Patent Publication Number: US-2009219302-A1

Title: Electronic device capable of processing image and method thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to electronic devices and, particularly, to an electronic device capable of processing an image and method thereof. 
     2. General Background 
     Many electronic devices, e.g., computers, mobile phones, digital photo frames, are capable of storing and displaying images. Accordingly, people may store their images in multiple devices for sharing among multiple devices. 
     Usually, different electronic devices have different aspect ratio. For example, the display of a computer may have an aspect ratio of 16:9 and the digital photo frame 4:3, and therefore, an image may be more suitable for viewing in one than in the other, for example, an image with the ratio of 16:9, is fine for the computer but not the digital photo frame. Usually, when the aspect ratio of an image does not match the aspect ratio of the electronic device it is being viewed with, the image by default will be displayed in the center of the viewing area, and nothing but black areas displayed in those areas not used by the image. Even with current resizing techniques, black areas are still common on a display when showing an image with an incompatible aspect ratio. 
     Therefore, it is necessary to provide an electronic device and a method to overcomes the above-identified deficiencies. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the electronic device. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an electronic device capable of processing images according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a method for processing images applied in the electronic device of  FIG. 1  according to an exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the electronic device  1  includes a processing unit  10 , a display unit  20 , a storage unit  30 , an interface unit  40 , an input unit  50 , and a power source  60 . 
     The interface unit  40  is configured to connect to an external electronic device (not shown). The external device can be a storage card (for example, a secure digital (SD) card, a compact flash (CF) card) or another electronic device (for example, a digital camera, a mobile phone, or a computer). The storage unit  30  is configured to store media files. The media files may include, but are not limited to, audio files, digital images/images, videos, etc. In the exemplary embodiment, the storage unit  30  is a built-in storage unit, such as a flash memory, a micro drive, and so on. The display unit  20  is configured to display and/or play the media files. 
     The input unit  50  is configured to generate instructions in response to user&#39;s operations. The input unit  50  can be an input key (button), a knob, and the like. The power source  60  is configured to provide power to a plurality of functional units of the electronic device  1 , such as the processing unit  10  and the display unit  20 . 
     The processing unit  10  includes an obtaining module  101 , a comparison module  102 , a stretching module  103 , a blurring module  104 , a combination module  105 , and a display controlling module  106 . 
     The obtaining module  101  is configured to obtain information of an image stored in the storage unit  40  or in the external electronic device when the input unit  50  generates an instruction to display the image in response to an operation thereon. The comparison module  102  is configured to obtain an aspect ratio of the image (hereinafter, “the image ratio”) according to the information contained in the image file, and to obtain an aspect ratio of the display unit  20  (hereinafter, “the display unit ratio”). The comparison module  102  is further configured to compare the image ratio with the display unit ratio and determines whether the image ratio matches the display unit ratio. 
     If the image ratio is larger than the display unit ratio, then without adjustment to the image, the display unit  20  would display blank areas above and below the image generally centered in the viewing area. If the image ratio is less than the display unit ratio, the display unit  20  would display blank areas to the left and right of the image in the viewing area. 
     The stretching module  103  is configured to stretch the image if the image ratio doesn&#39;t match the display unit ratio. In detail, the stretching module  103  stretches the image so as to make a size of the image match a size of the display unit  20  to cover the display area of the display unit. For example, if the size of the display unit  20  is 16 n units×9 n units (n=1, 2, 3, . . . ) and the size of the image is 12 n units×9 n units (n=1, 2, 3, . . . ), then the stretching module  103  stretches the length of the image to 16 n units (n=1, 2, 3, . . . ), accordingly, the size of the stretched image is equal to the size of the display unit  20 . The blurring module  104  is configured to blur the stretched image. Typically, the blurring module  104  applies a blurring filter (not shown) to blur the whole stretched image. The blurring filter can be a Gaussian blur filter, a mosaic blur filter, and the like. 
     In other embodiments, the blurring module  104  may be configured to blurs only parts of the stretched image corresponding to the blank areas of the display unit  20 . For example, the blurring module  104  determines the blank areas of the display unit  20  when the image ratio doesn&#39;t match the display unit ratio, and blurs the parts of the stretched image corresponding to the blank areas. 
     The combination module  105  is configured to cover the blurred image with the original image to form a combined image. The combined image includes a blurred image part and an original image part. The blurred image part is a part of the blurred image that is displayed in what would otherwise be the blank areas of viewing area, and the original image part is the original image. Because the tone of the blurred image part is similar to the original image, the contrast between the original image and the blank areas is minimized. 
     The display controlling module  106  is configured to control the display unit  20  to display images. If the image ratio matches the display unit ratio, the display controlling module  106  controls the display unit  20  to display the image directly without adjustment. If the image ratio does not match the display unit ratio, the display controlling module  106  controls the display unit  20  to display the combined image after the combination module  105  generates the combined image. 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart illustrating a method for processing the image applied in the electronic device  1  according to an exemplary embodiment. In step S 201 , the obtaining module  101  obtains the information of the image when the input unit  50  generates the instruction to display the image in response to the operation thereon. 
     In step S 202 , the comparison module  102  obtains the image ratio according to the information of the image and the display unit ratio, and compares the image ratio with the display unit ratio. 
     If the image ratio doesn&#39;t match the display unit ratio, in step S 203 , the stretching module  103  stretches the image so as to make a size of the image equal to a size of the viewing area of the display unit  20 . 
     In step S 204 , the blurring module  104  applies the blurring filter to blur the stretched image and obtains the blurred image. 
     In step S 205 , the combination module  105  covers the blurred image with the original image and forms a combined image. 
     In step S 206 , the display controlling module  106  controls the display unit  20  to display the combined image. 
     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the present invention.