Large-scale, touch-sensitive video display

• US 6,118,433 A
• Filed: 01/29/1993
• Issued: 09/12/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: John K. Tsotsos, Michael Jenkin
• Inventors: Jenkin, Michael, Tsotsos, John K.
• Primary Examiner(s): WU, XIAO MIN
• Application Number:
  US08/011,453
• Time in Patent Office: 2,783 Days
• Field of Search: 340/717, 340/716, 340/712, 340/711, 340/710, 340/706, 340/784, 340/771, 358/236, 358/241, 178/18, 178/19, 345/1, 345/2, 345/3, 345/104, 345/173, 345/174, 345/175, 345/176, 345/177, 345/178, 345/179, 345/180, 345/182
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1438 using more than one graphics controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/023 Display panel composed of stacked panels
• 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 2370/025 LAN communication management
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/24 Keyboard-Video-Mouse [KVM] switch

Abstract

A video surface is constructed by adjoining a large number of flat screen display devices together. Each screen on this surface is controlled by its own computer processor and these processors are networked together. Superimposed over this surface is a tiling of transparent touch-sensitive screens which allow for user input. The resulting display is thin, has a very high resolution, appears to be a single large screen to the user, and is capable of supporting many different types of human-machine interaction.

Claims

1. A touch-sensitive display, comprising:

a) a plurality of basic display units each comprising separately controllable processor means having an output connected to at least one display screen, said at least one display screen of respective ones of said basic display units being arranged so as to form a tessellation;

b) a network for facilitating communication between said respective ones of said basic display units;

c) at least one touch-sensitive panel overlying said tessellation and means associated therewith for receiving a user touch input over physical pixel locations associated with said basic display units and in response generating input command signals for identifying said physical pixel locations, each processor means further including a first input connected to the network for receiving network communication and a second input connected to at least one touch sensitive screen for receiving input command signals corresponding to the user touch input; and

d) further processor means functioning as a controlling processor, including;

i) means for receiving said input command signals identifying said physical pixel locations and in response converting said input command signals to modified input command signals associated with logical pixel locations in said tessellation;

ii) means for receiving said modified input command signals and in response generating graphical command signals for operating on said logical pixel locations in said tessellation;

iii) means for receiving said graphical command signals for operating on said logical pixel locations in said tessellation and in response converting said graphical command signals to modified graphical command signals for operating on said physical pixel locations associated with said basic display units; and

iv) means for transmitting said modified graphical command signals to said basic display units via said network, in response to which said plurality of basic display units generate a graphical image across said tessellation.

2. The touch-sensitive display of claim 1, wherein said display screen further comprises a flat panel display screen.

3. The touch-sensitive display of claim 2, wherein said flat panel display screen is a liquid crystal display.

4. The touch-sensitive display of claim 2, wherein said flat panel display screen is a laser plasma display.

5. The touch-sensitive display of claim 2, wherein said flat panel display is approximately 1/8 thick and is mounted in a hard plastic shell.

6. The touch-sensitive screen of claim 2, wherein said flat panel display further includes a light source mounted to the side thereof.

7. The touch-sensitive display of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of basic display units further comprises a standard portable computer incorporating a CPU for executing a graphics processor application.

8. The touch-sensitive display of claim 1, wherein a predetermined one or more of said basic display units includes one or both of a keyboard and a mouse.

9. The touch-sensitive display of claim 1, wherein said network is realized using TCP/IP as a network interface and an Ethernet™

physical medium between respective ones of said basic display units.

10. The touch-sensitive display of claim 1, wherein said network is realized using Localtalk™

as a network interface and an Ethernet™

physical medium between respective ones of said basic display units.

11. The touch-sensitive display of claim 1, wherein said basic display units are abutted together in close proximity in order to minimize spacing between each display screen of said respective ones of said basic display units.

12. The touch-sensitive display of claim 1, further comprising a transparent protective layer intermediate said at least one touch-sensitive panel and said at least one display screen of respective ones of said basic display units.

13. The touch-sensitive display of claim 12, wherein said transparent protective layer comprises one of either clear plastic or glass.

14. A touch-sensitive display, comprising:

a) a plurality of basic display units each comprising separately controllable processor means including an output connected to at least one display screen, said at least one display screen of respective ones of said basic display units being arranged so as to form a tessellation;

b) a network for facilitating communication between said respective ones of said basic display units; and

c) at least one touch-sensitive panel overlying said tessellation and means associated therewith for receiving a user touch input over physical pixel locations associated with said basic display units and in response generating input command signals for identifying said physical pixel locations, each processor means including a first input for receiving input command signals from at least one touch-sensitive screen independently from the input command signals received from the remaining processor means and a second input for receiving communications signals from the network independently from the communication signals received from the remaining processor means;

wherein a predetermined one of said processor means functions as a controlling processor, and further includes;

i) means for receiving said input command signals identifying said physical pixel locations and in response converting said input command signals to modified input command signals associated with logical pixel locations in said tessellation;

ii) means for receiving said modified input command signals and in response generating graphical command signals for operating on said logical pixel locations in said tessellation;

iii) means for receiving said graphical command signals for operating on said logical pixel locations in said tessellation and in response converting said graphical command signals to modified graphical command signals for operating on said physical pixel locations associated with said basic display units; and

iv) means for transmitting said modified graphical command signals to said basic display units via said network, in response to which said plurality of basic display units generate a graphical image across said tessellation.

15. The touch-sensitive display of claim 14, wherein said display screen further comprises a flat panel display screen.

16. The touch-sensitive display of claim 15, wherein said flat panel display screen is a liquid crystal display.

17. The touch-sensitive display of claim 15, wherein said flat panel display screen is a laser plasma display.

18. The touch-sensitive display of claim 15, wherein said flat panel display is approximately 1/8" thick and is mounted in a hard plastic shell.

19. The touch-sensitive screen of claim 15, wherein said flat panel display further includes a light source mounted to the side thereof.

20. The touch-sensitive display of claim 14, wherein each of said plurality of basic display units further comprises a standard portable computer incorporating a CPU for executing a graphics processor application.

21. The touch-sensitive display of claim 14, wherein a predetermined one or more of said basic display units includes one or both of a keyboard and a mouse.

22. The touch-sensitive display of claim 14, wherein said network is realized using TCP/IP as a network interface and an Ethernet™

physical medium between respective ones of said basic display units.

23. The touch-sensitive display of claim 14, wherein said network is realized using Localtalk™

as a network interface and an Ethernet™

physical medium between respective ones of said basic display units.

24. The touch-sensitive display of claim 14, wherein said basic display units are abutted together in close proximity in order to minimize spacing between each display screen of said respective ones of said basic display units.

25. The touch-sensitive display of claim 14, further comprising a transparent protective layer intermediate said at least one touch-sensitive panel and said at least one display screen of respective ones of said basic display units.

26. The touch-sensitive display of claim 25, wherein said transparent protective layer comprises one of either clear plastic or glass.

27. A method for displaying images on a display device having a plurality of basic display units each coupled together by a network, each basic display unit including an associated processor means connected to at least one touch-sensitive display panel and an input for receiving input command signals, comprising;

arranging the basic display units together into a tessellation for operating as a single display device;

receiving a user touch input on at least one display panel and in response identifying a physical pixel location on the associated display panel of said user touch input;

outputting the user touch input from each display panel directly to the associated processor means independently from the remaining processor means;

sending command signals to the processor means connected to the display panel receiving the user touch input;

converting the physical pixel location of the user touch input in accordance with the command signals into a logical pixel location associated with the overall display device;

displaying information on each touch-sensitive display panel with the connected processor means according to the logical pixel locations; and

operating each processor means both independently of the other processor means and in conjunction with the other processor means thereby allowing all display panels to operate both separately and together as a single logical display unit.