Claims
- 1. A semiconductor device comprising:
a memory configured to store therein a unit of composite data, said unit of composite data including
a main data component configured to hold main data, and an additional information component, configured to hold therein additional information related to said main data; and an access mechanism configured to provide at least one of read and write memory access for the unit of composite data, wherein the main data component and the additional information component are handled as a unit by said access mechanism.
- 2. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein:
the memory and the access mechanism are formed on a same semiconductor chip.
- 3. The semiconductor device of claim 2, wherein:
said access mechanism includes
an address generating mechanism configured to generate an address for reading a second unit of said composite data based on said additional information component of a first unit of composite data.
- 4. The semiconductor device of claim 3, wherein:
said additional information component of the first unit of composite data includes an address for said access mechanism to access said second unit of composite data.
- 5. The semiconductor device of claim 4, wherein:
said address being an absolute address in said memory.
- 6. The semiconductor device of claim 4, wherein:
said address being a relative address in said memory.
- 7. The semiconductor device of claim 2, wherein:
said additional information of said additional information component including motion vector information, said motion vector information being descriptive of inter-frame movement of a feature of an image, said inter-frame movement being a 10 movement from a previously accessed image frame to a yet to be accessed image frame.
- 8. The semiconductor device of claim 2, wherein:
main data being pixel data; and said additional information of said additional information component 15 including flag information, said flag information being indicative of an image resolution.
- 9. An image data processing apparatus comprising:
a memory configured to store therein a unit of composite data, said unit of composite data including
a pixel data component configured to hold pixel data, and an additional information component, configured to hold therein additional information related to said pixel data; and an access mechanism configured to read and the unit of composite data, the pixel data component and the additional information component being handled as a unit by said access mechanism, a separating mechanism configured to separate said composite data, which has been read out by said access mechanism, into said pixel data and said additional information, and a data processing section configured to perform a predetermined processing operation on said pixel data using said additional information data.
- 10. The image data processing apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:
a first data generation mechanism configured to generate said additional information data based on image data input thereto; and a second data generation mechanism configured to generate said unit composite data to contain said additional information data and said pixel data, and supply said unit of composite data to said memory.
- 11. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:
said additional information data is a motion vector; and said data processing section is configured to
separate said composite data into said pixel data and said motion vector, set a search region used for motion estimation on the basis of said motion vector, and estimate a motion of said image portion corresponding to said pixel data in said search region.
- 12. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein:
said data processing section is configured to perform a block matching process to estimate the motion in said search region.
- 13. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:
said additional information data is a flag data indicative of a first image resolution of a first image that includes image data that includes said pixel data; and said data processing section is configured to
separate said composite data, which has been read out by said access mechanism, into said pixel data and said flag data, and select said pixel data from other pixel data based on said flag data, to form a second image resolution that is different from the first image resolution.
- 14. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:
a data generation mechanism configured to select the pixel data from the other pixel data in said first image and add said flag data to said pixel data as second pixel data, to generate said unit of composite data.
- 15. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein:
said data processing section is configured to
determine, based on said flag data, whether said pixel data associated with said flag data is a piece of pixel data for forming said second image, and select said pixel data based on a determination by the data processing section.
- 16. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:
said additional information includes scanning direction data for indicating a position of another pixel data that, along with said pixel data of said unit of composite data, is part of an image object; said data processing section is configured to generate an address for reading said another pixel data that corresponds with a pixel adjacent to a pixel that corresponds to said pixel data of said unit of composite data based on said scanning direction data, and supplies said address to said access mechanism.
- 17. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein:
a first pixel of a set of pixels that form said object is a starting pixel of which data is first read from the access mechanism, and said access mechanism is configured to receive from an external source a starting address from reading said first pixel as a component of a first unit of composite data for said image object.
- 18. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:
an address selection mechanism configured to select said starting address from one of said data processing section and from an external source.
- 19. An image data processing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein:
said address selection mechanism is configured to select said starting address from said external source when reading said unit of composite data of said starting pixel, and configured to select said address generated by said data processing section when reading units of composite data for pixels subsequent to said starting pixel.
- 20. A method for organizing image data, comprising steps of:
storing in memory a unit of composite data, said unit of composite data including
a main data component configured to hold main data, and an additional information component, configured to hold therein additional information related to said main data; and providing via an access mechanism at least one of read and write memory access for the unit of composite data, wherein the main data component and the additional information component are handled as a unit by said access mechanism.
- 21. The method of claim 20, wherein:
the memory and the access mechanism are formed on a same semiconductor chip.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein:
said providing step includes
generating an address for reading a second unit of said composite data based on said additional information component of a first unit of composite data.
- 23. The method of claim 22, wherein:
said additional information component of the first unit of composite data includes an address for said access mechanism to access said second unit of composite data.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein:
said address being an absolute address in said memory.
- 25. The method of claim 23, wherein:
said address being a relative address in said memory.
- 26. The method of claim 21, wherein:
said additional information of said additional information component including motion vector information, said motion vector information being descriptive of inter-frame movement of a feature of an image, said inter-frame movement being a movement from a previously accessed image frame to a yet to be accessed image frame.
- 27. The method of claim 21, wherein:
main data being pixel data; and said additional information of said additional information component including flag information, said flag information being indicative of an image resolution.
- 28. A method for organizing image data, comprising steps of:
storing in memory a unit of composite data, said unit of composite data including
a pixel data component configured to hold pixel data, and an additional information component, configured to hold therein additional information related to said pixel data, and reading the unit of composite data, the pixel data component and the additional information component being retrieved as a unit; separating said composite data into said pixel data and said additional information, and processing said pixel data using said additional information data.
- 29. The method of claim 28, further comprising steps of:
generating said additional information data based on image data input thereto; and generating said unit composite data to contain said additional information data and said pixel data, and supplying said unit of composite data to said memory.
- 30. The method of claim 28, wherein:
said additional information data is a motion vector; and further comprising steps of separating said composite data into said pixel data and said motion vector,
setting a search region used for motion estimation based on said motion vector, and estimating a motion of said image portion corresponding to said pixel data in said search region.
- 31. The method of claim 30, wherein:
said estimating step includes performing a block matching process to estimate the motion in said search region.
- 32. The method of claim 28, wherein:
said additional information data is a flag data indicative of a first image resolution of a first image that includes image data that includes said pixel data; and further comprising steps of
separating said composite data into said pixel data and said flag data, and selecting said pixel data from other pixel data based on said flag data, to form a second image resolution that is different from the first image resolution.
- 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising:
selecting the pixel data from the other pixel data in said first image; adding said flag data to said pixel data as second pixel data; and generating said unit of composite data.
- 34. The method of claim 32, further comprising:
determining, based on said flag data, whether said pixel data associated with said flag data is a piece of pixel data for forming said second image, and selecting said pixel data based on a determination in said determining step.
- 35. The method of claim 28, wherein:
said additional information includes scanning direction data for indicating a position of another pixel data that, along with said pixel data of said unit of composite data, is part of an image object; further comprising a step of generating an address for reading said another pixel data that corresponds with a pixel adjacent to a pixel that corresponds to said pixel data of said unit of composite data based on said scanning direction data, and supplying said address to an access mechanism.
- 36. The method of claim 35, wherein:
a first pixel of a set of pixels that form said object is a starting pixel of which data is first read, and further comprising a step of receiving from an external source a starting address from reading said first pixel as a component of a first unit of composite data for said image object.
- 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising a step of:
selecting said starting address from one of a data processing section and from an external source.
- 38. The method of claim 37, wherein:
said selecting step selects said starting address from said external source when reading said unit of composite data of said starting pixel, and selects said address generated by said data processing section when reading units of composite data for pixels subsequent to said starting pixel.
- 39. A semiconductor device comprising:
storing means for storing a unit of composite data containing a piece of main data and additional information data in accordance with said main data; and accessing means for reading said composite data stored in said storing means or writing said composite data to said storing means, wherein the main data component and the additional information component are handled as a unit by said accessing means.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2002-356530 |
Dec 2002 |
JP |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
[0001] The present application contains subject matter related to co-pending U.S. patent application, Ser. No. ______, filed ______, entitled IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, bearing attorney docket number 238870US, commonly owned by Sony Corporation, having a common inventor Tetsujiro Kondo, based on Japanese priority documents JP 2002-274059, filed in the JPO on Aug. 15, 2002, and JP 2002-274058, filed in the JPO on Aug. 15, 2002, the entire contents of each of which being incorporated herein by reference. The present application also contain subject matter related to Japanese priority document JP 2002-356530, filed in Japan on Dec. 9, 2002, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference.