SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DRIVING AND RECEIVING DATA FROM MULTIPLE TOUCH SCREEN DEVICES

• US 20080225008A1
• Filed: 03/16/2007
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Allen, James F., Jacobson, Arthur A., Madonna, Robert P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,169,380 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display

Abstract

In one embodiment, multiple touch screen devices are driven from a graphics signal. A general-purpose computer provides a graphics signal of a particular display resolution. A display segmentor is configured to divide each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices. The display segmentor is further configured to generate an individual graphics signal from each pixel group, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution. One or more interfaces transmit each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices.

Claims

1. An apparatus for driving a plurality of touch screen devices from a single graphics signal, comprising:

a general-purpose computer configured to provide a graphics signal of a particular display resolution, the graphics signal including a plurality of graphics frames;

a display segmentor configured to divide each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices, the display segmentor further configured to generate an individual graphics signal from each pixel group, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution; and

one or more interfaces configured to transmit each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each pixel group is sized to a display resolution of a display on the associated particular touch screen device.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein two or more of the pixel groups of the plurality of pixel groups are differently sized, to provide for differing display resolutions of associated touch screen devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the display is a liquid crystal display (LCD).

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the each graphics frame includes at least some pixels that are not a part of any pixel group of the plurality of pixel groups.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more video serializers configured to serialize at least some of the individual graphics signals for transmission over Ethernet transmission paths; and

wherein the at least some of the one or more interfaces are connection ports to Ethernet transmission paths.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the graphics signal of the particular display resolution is a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) graphics signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the particular display resolution is 1920 by 1200 pixels, and wherein at least one of the individual graphics signals has a display resolution is 640 by 480 pixels.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display segmentor is further configured to map coordinates from each touch screen device, that describe a location of a touch on that touch screen device, to a single screen space.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the coordinates include x-axis coordinates and y-axis coordinates, and the display segmentor is further configured to add offset values to the x-axis coordinates and the y-axis coordinates to create new x-axis coordinates and new y-axis coordinates.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the offset values are generated in response to the location in each graphics frame of the pixel group associated with the touch screen device that supplied the x-axis coordinates and the y-axis coordinates.

12. A method for driving a plurality of touch screen devices from a single graphics signal, comprising:

providing a graphics signal of a particular display resolution, the graphics signal including a plurality of graphics frames;

dividing the each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices;

generating an individual graphics signal from each pixel group, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution; and

transmitting each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

sizing each pixel group to a display resolution of a display on the associated particular touch screen device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of sizing further comprises:

providing two or more of the pixel groups of the plurality of pixel groups to be differently sized, to provide for differing display resolutions of associated touch screen devices

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

including at least some pixels in the graphics frame that are not a part of any pixel group of the plurality of pixel groups.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

serializing at least some of the individual graphics signals for transmission over Ethernet transmission paths.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

mapping coordinates from each touch screen device, that describe a location of a touch on that touch screen device, to a single screen space.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the coordinates include x-axis coordinates and y-axis coordinates, and the method further comprises:

adding offset values to the x-axis coordinates and the y-axis coordinates to create new x-axis coordinates and new y-axis coordinates.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

generating the offset values in response to the location in each graphics frame of the pixel group associated with the touch screen device that supplied the x-axis coordinates and the y-axis coordinates.

20. An apparatus for driving a plurality of touch screen devices from a single graphics signal, comprising:

means for providing a graphics signal of a particular display resolution, the graphics signal including a plurality of graphics frames;

means for dividing the each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices,

means for generating an individual graphics signal from each pixel group, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution; and

means for transmitting each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices.