Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Graphic manipulation
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-19
2004-08-03
Brier, Jeffery (Department: 2672)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Computer graphics processing
Graphic manipulation
C345S625000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06771278
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image display system, an image display method and an image display apparatus and, more particularly, it relates to an image display system comprising a plurality of image signal sources and an image display apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
As a result of the development in the field of communication technologies in recent years, more and more communication networks are currently installed in offices. Printers, scanners and other electric devices are mutually connected by way of personal computers (to be referred to as PCs hereinafter) in many offices. Additionally, communication systems for connecting home electric devices such as HAVi (home audio/video interoperability) and Jini by means of networks have been standardized by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) 1394 and USB (Universal Serial Bus) to promote the utilization of such systems.
Furthermore, arrangements for transmitting video signals from a PC to a large screen plasma display or a large screen projector for the purpose of presentation and/or TV conferencing in order to allow access to various data are already in place in many offices. Similarly, arrangements for transmitting video signals from a DVD to a television set adapted for a wide screen (to be referred to as TV hereinafter) or a large screen rear projection TV for the purpose of showing films and home videos are also already in place in a number of homes.
Under these circumstances, TV monitors and PC displays are required to display images of the video signals output from electric devices connected thereto by way of networks. Recently, TV monitors and PC displays that are compatible with each other have been marketed so that an image transmitted from a PC now can be displayed on a TV monitor and vice versa.
FIG. 10
of the accompanying drawings schematically illustrates the internal configuration of a known popular image display system of the type under consideration. In
FIG. 10
, a PC
100
and a PC display
600
are connected to each other by way of transmission lines
114
a,
114
b.
The PC
100
comprises a DDC (display data channel) communication section
110
for receiving the video signal transmitted from the PC display
600
, a main memory section
104
contained in the main body of the PC
100
, a recording medium section
105
for storing information in and reproducing information from a recording medium that may be a hard disk, a graphics drawing section
106
for producing an image signal on the basis of the received video signal and various pieces of information stored in the main memory section
104
and the recording medium section
105
, an image memory
107
which is used by the graphics drawing section
106
for producing an image signal, an image transmitting section
108
for transmitting the image signal produced from the graphics drawing section
106
to the PC display
600
, a bus control section
103
for monitoring and controlling the data bus
111
a
connecting the above sections and a CPU (central processing unit)
102
for control the operation of the PC main body
100
.
The PC
100
comprises a connection line
111
b
connecting the CPU
102
and the bus control section
103
, a connection line
111
c
connecting the DDC communication section
110
and the graphics drawing section
106
, a connection line
111
d
connecting the graphics drawing section
106
and the image transmitting section
108
and a connection line
111
e
connecting the graphics drawing section
106
and the image memory
107
.
On the other hand, PC display
600
comprises an image receiving section
218
for receiving the image signal transmitted from the image transmitting section
108
and typically conforming to the TMDS Standards and converting its format into one adapted to processing the signal comprising 8-bit for each of the primary colors of RGB, a format converting section
219
for converting the format of the image signal from the image receiving section
218
in terms of resolution, frame frequency and so on in order to make the image signal match the number of display pixels of the main body of the PC display
600
, an image memory section
220
to be used for converting the format of the image signal, an image processing section
221
for processing the format-converted image signal in terms of gamma characteristics and color characteristics, an image display section
222
typically comprising a liquid crystal display, a CRT, a PDP, an EL display or an LED display, a DDC for transmitting a video signal to the PC
100
and a microcomputer section
217
for controlling the main body of the PC display
600
.
The microcomputer section
217
by turn comprises a resolution determining section
223
for receiving information (including the frequency and the polarity of the synchronizing signal) on the image signal received by the image receiving section
218
, determining the resolution of the received image and transmitting a control signal to be used for converting the format of the image signal to the format converting section
219
.
The PC display
600
additionally comprises a connection line
225
b
connecting the image receiving section
218
and the format converting section
219
, a connection line
225
e
connecting the format converting section
219
and the image memory
220
, a connection line
225
c
connecting the format converting section
219
and the image processing section
221
, a connection line
225
d
connecting image processing section
221
and the image display section
222
and a data bus
225
a
connecting the microcomputer section
217
and the sections
218
,
219
,
221
,
222
and
224
.
As seen from
FIG. 10
, in the known popular image display system, the PC
100
and the PC display
600
are connected to each other not by means of a network but by way of transmission lines
114
a
,
114
b
to establish a 1 to 1 connection. Then, the image resolution is determined as a result of the exchange of EDID data between the DDC communication sections
224
and
110
that takes place when the PC is activated or in the operation of detecting the connection of the PC
100
and the PC display
600
so that the resolution is appropriately converted in the PC display
600
before displaying the image according to the input video signal.
It should be noted here that the PC is the host of the system and the PC display serves the host. For example, when the PC and the PC display determine the resolution of the image to be displayed, only a list of resolutions that can be used for displaying the image as defined in the Extended Display Identification Data Standard, Version 3, is transmitted from the PC display to the PC by DDC communication and the actual resolution is determined by the graphics drawing section of the PC after referring to the list. Then, the PC arbitrarily outputs the image signal with the determined resolution to the PC display. Therefore, the PC display has to find out the resolution from the transmitted image signal and perform an appropriate resolution converting operation on the input image signal. This process of determining the resolution by DDC communication is based on the fact that the PC controls the display area of the PC display as host. In short, known image display systems of the type under consideration are not adapted to connect a plurality of PCs and a PC display in such a way that images represented by the image signals transmitted from some or all of the PCs are simultaneously displayed on the PC display.
FIG. 11
is a schematic illustration of a system such as HAVi or Jini connecting a number of home AV devices and comprising an image display system as shown in FIG.
10
.
Referring to
FIG. 11
, there are shown a public communication network
395
, a modern
394
connected to the public communication network
395
, IEEE 1394 hubs (HUBs)
387
,
388
for sorting and delivering IEEE 1394 signals, various electric devices connected to the IEEE 1394 hubs
385
,
386
,
399
,
313
,
Brier Jeffery
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
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