IMAGE DISPLAY CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20110157474A1
• Filed: 12/22/2010
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Nagata, Mitsutoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,717,385 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/598
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/395 Arrangements specially adapted for transferring the contents of the bit-mapped memory to the screen G09G5/399 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits

Abstract

An image display control apparatus is disclosed. The image display control apparatus stores first layers for original image data in first planes, combines the first layers into the original image data, records the original image data in an addition plane, and stores second layers for replacement image data in second planes. The second layers in the second planes and the original image data in the addition plane are respectively, synchronously and cyclically inputted to a compositing circuit so that the compositing circuit combines the second set of layers into the replacement image data. In the synchronous and cyclical input, the display of the display device is switched from the original image data to the replacement image data while a manner of combining the original image data and the replacement image data is being gradually changed between consecutive frames.

Claims

1. An image display control apparatus comprising:

a computation circuit;

a storage medium; and

a plane compositing device configured to combine a plurality of layers into composite image data on an as-needed basis, and configured to output the composite image data as display image data to a display device, wherein the plurality of layers is generated by the computation circuit,

wherein;

the storage medium includes a plurality of planes respectively configured to temporality retain therein the plurality of layers, the plurality of planes being a portion of a memory area of the storage medium;

the plane compositing device includes a plurality of interface units and a compositing circuit;

the plurality of interface units is respectively configured to output the plurality of layers stored in the plurality of planes, which respectively corresponds to the plurality of interface units, to the compositing circuit;

the compositing circuit is configured to (i) combine the plurality of layers outputted from the plurality of interface units, thereby generating the composite image data, and (ii) output the composite image data as the display image data to the display device; and

in addition to the plurality of planes, the storage medium further includes an addition plane configured to retain therein the composite image data outputted from the compositing circuit, the addition plane being another portion of the memory area of the storage medium,

the image, display control apparatus further comprising;

a loop-back circuit configured to output the composite image data stored in the addition plane to the compositing circuit,

wherein;

the computation circuit is configured to control the storage medium, the plane compositing device and the loop-back circuit when display of the display device is switched, in such manner that;

the computation circuit stores a first set of layers for original image data in a first set of planes, the first set of planes being two or more planes of the plurality of planes;

the computation circuit causes the compositing circuit to combine the first set of layers together, thereby generating the original image data;

the computation circuit records the original image data in the addition plane;

the computation circuit then stores a second set of layers for replacement image data in a second set of planes, the second set of planes being two or more planes of the plurality of planes;

the computation circuit controls the plurality of interface units and the loop-back circuit so that the second set of layers in the second set of planes and the original image data in the addition plane are respectively, synchronously and cyclically inputted from the plurality of interface units and the loop-back circuit to the compositing circuit, and the computation circuit controls the compositing circuit so that the compositing circuit combines the second set of layers into the replacement image data, and

when the second set of layers in the second set of planes and the original image data in the addition plane are synchronously and cyclically inputted to the compositing circuit, the computation circuit controls the compositing circuit so that the display of the display device is switched from the original image data to the replacement image data while a manner of combining the original image data and the replacement image data is being gradually changed between consecutive frames.

5. The image display control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a video capture device configured to receive an input of a video signal from a video output device, and configured to output video image data based on the video signal,

wherein the loop-output circuit is a component of the video capture device and is further configured to output the video image data, which is based on the video signal received by the video capture device, to the plane compositing device.

2. An image display control apparatus comprising:

a computation circuit;

a storage medium; and

a plane compositing device configured to combine a plurality of layers into composite image data on an as-needed basis, and configured to output the composite image data as display image data to a display device, wherein the plurality of layers is generated by the computation circuit,

wherein;

the storage medium includes a plurality of planes respectively configured to temporality retain therein the plurality of layers, the plurality of planes being a portion of a memory area of the storage medium;

the plane compositing device includes a plurality of interface units and a compositing circuit;

the plurality of interface units is respectively configured to output the plurality of layers stored in the plurality of planes, which respectively corresponds to the plurality of interface units, to the compositing circuit;

the compositing circuit is configured to (i) combine the plurality of layers outputted from the plurality of interface units, thereby generating the composite image data, and (ii) output the composite image data as the display image data to the display device; and

in addition to the plurality of planes, the storage medium further includes an addition plane configured to retain therein the composite image data outputted from the compositing circuit, the addition plane being another portion of the memory area of the storage medium,

the image display control apparatus further comprising;

a loop-back circuit configured to output the composite image data stored in the addition plane to the compositing circuit,

wherein;

the computation circuit is configured to control the storage medium, the plane compositing device and the loop-back circuit when display of the display device is scrolled, in such manner that;

the computation circuit stores a first set of layers for original image data in a first set of planes, the first set of planes being two or more planes of the plurality of planes;

the computation circuit causes the compositing circuit to combine the first set of layers together, thereby generating the original image data;

the computation circuit records the original image data in the addition plane;

the computation circuit controls the loop-back circuit so that the loop-back circuit synchronously and cyclically inputs the original image data in the addition plane to the compositing circuit; and

during a synchronous and cyclical input of the original image data to the compositing circuit from the loop-back circuit, the computation circuit changes a read address of the original image data recorded in the addition plane in response to user scroll operation, thereby scrolling display of the original image data on the display device in a overscan mode.

3. The image display control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the computation circuit is further configured to control the storage medium, the plane compositing device and the loop-back circuit so that;

during the synchronous and cyclical input of the original image data to the compositing circuit from the loop-back circuit, the computation circuit prospectively stores a second set of layers for new image data in a second set of planes, the second set of planes being at least one of the plurality of planes, the new image data being different in display content from the original image data in that the display content of the new image data is slid relative to that of the original image data;

before the display of the display device is scrolled beyond the display content of the original image data, the compositing circuit combines the second set of layers into the new image data, and the loop-back circuit records the new image data in the addition plane, and the loop-back circuit cyclically inputs the new image data, stored in the addition plane, to the compositing circuit; and

during a cyclical input of the new image data from the loop-back circuit to the compositing circuit, the computation circuit changes a read address of the new image data recorded in the addition plane in response to the user scroll operation, thereby scrolling the display of the new image data on the display device in the overscan mode.

6. The image display control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a video capture device configured to receive an input of a video signal from a video output device, and configured to output video image data based on the video signal,

wherein the loop-output circuit is a component of the video capture device and is further configured to output the video image data, which is based on the video signal received by the video capture device to the plane compositing device.

4. An image display control apparatus comprising:

a computation circuit;

a storage medium; and

a plane compositing device configured to combine a plurality of layers into composite image data on an as-needed basis and configured to output the composite image data as display image data to a display device, wherein the plurality of layers is generated by the computation circuit,

wherein;

the storage medium includes a plurality of planes respectively configured to temporality retain therein the plurality of layers, the plurality of planes being a portion of a memory area of the storage medium;

the plane compositing device includes a plurality of interface units and a compositing circuit;

the plurality of interface units is respectively configured to output the plurality of layers stored in the plurality of planes, which respectively corresponds to the plurality of interface units, to the compositing circuit;

the compositing circuit is configured to (i) combine the plurality of layers outputted from the plurality of interface units, thereby generating the composite image data, and (ii) output the composite image data as the display image data to the display device; and

in addition to the plurality of planes, the storage medium further includes an addition plane configured to retain therein the composite image data outputted from the compositing circuit, the addition plane being another portion of the memory area of the storage medium,

the image display control apparatus further comprising;

a loop-back circuit configured to output the composite image data stored in the addition plane to the compositing circuit,

wherein;

the computation circuit is configured to control the storage medium, the plane compositing device and the loop-back circuit so that;

before the plane compositing device is reset, (i) the composite image data outputted from the compositing circuit is recorded as reset-time image data in the addition plane, and then (ii) the loop-back circuit starts cyclically outputting the reset-time image data, and (iii) the compositing circuit outputs, to the display device, the reset-time image data from the loop-back circuit; and

the computation circuit then resets the plane compositing device.

7. The image display control apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a video capture device configured to receive an input of a video signal from a video output device, and configured to output video image data based on the video signal,

wherein the loop-output circuit is a component of the video capture device and is further configured to output the video image data, which is based on the video signal received by the video capture device, to the plane compositing device.