-pixel.

Fig. 10 shows that the adjacent sub-pixels of the sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion of the character "H" in fig. 9 are designated as values other than the predefined values (color factor levels "5", "2", and "1").

Fig. 11 shows that the basic portion of the character "H" is shifted to the left by 2 sub-pixels.

Fig. 12 shows that the adjacent sub-pixels of the sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion of the character "H" in fig. 11 are designated as values other than the predefined values (color factor levels "5", "2", and "1").

Fig. 13 shows a conventional technique disclosed in japanese laid-open patent publication No.2001-100725, in which the color factor level intensity of a sub-pixel corresponding to a basic portion of a character "/" (slash sign) is specified as a predetermined value.

Fig. 14 shows a conventional technique disclosed in japanese laid-open patent publication No.2001-100725, in which, for adjoining sub-pixels of sub-pixels corresponding to a basic portion of a character "/" (slash sign), the color factor level intensities of the adjoining sub-pixels are specified as values other than a predefined value.

Fig. 15 shows part of bitmap information representing graphics.

Fig. 16 shows a part of the display screen of the display.

Fig. 17A is a diagram showing typical 8 contiguous bits of a bit of interest D (x, y) in bitmap data.

Fig. 17B is a diagram showing sub-pixels defined by the basic part definition rule, in which values of 8 adjacent bits of the bit D (x, y) are as shown in fig. 17A.

Fig. 18A is a diagram showing a typical set of 8 contiguous bits of a bit of interest D (x, y) in another bitmap data.

Fig. 18B is a diagram showing sub-pixels defined by the basic part definition rule, in which values of 8 adjacent bits of the bit D (x, y) are as shown in fig. 18A.

Fig. 19A is a diagram showing another exemplary set of 8 contiguous bits of a bit of interest D (x, y) in bitmap data.

Fig. 19B is a diagram showing sub-pixels defined by the basic part definition rule, in which values of 8 adjacent bits of the bit D (x, y) are as shown in fig. 19A.

FIG. 20 shows all combinations of "1" or "0" of 8 contiguous bits.

Fig. 21 illustrates the relationship between a character and its frame.

Fig. 22 illustrates a basic portion of the character "H".

Fig. 23 shows that the color factor level of the sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion of the character "H" is set to a value other than the predefined value.

Fig. 24 illustrates a drawback of the conventional technique.

Fig. 25 shows an information apparatus according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

In the following, the invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 1, a display device 1 includes a display 10 capable of color display; an input device 20 capable of inputting various information representing characters, graphics, and the like; an auxiliary storage device 30 that stores a control program and various data; the control unit 40 controls the display 10 to display information input through the input device 20 based on the control program and various data. The display device of the present invention is used as a display part of a display device such as a personal computer, a word processor, etc., and it may be of various types such as desktop, laptop, etc. Alternatively, the display device of the present invention may be used as a display section (display device) of any information device (as shown by reference numeral 100 in fig. 25), for example, an electronic device incorporating a display device having a color display function. For example, the information apparatus 1 in the present invention may have a communication section (as shown by reference numeral 101 in fig. 25) which can communicate with the outside and which can be a display section of a mobile information tool (e.g., a personal digital assistant, etc.), a mobile phone (e.g., PHS, etc.), and a communication apparatus (e.g., a typical telephone/facsimile, etc.).

The display 10 may display various information such as characters, graphics, etc. input through the input device 20.

The input device 20 is used to input various information representing characters or graphics to be displayed on the display 10. Various information representing the character or graphic includes, for example, a code for identifying the character or graphic, and a size representing the size of the character or graphic. Thus, as the input device 20, any one of input devices satisfying the following functions capable of inputting an identification code and a size of a character or a figure may be selected. Examples of input devices 20 that are preferably used include a keyboard, a mouse, a pen-type input device, and the like. When the display device 1 is a display device of a mobile phone, a voice or a number key for designating a phone number may be used as the input device 20 for inputting a code or a character size. When the characters or figures displayed on the display 10 have a single fixed size, the input of the size may be omitted. Further, when the display device 1 is used as a display section of an information device provided with a means for connecting a communication line (e.g., the internet or the like), a message included in an electronic mail received through the communication line can be displayed in the display 10. In this case, the communication line connection apparatus is operated by an input of the input device 20.

In the auxiliary storage device 30, a character/graphic display program 31, which describes a process of displaying characters or graphics on the display screen of the display 10, is stored as a control program; and various data 32 required for executing the character/graphic display program 31. In the secondary storage device 30, any readable recording medium may be used to store the character/graphic display program 31, and various data 32, including recording media such as a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, an MD, a DVD, an IC card, an optical card, a flash memory, and the like.

The character/graphic display program 31 includes the steps of: moving a character or graphic information skeleton portion on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis in a frame having a predetermined size in a sub-pixel arrangement direction; designating a color factor level of a sub-pixel corresponding to a skeleton portion of the character or graphic information as a predefined color factor level value; color factor levels that are lower than the predefined color factor level are assigned to the adjoining sub-pixels for the sub-pixels corresponding to the skeleton portion (adjoining sub-pixels located outside the sub-pixels corresponding to the skeleton portion), and character or graphic information is displayed on the display screen.

The various data 32 includes various table data such as character/graphic data 32a defining a shape of a character or graphic, a fix-up table 32b described in detail later (fig. 3), a brightness table 32c (fig. 4), a move table 32d (fig. 5A to 5E), and the like.

The character/graphic data 32a includes, for example, bitmap data (basic portion data) defining basic portions of characters or graphics in sub-pixels. The basic portion of a character or figure refers to a portion corresponding to a core in this character or figure.

The control section 40 includes a CPU41 and a main memory 42. The control section 40 determines the color factor intensities of sub-pixels included in the display screen of the display 10, and controls the display 10 to display characters or graphics on the display screen based on the display program 31 for displaying characters/graphics and various data 32. Specifically, the control section 40 controls a plurality of color factors assigned to a plurality of sub-pixels arranged on the display screen of the display 10, respectively, to display information representing characters or graphics input from the input device 20 on the display device 10.

The CPU41 controls and monitors the entire display device 1, and executes the character/graphic display program 31 saved in the auxiliary storage device 30. The CPU41 executes the character/graphic display program 31 based on various data 32 stored in the main memory 42 to generate a pattern of characters or graphics. The generated pattern is temporarily stored in the main memory 42 and then output to the display device 10 as display data. The CPU41 controls the timing of outputting characters or graphic patterns to the display 10.

The CPU41 includes: a skeleton portion moving means 41a for subjecting the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information to a moving process in a direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged in a frame having a predefined size on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis; a skeleton portion color factor level designation section 41b for designating a color factor level of a sub-pixel corresponding to a skeleton portion of the character or graphic information after the moving process as a predefined color factor level; an external color factor level specifying section 41c that specifies color factor levels lower than the predefined color factor level in steps to each of the color factor levels (adjacent sub-pixels located outside the sub-pixels corresponding to the skeleton portion) for the adjacent sub-pixels of the sub-pixels corresponding to the skeleton portion, and sets their color factor levels in steps decreasing from the predefined color factor level, respectively; a display control section 41d for displaying display characters or graphic information of the designated color factor level on the display screen.

The main memory 42 is a working memory for temporarily storing data input from the input device 20, data to be displayed on the display screen of the display 10, the character/graphic display program 31, and data necessary for executing the program 31. The CPU can access the main memory 42 at high speed.

Note that, here, the character/graphic display program 31 and various data 32 are stored in the readable recording medium of the secondary storage device 30, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the character/graphic display program 31 and various data 32 may be stored in the main memory 42 or ROM (not shown). Examples of the ROM include a mask read only memory (mask ROM), an EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory), an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory), a flash read only memory (flash ROM), and the like. When the character/graphic display program 31 and various data 32 are stored in the ROM, various processes can be easily performed by changing the ROM. When the display apparatus 1 is a mobile terminal device, a mobile phone, or the like, such a ROM technology is preferably applied to the display apparatus 1.

The readable recording medium for storing the character/graphic display program 31 and various data 32 may be a medium for transmitting the program or data, for example, a communication medium for transmitting the program and data over a communication network, instead of a medium invariably carrying the program or information, such as a storage device (the above-described hard disk or card), a semiconductor memory, and the like. When the display apparatus 1 is an information apparatus provided with a device for connecting a communication line including the internet, at least a part of the character/graphic display program 31 and various data 32 is downloaded from the communication line. In this case, a loader for downloading may be stored in advance in a read only memory (not shown), or installed from the secondary storage device 30 into the control section 40.

Fig. 2 schematically shows an exemplary display screen of the display device 10 of fig. 1. In fig. 2, a display screen 11 of a display device 10 has a plurality of pixels 12 arranged in the X direction and the Y direction. Each pixel 12 comprises a plurality of sub-pixels in the X direction, here indicated as 12R, 12G and 12B, respectively.

The sub-pixel 12R is assigned a color factor R to display red (R) color. The sub-pixel 12G is assigned a color factor G to represent green (G) color. The sub-pixel 12B is assigned a color factor B to express a blue (B) color.

The intensities (e.g., luminance levels) of the color factors of the sub-pixels 12R, 12G, and 12B are represented by values of, for example, 0 to 255 (0x 00 to 0xff, note that the symbol "0 x" here represents a 16-ary number system). If the sub-pixels 12R, 12G and 12B each assume any brightness level between 0 and 255, approximately 16, 700, 000 (256 × 256 × 256) colors can be displayed.

For example, the display 10 may be a color liquid crystal display. Examples of the color liquid crystal display include a transmission type liquid crystal display and the like which are dominant in personal computers, and also a reflective or rear-projection type liquid crystal display. The display 10 is not limited to a color liquid crystal display. The display device 10 may be any color display device (i.e., a so-called XY matrix display device) in which a plurality of pixels are arranged in the X-axis and Y-axis directions.

The number of sub-pixels included in a single pixel 12 is not limited to 3. A single pixel 12 may comprise a plurality of sub-pixels arranged in a predefined direction. For example, when colors are represented by N color factors, a single pixel 12 may include N sub-pixels.

The arrangement order of the sub-pixels 12R, 12G, and 12B is not limited to the case shown in fig. 2. For example, the order of arrangement of B, G and R in the X-axis direction may be used instead of the order of arrangement of R, G and B.

The direction in which the sub-pixels 12R, 12G, and 12B are arranged is not limited to the direction shown in fig. 2 (X-axis direction). The sub-pixels 12R, 12G, and 12B may be selectively arranged in the Y-axis direction.

Color factors suitable for use in the present invention are also not limited to red (R), green (G), and blue (B). For example, cyan (C), yellow (Y) and magenta (M) can be used as color factors.

Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary fix-up table 32b stored in the secondary storage device 30 shown in fig. 1. In fig. 3, the correction table 32b defines the color factor (correction pattern) intensities of the adjoining sub-pixels of the sub-pixels corresponding to the basic region of the character or graphic. The correction pattern determined by the correction table 32b shows that the color factor levels of the sub-pixels located on each side (X direction and/or- (minus) X direction) of the corresponding sub-pixels of the basic portion of the character or figure are designated as "5", "2" and "1" successively from near to far from the basic portion of the character or figure. Hereinafter, for the sake of simplicity, the correction pattern is expressed by tabular expression (5, 2, 1). The length of the tabular expression (3 in this example) defines the length of the correction pattern. The adjacent sub-pixels of the corresponding sub-pixels of the basic portion refer to sub-pixels located in the X-axis or-X-axis direction with respect to the corresponding sub-pixels of the basic portion and within a distance range equal to the length of the correction pattern, the value of the distance being defined by the number of sub-pixels from the corresponding sub-pixels of the basic portion to the adjacent sub-pixels in the X and-X directions. Note that the fix-up table 32b shown in fig. 1 is not limited to the fix-up table 32b shown in fig. 3. The length of the correction pattern is not limited to "3".

Thus, a color factor level is established for at least one of the adjacent sub-pixels of the corresponding sub-pixel of the basic portion of the character or graphic using the correction pattern. The color factor level is defined in terms of the distance of the sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion of the character or graphic. For example, as the sub-pixel distance corresponding to the basic portion of the character or graphic increases, the color level of the adjacent sub-pixels of the sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion of the character or graphic monotonically decreases. This reduction manner is not limited to (5, 2, 1) described above.

Fig. 4 is an exemplary brightness table 32c maintained in the secondary storage device 30 shown in fig. 1. Storing the luminance table 32c in the secondary storage device 30 allows easy conversion of the sub-pixel color factor levels to luminance levels. As shown in fig. 4, in the luminance table 32c, 8 color factor levels (level 7 to level 0) of the sub-pixels are substantially equally divided into luminance levels 0 to 255. A color factor level of "7" is designated as a brightness level of "0"; color factor level "6" is designated as brightness level "36"; color factor level "5" is designated as brightness level "73"; a color factor level "4" is designated as a brightness level "109"; color factor level "3" is designated as brightness level "146"; color factor level "2" is designated as brightness level "182"; a color factor level of "1" is designated as a brightness level of "219"; the color factor level "0" is designated as the brightness level "255".

The control section 40 in fig. 1 designates the color factor level of the sub-pixels corresponding to the substantial portion of the character or graphic in fig. 1 as "7", and designates the color factor levels of the adjacent sub-pixels of the sub-pixels corresponding to the substantial portion of the character or graphic as any one of "1" to "6" in accordance with the values in the correction table 32 b. The control section 40 also designates the color factor levels of the sub-pixels corresponding to the background of the character or graphic as "0".

The brightness table 32c is used when the display attribute of the character or graphic is "standard display (display background is white, and displayed character or graphic is black)". When the display attribute of the character or graphic is "reverse display (the display background is black, the displayed character or graphic is white)", for example, for each color factor R, G, B, in the luminance table 32c, the arrangement of the luminance levels corresponding to the color factor levels "0" to "7" is reversed.

Note that the display attribute of a character or graphic refers to a color of a background of the character or graphic, and a combination of the colors of the character or graphic. Providing an appropriate brightness table 32c makes it possible to display characters or graphics with any display attribute.

In fig. 4, the subpixels have 8 color factor levels (level 7 to level 0). The invention is not limited thereto.

As described above, the correspondence between the color factor levels and the luminance levels is such that a plurality of color factor levels (level 7 to level 0) of the sub-pixels can be designated as luminance levels (substantially equally divided between 0 and 255) of (0 to 255). The invention is not limited thereto. The color factor level may be specified as a non-equally divided brightness level. The color factors R, G and B may have different color factor level and brightness level correspondences. For example, by taking into consideration the characteristics of the display, the correspondence of the color factor level and the luminance level can be appropriately determined for each of the color factors R, G and B.

Fig. 5A-5E each illustrate a different exemplary move table 32d, which is stored in the secondary storage device 30 of fig. 1. In fig. 5A to 5E, the shift table 32d (321d to 325d) defines a shift amount indicating an amount by which the basic part of the character or graphic is shifted on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis in the direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged within the frame. In the following, it is assumed that three suitable movement amounts 0, 1 and 2 are used in the display screen 11 of the display device 10. The invention is not limited thereto.

The magnitude of the color noise depends on the characteristics of the display 10, the type or number of the correction patterns, the number of strokes of the character or graphic (the density of the strokes), the combination of the background color and the color of the character or graphic, and the like. Therefore, to reduce color noise, a shift amount and a shift table suitable for the cause of color noise are required.

For example, fig. 5A shows a movement table 321d for determining the movement amount based on the characteristics of the display 10 (device characteristics a, device characteristics B, device characteristics c.....). The display 10 may display a variety of colors, such as 256, 4096, and 65,000 colors. Due to these features, it is possible to cope with the case where, for example, the basic colors R, G and B are displayed unevenly.

The shift table 322d shown in fig. 5B is used to determine the shift amount based on the density width (density width 1, density width 2, density width 3.) of the character or graphic. The arrangement of the color factor level or the correction pattern needs to be adjusted separately for different densities of characters or figures. Even in the case of the same background color and the same character or graphic, since color noise that can be visually observed is different, the amount of movement needs to be adjusted.

The shift table 323d shown in fig. 5C is used to determine the shift amount based on the type of character or graphic (european character, kanji character, non-kanji character). Different types of characters or graphics have different positions of the character or graphic relative to its frame, different numbers of strokes of the character or graphic, different stroke densities, etc. Therefore, there may be a case where all the necessary number of correction patterns cannot be provided. This situation may be handled, for example, using the move table 323 d.

The shift table 324D shown in fig. 5D is used to determine the shift amount based on the combination of the background color of the character or graphic and the color of the character or graphic, for example, when browsing network data. In the shift table 324d, shift amounts are established for combinations of colors such as white, black, blue, red, and yellow.

The shift table 325d shown in fig. 5E is used to determine the shift amount based on a combination of the shift table of the device characteristics and the character or graphic density width shift table.

By selecting an appropriate shift amount using these shift tables, shifting a basic portion of a character or a graphic can attenuate color noise. The amount of movement of the basic part is the information (values 0, 1 and 2) stored in these tables.

Note that the movement table 32D is not limited to the movement tables in fig. 5A to 5D. The move table 32d includes various other move tables.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of displaying characters or graphics, which is described by the character/graphic display program 31 shown in fig. 1, executed by the control section 40.

By executing the character/graphic display program 31 by the CPU41 in the control section 40, even when a correction pattern cannot be employed (i.e., the correction pattern exceeds a frame area corresponding to a character or graphic on the display screen of the display device 10) in an area corresponding to a frame of the character or graphic on the display screen of the display device 10, the character or graphic can be displayed with high definition.

Hereinafter, steps S601 to S609 in the character/graphic display process will be described.

As shown in fig. 6, in step S601, characters or graphics to be displayed on the display screen of the display device 10 are input. In this case, for example, the identification code and the size of the character or the figure are input through the input device 20.

Next, in step S602, basic part data of characters or graphics corresponding to the input identification code and size is obtained and temporarily saved in the main memory 42. The basic portion data is bitmap data which defines a basic portion of a character or graphic in sub-pixels. The dots constituting the basic portion data correspond to the respective sub-pixels.

For example, when the number of subpixels in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction of each character or figure input in step S601 is 10, the number of subpixels in the X-axis direction of the character or figure is 30, and the number of subpixels in the Y-axis direction is 10. Since the dots constituting the basic portion data correspond to the respective sub-pixels, the size of the basic portion data obtained in step S602 is 30 dots (X-axis direction) × 10 dots (Y-axis direction). The region having such a size is called a "frame" of characters or graphics (e.g., a region surrounded by a thick line 1901 in fig. 21). Characters or graphics are contained in the frame. The sub-pixels corresponding to the basic portion of the character or graphic are contained in the area corresponding to the frame on the display screen 11 of the display device 10.

For example, by reading the character/graphic data 32a from the secondary storage device 30, the basic portion data can be obtained. Alternatively, as disclosed in japanese laid-open publication No.2002-49366, the basic portion data may be generated from bitmap data representing the shape of a character or graphic in a pixel. Alternatively, as disclosed in japanese patent laid-open publication No.2001-100725, basic portion data may be generated from character or figure outline information representing an outline of a character or figure, or skeleton data representing a skeleton shape of a character or figure.

Hereinafter, it is assumed that the basic portion data as shown in fig. 22 has been generated.

In step S603, the movement table 32d containing various data 32 is referred to. The amount of movement of the basic portion of the character or graphic can be determined based on the information stored in the movement table 32 d. Now, assume that the movement table 321d shown in fig. 5A is used.

For the basic portion data as shown in fig. 22, there is no space on the right side of a stroke (basic portion) 1802 on the right side of the character "H", so that a correction pattern including at least 2 sub-pixels is added to the frame. Thus, the right side of stroke 1802 may have significant color noise. In this case, the amount of movement is decided based on the characteristics of the apparatus as shown in fig. 5A in accordance with the display characteristics of the display 10 currently used. For example, when the display characteristic of the display 10 is "device characteristic C" as shown in fig. 5A, the amount of movement of the basic portion of the character or graphic is 1 (on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis).

Note that even when a correction pattern including at least 2 sub-pixels is added to the frame when there is no blank, color noise can be visually imperceptible. This is the case, for example, for "device feature B" as shown in fig. 5A. In this case, the shift amount of the basic portion is 0 (on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis).

As shown in fig. 7, when the correction pattern can be added to the frame without moving the characters or graphics, the amount of movement is "0". Such characters or figures include, for example, characters that are smaller in size than characters or figures having the same frame. In this case, step S606 is directly performed without performing step S605.

In step S604, it is determined whether or not the basic portion movement amount of the character or graphic defined in the movement table 321d is greater than or equal to "1". When the determination in step S604 results in the movement amount being greater than or equal to "1" (yes), step S605 is executed. When the determination result in step S604 is not that the movement amount is greater than or equal to "1" (no), step S605 is not performed, and step S606 is directly performed.

In step S605, the basic part of the character or graphic is moved based on the movement amount defined by the movement table 321 d. In this example, the amount of movement is "1". Accordingly, the basic portion of the character "H" is shifted to the left by "1" from the basic portion data of fig. 22, as shown in fig. 8.

In step S606, each point, which constitutes a basic portion of data, is associated with a sub-pixel in the display 10. This association is achieved by noting where the characters are displayed on the display 10. For example, when a character is displayed in the upper left corner of the display 10, the point constituting the upper left corner of the basic portion data is associated with a position shifted from the sub-pixel in the upper left corner of the display 10 by a predetermined shift amount of the sub-pixel. A frame, which includes a substantial portion of the data, is associated with an area on the display screen 11. Here, the shift amount is "1", and the distribution of the dots constituting the basic portion data is as shown in fig. 9. The color factor level of the corresponding sub-pixel of the basic portion is designated as a predefined color factor level ("7" in fig. 9).

In step S607, a correction pattern is provided to the basic portion. The color factor level of the sub-pixels adjacent to the corresponding sub-pixel of the basic portion is set to be lower than the predefined color factor level. The color factor levels of the adjoining sub-pixels are determined based on the correction table 32b included in the plurality of data 32 and set to "5", "2" and "1" in order from near to far according to the distance from the corresponding sub-pixel of the basic portion. When the correction pattern is used in the basic portion as shown in fig. 9, a correction pattern having at least two sub-pixels is used on the right side of a stroke 1802 on the right side of the character "H", as shown in fig. 10. In this way, color noise that would otherwise appear to the right of the stroke 1802 is significantly suppressed.

In step S608, the color factor levels of the sub-pixels are converted into luminance data. This conversion is performed by referring to the brightness table 32c in the various data 32 for each sub-pixel included in the frame area corresponding to the character or graphic on the display screen 11.

Finally, in step S609, it is displayed that the luminance data representing the luminance level is transferred to the display 10. The brightness level of the display screen 11 of the display 10 is thus controlled on a sub-pixel by sub-pixel basis, whereby characters or graphics are displayed on the display screen 11.

Next, a character/graphic display step will be described in which the movement table 325D shown in fig. 5D is used.

In step S601, the identification code and the size of the characters or graphics to be displayed on the display screen 11 of the display 10 are input through the input device 20.

Then, in step S602, basic part data of characters or graphics corresponding to the input identification code and size is obtained and temporarily saved into the main memory 42.

In step S603, a move table 32d (move table 325d shown in fig. 5E) among the plural kinds of data 32 is referred to. The amount of movement of the basic portion of the character or graphic is determined based on the information stored in the movement table 32 d.

For the basic partial data as shown in fig. 22, as described above, significant color noise occurs. If the color of the character or graphic is different from the combination of the background colors, the color noise visually observed varies for each color combination. In this case, the amount of movement is determined by looking up in the combination of the color of the character or graphic and the background color as shown in fig. 5D, according to the combination of the color of the character or graphic and the background color currently used. For example, when the background color is "red" and the color of the character or graphic is "black", the amount of movement of the basic portion of the character or graphic is 2 (on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis) according to fig. 5D.

For a particular combination of character or graphic color and background color, no visible color noise will occur even if there is no space such that the correction pattern comprising at least two sub-pixels is placed within the frame as described above. For example, when the background color is "blue" and the color of the character or graphic is "red", the amount of movement of the basic portion is 0 (on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis).

In step S604, it is determined whether or not the movement amount of the basic portion of the character or graphic defined in the movement table 325d is greater than or equal to "1". When the movement amount is greater than or equal to "1" (yes) as a result of the determination in step S604, step S605 is executed; when the determination in step S604 does not result in the amount of movement being greater than or equal to "1" (no), step S605 is not performed, and step S606 is performed.

In step S605, the basic part of the character or graphic is moved based on the movement amount defined in the movement table 325 d. In this example, the amount of movement is "2". Therefore, the basic portion of the character "H" is shifted to the left by "2" from the basic portion data as shown in fig. 22.

In step S606, the dots constituting the basic portion data are all associated with sub-pixels in the display 10. Each point of the basic part of the data is associated with a sub-pixel on the display 10. Here, the shift amount is "2", and the dots constituting the basic portion data are distributed as shown in fig. 11. The color factor level of the corresponding sub-pixel of the basic portion is designated as the predefined color factor level ("7" in fig. 11).

In step S607, a correction pattern is applied to the basic portion. The color factor level of the sub-pixels adjacent to the corresponding sub-pixel of the basic portion is set to a level lower than the predefined color factor level. The color factor levels of the adjacent sub-pixels are determined by setting them to "5", "2" and "1" in order of the distance from the basic sub-pixels from near to far based on the correction table 32b included in the plurality of data 32. When this correction pattern is used in the basic portion shown in fig. 11, a correction pattern including at least two sub-pixels is used on the right side of the stroke 1802 on the right side of the character "H" shown in fig. 12. In this way, color noise that would otherwise appear to the right of the stroke 1802 is significantly suppressed.

Note that when the movement amount of the basic portion is set to "2", a part of the correction pattern cannot be adopted on the left side of the left stroke 1803 of the character "H". However, due to the need to suppress color noise, "at least two sub-pixels of the correction pattern may be employed". So that no significant color noise occurs.

Further, in step S608, the color factor levels of the sub-pixels are converted into luminance levels. This conversion is performed for each sub-pixel included in the frame area corresponding to the character or graphic of the display screen 11 by referring to the brightness table 32c in the various data 32.

Finally, in step S609, luminance data representing the luminance level is transmitted to the display 10. The brightness level of the display screen 11 of the display 10 is thus controlled on a pixel-by-pixel basis, so that characters or graphics are displayed on the display screen 11.

Note that in this example only one movement table is referenced to display characters/graphics. For example, the movement amount of the basic part of the character or graphic can be obtained using a movement table (such as the movement table 325d shown in fig. 5E) obtained by combining the movement tables.

In this example, english letters are displayed on the display screen 11 of the display 10. The invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can be used with characters of any language (e.g., japanese characters, chinese characters, english characters, korean characters, etc.). The invention is not limited to displaying characters but may also be used for displaying symbol information such as pictorial symbols, figures, symbols, etc.

In this example, the data obtained by moving the basic portion in step S605 or the data obtained by applying the correction pattern to the basic portion in step S607 is stored in a recording medium such as a ROM, FD, CD, or the like, so that characters or graphics can be displayed on a device other than the display device 1. For example, as the ROM, a mask ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a flash ROM, or the like can be used. When the ROM is used, various processes can be easily performed by changing the ROM.

In this example, the data obtained by moving the basic portion in step S605 or the data obtained by applying the correction pattern to the basic portion in step S607 may be stored in a storage medium having a function of storing data, such as a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, an MD, a DVD, an IC card, an optical card, a flash memory, or the like, so that characters or graphics can be displayed on a device other than the display device 1.

The readable medium described above may be a medium for non-fixed carrying of the program or data, for example, a communication medium for transmitting the program or data through a communication network, instead of a medium for fixed carrying of the program or information, for example, a storage device (the above-described hard disk or card), a semiconductor memory, or the like. When the display device 1 is an information device provided with a communication line connection means including the internet or the like, at least a part of the data can be downloaded from the communication line.

In this example, the color factor levels in the correction patterns are provided on each side of the skeleton portion, and the color factor levels of these correction patterns are assigned lower values than those of the character or graphic information skeleton portion, which are stepped down. The invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the color factor levels of the correction patterns are provided on a single side of the skeleton portion, and the color factor levels of the correction patterns are assigned values lower than the color factor levels of the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information, which are stepped down. In addition to or in lieu of the present technique, correction patterns may be provided on each or a single vertical side of the skeletal section, with color factor levels of these correction patterns being assigned lower values than the color factor levels of the skeletal section of the character or graphic information, with these values being progressively lower. Therefore, in the present invention, the color factor levels are provided in the regions other than the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information (on each or a single side and/or each or a single vertical side), and these color factor levels are specified as values smaller than the color factor level of the skeleton portion, and these values are reduced stepwise. In particular, the arrangement direction of the sub-pixels 12R, 12G, and 12B is not limited to the direction (X-axis direction) shown in fig. 2. In addition to or instead of using the X-axis direction, the sub-pixels 12R, 12G, and 12B may be in the Y-direction. For example, correction patterns defined in the correction table may be provided in the vicinity of the basic portion (skeleton portion) of the corresponding sub-pixel of the character or graphic in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction and/or- (minus) Y-axis direction), and the color factor levels of the sub-pixels are assigned, for example, as "5", "2", and "1" in order of the distance from the basic portion (skeleton portion) of the character or graphic from near to far.

Industrial applications

As described above, according to the present invention, the center of the skeleton portion of the character or graphic information is moved to the center of the frame using the control section. In particular, the character or graphic information moves inside the frame on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis in the direction in which the sub-pixels are arranged. The skeleton part (base part) is moved so that a correction pattern having at least two sub-pixels whose color factor level is lower than the predefined color factor can be provided inwards from the skeleton end. Thereafter, a predefined color factor level is specified for at least the sub-pixels corresponding to the skeleton portion (basic portion) of the character or graphic. Adjacent sub-pixels outside the sub-pixel are assigned a color factor level below a predefined color factor level. In this way, character or graphic information can be displayed on the display screen of the display. With such a simple process of moving character or graphic information, even when a correction pattern cannot be provided in an area on the display screen corresponding to the frame of characters or graphics (i.e., a correction pattern that exceeds the area on the display screen of the display corresponding to the frame of characters or graphics cannot be moved to be placed in the area), the character or graphic information can be displayed with high definition without occurrence of color noise.

Various other modifications will be apparent to and can be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the foregoing description, but rather that the claims be construed broadly.

Claims (13)

1. A display device, comprising:

a control section having a CPU and a main memory for controlling display on the display screen so as to specify color factor levels for portions adjoining the skeleton portion of the symbol information, wherein the symbol information is displayed in a frame having a predefined size and the color factor levels are lower in steps than the color factor levels of the skeleton portion,

wherein the control section has a skeleton portion moving section that controls a center of the skeleton portion to move toward a center of the frame in a predefined direction of the display screen so that color noise is suppressed and a line density of the character can be adjusted,

wherein the control part includes:

a skeleton portion color factor level designating unit for designating a sub-pixel corresponding to the skeleton portion of the symbol information as a predefined color factor level after the skeleton portion of the symbol information is moved;

an external color factor level designating section for designating at least one adjacent sub-pixel outside the skeleton portion of the symbol information as at least one color factor level which is lower in order than a predefined color factor level corresponding to the sub-pixel of the skeleton portion of the symbol information; and

and a display control section for displaying the symbol information to which the color factor level is assigned on the display screen.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of pixels each having a plurality of sub-pixels arranged in a predetermined direction are provided on the display screen, and the skeleton portion moving means is operable to move the skeleton portion of the symbol information on a sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis in the predetermined direction of the sub-pixels arranged in the predetermined direction within the frame area.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the skeleton portion moving means is for moving the skeleton portion of the frame so as to take at least two sub-pixels from an end of the frame inward, the at least two sub-pixels having a lower color factor level than that of the skeleton portion.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the symbol information is at least one of: character information, graphic information, image character information, and mark information.

5. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the skeleton portion of the symbol information is defined using bitmap data.

6. A display device according to claim 2, wherein a skeleton portion of the symbol information is defined in said sub-pixels arranged in a predefined direction.

7. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the skeleton portion moving means is operable to move the skeleton portion of the symbol information by one or two pixels in the predetermined direction of the sub-pixels arranged in the predetermined direction within the frame.

8. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the display device includes a movement table storing movement information for defining a movement amount of the skeleton portion of the symbol information, and the skeleton portion movement section is configured to determine the movement amount of the skeleton by referring to the movement table.

9. The display device according to claim 7, wherein the display device includes a movement table storing movement information for defining a movement amount of the skeleton portion of the symbol information, and the skeleton portion movement section is configured to determine the movement amount of the skeleton by referring to the movement table.

10. The display device according to claim 8, wherein the display device has a plurality of movement tables, and the skeleton portion moving section is configured to change the amount of movement of the skeleton by selecting and referring to at least one of the plurality of movement tables.

11. The display device according to claim 9, wherein the display device has a plurality of movement tables, and the skeleton portion moving section is configured to change the amount of movement of the skeleton by selecting and referring to at least one of the plurality of movement tables.

12. A display device according to claim 2, wherein the display device has recording means for storing information about the result of moving the skeleton portion on a sub-pixel by sub-pixel basis in said predefined direction of said sub-pixels arranged in the predefined direction within the frame.

13. An information device comprising a display device according to claim 1.