System and method for driving and receiving data from multiple touch screen devices

• US 8,169,380 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2007
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: Savant Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Madonna, Robert P., Allen, James F., Jacobson, Arthur A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Suteerawongsa, Jarurat
• Application Number:
  US11/687,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20080225008A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,873 Days
• Field of Search: 345 11- 13, 345 21- 22, 345 33- 34, 345/30, 345/33, 345 44- 47, 345 50- 51, 345/156, 345/173
• US Class Current: 345/1.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display

Abstract

In one embodiment, multiple touch screen devices are driven from a graphics signal. A general-purpose computer provides a graphics signal of a particular display resolution. A display segmentor is configured to divide each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices. The display segmentor is further configured to generate an individual graphics signal from each pixel group, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution. One or more interfaces transmit each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices.

Claims

1. An apparatus for driving a plurality of touch screen devices from a single graphics signal, comprising:

a general-purpose computer configured to provide a graphics signal of a particular display resolution, the graphics signal including a plurality of graphics frames;

a display segmentor configured to divide a first portion of each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, while a second portion of each graphics frame is not a part of any pixel group of the plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices, the display segmentor further configured to generate an individual graphics signal from each pixel group of the first portion of each graphics frame but not from the second portion of each graphics frame, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution; and

one or more interfaces configured to transmit each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices, and to receive coordinates from each touch screen device corresponding to user touches on the respective touch screen device,

wherein the display segmentor is further configured to map the coordinates received from each touch screen device to coordinates of a single screen space by adding offset values to the coordinates from at least some of the touch screen devices and to provide the coordinates of the single screen space to the general purpose computer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each pixel group is sized to a display resolution of a display on the associated particular touch screen device.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein two or more of the pixel groups of the plurality of pixel groups are differently sized, to provide for differing display resolutions of associated touch screen devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the display is a liquid crystal display (LCD).

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each graphics frame includes at least some pixels in the second portion of the graphics frame that are not a part of any pixel group of the plurality of pixel groups.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more video serializers configured to serialize at least some of the individual graphics signals for transmission over Ethernet transmission paths; and

wherein the at least some of the one or more interfaces are connection ports to Ethernet transmission paths.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the graphics signal of the particular display resolution is a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) graphics signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the particular display resolution is 1920 by 1200 pixels, and wherein at least one of the individual graphics signals has a display resolution of 640 by 480 pixels.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coordinates include x-axis coordinates and y-axis coordinates, and the offset values comprise first offset values that are added to the x-axis coordinates and second offset values that are added to the y-axis coordinates, to create new x-axis coordinates and new y-axis coordinates.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first and second offset values are generated in response to the location in each graphics frame of the pixel group associated with the touch screen device that supplied the x-axis coordinates and the y-axis coordinates.

11. A method for driving a plurality of touch screen devices from a single graphics signal, comprising:

providing a graphics signal of a particular display resolution, the graphics signal including a plurality of graphics frames;

dividing a first portion of each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, while a second portion of each graphics frame is not a part of any pixel group of the plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices;

generating an individual graphics signal from each pixel group of the first portion of each graphics frame but not from the second portion of each graphics frame, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution;

transmitting each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices;

receiving coordinates from each touch screen device corresponding to user touches on the respective touch screen device;

mapping the coordinates received from each touch screen device to coordinates of a single screen space by adding offset values to the coordinates from at least some of the touch screen devices; and

providing the coordinates of the single screen space to a general purpose computer.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sizing each pixel group to a display resolution of a display on the associated particular touch screen device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of sizing further comprises:

providing two or more of the pixel groups of the plurality of pixel groups to be differently sized, to provide for differing display resolutions of associated touch screen devices.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

including at least some pixels in the second portion of the graphics frame that are not a part of any pixel group of the plurality of pixel groups.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

serializing at least some of the individual graphics signals for transmission over Ethernet transmission paths.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the coordinates include x-axis coordinates and y-axis coordinates, and the offset values comprise first offset values that are added to the x-axis coordinates and second offset values that are added to the y-axis coordinates, to create new x-axis coordinates and new y-axis coordinates.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

generating the first and second offset values in response to the location in each graphics frame of the pixel group associated with the touch screen device that supplied the x-axis coordinates and the y-axis coordinates.

18. An apparatus for driving a plurality of touch screen devices from a single graphics signal, comprising:

means for providing a graphics signal of a particular display resolution, the graphics signal including a plurality of graphics frames;

means for dividing a first portion of each graphics frame of the graphics signal into a plurality of pixel groups, while a second portion of each graphics frame is not a part of any pixel group of the plurality of pixel groups, each pixel group associated with a particular touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices,

means for generating an individual graphics signal from each pixel group of the first portion of each graphics frame but not from the second portion of each graphics frame, each individual graphics signal having a display resolution that is lower than the particular display resolution;

means for transmitting each individual graphics signal to a different touch screen device of the plurality of touch screen devices;

means for receiving coordinates from each touch screen device corresponding to user touches on the respective touch screen device;

means for mapping the coordinates received from each touch screen device to coordinates of a single screen space by adding offset values to the coordinates of at least some of the touch screen devices; and

means for providing the coordinates of the single screen space to a general purpose computer.