KR20050090123A - Multimedia presentation apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

A multimedia presentation apparatus (104) and method by which a presenter is freed from the requirement of having of providing or transporting a supporting computer system such as the notebook or laptop system by the incorporation of computing capability and an accessible data port (20) into data file may be delivered to cause generation of the desired presentation (105).

Description

Multimedia presentation device and method {MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION APPARATUS AND METHOD}

To date, many presentations have been made using a transparency scheme projected onto a screen or other similar surface by an optical projector, commonly known as an upward projector, as the optical device used to generate such a presentation. More recently, optical projectors that rely on micro-mirror semiconductor devices are used everywhere. Sales sample descriptions and similar operations provide projectors, now commonly known as spatial light modulation projectors, and executable data files representing presentations and signals to execute and control the display of presentations. This can be done via a stored notebook or laptop computer system.

Parallel to the development of information technology, the development of more powerful microprocessors that can execute application programs needed to create descriptive presentations, such as Lotus FreeLance and Microsoft PowerPoint. Processors with this capability now have a level of physical size, computing capabilities, and power usage that can be easily embedded in devices that become essentially consumer devices, such as game machines used in television receivers.

These developments also include the proliferation of advances in digital cameras and memory modules aimed at ease of use by camera consumers. These memory module advances include Sony's proprietary “memory sticks”, flash memory devices including more open standard compact flash cards, and various implementations of devices attached by a universal serial bus (USB). A common feature of these devices is that they are relatively compact, easily operable by the user, and are coupled to the consumer device by inserting into an appropriate port provided on the device.

1 is an enlarged perspective view of a device according to the invention,

2 is a simplified flowchart of steps involved in the implementation of the present invention.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to improve upon the developments described above for those who create and display multimedia presentations. To accomplish this purpose, the present invention provides a multimedia presentation apparatus and method that frees the presenter from the requirement to have, prepare, or transport an auxiliary computer system, such as the notebook or laptop system mentioned above. The present invention achieves its intended purpose by properly incorporating computing functions and accessible data ports into the housing of the device such that an executable data file is passed through the data port to produce the desired presentation.

Some objects of the present invention have been described, and other objects will appear from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

While the invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown, those skilled in the art can modify the invention described herein while achieving the desired results of the invention. Accordingly, the following description is to be understood by those skilled in the art as a broad disclosure and is not intended to limit the invention.

Referring now more specifically to FIG. 1, there is shown an enlarged perspective view of a device referred to as a multimedia presentation device 10 in accordance with the purposes of the present invention. Such a device has a housing 11 in which a micro-mirror semiconductor device 12 of a type known as a spatial light modulator is disposed. Such devices are known to be available from Texas Instruments and are shown and described in patents held by the company. The device 10 also includes a light source 14 in which light is optically coupled to the modulator 12 to impinge the light onto the modulator. An optical system, denoted by reference numeral 15, can generally direct light reflected from modulator 12 out of device 10 to display the presentation on a suitable surface, such as a large screen (not shown). have. The light path is shown by the arrows in FIG. 1. The circuitry indicated by reference numeral 16 controls the characteristics of the display produced by controlling the movement of the mirror elements of the modulator.

According to the invention, the device 10 also has a processor 18 in the housing 11. This processor is one of the types mentioned above that can execute application programs and data files and provide digital data to circuit 16 to produce presentation displays. Appropriate processors can be obtained, for example, from processor products available from IBM, Intel and AMD. Processor 18 is preferably coupled to internal memory 18 to which digital files are coupled to be accessible to the processor. Such a digital file can be, for example, a presentation application program of the kind mentioned above, which takes the form of a "reader" which is either full or reduced depending on the storage capacity of the provided memory and / or the processing power of the processor. .

The data port 20 is mounted on the housing 11 and electrically coupled with the processor 18. The data port 20 can accommodate a memory element that is accessible from the exterior of the housing 11 and can be manually inserted, where the port 20 enables the generation of a signal that controls the modulator 12. The file is transferred from the memory element to the processor 18. Signal paths are indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 1. This port may be a USB port or alternatively may be a port adapted for some other type of device such as a memory stick or a compact flash card. If the port is a USB port, additional functionality can be achieved because the memory device is a flash memory device that is sized for easy portability and operation, and can be connected via optical cable such as a CD, DVD or hard drive device. It can be connected to a magnetic rotating media device or to a network such as an Ethernet LAN where data files can be transferred. In addition, these additional features allow the presenter to create overlay marks, charts, etc. during presentations or pointing devices such as a mouse that allows the user to manipulate cursors and the like on screen if appropriate for the presentation application program being executed. And mounting the device to generate an overlay signal, such as a sketch pad or touch screen.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the method implemented in the use of the present invention is briefly shown. One exemplary method comprises the steps of generating a presentation data file, indicated by reference numeral 100, storing the file in a data link element in the form of a flash memory device 101, and then presenting the memory device to the presentation device. Inserting (102) into a data port of the data port; providing (103) a data file from a manually detachable data link element; processing (104) and processing the data file within a presentation device; Generating 105 to control the signal.

Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in the drawings and the specification, certain terms have been used, but the description given herein uses only general and descriptive meaning and is not intended to limit the invention.

Claims (16)

A spatial light modulation presentation device having a housing; A processor mounted within the housing and electrically coupled to deliver a signal for controlling the characteristics of the projected presentation; A data port mounted on the housing and electrically coupled to the processor Wherein the data port accommodates a manually insertable element accessible from outside of the housing and through which the data file executable to generate the signal is accessible to the processor. Device. A housing, a micro-mirror device electrically driven within the housing, a light source optically coupled to the micromirror device to imping light on the micromirror device, and light coupled to and reflected by the micro-mirror device And an optical system for guiding the out of the housing, and circuitry electrically coupled to the micro-mirror device within the housing to drive movement of the micro-mirror device and to control the characteristics of the presentation projected therefrom. A spatial light modulation presentation device, A processor in the housing, electrically coupled to the circuit, for transmitting a signal to the circuit to control the characteristic of the projected presentation; A data port mounted on the housing and electrically coupled to the processor Wherein the data port accommodates a manually insertable element accessible from outside of the housing and through which the data file executable is capable of being delivered to the processor to generate the signal. Device. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Said data port accepting a flash memory device. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the data port is a USB port. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The data port is a compact flash port. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the data port is a memory stick port. A spatial light modulation presentation device having a housing; A processor mounted within the housing and electrically coupled to deliver a signal for controlling the characteristics of the projected presentation; A data file mounted on the housing and mounted on the housing that accepts a manually insertable element from outside of the housing and through which the data file executable through the insertable element is accessible to the processor to generate the signal; Electrically coupled data ports, A data link element disposed within the port Device comprising a. The housing, a micro-mirror device electrically driven within the housing, a light source optically coupled to the micromirror device and impinging light thereon, and light coupled to and reflected by the micro-mirror device; Spatial light modulation presentation with an optical system guiding outward of the circuit and circuitry in the housing electrically coupled to the micro-mirror device to drive movement of the micro-mirror device and to control the characteristics of the presentation projected therefrom. Presentation device, A processor in the housing, electrically coupled to the circuit, for delivering a signal to control the characteristic of the projected presentation; A data file mounted on the housing and electrically mounted to the processor that can receive an accessible and manually insertable element from outside of the housing so that a data file executable through the insertable element can be delivered to the processor to generate the signal. Combined with data ports, Data link elements disposed in the port Device comprising a. The method according to claim 7 or 8, And said data link element is a flash memory element. The method according to claim 7 or 8, And the data link device is a USB device. The method of claim 10, And said data link element is a USB flash memory element. The method of claim 10, And the data link element is a USB attachable optical drive. The method of claim 10, And the data link element is a USB attachable network interface. The method according to claim 7 or 8, The data port is a compact flash port and the data link element is a compact flash card. The method according to claim 7 or 8, The data port is a memory stick port and the data link element is a memory stick. Providing the device with a data file from a manually detachable data link element housed in a data port of the spatial light modulation presentation device; Processing the data file within the device and generating a signal to control the presentation displayed from the device How to include.