Data and power distribution system and method for a large scale display

• US 8,922,458 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2007
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ADTI Media LLC
• Original Assignee: ADTI Media LLC
• Inventors: Sefton, Robert J., Black, Sheldon Lee, Kharrati, Hamid, Kline, Daniel S., Barghini, Anthony D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Boddie, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELNAFIA, SAIFELDIN E
• Application Number:
  US12/001,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20090147028A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,576 Days
• Field of Search: 345/76, 345/82, 345/33, 345 46- 49, 345/1.3, 345/1.1, 345/83
• US Class Current: 345/1.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/026 Video wall, i.e. juxtaposition of a plurality of screens to create a display screen of bigger dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0235 Field-sequential colour display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0242 Compensation of deficiencies in the appearance of colours
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/08 Fault-tolerant or redundant circuits, or circuits in which repair of defects is prepared
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/025 LAN communication management
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/32 semiconductive, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED]
• 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 system and method distributes data and power in a robust manner for a large scale LED display. Master modules of the display are capable of receiving a data stream on any one of four data ports. The master modules extract the data for its module and an associated group of slave modules from a data stream received on one port and send the received data stream to three other master modules via the other three data ports. Unregulated D.C. power is distributed from one or more power hubs to the master modules which in turn distribute regulated D.C. power to their associated slave modules.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

a plurality of pixel modules arranged in a plurality of segments, each of the plurality of segments including one pixel module of a first type and an associated group of pixel modules of a second type, the pixel module of the first type in a segment comprising;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in the housing; and

a controller within the module housing configured to receive a data stream from a pixel module of the first type in an adjacent segment, the controller being configured to extract from the received data stream certain data for controlling the LEDs of its pixel module and certain data for the pixel modules of the second type associated with the pixel module of the first type, and the controller being configured to send at least a portion of the received data stream to three other pixel modules of the first type in three other corresponding adjacent segments, the controller being configured to send the certain data for the pixel modules of the second type associated with the pixel module of the first type to the pixel modules of the second type associated with the pixel module.

2. The display of claim 1 wherein each pixel module of the second type in the associated group in the segment includes a module housing and a plurality of LEDs mounted in its housing and wherein the controller extracts from the received data stream the certain data for controlling the LEDs of each pixel module of the second type in the associated group.

3. The display of claim 2 wherein the pixel modules of the first type are master modules and the pixel modules of the second type are slave modules.

4. The display of claim 1 wherein the controller sends the entire data stream that is received to the three other pixel modules of the first type in the three other corresponding adjacent segments.

5. The display of claim 1 wherein the pixel module of the first type in the segment includes a circuit for controlling the intensities of the LEDs with pulse width modulation signals that are generated by the circuit in response to the certain data extracted by the controller.

6. A display, comprising:

a plurality of pixel modules arranged in a plurality of segments, the segments being disposed at least end-to-end, each of the plurality of segments including one pixel module of a first type and an associated group of pixel modules of a second type, the pixel module of the first type in a segment comprising;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in the housing;

four bidirectional data ports configured to allow the pixel module to have bidirectional communications with four other pixel modules of the first type in adjacent segments, each of the four other pixel modules having bidirectional communications via a respective data port; and

a controller within the module housing, the controller being configured to extract from a data stream received via one of the data ports certain data for controlling the LEDs of its pixel module and certain data for the pixel modules of the second type associated with the pixel module of the first type, and the controller being configured to send at least a portion of the received certain data out from its pixel module to at least three other pixel modules of the first type in three corresponding adjacent segments via three other data ports.

7. The display of claim 6 wherein each pixel module of the second type in the associated group in the segment includes a module housing and a plurality of LEDs mounted in its housing and wherein the controller extracts from the received data stream the certain data for controlling the LEDs of each pixel module of the second type in the associated group.

8. The display of claim 7 wherein the pixel modules of the first type are master modules and the pixel modules of the second type are slave modules, wherein at least one master module in a first segment is configured to directly communicate with a non-adjacent master module in a second segment adjacent to the first segment.

9. The display of claim 6 wherein the controller transmits via the one data port a status message derived from status information received on the other data ports relating to the status of a plurality of other pixel modules in the display and status information relating to the status of its own pixel module.

10. The display of claim 9 wherein the status information for a particular pixel module in the display indicates whether one or more of LEDs of the particular pixel module in the display is on or off.

11. The display of claim 9 wherein the status information for a particular pixel module in the display indicates whether one or more of LEDs of the particular pixel module in the display has failed.

12. The display of claim 6 wherein the controller sends the entire data stream that is received to the three other pixel modules of the first type in the three corresponding adjacent segments via the three other data ports.

13. The display of claim 6 wherein the pixel module of the first type in the segment includes a circuit for controlling the intensities of the LEDs with pulse width modulation signals that are generated by the circuit in response to the certain data extracted by the controller.

14. A display, comprising:

a plurality of pixel modules arranged in a plurality of segments, each of the plurality of segments including one master module and an associated group of slave modules, wherein the master module in a segment is coupled to at least one other master module in at least one corresponding adjacent segment, the master module in the segment comprising;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in the module housing;

a circuit configured to control the intensities of the LEDs in the module housing; and

a controller that is configured to receive a data stream and is configured to send at least a portion of the received data stream to three other master modules in three corresponding adjacent segments, wherein the controller is configured to extract from the received data stream certain data for the LEDs of the master module and certain data for the slave modules associated with the master module, wherein the controller is configured to send the certain data for the LEDs of the master module to the circuit configured to control the LEDs intensities, wherein the controller is configured to send the certain data for the associated slave modules to the associated slave modules, and wherein the controller is configured to send at least a portion of the received data stream to at least one other master module in at least one corresponding adjacent segment; and

each associated slave module in the segment comprising;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in its module housing; and

a circuit responsive to the certain data received from the master module in the segment configured to control the intensities of the LEDs in its module housing.

15. The display of claim 14 wherein the master module in the segment has four bidirectional data ports.

16. The display of claim 15 wherein the controller selects one of the bidirectional data ports to respond to the received data stream by extracting the certain data therefrom.

17. The display of claim 16 wherein the controller sends out the received data stream from a plurality of the bidirectional data ports other than the selected bidirectional data port.

18. The display of claim 14 wherein the master module includes at least two red LEDs, two green LEDs and two blue LEDs.

19. The display of claim 14 wherein each associated slave module in the segment includes at least two red LEDs, two green LEDs and two blue LEDs.

20. The display of claim 14 wherein each of the circuits for controlling the intensities of the LEDs in both the master module and the slave module in the segment includes a micro-controller generating pulse width modulation signals for different colors of the LEDs and the controller of the master module is a field programmable gate array.

21. The display of claim 14 wherein the master module in the segment includes at least one switching voltage regulator and each of the slave modules in the segment includes a linear voltage regulator.

22. The display of claim 14 wherein each pixel module in the segment, including both the master module and the slave module, includes a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of the pixel module in the segment and includes a micro-controller responsive to the module temperature for turning off one or more LEDs of the pixel module in the segment if the module temperature exceeds a predetermined value.

23. A display, comprising:

a plurality of pixel modules arranged in a plurality of segments, each of the plurality of segments including one master module and an associated group of slave modules, wherein the master module in a segment is coupled to at least one other master module in at least one corresponding adjacent segment, the master module in the segment comprising;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in the module housing;

a circuit configured to control the intensities of the LEDs in the module housing;

four bidirectional data ports to connect the master module to four other master modules in adjacent segments via a respective bidirectional data port;

a controller that is configured to receive a data stream, wherein the controller is configured to extract from the received data stream certain data for the LEDs of the master module and certain data for the slave modules associated with the master module, wherein the controller is configured to send the certain data for the LEDs of the master module to the circuit configured to control the LED intensities, wherein the controller is configured to send the certain data for the associated slave modules to the associated slave modules, and wherein the controller is configured to send at least a portion of the received data stream to at least one other master module in at least one corresponding adjacent segment; and

each associated slave module in the segment comprising;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in its module housing; and

a circuit responsive to the certain data received from the master module in the segment configured to control the intensities of the LEDs in its module housing.

24. The display of claim 23 wherein the controller sends at least a portion of the received data stream to three other master modules in three corresponding adjacent segments.

25. The display of claim 23 wherein the master module in the segment having the four bidirectional data ports is responsive to receipt of the data stream on one bidirectional data port to output the received data stream on three other bidirectional data ports.

26. The display of claim 25 wherein the master module in the segment having the four bidirectional data ports is responsive to status information received via one or more of the three other bidirectional data ports to output the status information on the one bidirectional data port.

27. A display system, comprising:

a plurality of pixel modules arranged in a plurality of segments, each of the plurality of segments including one master module and an associated group of slave modules, wherein the master module in a segment is coupled to at least one other master module in at least one corresponding adjacent segment, the master module in the segment comprising;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in the module housing;

a circuit configured to control the intensities of the LEDs in the module housing; and

a controller configured to receive a data stream including certain data for the LEDs of the master module and certain data for the associated group of slave modules in the segment, the controller being configured to send the certain data for the associated group of slave modules to the associated group of slave modules, the controller being configured to send at least a portion of the received data stream to three other master modules in three corresponding adjacent segments; and

at least one switching voltage regulator that receives an unregulated input D.C. voltage and steps down the unregulated input D.C. voltage to provide regulated voltages at a plurality of different voltage levels, a regulated voltage at a particular one of the voltage levels being coupled to the associated group of slave modules; and

each of the associated slave modules in the segment including;

a module housing;

a plurality of LEDs mounted in its module housing;

a circuit configured to control the intensities of the LEDs in its module housing; and

a linear voltage regulator configured to receive the regulated voltage at the particular one of the voltage levels from the master module, the linear voltage regulator being configured to provide power to one or more components of the slave module.

28. The display system of claim 27 including a power hub to provide the unregulated input D.C. voltage to the master module in the segment, wherein the master module converts the unregulated input D.C. voltage to the regulated voltage at the particular one of the voltage levels, and the regulated voltage at the particular one of the voltage levels is distributed to the associated group of slave modules in the segment.