Low power LED visual messaging device, system and method

• US 7,982,698 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2006
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inova Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Inova Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Moulis, Laurence E. Jr., Massie, Richard W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia; Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US11/599,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20070115273A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,708 Days
• Field of Search: 345/87, 345/2, 345/204, 345/39, 345/173, 345/56, 345/82, 345/83, 362/492, 315/185.R, 174/50, 455/445, 713/189, 340/815.4, 340/838, 340/815.45, 340/286.02, 359/838, 359/865, 726/36
• US Class Current: 345/82
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0435 Change or adaptation of the frame rate of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/06 Colour space transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/126 The frame memory having additional data ports, not inclusive of standard details of the output serial port of a VRAM
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/06 Remotely controlled electronic signs other than labels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/14 Semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/393 Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory

Abstract

A visual messaging system and device can employ high efficiency LEDs and current driven versus voltage driven circuits to reduce power consumption and enable the device to be powered from IEEE 802.3af (Power over Ethernet (PoE)) standard based power sources. The device can be powered from a local area network (LAN) connection using PoE, and does not require a separate AC power supply. The present invention also uses a 1× yellow algorithm to create the yellow color with one half the instantaneous current of previous circuits. The device can incorporate multiple message inputs for receiving and displaying messages having different priorities, allowing higher priority messages to override lower priority messages.

Claims

1. A visual messaging system, comprising:

a remote computer;

a visual messaging device in communication with the remote computer via a network interface, with the network interface permitting network communication and power provision to the visual messaging device;

programming for transmitting data necessary to generate an image from the remote computer to the visual messaging device;

programming for storing and retrieving the necessary data within the visual messaging device;

programming for determining whether a yellow pixel is to be written; and

programming for writing a red pixel and a green pixel in sequence and repeatedly at a refresh rate which gives the visual impression that the pixel is illuminated yellow.

2. A method of displaying messages on a visual messaging device, comprising the steps of:

providing a remote computer;

providing a visual messaging device in communication with the remote computer Via a network interface, with the network interface permitting network communication and power provision to the visual messaging device;

transmitting data necessary for generating an image from the remote computer to the visual messaging device;

storing and retrieving the data within the visual messaging device;

determining whether a yellow pixel is to be written; and

upon determining that a yellow pixel is to be written, writing a red pixel and a green pixel in sequence and repeatedly at a refresh rate which gives the visual impression that the pixel is illuminated yellow.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the steps of transmitting, storing and retrieving, determining and writing are performed by a Mini-PCI card.