Low power LED visual messaging device, system and method

• US 20070115273A1
• Filed: 11/14/2006
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inova Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Inova Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Moulis, Laurence, Massie, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 7,982,698 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/204
• 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: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0666 for control of colour parameters, e.g. colour temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/021 Power management, e.g. power saving
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0435 Change or adaptation of the frame rate of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/06 Colour space transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/126 The frame memory having additional data ports, not inclusive of standard details of the output serial port of a VRAM
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/06 Remotely controlled electronic signs other than labels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/14 Semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/393 Arrangements for updating the contents of the bit-mapped memory

Abstract

A visual messaging system and device can employ high efficiency LEDs and current driven versus voltage driven circuits to reduce power consumption and enable the device to be powered from IEEE 802.3 af (Power over Ethernet (PoE)) standard based power sources. The device can be powered from a local area network (LAN) connection using PoE, and does not require a separate AC power supply. The present invention also uses a 1× yellow algorithm to create the yellow color with one half the instantaneous current of previous circuits. The device can incorporate multiple message inputs for receiving and displaying messages having different priorities, allowing higher priority messages to override lower priority messages.

Claims

1. A visual messaging device, comprising:

a display board;

a memory;

a network interface for interfacing the device with a remote device via a network;

means for providing network connectivity and power to the device via a single conduit;

means for receiving data from the remote device for display on the display board;

means for storing the received data necessary to generate an image;

means for constructing display frames for the image to be generated at a frame rate; and

means for retrieving and writing the display frames to the messaging device at a refresh rate, the refresh rate being different from the frame rate.

2. The device of claim 1, further including means for displaying the data to appear yellow visually without simultaneously displaying the image data in red and green.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the means for providing connectivity and power to the device includes a driver providing current driven power.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the means for providing connectivity and power to the device comprises a switching power supply connected to the display board and operating as an efficient 5V to 2.5V DC to DC converter.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the means for storing the received data includes a dual port memory having a read buffer and a write buffer, and wherein the means for retrieving and writing the display frames includes programming for swapping the read and write buffers at the frame rate.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the programming for swapping the read and write buffers is executed by a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the refresh rate is at least five times faster than the frame rate.

8. A visual messaging system, comprising:

a remote computer;

a visual messaging device in communication with the remote computer via a network interface, with the network interface permitting network communication and power provision to the visual messaging device;

programming for transmitting data necessary to generate an image from the remote computer to the visual messaging device;

programming for storing and retrieving the necessary data within the visual messaging device;

programming for determining whether a yellow pixel is to be written; and

programming for writing a red pixel and a green pixel in sequence and repeatedly at a refresh rate which gives the visual impression that the pixel is illuminated yellow.

9. A method of operating a visual messaging device, comprising the steps of:

providing a display board with high efficiency aluminum-indium-gallium-phosphide light emitting diodes (AlInGaP LEDs);

providing a memory;

providing a network interface for interfacing the device with a remote device via a network; and

providing network connectivity and power to the device via a single conduit.

10. The method of claim 9 including the further steps of:

receiving data necessary to generate an image from the remote device for display on the messaging device;

storing the received data;

constructing display frames based on the received data at a frame rate; and

retrieving and writing the display frames to the messaging device at a refresh rate, the refresh rate being different from the frame rate.

11. The method of claim 9 including the step of displaying the data to appear yellow visually without simultaneously displaying the image data in red and green.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein providing connectivity and power to the device includes providing a driver yielding current driven power.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein providing connectivity and power to the device includes providing the display device with an on board switching power supply operating as an efficient 5V to 2.5V DC to DC converter.

14. A method of displaying messages on a visual messaging device, comprising the steps of:

providing a remote computer;

providing a visual messaging device in communication with the remote computer via a network interface, with the network interface permitting network communication and power provision to the visual messaging device;

transmitting data necessary for generating an image from the remote computer to the visual messaging device;

storing and retrieving the data within the visual messaging device;

determining whether a yellow pixel is to be written; and

upon determining that a yellow pixel is to be written, writing a red pixel and a green pixel in sequence and repeatedly at a refresh rate which gives the visual impression that the pixel is illuminated yellow.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the steps of transmitting, storing and retrieving, determining and writing are performed by a Mini-PCI card.

16. A visual display system, comprising:

a remote computer;

a visual display device in communication with the remote computer via a network interface, with the network interface permitting network communication and power provision to the visual display device, the display board further including a plurality of high efficiency aluminum-indium-gallium-phosphide light emitting diodes (AlInGaP LEDs);

a current driven power source providing power to the device; and

programming for displaying data representative of an image received from the remote computer on the display device, including displaying the data so that it appears yellow without simultaneously displaying the data in red and green.