DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] The present invention discloses a wireless link between a hand-held or portable device and a display device. In general, a graphics device interface (GDI) mirror driver system is used to compress bit-map data prior to transmitting the data via an 802.11 wireless link to an embedded display system. The display system then interprets the GDI commands and decompresses the bit-map data before rendering it to a display system.

[0021] The graphics device interface from the computer's operating system is captured using a mirror driver and encapsulated in a proprietary packet format. The data is then compressed and encrypted prior to being transmitted over an 802.11 wireless link to a data handler at the display where it is pieced back together and rendered to the display screen at the desired rate. One embodiment of the present invention uses highly optimized digital signal processor (DSP) accelerator graphics rendering code and JPEG decompression code to support the real-time rendering requirements necessary to translate the graphic commands from the host-computing device to bit-maps displayed on the wireless display in order to provide cable-like connectivity from a remote device to a wireless display.

[0022] The display system is capable of receiving, decompressing, decoding, and displaying the video images in real-time. The present invention reduces the weight and size and increases the presentation speed of the system, thereby allowing various video formats to be transmitted.

[0023] Additionally, interactive Codec (coder/decoder) capability for use in remote PC video applications is also provided. The Codec iteratively compresses sub-sampled on-screen video data locally, starting with less computationally complex techniques with the viewer interactively increasing the complexity until acceptable data is presented.

[0024] FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the display appliance of the present invention where small handheld or portable devices are used to send wireless information to a projection display 100 . Examples of devices include a personal computer (PC) 102 , a personal digital assistant (PDA) 104 , a cell phone 106 for data transmission, a picture phone 108 for teleconferencing, and a Palm-type device 110 . Other portable and/or hand-held devices that incorporate the wireless interface of the present invention can also be used. The transmission range 112 for the present invention, between the hand-held devices and the wireless projector, is at least forty-five feet.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating how the system of FIG. 1 can be expanded and used with the Internet to send data from a remote site to portable devices, which are then transmitted over the wireless link of the present invention to the projector. In this example, data from an office 200 or other remote site is sent over the Internet 202 , supplied 204 to a transmitter 206 and sent over a radio frequency (RF) link 208 to the hand-held and/or portable devices 210 - 214 . The back-end portion of the system, where the data is sent over a wireless link 216 to a projector 218 , is the same as described in FIG. 1 .

[0026] FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating laptop computer connectivity using the wireless display interface of the present invention. In this conference room environment 300 , the presenter 302 is sending a computer generated presentation 308 over a wireless link (not shown) from a PC 304 to a projector 306 , which projects an image on to a display screen 310 .

[0027] FIG. 4 is a drawing showing a portable PC 400 with an embedded 802.11 PCMCIA card 402 , with data represented as image bit-map planes 408 - 412 being sent over a wireless link 404 to a projector 406 . In this example a DSP provides the graphics-rendering engine required to translate the graphic commands from the host computing device 400 to bit-maps 408 - 412 , which are then displayed on the wireless projector 406 . Here an 802.11 PCMCIA card 402 , which fits into the PC 400 , locally incorporates the encryption, compression, and transmission capability of the present invention at the front-end of the system. The projector 406 has receiving, decoding, and decompression capability either built-in or connected from a nearby component.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating another conference room application 500 where personal digital assistant (PDA) connectivity is used with the wireless display interface of the present invention. Here, the presenter selects data from her PDA 502 for transmission over the wireless link (not shown) to the projector 504 . The data 506 is then projected on to the display screen 508 . In this case the software is used to translate the native presentation, such as Microsoft PowerPoint™ charts, into graphic commands that are transferred to the wireless projector 504 . The hand-held device typically displays a low-resolution version of a particular image, such as a thumbnail, and may also provide a list of images available for display on the projector at full-resolution. The user can select an image from the list to initiate the transfer of a compressed image to the display device. This provides high-speed, high-brightness presentations to be made using small, portable equipment without any direct connectivity (cables).

[0029] FIG. 6 shows an example where information is compressed and transferred 602 from a desktop computer 600 to a personal digital assistant 604 and then transmitted 606 as image bit-map planes 610 - 614 over a wireless link 606 to a projector 608 using the techniques of the present invention.

[0030] FIG. 7 illustrates the use of a wireless video projector in a home entertainment application 700 . Here the family members 702 watch video 708 that is received by a wireless projector 704 , which incorporates the wireless transmission method and/or system of the present invention. The video is projected from the projector 704 on to a large display screen 706 . This high-speed wireless approach to home entertainment involves quick and easy setup and avoids the expensive and trouble of having to wire the home with necessary video cables.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a drawing of the wireless display for the preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the added wireless components 806 - 810 at the projector 812 end. In this example the DSP provides the graphics-rendering engine required to translate the graphic commands from the host computing device 800 to bit-map planes 814 - 818 , which are then displayed on the wireless projector 812 . More specifically, a notebook computer 800 with a PCMCIA or embedded board 802.11 accelerator transmits image bit-map differences 814 - 818 to the projector, which has an external box or embedded input capability. This input includes a RF section 802 and a DSP decompression, decoding, and control section 804 . The RF section 802 includes a PCI 802.11b card 806 and a PCI bridge (not shown) coupling to the DSP section 804 . The DSP section contains all the DSP functions 810 and necessary control functions 808 .

[0032] In operation, the software mirrors all the Windows operating system GDI function calls and transfers them out at a standard 802.11b socket. When an 802.11b wireless network connection in made between the laptop 800 and the wireless projector 812 , all graphics data appearing on the laptop monitor will appear on the wireless projector.

[0033] FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram for the wireless display for the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The portable device 900 has either PCMCIA or embedded 802.11 902 capability, along with JPEG compression/encryption and screen update circuitry 904 . Data is transmitted over a wireless link 906 to the projector's 920 external or embedded input board 908 . The data is received by a PCI 802.11b card 910 and is then coupled to the DSP circuitry 914 by a PCI bridge 912 . The DSP circuitry 914 performs the functions of decompressing and decoding, as well as providing the 802.1b driver, a PC command processor, and EDID support functions. The board 908 also includes a logic application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 916 for providing functions, such as real-time control, BUS interface, graphics/video, 4:1:1 or 4:4:4 source emulation, and necessary glue logic. Additionally, the board 908 includes program and DSP flash memory 922 , a memory frame buffer 924 , clock 926 and power 928 distribution functions and a DVI interface 918 .

[0034] While this invention has been described in the context of both a general method and a preferred embodiment, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be modified in numerous ways and may assume embodiments other than that specifically set out and described above. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.