Display of visual data as a function of position of display device

• US 7,453,418 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2004
• Issued: 11/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Speechgear Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Speechgear Incorporated
• Inventors: Palmquist, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe; Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Said; Mansour M
• Application Number:
  US11/012,861
• Publication Number:
  US 20050168399A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: 345 11- 13, 345 21- 23, 345 5- 6, 345/9, 345/22, 345/24, 345901-903, 345156-159, 345/166, 345169-173, 345/177
• US Class Current: 345/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/026 Video wall, i.e. juxtaposition of a plurality of screens to create a display screen of bigger dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2356/00 Detection of the display position w.r.t. other display screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information

Abstract

In general, the invention is directed to techniques by which visual data is mapped to one or more display devices as a function of the positions of the display devices. The invention may support mapping of visual data to any number of display devices, which may cooperate to display the visual data as if the display devices were a single, large display device. In addition, the invention supports dynamic monitoring of the positions of display devices, with the visual data being mapped to a display device changing as the position of each display device changes.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first display device;

a second display device; and

a processor that determines positions of the first and second display devices relative to a position reference and maps respective portions of visual data to the first and second display devices as a function of the determined positions of the first and second display devices, wherein movement of one of the display devices relative to the other display device causes at least one of the display devices to display a different portion of the visual data, wherein the first and second display devices wirelessly communicate with one another, and wherein the first display device is a master device that includes the processor and the second display device is a slave device that receives its respective portion of the visual data from the first display device as a function of the determined position of the second display device relative to the position reference.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein movement of the second display device relative to the first display device causes a change in the respective portion of the visual data displayed by the second display device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the visual data comprises a geographical map and wherein first and second display devices display respective portions of the geographical map.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the visual data comprises three-dimensional data, and wherein the movement of one of the display devices relative to the other display device comprises three-dimensional movement that causes at least one of the display devices to display a different portion of the three-dimensional data.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising additional display devices that display different portions of the visual data as a function of positions of the additional display devices relative to the position reference.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the position reference comprises at least one of an electronic sensor, an optical sensor, an electromechanical sensor, an acoustic sensor and a tactile sensor.

7. A method comprising

determining positions of first and second display devices relative to a position reference;

and

mapping respective portions of visual data to the first and second display devices as a function of the determined positions of the first and second display devices, wherein movement of one of the display devices relative to the other display device causes at least one of the display devices to display a different portion of the visual data, wherein the first and second display devices wirelessly communicate with one another, and wherein the first display device is a master device having a processor that determines the position of the first and second display devices relative to the position reference, and the second display device is a slave device that receives its respective portion of the visual data from the first display device as a function of the determined position of the second display device relative to the position reference.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein movement of the second display device relative to the first display device causes a change in the respective portion of the visual data displayed by the second display device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the visual data comprises a geographical map and wherein first and second display devices display respective portions of the geographical map.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the visual data comprises three-dimensional data, and wherein the movement of one of the display devices relative to the other display device comprises three-dimensional movement that causes at least one of the display devices to display a different portion of the three-dimensional data.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining positions of additional display devices relative to the position reference and displaying different portions of the visual data on the additional display devices as a function of the positions of the additional display devices relative to the position reference.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the position reference comprises at least one of an electronic sensor, an optical sensor, an electromechanical sensor, an acoustic sensor and a tactile sensor.