U.S. patent application number 12/265704 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-21 for game processing device.
Invention is credited to Nai-Sheng Cheng, Ganesh-Kumar Thangaraj.
Application Number | 20090131176 12/265704 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40642564 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090131176 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cheng; Nai-Sheng ; et
al. |
May 21, 2009 |
GAME PROCESSING DEVICE
Abstract
A game processing device in a displaying apparatus is capable of
receiving a game data from an electronic device outside the
displaying apparatus. The game processing device comprises: a
transmission interface module, for receiving a game data, wherein
the game data is used for rendering at least one game image; and a
processing module, coupled to the transmission interface module,
for rendering the game image according to the game data.
Inventors: |
Cheng; Nai-Sheng; (Hsinchu
City, TW) ; Thangaraj; Ganesh-Kumar; (Hsinchu County,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
NORTH AMERICA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION
P.O. BOX 506
MERRIFIELD
VA
22116
US
|
Family ID: |
40642564 |
Appl. No.: |
12/265704 |
Filed: |
November 5, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/43 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 13/52 20140902;
A63F 13/08 20130101; A63F 2300/203 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/43 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 21, 2007 |
TW |
096144109 |
Claims
1. A game processing device in a displaying apparatus, wherein the
game processing device is capable of receiving a game data from an
electronic device outside the displaying apparatus, comprising: a
transmission interface module, for receiving the game data, wherein
the game data is used for rendering at least one game image; and a
processing module, for rendering the game image according to the
game data.
2. The game processing device of claim 1, wherein the game data
comprises at least one of: image information of game characters of
the game image, background information of the game image, and
location and/or shift information of the game characters.
3. The game processing device of claim 1, wherein the game data
includes audio data, and the processing module generates game
sounds and music according to the audio data.
4. The game processing device of claim 1, wherein the electronic
device is one of a mobile phone, a PDA and a computer.
5. The game processing device of claim 1, wherein the game
processing device transmits a control signal to the electronic
device for controlling the electronic device to transmit the game
data to the transmission interface module.
6. The game processing device of claim 1, wherein the game
processing device have a driving program for driving the electronic
device.
7. The game processing device of claim 1, wherein the game data is
transmitted to the game processing device when the electronic
device executes a game program.
8. The game processing device of claim 1, further comprising an
interface signal transforming device coupled between the electronic
device and the transmission interface module, for transforming a
first signal format, which is used by the electronic device to
output the game data, into a second signal format.
9. The game processing device of claim 8, wherein the second signal
format is a signal format supported by the transmission interface
module.
10. The game processing device of claim 8, wherein the first signal
format is a signal format supported by a USB interface.
11. The game processing device of claim 8, wherein the second
signal format is a transport stream signal format or an I.sup.2C
signal format.
12. The game processing device of claim 1, further comprising a
storage device, for temporarily storing the game image.
13. The game processing device of claim 1, wherein the transmission
interface module is one of a USB interface, a Bluetooth interface,
a Wi-Fi interface, an HDMI interface and a DVI interface.
14. A game processing device, comprising: an interface signal
transforming device, for transforming a game data, received from an
electronic device, in a first signal format into transformed game
data in a second signal format, wherein the game data is used for
rendering at least one game image; a transmission interface module,
for receiving game data from the interface signal transforming
device; and a processing module, coupled to the transmission
interface module, for rendering the game image according to the
transformed game data; wherein the interface signal transforming
device and the electronic device are outside of a displaying
apparatus, and the transmission interface module and the processing
module are disposed in the displaying apparatus.
15. The game processing device of claim 14, wherein the game data
comprises at least one of: image information of game characters of
the game image, background information of the game image, and
location and/or shift information of the game characters.
16. The game processing device of claim 14, wherein the game
processing device transmits a control signal to the electronic
device for controlling the electronic device to transmit the game
data to the interface signal transforming device.
17. The game processing device of claim 14, wherein the game data
is transmitted to the game processing device when the electronic
device executes a game program.
18. The game processing device of claim 14, wherein the first
signal format is a signal format supported by a USB interface.
19. The game processing device of claim 14, wherein the second
signal format is a transport stream signal format or an I.sup.2C
signal format.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a game processing device,
and particularly to a game processing device that utilizes a
graphic processor and/or a processor disposed in a displaying
apparatus to render game images.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a prior art game
device 10 and a displaying apparatus 100. The game device 10 is for
playing video game and the display apparatus 100 is used for
displaying the game images. As shown in FIG. 1, the game device 10
includes a graphic processing unit 11 for rendering each frame
(game image) of the whole game process. After the graphic
processing unit 11 renders a game image, the game image is
temporarily stored to a storage unit 12, and the stored game image
is then output to the output interface 13 and subsequently
transmitted to the displaying apparatus 100. When the game image is
complicated or has a higher resolution, such as 3.degree. D. game
image, the game device 10 needs a powerful graphic processing unit
11 and a storage unit 12 with a large storage space for
respectively rendering and storing the game image. Additionally,
since the game device 10 outputs a complete game image, the total
data amount is large and an output interface 13 with a large
bandwidth and high speed is required.
[0005] As techniques improve, the displaying chip in the displaying
apparatus 100 includes more and more powerful functions, and can
even include the graphic processing function in some cases. The
game device 10, however, cannot utilize the device in the
displaying apparatus 100 to render the game image in the prior art,
and must comprise the graphic processing unit 11 and the storage
unit 12. Accordingly, the cost of the game apparatus 10 remains
high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] One objective of the present invention is therefore to
provide a game processing device that utilizes a graphic processor
and/or a processor of a displaying apparatus to render the game
image.
[0007] One embodiment of the present invention discloses a game
processing device in a displaying apparatus. The game processing
device is capable of receiving a game data from an electronic
device outside the displaying apparatus, and comprises: a
transmission interface module, for receiving a game data, wherein
the game data is used for rendering at least one game image; and a
processing module, coupled to the transmission interface module,
for rendering the game image according to the game data, wherein
the processing module at least includes a graphic processor and/or
a processor of the displaying apparatus.
[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the game data is
from an electronic device that can be a mobile phone, a PDA or a
computer.
[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the game
processing device further includes an interface signal transforming
device. The interface signal transforming device is coupled between
the electronic device and the transmission interface module, and is
for transforming a first signal format, which is used by the
electronic device to output the game data, into a second signal
format.
[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the game
processing device comprises: an interface signal transforming
device, for transforming a game data, received from an electronic
device, in a first signal format into transformed game data in a
second signal format, wherein the game data is used for rendering
at least one game image; a transmission interface module, for
receiving game data from the interface signal transforming device;
and a processing module, coupled to the transmission interface
module, for rendering the game image according to the transformed
game data; wherein the interface signal transforming device and the
electronic device are outside of a displaying apparatus, and the
transmission interface module and the processing module are
disposed in the displaying apparatus.
[0011] These and other objectives of the present invention will no
doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after
reading the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a prior art game
device and displaying apparatus.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a game processing
device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a game processing
device according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] As techniques improve, TV/display sizes increase, and the
TV/display therefore has a higher resolution and quality. Modern
TVs utilize a powerful graphic processor and a powerful processor
to process image frames of high quality. Accordingly, the present
invention provides a game processing device that utilizes the
graphic processor and/or the processor in the TV to process a game
image, such that the game can be played on an electronic device or
a game device without powerful processing capability.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a game processing
device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 2, the game processing device 200 includes a
transmission interface module 201 and a processing module 203. The
transmission interface module 201 is used for receiving game data
GD that includes information related to rendering a game image such
as: image information of the game characters, background
information of the game image, and location and/or shift
information of the game characters. The processing module 203 is
coupled to the transmission interface module 201 for rendering the
related game images according to the game data GD, wherein the
processing module 203 is disposed in a display or a TV. In one
embodiment, the processing module 203 can be a graphic processor
and/or a processor in the TV. The game processing device 200 can
further include a storage device 207 for temporarily storing game
images that are already rendered or being rendered. The storage
device 207 can, for example, be a DRAM.
[0017] In this embodiment, the game data GD comes from an
electronic device 20 that can be a personal computer, a PDA
(personal digital assistant), a mobile phone or a game device. Such
electronic devices usually have an operation system such as Linux,
thus the game processing device 200 can further has a driving
program (not illustrated) corresponding to the operation for
controlling the electronic device 20 to transmit the game data GD
to the transmission interface module 201. The driving program can
be a pre-designed program corresponding to a particular operation
system. The driving program can also correspond to a plurality of
operation systems, and the type of operation system in the
electronic device 20 is detected when the electronic device 20 is
connected to the game processing device 200. Thereafter, a suitable
command is provided to control the electronic device 20 to transmit
the game data GD to the transmission interface module 201.
Additionally, a suitable driving program can be pre-installed in
the electronic device 20, and then the game processing device 200
can control or communicate with the electronic device 20 when the
electronic device 20 is connected to the game processing device
200.
[0018] In one embodiment, the data and instructions from the
electronic device 20 are first received by the game processing
device 200, and it is then determined to which operation system the
data and instruction belong to, so that the resource of software or
hardware can be assigned. Such an operation can be executed via the
processing module 203, in one example. The mechanism of determining
the operation system is well known by persons skilled in the art
and is therefore omitted here for brevity. It should be noted that
the transmission interface module 201 can be integrated with the
processing module 203, but can also be independent from the
processing module 203.
[0019] Rendering a game image can be executed by the game
processing device 200 when the electronic device 20 executes the
game program. The electronic device 20 transmits the game data GD,
such as image information of the game characters, background
information of the game image, and location and/or shift
information of the game characters, to the game processing device
200. After that, the processing module 203 utilizes the game data
GD to render game images. In other words, the electronic device 20
is only for the controlling of the game, and the game processing
device 200 in the TV is for processing the game data GD and then
rendering the game images. In one embodiment, the game data GD
further includes audio data, and the processing module 203 can
construct the sound and music of the game according to the audio
data.
[0020] According to the above-mentioned description, since the
electronic device 20 first transmits the game data to the
processing module and then renders the game image, rather than the
prior art method that transmits the game image after it is
rendered, the data transmission amount can be largely reduced. In
this way, the transmission interface between the electronic device
20 and the game processing device 200 can be a transmission
interface, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface, a
Bluetooth interface, or a Wi-Fi interface. Of course, the
transmission interface between the electronic device 20 and the
game processing device 200 can also be a high-speed transmission
interface such as an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) or
a DVI (Digital Visual Interface). Therefore, the various
transmission interfaces as mentioned above can be applied to the
transmission interface module 201 to receive game data GD from the
electronic device 20.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a game processing
device 300 according to another embodiment of the present
invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the game processing device 300
includes a transmission interface module 301, a processing module
303, an interface signal transforming device 305 and a storage
device 307. The operation and the function of the transmission
interface module 301, the processing module 303 and the storage
device 307 are the same as in the above-mentioned embodiments, and
thus details are omitted here for brevity. The interface signal
transforming device 305 is coupled between the electronic device 20
and the transmission interface module 301, and is for transforming
a first signal format, which is used by the electronic device 20 to
output the game data, into a second signal format. In one
embodiment, the interface signal transforming device 305 is for
transforming game data GD that is transmitted by the electronic
device 20 in USB format into game data GD in transport stream
format. Also, in another embodiment, the interface signal
transforming apparatus 305 is for transforming game data GD that is
transmitted by the electronic device 20 in USB format into game
data GD' in I.sup.2C (Inter-integrated Circuit) signal format.
Practically, the interface signal transforming device 305 can be
built in the TV/display, but also can be outside of the TV/display.
Additionally, the interface signal transforming device 305 outside
of the TV/display can be coupled between the electronic device 20
and the game processing device 300 within the TV/display.
[0022] Since a conventional TV/display does not include a USB
interface and most mobile electronic devices only have USB
interfaces, the interface signal format output from the electronic
device 20 can be transformed to the interface signal format
supported by the transmission interface module 303 via the
transforming operation performed by the interface signal
transforming device 305 shown in FIG. 3. The connection between the
game processing device 300 and the electronic device 20 is
therefore made possible, and the electronic device 20 can be
connected to the game processing device 300 of the TV/display
without extra or expensive connection interfaces.
[0023] According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the game
processing device according to the present invention utilizes a
graphic engine or a processor (i.e. a processing module) that is
originally disposed in the TV/display to render game images. In
this way, the graphic processing unit and a large storage unit are
not essential components of the game device, such that the cost for
a game device can be significantly decreased.
[0024] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous
modifications and alterations of the apparatus and method may be
made while retaining the teachings of the invention.
* * * * *