|Publication number||US7133053 B2|
|Application number||US 10/950,394|
|Publication date||Nov 7, 2006|
|Filing date||Sep 28, 2004|
|Priority date||Dec 31, 2003|
|Also published as||US20050140697|
|Publication number||10950394, 950394, US 7133053 B2, US 7133053B2, US-B2-7133053, US7133053 B2, US7133053B2|
|Original Assignee||Sunplus Technology Co., Ltd.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (3), Referenced by (12), Classifications (7), Legal Events (3)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image scaling device and method and, more particularly, to an image scaling device and method for scaling two-dimensional image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an analog image signal (analog signal) received by the television and personal computer needs to be converted by an analog/digital converter (changing to a digital signal) and then be processed by an image processor to generate a digital image signal for output to a display device of the television or personal computer. However, the resolution (such as 640×480) of the analog image signal may differ from the resolution (such as 800×600) of the digital image signal displayed on the display device, or the resolution of the digital image signal may need to be adjusted due to a size difference of the display device (for example, a aspect ratio is changed from 4:3 to 16:9).
As shown in
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an image scaling device to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.
To avoid the above-mentioned defect, the present invention provides an image scaling device for scaling an input image and outputting an output image. The image scaling device includes: an input multiplexer controlled by a down/up signal for outputting the input image or horizontal dimensional image; a line buffer for buffering the image obtained from the input multiplexer; a vertical scaling processor for performing a vertical scaling process on the buffered image and outputting vertical dimensional image; a horizontal scaling processor controlled by a down/up signal for performing a horizontal scaling process on the vertical dimensional image or the input image and outputting the horizontal dimensional image; and an output multiplexer controlled by a down/up signal for outputting the horizontal dimensional image obtained from the horizontal scaling processor or the vertical dimensional image obtained from the vertical scaling processor as the output image.
To avoid the above-mentioned defect, the present invention provides an image scaling method for scaling an input image and outputting an output image. The image scaling method comprises: (A) outputting the input image or a horizontal dimensional image corresponding to a down/up signal; (B) buffering the input image or the horizontal dimensional image; (C) performing a vertical scaling process on the buffered image and outputting vertical dimensional image; (D) performing a horizontal scaling process on the vertical dimensional image or the input image according to the down/up signal and outputting the horizontal dimensional image; and (E) outputting the horizontal dimensional image or the vertical dimensional image according to the down/up signal as the output image.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Please refer to
The image scaling device 30 of the present invention comprises: an input multiplexer 31, a line buffer 32, a vertical scaling processor 33, a horizontal scaling processor 34, and an output multiplexer 35, which are described in details hereinafter.
The input multiplexer 31 is used for outputting an image corresponding to the down/up signal (the input image or a horizontal dimensional image). When the down/up signal corresponds to horizontal downscaling, the image is horizontal dimensional image and obtained from the horizontal scaling processor 34; when the down/up signal corresponds to horizontal upscaling, the image is the input image (obtained from outside).
The line buffer 32 is used for buffering the image obtained from the input multiplexer 31, and for outputting lines of the image; the operating frequency of the line buffer 32 for outputting data is different from that for inputting data. When the image is inputted, the operating frequency of the line buffer 32 is I-CLK; when the lines of image are outputted, the operating frequency of the line buffer. 32 is S-CLK. In addition, the operation of the line buffer 32 is controlled by a line buffer controller (not shown).
The vertical scaling processor 33 is used for performing a vertical scaling process on the buffered image (corresponding to the input image or the horizontal dimensional image) obtained from the line buffer 32, to output vertical dimensional image. The line buffer 32 is used for providing at least one line of the buffered image to the vertical scaling processor 33 during the vertical scaling process. After the vertical scaling processor 33 finishes the scaling process, vertical dimensional image is generated. The vertical scaling processor 33 preferably employs N lines of the buffered image for the vertical scaling process, wherein N is a positive integer, and is preferably 4. The operating frequency of the vertical scaling processor 33 is S-CLK. As shown in
The horizontal scaling processor 34 is used for performing a horizontal scaling process on the input image or the vertical dimensional image obtained from the vertical scaling processor 33, so as to output the horizontal dimensional image, and its operating frequency differs for different horizontal scaling process modes. As shown in
The output multiplexer 35 is controlled by the down/up signal to output the output image. When the down/up signal indicates horizontal downscaling, the output image is the vertical dimensional image. When the down/up signal indicates horizontal upscaling, the output image is the horizontal dimensional image.
In order to perform two-dimensional image processing to the input image (including noise reduction in the input image or edge enhancement of the input image), a two-dimensional image processor can be added between the line buffer 32 and the vertical scaling processor 33 to satisfy image processing requirements.
In view of the foregoing, it is known that the image scaling device 30 can both upscale and downscale the input image. Furthermore, the image scaling device 30 only needs one line buffer 32, and therefore manufacturing costs can be reduced.
Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
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|International Classification||G09G5/00, H04N1/40, G06T11/00|
|Cooperative Classification||G09G2340/0407, G06T3/4023|
|Sep 28, 2004||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SUNPLUS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., TAIWAN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:CHEN, CHANG-SHENG;REEL/FRAME:015847/0769
Effective date: 20040922
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Year of fee payment: 4
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