Pipeline image processor
First Claim
1. An image processing system comprising:
- a plurality of processing stages interconnected in a cascade manner, each of the stages for performing a morphological transformation of image data supplied to a data input of that respective stage and applying the results of the transformation to a data output of that respective stage, each stage comprising;
a first data flow control circuit including a first input terminal for receiving a first signal indicating the availability of image data at the data input of the respective stage, means for delaying the first signal by a first given period of time, and means for coupling the delayed first signal to a first output terminal;
a second data flow control circuit including a second input terminal for receiving a second signal indicating the availability of a device connected to the data output of the respective stage to receive the transformed image data from that stage, means for delaying the second signal by a second given period of time, and means for coupling the delayed second signal to a second output terminal; and
means for halting the morphological transformation of image data in response to the absence of at least one of the first and second signals.
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Abstract
An image morphological processing system is formed by a cascade of a plurality of transformation stages. A pair of handshake data flow control lines couple each pair of adjacent stages. One line carries a first signal indicating when the previous stage has data available at its output and the other line carries a second signal which designates when the subsequent stage is able to receive data from the previous stage. In order that first and second signals can propagate in an orderly manner through a long cascade of stages, each signal is delayed by one cycle of the signal which clocks image data through the cascade. The delayed signal is then coupled to the next stage along the cascade. By controlling the propagation of the control signals to correspond to that of the image data the integrity of the data is maintained. Each stage also includes a circuit which detects when an idempotent transformation is performed by that stage.
81 Citations
14 Claims
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1. An image processing system comprising:
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a plurality of processing stages interconnected in a cascade manner, each of the stages for performing a morphological transformation of image data supplied to a data input of that respective stage and applying the results of the transformation to a data output of that respective stage, each stage comprising; a first data flow control circuit including a first input terminal for receiving a first signal indicating the availability of image data at the data input of the respective stage, means for delaying the first signal by a first given period of time, and means for coupling the delayed first signal to a first output terminal; a second data flow control circuit including a second input terminal for receiving a second signal indicating the availability of a device connected to the data output of the respective stage to receive the transformed image data from that stage, means for delaying the second signal by a second given period of time, and means for coupling the delayed second signal to a second output terminal; and means for halting the morphological transformation of image data in response to the absence of at least one of the first and second signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14)
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8. An image processing system comprising:
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a plurality of processing stages interconnected in a cascade manner, each of the stages processing image data supplied to a data input of that stage and applying the results of the processing to a data output of that stage, each stage comprising; a first data flow control circuit including a first input terminal for receiving a first signal indicating the availability of image data at the data input of the stage, means for delaying the first signal by a first given period of time, and means for coupling the delayed first signal to a first output terminal; a second data flow control circuit including a second input terminal for receiving a second signal indicating the availability of a device connected to the data output of the respective stage to receive the processed image data from that stage, means for delaying the second signal by a second given period of time, and means for coupling the delayed second signal to a second output terminal; means responsive to the absence of at least one of the first and second signals for controlling the processing of image data; and each stage, except a last one in the cascade, also comprising means for coupling the first output terminal to the first input terminal of a subsequent stage in the cascade, and for coupling the second input terminal to the second output terminal of the subsequent stage. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification