Video stream processing system

Claim 1

A video signal processing system comprising: means for coupling to a video signal source of pixel data; a modular family of vision processing subsystems, each modular subsystem having a standard processor interface and a standard video input interface, at least one of said modular subsystems having a video output interface for coupling to a video input interface of another modular subsystem or an output of said video signal processing system, a plurality of said subsystems being different, special purpose subsystems permanently configured to perform different operations on said pixel data, including frame buffer means for selectively storing and retrieving said pixel data in a read/write memory and communicating said pixel data between said read/write memory and said video input interface, histogram means for outputting characteristic data representative of statistic analysis of said pixel data responsive to signals on said processor interface, look-up table means for functionally mapping from pixel data, as input through said video input interface, to characteristic data for output as pixel data through said video output interface, filter means for constructing an N×M window of pixel data and providing characteristic data on said N×M window, and delay means having M storage units and providing for selective shifting of pixel data unidirectionally relative to the M storage units of said delay means so as to effect a temporal delay of M shift times; a pipeline pixel bus coupling in series said means for coupling to a video signal source and a plurality of said video input interfaces and providing a valid pixel synchronization signal, a line synchronization signal, a frame synchronization signal, and pixel data; and a processor bus coupled to each said standard processor interface.

Claim 11

The system as in claim wherein said delay means is further comprised of a plurality of N delay means, including first and last delay means, each delay means having M storage units, each delay means providing for selective shifting the addressing of pixel data unidirectionally relative to the M storage units of said delay means so as to effect a temporal delay of M shift times, the input of said first delay means coupled to receive the output pixel data from the video interface of one of said plurality of subsystems, the output of each said N delay means coupling to a separate one of N video interface inputs of a second one of said plurality of subsystems having N video interfaces. the outputs of all but the last delay means coupling to the input of a next delay means, wherein said plurality of N delay means provides N temporally staggered streams of M units of pixel data output to said second subsystem.