Image transmission apparatus, display apparatus and method

• US 8,072,631 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2006
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Murai, Shinya, Yamaguchi, Hajime, Hioki, Tsuyoshi, Yamaguchi, Shogo, Fujinuki, Mitsue
• Primary Examiner(s): Poon, King
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peren, Vincent
• Application Number:
  US11/526,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20070263086A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,898 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.13, 382/236, 382/239, 382/253, 345/2.3, 710/11, 710/303, 710/304
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/02 Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/33323 transmission mode only, e.g. speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/507 using conditional replenishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/94 Vector quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0049 By wire, cable or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0055 By radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0089 Image display device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3335 Speed or rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/33364 Type of modulation; Type of channel, e.g. digital or analog; Type of communication, e.g. half-duplex or full-duplex

Abstract

There is provided with a method performed in an image transmission apparatus capable of executing first communication and second communication whose communication speed is lower than that of the first communication with a display apparatus, including: generating an image to be displayed on the display apparatus; detecting whether the first communication is executable or not; transmitting the generated image to the display apparatus via the first communication when the first communication is executable; transmitting a compressed image obtained by compressing the generated image to the display apparatus via the second communication when the first communication is not executable; and transmitting compression utilization information required to display the compressed image on the display apparatus to the display apparatus via at least one of the first communication and the second communication when the first communication is executable.

Claims

1. An image transmission apparatus comprising:

a first communication unit configured to perform first communication with a display apparatus;

a detector configured to detect whether the first communication is executable or not;

a second communication unit configured to perform second communication by a communication speed lower than that of the first communication with the display apparatus;

an image generation unit configured to generate images to be displayed on the display apparatus;

a first image control unit configured to transmit the images generated by the image generation unit to the display apparatus via the first communication unit when the first communication is executable;

a second image control unit configured to transmit compressed images obtained by compressing the images generated by the image generation unit to the display apparatus via the second communication unit when the first communication is not executable; and

an information transmission unit configured to transmit compression utilization information required to display the compressed images on the display apparatus to the display apparatus via the second communication unit, when the first communication is being executed, wherein

the information transmission unit first transmits a whole image of one frame as the compression utilization information when the first communication is being executed and then, if any change is made in the whole image, further transmits an image of an area in the whole image where the change has been made, and

the second image control unit transmits, after the first communication becomes not executable, an image of an area where change has been made in the whole image, as the compressed image.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the information transmission unit transmits, as the image of an area in the whole image where the change has been made, information about difference from an image of the area before the change.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image detector configured to detect an image from images generated by the image generation unit based on a use frequency;

an identifier giving unit configured to give an identifier to the detected image; and

an image storage configured to store the detected image and the identifier in association with each other as correspondence information;

wherein

the information transmission unit transmits the correspondence information in the image storage as the compression utilization information; and

if an image to be transmitted to the display apparatus is stored in the image storage, the second image control unit transmits the identifier of the image to be transmitted as the compressed image.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the information transmission unit transmits a code book defining correspondence between vector quantization codes and images, as the compression utilization information;

and

the second image control unit transmits a vector quantization code obtained by vector-quantizing an image to be transmitted to the display apparatus as the compressed image.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first communication is wired communication, and the second communication is wireless communication.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the first communication is executable, the second communication unit makes transmission power lower than when the first communication is not executable.

7. A method performed in an image transmission apparatus capable of executing first communication and second communication whose communication speed is lower than that of the first communication with a display apparatus, comprising:

generating an image to be displayed on the display apparatus;

detecting whether the first communication is executable or not;

transmitting the generated image to the display apparatus via the first communication when the first communication is executable;

transmitting a compressed image obtained by compressing the generated image to the display apparatus via the second communication when the first communication is not executable; and

transmitting compression utilization information required to display the compressed image on the display apparatus to the display apparatus via the second communication when the first communication is being executed, wherein

the transmitting of compression utilization information includes first transmitting a whole image of one frame as the compression utilization information when the first communication is being executed and then, if any change is made in the whole image, further transmitting an image of an area in the whole image where the change has been made, and

the transmitting of a compressed image includes, after the first communication becomes not executable, an image of an area where change has been made in the whole image, as the compressed image.