Display controller, image processing system, display system, apparatus and computer program product

• US 9,061,589 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2008
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Bogenberger, Florian, Bogavac, Davor
• Primary Examiner(s): Xiao, Ke
• Assistant Examiner(s): POINTE, WHITNEY A
• Application Number:
  US12/990,868
• Publication Number:
  US 20110057951A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,590 Days
• Field of Search: 345/629, 345/7
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/347 Optical elements for superposition of display information
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/155 Virtual instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/347 Optical elements for superposition of display information
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/213 Virtual instruments
• 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 2330/12 Test circuits or failure detection circuits included in a display system, as permanent part thereof
• 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 2380/10 Automotive applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/026 Control of mixing and/or overlay of colours in general G09G5/022 and G09G5/024 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports

Abstract

A display controller includes a controller input connectable to receive first image data representing a non-safety relevant part of an image to be displayed on a display and to receive second image data representing a safety relevant part of the image. A merging unit is connected to the controller input, for composing the image from the first image data and second image data. A controller output is connectable to the display, for outputting display data representing the image. An image monitor is connected to the controller output, for comparing a part of the image corresponding to the safety relevant part with an reference for the part.

Claims

1. A display system, comprising:

an input to receive first image data, representing a first part of an image to be displayed on a display device, and second image data, representing a second part of the image to be displayed;

a display control unit coupled to the input to generate a third image data, based on the first and second image data, representing a combination of the first and second parts of the image, and to generate a display signal, based on the third image data, to be provided to the display device as the image to be; and

an image monitoring unit coupled to the input to receive the second image data and coupled to the display control unit to receive the third image data, the image monitoring unit to compare information based on the second image data with information based on the third image data to verify that the second part of the image to be displayed is represented in the third image data, wherein the information based on the second image data is not based on the third image data.

2. A display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the first part of the image is a non-safety relevant part of the image to be displayed;

the second part of the data is a safety relevant part of the image to be displayed; and

said display control unit supports a safety mode in which said safety relevant part in the second image data is protected from being obscured.

3. A display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said third image data includes marking data indicating a part of said third image data corresponding to said second part of said image and wherein said image monitoring unit verifies the second part of the image to be displayed based on third image data identified using said marking data.

4. A display system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said third image data includes sets of graphical object data, each set defining at least one parameter of a graphical object of said image, and wherein said marking data includes a marking field in sets of graphical object data corresponding to said second part of said image.

5. A display system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said image monitoring unit comprises:

a calculator to calculate a first signature representing the information based on the second image data, said calculator being coupled to said display control unit to receive at least the third image data representing the second part of said image to be displayed; and

a signature comparator coupled to said calculator, to compare a difference between the first signature and a reference value with a criterion and to output information about said comparison.

6. A display system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first signature comprises a first signature based on a first aspect of the second part of said image and a second partial signature based on a second aspect of the second part of said image.

7. A display system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first aspect is selected from one or more of a location and a shape of the second part of said image and the second aspect is derived from a content of the second part of said image.

8. An image generating system, comprising:

a first source of not-safety relevant data;

a second source of safety relevant data;

an image processing unit coupled to said first source and said second source, said image processing unit to generate first image data from the not-safety relevant data, said first image data representing a non-safety relevant part of an image to be displayed on a display, and to generate second image data from said safety relevant data, said second image data representing a safety relevant part of said image; and

an output connected to said image processing unit, to output said first image data and said second image data to a display system as claimed in claim 1.

9. An image generating system as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a calculator coupled to said image processing unit to calculate a reference value for said second image data part.

10. An image generating system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said first source is one of:

a sensor, a multimedia system, and a communication network, and said second source is one of;

a sensor, a multimedia system and a communication network.

11. The display controller of claim 8, wherein the safety relevant data is system variable data.

12. The display controller of claim 11, wherein the non-safety relevant data is a static background image.

13. A method, comprising:

receiving at a display system first image data representing a first part of an image to be displayed on a display device;

receiving at the display system second image data representing a second part of the image to be displayed;

generating a third image data, based on the first image data and the second image data, representing a combination of the first and second parts of the image;

transmitting a display signal based on the third image data for reception at a display device; and

comparing information based on the second image data with information based on the third image data to verify that the second part of the image to be displayed is represented in the third image data, wherein the information based on the second image data is not based on the first image data.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

protecting the second part of the image from being obscured in the third image data.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the third image data includes marking data indicating a location of the second part of the image to be displayed, further comprising:

selecting the second part of the image to be displayed from the third image data, wherein the selection uses the marking data.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining the information based on the second image data by calculating a first signature;

wherein verifying comprises;

computing a difference between the first signature and a reference value;

comparing the difference with a criterion; and

outputting information about the comparison.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein calculating the first signature comprises:

calculating a first partial signature based on a first aspect of the second part of the image; and

calculating a second partial signature based on a second aspect of the second part of the image.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the first aspect is based on one or more of a location and a shape; and

the second aspect is based on a content.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

displaying the image on the display device.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein no digital data processing is performed in generating the display data from the third image data.