IMAGE SIGNAL GENERATING APPARATUS, IMAGE SIGNAL TRANSMISSION APPARATUS, IMAGE SIGNAL GENERATING METHOD, IMAGE SIGNAL TRANSMISSION METHOD, IMAGE DISPLAY UNIT, CONTROL METHOD FOR AN IMAGE DISPLAY UNIT, AND IMAGE DISPLAY SYSTEM

• US 6,759,997 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2003
• Issued: 07/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakan, Takao, Someya, Jun, Okuno, Yoshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Liang, Regina
• Application Number:
  US10/339,494
• Publication Number:
  US 20030098820A1
• Time in Patent Office: 543 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345/1.2, 345/2.1, 345/2.2, 345/3.1, 345/3.2, 345/3.3, 345/2.3, 348/460, 348/458, 348/383, 434/118, 434/350
• US Class Current: 345/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1431 using a single graphics controller
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04

Abstract

An image signal generating unit supplies a single image signal to multiple image display units having different unit numbers. Embedded in the image signal is an index signal designating the image display units on which the image signal is to be displayed. Each image display unit compares its unit number with the index signal to select displayable frames of the image signal, preferably storing and displaying the most recent selected frame. Each image display unit can thereby display a different image. The image signal may have a standard format.

Claims

1. An image display system, comprising:

an image signal generator generating an image signal including a plurality of image frames;

an indexer generating an index signal including at least selection information enabling the image signal to be displayed selectively by a designated image display unit, and placing the index signal in a part of certain picture elements of the image signal;

a transmitting unit constructing and transmitting a composite signal including the image signal and a synchronizing signal corresponding to the image signal, part of the image signal having been replaced with the index signal;

an image signal receiving unit receiving the composite signal transmitted by the transmitting unit and outputting the image signal and the synchronizing signal included in the composite signal;

a frame selection unit selecting, from the image frames of the image signal, image frames to be displayed, according to the index signal output from the image signal receiving unit, and outputting an image signal corresponding to the selected image frames; and

an image display unit displaying at least a part of the image signal corresponding to the image frames output from the frame selection unit.

2. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit is operable to transmit the image signal identically to a plurality of connected display devices.

3. The image display system of claim 1, wherein a part of the image signal in a stored one-screen image signal is displayable as one screen in a connected display device.

4. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit is operable to transmit the image signal to a plurality of connected display devices, each display device displaying a different image corresponding to part of the transmitted image signal.

5. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit is operable to transmit the image signal to a plurality of connected display devices, and the image signal is displayable by a display device selected according to the index signal.

6. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of connected display devices extract the index signal, which is disposed in an initial section of the transmitted image signal.

7. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal is expressed as luminance levels of some of the pixels constituting the image signal.

8. The image display system of claim 7, wherein the luminance levels are expressed as digital data, and the index signal is included in least significant bits of the luminance data.

9. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the image signal comprises a plurality of pages, each including at least one frame, and the pages are associated with the index signal.

10. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the image frame includes a displayed interval and a non-displayed interval, and the index signal is placed in a part of the displayed interval.

11. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal includes a display device selection signal having a value that prevents the image signal from being displayed by any connected display device.

12. The image display system of claim 1, wherein index signal includes at least data indicating that the index signal is an index signal.

13. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal includes data by which the index signal is identified.

14. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the image signal is supplied in common to a plurality of display devices.

15. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the image signal includes an image to be displayed by the designated image display unit.

16. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal is disposed in an initial section of a frame in the image signal.

17. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal is disposed in a plurality of scanning lines in the image signal.

18. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal comprises pixel data included in the image signal, each pixel representing one bit of data of the index signal.

19. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal comprises a combination of binary bits.

20. The image display system of claim 19, wherein one of the binary bits has a value representing a maximum luminance level of the image signal, and other ones of the binary bits have a value representing a minimum luminance level of the image signal.

21. The image display system of claim 1, wherein, in the image signal, the index signal corresponds to data not displayed by any connected display device.

22. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal is disposed in a plurality of scanning lines in the image signal, starting at identical positions in each of said scanning lines and ending at identical positions in each of said scanning lines.

23. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the image signal includes image data for an image area larger both vertically and horizontally than the display area of the image display unit.

24. The image display system of claim 1, wherein each frame of the image signal comprises a number of pixels, and the index signal occupies a comparatively small number of pixels in each image frame.

25. The image display system of claim 1,

wherein the index signal also includes data for correcting errors in the index signal.

26. The image display system of claim 25, wherein the data for correcting errors within the index signal includes a pixel for obtaining parity information.

27. The image display system of claim 25, wherein the data for correcting errors within the index signal includes pixels giving display device selection information and pixels, paired with the pixels giving display device selection information, for checking the pixels giving display device selection information.

28. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal is disposed in a designated time-axis position with respect to the frame synchronizing signal.

29. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal has a predetermined length.

30. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the index signal includes information concerning an image period of the image signal.

31. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the image display unit performs a display corresponding to part of the received image signal.

32. The image display system of claim 1, wherein the image display unit displays a displayed image included in the received image signal according to the index signal included in the received image signal.

33. The image display system of claim 1, wherein connected display devices are capable of being coupled in either a chained fashion or a parallel fashion.

34. The image display system of claim 1, wherein a connected display device has a data input port for receiving data from an upstream image display unit, and a data output port for supplying data to a downstream display device.

35. The image display system of claim 1, wherein a display device updates the displayed image according to the index signal received by the display device.

36. An image display system, comprising:

an image signal generator generating an image signal constructing an image frame; and

an indexer operatively connected to said image signal generator, said indexer generating an index signal including at least selection information for designation of an image display unit receiving the image signal to display at least a part of the image signal, and placing the index signal at a position of a pixel included in the image frame;

a transmitting unit constructing and transmitting a composite signal including the image signal and a synchronizing signal corresponding to the image signal, part of the image signal having been placed at a position of a pixel included in the image frame;

an image signal receiving unit receiving the composite signal transmitted by the transmitting unit and outputting the image signal and the synchronizing signal included in the composite signal;

a frame selection unit selecting, from the image frames of the image signal, image frames to be displayed, according to the index signal output from the image signal receiving unit, and outputting the image signal corresponding to the selected image frames; and

an image display unit displaying at least a part of the image signal corresponding to the image frames output from the selection unit.

37. An image display system, comprising:

an image signal generator generating an image signal constructing an image frame; and

an indexer operatively connected to said signal generator, said indexer generating an index signal including at least selection information for designation of an image display unit receiving the image signal to display at least a part of the image signal, and placing the index signal at a position of a pixel included in the image frame;

a transmitting unit constructing and transmitting a composite signal including the image signal and a synchronizing signal corresponding to the image signal, part of the image signal having been placed at a position of a pixel included in the image frame;

an image signal receiving unit receiving the composite signal transmitted by the transmitting unit and outputting the image signal and the synchronizing signal included in the composite signal;

a frame selection unit selecting, from the image frames of the image signal, image frames to be displayed according to the index signal output from the image signal receiving unit, and outputting the image signal corresponding to the selected image frames; and

an image display unit displaying at least a part of the image signal corresponding to the image frames output from the selection unit,

wherein the index signal also comprises control information.

38. The image display system of claim 37,

wherein the indexer replaces part of certain pixels of image signal with the index signal.