A method of forming a matrix image used in various devices with an image processing function. In the image forming method, each image segment constituted by an m.times.n dot matrix is divided into at least one element, and each element is defined by a parallelogram on a basic matrix. The image segment is encoded according to characteristic features of the parallelogram. Data signals representing each image segment are stored in a set of at least one coded element in a memory. The dot patterns of the entire image are formed according to image segment display data. Even a complicated pattern can be smoothly and clearly formed. In addition, processing for obtaining an enlarged image or a rotated image can be simplified and performed with a small-capacity memory.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for displaying a symbol on a display surface consisting of a matrix of discrete points (e.g. raster), where the symbol is divided into sections and the brightness of each pixel is controlled. This technique smooths out "stair-step" effects inherent in displays consisting of discrete points.

An apparatus and method for smoothing the reproduction of digitized waveforms on a raster scan line display by providing control signals which increase and decrease the electron beam pattern along the scan line in a trapezoidal pattern which is representative of the amplitude of the sampled waveform along that scan line. A microprocessor provides a plurality of digital signals which define the slopes of the increasing and decreasing ramps of the trapazoids and their starting points along the scan line. The digital signals for an entire frame of scan lines are stored during the frame blanking interval of the display and are accessed for each scan line during the scan line blanking interval. The digital signals are stored in a random access memory (RAM) at raster scan line addresses provided by the processor through a scroll counter and at digital signal addresses provided through a display controller. During scan line blanking intervals the scroll counter incrementally steps through raster scan line addresses starting with the last address provided by the processor during the storing of the data.

A color display matrix array having parallelogram shaped display elements and the elements in one row all have a slant to the right, while the elements in the immediate adjacent row have a slant to the left.

This data processing system for a pattern generator receives data specifying each quadrilateral element in a pattern to be generated by laser scanning or other technique. The scanning is accomplished by swaths. In the preprocessor, separate vectors are produced for the portion of each quadrilateral edge in each swath. A real time processor, including a "pipeline" or cascaded set of beam processors, is used to generate a bit map from these clipped edge vectors. The bit map itself is skew compensated to take into account relative movement between the laser scanner and the target during pattern generation.