Projection display system with pressure sensing at a screen, a calibration system corrects for non-orthogonal projection errors

• US 7,626,577 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Martin, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Kevin M
• Application Number:
  US11/927,306
• Publication Number:
  US 20080042999A1
• Time in Patent Office: 764 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/178, 178/18.03
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/132 Overhead projectors, i.e. capable of projecting hand-writing or drawing during action epidiascopic projectors G03B21/08
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status

Abstract

Calibration structure, method, and code for correcting non-orthogonal misalignment of a computer-generated image that is projected onto a large screen touch-detecting display, so that a computer-generated image appears substantially where the display is touched. Structure/method/code generates at least four calibration marks, respectively, substantially proximate four corners of a projected image to be displayed on the display. Structure/method/code, responsive to a touch on the large screen touch-detecting display where each of the four calibration marks is displayed, identifies horizontal and vertical coordinates of each touched location. Structure/method/code calibrates the projected image to the display after the four calibration marks have been touched. Structure/method/code, responsive to another touch on the display after calibration, displays a computer image substantially at the location of the another touch.

Claims

1. Calibration structure for correcting non-orthogonal misalignment of a computer-generated image that is projected onto a large screen touch-detecting display, so that a computer-generated cursor appears substantially where the large screen touch-detecting display is touched, comprising:

structure to generate at least four calibration marks, respectively, substantially proximate four corners of a projected image to be displayed on the large screen touch-detecting display;

structure, responsive to a touch on the large screen touch-detecting display where each of the four calibration marks is displayed, to identify horizontal and vertical coordinates of each touched location;

structure which calibrates the projected image to the large screen touch-detecting display after the four calibration marks have been touched; and

structure, responsive to another touch on the large screen touch-detecting display after calibration, which calculates corrected horizontal and vertical coordinates for said another touch so that a cursor is displayed on the large screen touch-detecting display substantially at the location of the another touch on the large screen touch-detecting display.

2. Calibration structure according to claim 1, wherein the structure to generate, the structure responsive to a touch, the structure which calibrates, and the structure responsive to another touch, all comprise a driver configured to be installed on a computer running a Windows operating system.

3. Calibration structure according to claim 2, wherein the structure to generate, the structure responsive to a touch, the structure which calibrates, and the structure responsive to another touch, all comprise software code.

4. Calibration structure according to claim 1, wherein the structure to generate generates the four calibration marks sequentially.

5. Calibration structure according to claim 1, wherein the structure responsive to another touch is configured to pass the calculated corrected horizontal and vertical coordinates for said another touch to an application program running on the computer.

6. Calibration structure according to claim 1, wherein the large screen touch-detecting display comprises a large screen pressure sensitive display.

7. Display apparatus configured to display images (i) generated by an application running on a Windows computer and (ii) projected onto a large screen touch-detecting display, comprising:

the large screen touch-detecting display; and

computer code configured to (i) run on the Windows computer, (ii) cause four calibration marks to be displayed respectively proximate the four corners of at least one calibration image displayed on the large screen touch-detecting display, (iii) in response to touches at the four displayed calibration marks, map the large screen touch-detecting display to the images to be projected thereon to correct for keystoning between the projected images and the surface of the large screen touch-detecting display, and (iv) after the mapping, in response to another touch of said large screen touch-detecting display, cause a cursor to be projected substantially at the same location on the large screen touch-detecting display as the another touch.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said computer code comprises a software driver.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said large screen touch-detecting display comprises a large screen pressure sensitive display.

10. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said computer code (ii) causes the four calibration marks to be displayed on four sequential calibration images displayed on the large screen touch-detecting display.

11. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said computer code is activatable by a user of the Windows computer.

12. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said computer code is automatically called during initialization of said large screen touch-detecting display.

13. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said computer code causes calibration instructions to be displayed in said at least one calibration image displayed on the large screen touch-detecting display.

14. Apparatus for mapping a computer-generated image non-orthogonally projected onto a large screen touch-detecting display which is configured to be coupled to a computer running on a Windows operating system, which is configured to be coupled to a projector for projecting the computer-generated image onto the large screen touch-detecting display, said apparatus comprising:

the large screen touch-detecting display; and

computer-implementable structure configured to (i) cause at least four calibration marks to be displayed proximate four corresponding corners of a calibration image non-orthogonally projected onto the large screen touch-detecting display, (ii) in response to sequential touching the four projected calibration marks, map the projected image to the surface of the large screen touch-detecting display to correct for keystone misalignment of the projected image caused by the no-orthogonal projection of the image onto the large screen touch-detecting display, (iii) in response to another touch of the large screen touch-detecting display, cause a computer image to be displayed at a position on the large screen touch-detecting display that is (i) substantially adjacent the another touch and (ii) at a position which is different from its display prior to the mapping.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said computer implementable structure comprises a driver.

16. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said driver comprises software code.

17. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said computer-implementable structure is configured to (i) cause the at least four calibration marks to be displayed sequentially.

18. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said large screen touch-detecting display comprises a large screen touch sensitive display.

19. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said computer-implementable structure configured to (i) cause at least four calibration marks to be displayed displays a calibration image with calibration instructions displayed thereon.

20. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said computer-implementable structure causes the map to be stored.

21. Apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said computer-implementable structure further causes the stored map to be used to, in response to a further touch of the large screen touch-detecting display, cause a computer image to be displayed at a position on the large screen touch-detecting display that is substantially adjacent the further touch.

23. Computer readable code according to claim 21, wherein the code to cause the Windows computer to generate at least four calibration marks cause the Windows computer to generate the four calibration marks sequentially.

24. Computer readable code according to claim 21, wherein the code to cause the Windows computer, responsive to another touch, causes the computer to pass the calculated corrected horizontal and vertical coordinates for said another touch to an application program running on the Windows computer.

25. Computer readable code according to claim 21, wherein the code to cause the Windows computer to generate at least four calibration marks, causes the Windows computer to generate a calibration image with calibration instructions thereon.

22. Computer readable code for calibrating a computer-generated projected image with a large screen touch-detecting display in a manner that corrects for keystoning caused by the non-orthogonal alignment between the projected image and the surface of the large screen touch-detecting display, comprising:

code to cause a Windows computer to generate at least four calibration marks, respectively, substantially proximate four corners of a projected image to be displayed on the large screen touch-detecting display;

code to cause the Windows computer, responsive to a touch on the large screen touch-detecting display where each of the four calibration marks is displayed, to identify horizontal and vertical coordinates of each touched location;

code to cause the Windows computer to calibrate the projected image to the large screen touch-detecting display after the four calibration marks have been touched; and

code to cause the Windows computer, responsive to another touch on the large screen touch-detecting display after calibration, to calculate corrected horizontal and vertical coordinates for said another touch so that a computer image is displayed on the large screen touch-detecting display substantially at the location of the another touch on the large screen touch-detecting display.

26. A method of calibrating a computer-generated image non-orthogonally projected onto a large screen touch-detecting display surface, comprising the steps of:

non-orthogonally projecting a calibration image onto the large screen touch-detecting display surface, the calibration image including four calibration images displayed proximate four corners of the calibration image, the calibration image including calibration instructions;

in response to the sequential touching of the four calibration marks on the large screen touch-detecting display surface, calculating horizontal and vertical coordinates of the four touched locations;

using the calculated horizontal and vertical coordinates of the four touched locations, calibrate the non-orthogonally projected calibration image to the large screen touch-detecting display surface; and

in response to another touch of the non-orthogonally projecting a calibration image, and using the calibration, display on the large screen touch-detecting display surface a computer icon at a location substantially adjacent the another touch.