A mosaic effect generating apparatus

Abstract: A mosaic effect generating apparatus having a one line memory (6) supplied with an incoming video signal, a clock signal generating circuit for generating a clock signal (CK) of a predetermined frequency and for supplying the clock signal (CK) to the one line memory (6) as a write clock signal (WR-CK) and a read clock signal (RD-CK) and a write control circuit for enabling the incoming video signal to be written in the one line memory (6) only during one horizontal cycle period at every plural multiple of one horizontal cycle of the incoming video signal.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a mosaic effect generating apparatus and, more particularly, to a mosaic effect generating apparatus which utilizes a one line memory. Description of the Prior Art U.S. Pat. US-A-4,888,643, for example, describes an apparatus for generating a mosaic effect which is arranged in such a manner that, when a video signal of one field period is formed of pixel signals of X number in the horizontal direction and of Y number in the vertical direction, that is, pixel signals of X x Y number, pixel information of adjacent pixel signals of x number (2 ≦ x ≦ X) in the horizontal direction and of y number (2 ≦ y ≦ Y) in the vertical direction, that is, adjacent pixel signals of x x y number become the same. Further, in a conventional mosaic effect generating apparatus utilizing a field memory, a digital video signal of one field period is written in a field memory (i.e., random access memory (RAM)) wherein, for its x number of addresses in the horizontal direction of the field memory and its y number of addresses in the vertical direction, that is, addresses of X x Y number, one address is accessed at every pixel signal (x in total) in the horizontal direction and one address is accessed at every pixel signal (y in total) in the vertical direction to read pixel signals stored in the addresses, thereby obtaining a mosaicked digital video signal. Such a prior-art mosaic effect generating apparatus requires the field memory and an address control circuit for accessing the address such that proper addresses are selected and other addresses are discarded. Therefore, the conventional mosaic effect generating apparatus becomes complicated in arrangement and becomes expensive. Further, the power consumption thereof is increased. An example of a prior art mosaic effect generating circuit corresponding to the description is to be found in JP-A-63 288 577. OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mosaic effect generating apparatus which can substantially eliminate the aforenoted shortcomings and disadvantages encountered with the prior art. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mosaic effect generating apparatus in which a circuit arrangement can be simplified. Another object of the present invention is to provide a mosaic effect generating apparatus which can be manufactured at low cost. A further object of the present invention is to provide a mosaic effect generating apparatus which can be operated at small power. As an aspect of the present invention, a mosaic effect generating apparatus is comprised of a one line memory supplied with an incoming video signal, a clock signal generating circuit for generating a clock signal of a predetermined frequency and for supplying the clock signal to the one line memory as a write clock signal and a read clock signal, and a write control circuit for enabling the incoming video signal to be written in the one line memory only during one horizontal cycle period at every plural multiple of one horizontal cycle of the incoming video signal. According to the invention, the frequency is a frequency of 1/N (N is an integer > 1) of a sampling frequency of the incoming digital signal. The preceding and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to identify the same or similar parts in the several views. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings show the preferred embodiment of the invention in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a mosaic effect generating apparatus according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing in detail a counter, a selector and a pulse width changing circuit used in the mosaic effect generating apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a truth table used to explain an operation of the mosaic effect generating apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing in detail another counter and another selector used in the mosaic effect generating apparatus shown in Fig. 1; and Figs. 5A - 5H are timing charts useful in understanding the operation of the mosaic effect generating apparatus shown in Fig. 1, respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows an overall arrangement of the embodiment of the present invention, Figs. 2 and 4 show specific examples of one portion of the embodiment, respectively, and Fig. 3 is a truth table used to explain the arrangement of Fig. 2. With reference to Fig. 1, a video signal applied to an input terminal 1 is supplied to an analog-to-digital (A/D) converting circuit 5, in which it is converted into a digital video signal by a clock signal (i.e., sampling clock signal) CK supplied thereto from an input terminal 2. The frequency of the clock signal CK is, for example, 13.5 MHz. The digital video signal from the A/D converting circuit 5 is written in a line memory 6. The line memory 6 might be a first-in and first-out (FIFO) type line memory and can store a video signal of 1H where H represents one horizontal cycle period. The line memory 6 incorporates therein a read address counter and a write address counter, though not shown. A digital-to-analog (D/A) converter 7 is connected to the line memory 6 and converts a read-out output of the line memory 6 into an analog video signal, and this analog video signal is fed to an output terminal 8. The aforenoted clock signal CK is also supplied to the D/A converting circuit 7. The video signal applied to the input terminal 1 is supplied to a synchronizing (i.e., sync.) separating circuit 9, and a horizontal synchronizing signal HD (see Fig. 5A) separated from the video signal by the circuit 9 is supplied to a counter 10 as a clock signal and is thereby counted. As illustrated more fully in Fig. 2, the counter 10 is formed of, for example, an 8-bit counter and generates square wave signals Q 0 , Q 1 , Q 2 , ..., Q 7 which result from dividing the horizontal synchronizing signal HD from an input terminal 15 by 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128. Of these square wave signals Q 0 , Q 1 , Q 2 , ..., Q 7 , only the waveforms of the square wave signals Q 0 , Q 1 , Q 2 and Q 3 are illustrated in Figs. 5B, 5C, 5D and 5E, respectively. Of these square wave signals, seven square wave signals except the square wave signal Q 7 are supplied to a data selector 11 as input signals I 1 , I 2 , ..., I 7 . An input signal I 0 to the data selector 11 is always at "0" (low level). The data selector 11 is also supplied with vertical selecting signals SLv of 3 bits applied to an input terminal 3 (i.e., input terminals 3 0 , 3 1 and 3 2 ). Fig. 3 shows a truth table of logic values of these vertical selecting signals S 0 , S 1 and S 2 of 3 bits and corresponding contents of output signals Y selected from the input signals I 0 , I 1 , I 2 , ... Referring back to Fig. 1, the output signal from the data selector 11 is supplied to a pulse width changing circuit 12 and the pulse width thereof is changed to 1H. The pulse width changing circuit 12 is supplied with the horizontal synchronizing signal HD from the synchronizing separating circuit 9. As shown in Fig. 2, the pulse width changing circuit 11 is comprised of D flip-flop circuits 16, 17, decoders 22, 23, an AND gate 24 and a NAND gate 20. The horizontal synchronizing signal HD from the input terminal 15 is supplied to clock input terminals of the D flip-flop circuits 16 and 17. The output signal Y from the data selector 11 is supplied to a D-input terminal of the D flip-flop circuit 16. A clear signal input terminal CLR of the D flip-flop circuit 16 is connected through a resistor 15 to a terminal 30 to which a positive voltage + B (5 Volts) is applied. An output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 16 is supplied to a D-input terminal of the D flip-flop circuit 17 of the next stage. A preset input terminal PRE of the D flip-flop circuit 17 is connected through a resistor 19 to a terminal 31 to which a positive voltage + B is applied. An output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 16 and an output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 17 are supplied to the NAND gate 20, and an output terminal 21 is led out from the output side of the NAND gate 20. An output developed at the output terminal 21 is supplied to the line memory 6 as a write enable signal (WR-EN). The selecting signals S 0 , S 1 and S 2 applied to the input terminal 3 (input terminals 3 0 , 3 1 and 3 2 ) ) are supplied to decoders 22 and 23. A decoded output from the decoder 22 is supplied to the preset input terminal PRE of the D flip-flop circuit 16 and to the AND gate 24, whereas a decoded output from the decoder 23 is supplied to the AND gate 24 whose output is supplied to the clear input terminal CLR of the D flip-flop circuit 17. The decoded output from the decoder 22 goes "0" (low level) when the selecting signals S 0 , S 1 and S 2 are placed in a relationship given by the following equality: S 0 = S 1 = S 2 = "0" and the decoded output from the decoder 22 goes "1" (high level) in other cases. Further, the decoded output from the decoder 23 goes "0" (low level) when the selecting signals S 0 , S 1 and S 2 establish the following equalities: S 0 = "1" and S 1 = S 2 = "0" and the aforementioned decoded output goes "1" (high level) in other cases. Turning back to Fig. 1, the clock signal CK applied to the input terminal 2 is supplied to and counted by a counter 13. As shown in Fig. 4, the counter 13 is a counter of, for example, 8 bits and generates square wave signals Q 0 , Q 1 , Q 2 , ..., Q 7 which result from dividing the clock signal CK applied to an input terminal 25 by 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256. Of these square wave signals, seven square wave signals except the square wave signal Q 7 are supplied to a data selector 14 as input signals I 1 , I 2 , ..., I 7 . The input signal I 0 of the data selector 14 becomes the clock signal CK from the input terminal 25. The data selector 14 is supplied with horizontal selecting signals SLh (S 0 , S 1 , S 2 ) of 3 bits from an input terminal 4 (i.e., input terminals 4 0 , 4 1 and 4 2 ). The truth table of logic values of the horizontal selecting signals S 0 , S 1 , and S 2 of 3 bits and corresponding contents of the output signal Y selected from the input signals I 0 , I 1 , I 2 , ..., I 7 is similar to that of Fig. 3 and is different only in that, in the truth table of Fig. 3, "I 0 = 0" is changed to "I 0 = CK". The output signal Y from the data selector 14 is supplied through an output terminal 26 to the read address counter and to the write address counter incorporated within the line memory 6 of Fig. 1 as read (RD-CK) and write (WR-CK) clock signals. An operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the aforementioned drawings and Figs. 5A - 5H. Let it be assumed that, in Fig. 2, the input signal I 2 = Q 1 (see Fig. 5C) is selected by the data selector 11 and this signal is supplied as the output signal Y to the D-input terminal of the D flip-flop circuit 16. Then, the D flip-flop circuit 16 latches the square wave signal Q 1 in response to the leading edge of the horizontal synchronizing signal HD (see Fig. 5A) and generates the output Q in which the square wave signal Q 1 is delayed by 90 degrees as shown in Fig. 5F. The output Q from the D flip-flop circuit 16 is supplied to the D-input terminal of the D flip-flop circuit 17 and is thereby latched in response to the leading edge of the horizontal synchronizing signal HD . The D flip-flop circuit 17 generates the output Q in which the square wave signal Q of Fig. 5F is delayed by 90 degrees and is inverted in phase as shown in Fig. 5G. The output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 16 and the output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 17 are supplied to the NAND gate 20, from which there is derived a square wave signal which is opposite in phase to the square wave signal Q 1 and whose pulse width is 1H as shown in Fig. 5H. This square wave signal is supplied to the write enable terminal WR-EN of the line memory 6 so that the line memory 6 is set in the write enable mode during a period corresponding to once every 4H periods, thus the incoming digital video signal thus being mosaicked in its vertical direction. When the data selector 11 is supplied with the selecting signals S 0 = S 1 = S 2 = 0, Y = I 0 = 0 is selected. At that time, the output of the decoder 22 goes "0" (low level) and the output of the decoder 23 goes "1" (high level) so that the output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 16 goes "1" and the output of the AND gate 24 goes "0", whereby the output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 17 also goes "1" and the output of the NAND gate 20 always goes "0". That is, the line memory 6 is always set in the write mode and the mosaic effect is lost so that the line memory 6 is operable merely as a delay element whose delay time is 1H. When the data selector 11 is supplied with the selecting signals S 0 = 1 and S 1 = S 2 = 0, Y = I 1 = Q 0 is selected. At that time, the output of the decoder 22 goes "1" and the output of the decoder 23 goes "0" so that the output of the AND gate 24 goes "0", thereby making the output Q of the D flip-flop circuit 17 "1". Thus, the NAND gate 20 generates an output in which the square wave signal Q 0 of Fig. 5B is inverted in phase, and the line memory 6 is placed in the writable mode during a period of 1H once every 2H periods. When in the data selector 11 the output signal Y is presented as the input signals I 2 to I 7 , that is, the outputs Q 1 to Q 6 of the counter 10, the outputs of the decoders 22 and 23 both go "1", accordingly, the output of the AND gate 24 goes "1" so that the D flip-flop circuit 16 is supplied at its preset input terminal PRE with the signal "1" and the D flip-flop circuit 17 is supplied at its clear input terminal CLR with the signal "1". Thus, the D flip-flop circuits 16 and 17 are inhibited from being preset and cleared, respectively. In response to the horizontal selecting signal SLh supplied to the input terminal 4 (i.e., input terminals 4 0 , 4 1 and 4 2 ), the clock signal CK or one of the outputs Q 0 , Q 1 to Q 6 of the counter 13 is supplied from the data selector 14 to the read and write address counters of the line memory 6 as the write and read clock signals. Consequently, when the line memory 6 is in the writable mode and is supplied with the outputs Q 0 to Q 6 of the counter 13 as the write and read clock signals, one digital pixel signal of the incoming digital video signal is written in the line memory 6 in response to 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 clock pulses CK, whereby the incoming digital video signal is mosaicked in its horizontal direction. More precisely, in response to each arrival of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 128 clock pulses CK, the digital pixel signal of the incoming digital video signal is written in the line memory 6 and in response to each arrival of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 clock pulses CK, the next digital pixel signal is read out from the line memory 6. Then, the digital pixel signal is held therein during 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 clock pulses CK are supplied thereto. Further, when the clock signal CK is supplied to the line memory 6 as the write and read clock signals, the mosaic effect is lost so that the line memory 6 functions merely as the 1H delay circuit. While the FIFO memory is utilized as the line memory which stores therein the digital video signal of 1H period in the above-mentioned embodiment, a pair of line memories which store the digital video signal of 1H period and which can not perform the write and read simultaneously may be provided. In that case, it may be possible that during a certain 1H period one line memory is used as a write memory and the other line memory is used as a read memory, and during the next 1H period, the said one line memory is used as the read memory and the other line memory is used as the write memory, which is alternately repeated thereafter. Furthermore, the vertical selecting signals and the horizontal selecting signals may be determined so that a mosaic effect is achieved only in a desirable region within one frame period. According to the present invention, as described above, a mosaic effect generating apparatus is obtained, in which the arrangement thereof can be simplified, the manufacturing cost thereof can be reduced and the power consumption thereof can be reduced.

Claims: A mosaic effect generating apparatus characterized in that it comprises : one line memory (6) to which an incoming video signal is supplied; clock signal generating means (13. 14) for generating a clock signal of a predetermined frequency and for supplying said clock signal to said one line memory (6) as a write clock signal (WR-CK) and a read clock signal (RD-CK); and write control means (9 to 12) for enabling said incoming video signal to be written in said one line memory (6) only during one horizontal cycle period at every period of a plural multiple of One horizontal cycle of said incoming video signal; characterized in that said predetermined frequency is a frequency of 1/N of a sampling frequency of said incoming digital video signal wherein N is an integer > 1. A mosaic effect generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said write control means (9 to 12) is arranged to supply said One line memory (6) with a control signal (WR-EN) which enables said incoming video signal to be written in said one line memory (6) only during one horizontal cycle period at every period of a plural multiple of one horizontal cycle of said incoming video signal. The mosaic effect generating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said one line memory (6) is a first-in and first-out (FIFO) memory. The mosaic effect generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said write control means (9 to 12) comprises : a counter (10) which is supplied with a horizontal synchronizing signal (HD) separated from said incoming video signal and which generates a plurality of square waves by frequency-dividing said horizontal synchronizing signal by a plurality of frequency-dividing ratios; a selector (11) supplied with an output signal of said counter (10) and which generates one of said plurality of square waves on the basis of a vertical selecting signal (SLv) which determines a width of mosaic in its vertical direction; and a pulse width changing circuit (12) supplied with an output signal from said selector (11) and which forms a control signal (WR-EN) which enables a writing of said one line memory (6). The mosaic effect generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said clock signal generating means (13, 14) comprises : a counter (13) supplied with a reference clock (CK) and which generates a plurality of square waves by frequency-dividing said reference clock (CK) by a plurality of frequency-dividing ratios. A mosaic effect generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising : an analog-to-digital converter (5) supplied with an incoming video signal and which converts said incoming video signal into a digital video signal; and a digital-to-analog converter (7) supplied with an output signal of said one line memory (6) and which converts a read-out digital video signal therefrom into an analog video signal. A mosaic effect generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said clock signal generating means comprises : a first counter (13) supplied with a reference clock (CK) and which generates a plurality of square waves by frequency-dividing said reference clock by a plurality of frequency-dividing ratios; and a first selector (14) supplied with an output signal of said first counter (13) and which generates one of said plurality of square waves on the basis of a horizontal selecting signal which determines a width of mosaic in its horizontal direction and which supplies the same to said one line memory (6) as a write clock signal (WR-CK) and a read clock signal (RD-CK); and in that said write control means comprises a second counter (10) supplied with a horizontal synchronizing signal (HD) separated from said incoming video signal and which generates a plurality of square waves by frequency-dividing said horizontal-dividing ratios; a second selector (11) supplied with an output signal of said second counter and which generates one of said plurality of square waves on the basis of a vertical selecting signal which determines a width of the mosaic in its vertical direction: and a pulse width changing circuit (12) supplied with an output signal of said second counter (10) and which forms a control signal which enables a writing of said one line memory (6) and which supplies the same to said one line memory (6). The mosaic effect generating apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said analog-to-digital converter (5) and said digital-to-analog converter (7) are each supplied with said reference clock (CK). The mosaic effect generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising means for determining the vertical selection signals and the horizontal selection signals so that a mosaic effect is achieved only in a desirable region within one frame period.

Inventors: HARADA TETSUYA, KURASHIGE MASAFUMI, HARADA, TETSUYA, KURASHIGE, MASAFUMI
Applicants: SONY CORP, SONY CORPORATION
Application year: 1990
Main classification: H04N5
IPC codes: H04N5