Self-Service Terminal Layered Rendering for High-Definition Graphics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ATMs lack the capability to utilize high-definition graphics and animations due to reliance on the Windows GDI, which cannot independently control multiple layers on a single screen, limiting the complexity and flexibility of application flows.
Innovation Solution
A self-service terminal with a presentation component that renders multiple layers simultaneously on a single screen, using a configuration file format like XML to control each layer independently, allowing for high-definition graphics and animations through a DirectX interface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a Web browser using GDI is used to display screens, then the ATM can present multi-media files, but the multi-media content is limited to a single screen and cannot provide high-definition graphics and animations across multiple layers
Solution Approach 1:
The display is divided into multiple independent layers (background layer, foreground layer, etc.) that can be controlled separately. Each layer can contain different multi-media content and be manipulated independently, allowing complex presentations without increasing application flow complexity. The presentation component manages these layers to create high-definition graphical interfaces with animations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of layering beyond the traditional single-screen GDI model. By adding the layer dimension, the system can present multi-media content across multiple visual planes simultaneously, enabling high-definition graphics and animations while maintaining a unified presentation framework that doesn't complicate the application flow.
2Ease of operation
If traditional GDI is used for screen rendering, then the system is simple to operate, but it cannot harness high-definition graphics capabilities and is limited to single-screen multi-media presentation
Solution Approach 1:
A presentation component is introduced as an intermediary between the application flow logic and the GDI rendering system. This component handles the complexity of multi-layer high-definition graphics management, allowing the rest of the system to operate simply through standard GDI calls while achieving advanced graphical capabilities.
3Ease of manufacture
If video files are dedicated to single screens, then the presentation is straightforward, but the video cannot persist across multiple screens in an application flow
Solution Approach 1:
Video files are transformed from single-screen dedicated content to multi-layer universal content. By placing video content on specific layers that can be managed by the presentation component, the same video can persist across multiple screens and be reused in different contexts within the application flow, eliminating the need for separate video files for each screen.
Data Source
AI summary
A self-service terminal comprising: application flow logic which collates information provided by a user of the terminal; configuration information associated with each of a plurality of individually-controllable layers, and a presentation component responsive to the application flow logic. The presentation component operates on the configuration information for each layer to simultaneously render the plurality of layers on a display as a single screen while continuing to operate independently on each layer being displayed. The configuration information may include both instructions and content, and the presentation component may use the instructions to access advanced graphical manipulation routines for operating on the content.