Patent ID: 7158139

Claim:
An apparatus for displaying an icon for an on screen display (OSD) comprising: a memory having a predetermined size for storing characters, wherein the characters comprise frame characters that are used to create an OSD frame and icon characters that may be combined to create an icon; wherein the memory has an address grid that may be addressed using an n-bit address; wherein the memory does not store OSD pages and programmable page information that is associated with the OSD; an address mapping circuit that is configured to map each of the characters within the memory from an n-bit address to at least an (n−1) bit address such that each of the characters has an (n−1) bit address that is used to identify the character within the memory; an icon select logic circuit that is configured to produce an icon enable signal in response to an address signal, wherein the address signal indicates a location within the memory; and a character selector logic circuit that is configured to select between one of the frame characters and one of the icon characters in response to the icon enable signal, the address signal, and an icon select signal, wherein the icon character is selected from no more than thirty two icon characters and wherein the frame characters are preprogrammed.