U.S. patent application number 09/116122 was filed with the patent office on 2002-01-24 for apparatus and method for displaying zoomed version of stored image by displaying and shifting absed on pixel overlap.
Invention is credited to KARJALAINEN, JUHA PEKKA.
Application Number | 20020008711 09/116122 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 8549274 |
Filed Date | 2002-01-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020008711 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KARJALAINEN, JUHA PEKKA |
January 24, 2002 |
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISPLAYING ZOOMED VERSION OF STORED IMAGE
BY DISPLAYING AND SHIFTING ABSED ON PIXEL OVERLAP
Abstract
A method of displaying a zoomed version of stored image on a
display, where the stored image is defined by a set of data entries
mapped to respective pixels of the display. The stored image is
first scaled relative to the display in accordance with the desired
zooming ratio. The scaled image is then located at an initial
position relative to the display and the extent to which each
display pixel is overlapped by features of the scaled image is
determined. A colour tone is assigned to each display pixel in
accordance with the extent of the overlap. The scaled image is then
shifted relative to said initial position one or more times and,
for the or each shift, the overlap of each display pixel is
recalculated and a new colour tone assigned. The sets of assigned
colour tones are then displayed cyclically on the display to
produce a displayed image.
Inventors: |
KARJALAINEN, JUHA PEKKA;
(TAMPERE, FI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PERMAN & GREEN
425 POST ROAD
FAIRFIELD
CT
064306232
|
Family ID: |
8549274 |
Appl. No.: |
09/116122 |
Filed: |
July 15, 1998 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/667 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06T 3/40 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/667 |
International
Class: |
G09G 005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 18, 1997 |
FI |
973041 |
Claims
1. A method of displaying a zoomed version of stored image on a
display, where the stored image is defined by a set of data entries
mapped to respective pixels of the display, the method comprising
the steps of: (1) scaling the stored image relative to the display
in accordance with a desired zooming ratio; (2) locating the scaled
image at an initial position relative to the display; (3)
determining the extent to which each display pixel is overlapped by
features of the scaled image, and assigning to each display pixel a
corresponding colour tone; (4) shifting the scaled image relative
to said initial position one or more times and, for the or each
shift, repeating step; and (5) cyclically displaying each of the
sets of assigned colour tones in turn for as long as the zoomed
version is to be displayed.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein step comprises shifting
the scaled image in one of two orthogonal directions (x,y), where
the maximum shift from said initial position in the x and the y
direction is less than the width of one display pixel (L).
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a zooming factor of
{fraction (p/s)} is applied to scale the image in step, and p and s
are both integers and s is the lowest common denominator, each
shift produced by step translating the scaled image by a multiple
of {fraction (L/s)} in one or both of the x and y directions.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the maximum shift is
L-{fraction (L/s)} which results in each edge feature of the scaled
image being sharp in at least one of the initial position and the
shifted positions.
5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the step of assigning a colour tone to a display pixel comprises
mapping the fractional coverage of the display pixel, by features
of the scaled image, to a linear range of colour tones.
6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the data entries of the stored image correspond themselves to
colour tones, and step additionally comprises, for each display
pixel, determining a function of both the fractional overlap and
the tone(s) of the overlap, said assignment being made on the basis
of the determined function.
7. A method according to claim 5 or to claim 6 when appended to
claim 5, wherein the display is a monochrome display and said
linear range comprises grey-level tones.
8. A method of displaying a stored colour image on a colour
display, where the stored image comprises a set of data entries for
each of a plurality of colours, the method comprising carrying out
the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 for each of said
colours.
9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein
the time interval between the display of successive sets of
assigned colour tones is between {fraction (1/20)}0 th of a second
and 1 second.
10. Apparatus for displaying a zoomed version of a stored image,
the apparatus comprising a display having a matrix of display
pixels, a memory for storing an image as a set of data entries
mapped to said display pixels, and processing means arranged to:
scale the stored image relative to the display in accordance with a
desired zooming ratio; locate the scaled image at a first position
relative to the display; determine the extent to which each display
pixel is overlapped by the scaled image and to assign to each
display pixel a corresponding colour tone; shift the scaled image
relative to the display one or more times and repeat the steps of
determining and displaying for each shift; and cyclically display
each of the sets of assigned colour tones in turn for as long as
the zoomed version is to be displayed.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for
displaying an image and in particular for displaying a zoomed
version of a stored image.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Electronic displays commonly provide for zooming in and out
of a stored image in order to enable a user to see more clearly
details of the image or to obtain an overview of the image. An
image for display on an electronic display is commonly stored in an
electronic memory by way of a matrix of data entries which are
mapped on a 1:1 basis with pixels of the display. In order to zoom
in on the image, i.e. to make the image or portions of the image
larger on the display, each data entry is `expanded` to cover two
or more pixels. However, in order to avoid distortion of the image,
each data entry must be expanded to cover a square block of pixels.
It is therefore only possible to zoom in on the image by a factor
of 2, 3, 4 etc. This is inconvenient, for example, where it is
desired to expand text so as to allow it to be more easily read but
where expansion by a factor of two or more will result in the edges
of the text extending beyond the edges of the display. The user
must `roam` around the image, displaying only bits of it at a time,
in order to read the entire text. A problem also arises where an
image is too large to be displayed on a display and stored data
entries have to be mapped to `partial` pixels. Solutions proposed
to overcome these problems include creating new type fonts in the
case of zooming in, and merely dropping pixels in the case of
zooming out.
[0003] One application where these problems arise is in mobile
communication devices which have only a small display and the
capability to receive facsimile transmissions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to overcome or at
least mitigate the disadvantages of conventional zooming methods.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide
an apparatus and method capable of substantially stepless
zooming.
[0005] According to first aspect of the present invention there is
provided a method of displaying a zoomed version of stored image on
a display, where the stored image is defined by a set of data
entries mapped to respective pixels of the display, the method
comprising the steps of:
[0006] (1) scaling the stored image relative to the display in
accordance with a desired zooming ratio;
[0007] (2) locating the scaled image at an initial position
relative to the display;
[0008] (3) determining the extent to which each display pixel is
overlapped by features of the scaled image, and assigning to each
display pixel a corresponding colour tone;
[0009] (4) shifting the scaled image relative to said initial
position one or more times and, for the or each shift, repeating
step (3); and
[0010] (5) cyclically displaying each of the sets of assigned
colour tones in turn for as long as the zoomed version is to be
displayed.
[0011] It will be understood that the terms `zoomed` and `zooming`
used in relation to the present invention relate both to the
enlargement and reduction of images.
[0012] Preferably, step (5) comprises shifting the scaled image in
two orthogonal directions (x,y), where the maximum shift from said
initial position in the x and the y direction is less than the
width of one display pixel (L). Preferably, where a zooming factor
of {fraction (p/s)} is applied to scale the image in step (1), and
p and s are both integers and s is the lowest common denominator,
each shift produced by step (5) translates the scaled image by a
multiple of {fraction (L/s)} in one or both of the x and y
directions. More preferably, the maximum shift is L -{fraction
(L/s)} which results in each edge feature of the scaled image being
sharp in at least one of the initial position and the shifted
positions. In this way, it is possible to achieve stepless zooming
in which only integers and fixed point calculations are used. The
method may be implemented directly in machine code language to
achieve sufficient speed for real time zooming.
[0013] Preferably, the step of assigning a colour tone to a display
pixel comprises mapping the fractional coverage of the display
pixel, by features of the scaled image, to a linear range of colour
tones. For a monochrome display, said linear range comprises
grey-level tones. For a colour display, where the stored image
comprises a set of data entries for each of a plurality of colours
(e.g. red, green and blue), the method of the above first aspect
may be carried out separately for each set of image pixels.
[0014] Where the data entries of the stored image correspond
themselves to colour tones, step (3) may additionally comprise for
each display pixel determining a function of both the fractional
overlap and the tone(s) of the overlap, said assignment being made
on the basis of the determined function.
[0015] Preferably, the time interval between the display of
successive sets of assigned colour tones is between {fraction
(1/20)} th of a second and 1 second.
[0016] According to second aspect of the present invention there is
provided apparatus for displaying a zoomed version of a stored
image, the apparatus comprising a display having a matrix of
display pixels, a memory for storing an image as a set of data
entries mapped to said display pixels, and processing means
arranged to:
[0017] scale the stored image relative to the display in accordance
with a desired zooming ratio;
[0018] locate the scaled image at a first position relative to the
display;
[0019] determine the extent to which each display pixel is
overlapped by the scaled image and to assign to each display pixel
a corresponding colour tone;
[0020] shift the scaled image relative to the display one or more
times and repeat the steps of determining and displaying for each
shift; and
[0021] cyclically display each of the sets of assigned colour tones
in turn for as long as the zoomed version is to be displayed.
[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus is
a combined mobile telephone and personal digital assistant. The
display may be a liquid crystal display.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] For a better understanding of the present invention and in
order to show how the same may be carried into effect reference
will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings,
in which:
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a combined personal data assistant/mobile
telephone device;
[0025] FIG. 2 shows a simplified schematic functional diagram of
the device of FIG. 1;
[0026] FIG. 3 shows schematically a portion of a display of the
device of FIG. 1 on which is displayed an image;
[0027] FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view of the display portion of FIG.
3 with a scaled version of the image displayed thereon;
[0028] FIG. 5 shows the enlarged display portion of FIG. 4 with the
scaled image displayed at three different positions;
[0029] FIGS. 6a to 6e are flow diagrams describing a method of
displaying a scaled version of a stored image on a display of the
device of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] Combined personal data assistant/mobile telephone devices
are expected to become commonplace over the next few years as the
demand for mobile data communication services increases. One such
device 1 is illustrated in FIG. 1 and has a "clam-shell" type
construction with a keyboard 2 and a display 3 located on opposed
inner surfaces. The functional structure of this device 1 is
illustrated in FIG. 2 where a central processing unit (CPU) 4
carries out the main processing operations of the device 1 in
response to user input via the keyboard 2. A memory 5 stores data,
including data corresponding to images to be displayed on the
display. Such display data can be extracted from the memory 5,
processed, and transferred to the display 3 by the CPU 4.
[0031] Assume for example that the device has received a facsimile
transmission from a remote station. The facsimile is stored in a
block of the memory 5 as a set of data entries, each of which can
be thought of as an `image pixel` and which is either black or
white. The width of the image in image pixels corresponds to the
width of the display 3 in display pixels although the length of the
image is generally considerable greater than the length of the
display. The user may select to display the image in unzoomed form
in which case the image pixels of an upper portion of the image are
mapped on a one to one basis with the display pixels to display
that upper portion on the display. The user can then scroll down
the image as appropriate. FIG. 3 illustrates a portion 6 of the
display 3, where the image displayed is the letter `N`. As can be
seen, there is a one to one mapping between the display pixels 7
(having a length L in both the x and y directions) and the image
pixels 8.
[0032] The user may request to zoom the stored image on the display
3 (centred on the centre of the display 3) using one of an expand
and a compress key 9,10. Typically the length of time for which a
key 9,10 is pressed will determine the zooming ratio. For the
purpose of illustration, assume that the user selects to display
the stored image, compressed by a factor of 2/3. An imaginary
enlargement of the entire display 3 by a factor of 3 is carried out
(illustrated in FIG. 4 for the display portion 6). The stored image
is then enlarged by a factor of 2 to give the required relative
zooming ratio of 2/3. This can be generalised such that the zooming
ratio is {fraction (p/s)} where p and s are both integers and s is
the lowest common denominator.
[0033] Due to the differences in the scaling operations performed
on the image and on the display 3, the pixels 8 making up the image
are now smaller than the pixels 7 of the display 3. The next step
in the zooming process is to compute the area of each notionally
enlarged display pixel 7 which is overlapped by features (i.e.
black areas) of the notionally enlarged image. For example, from
FIG. 4, it can be seen that the top left display pixel 7a has
{fraction (7/9)}ths of its area covered by features of the image.
Now assume that the display 3 is capable of displaying ten
different grey levels (or tones) ranging from white to black (0 to
9). A grey level is then assigned to each display pixel 7 by
mapping the determined fractional coverage to the linear grey
scale. For example, the upper left pixel 7a is assigned a grey
level of 8 whilst the upper pixel, second from the left, 7b is
assigned a grey level of 2.
[0034] From FIG. 4, it will be appreciated that the left hand edge
of the image "N" will consist of a line of pixels displayed with a
grey level of 8 and will therefore appear relatively sharp on the
display 3. However, the right hand edge of the image is displayed
as a line of pixels having a grey level of only 4 and will
therefore appear somewhat blurred on the display 3. It will also be
appreciated however that if the image is shifted to the right by
2/3 of a display pixel length L, the right hand edge of the image
will become sharp whilst the left hand edge will become blurred.
Similarly, other edge features of the image will become blurred or
sharp at intermediate positions of the image relative to the
display 3.
[0035] By cyclically moving the image relative to the display 3,
with a maximum shift in the x and y directions of 2/3 L, it is
possible to ensure that all edge features are sharp at least one
position during the cycle. For the image `N` shown in FIG. 4, this
range of movement is illustrated by the lightly shaded area 11. It
is not necessary to consider the infinite range of positions within
which the image can be shifted. Rather, it is only necessary to
consider discrete shifts of d in the x and y directions, where
d={fraction (1/3)} L (or more generically {fraction (1/s)} L). The
three positions which the image takes relative to the display in
the x direction are illustrated in FIG. 5(a) to 5(c). Similarly,
the image can take three positions relative to the display in the y
direction giving a total of nine positions.
[0036] The fractional coverage of each display pixel 7 by image
features is determined at each of these nine positions and grey
levels assigned to the pixels accordingly. The result is a set of
display pixel/grey level assignments for each relative position.
These are stored in the memory 5 of the device 1. It is noted that
it is possible to compute these data sets using only integers and
fixed point calculations, i.e. floating point calculations are not
required.
[0037] The method may be implemented directly in machine code
language to achieve sufficient speed for real time zooming.
[0038] The CPU 4 then causes each of the grey scale sets, or
`fuzzy` images, to be displayed in turn, for example at intervals
of 500 ms, continuously repeating this cycle for as long as the
zoomed image is to be displayed. It is noted that the time interval
between the display of successive sets of grey scales should be
long enough to allow each displayed set to be perceived by the
viewer. Moreover, the time interval may be determined to some
extent by the speed of the display.
[0039] This process is equally applicable to zooming in on a stored
image, i.e. where the image is enlarged relative to the display 3.
It may also be applied to colour images where the image is stored,
for example, by way of three independent data sets corresponding to
the colours red, green, and blue. In this case, the process is
carried out separately for each data set, where the fractional
overlap of each display pixel 7 is mapped to a linear tonal scale
for the appropriate colour. At each relative shift, a composite
image is displayed by combining the corresponding three colour tone
set.
[0040] FIGS. 6a to 6e are flow charts illustrating in detail an
implementation of the dynamic zooming process described above.
[0041] It will be appreciated that modifications may be made to the
above described embodiment without departing from the scope of the
present invention. For example, where the stored image comprises a
grey level assigned to each pixel, the zooming process may compute,
at each shift and for each display pixel, a function which is a
combination of the fractional coverage and the grey level(s) of the
overlapping image feature(s). For example, this function may be the
product of the fractional coverage and of the grey level. The
function value may then be mapped to a linear grey level scale to
assign a grey level to the display pixel.
* * * * *