Display capable of displaying images in response to signals of a plurality of signal formats

• US 7,812,832 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2006
• Issued: 10/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.
• Inventors: Mendelson, Jonathan D., Medina, Oscar I., Poniatowski, Susan R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Henry N
• Application Number:
  US11/602,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20070152989A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,421 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.3, 345/3.1, 345/204, 345/699, 345/502, 345/520, 345/522, 345/556, 348555-558, 700/6, 700/28, 700/75, 700/76, 700/83, 709/227, 709/230, 709/240, 709/250, 710/7, 710/129, 710/130
• US Class Current: 345/204
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/02 Graphics controller able to handle multiple formats, e.g. input or output formats
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/042 for monitor identification
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/047 using display data channel standard [DDC] communication
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/005 Adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04

Abstract

A display is capable of displaying images in response to signals of a plurality of signal formats. The display includes a controller that is coupled to a plurality of image data interfaces. When the plurality of image data interfaces are simultaneously operating, the controller selects one of the plurality of image data interfaces according to preference variables associated with each of the plurality of image data interfaces. Each of the preference variables may indicate a relative priority of an image data signal format associated with the corresponding image data interface. In addition, each of the preference variables may indicate one or more performance metrics associated with the quality of image data signals received from the corresponding image data interface.

Claims

1. A method for operating at least one of a display and/or a display adaptor, comprising:

identifying an image data signal format associated with a first image data interface;

identifying an image data signal format associated with a second image data interface, wherein a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface has an arrangement which is incompatible with a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface;

receiving a preferred data structure from the display and/or the display adaptor, the preferred data structure comprising information regarding capabilities of the display and/or the display adaptor and selected, from a format descriptor comprising the preferred data structure, in accordance with a priority scheme based on a priority designator associated with the format descriptor;

performing a selection of one of the first image data interface and the second image data interface based on the preferred data structure; and

converting, at the at least one of the display and/or the display adaptor, at least one of the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface and/or the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface.

2. A system comprising:

a first image data interface;

a second image data interface; and

a controller of at least one of a display and/or a display adaptor, the controller configured to;

identify an image data signal format associated with the first image data interface,

identify an image data signal format associated with the second image data interface,

receive a preferred data structure from the display and/or the display adaptor, the preferred data structure comprising information regarding capabilities of the display and/or the display adaptor and selected, from a format descriptor comprising the preferred data structure, in accordance with a priority scheme based on a priority designator associated with the format descriptor,

perform a selection of one of the first image data interface and the second image data interface based on the preferred data structure, and

convert at least one of the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface and/or the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface, wherein a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface has an arrangement which is incompatible with a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface.

3. A method for operating at least one of a display and/or a display adaptor, comprising:

identifying an image data signal format associated with a first image data interface;

identifying an image data signal format associated with a second image data interface, wherein the first image data interface and the second image data interface operate simultaneously and wherein a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface has an arrangement which is incompatible with a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface;

receiving a preferred data structure from the display and/or the display adaptor, the preferred data structure comprising information regarding capabilities of the display and/or the display adaptor and selected, from a format descriptor comprising the preferred data structure, in accordance with a priority scheme based on a priority designator associated with the format descriptor; and

converting, at the at least one of the display and/or the display adaptor, at least one of the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface and the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface into a preferred image data signal format specified by the preferred data structure.

4. A system comprising:

a first image data interface;

a second image data interface; and

a controller of at least one of a display and/or a display adaptor, the controller configured to;

identify an image data signal format associated with the first image data interface,

to identify an image data signal format associated with the second image data interface,

receive a preferred data structure from the display and/or the display adaptor, the preferred data structure comprising information regarding capabilities of the display and/or the display adaptor and selected, from a format descriptor comprising the preferred data structure, in accordance with a priority scheme based on a priority designator associated with the format descriptor, and

convert at least one of the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface and/or the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface into a preferred image data signal format specified by the preferred data structure, wherein the first image data interface and the second image data interface are configured to operate simultaneously and wherein a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the first image data interface has an arrangement which is incompatible with a data structure for the image data signal format associated with the second image data interface.

5. A method comprising:

receiving an image data format from at least one of a display and/or a display adaptor, the image data format specified by a data structure comprising information regarding capabilities of the display and/or the display adaptor, the data structure obtained from a format descriptor;

determining if the image data format is supported;

sending image data to the at least one of the display and/or the display adaptor if the image data format is supported; and

requesting a different image data format from the at least one of the display and/or the display adaptor if the image data format is other than supported;

wherein the at least one of the display and/or the display adaptor is configured to provide the image data format and the different image data format according to a priority scheme based on a priority designator associated with the format descriptor.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

sending a request for the image data format to the at least one of the display and/or the display adaptor.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a data structure describing an image data format from a controller, the image data format from the controller having been selected by the controller from a format descriptor comprising the data structure according to a priority scheme based on a priority designator associated with the format descriptor; and

providing one of a first image data format and a second image data format that corresponds to the data structure.

8. The method of claim 7, the image data format from the controller having been further selected by the controller according to which of the first image data format and the second image data format has previously been provided according to the priority scheme.