DISPLAY-LAYER UPDATE DEFERRAL

• US 20170365236A1
• Filed: 06/21/2016
• Published: 12/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm Innovation Center Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm Innovation Center Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Marchya, Dileep, Amara Venkata, Mastan Manoj Kumar, Ganji, Nagamalleswararao, Arumugam, Panneer
• Application Number:
  US15/188,382
• Publication Number:
  US 20170365236A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3265 Power saving in display device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1415 with means for detecting differences between the image stored in the host and the images displayed on the displays
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2350/00 Solving problems of bandwidth in display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/121 using a cache memory
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/393 Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory
• 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: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for displaying layers on a display of a computing device are disclosed. The method includes creating layers from graphical data and assigning a priority to each of the layers. The layers are displayed on the display of the computing device, and in a current draw cycle, any layers assigned an urgent priority are updated. In addition, updates are applied to layers near a touch area of the display and updates to other layers ae deferred until a predefined event occurs.

Claims

1. A method for displaying layers on a display of a computing device, the method comprising:

creating layers from graphical data;

assigning a priority to each of the layers based on a number of frames per second that change in each layer, the priority being one of a plurality of priorities including an urgent priority and a normal priority;

displaying the layers on the display of the computing device;

updating, in a current draw cycle, any layers assigned an urgent priority and any layers near a touch area of the display; and

deferring updates to layers assigned the normal priority until a predefined event occurs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the priority includes assigning the normal priority to a particular layer unless it is likely that the particular layer will change in less than 100 milliseconds.

3. The method of claim 1, including:

initiating a timer after updates to all the layers are applied;

wherein deferring includes updating all of the layers when a time threshold is reached.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the time threshold is a number of draw cycles.

5. The method of claim 1, including:

tracking an area of each of the layers;

wherein the predefined event includes a layer exceeding a threshold size area.

6. The method of claim 1, including:

tracking scheduled updates; and

applying an update to a layer when there is no update in a next cycle.

7. A computing device, the computing device including:

one or more producers of graphics data;

a compositor configured to create layers from the graphics data;

a priority assignment module to assign a priority to each of the layers based on a number of frames per second that change in each layer, the priority being one of a plurality of priorities including an urgent priority and a normal priority;

a composer configured to display frames of the layers on a display screen; and

an update deferral module configured to prompt the composer to defer updates to one or more of the layers based upon the assigned priorities.

8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the priority assignment module is configured to assign the normal priority to a particular layer unless it is likely that the particular layer will change in less than 100 milliseconds.

9. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the compositor and composer include a SurfaceFlinger module and HWComposer, respectively.

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the update deferral module is configured to:

update, in a current draw cycle, any layers assigned an urgent priority;

applying updates to layers near a touch area of the display; and

defer updates to other layers until a predefined event occurs.

11. A non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, encoded with processor readable instructions to perform a method for displaying layers on a display of a computing device, the method comprising:

creating layers from graphical data;

assigning a priority to each of the layers based on a number of frames per second that change in each layer, the priority being one of a plurality of priorities including an urgent priority and a normal priority;

displaying the layers on the display of the computing device;

updating, in a current draw cycle, any layers assigned an urgent priority and any layers near a touch area of the display; and

deferring updates to layers assigned the normal priority until a predefined event occurs.

12. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein assigning the priority includes assigning the normal priority to a particular layer unless it is likely that the particular layer will change in less than 100 milliseconds.

13. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the method includes:

initiating a timer after updates to all the layers are applied;

wherein deferring includes updating all of the layers when a time threshold is reached.

14. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the time threshold is a number of draw cycles.

15. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 11, the method including:

tracking an area of each of the layers;

wherein the predefined event includes a layer exceeding a threshold size area.

16. The non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium of claim 11, the method including:

tracking scheduled updates; and

applying an update to a layer when there is no update in a next cycle.