Wireless monitor proxy

• US 8,325,107 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2006
• Issued: 12/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Christison, Gregory L., Doherty, Brian R., Schrum, Sidney B. Jr., Sarallo, John C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sim, Yong H
• Application Number:
  US11/351,747
• Publication Number:
  US 20070188481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,489 Days
• Field of Search: 345/2.3, 345/204, 345/520, 348/730
• US Class Current: 345/2.3
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/042 for monitor identification
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• 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

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for optimizing the transmission of video configuration data in a system comprising a host computer and a display monitor. The invention comprises a wireless video source adapter connected to the host computer and a wireless video sink adapter connected to the monitor. Upon system startup, the video sink adapter acquires EDID information from the monitor and transmits it to the video source adapter, which does not activate its connection and indicate its presence to the host computer until after receiving the EDID information. The video source adapter then supplies the EDID information to the host computer in response to EDID requests from the computer. In this manner, the video source adapter acts as a virtual proxy for the display monitor from the point of the view of the host computer. The host computer then uses the EDID information to configure its video signal to match the parameters of the display monitor.

Claims

1. A method for initiating and optimizing the transmission of wireless video configuration data in a system comprising a display monitor connected to a first wireless adapter and a host computer connected by a wired connection to a second wireless adapter external to the host computer, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) the second wireless adapter in response to initiation of a power up process pretending to be unplugged from the host computer;

(b) the first wireless adapter in response to said initiation of said power up process detecting the display monitor and initiating a request from the first wireless adapter to the display monitor for EDID information as part of said startup process;

(c) sending said EDID information from the display monitor to the first wireless adapter in response to said EDID request initiated by the first wireless adapter;

(d) transmitting said EDID information over a wireless link from the first wireless adapter to the second wireless adapter;

(e) the second wireless adapter ceasing to pretend to be unplugged from the host computer, initializing a connection controller of the second wireless adapter and activating a connection between the second wireless adapter and the host computer after said EDID information is received by the second wireless adapter, wherein data is not transmitted from the second wireless adapter over any wired interface until after the connection is activated; and

(f) sending said EDID information from the second wireless adapter to the host computer after said initializing and said activating in response to an EDID request from the host computer, wherein the second wireless adapter acts as a proxy for the display monitor from the point of view of the host computer,

(g) wherein the second wireless adapter initiates the overall process of routing said EDID information from the display monitor through said second and first wireless adapters to the host computer as part of said start up process.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless adapter is configured as a master of the display monitor.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the host computer is configured as a master of the second wireless adapter.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second wireless adapter stores the EDID information in a driver controlling the connection between the second wireless adapter and the host computer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said connection controller comprises an I²C controller, and wherein said wired connection comprises a wired I²C connection.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said initializing comprises initializing said I²C controller in slave mode.

7. An apparatus for initiating and optimizing the transmission of wireless video configuration data in a system comprising a host computer and a display monitor, the apparatus comprising:

a first wireless adapter connected to the display monitor, wherein the first wireless adapter detects the display monitor upon power up, and wherein the display monitor sends EDID information to the first wireless adapter in response to an EDID request initiated by the first wireless adapter as part of said power up process; and

a second wireless adapter external to and connected to the host computer by a wired connection, the second wireless adapter comprising a connection controller, wherein the second wireless adapter pretends to be unplugged from the host computer in response to the initiation of said power up process and upon receiving said EDID information from the first wireless adapter via wireless transmission, the second wireless adapter ceases to pretend to be unplugged from the host computer, initializes said connection controller and activates a connection with the host computer after receiving said EDID information, wherein data is not transmitted from the second wireless adapter over any wired interface until after the connection is activated, and wherein the second wireless adapter sends said EDID information to the host computer after said initialization and said activation in response to an EDID request from the host computer, wherein the second wireless adapter acts as a proxy for the display monitor from the point of view of the host computer, wherein the second wireless adapter is configured to initiate the overall process of routing said EDID information from the display monitor through said second and first wireless adapters to the host computer as part of said start up process.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first wireless adapter is configured as a master of the display monitor.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the host computer is configured as a master of the second wireless adapter.

10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second wireless adapter stores the EDID information in a driver controlling the connection between the second wireless adapter and the host computer.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said connection controller comprises an I²C controller, wherein said wired connection comprises a wired I²C connection, and wherein the second wireless adapter initializes said I²C controller in slave mode.