Modular Image Display System Patents (Class 348/383)
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Patent number: 6597371Abstract: A method and apparatus for digitally driving an addressable pixel display by modulating each pixel e.g., on or off, in short time pulses. A preferred embodiment responds to N-bit pixel words derived from a source digital file at a rate F1 for producing M-bit data streams at a rate F2 where N>M and F1<F2. Each data stream is preferably produced by an oversampling data modulator employing a delta-sigma implementation.Type: GrantFiled: April 18, 2002Date of Patent: July 22, 2003Inventor: William J. Mandl
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Publication number: 20030133037Abstract: A TV wall. The TV wall includes a frame, a plurality of liquid crystal displays, and a plurality of rotating mounting assemblies. The frame is provided with a plurality of pairs of first rods and second rods facing each other, and each of the first rods is provided with a through hole. The liquid crystal displays are disposed on the frame. Each of the rotating mounting assemblies, connecting the liquid crystal displays with the frame, is provided with a base, a rotating member, and a stopper. The base includes a pin corresponding to the through hole, a first bending portion corresponding to the first rod, and a second bending portion corresponding to the second rod. The pin is inserted into the through hole. The second rod holds the second bending portion. The stopper abuts the second rod. Thus, the base is disposed on the frame.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 10, 2002Publication date: July 17, 2003Inventor: Hung-Lung Lee
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Patent number: 6594078Abstract: A stackable mechanical package for a digitally addressed projector (12N) includes a housing portion (22) having top and rear surfaces (44) that are shaped to form a contoured recess (46), and a pedestal portion (20) having bottom and front surfaces (60) that are sized to mate with the contoured recess when the package is in a shippable configuration. When a top side (50) of the pedestal portion is mated to a bottom side (32) of the housing portion, the stackable package is in a first operational configuration. Alternatively, when the stackable package is stacked below another similar stackable package (12F), the shippable configuration further forms a second operational configuration. The stackable package includes legs (24, 26) attached to and protruding from the pedestal portion to support the package apparatus in the first operational configuration or to fasten together the housing and pedestal portions when the package is in the shippable configuration.Type: GrantFiled: March 27, 2001Date of Patent: July 15, 2003Assignee: Clarity Visual Systems, Inc.Inventors: Benjamin R. Clifton, Christopher W. L. Brandt
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Publication number: 20030103162Abstract: Disclosed is an image display system which provides a display by joining projected images together, comprising a plurality of projecting means for projecting images, display means for displaying a single image by joining the images from the projecting means together, dividing means for dividing the images projected by the projecting means into a plurality of processing unit areas, and correction processing means for performing correction processing for each of the processing unit areas, wherein the processing unit areas differ in size between joint portions of the images projected by the projecting means and other portions than the joint portions.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 4, 2002Publication date: June 5, 2003Applicant: Olympus Optical Co. Ltd.Inventors: Hiroyasu Sano, Toru Hidaka, Akihiro Kubota
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Patent number: 6568816Abstract: A projection system includes multiple imaging heads for projecting a plurality of images, which may or may not be partially overlapped and edge blended to form a projected composite image. The projection system, however, includes only a single light source. The light from the light source is beam split into light portions, and the light portions are applied to the imaging heads via corresponding light guides. Use of the single light source to project all the images may solve colorimetry problems associated with generating projected composite image from multiple projected images, each of which uses a different light source. For projecting the images on a curved surface, the geometry of the images may be distorted using electronic image warping and/or lens-based optical distortion.Type: GrantFiled: October 1, 2001Date of Patent: May 27, 2003Assignee: Panoram Technologies, Inc.Inventors: Theodore Mayer, III, Lawrence S. Paul, Todd Chaney
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Patent number: 6570623Abstract: A multi-projector video wall system employs a blending frame to blend the overlapping portions of two adjacent images I1 and I2. The blending frame is preferably located a distance Dframe from the aperture of the projector and has an optimal half frame width Wf from the axis of the lens of the projector. A camera-based feedback loop can be employed to fine-tune the optical blending by digitally altering the image source.Type: GrantFiled: April 24, 2000Date of Patent: May 27, 2003Assignee: Princeton UniversityInventors: Kai Li, YuQun Chen, Timothy Housel
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Patent number: 6560001Abstract: A spatial light modulating device includes: an electrically-addressed type element for being addressed by electric signals representing information to be written, the electrically-addressed type element including an image display portion having a pixel structure, the electrically-addressed type element being inputted with write light; an optically-addressed type spatial light modulator including a thin film material portion and a pair of substrates, the thin film material portion being provided between the pair of substrates, the thin film material portion having an optical addressing layer and a light modulation layer which are provided one on the other, the optically-addressed type spatial light modulator being inputted with read light; and a compensation layer having a predetermined thickness and provided between the image display portion and the thin film material portion.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2002Date of Patent: May 6, 2003Assignee: Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.Inventors: Yasunori Igasaki, Narihiro Yoshida, Haruyoshi Toyoda, Tsutomu Hara
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Patent number: 6545685Abstract: A method for implementing edge blending between a first and second video frame to create a seamless multichannel display system. The method is implemented in a graphics computer system including a processor coupled to a memory via a bus. Within the computer system, a first video frame is rendered for display on a first video channel. A second video frame is rendered for display on a second channel. A first overlap region is rendered onto the first frame to obtain a first blended video frame. A second overlap region is blended onto the second frame to obtain a second blended video frame. The first blended video frame from the first channel and the second blended video frame from the second channel are then combined such that the first overlap region and the second overlap region correspond, thereby forming a seamless junction between the first blended frame and the second blended frame and implementing a high fidelity multichannel display.Type: GrantFiled: January 14, 1999Date of Patent: April 8, 2003Assignee: Silicon Graphics, Inc.Inventor: Angus Dorbie
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Patent number: 6545718Abstract: A control portion detects a level of video signals for each color when video signals are inputted from a frame memory to DSP circuits. Next, the control portion calculates an appropriate correction coefficient of each color to be used in modulation control of brightness, for every unit pixel or unit pixel array among a plurality of correction coefficients stored in its own memory in advance based on the detected signal level. The control portion instructs the DSP circuits to perform modulation of brightness by using the determined correction coefficient.Type: GrantFiled: June 5, 2000Date of Patent: April 8, 2003Assignee: Sony CorporationInventors: Satoru Nakanishi, Yasunobu Kato, Masamichi Okada
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Patent number: 6525772Abstract: A display system that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, one or more cameras are provided to capture an image of the display screen. The resulting captured image is processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics, including visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined. The transformation function is used to pre-warp the input video signal that is provided to the display such that the non-desirable characteristics are reduced or eliminated from the display. The transformation function preferably compensates for spatial non-uniformity, color non-uniformity, luminance non-uniformity, and other visible artifacts.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 2001Date of Patent: February 25, 2003Assignee: Honeywell Inc.Inventors: Michael J. Johnson, Chung-Jen Chen, Rajesh Chandrasekhar
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Publication number: 20030025842Abstract: An optical projection system distributes light from an illumination source via fiber optic cables (160) to non-imaging morphing collimating optical elements (162) and beam splitting elements (163).Type: ApplicationFiled: June 26, 2002Publication date: February 6, 2003Inventor: Robert J. Saccomanno
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Patent number: 6501441Abstract: An apparatus for partitioning, scaling and displaying video and/or graphics across several display devices includes a video source, a master device and multiple display devices arranged into a multiple display configuration. Preferably, the master device partitions the video stream into image sections and assigns each display device a corresponding image section based on its position within the multiple display configuration. Each display device then preferably receives the video stream and separates the data representing the corresponding image section. Preferably, once the data for the corresponding image section is separated, the display devices then scale their respective image sections to a full screen size image and display the scaled image simultaneously with the display of the entire frame on all display devices within the multiple display configuration.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 1999Date of Patent: December 31, 2002Assignees: Sony Corporation, Sony Electronics Inc.Inventors: Harold Aaron Ludtke, Scott D. Smyers, Mark Kenneth Eyer
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Publication number: 20020180868Abstract: A display apparatus includes a scanning assembly that scans about two or more axes, typically in a raster pattern. A plurality of light sources emit light from spaced apart locations toward the scanning assembly such that the scanning assembly simultaneously scans more than one of the beams. The scanning assembly includes a plurality of mirrors that sweep their respective beams through respective regions of an image field. The regions are immediately adjacent so that an overall image is produced by “tiling” of the regions. Because sweeps of the scanning assembly scan a plurality of tiles simultaneously the resolution and/or field of view of a display for a given scan angle and mirror size is increased relative to a single mirror sweeping a single beam. In alternative embodiments, tiling is used for imaging. Also, various approaches to controlling the frequency responses of the various scanners are described, including active control of MEMs scanners and passive frequency tuning.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 29, 2002Publication date: December 5, 2002Applicant: Microvision, Inc.Inventors: Thomas M. Lippert, Clarence T. Tegreene
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Patent number: 6483482Abstract: A multi-display device includes at least two flat display panels foldably joined to each other with a border defined therebetween, and a light compensating member for directing light radiated from the panels toward an imaginary plane, extending from a center line of the border of the flat display panels, at a predetermined angle so that the border can be visually compensated.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2000Date of Patent: November 19, 2002Assignee: Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.Inventor: Si-Han Kim
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Patent number: 6480175Abstract: A method (and system) of eliminating visible artifacts in overlapped projections produced by a plurality of projectors, includes in areas outside of the overlap areas, raising an intensity of predetermined color pixels to match a level of the predetermined color in the overlap areas, and simultaneously with the raising of the intensity, scaling values of pixels in the overlap areas such that the values do not exceed the maximum pixel value of a single projector of the plurality of projectors.Type: GrantFiled: September 17, 1999Date of Patent: November 12, 2002Assignee: International Business Machines CorporationInventor: Bengt-Olaf Schneider
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Patent number: 6471355Abstract: An image alignment system for rear projection in which a portion of the normally changing pixel pattern contains a pixel reference mark, which appears in each of the side-by-side pixel images projected onto a screen. A camera having a field of view large enough to encompass the pixel reference mark of each of the images on the screen captures the location of the pixel reference marks to enable a computer to determine the coordinates of the each of the pixel reference marks and generate a deviation signal represented of the visual misalignment of the side-by-side images. A drive member controllable by the deviation signal from the computer repositions one of the side-by-side images with respect to the other to thereby align the images to produce a single visually seamless image. The camera and computer can continually monitor both of the pixel reference marks to continually generate a deviation signal so that the side-by-side images can automatically be brought into a single visually seamless image.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 2000Date of Patent: October 29, 2002Assignee: Lockheed Martin CorporationInventors: Robert James Monson, Michael Edward Smith
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Patent number: 6466268Abstract: An operation for correcting horizontally an array of pixels in two-dimensional image data is performed so that a plurality of divided frames are joined properly in position in the horizontal direction and displayed. The horizontally corrected image data is stored, in the order of write address, on memories for storing image data. The image data stored is read in the same order as the order of write address or in the order different from the order of write address. The image data outputted from the memories for storing image data is vertically corrected so that the divided frames are joined properly in position in the vertical direction and displayed.Type: GrantFiled: May 18, 2000Date of Patent: October 15, 2002Assignee: Sony CorporationInventors: Yasunobu Kato, Hiroshi Okuda, Tohru Kurata, Satoru Nakanishi
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Publication number: 20020130967Abstract: A relatively short body (e.g. 12′ length), mobile, closed body vehicle (e.g., a pullable, closed trailer 100 (FIGS. 2 -4), van 200 (FIGS. 6 & 7) or closed truck 300 (FIGS. 8 & 9) with a box-like body (101/201/301/501) preferably of a standard, readily available type, which is modified to have wall openings made, having preferably a dynamic video display (115/215/315/515) on each of its sides and rear, in which preferably the video signal to be display originates from, for example, the “Internet” (2) and is supplied to the vehicle via, for example, a satellite hook-up (1& 103/203/303/505) or, alternatively, via a hard-wired (504) or a wireless “connection.” A multi-point, video display system (FIG.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 29, 2000Publication date: September 19, 2002Inventor: Michael Sweetser
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Patent number: 6452636Abstract: An image control device and method, and image display device, capable of producing an image of high quality by joining a plurality of divided frames with the joint areas made inconspicuous. An index electrode is provided in an over-scan region on the side of the joint area of the right and left divided frames. The index electrode outputs a detection signal in response to an electron beam scanning in the over-scan region. Based on the detection signal, obtained is data on a pixel position in the joint area of the divided frames. Further, based on the data on the pixel position thus obtained, estimated is data on a pixel position in an area other than the joint area of the divided frames. Meanwhile, using data obtained based on the detection signal outputted from the index electrode, control of image data is exerted so that the left and right divided frames are joined properly.Type: GrantFiled: May 24, 2000Date of Patent: September 17, 2002Assignee: Sony CorporationInventors: Ryo Saito, Shoichi Muraguchi, Yasunobu Kato, Hiromu Hosokawa, Masamichi Okada
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Publication number: 20020122134Abstract: A large format modular video display includes a plurality of video image units, each image unit sealed against environmental intrusions. Each image unit includes a housing having a front panel and a rear door panel that may be opened for access to the interior. Within the housing, a strongback member supports an LED circuit board having a large plurality of LEDs supported in pixel array, each pixel comprised of a plurality of LEDs of various colors. A gasket member is dimensioned to cover the pixel array of LEDs, and includes an array of LED holes in registration with the pixel array of the LED board, so that each LED extends through a respective hole in the gasket. The front panel of the housing also includes an array of LED holes in registration with the holes of the gasket member, so that each pixel group of LEDs may extend through respective holes in the front panel and protrude forwardly therefrom.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 5, 2001Publication date: September 5, 2002Inventor: Kevin A. Kalua
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Patent number: 6404456Abstract: In a projection display system, a sample of the light output may be extracted and used to calibrate the display. A sample may also be used in multi-display systems (e.g., light walls), wherein the information from one display in the form of a light sample may be shared with one or more additional displays. In this way, certain characteristics of multiple displays may be correlated with one another to produce a uniform display output.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 1999Date of Patent: June 11, 2002Assignee: Intel CorporationInventor: Ronald D. Smith
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Publication number: 20020060293Abstract: An image display medium capable of providing an image display with less change in the image density, with less change in the uniformness of the density and at stable density contrast even after repetitive rewriting over a long period of time, and an image forming apparatus using the image display medium are provided. The image display medium and image forming apparatus have a pair of facing substrates, at least two kinds of particles sealed in a space between the pair of the substrates in which the at least two kinds of particles have a characteristic that at least one kind of them is positively chargeable and at least one other kind of them is negatively chargeable, and the particles chargeable positively and negatively are of colors different from each other and a charge controller is internally added to one or both of the particles chargeable positively and negatively.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 27, 2001Publication date: May 23, 2002Applicant: FUJI XEROX CO., LTD.Inventors: Yasuo Yamamoto, Chisato Urano, Yoshihiro Inaba, Takeshi Matsunaga, Yoshinori Machida, Kiyoshi Shigehiro
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Publication number: 20020057361Abstract: Method and apparatus are provided for seamless integration of multiple video projectors. In addition to edge blending, projection artifacts in dark or black image regions caused by residual grays from non-perfect projector black levels are reduced. Overlapped and non-overlapped areas of the image are defined and then the minimum black level of the video signal in non-overlapped areas is boosted without affecting the bright portion of the video signal in order to create uniform black level. The bright portion of the image is then smoothed in the overlapped area with seamless edge blending techniques. The resultant projected image may be passed through a neutral density filter to lower the base black level of the now uniform overlap and non-overlap black regions. The image may also pass through a physical mask which is hard edged or graded and aligned to less than the overall overlap region and that when used, smooths the edge of transition between the non-overlapped and overlapped regions.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 6, 2001Publication date: May 16, 2002Inventors: Theodore Mayer III, Su Wen Wang
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Patent number: 6377306Abstract: A display for producing a seamless composite image from at least two discrete images. The display includes one or more projectors for projecting each of the discrete images separately onto a screen such that at least one of the discrete images overlaps at least one other of the discrete images by more than 25 percent. The amount of overlap that is required to reduce the seams of the composite image to an acceptable level over a predetermined viewing angle depends on a number of factors including the field-of-view and aperture size of the projectors, the screen gain profile, etc. For rear-projection screens and some front projection screens, an overlap of more than 25 percent is acceptable.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 1998Date of Patent: April 23, 2002Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.Inventors: Michael J. Johnson, Matthew B. Dubin
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Publication number: 20020027608Abstract: A display system that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, one or more cameras are provided to capture an image of the display screen. The resulting captured image is processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics, including visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined. The transformation function is used to pre-warp the input video signal that is provided to the display such that the non-desirable characteristics are reduced or eliminated from the display. The transformation function preferably compensates for spatial non-uniformity, color non-uniformity, luminance non-uniformity, and other visible artifacts.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 8, 2001Publication date: March 7, 2002Applicant: Honeywell, Inc.Inventors: Michael J. Johnson, Chung-Jen Chen, Rajesh Chandrasekhar
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Publication number: 20020024612Abstract: A video projecting system includes two video projectors. In each video projector: a scaling processing circuit generates a scaled video signal from an incoming video signal, the scaled video signal representing a partial image of a predetermined size; a luminance adjustment circuit generates from the scaled video signal from the scaling processing circuit an adjusted video signal representing the partial image having a reduced luminance in a predetermined region of the partial image; and a display device generates a partial image based on the adjusted video signal which is outputted from the luminance adjustment circuit; and the partial image which is generated by the display device is projected via an optical system onto a screen, so that respective partial images partially overlap each other, thereby creating one stitched image. Thus, a compact and inexpensive video projecting system which can eliminate the need of manual readjustment of a plurality of video projectors is provided.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 29, 2001Publication date: February 28, 2002Inventor: Takaaki Gyoten
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Patent number: 6310650Abstract: A display system that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, one or more cameras are provided to capture an image of the display screen. The resulting captured image is processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics, including visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined. The transformation function is used to pre-warp the input video signal that is provided to the display such that the non-desirable characteristics are reduced or eliminated from the display. The transformation function preferably compensates for spatial non-uniformity, color non-uniformity, luminance non-uniformity, and other visible artifacts.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 1998Date of Patent: October 30, 2001Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.Inventors: Michael J. Johnson, Chung-Jen Chen, Rajesh Chandrasekhar
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Publication number: 20010026326Abstract: A video display system comprising a plurality of video display apparatuses 11 to 13 for displaying video signals Sv being supplied as video. A specific video display apparatus 11 out of a plurality of the video display apparatuses 11 to 13 discriminates video characteristics Pv1 to Pv5 of the video signal Sv to output identification signals IDa to IDd that correspond to the discriminated video characteristics (Pa1 to Pa5) to (Pd1 to Pd5) and simultaneously displays the video signal Sv according to the display characteristic characteristics (Qa1 to Qa3) to (Qc1 to Qc3) stored in correspondence to the identification signals IDa to IDd. The other video display apparatuses 12 and 13 than the specific video display apparatus 11 display the video signals Sv according to the display characteristic characteristics (Qa1 to Qa3) to (Qc1 to Qc3) stored in correspondence to the identification signals IDa to IDd.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 27, 2001Publication date: October 4, 2001Applicant: NEC CorporationInventors: Youichi Itaki, Kouichi Ara, Satoshi Wakasugi, Michio Tomizawa, Atsuhiko Saitou
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Patent number: 6292157Abstract: The present invention features a tiled, flat-panel, color display that has a color-correction capability. The display is a tiled mosaic of individual display tiles, such as AMLCDs. Column and row inputs that are typically provided for a single display tile system are distributed over a plurality of display tiles. The color purity is achieved for the display by sorting the tiles into groups, matching their color coordinates, and correcting non-uniformities optically (e.g., by using a graded neutral density filter having a grading function being the inverse of the brightness distribution non-uniformities) and/or electronically. Then, each individual tile in the mosaic is color-corrected via a multiplexed, controller/driver circuit.Type: GrantFiled: April 20, 1998Date of Patent: September 18, 2001Assignee: Rainbow Displays, Inc.Inventors: Raymond G. Greene, Robert H. Katyl, J. Peter Krusius, Boris Yost
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Publication number: 20010013904Abstract: A multi-display device displays a single image constituted by a plurality of projection images projected by a plurality of image projection units on a screen in which the device has a shifting unit for shifting a picture signal which is supplied to the image projecting unit toward a time-base direction in accordance with a width of an overlapped portion of images mutually adjacent in a vertical scanning direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 8, 2001Publication date: August 16, 2001Applicant: Olympus Optical Co., Ltd.Inventors: Akihiro Kubota, Yukihiro Sugimoto
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Patent number: 6232933Abstract: A dummy magnifying display apparatus, in which a magnified screen comprises a plane section and a slant section. The plane section comprises a screen display section located on a flat surface of a wall or the like. The slant section is provided at an angle between the wall and a ceiling and also located so that user U's eyes and a screen form a substantially right angle. An image that the user could see on the dummy screen is displayed on the slant section. When an image of a smokestack is displayed, for example, a lower half section of the smokestack appears on the plane section and an upper half section thereof appears on the slant section. In this case, the smokestack displayed on the slant section appears by being compressed in the longitudinal direction thereof. With those steps, it actually looks from the position of the user as if the upper half section of the smokestack is displayed on the dummy screen. As a result, a screen larger than the actual screen can be obtained.Type: GrantFiled: September 17, 1998Date of Patent: May 15, 2001Assignee: Fourie, Inc.Inventor: Shinsuke Nishida
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Patent number: 6219099Abstract: The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a display that can be calibrated and re-calibrated with a minimal amount of manual intervention. To accomplish this, the present invention provides one or more cameras to capture an image that is projected on a display screen. In one embodiment, the one or more cameras are placed on the same side of the screen as the projectors. In another embodiment, an array of cameras is provided on either or both sides of the screen for capturing a number of adjacent and/or overlapping capture images of the screen. In either of these embodiments, the resulting capture images are processed to identify any non-desirable characteristics including any visible artifacts such as seams, bands, rings, etc. Once the non-desirable characteristics are identified, an appropriate transformation function is determined.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 1998Date of Patent: April 17, 2001Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.Inventors: Michael J. Johnson, Chung-Jen Chen, Rajesh Chandrasekhar
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Patent number: 6219011Abstract: Electro-optical display apparatus includes a plurality of modular units each having a projector for receiving electrical signals, converting them to optical images, and projecting the optical images via an optical projection system onto a screen. The modular units are arranged in a side-by-side array such as to produce a combined display on the screen. A calibration system detects distortions in the combined display caused by the projection system of each modular unit and modifies the electrical signals applied to the projector of each modular unit to correct the combined display with respect to the detected distortions.Type: GrantFiled: September 17, 1997Date of Patent: April 17, 2001Assignee: ComView Graphics, Ltd.Inventors: Meir Aloni, Amir Rosenthal, Avinoam Livni, Nissim Elmaliah
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Patent number: 6205716Abstract: A secure, modular and movable interactive two-way telecollaborative video conferencing and imaging enclosure for conducting business or privileged medical, legal, or other confidential matters in private, being particularly equipped for remote monitoring of physiological attributes of one or more users by medical specialists and remote interaction between users and medical specialists.Type: GrantFiled: January 7, 2000Date of Patent: March 27, 2001Inventor: Diane P. Peltz
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Patent number: 6188454Abstract: The present invention features procedures for correcting discoloration and brightness variations due to liquid crystal cell gap variations or other optical, electro-optical, ambient light, electronic, mechanical, and materials anomalies arising in tiled, flat-panel displays. The purpose of these corrections is to achieve a visually seamless appearance. Absolute, relative and/or smoothing corrections are implemented by performing pixel data video processing with correction data acquired from memory. Techniques for determining and applying these corrections are described.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2000Date of Patent: February 13, 2001Assignee: Rainbow Displays, Inc.Inventors: Raymond G. Greene, J. Peter Krusius, Dean W. Skinner, Boris Yost
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Patent number: 6184952Abstract: The present invention features procedures for correcting discoloration and brightness variations due to liquid crystal cell gap variations or other optical, electro-optical, ambient light, electronic, mechanical, and materials anomalies arising in tiled, flat-panel displays. The purpose of these corrections is to achieve a visually seamless appearance. Absolute, relative and/or smoothing corrections are implemented by performing pixel data video processing with correction data acquired from memory. Techniques for determining and applying these corrections are described.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2000Date of Patent: February 6, 2001Assignee: Rainbow Displays, Inc.Inventors: Raymond G. Greene, J. Peter Krusius, Dean W. Skinner, Boris Yost
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Patent number: 6184934Abstract: A video signal processing apparatus inputting a plurality of video signals, making the plurality of video signals in parallel in order to display them as one image and setting peripheral parts of images which are adjacent to each other when they are placed in parallel as overlapped areas, and being able to execute a necessary correction processing about the video signals corresponding to the overlapped areas comprising: a remote controller being able to set the correction starting position and the correction end position, a correction data memory storing the correction data corresponding to the correction starting position and the correction end position set by the remote controller, and a control portion reading out the predetermined correction data from the correction data memory based on the correction starting position and the correction end position in a case where the correction starting position and the correction end position have been set.Type: GrantFiled: June 8, 1999Date of Patent: February 6, 2001Assignee: Sony CorporationInventor: Nobuhiko Nishiki
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Patent number: 6181392Abstract: The present invention features procedures for correcting discoloration and brightness variations due to liquid crystal cell gap variations or other optical, electro-optical, ambient light, electronic, mechanical, and materials anomalies arising in tiled, flat-panel displays. The purpose of these corrections is to achieve a visually seamless appearance. Absolute, relative and/or smoothing corrections are implemented by performing pixel data video processing with correction data acquired from memory. Techniques for determining and applying these corrections are described.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2000Date of Patent: January 30, 2001Assignee: Rainbow Display, Inc.Inventors: Raymond G. Greene, J. Peter Krusius, Dean W. Skinner, Boris Yost
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Patent number: 6128131Abstract: A flat-panel projection color display including a flat projection display screen having a width dimension and a height dimension defining a display screen area A, the display screen having a light transmissive support which has on one surface thereof a plurality of patterned fluorescent elements capable of emitting red, green, or blue color light and at least one laser scanner for producing a raster-scanned laser light beam and for projecting the beam onto the display screen as a display tile from a projection distance which is .ltoreq.0.5.sqroot.A. The display screen causes the laser light beam to illuminate selected fluorescent elements within the display tile on the screen, the laser light beam having a wavelength selected to cause the selected fluorescent elements to emit red, green, or blue color light.Type: GrantFiled: November 13, 1997Date of Patent: October 3, 2000Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventor: Ching W. Tang
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Patent number: 6115022Abstract: A three dimensional smoothing factors lookup table provides detailed control over the full two dimensional space of a composite image composed of multiple projected raster images. The overall displayed image is improved by adjusting the brightness, gamma, and contrast of individual detail elements of the image according to predetermined smoothing factors. A set of smoothing factors is generated by measuring the reflective brightness of detail elements of the projected image to produce a reflective brightness contour map and mathematically inverting the contour map to produce an inverse map. The inverse map is used as smoothing factors to match the colors output by various projectors in an arrayed projection system. The three dimensional smoothing factors lookup table also enables performance of additional image improvement functions, including projector shading, color shift correction, correction of optical vignetting, and automatic edge definition.Type: GrantFiled: May 30, 1997Date of Patent: September 5, 2000Assignee: Metavision CorporationInventors: Theodore Mayer, III, Peter J. Inova
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Patent number: 6097351Abstract: A display device which includes a simplified wiring for respective display elements is provided to facilitate the assembly and maintenance. The display device is constituted of a large number of display units (50) arranged in a matrix, each including a display element (10) composed of a light bulb, a regulator (51) composed of a relay, an nonvolatile memory (52) composed of an EEPROM, and a controller (53) composed of a CPU. A common electric power transmission line (61) and a common signal transmission line (71) are wired for the plural display units (50). A display signal including address information and data information is supplied to the signal transmission line (71). Each controller (53) controls an associated regulator (51) to light on/off an associated display element (10), based on the data information in the display signal only when the address stored in the nonvolatile memory (52) agrees with the address information in the display signal.Type: GrantFiled: April 8, 1998Date of Patent: August 1, 2000Inventor: Shinsuke Nishida
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Patent number: 6075567Abstract: An image code transform system for arranging and composing a plurality of small screens of moving images to a large screen image, compressing and encoding the large screen image to generate a large screen compressed/coded data sequence, and extracting small screen compressed/coded data sequences of the plurality of small screens of moving images from the large screen compressed/coded data sequence.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 1997Date of Patent: June 13, 2000Assignee: NEC CorporationInventor: Osamu Ohnishi
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Patent number: 6072536Abstract: A composite image generator for generating a multi-image composite from a plurality of individual compressed images is disclosed. Multi-image composites are generated from static images or from a video stream with significantly reduced computation, reduced latency for video processing and reduced storage requirements. The individual images may be compressed with a JPEG image encoder or another suitable intraframe image encoder, such as those implementing the MPEG-II standard. In the illustrative embodiment, four (4) individual images of equal size, compressed using the JPEG standard, are combined into a multi-image composite with a single individual image in each quadrant of the composite image. Multi-image composites are created without fully decoding each individual compressed image, by partially decoding the individual compressed images and only fully decoding a small portion of each image.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 1997Date of Patent: June 6, 2000Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.Inventors: Marc Jay Beacken, Robert L. Doran, Paul S. Giangrossi, Paul R. Gloudemans, Elizabeth A. Seip
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Patent number: 6061038Abstract: A display has a cathode ray tube (CRT) provided with a multiplicity of electron beams or beam sets. Each of the beams has its own auxiliary beam control assembly including deflection means. Each beam assembly is directed to energize a prescribed portion of the display format area. The typical application may employ two to six beam sets and is useful to reduce total depth and bulk of CRT's having high aspect ratios and/or large size. The displayed area shows substantially no visible boundaries (tiling) between portions.Type: GrantFiled: November 20, 1996Date of Patent: May 9, 2000Inventor: Clayton A. Washburn
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Patent number: 6020868Abstract: The present invention features a tiled, flat-panel display (FPD) that has color-matching between the tiles, which is accomplished by a direct transformation of video data through values stored in tables, and addressed by the spatial position in both the display and the input data value. One or more transformation tables are disposed proximate a graphics controller, which synchronizes, routes and controls the timing of data to data (column) drivers of the FPD. The transformation tables may be read-only or read-write memory devices. They are used to provide data representative of corrections or adjustments of color luminance on a pixel-by-pixel, or sub-pixel-by-sub-pixel basis, thus matching color of all portions of a display tile and all tiles in the FPD. This invention also describes a method of determining the values for the tables by measuring the common luminance response of the regions of the display.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 1997Date of Patent: February 1, 2000Assignee: Rainbow Displays, Inc.Inventors: Raymond G. Greene, Robert H. Katyl, J. Peter Krusius, Robert Sechler, Boris Yost
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Patent number: 5966177Abstract: Image display apparatus (2) comprising at least one display projector for displaying an image, signal generator means for generating a control signal for controlling the intensity of the image, modulator means (4, 6) for generating a modulation waveform for modulating the intensity of the image, and adjustor means (8, 10) for adjusting the modulation waveform to improve the performance of the modulation waveform at various image intensities, the image display apparatus being such that it uses different modulation waveforms for various image intensities, it uses a proportion of at least one modulation waveform in dependence upon the control signal, and it uses the resultant modulation waveform to modulate the control signal.Type: GrantFiled: February 10, 1998Date of Patent: October 12, 1999Assignee: SEOS Displays LimitedInventor: John Robert Harding
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Patent number: 5956000Abstract: A digital image display system and method for displaying a digital image in a large format are provided. The system includes a frame buffer for storing the digital image, which is projected via a plurality N of projection units. Each projection unit projects a section of the digital image which is 1/Nth of the digital image plus an overlap portion of each of its neighboring sections. Thus, when the sections are projected, the portions of the image corresponding to the edges between projection units will be overlapped. The intensities of the overlapped portions are typically modulated to ensure that, in the large format image, the overlapped portions receive the same amount of illumination as the non-overlapped portions. The resultant image will have no seams between projection units. The projection units are assumed to be mis-aligned and the misalignment is compensated for by transforming each section of the image in accordance with the misalignment of the projection.Type: GrantFiled: May 12, 1997Date of Patent: September 21, 1999Assignee: Scitex Corporation Ltd.Inventors: Haim Kreitman, Mattetyahu Jonathan Litvak, Jonathan Cohen, Josef Ronen
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Patent number: 5848129Abstract: A conventional billboard for displaying a visual message is combined with a communication system for enabling a message related to the message displayed by the billboard to be transmitted from the billboard to passengers of automotive vehicles driving by said billboard. The communication system includes a transmitter located at the billboard and connected to an external telephone line. A telephone unit, disposed at a remote business office, supplies the related message over the telephone line to the transmitter. Receivers, located in individual automotive vehicles, receive the transmitted message. The transmitter includes a recorder for recording the related message received from the telephone unit and a control unit for controlling recording and playback of that message.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 1996Date of Patent: December 8, 1998Inventor: Earl Baker
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Patent number: 5838396Abstract: In a projection type image display apparatus, the screen is divided and a memory to record luminance correction data corresponding to the divided regions is provided, and addresses of the divided regions of the screen are set by an address counter, synchronized with the input video signal. The luminance correction data are read successively by inputting the addresses to the memory, and luminance nonuniformity on the screen is corrected through operational processing of the correction value converted in an analog value by a D/A converter and the input video signal. The luminance correction data is obtained by computing measurement results of respective luminance characteristics of red, green, and blue colors on the screen and separately recorded as an amplitude correction component and a DC level correction component.Type: GrantFiled: December 13, 1995Date of Patent: November 17, 1998Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Tetsuro Shiota, Hiroshi Miyai, Hitoshi Noda
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Patent number: 5828410Abstract: A system for increasing the useful viewing angle in an array of video display units, also called a video wall, comprising the duplication of an outer marginal strip of the displayed image on adjacent video display units, a cylindrical lens structure mounted over the frame of each video display units and outer strip, with a spatial compression of a portion of outer strip, or the duplication of the image in an outer marginal strip of the displayed image in adjacent video display units, and a spherical lens placed over the entire viewing surface and frame of each video display unit. With proper selection of lens parameters and aforementioned image modifications, the invention produces a magnified image that obscures the image of the frame between adjacent video display units and gives the effect of a single large display over an increased viewing angle.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 1995Date of Patent: October 27, 1998Inventor: Raoul E. Drapeau