System and method for automatic aggregation of multiple physical display devices into a single logical display surface

• US 9,058,763 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2013
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Herrod, Allan Perry, Burgess, William T
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIMNHUNG T
• Application Number:
  US13/932,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20150002371A1
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• Field of Search: 345 11- 13, 345173-179, 178 1801- 1804
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2356/00 Detection of the display position w.r.t. other display screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/12 Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players

Abstract

A system and method automatically determines aligned edges of display devices for an aggregate display. The system includes a first mobile unit (MU) and a second MU. The first and second MUs include respective emitters, sensors, transceivers, and display devices. The emitters of the MUs are activated to transmit edge patterns based upon an inter-device communication such that when one of the sensors of the first MU receives the edge pattern from the second MU and vice versa, the MUs have an aligned edge. Select emitters of the MUs are activated to transmit a further edge pattern based upon a further inter-device communication such that when a corresponding sensor of the first MU receives the further edge pattern from the second MU and vice versa, the aligned edges are verified to be aligned.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a plurality of devices positioned within a predetermined area, each device having a plurality of edges, at least one device of the plurality of devices further comprising;

a transceiver operated to establish an inter-device communication with at least one other device of the plurality of devices to determine a first edge pattern and a second edge pattern;

an emitter disposed along at least one edge of the plurality of edges, the emitter operated to transmit the first edge pattern to the at least one other device;

a sensor disposed along the at least one edge of the plurality of edges, the sensor operated to receive the second edge pattern from the at least one other device; and

a display device,

wherein when the first edge pattern is received by a further sensor disposed along at least one other edge of the at least one other device and the second edge pattern is received by the sensor of the at least one device, and further when the at least one edge along which the sensor of the at least one device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are verified to be aligned, the display device of the at least one device and a further display device of the at least one other device are operated to form an aggregated display.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of devices is a controlling device that determines a respective portion of an image to be shown on the display device and the further display device in the aggregated display.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a server that determines a respective portion of an image to be shown on the display device and the further display device in the aggregated display.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the determined first and second edge patterns are transmitted from the at least one device to the at least one other device during the inter-device communication.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is further operated to establish the inter-device communication to determine a third edge pattern and a fourth edge pattern, and further wherein the at least one edge along which the sensor of the at least one device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are verified to be aligned when the third edge pattern is received by the further sensor disposed along the at least one other edge of the at least one other device and the fourth edge pattern is received by the sensor of the at least one device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one device is operated to verify whether the at least one edge along which the sensor of the at least one device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are sufficiently aligned as a function of a set of predetermined criteria including at least one of discontinuity data, tolerance value data, alignment tolerance value data, and shape analysis data.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the aggregated display shows an alignment image when the at least one edge along which the sensor of the at least one device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are sufficiently aligned.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the aggregated display shows a misalignment image when the at least one edge along which the sensor of the at least one device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are not sufficiently aligned.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the display device and the further display device shows a feedback indicating that the display device and the further display device are not properly aligned when the at least one edge along which the sensor of the at least one device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are not sufficiently aligned.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the emitter is one of electromagnet, optical emitter, audio emitter, electrical contact, and a combination thereof, wherein the sensor is a corresponding one of hall effect sensor, optical sensor, audio sensor, electrical connector, and a combination thereof.

11. A method for automating aggregation of multiple display devices, the method comprising:

establishing an inter-device communication between a device and at least one other device to determine a first edge pattern and a second edge pattern;

activating an emitter disposed along at least one edge of a plurality of the edges of the device to transmit the first edge pattern to the at least one other device;

activating a sensor disposed along the at least one edge of the plurality of the edges of the device to receive the second edge pattern from the at least one other device;

when the first edge pattern is received by a further sensor disposed along at least one other edge of a plurality of edges of the at least one other device and the second edge pattern is received by the sensor of the device, verifying whether the at least one edge along which the sensor of the device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are aligned; and

operating a display device in the device and a further display device in the at least one other device to form an aggregated display when the at least one edge along which the sensor of the device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are verified to be aligned.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising

determining a controlling device from one of the device and the at least one other device, the controlling device further determining a respective portion of an image to be shown on the display device and the further display device in the aggregated display.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a respective portion of an image to be shown on the display device in the device and the further display device in the at least one other device in the aggregated display using a server.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting the determined first and second edge patterns from the device to the at least one other device during the inter-device communication between the device and the at least one other device.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein verifying further comprises:

establishing the inter-device communication between the device and the at least one other device to determine a third edge pattern and a fourth edge pattern;

activating the emitter of the device to transmit the third edge pattern to the at least one other device;

activating the sensor of the device to receive the fourth edge pattern from the at least one other device; and

when the third edge pattern is received by the further sensor disposed along the at least one other edge of the at least one other device and the fourth edge pattern is received by the sensor of the device, verifying that the at least one edge along which the sensor of the device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are aligned.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising verifying whether the at least one edge along which the sensor of the device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are sufficiently aligned as a function of a set of predetermined criteria including at least one of discontinuity data, tolerance value data, alignment tolerance value data, and shape analysis data.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising showing a feedback either on the display device or the further display device to indicate that the display device and the further display device are not properly aligned when the at least one edge along which the sensor of the device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one other device is disposed are not sufficiently aligned.

18. A device positioned within a predetermined area, comprising:

a housing having a plurality of edges;

a display device positioned within the housing to occupy at least a portion of a face of the housing;

a transceiver operated to establish an inter-device communication with at least one of a plurality of other devices positioned within the predetermined area;

an emitter and a sensor disposed along at least one edge of the plurality of edges; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver, emitter, sensor, and the display device, the processor operated to

determine a first edge pattern and a second edge pattern when the inter-device communication is established with the at least one of the plurality of other devices,

activate the emitter to transmit the determined first edge pattern to the at least one of the plurality of other devices,

activate the sensor to receive the determined second edge pattern from the at least one of the plurality of other devices,

when the first edge pattern is received by a further sensor disposed along at least one other edge of a plurality of edges of a further housing in the at least one of the plurality of other devices and the second edge pattern is received by the sensor of the device, verifying whether the at least one edge along which the sensor of the device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one of the plurality of other devices is disposed are aligned, and

activate the display device of the device to form an aggregated display with a further display device positioned within the further housing of the at least one of the plurality of other devices when the at least one edge along which the sensor of the device is disposed and the at least one other edge along which the further sensor of the at least one of the plurality of other devices is disposed are verified to be aligned.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the processor is further operated to determine a respective portion of an image to be shown on the display device and the further display device in the aggregated display.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein a shape and size of the display device positioned within the housing of the device is different from a shape and size of the further display positioned within the further housing of the at least one of the plurality of other devices.