Composition manager camera

• US 8,878,862 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2012
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: 2236008 Ontario Inc. (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Belanger, Etienne, Nita, Adrian, Boak, Adrian, Van Reenan, Michael Alexander, Graham, Neil John
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Jacinta M
• Application Number:
  US13/591,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20140055475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: 345/530, 345/536
• US Class Current: 345/536
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/32 involving image mosaicing
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0492 Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
• 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 2370/12 Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/001 Arbitration of resources in a display system, e.g. control of access to frame buffer by video controller and/or main processor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects

Abstract

A system and method may be provided to access images through a camera service, where the images are generated by a non-sensor image source, such as a composition manager. The system may include the camera service and the non-sensor image source. The non-sensor image source may generate a processed image from a source other than a sensor. The camera service may provide the processed image generated by the non-sensor image source to an image consuming application.

Claims

1. A system for accessing images, comprising:

an image buffer;

a composition manager comprising a processor that generates a processed image in the image buffer based on an application image rendered in an application buffer by a first application; and

a camera service that receives a request from a second application to select an image source from which to receive graphics content,

wherein the image source is selected from among a plurality of image sources comprising a sensor image source and the composition manager, and

wherein the camera service provides the graphics content of the image buffer to the second application based on a selection of the composition manager as the image source by the second application.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the composition manager generates the processed image in the image buffer as a composition of a plurality of application images rendered in a plurality of application buffers, and the application buffers comprises the application buffer.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the request from the second application to select the image source further comprises an image source identifier, and wherein the camera service further:

determines that the image source identifier identifies the image buffer;

provides the graphics content of the image buffer to the second application when the image source identifier identifies the image buffer, wherein the request identifies the composition manager as the image source when the image source identifier identifies the image buffer; and

provides the graphics content from one of the image sources different than the composition manager to the second application when the image source identifier does not identify a buffer populated by the composition manager.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor of the composition manager comprises at least one of:

a 2-dimensional engine, a graphic processing unit, or a display controller.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the request from the second application to select the image source further comprises an image source identifier and image specification parameters, and wherein the composition manager generates the processed image in the image buffer responsive to the image source identifier and image specification parameters.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the image specification parameters comprise at least one of a location of the processed image, a size of the processed image, a color format of the processed image, a pixel format of the processed image, a timestamp of the processed image, or an availability of the processed image.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein an image source identifier in the request identifies the image source as at least one of an integrated camera, an external camera, or the composition manager.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the composition manager generates the processed image as a by-product of generation of a display image by the composition manager.

9. The system of claim 1, where the image buffer is a writeback buffer of the composition manager.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processed image generated by the composition manager includes a stream or sequence of images.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the second application is one of a video chat application or a remote display driver.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the processed image is substantially the same as a display image generated by the composition manager for display on a display device that is integrated with the system or external to the system.

13. The system of claim 1, where the processed image is a composite image.

14. A method for accessing images, comprising:

providing a camera service through which an image consuming application selects a non-sensor image source device as an image source from which to receive graphics content;

generating a processed image in an image buffer from an application buffer with the non-sensor image source device;

receiving, with the camera service, a request from the image consuming application to select the non-sensor image source device as the image source from which to receive the graphics content; and

providing the processed image in the image buffer generated by the non-sensor image source device to the image consuming application through the camera service based on the request to select the non-sensor image source device as the image source.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein providing the camera service comprises providing a camera application programming interface (API), the camera API comprising a programmatic procedure that causes a picture to be taken when the programmatic procedure is invoked and a camera is selected as the image source.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein providing the processed image in the image buffer to the image consuming application is in response to an invocation of the programmatic procedure.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising receiving a request from the image consuming application for a target format with the camera service, wherein providing the processed image of the image buffer comprises providing the processed image in the target format.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the processed image comprises modifying pixel data retrieved from the application buffer.

19. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer executable instructions, the computer executable instructions executable with a processor, the computer-readable storage medium comprising:

instructions executable to provide a camera service through which a first application selects a non-sensor image source device as an image source from which to receive graphics content;

instructions executable to receive a request from the first application to select the non-sensor image source device as the image source, wherein the request is received at the camera service from the first application; and

instructions executable to provide a processed image to the first application with the camera service based on the request to select the non-sensor image source device as the image source, wherein the processed image is generated by the non-sensor image source device from an application buffer rendered by a second application.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the processed image is generated by a composition manager as the composition of graphics content of a plurality of application buffers, the application buffers comprising the application buffer rendered by the second application.