Apparatus for retrieval and processing of selected archived images for display at workstation terminals
First Claim
1. An image display system for operation in conjunction with computer means and a remote source of images which are selectively displayed, the system comprising:
- a plurality of display means for displaying user selected images, each display means having a screen from which a user views the images;
processing means for receiving user selected images from the remote source and for driving a corresponding user selected display means to display the selected image;
an image data channel dedicated to transferring image data indicative of the selected images from the remote source to the processing means, the image data channel primarily carrying image data; and
a host channel coupled to the computer means for providing command and control signals to the processing means to enable the transferring of image data from the remote source on the image data channel to the processing means, such that image data is carried on the image data channel and is separated from command and control signals on the host channel.
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Abstract
An image processing and display system employs a high speed image local area network (LAN) for transferring image data separate from control data. A general purpose LAN carries graphics data and control data of the system. One more image display controller than display monitor is used to provide off line processing of images prior to display of the images. An analog cross bar switch provides the necessary connections between image display controllers and the display monitors to provide the desired views of selected images. Images are initially provided to the system from an image archive in a compressed manner. The images are decompressed and held in a local cache. With respect to each word of image data, different bytes of the word are compressed by different compression schemes to optimize transfer time of image data. A method is employed for transparently sharing a high perfomance image archive processor among various workstations of display monitors.
312 Citations
50 Claims
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1. An image display system for operation in conjunction with computer means and a remote source of images which are selectively displayed, the system comprising:
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a plurality of display means for displaying user selected images, each display means having a screen from which a user views the images; processing means for receiving user selected images from the remote source and for driving a corresponding user selected display means to display the selected image; an image data channel dedicated to transferring image data indicative of the selected images from the remote source to the processing means, the image data channel primarily carrying image data; and a host channel coupled to the computer means for providing command and control signals to the processing means to enable the transferring of image data from the remote source on the image data channel to the processing means, such that image data is carried on the image data channel and is separated from command and control signals on the host channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An image display system, comprising:
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a source of images having computer means; b. a plurality of independent workstations having access to and sharing the source of images, each workstation having; i) a multiplicity of display means for displaying user selected images from the source of images; and ii) processing means for receiving user selected images from the source and for driving a user selected display means within the workstation to display the selected images; and c. channel means for providing image data to the workstations from the source of images, and for coupling the source and workstations together to enable processing of image data by the processing means and computer means of the source of images in a manner free of transmission of image data from the workstations to the source, such that receiving and processing of images in each workstation appears to be independent and interference free of receiving and processing of images in the other workstations. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An image display system for displaying images selected from a remote source, the system comprising:
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at least one display means; processing means for driving the display means with user desired images selected from the remote source and stored in local memory of the processing means; an image data base for indicating original attributes including dimensions of each selected image retrieved from the remote source and subsequently stored in the local memory; means for partitioning each display means in a user desired manner, the partitioning means separating a display means into separate distinct portions for displaying selected images; and a display data base having a record for each partition of each display means, each record providing, for a corresponding partition of a display means, an indication of a user selected image to be displayed therein with respective user desired display attributes thereof, the processing means using the display data base to drive the display means such that the user desired images selected from the remote source are displayed in user desired partitions of the display means with the user desired attributes. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. An image display system for displaying images selected from a remote source of compressed images, the image display system comprising:
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an image channel for receiving from the source image data indicative of the images, the image data being in the form of a series of data words, each data word having a sequence of high order parts and a corresponding sequence of low order parts; and decompression means for decompressing image data received through the image channel, the decompression means decompressing high order parts and corresponding low order parts of a series of different data words with different methods. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. An image display system for displaying images stored in a remote source, comprising:
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a processor; a plurality of display means simultaneously driven by the processor to display user selected images from the remote source, one display means providing both an indication of images currently being displayed on the other display means and an indication of user selected images to be displayed on the other display means; and image control means for processing through the processor user selections of images to be displayed and user selections of display means on which each image is to be displayed. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
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43. In an image display system, having a plurality of display means for displaying user selected images, a method of displaying images selected from a remote source, comprising the steps of:
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providing processor means for receiving user selected images from the remote source and for driving a corresponding user selected display means to display the selected image; transferring image data indicative of the selected images from the remote source to the processing means on an image only carrying channel; and providing on a host channel command and control signals between a host processor and the processing means to enable the transferring of image data from the remote source on the image only carrying channel to the processor means. - View Dependent Claims (44)
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45. In a network of independent workstations, each workstation having a plurality of display means for displaying user selected images from a remote source shared by the workstations, a method of displaying images comprising the steps of:
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providing a host computer supporting each workstation; providing in each workstation processing means for receiving user selected images from the source and for driving user selected display means within the workstation to display the selected images; transferring image data indicative of the selected images from the remote source to the processing means on a unidirectional image-only carrying channel; for each workstation, transferring on a host channel between the host computer and the processing means of a workstation command and control signals to enable the transferring of image data from the remote source on the image-only carrying channel to the processing means, and processing the image data locally, with respect to the workstation, using the processing means, such that receiving and processing of images in each workstation appears to be independent and interference free of receiving and processing of images on the other workstations.
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46. In an image display system for displaying images selected from a remote source of compressed images, the image display system having a channel for receiving from the source image data indicative of the images in the form of a series of data words each data word having a sequence of high order parts and a corresponding sequence of low order parts, the method of decompressing image data comprising:
decompressing high order parts and corresponding low order parts of a series of different data words with different methods. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49)
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50. In an image display system for displaying images stored in a remote source, the method of displaying images comprising:
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providing a processor; providing a plurality of display means simultaneously driven by the processor to display user selected images from the remote source, one display means providing both an indication of images currently being displayed on the other display means and an indication of user selected images to be displayed on the other display means; and processing through the processor, while images are being displayed on the display means, user selected images to be later displayed in user selected partitions of the display means.
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Specification