Smart dual display system

• US 8,976,079 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2012
• Issued: 03/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Besnard, Nicolas, Bouchet, Arnaud
• Primary Examiner(s): XAVIER, ANTONIO J
• Application Number:
  US13/566,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20130033503A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/1.3
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/08 Fault-tolerant or redundant circuits, or circuits in which repair of defects is prepared
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/04 Display device controller operating with a plurality of display units
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/06 Use of more than one graphics processor to process data before displaying to one or more screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/12 Avionics applications
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/397 Arrangements specially adapted for transferring the contents of two or more bit-mapped memories to the screen simultaneously, e.g. for mixing or overlay G09G5/02 takes precedence

Abstract

A secure display system for a movable object, such as an aircraft, includes: a screen comprising at least two independent matrices formed of pixels, each of the matrices being controlled by an independent graphic channel; a light box comprising at least two independent subassemblies, each backlighting each half-screen; two bypass functions, a bypass function being associated with a graphic channel, a bypass function being linked to an input of one of the matrices; a central module having a function of mixing the data originating from the two independent graphic channels, and a function of separating said data, said separation module being connected to said bypass functions; each graphic channel comprising image-generation means; and two power supply means. The display system may be used in an aeroplane.

Claims

1. A secure display system, comprising:

a display screen comprising at least two independent matrices formed of pixels, each of the matrices being controlled by an independent graphic channel, said matrices having independent inputs,

a light box comprising at least two independent subassemblies, each subassembly backlighting a half-screen of the display screen,

two bypass switches, each bypass switch connected on a one-to-one basis with one of the two graphic channels and controlled by the connected graphic channel, each bypass switch selectively connecting the input of each of the matrices to a signal output the graphic channel that controls the bypass switch or to the output of a central assembly,

wherein the central assembly mixes images originating from the two independent graphic channels into a full screen image, separates the full screen image into half-screen portions, and outputs one of the separated half-screen portions to each of the bypass switches,

wherein each graphic channel generates an image and outputs the image to a bypass switch and the central assembly, and

a first power supply unit and a second power supply unit.

2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a synchronization unit controlling synchronization between the two graphic channels.

3. The system according to claim 2, further comprising a monitoring unit connected to the graphic channels.

4. The system according to claim 2, further comprising a third power supply unit powering the central assembly.

5. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a monitoring unit connected to the graphic channels.

6. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a third power supply unit powering the central assembly.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said screen is a liquid crystal screen consisting of two independent matrices of pixels.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein each graphic channel generates data allowing the independent display of two half-images on the two half-portions forming the screen.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein a single graphic channel generates data allowing the display of a full-screen image on the two half-portions forming the screen.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the graphic channels generates data allowing a display on one or more windows distributed over the screen.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the graphic channels generates data allowing a display surface corresponding to the totality of the screen.

12. The system according to claim 1, comprising one, two, or three LCD screens.