Remote display monitor system
First Claim
1. A system for coupling a source of display data to a remote monitor for real-time display of the data thereon, the system comprising:
- (a) interface means, coupled to the source, for receiving in real-time units of display data from the source,(b) a transmission medium having a port remote from the interface means,(c) means for transmitting, at a selected unit transfer rate, units of display data via the transmission medium to the medium'"'"'s remote port,(d) first memory means for time buffering a unit of display data between the interface means and the means for transmitting,(e) means for receiving, at the selected unit transfer rate, units of display data communicated to the remote port,(f) means for communicating received units of display data to the monitor at a rate compatible with data requirements of the monitor, and(h) second memory means for time buffering a received unit of display data between the means for receiving and the means for communicating.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A monitor is remotely coupled to a source of display data for real-time display of the data thereon. The display is real-time in that the received data is converted to pixel values and is displayed by the remote monitor almost instantaneously except for some minor data hand-off and transmission delays. The remote monitor can be any kind of conventional text and/or graphics display device, e.g. a cathode ray tube device, but preferably is a flat panel, digital display. Preferably the system couples to a pre-existing data bus, e.g. an ISA, EISA, VLB or PCI bus, and an interface circuit communicates with the source of the display information, such as a processor on the bus. Digital pixel values are stored in a local frame buffer. A transmit controller transmits the stored pixel values over a preferably serial, optical transmission medium, to a remote circuit which stores them in a remote frame buffer. A remote processor controls the communication of pixel values from the remote frame buffer to the remote monitor. In some embodiments, the remote processor has data ports, e.g. a keyboard, pointing device and/or a serial port, and can be used to process operator inputs to perform functions such as pan and zoom on the display data. Also data input at the remote monitor can be sent back to the bus interface circuit via a second transmission medium, preferably optical and serial.
60 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for coupling a source of display data to a remote monitor for real-time display of the data thereon, the system comprising:
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(a) interface means, coupled to the source, for receiving in real-time units of display data from the source, (b) a transmission medium having a port remote from the interface means, (c) means for transmitting, at a selected unit transfer rate, units of display data via the transmission medium to the medium'"'"'s remote port, (d) first memory means for time buffering a unit of display data between the interface means and the means for transmitting, (e) means for receiving, at the selected unit transfer rate, units of display data communicated to the remote port, (f) means for communicating received units of display data to the monitor at a rate compatible with data requirements of the monitor, and (h) second memory means for time buffering a received unit of display data between the means for receiving and the means for communicating. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for coupling a source of display data and non-display data to a remote monitor for real-time display and control of the display data thereon, the system comprising:
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(a) interface means, coupled to the source, for receiving in real-time units of display data and non-display data from the source, (b) a data transmission medium having a port remote from the interface means, (c) means for transmitting, via the transmission medium at a selected unit transfer rate, units of display data and non-display data multiplexed in time to the medium'"'"'s remote port, (d) first memory means for time buffering a unit of display data between the interface means and the means for transmitting, (e) second memory means for time buffering non-display data between the interface means and the means for transmitting, (f) means for receiving and demultiplexing units of display data and non-display data communicated to the remote port, (g) means for communicating received and demultiplexed units of display data to the monitor at a rate compatible with data requirements of the monitor, (h) third memory means for time buffering a unit of display data between the means for receiving and demultiplexing, and the means for communicating, (i) remote processing means, responsive to non-display data, for processing units of display data buffered in the third memory means according to at least one predetermined algorithm, and (j) fourth memory means for time buffering non-display data between the means for receiving and demultiplexing, and the remote processing means. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20)
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14. A system for coupling a processor to a remote monitor for real-time display and control of display data thereon, the system comprising:
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(a) interface means, coupled to the processor, for receiving in real-time units of display data and non-display data from the processor, (b) a data transmission medium having a port remote from the interface means, (c) means for transmitting, via the transmission medium at a selected unit transfer rate, units of display data and non-display data multiplexed in time to the medium'"'"'s remote port, (d) first memory means for time buffering a unit of display data between the interface means and the means for transmitting, (e) second memory means for time buffering non-display data between the interface means and the means for transmitting, (f) means for receiving and demultiplexing units of display data and non-display data communicated to the remote port, (g) means for communicating received and demultiplexed units of display data to the monitor at a rate compatible with data requirements of the monitor, (h) third memory means for time buffering a unit of display data between the means for receiving and demultiplexing, and the means for communicating, (i) remote processing means, responsive to non-display data, for processing units of display data buffered in the third memory means according to a predetermined algorithm, (j) fourth memory means for time buffering non-display data between the means for receiving and demultiplexing, and the remote processing means, (k) data port means, local to the monitor, for communicating with a data input device, (1) means for transmitting data input from the data port means to the interface means, (m) means for receiving and storing transmitted data input for access by the processor, and (n) means for notifying the processor that stored input data is available for access by the processor. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification