Display Layer Combination Using Transparent Pixel Run-Length Skipping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing display control technologies face inefficiencies when combining multiple display layers, as they often read and process all pixels, including transparent ones, which slows down the combination process.

Innovation Solution

A display control device and program that utilize a run-length counter to identify consecutive transparent pixels, allowing the combination calculation unit to skip over them, thereby speeding up the combination process by ignoring transparent pixels and using compression and decompression units to manage image data updates efficiently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If all pixels are processed including transparent ones, then complete image combination is achieved, but processing speed decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage combination completenessVSAvoidprocessing speed
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and identifies transparent pixels from the display layer data using a run-length encoding approach. By detecting consecutive transparent pixels and their positions, the system separates transparent regions from non-transparent regions, allowing the combination processing to exclude transparent pixels entirely while maintaining completeness for non-transparent areas.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements skipping mechanism by using run-length counters to identify sequences of transparent pixels. When transparent regions are detected, the combination calculation unit jumps over these regions without performing combination operations, directly proceeding to the next non-transparent pixel or region, thereby significantly reducing processing time while preserving image combination completeness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #21Skipping (Rushing through)

2Productivity

If run-length encoding is used to skip transparent pixels, then processing speed increases, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecombination processing speedVSAvoidprocessing unit complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the image processing task into distinct functional units: a run-length counter unit that identifies transparent pixel sequences, a combination calculation unit that performs the actual combination, and a display unit that outputs the result. This segmentation allows each unit to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall control logic by dividing the complex processing into manageable stages.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary action by pre-calculating run-length values for transparent pixels before the actual combination processing. The run-length counter unit analyzes the display layer data in advance, identifies transparent regions, and stores this information in a manner that enables the combination calculation unit to quickly skip these regions during combination operations, reducing real-time processing complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2469504B1Display control device and display layer combination program
Publication Date: 2016.05.11 FAURECIA CLARION ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP2469504B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2469504B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2469504B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A display control device includes: a transparent color information storage unit 5310 that stores transparent color information; a run-length counter 5400 that calculates a run-length specifying the number of consecutive pixels having the same color information; a combination calculation unit 5300 that combines the image data for the plurality of display layers; and a combined image display unit that outputs the combined image data to a display device. If the color information for a total of run-length pixels calculated by the run-length counter 5400 is a transparent color, the combination calculation unit 5300 performs combination by ignoring the image data for the total number run-length of consecutive pixels.