Hierarchical Image Guidance for Mobile Display Quality

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

As mobile terminals with larger display screens become prevalent, displaying high-definition images becomes feasible, but this leads to a tradeoff between information quality and ease of operation, requiring additional expertise for creating complex content.

Innovation Solution

An image processing device and method that stores hierarchical data of images in different resolutions, allowing users to easily move, enlarge, or reduce images by guiding them to predefined areas and resolutions using a scenario or link definition file, enabling seamless switching between image sets.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If hierarchical image data with multiple resolutions is stored and manually navigated, then information quality is maintained, but ease of operation deteriorates due to complex navigation requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage qualityVSAvoidoperation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-defines multiple resolution versions of images (hierarchical image data) and pre-establishes correspondence relationships between them. When a user views an image, the system automatically provides appropriate resolution switching without requiring manual navigation through multiple files or formats, thus maintaining information quality while simplifying operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a correspondence relationship file that acts as an intermediary between different resolution images. This file stores the mapping information between high-resolution and low-resolution images, allowing the system to automatically switch between resolutions based on display conditions without requiring users to manually manage multiple image files.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If automatic guidance to predefined areas is implemented, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases due to scenario definition files and processing units

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser operation simplicityVSAvoidsystem structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables the system to automatically guide displayed images to predefined areas based on scenario definition files. The displayed image processing unit autonomously determines when and how to switch between images based on predefined conditions (such as when the displayed image enters a predetermined range from a target area), eliminating the need for complex manual control interfaces while managing the complexity through automated decision-making logic.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Loss of information

If multiple sets of hierarchical data are switched automatically, then information quality is maintained across transitions, but processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation quality consistencyVSAvoiddata management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the displayed image processing unit continuously monitors the position and state of the currently displayed image. When the image enters a predetermined range from a target area defined in the link definition file, the system automatically triggers a switch to the corresponding image in another set of hierarchical data. This feedback-driven approach ensures information quality is maintained while managing processing complexity through condition-based automation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP2360562B1Image processing device, information processing device, image processing method, and information processing method
Publication Date: 2015.04.08 SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC
  • EP2360562B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2360562B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2360562B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

When a single page of a newspaper article or a magazine is displayed using hierarchical data 380, a guidance area 392 (indicated by a line 386 in the hierarchical data 380) for each article is defined in a scenario definition file. A plurality of guidance areas 394, 396 (indicated by lines 388, 390, respectively) are defined in the layer below, i.e., the layer having a resolution of a level that allows characters to be legible, so that the viewer can track the article from start to end. The displayed image is initially guided to the guidance area 392 upon a user request for enlargement (arrow F). Upon a further request for enlargement, the displayed image is guided to the guidance area 394 at the head of the article (arrow G). When the user having read the sentence in the guidance area 394 provides an input by indicating a direction or pressing a predetermined button, the displayed image is guided to the guidance area 396 (arrow H) showing the continuation of the sentence.