Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Condition indicating – monitoring – or testing – Including radiation storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-14
2001-03-20
Edun, Muhammad (Department: 2651)
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Condition indicating, monitoring, or testing
Including radiation storage or retrieval
C369S047360
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205101
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and particularly relates to an image processing apparatus and method whereby graphics data can be processed at higher speeds.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 9
shows an example of a configuration of a computer game apparatus as a known image processing apparatus. Program data, graphics data, sound data, etc. is written to the CD-ROM
1
. The pick-up
3
of the disk reproducing device
2
irradiates the CD-ROM
1
with a laser beam, and reproduces the data written in the CD-ROM
1
, and outputs this data to the amplifying circuit
4
. The amplifying circuit
4
amplifies the reproduced signals output from the pick-up
3
, and outputs this to the signal processing circuit
5
. The signal processing circuit
5
performs demodulation, decoding, error correction and the like to the reproduced signals supplied from the amplifying circuit
4
, and then outputs the signals from the host bus
9
to the CPU
10
, via the host interface
6
.
Also, the micro-computer
7
of the disk reproducing device
2
monitors the output of the signal processing circuit
5
, and controls the operation thereof. Further, the micro-computer
7
controls the servo circuit
8
, and causes the servo circuit
8
to actuate the tracking servo, the focus servo, and the spindle servo.
The main memory
11
stores the data supplied from the disk reproducing device
2
via the host bus
9
. The graphics processor
12
receives supply of the graphics data out of the data written to the main memory
11
, provides this to the graphics memory
13
and stores the same, and also processes the graphics data and outputs to an unshown CRT or the like as video output. The sound processor
14
receives supply of the sound data out of the data written to the main memory
11
, provides this to the sound memory
15
and stores the same, and also processes the sound data and outputs to an unshown speaker or the like as audio output.
The user operating an unshown operating unit causes a signal corresponding with that operation to be input to the CPU
10
. The CPU
10
accordingly controls the disk reproducing device
2
to read the data stored in the CD-ROM
1
, and store this data in the main memory
11
. Of the data stored in the main memory
11
, program data is supplied to the CPU
10
, graphics data is stored in the graphics memory
13
via the graphics processor
12
, and sound data is stored in the sound memory
15
via the sound processor
14
.
The CPU
10
controls each unit according to the input program data. The graphics processor
12
processes graphics data stored in the graphics memory
13
to generate and output video data. The sound processor
14
processes sound data stored in the sound memory
15
to generate and output audio data.
Now, with such computer games, there is the need to move the pick-up
3
to a desired position on the CD-ROM
1
as the situation calls for. However, there is a problem in that the time required to move the pick-up
3
to the desired position (the seek time) is relatively long, making for poor random-accessibility. Further, there is a problem in that the transfer speed of the CD-ROM
1
is slow compared with that of a hard disk or the like, making the time until completion of data reading by the CPU
10
(the access time) longer. Consequently, it has been difficult to provide motion images which change at high speed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in Light of the above problems, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide motion image data which changes at high speed.
To this end, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an image processing apparatus for reproducing and processing data recorded on a disk comprises: a first reproducing unit for reproducing data recorded on a disk; a second reproducing unit for reproducing data recorded on the disk independently from the first reproducing unit; a graphics processing unit for processing the graphics data of the data reproduced by the first or second reproducing unit; and a control unit for controlling the reproducing operations of the first reproducing unit and the second reproducing unit.
Also, according to another aspect of the present invention, an image processing method for reproducing and processing data recorded on a disk: reproduces data recorded on a disk with a first reproducing unit; reproduces data recorded on a disk with a second reproducing unit independently from the first reproducing unit; and processes the graphics data of the data reproduced by the first or second reproducing unit.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5270879 (1993-12-01), Shima et al.
patent: 5563859 (1996-10-01), Masuda et al.
Edun Muhammad
Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
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