Mobile wireless display for accessing data from a host and method for controlling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9116340-B2
Application number	US-15246208-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 14, 2008
Priority date	May 14, 2007
Publication date	Aug 25, 2015
Grant date	Aug 25, 2015

Abstract

An apparatus includes a monocular display with a wireless communications interface, a user input device, a transmitter, and a controller. The monocular display is positioned relative to the user's eye to display images to the user while occluding less than half of the user's maximum viewing space. The apparatus can incorporate a wireless communication controller that not only provides a video link to a host device, but also provides for control and management of a host device and other more devices. In this context, a host device may be any appropriate device that sources audio, video, text, office functionality and other information, such as a cell phone, personal computer, laptop, media player, and/or the like. The apparatus and the host may support Microsoft Windows SideShow, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), and Virtual Network Computing (VNC).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device comprising:
a portable, miniature display configured to display a graphical output of an application running on a host computing device based on received data in a generic format, the generic format being independent from a format of the host computing device;
an input device configured to receive a control signal including a request to control the application running on the host computing device; and
a wireless interface configured to:
(i) establish a wireless connection between the device and the host computing device,
(ii) convert the received control signal into a reformatted control signal having a control format that the host computing system can receive;
(iii) transmit the reformatted control signal over the wireless connection to the host computing device, wherein the reformatted control signal controls the application running on the host computing device and
(iv) receive data representative of the graphical output of the application running on the host computing device in the format of the host computing device, the application being remotely controlled by the received control signal,
wherein the portable, miniature display is further configured to reformat the data using a device driver associated with the host computing device, such that the data is always presented to the portable, miniature display in the generic format independent from the format of the host computing device, and the data is representative of the graphical output of the application running on the host computing device from the generic format to the graphical output in an expected format of the portable, miniature display and further configured to remotely display the graphical output of the application running on the host computing device.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless connection between the device and the host computing device further supports Microsoft Windows Sideshow, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), or Virtual Network Computing (VNC) protocols.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein the wireless connection between the device and the host computing device is configured to poll the host computing device when in a sleep mode for updated graphical output, and returning the host computing device to the sleep mode.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless interface is a Bluetooth™ physical layer with a Bluetooth™ proxy to implement a packet switching gateway.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the display is configured to be positioned in a peripheral field of vision of a user and occlude less than half of a normal field of vision of the user.

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising an input device configured to wirelessly communicate with the host computing device.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless interface is configured to support one or more of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi™), IEEE 802.15 (Bluetooth™), Wireless Universal Serial Bus (WUSB), Ultra Wide band (UWB), Wireless High Definition (WirelessHD), Wireless High Definition Multimedia Interface (WHDMI), or cellular protocols.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless interface is configured to establish a first wireless communication path with a first host computing device of the host computing device and a second wireless communication path with a second host computing device of the host computing device.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the wireless interface is further configured to establish the first and second wireless communication paths employing protocols, standard or modified, providing simultaneous communication over a plurality of channels with a variable bit rate and a variable buffer.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein the graphical output provided from the host computing device is selected from at least one of: broadcast video, broadcast television, broadcast radio, Internet access, audio, video, text, images, satellite service, or closed circuit communications.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the host computing device is at least one of a laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile telephone, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), radio, satellite receiver, music player, video player, multimedia player, global positioning system (GPS) device, diagnostic computing device, and smart phone.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein the wireless interface is further configured to receive the data representative of the graphical output by receiving a markup language as the data in the generic format, and
wherein the display is further configured to convert the data representative of the graphical output, including the markup language, to the graphical output of the application for displaying.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein the host computing device is further configured to operate a utility to provide the graphical output to the device at a time of operation of the host computing device in a state of power of on, off, or reduced-power sleep mode, and wherein the display is further configured to access the utility of the host computing device to receive the graphical output.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the utility operates remotely without requiring user interaction with the host computing device through protocols, such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Virtual Network Computing (VNC), and commercial services, such as GoToMyPC.

15. A display method comprising:
establishing a wireless connection between a device and a host computing device;
generating, based on an input device, a control signal including a request for graphical output of an application running on a host computing device based on received data in a generic format, the generic format being independent from a format of the host computing device;
converting the control signal into a reformatted control signal having a control format that the host computing system can receive;
transmitting the reformatted control signal from the device to the host computing device, the reformatted control signal controlling the application running on the host computing device;
receiving data representative of the graphical output of the application running on host computing device in the format of the host computing device, the application being remotely controlled by the received control signal;
reformatting the data using a device driver associated with the host computing device, such that the data is always presented to a portable, miniature display of the device in the generic format independent from the format of the host computing device, and the data is representative of the graphical output of the application running on the host computing device from the generic format to the graphical output in an expected format of the portable, miniature display; and
remotely displaying, at the portable, miniature display of the device, the graphical output of the application running on the host computing device.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the wireless connection between the device and the host computing device supports Microsoft Windows SideShow, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), or Virtual Network Computing (VNC) protocols, the method further comprising displaying the graphical output according to the protocols.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:
polling the host computing device when in a sleep mode for updated graphical output; and
returning the host computing device to the sleep mode.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the wireless interface is a Bluetooth™ physical layer with a Bluetooth™ proxy, the method

Assignees

• Jacobsen Jeffrey J
• Pombo Stephen A
• Parkinson Christopher
• Kopin Corp

Inventors

• Jacobsen Jeffrey J
• Pombo Stephen A
• Parkinson Christopher

Classifications

• G09G5/005

  Adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal · CPC title

• G09G2370/16

  Use of wireless transmission of display information · CPC title

• G02B27/017 Primary

  Head mounted · CPC title

• G06F3/14

  Digital output to display device {; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units} · CPC title

• G09G2370/12

  Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline · CPC title