Abstract:
Techniques and systems for driving multiple tiled displays from a single digital video source can include a plurality of displays arranged in tiled fashion to form a tiled display, a plurality of display drivers corresponding to the plurality of displays, and a video receiver board coupled to the plurality of display drivers via a communication bus. The video receiver board communicates streams of pixel information to the plurality of display drivers.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to display systems consisting of tiled arrays. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for driving multiple tiled displays from a single digital video source. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Images on electronic displays are formed by an array of small picture elements known as pixels. In electronic color displays, these pixels may include three color elements that produce the primary colors red, blue and green for matching any other color. Usually arranged as squares or rectangles, the pixel array can be characterized by pixel pitch, P, a quantity that measures the density of pixels per unit distance. 
     Most commercial display products are manufactured as a single monolithic pixel array with a constant pixel pitch across the entire face of the display. While this configuration produces continuous images across the entire display, at the same time, it limits the sizes of the pixel arrays to what can be manufactured as a single display unit given the yield of the fabrication processes and assembly techniques employed. 
     In principle, larger displays including a plurality of adjacent display units, arranged as tiles like a bathroom floor, can be used to overcome the size limitations of manufacturing and assembly processes. Each tile displays a part of a larger virtual display area. However, using multiple display units has proven difficult for many reasons. For example, driving each display from a separate source is not practical or desired. 
     There is a need for a system and method of dividing a single input into non-overlapping sections of a larger total display. Further, there is a need for a large tiled display to be connected to a single digital video source, as any video monitor such that the user can make pixel or sub pixel alignment adjustments. Even further, there is a need to easily swap individual tiles in a tiled display. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to techniques and systems for driving multiple tiled displays from a single digital video source. An exemplary embodiment includes a system having a plurality of displays arranged in tiled fashion to form a tiled display, a plurality of display drivers corresponding to the plurality of displays, and a video receiver board coupled to the plurality of display drivers via a communication bus. The video receiver board communicates streams of pixel information to the plurality of display drivers. 
     Another exemplary embodiment relates to a tiled display including a number of individual displays located in a tiled arrangement, display drivers coupled to each of the number of individual displays, and a digital video input coupled to the display drivers. The digital video input communicates a unique pixel stream to each of the number of individual displays. The display drivers accept the unique pixel stream and the individual displays synchronize horizontal and vertical lines of pixels in the individual displays based on the unique pixel stream received from the digital video input. 
     Still another exemplary embodiment relates to a method of driving multiple displays in a tiled display using a single digital video source. The method includes receiving image information at a digital video board, and communicating pixel streams from the digital video board to a plurality of display drivers. The pixel streams are portions of the received image information. 
     Other principle features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following drawings, the detailed description, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals denote like elements; and 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of a tiled display system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of tiled display having multiple tile displays in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a method of driving a tiled display from a single digital video source in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram of adjacent displays in a tiled display having wasted pixels; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of adjacent displays in a tiled display with overlapping pixels; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram of two tiled displays having oddly distributed displays or displays of different sizes; 
         FIG. 7  is a tiled display having a different scale setting for a section of the tiled display; and 
         FIG. 8  is a tiled display having different resolution settings for sections of the tiled display. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary tiled display  10  is comprised of multiple individual displays  12 . The displays  12  can be flat-panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), active matrix LCDs, plasma displays, field emission displays, electroluminescent displays, digital mirror displays, or any other device that displays images. Each of the displays  12  is driven by an individual drive board  14  that receives a serial pixel stream of pixel display data for the pixels in the particular display  12  associated with the drive board  14 . 
     Each individual drive board  14  includes a backplane edge connector  16  that connects the drive board  14  to a common backplane video receiver board  18 . The receiver board  18  fans out the display data to each driver board  14 . The individual driver boards  14  receive an entire digital video image via a common data bus  20 . Each driver board  14  captures only the pixel streams corresponding to rows and columns that fit with a predefined size and start position of the displays  12 . Each tile driver board  14  retains the start and stop coordinates in a local memory or hardware  15 . 
     Each driver board  14  has a different start position as the tiles are arranged to create a contiguous display. Moreover, each driver board  14  is electrically and functionally independent of the others. As such, the displays  12  can be swapped around and easily re-assigned with a new position in the tiled display  10 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a tiled display  32  having a tile  34  with a start row and column  36 . The tiled display  32  receives a pixel stream and horizontal and vertical sync only. Information on the location of the start row and column  36  is stored with a driver such that a stream of pixels received by the driver can be communicated to the tiled display  32  and presented in the correct location on the display. 
     The stream of pixels communicated to a particular display depends on its location in the tiled display. Displays can be physically swapped or moved within the display, but the location information is preferably communicated to the digital video input that communicates to all of the displays in the tiled display. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a flow diagram depicting operations in a method for driving a tiled display from a single video source. Additional, fewer, or different operations may be performed in the method, depending on the embodiment. In an operation  42 , a virtual image is routed to a video receiver board from a computer or other device having image information. In an operation  44 , the video receiver board routes a pixel stream from the virtual image to the individual drivers of each display in the tiled display. 
     Sending an entire pixel stream to each display allows for adjustments to the relative positions of each display. Each display only receives the correct set of pixels corresponding to its location in the tiled display. The individual displays can be moved around and re-assigned new locations on the tiled display. In an operation  46 , the video receiver board receives a command to assign the displays to new tile positions. Such a command may come from a computer programmed to configure the tiled display. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates two adjacent displays  52  and  54  having wasted pixels  56  and  58 . Wasted pixels refer to pixels that because of their position do not contribute to the formation of the image presented by the display. The receiver board  18  described with reference to  FIG. 1  can account for the wasted pixels  56  and  58  and adjust the pixel stream communicated to the displays  52  and  54 . Having positional information for each display, the receiver board  18  can recognize that pixels are wasted based on the configuration of the displays. Similarly,  FIG. 5  illustrates two adjacent displays  62  and  64  having overlapping pixels  66 . Overlapping pixels refers to pixels that are positioned immediately next to or proximate pixels from an adjacent display. The receiver board  18  can account for the overlapping pixels  66  and communicate pixel streams accordingly. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates tiled displays  72  and  74 . The tiled displays  72  and  74  have oddly distributed displays and/or displays of different sizes. Due to their configurations, the tiled displays  72  and  74  have wasted or hidden spaces  76  and useful display areas  78 . The useful display areas  78  are generally rectangular shaped. In alternative embodiments, tiled displays with oddly distributed displays and/or displays of different sizes are completely utilized. In either case, the receiver board  18  described with reference to  FIG. 1  is provided with locational information regarding the individual displays that constitute the tiled display. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a tiled display  82  having a different scale setting for a section  84  of the tiled display. In the section  84 , a higher zoom scale is used, meaning that images displayed in the section  84  appear larger or closer to the viewer than in sections  86  and  88 . The receiver board  18  described with reference to  FIG. 1  can communicate pixel streams having the scaled information contained within. That is, the pixel streams communicated to the section  84  have been adjusted by software to provide the zoom effect or appearance. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a tiled display  92  having different resolution settings for sections of the tiled display. By way of example, a middle section  94  may have a higher resolution setting than end sections  96  and  98 . The displays used in end sections  96  and  98  of the tiled display  92  may have too low resolution capabilities to properly construct the original image. The receiver board  18  described with reference to  FIG. 1  may not make any adjustments for the resolution capabilities of the end sections  96  and  98 . Consideration for the resolution capabilities may be made in software. 
     It is understood that although the detailed drawings and specific examples describe exemplary embodiments of a system and method for driving multiple tiled displays from a single digital video source, they are for purposes of illustration only. The exemplary embodiments are not limited to the precise details and descriptions described herein. For example, although particular devices and structures are described, other devices and structures could be utilized according to the principles of the present invention. Various modifications may be made and the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.