JP2012073311A - Image display system and control data transmission method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit control data by a simple and appropriate method.SOLUTION: An image display system 1 for displaying image data comprises: a replacement unit 5 which replaces pixel data of a prescribed region, less important for the purpose of display among image data, with control data for controlling latter stage devices; a detection unit 8 which detects the control data from the prescribed region of the replaced image data; a control unit 9 which controls the latter stage devices based on the detected control data; and a display unit 4 which displays image data.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display system and a control data transmission method thereof.

  Conventionally, a method of recognizing a non-video period (braking period) on the basis of a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal included in an image transmission path and outputting control data in the non-video period is known (for example, Patent Document 1). There is also a method of transmitting control data using a general transmission line (I2C bus, 4-wire serial bus, etc.) dedicated to control data.

JP 2008-233772 A

  However, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to add complicated control data to a desired position, so that a complicated and high-speed circuit is required. In addition, a complex and high-speed circuit is required for detecting the control data and performing control according to the control data in the same manner on the image receiving side. Furthermore, it is complicated and difficult to associate and control the control data in units of frames for each type of image data (CG image, moving image, photographic image, etc.) or for specific frames or specific continuous frames. On the other hand, according to a method using a general transmission line dedicated to control data, such a transmission line is required separately from the image transmission path.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image display system capable of transmitting control data by a simple and appropriate method and a control data transmission method thereof.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an image display system according to an embodiment of the present invention is an image display system that displays image data, and among the image data, pixel data of a predetermined region that is less important for display purposes A replacement unit that replaces control data for controlling the subsequent device, a detection unit that detects the control data from the predetermined area of the replaced image data, and the subsequent device based on the detected control data. A control unit for controlling and a display unit for displaying the image data are provided.

  In the image display system, the replacement unit may replace pixel data in a non-visible region that is not physically visible on the display unit with the control data.

  The image display system may further include a transmission unit that transmits the replaced image data via an image transmission path, and a reception unit that receives the transmitted image data via the image transmission path.

  In the image display system, the replacement unit adds control data for adjusting the image quality to a frame immediately before a frame that is an object of image quality adjustment, and the control unit adds the control data of the frame to which the control data is added. Control may be performed so that the image quality is adjusted from the next frame.

  In the image display system, the replacement unit replaces with control data indicating a change in the monitoring target, and the control unit controls the alarm device to be activated when the change in the monitoring target exceeds a predetermined threshold. May be.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a control data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a control data transmission method in an image display system that displays image data. Replacing the pixel data of a predetermined area with control data for controlling a subsequent device, detecting the control data from the predetermined area of the replaced image data, and based on the detected control data The method includes a step of controlling the subsequent device and a step of displaying the image data.

  According to the present invention, pixel data in a predetermined area that is less important for display purposes in image data is replaced with control data for controlling a subsequent device, and therefore, control data can be transmitted in a simple and appropriate manner. It is possible to provide an image display system and a control data transmission method thereof.

It is a block diagram of the image display system in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a general-view figure of the game device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the game apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the game device in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the display panel in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the image data and control data in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the specific example of substitution in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the image receiving part in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control synchronized with the image frame in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a general-view figure of digital signage in Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the image transmission part in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the image receiving part in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the surveillance camera system in Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the surveillance camera system in Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the image transmission part in Embodiment 3 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image display system 1 in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The image display system 1 is a system that displays image data, and includes an image transmission unit 2, an image reception unit 3, and a display unit 4. The image transmission unit 2 includes a replacement unit 5 and a transmission path transmission unit 6. The image receiving unit 3 includes a transmission path receiving unit 7, a detecting unit 8, and a control unit 9. The replacement unit 5 replaces pixel data in a predetermined area that is less important for display purposes in the image data with control data for controlling the subsequent device. The transmission path transmission unit 6 transmits the image data replaced by the replacement unit 5 via the image transmission path L. The transmission path receiving unit 7 receives the image data transmitted by the transmission path transmitting unit 6 via the image transmission path L. The image transmission path L is a transmission path for image data, and may be wired or wireless. The detecting unit 8 detects control data from a predetermined area of the image data received by the transmission path receiving unit 7. The control unit 9 controls the subsequent device based on the control data detected by the detection unit 8. The display unit 4 displays image data. The latter-stage device is a device that is subsequent to the replacement unit 5 and corresponds to the processing unit in the image receiving unit 3, the display unit 4, and the like. The device here includes not only hardware such as equipment and electronic components but also software for realizing a specific function.

  FIG. 2 is an overview of the game apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The game apparatus 10 is an example of the image display system 1 and includes a large number of ornaments 11 having movable parts, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2B, the display panel 4 is covered with a casing in which a window 12 is formed, and a part of the edge of the window 12 is covered with a decorative article 11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2C, the display effective area 13 of the display panel 4 includes a visible area 14 that can be physically viewed and an invisible area 15 that cannot be physically viewed. To do. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the pixel data in the non-visible region 15 is replaced with control data.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the game apparatus 10. As shown in this figure, the game apparatus 10 includes a program ROM 2a, a content ROM 2b, a CPU 2c, a VDP (Video Display Processor) 2d, an image receiving unit 3, and a display panel 4. The processing unit having the same function as the processing unit in FIG. The program ROM 2a, content ROM 2b, CPU 2c, and VDP 2d are included in the image transmission unit 2 in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game apparatus 10. First, image data used in the game apparatus 10 is created in advance in an environment such as a personal computer (FIG. 4, step S1). Thereafter, the pixel data in the non-visible region 15 is replaced with control data for adjusting the image quality by a method described later, and image data including the control data is stored in the content ROM 2b (FIG. 4, steps S2 to S3). . Since it is necessary to completely restore the control data at a later stage, the image data including the control data is stored as uncompressed or lossless compressed image data. The CPU 2c issues a command to the VDP 2d based on the program in the program ROM 2a. The VDP 2d reads the image data including the control data from the content ROM 2b, and transmits it to the subsequent image receiving unit 3 via the image transmission path L (FIG. 4, step S4). The image receiving unit 3 receives the image data via the image transmission path L, and detects control data from the non-visible region 15 of the received image data (FIG. 4, steps S5 → S6). Then, the image quality of the image data is adjusted based on the detected control data, and the image data after the image quality adjustment is displayed on the display panel 4 (FIG. 4, steps S7 → S8).

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the display panel 4 of the game apparatus 10. Here, the display panel 4 is an n × m pixel display panel having (0, 0) to (n, m) as image coordinates (x, y) of the display effective area 13. The number of pixels of the image data is the same resolution as that of the display panel 4. Coordinates (0, 0) to (2, 0) in the non-visible region 15 are determined in advance for control data, and the pixel data for these three pixels is replaced with control data.

  FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of image data and control data. As shown in FIG. 6A, the image data is 2 bytes of RED data (5 bits), GREEN data (6 bits), and BLUE data (5 bits) per pixel. In order to simplify detection and control in the subsequent stage, the control data is 2 bytes of CTR-H (1 byte) and CTR-L (1 byte) per pixel as shown in FIG. 6B. . For example, CTR-H is a register address of a subsequent device, and CTR-L is register data written to the register address.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of replacement. Here, the pixel data (2 bytes) at the coordinates (0, 0) among the 6 bytes of the coordinates (0, 0) to (2, 0) of the image data is replaced with the start code. The start code is a code indicating the start point of the control data, and is specifically 2 bytes of AAh and 55h. Also, the pixel data (2 bytes) of the coordinate (1, 0) that continues in the horizontal direction from the coordinate (0, 0) is replaced with the control data. The control data of the coordinates (1, 0) is a code for controlling the setting of the image quality adjustment function a. Specifically, the register address (01h) for the image quality adjustment function a and the image quality adjustment function a Two bytes of register data (02h). Further, the pixel data (2 bytes) of the coordinate (2, 0) that continues in the horizontal direction from the coordinate (1, 0) is replaced with the control data. The control data of the coordinates (2, 0) is a code for controlling the setting of the image quality adjustment function b. Specifically, the register address (02h) for the image quality adjustment function b and the image quality adjustment function b are set. Two bytes of register data (03h). When the pixel data at the coordinates (0, 0) to (2, 0) is replaced with the control data in this way, the image data including the control data is transmitted to the image receiving unit 3 via the image transmission path L. .

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of the image receiving unit 3 of the game apparatus 10. As shown in this figure, the image receiving unit 3 includes a transmission path receiving unit 7 and an image quality adjustment LSI. The image quality adjustment LSI includes a detection unit 8, a control unit 9, and an image quality adjustment unit A. When the transmission path receiving unit 7 receives the image data, the detection unit 8 detects the coordinates of the control data included in the image data based on the horizontal pixel counter (Xcounter) and the vertical pixel counter (Ycounter). The horizontal / vertical pixel counter operates based on a horizontal synchronization signal and a vertical synchronization signal, or a Data-Enable signal indicating the display effective area 13. The coordinates of the control data can be detected by comparing the predetermined coordinates of the specific image data with the values of the horizontal / vertical pixel counter. When the control data is detected, the control unit 9 controls the image quality adjustment unit A, which is a subsequent device, so that the register data (02h) for the image quality adjustment function a is transferred to the register address (01h) for the image quality adjustment function a. Write.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating control synchronized with an image frame. The game apparatus 10 may display various types of image data such as animation (CG) images, moving images, and photographic images on the display panel 4. In this case, it is preferable to adjust the image quality for a specific one frame or a specific continuous frame among image frames to be continuously displayed. Therefore, control data is added to the frame immediately before the frame that is subject to image quality adjustment. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when image data is displayed in the order of an animation display period, a moving image display period, and a photo display period, the first frame before the first frame of the moving image (the last frame of the animated image) is for moving images. The control data C1 is added. Similarly, photographic image control data C2 is added to the frame (last frame of the moving image) immediately before the first frame of the photographic image. Thereby, the control data for moving images can be detected from the last frame of the animation image, and the image quality can be adjusted for each frame in the moving image display period based on the control data. Similarly, control data for a photographic image can be detected from the last frame of the moving image, and the image quality can be adjusted for each frame in the photographic display period based on the control data.

  As described above, according to the game apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the pixel data in the non-visible region 15 in the image data is replaced with the control data, so that the control data is transmitted by a simple and appropriate method. be able to. That is, since the non-video period is not used, it is not necessary to provide the image transmission unit 2 with a complicated circuit for adding control data, and it is not necessary to provide a transmission path dedicated to control data. Further, since editing software or the like can be used when creating image data, image data such as bitmap data can be easily replaced with control data. Further, in order to replace the pixel data itself with control data, the control data is associated with each type of image data or with one specific frame or specific continuous frame in units of frames, and the image quality is adjusted in synchronization with the scene of the image. It becomes possible. In addition, the image receiving unit 3 can detect the control data with an Xcounter / Ycounter circuit that obtains image coordinates, a simple comparison circuit that only detects the coincidence of control data, and the like based on the control data. It is possible to control the post-stage device with a simple circuit without intervention.

  Note that here, control data is added to the frame immediately before the frame whose image quality is to be adjusted, and the image quality is adjusted from the next frame of the frame to which the control data is added. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Is not to be done. For example, it is possible to add control data to a frame two frames before the image quality adjustment target frame or the image quality adjustment target frame itself. In this case, the image quality of the frame immediately after the frame to which the control data is added or the frame itself to which the control data is added is adjusted.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 10 is an overview of the digital signage 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The digital signage 20 is an example of the image display system 1 and is an advertising medium that displays image data on the display panel 4 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10B, the display panel 4 is covered with a housing and a decorative article 11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10C, the display effective area 13 of the display panel 4 includes a visible area 14 and a non-visible area 15, and the pixel data of the non-visible area 15 is replaced with control data. Is similar to the game device 10. Hereinafter, the configuration of the digital signage 20 will be described focusing on differences from the game device 10.

  Image data used in the digital signage 20 is created in advance in an environment such as a personal computer, and after the pixel data in the non-visible region 15 is replaced with control data, various storage media such as a server HDD and DVD-ROM. It is assumed that it is stored in In such a case, as shown in FIG. 11, the reproduction unit B in the image transmission unit 2 reads and reproduces the image file from the storage medium, and the transmission line transmission unit 6 displays the reproduced image data on the image transmission line. The data is transmitted to the subsequent image receiving unit 3 via L. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12, a playback unit B may be provided in the main body (image receiving unit 3) of the digital signage 20. In this case, since the reproduction unit B of the image receiving unit 3 reads and reproduces the image file from the storage medium, the transmission path transmission unit 6, the image transmission path L, and the transmission path reception unit 7 are unnecessary.

  As described above, according to the digital signage 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, even when an image file is stored in various storage media such as a server HDD or a DVD-ROM, The same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Here, the case where the pixel data is replaced with the control data in the personal computer is illustrated, but it goes without saying that the personal computer corresponds to the replacement unit 5 in this case.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the monitoring camera system 30 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. This monitoring camera system 30 is an example of the image display system 1 and is a system for displaying the state of a store or the like on a monitoring monitor 4 and monitoring it in a monitoring room or the like as shown in FIG. . A cash register is displayed on the right side of the monitor monitor 4, and a store clerk is displayed on the left side. Here, although the non-visible region 15 does not exist in the display effective region 13 of the monitor monitor 4, there is usually a region in the monitor monitor 4 that does not have any problem even if it is not displayed for monitoring purposes. For example, as shown in FIG. 13B, the left lower end region 31 which is the standing position of the store clerk is not important for monitoring purposes. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13C, the pixel data in the left lower end region 31 in the display effective region 13 is replaced with control data. Hereinafter, the configuration of the surveillance camera system 30 will be described focusing on differences from the game device 10 or the digital signage 20.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the monitoring camera system 30 includes a monitoring camera 31, an image transmission unit 2, an image reception unit 3, a monitoring monitor 4, and an alarm device 4A. As shown in FIG. 15, the image transmission unit 2 includes a conversion unit C, a detection unit D, a replacement unit 5, and a transmission path transmission unit 6. The conversion unit C converts the image data captured by the monitoring camera 31 into digital image data and passes it to the detection unit D. The detection unit D detects the lower left end region 31 of the received image data using a horizontal / vertical pixel counter, and passes the detection result to the replacement unit 5. The replacement unit 5 replaces the pixel data in the left lower end region 31 with control data based on the received detection result. Here, the monitoring camera 31 may have a moving object detection function for detecting a change in the monitoring target by a human sensor or an image recognition system. In this case, the replacement unit 5 adds control data indicating a change in the monitoring target to the left lower end region 31. Thereby, the control part 9 is controlled so that 4 A of alarm devices which are a back | latter stage device act | operate, when the change of the monitoring object exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

  As described above, according to the surveillance camera system 30 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the pixel data in the left lower end region 31 in the image data is replaced with the control data, so even when the non-visible region 15 does not exist, The same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, since control data indicating a change in the monitoring target is added, when a suspicious person enters at night, the change can be detected and the alarm device 4A can be operated. In addition, it is possible to convert image data captured by the monitoring camera 31 into digital image data and obtain image coordinates with a simple circuit such as an Xcounter / Ycounter circuit without interposing a CPU or the like.

  In addition, although the case where the image quality of image data was adjusted here and the case where the alarm device 4A is operated were illustrated here, the control aspect of a back | latter stage device is not limited to these. For example, various controls such as adjusting the backlight of the display unit 4 can be realized by the same method.

  In addition, the present invention can be realized not only as the image display system 1 but also as a control data transmission method including a characteristic processing unit included in the image display system 1 as a step. It can also be realized as a program executed by a computer. It goes without saying that such a program can be distributed via a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a transmission medium such as the Internet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image display system 2 ... Image transmission part 3 ... Image reception part 4 ... Display part 5 ... Replacement part 6 ... Transmission path transmission part 7 ... Transmission path reception part 8 ... Detection part 9 ... Control part

Claims (6)

An image display system for displaying image data,
A replacement unit that replaces pixel data of a predetermined region of low importance for display purposes among the image data with control data for controlling a subsequent device;
A detection unit for detecting the control data from the predetermined area of the replaced image data;
A control unit that controls the subsequent device based on the detected control data;
A display unit for displaying the image data;
An image display system comprising:   The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the replacement unit replaces pixel data in a non-visible region that is not physically visible on the display unit with the control data. A transmission unit that transmits the replaced image data via an image transmission path;
A receiving unit for receiving the transmitted image data via an image transmission path;
The image display system according to claim 1, further comprising: The replacement unit adds control data for adjusting the image quality to a frame immediately before the frame to be adjusted for image quality,
The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the image quality to be adjusted from a frame next to the frame to which the control data is added. The replacement unit replaces the control data indicating the change of the monitoring target,
The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control so that an alarm is activated when a change in the monitoring target exceeds a predetermined threshold. A control data transmission method in an image display system for displaying image data,
Replacing pixel data of a predetermined area of low importance for display purposes among the image data with control data for controlling a subsequent device;
Detecting the control data from the predetermined region of the replaced image data;
Controlling the subsequent device based on the detected control data;
Displaying the image data;
A control data transmission method comprising:

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