Patent Application
20060010291
The present invention relates to the field of electronic display devices, and, in particular, interfacing devices to electronic display devices.
Digital cameras typically operate by storing image information corresponding to photographs taken on media devices for subsequent viewing. Various media devices have been designed for use in the storage of image information in digital cameras. Memory Stick, utilized primarily by Sony Corporation for the storage of image information, is one such media device. SmartMedia™ is Toshiba Corporation's trademarked name for a media device that stores image information and complies with the Solid State Floppy Disk Card (SSFDC) format. Other media such as CompactFlash™ and Secured Digital (SD) Card have been developed. Each media device design has different mechanical and/or electrical characteristics.
As with the variety of different media devices designs utilized for the storage of image information, the image information itself may be stored in a variety of different formats on these media devices. The different formats for still image information are voluminous and include TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). While any of these formats may be utilized to store still pictures, most digital cameras store the image information in the JPEG format. For moving pictures storage various possibilities for the format of stored information. These formats include AVI (Audio Video Interleave) and MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group).
Embodiments of the present invention will be described referencing the accompanying drawings in which like references denote similar elements, and in which:
In the following detailed description, a novel apparatus for displaying stored image information on a display device is disclosed. In this description, mention is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
The phrase display device, as used herein, is meant to include a device capable of displaying images. Thus, the phrase display device is meant to include, but is not limited to projectors, liquid crystal displays, cathode ray tube displays, and plasma displays.
The phrase media devices, as used herein, is meant to include a device capable of storing still images or motion images on a media. Thus, the phrase media device is meant to include, but is not limited to, flash memory devices such as Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Solid State Floppy Disk Card (SSFDC), Multi Media Card (MMC), Secured Digital (SD™ Card), CompactFlash™, xD-Picture Card™, and Universal Serial Bus (USB) compact flash memory. In addition, while the discussions below focuses on the processing of still image photographs, the disclosure should not be so limited. The devices which store the image data on the image devices may store motion images in addition to still images.
As mentioned, still image or motion image information may be stored on media devices by image capturing devices, e.g. digital cameras. The image information stored on image devices can transferred to other devices in a number of ways. The information may be transferred directly to another device by connecting a cable between the image capturing device and the other device. A common method of such transfer with a cable is via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable. The information may also be transferred wirelessly via infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF). In addition, the information may be transferred to another device by removing the image device from the image capturing device and placing it in an appropriate receptacle on the other device.
Upon insertion of a media device in an appropriate media receptacle, an imaging processor 100 may operate in various ways depending on its configuration. In one embodiment, upon insertion of the media device into the adapter 100, an image processor 110 detects the media type and may begin the download of a first stored image. In one embodiment, the downloaded image may be stored locally in memory 120. In another embodiment, the downloaded image is processed and sent to the display device interface plug 130 for display by the display device.
In the embodiment illustrated, a Solid State Floppy Disk Card (SSFDC) interface 243 and receptacle 242 exist to provide the ability to interface with very small and lightweight flash memories, SSFDCs. In such an embodiment a SSFDC receptacle 242 in the adapter is designed to fit the profile of an SSDFC. The SSFDC receptacle 242 is designed to allow for the electrical interface of the SSFDC interface 243 to connect with an SSFDC, for example a SmartMedia™ device from Toshiba Corporation, when the SSFDC is positioned in the SSFDC receptacle 242. In this embodiment, in addition to the SSFDC interface 243 and receptacle 242 a Memory Stick interface 245 and receptacle 244 is part of the adapter. The receptacle is designed to fit the profile of a memory stick media device such that the electrical interface of the Memory Stick interface 243 to connect with a Memory Stick device when the Memory Stick device is positioned in the Memory Stick receptacle 244. In various other embodiments any number of interfaces to various media devices is supported. Fox example, in one embodiment, a single interface to CompactFlash device is present.
The imaging processor 310 is coupled to several media interfaces. For example, the imaging processor 310 is coupled to a multiple device interface and corresponding receptacles. The multiple device interface comprises a 5 in 1 flash card interface is capable of communicating with five different flash memory devices. The five include MMC, Memory Stick, SSFDC, Secured Digital (SD) Card, and xD-Picture Card. The 5 in 1 flash card interface is coupled to appropriate receptacles for handing the various form factors of these different flash memory devices. In addition to being coupled to the 5 in 1 interface, the imaging processor 310 is coupled to a CompactFlash interface 342. The CompactFlash interface 342 and 5 in 1 interface 344 are arranged such that, when a media device is inserted in an appropriate receptacle the media device is in electrical contact with the corresponding interface. In addition, in the embodiment illustrated, the a Compact Flash interface 342 and the 5 in 1 interface share pins of the interface to the imaging processor 310. In other embodiments, different media interfaces have separate connectivity to the imaging processor 310 resulting in no sharing of pins. The imaging processor 310 is additionally coupled to a Universal Serial Bus interface including a type A receptacle 370. This may allow, for example, the ability for users to plug USB flash memory devices into the adapter 300.
The imaging processor 310 is further coupled to a Transition Minimized Differential Signal (TMDS) transmitter 350. The imaging processor 310 reads image information from a media device. This image information may be in the form of, for example, a JPEG file. The imaging processor 310 converts the image information from the JPEG format to 24-bit Red-Green-Blue (RGB) data which is then provided to the TMDS transmitter 350. In the embodiment illustrated, the TMDS transmitter 350 is coupled to an M1-D compatible plug 330. The TMDS transmitter converts the RGB data to transmission minimized differential signals for transmission through the M1-D compatible plug 330. In the embodiment illustrated, the imaging processor 310 generates a display data channel (DDC) directly and this signal 335 is also provided to the M1-D compatible plug 330.
The adapter 300 may be powered in a number of ways. The power source may be external and supplied to the adapter via a power cable. However, in certain embodiments, when the adapter is coupled to the display device through a plug 330, the adapter 300 may obtain power through one or more pins of the plug 330. For example, if the plug 330 is an M1 plug, a display device may provide a +5V power supply to the adapter through the hot plug detect pin of the M1 plug when the adapter is coupled to the display device through an M1 receptacle. In the embodiment illustrated in
In the embodiment illustrated in
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for purposes of description of the preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown and described without departing from the scope of the present invention. Those with skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention may be implemented in a very wide variety of embodiments. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.
