JP2001100686A - Display data acquisition method and comparative inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a display data fetching method and a comparative inspection device which can have a relatively inexpensive configuration and enable fine comparison of graphic display. SOLUTION: A buffer 11 for temporarily storing a vertical synchronizing signal, a horizontal synchronizing signal and display data, an address counter 12 which is cleared by the vertical synchronizing signal and counts up only during a period in which the horizontal synchronizing signal is valid, Data latches 13 and 14 for latching data of even or odd addresses in units, a selector 15 for outputting a write address of the comparison RAM 20 based on the counter value of the address counter 12, and a plurality of data from the data latches 13 and 14 RAM for comparison at the same timing
20 including a selector 16 for writing to
0 is a comparative inspection device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a comparative inspection apparatus for comparing and inspecting the display of a personal computer and a dedicated display terminal.
In particular, the present invention relates to a display data capturing method for directly capturing and comparing display data and a comparative inspection device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as an apparatus for comparing and inspecting the display of a personal computer and a dedicated display terminal, there has been one described below. First, for a character display-based device such as a personal computer or a dedicated display terminal, since the main control unit directly controls the display memory, a dedicated adapter for writing into the comparison memory allocated to the same address as the display memory. Is connected to a personal computer and an expansion bus of a dedicated display terminal, and simultaneously writes the same data as the display data.

Second, some of the latest graphic display terminals capture image output by video capture or the like and compare the captured images individually.

The first comparative inspection apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration block diagram showing a conventional dedicated display terminal and a comparative inspection device. As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional dedicated display terminal includes a main control unit (CPU) 51,
ROM 52, RAM 53, I / O input / output unit 54,
A display memory 55, a display control unit (CRTC) 56, and a character generator (CG.) 57 are provided.
In FIG. 4, since the display contents of the two dedicated display terminals are compared, two sets of the dedicated display terminals are provided.

[0005] The comparison and inspection apparatus comprises dedicated adapters 60 a and 60 b connected to the bus of each dedicated display terminal, and a comparator 70. This dedicated adapter 60 includes:
A comparison memory allocated to the same address as the display memory 55 is provided. The comparator 70 is a dedicated adapter 60
The data in the comparison memories a and 60b are compared to check whether the display data matches or not.

Next, the internal configuration of the dedicated adapter 60 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram showing the inside of a conventional dedicated adapter. Dedicated adapter 60
As shown in FIG. 5, an address decoder 61, a dedicated adapter RAM (comparison memory) 62, and a selector 63
And a selector 64.

The operation of the dedicated adapter 60 is as follows. When the CPU 51 of the dedicated display terminal writes the display data to the display memory 55, the display data is also written to the dedicated adapter RAM 62. And the write data is supplied to the selector 64
Is input to Then, the address decoder 61 outputs the address of the writing location to the selector 63, and the selector 63 outputs the address to the dedicated adapter RAM 62. The data input via the selector 64 is written to the address.

When the comparator 70 reads display data from the dedicated adapter RAM 62 of the dedicated adapter 60, it outputs an address to be read from the comparator 70 to the dedicated adapter RAM 62 via the selector 63. Then, the dedicated adapter RAM 62 reads the data written at the address, and outputs the data to the comparator 7 via the selector 64.
Output to 0.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing a state in which display data is written to the display memory 55 and the dedicated adapter RAM 62. FIG. 6 shows that when the CPU 51 of the conventional dedicated display terminal accesses the display memory 55 (display data write), it is also written to the memory (dedicated adapter RAM 62) in the dedicated adapter 60 mapped to the same area. Have been. Here, simultaneous writing is performed because mapping is performed with the same address.

The data in the dedicated adapter RAM 62 is compared by the CPU in the comparator to determine whether the data is the same. The dedicated adapter 60 maps to the same address as the display memory 55 of the dedicated display terminal,
Since the access is required from the CPU of the comparator, it is necessary to develop only the kind of dedicated display terminal.

As a technique for comparing and inspecting two screen data, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-28229, “Screen Data Inspection Apparatus and Screen Data Inspection Method” published on Feb. 5, 1993 (application). Person: Kokusai Electric Inc., Inventor: Makoto Yoshida et al.) The present invention is a screen data inspection device in which a control unit inside a screen comparison adapter fetches screen data from a terminal device, stores the screen data in a storage unit, and transfers the screen data to a comparison processing device for comparison inspection. The program is executed by each terminal device, and the screen data is compared efficiently.

[0012]

However, the above-mentioned conventional apparatus has the following problems. In the first inspection device, each time the model of the dedicated display terminal changes,
Since the expansion bus changes, it is necessary to develop a dedicated adapter accordingly, and there is a problem that it becomes expensive.

Further, in recent years, the graphic system has become the mainstream instead of the character system. Instead of writing graphic data directly from the main control unit to the display memory, a method of passing a display command to the graphic controller and writing the graphic data to the display RAM has become mainstream. ,
There is a problem that the first inspection apparatus is becoming unusable.

[0014] In the second inspection apparatus, it is possible to compare graphic displays. However, since the resolution of video capture is lower than that of a normal display, there is a problem that it is not possible to compare fine displays. . Further, since a video capture device is separately required, there is a problem in that the device becomes expensive as a result.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a display data capturing method and a comparative inspection apparatus which can be made relatively inexpensive and allow fine comparison of graphic displays. With the goal.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a display data capturing method comprising:
For a vertical synchronization signal, a horizontal synchronization signal, and display data, clear an address counter of a memory that stores the display data based on the vertical synchronization signal, and count up the address counter only during a period in which the horizontal synchronization signal is valid; Each time the count-up is performed, the display data is latched in a specific bit unit, and the operation of writing the latched display data to the memory at a timing when a plurality of the latched display data are aligned is repeated until the next vertical synchronization signal. Since data corresponding to each bit is taken into the memory, the data taken into the memory can be compared regardless of the specifications of the display terminal, and graphic data can be compared regardless of the resolution.

Further, the present invention provides a comparative inspection apparatus,
A plurality of data acquisition means, a comparison storage means provided corresponding to the data acquisition means, and a comparison means for comparing data in the comparison storage means, wherein the data acquisition means has a vertical synchronization signal, For the horizontal synchronization signal and display data, the address counter of the comparison storage means is cleared based on the vertical synchronization signal, the address counter is counted up only during the period in which the horizontal synchronization signal is valid, and displayed in a specific bit unit each time the count up is performed. The operation of latching the data and writing the latched display data to the comparison storage means at a specific timing is repeated until the next vertical synchronization signal, and the data corresponding to each bit of the display data is used for comparison. Since the data is stored in the storage unit, the data stored in the comparison storage unit can be compared regardless of the specifications of the display terminal. Can also comparison of graphics data, regardless of the time.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the function realizing means described below may be any circuit or device as long as the function can be realized, and some or all of the functions may be realized by software. is there. Further, the function realizing means may be realized by a plurality of circuits, or the plurality of function realizing means may be realized by a single circuit.

In the display data capturing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the vertical synchronizing signal, the horizontal synchronizing signal, and the display data output to the display means are stored in an address of a memory for storing the display data based on the vertical synchronizing signal. Clear the counter, count up only while the horizontal sync signal is valid,
The display data is latched in a specific bit unit each time the count-up is performed, and the latched display data is written to the memory at a timing when a specific plurality of the display data are prepared.

By repeating this operation until the next vertical synchronizing signal, data corresponding to each bit of the display data is taken into the memory. Thus, the capacity of the memory can be set to a capacity corresponding to the display resolution, and it is possible to cope with a change in the specification of the display terminal on which the display data is displayed.

A comparison inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention compares a plurality of data acquisition means, a comparison storage means provided corresponding to the data acquisition means, and data in the comparison storage means. Data acquisition means for clearing the address counter of the storage means for comparison with respect to the vertical synchronization signal, the horizontal synchronization signal, and the display data based on the vertical synchronization signal, and only during the period when the horizontal synchronization signal is valid. The operation of counting up, latching the display data in specific bit units each time the count is increased, and writing the latched display data to the comparison storage means at the timing when a plurality of the specified display data are aligned is repeated until the next vertical synchronization signal. . Thus, the capacity of the comparison storage means can be set to a capacity corresponding to the display resolution, and can be adapted to any specification of the display terminal on which the display data is displayed.

Here, the comparison storage means is the comparison RAMs 20a and 20b in FIG.
In FIG. 2, the data fetch means is the data fetch units 10a and 10b in FIG.

Further, the data fetch unit 10 includes a buffer 11 for temporarily storing a vertical synchronizing signal, a horizontal synchronizing signal, and display data, and an address counter which is cleared by the vertical synchronizing signal and counts up only during a period in which the horizontal synchronizing signal is valid. 1
2, a first data latch 13 for latching display data at even addresses in specific bit units, a second data latch 14 for latching display data at odd addresses in specific bit units, and an address counter 12. A first selector 15 that outputs a write address of the comparison RAM 20 based on the counter value of
And a second selector 16 that writes the data from the RAM 14 to the comparison RAM 20 at a specific timing.

The first selector outputs the address from the CPU 30 to the comparison RAM 20, and outputs the address to the comparison RAM 2.
0 outputs the data at that address to the second selector 16. The second selector 16 outputs data input from the comparison RAM 20 to the CPU 30.

First, a schematic configuration of a system for comparing and inspecting display data by using the display data capturing method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system for performing a comparison inspection of display data using the display data capturing method according to the present invention. A system for comparing and inspecting display data using the display data capturing method according to the present invention actually displays display data of a personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2a, which is one display device, and a personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2a. For example, a display element (LCD display element) 3a such as an LCD panel, a personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2b as the other display device, and an LCD display element 3b for actually displaying display data of the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2b
And a comparative inspection device 1 for performing a comparison test between display data of the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2a and display data of the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2b.

Normally, the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2a
It is connected to the CD display element 3a, outputs graphic display data according to the display interface of the LCD display element 3a, and performs display on the LCD display element 3. Similarly, the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2b has an LCD display element 3
b, outputs graphic display data according to the display interface of the LCD display element 3b, and connects to the LCD display element 3b to display display data.
In recent years, each display element maker has been promoting the use of a common display interface as an industry standard.

When the display data of the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2a is compared with the display data of the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2b to test whether both display data are the same, the personal computer / dedicated display terminal is used. The connector connected to the LCD display element 3a of the terminal 2a is reconnected to the comparison and inspection apparatus 1, and the LCD of the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2b is similarly connected.
The connection connector connected to the display element 3b is compared with the comparison inspection device 1
To reconnect.

The display data output from the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2a through the connection connector and the display data output from the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2b through the connection connector are compared with each other in accordance with each display element interface. The stored data is compared with each other to check whether they are the same.

Next, the configuration of the comparative inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of the comparative inspection apparatus according to the present invention. In order to compare display data of two display devices, a comparison inspection device (this device) of the present invention includes a data capturing unit 10a that captures display data of one display device and a comparison device that stores the captured display data. RAM 20a, a data capturing unit 10b for capturing display data of the other display device, a comparison RAM 20b for storing the captured display data, and a comparison RA
CP for comparing data of M20a and comparison RAM 20b
U30.

Under the same interface conditions as the display element interface from the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2 to the LCD display element 3, the data acquisition section 10 outputs a horizontal synchronizing signal (H
-SYNC), vertical synchronization signal (V-SYNC), DOTCLK, R (red), which are clocks in data bit units,
A display signal composed of G (edge) and B (blue) color signals is fetched, and display data is fetched into the comparison RAM 20 based on these signals.
The internal configuration and operation of the data capture unit 10b are exactly the same as those of the data capture unit 10b, except for the display device to be captured.

The comparison RAM 20 is a RAM for storing the display data fetched by the data fetching unit 10, and its capacity needs to be large according to the display resolution of the display device. The CPU 30 includes a comparison RAM 20a and a comparison RA
The display data stored in M20b is read and compared.

Next, the details of the data capturing section 10 which is a characteristic part of the present apparatus will be described. The inside of the data fetch unit 10 includes a buffer 11, an address counter 12, data latches 13 and 14, and selectors 15 and 16.

Next, each unit in the data acquisition unit 10 will be specifically described. The buffer 11 receives a horizontal synchronization signal (H-SYNC) and a vertical synchronization signal (V-SY) input under the same interface conditions as the display element interface.
NC), DOTCL which is a clock in data bit units
It is a buffer for buffering display signals composed of K, R (red), G (edge), and B (blue) color signals.
The personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2a to be compared and inspected
For some abs, the R, G, and B colors are weighted by several bits to enable multi-color display. This time, a description will be given of a case in which each color is weighted by 4 bits.

The address counter 12 is a counter for counting fetched data, and is provided with a vertical synchronizing signal (V-
SYNC), a horizontal synchronization signal (H-SYNC) and DO
It receives a logical product (AND) signal (CLK) with TCLK, counts fetched data, and outputs a counter value. As a specific operation of the address counter 12, a vertical synchronizing signal (V-SYN
The counter is once cleared based on the rising edge of C), and the horizontal synchronization signal (H-SYNC) is valid at the clock timing of the logical product (AND) signal (CLK) of the horizontal synchronization signal (H-SYNC) and DOTCLK. The counter is only counted up for a while. The count-up speed is a clock obtained by dividing the number of bits latched by the data latches 13 and 14 by the number of data bits of the comparison RAM 20.
Count up.

The data latches 13 and 14 latch and output data in 4-bit units each time the address counter 12 counts up. Note that the latch timing is the same as that of the address counter 12 except for the CLK timing.
And the same timing as the timing counted up by the address counter 12 is detected. The data latches for the R, G, and B color signals are used for the even number (data latch 13) and the odd number (data latch 14) of the counter value in the address counter 12.
Are prepared, and each of them is latched by 2 bits. Therefore, the data latch 13 and the data latch 14 shown in FIG.
A set of data latches for (green) and B (blue) is provided, but is not shown in FIG. Also, it is necessary to provide a selector corresponding to each of RGB, and an address counter is also required corresponding to each color. However, in FIG. 2, only one color is described for simplicity of description. .

The selector 15 receives the counter value from the address counter 12 and outputs the address of the comparison RAM 20 at a timing according to the data width of the comparison RAM 20. Here, assuming that the data width of the comparison RAM 20 is 8 bits, at the timing of the odd counter value at which the 8-bit data is aligned with the selector 16 described later.
An address for writing data to the comparison RAM 20 is output.

The selector 16 has a storage area for storing the data from the data latches 13 and 14 by the data width of the comparison RAM 20, and stores the data stored in the comparison RAM 20 when the storage areas are aligned. Output. Here, the comparison RAM 2
Assuming that the data width of 0 is 8 bits, the data (2 bits each) from the data latches 13 and 14 is 2 bits.
The data is output to the comparison RAM 20 at the timing of the odd counter value in the address counter 12 in which the 8-bit data is stored and the data is stored.

The data acquisition section 10 of the comparative inspection apparatus of the present invention
Will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the operation of capturing the display data in the data capturing unit 10 of the comparative inspection device of the present invention. In FIG. 3,
A case where a color signal having a weight of 4 bits for each of R, G, and B colors is input and the data width of the comparison RAM 20 is 8 bits will be described.

In the address counter 12, the counter is reset on the basis of the rising edge of the vertical synchronizing signal (V-SYNC), and once every two rising edges of DOTCLK only while the horizontal synchronizing signal (H-SYNC) is valid. Counted up. The display data is taken into the data latch 13 and the data latch 14 by two bits for each even or odd count value of the address counter 12, and is displayed for every four count values, that is, the count values 0 to 3 in FIG. , 4-7, 8-12,..., Are written to the comparison RAM 20.

In the comparison inspection apparatus of the present invention, for comparison inspection of display data, the display data is taken in by the comparison RAM 20a, the display data stored in the comparison RAM 20a, and taken in by the comparison RAM 20b, and the comparison RA is taken.
The contents of the display data stored in M20b
By reading and comparing the data, a comparative inspection of each graphic display data can be performed.

According to the display data capturing method and the comparative inspection apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, graphic display data is directly transmitted through the same interface as the display interface output from the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2 to the LCD display element 3. Since the comparison is performed by taking in, there is an effect that a highly accurate comparison inspection can be performed. In recent years, display manufacturers have standardized the display interface as an industry standard. If display data is captured in this area, the interface will change every time even if the model of the personal computer / dedicated display terminal 2 is different. However, there is no need to remanufacture new equipment, so it is versatile and economical.

In addition, display data of graphic display, which has become mainstream in personal computers and special-purpose display terminals in recent years, can be reliably captured in units of one dot, and a comparative inspection can be performed with an inexpensive configuration. effective.

[0043]

According to the present invention, the address counter of the memory for storing the display data is cleared for the vertical synchronization signal, the horizontal synchronization signal and the display data based on the vertical synchronization signal, and the horizontal synchronization signal is valid. Counts up the address counter for a short period of time, latches the display data in specific bit units each time the count up is performed,
Since the operation of writing the latched display data to the memory at a specific plural timing is repeated until the next vertical synchronizing signal, data corresponding to each bit of the display data is fetched to the memory. As a result, there is an effect that the data taken into the memory can be compared irrespective of the specifications of the display terminal, and fine graphic data can be compared regardless of the resolution.

Further, according to the present invention, there are provided a plurality of data acquisition means, a comparison storage means provided corresponding to the data acquisition means, and a comparison means for comparing data in the comparison storage means. A comparative inspection device, wherein the data capturing means is:
For the vertical synchronization signal, the horizontal synchronization signal, and the display data, the address counter of the comparison storage unit is cleared based on the vertical synchronization signal, and the address counter is counted up only during a period in which the horizontal synchronization signal is valid, and specified each time the count up is performed. Since the operation of latching the display data in units of bits and writing the latched display data to the comparison storage means at the timing when a specific plurality of units are prepared is repeated until the next vertical synchronization signal, the display data is latched every bit of the display data. Corresponding data is taken into the comparison storage means, so that the data taken into the comparison storage means can be compared regardless of the specifications of the display terminal, and fine graphic data can be compared regardless of the resolution. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system for performing a comparison inspection of display data using a display data capturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a comparative inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart of an operation of capturing display data in the data capturing unit 10 of the comparative inspection apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration block diagram showing a conventional dedicated display terminal and a comparative inspection device.

FIG. 5 is a configuration block diagram showing the inside of a conventional dedicated adapter.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing a situation in which display data is written into a display memory 55 and a dedicated adapter RAM 62.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Comparative inspection apparatus, 2a, 2b ... Personal computer / dedicated display terminal, 3a, 3b ... LCD display element, 10a, 10
b: data acquisition unit, 11a, 11b: buffer, 1
2a, 12b ... address counter, 13a, 13b ...
Data latch, 14a, 14b ... data latch, 15
a, 15b ... selector, 16a, 16b ... selector,
20a, 20b: RAM for comparison, 30: CPU,
51a, 51b ... CPU, 52a, 52b ... ROM,
53a, 53b: RAM, 54a, 54b: I / O input / output, 55a, 55b: Display memory, 56a, 5
6b ... CRTC, 57a, 57b ... CG, 60a,
60b: Dedicated adapter, 61: Address decoder,
62: dedicated adapter RAM, 63: selector, 64
... selector, 70 ... comparator

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An address counter of a memory that stores display data for a vertical synchronization signal, a horizontal synchronization signal, and display data with reference to the vertical synchronization signal, and the address counter only for a period during which the horizontal synchronization signal is valid. Count-up, latching the display data in a specific bit unit each time the count-up is performed, and repeating the operation of writing the latched display data to the memory at a specific multiple aligned timing until the next vertical synchronization signal. Characteristic display data acquisition method. 2. A data acquisition device comprising: a plurality of data acquisition means; a comparison storage means provided corresponding to the data acquisition means; and a comparison means for comparing data in the comparison storage means. The vertical synchronizing signal, the horizontal synchronizing signal,
For display data, the address counter of the comparison storage means is cleared based on the vertical synchronization signal, and the address counter is counted up only during a period in which the horizontal synchronization signal is valid. Data comparing means for latching display data and writing the latched display data to the comparison storage means at a specified timing of a plurality of data until a next vertical synchronizing signal is obtained. . 3. A data acquisition means comprising: a buffer for temporarily storing a direct synchronizing signal, a horizontal synchronizing signal, and display data; and an address counter which is cleared by the vertical synchronizing signal and counts up only during a period during which the horizontal synchronizing signal is valid. A first data latch for latching the display data at an even address in a specific bit unit, and a second data latch for latching the display data at an odd address in a specific bit unit
A data latch, a first selector for outputting a write address of a comparison storage means based on a counter value of the address counter, and a plurality of data from the first and second data latches at a specified timing. 3. The comparison inspection apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a second selector that writes the data into the comparison storage unit.