Cooperative multi-display

• US 8,508,471 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2009
• Issued: 08/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: University-Industry Cooperation Group of KyungHee University
• Original Assignee: University-Industry Cooperation Group of KyungHee University
• Inventors: Suh, Doug Young
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, VIET DAVID
• Application Number:
  US12/540,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20110037742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,461 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-173, 345/1.1, 345/211
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1431 using a single graphics controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/00 General purpose image data processing
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 21/023 fixed on clothing
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/301 flexible foldable or roll-able electronic displays, e.g. thin LCD, OLED

Abstract

Cooperative multi-display systems and techniques are provided. In one embodiment, a cooperative multi-display system includes multiple flexible displays, a controller that processes an original image into sub-images, each of the sub-images being at a location in the original image that corresponds to a location of each of the multiple flexible displays, and a driver that drives the multiple flexible displays and forwards the processed sub-images from the controller to the multiple flexible displays, respectively.

Claims

1. A cooperative multi-display system comprising:

a plurality of flexible displays;

a memory that stores an image table including original images, each of a subset of the original images being mapped to a state value that represents at least a state of the physical environment around the system;

a controller associated with the memory that selects an original image from the memory mapped to a determined state value from the image table and that processes the original image into sub-images;

a driver that drives the plurality of flexible displays and forwards the processed sub-images from the controller to the plurality of flexible displays, respectively; and

a first sensor that detects deformations in one or more of the plurality of flexible displays and sends deformation information that describes the deformations to the controller, wherein the controller compensates the sub-images for the deformations detected in the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays using the deformation information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sub-images have shapes corresponding to shapes of the plurality of flexible displays, respectively.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein a change in the shape of each of the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays causes the deformations.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of a second subset of the original images is mapped to a state value that represents at least a power level associated with the system.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the physical environment comprises at least one of temperature, pulse, blood pressure, or weather.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second sensor that determines the state value that represents the state of the physical environment around the system and sends the state value to the controller.

7. The system of claim 4, further comprising a power supply that supplies power to the controller and the driver and includes a power level associated with the system, wherein the power is generated by movement of the system or by a rechargeable battery.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller detects the power level and selects the original image mapped to the detected power level from the image table.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication unit that communicates particular information between the cooperative multi-display system and a remote cooperative multi-display system, the communication unit being associated with the controller, a second subset of the original images being mapped to the particular information,

wherein, when the controller receives predetermined information from the remote cooperative multi-display system that matches the particular information, the controller

selects the original image corresponding to the particular information from the image table of the memory to process the original image into the sub-images and

sends the selected original image to the remote cooperative multi-display system.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a speaker that provides audible output associated with each of the sub-images.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a camera that captures surrounding scenery image and sends the captured surrounding scenery image to the controller, wherein the original image is the captured surrounding scenery image and the controller processes the captured surrounding scenery image into the sub-images.

19. The system of claim 4, wherein at least one of the original images in the subset of the original images is in the second subset of the original images.

20. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the original images in the subset of the original images is in the second subset of the original images.

12. A method for displaying images in a cooperative multi-display system, the method comprising:

receiving a request to display an original image on a plurality of flexible displays;

processing the original image into sub-images, each sub image corresponding to one of the plurality of flexible displays;

detecting deformations in one or more of the plurality of flexible displays;

generating deformation information that describes the deformations in the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays detected to have deformations;

compensating the sub-images corresponding to the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays detected to have deformations based on the deformation information;

sending to each of the one or more of the flexible displays detected to have deformations one of the compensated sub-images corresponding to the flexible displays detected to have deformations;

sending to each of the flexible displays that do not have deformations one of the sub-images corresponding to the flexible displays that do not have deformations;

receiving a state value that represents a state of the physical environment around the system;

processing a replacement image mapped to the received state value into replacement sub-images; and

sending each of the processed replacement sub-images to one of the plurality of flexible displays.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein processing the original image comprises processing each of the sub-images into a shape corresponding to a first shape of one of the plurality of flexible displays that corresponds to the respective sub-image, wherein the original image is processed into the sub-images based on a location of each of the plurality of flexible displays in a given space, each of the sub-images being at a location in the original image that corresponds to the location of each of the plurality of flexible displays.

14. The method of claim 13,

wherein the deformations in each of the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays is caused by a change in the first shape of each of the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays detected to have deformations.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising, posterior to sending the compensated sub-images:

detecting the level of power being supplied to the system;

processing a replacement image mapped to the detected power level into replacement sub-images; and

sending each of the processed replacement sub-images to one of the plurality of flexible displays.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the original image is a surrounding scenery image captured by a camera.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising, posterior to sending the compensated sub-images:

receiving predetermined information matched with particular information stored in the system from a remote cooperative multi-display system;

processing a replacement image mapped to the particular information into replacement sub-images;

sending each of the processed replacement sub-images to one of the plurality of flexible displays; and

sending the replacement image to the remote cooperative multi-display system.

18. A method for displaying images in a cooperative multi-display system, the method comprising:

selecting an original image stored in a memory for display on a plurality of flexible displays;

processing the original image to generate a plurality of sub-images for display on the plurality of flexible displays, wherein each of the plurality of flexible displays one of the plurality of sub-images;

detecting deformations in one or more of the plurality of flexible displays;

compensating one or more of the plurality of sub-images that are displayed by the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays detected to have deformations for the deformations detected in the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays;

displaying the compensated one or more of the plurality of sub-images distortion-free on the one or more of the plurality of flexible displays with detected deformations;

receiving a state value that represents a state of the physical environment around the system;

processing a replacement image mapped to the received state value into replacement sub-images; and

sending each of the processed replacement sub-images to one of the plurality of flexible displays.