Mobile wireless display software platform for controlling other systems and devices

• US 8,909,296 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2009
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kopin Corporation
• Inventors: Parkinson, Christopher, Jacobsen, Jeffrey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bilodeau, David
• Application Number:
  US12/348,646
• Publication Number:
  US 20090251409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,164 Days
• Field of Search: 455/565, 455/566, 345/8
• US Class Current: 455/565
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• 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: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information

Abstract

A wireless headset can incorporate a wireless communication controller that not only provides a video link to a host device, but also provides for control and management of a host device and other more devices. In this context, a host device may be any appropriate device that sources audio, video, text, and other information, such as a cell phone, personal computer, laptop, media player, and/or the like.

Claims

1. A headset computing device controlled by a user comprising:

a user input device configured to receive speech data from the user and generate a control signal based on the speech data;

a display panel;

a support structure configured to support the display panel to the head of the user;

a wireless communications interface configured to maintain simultaneous communication paths with a plurality of external host devices controlled by the same user of the headset computing device, said plurality of external host devices comprising a first device and a second device, and said wireless communications interface further configured to transmit the control signal based on the speech data generated by the user input device to a selected one of the first device and the second device, the transmitted control signal configured to provide control of the selected one of the first device and the second device and an application running on the selected one of the first device and the second device, and receive visual content from the selected one of the first device and the second device, the visual content being a representation of visual content output of the application running on the selected one of the first device and the second device; and

a display driver stored in a memory and configured to generate a graphical interface to display the received visual content from the application running on the selected one of the first device and the second device on the display panel;

wherein the one of the first device and the second device compresses the visual content from the application into the representation of the visual content and the display driver of the headset computing device decompresses the representation to display the received visual content, such that the application is compressed and decompressed by computing devices controlled by the same user, the computing devices being the headset computing device and external host computing device.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the device driver is further configured to generate the graphical interface based on the received visual content conforming with Windows SideShow.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the memory stores a virtual network client application for viewing a user display provided by the selected one of the first device and the second device.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless communications interface is WiFi, WiMax, Cellular, Satellite or other wireless network physical layer with an appropriate proxy to implement a packet switching gateway.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the display driver is configured to generate a graphical interface for each different type of the plurality of external host computing devices with which the wireless communications interface may communicate to transform the visual content received from each external host computing device to a generic format to display the visual content in an expected format regardless of which type of external host computing device provides the visual content.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the display driver is configured to receive a markup language specification of the received visual content representing the application running at the selected one of the first device and the second device, the display driver further configured to generate the graphical interface by rendering the markup language specification of the application running at the first devices as the graphical interface on the display panel.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the display driver is further configured to provide a graphical interface to the plurality of external host computing devices.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the display driver is further configured to provide graphical interfaces to and control of external host computing devices for a user of each respective external host computing device of said plurality of external host computing devices.

9. A method of receiving visual content in a headset computing device controlled by a user comprising:

generating a control signal in the headset computing device based on a speech input by the user;

providing a wireless communications interface configured to maintain simultaneous communication between the headset computing device and different ones of a plurality of external host computing devices controlled by the same user of the headset computing device;

transmitting the control signal generated from the input device of the headset computing device over the wireless communications interface to a selected device of said plurality of external host computing device, the transmitted control signal configured to provide control of the selected device and an application running on the selected device;

controlling the application running on the selected device by the control signal generated by the user input device;

receiving visual content at the headset computing device from the selected device, over the wireless communications interface, the visual content being a representation of output of visual content output of the application running on the selected device;

generating a graphical interface of the received visual content from the application running on the selected device; and

displaying the visual content on a display panel in the headset computing device;

wherein the selected device compresses the output of visual content output of the application into the representation of the visual content and the display driver of the headset computing device decompresses the representation to display the received visual content, such that the application is compressed and decompressed by computing devices controlled by the same user, the computing devices being the headset computing device and external host computing device.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising supporting Windows SideShow over the wireless communications interface.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the graphical user interface is a user display provided by the selected device via a virtual network client application.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the wireless communications interface is WiFi, WiMax, Cellular, Satellite or other wireless network physical layer with an appropriate proxy to implement a packet switching gateway.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

transforming the visual content received from the selected external host computing device with which the wireless communications interface may receive visual content to a graphical interface of the visual content in a generic display format; and

utilizing the same generic display format to display the visual content in an expected format regardless of which type of external host computing device provides the visual content.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising receiving a markup language specification of the received visual content representing the application running at any one of the plurality of external host computing devices, the device driver further configured to enable generating of the graphical interface by rendering the markup language specification of the application running at one of the plurality of external host computing devices as the graphical interface on the display panel.

15. The method of claim 9 further comprising providing a graphical interface to multiple external host computing devices.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising providing graphical interfaces to and control of external host computing devices.

17. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving by a wireless computing device over a wireless communications interface different visual content from different external host computing devices of a plurality of external host computing devices for a given visual content, the visual content being a representation of visual content output of an application running on the respective external host computing device; and

means for generating a graphical interface of the received visual content from the application running on the respective external host computing device;

means for displaying the graphical interface on a display panel supported on a support structure configured to support the display device to the head of a user;

means for controlling the application running on the respective external host computing devices via the wireless communications interface according to a control signal generated by a user input device, the user input device generating the control signal based on received speech data from the user; and

means for simultaneously maintaining a communication path with different ones of the plurality of external host devices, and transmitting the control signal based on the speech data generated by the user input device to the respective external host computing device via the wireless communications interface, the transmitted control signal configured to provide control of the respective external host computing device and the application running on the respective external host computing device;

wherein the respective external host computing device compresses the visual content output of the application into the representation of the visual content and the display driver of a headset computing device decompresses the representation to display the received visual content, such that the application is compressed and decompressed by computing devices controlled by the same user, the computing devices being the headset computing device and the plurality of external host computing devices.

18. A system comprising:

a wireless video headset device configured to maintain simultaneous communication with a plurality of external host computing devices controlled by the same user of the wireless video headset device;

wherein the wireless video headset device generates a control signal based on a speech input by the user and transmits the control signal to a selected device of said plurality of external host computing devices, the control signal configured to provide control of the selected device and an application running on the selected device, the selected device transmitting visual content of the application running on selected device in response to the control signal from the video headset device and a display driver of the wireless video headset device configured to generate a graphical interface to display the visual content in the wireless video headset device, the visual content being a representation of visual content output of the application running on the selected device;

wherein the selected device compresses the visual content output of the application into the representation of the visual content and the display driver of the wireless video headset device decompresses the representation to display the received visual content, such that the application is compressed and decompressed by computing devices controlled by the same user, the computing devices being the headset computing device and external host computing devices.