Computer device and method for adapting the compression rate of digital images
AssigneeST-Ericsson SA
InventorFabrice Cheruel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A computer device for a digital picture taking application includes a camera having an optical system, an electronic image sensor providing raw image data, and an image data compressor, a display, a computing subsystem and a data bus interfacing the computing subsystem with the image data compressor. The image data compressor generates a compressed picture data stream from the raw image data using a variable and externally controllable compression rate. A CPU and bus bandwidth manager monitors the available CPU utilization and bus bandwidth depending on activities of the computer program applications and allocates bus bandwidth to active computer program applications.
Claims21
1-14. (canceled)
A computer device for executing multiple computer program applications in parallel, wherein one of said program applications is a digital picture taking application, the computer device comprising:
- a camera comprising an optical system, at least one electronic image sensor providing raw image data from the optical information received from the optical system and an image data compressor for compressing the raw image data provided by the electronic image sensor into a compressed picture data stream (CPS), the image data compressor being operative to generate the CPS with a variable and externally controllable compression rate;
- a display for displaying pictures taken with the camera;
- a computing subsystem for executing the computer program applications, the computing subsystem comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory and at least one non-volatile memory;
- a data bus interfacing the computing subsystem with the image data compressor;
- a CPU and bus bandwidth manager for monitoring available CPU utilization and bus bandwidth in dependence on activities of the computer program applications and for allocating bus bandwidth to active ones of the computer program applications;
- and
- image control means for controlling a compression rate of the image data compressor depending on available bus bandwidth.
A method for controlling a digital picture taking application in a computer device operative to execute multiple computer program applications in parallel, wherein one of said program applications is the digital picture taking application, the computer device comprising a camera with an optical system, at least one electronic image sensor providing raw image data from the optical information received by the optical system and an image data compressor for compressing with a variable and externally controlled compression rate, raw image data provided by the electronic image sensor into a compressed picture data stream (CPA), a computing subsystem for executing the computer program applications and comprising a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory and at least one non-volatile memory, and a data bus interfacing the computing subsystem with the image data compressor, the method comprising:
- monitoring available CPU utilization and bus bandwidth in dependence on the activities of the computer program applications;
- allocating allocate bus bandwidth to active computer program applications, and
- controlling the compression rate of the image data compressor based on available bus bandwidth.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.