Semiconductor apparatus for image transmission

Abstract

A video input interface receives input video data in a normal state. A control input interface receives character data for On Screen Display (OSD) in a setup state. An encoder encodes the character data and stores encoded compressed data in a memory in the setup state. A decoder receives an instruction signal designating the character data to be displayed, reads and decodes one piece of compressed data corresponding to the instruction signal from the memory, and reproduces the original character data in the normal state. A multiplexer superimposes character data on frame data and outputs the data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A semiconductor apparatus for image transmission comprising:
 a video input interface structured to receive input video data in a normal state;   a control input interface structured to receive character data for On Screen Display (OSD) in a setup state;   an encoder structured to encode the character data and store encoded compressed data in a memory in the setup state;   a decoder structured to receive an instruction signal designating the character data to be displayed, read and decode one piece of compressed data corresponding to the instruction signal from the memory, and reproduce the character data before encoding in the normal state; and   a multiplexer structured to superimpose the character data on the image data and output the data.   
     
     
         2 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the encoder compresses the character data by means of run-length compression, and
 wherein the compressed data contains at least one piece of segment data, and each piece of segment data represents a same-color segment including consecutive pixels having a same color.   
     
     
         3 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the segment data contains color data representing a color and a run-length value representing a number of the consecutive pixels, and
 wherein a format length of the run-length value is variable.   
     
     
         4 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the segment data contains a color word containing a separator bit and the color data and at least one run-length word containing the separator bit and the run-length value. 
     
     
         5 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the segment data contains a color word containing the color data, a word number designation bit representing a number of words of the run-length value, and as many run-length words as the number of words. 
     
     
         6 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the control input interface receives size data designating a pixel size of the character data and stores the size data as well as the compressed data in the memory. 
     
     
         7 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the instruction signal contains positional information designating a position at which the character data is to be displayed, and the multiplexer displays the character data at a position corresponding to the positional information. 
     
     
         8 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the control input interface is a serial peripheral interface (SPI) or an inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C) interface. 
     
     
         9 . A semiconductor apparatus for image transmission comprising:
 a video input interface structured to receive input video data:   a memory structured to store reference character data describing a predetermined character that can be contained in the input video data;   an image processing circuit structured to generate output video data to be displayed on a display panel based on the input video data; and   an abnormality detector structured to determine whether or not there is an abnormality based on the input video data and the reference character data.   
     
     
         10 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a control input interface provided separately from the video input interface to enable communication with an outside processor.   
     
     
         11 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein a display position of the predetermined character is variable, and
 wherein a control signal that the control input interface receives from the processor contains positional information indicating the display position of the predetermined character.   
     
     
         12 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the predetermined character is arranged in a fixed manner at a predetermined position in a user-unrecognizable state. 
     
     
         13 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein a control signal that the control input interface receives from the processor contains at least either information indicating whether or not the predetermined character is targeted for determination by the abnormality detector or information indicating whether or not a current frame is targeted for determination by the abnormality detector. 
     
     
         14 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the semiconductor apparatus is structured to support an OSD function,
 and wherein the memory has stored therein character data for the OSD, and   wherein the image processing circuit superimposes the character data for the OSD on the input video data in an OSD mode.   
     
     
         15 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 14 , wherein the reference character data and the character data for the OSD are used in common. 
     
     
         16 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 14 , wherein the OSD mode and a determination mode in which determination is given by the abnormality detector are selectable. 
     
     
         17 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 9 , wherein the memory is a non-volatile memory. 
     
     
         18 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein the memory is a volatile memory,
 wherein the control input interface can receive image data indicating the predetermined character in a setup state, and   wherein the semiconductor apparatus further comprises:   an encoder structured to encode the image data to generate compressed data and store the compressed data in the memory as the reference character data in the setup state; and   a decoder structured to decode the reference character data to reproduce the predetermined character before encoding in a normal state.   
     
     
         19 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 18 , wherein the encoder compresses the reference character data by means of run-length compression, and
 wherein the compressed data contains at least one piece of segment data, and each piece of segment data represents a same-color segment including consecutive pixels having a same color.   
     
     
         20 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein the control input interface is a serial peripheral interface (SPI) or an inter-integrated circuit (I 2 C) interface. 
     
     
         21 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 10 , wherein, when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detector, the processor is interrupted. 
     
     
         22 . The semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor apparatus is integrated on one semiconductor substrate. 
     
     
         23 . An in-vehicle display device comprising:
 the semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         24 . A medical display device comprising:
 the semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         25 . An electronic device comprising:
 the semiconductor apparatus according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         26 . An abnormality detection method in a semiconductor apparatus for image transmission, the method comprising:
 previously storing in a memory reference character data describing a predetermined character that can be contained in an input video data;   receiving the input video data;   generating output video data to be displayed on a display panel based on the input video data, and   determining whether or not there is an abnormality based on the input video data and the reference character data.