Central display with private secondary displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9569164-B2
Application number	US-201113047389-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2011
Priority date	Mar 14, 2011
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method for a central display with private secondary displays. The apparatus includes a central information handling device and a secondary generation module. The central information handling device generates a central image for a central display. The central display is in communication with a plurality of secondary devices communicating with a plurality of secondary displays. Each secondary device communicates with a distinct secondary display. The secondary generation module generates a secondary image for two or more of the secondary displays of the secondary devices. The central display is viewable concurrently by users of each secondary display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a network component that communicates with a plurality of secondary devices over a data network, each secondary device communicating with a distinct secondary display, wherein at least one secondary device comprises a touch device having a secondary display comprising a touch screen;
a processor;
a memory that stores code executable by the processor to:
generate a central image for a central display comprising a touch screen, the central display viewable concurrently by users of each secondary display;
generate a common visual map associated with a plurality of secondary displays and containing visual data private to users of the secondary devices, the common visual map comprising a plurality of distinct secondary images for each secondary display,
wherein each secondary display image includes visual data private to a user of the corresponding secondary device,
wherein each secondary image is linked to the central image and comprises different visual data than the central image, and
wherein visual data of each secondary image has a visual component displayed on the central image;

discover an additional secondary device;
associate the additional secondary device with the central display in response to discovering the additional secondary device;
add an additional secondary display of the additional secondary device to the common visual map;
generate a first visual component in the central image in response to receiving an instruction to generate the first visual component from a secondary device;
send a second visual component to one or more of the plurality of secondary devices based on a location in the common visual map and in response to a touch gesture on the central display, the central image remaining distinct from each secondary image; and
alter an image of a first secondary display of the common visual map in response to a touch gesture on a second secondary display of the common visual map by removing a visual component of an image of the second secondary display and generating the visual component in the image of the first secondary display.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor executes a first operating system, and wherein at least one secondary device comprising a second processor executing a second operating system other than the first operating system.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the network component transmits the secondary image to each secondary device for display on each secondary display.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the network component sends instructions to a particular secondary device, the particular secondary device generating the secondary image based on the instructions.

5. A method comprising:
communicating with a plurality of secondary devices over data network, each secondary device communicating with a distinct secondary display, wherein at least one secondary device comprises a touch device having a secondary display comprising a touch screen;
generating a central image for a central display, the central display comprising a touch screen in communication with a central information handling device, the central information handling device being in communication with the plurality of secondary devices;
generating a common visual map associated with a plurality of secondary displays and containing visual data private to users of the secondary devices, the common visual map comprising a plurality of distinct secondary images for each secondary display,
wherein each secondary display image includes visual data private to a user of the corresponding secondary device,
wherein each secondary image is linked to the central image and comprises different visual data than the central image, and
wherein visual data of each secondary image has a visual component displayed on the central image;

discovering an additional secondary device;
associating the additional secondary device with the central display in response to discovering the additional secondary device;
adding an additional secondary display of the additional secondary device to the common visual map;
generating a first visual component in the central image in response to receiving an instruction to generate the first visual component from a secondary device;
sending a second visual component to one or more of the plurality of secondary devices based on location in the common visual map and in response to a touch gesture on the central display, the central image remaining distinct from each secondary image; and
altering an image of a first secondary display of the common visual map in response to a touch gesture on a second secondary display of the common visual map by removing a visual component of an image of the second secondary display and generating the visual component in the image of the first secondary display.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of secondary devices comprise touch devices, the method further comprising communicating data from a particular secondary device to an additional secondary device, the data being transmitted in response to the particular secondary device detecting a predefined touch gesture on its secondary display.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the central information handling device comprises a first processor executing a first operating system, at least one secondary device comprising a second processor executing a second operating system other than the first operating system.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein generating the secondary image for each secondary display further comprises sending instructions to a particular secondary device, the particular secondary device generating the secondary image based on the instructions.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the method further comprising transmitting the secondary image to each secondary device for display on each secondary display.

10. A computer program product comprising a storage device storing machine readable code executed by a processor to perform the operations of:
communicating with a plurality of secondary devices over data network, each secondary device communicating with a distinct secondary display, wherein at least one secondary device comprises a touch device having a secondary display comprising a touch screen;
generating a central image for a central display by way of a central generation module in communication with the central display, the central generation module comprising a touch screen in communication with the plurality of secondary devices;
generating a distinct secondary image for each secondary display,
wherein each secondary display image includes visual data private to a user of the corresponding secondary device,
wherein each secondary image is linked to the central image ands comprises different visual data than the central image, and
wherein the visual data of each secondary image has a visual component displayed on the central image;

discovering an additional secondary device;
associating the additional secondary device with the central display in response to discovering the additional secondary device;
adding an additional secondary display of the additional secondary device to the common visual map;
generating a first visual component in the central image in response to receiving an instruction to generate the first visual component from a secondary device;
sending a second visual component to one or more of the plurality of secondary devices based on location in the common visual map and in response to a touch gesture on the central display, the central image remaining distinct from each secondary image; and
altering an image of a first secondary display of the common vis

Assignees

• Locker Howard J
• Rutledge James Stephen
• Stewart Aaron Michael
• Swansey John David
• Lenovo Singapore Pte Ltd

Inventors

• Locker Howard J
• Rutledge James Stephen
• Stewart Aaron Michael
• Swansey John David

Classifications

• G09G5/14

  Display of multiple viewports · CPC title

• G09G2370/02

  Networking aspects · CPC title

• G06F3/1462 Primary

  with means for detecting differences between the image stored in the host and the images displayed on the remote displays · CPC title