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US-12625655-B2 - Video transport within a mobile device

US12625655B2US 12625655 B2US12625655 B2US 12625655B2US-12625655-B2

Abstract

Video samples from a camera or cameras of a mobile device are sent as analog levels to a system-on-chip (SoC) or other processor of the device. The analog levels are the analog video samples or be an encoded form of the video samples. The samples are converted to digital and interpolated within the SoC to produce digital RGB samples suitable for display. Or, the analog video samples are interpolated within the SoC using analog processing to produce analog RGB samples. Or, only the G samples are transmitted to the SoC, and processed using analog processing. After processing within the SoC, the samples are sent as analog levels or in encoded form to a corresponding receiver of a display integrated with column drivers. Digital functionality of the DDIC of the display is moved into the SoC or into circuitry separate from, and connected to, the SoC via an MIPI DSI interface.

Inventors

  • TIMOTHY J. VEHLING
  • Eyal FRIEDMAN
  • Alex Henzen
  • Robert Steven Hannebauer
  • Dean RUBINE
  • Todd ROCKOFF

Assignees

  • HYPHY USA INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20240215

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . In a mobile device, a method of transporting video samples, said method comprising: receiving, at a transmitter, analog video samples read out from an image sensor of said mobile device, wherein said transmitter is located at a video source that includes said image sensor; distributing said analog video samples onto at least one electromagnetic pathway; and transmitting said analog video samples as analog levels over said electromagnetic pathways to a system-on-chip (SoC) of said mobile device, wherein no analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are used to convert said analog video samples.
  2. 2 . The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said analog levels are said analog video samples.
  3. 3 . The method as recited in claim 2 further comprising: distributing said analog video samples into first and second line buffers; and alternating outputting said analog video samples onto each of said at least one electromagnetic pathway from said first and second line buffers.
  4. 4 . The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: encoding each vector of N analog video samples input to each of said at least one electromagnetic pathway using a set of N mutually-orthogonal spreading codes to produce L of said analog levels, wherein L>=N>=2, and wherein each of said codes being used to encode one of said analog video samples.
  5. 5 . The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said transmitter is located within said video source.
  6. 6 . The method as recited in claim 5 wherein said transmitter is located within the same die as said image sensor.
  7. 7 . The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said transmitter is located in close proximity to said video source.
  8. 8 . The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said video source is a camera module and said transmitter is located within said camera module.
  9. 9 . The method as recited in claim 1 wherein said analog levels are transmitted over said electromagnetic pathways to a processor of said system-on-chip (SoC) of said mobile device.
  10. 10 . In a processor of a mobile device, a method of transporting video samples, said method comprising: receiving over at least one electromagnetic pathway, at a receiver of said processor, received analog levels representing analog video samples originating at an image sensor of said mobile device; collecting said analog video samples into a stream of analog video samples; and converting said analog video samples into digital video samples using at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC); performing color interpolation upon said digital video samples to produce color samples; and transmitting said color samples as output analog levels from said processor over at least one electromagnetic pathway to a DDIC of a display of said mobile device.
  11. 11 . The method as recited in claim 10 further comprising: transporting said color signals over a MIPI interface to a DDIC-TCON before said transmitting; and transmitting said color samples as output analog levels from said DDIC-TCON of said processor to a DDIC-SD of said display of said mobile device.
  12. 12 . The method as recited in claim 10 , said transmitting further comprising: distributing said color samples into first and second line buffers; and alternating outputting said color samples onto each of at least one electromagnetic pathway from said first and second line buffers.
  13. 13 . The method as recited in claim 10 , said transmitting further comprising: encoding each vector of N color samples produced using a set of N mutually-orthogonal spreading codes to produce L of said output analog levels, wherein L>=N>=2, and wherein each of said codes being used to encode one of said color samples; and transmitting, from said transmitter, said L output analog levels of said each vector over one of said at least one electromagnetic pathway corresponding to said each vector to said DDIC of said mobile device.
  14. 14 . The method as recited in claim 10 wherein said processor is a system-on-chip (SoC) of said mobile device.
  15. 15 . In a DDIC (Display Driver Integrated Circuit) of a mobile device, a method of displaying color signals, said method comprising: receiving over at least one electromagnetic pathway, at said DDIC, a set of analog levels representing digital video samples from a system-on-chip (SoC) of said mobile device; collecting analog video samples corresponding to said set of analog levels at a collector of said DDIC; and driving said analog video samples onto a display of said mobile device, wherein said DDIC does not include any digital-to-analog converters (DACs) used to convert said digital video samples into said analog video samples.
  16. 16 . The method as recited in claim 15 wherein said analog video samples are said set of analog levels, said method further comprising: collecting said analog video samples into first and second line buffers; and alternating outputting said analog video samples onto said display from said first and second line buffers.
  17. 17 . The method as recited in claim 15 further comprising: before said collecting, decoding each set of L analog levels from each of said at least one electromagnetic pathway using a set of N mutually-orthogonal spreading codes to produce N of said analog video samples, wherein L>=N>=2, and wherein each of said codes being used to produce one of said analog video samples.
  18. 18 . The method as recited in claim 15 wherein said analog levels are received from a processor of said system-on-chip (SoC) of said mobile device.
  19. 19 . In a mobile device, a method of transporting video samples, said method comprising: transmitting analog video samples read out from an image sensor of said mobile device as input analog levels over at least one electromagnetic pathway to a processor of said mobile device, wherein no analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are used to convert said analog video samples before said transmitting; converting, at said processor, said analog video samples into digital video samples using at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC); performing color interpolation upon said digital video samples to produce digital color samples; transmitting said digital color samples as output analog levels from said processor to a DDIC of said mobile device; and driving analog samples corresponding to said output analog levels onto a display of said mobile device, wherein said DDIC does not include any digital-to-analog converters (DACs) used to convert said digital color samples into said analog video samples.
  20. 20 . The method as recited in claim 19 , further comprising: transmitting said analog video samples by distributing said analog video samples into first and second line buffers and alternating outputting said analog video samples onto each of said at least one electromagnetic pathway from said first and second line buffers.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Nos. 63/516,220, filed Jul. 28, 2023, and 63/611,274, filed Dec. 18, 2023, both entitled “VIDEO TRANSPORT WITHIN A MOBILE DEVICE.” This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Nos. 63/447,241, filed Feb. 21, 2023, and 63/500,341, filed May 5, 2023, entitled “ANALOG VIDEO TRANSPORT TO A DISPLAY PANEL,” and “ANALOG VIDEO TRANSPORT TO A DISPLAY PANEL AND SOURCE DRIVER INTEGRATION WITH A DISPLAY PANEL,” respectively. This application incorporates by reference U.S. application Ser. No. 15/925,123, filed on Mar. 19, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,158,396, issued Dec. 18, 2018, U.S. application Ser. No. 16/494,901 filed on Sep. 17, 2019, U.S. application Ser. No. 17/879,499 filed on Aug. 2, 2022, U.S. application Ser. No. 17/686,790, filed on Mar. 4, 2022, U.S. application Ser. No. 17/887,849 filed on Aug. 15, 2022, U.S. application Ser. No. 17/851,821, filed Jun. 28, 2022, U.S. application Ser. No. 18/448,330, filed Aug. 11, 2023, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/900,570 (HYFYP009), filed Aug. 31, 2022, U.S. application Ser. No. 17/946,479 filed on Sep. 16, 2022, U.S. application Ser. No. 18/095,801 filed on Jan. 11, 2023, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/098,612 (HYFYP013), filed Jan. 18, 2023, U.S. application Ser. No. 18/117,288 filed on Mar. 3, 2023 and U.S. application Ser. No. 18/442,491 filed on Feb. 15, 2023. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to video transport. More specifically, the present invention relates to transporting video within a mobile device from a camera to a processor and from a processor to a display. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Image sensors, displays and video processors are continually racing to achieve larger formats, greater color depth, higher frame rates and higher resolutions. Video transport within a mobile device includes performance-scaling bottlenecks that throttle throughput and compromise performance while consuming ever more cost and power. Eliminating these bottlenecks can provide advantages. For instance, instead of a traditional single rear camera of a mobile device, new mobile devices may now include two or three rear cameras (for a higher dynamic range, depth sensing, etc.) in addition to one or two front cameras, meaning more than one camera may be active and sending video at a time. In addition, the resolution of these cameras is increasing as well as the resolution of the displays on the mobile devices, all of which stresses the interface between cameras and processor and between processor and display, thus making it more difficult and costly to transport video within a mobile device. For instance, the display driver integrated circuit (DDIC) chip within a mobile telephone is a hybrid chip as it combines the functionality of a timing controller with that of a display controller it is a half-digital half-analog chip with digital-to-analog converters that can be complex to build. Accordingly, new apparatuses and techniques are desirable to make it simpler to transport video within a mobile device in order to reduce size, complexity and cost of the components of a mobile device. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the foregoing, and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, video transport techniques are disclosed that address the above deficiencies in the prior art. A video signal is a list of brightness values. It is realized that precisely maintaining fixed-bit-width (i.e., digital) brightness values is inefficient for video transport, and because there is no requirement for bit-accurate reproduction of these brightness values, analog voltages offer much greater dynamic range. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention transport video signals as analog signals rather than as digital signals. And, instead of transporting video signals using a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) standard within a mobile device, embodiments use novel video transports that transmit encoded or unencoded analog samples. In one embodiment, video samples from a camera sensor are kept in the analog domain, transmitted to a system-on-chip (SoC), converted to digital for processing, and then the samples are transmitted in the analog domain to the display. A hybrid digital/analog DDIC chip at the display is not needed as analog samples arrive and are kept in the analog domain for display. No digital-to-analog converters for converting video samples are needed within a novel DDIC at the display. In another embodiment, analog samples from a sensor are transmitted to an SoC, processed in the analog domain and then sent in the analog domain to the display. No digital processing of the samples is needed in the SoC. In another embodiment, only the G samples are transmitted from sensor to SoC. In another embodiment, two rows are read out at a time from the sensor. In any embodiment, the functionality of the D