Graphic data processing apparatus and method

• US 8,217,951 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Jung, Chang Kwon
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Xiao M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): He, Yingchun
• Application Number:
  US12/052,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20090027403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• Field of Search: 345502-505
• US Class Current: 345/505
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• 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: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/06 Use of more than one graphics processor to process data before displaying to one or more screens

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for processing graphic data. According to an embodiment, the graphic data processing apparatus includes a CPU having at least one core; a GPU configured to process graphic data; a usage level checking unit configured to check a usage level of the CPU and/or a usage level of the GPU; and a control unit configured to compare the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU and/or to compare the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU, to allow the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the CPU and the GPU or only by the GPU according to the comparison results.

Claims

1. A graphic data processing apparatus, comprising:

a CPU having at least two cores;

a GPU configured to process graphic data;

a usage level checking unit configured to check a usage level of the CPU and a usage level of the GPU;

a control unit configured to compare the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU and to compare the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU, and to control one core of the CPU to process system data and another core of the CPU to be assigned to the GPU for processing the graphic data in accordance with the checked usage levels of the GPU and the CPU provided by the usage level checking unit,

wherein the control unit allows processing of the graphic data only by the GPU if the control unit determines that the checked usage level of the GPU is not larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and/or the checked usage level of the CPU is not smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU, and

wherein the control unit allows processing of the graphic data in parallel by the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU if the control units determines that the checked usage level of the GPU is larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and, at the same time, the checked usage level of the CPU is smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU;

a data dividing unit configured to receive the graphic data from the control unit and to divide the received graphic data when the control unit allows processing of the graphic data in parallel by the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU;

a data combining unit configured to combine, after the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU have respectively processed the divided graphic data by the data dividing unit, the processed graphic data to display the combined graphic data on a display unit; and

a user selection unit configured to allow a user to manually select whether to process the graphic data only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the assigned core of the CPU,

wherein the manual selection of the user made through the user selection unit is overridden by the control unit based on current battery information associated with the apparatus.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit transfers the graphic data processed by the assigned core of the CPU to the data combining unit.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the usage levels are use rates for processing the graphic data or system data.

4. A method of processing graphic data, comprising:

applying a command for processing graphic data;

checking a usage level of a GPU and a usage level of a CPU in response to the applied command, the CPU having at least two cores;

comparing the checked usage level of the GPU with a usage level reference of the GPU and the checked usage level of the CPU with a usage level reference of the CPU to develop a comparison result;

controlling at least one of the GPU and one core of the CPU to allow the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the GPU and the one core of the CPU or only by the GPU according to the comparison results,

wherein the controlling step allows the graphic data to be processed only by the GPU if it is determined that the checked usage level of the GPU is not larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and/or the checked usage level of the CPU is not smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU,

wherein the controlling step allows the graphic data to be processed in parallel by the GPU and the one core of the CPU if it is determined that the checked usage level of the GPU is larger than the usage level reference of the GPU and, at the same time, the checked usage level of the CPU is smaller than the usage level reference of the CPU;

assigning the one core of the CPU to process the graphic data based on the comparison result;

dividing the graphic data to allow the divided graphic data to be processed in parallel by the assigned core of the CPU and the GPU;

combining the divided graphic data to allow the combined graphic data to be displayed on a display unit;

receiving a user'"'"'s manual selection on whether to process the graphic data only by the GPU or in parallel by the GPU and the CPU; and

controlling at least one of the GPU and the CPU based on the user'"'"'s manual selection,

wherein the user'"'"'s manual selection is overridden based on current battery information.