KR20050047243A - Graphic processing apparatus and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a graphics processing apparatus and a method thereof. According to the present invention, a graphic processing apparatus having a compression function and a method thereof compress and store only the representative pixel, position, and size information of a subgraphic when compressing a subgraphic represented by a regular pattern among graphic data. In other words, it is possible to improve the graphics compression efficiency by reducing the graphics storage capacity. In addition, the graphic processing apparatus and the method having the reconstruction function according to the present invention, when reconstructing the compressed graphics, loads and reconstructs only the representative pixel, position, and size information of the subgraphic compressed by the regular pattern. This reduces the time required to load graphics.

Description

Graphic processing apparatus and method thereof

The present invention relates to a graphics processing apparatus and a method thereof, and more particularly, to a graphics processing apparatus and method that can reduce the storage capacity of graphics in a system using a plurality of graphics.

Graphics are a way of representing information using visual effects. A representative example of using graphics is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) function. The GUI function allows a user to exchange information with the corresponding device by displaying a graphic screen on the display device.

Graphics for implementing GUI functions usually use 256-color BMP (Bit MaP) type. The BMP type expresses 16 colors or 256 colors by mixing A (Alpha), R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) colors in a predetermined ratio. Most graphic processing apparatuses implement graphic screens using palettes having different indexes for 256 colors. 256 colors and the index assigned to each color are configured in the form of a color look-up table.

Meanwhile, as functions of data processing apparatuses providing GUI functions are diversified and subdivided, graphic screens for GUI functions are also diversified and subdivided. In particular, as data processing apparatuses or display apparatuses become more advanced, graphic screens are also provided as high definition and high quality screens.

However, as graphic screens are diversified, subdivided, and high-definition, the data capacity of graphics also increases. Therefore, the graphic processing apparatus compresses and stores the graphics in order to reduce the data capacity of the graphics. In general, a graphic processing apparatus compresses data of a graphic by using a Huffman coding method as a graphic compression method. Since the Huffman coding method is a lossless compression method, the Huffman coding method has a smaller compression effect than the lossy compression method.

Therefore, the conventional Huffman coding method cannot expect a great effect on the compression of the graphics screen, thereby limiting the reduction of the storage capacity of the graphics. In other words, a conventional data processing apparatus that compresses graphics by Huffman coding requires a larger storage medium to store graphics data. In addition, by reconstructing the graphics compressed by the conventional Huffman coding method using the Huffman decoding method, it takes a lot of time to decode the graphic data and to load the graphic screen.

An object of the present invention is to provide a graphic processing apparatus and a method for compressing a graphic so as to minimize a graphics storage capacity and restoring the compressed graphic.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the graphic processing apparatus and the method according to the present invention classify the input graphic data into at least one first subgraphic and at least one second subgraphic. The classification of graphic data is classified based on the characteristics of the index constituting the graphic data.

The first subgraphic is a graphic in which the first index applied to the pixel color of the first subgraphic is formed in an irregular pattern. The second subgraphic is a graphic in which the second index given to the pixel color of the second subgraphic is formed in a regular pattern. The second subgraphic has a gradient characteristic in which a predetermined unit graphic is repeatedly formed or has a characteristic expressed by one index, that is, one color.

Here, since the first subgraphic has an irregular pattern, it is not compressed, and thus all first indexes constituting the first subgraphic are stored. On the other hand, since the second sub graphic has a regular pattern, only a part of the second sub graphic can be stored.

In actual graphic data compression, the second subgraphic is compressed into attribute information consisting of at least one index constituting the unit graphic, the size and position of the second graphic. That is, unlike the first subgraphic, not all indexes of the second subgraphic are stored, but attribute information including indexes of the unit graphics of the second subgraphic is stored. This reduces the storage capacity of the graphic data and increases the compression efficiency.

On the other hand, in order to solve the above technical problem, the graphic processing apparatus and method thereof according to the present invention restore the graphic data compressed and stored by the apparatus and method having the above-described compression function. In detail, when the graphic data is restored, the attribute information of the compressed and stored graphic data is classified into first attribute information for the first subgraphic and second attribute information for the second subgraphic.

The first subgraphic is generated by loading all indexes constituting the first subgraphic at a position where the first subgraphic is to be displayed. In addition, the second subgraphic is generated by repeatedly loading a predetermined number of unit graphics from a reference position at which the second subgraphic is to be displayed after loading the index of the second subgraphic. As a result, the loading time required to restore the second subgraphic having a regular pattern is shortened.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described the present invention in more detail.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a graphic processing apparatus having a compression function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the graphic processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention may include a first storage unit 110, a graphic classification unit 120, an attribute information extraction unit 130, a second storage unit 140, and a compression control unit. Has 150. Arrows shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 indicate the flow of actual graphic data, and arrows shown in dashed lines indicate the flow of control signals.

First, the graphic processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention compresses the graphic screen based on a predetermined pattern in order to reduce the storage capacity of the graphic screen stored in the graphic restoring unit 520 which will be described later. Graphic compression by the graphic processing device 100 is implemented at the factory production stage, and an example of the graphic screen may be a GUI screen.

The first storage unit 110 stores graphic data and a color lookup table for implementing a predetermined graphic screen. The graphic data is composed of color-specific indexes that refer to colors of each pixel constituting the graphic screen. In the case of the present invention, since the graphic screen uses 256 colors, indices of # 1 to # 256 are assigned to 256 pixels.

When graphic data is input from the first storage unit 110, the graphic classification unit 120 classifies the input graphic data into at least one first subgraphic and at least one second subgraphic. In this case, the graphic classifier 120 classifies the graphic based on the color characteristics of the pixels constituting the input graphic data (that is, the characteristics of the index indicating the color of the pixel). At least one first subgraphic is all graphics except for at least one second subgraphic of the graphic data. Also, the background graphic of the graphic screen is included in any one of the first sub graphic and the second sub graphic.

In detail, the first subgraphic is a graphic formed in a predetermined irregular pattern, and the second subgraphic is a graphic formed in a predetermined regular pattern. The graphic classifier 120 classifies the unit graphic of the second subgraphic from the second subgraphic again based on a predetermined regular pattern.

Hereinafter, a unit graphic of any one of a first subgraphic of at least one first subgraphic, a second subgraphic of at least one second subgraphic, and at least one unit graphic will be described as an example. .

The predetermined irregular pattern is a pattern in which all the indexes (hereinafter, referred to as "first indexes") constituting the first subgraphic are randomly formed. In other words, the irregular pattern refers to a pattern in which a plurality of colors are formed to express a texture, such as a marble surface and a surface of a cloth. Thus, graphics having texture characteristics are included in the first subgraphic.

On the other hand, the predetermined regular pattern is a pattern in which the unit graphics of the second subgraphic is repeated. That is, the second subgraphic is repeatedly formed in a predetermined direction from a predetermined reference position of the graphic screen, and is repeatedly formed by the number of pixels having a length corresponding to the repeated direction. The unit graphic is a basic unit for generating the second subgraphic, and consists of an index (hereinafter referred to as a "second index") given to the color of the representative pixel of each pixel line constituting the second subgraphic. Therefore, graphics having a gradient characteristic are included in the second subgraphic. The gradient characteristic is that the colors of the plurality of pixels forming one row are the same, and the colors of each row are the same or different graphic characteristics. The same is true for heat.

Here, the predetermined direction is a direction in which the unit graphic is repeated or a direction in which a predetermined regular pattern is formed. In the present invention, the second subgraphic has a quadrangular shape, and therefore, the predetermined direction is any one of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction of the second subgraphic. In addition, the reference position is a position at which the second subgraphic starts on the graphic screen, and means a position of one of four corners of the second subgraphic. In the present invention, the second index constituting the unit graphic has an (M × 1) matrix or a (1 × N) matrix, and a pixel line means M rows or N columns.

For example, when the second subgraphic 200A is the same as FIG. 2A, the unit graphic 200a includes the second indexes 1A, 1B, 1C, 1A, and 1C assigned to the representative pixels of each row. This is because the second sub graphic 200A has the same color of each pixel, but the color of each row has the same or different gradient characteristics. In FIG. 2A, the second sub graphic 200A is a pattern in which a predetermined unit graphic 200a is repeatedly formed in a horizontal direction (arrow direction) from _a predetermined reference position (x _a , y _a ) of the graphic screen, and thus the unit graphic ( 200a is repeated by the number of pixels (m) having a length corresponding to the horizontal direction (arrow direction).

In addition, when the second subgraphic 200B is the same as that of FIG. 2B, the unit graphic 200b includes the second indexes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2B assigned to the representative pixels of each column. This is because the color of each pixel of the second subgraphic 200B is the same, but the color of each column has the same or different gradient characteristics. In FIG. 2B, the second sub graphic 200B is repeatedly arranged in the vertical direction (arrow direction) from the predetermined reference position (x _b , y _b ) of the graphic screen on the predetermined unit graphic 200b of the second sub graphic 200B. This is a formed pattern, and thus, the unit graphic 200b is repeated by n pixels in the vertical direction.

In addition, the second subgraphic includes not only a gradient characteristic by repetition of the unit graphic but also a graphic represented by one color. That is, the graphic represented by one second index is also the second subgraphic.

The attribute information extraction unit 130 is a block for substantially compressing the graphic data. The attribute information extracting unit 130 extracts first attribute information of the first subgraphic based on the above-described irregular pattern, and extracts second attribute information of the unit graphic based on a predetermined regular pattern. In the present invention, the second attribute information is compressed data of the second subgraphic.

The first attribute information includes a first index of all pixels constituting the first subgraphic and a position of the first subgraphic positioned on the graphic screen. The second attribute information includes a second index constituting a unit graphic (k, k = 1, 2, ..., N), a reference position (x, y) of the second subgraphic on the graphic screen, and a predetermined value of the second subgraphic. The number of pixels in the direction (M or N, where M and N are pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively).

In other words, the second attribute information of the unit graphic is (x, y, M or N, index1, index2, ..., indexN) as actual compressed data of the second subgraphic in which the unit graphic is repeatedly formed.

In the case of FIG. 2A, the second attribute information includes second indexes 1A, 1B, 1C, 1A, and 1C constituting the unit graphic 200a, and a reference position (x _a ) of the second subgraphics 200A positioned on the graphic screen. , y _a ) and the number of pixels (M = m) in the horizontal direction (arrow direction) of the second subgraphic 200A. The second attribute information is compressed data of the second subgraphic 200A.

The second storage unit 140 stores the first attribute information and the second attribute information extracted by the attribute information extraction unit 130. The first attribute information is used by the graphic restoration unit 520 to implement the first subgraphics, and the second attribute information is used by the graphic restoration unit 520 to implement the second subgraphics. In particular, since the second attribute information is attribute information of the unit graphics of the second subgraphic, the second attribute information, which is data obtained by compressing the second subgraphic, is stored in the second storage unit 140.

The second storage unit 140 is provided directly in the graphic processing apparatus 500 or used as the third storage unit of the graphic processing apparatus 500 by controlling the compression controller 150 to store the stored first and second attribute information. Provided at 521.

The compression controller 150 controls the overall operation of the graphic processing apparatus 100. In the present invention, the compression controller 150 controls the graphic classifier 120 to classify the input graphic data into the first subgraphic and the second subgraphic according to the color characteristics of the pixel. In addition, the compression control unit 150 controls the attribute information extraction unit 130 and the second storage unit 140 to extract and store the first and second attribute information which are actual compressed data. Here, the operation of the attribute information extractor 130 may be designed to be performed by the compression controller 150.

In particular, when the second subgraphic having the same (or similar) graphic characteristics among the at least one second subgraphic classified from the graphic classification unit 120 is present, the compression control unit 150 includes the first subgraphic of one second subgraphic. Only the second attribute information and the reference position of the same (or similar second subgraphic) are processed to be stored in the second storage unit 140. Here, the compression control unit 150 uses index information of the plurality of second subgraphics. It is determined whether multiple second subgraphics are the same or similar.

In addition, the compression controller 150 may process the stored first and second attribute information to be stored in the third storage unit 521 of the graphic restoration unit 520 through a predetermined data transmission path (not shown).

3 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a graphic screen compressed by the graphic processing apparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the graphic screen 300 is classified into a background graphic 300A, one first subgraphic 300B, and four second subgraphics 300C to 300F. The background graphic 300A is implemented with one index (not shown), the first subgraphic 300B has a non-gradient characteristic, and the four second subgraphics 300C to 300F have a predetermined unit graphic. Has a gradient characteristic.

Since the background graphic 300A is implemented with one index (not shown) (that is, implemented with one color), the graphic classification unit 120 includes the background graphic 300A in the gradient characteristic, but is separately described for convenience. do. First, the attribute information extracting unit 130 extracts one index (not shown) and the size of the graphic screen (that is, the number of a horizontal pixel and the number of b vertical pixels) as the attribute information of the background graphic 300A.

In addition, the attribute information extracting unit 130 is the position information (x ₁ , y ₁ ), the size (c horizontal hydrogen and the first sub-graphics 300B as the first attribute information for one first sub-graphic (300B) Both the number of d vertical pixels) and the first index constituting the first subgraphic 300B (a plurality of 3A to a plurality of 3C) are extracted. For example, if the first subgraphic 300B has a size of (10 × 10) pixels, the number of extracted first indexes is (10 × 10 = 100).

In addition, the attribute information extracting unit 130 is the second positional information about the predetermined second subgraphic 300C as reference positions (x ₂ , y ₂ ) of the predetermined second subgraphic 300C, and one index 3A. And the size of the second subgraphic 300C (that is, the number of e horizontal pixels and the number of f vertical pixels). This is because the predetermined second subgraphic 300C is implemented with one second index 3A.

In addition, the attribute information extracting unit 130 is the second attribute information for the second subgraphics 300D, 300E, and 300F, and the second attribute information for the second subgraphics 300D and the second subgraphics 300E and 300F. Extract only the reference position of). This is because the three second subgraphics 300D, 300E, and 300F all have the same regular pattern. Accordingly, the attribution information extracting unit 130 may include the reference positions ((x ₃ , y ₃ ), (x ₄ , y ₄ ), (x ₅ , y ₅ )) of the second subgraphics 300D, 300E, and 300F. The sizes of the second indexes 3A, 3B, and 3C and the second subgraphics 300D of the unit graphic 300d (that is, the number of g horizontal pixels) are extracted.

Therefore, the second storage unit 140 stores attribute information for each area 300A to 300F extracted by the attribute information extraction unit 130. When a plurality of graphic screens are implemented, the second storage unit 140 stores first and second property information corresponding to each graphic screen.

As described above, the graphic processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention classifies the graphic screens based on the color characteristics of the graphic screens and does not store the indexes for all the colors of the graphic screens. In the case of FIG. 3, the first subgraphic 300B is not compressed and all first indexes are stored. However, since the background graphics 300A and the four second subgraphics 300C to 300F store only the second attribute information of the background graphics 300A and the two second subgraphics 300C and 300D, the compression efficiency is reduced. Increase and storage capacity decreases.

4A is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a graphic screen compressed by the graphic processing apparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the graphic screen 400A is classified into four first subgraphics (a, b, c, and d) and five second subgraphics (A, B, C, D, and E). Has characteristics.

Each of the first subgraphics a, b, c, and d has a color characteristic of randomly arranged pixels, and thus is not a gradient characteristic. Therefore, the attribute information extraction unit 130 extracts first attribute information for each of the four first subgraphics a, b, c, and d. That is, the attribute information extracting unit 130 extracts the position, size, and all first indexes of the first subgraphic (a) of the first subgraphic (a) as the first attribute information of the first subgraphic (a). The first indexes of the first subgraphics b are extracted as the first attribute information of the first subgraphics b. The same applies to the other two first subgraphics c and d.

On the other hand, the second sub-graphics (A to E) are each implemented in one color. That is, the second subgraphics A to E are each implemented with one index, and each of the second subgraphics A to E has a different color. Therefore, the attribute information extractor 130 extracts second attribute information for each of the five second subgraphics A to E. FIG. That is, the attribute information extracting unit 130 is the second attribute information of the second subgraphic A, the reference position of the second subgraphic A, the second index for one pixel, and the second subgraphic A. ), I.e., the number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions. The same applies to the remaining four second subgraphics B to E. FIG.

Accordingly, in the case of the graphic screen 400A as shown in FIG. 4A, the second storage unit 140 includes first attribute information and five second subgraphics A to D for each of the four first subgraphics a to d. E) second attribute information for each is stored.

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a graphic screen including a plurality of graphic screens of FIG. 4A.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the graphic screen 500B is classified into a background graphic 510B and four component graphics 520B, 430B, 440B, and 450B. The four component graphics 520B through 450B have the same graphical characteristics. Therefore, the attribute information extractor 130 extracts only attribute information of the background graphic 510B, attribute information of one component graphic 520B, and position information of three component graphics 530B to 450B.

In other words, since the background graphic 510B has one index, the attribute information extracting unit 130 is the first attribute information of the background graphic 510B and the size of the graphic screen (ie, the number of horizontal pixels and The number of vertical pixels) is extracted. In addition, the four component graphics 520B to 450B have the same graphic characteristics as the graphic screen 500A. Therefore, the attribution information extraction unit 130 extracts the attribution information of the configuration graphic 520B and the location information of the three configuration graphics 530B to 450 by the method described with reference to FIG. 4A.

This is because, after generating the configuration graphic 520B using the first and second attribute information of the configuration graphic 520B in the graphic generation unit 522, which will be described later, the graphic combination unit 523 may include the remaining configuration graphics 530B through. It is used to simply reconstruct by copying configuration graphic 520B to the location of 450.

5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a graphic processing apparatus having a reconstruction function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the graphic processing apparatus 500 includes a user command input unit 510, a graphic restoration unit 520, and an output terminal 530. 5 shows only blocks related to the present invention, other blocks are omitted. The arrows shown in solid lines in FIG. 5 represent the flow of actual graphic data, and the arrows shown in dashed lines represent the flow of control signals. First, the graphic processing apparatus 500 is a device for processing image data provided from an image source source into a viewable signal, and provides a GUI function.

Examples of the graphic processing apparatus 500 may include a digital video disk recorder (DVDR), a digital video disk player (DVDP), a personal video recorder (PVR), a set-top box capable of processing an image, and a TV.

The user command input unit 510 is a user interface that outputs a command for setting or performing a function provided by the graphic processing apparatus 500 to the restoration controller 526. In the present invention, the user command input unit 510 requests display of a predetermined GUI screen.

The graphic restoration unit 520 according to the present invention restores the graphic data compressed by the graphic processing apparatus 100 described above in real time. To this end, the graphic restoration unit 520 may include a third storage unit 521, a graphic generation unit 522, a graphic combination unit 523, a fourth storage unit 524, a graphic engine 425, and a restoration control unit 526. Has

The third storage unit 521 is a nonvolatile memory that stores graphic compressed data for implementing a graphic screen provided by the graphic processing apparatus 500. That is, in the third storage unit 521, all attribute information including first and second attribute information stored in the second storage unit 140 is stored for each graphic screen. An example of the third storage unit 521 may be a flash memory. The first attribute information is attribute information of at least one first subgraphic extracted based on a predetermined irregular pattern among graphic data. The second attribute information is attribute information of at least one unit graphic extracted based on a predetermined regular pattern among graphic data, and is actual compressed data in which only information about the unit graphic is stored.

Hereinafter, a unit graphic of any one of a first subgraphic of at least one first subgraphic, a second subgraphic of at least one second subgraphic, and at least one unit graphic will be described as an example. .

When the display request for the predetermined GUI screen is received from the user command input unit 510, the third storage unit 521 generates a graphic of all attribute information of graphic data corresponding to the predetermined screen under the control of the restoration controller 526. Provided to section 522.

The graphic generator 522 classifies the provided whole attribute information into first attribute information and second attribute information, respectively. The graphic generator 522 individually generates a first subgraphic based on the classified first attribute information. In other words, the graphic generator 522 loads the entire first index of the first subgraphic and generates a first subgraphic having a stored size.

In addition, the graphic generator 522 generates a unit graphic based on the classified second attribute information, and then individually generates a second subgraphic corresponding to the generated unit graphic. That is, the graphic generator 522 generates the second subgraphic by repeating the second index constituting the unit graphic by the number of pixels in a predetermined direction from the reference position of the second subgraphic corresponding to the unit graphic. At this time, by generating the second subgraphic using only the second attribute information, the time taken for loading the graphic data is significantly shortened.

On the other hand, in order to generate the above-described first and second sub-graphics, the graphic generator 522 has a color lookup table indicating an index given to 256 pixels. Alternatively, after storing the color lookup table in a separate storage unit (not shown), each time the graphic data is restored, the first sub-graphic and the second subgraphic are stored using the color lookup table stored in the separate storage unit (not shown). Can be generated.

The graphic combining unit 523 restores original graphic data by combining the first subgraphic and the second subgraphic generated by the graphic generating unit 522. At this time, the graphic combining unit 523 combines the first subgraphic and the second subgraphic with reference to the position of the first subgraphic and the reference position of the second subgraphic.

The fourth storage unit 524 is a volatile memory which is temporarily stored before the graphic data of the graphic screen combined by the graphic combination unit 523 is provided to the graphic engine 425 which will be described later.

The graphics engine 425 processes the combined graphic data into a displayable image signal. In addition, the graphics engine 425 processes not only a graphic screen but also an image signal provided from an image source source (for example, satellite broadcasting) as a viewable signal.

The output terminal 530 outputs signal processed graphic data to a display device (not shown) connected by a predetermined cable.

The reconstruction controller 526 controls the overall operation of the graphic processing apparatus 500. In the present invention, when the display of the predetermined GUI screen is requested from the user command input unit 510, the restoration control unit 526 is the first and second property information corresponding to the graphic screen stored in the third storage unit 521 The above-described units 520 and 430 are controlled to restore the corresponding GUI screen with reference to the compressed information.

In particular, the restoration control unit 526 may be configured to classify the entire attribute information corresponding to the predetermined graphic screen provided from the third storage unit 521 into first attribute information having no gradient characteristic and second attribute information having a gradient characteristic. The generation unit 522 is controlled. Also, the restoration controller 526 may load all of the first indexes of the classified first attribute information to generate the first subgraphic, and generate the second subgraphic using the classified second attribute information. 522 is controlled.

Hereinafter, a method of compressing the second subgraphic illustrated in FIG. 6 and a method of restoring a graphic screen will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the second subgraphic 600 includes (M × N) indexes assigned to (M × N) pixels. The second subgraphic 600 may include a first region represented by (m ₁ × N) first indexes (index1), a second region represented by (m ₂ × N) second indexes (index2), and a fourth region represented by (m ₃ × N) third indexes (index3) and a fourth region represented by (m ₄ × N) fourth indexes (index4). Since the first to fourth areas are displayed in the same color, and the respective areas are displayed in different colors, the second subgraphic 600 has a gradient characteristic. That is, the graphic screen 600 has a pattern in which a predetermined unit graphic ((M × 1) matrix) is repeated N times in the horizontal direction. M (= m ₁ + m ₂ + m ₃ + m ₄ ) is the number of pixels in the vertical direction, and N is the number of pixels in the horizontal direction. Accordingly, the attribute information extractor 130 extracts second attribute information of the unit graphic of the graphic screen 600.

In detail, the attribute information extracting unit 130 may include the reference position (x _c , y _c ) of the second sub graphic 600 in the graphic screen (not shown) as the second attribute information, and the first index forming the first area. (index1) and the number of rows (m ₁ ) of the first region, the second index (2) forming the second region and the number of rows (m ₂ ) of the second region, the third index (3,3) forming the third region, and The number of rows (m ₃ ) of the third region, the fourth index (4) constituting the fourth region, the number of rows (m ₄ ) of the fourth region, and the number of pixels (N) in the horizontal direction are extracted.

In other words, the second attribute information of the second subgraphic 600 has the following information. ,

(x _c , y _c , N, index1, m ₁ , index2, m ₂ , index3, m ₃ , index4, m ₄ ). ①

The second attribute information of the unit graphic is actual compressed data of the second sub graphic 600 in which the unit graphic is repeatedly formed. The second attribute information consisting of ① is stored in the third storage unit 521 of the graphics processing apparatus 500.

When a display request for the second subgraphic 600 is output from the user command input unit 510, the graphic generator 522 generates the second subgraphic 600 based on the second attribute information ①.

In detail, the graphic generator 522 may first m m _first indexes 1 in the vertical direction, m ₂ second indexes 2 in the vertical direction, and m ₃ third indexes _{3 in the} vertical direction. The unit graphic having m _four fourth indexes _{4 in the} vertical direction is generated. The graphic generator 522 generates the second subgraphic 600 by repeating the generated unit graphic N times in the horizontal direction from the reference positions x _c and y _{c of} the second sub graphic 600.

The generated second sub graphic 600 is displayed on a display device (not shown) through the graphic combination unit 523, the fourth storage unit 524, the graphic engine 425, and the output terminal 530.

The graphic processing apparatus 500 processes the graphic data compressed by the graphic processing apparatus 100 into a signal that can be restored and displayed. As a result, the graphic processing apparatus 500 according to the present invention provides the GUI function to the user at a higher speed.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for schematically describing a compression graphics processing method of FIG. 1.

1 and 7, first, the compression controller 150 controls the graphic classifier 120 to classify the input graphic data into at least one first subgraphic and at least one second subgraphic ( S710). The classification of graphic data is classified based on the characteristics of the index constituting the graphic data. The first subgraphic is a graphic in which the first index is formed in an irregular pattern, and the second subgraphic is a graphic in which the second index is formed in a regular pattern. In operation S710, the compression controller 150 controls the graphic classification unit 120 to reclassify the unit graphics of the second subgraphic from the second subgraphic based on a predetermined regular pattern.

When operation S710 is performed, the compression controller 150 controls the attribute information extraction unit 130 to extract first attribute information that is attribute information of at least one first subgraphic (S720). The compression controller 150 controls the attribute information extraction unit 130 to extract second attribute information that is attribute information of at least one unit graphic (S730). Performing steps S720 and S730 are as described in the attribution information extraction unit 130 of FIG. 1.

When operation S730 is performed, the compression controller 150 processes the extracted at least one first and second attribute information to be stored in the second storage unit 140 (S740).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for schematically describing a graphic processing method of restoration according to FIG. 5.

5 and 8, a display request for a predetermined graphic screen is output from the user command input unit 510 (S810). When the display request is received, the restoration controller 526 controls the graphic generator 522 to classify all attribute information corresponding to the requested graphic screen into at least one first and second attribute information (S820).

After operation S820, the restoration controller 526 controls the graphic generator 522 to generate the first subgraphic based on the at least one first attribute information. In operation S830, the restoration control unit 526 may load the entire first index of the first subgraphic and generate a first subgraphic having a stored size.

The restoration controller 526 controls the graphic generator 522 to generate the second subgraphic based on the at least one second attribute information (S840). In operation S840, the restoration controller 526 generates a unit graphic based on the at least one second attribute information, and then individually generates a second subgraphic corresponding to the generated unit graphic.

When the operation S840 is performed, the restoration controller 526 controls the graphic combination unit 523 to restore the original graphic data by combining the first subgraphic and the second subgraphic generated in steps S830 and S840 (S850). . At this time, the graphic combining unit 523 combines the first subgraphic and the second subgraphic with reference to the position of the first subgraphic and the reference position of the second subgraphic.

When the step S850 is performed, the restoration controller 526 processes the graphic data of the combined graphic screen to be stored in the fourth storage unit 524, and then processes the combined graphic data into a displayable image signal. (S860). The restoration controller 526 processes the graphic data processed as an image signal to be provided to the display apparatus (not shown) through the output terminal 530 (S870). As a result, a graphic screen requested for display is displayed on the display device (not shown).

As described so far, according to the graphic processing apparatus and the method according to the present invention, the graphic data is classified into subgraphics based on the color characteristics among the graphic data, and then the graphic data is compressed for each subgraphic characteristic. In the case of a subgraphic having a gradient characteristic, only information on the unit graphic of the subgraphic is stored, and in the case of a subgraphic having a single color, an index for one color is stored. This increases the compression efficiency of subgraphics with repeating patterns and reduces storage capacity.

Further, according to the graphic processing apparatus and the method according to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the time required to implement the graphic screen by using the graphic processing apparatus and the graphic data compressed by the method. In particular, in the case of a subgraphic having a predetermined repeating pattern, a time required for loading graphic data is shortened by implementing a graphic screen using only the unit graphic of the subgraphic or one index.

Although the present invention has been described in detail through the representative embodiments, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention with respect to the embodiments described above. Will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a graphics processing apparatus having a compression function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2A and 2B illustrate an example of a second subgraphic,

3 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a graphic screen compressed by the graphic processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

4A is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a graphic screen compressed by the graphic processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

4B is a diagram illustrating a graphic screen including a plurality of graphic screens of FIG. 4A;

5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a graphics processing apparatus having a reconstruction function according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a view showing another example of a second subgraphic,

FIG. 7 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a compression graphics processing method according to FIG. 1, and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for schematically describing a graphic processing method of restoration according to FIG. 5.

Claims (24)

A graphic classification unit classifying a predetermined graphic screen into at least one first subgraphic formed in a predetermined irregular pattern and unit graphics for at least one second subgraphic formed in a predetermined regular pattern; Extracting first attribute information that is attribute information of each first subgraphic based on the irregular pattern, and extracting second attribute information that is attribute information of each unit graphic based on the predetermined regular pattern; An attribute information extraction unit for compressing a graphic screen; And And a storage unit storing first attribute information for implementing the at least one first subgraphic and second attribute information of each unit graphic for implementing the at least one second subgraphic. . The method of claim 1, Wherein each of the unit graphics is a basic unit for generating each of the second subgraphics, and each of the unit graphics comprises representative pixels of each pixel line constituting each of the second subgraphics. The method of claim 2, The first attribute information includes a first index given to colors of all pixels constituting the at least one first subgraphic, and a position of the at least one first subgraphic positioned on the graphic screen. The attribute information includes a second index given to the color of each representative pixel constituting the at least one unit graphic, a reference position of the at least one second subgraphic located on the graphic screen, and a predetermined direction of the second subgraphic. And a number of pixels. The method of claim 3, wherein The predetermined irregular pattern is a pattern in which all of the first indexes are randomly formed, and the predetermined regular pattern includes the at least one unit graphic in the predetermined direction from a reference position of the at least one second subgraphic. And a pattern repeatedly formed by the number of pixels. The method of claim 1, The at least one first subgraphic has a texture characteristic as an area excluding the at least one second subgraphic of the graphic screen, and the at least one second subgraphic is displayed in the same color for each pixel line. And the color of each pixel line has a different gradient characteristic. A graphic processing apparatus for restoring a predetermined graphic screen, First attribute information, which is attribute information of at least one first subgraphic extracted based on a predetermined irregular pattern of the graphic screen, and at least one unit graphic extracted based on a predetermined regular pattern among the graphic screens; A storage unit which stores second attribute information which is attribute information; The at least one first subgraphic is generated based on the stored first attribute information, and the at least one unit graphic is generated based on the stored second attribute information, and then the at least one unit graphic is generated. A graphic generator which generates at least one corresponding second subgraphic; A graphic combination unit which restores the graphic screen by combining the at least one first subgraphic and the at least one second subgraphic; And And a graphics engine for processing the restored graphic screen into a displayable signal. The method of claim 6, Wherein each of the unit graphics is a basic unit for generating each of the second subgraphics, and each of the unit graphics comprises representative pixels of at least one pixel line constituting each of the second subgraphics. The method of claim 7, wherein The first attribute information includes a first index given to colors of all pixels constituting the at least one first subgraphic, and a position of the at least one first subgraphic positioned on the graphic screen. The attribute information includes a second index given to the color of at least one representative pixel constituting each unit graphic, a reference position of the at least one second subgraphic located on the graphic screen, and a predetermined direction of the second subgraphic. And a number of pixels. The method of claim 8, The predetermined irregular pattern is a pattern in which all of the first indexes are randomly formed, and the predetermined regular pattern includes the at least one unit graphic in the predetermined direction from a reference position of the at least one second subgraphic. And a pattern repeatedly formed by the number of pixels. The method of claim 9, And the graphic generation unit generates the at least one first sub-graphic by loading all the first indexes for each pixel position. The method of claim 9, The graphic generating unit generates the second subgraphics by repeating the unit graphics including at least one of the second indexes by the number of pixels in the predetermined direction from a reference position of each second subgraphic. Graphics processing unit. The method of claim 8, And the predetermined direction is a direction in which the predetermined regular pattern is formed. A graphic classification step of classifying a graphic screen into at least one first sub graphic formed in a predetermined irregular pattern and unit graphics for at least one second sub graphic formed in a predetermined regular pattern; Extracting first attribute information that is attribute information of each first subgraphic based on the irregular pattern, and extracting second attribute information that is attribute information of each unit graphic based on the predetermined regular pattern; Attribute information extraction step of compressing the graphic screen; And And storing first attribute information for implementing the at least one first subgraphic and second attribute information of each unit graphic for implementing the at least one second subgraphic. The method of claim 13, Wherein each of the unit graphics is a basic unit for generating each of the second subgraphics, and each of the unit graphics comprises representative pixels of each pixel line constituting each of the second subgraphics. The method of claim 14, The first attribute information includes a first index given to colors of all pixels constituting the at least one first subgraphic, and a position of the at least one first subgraphic located on the graphic screen. The second attribute information includes a second index given to the color of each representative pixel constituting the at least one unit graphic, a reference position of the at least one second subgraphic located on the graphic screen, and the second subgraphic. And a number of pixels in a predetermined direction. The method of claim 15, The predetermined irregular pattern is a pattern in which all of the first indexes are randomly formed, and the predetermined regular pattern includes the at least one unit graphic in the predetermined direction from a reference position of the at least one second subgraphic. And a pattern repeatedly formed by the number of pixels. The method of claim 13, The at least one second subgraphic is displayed in the same color for each pixel line, and the color of each pixel line has a different gradient characteristic. In the graphic processing method for restoring a predetermined graphic screen, First attribute information, which is attribute information of at least one first subgraphic extracted based on a predetermined irregular pattern of the graphic screen, and at least one unit graphic extracted based on a predetermined regular pattern among the graphic screens; A storage step of storing second attribute information which is attribute information; A first subgraphic generation step of generating the at least one first subgraphic based on the stored first attribute information; A second subgraphic generation step of generating the at least one unit graphic based on the stored second attribute information, and then generating at least one second subgraphic corresponding to the generated at least one unit graphic; Restoring the graphic screen by combining the at least one first subgraphic and the at least one second subgraphic; And And a signal processing step of processing the restored graphic screen into a displayable signal. The method of claim 18, Wherein each of the unit graphics is a basic unit for generating each of the second subgraphics, and each of the unit graphics includes representative pixels of at least one pixel line constituting each of the second subgraphics. The method of claim 19, The first attribute information includes a first index given to colors of all pixels constituting the at least one first subgraphic, and a position of the at least one first subgraphic positioned on the graphic screen. The attribute information includes a second index given to the color of at least one representative pixel constituting each unit graphic, a reference position of the at least one second subgraphic located on the graphic screen, and a predetermined direction of the second subgraphic. A graphics processing method comprising the number of pixels. The method of claim 20, The predetermined irregular pattern is a pattern in which the first indexes applied to all the pixels are randomly formed, and the predetermined regular pattern includes the at least one unit graphic from the reference position of the at least one second subgraphic. And a pattern repeatedly formed by the number of pixels in a predetermined direction. The method of claim 21, In the generating of the first subgraphics, the at least one first subgraphic is generated by loading the first indexes assigned to all the pixels for each pixel position. The method of claim 21, In the generating of the second subgraphics, the second subgraphics are generated by repeating the number of pixels in the predetermined direction from a reference position of each of the second subgraphics of the at least one second index. Graphic processing method characterized in that. The method of claim 21, And the predetermined direction is a direction in which the predetermined regular pattern is formed.