US20160227156A1 - Modular television system - Google Patents
Modular television system Download PDFInfo
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- US20160227156A1 US20160227156A1 US14/677,305 US201514677305A US2016227156A1 US 20160227156 A1 US20160227156 A1 US 20160227156A1 US 201514677305 A US201514677305 A US 201514677305A US 2016227156 A1 US2016227156 A1 US 2016227156A1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/64—Constructional details of receivers, e.g. cabinets or dust covers
- H04N5/655—Construction or mounting of chassis, e.g. for varying the elevation of the tube
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/64—Constructional details of receivers, e.g. cabinets or dust covers
- H04N5/645—Mounting of picture tube on chassis or in housing
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- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G3/00—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes
- G09G3/20—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
- G09G3/34—Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters by control of light from an independent source
- G09G3/3406—Control of illumination source
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- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G5/00—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators
- G09G5/003—Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto
- G09G5/005—Adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G5/00—Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators
- G09G5/18—Timing circuits for raster scan displays
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N5/00—Details of television systems
- H04N5/64—Constructional details of receivers, e.g. cabinets or dust covers
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2320/00—Control of display operating conditions
- G09G2320/06—Adjustment of display parameters
- G09G2320/0626—Adjustment of display parameters for control of overall brightness
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2330/00—Aspects of power supply; Aspects of display protection and defect management
- G09G2330/02—Details of power systems and of start or stop of display operation
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2340/00—Aspects of display data processing
- G09G2340/02—Handling of images in compressed format, e.g. JPEG, MPEG
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2360/00—Aspects of the architecture of display systems
- G09G2360/08—Power processing, i.e. workload management for processors involved in display operations, such as CPUs or GPUs
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2370/00—Aspects of data communication
- G09G2370/04—Exchange of auxiliary data, i.e. other than image data, between monitor and graphics controller
- G09G2370/042—Exchange of auxiliary data, i.e. other than image data, between monitor and graphics controller for monitor identification
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2370/00—Aspects of data communication
- G09G2370/06—Consumer Electronics Control, i.e. control of another device by a display or vice versa
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2370/00—Aspects of data communication
- G09G2370/12—Use of DVI or HDMI protocol in interfaces along the display data pipeline
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09G—ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION
- G09G2370/00—Aspects of data communication
- G09G2370/16—Use of wireless transmission of display information
Definitions
- the invention relates to television display systems.
- TVs were capable of receiving outside programming via the use of an analog antenna.
- the analog antenna would receive analog signals from a transmission tower and the television system would display audio and video images on the display of the television.
- cable television providers provided programming to televisions via a cable set top box.
- the cable set top box would receive television signals from a coaxial cable.
- the cable set top box would descramble these signals and provide them to the television, wherein the television would then display the audio and video images.
- Further improvements in televisions incorporated the use of additional electronics for “cable ready” television systems. These television systems already contain additional electronics for descrambling a cable signal, minimizing the need for a cable set top box.
- the digital set top box has the capability of descrambling hundreds of channels but also had additional capabilities, such as providing on demand programming and other interactive features.
- modern television systems have integrated both an Internet connection capability combined with a high performance central processing unit and/or graphics processing unit.
- Many third party applications can be downloaded by the users of the television systems, including video streaming services and gaming applications.
- a modular television system may include a main module housing. Located within the main module housing may be a main module processor, a display, and at least one computing module port. Each of the display, audio output device and computing module ports are in communication with the main module processor. The main module processor functions to present audio and video received by the main module processor.
- the main module processor is configured to communicate with a removable computing module.
- the removable computing module is configured to connect to the computing module port of the main module.
- the removable computing module has a computing module processor, wherein the main module processor is configured to communicate with data from the computing module processor when presenting audio and video received by at least one of a plurality of inputs/output ports.
- the plurality of input/output ports are in communication with the main module processor or the computing module processor.
- the modular television system may include a display subsystem and a television module subsystem.
- the display subsystem has a housing that contains a display panel for displaying images and display subsystem port.
- the television module subsystem has a housing that contains a main board and a television module port in communication with the main board.
- the main board is located within the housing and is configured to communicate with the display subsystem via at least one cord.
- the modular television system may also include a timing controller module in communication with the display panel for controlling images displayed by the display panel of the display subsystem and a backlight controller in communication with the display panel as well.
- the backlight controller is configured to control the backlighting of the display panel.
- a power supply may be located in the housing of the television module subsystem and functions to supply power to the main board of the television module subsystem and the display subsystem.
- the timing controller module and/or backlight controller may be located either in the housing of the television module subsystem or the housing of the display subsystem. This allows either or both the timing controller module or backlight controller to be located in the display subsystem or the television module subsystem thereby providing a modular design for the television system.
- FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system
- FIG. 2 illustrates a backside of the modular television system of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 illustrates the backside of the modular television system of FIG. 1 , with a computing module being either inserted or removed from the modular television system;
- FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of the modular television system
- FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a main module
- FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of the computing module
- FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a general connection routing between the computing module and the main module
- FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram illustrating network access provided to the computing modules via the main module
- FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an embodiment of a block diagram of different local area network and routing configurations of the main module and the computing module;
- FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a system having the main module and computing modules utilizing Internet protocol address distribution
- FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram for sharing devices with the computing modules via the main module
- FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of another methodology for sharing devices with the computing modules via the main module
- FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram wherein network access is provided to the main module via the computing module
- FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram utilizing an Internet protocol address distribution wherein network access is provided to the main module via the computing module;
- FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram utilizing an Internet protocol address distribution wherein network access is provided to the main module via one or more computing modules;
- FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of another methodology for sharing devices with the computing module via the main module
- FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a digital television signal processing application scenario
- FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a scenario involving video on demand streaming
- FIG. 20 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for analog television signal processing
- FIG. 21 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for an interactive gaming scenario
- FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate an embodiment of an application scenario utilizing a set top box
- FIG. 24 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen sharing application scenario
- FIG. 25 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen interaction scenario
- FIG. 26 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a video on demand streaming scenario
- FIG. 27 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for an interactive gaming scenario
- FIG. 28 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen sharing application scenario
- FIG. 29 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen interaction scenario
- FIG. 30 illustrates an embodiment of an storage device storing for device information of the computing module
- FIG. 31 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system
- FIG. 32 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having speakers separate from the housing of the television subsystem
- FIG. 33 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having a timing controller located within the housing of the display system
- FIG. 34 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having a backlight control located within the housing of the display system
- FIG. 35 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having a main module and a computing module
- FIG. 36 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having separate speakers
- FIG. 37 through 39 illustrate an embodiment of modular television systems having speakers located at different locations.
- the modular television system 10 has a display 12 for displaying images.
- the modular television system 10 may also have one or more speakers 14 and 16 integrated within a housing 18 of the modular television system 10 .
- the speakers 14 and 16 function to provide sound from the modular television system 10 .
- any one of a number of different types or quantity of speakers may be utilized.
- the speakers 14 and 16 may be separate and apart from the modular television system 10 .
- the housing 18 includes a portion 20 of the housing 18 that may contain electronics associated with the modular television system 10 .
- the modular television system includes a plurality of input/output ports 22 .
- the main module 24 has a main module processor that is in communication with the plurality of the input/output ports 22 .
- the plurality of input/output ports 22 may include any one of a number of different ports.
- the plurality of input/output ports could include universal serial bus (USB) ports, high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) ports, Ethernet ports, coaxial cable ports, digital video ports, video graphics array (VGA) ports, and the like.
- the input/output ports 22 could include any one of a number of different wireless interfaces such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth interfaces.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 each have computing module ports 32 and 34 .
- the computing module ports 32 and 34 are configured to mate with main module ports 36 and 38 , respectively.
- the computing module ports 32 and 34 are in communication with processors found on the computing modules 26 or 28 , while the main module ports 36 and 38 are in communication with processors on the main module 24 .
- computing module port 32 is connected to main module port 36 , this places the processors of computing module 26 in communication with the main module 24 .
- computing module port 34 is connected to main module port 38
- computing module 28 is placed in communication with the processors of the main module 24 .
- the main module 24 is in direct communication with the ports 22 and the display 12 .
- the main module 24 can control what is displayed on the display 12 as well as receive inputs or transmit outputs to or from the ports 22 .
- the computing modules 26 and/or 28 are connected to the main module 24 via the ports 32 , 34 , 36 , and 38 , this allows the computing modules 26 and 28 to interact with the ports 22 as well as control what is displayed on the display 12 .
- the main module 24 may be in charge of presenting audio and video on the display 12 in viewing conditions and may bear the function of image and audio post processing as well as be in charge of television receiving in network connections.
- the computing modules 26 and/or 28 may be in charge of digital multimedia decoding of various formats and execution of various applications. For these reasons, the computing modules 26 and/or 28 may have a more powerful central processor or graphic processor to power modern operating systems, such as Linux, Android, and iOS and others. By making the computing modules 26 and/or 28 separate from the main modules 24 , one can update the modular television system 10 by simply unplugging an older computing module and replacing with a newer and more powerful computing module. This allows the user to retain the display 12 which may still be current enough to date, but replace and upgrade the computing power providing audio and video images to the display 12 .
- the main module 24 may include one or more processors.
- the main module 24 may include a central processor 40 , a graphics processor 42 and a video post processor 44 . These processors 40 , 42 , and 44 communicate with each other via a system bus 46 .
- Also in communication with the system bus 46 may be an analog video decoder 48 , an Ethernet interface 50 , a control interface 52 and the display processor 13 .
- the display processor 13 provides signals to present on the display 12 .
- the control interface 52 may include an I2C, a UART, and/or a GPIO interface.
- These additional interfaces 56 , 58 and/or 60 may include USB, a serial peripheral interface, a wireless Wi-Fi interface, a wireless Bluetooth interface, camera interface or other input/output device interfaces, such as a mouse or keyboard.
- an audio post processor 62 Memory for connecting with these various processors and interfaces may be in the form of a dynamic random access memory 64 as in communication with the system bus 46 . By so doing, the devices previously described have access to the memory 64 via the bus 46 .
- the main module 24 may also include other more traditional television components as well.
- main module 24 may include a tuner 66 for receiving radio frequencies from an incoming antenna.
- the main module 24 may also include an analog TV demodulator 66 and/or a digital TV demodulator 68 .
- the analog TV demodulator 66 may be communication with the analog video decoder 48 or the memory 64
- the digital TV demodulator 68 may be in communication with the memory 64 .
- the main module 24 may have an audio/video input 70 as well as a HDMI receiver 72 .
- the HDMI receiver 72 , digital TV demodulator 68 and/or analog TV demodulator 66 , processor 40 , Ethernet interface 50 , control interface 52 may all or in some part be placed in communication with the computing module 26 and/or 28 .
- the computing module 26 has a central processor 74 , a graphics processor 76 , a digital video decoder 78 , and a digital audio processor 80 .
- Each of the central processor 74 , graphics processor 76 , digital video decoder 78 , and digital audio processor 80 are in communication with a dynamic random access memory 82 as well as a system bus 84 .
- the computing module 26 may include a transport stream demultiplexer 86 , an Ethernet interface 88 , a control interface 90 , and a HDMI transmitter 92 . Each of these devices may be in communication with the system bus 84 .
- Power is provided to the computing module 26 from a power input 94 that receives power from the main module 24 .
- the control interface 90 may include an I2C, UART, and/or GPIO interface.
- the transport stream demultiplexer 86 , control interface 90 , and HDMI transmitter 92 may all be in direct connection with the main module 24 via the port 32 .
- the central processor 74 and/or graphics processor 76 of the computing module 26 may offer assistance to displaying images and providing video to the user of the main module 24 .
- the main module 24 may be responsible for analog video receiving and decoding, digital video receiving and demodulation, ultra high definition image processing, which may include noise reduction, super resolution scaling, sharpening, dynamic range enhancement, color and skin tone adjustment, deinterlacing, microdimming and backlight control, among others.
- the main module 24 may be responsible for high definition multimedia interface reception, universal serial bus interfacing, as well as wireless interfacing such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
- the main module 24 may also be responsible for Ethernet in providing a network connection to computing module 26 .
- the computing module 26 may, for example, be responsible for ultrahigh definition digital video recording, transport stream demultiplexing for digital television decoding, digital multimedia decoding, providing a high quality graphical user interface of the user of the system 10 , and allow for the downloading and execution of third party applications such as video streaming or gaming.
- the interfacing between the ports 32 and 36 and ports 34 and 38 can take any one of a number of different forms.
- the following table shows a 58 pin interface.
- pins 53 and 54 provide power to the computing module 26 from the main module 24 .
- Pins 2 - 18 transmit video and audio signals from the computing module 26 to the main module 24 .
- Pins 26 - 33 provide an Ethernet link that forms a local area network for the whole system of the main module 24 and the computing module 26 . Internet data is passed through this link and is also used to share peripheral devices between the main module 24 and the computing module 26 .
- Pins 41 - 51 provide a transport stream link from the main module 24 to the computing module 26 in the case of a digital television signal receiving and decoding.
- Pin 22 is utilized to identify the computing modules, up to two computing modules if only one pin is used and up to four computing modules if there are two pins utilized. Additional computing modules can be identified if additional pins are utilized on the interface.
- Pins 20 , 21 , 39 , 56 , and 57 transmit handshaking and/or control information between the main module 24 and a computing module 26 .
- FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a general connection routing between the computing modules 26 and 28 and the main module 24 .
- both computing modules 26 and 28 are in communication with a routing block 96 that connects the computing modules 26 and 28 to Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 are connected to a digital demodulation block 98 .
- the computing modules 26 and 28 are connected to other various communication systems such as GPIO, UART, I2C, and power of the main module 24 by block 100 .
- the computing modules 26 and 28 are connected to the HDMI interface 72 of the main module 24 as well.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 can have access to any of the devices or interfaces located on the main module 24 . This can include any one of the plurality of ports 22 , shown in FIG. 4 , such as USB, serial peripheral interface, wireless interfaces, or access to other input devices such as a mouse or keyboard that are connected to the main module 24 .
- FIG. 8 an embodiment of a block diagram illustrating network access provided to the computing modules 26 and 28 via the main module 24 is shown.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 are connected to the main module 24 via ports 32 , 34 , 36 , and 38 , best shown in FIG. 4 .
- the main module 24 is connected to the Internet either via an Ethernet cable 104 or via a Wi-Fi connection 106 .
- Ethernet cable 104 and/or Wi-Fi connection 106 allows the main module 24 to communicate with the Internet. Because the computing modules 26 and 28 are both connected to the main module 24 , Internet access to the computing modules 26 and 28 can be provided.
- a local area network is formed in the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 and 28 through an Ethernet hub with routing capability.
- the routing hub can be realized by central processor software or by a hardware accelerator.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 do not have to have network access that is independent of the main module 24 .
- the local area network not only allows network connection for both the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 and 28 , but also allows device sharing as will be described later in this application.
- the computing modules 26 and/or 28 may also be configured with a Wi-Fi or Ethernet interface allowing the computing modules 26 and/or 28 to communicate directly with the Internet instead of interfacing with the main module 24 .
- Internet access to the main module 24 could be provided by interfacing with the computing modules 26 and/or 28 , if they are configured to be directly connected to the Internet.
- FIGS. 9 and 10 a block diagram of an embodiment for different local area network and routing configurations of the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 and 28 is shown.
- the main module 24 has three separate Ethernet interfaces 108 , 110 , and 112 .
- Interfaces 110 and 112 are connected to computing modules 26 and 28 , respectively.
- the interfaces 110 and 112 are also both connected to interface 108 .
- the interfaces 110 and 112 connect to the Internet 114 via an access point 116 which has been in direct communication with the Ethernet interface 108 .
- FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative solution.
- interfaces 110 and 112 have been replaced with an Ethernet switch 118 that is connected to the computing modules 26 and 28 and also the Ethernet interface 108 .
- the computing modules 26 and 28 connect to the Ethernet switch 118 first and then the computing modules 26 and 28 then connect to the Internet 114 via the Ethernet interface 108 .
- data routing between the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 and 28 can be assisted by the central processor or a hardware accelerator if necessary.
- FIG. 11 the block diagram of an embodiment of the system having the main module 24 , and computing modules 26 and 28 is shown, wherein Internet protocol (IP) address distribution is shown.
- IP Internet protocol
- the main module 24 has Ethernet interfaces 110 , 112 , and 108 as previously described in FIG. 9 .
- FIG. 10 the configuration shown in FIG. 10 is equally applicable to the Internet protocol address distribution methodology that will be described.
- This function can be realized by adding a block 120 for IP address distribution.
- the main module 24 is assigned an IP address by the access point 116 .
- Another device, such as a smart phone 118 is also connected to the access point 116 .
- the IP address distribution block 120 will produce virtual IP addresses for the computing modules 26 and/or 28 so that the computing modules 26 and/or 28 would appear as if they are in the same network as both the main module 24 and the smart phone 118 , instead of just being a subnetwork of the main module 24 .
- the IP address distribution block 120 can be a hardware accelerator or software solution running on any one of the processors of the main module 24 .
- peripheral devices 122 may also be able to communicate with the computing modules 26 and 28 via the main module 24 .
- the main module 24 may have any one of a number of different ports, such as universal serial bus ports.
- Peripheral devices, such as cameras, flash drives, keyboards/mouse are physically plugged into the main module 24 . These devices are also made visible and useable to the computing modules 26 and 28 through the over-the-network technology.
- One methodology for device sharing can be implemented by first defining a private protocol.
- the main module 24 interprets data from the devices 122 and packages the data with a header containing the main module interpreted information, such as device type, data type, and length.
- the package data is sent to one or all of the computing modules 26 and/or 28 over the Ethernet.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 are configured to understand the packaged data format.
- One possible way of implementing this is to add a virtual device driver to the kennel of the computing modules 26 and 28 .
- the advantage of this private protocol is that performance is good since device data is may only be interpreted once at the main module 24 .
- USB device sharing utilizes a standard protocol.
- a USB device is interpreted by the main module 24 and is packaged as USB data and sent to one of the computing modules 26 or 28 over the Ethernet connection between the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 or 28 in the form of Internet protocol packets.
- a USB driver is running on the computing modules 26 or 28 .
- the computing module 26 or 28 would assemble the Internet protocol packets and would see the data as USB data and would see the USB device as if it's plugged into the computing module 26 or 28 itself.
- This methodology has the advantage in that the computing module 26 or 28 would see the USB devices as if they are plugged into the computing module itself although they are actually plugged into the main module 24 .
- USB devices 122 are plugged into the USB interfaces of the main module 24 .
- Switches 124 , 126 , and 128 are utilized to assign a USB device to one of the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 and 28 . If such a methodology is utilized, the connection between the computing modules 26 and 28 and the main module 24 would include pins providing USB links, which can be as many in number of USB devices plugged into the system. Once the USB device is assigned/switched to one of the main module 24 and computing modules 26 and 28 , only the designated main module 24 or computing module 26 or 28 can see/use the USB device exclusively.
- FIG. 14 a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of network access provided to the main module 24 via the computing module 26 is shown.
- the computing module 26 (and/or 28 ) is connected to the main module 24 via ports 32 , 34 , 36 , and 38 , best shown in FIG. 4 .
- the computing module 26 is connected to the Internet either via an Ethernet cable 107 or via a Wi-Fi connection 105 .
- Ethernet cable 107 and/or Wi-Fi connection 105 allows the computing module 26 to communicate with the Internet. Because the main module 24 is connected to the computing module 26 , Internet access to the main module 24 can be provided.
- FIG. 15 a block diagram of an embodiment of the system having the main module 24 , and computing module 26 is shown, wherein Internet protocol (IP) address distribution is shown.
- IP Internet protocol
- the computing module 26 has Ethernet interfaces 110 and 108 .
- the computing module 26 could be configured to access the external network, such as the Internet 114 , independently. This can benefit some application scenarios where another device, such as a smart phone 118 , is connected to the same access point 116 and desires to discover the computing modules 26 and the main module 24 . This may arise in the case of multiscreen applications that will be later described in this specification.
- This feature can be realized by adding a block 120 for IP address distribution.
- the computing module 26 is assigned an IP address by the access point 116 .
- Another device such as a smart phone 118 may be also connected to the access point 116 .
- the IP address distribution block 120 will produce virtual IP addresses for the main module 24 so that the main module 24 would appear as if it is in the same network as both the computing module 26 and the smart phone 118 , instead of just being a subnetwork of the computing module 26 .
- the IP address distribution block 120 can be a hardware accelerator or software solution running on any one of the processors of the computing module 26 .
- FIG. 16 a block diagram of the system having the main module 24 and both computing modules 26 and 28 is shown, wherein Internet protocol (IP) address distribution is utilized.
- IP Internet protocol
- each of the computing modules 26 and 28 have interfaces 110 and 108 .
- the computing module 26 and/or 28 could be configured to access the external network, such as the Internet 114 , independently. This can benefit some application scenarios where another device, such as a smart phone 118 , is connected to the same access point 116 and desires to discover the computing modules 26 or 28 and the main module 24 . This may arise in the case of multiscreen applications that will be later described in this specification.
- This feature can be realized by adding a block 120 for IP address distribution to each of the computing module 26 and 28 .
- the computing modules 26 and 28 are assigned an IP address by the access point 116 .
- Another device, such as a smart phone 118 may be also connected to the access point 116 .
- the IP address distribution block 120 in either the computing module 26 or 28 will produce a virtual IP address for the main module 24 so that the main module 24 would appear as if it is in the same network as both the computing modules 26 and/or 28 and the smart phone 118 , instead of just being a subnetwork of the computing modules 26 and/or 28 .
- the IP address distribution block 120 can be a hardware accelerator or software solution running on any one of the processors of the computing modules 26 and/or 28 .
- the computing module 26 provides Internet access to main module 24 via either an Ethernet cable 107 or a wireless Internet interface 105 .
- Peripheral devices 122 may also be able to communicate with the computing module 26 (or 28 ) via the main module 24 .
- the main module 24 may have any one of a number of different ports, such as universal serial bus ports.
- Peripheral devices, such as cameras, flash drives, keyboards/mouse are physically plugged into the main module 24 . These devices are also made visible and useable to the computing modules 26 and 28 through the over-the-network technology.
- one way for device sharing can be implemented by first defining a private protocol.
- the main module 24 interprets data from the devices 122 and packages the data with a header containing the main module interpreted information, such as device type, data type, and length.
- the package data is sent to one or all of the computing modules 26 and/or 28 over the Ethernet.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 are configured to understand the packaged data format.
- One possible way of implementing this is to add a virtual device driver to the kennel of the computing modules 26 and 28 .
- the advantage of this private protocol is that performance is good since device data is only interpreted once at the main module 24 .
- a USB device is interpreted by the main module 24 and is packaged as USB data and sent to one of the computing modules 26 or 28 over the Ethernet connection between the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 or 28 in the form of Internet protocol packets.
- a USB driver is running on the computing modules 26 or 28 .
- the computing module 26 or 28 would assemble the Internet protocol packets and would see the data as USB data and would see the USB device as if it's plugged into the computing module 26 or 28 itself.
- This methodology has the advantage in that the computing module 26 or 28 would see the USB devices as if they are plugged into the computing module itself although they are actually plugged into the main module 24 .
- FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a digital television signal processing application scenario.
- a television broadcasting signal 130 is received by the tuner 66 of the main module.
- the tuner 66 of the main module processes the signal and converts it to an intermediate frequency signal 132 .
- the intermediate frequency signal 132 is then provided to the digital television demodulator 68 where the signal is demodulated and a digital signal is obtained.
- the ATSC signal is demodulated, in Europe DVB-T signal is demodulated, in China DTMB signal is demodulated, in Japan as well as some other countries, an ISDB-T signal is demodulated or a DVB-C signal is demodulated if the broadcasting signal is a cable television signal.
- the output 134 of the demodulation is the transport stream and is sent to the computing module through the connection between the main module 24 and the computing module 26 . If there are multiple computing modules on the system, the main module 24 can select the computing module which was selected when digital television was watched last time or any of the computing modules.
- the transport stream demultiplexing block 86 in the computing module processes the transport stream and separates it into the elementary audio and video bit streams.
- the video stream 136 is sent to the digital video decoder 78 of the computing module for video decoding.
- the audio stream 138 is sent to the digital audio decoder 80 of the computing module for audio decoding.
- the decoded video and audio signals 140 and 142 are sent back to the main module through a high definition multimedia interface 72 .
- the video post processor 44 receives the video signal and performs image enhancement processing and passes the result to the display block for video output to the display panel. This output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and does post processing and prepares an audio output.
- the audio output can be digital such as 12 S or SPDIF or can be analog, such as a line out signal.
- Interactions between the user and the system is through a Bluetooth or infrared remote control that interacts with appropriate receiver 144 .
- the main module CPU 40 will pass the command received by the receiver 144 and take corresponding action such as bringing up an on screen display or changing the channel.
- FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of another scenario involving video on demand streaming.
- Internet data 146 is requested by a computing module streaming application running on the CPU 74 of the computing module.
- Requested data is received by the Ethernet device 50 or by Wi-Fi on the main module.
- the data is routed to the computing module that has requested the data. This routing occurs with the help of the main module processor 40 .
- some hardware accelerator can be included in the main module to assist the data routing if performance is a concern.
- the data path is the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module.
- the processor 74 of the computing module processes the Internet data and derives the video and audio streams.
- the video stream 136 is sent to the digital video decoder 78 for video decoding, while the audio stream 138 is sent to the digital audio processor 80 for audio decoding.
- the decoded video and audio signals 140 and 142 are sent back to the main module through a high definition multimedia interface 72 .
- the video post processing 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and passes the result to the display processor 13 for video output. Like before, the output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and performs post processing and prepares the audio output. This audio output can be digital or can be analog.
- interactions between the user and the system is through the receiver 144 via a remote control that may be infrared remote or Bluetooth remote.
- the main module processor 40 will send the command received by the receiver 144 to the computing module through the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module.
- voice data may be present in some interactions scenarios.
- the computing module processor 74 will take the corresponding actions based on the input received.
- FIG. 20 an embodiment of a scenario involving analog television signal processing is shown.
- a TV broadcasting signal is received by the tuner 66 of the main module 24 .
- the tuner 66 processes the radio frequency signal and changes it to an analog intermediate frequency signal.
- the intermediate frequency signal is then fed into the analog demodulation block 66 , wherein the signal is demodulated and a separate video signal 148 and audio signal 150 are obtained.
- the video signal 148 is sent to the analog video decoder 48 .
- This video signal may be NSTC compliant in North America, PAL (or certain flavor of PAL) compliant in most European countries and China and SECAM compliant in some other European countries.
- the analog video decoder 48 derives the component video signals Y, Cb, and Cr.
- the Y, Cb, and Cr signals are sent to the video post processing block 44 , wherein image enhancement processing is performed and the result is passed to the display processor 13 for output to the display panel.
- the output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr.
- the audio signal 150 is sent to the audio post processor 62 , where it is processed for sound effect and output.
- the output can be digital such as I2S or SPDIF or it can be analog such as a line out signal.
- the gaming application may be running on the computing module processor 74 and the graphic processor 76 of the computing module.
- Some or all of the graphic data may be rendered and some Internet data may be requested by the gaming application.
- the requested data is received by the Ethernet device 66 or by a wireless network on the main module 24 .
- This received data is routed to the computing module that has requested the data. This routing occurs with the help of the main module processor 40 .
- Some hardware acceleration may be included in the main module to assist the data routing if performance is a concern.
- the path the data may take is usually the path of the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module.
- the processor 74 the computing module processes the Internet data and would usually engage the graphics processor 76 to mix Internet data with graphic data generated by a gaming application.
- the audio signal from the gaming application can be sent to the digital audio decoder 80 for sound effect processes sing.
- the graphic picture and audio signals are sent back to the main module through the high definition multimedia interfaces 92 and 72 .
- the video post processing block 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and passes the result to the display processor 13 for video output. Like before, the video output can be done via V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and may perform post processing and prepares audio output.
- the audio output can be digital such as I2S or SPDIF or can be analog such as a line out signal.
- Interactions between the user and the system is through either a Bluetooth or infrared remote control or a Bluetooth game controller in a modern system, whose signal is received by the Bluetooth or infrared receiver 144 on the main module.
- the processor 40 of the main module will send a command to the computing module through the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module.
- voice data may be present in some interactive scenarios.
- the computing module processor 74 will take corresponding actions to control the game based on the voice data received.
- FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate an embodiment of an application scenario from a set top box.
- FIG. 22 illustrates wherein the set top box outputs a HDMI signal.
- the HDMI receiver 72 of the main module receives the HDMI signal.
- the HDMI receiver 72 derives the video signal and sends it to the video post processing block 44 , wherein image enhancement processing is performed and the end result is passed to display processor 13 for output to the display panel.
- the output can take one of many of the number of different formats, such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr.
- the HDMI receiver 72 also sends the audio signal to the audio post processor 62 , wherein the audio signal is processed for sound effect and output.
- the output can be digital such as 12 S or SPDIF or can be analog such as a line out signal.
- this scenario shows with external set top box outputs analog video and audio signals.
- the audio video input device 70 digitizes the video signal and sends it to the video post processor 44 , wherein image enhancement processing is performed and the end result is passed to display block 13 for output to a display panel.
- the output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr.
- the audio/video input device 70 also digitizes the audio signal and sends it to the audio post processor 62 , wherein the signal was processed for sound effect and output.
- the output can be digital, such as 12 S or SPDIF or can be analog such as a line out signal.
- the TV system 10 or the main module 24 can mirror or repeat the images that are shown on a smart phone or tablet 152 .
- the smart phone or tablet 152 sends an encoded or compressed bit stream of the screen images to the main module 24 through Wi-Fi to the receiver 50 .
- the bit stream is routed to one of the computing modules 26 or 28 . This routing may occur with the help of the processor 40 of the main module.
- some hardware accelerator can be included in them main module to assist the data routing if performance is a concern.
- the data path may be the Ethernet link between the main module 24 and the computing module 26 or 28 .
- the computing module processor 74 may process the bit stream and derive the video and audio streams.
- the video stream is sent to the digital video decoder 78 for video decoding and the audio stream is sent to the digital audio processor 80 for audio decoding.
- the decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the main module through the HDMI transmitter 92 .
- the video post processing block 44 receives the video signal and does image enhancement processing and passes the results to display processor 13 for video output.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signals and may perform post processing and prepare for audio output.
- FIG. 25 an embodiment of a multiscreen interaction scenario is shown.
- the smart phone or tablet device 152 may work together with the TV system 10 to bring some desired content to the main module display.
- the smart phone or tablet device 152 and the main module both connect an external wireless access point 154 that allows connection to the Internet.
- the smart phone or tablet 152 sends the URL of the intended content to the main module 24 .
- the main module 24 requests the desired bit stream from the URL and routes the bit stream to the intended application in the intended computing module 26 or 28 .
- the smart phone or tablet 152 can send the URL of the intended content to the computing module 26 or 28 through the main module 24 .
- the computing module 26 or 28 requests the desired video bit stream from the URL and the bit stream is fetched to the computing module via the main module. Routing is with the help of the processor 40 of the main module.
- Some hardware accelerator can be included in the main module 24 to assist the data routing if performance is a concern.
- the data path between the main module 24 and the computing module 26 or 28 may be the Ethernet link between the two.
- the processor 74 of the computing module processes the bit stream and derives the video and audio streams.
- the video stream is sent to the video decoder 78 for video decoding, while the audio stream is sent to the digital audio processor 80 for audio decoding.
- the decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the main module 24 through the HMDI interfaces 92 and 72 .
- the video post processor 44 receives the video signal and performs image enhancement and processing and passes the result to the display processor 13 for video output.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and does post processing and prepares an audio output. Video and audio may be displayed by the main module display 12 while the phone or tablet 152 performs other tasks, such as interactions.
- the computing module is configured to have independent network access.
- Internet data is requested by the computing module streaming application running on the computing module processor 74 .
- the requested data may be received by the network block 88 either by Ethernet or by Wi-Fi.
- the processor 74 processes the Internet data and derives the video and audio streams.
- the video stream is transmitted to the digital video decoder 78 , while the audio stream is transmitted to the digital audio decoder 80 .
- the decoded video and audio streams are sent back to the main module through the HDMI interfaces 72 and 92 .
- the video post processing block 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and pass the result to the display processor 13 for video output.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signals and may perform audio post processing and prepare an audio output. Interactions between the user and the system may be through the receiver 144 which may receive a Bluetooth or infrared remote control signal.
- the main module processor 40 will send the command to the computing module through the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module. Further, voice data may be present in some interaction scenarios.
- the computing module processor 74 will take corresponding actions based on any received data.
- the gaming application may be running on the processor 74 and graphics processor 76 of the computing module 26 .
- Some graphic data may be rendered.
- it is possible that some Internet data may be requested by the game application. This requested data is received by the network device 88 via either Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
- the computing module processor 74 processes the Internet data that would usually engage the graphics processor 76 so as to mix the Internet data with the graphic data generated by the game application.
- the audio signal from the game application can be sent to the digital audio decoder 80 for sound effect processing.
- the graphic picture and audio signals are sent back to the main module through the HDMI transmitters and receivers 72 and 92 .
- the video post processor 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and passes the result to the display processor 13 for video output.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and may perform post processing as it prepares an audio output.
- Interactions between the user and the system may be through a Bluetooth or infrared remote control interacting with a receiver 144 .
- the game controller may be a Bluetooth controller whose signal is received by the receiver 144 on the main module.
- the processor 40 of the main module will send the command to the computing module through the Internet link between the main module and the computing module.
- voice data may be present in some interactive scenarios, wherein the processor 74 of the main module will take corresponding actions based on the received data.
- the TV system 10 can mirror or repeat the images that are shown on a smart phone or tablet 152 .
- the smart phone or tablet 152 sends an encoded or compressed bit stream of the screen images to the computing module 26 through Wi-Fi to the receiver 88 .
- the computing module processor 74 may process the bit stream and derive the video and audio streams.
- the video stream is sent to the digital video decoder 78 for video decoding and the audio stream is sent to the digital audio processor 80 for audio decoding.
- the decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the main module through the HDMI transmitter 92 .
- the video post processing block 44 receives the video signal and does image enhancement processing and passes the results to display processor 13 for video output.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signals and may perform post processing and prepare for audio output. Referring to FIG. 29 , a multiscreen interaction scenario is shown.
- the smart phone or tablet device 152 may work together with the TV system 10 to bring some desired content to the main module display.
- the smart phone or tablet device 152 and the computing module 26 both connect an external wireless access point 154 that allows connection to the Internet.
- the smart phone or tablet 152 sends the URL of the intended content to the computing module 26
- the computing module 26 requests the desired bit stream from the URL and routes the bit stream to the processor 74 .
- the processor 74 of the computing module processes the bit stream and derives the video and audio streams.
- the video stream is sent to the video decoder 78 for video decoding, while the audio stream is sent to the digital audio processor 80 for audio decoding.
- the decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the main module 24 through the HMDI interfaces 92 and 72 .
- the video post processor 44 receives the video signal and performs image enhancement and processing and passes the result to the display processor 13 for video output.
- the audio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and does post processing and prepares an audio output. Video and audio may be displayed by the main module display 12 while the phone or tablet 152 performs other tasks, such as interactions.
- the main module 24 is first to begin booting up.
- the main module 24 may provide some type of on screen display to display 12 as it begins to initialize the main module 24 blocks.
- the main module 24 will provide power to the computing modules 26 and 28 so that the computing modules can also being booting up.
- the system 10 Upon both the main module 24 and the computing modules 26 and 28 finish booting, the system 10 will go to a television channel or streaming service application where the user last left when the system 10 was powered off. For a first time boot, the system 10 may default to a certain television channel or a certain user interface.
- one of the computing modules which may be the computing module whose application is presented to the user interface upon booting up, or all the computing modules can be in the power on state. It is also possible that some computing modules, such as those without a user interface presence, can be chosen to be in standby or sleep or even power off state to save power.
- the computing modules 26 and 28 may be powered off first, with each computing module 26 or 28 storing in its own state.
- the main module 24 may then be ready to be powered off and would also store its own state, including information of which computing module 26 or 28 was active.
- the display 12 may be shut off while the powering off process is continuing in the background.
- the main module 24 can probe for device information of the computing module 26 by querying a solid state device 158 of the computing module 26 .
- the solid state device 158 may be an EEPROM device that stores ID information in the form of EDID.
- the system 10 can verify if the computing module 26 is certified and learn the compatibility and capability of the computing module 26 . This provides some protection to the system 10 .
- the links 160 and 162 between the computing module 26 and main module 24 may be I2C links.
- a modular television system 210 is shown. As its primary components, the modular television system includes a display subsystem 212 having a housing 214 that contains a display panel 216 for displaying images.
- the system 210 includes a television module subsystem 218 .
- the television module subsystem 218 includes a housing 220 .
- the housing 220 may include a main board 222 and ports 224 , 227 and 226 . It should be understood that the ports 224 , 227 and 226 may be combined into a signal port or may be broken up into multiple ports.
- the display subsystem 212 may also contain ports 228 , 229 and 230 that may be connected to ports 224 , 227 and 226 , respectively, by cords 232 , 231 and 234 . As stated before, any number of ports may be utilized. In a case a signal port is used on the television module subsystem 218 and the display subsystem 212 , only a single cord will be utilized.
- the housing 220 of the television module subsystem includes a timing controller 236 , a power source 238 and a backlight controller 240 .
- the timing controller 236 is in communication with the display panel 216 as configured to control images displayed by the display panel 216 of the display subsystem 212 .
- the backlight controller 240 is in communication with the display panel 216 as well.
- the backlight controller 240 is configured to control the backlighting on the display panel 216 .
- Another cord 231 may be connected to a port 227 of the television module subsystem 218 and a port 229 of the display subsystem 212 . This allows for the backlight controller to control the backlights of the display panel 216 .
- the power supply 238 may be configured to provide power to the main board 222 of the television module subsystem 218 and provide power to the display subsystem 212 as well via cord or cords 232 and 234 .
- Speakers may be located in the housing 220 of the television subsystem module 218 .
- the speakers 242 function to provide audio related to the images displayed on the display panel 216 .
- FIG. 32 illustrates another embodiment of the system 210 .
- the speakers 242 are separate from the housing 220 of the subsystem 218 .
- FIG. 33 illustrates yet another embodiment of the system 210 , wherein the timing controller 236 is not located within the housing 220 of the television subsystem 218 , but is rather located within the housing 214 of the display system 212 .
- the backlight controller 240 can also be located within the housing 214 of the display subsystem 212 as well, as shown in FIG. 34 .
- FIG. 35 illustrates another embodiment of the system 210 .
- the main board 222 has been replaced with a main module 24 and an optional computing module 26 previously described in FIG. 5 as well as other Figures and paragraphs of this description.
- the backlight control 240 and timing controller 236 may be located within the housing 220 of the television subsystem module or may be located within the housing 214 of the display panel subsystem 212 . It should be understood, that the main module 24 may now be separate from the display, unlike the embodiments previously described.
- FIG. 36 illustrates yet another embodiment of the system 210 .
- the television module subsystem 218 and the display subsystem 212 have separate speakers 242 a and 242 b.
- the speakers 242 a and 242 b may be connected to the television subsystem 218 , which will provide the speakers 242 a and 242 b with an appropriate audio signal.
- any one of the number of different speakers or number of speakers may be utilized.
- FIGS. 37, 38, and 39 alternative embodiments of the system 210 are shown.
- the housing 220 of the television module subsystem 218 is attached to a backside of the display panel system 212 , such that the housing 220 is located on the opposite side of the display panel subsystem 212 in relation to the actual display 216 .
- FIG. 37 only one speaker system 242 is shown generally at the bottom of the housing 214 of the display system 212 .
- FIG. 38 shows speakers 242 a and 242 b generally located at opposing sides of the housing 214 of the display module subsystem 212 .
- FIG. 38 shows speakers 242 a and 242 b generally located at opposing sides of the housing 214 of the display module subsystem 212 .
- speakers 242 a, 242 b, 242 c, and 242 d each generally being in contact with the perimeter of the housing 214 of the display module subsystem 212 .
- any number of different speaker configurations can be utilized and that embodiments shown in these Figures are for illustrative purposes.
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Abstract
Description
- This application claims priority to U.S.
Provisional Patent Application 62/125,871 filed on Feb. 2, 2015 and U.S.Provisional Patent Application 62/116,831 filed on Feb. 16, 2015, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. - 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention relates to television display systems.
- 2. Summary of the Known Art
- Initially, televisions (TVs) were capable of receiving outside programming via the use of an analog antenna. The analog antenna would receive analog signals from a transmission tower and the television system would display audio and video images on the display of the television. With the growth of cable television, cable television providers provided programming to televisions via a cable set top box. The cable set top box would receive television signals from a coaxial cable. The cable set top box would descramble these signals and provide them to the television, wherein the television would then display the audio and video images. Further improvements in televisions incorporated the use of additional electronics for “cable ready” television systems. These television systems already contain additional electronics for descrambling a cable signal, minimizing the need for a cable set top box.
- However, with the advent of digital television, cable providers and others provided even more complex programming to a television using a digital set top box. The digital set top box has the capability of descrambling hundreds of channels but also had additional capabilities, such as providing on demand programming and other interactive features. Even more recently, modern television systems have integrated both an Internet connection capability combined with a high performance central processing unit and/or graphics processing unit. Many third party applications can be downloaded by the users of the television systems, including video streaming services and gaming applications.
- As these video streaming services, gaming applications and other applications become more complex, more powerful processing is required by the television system. As such, central processors and graphic processors that are integrated within the television systems may become obsolete in terms of their computing capability, but the display of the television system may not obsolete in terms of the display capability. As a work around, some users utilize an over the top box or set top box in order to run updated applications. These add on devices, however, compromise the user experience, as the user now needs to operate multiple remote controls to power on the systems and to go to the desired content. Further complicating matters, each set top box or television system may have very different graphical user interfaces further compromising the user experience.
- A modular television system may include a main module housing. Located within the main module housing may be a main module processor, a display, and at least one computing module port. Each of the display, audio output device and computing module ports are in communication with the main module processor. The main module processor functions to present audio and video received by the main module processor.
- In addition, the main module processor is configured to communicate with a removable computing module. The removable computing module is configured to connect to the computing module port of the main module. The removable computing module has a computing module processor, wherein the main module processor is configured to communicate with data from the computing module processor when presenting audio and video received by at least one of a plurality of inputs/output ports. The plurality of input/output ports are in communication with the main module processor or the computing module processor.
- In another embodiment, the modular television system may include a display subsystem and a television module subsystem. The display subsystem has a housing that contains a display panel for displaying images and display subsystem port. The television module subsystem has a housing that contains a main board and a television module port in communication with the main board. The main board is located within the housing and is configured to communicate with the display subsystem via at least one cord.
- The modular television system may also include a timing controller module in communication with the display panel for controlling images displayed by the display panel of the display subsystem and a backlight controller in communication with the display panel as well. The backlight controller is configured to control the backlighting of the display panel. A power supply may be located in the housing of the television module subsystem and functions to supply power to the main board of the television module subsystem and the display subsystem. The timing controller module and/or backlight controller may be located either in the housing of the television module subsystem or the housing of the display subsystem. This allows either or both the timing controller module or backlight controller to be located in the display subsystem or the television module subsystem thereby providing a modular design for the television system.
- Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become readily apparent to persons skilled in the art after a review of the following description, with reference to the drawings and claims that are appended to and form a part of this specification.
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FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system; -
FIG. 2 illustrates a backside of the modular television system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 illustrates the backside of the modular television system ofFIG. 1 , with a computing module being either inserted or removed from the modular television system; -
FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of the modular television system; -
FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a main module; -
FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of the computing module; -
FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a general connection routing between the computing module and the main module; -
FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram illustrating network access provided to the computing modules via the main module; -
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an embodiment of a block diagram of different local area network and routing configurations of the main module and the computing module; -
FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a system having the main module and computing modules utilizing Internet protocol address distribution; -
FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram for sharing devices with the computing modules via the main module; -
FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of another methodology for sharing devices with the computing modules via the main module; -
FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram wherein network access is provided to the main module via the computing module; -
FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram utilizing an Internet protocol address distribution wherein network access is provided to the main module via the computing module; -
FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram utilizing an Internet protocol address distribution wherein network access is provided to the main module via one or more computing modules; -
FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of another methodology for sharing devices with the computing module via the main module; -
FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a digital television signal processing application scenario; -
FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a scenario involving video on demand streaming; -
FIG. 20 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for analog television signal processing; -
FIG. 21 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for an interactive gaming scenario; -
FIGS. 22 and 23 illustrate an embodiment of an application scenario utilizing a set top box; -
FIG. 24 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen sharing application scenario; -
FIG. 25 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen interaction scenario; -
FIG. 26 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a video on demand streaming scenario; -
FIG. 27 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for an interactive gaming scenario; -
FIG. 28 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen sharing application scenario; -
FIG. 29 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a multiscreen interaction scenario; -
FIG. 30 illustrates an embodiment of an storage device storing for device information of the computing module; -
FIG. 31 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system; -
FIG. 32 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having speakers separate from the housing of the television subsystem; -
FIG. 33 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having a timing controller located within the housing of the display system; -
FIG. 34 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having a backlight control located within the housing of the display system; -
FIG. 35 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having a main module and a computing module; -
FIG. 36 illustrates an embodiment of a modular television system having separate speakers; and -
FIG. 37 through 39 illustrate an embodiment of modular television systems having speakers located at different locations. - Referring now to
FIG. 1 ,modular television system 10 is shown. Themodular television system 10 has adisplay 12 for displaying images. Themodular television system 10 may also have one ormore speakers housing 18 of themodular television system 10. Thespeakers modular television system 10. Of course, it should be understood, that any one of a number of different types or quantity of speakers may be utilized. In addition, thespeakers modular television system 10. - Referring to
FIG. 2 , aback side 11 of themodular television system 10 is shown. Here, thehousing 18 includes aportion 20 of thehousing 18 that may contain electronics associated with themodular television system 10. Here, the modular television system includes a plurality of input/output ports 22. - Located within the
portion 20 of thehousing 18 is amain module 24. As will be explained later, themain module 24 has a main module processor that is in communication with the plurality of the input/output ports 22. The plurality of input/output ports 22 may include any one of a number of different ports. For embodiment, the plurality of input/output ports could include universal serial bus (USB) ports, high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) ports, Ethernet ports, coaxial cable ports, digital video ports, video graphics array (VGA) ports, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the input/output ports 22 could include any one of a number of different wireless interfaces such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth interfaces. - Also in communication with the
main module 24 areremovable computing modules main module 24 via a connector, which will be described in more detail later. As best shown inFIG. 3 , thecomputing module 26 can slide into anopening 30 of theportion 20 of thehousing 18. - Referring to
FIG. 4 , a block diagram view of themodular television system 10 is shown. Here, thecomputing modules computing module ports computing module ports main module ports computing module ports computing modules main module ports main module 24. When computingmodule port 32 is connected tomain module port 36, this places the processors ofcomputing module 26 in communication with themain module 24. In a like manner, when computingmodule port 34 is connected tomain module port 38,computing module 28 is placed in communication with the processors of themain module 24. - In this embodiment, the
main module 24 is in direct communication with theports 22 and thedisplay 12. Themain module 24 can control what is displayed on thedisplay 12 as well as receive inputs or transmit outputs to or from theports 22. When thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 are connected to themain module 24 via theports computing modules ports 22 as well as control what is displayed on thedisplay 12. Themain module 24 may be in charge of presenting audio and video on thedisplay 12 in viewing conditions and may bear the function of image and audio post processing as well as be in charge of television receiving in network connections. - The
computing modules 26 and/or 28 may be in charge of digital multimedia decoding of various formats and execution of various applications. For these reasons, thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 may have a more powerful central processor or graphic processor to power modern operating systems, such as Linux, Android, and iOS and others. By making thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 separate from themain modules 24, one can update themodular television system 10 by simply unplugging an older computing module and replacing with a newer and more powerful computing module. This allows the user to retain thedisplay 12 which may still be current enough to date, but replace and upgrade the computing power providing audio and video images to thedisplay 12. - Referring to
FIG. 5 , a more detailed view of themain module 24 is shown. Themain module 24 may include one or more processors. For example, themain module 24 may include acentral processor 40, agraphics processor 42 and avideo post processor 44. Theseprocessors system bus 46. - Also in communication with the
system bus 46 may be ananalog video decoder 48, anEthernet interface 50, acontrol interface 52 and thedisplay processor 13. Thedisplay processor 13 provides signals to present on thedisplay 12. Thecontrol interface 52 may include an I2C, a UART, and/or a GPIO interface. There may also beadditional interfaces system bus 46. Theseadditional interfaces audio post processor 62. Memory for connecting with these various processors and interfaces may be in the form of a dynamicrandom access memory 64 as in communication with thesystem bus 46. By so doing, the devices previously described have access to thememory 64 via thebus 46. - The
main module 24 may also include other more traditional television components as well. For example,main module 24 may include atuner 66 for receiving radio frequencies from an incoming antenna. Themain module 24 may also include ananalog TV demodulator 66 and/or adigital TV demodulator 68. Theanalog TV demodulator 66 may be communication with theanalog video decoder 48 or thememory 64, while thedigital TV demodulator 68 may be in communication with thememory 64. In addition, themain module 24 may have an audio/video input 70 as well as aHDMI receiver 72. - Several of the interfaces of the
main module 24 may also be placed in communication with thecomputing modules HDMI receiver 72,digital TV demodulator 68 and/oranalog TV demodulator 66,processor 40,Ethernet interface 50,control interface 52, may all or in some part be placed in communication with thecomputing module 26 and/or 28. - Referring to
FIG. 6 , a more detailed view of thecomputing module 26 is shown. As it should be understood, a description regarding thecomputing module 26 is equally applicable to thecomputing module 28. Here, thecomputing module 26 has acentral processor 74, agraphics processor 76, adigital video decoder 78, and adigital audio processor 80. Each of thecentral processor 74,graphics processor 76,digital video decoder 78, anddigital audio processor 80 are in communication with a dynamicrandom access memory 82 as well as asystem bus 84. In addition, thecomputing module 26 may include atransport stream demultiplexer 86, anEthernet interface 88, acontrol interface 90, and aHDMI transmitter 92. Each of these devices may be in communication with thesystem bus 84. - Power is provided to the
computing module 26 from apower input 94 that receives power from themain module 24. Thecontrol interface 90 may include an I2C, UART, and/or GPIO interface. Thetransport stream demultiplexer 86,control interface 90, andHDMI transmitter 92 may all be in direct connection with themain module 24 via theport 32. Thecentral processor 74 and/orgraphics processor 76 of thecomputing module 26 may offer assistance to displaying images and providing video to the user of themain module 24. - For example, the
main module 24 may be responsible for analog video receiving and decoding, digital video receiving and demodulation, ultra high definition image processing, which may include noise reduction, super resolution scaling, sharpening, dynamic range enhancement, color and skin tone adjustment, deinterlacing, microdimming and backlight control, among others. In addition, themain module 24 may be responsible for high definition multimedia interface reception, universal serial bus interfacing, as well as wireless interfacing such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Further, themain module 24 may also be responsible for Ethernet in providing a network connection tocomputing module 26. - The
computing module 26 may, for example, be responsible for ultrahigh definition digital video recording, transport stream demultiplexing for digital television decoding, digital multimedia decoding, providing a high quality graphical user interface of the user of thesystem 10, and allow for the downloading and execution of third party applications such as video streaming or gaming. - The interfacing between the
ports ports FIG. 4 , can take any one of a number of different forms. In one embodiment, the following table shows a 58 pin interface. -
Pin# Pin definition Notes 1 GND GND 2 HDMI3_HPDIN HDMI 3 HDMI-5V 4 HDMI3_CLKN 5 GND 6 HDMI3_CLKP 7 HDMI3_RX0N 8 GND 9 HDMI3_RX0P 10 HDMI3_RX1N 11 GND 12 HDMI3_RX1P 13 HDMI3_RX2N 14 GND 17 GND 18 HDMI3_SCL 19 GND GND 20 GPIO CM awakening 21 GPIO3 Power-off ready notification from CM to MM 22 CMA CM Selection 23 GND GND 24 PLUG DETECT Plug/unplug detection 25 GND 26 NET_TXN Gigabit Ethernet 27 NET_TXP 28 GND 29 NET_RXN 30 NET_RXP 31 GND 32 NET_ND3 33 NET_PD3 34 GND 37 GND GND 38 SDA Hand shaking 39 SCL 40 GND GND 41 TS_CLK TS 42 TS_SYNC 43 TS_VLD 44 TS_D7 45 TS_D6 46 TS_D5 47 TS_D4 48 TS_D3 49 TS_D2 50 TS_D1 51 TS_D0 52 GND GND 53 12 V/2 A POWER 54 12 V/2 A 55 GND GND 56 UART_RX Hand shaking 57 UART_TX 58 GND GND - In this embodiment, pins 53 and 54 provide power to the
computing module 26 from themain module 24. Pins 2-18 transmit video and audio signals from thecomputing module 26 to themain module 24. Pins 26-33 provide an Ethernet link that forms a local area network for the whole system of themain module 24 and thecomputing module 26. Internet data is passed through this link and is also used to share peripheral devices between themain module 24 and thecomputing module 26. Pins 41-51 provide a transport stream link from themain module 24 to thecomputing module 26 in the case of a digital television signal receiving and decoding.Pin 22 is utilized to identify the computing modules, up to two computing modules if only one pin is used and up to four computing modules if there are two pins utilized. Additional computing modules can be identified if additional pins are utilized on the interface.Pins main module 24 and acomputing module 26. - Of course, it should be understood that the arrangement and the number of pins can vary according to product requirement. Furthermore, grounding pins are used to prevent interference between signals. It should further be understood that the type of connector utilized by the interface can vary as required by application.
-
FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a block diagram of a general connection routing between thecomputing modules main module 24. Here, it is shown that both computingmodules routing block 96 that connects thecomputing modules computing modules digital demodulation block 98. In addition, thecomputing modules main module 24 by block 100. Further, thecomputing modules HDMI interface 72 of themain module 24 as well. As such, thecomputing modules main module 24. This can include any one of the plurality ofports 22, shown inFIG. 4 , such as USB, serial peripheral interface, wireless interfaces, or access to other input devices such as a mouse or keyboard that are connected to themain module 24. - Referring to
FIG. 8 , an embodiment of a block diagram illustrating network access provided to thecomputing modules main module 24 is shown. Here, thecomputing modules main module 24 viaports FIG. 4 . Themain module 24 is connected to the Internet either via anEthernet cable 104 or via a Wi-Fi connection 106.Ethernet cable 104 and/or Wi-Fi connection 106 allows themain module 24 to communicate with the Internet. Because thecomputing modules main module 24, Internet access to thecomputing modules - A local area network is formed in the
main module 24 and thecomputing modules computing modules main module 24. The local area network not only allows network connection for both themain module 24 and thecomputing modules computing modules 26 and/or 28 may also be configured with a Wi-Fi or Ethernet interface allowing thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 to communicate directly with the Internet instead of interfacing with themain module 24. In this configuration, Internet access to themain module 24 could be provided by interfacing with thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28, if they are configured to be directly connected to the Internet. - Referring to
FIGS. 9 and 10 , a block diagram of an embodiment for different local area network and routing configurations of themain module 24 and thecomputing modules FIG. 9 , themain module 24 has threeseparate Ethernet interfaces Interfaces modules interfaces interfaces Internet 114 via anaccess point 116 which has been in direct communication with theEthernet interface 108. -
FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative solution. InFIG. 10 ,interfaces Ethernet switch 118 that is connected to thecomputing modules Ethernet interface 108. Thecomputing modules Ethernet switch 118 first and then thecomputing modules Internet 114 via theEthernet interface 108. Regardless of which methodology is utilized, data routing between themain module 24 and thecomputing modules - Referring to
FIG. 11 , the block diagram of an embodiment of the system having themain module 24, andcomputing modules main module 24 hasEthernet interfaces FIG. 9 . It should also be understood that the configuration shown inFIG. 10 is equally applicable to the Internet protocol address distribution methodology that will be described. - There are some application scenarios where another device, such as a
smart phone 118, is connected to thesame access point 116 as themain module 24 and desires to discover thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28. This may arise in the case of multiscreen applications that will be later described in this specification. - This function can be realized by adding a
block 120 for IP address distribution. In this case, themain module 24 is assigned an IP address by theaccess point 116. Another device, such as asmart phone 118 is also connected to theaccess point 116. The IPaddress distribution block 120 will produce virtual IP addresses for thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 so that thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 would appear as if they are in the same network as both themain module 24 and thesmart phone 118, instead of just being a subnetwork of themain module 24. The IPaddress distribution block 120 can be a hardware accelerator or software solution running on any one of the processors of themain module 24. - Referring to
FIG. 12 , an embodiment of a methodology for sharing devices with thecomputing modules main module 24 is shown. In the embodiment that themain module 24 provides Internet access to thecomputing modules Ethernet cable 104 or awireless Internet interface 106,peripheral devices 122 may also be able to communicate with thecomputing modules main module 24. As such, themain module 24 may have any one of a number of different ports, such as universal serial bus ports. Peripheral devices, such as cameras, flash drives, keyboards/mouse are physically plugged into themain module 24. These devices are also made visible and useable to thecomputing modules - One methodology for device sharing can be implemented by first defining a private protocol. In this case, the
main module 24 interprets data from thedevices 122 and packages the data with a header containing the main module interpreted information, such as device type, data type, and length. The package data is sent to one or all of thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 over the Ethernet. Thecomputing modules computing modules main module 24. - Another methodology for device sharing utilizes a standard protocol. In this situation, a USB device is interpreted by the
main module 24 and is packaged as USB data and sent to one of thecomputing modules main module 24 and thecomputing modules computing modules computing module computing module computing module main module 24. - Referring to
FIG. 13 , another methodology for device sharing is shown. Here, theUSB devices 122 are plugged into the USB interfaces of themain module 24.Switches main module 24 and thecomputing modules computing modules main module 24 would include pins providing USB links, which can be as many in number of USB devices plugged into the system. Once the USB device is assigned/switched to one of themain module 24 andcomputing modules main module 24 orcomputing module - Referring to
FIG. 14 , a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of network access provided to themain module 24 via thecomputing module 26 is shown. Here, the computing module 26 (and/or 28) is connected to themain module 24 viaports FIG. 4 . Thecomputing module 26 is connected to the Internet either via anEthernet cable 107 or via a Wi-Fi connection 105.Ethernet cable 107 and/or Wi-Fi connection 105 allows thecomputing module 26 to communicate with the Internet. Because themain module 24 is connected to thecomputing module 26, Internet access to themain module 24 can be provided. - Referring to
FIG. 15 , a block diagram of an embodiment of the system having themain module 24, andcomputing module 26 is shown, wherein Internet protocol (IP) address distribution is shown. In this configuration, thecomputing module 26 hasEthernet interfaces computing module 26 could be configured to access the external network, such as theInternet 114, independently. This can benefit some application scenarios where another device, such as asmart phone 118, is connected to thesame access point 116 and desires to discover thecomputing modules 26 and themain module 24. This may arise in the case of multiscreen applications that will be later described in this specification. - This feature can be realized by adding a
block 120 for IP address distribution. In this case, thecomputing module 26 is assigned an IP address by theaccess point 116. Another device, such as asmart phone 118 may be also connected to theaccess point 116. The IPaddress distribution block 120 will produce virtual IP addresses for themain module 24 so that themain module 24 would appear as if it is in the same network as both thecomputing module 26 and thesmart phone 118, instead of just being a subnetwork of thecomputing module 26. The IPaddress distribution block 120 can be a hardware accelerator or software solution running on any one of the processors of thecomputing module 26. - Referring to
FIG. 16 , a block diagram of the system having themain module 24 and both computingmodules computing modules interfaces computing module 26 and/or 28 could be configured to access the external network, such as theInternet 114, independently. This can benefit some application scenarios where another device, such as asmart phone 118, is connected to thesame access point 116 and desires to discover thecomputing modules main module 24. This may arise in the case of multiscreen applications that will be later described in this specification. - This feature can be realized by adding a
block 120 for IP address distribution to each of thecomputing module computing modules access point 116. Another device, such as asmart phone 118 may be also connected to theaccess point 116. The IPaddress distribution block 120 in either thecomputing module main module 24 so that themain module 24 would appear as if it is in the same network as both thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 and thesmart phone 118, instead of just being a subnetwork of thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28. The IPaddress distribution block 120 can be a hardware accelerator or software solution running on any one of the processors of thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28. - Referring to
FIG. 17 , another methodology for sharing devices with the computing module 26 (or 28) via themain module 24 is shown. In this embodiment, thecomputing module 26 provides Internet access tomain module 24 via either anEthernet cable 107 or awireless Internet interface 105.Peripheral devices 122 may also be able to communicate with the computing module 26 (or 28) via themain module 24. As such, themain module 24 may have any one of a number of different ports, such as universal serial bus ports. Peripheral devices, such as cameras, flash drives, keyboards/mouse are physically plugged into themain module 24. These devices are also made visible and useable to thecomputing modules - Like before, one way for device sharing can be implemented by first defining a private protocol. In this case, the
main module 24 interprets data from thedevices 122 and packages the data with a header containing the main module interpreted information, such as device type, data type, and length. The package data is sent to one or all of thecomputing modules 26 and/or 28 over the Ethernet. Thecomputing modules computing modules main module 24. - Like described above, another methodology for device sharing utilizes a standard protocol. In this situation, a USB device is interpreted by the
main module 24 and is packaged as USB data and sent to one of thecomputing modules main module 24 and thecomputing modules computing modules computing module computing module computing module main module 24. -
FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of a process flow for a digital television signal processing application scenario. As such, previously described elements fromFIGS. 4 and 5 are referenced in this scenario and several of the scenarios in the Figures that follow. In this scenario, atelevision broadcasting signal 130 is received by thetuner 66 of the main module. Thetuner 66 of the main module processes the signal and converts it to anintermediate frequency signal 132. Theintermediate frequency signal 132 is then provided to thedigital television demodulator 68 where the signal is demodulated and a digital signal is obtained. In North America, the ATSC signal is demodulated, in Europe DVB-T signal is demodulated, in China DTMB signal is demodulated, in Japan as well as some other countries, an ISDB-T signal is demodulated or a DVB-C signal is demodulated if the broadcasting signal is a cable television signal. - The
output 134 of the demodulation is the transport stream and is sent to the computing module through the connection between themain module 24 and thecomputing module 26. If there are multiple computing modules on the system, themain module 24 can select the computing module which was selected when digital television was watched last time or any of the computing modules. - The transport
stream demultiplexing block 86 in the computing module processes the transport stream and separates it into the elementary audio and video bit streams. Thevideo stream 136 is sent to thedigital video decoder 78 of the computing module for video decoding. Theaudio stream 138 is sent to thedigital audio decoder 80 of the computing module for audio decoding. The decoded video andaudio signals 140 and 142 are sent back to the main module through a highdefinition multimedia interface 72. Thevideo post processor 44 receives the video signal and performs image enhancement processing and passes the result to the display block for video output to the display panel. This output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and does post processing and prepares an audio output. The audio output can be digital such as 12S or SPDIF or can be analog, such as a line out signal. Interactions between the user and the system is through a Bluetooth or infrared remote control that interacts withappropriate receiver 144. Themain module CPU 40 will pass the command received by thereceiver 144 and take corresponding action such as bringing up an on screen display or changing the channel. -
FIG. 19 illustrates an embodiment of another scenario involving video on demand streaming. Here,Internet data 146 is requested by a computing module streaming application running on theCPU 74 of the computing module. Requested data is received by theEthernet device 50 or by Wi-Fi on the main module. The data is routed to the computing module that has requested the data. This routing occurs with the help of themain module processor 40. In addition, some hardware accelerator can be included in the main module to assist the data routing if performance is a concern. The data path is the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module. - The
processor 74 of the computing module processes the Internet data and derives the video and audio streams. Thevideo stream 136 is sent to thedigital video decoder 78 for video decoding, while theaudio stream 138 is sent to thedigital audio processor 80 for audio decoding. - The decoded video and
audio signals 140 and 142 are sent back to the main module through a highdefinition multimedia interface 72. Thevideo post processing 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and passes the result to thedisplay processor 13 for video output. Like before, the output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and performs post processing and prepares the audio output. This audio output can be digital or can be analog. - Similarly, interactions between the user and the system is through the
receiver 144 via a remote control that may be infrared remote or Bluetooth remote. Themain module processor 40 will send the command received by thereceiver 144 to the computing module through the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module. In some cases, voice data may be present in some interactions scenarios. Thecomputing module processor 74 will take the corresponding actions based on the input received. - Referring to
FIG. 20 , an embodiment of a scenario involving analog television signal processing is shown. In this scenario, a TV broadcasting signal is received by thetuner 66 of themain module 24. Thetuner 66 processes the radio frequency signal and changes it to an analog intermediate frequency signal. The intermediate frequency signal is then fed into theanalog demodulation block 66, wherein the signal is demodulated and aseparate video signal 148 andaudio signal 150 are obtained. Thevideo signal 148 is sent to theanalog video decoder 48. This video signal may be NSTC compliant in North America, PAL (or certain flavor of PAL) compliant in most European countries and China and SECAM compliant in some other European countries. Theanalog video decoder 48 derives the component video signals Y, Cb, and Cr. The Y, Cb, and Cr signals are sent to the videopost processing block 44, wherein image enhancement processing is performed and the result is passed to thedisplay processor 13 for output to the display panel. The output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr. Theaudio signal 150 is sent to theaudio post processor 62, where it is processed for sound effect and output. The output can be digital such as I2S or SPDIF or it can be analog such as a line out signal. - Referring to
FIG. 21 , an embodiment of an interactive gaming scenario is shown. Here, the gaming application may be running on thecomputing module processor 74 and thegraphic processor 76 of the computing module. Some or all of the graphic data may be rendered and some Internet data may be requested by the gaming application. The requested data is received by theEthernet device 66 or by a wireless network on themain module 24. This received data is routed to the computing module that has requested the data. This routing occurs with the help of themain module processor 40. Some hardware acceleration may be included in the main module to assist the data routing if performance is a concern. The path the data may take is usually the path of the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module. - The
processor 74 the computing module processes the Internet data and would usually engage thegraphics processor 76 to mix Internet data with graphic data generated by a gaming application. The audio signal from the gaming application can be sent to thedigital audio decoder 80 for sound effect processes sing. The graphic picture and audio signals are sent back to the main module through the high definition multimedia interfaces 92 and 72. The videopost processing block 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and passes the result to thedisplay processor 13 for video output. Like before, the video output can be done via V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr. - The
audio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and may perform post processing and prepares audio output. The audio output can be digital such as I2S or SPDIF or can be analog such as a line out signal. - Interactions between the user and the system is through either a Bluetooth or infrared remote control or a Bluetooth game controller in a modern system, whose signal is received by the Bluetooth or
infrared receiver 144 on the main module. Theprocessor 40 of the main module will send a command to the computing module through the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module. Also, it should be understood that voice data may be present in some interactive scenarios. Thecomputing module processor 74 will take corresponding actions to control the game based on the voice data received. - Referring to
FIGS. 22 and 23 , these Figures illustrate an embodiment of an application scenario from a set top box.FIG. 22 illustrates wherein the set top box outputs a HDMI signal. TheHDMI receiver 72 of the main module receives the HDMI signal. TheHDMI receiver 72 derives the video signal and sends it to the videopost processing block 44, wherein image enhancement processing is performed and the end result is passed to displayprocessor 13 for output to the display panel. As always, the output can take one of many of the number of different formats, such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr. TheHDMI receiver 72 also sends the audio signal to theaudio post processor 62, wherein the audio signal is processed for sound effect and output. The output can be digital such as 12S or SPDIF or can be analog such as a line out signal. - Referring to
FIG. 23 , this scenario shows with external set top box outputs analog video and audio signals. Here, the audiovideo input device 70 digitizes the video signal and sends it to thevideo post processor 44, wherein image enhancement processing is performed and the end result is passed to displayblock 13 for output to a display panel. The output can be digital such as V-by-one and LVDS or can be analog such as YPbPr. The audio/video input device 70 also digitizes the audio signal and sends it to theaudio post processor 62, wherein the signal was processed for sound effect and output. The output can be digital, such as 12S or SPDIF or can be analog such as a line out signal. - Referring to
FIG. 24 , an embodiment of a multiscreen sharing application scenario is shown. Here, theTV system 10 or themain module 24 can mirror or repeat the images that are shown on a smart phone ortablet 152. The smart phone ortablet 152 sends an encoded or compressed bit stream of the screen images to themain module 24 through Wi-Fi to thereceiver 50. The bit stream is routed to one of thecomputing modules processor 40 of the main module. In addition, some hardware accelerator can be included in them main module to assist the data routing if performance is a concern. The data path may be the Ethernet link between themain module 24 and thecomputing module - The
computing module processor 74 may process the bit stream and derive the video and audio streams. The video stream is sent to thedigital video decoder 78 for video decoding and the audio stream is sent to thedigital audio processor 80 for audio decoding. The decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the main module through theHDMI transmitter 92. The videopost processing block 44 receives the video signal and does image enhancement processing and passes the results to displayprocessor 13 for video output. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signals and may perform post processing and prepare for audio output. Referring toFIG. 25 , an embodiment of a multiscreen interaction scenario is shown. Here, the smart phone ortablet device 152 may work together with theTV system 10 to bring some desired content to the main module display. The smart phone ortablet device 152 and the main module both connect an externalwireless access point 154 that allows connection to the Internet. The smart phone ortablet 152 sends the URL of the intended content to themain module 24. - The
main module 24 requests the desired bit stream from the URL and routes the bit stream to the intended application in the intendedcomputing module computing module tablet 152 can send the URL of the intended content to thecomputing module main module 24. Thus, thecomputing module processor 40 of the main module. Some hardware accelerator can be included in themain module 24 to assist the data routing if performance is a concern. The data path between themain module 24 and thecomputing module - The
processor 74 of the computing module processes the bit stream and derives the video and audio streams. The video stream is sent to thevideo decoder 78 for video decoding, while the audio stream is sent to thedigital audio processor 80 for audio decoding. - The decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the
main module 24 through the HMDI interfaces 92 and 72. Thevideo post processor 44 receives the video signal and performs image enhancement and processing and passes the result to thedisplay processor 13 for video output. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and does post processing and prepares an audio output. Video and audio may be displayed by themain module display 12 while the phone ortablet 152 performs other tasks, such as interactions. - Referring to
FIG. 26 , another scenario involving video on demand streaming is shown. Here, the computing module is configured to have independent network access. Internet data is requested by the computing module streaming application running on thecomputing module processor 74. The requested data may be received by thenetwork block 88 either by Ethernet or by Wi-Fi. Theprocessor 74 processes the Internet data and derives the video and audio streams. The video stream is transmitted to thedigital video decoder 78, while the audio stream is transmitted to thedigital audio decoder 80. The decoded video and audio streams are sent back to the main module through the HDMI interfaces 72 and 92. The videopost processing block 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and pass the result to thedisplay processor 13 for video output. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signals and may perform audio post processing and prepare an audio output. Interactions between the user and the system may be through thereceiver 144 which may receive a Bluetooth or infrared remote control signal. Themain module processor 40 will send the command to the computing module through the Ethernet link between the main module and the computing module. Further, voice data may be present in some interaction scenarios. Thecomputing module processor 74 will take corresponding actions based on any received data. - Referring to
FIG. 27 , an application scenario involving interactive gaming is shown. Here, the gaming application may be running on theprocessor 74 andgraphics processor 76 of thecomputing module 26. Some graphic data may be rendered. In addition, it is possible that some Internet data may be requested by the game application. This requested data is received by thenetwork device 88 via either Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Thecomputing module processor 74 processes the Internet data that would usually engage thegraphics processor 76 so as to mix the Internet data with the graphic data generated by the game application. - The audio signal from the game application can be sent to the
digital audio decoder 80 for sound effect processing. The graphic picture and audio signals are sent back to the main module through the HDMI transmitters andreceivers video post processor 44 receives the video signal and may perform image enhancement processing and passes the result to thedisplay processor 13 for video output. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and may perform post processing as it prepares an audio output. - Interactions between the user and the system may be through a Bluetooth or infrared remote control interacting with a
receiver 144. For example, the game controller may be a Bluetooth controller whose signal is received by thereceiver 144 on the main module. Theprocessor 40 of the main module will send the command to the computing module through the Internet link between the main module and the computing module. As before, voice data may be present in some interactive scenarios, wherein theprocessor 74 of the main module will take corresponding actions based on the received data. - Referring to
FIG. 28 , a multiscreen sharing application scenario is shown. Here, theTV system 10 can mirror or repeat the images that are shown on a smart phone ortablet 152. The smart phone ortablet 152 sends an encoded or compressed bit stream of the screen images to thecomputing module 26 through Wi-Fi to thereceiver 88. - The
computing module processor 74 may process the bit stream and derive the video and audio streams. The video stream is sent to thedigital video decoder 78 for video decoding and the audio stream is sent to thedigital audio processor 80 for audio decoding. The decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the main module through theHDMI transmitter 92. The videopost processing block 44 receives the video signal and does image enhancement processing and passes the results to displayprocessor 13 for video output. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signals and may perform post processing and prepare for audio output. Referring toFIG. 29 , a multiscreen interaction scenario is shown. Here, the smart phone ortablet device 152 may work together with theTV system 10 to bring some desired content to the main module display. The smart phone ortablet device 152 and thecomputing module 26 both connect an externalwireless access point 154 that allows connection to the Internet. The smart phone ortablet 152 sends the URL of the intended content to thecomputing module 26 - The
computing module 26 requests the desired bit stream from the URL and routes the bit stream to theprocessor 74. Theprocessor 74 of the computing module processes the bit stream and derives the video and audio streams. The video stream is sent to thevideo decoder 78 for video decoding, while the audio stream is sent to thedigital audio processor 80 for audio decoding. - The decoded video and audio signals are sent back to the
main module 24 through the HMDI interfaces 92 and 72. Thevideo post processor 44 receives the video signal and performs image enhancement and processing and passes the result to thedisplay processor 13 for video output. Theaudio post processor 62 receives the audio signal and does post processing and prepares an audio output. Video and audio may be displayed by themain module display 12 while the phone ortablet 152 performs other tasks, such as interactions. - Referring back to
FIG. 4 , the powering on and off of thesystem 10 will be briefly explained. Generally, when thesystem 10 is powered on, themain module 24 is first to begin booting up. Themain module 24 may provide some type of on screen display to display 12 as it begins to initialize themain module 24 blocks. Themain module 24 will provide power to thecomputing modules - Upon both the
main module 24 and thecomputing modules system 10 will go to a television channel or streaming service application where the user last left when thesystem 10 was powered off. For a first time boot, thesystem 10 may default to a certain television channel or a certain user interface. - When there are two or
more computing modules - When powering off the system, the
computing modules computing module main module 24 may then be ready to be powered off and would also store its own state, including information of whichcomputing module display 12 may be shut off while the powering off process is continuing in the background. - Referring to
FIG. 30 , once thesystem 10 is powered on and acomputing module 26 is detected as being plugged in, themain module 24 can probe for device information of thecomputing module 26 by querying asolid state device 158 of thecomputing module 26. Thesolid state device 158 may be an EEPROM device that stores ID information in the form of EDID. By so doing, thesystem 10 can verify if thecomputing module 26 is certified and learn the compatibility and capability of thecomputing module 26. This provides some protection to thesystem 10. Thelinks computing module 26 andmain module 24 may be I2C links. - Referring to
FIG. 31 , amodular television system 210 is shown. As its primary components, the modular television system includes adisplay subsystem 212 having ahousing 214 that contains adisplay panel 216 for displaying images. In addition, thesystem 210 includes atelevision module subsystem 218. Thetelevision module subsystem 218 includes ahousing 220. Thehousing 220 may include amain board 222 andports ports display subsystem 212 may also containports ports cords television module subsystem 218 and thedisplay subsystem 212, only a single cord will be utilized. - In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 31 , thehousing 220 of the television module subsystem includes atiming controller 236, apower source 238 and abacklight controller 240. Thetiming controller 236 is in communication with thedisplay panel 216 as configured to control images displayed by thedisplay panel 216 of thedisplay subsystem 212. - The
backlight controller 240 is in communication with thedisplay panel 216 as well. Thebacklight controller 240 is configured to control the backlighting on thedisplay panel 216. Anothercord 231 may be connected to aport 227 of thetelevision module subsystem 218 and aport 229 of thedisplay subsystem 212. This allows for the backlight controller to control the backlights of thedisplay panel 216. - The
power supply 238 may be configured to provide power to themain board 222 of thetelevision module subsystem 218 and provide power to thedisplay subsystem 212 as well via cord orcords - Speakers may be located in the
housing 220 of thetelevision subsystem module 218. Thespeakers 242 function to provide audio related to the images displayed on thedisplay panel 216. -
FIG. 32 illustrates another embodiment of thesystem 210. In this embodiment, thespeakers 242 are separate from thehousing 220 of thesubsystem 218.FIG. 33 illustrates yet another embodiment of thesystem 210, wherein thetiming controller 236 is not located within thehousing 220 of thetelevision subsystem 218, but is rather located within thehousing 214 of thedisplay system 212. In addition or alternatively to, it is also possible thebacklight controller 240 can also be located within thehousing 214 of thedisplay subsystem 212 as well, as shown inFIG. 34 . -
FIG. 35 illustrates another embodiment of thesystem 210. Here, themain board 222 has been replaced with amain module 24 and anoptional computing module 26 previously described inFIG. 5 as well as other Figures and paragraphs of this description. In like manner, thebacklight control 240 andtiming controller 236 may be located within thehousing 220 of the television subsystem module or may be located within thehousing 214 of thedisplay panel subsystem 212. It should be understood, that themain module 24 may now be separate from the display, unlike the embodiments previously described. -
FIG. 36 illustrates yet another embodiment of thesystem 210. Here, thetelevision module subsystem 218 and thedisplay subsystem 212 have separate speakers 242 a and 242 b. Generally, the speakers 242 a and 242 b may be connected to thetelevision subsystem 218, which will provide the speakers 242 a and 242 b with an appropriate audio signal. Of course, it should be understood that any one of the number of different speakers or number of speakers may be utilized. - Referring to
FIGS. 37, 38, and 39 , alternative embodiments of thesystem 210 are shown. In each of these embodiments, thehousing 220 of thetelevision module subsystem 218 is attached to a backside of thedisplay panel system 212, such that thehousing 220 is located on the opposite side of thedisplay panel subsystem 212 in relation to theactual display 216. InFIG. 37 , only onespeaker system 242 is shown generally at the bottom of thehousing 214 of thedisplay system 212.FIG. 38 shows speakers 242 a and 242 b generally located at opposing sides of thehousing 214 of thedisplay module subsystem 212. Finally,FIG. 39 shows speakers 242 a, 242 b, 242 c, and 242 d each generally being in contact with the perimeter of thehousing 214 of thedisplay module subsystem 212. Of course, it should be understood that any number of different speaker configurations can be utilized and that embodiments shown in these Figures are for illustrative purposes. - As a person skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the above description is meant as an illustration of implementation of the principles of this invention. This description is not intended to limit the scope or application of this invention in that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change, without departing from the spirit of this invention, as defined in the following claims.
Claims (20)
Priority Applications (2)
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US14/677,305 US20160227156A1 (en) | 2015-02-02 | 2015-04-02 | Modular television system |
CN201510250305.2A CN106210574A (en) | 2015-02-02 | 2015-05-15 | Primary module system, removable computing module and Modular television system |
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US201562125871P | 2015-02-02 | 2015-02-02 | |
US201562116831P | 2015-02-16 | 2015-02-16 | |
US14/677,305 US20160227156A1 (en) | 2015-02-02 | 2015-04-02 | Modular television system |
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Also Published As
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CN106210574A (en) | 2016-12-07 |
CN106210573B (en) | 2019-09-17 |
CN106210573A (en) | 2016-12-07 |
US20160227157A1 (en) | 2016-08-04 |
US9973725B2 (en) | 2018-05-15 |
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