Disclosure of Invention
In view of the above, the present application provides a control method, an apparatus and an electronic device, as follows:
a control method is applied to electronic equipment and comprises the following steps:
when the electronic equipment is in a second state, controlling a first controller to store a first image;
detecting a first instruction, and controlling the first controller to output the first image to a display device of the electronic device so as to enable the display device to output the first image, wherein the first instruction is used for instructing the electronic device to switch from a first state to a second state, and the power consumption of the electronic device in the first state is lower than that of the electronic device in the second state;
and in response to the first controller outputting the first image, controlling the first controller to output obtained display data to the display device, the display data being data output to the first controller by a second controller.
Optionally, the controlling the first controller to output the obtained display data to the display device includes:
detecting whether a time interval in which the first controller outputs the first image satisfies a specific time interval condition;
if yes, controlling the second controller to output display data to the first controller;
controlling the first controller to output the display data to the display device.
Optionally, the controlling the first controller to store the first image when the electronic device is in the second state includes:
when the electronic equipment is in a second state, controlling a first controller to store a first image in a first storage area, wherein the first storage area is a storage area only receiving an access instruction of the first controller.
Optionally, the first image comprises:
when the electronic equipment receives a second instruction, displaying an image output by a device, wherein the second instruction indicates that the electronic equipment is switched from the second state to the first state;
and/or pre-stored images.
Optionally, controlling the first controller to store the first image comprises:
responding to the electronic equipment in a first state, and detecting whether network input information exists or not;
if yes, controlling the second controller to acquire the network input information;
controlling the second controller to generate a first image corresponding to the network input information;
controlling the first controller to store a first image.
Optionally, the controlling the second controller to obtain the network input information includes:
and if the input condition corresponding to the input information meets the target condition, controlling the second controller to acquire the network input information.
Optionally, the first image includes at least one sub-image, and the controlling the first controller to output the first image to a display device of the electronic device includes:
controlling the first controller to output a target sub-image to a display device of the electronic device, the target sub-image being associated with a particular user.
A control device applied to an electronic device, the device comprising:
the first control unit is used for controlling the first controller to store the first image when the electronic equipment is in the second state;
the detection unit is used for detecting a first instruction and controlling the first controller to output the first image to a display device of the electronic equipment so as to enable the display device to output the first image, wherein the first instruction is used for indicating the electronic equipment to be switched from a first state to a second state, and the power consumption of the electronic equipment in the first state is lower than that of the electronic equipment in the second state;
and a second control unit which controls the first controller to output the obtained display data to the display device in response to the first controller outputting the first image, the display data being data output to the first controller by the second controller.
An electronic device, comprising:
a first controller that stores a first image; the display device is further used for outputting the first image to the electronic equipment in response to detecting a first instruction, wherein the first instruction is used for instructing the electronic equipment to switch from a first state to a second state, and the power consumption of the electronic equipment in the first state is lower than that of the electronic equipment in the second state;
display means for displaying the first image;
and the second controller is used for responding to the first controller to output the first image, acquiring display data and outputting the display data to the first controller so that the first controller outputs the display data to the display device.
Optionally, the electronic device further comprises:
a target memory for data interaction only with the first controller;
the target memory is used for storing the first image when the electronic equipment is in the second state.
According to the technical scheme, the control method, the control device and the electronic equipment disclosed by the application control the first controller to store the first image when the electronic equipment is in the second state; detecting a first instruction, and controlling a first controller to output a first image to a display device of the electronic equipment so as to enable the display device to output the first image; and controlling the first controller to output the obtained display data to the display device in response to the first controller outputting the first image, the display data being data output to the first controller by the second controller.
Detailed Description
The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.
The control method provided by the embodiment of the application is applied to the electronic equipment which at least comprises a first controller, a second controller and a display device, wherein the display device can display the display information output by the first controller or the second controller. Correspondingly, the electronic device can switch its state through a corresponding instruction, for example, to a state with different power consumption. The electronic device in the embodiment of the present application may include a mobile terminal and a fixed terminal, such as a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, and/or the like.
Correspondingly, the operating state of the electronic device may include an operating state in which the user can operate the machine to perform normal work and a standby operating state in which the user cannot operate the machine to perform work, and specifically, the system power consumed by the electronic device in the standby operating state is lower than that consumed by the user in the operating state in which the user can operate the machine to perform normal work, for example, the electronic device is in a sleep or hibernation state. When the electronic device is in the standby working state, the software or hardware corresponding to the electronic device may have different power control or power supply strategies, and may correspond to different sleep states based on the different strategies. For example, the electronic device may be in a Modern Standby state, which is a new mode of computer sleep, in which the rest of components except for the screen are powered and in a low power consumption state, and in such a low power consumption Standby state, if the electronic device needs to be restored to a normal operating state, the corresponding components are quickly restored to the operating state. The electronic device may also be in a sleep state of S3, i.e., all components of the electronic device except the memory are deactivated, to achieve a low power consumption state of the electronic device. The electronic equipment user can select corresponding options in the power management menu to enter a corresponding sleep state, and can also input a corresponding control instruction to enable the electronic equipment to enter the sleep state, wherein each hardware component module of the electronic equipment in the sleep state is in a low power consumption state.
The electronic device may be restored from a standby state (e.g., a sleep state or a hibernate state) to a normal operating state in which the user may operate the machine to perform normal work, i.e., wake up from the standby state (e.g., the sleep state or the hibernate state) is implemented, and only wake up from the standby state (e.g., the sleep state or the hibernate state) is the user may operate the machine to perform normal work processing, e.g., the user interacts with the electronic device to perform text editing, programming, sending and receiving mails, browsing web pages, and the like. After waking up from a standby state (e.g., a sleep state or a hibernation state), a screen displayed on a display screen of the electronic device is usually a screen at the last time the electronic device enters the standby state (e.g., the sleep state or the hibernation state).
Referring to fig. 1, for a control method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method is applied to an electronic device, and may include the following steps:
and S101, controlling the first controller to store the first image when the electronic equipment is in the second state.
The different states of the electronic device refer to different power consumption states of the electronic device, including a normal operating state and a standby operating state in which a user cannot operate the machine to perform work as described above, and further, the time for waking up the electronic device to the normal operating state is different when the electronic device is in the different standby operating states. In this embodiment of the application, the first state of the electronic device is a state with low power consumption, for example, the electronic device is in a standby operating state, which may specifically include that the electronic device is in a sleep or hibernation state, and the second state of the electronic device is a state with high power consumption, for example, a normal operating state.
The electronic device may be composed of different controllers, such as a CPU (central processing Unit), which is used to interpret electronic device instructions and process data in computer software. A GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is a microcontroller that performs operations related to images and images on electronic devices. The digital display device also comprises a TCON (central control panel) which is used for converting image data input information sent by the digital board of the electronic equipment into signals capable of driving the liquid crystal screen after being processed by the logic board and then directly sending the signals to a receiving chip of the liquid crystal screen.
The control method in the embodiment of the application can be applied to a CPU of the electronic device, and the CPU controls a controller corresponding to the electronic device to execute relevant control logic. The controller may be a data receiving unit of the electronic device, and the data receiving unit may send the received command or data to each controller, and the control unit corresponding to each controller controls the corresponding controller to execute the corresponding command or data.
Specifically, a power consumption threshold may be determined, and if the power consumption threshold is higher than the power consumption threshold, the electronic device is in the second state, and a value of the power consumption threshold is a power consumption value corresponding to the electronic device being in a normal state. And when the electronic equipment is in the second state, controlling the first controller to store the first image. The first controller may be a controller capable of controlling the display device to output corresponding content, such as TCON. The first image may be an image that the display device outputs when the electronic apparatus is in a normal state, or may be a pre-stored fixed image. Correspondingly, when the electronic device is in the second state, the current picture information displayed on the display screen may be stored, and further, when the state switching instruction is received, the current picture information output by the display device may be stored. The corresponding processing mode may be that snapshot processing is performed on the picture information to obtain a first image, and then the first image is stored.
S102, detecting a first instruction, and controlling a first controller to output a first image to a display device of the electronic equipment so that the display device outputs the first image.
The first instruction is used for indicating the electronic equipment to be switched from the first state to the second state, and the power consumption of the electronic equipment in the first state is lower than that of the electronic equipment in the second state.
When the first instruction is detected, the electronic device is in the first state, that is, the electronic device is in a state with lower power consumption, which may be specifically a state below a power consumption threshold, for example, the electronic device is in a sleep state. At this moment, the first instruction is a wake-up instruction for the sleep state of the electronic device, and when the wake-up instruction is received, the first controller is controlled to output the first image to the display device so as to finish the corresponding black screen state of the electronic device in the sleep state, so that the electronic device can reach an instant bright screen state after receiving the wake-up instruction, and the time that the electronic device is in the black screen state after receiving the wake-up instruction is reduced.
And S103, responding to the first controller to output the first image, and controlling the first controller to output the obtained display data to the display device.
The display data is data output from the second controller to the first controller. The second controller may be a graphics processor GPU in embodiments of the present application. After the first controller outputs the first image, the electronic equipment is lightened from a black screen in a sleep state and outputs a corresponding display interface, and after a display device of the electronic equipment is awakened, an operating system of the electronic equipment is started so that the electronic equipment is in a normal working state. When the electronic device is in a normal working state, if a processing operation or a processing instruction related to a user is received, the second controller analyzes related data to obtain corresponding display data, the second controller outputs the display data to the first controller, and the first controller outputs the display data, wherein the display data may be a second image corresponding to the display data or a first image corresponding to the display data. For example, the first image is a desktop interface output by the display device before the electronic device enters the sleep state, and when the electronic device wakes up, if a related communication message is received, the display device outputs a communication interface corresponding to the communication message. So that normal operation after waking up the electronic device can be achieved.
For example, the second controller is a CPU, and after the first controller receives the first instruction (e.g., the wake-up instruction), the first image may be output to the display device, and at the same time, the CPU may be controlled to start the operating system and load the external device driver of the electronic device, so that the external device of the electronic device may operate. Then, an input instruction of the electronic device user for the current first image based on the external device can be obtained, then display information corresponding to the input instruction is generated, and the display information is output to the first controller and is output to the display device by the first controller. Correspondingly, the CPU can also directly output the data to the display device.
In the control method provided by the first embodiment of the application, when the electronic device is in the second state, the first controller is controlled to store the first image; detecting a first instruction, and controlling a first controller to output a first image to a display device of the electronic equipment so as to enable the display device to output the first image; and controlling the first controller to output the obtained display data to the display device in response to the first controller outputting the first image, the display data being data output to the first controller by the second controller. When the electronic equipment is switched from the first state with low power consumption to the second state with high power consumption, the first image is output to the display equipment through the first controller, so that the electronic equipment ends that the display device is in a black screen state early in the state switching process, the waiting time of a user is reduced, and the user experience is improved.
On the basis of the above embodiment, after receiving the first instruction and the first controller outputs the first image, the second controller takes over the output of the subsequent display data by the first controller. When the electronic device is on the screen and is awakened, the second controller completes subsequent display data output, and the second controller can directly output corresponding display data to the display device. When the first controller is TCON, the display device is directly connected to the first controller, and the corresponding display data can be converted into a display image matching the output format of the display device.
After the first controller outputs the first image, the second controller can be started, whether display data are output by the second controller or not is detected, and if the display data are output by the second controller, the first controller receives the display data and outputs the display data to the display device. Correspondingly, it may be further detected whether the display data output by the second controller is the same as the first image, and if not, the display data may be received and output.
In one embodiment, the image output by the display device may be determined by the second controller after a predetermined time after the first controller outputs the first image. Specifically, whether a time interval of outputting the first image by the first controller meets a specific time interval condition is detected, if so, the second controller is controlled to output display data to the first controller, and the first controller is controlled to output the display data to the display device. The time interval condition may be, for example, whether the time interval is greater than a time threshold, specifically, whether the time interval is greater than 0.1S. At this time, the information output by the display device is determined by the second controller, that is, when the user inputs a corresponding control instruction based on the first image, the second controller analyzes the control instruction to obtain corresponding display data, the display data is output to the first controller, the first controller converts the display data into a second image matched with the format of the display device, and then the second image is output to the display device. The second controller may convert the display data into a corresponding image and output the image to the first controller.
In the embodiment of the application, after a first instruction indicating that the electronic equipment is switched from the first state to the second state is detected, the first controller outputs the first image to the display device of the electronic equipment. In order to ensure that the first controller can obtain the first image quickly, the first controller may be controlled to store the first image in a first storage area when the electronic device is in the second state, where the first storage area is a storage area that only receives the access instruction of the first controller. The first storage area may be a storage area corresponding to a separate Memory, for example, the Memory may be an SRAM (Static Random-Access Memory). Only the first image may be stored by a separate memory, such that the first controller only interacts with the memory to enable storage and retrieval of the first image. This may allow the first controller to function only as a data transfer and interaction with the display device, without having to have higher configuration functionality. Meanwhile, the mode that the memory can be accessed to obtain the stored image only by starting the operating system of the electronic equipment can be avoided, so that the image can be obtained for displaying without starting the operating system, and the screen blacking time of the electronic equipment is reduced.
In one implementation of the embodiment of the application, when the electronic device is in the second state, the first image stored by the first controller includes an image output by the display device when the electronic device receives a second instruction, where the second instruction instructs the electronic device to switch from the second state to the first state. Correspondingly, the second instruction may be an instruction indicating that the electronic device enters a standby operating state (e.g., enters a sleep state), where the image output by the display device is an image corresponding to a last display frame when the user indicates that the electronic device enters the sleep state. After the electronic equipment is awakened from the sleep state, the electronic equipment can return to the display interface when the user indicates to enter the sleep state, and the user can be ensured to quickly enter a normal working mode.
In another embodiment, the first image further includes a pre-stored image, which may be a fixed image pre-stored by a user of the electronic device, so that the pre-stored image can be directly output when the electronic device is woken up, and the time for the electronic device to turn off the screen is reduced.
When the electronic device is in the MS sleep state or the S3 sleep state, the display screen is controlled to be powered off, and other components are normally powered on. Or all components except the memory may be deactivated. Correspondingly, when the electronic equipment is in a sleep state, certain functional components of the electronic equipment can still work normally, and only the corresponding display information is not output to the display device. In one possible implementation, the controlling the first controller to store the first image includes:
responding to the electronic equipment in a first state, and detecting whether network input information exists or not;
if yes, controlling a second controller to obtain the network input information;
controlling a second controller to generate a first image corresponding to the network input information;
the first controller is controlled to store the first image.
In this embodiment, when the electronic device is in the first state, that is, the sleep state with low power consumption, the second controller may be in the working state, and when the function control corresponding to the network data interaction function of the electronic device is not powered off, the corresponding network input information may be received, and only because the electronic device is in the sleep state, the display image corresponding to the network input information may not be output to the display device. At this time, the second controller generates an image to be displayed corresponding to the network input information and outputs the image to the first controller, so that the first controller stores the image to be displayed as a first image, and after the electronic device receives the wake-up instruction, the first controller outputs the first image generated based on the network input information, for example, a display image including mail receiving reminding information.
It should be noted that, if the second controller is also in the non-operating state when the electronic device is in the sleep state, the second controller is controlled to start first, then the second controller receives the network input information and generates a corresponding image to be displayed, and then the second controller is controlled to enter the non-operating state.
If the network inputs information frequently, for example, the user receives more mails every day, if the second controller is always controlled to start and then pause, the power consumption of the electronic device is still high under the condition of a sleep state, and the actual requirements of the user cannot be met. In one embodiment, the controlling the second controller to obtain the network input information includes: and if the input condition corresponding to the input information meets the target condition, controlling the second controller to acquire the network input information.
The target condition may be set based on a set time when the electronic device is in the first state or a frequency of receiving the network input information. For example, the time of the sleep state of the electronic device set by the user is a fixed time zone, and may be specifically 12:30-13:30 at noon. The network input information may be acquired every 10 minutes or may be acquired collectively 13:20 within the time period. Correspondingly, if the network input information is detected to be input frequently, the network input information can be acquired according to the preset acquisition interval, so that the second controller acquires the network input information only under the target condition and generates a corresponding image to be displayed, and the power consumption of the electronic equipment in the sleep state is prevented from being increased.
Since the first image stored by the first controller may be a pre-stored image, if the electronic device corresponds to multiple users, each user may have a corresponding pre-stored image, so that the electronic device may output a pre-stored image matching the user when being awakened from a sleep state. Specifically, when the first image includes at least one sub-image, the controlling the first controller to output the first image to the display device of the electronic device includes:
controlling a first controller to output a target sub-image to a display device of an electronic device, the target sub-image being associated with a particular user.
In this embodiment, when it is detected that the first image comprises at least one sub-image, a target sub-image matching the current electronic device user may be determined among the sub-images. The user of the current electronic device may be determined by acquiring account information of the current electronic device, or a biometric control of the electronic device may be started, and the user of the current electronic device is determined by the biometric feature, so as to obtain a target sub-image matched with the user for output. When the awakening instruction is received, the image output by the display device of the electronic equipment is matched with the current user of the electronic equipment, and the user experience effect is improved.
Referring to fig. 2, a schematic structural diagram of a control circuit of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. In the electronic device, the first controller is a TCON, the second controller is a GPU, the first storage area is a storage area corresponding to an SRAM, the display device is exemplified by a display Panel (Panel), and the electronic device further includes an identification chip (for example, an artificial intelligence AI identification chip or an embedded controller EC), a south bridge (specifically, a PCH may be adopted, and the PCH is an integrated south bridge of intel corporation), the display Panel may be an OLED screen, and the electronic device further includes an input control, where the input control is configured to receive a related instruction, for example, the input control may be a biometric identification component, and specifically may include a camera related component for performing identification of face information, pupil information, and fingerprint information, and may further include a Tof sensor for performing distance identification, an infrared sensor, and may also include an input component in USB format such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch pad.
Referring to fig. 3, a flowchart of a control method applied to the electronic device of fig. 2 is provided for the embodiment of the present application, and the method may include the following steps:
s301, responding to the fact that the electronic equipment enters the sleep mode, and monitoring the sleep mode.
S302, when the electronic equipment enters a sleep mode, the TCON controls the SARM to refresh the last frame of the display device or store a preset fixed picture.
And S303, when the identification chip or the south bridge monitors that the electronic equipment is awakened from the sleep state, sending a notification instruction to the TCON.
And S304, the TCON outputs the last frame of self-refreshing data or outputs a preset picture.
S305, when the TCON monitors that the GPU has output display data, the last frame of image or the preset picture image output by the display device is switched to the GPU for output.
In this embodiment, a PCH to identification chip, identification chip to TCON control logic is added to the electronic device. When the system enters the sleep state of the MS or S3, the SRAM is controlled by the TCON to perform a refresh of the last frame. When the PCH or the identification chip monitors that a device needs to be awakened from a sleep state, the awakening instruction may be a trigger instruction of detecting a target user, for example, the user is identified by a biometric identification method such as face identification and fingerprint identification, or when the distance from the user to the electronic device is detected to be smaller than a preset distance, or when an input switching instruction based on a keyboard, a mouse or the like is detected. The identification chip sends a signal instruction to inform the TCON through a corresponding data format. And after receiving the information to be awakened, the TCON outputs the image of the last frame to the display Panel Panel immediately in a refreshing manner, or outputs the read fixed display information to the display Panel Panel. And after receiving the display information normally output by the GPU, the TCON converts the self-refreshing picture or the output fixed picture into the output of the GPU. The format of data transmission performed by each control includes, but is not limited to, I2C bus transmission, a GPIO (General-purpose input/output) transmission mode, and an INT data mode, and the corresponding data transmission format may be selected based on a specific input control and a corresponding controller structure, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.
Referring to fig. 4, a schematic structural diagram of a control device provided in the second embodiment of the present application is shown, where the control device may include:
a first control unit 401, configured to control a first controller to store a first image when the electronic device is in a second state;
a detecting unit 402, configured to detect a first instruction, the first instruction being used to instruct the electronic apparatus to switch from a first state to a second state, where power consumption of the electronic apparatus in the first state is lower than power consumption of the electronic apparatus in the second state, and control the first controller to output the first image to a display device of the electronic apparatus, so as to cause the display device to output the first image;
a second control unit 403 that controls the first controller to output the obtained display data, which is the data output to the first controller by the second controller, to the display device in response to the first controller outputting the first image.
The second embodiment of the application discloses a control device, which is used for controlling a first controller to store a first image when the electronic equipment is in a second state; detecting a first instruction, and controlling a first controller to output a first image to a display device of the electronic equipment so as to enable the display device to output the first image; and controlling the first controller to output the obtained display data to the display device in response to the first controller outputting the first image, the display data being data output to the first controller by the second controller. When the electronic equipment is switched from the first state with low power consumption to the second state with high power consumption, the first image is output to the display equipment through the first controller, so that the electronic equipment ends that the display device is in a black screen state early in the state switching process, the waiting time of a user is reduced, and the user experience is improved.
Further, the detection unit 402 includes:
a first detection subunit, configured to detect whether a time interval at which the first controller outputs the first image satisfies a specific time interval condition;
the first control subunit is used for controlling the second controller to output display data to the first controller if the first controller outputs the display data to the first controller;
and the second control subunit is used for controlling the first controller to output the display data to the display device.
Optionally, the first control unit 402 is specifically configured to:
when the electronic equipment is in a second state, controlling a first controller to store a first image in a first storage area, wherein the first storage area is a storage area only receiving an access instruction of the first controller.
Further, the first image includes:
when the electronic equipment receives the second instruction, displaying an image output by a device, wherein the second instruction instructs the electronic equipment to switch from the second state to the first state;
and/or pre-stored images.
Optionally, the first control unit comprises:
the second detection subunit is used for responding to the first state of the electronic equipment and detecting whether network input information exists or not;
the third control subunit is used for controlling the second controller to acquire the network input information if the network input information exists;
a fourth control subunit, configured to control the second controller to generate a first image corresponding to the network input information;
and the fifth control subunit is used for controlling the first controller to store the first image.
Further, the third control subunit is specifically configured to:
and if the input condition corresponding to the input information meets the target condition, controlling the second controller to acquire the network input information.
Further, when the first image comprises at least one sub-image, the second control unit is specifically configured to:
controlling the first controller to output a target sub-image to a display device of the electronic device, the target sub-image being associated with a particular user.
It should be noted that, for the specific implementation of each unit in the present embodiment, reference may be made to the corresponding content in the foregoing, and details are not described here.
Referring to fig. 5, a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to a third embodiment of the present application is shown, where the electronic device includes:
a first controller 501 that stores a first image; the display device is further used for outputting the first image to the electronic equipment in response to detecting a first instruction, wherein the first instruction is used for instructing the electronic equipment to switch from a first state to a second state, and the power consumption of the electronic equipment in the first state is lower than that of the electronic equipment in the second state;
a display device 502 for displaying the first image;
a second controller 503, configured to obtain display data in response to the first controller outputting the first image, and output the display data to the first controller, so that the first controller outputs the display data to the display device.
In the electronic device disclosed in the third embodiment of the present application, when the electronic device is in the second state, the first controller is controlled to store the first image; detecting a first instruction, and controlling a first controller to output a first image to a display device of the electronic equipment so as to enable the display device to output the first image; and controlling the first controller to output the obtained display data to the display device in response to the first controller outputting the first image, the display data being data output to the first controller by the second controller. When the electronic equipment is switched from the first state with low power consumption to the second state with high power consumption, the first image is output to the display equipment through the first controller, so that the electronic equipment ends that the display device is in a black screen state early in the state switching process, the waiting time of a user is reduced, and the user experience is improved.
Further, the electronic device further includes:
a target memory for data interaction only with the first controller;
the target memory is used for storing the first image when the electronic equipment is in the second state.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment, reference may be made to the corresponding contents in the foregoing for specific implementations of the first controller and the second controller, and details are not described here.
The embodiments in the present description are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other. The device disclosed by the embodiment corresponds to the method disclosed by the embodiment, so that the description is simple, and the relevant points can be referred to the method part for description.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both, and that the various illustrative components and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality in order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.
The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in Random Access Memory (RAM), memory, Read Only Memory (ROM), electrically programmable ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, the present application is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.