Image data transmission method and image processing module
By dividing the image data into multiple parts and transmitting it using two connection ports with lower transmission specifications, the problem of difficult to transmit high image quality and high frame rate image data on the USB port is solved, and the image data transmission is achieved at a lower cost need.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202410727221.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-06-08
- Filing Date
- 2024-06-06
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-10
AI Technical Summary
Existing USB connection ports are difficult to efficiently transmit high-quality image data of 4K or above, especially uncompressed image data. The transmission frame rate is not enough to meet user needs, and the cost of improving transmission specifications to achieve high frame rates is higher.
By dividing the image data into multiple parts of the same size and transmitting these parts simultaneously using two connection ports of lower transmission specifications, the software driver layer of the computer device combines and decodes these parts to display the complete image data.
It realizes the transmission of high image quality and high frame rate image data under lower transmission specifications, reducing the need for connected port transmission specifications, thereby reducing costs.
Smart Images
Figure CN119110029A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to an image data transmission method and an image processing module, and more particularly to a transmission method and an image processing module for transmitting image data using two connection ports. Background Art
[0002] Electronic devices generally use Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports for data transmission, and the transmission bandwidth of USB ports has made great progress with the development of technology. From the transmission bandwidth of USB1.0 and USB2.0 ports used in the early years, which was only a dozen to several hundred Mbps, to the recent USB3.2 Gen1 ports, which have a transmission bandwidth of 5Gbps, large files can be transmitted faster. However, with the development of audio and video technology, people are beginning to pursue 4K or higher high-definition visual experience. How to smoothly transmit high-definition image data is still full of challenges for the transmission bandwidth of USB ports. For example, if you want to transmit uncompressed image data with 4K quality, a USB3.2 Gen1 specification port can only transmit the image data at a frame rate of 30fps, which still does not meet the basic requirements of the generally accepted frame rate (such as 60fps). In addition, if you want to configure a higher specification port in an electronic device to transmit 4K60fps image data, it will often face the problem of high cost.
[0003] Therefore, the industry currently needs a new image data transmission method and image processing module that can transmit uncompressed high-quality image data through a cost-effective connection port, and the frame rate of the high-quality image data must also meet the expectations of users. Summary of the invention
[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide an image data transmission method, which can use a connection port with a lower transmission specification to transmit high-quality and high-frame rate image data, thereby eliminating the need to excessively pursue the transmission specification of the connection port to further reduce costs.
[0005] The present application proposes an image data transmission method, comprising the following steps: dividing the image data into a first part and a second part by an image processing module; outputting the first part to a third connection port of a computer device by a first connection port of the image processing module; outputting the second part to a fourth connection port of the computer device by a second connection port of the image processing module; combining the first part and the second part by a software driver layer of the computer device to obtain combined data; and decoding the combined data by an application layer of the computer device to display the image data. The first connection port and the second connection port have the same transmission specifications, and the first part and the second part occupy the same size in each frame of the image data.
[0006] In some embodiments, when the first connection port transmits the first part of one frame of the image data, the second connection port can simultaneously transmit the second part of the image data in the same frame of the image data. In addition, the first part is the left half of each frame of the image data, and the second part can be the right half of the same frame. In addition, the first part is the upper half of each frame of the image data, and the second part can be the lower half of the same frame. In addition, the image data transmission method can further include: temporarily storing the first part and the second part in a buffer of the image processing module; and the image processing module outputs the first part and the second part in the buffer via the first connection port and the second connection port respectively. On the other hand, the image processing module can receive the image data via a high-definition multimedia interface connection port, and the first connection port and the second connection port can be connection ports of a universal serial bus.
[0007] The present application provides an image processing module that can utilize a connection port with a lower transmission specification to transmit high-quality and high-frame-rate image data, thereby eliminating the need to excessively pursue the transmission specification of the connection port, thereby further reducing costs.
[0008] The present application proposes an image processing module, which includes an image splitter, a buffer, a first connection port, and a second connection port. The image splitter is used to split each frame of image data into a first part and a second part that are equally divided. The buffer is electrically connected to the image splitter and is used to store the first part and the second part of the image data. The first connection port and the second connection port are electrically connected to the buffer. When the first connection port transmits the first part of the image data, the second connection port simultaneously transmits the second part of the image data.
[0009] In some embodiments, the first part and the second part of each frame of the image data may be equally divided left and right or upper and lower. In addition, the first connection port and the second connection port may have the same transmission specification. In addition, the image data may be transmitted to the image processing module via the high-definition multimedia interface connection port, and the first connection port and the second connection port may be connection ports of a universal serial bus.
[0010] The present application proposes an image data transmission method, comprising the following steps: dividing the image data into a plurality of parts by an image processing module; outputting the above parts to a second group of universal serial bus connection ports of a computer device by a first group of universal serial bus connection ports of the image processing module; combining the above parts by a software driver layer of the computer device to obtain combined data; and decoding the combined data by an application layer of the computer device to display the image data. The first group of universal serial bus connection ports and the second group of universal serial bus connection ports are connected one-to-one, and the above parts include at least a first part and a second part, and the first part and the second part occupy the same size in each frame of the image data.
[0011] In some embodiments, when any one of the connection ports of the first set of universal serial buses transmits a first part of a frame of image data, another one of the connection ports of the first set of universal serial buses may simultaneously transmit a second part of the image data in the same frame of image data. In addition, the first part may be the left half of each frame of image data, and the second part may be the right half of the same frame of image data. Alternatively, the first part may be the upper half of each frame of image data, and the second part may be the lower half of the same frame of image data. In addition, the image processing module may receive the image data via the high-definition multimedia interface connection port.
[0012] In some embodiments, the image data transmission method may further include: temporarily storing the first part and the second part in a buffer of the image processing module; and the image processing module simultaneously outputting the first part and the second part in the buffer via any two of the connection ports of the first set of universal serial buses.
[0013] In summary, the image data transmission method and image processing module proposed in the present application can first divide the image data with a larger file size into two smaller file sizes, and then use the connection port with a lower transmission specification to transmit the divided parts. The present application can use two connection ports with lower transmission specifications to transmit high-quality and high-frame-rate image data, so there is no need to excessively pursue the transmission specifications of the connection port, thereby further reducing costs.
[0014] The details of other effects and embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.
[0016] Figure 1 is a system architecture block diagram of an application image data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0017] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of segmenting image data according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0018] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of segmenting image data according to another embodiment of the present application;
[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of software functions according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0020] Figure 5 is a flowchart of the steps of an image data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0021] Figure 6 is a flowchart of the steps of an image data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present application.
[0022] Explanation of symbols
[0023] 1 Image processing module 10 Image segmentation module
[0024] 12 Buffer 14a First connection port
[0025] 14b Second connection port 16 Image processor
[0026] 18 bus 2 computer device
[0027] 20 Application layer 22 Software driver layer
[0028] L transmission line S30~S38 step flow
[0029] S40~S46 step flow DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The positional relationships described in the following embodiments include: up, down, left and right. Unless otherwise specified, they are all based on the directions in which the components are drawn in the drawings.
[0031] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system architecture of an application image data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1As shown, the image data transmission method of the present application is applied between an image processing module 1 and a computer device 2. The image processing module 1 may include an image splitter 10, a buffer 12, a first connection port 14a, a second connection port 14b and an image processor 16, and the image processing module 1 also has a bus 18 inside, and the image splitter 10, the buffer 12, the first connection port 14a, the second connection port 14b and the image processor 16 may be electrically connected to each other through the bus 18 (for example, an AXI 128bits bus). In one example, the image processing module 1 may also have an input connection port (not shown) for image data, and the input connection port may be, for example, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connection port or other interfaces that can transmit image data. Of course, the image processing module 1 may also obtain image data by other means, such as obtaining image data through the network, and this embodiment is not limited thereto. In addition, the image data may be an uncompressed audio and video stream with a picture quality of 4K and a frame rate of 60fps. Of course, the present application may also be applied to audio and video streams with other picture qualities and frame rates.
[0032] After receiving the image data, the image splitter 10 divides the image data into two parts (a first part and a second part) of equal size. In detail, when the image data is a video stream, the image data will include multiple frames, and the image splitter 10 divides each frame into two parts of equal size. In other words, the image splitter 10 sequentially divides a single frame in the image data into two halves of a frame, rather than dividing the image data into the front and back halves of a video. In addition, the image splitter 10 is a hardware, which is different from using software to split image data. Using the image splitter 10 to split image data can save system resources and is also faster. For a practical example, assuming that the image data is a 4K60fps uncompressed video stream, the image splitter 10 will divide each 4K frame into two image blocks of equal size. Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of image data segmentation according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, assuming that the resolution of a 4K frame of image data is 4096x2160, the image segmenter 10 can divide the 4K frame into Figure 2 The upper half (first part) and the lower half (second part) are shown. At this time, the resolution of the upper half and the lower half is 4096x1080 respectively. The size of the first part and the second part are the same, but they correspond to different areas of the 4K frame.
[0033] This embodiment does not limit the image splitter 10 to divide the image data into upper and lower halves, and can also be divided into other proportions. Figure 1 and Figure 3 , Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of segmenting image data according to another embodiment of the present application. Similarly, assuming that the resolution of a 4K frame of image data is 4096x2160, the image segmenter 10 can also divide the 4K frame into Figure 3 The left half (first part) and the right half (second part) are shown. At this time, the resolution of the left half and the right half is 2048x2160 respectively. The size of the first part and the second part are the same, and they also correspond to different areas of the 4K frame. Of course, those with general knowledge in the relevant technical field should understand that the purpose of segmenting the image data is to divide the 4K frame into smaller blocks. The image segmenter 10 of this embodiment may also continue to segment the first part and the second part. For example, the image segmenter 10 may also Figure 3 The left and right halves of the 4K image are further equally divided, so that the 4K screen area becomes four image blocks of equal area (not shown), each with a resolution of 2048x1080 or 1024x2160. In one example, the image divider 10 can divide the input image data into two equal parts, and then divide it back and forth to obtain 2N identical image blocks, which is not limited in this embodiment.
[0034] It is worth mentioning that the number of image data segments segmented by the image segmenter 10 can be based on the number of connection ports of the image processing module 1, in particular, the number of connection ports of the image processing module 1 connected to the computer device 2. Figure 1 In the figure, only the first connection port 14a and the second connection port 14b of the image processing module 1 are connected to the computer device 2, so the image segmenter 10 will cut out two image blocks of the same area (the first part and the second part). If the image processing module 1 determines that there are 4 connection ports connected to the computer device 2, then the image segmenter 10 can choose to cut out two or 4 image blocks of the same area, and this embodiment is not limited here. Alternatively, if the image processing module 1 determines that there are 3 connection ports connected to the computer device 2, then the image segmenter 10 will still only cut out two image blocks of the same area, and will not necessarily use all the connected connection ports to transmit image data.
[0035] In practice, after the image segmenter 10 segments the image data into the first part and the second part, the first part and the second part can be stored in the buffer 12 to wait for subsequent image processing or waiting for transmission. In addition, when the image processing module 1 is to output the first part and the second part, the image processing module 1 will transmit the first part and the second part at the same time, rather than transmitting the first part and the second part one by one. For example, the buffer 12 can be a dynamic random access memory. Those with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can understand that the specifications of the buffer 12 will also be associated with, for example, a memory that can apply the DDR3 specification to store the first part and the second part. Generally speaking, the image processing module 1 can also have an image processor 16, and the image processor 16 can also be used for general storage, transmission or image processing. In an example, the image segmenter 10 can integrate the image processor 16 into a modular chip, which will not be described in detail in this embodiment.
[0036] In one example, the first connection port 14a and the second connection port 14b may have the same transmission specification, and are respectively connected to the third connection port 24a and the fourth connection port 24b of the computer device 2 by using the transmission line L. Here, the first connection port 14a and the second connection port 14b on the side of the image processing module 1 may be the connection ports of the first set of universal serial bus referred to in the present application. And, the third connection port 24a and the fourth connection port 24b on the side of the computer device 2 may be the connection ports of the second set of universal serial bus referred to in the present application. For example, the first connection port 14a and the second connection port 14b of the image processing module 1 may have the same specification, such as the specification of USB3.2 Gen1. It can be understood by those with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field that due to the limited transmission specification (bandwidth) of USB3.2 Gen1, it can only transmit approximately 4K30fps uncompressed audio and video streams. Therefore, if the original image data is a 4K60fps uncompressed audio and video stream, it cannot be transmitted in real time with a single USB3.2 Gen1. However, since the image processing module 1 has already divided the original image data into the first part and the second part of the same size, no matter the size of the first part and the second part is only half of the original image data, they should just meet the transmission specification (bandwidth) of USB3.2 Gen1. In an example, the transmission line L, the third connection port 24a and the fourth connection port 24b of the computer device 2 should also at least meet the transmission specification of USB3.2 Gen1 to be able to receive the data transmitted by the first connection port 14a and the second connection port 14b of the image processing module 1 in real time.
[0037] It is worth noting that the image processing module 1 of this embodiment transmits the first part and the second part simultaneously, rather than sequentially. That is, when the third connection port 24a of the computer device 2 receives the first part, the fourth connection port 24b also receives the second part. For the convenience of explanation, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 4 , Figure 4 Schematic diagram of software functions according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, in addition to the third connection port 24a and the fourth connection port 24b in hardware, the computer device 2 should also be installed with a corresponding driver in the software driver layer 22, which is used to obtain the received first part and the second part in real time, and combine the first part and the second part back into complete image data (combined data). In addition, the computer device 2 should be installed with a corresponding playback program in the application layer 20. After the software driver layer 22 obtains the complete image data, the application layer 20 can decode the combined data and display the image data with a playback interface.
[0038] In practice, since the first part and the second part are sent to the third connection port 24a and the fourth connection port 24b at the same time, the connection port control driver 220 of the computer device 2 should control the third connection port 24a and the fourth connection port 24b to receive them at the same time. In addition, at least one of the third connection port audio and video stream driver 222a and the fourth connection port audio and video stream driver 222b can be used to combine the first part and the second part. For example, when the third connection port audio and video stream driver 222a is responsible for generating the combined data, the fourth connection port audio and video stream driver 222b can provide the second part to the third connection port audio and video stream driver 222a. Similarly, when the fourth connection port audio and video stream driver 224a is responsible for generating the combined data, the third connection port audio and video stream driver 222a can provide the first part to the fourth connection port audio and video stream driver 224a. Next, after the software driver layer 22 obtains the combined data (complete image data), the combined data may be temporarily stored in the memory of the computer device 2 (not shown), and the software driver layer 22 then extracts the combined data (such as the aforementioned 4K60fps uncompressed video stream) according to the extraction instruction of the application layer 20. In one example, the application layer 20 may be any third-party program for playing 4K60fps uncompressed video streams, and the third-party program may have a function of assisting in splicing the combined images in addition to decoding the combined data, which is not limited in this embodiment.
[0039] For the convenience of explaining the image data transmission method of this application, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 5 , Figure 51 is a flowchart of the steps of the image data transmission method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, in step S30, the image processing module 1 divides the image data into a first part and a second part. In step S32, the first connection port 14a of the image processing module 1 outputs the first part to the third connection port 24a of the computer device 2. In step S34, the second connection port 14b of the image processing module 1 outputs the second part to the fourth connection port 24b of the computer device 2. In step S36, the software driver layer 22 of the computer device 2 combines the first part and the second part to obtain combined data. And, in step S38, the application layer 20 of the computer device 2 decodes the combined data to display the image data.
[0040] In addition, the image data transmission method of the present application can also be explained from another perspective. Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 6 , Figure 6 1 is a flowchart of the steps of an image data transmission method according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, in step S40, the image processing module 1 divides the image data into a plurality of parts. In step S42, the first set of universal serial bus connection ports of the image processing module 1 output the above parts to the second set of universal serial bus connection ports of the computer device 2. In step S44, the software driver layer 22 of the computer device 2 combines the above parts to obtain combined data. And, in step S46, the application layer 20 of the computer device 2 decodes the combined data to display the image data. The detailed description of the above method has been found in the aforementioned embodiment, and this embodiment will not be repeated here.
[0041] In summary, the image data transmission method and image processing module proposed in the present application can first divide the image data with a large file size into multiple parts with smaller file sizes, and then use the connection port with a lower transmission specification to transmit the divided parts. The present application can use two connection ports with lower transmission specifications to transmit high-quality and high-frame-rate image data, so there is no need to excessively pursue the transmission specifications of the connection port, thereby further reducing costs.
[0042] The embodiments and / or implementation methods described above are only used to illustrate the preferred embodiments and / or implementation methods for realizing the technology of the present application, and are not intended to limit the implementation methods of the technology of the present application in any form. Any technical personnel in this field may make slight changes or modifications to other equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the technical means disclosed in the content of the present application, but they should still be regarded as technologies or embodiments that are essentially the same as the present application.
Claims
1. A method for transmitting image data, It is characterized in that The image data transmission method comprises: An image processing module divides an image data into a first part and a second part; Outputting the first portion from a first connection port of the image processing module to a third connection port of a computer device; Outputting the second portion from a second connection port of the image processing module to a fourth connection port of the computer device; combining the first part and the second part by a software driver layer of the computer device to obtain a combined data; and decoding the combined data by an application layer of the computer device to display the image data; The first connection port and the second connection port have the same transmission specification, and the first part and the second part occupy the same size in each frame of the image data.
2. The image data transmission method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that When the first connection port transmits the first part of one frame of the image data, the second connection port simultaneously transmits the second part of the image data in the same frame of the image data.
3. The image data transmission method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The first part is the left half of each frame of the image data, and the second part is the right half of the same frame of the image data.
4. The image data transmission method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The first part is the upper half of each frame of the image data, and the second part is the lower half of the same frame of the image data.
5. The image data transmission method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that Also includes: temporarily storing the first portion and the second portion in a register of the image processing module; and The image processing module outputs the first part and the second part in the buffer via the first connection port and the second connection port respectively.
6. The image data transmission method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The image processing module receives the image data via a high-definition multimedia interface connection port.
7. The image data transmission method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The first connection port and the second connection port are connection ports of a universal serial bus.
8. An image processing module, It is characterized in that The image processing module comprises: An image splitter, used for splitting each frame of an image data into a first part and a second part which are equally divided; a buffer, electrically connected to the image splitter, for storing the first part and the second part of the image data; and A first connection port and a second connection port, electrically connected to the buffer; When the first connection port transmits the first part of the image data, the second connection port transmits the second part of the image data simultaneously.
9. The image processing module according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The first part and the second part in each frame of the image data are equally divided left and right or up and down.
10. The image processing module according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The first connection port and the second connection port have the same transmission specification.
11. The image processing module according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The image data is transmitted to the image processing module via a high-definition multimedia interface connection port.
12. The image processing module according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The first connection port and the second connection port are connection ports of a universal serial bus.
13. A method for transmitting image data, It is characterized in that The image data transmission method comprises: An image processing module divides an image data into a plurality of parts; Outputting the above-mentioned part from a first set of universal serial bus connection ports of the image processing module to a second set of universal serial bus connection ports of a computer device; Combining the above parts by a software driver layer of the computer device to obtain a combined data; and decoding the combined data by an application layer of the computer device to display the image data; wherein the connection ports of the first group of universal serial buses are connected one-to-one with the connection ports of the second group of universal serial buses; The above-mentioned parts at least include a first part and a second part, and the first part and the second part occupy the same size in each frame of the image data.
14. The image data transmission method according to claim 13, It is characterized in that When any one of the connection ports of the first set of universal serial buses transmits the first part of the image data in one frame, the other connection port of the first set of universal serial buses simultaneously transmits the second part of the image data in the same frame.
15. The image data transmission method according to claim 14, It is characterized in that The first part is the left half of each frame of the image data, and the second part is the right half of the same frame of the image data. 16 . The image data transmission method according to claim 14 , wherein the first portion is an upper half of each frame of the image data, and the second portion is a lower half of the same frame of the image data.
17. The image data transmission method according to claim 13, further comprising: include: temporarily storing the first part and the second part in a register of the image processing module; as well as The image processing module simultaneously outputs the first part and the second part in the buffer through any two of the connection ports of the first set of universal serial buses. 18 . The image data transmission method according to claim 13 , wherein the image processing module receives the image data via a high-definition multimedia interface connection port.